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- Nancy Pelosi will go down in history as the most consequential Speaker of the House in US history. Not just for being the first woman in the seat, but also for shepherding landmark legislation like the ACA and the Inflation Reduction Act through–and then literally staring down Trumpism.
- In the midterm, Vermont became the final state to elect a woman to Congress. In 2022. The state’s first female representative will take office the same day the first female Speaker steps down.
- The appointment of the Special Counsel shows (1) the investigation into Trump’s malfeasance has been going on for a long time at the DOJ and it is not complete; and (2) there are charges coming. You don’t appoint a Special Counsel to start a new investigation or take over the end of an existing investigation, and you don’t appoint one if you think no charges are likely.
- Trump calculated the announcement of his candidacy would tamp down the various investigations into his questionable actions. Garland countered with the appointment of a Special Counsel who will have independent indictment power. Once again, someone calls Trump’s bluff and Trump loses.
- How do we know Truth Social is failing? No significant website includes a “Truth” icon to post stories to the platform. Not the AP. Not Fox. Not even Breitbart. You just don’t see it. Fox has a link to Flipboard but not Truth. Sad.
- Jared and Ivanka aren’t joining Daddy’s 2024 clown show not because they desire to stay out of politics. It’s just that they already got their $2 billion paycheck from the Saudis and have no need for the headache of being around Donnie constantly.
- Democratic House leadership goes from a woman from California to a Black man from New York City, in a move that will undoubtedly roil the straight white men who run the GOP’s propaganda.
- Imagine how much Rick Caruso–the billionaire loser in the LA mayor’s race–would have benefited from investing half of the $100 million he spent on the campaign into local businesses instead. Hell, he could have done it as interest-free loans if he wanted. He would have supported the community more than his vanity campaign and still outspent his opponent 5-to-1.
- I look forward to a Republican-run House that seats 43 special investigative committees into Hunter Biden’s Chinese food carryout orders–where Matt Gaetz will assert “egg rolls” mean dimes bags of cocaine–but can’t pass a single substantive piece of legislation. It’ll make great fodder for the 2024 election season.
- Bold prediction that sounds right at the moment: the 2024 GOP presidential nominee will be a current governor not named DeSantis. No one in the House is sane enough; no Republican in the Senate can muster widespread support in the Party. And DeSantis will crumble under the weight of being the frontrunner.
- The internet has its upside. Just as I learned about Australian Rules Football in the early days of ESPN (when the network couldn’t afford to televise “real” sports), I learned about kabaddi from the internet. I don’t understand it, but I learned about it. And I can now interpret about a third of a cricket scoresheet.
- Of all of Prince’s most popular songs, “Little Red Corvette” is the most overrated, but it’s not the worst. That distinction belongs to “Batdance,” his jump-the-shark moment.
- There’s a line of psychology that says the election of Joe Biden was a direct rejection of Donald Trump’s recklessness and instability. The midterms are another sign that Americans crave normalcy, not eternal urgency and angst.
- Yeah, I’ll say it again: corn pudding is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. Stuffing and mashed potatoes (with gravy on both). Carrots glazed with honey and ginger. The turkey’s almost unnecessary.
- One of the things I really love about working with “second gen” entrepreneurs–people who left a career to start a business of their own (sometimes in a completely different industry)–is that every one of them states they’re doing it to be able to “give back” to their community, be that their neighborhood, their professional peers or their spiritual community. If not the top motivator, it’s in the top three for each of them.
- Seriously, though, if Joe Biden personifies America’s desire for normalcy, a Mike Pence presidential bid must signal Republicans’ deep need for a lobotomy.
- While we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, we’ve got to give this week’s final bow to the esteemed Madam Speaker.
