NATIONAL WHITE WINE DAY UPDATES
Not To Be Confused With National Water Balloon Day - Unless the White Wine Is REALLY Bad ...
-Eyebrows were raised last night after Thrice-Impeached (so far) Ex-President (TIsfEP) Trump defense attorney John Lauro went on Laura Ingraham's Fox News show to try to counter the four Trump charges he pled not guilty to yesterday and attack a suddenly salty former Vice President Mike Pence going after Trump ... by appearing to admit to one of the charges. In the interview, Lauro talked about how, on January 6, 2021, Trump was not guilty of acting to stop the Electoral College count by claiming that Trump agreed to "plan D" - which was to delay the count for ten days to let state legislatures, up to six of which appeared to be poised to seat electors that would have backed Trump instead of the 2020 winner, Joe Biden, to literally execute ONE OF THE PLANS SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED IN THE INDICTMENTS.
-If that proves to be the case - and there's no question interviews like that one are admissible - it could result in sanctions and a potential disqualification of Lauro to represent the always-looking-for-new-legal-meat Trump. That is not likely to sit well with Trump, who reportedly was already aggravated when Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya made Trump wait 15 minutes after the scheduled hearing start (a move Trump is notorious for) then addressing him as "Mr. Trump" rather than "President" as Lauro did, as well as reports from the courtroom that Trump kept avoiding the stare of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, seated about 10 feet from each other.
-The actions may also be finally affecting potential GOP primary voters, with two polls indicating that, yes, 45% or so of Republican voters would reportedly be affected by a Presidential candidate who went to trial for a felony and got convicted - to the point where they may not vote for such a candidate. Trump does continue to lead the polls, although a new poll out of IA shows a tiny bit of closure between Trump and his closest rival, FL Gov. Ron DeSantis.
-And how is DeSantis' campaign going? Well, after the College Board recommended FL college students not take AP psychology classes in the state because of the gutting of LGBTQ materials in the curriculum, DeSantis got dissed by VP Harris after DeSantis challenged her to a debate about the new slavery-was-good-for-job-skills-so-how-bad-was-it-really? guidelines issued in the state and Harris' speeches savaging them (Harris' official response: "There is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: there were NO redeemable qualities of slavery.").
-DeSantis then pivoted to finally accept a long-ago-issued debate challenge from CA Gov. Gavin Newsom, which was issued earlier in the year (reports are Newsom will do it and use it as a fund raiser for the Biden/Harris 2024 campaign). And yesterday to build his pro-violence bona fides in NH, DeSantis described his willingness to attack the DC "deep state" by saying he would "start slitting throats on day one." Always with the charm campaign ...
-The Ukrainian Armed Forces released a video of a drone filled with dynamite approaching a Russian warship in a night attack on the Black Sea - far into Russian territory - and the apparent direct hit on the ship. The hit appeared to be verified this morning when daytime video showed a Russian ship listing badly, and is a sign that continued attacks on Ukrainian grain and ports will be answered and can be answered deep within Russian territory. Progress in the counteroffensive continues to be slow, but with no reports of Russian forces even attempting to regain much of that territory, progress does appear to continue to be made.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-Shifting to the world of sports, the 2023 Womens' Soccer World Cup gets ready for its knockout stages - and the tourney, being hosted in Australia and New Zealand, has already been one of the most surprising ever. Traditional soccer powerhouses Brazil and Germany both failed to make the knockout stages, while smaller countries such as Columbia, Jamaica and South Africa have. And the U.S. Women's team's quest for an unprecedented three-peat appears to be in very shaky shape, as they were a shot that hit the post in stoppage time (by Portugal) away from also missing the final 16, and have been hit with a barrage of rare criticism by ex-players and commentators alike for what they see as an arrogant and lackadaisical attitude. SPORTS!
-Ending with lots and lots of wild music news, including ...
-Lizzo pointedly defending herself after a lawsuit by several former dancers that toured with her charging the pro-positivity star with abusive behavior towards them, including fat-shaming ...
-A slew of performers ranging from country music star Kelsea Ballerini to rap megastar Drake to mega-megastar Harry Styles getting hit with objects being thrown at them by 'fans' - culminating with Cardi B retaliating by throwing her mike at someone who hit her with a drink (charges will not be filed) and P!nk looking legitimately flummoxed at what a fan insisted was the ashes of the fan's mother being thrown at the singer (who put the baggie back on the edge of the stage) ...
-Variety reporting Lin-Manuel Miranda will come out to PLAY-e-yay! on his next musical, which will be an adaptation of the 1979 cult movie classic THE WARRIORS ...
-And Taylor Swift paying everyone from her dancers to her truck drivers bonuses that totaled over $55 million as the first stage of her billion-dollar-and-counting-earning Eras Tour ends with a series of shows in Los Angeles (she will be back in 2024 with shows in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Toronto). Cashmere purveyors drool ...
-On this date in 1892, SOMEbody murdered the father and stepfather of Lizzie Borden. On this date in 1914, Britain entered World War I. On this date in 1944, Nazis found the hiding spot of Anne Frank and her family and were sent to concentration camps (only her father survived). On this date in 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 debuted (the #1 song was Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool"). On this date in 1964, the bodies of three civil rights volunteers who went to MS to register voters were found in that state. And on this date in 1989, sex, lies and videotape opened nationally.
-Happy Birthday to Percy Bysshe Shelley, Louis Vuitton, Queen Mother Queen Elizabeth, Louis Armstrong, Clara Peller, Raoul Wallenberg, Warren Avis, Helen Thomas, Maurice Richard, Dallas Green, Frank Vincent, Richard Belzer, John Riggins, Billy Bob Thornton, Gerry Cooney, Mary Decker, Barack Obama, Lori Lightfoot, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Dae Kim, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Meghan Markle, and Greta Gerwig (she seems to be doing okay this year, eh?).
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Hans Christian Andersen, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Fontaine, Melvyn Douglas, Victor Mature, Lorenzo Music, Little Milton, Art Donovan, James Brady, and J.R. Richard.
-Feed the Worms: Casino owner and radical right/Trump financier Sheldon Adelson entered Earth on this date.
-Superstar pitcher who used steroids to stretch his career Roger Clemens and semi-decent Fox News anchor Bret Baier were born on this date. You decide if they gets a Happy Birthday or if they Feeds the Worms.