Moon Mammoths, haul out the holly, GenXers, Beyoncé
Plus, the WNBA will expand with three new teams
Hello, dear readers,
This week, America celebrates freedom. But what exactly are we celebrating?
I spent part of the weekend at Erie Pride. And what I saw was beautiful — people showing up for their LGBTQ kids, friends, coworkers and neighbors.
People who just want to exist without being told they’re a threat or a political talking point. People who just want to stay alive.
But in a nearby marina, there were boats with “Trump won” flags waving in the wind like they meant something righteous.
They don’t.
Those flags don’t stand for freedom.
They don’t stand for peace or patriotism.
The flags do stand for harm.
The flags represent a movement that’s actively working to take rights and dignity away from LGBTQ people — especially trans youths.
That’s not hyperbole.
Republicans are rolling back LGBTQ protections at every level. School boards. Municipal government. County councils. Statehouses. Congress.
It’s coordinated, it’s strategic and it’s happening out in the open.
Book bans. Drag bans. Theater performances shut down. Health care blocked.
Pride flags debated like they’re dangerous.
These aren’t isolated incidents.
They’re part of a broader plan.
And LGBTQ people are paying the price.
So when Republicans talk about “freedom,” ask who they mean. Because for a lot of people, that word doesn’t hold up.
And while the people doing harm are loud, too many others are staying quiet.
Supporting “the nice Republican” on your school board helps them.
Eating at Chick-fil-A helps them.
Shopping at Target helps them.
Shrugging this off like it’s just political noise helps them.
Silence always helps them.
What’s happening now is serious.
And if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, it should.
🍒
P.S. This newsletter intro was adapted from this post at BobbyCherry.com.
Patriotism is on a steep decline
This should come as a surprise to nobody, just in time for America to celebrate its “independence.”
Just 58 percent of Americans say they’re “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, according to a new Gallup poll, marking one of the lowest levels recorded since the organization began tracking national pride in 2001.
The drop is sharpest among Democrats and Gen Z.
Only 36 percent of Democrats express strong national pride, compared to 92 percent of Republicans.
The partisan gap—now 56 points—is the widest Gallup has measured.
Among age groups, Gen Z reports the least pride (around 40 percent). Meanwhile, 75 percent of Boomers are extremely or very proud to be an American.
National pride peaked after the Sept. 11 attacks, with about nine in 10 adults expressing high levels of pride.
That sentiment has eroded steadily, dipping below 80 percent in the mid-2000s and continuing its downward trend.
Jeffrey Jones, a Gallup senior editor, said the decline is not solely tied to recent political events but reflects a broader cultural shift.
“Each generation is less patriotic than the prior generation, and Gen Z is definitely much lower than anybody else,” Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor at Gallup, said to the AP. “But even among the older generations, we see that they’re less patriotic than the ones before them, and they’ve become less patriotic over time. That’s primarily driven by Democrats within those generations.”
Are GenXers the real loser generation?
Gen X, born roughly between 1965 and 1980, often claims the title of the forgotten generation—overlooked in media, memes and even search trends.
Unlike Millennials or Gen Z, they have few cultural touchstones, yet some GenXers argue they've had it worse, laments this unnamed byline in The Economist, with stalled wages during the 2007-09 crisis, a weak stock market in their prime investing years and declining homeownership rates.
But how forgotten are they, really?
While they missed Boomer-era gains, they also avoided the worst of student debt and came of age before social media rewired Millennials and completely took hold of Gen Z.
Millennials, by contrast, continue facing ballooning housing costs and rising economic inequality, yet are often painted as entitled rather than unlucky.
(BTW, you’ll need to create a free account to read the story linked above.)
MLB permanently bans fan who brought Arizona player to tears for trash-talking his late mother
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was brought to tears last week after a fan at Wrigley Field shouted a comment about his late mother during an at-bat.
The 22-year-old man allegedly said he had “sent a message to your mother last night” — a remark Marte, whose mother died in a 2017 car crash, described as crossing a line.
“He wasn’t getting it and was very pompous, and it didn’t sit right with me,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said, the AP reported. “It was just a gross comment you wouldn’t say about anybody, let alone someone who lost their mom.
What made the incident more painful, Marte said, was that the Diamondbacks were in Chicago to play the Cubs when she died.
MLB has since banned the fan indefinitely.
Buffett to give $6 billion in donations to five foundations
Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest people, has made his largest annual charitable gift, donating $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to five foundations.
As for the groups receiving his money? Let’s just say that, for the most part, he’s keeping it in the family.
The bulk—9.4 million shares—goes to the Gates Foundation, with the remainder split among four Buffett family foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.
Buffett, 94, will convert roughly 12.4 million Class B shares for the transfers, retaining ownership of Class A shares valued near $145 billion—over 99 percent of his net worth.
Since launching this giving plan in 2006, Buffett has donated more than $60 billion in stock.
He remains in the top tier of the world’s richest, currently holding about 13.8 percent of Berkshire.
His will pledges that 99.5 percent of his estate will go to charity, though posthumous gifts to the Gates Foundation will cease.
John Oliver’s Moon Mammoths to debut July 19 in Erie
The Erie SeaWolves are going prehistoric — and lunar — for a wild July night at the ballpark.
Thanks to HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” the SeaWolves will take the field as the Erie Moon Mammoths on Saturday, July 19.
The surprise rebrand was dreamed up by Oliver’s team and inspired by Erie’s own frozen history: in 1991, local scuba diver George Moon discovered woolly mammoth bones in nearby Lake Pleasant.
That fossil — known as the “Moon Mammoth” — became the inspiration for this crazy new identity.
The mammoth madness hits UPMC Park when the SeaWolves host the Chesapeake Baysox, who’ll be suiting up as the Oyster Catchers — a name with quite the chaotic backstory.
Oliver will be at the game, too.
SeaWolves President Greg Coleman called the night “playful, prehistoric, purposeful and purple.”
(By the way, as of early afternoon Monday, standing-room-only tickets remained. I was unsuccessful last night and this morning in procuring tickets online until I saw a message on the SeaWolves’ site saying to call for standing-room-only tickets.)
Why you can't see the mammoth bones uncovered 30 years ago in an Erie County lake (2021 Erie Times-News story)
Happiness & Long Life for All its Residents #67 (2021 Hagen History Center blog post)
The State Museum of Pennsylvania Gives Visitors Rare Opportunity to see 12,000-year-old "Moon Mammoth" (2012 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission news release)
Haul out the holly! It’s Christmas in July on Hallmark Channel!
It’s the second most wonderful time of the year!
Hallmark Channel is all in on Christmas in July!
Along with nearly nonstop Christmas movies all month, Hallmark Channel will air a special four-part “Unwrapping Christmas” series each Saturday in July.
Other things to know…
Here’s a look at other stories I’ve read recently:
Tracking Trump
The real reason Republicans are rushing to pass the Trump megabill (MSNBC)
Who’s calling? A reporter, and it’s often President Donald Trump answering (AP)
Threat of more tariffs hangs over countries negotiating trade deals (NYT)
Economy
The world economy is on the brink of epochal change (The Atlantic)
Deep inside US economy, more sticker prices start going up due to tariffs, and inventory is headed down (CNBC)
US economy shrank 0.5% in the first quarter, worse than earlier estimates had revealed (AP)
Pennsylvania
Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One of them is stepping up (AP)
Conor Lamb, John Fetterman’s former primary opponent, said the senator ‘talks about bombing and killing like it’s a video game’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Advocates rally in support of trans health care in front of UPMC HQ (WESA)
Philly awarded WNBA franchise that will begin play in 2030 (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
WNBA expanding to Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia by 2030 (ESPN)
Entertainment
Fans criticize Beyoncé for shirt calling Native Americans ‘the enemies of peace’ (AP)
Never quitting ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (NYT)
As Anna Wintour shifts her focus, 'Vogue' is looking for a new U.S. editor (NPR)
And, finally…
Just me, reppin’ the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life on local TV.
