02/27/24

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, February 27th.

International Polar Bear Day.

So wild to think that all they had to do was star in a few Diet Coke commercials and they got their own international day!

And now, the news.

Israel-Hamas War

-via AP News

Let’s start with the Israel-Hamas war, but start the start over here in America because we have to start with an update on the man who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in D.C. We know now that man was Aaron Bushnell - a 25-year-old active duty member of the Air Force who called out that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide.”

He livestreamed the deadly protest on Twitch.

And on Monday, President Biden said that he hoped a cease-fire, which would allow for remaining hostages to be released, could start by Monday.

Negotiations are currently underway for a six-week pause that would include allowing hundreds of trucks to deliver aid into Gaza every day, which is urgently needed.

Congressional Shutdown Looms

-via NY Times

President Biden will visit his buds on the hill today, meeting with four congressional leaders in hopes of averting a government shutdown that would just past midnight on Friday. He is also still on the hunt for the billions in aid he’d like to send to Ukraine and Israel.

Part of the hold up on this new budget, which is a continued resolution of a continued resolution of a continued resolution… just… turtles and bad checks, all the way down (seriously, the party of Trump has now brought the government a breath away from a shutdown three times in the last six months)… anyway, part of the hold up is that Republicans want to add abortion restrictions to the budget.

Let me repeat that: Republicans want to add abortion restrictions to the budget.

They’re willing to shut down the government over it.

“Oh but Biden’s old”

Everyone’s old! Getting old is the point of life!

Republicans want to add abortion restrictions to the budget and they’re willing to shut down the government over it.

What’s not helping is that every time they do a continued resolution, Speaker Johnson keeps telling his party that they’ll try and secure more policy victories in the next round of negotiations. And people believe him! Couldn’t get it down the first few times, but there’s not one ounce of good, normal, or quit in that absolute weirdo.

Dude can’t even count to 219 and our whole country depends on him.

Neat system!

NATO Hearts Sweden

-via NPR

With Hungary’s parliament finally signing off on Sweden’s 2022 application to join NATO, the county is past the biggest hurdle it had and well on its way to becoming the 32nd member of NATO.

To which Trump said – “and now they owe me money! I’m not helping them! Not even for chocolate!”

No no… Trump didn’t say that. He will, I’m sure but, as a reminder, NATO countries don’t owe dues or anything so like… ugh…. That’s not what this story is about! Now I’m flustrated! (Sweden does chocolate, right?)

As a reminder, Sweden and Finland, which has already been approved, requested to join NATO after Putin began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

SCOTUS and Social Media

-via CNN

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that asks whether social media platforms should be treated like telephone companies - required to transmit content regardless of viewpoint, of if they should be more like newspapers, which can choose which articles to put on the front page.

It’s a combination of cases out of Florida and Texas, both of which argue that social media companies discriminate conservative viewpoints. Which tells me… that they’ve never been on social media.

It’s really a free speech case but it’s so tough because I gave those two examples – a telephone company or newspaper. But social media isn’t any of that. And then, as Monday’s hearing mentioned, where do money apps like Venmo, which include (for reasons that befuddle the mind) a social media aspect.

Free speech is a constitutional right.

But private companies are still able to make their own rules about what’s allowed and what isn’t. So when Trump literally organized an insurrection, partly through social media, and was kicked off the platforms – that’s what their policies allowed.

This one’s going to be a tricky one and honestly the best thing we can hope for here is a narrow ruling that doesn’t, you know, take away social media from everyone except cithet white land-owning males.

A narrow ruling is best here because we haven’t evolved our law or language around social media enough yet for a ruling here to not confuse things.

Trump Crime Update Time

-via NBC News (gag order) and CBS News ($454 million appeal)

And of course…

Trump Crime Update Time

(just a little something something, edition)

While we wait for godot’s supreme court ruling, how about a couple small pieces of news…

First, after his New York civil money crimes case ruling that saw Trump owing $454 million with an added daily interest of more than $100,000 because he lied about the property value of his various buildings, Trump who totally has enough money to cover it but he’s just like not liquid right now and he could be! He totally could be, he’s just so busy and the person he calls at the bank is out and then by the time he’s free to call, it’s after five and then the bank’s closed. And he's got time on Sunday but they’re closed and you know, he loves church…

Okay I gotta stop.

Anyway, in that case, Trump has officially appealed the judge’s decision. Which he is absolutely allowed to do. Go for it.

He will still need to hand over the entire amount as bond, in order to qualify for an automatic stay of the judgment during the appeal process. Basically “here’s the money. Hold on to that for me, while I argue my appeal.” And then, of course, if the appeal’s successful, he gets the money back. When it is, he won’t.

One small hurdle here… he has not posted bond yet.

We’ll see what happens here.

And then over to his criminal case in New York – I haven’t named this one yet, because he has so many election stealing crimes cases, and that’s what this is at its core – but this is the one where Trump laundered hush money to keep his affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal a secret ahead of the 2016 election.

There, New York prosecutors are seeking a limited gag order to prevent Trump from talking about witnesses and court staff members, as he has proven himself to be a big fan of, which Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg noted in his court filing. Meanwhile, lawyer for Trump, this is wild, have filed a pretrial motion to prevent Daniels and McDougal, as well as Michael Cohen, aka the biggest witnesses in the case, from being able to testify.

Bragg’s court filing also included a line from a 2007 book from Trump: “When you are wronged, go after those people because it is a good feeling and because other people will see you doing it.”

I’ve never heard this line before but it is… very telling.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we’d be doing so much better as a country is that man had gotten a little therapy and a bigger role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of polar bears.

They’re so cute!

But more than that… because not unlike a polar bear, you’re adorable and furious when needed… I’m proud of you.