January 6 is a day that will live in infamy. On this date, a brutal crime was committed. A miscarriage of justice. A blot on our nation’s history.
That’s right, I’m talking about this:
Never forget.1
Oh, Joe Biden is doing just fine. Why do you ask?
Granted, that’s true. Here’s what they’re really saying:
“Tengo una gran idea. Vendamos todo lo que tenemos. Vamos a dárselo a un Coyote o contrabandista. Nos llevarán a un viaje desgarrador. Entonces vamos a cruzar ilegalmente la frontera.”
Better luck next time, Ultra-MAGA Republicans!
Katie Porter seems fun:
As Matthew Foldi writes:
Katie Porter, darling of the liberal media, is having a rough couple of weeks. The California congresswoman has recently been accused of: firing an employee who allegedly gave her Covid; using racist language, and fostering a hostile workplace.
Fortunately for Porter, she’s not a Republican, so our moral, ethical, and intellectual betters in the press don’t care.
If you’re pursuing a career in Washington and you want your abusive boss to be held accountable in the court of public opinion, you should’ve thought about that before you became a Democrat.
Charlie Hebdo magazine is mocking Muslims again, and you have to admire their guts:
The magazine held a contest to draw the most offensive possible cartoon of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Here’s one of the winners. Warning: It’s very rude indeed.
Vulgar? Yes. Disgusting? Undoubtedly. But considering Iran’s treatment of women, it seems more than fair. You can find dozens more examples here.
More importantly, Iran doesn’t want you to see any of those cartoons. Which is why you should see them. You should never pass up an opportunity to defy fascists:
This could be mere bluster from those miserable tyrants. Or we could be looking at another #JeSuisCharlie situation. You know where I stand, dear reader: Free speech over tyranny, every time. Whatever else you want to say about Charlie Hebdo, they keep standing up to these assholes even after their colleagues were brutally murdered in their own offices. Liberté, égalité, fraternité!
I honestly don’t care who becomes the next speaker of the House, but the media’s paroxysms are entertaining:
This is why I could never be on TV. You have to say the dumbest $#!+ imaginable to promote your team or you’ll lose your job. The money is great, but I prefer a good night’s sleep.
I don’t know much about Byron Donalds, but he’s been impressing me this week:
“Man, that sucks.” This is what I say every time Cori Bush opens her mouth, and it’s nice to finally hear it from a member of Congress.
Can you imagine if the first black speaker of the House was a Republican? The Dems would defecate rectangular units of building material.
Streaming pick: The Justin Hawkins Rides Again channel on YouTube.
Hawkins is the lead singer and guitarist of the British band The Darkness, which had a couple of hits in America 20 years ago. They never really broke through here, I think mainly because American audiences just didn’t get Hawkins’ bizarre sense of humor. Then the band broke up and got back together and the usual sort of rock-band stuff. I think they’re still together? Their most recent album was in 2021.
Hawkins’ YouTube channel is pretty great. He reacts to new (and old) music videos, tells stories of his various adventures in a rock band, and sings and plays guitar and natters on about whatever’s on his mind. He’s weird and funny and engaging, and he’s not only a prodigiously talented singer/guitarist, but also a keenly analytical music critic with an encyclopedic knowledge of rock history. If you love music, but not necessarily the music industry, you might enjoy it as much as I do.
Rock isn’t dead. Yet!
It’s Friday, which means it’s time to beg you to please subscribe to this newsletter. I’m glad you’re reading it, but I can’t keep writing it without your support. And if you want to toss a few bucks into the tip jar as well, I won’t be mad at ya.
"It's not like people are sitting around a table somewhere in Central America saying 'I got a great idea. Let's sell everything we have. Let's give it to a Coyote or smuggler. They'll take us on a harrowing journey. Then we're gonna illegally cross the border."
Actually, I think that's exactly how it goes. Native Salvadoran Mrs. Pi says her parents talked about it pretty much every day at the dinner table until, when she was 14, her mother left and came to the US - yes, illegally* but quickly found a sponsor; they're all citizens now - and set things up just like that.
+1 on Justin Hawkins Rides Again. Great channel.