Desk Notes | Did You Hear About Arctic Frost?
Arctic Frost, the permission slip for violence, how Sydney Sweeney beat the struggle session, and aliens
You guys! It’s the weekend and it’s fall and I want to do fall things. I have already told my husband it’s time to clean up the firepit and spend our evenings around the pit with a cocktail or a hot drink. Also, the fair is in town this weekend so there may also be a corn dog in my future.
But I also need to up date you on the gilding of the White House. Because, the gold continues to spread!
I have made jokes about Trump’s gold details spreading outside the Oval Office and potentially taking over the entire White House. It has escaped the White House! First it was the wall of presidents but now we have signage and more molding.
The cherry on top? It has also lead to some glorious memes and ridiculous “think” pieces.
I’ll take the sliders and half size taco salad.
So what do you think is going to get the gold treatment next?
In Desk Notes
Feature:
Operation Arctic Frost: The FBI Investigation Nobody’s Talking About - How the FBI swept up 160+ Republican organizations, seized Trump and Pence’s phones before Trump was even a suspect, collected senators’ metadata, and subpoenaed donor lists while the media looked the other way.
Also Featuring:
Jay Jones and the Permission Slip for Violence: The Virginia AG who texted about putting “two bullets to the head” of a GOP colleague, why 60% of women voters backed him anyway, and how fear has become the ultimate moral Get Out of Jail Free card.
What I’m Consuming: Check out the debate on feminism, it’s not what you think.
The Sydney Sweeney Interview: A Masterclass in Not Taking the Bait: An interviewer trying to set Sweeney up to apologize for a jeans ad the internet called Nazi propaganda. Her non-response? Perfection.
Aliens? Really?: Why a Manhattan-sized object near the sun is the last thing on my priority list when we can’t even keep the government functional. (Though I do love the Alien franchise—it’s complicated.)
Ok let’s get into it!
From the Archives
Is Biden’s Goal for His Lame-Duck Presidency to Leave a Mess for Trump to Clean Up?
The election is over. Trump has won. Kamala Harris is licking her wounds somewhere in Hawaii, likely debating whether her next career move should involve "inspiring" another episode of Veep. Meanwhile, Biden, with the grace of a man who trips over Air Force One stairs regularly, has officially entered his lame-duck presidency.
Did You Hear About Operation Arctic Frost?
You thought the fight was over in 2020. But while the cameras moved on, while legacy media obsessed over every Trump tweet and every Republican “threat to democracy,” something else was happening. Quietly. Systematically. Behind closed doors.
The FBI was sweeping up phone records and seizing devices. Collecting donor lists, bank records, and payroll information. Not just from alleged election conspirators, but from nearly 160 Republican organizations, activists, and even sitting senators. For many of these people and groups, this wasn’t about investigating a crime. This was about putting an entire political network under suspicion.
Meet Operation Arctic Frost.