NATIONAL CATERERS APPRECIATION DAY UPDATES
And YES, You Can Tip Them - and Should!
-For those of you who were wondering whether the letter sent by Ex-President Trump's attorneys to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for a meeting is serious, a look at the actual text of the letter - helpfully reprinted by Trump himself on social media - may provide the clue. The letter states as follows: "We represent Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, in the investigation currently being conducted by the Special Counsel's office. Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly. No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors. Thank you for your attention in this matter."
-WHAR MARRIK GAHLAND? Peeling himself off the floor after laughing his arse off, probably.
-This letter was sent after a hearing that a "glowering" Trump appeared at (via video) in connection with the Stormy Daniels trial in which a judge got him to claim that Trump understood he could not post about individuals in connection with that trial, scheduled for March 25, 2024 (the week after Super Tuesday, as it happens). Whether Trump will listen is in some doubt, given that earlier this week E. Jean Carroll responded to Trump's continued attacks on her at his CNN town hall by asking for a doubling of the fine against Trump in her defamation case to $10 million - and which Trump, in turn, responded with a continuation on social media of the exact claims and language that earned him a jury judgment against him the week before. So ...
-Despite President Biden's claim that the debt ceiling would not be negotiated in tandem with the 2024 budget, that does seem to be happening in the last few days - and thus far, the results have not helped get the House closer to a resolution. The Democratic Progressive Caucus is reportedly getting nervous about some of the proposals being floated, so much so Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) went on CNN to point out that 18 Republican House members are in districts won by Biden, which could be a plea to peel five of them off to allow a discharge petition on the floor that would be the clean debt ceiling bill Biden has been asking for. Thus far, no House Republicans have done so.
-As for the GOP? Well, the UltraMAGA faction that gleefully controls Kevin McCarthy (SINO, CA) are apparently super-happy with the prospect of imploding the world economy to benefit their God, Ex-President Trump. Want proof? Yesterday the Caucus ran a fund-raiser for GOP candidates by putting a tube of lip balm used by McCarthy to a raffle - and GOP Leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) won with a $100,000 'bid.' Want more proof? In an interview, fellow leader Rep. Matt Gaetz (Hey giRl, FL) boasted that the deal to demand a call to have McCarthy's Speakership at a moment's notice is having its effect as, in his words, "(the UltraMAGAts) don't feel like we should negotiate with our hostage." Discussions continue.
-A complaint filed by one Miami Dade county parent has prompted that school district to ban Amanda Gorman's THE HILL I CLIMB from their school libraries. Gorman is the poet who spoke that poem at President Biden's inauguration after Biden's defeat of Ex-President Trump in the 2020 Presidential election, and Gorman admitted the action left her "gutted." An investigation by the Washington Post exposed something even more frightening - a total of 11 individuals are primarily responsible for filing complaints that have led to a wave of books being banned in Republican-led states nationally. The bans have led to at least one class action lawsuit being filed to stop them in FL (of course), the suit filed by PEN-America and Penguin Random House publishers. Gorman - all while the architect of the FL bans, Gov. Ron DeSantis, announces his Presidential run with the slogan "Make America Florida" tonight with weirdo billionaire Elon Musk on Musk's floundering Twitter social media site.
-In somewhat better news, the TX state legislature failed to pass a bill that would have mandated The Ten Commandments to be posted in schools throughout that state (as attention there shifts to whether or not House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) was drunk while presiding over one session), and eternal AZ candidate Kari Lake had another court again confirm she lost and lost badly in her attempt to become AZ Governor (prompting the not-conceding-yet soft-focused Lake to contemplate filing an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court and its' radical right majority - so maybe she hasn't lost yet?).
-On this date in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened (and no, it's NOT for sale). On this date in 1935, Cincinnati defeated Philadelphia 2-1 in the first night game in Major League Baseball history. On this date in 1956, the first Eurovision Song Contest was held. And on this date in 2022, 19 children and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX.
-Happy Birthday to Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Jean-Paul Marat, Queen Victoria, Benjamin Cardozo, Wilbur Mills, Theodore Hesburgh, Coleman Young, Tommy Chong, Bob Dylan, Gary Burghoff, Patti LaBelle, Priscilla Presley, Terry Callier, Waddy Wachtel, Cynthia Plaster Caster, Jim Broadbent, Roger Deakins, Alfred Molina, Rosanne Cash, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hector "Macho" Camacho, Gene Anthony Ray, Joe Dumars, Michael Chabon, John C. Reilly, Heavy D, Rich Robinson, Tracy McGrady, and Joey Logano.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Nicolaus Copernicus, John Foster Dulles, Duke Ellington, Edward Mulhare, Dick Martin, Jay Bennett, and Murray Gell-Mann.
-The Number One Album in America on this date ... in 2023, ONE THING AT A TIME by Morgan Wallen ... in 2013, GOLDEN by Lady Antebellum ... in 2003, BODY KISS by The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley ... in 1993, THE BODYGUARD soundtrack ... in 1983, THRILLER by Michael Jackson ... and in 1973, 1967-70 by The Beatles.