-First: APOLOGY AND CORRECTION. In yesterday’s update, I used the term “Transgendered” in one of the notations in the update. This was an error on my part – the proper term is “transgender,” and I will make more efforts to use correct terminology in future updates. Apologies to all that were upset at the use of that term.
-Yes, it’s April Fool’s Day, so there’s much on social media to be super-skeptical of – but there is always real news, even if some of it seems made up. To wit, in New York this morning. As legal experts and decent humans everywhere continue to cry out for Judge Juan Merchan to expand his gag order on Ex-President Trump (R-apist) LXXXVIII after Trump posted attacks and photos of Merchan’s daughter on his social media feed while also re-posting an image of President Biden tied as if Biden was kidnapped and being carried in the back of a pickup truck, Trump’s attorneys filed a motion this morning to indefinitely postpone Trump’s criminal trial over payoffs connected to a story about an extramarital sexual encounter (scheduled to begin April 15) because of … wait for it … too much pre-trial publicity.
-Trump spent his Easter Sunday re-posting various posts over 70 times, highlighted by several such posts from followers that favorably or rapturously compared Trump with Jesus Christ, before adding a lengthy all-cap Easter screed that said nothing new, so we’ll skip that because, who cares?
-In Good News About Trump, though, stock in his Truth Social ‘company’ (ticker symbol DJT, of course) is now cratering after financial reports show the company generated all of $4 million last year while losing over $58 million – valuations that make the on-paper value of the company $4 billion as of this morning asinine. As of the writing of this update, the stock price has plummeted over 25% and is likely to fall further – making a fear whether the entire offering was a “pump-and-dump” financial scheme designed to artificially inflate a stock’s prices in order to sell the stocks and get a profit as a result (I may not be explaining that properly – I only know the basic rudimentaries of stock trading). All things to keep in mind as Trump still has to come up with $175M for the bond for his fine (which is still $450M+ and counting) in New York State for the Trump Organization fraud verdict …
-And in other 2024 election news, there will be a court decision this afternoon on whether the state of Florida will have ballot initiatives this November calling for enshrining the right to have an abortion in the state and to legalize cannabis. FL’s Republican supermajority and failed Presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis has passed one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country, and it has challenged whether the question can be brought to the ballot for reasons (read: terror at a ballot initiative sure to drive Democratic turnout in a Presidential election year), and DeSantis has “a big problem” with the marijuana ballot initiative.
-The FL fight comes amid continued chronic and severe financial issues in the Republican Party, with Democratic operative and MSNBC commentator Simon Rosenberg reporting that the AZ Republican Party will sell their headquarters to generate desperately-needed revenue, the WI Republican Party’s minority outreach office was converted into an ice cream shop, and “zero presence” in battleground states MI, NC and PA. There was also a report of a national poll that now has Biden up 5%, though that has yet to be corroborated by any other sources – but, momentum still seems to be with the Biden campaign as of this moment …
-THIS JUST IN: On the same day Israel announced a retreat from a siege at a hospital in Palestine and floated the possibility of allowing more humanitarian aid into the country, Iran has accused Israel of killing one of the commanders of its Revolutionary Guard as a result of an air strike that took place at a target in Syria. The attack came after another round of protests in Israel in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is reportedly recovering after a hernia operation that took place yesterday (per the BBC).
-In Ukraine news, reports are emerging of a possible aid deal being constructed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Jay-EE-Zuz!, LA) that would combine aid with loans and monies of Russian oligarchs seized during Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The bill, which allegedly would be brought to the floor next Monday after the Easter recess, would absolutely need to be supported by Democrats, and there are continued reports of Democratic House members who are leveraging a potential vote to keep Johnson in power (after MAGA Leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) moved for a Vote to Vacate) in exchange for the Ukraine aid, which by all reports would pass if allowed to be voted on.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-Also on the docket for when Congress returns: the ‘impeachment’ of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, passed by the House on a strict party line vote, which would be ceremonially walked over to the Senate for a trial. It is a lock that Mayorkas will not have anything close to enough votes to be impeached, and likely may be closer to having 2/3 of the Senate vote to reject the move rather than for it, particularly with Greene scheduled to be one of the House managers on the Senate floor – but even though Senate Majority Leader Schumer has said the Senate will accept the articles, what would happen after that (dismiss? Table? Bring to a vote without any hearing whatsoever?) is yet to be revealed …
-And with Truth Social’s stock now down 26% and falling, we’ll end here and give you a chance to watch GameStop 2024 gracelessly plunge to a splat – and laugh as it goes …
-On this date in 1945, American troops landed in Okinawa. On this date in 1972, Major League Baseball players went on strike for the first time in its history. On this date in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic Republic. On this date in 1992, National Hockey League players went on strike for the first time in their history. On this date in 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriages.
-Notable debuts on this date: THE BLUE ANGEL (1930), the “Big Bang” theory (1948), the Air Force Academy (1954), GENERAL HOSPITAL (1963), Apple Computer Company (1976), Gmail (2004).
-Happy Birthday to Otto von Bismarck, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Edgar Wallace, Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery, Whittaker Chambers, Abraham Maslow, Toshiro Mifune, George Grizzard, Milan Kundera, Debbie Reynolds, Gordon Jump, Ali MacGraw, Phil Niekro, Rudolph Isley, Rusty Staub, Norm Van Lier, Gil Scott-Heron, Annette O’Toole, Barry Sonnenfeld, Jeff Porcaro, D. Boon, Jennifer Runyon, Jim Jeffcoat, Susan Boyle, Kevin Duckworth, Mark Jackson, Christian Finnegan, Rachel Maddow, David Oyelowo, Randy Orton, Brook Lopez, and Logan Paul.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Scott Joplin, Robert McCormick, Helena Rubenstein, Max Ernst, Marvin Gaye, Jim “Fibber McGee” Jordan, John McSherry, Carrie Snodgrass, John Forsythe, Jack Pardee, Cynthia Lennon, Steven Bochco, Adam Schlesinger, Ed Farmer, Ellis Marsalis, C.W. McCall, and today, Barbara Rush.
-Feed the Worms: Coach of That Team Up North Bo Schembechler, traitorous pardoned Trump-affiliated scum Paul Manafort, and Roe v. Wade killer Samuel Alito entered Earth on this date.