Grumpy Editor

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DIRECTED TO COLD WASHINGTON GARAGE TO REST

 

National Guard members camping in a cold parking garage is something one might see in a third world country --- but it happened in Washington, D.C. where 26,000 Guard members from around the country were deployed to help inauguration activities, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The National Guard said it moved troops from the Capitol building and other spaces for rest breaks to the garage at the behest of Capitol Police.  It was a crowded scene.

 

Following settling in the garage, it later was announced that nearly 200 Guard members in the Capitol tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

 

Lawmakers from both political parties, noting reports of the undesirable garage rest area (without cots), intervened, allowing Guard members to return to indoor spaces.

 

Capitol Police and National Guard officials offered conflicting explanations on why troops were moved to the parking garage.

 

Most called-up National Guard soldiers hold full-time civilian jobs.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

FIRST DOGS RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE.  Canines are back in the White House.  After a four-year hiatus, dogs are back.  President Joe Biden brings in two German shepherds, including one adopted from an animal shelter in 2018.

 

BETTY WHITE REACHES 99.  Actress Betty White marks her birthday by commenting:  “Since I am turning 99, I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission” and later went outside to feed a pair of ducks that frequent home.”

 

GRAY WHALES EBB.  The population of gray whales off the West Coast has dropped nearly one-quarter since 2016, reports NOAA Fisheries.

 

CARGO SHIP LOSES CONTAINERS.  A Maersk cargo ship with more than 13,000 containers, loses about 750 of them in heavy seas half-way to Los Angeles from China. 

 

PANDEMIC BOOSTS HOME SALES.  The pandemic is giving a boost to home sales, surging last year to the highest level in 14 years. Existing home sales reached 5.64 million in 2020, up 5.6 percent from the prior year.

 

PRINT BOOK SALES RISE.  BookScan says print book sales rise 8.2 percent last year, largest annual increase since 2010, despite deep concern over supply chain issues and early spring pandemic-induced store lockdowns. A prolonged decline never came, as online sales and sales through non-book store outlets more than offset declines at physical bookstores.

BEE POPULATION DECREASES.  Researchers say bee species around the world are facing major declines and are warning time is running out to save them, adding up to 25 percent of known bee species haven't been reported in global records since the 1990s. There are over 20,000 known bee species around the world.

GANNETT REBOUNDS.  Gannett reports better than expected fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, showing what it called a "rebound" as the company's digital subscription strategy gains momentum. Gannett owns USA TODAY, about 260 other daily publications, hundreds of weeklies, a marketing services division and an events business. 

DESCRIPTIONS OF CAPITOL SIEGE CHANGE FROM ORIGINAL 'RALLY'

An Associated Press story recalls changing descriptions given to the Capitol siege earlier this month in which five people died, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

"At first, viewed from a distance, it was a rally or protest,” notes AP.  "Then it became an assault, a riot, an insurrection, domestic terrorism or even a coup attempt.”

 

"The use of ‘riot' as a descriptor is almost universally accepted,” points out AP, "even though the word has become fraught with racial connotations and despite the relatively gradual way the story unfolded.”

 

Originally called protesters, it later became clear as many breached the Capitol and lawmakers fled for safety, that more was happening, continues AP, which later informs staffers that "protest" was too mild a word and terms  like “mob,” “riot” and “insurrection” are appropriate.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

U.S. PIGEON TRAVELS ACROSS PACIFIC.  A racing pigeon survives an 8,000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from the U.S. to find a new home in Australia. But authorities consider the bird a quarantine risk and plan to kill it. The exhausted bird that arrived in a Melbourne backyard in December disappeared from a race in Oregon two months earlier.  Experts suspect the pigeon, named Joe after the president-elect, hitched a ride on a cargo ship.

 

YOGI BERRA STAMP COMING.  New York Yankees great Yogi Berra, a 10-time World Series champion and three-time American League most valuable player will be featured on a new stamp coming out this year.

 

MASSACHUSETTS NEWSPAPER BACK IN LOCAL HANDS.  Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket, Mass., one of the oldest newspapers in the country --- marking its 200^th year in 2021 --- is back in the hands of local owners after Gannett, its previous owner, sold it to 41 North Media LLC last November.

PGA VOTES TO MOVE CHAMPIONSHIP.  The PGA of America votes to move the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.  It marks the first sports organization to abandon Trump after the Capitol siege. The Trump Organization owns or operates 17 golf courses around the world, generating about a third of the family's revenue, according to the New York Times. 

 

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS CURBED.  Several corporations are restricting or suspending political contributions after the Capitol siege:  They include banks JPMorgan Chase and Citi, Marriott International hotels, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Boston Scientific.

 

RADIO HOSTS TOLD TO SHELVE ELECTION CHATTER.  Cumulus Media, the talk radio company with a lineup of conservative hosts such as Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin, tells its radio personalities to knock off the chatter about the election being stolen from President Donald Trump. Cumulus, based in Atlanta, owns 416 stations in nearly 90 markets across the country.

 

PETER DOOCY BECOMES WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT.  Fox News selects Peter Doocy as a White House correspondent covering President Joe Biden’s administration.  The son of “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy will begin coverage of Biden White House starting on Inauguration Day.

MEDIA TAKE A HIT WHEN PRO-TRUMP MOB OCCUPIES U.S. CAPITOL

 

 

Storming the Capitol shocked world leaders and American citizens, observed Grumpy Editor --- who couldn’t believe what he saw on television.

 

Thousands of protesters --- most without masks to curb spreading coronavirus --- flooded the area as some climbed the walls to the Capitol, fighting police in uniform.

 

Chaos at the Capitol, the center of American democracy, which led to five deaths, saw violent protesters smash furnishings and doors, TV camera equipment and assorted punches, some aimed at reporters and photographers.

 

“Murder the media” was carved into a door of the Capitol.

 

As Poynter pointed out:  This was “the most significant breach of an American government institution since the Battle of Bladensburg on Aug. 24th, 1814, when the British came and burned the Capitol and also burned the White House.”

 

Protesters carrying (and dragging) American flags must have affected many U.S. military veterans --- and those who remember photos of raising the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima during World War II.  

 

Last Wednesday began as a day of reckoning for President Donald Trump’s attempt to cling to power, as Congress took up the certification of President-elect Joe Biden.

 

“What a disgrace,” declared the Wall Street Journal in an editorial Thursday.  The Journal also said “Once the mob was inside, the call went out for backup from Virginia and Maryland, and the National Guard was activated.  But it’s a scandal that the U.S. Capitol wasn’t better protected on such a significant day.”

 

“(Joe) Biden will become President at noon on Jan. 20, and until then the police need to restore order with as much force as necessary.”

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

GM UNVEILS NEW LOGO.  General Motors unveils a new tech-themed logo.  It features GM in lower case letters in a contemporary font.  It's the first major logo change in decades.

 

 

DIFFERENT LOOK.  Look for U.S. Marines on Inauguration Day ceremonies to wear black face masks, white gloves and an unusual combination of Vietnam-era field jackets in woodland camouflage with khaki-and-olive green service dress uniforms.

 

ARCTIC GETTING ATTENTION.  U.S. officials have noted that Russia has been reopening old military bases and moving forces in the Arctic where it operates a large icebreaker fleet. Meanwhile, China is increasing its shipbuilding and port infrastructure in the region.

 

VETERANS BENEFITS CLAIMS DELAYED.  A National Archives bottleneck is delaying benefits claims for 32,000 military veterans.  The Wall Street Journal points out "the archives website has instructions on how to file an emergency claim, but it can be difficult to understand."

 

SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS CARRY PRICE TAGS UP TO $5.5 MILLION.  The Super Bowl, airing Feb. 7 on CBS, is seeking up to $5.5 million for commercials. 

 

L.A. TIMES STARTS ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER. The Los Angeles Times is launching a newsletter focused on entertainment.  It’s aimed at  industry professionals and workers along with agents and studio executives --- and anyone interested in what’s happening in Hollywood.

GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS BEING CONSIDERED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS

So what are House Democrats working on in the new 117^th Congress as we enter 2021?

They propose a rules change switching male and female references like "he" and "she" to gender-neutral terms, notes Grumpy Editor.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern are focusing on a rules package to "honor all gender identities by changing pronouns and familiar relationships in the House rules to be gender neutral."

That means eliminating terms such as mother and father, son and daughter, and aunt and uncle.

Proposed changes call for gender-neutral terms such as parent, child, sibling and parent’s sibling.

The plan also includes establishment of a House “Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

CENSUS BUREAU MISSES DEADLINE.  The Census Bureau misses a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used to determine congressional seats. That’s the first time the year-end deadline is missed since it was implemented more than four decades ago.

DRUGMAKERS HIKE PRICES FOR NEW YEAR.  Following its annual routine, about 70 drugmakers rang in the new year by raising prices an average of 5.8 percent on many products.

MARINE CORPS STARTS TO ISSUE SILENCERS.  The Marine Corps starts issuing thousands of silencers to infantry units worldwide. The suppressors are designed to reduce the visual and noise signature of carbines and rifles including M4 and M4A1 carbines, M27 infantry automatic rifles and M38 designated marksman rifles.

WOOD FOR COFFINS SCARCE.  Coffin manufacturer Universal Caskets Manufacturing Corp. says wood --- especially pine --- for caskets is becoming scarce as the firm struggles to meet demand in the Los Angeles area.

AMERICAN RADIO IN BERLIN ENDS.  American radio presence in Berlin since 1945 ends when the last U.S. radio station in the German capital ceases operation.

MOST YOUNG AMERICANS UNABLE TO SERVE COUNTRY.  The Department of Defense reveals 71 percent of young Americans are unable to serve in uniform, largely due to obesity, drug abuse, poor education or crime record.

STOLEN WWII CHURCH BELL BEING RETURNED.  A church bell dating back to 1555 will be returned to its home in Poland, 77 years after it was taken in World War II by the Nazis who melted down 80,000 bells to make weapons or ammunition.