-Has anyone on Earth had a worse week than billionaire weirdo Elon Musk? Well … may I introduce you to the socially inept would-be tyrant FL Gov. Ron DeSantis?
-America’s answer to Lord Farquaad, the GOP’s seemingly anointed antidote to the iron grip in his wee tiny hands of Twice-Indicted Ex-President (TIEP) Trump, has seen a polling lead over Trump totally reverse into what is now a 30%+ polling deficit, followed by getting swamped in second quarter fundraising $35M (Trump) to $20M (DeSantis, with $8M of that coming in the first 8 days of his campaign) and a slew of news stories talking about the campaign’s evil-as-Trump-but-more-competent-and-even-meaner strategy flopping like a pair of white rain boots on dry pavement.
-The campaign’s clear flailing can be literally seen in two commercials released recently by Team DeSantis. The first, in which DeSantis attempted to claim Trump is too nice to the LGBTQI community while promising he (DeSantis) will not let that happen, managed to be so grotesque it was criticized for being offensively homophobic AND creepily homoerotic, with pictures of a supposedly heroic DeSantis are edited next to well-muscled and well-oiled men put next to Christian Bale’s homicidal character in AMERICAN PSYCHO (the comparison is meant to be nice to DeSantis) and a clip from the Netflix series PEAKY BLINDERS that made their producers send a cease-and-desist letter to the campaign.
-With that commercial flopping, the campaign sensed the need for a rehabilitation. Enter Casey DeSantis, Ron’s wife, who has appeared at her husband’s events in FL in full Jackie Kennedy garb in trying to help her man (and to be First Lady, clearly). Casey released a commercial announcing a new group, Mamas for DeSantis, and released a long commercial essentially charging Democrats with wanting to corrupt and ruin and destroy all the children in the country because, in the campaign’s favorite word, Democrats are too woke!
-That the DeSantises are positioning themselves as protectors of American youth is interesting given their policies of banning books, persecuting teachers, taking over universities, and allowing open carry weapons throughout the state – but it is a matter of pride to the two, given the jacket Casey occasionally wears that says FL IS WHERE WOKE GOES TO DIE, or her costume she wore the day her commercial came out: a MAMAS FOR DESANTIS T-shirt, crucifix necklace, camouflage yoga pants, and six-inch heels – garb that, in part, is earning Casey the nickname “WalMart Melania” (which Casey does not like!).
-No wonder there are people relishing what appears to be DeSantis’ trip to the circle of once-leading GOP Presidential candidates-turned-trivia questions – a circle that includes Rudy Giuliani, Jeb! Bush, and The Bastard Scott Walker. And it is making some GOP leaders, such as they are, poking around for potential replacements should Trump’s numbers implode with his continuing legal activity and the current field nowhere near Trump. Two Governors to watch for that: GA’s Brian Kemp and VA’s Glenn Youngkin, who both present as more moderate that Trump but more personable than DeSantis, and both of whom won tough races and are battle-tested.
-As for the Democratic Presidential leader, President Biden continues to roll out a campaign to tout his economic achievements (historic low unemployment, infrastructure finally being rebuilt, a return of manufacturing and high-tech jobs, the lowest post-COVID inflation rate in the West) the campaign is labelling “Bidenomics.” Biden also got an unexpected endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Squad), which could help Biden both with younger voters and the ever-present concern of his age (not that Trump’s a spring chicken).
-Biden is running into criticism this week, however, with what is easily the most controversial action taken in support of Ukraine and their battle to expel Russian invaders: the decision to approve Ukraine’s request to send them cluster bombs, which are exactly what it sounds like – a bomb that sets off and spreads smaller bombs in a particular radius. Such weapons are considered beyond the pale given their obvious threats to civilians – but Ukraine asked for them in apparent response to Russian defense lines, which are often in farmland and country sides and surrounded by land mines, and the Biden administration has agreed to deliver them, though it is not clear when. The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues, though leaders admitted to the BBC that progress is slower than they hoped, and a breakthrough in the defense lines are still hoped for.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-And in sportsball news, the NBA released the format of The NBA Cup, the early-season competition aimed at making the early months attractive to players and viewers before the traditional pivot to the league on Christmas Day. Six ‘divisions’ of five teams within the East and West conferences but mixed within divisions, will play each other twice in November and early December on Tuesdays and Fridays to find six first place teams and the two teams with the best second-place records as wild cards. Those eight teams will then play an NCAA-style elimination tournament, with the Final Four and Cup Final to be played in early December in Las Vegas. Winners get a cash prize and a cup, and all games played in the tourney will also count as regular-season games. The draw for the six divisions has taken place and can be found on various sports web sites.
-HOOPS!
-On this date in 1877, the first Wimbledon tournament began. On this date in 1941, Alan Turing cracked Nazi Germany’s Enigma code. On this date in 1962, Bob Dylan recorded “Blowin’ in the Wind.” On this date in 1995, The Grateful Dead played its last concert in Chicago. And on this date in 2001, THE OFFICE premiered on the BBC.
-Happy Birthday to Elias Howe, Barbara Cartland, Nile Kinnick, Jr., Ed Ames, Oliver Sacks, Michael Graves, David Hockney, Marty Springstead, Brian Dennehy, Richard Roundtree, Bon Scott, Mitch Mitchell, Chris Cooper, Jimmy Smits, Tom Hanks, Kelly McGillis, Marc Almond, Jim Kerr, Kevin Nash, Courtney Love, Kelly Holcomb, Jack White, and Fred Savage.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Zachary Taylor, King C. Gillette, Arch Ward, Earl Warren, Tom Yawkey, Barbara Woodhouse, Eric Sevareid, Melvin Belli, Rod Steiger, Isabel Sanford, Rip Torn, and H. Ross Perot.
-Feed the Worms: Iraq War co-architect Donald Rumsfeld, the guy who absolutely did it, O.J. Simpson, unctuous Sen. Lindsay Graham, and Tucker Carlson successor Jesse Waters entered Earth on this date.