The Daily Valet. - 7/15/21, Thursday

✔️ A Big Push

July 15, 2021

Thursday, July 15th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Whatever you do, don’t set that goldfish free. I beg you.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

A Push for Legal Marijuana

Chuck Schumer is a weed warrior now

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a group of other Senate Democrats introduced draft legislation on Wednesday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level by striking it from the federal controlled substances list—a vital step on the road to full legalization.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is an effort not only to transform weed’s federal status, but help set right the harm done by the ill-fated “war on drugs.” The bill would also expunge nonviolent cannabis offenses from federal criminal records and direct tax revenue generated by marijuana sales to communities most affected by previous drug enforcement.

Not only that, but decriminalization would guarantee that businesses engaging in the marijuana trade—which did an estimated $17.5 billion in business last year—would be free from federal threat.

Public support is pretty much unanimous. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 91% of Americans say marijuana should be legal in some form. Last year, it was around 68%.

However, the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans are opposed, and many are saying it’s unlikely to become law soon. President Biden has not endorsed it, and even moderate Democrats are likely to balk at the implications of decriminalizing a drug that has been policed and stigmatized for so long.

Weed is legal in 18 states (including in conservative bastions like Alaska and South Dakota), which means about 43% of Americans can smoke a joint without fear of legal penalty. But as Intelligencer puts it: “Until the Senate gets rid of the filibuster—or perhaps gets less geriatric, or both—comprehensive legalization is a pipe dream.”

↦ States Light Up: While the pandemic had us cooped up, a growing number of states legalized cannabis. So you might start noticing it as you’re out and about.

A Passport Crunch

An appointment to get or renew a passport is an elusive proposition these days

As the world opens back up and vaccinated Americans are ready to explore the world again, many of them are realizing that before they can go abroad, they must first take a different kind of trip: to a U.S. Passport Acceptance Agency.

That's already a drag, but here's the bad news: if you need a passport (or have to get it renewed) you may not be traveling ... for a while.

The State Department said on Wednesday that they're currently dealing with a backlog of nearly two million applications caused largely by the coronavirus pandemic. One official told CNN that anyone submitting paperwork right now will not get their new passport “until well into the fall,” and that “last-minute passport appointments are extremely limited.”

Of course, with any bureaucratic red tape, there are industrious people finding workarounds. The New York Times reports that those who show proof of imminent travel within 72 hours of their appointment, have had success. So people are buying dummy tickets to the cheapest international destination to get their paperwork approved.

Revenge of the Goldfish

The released pet fish are growing to the size of a football and wreaking havoc

What's the opposite of “nature is healing”? I'm not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with pet goldfish growing over a foot-long and wreaking havoc in local waterways.

This isn't a sinister horror movie plot. It's apparently what happens when those little fishbowl swimmers are flushed alive or released into local waters. And it's happening everywhere from Colorado and Maryland to California and Minnesota.

Last week, Minnesota officials urged residents to stop dumping pet goldfish into ponds and lakes. Freed from the constraints of a tank, goldfish balloon to the size of footballs. Native to East Asia, they're an invasive species when they're introduced into American waterways.

To make matters even worse, the species reproduce quickly. Females produce up to 40,000 eggs each year, which is much more than most freshwater fish species. Since they have no natural predators in American freshwater ecosystems, lots of those offspring can survive and run rampant.

↦ FYI: According to National Geographic, the goldfish is a type of carp, domesticated in China nearly 2,000 years ago for use in ornamental fish ponds.

Twitter Kills ‘Fleets’

The ephemeral tweet format is shutting down due to low usage

Say goodbye to Fleets, the row of fullscreen tweets at the top of the Twitter timeline that expire after 24 hours ... you know, the ones you probably ignored like everyone else did.

The Fleets were like stories on Instagram or Snapchat, and while it made sense to try it, people use Twitter differently than those apps—it's more of a public conversation and a way to stay up to date with what's going on. The company said it was a big bet, but that it was time to wind it down and start something new.

Starting on August 3rd, users will instead just see active Spaces—Twitter's live audio chat rooms — at the top of their timelines. According to The Verge, the composer for traditional tweets will be updated with more camera editing features from Fleets, like text-formatting and GIF stickers over photos.

The decision to axe Fleets supports the theory that the company still hasn't figured out how to get people tweeting more. For years, Twitter has struggled to get new users to post regularly and not just consume other people's tweets.

↦ Meanwhile: Twitter saw a a surge in government demands worldwide in 2020 to take down content posted by journalists and news outlets, according to a new report.

In Other News

↦ Hospitalizations of Unvaccinated, Young People Rising As Delta Variant Spreads, Officials Say

↦ Parents Who Never Stopped Searching Reunite With Son Abducted 24 Years Ago

↦ Coke Is Giving One of Its Most Popular Drinks a Makeover

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Memes

Is cool even cool anymore?

Seeing faces

I’m With the Band

Resistance bands offer a home gym, no weights needed

Dumbbells are great and having a home gym is the ultimate luxury, but if you want a fitness tool that's affordable, incredibly effective and takes up next to no space, then you need a resistance band. Or two or three. These stretchy staples offer a gym's worth of moves to enhance your at-home workouts.

Use them to add extra intensity to your bodyweight motions like pushups and squats. Loop them around your foot or a secure column and you can do curls, rows and various fly moves for your chest, shoulders and back. The options are seemingly endless.

One of the greatest advantages of these bands is that they can be used by athletes and novices alike, says Mike Donavanik, a certified personal trainer and founder of Sweat Factor, a streaming service offering a myriad of trainer-led workouts. He regularly uses them himself—both when he works out and when he's training clients.

We've pulled together the best bands for your fitness (and your budget).

↦ Read: Everything you need to know about the bands and the best ones to buy right now.