PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country (DonkeyHotey)
From Mother Jones: “In a private meeting last month with big-money donors, the head of a top conservative group boasted that her outfit had crafted the new voter suppression law in Georgia and was doing the same with similar bills for Republican state legislators across the country. ‘In some cases, we actually draft them for them,’ she said, ‘or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.’”
Proud Boys Leader Received COVID-19 Stimulus Loans Worth $15,500 (Dan)
The author writes, “Government records show that Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group, received two federal government-backed paycheck protection program (PPP) loans worth a total of $15,500, the Guardian can reveal. Tarrio, based in Miami, Florida, was approved for an initial loan of $7,750 on 30 March, and a succeeding loan for the same amount on 16 April. The loans were issued to Henry Tarrio, an anglicized form of his name which he has used on other occasions.”
Ten More Things We Now Know About the 2020 Election (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “The good folks at Catalist, the Democratic-oriented data analytics firm have dropped their 2020 national analysis of demographic voting trends in the 2020 election. It’s a cornucopia of interesting findings, even if their report at times seems to gloss over disturbing trends in favor of findings that support advocacy group talking points about the election results. But no matter! This is great data, the best we have so far, and can be trusted despite the left-leaning provenance of the analysis. In terms of the numbers, their methodology is sound and as objective as these things can be.”
King County Will Buy Hotels to Permanently House 1,600 Homeless People (Reader Steve)
From the Seattle Times: “King County [WA] will buy the Inn at Queen Anne, a hotel that has been housing homeless people in Seattle for roughly a year, as well as four or five other hotels in the coming weeks. Executive Dow Constantine said that it is part of an effort to house 1,600 people in hotels by the end of 2022. … It’s a response in part to the growing number of tents in the Seattle area since the pandemic hit, and in part a response to a growing chorus of homeless advocates asking elected leaders to do away with the old form of overnight homeless shelter.”
Maya Angelou and Sally Ride Will Be Honored on Quarters (Nick)
The author writes, “The writer and poet Maya Angelou and the astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, are the first women who will appear on a series of quarters to be issued by the U.S. Mint over the next four years. Each woman will be honored on the reverse, or tails, side of the coins, which will enter circulation in January as part of the American Women Quarters Program. The heads side of the coin will feature a new design of George Washington.”
