The Daily Valet. - 10/3/19, Thursday

✔️ Is Our Wine and Whiskey Going to Cost More?

October 03, 2019

Thursday, October 3rd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I buy too much wine and cheese to be paying extra tariffs.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Bernie Sanders Suddenly Sidelined

The senator had two stents inserted in an artery

After experiencing chest pains at a Tuesday campaign event, Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders was treated for an artery blockage yesterday, according to the Washington Post. The medical emergency has sidelined the senator for at least a few days from a race in which the candidates’ age and physical health have been significant factors.

After having two stents inserted into a blocked artery, Sanders thanked well-wishers and tied the moment to his signature universal-health-care proposal, tweeting “None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs. Medicare-for-all!”

Age and health has been looming over the 2020 presidential race more than any in recent history. The three leading Democratic candidates, as well as the president they are vying to challenge, are all in their 70s. One of those Democrats, Joseph R. Biden Jr., 76, has drawn his own age-related scrutiny because of his sometimes rambling discourses and uneven answers in the debates.

It does make you wonder, right? It’s hard to imagine any company announcing its new CEO, charged with taking the company in a new direction, is in their late 70s. I’m not saying they couldn’t do it. Or that the life experience doesn’t serve them well, but damn. It begs the question: Should the president of the United States really be ten years older than our standard age of retirement?

The US Will Collect Migrant’s DNA

People held in detention centers will now have their information entered into a criminal database

The Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday that it plans to begin DNA testing immigrants and will be entering their information into a criminal database. The proposed regulation could harm hundreds of thousands of people held at immigration detention centers around the country, reports the New York Times.

The administration is framing the plan as an expansion of a pilot program they ran this summer along the US-Mexico border. There, immigration officials used Rapid DNA technology, which processes DNA samples in about 90 minutes, on people suspected of posing as families in order to avoid long detention stays (currently the law states that children can’t be held for more than 20 days). This is particularly troubling as not all families are genetically related. There’s adoption, for instance.

Immigrant and privacy advocates said the move raised personal privacy concerns for an already vulnerable population. The new policy allows the government to collect DNA from children as well as those seeking asylum at legal ports of entry. Even more troubling, the advocates warned that US citizens, who are sometimes accidentally booked into custody, could also be forced to provide DNA samples.

↦ Flip side: Not all DNA collection is bad. After more than 2,000 children were separated from their parents and detained at the border, companies like 23andMe donated kits to help families find missing children in the bureaucratic maze.

Don’t Come for My Wine

Tariffs? This is why we can’t have nice things.

I'll be honest, I don't always understand the finer details of trade wars and tariffs, but when it results in my wine and cheese getting more expensive, my ears perk up. Hundreds of speciality goods from Europe, such as French wine and parmesan cheese, may cost more by the end of the month after the World Trade Organization ruled the U.S. could impose a 25% tariff on goods from the European Union to resolve a 15 year long trade dispute, Forbes reports.

Among the goods included in the tariffs? Single-malt Irish and Scotch whiskies, European cheeses, sweaters from the United Kingdom, along with coffee and olives from France, Germany, Spain or the U.K. The tariffs, which could go into effect as early as October 18th, will be in place until a more permanent settlement can be negotiated with the EU, the White House said.

If you'll excuse me, I've got to run to the store to stock up.

↦ Read the full list of the goods that will be taxed.

Remember Brendan Dassey?

The Making a Murderer subject is seeking clemency

Recall a few years ago, when we were all obsessed with the wild real-life story of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey? The two were featured in the Netlix documentary series, Making a Murderer.Dassey was a confused 16-year-old when he confessed to Wisconsin authorities that he had helped his uncle murder photographer Teresa Halbach, before burning her body in a bonfire. He couldn't provide much details but it was a confession and he was sentenced to life in prison.

He's now 29. And his lawyers filed a petition Wednesday for executive clemency with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. “By his prison conduct and his gentle, patient insistence of his own innocence, Brendan has shown himself to be the rare person who is worthy of clemency,” the application said

Evers re-created the pardons board in June after his predecessor, Scott Walker, halted the process eight years ago. But since Evers took over as governor, his office has been flooded with requests from people seeking more information about a pardon. Dassey's attorneys say he's intellectually impaired and that he was manipulated by experienced police officers. As was shown on the documentary, authorities had no physical evidence tying Dassey to the crimes, and he later testified that his confession was "made up," but a jury convicted him anyway. If he stays in prison, he won't be be eligible for parole until 2048.

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Your place deserves a leather lounger

Where you should be traveling this fall

How often should we change our gym shoes?

That Banksy Is So Dang Clever

The sardonic and secretive artist just opened a shop in London ... that you can’t really shop in

Renowned contemporary street artist Banksy has just open a store in London, reports Cool Material. But it’s no ordinary store. You see, when an unnamed greeting card company tried to take over the trademark to Banksy’s name, they actually had a legal right to try. The company’s lawyer stated, “he doesn’t produce his own range of shoddy merchandise and the law is quite clear—if the trademark holder is not using the mark, then it can be transferred to someone who will.”

So what’s the most famous graffiti artist in the world to do? Open a shop and showroom called Gross Domestic Product that sells everything from a signed spray paint can to a welcome mat from salvaged life vests. But here’s the catch: The doors to the shop will never open, but the lights will remain on 24/7. Everything will be sold online with “the proceeds from these products going towards buying a new migrant rescue boat… So you may well be committing a criminal offense by purchasing them.”

↦ Watch this space: Keep an eye on the online store, opening soon.