WOMEN ROCK! DAY UPDATES

MOSH AWAY, MY FRIENDS!!

-How was your New Year? 2024 began on what MAGA considers "festive" by attacking punk rock pioneers Green Day. In their New Year's Eve performance, the widely-known-by-anyone-not-wearing-red-hats-to-be-political band decided to rework a lyric to the anthem "American Idiot" to "Not part of your MAGA agenda!" thereby trip-wiring all the ultra-white snowflakes on that side, who promptly decided (including one Congressman) that they think the multiple-Grammy winning Rock Hall of Famers were not nearly as talented as the guy who headed the Mar-a-Lago 2024 New Year's Eve celebration ... Robert Van Winkle, better known to the world as Vanilla Ice, who helped 'rock' Ex-President Trump XCI and company into the new year.

-As Israel begins to make some motions to go to a somewhat less broad-based war in Palestine, the region holds its breath again after the country was believed to have conducted an operation in Lebanon that led to the death of a HAMAS senior leader in that country. The attack has led to more fears that Lebanon, along with Hezbollah and possibly Iran and Syria, may wish to retaliate and thereby expand the conflict, which has not happened despite other provocations and attacks on HAMAS beyond Gaza City. For its part, Israel is claiming the attack was not an attack against Lebanon, but with increasing pressures on the broad attacks on Palestine, the hope is that other countries will not counter against Israel.

-The resignation of Claudine Gay as President of Harvard University is being celebrated by some as a victory over elite academe's perceived defense of HAMAS itself as well as charges of plagiarism and academic integrity - but the people who are celebrating should raise a red flag. The UltraMAGAts are very happy, particularly obsequious Vice Presidential candidate wannabe Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-PA), and so is a guy named Christopher Rufo, a far-right activist who has made it a calling to 'take down' university Presidents as a leg of the ultra-right culture war.

-Rufo targeted Gay - the first woman of color to become the head of one of America's elite universities - and had the help of a wealthy Harvard board member to use the academic integrity argument against her, along with persistent reports from right-wing sources (often shepherded by Rufo) of what the Harvard Crimson called "minor but persistent" charges.

-And if there is any question about Rufo's agenda, he took to social media to take credit for Gay's resignation, and then announced his 'think tank' will pay $10,000 bounties in what he calls a "plagiarism hunting" fund - but whose real purpose, per Rufo, is to "restore truth, rather than racialist ideology, as the highest principle in academic life." Make no mistake, the right is aiming at higher education and "woke" ideology, which you can read as "positive information about people who are not in power instead of white Catholic/Christian men." (Paraphrased for satirical effect, y'all.)

-Speaking of the House of Representatives, they return to work today with aid to Israel, aid to Ukraine (SLAVA UKRAINI!), yet another looming budget crisis, and thanks to an resignation in OH a current tenuous two-vote majority for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Jay-EE-zuz!, LA) and his UltraMAGAts, so they will take up as their first priority ... the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for what they are calling his inept handling of security along the Mexican border. Which will be interesting, given GOP Congressmen like TX Rep. Tony Gonzalez have gone on the record saying MAGA and Republicans would rather use border security as an election issue than craft any kind of solution, which may continue to explain the 'dragging' negotiations in the Senate which ties border security to continued Ukrainian war support. (That, and 2023 saw the House pass all of 17 bills, a record low that the UltraMAGAts see as a great success.)

-Speaking of the 2024 election - and since it's 2024, it's time - a hi-LAR-ious moment occurred on Fox 'News' last night. On the Jesse Waters show (side bar - Jesse Waters took over the 8 pm slot previously occupied by fish stick heir Tucker Carlson and, alas, thus became the highest-rated host on Fox) (almost as if it's not the host!), Jesse brought on a tarot card reader to triumphantly draw the fortune of Dear Leader Trump and his 2024 Presidential campaign. Only, the gods did not cooperate, and with an audible "Uh-Oh!" from the reader, Trump and his campaign drew The Five of Cups.

-For those who do not read Tarot cards, the only card that could be worse is the dreaded Death card, as the Five of Cups represents such campaign-positive portents as sadness ... loss ... despair ... abandonment ... unwelcome change ... emotional instability ... negative emotions ... isolation ... loneliness ... and disappointment. Arguably just another day for Trump, but when you think you are going to give your geriatric watchers a note of hope ... (evil smile!)

-And the news will ironically not get much better than that, so on with the fun history baubles!

-On this date in 1581, Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther. On this date in 1777, American forces won its first Revolutionary War battle in Princeton, NJ. On this date in 1924, British archaeologists discovered the sarcophagus of King Tut. On this date in 1990, Manuel Noriega surrendered to American forces in Panama. And on this date in 1993, the Buffalo Bills came back from a 35-3 hole to defeat the then Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) 41-38 in the greatest comeback in NFL history.

-Notable premieres: the March of Dimes (1938), DRAGNET (1952), Apple Computer Company (1977), the first members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986).

-Happy Birthday to Cicero, Lucretia Mott, Clement Attlee, J.R.R. Tolkien, Marion Davies, Anna May Wong, Ray Milland, Victor Borge, Betty Furness, Jesse White, Bud Adams Jr., Hank Stram, George Martin, Sergio Leone, Robert Loggia, Dabney Coleman, Glen Larson, Thelmas Schoonmaker, Stephen Stills, John Paul Jones, Victoria Principal, Jim Ross, Ned Lamont, Willy T. Ribbs, Jim Everett, Cheryl Miller, Michael Schumacher, Dan Harmon, A.J. Burnett, Eli Manning, Florence Pugh, and Greta Thunberg.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Josiah Wedgewood, Conrad Hilton, Joy Adamson, Joie Chitwood, Luke Appling, Johnny Most, Jerry Quarry, Al Smith, Juan Garcia Esquivel!, Sid Gillman, Will Eisner, Pat Hingle, Phil Everly, Saul Zaentz, and Gerry Marsden.

-Feed the Worms: Jack Ruby bought it on this date.

-Hall of Fame hockey player and woman-abuser Bobby Hull and actor/director/religious freak job Mel Gibson were born on this date. You decide if they get Happy Birthdays or if they Feed the Worms.