MEMORIAL DAY/DECORATION DAY UPDATES
Observe Memorial Day by Listening to The Drive-By Truckers' DECORATION DAY
-Take a moment today to remember ahd thank those who defended and put their lives on the line - often giving their lives and livelihoods while doing so - in order for this experiment in self-rule to continue as it does, even as there are forces within the country that would love nothing more than to bastardize or end the experiment for their own selfish and cruel desires. We honor them by defending what they defend.
-President Biden has spent the weekend speaking at West Point, shaking hands with every graduate, and of course mourning his own son, Beau, whose death may very well have come from his service - he had brain cancer after an assignment in Iraq that included a stint near a 'burn pit' which exposed him to cancer-causing agents. He and Vice President Harris have also attended the annual wreath ceremony at Arlington National Cemetary.
-His main opponent, Ex-President Trump (R-apist) LXXXVIII, is on the record with witnesses calling soldiers "suckers" and "losers," and once publicly berated failson Donald Trump Jr. for wanting to attend a miltary academy, warning Junior that he would be disowned if he enlisted.
-Trump has spent the morning on his failing social media site continuing to screech and whine about the court cases against him. In the most recent post, he not only continued to attack Judge Juan Merchan, who will be hearing closing arguments in Trump's catch-and-kill scheme to squelch the story of his sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 election, but returned to again 'appear to' (EYEROLL) slander E. Jean Carroll, who has already won not one but two defamation cases that have already put Trump on the hook for $83.3 million. Carroll has promised any further defamation will result in a third lawsuit - and this morning's post may be making Carroll buy yet another calculator.
-Trump has also tried to clean up the disaster zone he left for himself as a result of (what was apparently) his ill-fated decision to attempt to win the endorsement of the Libertarian Party. The appearance, which resulted in 30 minutes of unrelenting booing and heckling that left Trump visibly shaken, was of course spun as a passionate success by Trump (and a few other acolytes, most notably washed-up former Fox commentator Monica Crowley) whose only misfire was not 'filing the paperwork' for the Libertarian nomination, which Trump of course did not get.
-For the record, Trump received six write-in votes on the first ballot - not as many as Robert F. Kennedy (who got 19), but at least more than Stormy Daniels (who got one write-in vote). The Libertarians may have completed their nomination process, but seriously, f those weirdos - but thanks for reminding the world why Trump only goes to hermetically-sealed fawning (and ever-dwindling) crowds rather than dare face anyone who won't kiss his diaper (ALLEGEDLY) (EYEROLL).
-In another effort - probably by Trump's handlers - to make Trump feel popular, they sent him to Charlotte to go to one of the Trump go-to ego binkies: a NASCAR race. But even there, the coddling did not stop, as he was photographed waiving at the "crowd" while positioned between trailers and the crowd a far distance from where he was at (but with a blank background suitable to PhotoShop crowds roaring for him - a move the campaign repeated in trying to make his New Jersey and Bronx rallies look big). Trump also was shown trying to respect Memorial Day by saluting - only, he was saluting through "God Bless America" with the rest of the crowd holding their hands over their hearts, as the song was a Memorial Day remembrance and not at all militaristic. So Trump ...
-Meanwhile, the situation in the Palestinian city and refugee holding area of Rafah is deteriorating in the wake of a missile attack on a camp by Israeli forces that has killed at least 40, including women and children. Israel defended the attack claiming it killed two HAMAS leaders, and it was made in defiance of the International Criminal Court's charge of war crimes against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Citizens in Tel Aviv continued to fill the streets with protestors demanding Netanyahu's resignation and new elections, and Netanyahu continues to dare President Biden to cut off military aid to the country - all as a new round of negotiations to at least broker a temporary cease-fire are set to begin this week.
-In Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has warned that Russian troops appear to be gathering in Belarus near their border close to Kyiv, perhaps signaling another attempt to capture the capital before more American military materiel and F-14 fighters flown by Ukrainian pilots can thwart any new military move. The attacks come as a similar attack near the city of Kharkiv was repelled - but not before Russian missiles hit a mall, killing at least 14, and as Russian casualties since its invasion reportedly exceeded 500,000 soldiers this past weekend.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-Back in the states, calls for the resignation of Judge Samuel Alito from the Supreme Court are undoubtedly being ignored by the radical supermajority currently controlling it. The calls come after stories emerged of flags being flown at Alito homes that signaled support to insurrectionists who attempted to overturn the 2020 election results and keep the election's winner, Joe Biden, from taking office. Alito has claimed that the flags were not flown by him, but actually his wife, as a result of some kind of dispute among neighbors.
-Now, a new Washington Post story interviews Mrs. Alito - and to get a feel for what she's like, she goes by the name Martha-Ann - and yes, the hyphen is part of the name, thankyouveryMUCH! Martha-Ann told the Post in January 2021 that she did indeed fly an American flag upside-down as "an international symbol of distress," but only because neighbors called her a b-word - and in May 2024, the Post used that as the reason why they decided not to publish the photos back in 2021. No word on why a second such flag was flown at the Alito residence in Jersey in 2023, whether MarthaHYPHENAnn flew it, or what her neighbors called her when/if she did ...
-That and other Supreme Court stories should then make it not surprising that, in a separate interview published this week, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor admitted there have been times during her work when the results of cases she is adjudicating were so upsetting that she has returned to her chambers and cried.
-REMINDER: Alito is 74, Sotomayor is 69, and Clarence Thomas is 75 - in case that sways you or gets you to sway others to vote for Biden and not Trump ...
-Rather gloomy stretch there, so let's wrap up with a discussion that is always light, fun, and never full of anger or crazy opinions: the best pop/rock album ever recorded. Those lists pop up every once in awhile to get people talking, and so Apple Music came up with one last week, publishing what it claims are the Top 100 albums of all time. The list, curated by Apple Music hosts led by Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden, asked reviewers NOT to think about popularity and to dig into music released in last 65 years.
-Of their Top 100, no artist got three albums listed, and only five got two: The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Radiohead, and Beyonce. The Top Ten includes familiar titles (NEVERMIND at 9, ABBEY ROAD at 3), some deep reaches (Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" at 8, Kendrick Lamar's "good kid, m.A.A.d city" at 7) and a truly wild Number One album of all time list capper: Lauryn Hill's THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL, edging out THRILLER (at 2) and PURPLE RAIN (at 4).
-Take THAT list with you to the barbecue and discuss amongst the smoke!
-On this date in 1679, Britain passed the Habeas Corpus Act. On this date in 1851, Adolff Anderssen won the first known chess tournament in London. On this date in 1941, the German battleship Bismarck was sunk. On this date in 1999, Slobodan Milosevic was indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal. And on this date in 2018, BTS became the first K-pop group to top the U.S. Billboard charts with their album LOVE YOURSELF: TEAR.
-Debuts on this date: St. Petersburg (1703), Pennzoil (1889), Walt Disney;s THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (featuring "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?") (1933), the Golden Gate Bridge (1937), THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN (1963), "God Save the Queen" (1977), the super-soaker water gun (1986), TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022).
-Happy Birthday to Julia Ward Howe, Wild Bill Hickok, Dashiell Hammett, Rachel Carson, Hubert Humphrey, Vincent Price, John Cheever, Sam Snead, Herman Wouk, Christopher Lee, Ted Rogers, Harlan Ellison, Lee Meriwether, Ramsey Lewis, Louis Gossett Jr., Alan Carr, Bruce Weitz, Sen. Chris Dodd, Bruce Cockburn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Eric Bishoff, Siouxsie Sioux, Neil Finn, Peri Gilpin, Todd Bridges, Frank Thomas, Todd Hundley, Joseph Fiennes, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Jack McBrayer, Andre '3000' Benjamin, Jadakiss, Jamie Oliver, and Ben Feldman.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to John Calvin, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ezzard Charles, Maurice Richard, Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, Gil Scott-Heron, Jeff Conaway, Gregg Allman, Bill Buckner, and Larry Kramer.
-Feed the Worms: hideous war criminal Henry Kissinger, scandal-tainted 'journalist' Rebekah Brooks, and MAGA leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) entered Earth on this date. Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo bought it on this date.
-Railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, barely-talented media personality Adam Carolla, and roid-tainted baseballer Jeff Bagwell were born on this date. You decide if they get Happy Birthdays or if they Feed the Worms.