NATIONAL TREE DAY UPDATES
Number One: The Larch. The Larch. The ... Larch. And Now, Number One ... The Larch.
-After a public appearance in SC in which he again repeatedly described his legal opponent, Special Counsel Jack Smith, as "deranged" and "sick" - and then followed that up with a creepy tangent about showers and "suds" and "washing my beautiful hair" (he has a hair piece that takes hours to get ready) - Thrice-Indicted (so far) Ex-President (TIsfEP) Trump jumped onto his Truth Social media site today to unleash a series of posts that is likely to further get the attention of Tanya Chutkan, the judge appointed to hear his trial on charges related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempts by Trump to steal the 2020 Presidential election from the winner, Joe Biden.
-In the all-cap screeds, Trump again attacked Smith and the "DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE" for not brining "THIS BIDIN 'OPPONENT' CASE YEARS AGO," directly attacked the impartiality of Judge Chutkan in "THIS FILTHY AND CRIME RIDDEN EMBARRASMENT TO OUR NATION," demanding a change of venue "OUT IF DC" (because "NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL, OR EVEN CLOSE TO A FAIR TRIAL") from Washington DC (where "I AM CALLING FOR A FEDERAL TAKEOVER" as if he is still running anything) to West Virginia (which Trump won by 40% and has a slightly different racial mix than the place where the alleged crimes took place), insisted Team Trump will ask "FOR RECUAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS" (the grounds being she is a black female judge appointed by Barack Obama and not her by all accounts stellar record as a tough but fair judge that takes no crap), and for good measure calls Nancy Pelosi a "Wicked Witch" who "will someday live in HELL!" (in response to Pelosi calling Trump "a scared puppy" after his court appearance on Thursday).
-If only Trump's attorneys could reign him in ... but Trump's chief attorney, John Lauro, is instead appearing on all five major Sunday morning news shows to litigate the case for Trump's voters, since most legal observers are starting to believe the one way Trump will escape the various cases being litigated against him will be to regain the Presidency in 2025 and give himself a blanket pardon (followed by a wave of retaliatory legal cases and God knows what else in a second Trump reign).
-The next hearing, in which Judge Chutkan may make her first live appearance and is regarding a demand from Smith and his team to try to keep any discovery evidence out in public so Trump does not try to intimidate potential witnesses or influence potential jurors ... m'kay ... is tomorrow at 4 pm CDT. (And if there is some kind of gag order or house arrest being considered, some legal observers note and warn that such actions would undoubtedly be appealed by Trump al the way to the Supreme Court in order to help Trump carry out his longstanding legal strategy of delays and obfuscations, which is likely part of his 'election strategy' as well.)
-In other 2024 news, the White House announced yesterday that hundreds of thousands of infrastructure projects currently underway across the country (and new ones as they come online) will be affixed with signage that reads "Project Funded by President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law." The signs are designed to correct hundreds of Republican Congresspeople who have been appearing at project groundbreakings and touting new construction projects in their districts after voting NO on the projects in 2021. President Obama also did this in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential election. (In contrast, the so-called Branding King, Trump, was given the opportunity to send all Americans masks with "Courtesy of President Donald J. Trump" in the early days of the COVID outbreak in 2020 which Trump rejected - not to mention the never-materialized infrastructure bill Trump claimed he could and would create.)
-The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and Writers Guild met on Friday for the first time since the Writers Guild began its strike against the studios in May. The meeting was not a negotiation and was the first attempt to restart negotiations, but Reuters wrote no such agreement was reached. The Writers Guild stated AMPTP did not seem to wish to negotiate on the wide range of issues the Guild (and now actors) are wanting to get on the table, ranging from potential new profit-sharing and royalty agreements to protections against the use of artificial intelligence. There was no statement from AMPTP.
-SOLIDARITY to the writers and actors in their fight!
-And in e-commerce news, the online market Overstock is no longer in business as that business. The reason? It purchased the name of the recently-bankrupted-and-closed Bed Bath and Beyond in its bankruptcy proceedings and has rebranded itself as Bed Bath and Beyond dot com (trying not to provide a link unless they pay me!). It is unclear whether the new site will honor the 20% off coupons that became as much of trademark for BB&B as their ceiling-high stacks of goods, but it also puts a halt to the ultimate end of that company, at least in a virtual way.
-On this date in 1890, the first execution by electric chair took place. On this date in 1945, the United Stated dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. On this date in 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law. On this date in 1991, the first documents for what would become the World Wide Web were released. On this date in 1996, the first book in the GAME OF THRONES series was released (yeah, we know, George R.R. Martin is still trying to wrap it up ...). On this date in 2012, the first photos from the surface of Mars were transmitted to Earth via NASA's Curiosity robot. And on this date in 2015, Jon Stewart hosted his last episode of THE DAILY SHOW (Trevor Noah took over until stepping down earlier this year, with some reports indicating that, once the writers strike ends, Hasan Minhaj has the inside track to be named new host.)
-Happy Birthday to Alfred Tennyson, Alexander Fleming, Louella Parsons, Henry Iba, Lucille Ball, Robert Mitchum, Ella Jenkins, Norman Wexler, Andy Warhol, Charlie Haden, Paul Bartel, Peter Bonerz, Catherine Hicks, Faith Prince, Randy DeBarge, Michelle Yeoh, David Robinson, Elliot Smith, Mike Budenholzer, M. Night Shyamalan, Geri Horner, Max Kellerman, Vera Farminga, Soleil Moon Frye, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jon Benet Ramsey.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Ben Jonson, Diego Velazquez, Bix Beiderbecke, Preston Sturges, Klaus Nomi, Harry Reasoner, Rick James, John Hughes, Willy Deville, Marvin Hamlisch, Pete Fountain, Darren Daulton, Joel Robuchon, and Paul Laxalt.
-Feed the Worms: Cuban Dictator Fulgencio Batista bought it on this date.
-Uber founder Travis Kalanick was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.