NATIONAL MULLIGAN DAY UPDATES
And Lordy, Do A Few Of Us Out Here Need A Few of These!
-President Biden prepares to visit Israel tomorrow while balancing the narrowest of tightropes, trying to support Israel's retaliation for the HAMAS terrorist attacks while also working to stave off a humanitarian crisis of Palestinians who are caught in an under-siege Gaza City and trying to prevent others (Hezbollah and Iran in particular) to turn the current war into region-wide chaos. Part of that is a stop Biden will make to Jordan where he will meet with leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and unaffiliated-to-HAMAS Palestine (which Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been working on). CNN noted that Blinken and other leaders had to go to a shelter after sirens went off in their area warning of an imminent rocket attack - a sign of the risks Biden is taking to manage the crisis.
-CNN's Christiane Amanpour reported that one reason Biden's visit is being welcomed in Israel is a vacuum some are feeling because of the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu. While the world and Israeli political parties are currently unified to fight the HAMAS threat, both CNN and NBC are reporting that protests and questions are being raised about Netanyahu and his government's failure to detect or be prepared for the HAMAS attacks. This may bear watching in the days and weeks to follow ...
-Meanwhile, in the U.S. House, voting is scheduled to begin that may bring Jim "Gym" Jordan (OtheR Way, OH) to the Speakership. Reporting on Jordan's chances has swung wildly in the last 24 hours, as a 'lobbying' campaign even Jordan allies labelled as "bullying" (with a massive assist from Fox News GOP Lobbyist - er, "host" (eyeroll) - Sean Hannity) seemed to build momentum that was persuading most of the 55 who did not vote for Jordan in a previous caucus - only to cede to reports this morning that Jordan is facing at least 10 and up to 15 NO votes.
-Given that Jordan can only lose 3-4 votes from his caucus (that depends on the attendance of a GOP member who is at a funeral and is scheduled to return tonight, and as all 212 Democrats are in attendance to support Rep. Hakeem Jeffries), the uncertainty of any vote is adding to Jordan’s strategy of bringing the election to the floor and attempting to bully-pressure Republicans to vote his way, threatening primaries and retaliation from Jordan's sugar daddy, Ex-President Trump XCI. Let the popcorn get buttered!
-As for Trump, he is currently in NY to further observe the civil suit against him while doing what all knew he would do: test the gag order placed on him by Judge Tanya Chutkan yesterday in connection with the trial involving Trump's role in January 6, 2021. Trump was told not to personally attack Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, so instead this morning he ranted and raved like a lunatic while charging that NY Attorney General Leticia James "ranted and raved like a lunatic" against Trump.
-But let it not be said this writer does not occasionally agree with Trump! In an appearance in IA yesterday, Trump sweated and slurred through an appearance while responding to Judge Chutkan's limited gag order by claiming "I am willing to go to jail if that's what it takes for our country to win and become a democracy again!"
-I AGREE! GO TO JAIL FOR DEMOCRACY, MR. TRUMP!
-Republicans had what may have been their best results so far in this cycle over the weekend as voters in LA elected Attorney General Jeff Landry, flipping a seat held by moderate Democrat (and term-limited) John Bel Edwards. Landry is an evangelical Trump supporter who is likely to support a number of radical GOP bills that Bel Edwards had vetoed, many involving criminalizing a woman's right to choose - and with only 18% of the electorate turning out, it appears LA is poised to join FL, TX and TN as hotbeds of UltraMAGA lawmaking.
-On the other hand, lovers of democracy had positive results in Poland, where a coalition of center-left and parties upset a Putin-backed leader who had been holding up grain shipments and vetoing more NATO support for Ukraine - support observers now believe will be released soon.
-This as THIS JUST IN - long-range missiles supplied by the United States have reportedly been used by the Ukrainian military to attack Russian military supply sites well inside Russian territory for the first time. (SLAVA UKRAINI!)
-We end with 2024 Presidential election notes ...
-On the GOP side, the campaigns of former VP Mike Pence and SC Sen. Tim Scott appear in danger, with Pence reporting debts outpacing incoming costs and Scott cancelling television ads ahead of the next 'debate' in November (to be hosted by NBC News - not to be confused with MSNBC) ...
-On the Democratic side, President Biden's campaign reported $71M in fund raising, outpacing the entire GOP candidate field combined including Trump (though as a reminder, Hillary Clinton far outraised Trump in 2016) and, in a move clearly designed to try to out-troll the ultimate social media troll, has opened an account on Trump's Truth Social social media site ... and on the independent side, does anyone really care about RFK Jr. or Cornel West?
-Didn't think so.
-On this date in 1931, Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion. On this date in 1973, OPEC began an embargo of oil in retaliation for Western support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. On this date in 1989, an earthquake hit the San Francisco area, with most of the country seeing it as it interrupted a scheduled World Series game. Premieres on this date: MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON in 1939, BULLITT in 1968, BENJI n 1974, THE COLBERT REPORT in 2005. And on this date in 2018, marijuana was legalized in Canada.
-Happy Birthday to Jean Arthur, Irene Ryan, Nathaniel West, Jerry Siegel, Arthur Miller, Rita Hayworth, Montgomery Clift, Tom Poston, Don Coryell, Jimmy Breslin, Paxton Whitehead, Evel Knievel, Jim Seals, Gary Puckett, Michael McKean, George Wendt, Margot Kidder, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Fred Hickman, Mae Jemison, Vincent Van Patten, Alan Jackson, Norm MacDonald, Richard Roeper, Rob Marshall, Mike Judge, David Cromer, Danny Ferry, Ziggy Marley, Ernie Els, Wyclef Jean, Chris Kirkpatrick, Eminem, and Felicity Jones.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Frederic Chopin, S.J. Perelman, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Joey Bishop, Levi Stubbs, Vic Mizzy, Sylvia Kristel, and Rep. Elijah Cummings.