05/21/26
Good morning! It’s Thursday, May 21st
It is both Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day and Chardonnay Day
Which is the same thing… eat and drink more fruits!
And now, the news.
Casto Indicted
-via AP News
Starting in Cuba, where Raúl Castro, the former president, was indicted in the 1996 downing of civilian planes that ended in the death of four Miami-based Americans, who were part of an exile group called Brothers to the Rescue.
The charges were actually filed last month and, in addition to Castro, five Cuban military pilots were also charged.
This comes at Trump continues to have his eye on Cuba, saying he just wants to do a little humanitarian aid over there and, you know, if we take it over we take it over.
After all, Cuba is still in the middle of blackouts and food shortages that are adding to an economic collapse on the island. And I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that, while none of that is necessarily brand new to the island, it all intensified right around the time that Trump cut off fuel shipments to Cuba.
Raúl Castro is the 95-year-old brother of Fidel Castro. Although he retired as head of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021, he’s still seen as the one basically pulling the strings behind closed doors
Netanyahu and Trump
Here’s a little bit of international political hot goss - After a revised peace deal was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan, Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu had a tense little phone call because Netanyahu is ready to get back to the fighting, but apparently, Trump believes there’s a deal to be found still.
Now it sounds like Netanyahu wants to come to DC for a face-to-face with Trump in the next few weeks. So we’ll see who can convince whom. On Wednesday Trump was at the Coast Guard Academy graduation and said Netanyahu "will do whatever I want him to do."
The girls are fighting!
Trump also told reporters on Wednesday that he was in “no hurry” to finalize a peace deal with Iran.
“I'm in no hurry. You never think, ‘Oh, the midterms, I'm in a hurry.’ I'm in no hurry.”
No, man, but we do think “Oh, we don’t want more people to die or the economy to collapse or to be stuck in another forever war.”
Ya putz.
White House Must Keep Records
-via CBS News
In “how do you think this is gonna go?” news…
On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered/reminded Trump’s advisors, as well as White House staffers, that they need to comply with the Presidential Records Act and they need to keep presidential and vice presidential records that are covered in the 1978 law.
Among those named are White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the National Security Council, Council of Economic Advisers, and employees working within the Executive Office of the President.
Trump and Veep Vance aren’t named.
Also, this order takes effect at 9 AM on May 26th.
So like… they have just under a week to do whatever they want? Why are they waiting? Who’s that for?
This is all coming up now because the DOJ, which, in theory, isn’t supposed to work for Trump but, you know… wink wink… (actually, funny enough, that’s this administration’s motto) sent a memo opinion saying that the Presidential Records Act exceeds Congress’ power and so it’s constitutional and the president doesn’t need to comply with the Presidential Records Act.
I thought this part of the judge’s ruling was especially poignant: "And while the presidency is a singularly important institution, that gravity does not free it from modest constraint. Quite the opposite. Each branch of government derives its authority from the trust placed in it by the People, and Congress has validly determined that this Act helps to maintain that trust by shining some light on the activities of the President and his aides."
Each branch of government derives its authority from the trust placed in it by the People.
We are the deciders.
Us.
I know they’re acting like they aren’t and so maybe it makes it easy for us to forget that too, but we are the deciders. They get their power from us and, if we decide we don’t want them to have it anymore.
This November, we get to decide that about Congress and then in 2 years we decide about the White House.
We get to legally overthrow the government every two years and that’s something we should be talking about more.
Insurrectionists’ Payout
But what of those who attempted to illegally overthrow the government?
Well they are just thrilled, pleased as punch, by the fact that Donald Trump, factually the most corrupt president in history, just did one of the most corrupt things he’s ever done and they get to fiscally benefit from it.
Dominic Box, who spent a year and a half in prison for his part in the January 6th insurrection, says: “I can’t find a way to support myself right now. I lost my career. I look forward to financial compensation. I need it. This will be a welcome relief.”
I’m sure the money is a relief…
But $1.776 billion… others would also be relieved by the things that money could do. Like healthcare. School lunches. Road repair. Things our taxes should be used for.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who was one of the biggest big lie liars, thinks his company was “the number-one company in the world hurt by our own government.”
No, moron, you did that.
Every single one of these insurrectionists that apply are just the worst, and fakest, kind of patriots and I have a lot of things to say about them but they’re mean and I don’t want them committed to the internet. They ARE deserved though.
And a lot of the words start with F.
Meanwhile, two of the officers who defended the Capitol that day, who we have to thank for literally, I mean factually literally, saving democracy, are suing to prevent anyone, including the insurrectionists, from getting any of that slush fund.
Per the suit, also a reasonable reading of the law: “No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law.”
So… we’ll see.
Bipartisan Housing Bill
-via NPR
A bipartisan (whoa!) housing bill has passed the House, aimed at encouraging more homebuilding nationwide, and banning corporate landlords from buying more than 350 homes.
It passed 396-13 and while it still needs to pass through the Senate, it’s an amended version of what the Senate already passed.
According to Realtor.com, there’s a 4 million unit gap between availability and demand.
According to kimmoffat.com, there’s about a 1 to 1 availability gap.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of grapes.
They taste great on their own. They’re great as raisins. They’re excellent ice cubes. They’re great as wine.
They’re so versatile!
But more than grapes… because you’re multi-talented but you never whine (I’m not saying you don’t complain – there’s a difference in lodging a complaint and whining)… I’m proud of you.