Greetings Webtaculators. This past week consisted of two of the biggest political stories since Al Gore conceded the Presidency to George W. Bush. It is amazing that coverage of the established guilt of a campaign manager and the plea deal reach of a President’s personal lawyer barely survives the a week, but I guess that’s the time we live in. This is only the beginning. Also, there was another mass shooting, but this one involved the wrong kind of video game (Madden, an American Football simulation), so no one has any idea how to characterize this random act of mass violence. It is definitely too early to discuss the role real guns had, though. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: Manafort And Cohen
Why: Because it is inconceivable that corruption would reach these two men without Trump being explicitly involved as well. All of Trump’s allies are either turning or falling – it is only a matter of time before he does to. I am terrified of what happens when the gavel falls, since roughly 40% of the country seems to be indifferent, or worse, think this inevitable outcome is a direct assault on them. For many, this is just a game, and all that matters is that their team wins.

POLITICAL THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: Fallen Soldier
Why: Because John McCain passed away due to complications from his brain tumor. I would still like to think of him as the type of Republican that more Republicans should be like, regardless of his shortcomings. At least he mostly stood by his principles and respected his political opponents, even when it was not necessarily politically advantageous to do so. However, it is still worth remembering that he brought Sarah Palin into our lives, and was one of the champions of the Iraq War.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: It Pays To Not Be A Woman
Why: Because a paper out of the Becker Friedman Institute of the University of Chicago, the namesake that championed why pure capitalism without regulation is the best way to run an economy, released a paper identifying the impact gender discrimination has had on women’s ability to equally participate in our economy. Sure looks like unfettered capitalism has worked great for more than half of the population!

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Hunger Strike
Why: Because prisoners all across the U.S. organized a hunger strike against the number of deaths in custody, and overall prison conditions.

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: A Year Without Power
Why: Because Puerto Rico JUST restored power to most of its citizens, a whole year after Hurricane Maria.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (2 min. read)
What: Pure Sports
Why: Because Hawaii won the Little League World Series. Next week, tune in to find out that all the kids are on ‘roids and the kids are actually 45 year old ex pros, because nothing in sports is sacred anymore.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Muppets Acting Badly
Why: Because the Happytime Murders doesn’t sound like it’s making people particularly happy.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (17 min. listen)
What: ~80 Years Of Hits
Why: Because it is actually amazing that popular music with Spanish lyrics has been a thing since the 40s, that “joke” songs have such chart topping power, and that Kevin Costner movies provided so much iconic music.

ART THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. look)
What: Infinite
Why: Because these pieces are gorgeous.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: Odd Job Is Cheating
Why: Because “Stacks, pistols only,” and “Complex, proximity mines” in GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 are clearly the two best multiplayer scenarios ever created.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Not All British People Are Good At Soccer; Cheating Is Fun; Color In The Lines
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: A Republican Candidate Who Is Willing To Tell A Potential Voter They Are Wrong
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™