It is New Years! It is a day we used to celebrate with smiles on the little budget staff nestled in the bowels of the big five-sided building a shade less than four miles away from the Picnic Table. We used to do a whimsical sort of party with a glass of wine to celebrate an artificial holiday and sometimes wear those little cone-shaped holiday hats.
Today, we’re covering the beginning of general war in the Middle East with Israel’s ground raids in Lebanon, the continuing bloody shrug across the line of contact in Ukraine, a major longshoreman’s strike in US ports and a debate betwen two guys attempting to make some noise in the campaign tonight.
Surprise phase of the US Election Campaign port. All of them have graphics with full colors and some of the subtlety involved in how they have unfolded and what may be coming next, but this is supposed to be mildly amusing and none of it is.
‘Surprising,’ is the best way to sum it up, and maybe we should leave it at that. The
Good news? FY-2024 is done and now in the trash bin. It was fun, but the looming fight about shutting down the government seemed to be inconvenient and was dropped from the show. The version in process is the Longshoreman’s International Strike at 36American ports that is going to play holy hell with the supply chain and may wind up being a real pain in the national backside.
So, there is that. The aftermath of the hurricane that killed nearly a hundred folks down in North Carolina, the place we just visited for a funeral, was tamped down in the media stream since it was not useful. VP Harris made a five minute visit to FEMA HQ here across the River to show concern, and President Biden was notified at the Beach in Rehoboth, so things are under control.
We are reassured things are under control. President Joe Biden on Sunday responded to a question on the Israeli strikes on Yemen after a reporter at Dover AFB yelled “Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President?”
“I’ve spoken to both sides,” said the President “They gotta settle the strike. I’m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they’ll settle the strike.” It’s not clear whether Biden heard the question properly, or was responding to the looming East Coast port strike. Or both.
The Israelis? We have sporadically followed this chapter since our part in the active part of DESERT STORM concluded. Splash has an extended treatment on the history of the various colored lines in the region displayed on little charts. We may get to that this week.
This festive morning, the invading force is the 98th Division., two brigades each of paratroopers and commandos backed up with one of artillery brigade backed by an armored brigade. Half the force- a division or so- are said to be reservists.
We have talked last week about the preparations. The Hamas leadership in Gaza has been wiped slick. They have now killed the top twenty leaders in Lebanon’s Hezbollah’s military wing, including Nasrallah himself. And reached out to the Houthis a thousand miles away in Yemen who have been lobbing rockets into merchant shipping in the Red Sea. So, Iran’s prized proxies are in disarray and the world awaits Tehran’s response.
Which could be nuclear. You can see that those of us who have previously resolved to moderate some of our social habits are re-considering options.
Which means a trip over to Fort Myer is on the schedule for later this morning to visit the bank, the Class SIX store and the Commissary. Just in case.
Members of the International Longshoreman Association (ILA) Union went on the picket line at midnight last night- the stroke of the new fiscal year- and are gathering outside US ports from Texas to Maine. Bernie O’Donnell, international Vice President for ILA New England, claims he “is looking for a fair contract and fighting for automation.”
To do so, he has already rejected the first offer from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) which employs 45,000 port workers in 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Here is the deal: Neither side wants one. The ILA can afford to hold out for excessive demands and USMX shipowners have learned port congestion increases rates and boosts profits.
There is a VP Debate tonight. We can already declare the winner, which would be the Governor of Minnesota and whoever that guy who is running with Trump. There have been three of these news-making media spectacles. The first knocked Biden out of the race and remains the most consequential debate since Kennedy and Nixon show more than sixty years ago. The second event showed Kamala Harris at her best and Trump in bluster-mode about rogue pet consumption, followed by a debate about debates. Trump says he has done two, while Harris says he needs to do two against just her.
The one tonight? We can safely announce the results in case you are not going to stay up. Governor Walz will be declared the victor unless he disrobes on camera and performs au natural. Although that may get some popular reviews on CNN if it plays that way.
We preferred things the way they were when Cincinnati Reds superstar Pete Rose was still able to hustle and Kris Kristofferson was able to croon about it, but both are now resting from their labors. Which we intend to do when the time comes.
But there are a lot of those in progress, you know?
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com