January 5, 2023 News and Notes

All else:

• An interesting piece of history on last night's Redemption Special on The Price is Right (where, save one attention whore, most of the contestants didn't!!!), the losing Showcase's grand prize was a 14-day National Geographic tour of Antarctica worth over $40,000.
• With that trip, the show's 51-year history can now proclaim it has attempted to give away vacation trips to all seven continents.
• The Georgetown Hoyas have fallen on hard times.  Last night's loss was the 25th consecutive Big East loss for the team, a new conference record.
• Today is the funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict.
• Texas A&M's SEC opener with Florida didn't go according to plan.  The team left their uniforms at the hotel and didn't get them in time not to be assessed a team technical foul and the first possession to Florida after one free throw was made.  Texas A&M rallied from the gaffe to win, 66-63.
• The Damar Hamlin charity GoFundMe is now over seven million dollars.
• Word late afternoon Eastern out of Buffalo is saying Hamlin is showing "remarkable improvement". 
• Hamlin's mother has sent supportive messages to Cincinnati's Tee Higgins, who made the clean hit.
• Chris Beard has been officially fired as the men's basketball coach at Texas, due to his domestic violence arrest.

Popcorn time!!

• About the only real news on Ballot Seven is the first vote cast for Donald Trump.  Matt Gaetz (Pedophile Asshole MAGAt -- FL) cast his vote for Donald Trump.  Last report is that Trump does not want the job (not realizing it puts him two bullets from reascension, but, as people have pointed out to me, that would require intelligence Republicans from the top to the rank and file do not have!).  
• Significant murmuring in the chamber when Gaetz did this.
• Vote Seven was 212 for the Democratic irrelevancy (don't fool yourself -- Hakeem Jeffries is five votes from becoming Speaker, but he's never getting them, so stop it!), 201 for McCarthy, 19 Never Kevins for Byron Donalds, 1 for The Fat Orange Pig, and 1 present.  With the one Present vote, 217 is required to win.
• And, as of about 2:50 PM Eastern time, there appears to be precisely ZERO movement, except that two of the 19 Never Kevins for Donalds, including Bang-Bang Boebert (Playboy Whore-CO), voted for Kevin Hern (R-OK).  Donald Trump got the one vote from Gaetz again.
• And at 3:44 PM Eastern, here we go again.
• At least one McCarthy voter has apparently not voted in Round Nine, 212 Jeffries, 200 McCarthy, 17 Donalds, Gaetz has joined the other two in voting for Kevin Hern, one present, one absent.
• And it appears we will go straight to Vote #10.  McCarthy has been nominated again.
• And has failed again.  It appears as if Kevin Hern is getting a bump in the amount of support among the Never Kevins and Byron Donalds is going backwards.
• Other than that, no changes:  212 Jeffries, 200 McCarthy, 13 for Donalds now and 7 for Hern, one present, one absent.
• And we appear headed to an eleventh round and a fifth today, as McCarthy is immediately nominated again.
• And Matt Gaetz has formally nominated (and voted for) Donald Trump for the second time, it appears the Never Kevins are coalescing around Hern, and we are headed for Round 12 at 7 PM Eastern.
• Say it with me, 212 Jeffries, 200 McCarthy, 7 for Hern, Gaetz for Trump, 12 others, 1 present, 1 absent.
• Adjournment afterward.
• If there was one highlight today, it was before Round 11, when one of the Congressmen stood up and saluted the presiding officer of the vote, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Cheryl Johnson of Louisiana.  In the course of events once a Speaker is finally named, she will be replaced with a Republican Clerk, but is Clerk (and presiding officer of the vote and the House) until a Speaker is named.