08/17/23
Good morning! It’s Thursday, August 17th.
National Black Cat Appreciation Day!
I used to have a black cat. Its name was Krypton. Like the home planet of Kal-El, the Kryptonian name of Superman.
I um… I have other hobbies. Please still be my friend.
And now, the news.
Kansas Newsroom Raided
-via AP News
Alright, so this first story is one of those slow burn stories and I don’t know if it’s because there just wasn’t a lot of information at first, or if it’s because the idea of it is so antithetical to who we are supposed to be as a country, that we couldn’t really wrap our heads around what was happening. But either way… here we go.
Last week, the police in central Kansas carried out raids in the local newspaper’s office, as well as the home of its owner and publisher. They seized computers and cell phones, and, according to the publisher, stressed out his 98-year-old mother so much that she died over the weekend.
A search warrant tied the raids to a dispute between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner that accused the newspaper of invading her privacy and illegally accessing information about her.
Meanwhile, the publisher believes that the raids were carried out because the newspaper was investigating the police chief’s background.
On Wednesday, the county’s attorney said, in his review of the seizures, that there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant them, and police need to return the laptops and cell phones.
This story is slowly making its way into the mainstream and hopefully that means we’ll get more information. Because this doesn’t feel like this is the whole story.
As a reminder, the 1st Amendment pretty clearly protects the right to a free press, so this is a very clear violation of that.
Let me tell you something – Clark Kent would never put up with this. And that comment has nothing to do with me talking about Superman in the opening. That’s honest so weird you even thought that. Very odd. They’re not even CLOSE to being the same person so it’s like… how’d you even connect those dots? Wild!
…I’m sorry I ended segment on a joke. This is a serious 1A violation.
Classic George Santos
-via NBC News
Samuel Miele, a paid campaign fundraiser for George Santos’ 2020 and 2022 campaigns, was indicted in New York for impersonating a top aide to Kevin McCarthy as he tried to raise money for the campaign.
And it sounds like Santos knew because he wrote him a letter admitting he lied about his identity to a big dollar donor but… said he was, “high risk, high reward in everything I do.”
A note to these dinkuses – please never stop writing your embarrassing thoughts down. Text your friends. Write your bosses letters. Please never stop writing embarrassing things that will later become evidence.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on $150k bail.
Abortion Pill Ruling
-via Reuters
A U.S. appeals court has ordered a ban on telemedicine prescriptions and shipments of the abortion pill mifepristone. However, hey, hey, hear this however, it’s a big one: this will not take effect until the Supreme Court reviews it, which could (aka probably will) happen in this next term, which begins in October.
So for now, no change. However, if the Supreme Court gives this ruling a pass, it means that the pill will be restricted greatly.
This is a developing story and, as of this recording, neither the FDA nor the White House have commented. But when they do… oh I bet they’re gonna be big mad!
Maui Update
-via CBS News
Maui Food Bank // Maui United Way // Hawai’i Community Foundation
The death toll has reached 106, with hundreds more still missing, as the search continues for victims continues in Maui.
President Biden says they are “surging federal personnel” to help in Maui, where more than 400 FEMA and 273 National Guard soldiers have already been deployed.
At this point, at least 27% of the area has been searched.
The Hawai’i Community Fund, Maui United Way, and Maui Food Bank are all taking donations. I put a link to each in show notes.
Trump Crime Update Time
And of course…
Trump Crime Update Time
(just a little bit of info here, edition)
As I mentioned yesterday, this is a developing story and so you’ll be hearing that fun little musical interlude a lot this summer/fall/and now spring
Because on Wednesday, DA Fani Willis’ office filed a motion for a March 4th trial start date.
Again, we love a dreamer! But we’ve got an indicted former president who is banking on delaying this as long as possible, so his team will pull out all the stops. Plus, he’s a four-time indicted president and it’s possible that the three other criminal cases that he’s also involved in might, you know, make that schedule a little tight.
But again we don’t time travel here and we also don’t kill dreams. So Willis wants March 4th, and that’s where that stands, until it doesn’t.
The other news is that, on Tuesday, Marky Meads filed a motion to move the case to a federal court, arguing that he is entitled to bring a federal immunity defense because the state charges against him stem from his conduct as then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff. Aka – I had a federal job and deserve a federal case.
In what feels like a very classic Marky Meads Move (TM?), he’s going to provide more of an explanation about why he wants to move to a federal court “at a later date.”
We’re on Canary Watch 2023 here, as we wait to see who will be the first of the 19 indicted to take a deal. So far, no one has. Oh but when they do… I already have a cute little bit worked out for when they do!
And that’s it. That’s the news.
For a while!
So heads up… Kelly Clarkson has a new album. It’s called Chemistry and I am prepared to talk at length about it. I’m also going to go watch her sing with my eyes and hear with ears. So there will be no news tomorrow OR next week.
The pickle of course, is that we’re on Canary Watch and everyone has until noon eastern on the 25th to turn themselves in.
So… I don’t know. I guess I won’t be able to take the whole week off. But I’m still going to take advantage of a break as much as possible.
In the meantime! Hey! You know how I’m always like, “therapy’s great but have you considered just creating a new website?” We Are Voters, the nonpartisan nonprofit I founded and run, is rolling out a first-of-its-kind-that-I’ve-ever-seen training program to help turn community influencers into community leaders who turn out voters. I am very excited about it (and that’s the real reason I’m taking next week off. I mean, yes I will need a full business week to recover from Kelly Clarkson, but really I need time to finish building this program out).
So if you have some time while you’re anxiously awaiting the next episode of Here’s What’s Happening, may I suggest going to raisingvoters.org and signing up to be the first to know when we launch?
K. Thanks.
I’m proud of black cats. They’re so cute! Cats in general, but black cats really! So cute!
And I’m proud of the cat I had. Krypton.
And we stay proud of Kelly Clarkson.
But more than… ha! Almost thought you had me there! Almost thought I’d say more than Kelly Clarkson. But you know what… more than Kal-El! Because you are also SUPER… I’m proud of you.