04/08/24
Good morning! It’s Monday, April 8th.
Baby Massage Day
What are these babies so stressed out about? They don’t need massages! They need jobs! (Jobages?)
And now, the news.
Israel-Hamas War
-via CNN, Washington Post, NPR, and ABC News
It’s been a week off of the news, so it’s very possible I’m going to miss some things. But let’s start with an update in the Israel-Hamas war where, last week, seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an attack that World Central Kitchen founder José Andres called a systemic attack and the chief of the Israeli military called “a mistake that followed a misidentification.”
It should be noted that, per the World Central Kitchen (also known as WCK) the so-called misidentification was described like this: “All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission.”
The attack has left many Democrats, who were hesitant to do so before, open to attaching conditions to aid they send to Israel. Which… sigh… wish you’d gotten here sooner, but welcome anyway I guess.
Sunday marked six months since the war began when Hamas launched a deadly assault on civilians inside of Israel, killing more than 1,160 people and taking more than 240 people hostage, 112 of which have been released. An additional 12 bodies were recovered. Currently there are an estimated 131 hostages left in Gaza, 33 of which are not believed to be alive.
Following the attack, Israel launched a ground offensive with a goal of destroying Hamas but instead has destroyed Gaza, a region with an incredibly dense population of almost 2.4 million people in 140 square miles (or about twice the size of Washington D.C., which has 671k people living there – doubling that would be 1.3 million people. Which is less that 2.4 million).
Israel’s ground offensive has pushed that 75% of that population out of their homes, with 1.7 million people displaced.
In the last six months, more than 33,000 Gazans have been killed with about another 76,000 injured.
Out of the 36 functioning hospitals Gaza had six months ago, 26 have been closed completely, ten are partially open… zero are working to full capacity.
Meanwhile, getting aid into Gaza continues to be a struggle, with the World Health Organization reporting that at least 27 children have died from complications tied to malnutrition, while up to 16.5% of children in northern Gaza have acute malnutrition.
So when we hear that seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in clearly marked trucks that were driving along a path that was being tracked… it’s worth getting serious about knowing how it happened.
And of note – on Sunday Israel announced that they are pulling out of southern Gaza, in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations
Speaker Johnson’s No Good, Very Bad Week Begins
And here in the states, Congress will come on back tomorrow and thus begins Speaker Johnson’s No Good, Very Bad Week. As a reminder, Troll in Human Form, Marjorie Taylor Greene, filed a motion to get rid of Johnson because he didn’t let the government completely fall apart. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s gonna do his best, he just, in this moment, didn’t allow the government to shutdown over funding.
Doing that meant working with the Democrats, which was a step to far for Greene. Insurrection? Fine! Questioning whether the Hollocost actually happened? Sure! Bullying teenagers who just barely survived a horrific school school? No issues there! Working with Democrats? How very dare you!!
So she filed that motion but it needs to be called to the floor for a vote.
It remains to be seen if that’ll happen. It could all hinge on whether Johnson allows a vote to move forward aid for Ukraine. That’s right – aid for Ukraine, on which the literal survival of the country sort of depends, is all hinged on whether some gym-addict loser from Georgia decides she’s not getting enough clips on Elon Musk’s website and moves forward with her plan to oust the Speaker of the House.
Say it with me now… we live in the dumbest timeline.
Also, I know she thinks she’s big smart, and in fact Tennessee’s Tim Burchett went so far as to say she’s “looking at the long game,” but she is not. Because the Republicans are literally one bored person away from not having the majority, and it’s possible that Johnson’s support of Ukraine could be enough for Democrats to help him out and save his speakership. Making Greene look more unhinged and out of touch that she already does. Which is… so impressive.
I mean, who knows. Truly, who knows. But that’s the week ahead for Johnson.
I can’t imagine he’s having any fun at this job, and I’m fine with that.
Trump Stuff
-via Washington Post (Ukraine) and Reuters
Little bit of Trump stuff to cover… not crimes (though, I could make an argument that that’s not totally true) but just of note…
At a weekend fundraiser, Trump took in just over $50 million. This is a big number and people are covering it. I would like to remind you that sometimes rich people just make terrible money decisions. It’s his biggest fundraiser so far, but he’s been continually out raised by Biden. People are leaving Trump.
I’m not telling you this because we can take it easy. I’m telling you this because Trump is beatable. Know that. Feel it from your toes to your fingies. He is beatable… but it’s going to take all of us.
And just in case you’re looking for a reminder of what’s at stake (besides, like… everything. Literal democracy.), apparently Trump is going around telling people privately that he could end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by just… having Ukraine give up parts of their country.
That is who he is. That is what he’ll do. He will let Putin win, because he likes Putin. He likes what Putin does. He looks up to Putin. And in order to give his buddy the win, he will push Ukraine to just… give up party of their country.
That is who Trump is. That is what he’ll do. It’s not enough to ruin our country, but he seems happy to throw all international code of conduct out the window.
He is beatable.
There is no other option.
NCAA Championship
-via ESPN
And finally… the NCAA women’s basketball championship was played on Sunday between the undefeated South Carolina against the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa.
It. Was. A. Game.
In the end, Iowa fell to South Carolina for a final score of 75-87 South Carolina. South Carolina joins Baylor, Tennessee, Texas, and of course Uconn, in having the rare distinction of winning the whole dang thing undefeated.
Of note, this is the best-selling women’s Final Four ever. You can’t really lock in if women’s tickets sold for a higher price than the men’s, because the final men’s game hasn’t been played yet. But women’s tickets have been selling for more, which is on track with last year, where average women’s ticket was selling for 15% higher than the men’s ticket.
The men will play… some other day. I don’t know. I’m sure other people will talk about it.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of… women athletes! I just love sports. Specifically women’s sports – underplayed, underplayed, and some of the best dang athletes out there.
Caitlin Clark is the best player in NCAA history, so tell me why I had to watch a video of a bunch of Duke football players talking about how they’d beat Clark in a one on one. You’re a football player – who are you beating in basketball anyway?! And also… no! You are not beating Caitlin Clark!
I’m getting mad.
I’m proud of Jason Sudiekus – who is always out there supporting women’s sports. And that’s nice and all Jason but why don’t you get back home and clickity-clack your ideas for Ted Lasso Season 4.
But more than… babies getting massages, but you are not a baby. You deserve a massage… I’m proud of you.