The News That Wouldn't Be the News Without This News
Stories that have gotten attention and others, not so much
Putin’s Folly
Russia’s 3-day special military operation in Ukraine is now in its second month. It appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin, previously known as a ruthless practitioner of 3-dimensional chess, is not playing with all the pieces. The Russian Army has performed poorly, taking heavy losses in personnel and material at the hands of a motivated Ukrainian military. After literally getting their buts kicks trying to take Kyvy, it seems no substantial victory- such as seizing control of Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coastline- is in the immediate future. And bless his ex-KGB agent heart, Putin has managed to not only motivate the Ukrainians to put aside their differences and unite in resisting the Russian invasion, but his risky bet has led to new solidarity among European nations. NATO members are not only acting in concert to aid non-member Ukraine but Finland and Sweden are moving to join the alliance.
Putin would appear to be in a corner, so it would be wise to keep a watchful eye on him: A cornered rat is dangerous.
Another bully had a bad week
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Sultan of Spite, the Viscount of Vindictiveness himself, maybe gloating about how slick he was to push the Republican legislature to rescind The Walt Disney Company’s special district authority in the Orlando area, but his bully act has likely won him a Pyrrhic victory. Disney’s property stretches across the dividing line between Orange and Osceola Counties. If the law is permitted to go into effect in 2023, the two would be on the hook for nearly $1 billion in outstanding bond debt the district is currently carrying. Also, the counties would need to assume the cost of public services (fire departments, utilities, water, sewage, emergency services, and infrastructure such as roads) currently handled by Disney. According to some estimates, property taxes in the two counties would increase by 20-25% per year. In a bit of delicious irony, losing the special district status would relieve Disney of paying local taxes to itself (!) for the services it provides- the dissolution of the special district does not allow for its tax payments to be transferred to local government.
To paraphrase Ricky Riccardo on the I Love Lucy show, “Governor, you got some ‘splaining to do.”
Other Republicans tying their own shoelaces together:
Last week, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who represents the 924th District of Q-Anon, testified under oath in Georgia State Court in a civil proceeding challenging her ability to run again in a Federal Election. This was based on a provision of the 14th Amendment which says any American official who takes an oath to uphold the Constitution is disqualified from holding any future Federal office if they had "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." While the plaintiffs face an uphill climb to make the case, the Happy Harpy made clear her disdain for the entire proceeding by answering “I don’t recall” to over 50 questions. In several instances where she claimed she had no memory of particular statements, the defendants’ attorneys produced video evidence to the contrary.
There are always receipts, Marge.
In a related unrelated incident, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (NC) was cited on a misdemeanor criminal charge of possessing a dangerous weapon this week for bringing a loaded handgun to a North Carolina airport. Cawthorn has a predilection for strange behavior: He was pulled over recently for driving without a valid license- his second such offense. He’s claimed to have been invited to “cocaine and sex parties” by other members of Congress, drawing disapproval from those staid Republicans who are not party animals. By Mad’s usual standards, the photos that surfaced of him posing with some pretty young women while he was dressed in women’s lingerie are no biggie. To top all this, he is facing a potential insider-trading indictment over a “pump-and-dump” cryptocurrency scheme. The currency, in case you’re interested, is called “Let’s Go Brandon” after the refrain mocking President Joe Biden.
No Republican had a worse week than House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who seemed eager to ascend to House Speaker if Republicans retake the majority. After denying a report in the New York Times that he had made disparaging remarks about President Donald Trump after the January 6 insurrection and had told other Republicans that he planned to tell Trump to resign, audio recordings of his remarks were released.
Oops… Don’t these geniuses realize that everyone has a cellphone?
Of course, in the leftist conspiracy theory world, the story is about who may have leaked the recordings. The leading culprit: Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), number 3 in the House GOP leadership, who herself may have designs on becoming Speaker in a GOP-controlled House.
Are these the early signs of Republican in-fighting? Since Donald Trump has endorsed several problematic candidates, the Republican primaries this year might give an indication that his grip on the party is slipping. This is a concern for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who fully understands how Trump’s backing of weak candidates like Herschel Walker in Georgia and Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania will not help his return to Majority Leader.
All I can say is, “Mitch, you blew it two times when you had the chance to remove him after he was impeached and prevent him from ever holding office again.”
As for the Democrats…
As is their historical norm, they have their own special ways to, as the colloquialism goes, screw the pooch. This week we have reports that Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is standing in the way of the Democrats passing any dramatic legislation that would aid the party in an election year. You may shake your head and wonder why he’s even a Democrat, but he is one of the most popular Senators in the chamber. Yes, the Dems could mount a primary challenge in 2024 when he’s up for reelection, but West Virginia is a red state and they’d be handing the Republicans a Senate seat.
For inspiration, Dems must turn to the states for some signs of a fighting spirit. Last week, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D), called out a Republican colleague who accused her of “grooming” children in an impassioned floor speech. (You can view it here.) Let’s see if this lights a fire under complacent Democrats.
And finally, the Musk-y scent of money.
The social networking site Twitter is- pardon me- all atwitter over the news that Elon Musk, famous rich guy at the head of several technological giants (most notably, Tesla and SpaceX) is purchasing the site for $44 billion and intends to take it private. What he will do with Twitter, a financial under-performer with an outsized voice in the public discourse, is anyone’s guess. He’s made noise about free speech and publically attacked the executive in charge of content moderation, but who knows? Elon says many things that he doesn’t follow through on. What is more interesting is that Musk is borrowing the money for the purchase by using his Tesla shares as collateral. On cue with the announcement of the deal, Tesla stock dropped 12%.
(Disclaimer: I have been a Twitter user for over 13 years. Follow me, @nicasaurus.)
Always, always, be careful of what you wish for.
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