The Daily Valet. - 9/10/21, Friday

✔️ 20 Years Later

September 10, 2021

Friday, September 10th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Wishing you a quiet, restful weekend.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

20 Years After 9/11

Never Forget ... but how we remember it is evolving

This weekend will mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We still mourn the thousands killed at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon and on Flight 93 when the passengers, at the cost of their lives, overcame their hijackers to stop another targeted crash. We remember the first responders and brave civilians who died or suffered terrible, lasting health problems to save others.

But how we remember them, and the events of that day, have evolved over the last two decades. And nearly one-fifth of the country is too young to remember firsthand anything about the day that changed everything.

The trauma the nation felt then was amplified by the contrast between our experience of sudden vulnerability and a mood shaped by a long period of relative peace and nearly a decade of roaring prosperity, reports the Washington Post. Briefly, we were united as a nation. For some time, partisan politics seemed to fade.

But it didn’t (perhaps, it couldn’t) last long. The pre-9/11 sense of American invincibility and that too-brief interlude after the attacks when it felt like we were all in this together gave way to bitterness, division and new doubts about the country’s capacities.

There has been a prevailing mood of pessimism hanging over the country, as a new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Wednesday underscored. A vast majority say the 9/11 attacks changed America, and far more respondents than not—46% to 33%—say the country has changed for the worse. That could have something to do with the U.S. response to “rid the world of terror,” that journalist and historian Garrett Graff says led America in tragic directions.

The reality is that this anniversary presents a fundamental tension—it feels like yesterday to some, but it’s also becoming part of history for the long haul. Those memories and stories are what confront us this weekend as we revisit and consider 9/11, committing our own personal acts of remembering.

↦ Dig Deeper: Artifacts from that fateful day share ‘pieces of truth’ in victims’ stories within the archive of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Biden’s Sweeping Vaxx Mandates

“Our patience is wearing thin,” says the President of unvaccinated Americans

President Biden on Thursday issued two executive orders mandating vaccines for federal workers and contractors and announced new requirements for large employers and health care providers that he said would affect around 100 million workers, more than two-thirds of the U.S. workforce.

“We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin,” he said. The unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of damage, and they are.”

Originally reluctant to enact mandates, Biden is now moving more aggressively than any other president in modern history to require vaccination, according to experts that spoke with the New York Times.

Republican leaders—along with some union chiefs—said Biden was going too far in trying to muscle private companies and workers, a certain sign of legal challenges to come. But experts say the White House has the legal authority to impose vaccine requirements on the private sector, through laws that require businesses to comply with evidence-based federal health safety standards.

Tom Brady Is in a League of His Own

He kicked off his 22nd NFL season with a win

Tom Brady made history Thursday when he took the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Kickoff Game, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to start 300 regular-season games.

According to SB Nation, Tampa Bay played a mess of a game, but it escaped with a 31-29 win over Dallas thanks to a game-winning 36-yard field goal. The Buccaneers say they are in a great position to repeat as champions, something that hasn't been done since Brady helped the New England Patriots win in 2004 and 2005.

As for career games played, Brady still has a ways to go. If he plays all 17 games in the regular season, he'll be seventh all time with 318 games played. (Morten Andersen has played the most NFL games in history with 382, so Brady still has to play at least five more years for that mark.)

But at 44 years old he continues to rack up records in the history books. During last year's playoffs, he became the oldest player to throw a postseason touchdown pass. And there are already three retired NFL players in the Hall of Fame whose careers started after Brady's first start in 2001.

↦ Meanwhile: Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen are starring in a $20 million campaign for Cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX—their first commercial together.

Will Smart Glasses Ever Look Cool?

The Wayfarer goes high-tech

Ray-Ban and Facebook have partnered on new collection of frames called Ray-Ban Stories. The Wayfarer, Round and Meteor styles have all been upgraded with cameras, microphones, speakers and Bluetooth so you can share your content across your favorite social media—handsfree.

Several reviewers have said using them is simple and unobtrusive; that the speakers are surprisingly loud and full. The Verge said initial pairing was easy and syncing footage from the glasses took no time at all. But will they really take off?

Remember Google Glass? That project fizzled out, as bars in San Francisco at one point started barring Glass-wearers—also pejoratively known as “Glassholes”—from entry. Later came Snap's Spectacles, glasses that focused more on fashion and the novelty of recording 10-second video clips. Those, too, never really broke through.

But the electronics on these shades are so well hidden that there are just a few hints that something is different about them. For instance, there's a camera embedded in the edge of each side of the frame—like something from a spy movie. Which, of course, brings up some questions about privacy and surreptitious recording.

↦ FYI: The glasses start at $299 ($329 for polarized lenses) and come in five different hues.

In Other News

↦ Justice Department Sues Texas Over Restrictive Abortion Law

↦ How Is the Miss America Pageant Going to Judge “Health” Instead of Physical Appearance?

↦ The FDA Has Rejected Nearly One Million Flavored E-Cigarettes

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Mules

Airbnb cabins

The ‘Matrix Resurrections’ trailer

A Weekend Pairing

Impeachment + an Americano Cocktail

The third installment of “American Crime Story” examines the infamous illicit relationship that President Bill Clinton had with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and his subsequent impeachment in 1998. Beanie Feldstein portrays Lewinsky and Clive Owen plays Clinton.

Personally, I very much enjoyed the past two seasons of the series (about O.J. Simpson and Gianni Versace), so I’m ready for this one. As The New Republic notes, the show has developed a winning formula that recreates the guilty pleasures of following these exhaustively covered scandals while also subjecting them to meticulously fair retrospective critiques. The well-reviewed first episode is out now, with new ones airing each Tuesday.

Ordinarily, episodes of a new FX original series are available the day after on Hulu. However, due to a licensing agreement that 20th Century Fox inked with Netflix a few years back for the exclusive streaming rights to the “American Crime Story” franchise, Impeachment won't be streaming on Hulu and instead will head to Netflix sometime in 2022. (You, however, can buy the season via iTunes.)

↦ Your Pairing:American politics … Americano? Okay, it's a loose connection. But I wanted something easy drinking and this tall, spritzy cousin of the Negroni hits just right while relaxing in front of the TV. And, as Punch points out, it’s extremely customizable too.

What We’re Wearing: Hello, Fall

Labor Day has come and gone, school is back in session, and the nights are really starting to cool off, which can only mean one thing: Our favorite season is here. Yes, the leaves changing and the re-establishment of pumpkin as a food group is nice, but fall takes the seasonal cake because of the unparalleled opportunities for dressing that it provides. The color palette is full of burnished reds, rich browns and deep greens—offered in everything from sweaters and shirt jackets to blazers—you name it, fall can layer it. There are so many places to start when it comes to your fall wardrobe, but don't worry, we're here to ease you into things.

↦ Get It: Our Fall 2021 kit