NATIONAL NUT DAY UPDATES
Sometimes You Feel It, Sometimes You Don't - Today, You Can!
-The release of two hostages held by HAMAS in the wake of their attack on Israel has made the fate of the remaining hostages a central focus of the worldwide reaction to the crisis. Estimates are between 210-250 Israelis are being held, and HAMAS in the past has used kidnapping to extract concessions from the Israeli government. The status of the hostages are reportedly one of the reasons (along with attempting to get relief supplies into Gaza City to assist Palestinians who have been caught in the crossfire) an offensive Israel has been preparing to launch to attempt to rid and retaliate for the attacks has yet to begin. Calls for humanitarian aid and fears of what the Palestinian populace - the vast majority of which are not HAMAS - have been building since the initial shock of the attacks wears off.
-So, too, is intense criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While there does not seem to be a short-term danger of him losing his position, The Atlantic notes that the longest-serving leader of Israel had built his entire political career on being Israel's protector - a career that, with the HAMAS attacks, have been shattered. As The Atlantic points out, the previous worst attack on Israel - the 1973 Yom Kippur War - led to the exit of legendary Prime Minister Golda Meir, and protests in Israel have begun demanding to know why the vaunted Israeli intelligence and military services were caught so off guard by the self-described "Protector," Netanyahu. The tensions and sorrow remain ...
-A new line of would-be Republican House Speakers is beginning to form, with a deadline of this afternoon to throw the hat into the ring and wait to see how many MAGAts try to stomp them into unrecognizable piles of fabric. The early favorite had appeared to be MN Republican Tom Emmer, the GOP Whip with some legislative background that may be able to get some grudging Democratic support (Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries has warned the caucus not to support any Republican who denied the results of the 2020 election, and Emmer did) (Biden won, by the way) and the apparently-valuable-to-some endorsement of ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy. However, Politico reports that GOP Party Leader Ex-President Trump XCI is not in favor, apparently because in Trump's view, Emmer has not bent the knee and every other joint towards the direction of Trump, so the best we can say is, go buy some more popcorn ...
-It was inevitable, and this morning it happened: a social media post by Trump insisted that "Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think (uh, no), correctly (uh, HELL no!), that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN (UH, HELL NO - AND IT'S SPELLED "STOLEN," YOU SPEWING CANTALOUPE)" and that "MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS." Intrepid social media sleuths found a Trump post from December 2020 that, in fact, does list Powell as one of his attorneys - so Powell's deal that was cut for her testimony in Trump's upcoming trial in GA on charges of attempting to rig and steal the 2020 election from the winner, Joe Biden, appears to have been bolstered at the same time Heinz ketchup sales in southern Florida continue to rise.
-Also, Trump's admission may have just shattered any claim of attorney/client privilege his defense team may have wanted to try in order to try to stop Powell's testimony from being admitted or disparaged. FUN!
-This doesn't even factor into the situation Ken Chesebro, the OTHER Trump attorney who flipped on Friday and agreed to testify against the remaining 16 defendants, pending more defendants agreeing to testify against the others. Rolling Stone and other outlets reported that Team Trump was, for some reason, shocked - SHOCKED! - that at least Powell agreed to testify against Trump, which tied to the $5,000 fine for not removing a disparaging social media post in connection with the ongoing NY civil trial on The Trump Organization, spells So Much WINNING for Trump and his final legal defense strategy: winning the 2024 election to allow a self-pardon and prosecutions of all who wronged him.
-We close with comedy media news … Apple and Jon Stewart abruptly ended Stewart's show THE PROBLEM after what Stewart reported were 'disagreements' between he and Apple over programs in the about-to-have-been produced third season involving artificial intelligence and/or China, which of course remains a massive market for Apple products. It is unknown whether another outlet will pick the show up.
-Additionally, Variety reports Hassan Minhaj is officially out of the running to replace Trevor Noah at THE DAILY SHOW - a job it appeared was Minhaj's to lose, which he apparently did after a New Yorker story appeared in which Minhaj admitted that some of his routines involving his family were fictionalized and/or embellished for what he called “emotional truths.” The revelation has led to some debate amongst comics about whether Minhaj was being unfairly criticized ... or not being criticized enough. THE DAILY SHOW job is now wide open, and Minhaj remains a free agent (along with, now, Stewart).
-On this date in 1797, the first parachute jump occurred in France. On this date in 1884, Greenwich Mean Time and the 24 worldwide time zones were created. On this date in 1962, President Kennedy announced that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba, beginning a naval embargo and prompting what many believe was a crisis that brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any time in history. On this date in 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre declined his Nobel Prize for Literature. On this date in 2010, WikiLeaks went online. And on this date in 2012, Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles were stripped after being charged with using performance-enhancing drugs through those competitions.
-Happy Birthday to Franz Liszt, Sarah Bernhardt, Curly Howard, Jimmie Foxx, Joan Fontaine, Doris Lessing, Timothy Leary, Bobby Seale, Christopher Lloyd, Derek Jacobi, Tony Roberts, Annette Funicello, Bobby Fuller, Catherine Deneuve, Arsene Wenger, Stiv Bators, Greg Hawkes, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Odenkirk, Brian Boitano, Ron Tugnutt, Jay Johnston, Shaggy, Spike Jonze, Ichiro Suzuki, Brad Stevens, and Robinson Cano.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Paul Cezanne, John G. Shedd, Pablo Casals, Cleavon Little, Red Barber, Kingsley Amis, Mary Wickes, Eric Ambler, Arthur Hill, Soupy Sales, Russell Means, and Peter Scolari.
-Feed the Worms: Presidential Near-Assassin Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and notorious joke-stealer Carlos Mencia entered Earth on this date. Gangster Pretty Boy Floyd was shot to death by FBI agents in a field in OH on this date.
-The Number One Album in America on this date … in 2023, FOR ALL THE DOGS by Drake ... in 2013, THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE - 2 OF 2 by Justin Timberlake ... in 2003, SPEAKERBOXX/THE LOVE BELOW by OutKast ... in 1993, IN PIECES by Garth Brooks ... in 1983, SYNCHRONICITY by The Police ... and in 1973, GOATS HEAD SOUP by The Rolling Stones.