02/09/23
Good morning! It’s Thursday, February 9th. National pizza day!
And that’s it. That’s all that’s going on today.
JK – it’s also my stepdad’s birthday. And my aunt’s birthday.
And, and I can’t stress this enough… national pizza day.
A win for all.
And now, the news.
Guilty Plea in El Paso
-via Washington Post
We start in El Paso, where the man accused of killing 23 people, and wounding two others, in the 2019 Walmart shooting that was specifically meant to kill Mexicans. We know this because he posted a statement online before the attack and used hateful anti-immigrant language that the far-right still use. Some of which are in office as I speak.
Anyway, the 24-year-old pled guilty to the shootings yesterday. He now faces 90 consecutive life-sentences. He will be sentenced in June, but federal authorities say they will not be seeking the death penalty.
Disney Layoffs
-via LA Times
While also announcing sequels for Toy Story and Frozen (yawn, call me when they’re doing Tangled), Disney’s CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney will be cutting 7,000 jobs as part of an overall goal of saving $5.5 billion, in hopes to stop the Disney+ bleeding.
Why they don’t combine Disney+ with Hulu, which they own, is bonkers.
And cut the never working ESPN+ app.
Disney+, which is very poorly advertised (you’d think it’s just for households with kids but they have a lot of cool stuff on there), has a terrible interface (why aren’t all of the Disney shorts on autoplay?), and needs a serious algorithm makeover (seriously, there’s so much on the app! None of it gets pushed appropriately!), lost more than $1 billion in the last three months of 2022.
Twitter on Trial
-via NPR
In a House Oversight Committee meeting on Wednesday, former Twitter officials denied claims that the government and Biden’s presidential campaign were involved in Twitter’s decision to block users from sharing a New York Post about Hunter Biden. Though they believe the decision was wrong, they maintain the decision was that of Twitter and not Biden.
This is such a stupid story. I can’t believe I wasted my time writing it and your time listening to it.
But you know what? It’s nothing compared to the waste of our tax dollars all of this was.
Next segment.
U.K. Pledges Help for Ukraine
-via NY Times
So was that last story stupid? Yes, absolutely. So why did I tell it? So I could make sure you knew that that’s what the House Republicans want to do with your money and our government, all while the real world happens around them. A world they are ill-prepared to lead.
In Britain on Wednesday, the prime minister promised Ukraine’s President Zelensky that they will train Ukrainian-pilots on NATO-standard jets, calling it the “first step,” suggesting they will provide Ukraine with advanced British fighter jets.
From there, Zelensky went to Paris, where he spoke with the president of France as well as the chancellor of Germany who said, Ukraine’s allies would provide financial, humanitarian and military support for “as long as necessary.”
He also met with King Charles but all that came out of that meeting, news-wise, was that Zelensky was in a sweatshirt and how he was using his wardrobe to show that the war permeates everything.
Meanwhile, I wear a sweatshirt every day and it’s “oh Kim, can’t you pull yourself together? Just this once?”
Earthquake Update
As the survival window for those still trapped in buildings rapidly closes, the death toll in Friday’s awful earthquake is approaching 12,000.
A note about that number – by the time you hear this, it will be higher. Every morning I wake up, and the number is exponentially higher than what I reported the night before.
And it’s just horrific.
We’re talking about regions that have already been deeply impacted by war – both Syria’s civil war as well as Russia’s attack on Ukraine that caused 145,000 refugees to flee to Turkey. In Syria specifically, the on-going war, and sanctions against Bashar Assad’s government, are slowing rescue efforts from America and the EU, with officials saying they are reluctant to route aid directly through the government. Instead, for years, aid to region has gone through Turkey, but that area of Turkey used to stage the help, has been heavily damaged. Including damage to the roads.
On top of all that, it’s nearly freezing out there right now. It’s raining and snowing, and survivors are sleeping outside. The concern is that people who survived the initial earthquakes, will still die because of them.
I put a link in show notes to a great NY Times article about how to help the areas impacted by the quake. If you can, please consider a donation. It’s going to take years, and incredible amounts of money, to help the area get back on its feet.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of my stepdad and Aunt. They both put up with me, which is really saying something.
I’m also proud of… pizza. Anything can be pizza! Dessert pizza? Good! Breakfast pizza? Good! Pizza pizza? Honestly, a Little Cesar’s $5 Hot n Ready isn’t bad. It’s not amazing, but it’s $5 and worth at least $8.
But more than that… more than the pizza I made the other day with some fresh mozzarella and basil from a plant I thought I could keep alive but absolutely didn’t… because you don’t rely on me to make sure you have enough water… I’m proud of you.