01/19/23
Good morning! It’s Thursday, January 19th. Jodie Sweetin’s birthday!
Also, Dolly Parton’s birthday.
Also, National Popcorn Day.
WOW! What a time to just… be alive, eatin popcorn, listening to Dolly, and being super happy that Jodie Sweetin was born.
And now, the news.
Helicopter Crash in Ukraine
We start in Ukraine, where a helicopter crash near Kyiv has killed around 14 people. The number is unconfirmed, as official reports have given different numbers.
What we do know, and I apologize because this, like almost every other story when I talk about the invasion, includes a horrific detail – the dead include at least nine on the helicopter, as well as a number of children – as the helicopter crashed into a kindergarten.
It also includes five Interior Ministry officials, as well as a national police official.
The crash is being investigated, but no official reason has been given yet. It did happen on a foggy morning and no recent fighting has been reported in the area, however these helicopters have been flying low since the invasion, which increases the dangers of their flights.
President Zelenskyy addressed the claim while address the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying, “This is not an accident because it has been due to war and the war has many dimensions, not just on the battlefields. There are no accidents at wartime. These are all war results.”
Funerals have begun for the 45 civilians that were killed in the unprompted attack on the nine-story apartment complex in Dnipro.
George Santos né Kitara Ravache
-via CNN // Twitter // NY Times
So, in attempt to recover for the serious, and absolutely warranted seriousness of that last story, let’s switch gears.
George Santos. But wait, I promise you… this one’s worth it.
George Santos, who has vocally supported Florida heinous, cruel for the sake of being cruel, “Don’t Say Gay” bill, maybe be known by a third name in Brazil.
As we know, we currently goes by George Santos, which picks and chooses from his full legal name. He has also, as recently as 2019, gone by Anthony Devolder, which also picks and chooses from his legal name of George Anthony Devolder Santos.
A third name has emeged, per a conversation that Marisa Kabas, a freelance reporter for MSNBC. She tweeted yesterday that she spoke with Eula Rochard, a Brazilian drag queen who claims to have been friends with Santos when he lived in Rio.
She knew him as Anthony, and in this tweet it is emphasized that he NEVER went by George. She also knew him by Kitara.
His drag name.
The tweet thread includes a picture that, while grainy, certainly looks like Santos.
Rochard says she met Santos when he was 16 or 17 and they bonded over both being gay and enjoying drag.
And I want to be really really clear about what’s being reporting here.
There is nothing wrong with drag. It’s art as well as a beautiful form of self-expression. If Santos just did drag, this would be a nothing story. But the hypocrisy of it is what I’m telling you about. Because to have the gall to come out in support of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill, in general, but also after spending what appears to have been a significant amount of time in the community… disgusting. And what a break of the trust he must have built up as well.
This dude sucks.
And I’m not kidding when I tell you that this, the completely safe and innocuous action of performing in drag, might actually be the thing that gets him kicked out of the Republican party.
Which also sucks.
Everything about this sucks. Except for the part about him doing drag – drag is great. Every other element sucks.
And hey, while we’re all mad and I’m already on one…
Remember when I said Santos told people his nonprofit to save animals was fishy. Yeah, turns out Santos promised to raise money that would save the life of a homeless veteran’s dog… and then just stole the $3,000 and ghosted him.
So that’s a sentence that should follow him forever.
I’ll say it again… this dude SUCKSSSSSSSSS.
Microsoft Layoffs
-via NY Times
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it will lay off 10,000 workers, a little less than 5% of its staff.
It is the largest staff cut in about eight years.
They are one of many large tech firms cutting staff. In fact, currently Apple and Google’s Alphabet are the only companies that have yet to announce large layoffs recently.
A Note on the Debt Limit
Hey, just a note that I know the debt limit has been in the news lately, because we are expected to hit our limit today.
I’m waiting to talk about it until… well probably tomorrow… because we knew this was coming and Treasury Secretary Yellen says she’s going to do everything she can to make sure we’ll stay beneath it for as long as possible. I just feel like I want to talk about it once there are tangible things to talk about, because that’s always been the goal of the show. Not to freak you out, but just to keep you in the loop.
But I also didn’t want it to seem like I was unaware. So… expect that we’ll likely talk about this tomorrow, if not Monday.
Ted Lasso Sets Season Three Premiere
-via Variety
And finally, and I do mean finally… Ted Lasso has set a vague season three premiere. Long time listeners of this show will note that I have blamed everything under the sun on the lack of a premiere date.
I will continue to do so until there’s a specific day, but right now we’re looking at Spring.
Which feels So. Far. Away.
Also, if this is indeed the last season, a thought I refuse to entertain until we know for sure, please note that I will be back on my game of blaming literally everyone under the sun for that as well.
We left England to form our own country! Why do I now have to be beholden to it again?!
Whatever. I will be annoying about this until Spring. And then not annoying for however many episodes we get. And then, I guess… just very annoying forever.
Good luck everyone.
And that’s it! That’s the news!
I’m proud of… well I had a Kelly Clarkson dance party earlier and you know we’re always proud of her. Also popcorn. Also Dolly Parton.
And also Jodie Sweetin. Who has always been an A+ in my book, and has only worked her way up to an A++ over time.
But more than… well how about more than popcorn? More than a delicious bowl of popcorn while you’re watching any one of Jodie’s movies or TV shows… I’m proud of you.