NATIONAL DETROIT-STYLE PIZZA DAY UPDATES
It's Square, It Has Sauce On Top Of the Cheese, It Bakes The Cheese On The Pan - It's Good! Try Some!!!
-The United States Congress has bore witness to some of the most stirring oratory this country has ever seen, and it did so again Wednesday evening, when during a debate over one of the gravest acts Congress can take - the impeachment of a President - the following was uttered between two actual members of the House of Representatives:
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: YOU COPIED MY ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT!
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT: I didn't even READ your resolution!
MARGE: I've donated to you! I've defended you! But you've been nothing but a little BITCH to me! And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them!
BOEBS: OK, Marjorie, we're through!
MARGE: We were NEVER together!
Henry Clay and Tip O'Neill must watch and marvel ...
-Anyway, about that resolution, which Boebert claims she is doing under the direction of God (Party Unknown) - it has been sent to committee, and other legislators are surprisingly circumspect about the entire move, which technically calls for impeaching President Biden over what is referred to as a "dereliction of duty" involving illegal immigration despite a notable plunge in attempts to overrun the Mexican border after Biden revoked a COVID-era regulation, Title 42. Boebert went so far as to claim on the Real American Voice 'news' site that the illegal immigration is somehow connected to Biden being complicit in child sex trafficking, though she does not appear to be fighting the resolution going to committee.
-As for Marge, she has licked her wounds and is now teaming with a new House BFF she apparently believes does not have the cooties that the Boebs has, Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)(corrected), to craft a resolution that, per MSNBC, would "expunge" the two impeachment charges assessed on their party leader, Twice-Indicted Ex-President (TIEP) Trump. That such a motion would get any kind of vote in the Senate (and would easily be defeated if it is) is not likely to stop them, as such actions are the priority of the UltraMAGA Rep House (not to mention the secret "No Backsies!" stamp put on both impeachments by the previous Speaker, Nancy Pelosi) (ALLEGEDLY)).
-In far more serious news, the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues, with hard news difficult to come by on both the Ukrainian and Russian side - a reflection of what even Ukrainian President Zelenskyy admits is going slower than anticipated, though insisting progress is being made. Indeed, while Ukrainian casualties are heavy, Russian casualties continue to add up, and military observers note that the Russian defense lines - a mix of trench warfare and fields of land mines - is designed to make progress slow.
-Nonetheless, Ukraine has made gains in the east and towards what is seen as the big prize of Crimea, and recent attacks on a bridge critical to keeping Russian troops supplied have made social media concerned - as well as Ukrainian warnings that Russia has mined and possibly booby-trapped the critical Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant, already in some peril in the literal wake of the Nova Khakhova dam destruction (which a New York Times report claims was destroyed by one internal detonation, strongly implicating Russia as the culprit).
-And how Russia conducts the war continues to be shadowed by what continues to appear to be infighting amongst would-be power brokers, none more prominent than Wagner Group CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin, who released another video today flatly contradicting Vladimir Putin's claim that Ukraine was attacking Russia prior to the invasion last year - and while Prigozhin is correct, it is yet another provocation that observers wonder could lead to either an attempt by Prigozhin to take over for Putin or to make sure he stays in buildings with one floor and no windows.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-To close on a nicer note, the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors list has been released. The awards, given for lifetime achievements in said fields over a career, this year include Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick. The five will be honored in a performance in Washington this December. And while we're here, a shout-out to Gloria Estefan, who last week became the first Latina to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, joining a 2023 Class that also includes Glen Ballard (who collaborated with Alanis Morissette and Michael Jackson), ELO leader and Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne, Post Malone (there's always a "Huh?!" on these lists), New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley, and country music writer Liz Rose. HUZZAH!
-On this date in 1894, the International Olympic Committee was formed. On this date in 1960, the first contraceptive pill was made available in the U.S. On this date in 1974, the first extraterrestrial message from Earth was sent into space. On this date in 1989, the Tim Burton BATMAN movie was released. And on this date in 2016, Great Britain voted to leave the European Union thanks to the now-known-to-be deceitful (and Russian-influenced) Brexit referendum.
-Happy Birthday to Alfred Kinsey, King Edward VIII, Jean Anouilh, Alan Turing, Bob Fosse, June Carter Cash, Stu Sutcliffe, Wilma Rudolph, James Levine, Bryan Brown, Dave Butz, Glenn Danzig, Randy Jackson, Frances McDormand, Joss Whedon, Chico DeBarge, Selma Blair, Zinedine Zidane, Jason Mraz, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Melissa Rauch.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Chuck Taylor, Dr. Jonas Salk, Betty Shabazz, Maureen O'Sullivan, Maynard Jackson, Aaron Spelling, Rod Beck, Ed McMahon, Peter Falk, Bobby Blue Bland, and Dick Van Patten.
-Feed the Worms: Backstabbing Rat Bastard Toad Art Modell and SCOTUS embarrassment Clarence Thomas was born on this date.
-And the Number One Novel on this date ... in 2023, THE FIVE-STAR WEEKEND by Elin Hilderbrand ... in 2013, ENTWINED WITH YOU by Sylvia Day ... in 2003, THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown ... in 1993, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY by Robert James Waller ... in 1983, STAR WARS; RETURN OF THE JEDI by Joan D. Vinge ... and in 1973, ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH by Jacqueline Suzann.