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    HomePoliticsRead The Slatest for May 30.

    Read The Slatest for May 30.

    It’s more fun via email (promise). This article first appeared in our Slatest evening newsletter, which seeks to surface the best pieces published across Slate’s digital and audio journalism. We publish it there to help you cut to the chase at the end of each day. To get it in your inbox, along with more of the best work we published that day, sign up below.

    Did you know car dealers are not only one of the richest demographics in the U.S., they are also one of the most politically organized? And that their lobbying (of Republicans, mainly) has resulted in tons of bizarre, rewritten laws that favor them across the country—including one that says if you buy a Tesla in Texas, it must be shipped out of state and then reimported across state lines?

    That last rule is related to their latest cause: stopping the electric vehicle revolution that they are supposed to be on the front lines of ushering in.

    “In many ways, you can’t understand U.S. conservatism without understanding the car dealer, that middlemensch of American capitalism,” Alexander Sammon writes. Come along as he jumps into the boozy, grievance-filled milieu of their annual convention.

    A final kiss from Daddy

    We have a lot to say about the Succession finale! Gather ’round, let’s discuss:

    * Stefan Fatsis debunks a viral fan theory about the show’s final twist.

    * Susan Matthews assesses who Shiv Roy was, and what her big moment really means.

    * Sam Adams argues the show had a happy ending.

    * The Slate staff says farewell to the show’s best supporting characters, from a charismatic fascist to the mother of all mommy issues.

    * And Slate Money asks: Who wins the kiss from Daddy?

    SCOTUS wyd

    It took Justice Samuel Alito barely a month to violate the Supreme Court’s new ethics rules. Come on, man! Mark Joseph Stern explains why an ethics “statement” that does not bind Alito—or Clarence Thomas—is worse than useless.

    Plus: Richard L. Hasen looks back on an urgent warning that got cut from a Supreme Court opinion 20 years ago—one that aptly describes the mess we’re in today.

    Bad news, Vlad

    Fred Kaplan explains why the drone strikes on Moscow can’t be good for Putin.

    Consider the lawn


    Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

    Much has been written against the suburban lawn, and the act of mowing it. Ben Mathis-Lilley begs to differ in this essay about the underrated satisfaction and broader benefits of having, and mowing, a lawn.

    And while we could all benefit from touching some grass (figuratively), the lawn doesn’t even have to have grass, literally.

    “What about the environmental and economic problems mentioned earlier—overuse of water, toxic fertilizers, NIMBYism, segregation?” he writes. “Their correlation with yard and home maintenance doesn’t have to be destiny. You don’t have to water your lawn, spray it with weed killer, or use a gas-powered mower on it every four days in order to achieve any of the goals discussed above. (I share a battery-powered mower with two neighbors. Social bonds!) You don’t even have to have a grass lawn—a wildflower garden or desert landscape will require similar attention and serve similar purposes.”

    Plus: Because we’re all about the spirit of debate over here at Slate, Nitish Pahwa gives you some reasons not to mow your lawn.

    Trump attack

    Photos of Donald Trump and special prosecutor Jack Smith.
    Donald Trump and special prosecutor Jack Smith.
    Photos by Brandon Bell/Getty Images and Jerry Lampen/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s ongoing attacks on special prosecutor Jack Smith are kind of baffling—certainly this must be legally unwise. So why is he doing it? Shirin Ali finds two possible explanations.

    Plus: Robert Katzberg has some free legal advice for Donald Trump.

    Sex in the Wienermobile

    Once their rigorous training ends, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile drivers hit the road in pairs of two. That’s when things get horny, Jamie Loftus writes.

    No secrets on the moon

    Our increasingly crowded moon could be headed for disaster, Rachel Williams and Samuel Jardine write. They argue a lunar registry will help us right the course.

    Today, Slate says… NO FLINGING REQUIRED*

    Ron DeSantis throws a black pen, with an American flag and a Florida state flag behind him.
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Ronald, please! Stop throwing pens at us! Ouch!

    While we’re getting pelted, Sol Werthan gives the DeSantis campaign some free advice.

    Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you tomorrow.

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