Theresa May, Geminid, Pelosi, Schumer, Trump: 3 Stories You Should Read 12/12/2018

December 12, 2018 Confluence

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In the category of: Watching a slow-moving trainwreck.

The reality TV president just got beat at his own game

The best way to understand Donald Trump’s approach to the presidency is to think of him as what he was before politics: The star and producer of a reality TV show. Trump is forever programming the show — aka his White House and the country — in ways he thinks will entertain, provoke and amaze the audience.

And man, did he ever dial up a classic episode on Tuesday — conducting an often-contentious public debate with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and likely House Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi over border funding, the wall and who would be to blame for a government shutdown.

It was, without question, good TV. It was the sort of sausage-getting-made (or, perhaps more appropriately given how things transpired, not getting made) moment that the public rarely gets to see.

“We’re here to have a conversation,” said Pelosi at one point. “I don’t think we should have a debate in front of the press.”

And yet, have the debate they did! But as the three politicians were fighting — and the fourth man in the room, Vice President Mike Pence, seemed very focused on trying to blend into the wallpaper — something interesting happened: Donald Trump lost.

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In the category of: The earth keeps spinning.

The Geminid meteor shower — one of the best of the year — peaks Thursday and Friday

Fragments from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon will burn brightly in the sky.

We on Earth get to take in the wonder of a meteor shower typically when our planet passes through the trail of a comet. The bits of rock and debris burn up when they hit Earth’s dense atmosphere and streak across the sky.

But the Geminid meteor shower — which will reach its peak Thursday and Friday night — is not typical. You’ll be witnessing bits of an asteroid break apart in the sky. It’s also one of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the year.

What are the Geminid meteors?

If you go outside and watch, you’ll be seeing bits of debris from an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon burn up in the night sky.

The asteroid is small — just 3 miles wide — and rocky. It also behaves much more like a comet than an asteroid: 3200 Phaethon is a rare asteroid that forms a tail. (Some scientists speculate it’s more like an extinct comet than an asteroid.)

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In the category of: It’s more confusing than you think.

Honestly, I Mean Honestly, This Is What Brexit Looks Like Today

We tried figuring out what the Theresa May confidence vote means for Brexit and … oh, fuck it, take a look.

It’s been the craziest day in British politics since the last craziest day (Monday). Theresa May is fighting to hold onto power after her own Conservative party MPs forced a confidence vote against her. And that has once again raised the eternal question: wtf is going on with Brexit right now?

To try to answer this, BuzzFeed News reporters got out a pen and paper (and then a bigger pen and a whiteboard), and spent the day arguing over/ trying to work through the various permutations. Frankly, it was terrifying.

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