FEAST OF FABULOUS WILD MEN DAY UPDATES

Ably Assisted by National Ginger Day!

-The penalty phase of Ex-President Trump XCI's civil real estate fraud trial in New York is now in the hands of Judge Arthur Engoron - but not before one final 'meltdown' (which according to Rolling Stone was rehearsed for days) when Engoron allowed Trump a chance to address the court at the end of his attorneys' closing statements. Trump interrupted Engoron in mid-warning to attack him, the other courts, New York Attorney General Tish James (who he later claimed help run Exxon out of New York in 1989 when James had just gotten out of law school and was not anywhere near the Attorney General's office), and asserted that HE was the one being damaged and that all of the above should be fined to compensate for Trump - all before taking his girdled torso and doll feet and tiny hand and old person underwear and “storming” out of the courtroom.

-The suspicion is the diatribe, which legal observers believe was granted after multiple denials by Engoron as a way to cover the inevitable mistrial motions Team Trump will undoubtedly file, will only add to the potential penalties, which is likely to include hundreds of millions of dollars of fines and being banned from doing business in New York. Engoron said to expect his ruling by the end of January.

-All the talk about Trump's "meltdown" may continue to attempt to divert two statements he delivered during a Fox News-sponsored town hall. In that super-friendly venue, Trump openly wished that he hoped the now-percolating economy will crash in the next 12 months in order to have President Biden be blamed for the crash so "I (Trump) won't be like Herbert Hoover" (more on that potential later) (Biden has already created a digital ad pointing out that, based on jobs lost during Trump's Presidency and that "you (Trump) already ARE Herbert Hoover!") (All Hail Dark Brandon!) and again took ownership and pride for the end of Roe v. Wade. The two factors may explain how polling in PA is showing Trump losing voters over 65 at a striking rate ...

-Meanwhile, here in the world, new-ish House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Jay-EE-Zuz!, LA) is finding that even though he replaced Kevin McCarthy, his hold on the gavel may be just as tenuous. After numerous reports over the last week indicated that a budget deal was close to coming together and Johnson himself agreed to the outlines of a deal, a group of UltraMAGA House members started braying and squawking that he better not dare do that because Dear Leader Trump wants a government shutdown (see "Herbert Hoover" in previous paragraph). The effort has built to the point that UltraMAGA GOP Party Leader Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) announced on human pustule Steve Bannon's podcast that she may just run for Speaker herself if Johnson doesn't give the extremists what they want, since Marge said Mikey is "in over his head" as Speaker.

-Johnson is already dealing with a sliver of a majority. He needs Democratic votes to pass a budget by next Friday, which explains why one of the features of the negotiated settlement includes a revival of the earned income tax credit that proved immensely popular in Biden's first months of his Presidency after his victory - but Johnson may be in a position of needing to choose between keeping the government open and appeasing Trump while imploding the economy, abandoning Ukraine (which to the UltraMAGAts is a feature, not a bug) (SLAVA UKRAINI!), rupturing any trust built with the White House and House Democrats, and likely triggering a lot more monitoring from his son as they monitor each other's porn use. Because at least one part of this story has to be icky.

-The air strikes launched last night by the United States and Great Britain on Houthi positions near Iraq has ignited a round of invective and threats in response. Over the last several months, drone and missile strikes have impacted shipping lanes around the Red Sea and Suez Canal, and negotiations aimed at stopping the attacks proved fruitless, prompting the military response. In response to that, Houthi rebels have promised retribution, Arab countries who have been courted to try to prevent a wider Middle East conflict that began with Israel's response to HAMAS are now hesitating further, and acting European Union President (and Putin ally) Recep Erdogan has warned that the move may destabilize the region further - even as Washington and London insist the attack needed to be made. The world scans nervously ...

-Here in Chicago, an anticipated snow storm has finally hit - and the Weather Channel reports all 50 states are under some kind of weather advisory as a massive system, generating snow and a polar vortex to bring temperatures into single-digits and lower (and likely impacting the Iowa Caucuses on Monday, more or less) and potentially impacting the "Super Wild Card" first round of NFL Playoffs.

-GO BROWNS - IN FLACCO WE TRUST! (We kind of have to ...)

-On this date in 1932, Hattie Ophelia Caraway (D-AR) became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. On this date in 1943, Soviet forces breached German lines in Stalingrad, breaking a military stalemate that lasted a year and a half. On this date in 1969, Joe Namath fulfilled his prediction and led the New York Jets to a 16-7 upset win over the then-Baltimore Colts, solidifying the Super Bowl as a secular American holiday and leading to the merger of the National Football League and American Football League. And on this date in 2010, a massive earthquake is estimated to have killed over 300,000 in Haiti.

-Notable Premieres: AMOS AND ANDY (Radio series, 1926), BATMAN (TV series, 1966), LED ZEPPELIN 1 (1969), ALL IN THE FAMILY (1971), DYNASTY (1981).

-Happy Birthday to Jack London, Tex Ritter, Louise Rainer, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Mac Speedie, Ruth Brown, Tim Horton, Kreskin, Long John Baldry, Bernardine Dohrn, Joe Frazier, Cynthia Robinson, George Duke, Tom Dempsey, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bill Madlock, Drew Pearson, Kirstie Alley, Walter Mosley, Howard Stern, John Lasseter, Dominique Wilkins, Oliver Platt, Rob Zombie, Raekwon, Zach De La Rocha, Mel C, Cade McNown, Dontrelle Willis, Issa Rae, and Zayn Malik.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Lorraine Hansberry, Agatha Christie, Bill Hewlett, Cyrus Vance, Maurice Gibb, Alice Coltrane, William Peter Blatty, Keith Jackson, Bob Kuechenberg, Ronnie Spector, Lisa Marie Presley, and Robbie Bachman.

-Feed the Worms: Super-Evil Hermann Goering, Apatheid advocate P.W. Botha, and some guy who used to have a right-wing hate talk show named Limb Rushbaugh - I think I'm remembering that right - entered Earth on this date.

-Amazon founder and at-the-moment-not-as-weird-as-other-megawealthy-weirdos Jeff Bezos was born today. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.