At long last, victory for the swamp-dwellers.
California representative/human punching bag Kevin McCarthy finally got his dream late last night when he won the election for House speaker after 15 tries, the longest such fight in over 150 years. There may have been a few arguments and a tussle or two, and I’m sure there was plenty of “gosh golly” to go around, but when the dust finally settled there could only be one slimeball repugnant enough to crawl down into the gutter and pick up the mantle left behind by Madam Pelos-dawg herself.
In order to win, McCarthy had to give major concessions to far-right holdouts, including the reinstatement of a longstanding house rule that allows any single member to call a vote to oust him from office at any time. He may have won on the day, but he emerges from this battle as a weakened leader, having begged and pleaded for power, even giving some power away, and constantly under the threat of being booted by his haters. Clearly Kevin is a man who enjoys suffering under immense pressure, so I’m sure this will be fine.
This reality TV-worthy drama on Capitol Hill came against the backdrop of the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attempted coup/hillbilly rave on the Capitol. You may recall the day that will forever live in our minds, as a mob of people all jacked up on Mountain Dew attempted to demonstrate their power by popping into their local elected office. Biden marked the occasion with pomp and circumstance of course, handing out medals to officers and others who fought the attackers. Truly absurd political times we’re living in.
Meanwhile, Trump, the entire motivation behind those attacks, played kingmaker in the speaker election. He apparently urged republican leaders to wrap up the public dispute, because we all know, if there’s one thing Donny hates, it’s needlessly causing a scene.
Side Items
Murderous Prince: Evidently, Prince Harry’s communication team absolutely loathe him and want to see him publicly ridiculed and excoriated. It’s the only explanation for why this literal prince would choose to share in his memoir his assertion that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan. Harry claims to have killed more than two dozen Taliban fighters while serving as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner in 2012-2013. He writes about how, in the heat of battle, he regarded enemy combatants simply as pieces being removed from a chessboard, “Baddies eliminated before they could kill Goodies.” The casual murderer talks about his combat experience the way a child describes their favorite superhero. I guess his representatives forgot to tell him that he could simply NOT openly admit to war crimes
Damar Hamlin Update: The hospitalized football player is now breathing and walking on his own, a truly remarkable turnaround for what seemed a lethal injury. Hamlin spent his first two days in the hospital under sedation. Upon being awakened on Wednesday evening, Hamlin was able to follow commands and grip people’s hands. He had his breathing tube removed and was able to join a call with teammates yesterday, who say his “neurologic function remains intact.” There’s still no timetable for his release, but these are extremely promising signs that the NFL didn’t completely and irreversibly destroy this young man’s dreams…yet
Chaos in Culiacan: Violence erupted in the Mexican city of Culiacan earlier this week, as law enforcement officers tracked down and arrested Ovidio Guzman, the son of El Chapo. The arrest came at the cost of at least 30 lives — 11 from the military and law enforcement and 19 suspected cartel gunmen. The cartel burned businesses and vehicles, blocked roads, and generally provided the mayhem they’re known for. This isn’t the first time Ovidio’s been arrested by Mexican forces. In 2019, a failed operation to arrest him ended in humiliation for Mexico’s government. At the time, security forces briefly detained Ovidio, triggering a massive violent backlash from cartel loyalists and leading authorities to fold and quickly release him to stave off the threat of further retribution from his henchmen. Those same supporters have now given law enforcement officials a deadline to hand Guzman back, threatening civil war if they don’t