The Daily Valet. - 2/10/21, Wednesday

✔️ The Trial Begins

Wednesday, February 10th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

“I’m … not a cat.”

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Trump’s Trial: Day 1

Democrats draw some GOP support, but still face an uphill battle

The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is now officially underway. While Trump is no longer in office—which led to an initial debate about the jurisdiction of the proceedings—he could still be sanctioned and prevented from holding high office again.

But according to PBS News Hour, the first day of the trial ended where it began: with a majority of Senate Republicans opposed to the proceedings—a clear sign there likely won’t be enough votes in the end to convict Trump.

Democrats have decided to move things on a fast track, including likely not calling any witnesses. They didn’t present new evidence—they’ll have 16 hours to make their case in full under the trial rules—choosing instead to show a graphic 13-minute video recapping the ugly scenes during the Capitol siege, featuring violent conduct and the rhetoric leading up to it.

Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) and other impeachment managers delivered an impassioned account of the trauma to lawmakers, police, staffers and local residents. They said there was no “January exception” in the Constitution—meaning that a president couldn’t escape accountability through impeachment just because he had left office before the trial.

Trump’s lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen, previewing their own argument for acquittal, painted the impeachment trial as a political witch hunt perpetrated by Democrats eager to block Trump’s future in politics. But Castor led off the Trump team’s presentation with an off-the-cuff, rambling speech about the Senate that didn’t really have anything to do with the trial, drawing harsh criticism from GOP Senators (who instead, actually praised Democratic impeachment manager Raskin).

At the end of the first day, there were no signs of a breakthrough, reports NBC News. The Senate voted 56-44 that the case was constitutional and could proceed. Democratic House impeachment managers were able to change the mind of Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-La.), who joined the five other Republicans and all of the Democrats in declaring the trial constitutional.

And while his vote is significant, it still leaves Democrats needing the votes of 11 Republicans who originally voted that the Senate didn’t even have jurisdiction to try a former president in the first place.

↦ Fact Check: The debate centered around the constitutionality of trying a president for impeachment after leaving office. NBC News’ Jane Time separates fact from fiction.

The Need for Speed

A sluggish vaccination program would delay a return to normal

On the fifth day of his presidency, Joe Biden upped his original 100-day COVID-19 vaccine plan to 1.5 million shots per day. Less than a month in, as the rate of vaccinations continues to increase, the country is now on pace to achieve that milestone, with 1.48 million shots per day administered last week.

But the country has entered a tricky phase of the vaccination effort as providers try to ramp up the number of people getting first shots while also ensuring a growing number of others get second doses just when millions more Americans are becoming eligible to receive vaccines.

So far, about 10% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. About 3% has received both doses, reports the Associated Press. White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients announced Tuesday that states will see their allocation of doses rise to 11 million per week beginning next week.

Which is good, because according to the Washington Post, a less-than-vigorous vaccination program would “prevent Americans from recovering some semblance of their pre-pandemic lives and would also increase the likelihood that new, potentially vaccine-resistant variants will become dominant in the United States.”

↦ FYI: The Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC that people may need annual COVID vaccine shots for the next several years.

The Brand Formerly Known as Aunt Jemima

The new name reflects the brand’s origins and eliminates any racist undertones

Aunt Jemima is rebranding as Pearl Milling Company, a move that comes months after its parent company announced plans to retire the pancake mix and syrup brand name and image, sparking a broad and brisk makeover in food branding as marketers moved to remove monikers and images with racist undertones, reports Ad Age.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the brand explained the story behind the new name: “Though new to store shelves, Pearl Milling Company was founded in 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was the originator of the iconic self-rising pancake mix that would later become known as Aunt Jemima.”

The new logo replaces Aunt Jemima's image with a watermill used to grow flour. To me, it feels like a heritage denim brand, but the packaging still follows the same color scheme and syrupy stack of pancakes in a bid to be recognizable by consumers.

For decades, Aunt Jemima product packaging has featured images of a smiling Black woman—an image that's long been criticized for depicting a racist “mammy” stereotype dating back to slavery. Quaker consulted with “consumers, employees, external cultural and subject-matter experts, and diverse agency partners to gather broad perspectives” and ensure the new identity was developed with inclusivity in mind.

↦ Meanwhile: The family of the woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima had some surprising things to say about Quaker's rebranding decision.

Cabin Fever

Don’t we all just want to get away?

Have you been seeing mentions of cabins everywhere like I have? It's not surprising, actually. In a year when the pandemic caused travel restrictions and limited social gatherings, secluded cabins offer a welcome sense of escapism.

Airbnb just revealed its top 10 most-liked homes of 2020 and about half of them were cabins. The Instagram account @cabinp*rn has over 608,000 followers, and coffee table books like Taschen's Cabins has sold out multiple times.

Whether you're planning to vacation at a drive-to-destination down the line or just interested in some good old fashioned travel daydreaming, both Vogue and Dezeen rounded up their picks for the most stylish cabins available to you at the moment—from a self-proclaimed “jungle cabin” in Tulum to a modern cedar-clad box in New York's Catskill Mountains.

↦ FYI: A Brooklyn company that rents tiny cabins just raised a not-so-tiny $41.7 million to expand the business.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The best WFH cities in 2021

The cushiest Nikes ever

Leica, the Rolex of cameras

Does the U.S. Need a Fashion Czar?

The fashion industry has a bad eco-record. Should it be regulated like other big sectors?

Fast Company makes a compelling case for creating a new White House position: a Fashion Czar.

The fashion industry is a $2.5 trillion beast with tentacles in every corner of the world, and yet it operates with little oversight or regulation. It employs more than 75 million people (the majority of whom are poorly paid women). It produces 10% of global carbon emissions.

Fashion companies are also responsible for a litany of human rights violations, from COVID-19 outbreaks in factories and relying on slave labor to microplastics in the ocean from clothes washing. Other countries are just beginning to realize that governments have a role to play in regulating the fashion industry, but none have yet created a Ministry of Fashion.

The United States could appoint someone who would hold the industry responsible for its environmental and human rights violations. The fashion czar could advocate for Congress to pass laws that would hold brands accountable for labor violations that take place across their supply chains and incentivize companies to come up with creative technologies that would tackle pollution. It's not a bad idea.

↦ FYI: 'Pervasive' microplastic pollution in Arctic Ocean points to fast fashion, according to Global Citizen.

What We’re Buying

Whoever says “they don't build things like they used to,” doesn't own these boots. Since 1912, the original L.L.Bean Boot has been expertly made in Maine. Not much has changed in the design, and that's because it's never had to. The base of the boot is waterproof rubber with plenty of traction. And even the full-grain leather sheds rain and snow. What's more, they hardly ever go on sale, so take advantage of this rare opportunity to keep your feet warm and dry for the next decade before they sell out.

↦ Get It $129 / $99.99 at L.L.Bean