04/15/26

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, April 15th. 

You gotta do your taxes. That’s right, fun this government baybee. This one. This is the one you want to pay.

And now, the news.

DOJ Moves to Vacate Insurrectionists Crimes

-via ABC News

Starting with…hey, this story isn’t good.

On Tuesday the Department of Justice was like, “Hey, remember the time the president of the United States did literal insurrection? And then he gave everyone who did it with him a pardon? Everyone who violently ran through the United States Capitol. The people who beat police officers. Some to death. The people who ran a Confederate flag through our capital building for the first time ever, something that didn’t happen during the Civil War. And then remember when the president pardoned them because hey, why not? The guy that inspired it and motivated it got to be president again, ya know?”

And we were like… yeah. We… we remember.

Well they’d like us to be much worse rememberers and so on Tuesday the DOJ requested that an appeals court vacate the convictions of several former members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who also did insurrection.

Why weren’t these guys included in Trump’s original pardons? It’s unclear. He didn’t say. But these guys, who are white supremacists, are now on the docket for release. Sure.

When you think about it, it DOES make sense.

Swalwell and Gonzalez Exit

-via NY Times

Speaking of bad people leaving places (am I SO good at segues? Is that my thing? Like… how am I this good??)

Speaking of bad people leaving places… House Reps Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez resigned on Tuesday.

California now has 14 days for a special election to be announced.

Hey Eric, thanks for… nothing. And also costing the state hundreds of millions on your way out.

Terrible guy. Lots of notes. 

No interest in giving them to him.

Amid the news that Swalwell was dropping out, another woman spoke out on Tuesday, accusing Swalwell of rape, and alleging that he drugged her. 

Texas will also need to do a special election. That’s going to cost money. Great. Great all around.

Now the question in the House is… who knew what and are there more? Well… probably. I would say… yeah. Yeah that’s possible. 

Hungary for Change

-via CNN

And in international news. Not just international news… LATE international news.

Isn’t that neat? 

On Sunday (yeah, I already said it was late. I’m sorry!) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who spent 16 years claiming that liberals, the press, universities, Jewish people, migrants, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, the rest of the EU, Ukraine… anyone against him… they were all enemies. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like what we’ve been dealing with her? Can you vaguely imagine what the people of Hungary have been dealing with for the last 16 years?

In 2015, when thousands of Syrians fled their home country out of fear for their lives, he built a 109-mile fence to prevent migrants from entering the country. 

A news station that was frequently critical of Orban lost their broadcast license. It was then awarded to a supporter of Orban.

Putin, you know, of Russia, is said to view Orban as one of the strongest allies in the EU. 

So… bad guy. Real bad.

Real… familiar sounding. 

And so imagine how amazing it was for the people of Hungary to hear that, on Sunday, because they got out there and cast their ballots, that man’s reign is over.

And not only that, but he was so bigly beaten that he conceded. 

Also, what’s fun is that JD Vance went out there and was like “guys, vote for my guy Viktor” and then he lost the election.

And I just think that’s fantastic.

President Obama called this, “a testament to the resilience and determination of the Hungarian people – and a reminder to all of us to keep striving for fairness, equality and the rule of law.”

Additionally, because this was a huge win, opponent Peter Magyar’s party has also won two-thirds of seats in the House, meaning they can reverse a lot of the damage that Orban brought on. 

People were dancing in the streets until at least 4 in the morning.

Do you remember how it felt in 2020? 

We can have that again. I promise! They just… voted. That’s it. We can do that. We can have that. 

We’re so close. 

Jocelyn Benson has this saying. Or like, she said this thing once and I think it should be on billboards and everywhere... democracy is a decision.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of… you know what? Put me in the Constitution and I’ll give you your precious taxes, how about that? (Relax! I paid them! Geez)

More than taxes, because you are the only thing I’m actually sure about in this whole world… I’m proud of you.