The Legend Of The Golden Toilet
Plus: America’s Golden Dome, a DOJ investigation improves Cuomo’s election odds & another antiracism center bites the dust.
It's 2019, and a gang of audacious thieves who clearly weren't content with your run-of-the-mill jewelry heist made off with a fully functional, solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. (No, not Trump Towers as you might have been thinking.) Not just any porcelain throne, mind you, but an 18-karat masterpiece valued at £4.8 million. The artist behind this gilded commode? None other than the provocateur who "broke the internet" by duct-taping a banana to a wall and calling it art (with an estimated value of $1-1.5 million. I clearly got into the wrong line of business.)
Five guys pulled off this potty pilferage, but the middle man, Fred Doe, no relationship to John Q Public, or Hugh Manbeing, just got a suspended sentence. Judge Ian Pringle was not inclined to sentence Doe to time in the can, describing him as "a middle man targeted by James Sheen." So Doe was but the #2 in this crapper-caper. Also, there was a backlog of cases, and sentencing every fence-shitter would clog up the system. When it come to the actual thief, Sheen, you can’t polish that particular turd, but the toilet's value would have left him flush with cash.
Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
🎇 Not to be outdone by Israel, the U.S. wants a Golden Dome.
🚓 The DOJ is closing up shop on police reform settlements.
🎓 An antiracism center goes the way of all antiracism centers.
🃏 30% of Americans use tarot cards, have “In this house” signs.
🗳️ DOJ investigation improves Cuomo’s chances of becoming mayor.
The Gist List
Trump Unveils Ambitious and Expensive Plans for 'Golden Dome' Missile Defense (NPR)
Not to be outdone by Israel’s “Iron Dome,” President Donald Trump announced a new $175 billion missile defense system called the “Golden Dome” to protect the U.S. from missile threats, including those launched from space.
However Blade Runner this all sounds, it also feels like a competition of who can name their defense system the coolest thing. Israel has the “Iron Dome” and a longer-range version called “David’s Sling” (which is great for David if he hurts his shoulder), and Ukraine has been using a similar system from the U.S. called the “American Patriot.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Marine Corps has been fine-tuning the “SkyHunter” air defense system. Also, Canada wants to get in on the action, which might lead to the “Maple Dome” or “Sorry Shield.”
Justice Dept to Drop Police Reform Deals with Minneapolis, Louisville (Washington Post)
The DOJ is dropping police-accountability settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville, ending the Biden administration’s efforts to federally oversee reforms in cities where high-profile police killings led to national (Mostly Peaceful™️) protests. Harmeet K. Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s civil rights division, cited that the consent decrees were based on “faulty legal theories.”
While the police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville are planning to continue with police reforms despite the government breathing down their necks, criminal justice reformers view this rollback as a betrayal.
While the headlines for this story are painting it as a simple, “Orange man bad!” type of narrative, I think there is a larger story at play. As we mentioned in this newsletter, the Minneapolis Police Department is woefully understaffed. While their murder rates are thankfully at a historic low right now, murders went way, WAY up after the riots in 2020 due to the understaffing. Currently, the MPD has 580 sworn officers, but they have room for up to 731. In reality, better policing probably won’t happen via the mechanism of federal oversight, unless they get more officers.
University of Minnesota Antiracism Health Center Struggled Even Before Plagiarism Allegations (Minnesota Star Tribune)🔒
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Antiracism Research and Health Equity will close at the end of May, for—pretend to be surprised here—the same reason most antiracism projects are shutting down: Olympic-level dysfunction, infighting, and accusations of plagiarism. If you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t that happen a while ago?” You’re probably thinking of this story when Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research shut down for effectively the same reasons.
From the start, staff, students, and faculty described CARHE as overwhelmed, disorganized, and lacking guidance, which is to be expected when the idea of antiracism is as fuzzy as it is. The way I see it, antiracism was so hot for a while that most academic rigor got thrown out the window in favor of embracing a fad. A few years from now, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were zero centers with the word “Antiracist” in their name affiliated with respected universities.
30% of Americans Consult Astrology, Tarot Cards or Fortune Tellers (Pew Research)
A new Pew study found that almost a third of American adults, much like our next surgeon general, embrace the “woo woo” and consult tarot cards, horoscopes, etc., with 6% consulting a fortune teller at least once a year.
Obviously, not all of these are hard-core believers in the practice—only 10% do these things because they believe in the practice. The study notes that liberals are more likely to consult astrology annually, which leaves me wondering how many of these people also have a “In this house, we believe in science” sign in their front yard, which, if you ask me, isn’t an entirely incompatible belief.
Justice Department Investigates Andrew Cuomo Over Covid Testimony (WSJ)
Federal prosecutors are investigating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for allegedly lying to Congress about his involvement in a state report on Covid-19 nursing home deaths. In another era, this would do him in, but this is 2025, baby! If the betting sites are to be believed, the investigation HELPED his campaign. Until recently, his odds were 80% but are now up to 88%.
Being New York politics, of course, this is only one of many funny things about the race. Another (which might only be funny to me) is that of the top five candidates, two managed to have the unusual initials ZM: Zohran Mamdani and Zellnor Myrie.
Yesterday on the show: Tactics To Combat 2020 Election Denialism
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins to discuss her new book The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What's Right When the Stakes Are High. Benson, the frontrunner to become Michigan's next governor, discusses the tactics she and other secretaries of state used to combat 2020 election denialism, but also her restraint during efforts to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot.
There’s more where that came from. Listen to The Gist, and upgrade to Pesca Plus for the ad-free version.
Have a story you want us to talk about or an opinion you want to share? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com or share your thoughts in the comments. We might give you a shoutout in our next newsletter or on the air.
Loving the Gist List, but am I wrong that Jocelyn Benson was on the show last week? Maybe Mike uses "yesterday" as a term to describe whatever happened before right now. Given the quantity of podcasts, books, newspapers, and CSPAN reels he imbibes, it would make sense!