INTERNATIONAL RESCUE CAT DAY UPDATES
Purrrrrrrrrr........
-Let's start today's post with titles, shall we? Some of you may note that I will often use the phrase "UltraMAGA" when describing that particular grouping of Republicans, and some of you may also think that this is a derogatory term I use to disrespectfully poke fun at those folks. Well, I feel like I have been absolved of such a charge, as yesterday on the House floor a prominent member of said group, Rep. Lauren Boebert (N-R-A, CO) proudly stated in a speech (and repeated on Twitter) that "I AM ULTRAMAGA!" The UltraMAGA spat came as Boebert was sparring with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Boebert responded by referring to Raskin as a "DemocRAT!" THAT term has been in vogue among Republicans for nearly 30 years and IS very much a term of derision, having been first used and popularized by a one-time popular and now forgotten right-wing talk show host named Rush Limbaugh, and Raskin promised Boebert that he would, indeed, refer to Boebert and her allies by their chosen moniker, UltraMAGA.
-And if it's good enough for Jamie Raskin, it's good enough for me! (But I won't call ALL Republicans UltraMAGAs. At least most of the time.)
-Today is the opening of what we might now call UltraMAGA-Palooza, aka the Conservative Policial Action Committee (CPAC) Conference, an annual soiree that normally showcases the loudest and the showiest right-wing celebrities and politicos before a group of activists - but this year's CPAC is a little muted. For starters, the primary CPAC organizer, Matt Schlapp, is under investigation by a former Herschel Walker campaign worker for aggressively making sexual advances towards the man - including 'striking' the campaign worker's genitals (insert "Schlapping" jokes here), making his presence at the conference ... weird. More interestingly, FL Gov. Ron DeSantis will not be attending the event, which could open the field for CPAC to use its end-of-conference "straw poll" to give Ex-President Trump its, um, 'coveted' endorsement (?). Trump will speak Saturday amid dropping poll numbers and less-than-normal crowd reactions to his latest speeches. Nonetheless. the show has begun with an appearance by jacketless UltraMAGA leader Jim "Gym" Jordan (OtheR Way, OH). Gird your loins ...
-Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, and while Democrats asked Garland about the Department of Justice's ongoing work to slow fentanyl traffic, Republicans took their time to berate Garland about right-wing conspiracy theories involving the FBI allegedly harassing parents who attended PTA meetings to make sure they don't say woke things in public (the FBI has been investigating threats of violence against school boards and working to PROTECT free speech at those meetings), about not doing enough to protect Supreme Court justices in the wake of the Dobbs decision (Garland ordered Federal marshals to protect all nine SCOTUSes, but did not, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Cancun) tried to browbeat Garland over not filing charges against protestors outside SCOTUS Brett Kavanaugh's home), and of course about what Garland was doing about Hunter Biden's "laptop" (show me the actual physical device and THEN we can think about what might have been on the thing). Overall, Garland held his ground while defending the two Special Prosecutors that have begun work since his last testimony (those being Robert Hur to investigate the Biden classified document handling, and Jack Smith to oversee the various January 6 insurrection investigations).
-The DILBERT cartoon strip has been all but removed from newspapers across the country after the strip's syndicator announced they will join other newspapers and syndicators in terminating their relationship with the longtime staple. The decisions came after a massively controversial online rant from DILBERT's creator, Scott Adams, in which Adams said white Americans needed to "walk away" from Black Americans after calling Black Americans a "hate group." Of course, Adams has gone on Twitter charging all these papers were being "woke" and "reverse racism," and of course also has found a sympathetic ear in Twitter CEO billionaire weirdo Elon Musk. There actually is a parallel to Adams' fate - LIL' ABNER creator Al Capp lost most of his readership due to turning his strip from surprisingly effective political satire to a relentless, unentertaining, and strident defense of Richard Nixon as the Watergate scandal unspooled. The difference? Capp's downward spiral was measured in months, Adams' in hours. How the dialogue bubbles pop ...
-On this date in 1807, Congress banned the slave trade within the United States. On this date in 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an NBA game - still the record. Two big movies debuted on this date: KING KONG in 1933 and THE SOUND OF MUSIC in 1965. Two African countries declared forms of independence on this date: Morocco from France in 1956 and Rhodesia from its black citizens in 1970. And on this date in 2002, American forces first entered Afghanistan, where they stayed until 2021.
-Happy Birthday to Sam Houston, Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, Marc Blitzstein, Mel Ott, Red Saunders, Desi Arnaz, Jennifer Jones, Mikhail Gorbachev, Tom Wolfe, Porky Pig, Denny Crum, Lou Reed, Larry Carlton, Rory Gallagher, Karen Carpenter, Laraine Newman, Dale Bozzio, Jay Osmond, John Cowsill, Jon Bon Jovi, Ron Gant, Daniel Craig, Chris Martin, Rebel Wilson, Bryce Dallas Howard, Henrik Lundqvist, Reggie Bush, Robert Iler, and Luke Combs.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to D.H. Lawrence, King Tut tomb discoverer Howard Carter, Philip K. Dick, Randolph Scott, Dusty Springfield, Mercedes McCambridge, Jeff Healey, James Lipton, and Bunny Wailer.
-Feed the Worms: the first AFC North Quarterback known to abuse women, Ben "Rapist Burger" Roethlisberger, entered Earth on this date. Virulent racist baseball owner Marge Schott died on this date.
-The #1 fiction books on this date ... in 2023, THIGS WE HIDE FROM THE LIGHT by Lucy Score ... in 2013, A WEEK IN WINTER by Maeve Binchy ... in 2003, THE KING OF TORTS by John Grisham ... in 1993, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY by Robert James Waller ... in 1983, SPACE by James Michener ... and in 1973, JOHNATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL by Richard Bach.