Conservative Columnist Hammers GOP As ‘Stupid-And-Proud-Of-It-Party’

Washington Post columnist Max Boot lamented the GOP’s transformation into the “stupid-and-proud-of-it party” in his latest column published Monday.

“In the 1980s, when I became a Republican, the GOP took pride in describing itself as the ‘party of ideas,’” he wrote. “But under (former President Donald) Trump’s leadership, Republicans have reclaimed their old reputation, dating back to the 1950s, as the ‘stupid party.’” 

“What’s even more telling: This is not a source of shame or embarrassment for the party’s populists,” he charged.

Boot, who left the GOP following Trump’s takeover of the party, named and shamed a number of Republican lawmakers (and their inane and sometimes dangerous comments) as evidence — from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) Jewish space laser conspiracy theory to Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) ridiculous “Imeach Biden” gaffe.

The dumbing down of the GOP shows no sign of stopping, he concluded. 

Read Boot’s full essay here.

RELATED…

Tekion raises $250 million from pack of investors

Fresh investments push firm’s valuation to $3.5 billion

Bengaluru-based Tekion, developer of a cloud-native automotive SaaS platform-Automotive Retail Cloud, on Tuesday, announced a Series D financing round of $250 million, which pushed the firm’s valuation to over $3.5 billion.

The funding round was led by Alkeon Capital and co-led by Durable Capital. Other investors who participated in the round included Hyundai Motor Company and dealer groups from the U.S. Advent International who led Tekion’s Series C and Index Ventures who led Series A were also part of this round, said Tekion in a statement.

Tekion would invest this additional capital towards accelerating its ARC platform rollout to dealers globally, setting up a customer experience centre, expanding product innovation hubs in California and Texas and fund its product innovation expansions activities in India.

Jay Vijayan, Founder and CEO of Tekion said, “We have experienced phenomenal market acceptance during the past year. This strong round of funding validates industry and investors’ belief in Tekion’s disruptive innovations.”

ARC, which claims to have the potential to replace legacy automotive dealer management systems, uses big data, machine learning, and AI to seamlessly bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers.

India's gaming market to reach $3.9 billion by 2025: IAMAI

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the organic growth of digital games as mobile app downloads grew by 50% and user engagement went up by 20%

Indian gaming market is poised to reach $3.9 billion in value by 2025, said a study prepared by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with OnePlus and Redseer.

The report also highlighted that 40% of the hardcore gamers paid an average of ₹230 per month for their games. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the organic growth of digital games as mobile app downloads grew by 50% and user engagement went up by 20%, the study found.

Gaming has leap-frogged into the mobile gaming era due to the rapid increase in smartphone penetration in the country, with large console and PC games now being curated for mobile platforms, it revealed.

The sector was also attracting huge investment interest, with nearly $1 billion being invested in the last six months.

Some 430 million people in the country currently play games on their mobile phones and this number would grow to 650 million by 2025, as per the survey.

At present, mobile gaming dominated the Indian gaming sector, contributing more than 90% of the $1.6 billion gaming market.

The study further observed that smartphones have become more affordable with pack strong hardware equipped to run games that require medium to high specifications. This has opened accessibility to more immersive gaming for the masses, with smartphone OEMs also increasingly focusing on incorporating dedicated gaming features on their newest devices and launching gaming-specific phones.

Watch as Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies before the Senate

• The whistleblower who leaked internal Facebook research to Congress and The Wall Street Journal will testify before the Senate Tuesday.
• Recent investigations from the Journal revealed that the company's executives understood the negative impacts of Instagram among younger users, including increased suicidal thoughts

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked internal company investigations to both The Wall Street Journal and U.S. Congress, will testify before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

Recent investigations from the Journal revealed that the company's executives understood the negative impacts of Instagram among younger users, including increased suicidal thoughts. Documents also revealed that 6% of American users traced the urge to kill themselves to Instagram, the Journal first reported.

Haugen unmasked herself on Sunday, ahead of an interview with her that aired on "60 Minutes."

Last week, Facebook's global head of safety  Antigone Davis testified before members of the Senate, where lawmakers concluded that Instagram should not create an app for children.

Watch the hearing above beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

Why Is Everyone Talking About Dalgona Candy?

Interest in the South Korean treat has spiked since the debut of the Netflix drama “Squid Game.”

By Christina Morales

Navios Maritime Holdings Rises 13%; Maintains Uptrend

Shares of shipping and logistics company Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM) are up 13 percent on Tuesday’s trading.

The stock has been on a upward movement since it recently announced the redemption of $10 million of its 11.25 percent senior secured notes due 2022 at a redemption price equal to 100 percent of the aggregate principal amount.

Currently at $5.88, the stock has traded between $1.45 and $15.42 during the past 52 weeks.