Here’s our rundown of the news we’ve been reading and thinking about this week. While we try to seek out stories that aren’t the main story line of the week, sometimes the big story is just unavoidable.

 

 

 

CNBC

Elon Musk mocks SEC as ‘Shortseller Enrichment Commission’ days after settling fraud charges by Sara Salinas and Christine Wang

Jon’s take: Maybe it’s a good thing that Elon Musk is being forced to step from Chairman of the Board at Tesla. In terms of creativity and thinking about ways to approach major societal problems, I still think he’s a genius. That said, between his 420 tweet that got him and Tesla into this mess originally and now another tweet mocking the SEC after settling with them – both of which had a negative impact on Tesla stock – I’m inclined to think that he maybe shouldn’t be running the day-to-day of the company.

 

 

 

NBC News

Some undecided GOP senators on Kavanaugh call FBI report ‘reassuring’ and ‘thorough’ by Rebecca Shabad and Frank Thorp V

Molly’s take: A week long investigation is thorough according to key GOP senators on the confirmation vote for Judge Kavanaugh. Today, of course, Kavanaugh passed a symbolic hurdle and was moved forward to the next step of being the next Supreme Court Justice when the U.S. Senate voted to end debate on his nomination. As someone who has watched the hearings closely, Kavanaugh’s professionalism is concerning. Do we want someone so swayed by politics as the next “independent” judge on the highest court in the United States? 51 Senators said yes.

Whether or not Kavanaugh is confirmed, this is an important and eye opening experience. Watching Senators push through a rushed investigation to confirm a man accused of a heinous act is disheartening to say the least. More so, do I feel like we should look at the ABA’s Rules of Judicial Conduct… does he meet those standards?

Now, I feel as if I can only watch as he gets closer and closer to the highest bench, and politicians who led the outcry for a thorough investigation of Clinton’s emails, step back and call a week long investigation sufficient.