Say Nothing
Congratulations to the USA for advancing to the round of 16, plus, this week's news.
Hey Friends,
Congratulations to the USA for beating Iran in the World Cup and advancing to the Round of 16.
Iran, on the other hand, faced political backlash from their country. Reports say that the players' families were threatened with violence to dissuade them from protesting by refusing to sing the national anthem.
Meanwhile, in China, citizens are protesting Covid lockdowns that have lasted for three years, preventing people from going to movies, or even leaving their homes for basic supplies in some cases. And they are being arrested for speaking out against the Chinese Government, so some are holding up blank sheets of paper - to say nothing, loudly.
Listen. There is no Chinese The Lorem Ipsum.
I mean there is Chinese lorem ipsum text, which is something like 敏捷的棕色狐狸跳過了懶狗, but there is no The Lorem Ipsum, China Bureau.
We're truly fortunate to live somewhere where we can have a The Lorem Ipsum – that is, a place where we have the freedom to speak out when the spirit moves us.
I'll talk a little more about free speech in a moment.
But first, let's get to The News.
Hot Takes
Week 48 of 2022
Biden Meats Macron
That's not a typo, because Biden literally fed so much lobster to Emmanuel Macron that they had to invite their wives and 296 friends to help eat the meat. The French President paid a visit to the White House for a diplomatic dinner and a conversation with President Biden, to discuss among other things, their careful approach to their combovers. More importantly, the conversation in front of reporters hovered around the two countries' partnership on climate change and their support for Ukraine.
A formal dinner serving about 300 took place last night at The White House, an event featuring 200 Maine lobsters and a dining hall decorated with the colors of each country's flag. The hall is also donning a large backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, to which Emmanuel said "remember that time when we gave you that statue?".
Throughout their conversations, the two seemed largely in agreement until a discussion about which country made better wine, something the French have always had an opinion about. The Bidens attempted to persuade the Macrons with Napa Valley Chardonnay and cheeses from Oregon and Wisconsin.
The Macrons greeted the Bidens with traditional kisses which in American English is actually sexual harassment. The Bidens didn't take it that way though, as they presented Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron with gifts including a custom mirror made of fallen wood from the White House grounds and a custom vinyl record collection of great American musicians which rumor has it may or may not have included Nickleback. (more)
Oath Kept
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers organization was convicted of seditious conspiracy, along with five other of his top lieutenants in the same trial. Rhodes, who wears an eye patch, was blinded in one eye when he dropped a loaded gun that shot him in the face. This has nothing to do with his actual case, but we thought it was more interesting so here's more about the eye patch.
Rail Strike
Congress passed legislation to avoid a rail strike to avoid US supply chain issues. The President warned that a rail strike could devastate the economy but assured his dinner guests Thursday night that the lobster that came from Maine was flown in by Plane. (more)
Fed Said
Evidently, inflation is starting to get under control, to the point where the fed expects to raise interest rates another time, but this time only about 0.25%, much less than the .75% points we've seen most recently. The market liked this and climbed by 3% in response.(more)
Kayne Test
The Rapper and all-around trash person Kanye West was on the show Infowars with Alex Jones where we shared how much he loves Nazis and Hitler in particular. The statement was evidently so bad that even the GOP House Judiciary Committee even decided to delete the tweet "Kanye. Elon. Trump.". Most normal people had already deleted their tweets praising him. (more)
From Fleetwood Mac
I'm sad to say that Christine McVie, the other woman in Fleetwood Mac, has died at 79. She sang such songs as Rumors and Rhiannon and other songs that Stevie Nicks didn't sing. Ironically, while writing this Take, a Fleetwood Mac song came on randomly, but it happens to be a Stevie Nicks song. I'm actually not sure why Stevie gets more attention. Stevie, herself even said she didn't know her "best friend" Christine was sick until just a couple of days before her death. RIP Stevie Nicks but first Christine McVie. (more)
Historic Hakeem
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York will succeed Nancy Pelosi as leader of the Democratic Caucus – taking the position of House Minority Leader in the new Congress. Hakeem makes history, as the first person of color to take the leading position in either chamber. Pelosi reportedly told him to get ready to put his investment portfolio in overdrive. (more)
That's it for the news. Now here's The Gist.
The War on Oreos
The Gist
The Oreo is the best-selling cookie on earth and the second most popular type of cookie overall, and it has been around since 1912. But with cookie crumbs darkening Elon's teeth, he appears to be waging a war against the creamy center for not advertising on his website. But I say, Oreo has a user group so active, Twitter should be advertising on it.
Here's the whole article:
Daniel Herndon
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