Politics Daily: Trump & Treason | Did Silicon Valley Create Donald Trump?

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Silicon Valley Meets Its Biggest Creation: Donald Trump Vanity Fair

For years, Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park featured a rectangular sign that reflected the ambition and spirit of Mark Zuckerberg and his legions of dedicated employees. It read, in bold, red lettering, “Move Fast and Break Things.” Twitter had a similar poster that hung in its San Francisco office, noting “Let’s Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow.” These mantras aren’t an anomaly in Silicon Valley’s playground-like campuses. Cubicles, hallways, cafeterias, and meeting rooms are festooned with Rockne-esque white-board-style slogans such as “Done Is Better Than Perfect” or “Fortune Favors the Bold,” or “Don’t Bury Your Failures, Let Them Inspire You.”

These maxims have their value, and they have helped inspire a wealth-generation machine unlike any other in human history. But moving too fast can come with consequences, especially when the mantra is heeded by young people who are often still in their 20s and 30s. In fact, the tech industry’s adherence to an ideology of rapid acceleration helps explain why America finds itself in its current predicament, with hackers reportedly involved in swaying our election and a growing acceptance of xenophobia spreading across the nation. Perhaps many of the people who convened at Trump Tower were so focused on those mottos that they did not realize an outcome they might create.

Donald Trump raises specter of treason The Boston Globe

In a damning op-ed John Shattuck lays out the particulars of a treasonous act against the American government and Trump's refusal to buy into the conclusions of America's intelligence agencies that Russia interfered with the American election.

The federal crime of treason is committed by a person “owing allegiance to the United States who . . . adheres to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort,” and misprision of treason is committed by a person “having knowledge of the commission of any treason [who] conceals and does not disclose” the crime. By denigrating or seeking to prevent an investigation of the Russian cyberattack Trump is giving aid or comfort to an enemy of the United States, a crime that is enhanced if the fourth explanation applies — that he is in fact seeking to cover up his staff’s or his own involvement in or prior knowledge of the attack.

ExxonMobil helped defeat Russia sanctions bill Politico

ExxonMobil successfully lobbied against the STAND for Ukraine Act, a bill that would have converted into law for five years President Obama's punishing measures against Russia for annexing Crimea. With the Senate refusing to act on the bill, proposed Secy of State Rex Tillerson is posed to roll back sanctions and relaunch a deal he made with Russia that is worth a staggering amount of money to ExxonMobile and Putin himself.

More reading:

Donald Trump and the Rise of Alt-Reality Media Politico Magazine

The Donald Trump Appointment Tracker Marie Claire

Aline Weber Hangs Out At Prada As We Drop Into Marfa, Texas

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Snuggled in a vast expanse of desert, nearly 20 miles from the next town and some 200 from the nearest major airport, the place is the subject of much modern lore—people return awestruck from the tours of the Chinati Foundation, filled with wonder from the desert landscape and starry nights, and amped up on their great Instagram snap in front of Prada Marfa. Needless to say, Marfa has amassed a lot of hype.

Aline Weber Hangs Out At Prada In Marfa, Tex By Marc Pilaro For ODDA Spaces Issue

When Prada first opened a store in Marfa, Texas, lots of people were incredulous. After all, in 2007, Marfa Texas, population 2,485, went dark. The town was so broke that it couldn't pay its electricity bills, requiring the new mayor to turn off Marfa's streetlights -- every last one. 

"Today, Marfa lights up the sky," wrote City-Journal in a recent article. In 2015 an estimated 38,000 tourists -- mostly art lovers -- traveled from worldwide destination to this West Texas town. More than 45,000 are expected this year. 

Marfa has become more than a place. It is a “destination,” an arts-world station of the cross, or, to mix religious metaphors, a mecca of minimalism. What Lourdes is to ailing Catholics, Marfa is to aficionados of conceptual sculpture and painting. Think Art Basel in Miami, or Documenta in Germany. The temperature here in June can be scorching, but Marfa, in any season, has become supercool. “London, Paris, Rome, Marfa,” boasts a popular T-shirt sold at Squeeze, a tiny deli in the heart of town that specializes in chocolates and fruit and vegetable drinks.

In March 2016, Vogue writer Steff Yotka spent a weekend in Marfa, writing:

Snuggled in a vast expanse of desert, nearly 20 miles from the next town and some 200 from the nearest major airport, the place is the subject of much modern lore—people return awestruck from the tours of the Chinati Foundation, filled with wonder from the desert landscape and starry nights, and amped up on their great Instagram snap in front of Prada Marfa. Needless to say, Marfa has amassed a lot of hype.

GQ toured 7 of the Coolest Homes in Marfa, Texas in their current issue.

Writing about Tom Ford's new Golden Globe nominated film 'Nocturnal Animals', Mr. Porter drops into West Texas, with a stop in Marfa. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Amy Adams for Best Actress. Tom Ford received nominations for Best Director of a Motion Picture and Best Screenplay of a Motion Picture.

On Site: Decoding Betye Saar's Uneasy Symbolism At Milan’s Fondazione Prada

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Writing for Hyperallergic.com, Seph Rodney surveys the work of American artist Betye Saar at Milan's Fondazione Prada. AOC wrote about Saar in advance of the exhibition opening, but Rodney's impressions put the works in an environmental context and also filtered through the writer's own personal thought universe.

My favorite work in the show is a small teal room titled “The Alpha and the Omega” (2013–16), which contains a related suite of individual works, including a suspended structure threaded with neon tubes and representing a ship. Below, a small playpen holds a collection of inflated balls, two empty chairs face each other across a board set up for an unfamiliar game, and two fancy birdcages sit quietly with entire worlds contained within them. This room is a bit more enigmatic and quietly serene. According to the gallery guide, the installation looks to represent the entire journey of a human life. “The Alpha and  the Omega” also demonstrates that Saar can do more than manipulate racist icons; she can give you a glimpse of her internal life, tell you that she is ready for tomorrow to arrive.

Related: Racist Objects: Confronting Racist Objects The New York Times

A Painful Past Still Present The New York Times

For a more detailed discussion of the art of Betye Saar, read our exhibit opening overview: Assemblage Artist Betye Saar Shows 'Uneasy Dancer' At Fondazione Prada Opening Sept 15-2016