Oct 13, 2023

Yet Another Big Day

Science people did some really cool space stuff and I'm just really happy for them. Also, the UAW strike is expanding, US Republicans are doing the political equivalent of the cha-cha slide, and our favorite unhinged emperor makes another appearance.

Space Science People Amaze Me

Space science people did some extremely cool space science by sending a probe to an asteroid, collecting a sample (despite tricky and unexpected conditions) and brought the sample back to Earth inside of a protective capsule to insulate it from the heat of atmospheric-reentry so that the science people could then look at the sample really good and tell us what its got.

They found water, carbon and sulfur within the sample, and they're only looking at a small portion of the collected sample.

What does this mean? Well it means humans are metal as hell, but it also means we may discover more about how the materials needed for life are distributed around the solar system.

I made a bowl of cereal for breakfast. It even had milk in it.

Strike Two

The United Auto Workers in America are expanding their strike, as 8,700 workers have walked off the job and joined the strike at a Ford truck plant in Kentucky. The plant is responsible for production of heavy duty Ford trucks, and is the most profitable Ford plant in the world.

And yet, workers walking off the job can bring it to it's knees. Maybe, just maybe, the workers are worth paying more if that is the case.

Ford has responded by saying they've capped out how much they're willing to pay already. I feel like, somehow, they'll manage to find some more money before this is all over.

Speaker of the House Vote Moves Forward

Republican representative Steve Scalise has won the nomination for speaker of the house among the Republican party, with a 113-99 vote. This means he will be put forth in the general vote for Speaker, likely up against Democrat minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.

When a speaker vote happens, the entire house of representatives votes, so usually, whichever party is in power just picks someone and they win. That is not what's happening this time around, as Republicans are fighting amongst themselves about who is an acceptable person to lead them. This is happening due to their extremely slim majority in the house, which gives a ton of power to a small group of holdouts whose votes are critical if Republicans aren't willing to work with Democrats (which is what got McCarthy booted out in the first place due to said small group).

So now, Scalise won the nomination, and will be going on to a general vote for speak—

Oh, uh, hold on…

Speaker of the House Vote Moves Backward

Steve Scalise has pulled out of the running for Speaker of the House, one day after receiving the nomination from his own party, as he sees no path towards gathering enough votes to succeed in a general speaker election.

He was originally up against rep Jim Jordan, who helped cover up sexual abuse of college athletes under his supervision. Despite those credentials, Republicans did not rally behind Jordan either, putting the party's future back to a big ol' shrug.

Without a Speaker of the House, congress is basically at a standstill.

On This day…

On this day in the year 54, Roman Emperor Claudius died. His death was surrounded with mystery, having been poisoned. There is much discussion about who may have poisoned him, though most sources seem to indicate his wife, Agrippina, is the likely culprit.

Oh, and he was succeeded by none other than his adopted step-son, Nero.

BIG DAY FOR NERO

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A Happy Dog

Flynn is finally on the mend and is feeling a lot better, it seems. He's not totally out of the woods, but he's on some medication and has been quite waggy, lovey and very much into chewing on his favorite bone.