Today is Thursday, December 21, 2023, the first day of winter.   Brrr!    As I age, I’m now discovering that I definitely don’t like the cold weather. And I’m discovering that it bothers me more, which wasn’t the situation when I was in my forties or, even, my fifties.      So I don’t relish this time at all.      Especially how it gets dark so damn early, and here I thought we weren’t going to turn back the clock again in November.   I thought that Congress had ended this ridiculous practice, but of course, it didn’t.   It can’t even pass an aid bill to Ukraine before going on holiday recess. 

There’s a lot in the news today, but this story will interest you:  just after a jury ruled that Rudy “Ghouliani” must pay two defamed Georgia election workers the monumental sum of $1.48 million, the fucking jerk filed for bankruptcy in federal court today.     This not-very-surprising development appears in an online CNN article by Hannah Rabinowitz entitled “Rudy Giuliani declares bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $150 million in defamation lawsuit.”

According to the filing, Ghouliani listed debts between $100 million and $500 million and assets worth up to $10 million.   This bankruptcy declaration can only be viewed as another setback for the former New York mayor, federal prosecutor, and onetime front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, all stemming from his ties to Donald Chump as his personal lawyer after the 2020 presidential election.

The scandal-plagued ex-mayor listed nearly $1 million in unpaid taxes among his liabilities as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to lawyers and accountants.

Giuliani also lists pending lawsuits, including three defamation cases over his statements after the 2020 election that haven’t even gone to trial and could add to his debt if he’s ordered to pay damages in those cases.   So Giuliani could even face additional damage awards following his $148 million judgment from the Georgia case.

This declaration on the part of broke Giuliani comes just a day after the federal judge who oversaw the impactful defamation case said the two plaintiffs can begin trying to collect from the defendant immediately.   So now this is going to be delayed, it appears. 

During the trial, Giuliani attorney Joseph Sibley said the two election workers were asking for “the civil equivalent of the death penalty.”  He added, “They’re trying to end Mr. Guiliani.”   But the lawyer for this scumbag never acknowledged how the scumbag’s lies could have resulted in the ending of the two plaintiffs’ lives by thugs beholden to the Dear Leader.   (Witness the rash of death threats lobbed at the judges in the Colorado Supreme Court who ruled against Dump just days ago.) 

Now Giuliani may ask the bankruptcy court to excuse his debt to Moss and Freeman – in the same way that Alex Jones tried and failed to do in his Sandy Hook defamation case.   This will definitely happen again in Giuliani’s case.  He will not be excused from paying out the $148 million judgment.   And he will begin living on the street as a result of not having any money left. 

So it now seems that the former pugnacious mayor of New York is up to his hair dye in debt!  I have no sympathy for him. 

Also as expected, Moss and Freeman’s lawyers have indicated they would move quickly to ask for liens on Giuliani’s existing properties in New York and Florida and are researching entities that may be providing money to him, such as Newsmax, where he has a show.   As I always have said, anything that Dump touches turns to shit and this is clearly an illustration of that.  When will people realize the curse that follows Dump wherever he waddles to.

As for the blowback from the recent decision by the Colorado Supreme Court removing Donald Chump from the primary ballot, an interesting online article in Raw Story quotes a White House reporter who believes that the former commander in “grief” is actually terrified by the decision, even though he pretends not to be.    The article is by Matthew Chapman and is entitled ‘Trump is terrified’:   White House reporter says ex-president is reeling after ballot boot.”

This is argued by White House reporter Brian Karem in Salon.   He posits that Chump is badly shaken by the decision out of Colorado. 

Karem acknowledges that other journalists like Maggie Haberman et al. think that Chump is energized by the ruling.   And that he’s raising money off it.  Karem says that he thinks Trump is terrified by the decision.   Let’s truly hope he is. 

Gun violence knows no borders as we learned today from across the pond, in Prague, Czech Republic, as a lone gunman killed more than 15 people in the worst carnage of its kind in Czech history.   The mass shooting occurred at Prague’s Charles University which is the world’s oldest house of academic learning.  The online article today appeared in the Daily News and it’s written by Peter Laca, Deana Kjuka, and Andrea Dudik and it’s entitled “Prague shaken as worst Czech shooting leaves more than 15 dead.”

The shooter was identified as a 24-year-old student who died during the shooting.  There is no evidence that he had links to international terorrism, Interior Minister Vit Rakusan and Police Chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters.   The terrible incident lasted about 20 minutes and left the country of 11 million shaken profoundly. 

Dozens of police cars and police officers, including with some with machine guns, cordoned off an area around the scene, which is near Prague’s luxury shopping street and the city’s famed astronomical clock. 

Czech officials failed to immediately suggest a motive for the shooting, which was a rare event in a country that limits access to firearms by requiring gun owners to pass written and practical tests as well as psychological screenings. 

The police chief said the gunman legally owned several weapons.  Police also found the shooter’s father dead in a village near Prague earlier on Thursday and had received information that he had left for the capital intending to kill himself. 

Vondrasek, the police chief, said the assailant either killed himself or died when police returned fire. 

Founded in 1348, the Charles University is one of the world’s oldest.  Prague attracts millions of tourists every year, and this being close to Christmas, I wonder how many travelers are there right now.    I reported on this story because of our third-floor neighbor, “Diane,” has entrusted us with watering her plants while she is away until next week.    And guess where she is going for Christmas?   If you said, “Prague,” you’re correct.    I don’t think she’s there right now, so she might not be affected by this terrible situation then.     She drove to New Hampshire first and then she’s flying to Prague.  But you would have to admit this is such a strange coincidence involving our neighbor and recent acquaintance.  That of all places to go to, she chooses Prague.  

So yesterday was a long but productive day with my friend “Jake.”  I didn’t come home until about 12:30 a.m.    I participated in a trivia group contest held at a convivial Irish-American restaurant/bar called Shandon Court, located in East Islip.  This is where my friend goes several times a year to participate in these contests.  

The theme of last night’s competition was “everything Christmas.”   So as my wont, I researched the topic and took notes on anything pertaining to Christmas before coming out to the Island.    There was so much information on the holiday that I had no idea if I had succeeded in covering everything one needs to know about it:  things like which movies have a Christmas theme, songs and songwriters, plus who sang these songs, facts about the holiday, and so on.    I can tell you that the actual contest contained more questions that were geared to a younger audience.   And if it weren’t for our younger teammates, Jake and I would have bombed the competition.    We both felt the questions covered more recent movies and general Christmas knowledge.   There were three sections, two sections having 12 questions each, and one visual section where you had to identify 15 Christmas villains.    Some of the characters appeared in animated films, of which I’ve seen nary a one. I was able to identify three of the villains.   That’s it!   For fun, I thought I’d show you the visual segment of the contest; see how many faces you can identify.  

Stay safe and be well.

Here’s the sheet.   I have to confess one thing, though: you’re on your own with identifying these Christmas baddies since I don’t have the twin sheet with their names written on it.   I think I might have accidentally thrown it out.    If I do find it, I’ll let you know.  Again, I knew only two by name and one I needed help with.  I was able to identify the movie where they’re from, though.