MEAN GIRLS DAY UPDATES

Seems Appropriate Given The Events Unfolding ...

-As this update is being assembled, the final procedural obstacle that stands between Kevin McCarthy and his losing the gavel as House Speaker has been overcome. It appears to be a matter of time before the Move to Vacate triggered by UltraMAGAt Rep. Matt Gaetz will successfully mean McCarthy wil be out as speaker. House Democrats, enraged by McCarthy’s support of January 6 insurrectionists and refusal to abide by his agreement with the White House on the debt ceiling and continuing resolutions last May, will support the ouster, with at least seven Republicans joining to remove McCarthy.

-Who replaces him? That remains an open question. Democrats are not in the majority, so the prospects of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries assuming the role are slim unless five Republicans were to support him. For his part, Gaetz has not found a clear candidate to replace McCarthy – and, given that the role of such a Speaker would be to continue to bow to the wishes of the UltraMAGA caucus and Ex-President Trump XCI, it is unclear how effective that person would be. What that means to appropriations bills is also unclear, though in theory working with Jeffries to try to work around the desire to shut the government down in punishment for all the various Trump prosecutions may be possible (if weighed with massive concessions favorable to Democrats) (oh, darn!).

-One specific effect of the lack of a House speaker is in the rules of succession. The Speaker sits second in line should anything happen to the President and VP,, but if the Speakership is vacant, the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate would then be in line after Vice President Harris. The President Pro Tempore is Patty Murray, Democrat from Washington state.

-Meanwhile, President Biden continues to do the work of the people, today announcing all ten major drug companies have agreed to enter into price negotiations with Medicare to reduce prescription drug prices for people in that program – another step in fulfilling a promise to reduce drug prices for as many Americans as possible.

-Meanwhile, Trump sits in a New York court in a perpetual snit, choosing to observe the second phase of a civil trial he has already lost in which he, the Trump Organization, and numerous individuals attached to it, have been ruled to have committed various degrees of fraud against the state of New York – and are now at trial to determine potential fines and restitution for the ruling. There has already been comedy in the form of the revelation that Alina Habba, the parking garage legal specialist turned Trump legal team member, failed to check a box in a filing (and a two-week period to correct it) that would have allowed for a jury trial (not that Trump has not used this to lie about how he was denied a chance at a fair hearing by The Deep State of Election Interference) (there is no constitutional right to run for office), as well as New York D.A. Tish James laughing at Trump when Trump attempted to stand over her and physically intimidate her at the start of yesterday’s proceeding.

-There is also the prospect, at least according to Trump, that the perpetual liar will take the stand in his “defense” despite both the real potential of perjury and the threats and insults made by him towards James, Judge Arthur Engoron, and pretty much everyone and anyone else in his latest barrage of social media posts.

-Lest you think this is a full-on pro-Trump post, I am duty bound to report the new chapter of HOW ARE DEMOCRATS FREAKING OUT TODAY? The answer: a Gallup poll released today that, despite over 40 years of Democratic stewardship of the economy in the aftermath of various ruinations of the economy by Republican principles of less taxation of ultra-wealthy people and slashing of the social safety net AND an economy that by several demonstrable measures (most notably the still-booming job market), that voters in the poll believe Republicans would be better at “keeping the country prosperous” than Democrats by an admittedly surprising margin of  53%-39%. The number is in part an expression of dissatisfaction over the work Congress is doing (see “McCarthy,” above), in part inflation and rising interest rates to slow down inflation, and persistent stories about immigration issues, political conflicts, and age.

-That said, it should also be noted that the last time the GOP had a lead was in 1991 under George H.W. Bush – and look how that turned out for him.

-THIS JUST IN: NY Judge Arthur Engoron has issued a gag order on Trump after Trump posted the name of one of Engoron’s clerks, referring to her as “Chuck Schumer’s girlfriend.” The post was deleted, and the ruling could have bearing on another request by Special Prosecutor John Smith to impose a ‘limited’ gag order as part of Trump’s upcoming January 6-connected trial.

-That’s a lot, so let’s close with an odd thing to say: as bad as things are today, you could be in Paris … which at first sounds crazy, except for the fact that Paris is currently fighting an infestation of … bedbugs. And not just in beds – reports are rampant that the vaunted Paris Metro has been infested as well, prompting numerous declarations from transport ministers and officials that, despite apparent reports as late as three years ago that bedbugs were a big enough issue to prompt a public anti-bedbug campaign, public outcry has become loud and vows to curb the problem – particularly with the Summer Olympics just ten months away – more persistent. Contemplations while sipping your lattes and puffing some Gauloises …

-On this date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln announced the first Thanksgiving holiday. Notable debuts on this date: THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE in 1895, THE MALTESE FALCON in 1941, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW in 1960 and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW in 1961. On this date in 1990, East and West Germany reunified under the umbrella of NATO and an agreement between Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev. On this date in 1992, Sinead O’Connor tore a photo of Pope John Paul II up while appearing on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. And on this date in 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman after one of the most media-driven trials in American history.

-Happy Birthday to Thomas Wolfe, James Herriot, Harvey Kurtzman, Gore Vidal, Glenn Hall, Ken Berry, Steve Reich, Eddie Cochran, Chubby Checker, Alan Rachins, Lindsay Buckingham, Pamela Hensley, Dave Winfield, Kathy Sullivan, Keb’ Mo’, Karen Bass, Al Sharpton, Dennis Eckersley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hart Bochner, Fred Couples, Greg Proops, Tommy Lee, Clive Owen, Denis Villeneuve, Gwen Stefani, Kevin Richardson, G. Love, Lena Headey, Neve Campbell, India.Arie, Talib Kweli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tessa Thompson, ASAP Rocky, and Ayo Edebiri.  

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to St. Francis of Assisi, Myles Standish, Elias Howe, John Heisman, Woody Guthrie, Vince DiMaggio, Jean Anouilh, Dub Taylor, Roddy McDowall, Akio Morita, Benjamin Orr, Bruce Paltrow, Janet Leigh, Leon Lederman, and Charles Fuller.