10/25/23

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, October 25th.

World Pasta Day.

Yes, please! Did you know that people have been eating pasta since at least 5,000 BC? And there are 350 types of pasta. Each delicious.

And now, the news.

UAW Strike Expands

-via NBC News

Let’s start with an update on the United Auto Workers strike, which has expanded once again after 5,000 employees at the GM Arlington, Texas plant walked out the day after 6,800 employees walked out of a Michigan Stellantis plant.

Around 45,000 employees, out of 146,000, are currently out on strike.

Georgia Supreme Court Allows Abortion Ban to Stay

-via NY Times

On Tuesday, Georgia’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban. This ban was approved by the state legislature in 2019, but doctors and advocacy groups fought it for almost four years.

I want to say something about this. Because this… sucks. I mean, it sucks if you believe that people should have bodily autonomy and should not be forced to be pregnant because the law says so.

And if you believe that, then hearing headlines like these are always really hard.

Six weeks is just… abhorrent. Some people don’t even know they’re pregnant by then.

But this is a 2019 law that, for four years, was fought. And even though there is ruling here, it doesn’t mean this is a done deal. The court only addressed whether the state ban should have been voided based on when it was enacted. It sent the case back down to a lower court to answer whether the state constitution protects a right to privacy and, if it does, whether that right encompasses abortion.

And that’s important. It matters that these fights continue. Nothing’s settled till it’s settled, and when it comes to bodily autonomy, it’s not settled the right to that autonomy is firmly ensconced in the law.

And because I said ensconced, that’s how you know I’m serious.

Search for the New House Speaker

-via CNN

And don’t think I forgot about the search for the new House Speaker. I mean, I’d love to, but we still don’t have a Speaker and so, here we are. Still stuck here talking about it.

Over the weekend, Indiana Republican Tom Emmer became one of the nine contestants in the Speaker race. Not only that, he quietly became the leading candidate.

Well, buckle up because on Tuesday… Emmer was selected as the party’s nominee and then, just hours later… dropped out. But for four hours and ten minutes, wow – didn’t he really have it all?

What an absolutely incredible waste of everyone’s time and money this is.

Trump Crime Update Time

-via AP News (Cohen) and AP News (Ellis)

And of course…

Trump Crime Update Time!

(Two different crimes, edition)

By the flip of a coin, we’re starting with… Trump New York civil money crimes case.

On Tuesday, former Trump fixer, who is now never invited his birthday parties ever again, Michael Cohen, who went to jail because of the crimes he did for Trump, took the stand in the money crimes case.

Wanna hear how it went? Well, here’s a solid quote that should give you an idea… “I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets, based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected.” He then added that he and former Trump finance chief Allen Weisselberg would “reverse-engineer the various different asset classes, increase those assets, in order to achieve a number that Mr. Trump had tasked us.”

What number might that be, you may be asking yourself. “Whatever number Trump told us to.”

And just to up the drama, Trump was in the room! Which I note because, even though he’s complaining about having to be there… that dude does not need to be there.

In cross-examination, Trump’s lawyer had an admittedly sick burn when they talked about tax evasion and Cohen noted different cases that allowed him to do so, she said he was wrong and then added, “if you still had your law license, you’d understand that.”

Rude. But still a sick burn.

The case continues.

As does the Georgia election stealing crimes case where yet another defendant pled guilty. Jenna Ellis – who was a very prominent figure in the big lie media tour, cried as she read a letter of guilt.

She said she would have not have represented Trump after the 2020 election if she knew then what she knows now. Saying, “What I did not do but should have done, Your Honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true.”

And in reaction, Trump said it was “too bad.” Which is hilarious to me, for some reason. Because this is the fourth guilty plea, and third by someone who was very close to Trump and knows stuff. So “too bad,” is such a silly reaction to how screwed he likely is.

Credit where credit is due… my stepdad was the first to report that Jenna Ellis would be the next card to fall. So good job Jim. (He has not yet said who

Thank You, Krysten

-via Business Insider

And finally… this is not news, news. But it is… very funny. And most importantly… it’s going to be fun to make fun of. So fun in fact… there will be no script for this part.

Because Krysten Sinema, former Democrat and current Independent Senator, who is up for reelection next year, wants us to know that she doesn't care if she loses reelection. She also says she “saved the Senate by myself” and can go serve “on any board I want to.”

This is all in the new Mitt Romney book by McKay Coppins. And while I’m sure Romney hates her being in the book about him, I personally feel like they have a lot in common.

The full quote is: "I don't care. I can go on any board I want to. I can be a college president. I can do anything. I saved the Senate filibuster by myself. I saved the Senate by myself. That's good enough for me."

First of all… is the Senate saved? Do we feel good about the Senate?

And you didn’t “save” the filibuster. You ruined democracy by allowing the filibuster to stick around, and ya didn’t do it alone. Ya did it with your little houseboat buddy Joey Manchy.

And while we love that go-getter spirit, that “I can do anything, I just saw the Barbie movie” energy… I have a hard time believing that after barely doing anything besides annoying people in the Senate, that you can just go be a college president. Because college president’s do things. You… don’t. You just… are there.

And that, all on its own, is a bummer.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

The news, and also a story about Kyrsten Sinema, that is not news because, just like her entire political career, it is neither interesting nor does anything.

What a ride.

I’m proud of pasta. It’s so good! I love it so much! I love it like it’s family.

But more than that… because pasta is great but you are greater… I’m proud of you.