NATIONAL WORD NERD DAY UPDATES
Admit It, You Are One - Why Would You Read Substacks if You Weren't?!
-"This is The Big One." So commented a local Los Angeles television reporter this morning as the vastness of the damage of the hurricane-level Santa Ana winds combined with a drought and heat wave through most of 2024 that has led to a series of fires around the city this week, many of which still rage (including around the Hollywood Hills at the time of this writing). Palisades and Pasadena appear to have sustained the bulk of the devastation with possibly hundreds of homes burnt, in many cases to the ground.
-Thus far, only five people have died from the fires, owing to the evacuations amid the mind-spinning speed of the spread of the fires. Seniors were evacuated from their buildings in wheelchairs, pets were seen being rescued and running free, celebrities have lost homes they lived in for decades - among them Ben Affleck, Billy Crystal, Cary Elwes, Anna Ferris, Mark Hamill, Tom Hanks, Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore, Adam Sandler, Steven Spielberg, Diane Warren and James Woods - and the losses are being estimated in multiple billions of dollars.
-So, of course, in the literal heat of the devastation, MAGA decided they could contribute to the fight against the fires by attempting to place the blame on the fires on anything and everything except climate change. There was, of course, the implication that the rage and scale of the fire HAD TO be man-made (even though, yes, arson is suspected in some of the fires, the spread and fury clearly was not). Oligarch wannabe losing Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso falsely claimed the water system did not have the water pressure needed to put the fires out.
-The odious Moms for Liberty began generating stories that the presence of women and women of color in the Los Angeles Fire Department clearly HAD TO be part of the reason for the catastrophe (echoed by Ketamine Boy Elon, known Fox misogynist Jesse Watters, and failson Donald Trump Jr.), and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was attacked for reportedly being on vacation in Ghana - which, as Sean Hannity somehow knew, was in Africa - and that HAD TO be another reason the fires were so bad.
-And, if we are talking about right-wing attacks on anything that happens in blue states, You Know Who will be right there slursharting insults rather than providing anything resembling human comfort or assistance - and right on cue, Trump started attacking CA Governor and likely 2028 Democratic Presidential candidate Gavin Newsom, again lying about a "pact" that Newsom signed that "prevented" California from getting water from soon-to-be-51st-state-if-you-believe-Donnie Canada (which (a) will not happen and (b) belied the help Canada has been providing CA with firefighters since they broke out). Newsom, for his part, did not take the bait to engage Trump, knowing that in a week and a half there will need to be discussions with the incoming regime to try to get some kind of help to rebuild.
-Mind you, the left was not immune from what appears to be wild reporting either. News stories started to circulate and amplified by some on the left - most notably the left-hating-while-allegedly-left-leaning Intercept - that Bass had cut funding to Los Angeles firefighters in favor of giving raises to Los Angeles Police. Bass' office pushed back against that, and this morning Politico followed up and noted that the LA Fire Department did, indeed, get raises and increased budgets for this fiscal year - and that it literally did not matter how much money was being paid because of the massive scale of the disaster. More to come from that to be sure …
-As for what happens next, another hidden-for-the-moment but soon-to-be-exposed cost to these fires could have a massive impact on the rest of the country: insurance. Amid several reports that State Farm had started cancelling policies in areas where the fires raged (including the aforementioned Woods, who had previously scoffed at the idea of climate change), this morning Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse noted that such actions, combined with an ongoing insurance crisis in Florida triggered by the severe hurricanes that have hammered and are likely to continue to hammer that state, creates a scenario in which private insurance companies would no longer be willing to underwrite homeowners insurance, thus creating a domino effect that could make home purchasing all but impossible since no mortgage company would be willing to cover such potential damage. That is something he wants to discuss and try to resolve now, though whether MAGA and Trump will remains to be seen.
-Hoping the worst is over, those who are affected at least are safe, and that those who do not like to heap misery on people they don't like because it brings joy to their damaged souls not affect the rest of us.
-Also, karma to those scum (see Woods, James) ...
-Trump continues to prepare for returning to power by reveling in the teeth-grinding he has inspired by his alleged interest in taking over Canada, Greenland, and Panama. Greenland - which has been under the rule of Denmark for 400 years - is pushing back on the idea even as Trump Jr. visited the area yesterday and claimed that "the majority" of the 56,000 people (most of whom are indigenous) would love to be on Team Trump. The Danes disagree (and they would know better), but unfortunately have to thread a needle since, as a NATO member, the awkward scenario of an occupying American force there would mean a foreign force was attacking a NATO member and, thus, would in theory mean NATO would have to literally declare war on the United States for such an action.
-One other possibility: Denmark ending the exporting of goods to the U.S., which outwardly sounds like a meh threat until you realize that among the exports Demark makes to the U.S. that could be impacted are longtime toy favorites Lego and newer magic drug Ozempic. Ah, the Law of Unintended Consequences …
-Also, it is unclear how taking over Greenland or renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America will make eggs cheaper.
-What seems more likely, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren noted yesterday, is that the insanity coming from the still-cognitively-eroding cat anus Trump mouth (and find a short clip of his presser and PROVE ME WRONG) is meant to divert attention from the upcoming hearings on his Putz Parade of a Cabinet, which still needs Congress to approve despite his autocratic hunger.
-As this update is being written, the DC funeral service of President Jimmy Carter is continuing. All living ex-Presidents are in attendance, with Trump assigned a seat next to Barack Obama and being surprisingly chatty with each other. (Guessing Barack drew the short straw or is getting an extra ducat or two for the Presidential Library as a thankyou for taking one for the team ...). After the Washington service, Carter's casket will be flown to Georgia for a final service and internment Thursday afternoon, culminating with a flyover with the missing man formation to be flown by U.S. Navy pilots.
-A New York State Supreme Court judge has ruled that Trump can and should be sentenced on Friday for his 34 convictions in connection with paying off Stormy Daniels and concealing their multi-second sexual encounter prior to the 2016 election, won in the Electoral Congress by Trump. That should be the last such appeal - but it is not, as Trump has asked The Suck-Up Six majority of the Supreme Court to intervene and stop the sentencing.
-Needless to say, this should not happen as this was a state case that occurred before Trump was President and thus not a part of the Super-Duper Immunity granted to Trump by the Suck-Up Six, but given that Trump had a conversation with Super-Sucker Justice Samuel Alito yesterday morning (which Alito claims was about a job for a nephew - suuuuuurrrrre) and they could also block the public release of the final reports (which by statute have to be made) of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith (although Merrick Garland has said he intends to release the January 6 report and hold the stolen documents report since the trial on the other two Trump foot soldiers is still scheduled), who the Hell knows what may happen ...
-FACEBOOK FOUNDER AND CONVICTED PEDOPHILE MARK ZUCKERBERG, DEAD AT 36, SAYS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES SHOULD NOT FACT-CHECK POSTS. So says a meme making the circuits after Zuck prostrated himself before Trump earlier this week announcing that fact-checking, such as it was to begin with (which frankly is not much if you have been on FB anytime in the last ever or so), will be replaced with "community notes" of the type that has turned Elon Musk-owned X into an open canal of raw sewage in the last two years.
-Of course, most believe the real motive for Meta is to try to get the new regime to drop several antitrust suits scheduled to be litigated later this year - as evidenced by the fact that FB has NOT removed their fact-checkers in Europe, nor have they threatened to, as well as Meta's continued attempt to attack Wikipedia (because their crowdsourcing moderation model is one that actually works, for the most part, and because Wiki says mean things about Zuck) - so a new wave of exits from Meta-owned Facebook, Instagram and Threads may continue.
-Lots going on, lots more obviously about to continue to on, so let's end on a lighter note with Sportsball News, and NBA aficionados raving about a mid-January game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers they believe will be an example of how the league will transition from aging megastars who have carried them to ever-higher hights (LeBron James and Steph Curry mostly) to a new wave of stars and a fast style of play less reliant on superstars in a league that has likely ended the use of free agency to build megateams (it has to do with huge penalties on owners and teams if they try).
-The OKC-CLE game pitted two teams with deep benches, young stars, and double-digit winning streaks against each other, and the result was playoff-level tense but with both teams playing their style of play against each other. Neither team led by more than 10, and the Cavaliers overcame Donovan Mitchell's 3-for-16 shooting night to ride the home court to beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company 129-122. NBA writers raved - and they do not have to wait until a potential Finals for it to happen again, as CLE travels to OKC next Thursday for a rematch.
-And yes, if you read you all know I am a HUGE Cavs fan, so LET'S GO CAVS! #LetEmKnow!
-Stay safe and good juju to everyone in Los Angeles ...
-NEWS ON THIS DATE: In 1493, Christopher Columbus spotted a manatee and mistook it for a mermaid. In 1952, Harry Truman warned of a "Cold War" between forces in the West and the then-Soviet Union. In 1960, construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt began. In 1963, Charlie Watts left Blues Incorporated to join the Rolling Stones. In 1976, filming on ROCKY began. In 1978, Harvey Milk was elected to San Francisco city council - the first openly gay person to do so. In 1991, Pete Rose was banned from entering the Baseball Hall of Fame for gambling on baseball.
-DEBUTS ON THIS DATE: The daguerreotype (1839), the modern circus (1768), STREET SCENE (1947), RAWHIDE (1959), iTunes (2001), the iPhone (2007).
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Carrie Chapman Catt, Karel Capec, Chic Young, Simone de Beauvoir, Fernando Lamas, Vic Mizzy, Lee Van Cleef, Judith Krantz, Bob Denver, Dick Enberg, Susannah York, Joan Baez, Jimmy Page, Bill Cowsill, Cassie Gaines, David Johansen, Crystal Gayle, J.K. Simmons, Imelda Staunton, Mark Martin, Rigoberta Menchu, Muggsy Bogues, Dave Matthews, Steve Harwell, Joey Lauren Adams, MF Doom, Sean Paul, A.J. McLean, Maggie Rizer, Amber Ruffin, Sergio Garcia, and Kate Middleton.
-REST IN PEACE/REST IN POWER: Bill Naughton, Peter Cook, Will McDonough, Yinka Dare, Johnny Grant, Peter Yates, Bob Saget, Dwayne Hickman, Melinda Dillon, and James Kottak.
-FEED THE WORMS: Richard M. Nixon entered Earth on this date.
-TODAY'S MUSIC CONCLUSION: Van Halen's 1984 was released today in - when else? - 1984, and while we all deservedly love "Jump," let's go with the second single ... for reasons ...