-With Republicans crowding IA to campaign over the weekend, most candidates are trying to figure out - sorta - how to close the lead Ex-President Trump XCI has nationally (even with some reports his lead in that state may be soft given a lack of campaign infrastructure from Team Trump there). While doing so, other Trump supporters are starting to warn of violence should Trump be convicted of at least one of his crimes - and if a burgeoning bipartisan attempt to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to keep Trump off the ballots because of a conviction of being an insurrectionist is successful (CO may be filing the case to test the idea). Trump supporter Rev. Mike Huckabee used his streaming show to warn of "civil war" if Trump were not allowed to be on the ballot (much less win), and UltraMAGA star Rep. Matt Gaetz (Hey GiRl, FL) warned of "bloodshed" as well. Most disturbingly, a banner unfurled at Yankee Stadium by Trumpers showed what could be a new flag that may be seen more, reading TRUMP OR DEATH.
-Meanwhile, Democrats continue to fret at two polls that apparently show a very close race between Trump and President Biden, though some poll watchers note some potential flaws in the two main polls (a Trump-paid polling outfit that conducted the most recent Wall Street Journal poll and an admission from CNN that its poll that had Trump with a 47%-46% lead included an oversample of Trump supporters) and others note the historical advantages of any incumbent (along with the fact that the election is not this Tuesday). And, as Democrats do, the latest sweating involves opinion-writers now worried that the White House choice not to comment on the ongoing Trump legal activities is somehow making Biden appear weak in front of the increasingly blustery Trump - even as Trump's crowds continue to dwindle whenever he heads out to talk to anyone.
-One place where Biden may get help is, ironically, the U.S. House, who comes back to work tomorrow apparently Hell-bent on using the September 30 deadline to pass a budget to its liking or shut the government down. Besides the UltraMAGA list of demands neither the White House nor the Senate - including Senate Republicans - would ever pass (a list that includes a national abortion ban, limits on "woke" teachings in the military, and defunding the Department of Justice to stop all federal Trump prosecutions), a new demand being put forward by GOP leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) may add a twist.
-Greene and the UltraMAGAts who are talking to her (and not that b*tch Lauren Boebert!) is demanding the House debate and pass articles of impeachment against Biden in apparent retaliation for what Republicans believe is a Biden-led demand to convict Trump (utter and total bull crap, of course) - and that said impeachment vote take place BEFORE any budget vote takes place - or run the risk of Kevin McCarthy (SINO-R, CA) losing the speaker's gavel. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, and if past is prologue, such maneuvers will only serve to strengthen Biden's standing in the electorate (see Gingrich and Clinton, Boehner and Obama).
-This writer has referred to Elon Musk as a billionaire weirdo, but after the release of a story from a soon-to-be-published biography, that cuteness has been lost. Author Walter Isaacson wrote that in 2022, Musk personally intervened to interrupt internet service to the Ukrainian armed forces through his Starlink satellite network as a group of submarine drones were about to hit Russian ships. Ukraine contends that, as a direct result of that attack being interfered with, those Russian ships then launched missile attacks that killed civilians. Musk defended his actions to the New York Times by claiming he was concerned about Russia reacting by firing nuclear weapons at Ukraine - itself an argument Russian propaganda outlets have used to try to quash support for Ukraine. With multiple reports claiming Ukrainian forces are starting to progress past heavily-fortified defense lines and Crimea possibly in their sights, the invasion may be approaching a critical mass - and Musk's actions reflecting the danger of a government leaning on private industries controlled by one person's whims and prejudices.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-In closing, as most of the country continues to attack AL Sen. Tommy Tuberville from holding up what is now over 300 military promotions because of Tuberville demanding the military end allowing abortion rights in the military, he at least came up with a weird argument in continuing to (in the words of most military officials) bringing aid and comfort to American enemies by endangering military preparedness: a charge that the Secretary of the Navy spends more time "reading poems" than making (mostly) men tough and ready to attack and kill. Military historians note to the never-served-a-second-in-the-military-himself former football coach that there is actually a tradition going back centuries of "warrior poets" who write verse in the name of countr - and point out that a figure no more hallowed than Gen. George S. Patton not only wrote a 30-stanza poem, he read that poem in its entirety just before his army attacked - and won - battles in North Africa in World War II. (Though to be fair, there may have been plenty of motivation to get out on the field rather than hear a 31st stanza of any kind of poem ...)
-Anyway, F Tommy Tuberville.
-On this date in 1608, the first Democratic election of European settlers in America took place, with John Smith being elected as the leader of Jamestown. On this date in 1813, American naval forces defeated British forces in the Battle of Lake Erie. On this date in 1846, Elias Howe patented the sewing machine. On this date in 1897, the first known arrest for drunk driving was made in London. Several notable premieres happened on this date - GUNSMOKE in 1955, Alex Trebek as JEOPARDY! host in 1984, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991, and THE X FILES in 1993. And on this date in 2008, the Large Hadron Collider conducted its first test operation.
-Happy Birthday to Robert Wise, Rin Tin Tin, Arnold Palmer, Philip Baker Hall, Bo Goldman, Karl Lagerfeld, Charles Kuralt, Roger Maris, Cynthia Lennon, Stephen Jay Gould, Jose Feliciano, Bob Lanier, Margaret Trudeau, Gary Danielson, Amy Irving, Chris Columbus, Colin Firth, David Lowery, Randy Johnson, Jack Ma, Big Daddy Kane, Guy Ritchie, Ben Wallace, Ryan Phillippe, Misty Copeland, Joey Votto, and Jack Grealish.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, Dalton Trumbo, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Anita Roddick, Jane Wyman, Ted Stepien, Cliff Robertson, Richard Kiel, and Diana Rigg.
-Feed the Worms: Misogynistic loofah-wielding punk Bill O'Reilly entered Earth on this date.
-The Number One Song in the United States ... in 2023, "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves ... in 2013, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell ... in 2003, "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee ... in 1993, "Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey ... in 1983, "Maniac" by Michael Sembello ... and in 1973, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye.