Waiting

Even allowing for TV hyperbole I don't like the term "historic storm," especially when I'm in its path.  Ian is one of my favorite names -- Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, Ian Bostridge, Ian McKellen -- so it would be ironic to die from Hurricane Ian.  But the world is coming unglued everywhere so...on with the show.

The fools in charge of Russia seem determined to spread their nasty war to other parts of the planet.  Right now gas is gushing into the Baltic from three leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines; Danish and Swedish seismologists report undersea explosions but can't say if they resulted from earthquakes or sabotage.  Could a certain country be "weaponizing" energy supplies to intimidate western Europe?    Meanwhile Russia held "referendums" in four occupied regions of Ukraine and to no one's surprise, practically everyone there is eager to become part of the Russian Empire, international law be damned.  Take notes, Republicans.

Tatsunori Motoki, an official of the Japanese consulate in Vladivostok, has been given forty-eight hours to leave the country.  The Federal Security Service (formerly the KGB) accused him of buying classified information after blindfolding him and working him over, just like the good old days.  They could better be employed chasing down the thousands of draft-dodgers who are abandoning Russia like a smoldering Lada.

In other automotive news, remember O.J. and the white Bronco, followed by half the LAPD?  There was a tribute act this morning, as indicted Texas attorney general Ken Paxton fled a subpoena being served in an abortion access case.  The getaway driver was his wife, state senator Angela Paxton.  Maybe the AG thought it was another indictment.

Why is everybody angry at Brett Favre over a measly few million dollars?  The federal money was supposed to be for poor people, of which Mississippi has more than most, and all Number Four did was divert most of it to build a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter happened to be on the volleyball team.  His wasn't the only snout in the trough, but it was the most famous one.  Clearly this was part of a long-term strategy to bring the Olympics to the failed state.  "We already have a state-of-the-art volleyball facility!  If y'all have a problem with diving into brown water, that's something we could definitely work on."

If you think "kicking authority in the balls" is too incendiary, too uncivil, how about "Fuck the voting, let's get right to the violence"?  That was Roger Stone's advice to the Proud Goys in the days before the January 6 coup attempt.  A Danish film crew has provided the House Committee with a sneak preview of their documentary A Storm Foretold, which means we may get to see it tomorrow night, though not on the spineless networks.  The dapper dork goes on, "Shoot to kill.  You see an Antifa, shoot to kill.  The key thing to do is to claim victory.  No, we won.  Sorry, fuck you."  It's obvious why Trump wanted the metal detectors taken down at his pre-Putsch rally.  

How would you like to go hog hunting?  How would you like to go hog hunting in a helicopter?  How would you like to go hog hunting in a helicopter with Marjorie Taylor Greene?   Your lucky day.