September 29, 2023
A U.S House committee this week began its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. After six hours of testimony, a Fox News analyst said he did not see any credible evidence for impeachment proceedings, which is probably not the start some in the GOP were hoping for. When you lose Fox News…
For his part, Biden shuffled off to Michigan to walk the picket line with striking autoworkers, becoming the first POTUS to ever do so. Biden waxed eloquently about 2009, when he and then-President Barack Obama saved the auto industry. Biden then talked about how he was there on the front lines when the Pinkerton Guard attacked the striking steel mill workers in Homestead, PA, back in 1892.
With the news that California Sen. Diane Feinstein has passed away, the calls for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Fort Knox) to resign have taken on a bit more meaning. As you might recall, the Democrats have a rather tenuous majority, which will temporarily cease if that happens.
A government shutdown is almost as certain as the Chiefs beating the Jets this week, even if the Chiefs bench Patrick Mahomes and allow Taylor Swift to play QB. The U.S. House is currently locked in a Gordian knot of ideology that is even starting to piss off Mitch McConnell. And we can’t hear the word “shutdown” without thinking of the city worker in Die Hard who was ordered by the FBI to shut off the power to the Nakatomi Building. “Shut it down. Shut it down, now!”
Medicare Advantage enrollment nationwide has hit a record 33 million Americans and ain’t slowing down, which explains entirely why some elected officials want to end the program. “Hey, that really popular program that seniors love? Yeah, let’s get rid of that.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro is taking his 62% approval rating on tour across the state to tout a new statewide economic development strategy, making him the 14th consecutive governor to remake the state’s jobs strategy. Ah, we remember fondly the days of the Casey administration’s Operation Jump Start, which culminated in the building of the Steamtown Mall.
While the General Assembly will reconvene next week, there is still no indication that the current stalemate over higher education funding for Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln will break anytime soon. At the PSU/Iowa game last Saturday, the student section chant became, “We are! Pissed off!” while Pitt’s chant was still, and always will be, “Penn State sucks!”
A new task force is being set up in Philadelphia to give the incoming mayor a blueprint on tackling gun violence. Each year, 300 Philly lives are lost to gun violence, and the task force founder is correct. If 300 dead whales washed up onto the shores of the Schuylkill each year, every marine biologist under the sun would be in the city figuring out why. Seems the least we can do for 300 humans.
Former state Rep. Sara Innamorato and her GOP opponent, Joe Rockey, sparred over who should be the next county executive. The key takeaway is that Rockey accused Innamorato of being a socialist, a label which many will recall doomed the careers of U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, state Rep. Innamorato (yes, that one), Mayor Ed Gainey and a slew of other gainfully employed office holders. Maybe a new playbook is in order? Even the Steelers stopped running the jet sweep for a few plays last week.
There was plenty of giving in the air last week, starting with our own Team Triad, which laced up the sneaks and strolled City Island for the American Heart Association’s PA Capital Regional Heartwalk. Kudos to Brandi Hunter-Davenport, who honchoed the effort while celebrating her four-year Triadaversary!
A bipartisan team of softball players (ok, participants) came together to play in Feeding PA’s annual charity game, raising $140,000 to fight hunger. The highlight of the game was unquestionably Rep. Mike “Slammin’” Schlossberg somehow making a miraculous catch while simultaneously dislocating his spine. Congrats, Mike, and don’t quit your day job!
In our Shameless Client Plug, we give a big congratulations to our friends at Cisco Systems, who inked a deal to acquire Splunk for a mere $28 billion. This deal makes Cisco an absolute UNIT in cybersecurity and software solutions.
On the Triad socials this week, we invite you to come and share the story of Ashlyn Brysiak, who is a much smarter and prettier version of her dad, Todd. Not only did Ash kick cancer’s ass, but she is now one of the best soccer players in the Mid-Penn and an all-around amazing girl. We’re not crying, YOU’RE crying!
Also make sure to weigh in on your favorite one-hit wonders as we share the ABC-27 story on Pennsylvania’s own one-hitters, including Toni Basil, who reminded us constantly how fine Mickey was. He literally blew her mind. Bonus points if you can tell us without looking who Henry Gross was, and what he sang.
In our We Can’t Make This Up segment, we take you to Pittsburgh, where a 10-year-old boy looked at his toybox full of Tonka trucks and thought, “I can do better than this.” The boy then jacked a piece of heavy construction equipment and tooled through a neighborhood, bouncing off cars along the way, because 10-year-olds don’t generally belong to the Operating Engineers union. But damn, is this kid gonna have stories to tell for years to come!
That’s what passes for news around here, as we get ready to roll into Red October with the Fightin’ Phils! The Steelers and Eagles are in first place, hockey preseason has started, and the Pirates… exist! Until next time, from all your friends at Team Triad, have a great weekend!