By Jon Bauer / Herald Opinion Editor
President Trump, after President Obama said in a podcast that he believed that extraterrestrial life existed, said he would direct his administration to release files related to aliens, extraterrestrial life and unidentified flying objects. Trump said that Obama had made a big mistake and had released classified information during the podcast, but that he would get Obama “out of trouble by declassifying the documents.” Obama made no reference to proof of UFOs, and later denied any direct knowledge and said any extraterrestrial life had likely not visited Earth.
Some evidence may have already been released, however. It’s difficult to determine because of redactions, but in the release of the Epstein files there are references to visits by an “E.T.” to Epstein’s island.
In other news not to phone home about:
“That’s Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, if you please:” Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince and former duke of York, was arrested by the Thames Valley Police on suspicion of sharing sensitive financial documents with Jeffrey Epstein while he was a trade envoy for the United Kingdom, allegations revealed in the recent release of FBI files on Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has admitted a long relationship with Epstein and has paid a settlement to an underage victim he met through Epstein, but has denied wrong-doing. King Charles III said he supported a “full, fair and proper process” regarding the investigation.
The Pedophile Formerly Known as Prince is getting off easily, considering the King has the option of the Tower of London for being rid of inconvenient family members.
State of Disunion: Several congressional Democrats have said they plan to boycott President Trump’s State of the Union address next Tuesday and will instead attend an alternative rally, a People’s State of the Union, that will take place on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol where Trump will be speaking.
If Democrats are doing this to troll Trump and Republicans in Congress, can we suggest Bad Bunny as the rally’s musical guest?
Don’t threaten Trump with a good time: The New York Times reported it was unclear how many members of Congress will attend the State of the Union, which is given each year by the president. Some Democrats expressed concern that boycotting en masse would leave Trump with a “purely sycophantic audience.”
If by “purely sycophantic audience” they mean congressional Republicans, then … their point? Just as the White House appoints a Cabinet member to sit out the speech as a “designated survivor” in the event of an attack or disaster, Democrats have agreed that at least one of their caucus will attend the address as a “designated heckler.”
Oh, Canada! How could you? An Olympic curling match between Canada and Sweden turned testy. During play, a Swedish curler accused a Canadian player of cheating by touching the stone beyond what’s known as the “hog line,” leading the Canadian to yell back, “You can f*** off,” an exchange that curling purists said violated the “Spirit of Curling.”
Canadians are used to seeing tempers flare on the ice, especially when hockey players throw elbows up and gloves down before a fight. But the stakes are a little higher in curling, despite its easy-going reputation. Those granite stones, after all, weigh up to 44 pounds each and have handles that make them easy to hurl, whether it’s past the “hog line” or at opposing curlers.
Frankly, Colbert couldn’t give a flying FCC: After late night talk-show host Stephen Colbert revealed capitulation by CBS officials who strongly advised Colbert not to broadcast an interview with a Texas candidate for the U.S. Senate, the Federal Communication Commission Chair Brendan Carr denied any attempt to censor the segment and criticized Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, for “taking advantage” of the news media for “the purpose of raising money and getting clicks.” Colbert, on air, criticized his own network for caving to pressure from the FCC and Carr. While the interview wasn’t broadcast on CBS, it played on YouTube, drawing more than 7 million views and helping Talarico to raise $2.5 million for his campaign in just 24 hours.
Colbert and Talarico might want to consider a regular segment, called “With Censors Like These Who Needs a Campaign Manager.”
Why is RFK Jr. yelling ‘Surf’s up!’?: A spill of hundreds of millions or gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River is threatening the river’s health and of those who use the river after a sewer line collapsed in Maryland, five miles upstream of Washington, D.C. The spill, ongoing for about a month until the sewage was diverted to another section of pipe, may be the largest of its kind in the nation’s history.
While serious, historians later determined the spill of raw sewage was far less than the crap that’s been flowing out of the White House for more than a year.
‘It’s a weedkiller.’ ‘No, it’s a salad dressing.’ ‘Hey, you two; it’s both.’ President Trump has issued an executive order to ramp up production of the weedkiller Roundup and other glyphosate products that have been challenged in lawsuits for allegedly causing cancer. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has backed the president’s order despite his having won a landmark $289 million jury verdict in 2018 against Monsanto, Roundup’s maker, which claimed the company knew the herbicide caused cancer.
Kennedy said he agreed with the president’s order because his recent research showed not only that Roundup was safe, it also cures Tylenol.
Email Jon Bauer at jon.bauer@heraldnet.com.
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