Elon and Vivek War With MAGA 12.27.24 Ally Sammarco Dec 28 It’s Friday, Today’s American News readers! For us, the week has flown by. We hope you enjoyed our “Canadian edition” yesterday. Trump may try to “Blame Canada” for his problems but his words ring as hollow as the song from the show our parents didn’t let us watch growing up. Trump sides with China on TikTok… Does the convicted felon’s handpicked bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court think he’s already president? He’s hoping so. Trump wants SCOTUS to pause proceedings on TikTok’s First Amendment challenge to the Congress’s bipartisan order mandating the app’s parent company divest from Chinese ownership. So the First Amendment now protects a corporation of our biggest economic rival to operate, beyond oversight of our legislative and executive branches, a product that destroys our kids’ attention span, collects Americans’ private data, undermines national security, and acts as a propaganda wing of the Chinese Communist Party, and the president-elect of OUR country agrees and wants to personally intervene? I thought Trump was going to be tough on China… Newsflash to Trump: Folks on the verge of upending 90 percent of the world’s supply of advanced microchips are not fighting to keep control of their product because they loooove bringing joy to Americans with smartphones. The Chinese Communist Party would gladly take Trump’s tariffs if it means keeping TikTok and taking over Taiwan. Elon and Vivek, still 23 days from starting fake jobs, already going mean girls on MAGA… Vivek Ramaswamy thinks Americans are “mediocre” and that our culture fails to value “hard work over laziness” and THAT is why we need more H-1B temporary worker visas. Elon had a more measured take–that the United States doesn’t have enough smart people. Somehow these wealthier-than-God elitists couldn’t advocate for H-1B visas without calling Americans unintelligent and without skill. The MAGA minions were furious, apparently thinking they were being singled out by Trump’s top advisors. LOL. Finland and Estonia are absolute badasses… Remember when France, Germany, and even many in the United States bellyached about Kremlin “escalation” and thought every one of Putin’s 1,700 redlines on Western support to Ukraine were certain to result in the world’s nuclear annihilation? Well, when a cable linking Finnish and Estonian electricity just happened to be severed at the same time a Russian vessel passed by, Finland just up and detained that Russian vessel (one of the few still floating) and Estonia told Russia to go f***k itself. How far we have come. Full of wisdom *and* youth, this progressive U.S. Senator is going places… At 52, Brian Schatz has already been a member of the U.S. Senate for 12 years, yet he is still younger than 88 of his 99 colleagues. Representing Hawai’i provides him with a safe seat and the ability to think big, skyrocketing to chief deputy whip in the new Congress and–should Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) retire in 2026 as expected–Schatz will become the second-ranking member of the Democratic caucus, further solidifying his likely place as the next Democratic leader after Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Politico’s palace intrigue was actually interesting, because we need young progressives risking through the ranks of Congress. Of course, that’s Politico’s dealio to talk about, and Schatz was all business in a long-form interview with the outlet. He was insistent that Democrats talk about the next election instead of the last–and he masterfully lays out both “says-what-everyone-else-is-thinking” criticism and vision. If you’re up for a longer read tonight, or if you have some time this weekend, read the full interview here. We promise it’s good. Today’s Buzz Yes! A thousand times yes to this headline from The Hollywood Reporter… “Mariah Carey’s Christmas Tune Could Become the Greatest Song of All Time.” Just engrave the award already, folks, because we are reminded every Christmas of why she’s the legend that she is. Music critics at the Reporter are not suggesting that superlative out of thin air–they have a simple and objective stat to determine the greatest song ever: “This week the track logged its 17th week at No. 1 and edges close to the 19-week record set by both Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ ‘Old Town Road’ and Shaboozey’s ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy).’ Carey’s hit could tie the record this year, and by next year, it will surely break it.” Btw, are you hosting a party on New Year’s Eve–or creating a playlist for your celebration? Well don’t miss this fabulous number: Today’s Furry Friend You didn’t think we’d end the week without a precious, gentle, happy animal did you? Meet Preston. Check back with us Monday–yes, it’s already the weekend!--for another edition of Today’s American News. For better or worse, 2025 will be here soon.