Happy October!

With yesterday’s National Pumpkin Spice Day, today’s Brew must come with a pinch of pumpkin. It certainly comes with a dose of the strange.

Government Shutdown Averted …

For all the melodrama of a potential government shutdown, Congress with mere hours to spare Saturday night passed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government rolling for 45 days.  The bill that was signed by Joe Biden late Saturday night does not include more funding for Ukraine.

The bill passed because Speaker McCarthy teamed with Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries on the funding measure that House conservatives believe is lockstep with the Biden agenda. As a result, Rep. Matt Gaetz told CNN Sunday he will lead an effort this week to have McCarthy removed as Speaker via a “motion to vacate.” Gaetz is vocal in his belief that McCarthy has violated the deal he made with Freedom Caucus members to secure the speakership.

Fox News reports that, in response, House Republicans will move to expel Gaetz, if an ethics committee report on the Florida congressman comes back with findings of guilt.

Imagine … Pulling a Fire Alarm Just to Open a Door? Or Was It to Delay Vote

Meanwhile, this was bizarre. Remember how the J6 protesters wandering around the Capitol, interfering with a congressional action was a threat to democracy worth years in brutal solitary? On Saturday, a sitting Member of Congress Rep. Jamaal Bowman deliberately set off a fire alarm in a congressional office building, reportedly in order to delay the vote on a stop-gap spending bill. This forced a mass evacuation.

Bowman denies that was his intent, with an explanation that is a particularly high pile of manure … even for a politician.

“I was just trying to get to my vote,” Bowman told reporters. “The door that’s usually open wasn’t open. And you know, I didn’t mean to cause confusion … . I didn’t know I was going to trip the whole building. I thought it would help me open the door.”

He – a former middle school principal, mind you – didn’t know pulling a fire alarm would … um … cause a fire alarm?

Statement from Congressman Jamaal Bowman. pic.twitter.com/v6qjdHNI7T

— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) October 1, 2023

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is promising an investigation into this serious incident, that “should not go without punishment.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on the DOJ to use the “same law they used to prosecute J6 defendants for interfering with an official proceeding.” New York Rep. Nicole Nalliotakis’s office told the NY Post she’ll move to have Bowman expelled.

Senator Meghan Markle?

Meanwhile, as if Capitol Hill didn’t have enough turmoil and power-hungry, attention thirsting prima donnas, Fox News reports that Meghan Markle is actually on Gavin Newsome’s list of potential replacements for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Seems after laying waste to the royal family she’s now got her sights on Washington. Even if she is not named to fill out Feinstein’s term, the Daily Mail claims Markle is “considering” running for the seat. “Meghan is definitely a long-shot but in the craziness that is US politics these days it’s not an impossibility. Crazier things have happened,” a major Democratic donor told the Mail. 

RFK Jr. to Run as an Independent

Anybody remember the great madcap comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World? A bunch of strangers (played by many of America’s greatest comic actors) engaged in frantic chase to uncover a buried treasure. “Every man for himself!” yells Buddy Hackett. Welcome to the 2024 Election. Between Trump’s legal fights and Biden’s impeachment and infirmaries, and the enormous stakes the race was already shaping up to be a madcap scramble. Now comes news Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is giving up on fighting the DNC to have a fair Democratic primary and will run as an independent.

A Kennedy leaving the Democratic Party? That’s like a Biden leaving a foreign country with cash still on the table. Unheard of.

Kennedy is expected to make an official announcement October 9 in Philadelphia.

California Town Becomes First to Officially Grant Rights to … Elephants?

I’d say people are living like animals on the streets of Southern California … but apparently animals now rate higher.  The town of Ojai north of L.A., by a 4-1 vote of the city council has passed an ordinance recognizing the legal rights of elephants. Yes, elephants.

This makes Ojai the first U.S. city to give defined and enforceable rights to an animal.

The ordinance grants elephants “freedom from forced confinement, extraneous control, or restricted choice imposed by any person.” The right “entail (elephants) the ability to act autonomously without restraint, coercion, or control by any person.”

Are elephants really being repressed and oppressed in Ojai? 

This peculiar bit of business is work of the “Nonhuman Rights Project.” Its director of government relations Courtney Fern says, “Recognizing the right to bodily liberty for elephants is the only way to truly protect them from human-caused harm now and in the long term.” Don’t think it stops with elephants. According to their website, the group says “We’re challenging the century’s status quo that unjustly sees all nonhuman animals a legal “things” with no rights.”

Back From Near Death … Damar Hamlin Active for Bills Game Against Dolphins

Oh, sure, all the attention was on whether Taylor Swift would show up for the Chiefs game against the Jets. But the bigger deal was Bills safety Damar Hamlin showing up on the field Sunday for their game against the Miami Dolphins. Hamlin was activated Sunday, for his first regular season action since suffering cardiac arrest during a Monday night game last winter against Cincinnati. He was used for kick-off coverage during the game, which the Bills defeated the Dolphins 48-20.

An awesome moment to watch Bills safety Damar Hamlin huddle with his teammates before taking the field for his first regular-season game. Hamlin was a healthy scratch the first three games — but will have a key role on special teams today. pic.twitter.com/PyfOiouJ0Z

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 1, 2023

Along The Stream

Stream contributor Mark Judge reports: “Fresh and Powerful Mother Teresa and Me Offers a Fresh Look at an Iconic Saint”

Plus the latest from Bunni Pounds: “The Holy Spirit’s Work: It Touches Even Our Sex Lives”  

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.