The Daily Valet. - 1/4/21, Monday

✔️ Tapes, Bitcoin and Better Posture

January 04, 2021

Monday, January 4th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Vacations are like money. No matter how much you get, you always want just a little more.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Trump on Tape

The president urged a Georgia election official to “find” votes in phone call

With just over two weeks to go until Inauguration Day, it’s hard to believe we’re still talking about this, but ... President Trump insisted that he won the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential race during a phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the weekend, reportedly urging him to “find” enough votes to reverse the state’s certified results.

The Washington Post obtained a recording of the conversation in which Trump alternately berated Raffensperger, tried to flatter him, begged him to act and threatened him with vague criminal consequences if the secretary of state refused to pursue his false claims, at one point warning that he was taking “a big risk.”

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Raffensperger confirmed that the phone call took place on Saturday, and added that he told the president that he would have to turn to other states to find enough voter irregularities to overturn the presidential race.

It should be noted that every fraud claim Trump brought up on the call has been repeatedly debunked by fact-checkers and state officials. But they remain circulating on social media.

By Sunday afternoon, talk had shifted to whether or not the president’s demand for action to overturn the result of the election violated election fraud laws. But lawyers said that it would be difficult to pursue such a charge.

But legendary journalist Carl Bernstein, whose reporting led to the resignation of President Nixon, called the tapes of Trump far worse than Watergate. “It’s evidence of what this president is willing to do to undermine the electoral system.”

↦ Meanwhile: At least a dozen Republican senators are planning to challenge the results of the election later this week. Even though there is virtually no chance of derailing Biden’s victory.

Bitcoin Breaks $32,000

The crypto’s 2020 surge continues into new year

It took bitcoin 10 years in existence to reach the $20,000 mark, on Dec. 15. Then it took just 17 days to reach $30,000. According to Yahoo! Finance, it took the Dow Jones almost three years to make the same move.

Put another way, the leading cryptocurrency started 2020 at $7,200. It hit $34,000 for the first time ever early Sunday morning, up nearly 300%. (For comparison, the Nasdaq rose 43% in 2020, the S&P 500 rose 16% and the Dow rose 7%.)

What's more, this year could be even stronger—possibly quadrupling in value. That's according to Fundstrat's Tom Lee, who said in an interview with CNBC that this year will be most like 2017 in that bitcoin will likely experience a “parabolic rise.”

Still, there are reasons to be cautious, partly since Bitcoin remains a thinly traded market, reports Bloomberg. The currency slumped as much as 14% on Nov. 26 amid warnings that the asset class was overdue a correction. The big run-up in price in 2017 was followed by an 83% rout that lasted a year.

↦ Speaking of Money: The U.S. Treasury has begun disbursing $600 stimulus payments. You can track yours via the IRS website.

Four Million Americans Have Been Vaccinated

But the number falls far below government predictions as cases surge

Across the U.S., 1.3% of the population has received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 33% of the shots distributed to states have been administered into arms, according to Bloomberg's tracker.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's over 4.33 million doses—good progress, but far short of the goal federal officials set to give at least 20 million people their first shots before the end of December.

Federal health officials recently acknowledged that the vaccine rollout has had a slower-than-expected start. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the initial vaccination program had been superimposed upon a surge of coronavirus cases, which has stressed health-care resources in many areas, on top of the holiday season, reports the New York Times.

But this weekend, Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious-disease doctor said the rollout of vaccines is picking up speed and could be fully on track within a week or so. “We are not where we want to be, no doubt about that, but I think we can get there if we really accelerate.”

↦ FYI: The government is considering giving some people half the dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in order to speed up vaccinations.

The DeLorean Is Back

The popular vintage ride gets reimagined for 2021

It's long been rumored and reported that the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 would be receiving a reboot, but the lofty plans have never come to fruition. But this has got car guys talking ...

Spanish car designer Angel Guerra–who most recently did a five year stint at Rimac Automobili–took matters into his own hands by redesigning the car that made him want to become a designer in the first place, reports Cool Material.

The fresh take on the retro ride coincides with the DMC-12's 40th anniversary, which will take place in 2021. It pays homage to the vehicle's incredible legacy which, of course, was kickstarted with the Back to the Future franchise.

According to Robb Report, the new model has bigger wheels, a wider body and smoother, more curvaceous lines. Guerra also replaced the double square headlights and rear light setup with a continuous LED strip that runs around the car. And while the project is not officially connected to the automaker, perhaps this tribute to one of the most famous collector cars jumpstarts conversations again.

↦ FYI: Axios explores how the pandemic changed car buying forever.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The first things we’re buying this year

Trends to leave behind in 2020

‘Rick and Morty’

Better Posture Makes You a Better Man

Breathe easier and stand taller

If you're a regular Valet. reader, then you might be familiar with our yearly series, “31 Days”. If you're new, then let me introduce the concept: We always kick off the new year with a month-long challenge to incrementally better yourself.

Last year was brutal. But one thing it taught me that life is in the present, not in the tomorrow. Of course, the challenge is finding ways to optimize the present to work smarter, live healthier and hopefully have a little more fun without feeling so bogged down. Another thing 2020 exemplified was the human capacity for optimism, for hope and for change. And that’s just what this annual series is all about.

We kicked things off over the weekend, and today, our own Scott Woolf tackles the topic of posture. “We've set all sorts of sedentary milestones in 2020 and our backs have suffered greatly,” he writes. “We've spent less time on our feet and more time hibernating with our necks consistently angled down.”

↦ Read: How to quickly fix your posture and feel better.

What We’re Buying

UNIQLO practically invented the concept of affordable cashmere. And while there are certainly more players in the game now, the Japanese brand still does it better than anyone. The soft sweater comes in eight shades, and is finished with uniquely-knitted shoulders that are designed to provide “more stress-free comfort.” And now the sweater is more affordable than ever.

↦ Get It $99 / $69 by UNIQLO