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🇺🇸 Charles in Charge

🇺🇸 Charles in Charge

Plus, new cars are now out of reach for many...

May 09, 2023

POWERED BY

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! This New Orleans high school senior received $10 million worth of scholarship offers. Here's where he decided to go to college.

Plus, new cars, once part of the American dream, are now out of reach for many...

Also, in the same year that most tech stocks were down 50% or more, Masterworks was having its best year ever.

FLAG POLLS

📉 Monday, May 8, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 43, Disapprove 49 (IBD/TIPP)

📈 Monday, May 8, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 51, Disapprove 48 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Monday, May 8, Direction of Country: Right Track 36, Wrong Track 59 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Sunday, May 7, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 37, Disapprove 56 (ABC News/Wash Post)

POWERED BY MASTERWORKS

Which platform delivered millions to investors in 2022?

In the same year that most tech stocks were down 50% or more, Masterworks was having its best year ever.

Their 9 artwork sales all turned a profit, with 8 of them delivering double digit net annualized returns.

When you add it up, they delivered $25.8 million in returns to investors, and they’re already adding more in 2023.

Because their most recent exit was a sculpture that handed investors a 15.4% net return in just 36 days, a 325% return on a net annualized basis.

That’s why Masterworks is inviting you to open a free, no-obligation account today. Isn't it time you check them out?

See important disclosures: masterworks.com/cd

QUICK CLICKS

Honing in on Hunter, Trump Told Not To Share, Debt Ceiling Deadline

US: Texas mall shooter had Army background, disturbing social media posts (NBC News) + Texas takes step toward more gun control as US mass shootings on record pace (The Guardian)

US: House Oversight Chair James Comer warns DOJ not to indict Hunter Biden until after press conference on Wednesday (American Greatness) + White House bans The Post from Biden event as Hunter indictment looms — and as nearly 20 seats sit empty (New York Post)

World: Ukraine war: Russia launches 'biggest' kamikaze drone attack (BBC)

US: Trump barred from making evidence public in Stormy Daniels hush money case (CNBC)

Economy: Debt ceiling deadline is closer than previously expected - here's why (Fox Business)

Hollywood: Studios to suspend some first-look and overall deals amid writers strike (Variety)

UNITED KINGDOM

Charles in Charge

Last weekend, King Charles III was crowned as England's monarch in a coronation ceremony that marked the first such event since June 2, 1953. Last September, Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth II passed, setting his ascension to the throne in motion.

Reporting from The Left: King Charles III is crowned in once-in-a-generation ceremony Ivana Kottasová, CNN

Reporting from The Right: Queen Elizabeth's absence felt at King Charles' coronation; ceremony marked by tributes to the late monarch Ashley Hume, Fox News

From The Flag: King Charles III's coronation was filled with tradition and ceremony, including formal dress, the official oath and crowning ceremony, and a concert afterward where the king and Queen Camilla danced. There was some controversy surrounding Charles' son Harry and the absence of his wife Meghan Markle, as the couple has clashed with the Royal Family in recent years. Here's more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Royal Waste: The Monarchy's Impossible-To-Ignore Jewel-Encrusted Coronation

Continuing the tradition of coronations is wasteful and disrespectful to the civil services workers struggling to make ends meet.
Even though the US was born out of a desire to shed the monarchy and embrace democracy, its citizens remain obsessed with an elite ruling class.
Many dismiss the Royal Family as little more than Tabloid fodder, but there is more to the monarchy than meets the eye.

King Charles is making his subjects pay for his vanity party. How old-fashioned Ahmed Twaij, CNN Opinion: "This weekend mark(ed) the celebration of King Charles’ ascension to the British throne. While nurses, paramedics and school teachers have been going on strike and surviving off food banks amid a devastating cost of living crisis, the newly minted monarch is going ahead with a nationwide event at an estimated cost of $125 million to the UK taxpayer. It’s ironic that the country claiming to be the world’s oldest democracy has clung so fervently to the tradition. Nearby Norway repealed coronations in 1908 because it was seen as an undemocratic event. Denmark ended coronations after 1840 following its shift toward parliamentarism. Spain’s last formal coronation was all the way back in 1555, while Belgium’s monarchy doesn’t even have a crown with which to conduct a coronation. ... Public perceptions of the monarchy have been shifting with modernity, and the coronation doesn’t seem to be helping to keep them positive."

“To Hell With Kings!” John Nichols, The Nation: "What troubles me is the extent to which the royal impulse has crossed the sea and reasserted itself in the United States. This, after all, is a country founded on the genius idea of rejecting monarchy and all the trappings of unwarranted privilege, exploitation, colonialism, and imperialism associated with it. ... Not seven years ago, a minority of Americans voted to make a billionaire the commander in chief and... Now, as the 2024 election approaches, he proposes to return for another term of the imperial presidency. ... Trump’s fellow billionaires tend to be less public about their ambitions. But they are just as determined to stake their claims to power. America has long suffered under the boot of an economic aristocracy that passes wealth and privilege from one generation to the next. ... Is it unreasonable to make a connection between the global obsession with British monarchy... and deference to a billionaire class?"

One more opinion piece from the Left: Laugh All You Want at King Charles, But He Will Wield Very Real Power ‍Matt Ford, The New Republic

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Meshing Tradition and Modernity, Britain Crowns a King

Even in secular democracies, there is a place for celebration, pageantry, and recognition of tradition and the stability that provides.
The monarchy is diminished in terms of its political and religious influence, yet it persists, highlighting the nation's rich history and diversity.
Prince Harry catches a lot of flack, but he showed grace, humility, and integrity throughout the coronation ceremony.

King Charles III’s coronation and the royal institution’s relevance in modern Britain ‍Dan Hannan, Washington Examiner: "To a republican, all this must seem like superstitious flummery. Why choose a man by genetic lottery and make him the repository of the national narrative? One answer is that constitutional monarchies are remarkably stable places. The key task of the head of state is to ensure legitimacy. The king is a focus for national loyalty who is not a politician, a commander in chief who is not a general. Instead of directing people’s longing for spectacle and pageantry at a strongman, we direct it at someone who has no meaningful powers. ... Even secular societies need occasional moments of magic. The coronation is an ancient Judeo-Christian ceremony in a largely post-Christian country. But the decline of formal religion doesn’t mean that people lose their sense of the transcendent."

Why the Monarchy Still Matters ‍Madeleine Kearns, National Review: "By the end of Charles I’s reign in 1649, the king was executed by parliamentarians and the office of King formally abolished. The monarchy was restored in 1660, with the return of Charles II from exile. ... The modern monarchy lacks political or religious power. And yet its cultural prominence has only been enhanced by this fact. Queen Elizabeth II left behind a legacy of service. Charles III, nicknamed 'climate king,' adopted environmentalism as his cause as early as the 1970s. Though sincere, this was also strategically inoffensive. In ages past, the monarch waged wars and colonized countries. Today, he plants trees. ... A thousand or so people in yellow vests and signs expressed their distaste for the new monarch. Meanwhile, thousands of others gathered with friends, family, and neighbors to share in a 'coronation quiche' featuring spinach, tarragon, and cheddar cheese. ... there can’t be a better articulation of Britishness than that."

One more opinion piece from the Right: Prince Harry didn’t make the coronation all about him ‍Alexander Larman, Spectator World

FLAG THIS

Most Brits Aren't Into the Crown, Half Say Charles Should Foot the Bill

Polling found 7 in 10 Brits aged 18 to 35 said they are "not interested" in the royal family, while a majority (58%) said the same thing overall. Almost half (45%) said King Charles III is "out of touch" with the regular public's experiences. (BBC)

More than half said the king should have to pay for his own coronation. (Yahoo News)

A separate survey found Princess Kate, Princess Anne, and Prince William are the most popular members of the royal family. (Sky News/Ipsos)

Three in five Americans say "it would be bad" if the US had a monarchy. Just 2 in 10 planned to watch the coronation ceremony. (Economist/YouGov)

Do you have a positive feeling toward King Charles III?

FLAG FINDS

1% Investment, Last Minute Gifts for Mom

🖼️ Why do rich people invest in art? Look no further than last year. While tech stocks were down 50% or more, Masterworks was having its best year ever. Their 9 artwork sales all turned a profit, with 8 of them delivering double digit net annualized returns. When you add it up, they delivered $25.8 million in returns to investors, and they’re already adding more in 2023. Best part: Masterworks isn't just for the 1%. They're inviting you to open a free, no-obligation account today.

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WATERCOOLER

FDA Approves "The Pill", How to Lower Bills, Wizard Whales

On May 9, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the world’s first commercially produced birth-control pill—Enovid-10, made by the G.D. Searle Company of Chicago, Illinois.

Refinery29: Intrusive Thoughts Aren’t What You Think They Are

CNET: Lower Your Electric, Gas and Water Bills This Summer: 8 Hacks That Actually Work

AD: Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright House: 7 Homeowners Share Their Honest Experience

Today I Learned that killer whales can imitate human speech. They are able to copy words such as ‘hello’ and ‘bye bye’ as well as sounds from other orcas.

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