NATIONAL LAGER DAY UPDATES
Suck It, IPA and Porter Nerds!
-Yes, this writer is fully aware of the new round of indictments that were made late last week on America's Worst Ever Criminal, Hunter Biden (dumdumdum) - and, yes, the tax charges made in CA are felony-level and should be prosecuted (up to 17 years in prison if convicted). However, as other legal observers note, the charges of tax evasion made against Hunter stemming from not paying taxes between 2016 and 2020 (along with a salacious list of items he was spending money on) are somewhat offset by the fact that the $1.4 million in taxes not paid then have, in fact, been paid - in comparison to, oh I dunno, figures like Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone (both of whom continue to be behind in tax bills to the tune of millions) and, of course, Ex-President Trump XCI (who at least is being prosecuted in part for financial shenanigans in connection with The Trump Organization). Nevertheless, the case that Hunter is being protected by his father seems somewhat hard to make, not that UltraMAGA House Republicans will let that stop them from doing it ...
-Meanwhile, Trump's handlers squeezed him into a tuxedo last night and sent him off to speak at a Young Republicans event in New York - and the trends that have emerged in his public appearances continued: promising to again be a dictator if he regains power in 2025 for one day (last night saying he'll use it to rebuild the border wall (he never built it) and "drill, drill, drill" (America is producing more oil than ever, and gas prices continue to plunge), appearing to violate his gag order again (attacking William Barr, known to be on the witness list in GA and suspected to be on the DC witness list), and again showing he is clearly so much more alive and smart and vital than that old old old old OOOLLLLDDD Joe Biden (by noting how America's industrial leaders are exiting the country by calling out ExxonMobil for moving their headquarters to ... Dallas ... Texas ... USA (at least for the moment)).
-The effects of the Dobbs decision continues to reverberate nationally, most recently and grotesquely in ... Texas. There, the Texas Supreme Court, under the direction of ultra-corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton, overturned a lower-court ruling to allow Kate Cox to receive an abortion. Cox's non-viable pregnancy imperils her life and ability to have any other children - but Paxton insists Cox must carry the baby to term, going so far as to threaten any doctor who gives Cox her help with criminal prosecution. No word on next steps in the case. Texas has a six-week abortion ban - often too soon for a woman to know she is pregnant.
-Some of the heaviest bombing and fighting in Gaza City has and continues to take place, and calls to get Israel to back off on the violence (with their own assessment saying over 60% of the casualties are Palestinian civilians) are so far being ignored by Benjamin Netanyahu. The ongoing strife caused by the HAMAS attacks and reactions continue to reverberate throughout the world and the United States, where a disastrous hearing about rising protests and antisemitism on college campuses has led to the resignation of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and Board Chair Scott Bok and calls for more investigations into colleges by House Republicans.
-The conflict is one of the central reasons President Biden's polling numbers have plunged (most recently in a Wall Street Journal poll that has Trump up by 4%, though it must be noted it is the Wall Street Journal and the poll asked about a ballot with only two candidates on it, which simply is not going to happen. In fact, the Libertarian Party is reportedly approaching Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to run under their banner in 2024, apparently impressed by a personality that even made Republicans boo him nearly off the stage in the last Republican primary debate, which reportedly took place some time last week. Vivek is reportedly interested.
-In a continued effort to what the owner would describe as "defending free speech", Elon Musk announced that he has restored the Twitter/X account of Alex Jones. Yes, the man currently evading having to pay the parents of the victims of the Sandy Hook mass shooting for claiming the shooting was a 'false flag' will be able to post on TwiX after a "poll" claimed "users" wanted Jones back. It is true that TwiX is now rife with hate speech - much of it promoted by Musk himself - and has prompted a massive exodus (including a wave of NFL reporters to rival Threads) (follow me on Threads @jafedorko) (shameless!), and a claim by CEO Linda Yaccarino that "10 million new users" are on the site are being questioned under suspicion that many of those users may in fact be bots - if that.
-And in sportsball news, the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament ended yesterday with a familiar winner: the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat Indiana 123-109 in Las Vegas to win the undoubtedly soon-to-be-branded cup. Another familiar name was anointed the MVP: LeBron James, having a record-rewriting start to the season at age 39 and in his 21st season in the league. The tourney, modeled after European soccer tournaments that take place alongside regular club seasons, was considered a success, generating competitive games at the start of a long season on sometimes garishly-designed courts and highlighting Las Vegas, which hosted the final games amid speculation that it and Seattle may soon get expansion teams in the next 2-3 seasons (and the Vegas team potentially owned by one LeBron James).
-On this date in 1898, the Spanish-American War formally ended. On this date in 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. On this date in 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this date in 1996, newly elected South African President Nelson Mandela signed a new constitution that ended apartheid rule in that country.
-Notable premieres: Encyclopedia Britannica (1768), THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (1884), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), WAYNE'S WORLD 2 (1992), AVATAR (2009).
-Happy Birthday to William Lloyd Garrison, Ada Lovelace, Emily Dickinson, Melvil Dewey, Chet Huntley, Dorothy Lamour, Guitar Slim, Agnes Nixon, Dan Blocker, Tommy Kirk, Susan Dey, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mark Aguirre, Kenneth Branagh, Paul Assenmacher, Nia Peeples, Bobby Flay, J. Mascis, Meg White, Raven-Symone, and Joe Burrow.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Alfred Nobel, Luigi Pirandello, Damon Runyan, Walter Johnson, Otis Redding, Thomas Merton, Adolph Rupp, Ed Wood, Armand Hammer, Faron Young, Rick Danko, Eugene McCarthy, Richard Pryor, Dolph Schayes, Michael Nesmith, and Paul Silas.
-Feed the Worms: Augusto Pinochet went to Hell on this date.
-Rod Blagojevich was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.
-The Number One Song in America on this date ... in 2023, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee (you are reading that correctly!) ... in 2013, "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus ... in 2003, "Hey Ya!" by OutKast ... in 1993, "Again" by Janet Jackson ... in 1983, "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson ... and in 1973, "Top of The World" by The Carpenters.