PACZI DAY UPDATES

Proudly Putting The "Fat" in Fat Tuesday!

-The visit by President Biden to Ukraine yesterday was genuinely historic – it marked the first time an American President visited an active war zone in a conflict where there were no American troops fighting. That Kyiv is an active war zone is evidenced by the fact that an air raid siren went off during the visit, though it did not stop Biden or Ukrainian President Zelenskyy from completing the visit, which took months to plan and featured Biden being moved in and out of country via Biden’s favorite mode of transport, train.

-Russia did not handle the visit well. Sullen commentators on Putin-controlled TV scowled throughout their coverage as they tried to claim Russia “allowed” Biden to visit – and while that is not true, the White House did give Russia a heads-up about the trip, likely as a warning to make sure nothing was tried during the visit.

-As for Putin, he completed a long-planned “State of the Union”-ish speech this morning. Putin used the occasion to project wildly by continuing his laughable line that it was Ukraine and NATO that “forced” poor Mother Russia to invade Ukraine to “defend” the home country, and that the invasion, which turns one on Friday with Russia having lost territory it seized in earlier invasions and estimated 200,000 troops dead (and counting), has been a military success. Putin also announced Russia will “pause” in complying with the last nuclear arms agreement it made with the US in retaliation for the Biden visit.

-All those arguments Putin made in justifying his invasion of Ukraine were parroted by a number of Ultra-MAGA House members yesterday, including Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Nancy Mace. Ultra-MAGA Leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) went several steps beyond that, not only calling for the impeachment of Presdient Biden for making the trip in the first place, but using President’s Day to call for “a national divorce” of red states from blue states in order to keep “woke states” free from the tyranny of “non-woke states.” (That Greene made that comment without realizing that her home state has went blue in several important recent elections and is demographically trending blue was apparently lost on her.)

-And do not let it be said that there are not forces on the Left who are happy to take Putin’s arguments and use them in the name of “peace” to demand Ukraine stop fighting and allow Russian aggression to be rewarded with a premature treaty - because there are. Over the weekend, a “Rage Against The War Machine” rally was held in Washington DC with several anti-war favorites – among them Medea Benjamin, Jimmy Dore, Dennis Kucinich, and Jill Stein (and augmented with a keynote from former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, who has become a strident anti-Ukraine War voice) – who called for an end to the conflict while parroting many of the same points Putin and Fox News have made, whether intentional or not.

-SLAVA UKRAINI!

-In Congressional news, Kevin McCarthy (SINO, CA) raised eyebrows with the announcement that he has given Tucker Carlson over 40,000 hours of security footage from January 6, 2021, as an “exclusive” for Carlson and his Fox News producers to do what they will. It is believed Carlson will use the footage to attempt to depict the insurrection as an Antifa-led counter insurgence – a popular and thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory of the far right - as well as other shenanigans. MSNBC reports that the turnover of the footage was one of the items demanded by the UltraMAGA members of the House in exchange for their support of his campaign for the Speaker’s gavel.

-Let us end today by noting the passing of legendary 70s standup comic turned long-standing character actor Richard Belzer, who holds the record for playing one character (Det. Edward Munch) longer than any other character in prime time television history (yes, he beat James Arness’ Sheriff Dillon by a few months). Belzer, 78, had battled a number of health issues in his later years from his home in France (which he bought thanks to a court settlement involving a 1982 on-camera incident involving Hulk Hogan) (true story!), and friends reported he left this mortal coil with what could be some of the most epic final words ever: “F*CK YOU MOTHERF*CKER!” Godspeed, Belz.

-On this date in 1848, THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO was first published. On this date in 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated. On this date in 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. On this date in 1972, President Richard Nixon traveled to the People’s Republic of China. And on this date in 2003, REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER premiered on HBO (and for some reason still airs).

-Happy Birthday to Santa Anna, Andres Segovia, Anais Nin, Tom Yawkey, W.H. Auden, Robert Mugabe, Hubert de Givenchy, Bob Rafelson, Nina Simone, Rue McClanahan, Barbara Jordan, Richard Beymer, Rep. John Lewis, David Geffen, Alan Rickman, Anthony Daniels, Tricia Nixon Cox, Tyne Daly, Jerry Harrison, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Trammell, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Steve Wynn, Chuck Palahniuk, David Foster Wallace, Ranking Roger, William Baldwin, Sen. Scott Kelly (D-AZ), Tony Meola, Rhiannon Giddens, Kumail Nanjiani, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jordan Peele, Braylon Edwards, Charlotte Church, Elliot Page, and Sophie Turner. (Whew!)

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Anne Frank, Eric Liddell, Tim Horton, Murray the K, Margot Fonteyn, Harvey Kurtzman, Clark Terry, Billy Graham, Peter Tork, and Stanley Donen.