Wednesday, October 4: History in the Making
And it couldn't have happened to a more deserving clown
Apologies for missing yesterday’s edition, I suppose I was too busy mourning the rapid decline of the western empire. But that didn’t stop the decline from continuing at an ever-quickening pace.
Yesterday history was made yet again, this time in the political arena, where the United States continues to make itself a laughingstock. Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house and (in theory) one of the most powerful people on the political scene, was ousted from his role and kicked to the curb like an old, undesirable toy.
A resolution from Floridian/reptilian representative Matt Gaetz passed yesterday with the support of eight republicans and unanimous support from the democrats. The vote made McCarthy the first speaker in American history to be removed from office, which is especially humorous when we recall that it took 15 votes for him to get the position to begin with. Truly a bitter humiliation for a guy who deserves it and much worse. McCarthy lasted 269 days in office, the shortest tenure of a speaker since the mid 1800’s, when this country was still in its infancy.
It’s almost humorous when you think about it. These idiots are theoretically elected to serve the public and advocate for their constituents, but their pettiness and in-fighting leaves regular people to our own devices. With another government shutdown looming in a little over a month, I’ll be amazed if these representatives in congress somehow come to their senses and decide to do their jobs.
Side Items
Healthcare Workers on Strike: 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente walked off the job yesterday in the largest health-care strike in US history. Workers in Virginia, California and three other states are picketing outside hospitals, demanding the company address extreme staffing shortages. Doctors are not yet joining the strike, and Kaiser says its hospitals will remain open during the picketing. Kaiser also said it was bringing in thousands of temporary workers (scabs) to fill gaps during the strike. The health workers union say the company is not bargaining in good faith, which doesn’t come as much surprise if they’ve already chosen to bring in temporary workers. Looks like the weather is cooling off, but the labor actions are not
Zombie Test: Be careful using your phones today folks! FEMA plans to test an emergency alert system this afternoon as part of the national Wireless Emergency Alerts system, but some right-wing conspiracy theorists believe there are ulterior motives at play. There’s a lingering belief that this test will actually trigger a society-wide, vaccine-induced zombie apocalypse, something about the 5G setting off nanoparticles in our blood. So be on the lookout for zombies I guess
Panda Diplomacy No More: It appears our time in the western world with the adorable and beloved panda bear is coming to a close. With diplomatic tensions rising between Beijing and a number of Western governments, China appears to be pulling back its pandas from multiple zoos as a sign of their displeasure. Beijing currently lends out about 65 pandas to 19 different countries through a “cooperative research program” with a stated mission to better protect the vulnerable species. When mom and dad fight, it’s the poor baby panda that suffers the diplomatic consequences