09/13/23
Good morning! It’s Wednesday, September 13th.
Defy Superstition Day
I guess because it’s the 13th? But it’s not Friday the 13th, so this is just a regular 13th.
Fun fact! There are a lot of reasons that 13 has a bad reputation but many believe it stared two ways – in Norse mythology, when Loki (god of mischief) crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods there to 13 and, because Loki was sneaky sneaks, he tricked the blind god Hodr into shooting and killing his brother. Which is very bad luck.
Other people believe its no good very bad origins come from the bible, because Judas was the 13th guest to arrive at the Last Supper. Which is bad manners in general, but then his betrayal of Jesus led to Jesus’ crucifixion, which is arguably worse manners.
So there we go. The 13th.
And now, the news.
McCarthy Directs Formal Biden Impeachment Inquiry
The big story is, of course, House Speaker McCarthy opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Before we freak out, but after we roll our eyes, let’s dive in.
So first – what does this mean? As a reminder, the House Republicans, and really Republicans nationwide as well as in office, are pretty split. We have some that want to pretend like these are the days of yor, and others that are like – “Oh Trump? The guy who wouldn’t even successfully sell steak? Yeah no that’s my Dear Leader. I’ll follow him to the very end (which I can only assume is the literal only place we’re headed).”
So McCarthy is Speaker, but because the Republicans don’t have a huge majority in the House, he can only afford to lose four votes. So he needs to keep a fractured party together.
Also, because all Kev has ever wanted in his whole big boy life is to be Speaker (not do it well, not to good with it – just to put the line on his resume), one of the concessions he gave was that the House could call a vote to remove him anytime they want.
Additionally, remember that most Republicans don’t like Biden simply because he exists. He’s not Trump.
So that’s where we’re at. That’s the backstory you need.
Oh! Also remember that Trump was impeached in the House twice. Once for withholding aid for Ukraine since they didn’t want to lie and say they were investigating Biden in hopes of making people suspicious of Biden and not voting for him. The second time was, obviously, insurrection crimes.
Two very real impeachments. And so, because of that, some House members have said they want to impeach Biden on day one. Because this is a game now, apparently. Which… I’m not even going to get into how dangerous this is. But it is… it’s dangerous to start doing this. Anyway, so a Biden impeachment has been the goal, but McCarthy’s been able to hold off on it for a while.
Except now his members have had enough and are threatening to oust Kev from his Speaker role, and shutdown the government by opposing a spending bill that needs to pass at the end f the month, if they can’t start an impeachment investigation.
So McCarthy will task the Oversight Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Ways and Means Committee to carryout this investigation.
This is not an impeachment. There are not impeachment proceedings. This is them opening the investigation. Now, normally this would be preceeded by a full House vote, which they did in the Clinton impeachment as well as Trump’s first impeachment. It was not done in the 2nd impeachment, likely because it would have devolved into dangerous chaos as well as taken too long. However, House Republicans say that since they didn’t do a full House vote for the 2nd impeachment, it’s not needed here.
The more likely reason is that House Republicans in districts Biden won aren’t super into this political game being played. And let’s be clear – that’s all this is. They want to investigate the business dealings of the Biden family, and specifically Hunter. Which they have done for months and found nothing. So now they want to act as if this will bring up new things.
While it will allow they to do a deeper investigation, I have a hard time believing that they’ll find anything that actually matters. Still though, that’s where we are right now.
This is absolutely ridiculous but still happening and I’ll keep you updated as it goes. But it goes without saying that this is not serious politics. Kevin McCarthy and his band of bing bong republicans are deeply unserious people who have no interest in governing this country. I can’t wait to take the House back next year.
Libya’s Flood Update
-via NBC News
Okay, brace yourself for a horrific update on the flood in Libya – because as rescuers continue to search for survivors and victims, the feared death toll is now at 10,000.
What we know for sure is that at least 5,300 are dead, but an additional 10,000 are missing.
Information is hard to verify right now, but these numbers are devastating.
CDC Booster Update
-via NPR
As expected, the CDC has announced their recommendations for the new use of the COVIC vaccines. In a 13-1 vote, advisors recommend the vaccines for anyone 6 months and older. That’s the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine. The new Noravax vaccine is still under FDA review but may be approved soon.
Tyre Nichols Officers
-via CNN
The five former Memphis police officers that were directly involved in the deadly beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols have been indicted by a federal grand jury.
As a reminder, Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man in Memphis who was repeatedly punched and kicked after a traffic stop. His injuries were so sever that he was hospitalized, and died three days later.
The officers are also facing state charges as well as the federal ones.
PA Manhunt
-via CNN
A quick update on the hunt for Danelo Cavalcante, the escaped murderer who has been on the run from police for 13 days.
He stole a rifle from someone’s garage. The homeowner fired several shots as the fugitive fled.
He was previously wearing a white shirt and green hooded sweatshirt, but both clothing items were found near the homeowner’s driveway.
This very serious situation is obviously now even more concerning.
MGM Hotels and Casinos Under Cyber Attack
-via NY Times
MGM Resorts International say they are back online after a “cybersecurity issue” caused disruptions for customers, primarily the ones in Vegas. They did not share details, and I’ve heard from other sources that they are not back up and running. Their website is still down, I just checked myself and it wouldn’t load. I’ve also heard employee portals are down and guests are being checked in and out manually.
I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why MGM isn’t being clearer about this, but uh.. yeah. That’s what’s going on.
When we’ll know more, we’ll know more.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Hey! Tomorrow I’m gonna try and talk about this North Korea and Russia situation (the situation being that Kim Jung Un is headed to Russia to talk about trading weapons. And that’s not… ideal.
And when I say “I’m gonna try” I mean – there’s a lot of news that’s like right in the middle of being a story. So we’ll see what develops or if I can get that episode done instead.
I’m proud of… lots of people. Lots and lots. But more than that, more than so so many other people, because you are the best you I know… I’m proud of you.