03/01/23

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, March 1st. The first day of ladies month!

And you’re starting strong… by listening to a podcast about the news from me, a lady.

Congratulations… you’ve solved sexism!

Just kidding… you didn’t. It’s not solved. We’re not even in the Constitution. Laws don’t apply to us!

And now, the news.

SCOTUS v Student Loans

-via CNN

-Brett Kavanaugh’s Debt via Mother Jones

The big story is, of course, the Supreme Court battle over whether I have to pay back student loans.

Oral arguments began yesterday and, shockingly (lol jk NOT a shock) – the Reagan Court, further stacked by Trump, does not seem super into the vibe of letting go of student loans.

You, of course, will remember student loans as… the thing that people stopped having to pay on during the pandemic and while the economy isn’t doing so hot right now, it’s for sure not the fault of these loans so maybe let’s all just chill and let us continue to now to pay them?

Of course, Bretty Kavanaugh remembers debt as… the thing he had before someone randomly paid them off right after the oddly timed retirement of Justice Kennedy.

And that’s not an accusation! I’m just saying… interesting timing and may-haps someone should look into it.

Anyway, the point is… it’s not looking good for the Biden plan of debt relief, but there is no official ruling yet.

Update of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

-via Reuters

Citing the time their neighbor invaded another country over a year ago, and continues to commit crimes against humanity at a country that wants nothing more than to just… continue to be their own country… Finland has begun construction of barrier fences on its Eastern border, which is shares with Russia. The pilot fence is expected to be finished at the end of June, with the rest of the fence built between now and 2025.

Chicago Mayoral Election

-via Washington Post

Chicago voters headed to the polls yesterday to vote on, among other things, a new mayor.

The winner is… currently unknown! The nine-person race is expected to go to a runoff on April 4th. It’ll likely be weeks before we know the results which means any candidate who thinks they stand a chance, will need to start campaigning for the runoff now, before we even know if we need one.

What a time to be alive!

Julie Su Tapped for Labor

-via NPR

Biden has tapped Julie Su, the former head of California labor, for the Secretary of Labor position.

If confirmed, she will be the first Asian American to join Biden’s cabinet at the rank of Secretary. Current Labor Secretary, Marty Walsh, is stepping down to join the NHL’s player’s union.

As with all things labor, we turn to Lorena Gonzalez Fletch for comment. Lorena tweeted this official statement: “Julie Su has a lifetime commitment to protecting workers rights, leveling the playing field for good employers, and holding labor law violators accountable. To say that California’s unions, advocates, and rank and file workers are excited with today’s announcement would be an understudy. American workers deserved Julie Su as Labor Secretary.”

This story is both relevant, and an excuse to talk about Lorena.

A win for all!

McCarthy Defends Dumb Idea

-via AP News

Finally… I mean, not finally like THAT just that this is the last story in this episode…

Kevin McCarthy, is once again defending his decision to turn the January 6th footage over exclusively to Tucker Carlson.

He says, eventually, he’ll turn the 42,000 hours of footage over to the broader public. Well, not eventually. He says he’ll do it as soon as possible, but that is a VERY broad statement.

Do you know how many things I’m planning to do as soon as possible? As soon as possible, I’m going to go to the moon and eat at that one fancy hotel I talked about in a million episodes ago and will not look up right now because it’ll mess up my flow.

I’m gonna do that as soon as possible. It’s just… you know… it’s gonna be a while before that’s actually possible. But as soon as it is!

Anyway, he went on to say that Tucker Carlson had first dibs.

Yep, that’s right. We’re handing 42,000 hours of sensitive footage over to Tucker Clarkson – BECAUSE OF DIBS.

He also is giving the thumbs up emoji to giving the footage over to some of the nearly 1,000 defendents that are being prosecuted for their actions on the 6th.

Kevin. Good lord. Dude… I’m sorry to break it to you like this, so publicly, but like… Donald Trump is never going to love you. You called him and said they were trying to kill you and he was like, “I don’t know man. Sounds like you’re in a real pickle.”

And it’s not all his fault, Donald Trump is incapable of real love. Internal or external. But it’s a little McCarthy’s fault… Because that dude sucks.

But sure, give it to Carlson, so they can raise ratings and continue to act like they’re so upset about the 2020 election being stolen, even as we continue to learn that they didn’t believe their own lies.

Listen, we’ve been and staying know this but every time there is more information that reminds up, it’s important to make sure we say it outloud… Trump Republicans and Fox News do not care about you or this country. This is about the bottom line and about revenge for any perceived slights. Ego over everything. Bottom line over everything.

It’s disgusting, and were they capable of feeling real human emotions… they should be ashamed.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of… oh man, I’ll tell you this much. I’m not proud of Kevin McCarthy, that’s for sure. He’s pathetic and feckless and gave up everything for a job he’s terrible at. And I’ll say it to his face too… or at least I would. I honestly would be fine if I never had the opportunity to be in the same room with him.

I am, however, proud of women. Not all women, let’s not go wild here. But you know, I already name dropped her once so let’s do it again. I’m proud of Lorena. She got it from her momma, who I’m also proud of. And I’m proud of my momma. And of the women I know who listen to this show. Absolute bosses, all of ya.

And, as always… we stay proud of Kelly Clarkson.

But more than… um… hey it’s also national peanut butter day! More than peanut butter… I’m proud of you.