Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Quick Hits: Volume CCXCIX

 - Depending upon which political tribe member you're speaking to, this is either a "nothingburger" or "TREASONOUS!!!!!!!!!" Chances are it's firmly entrenched in the middle.


Several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall in a private office, Biden’s attorneys acknowledged Monday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has asked the US attorney in Chicago to investigate the matter, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN, and congressional Republicans are also taking notice.

Biden’s lawyers say they found the government materials in November while closing out a Washington, DC-based office – the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement – that Biden used as part of his relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorary professor from 2017 to 2019.

Fewer than a dozen classified documents were found at Biden’s office, another source told CNN. It is unclear what the documents pertain to or why they were taken to Biden’s private office. Federal officeholders are required by law to relinquish official documents and classified records when their government service ends.

“The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice regarding the discovery of what appear to be Obama-Biden Administration records, including a small number of documents with classified markings,” Richard Sauber, special counsel to President Biden, said in a statement. “The documents were discovered when the President’s personal attorneys were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. The President periodically used this space from mid-2017 until the start of the 2020 campaign. On the day of this discovery, November 2, 2022, the White House Counsel’s Office notified the National Archives. The Archives took possession of the materials the following morning.”


I'm not going to engage in "what-about-ism" here, specifically the nuclear-level coverage of classified material found last year at Donald Trump's residence. It's a pointless exercise. 


That being said, check out Andrew McCarthy's piece on how the incident involving Biden kinda puts a crimp in the Dept. of Justice's investigation of Trump for similar infractions. 



- I've been lamenting for some time the degradation of late night television. While I understand that no one will be able to approach the success of Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien in their respective heydays, I don't believe it's too much to ask for late night entertainment shows to be...uh...entertaining. 


Today's lot of late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and James Corden spend an absurd amount of time either bashing right-of-center politicos, engaging in performative leg-humping of fellow proggies or using their monologues to lecture the public on social issues. Typically this results in displays of smug self-righteousness or cringe-inducing sketches.


A recent bit from Fallon sent the cringe-o-meter off the charts. 





Johnny Carson's estate may well have legit grounds for a lawsuit if ever his name is associated with the modern today Tonight Show.  



- The love we lost has been found!


Carlos Correa's deal with the Minnesota Twins is complete, the team announced Wednesday, meaning that he has passed his physical to finally bring his wild offseason saga to a close.

"He's home," the Twins posted to Twitter on Wednesday.




After a solid 2022 season with the Twins, Correa opted out of his 3-year deal to become a free agent. In mid-December he agreed to a 13-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, only to have that agreement pulled due to the club's concerns over an old ankle injury. Not long after that, the New York Mets swooped in with their own 12-year pact (which Correa agreed to) but attempted to renegotiate it down when not satisfied with the results Correa's physical exam. It was at that point when the Twins took advantage of a short window to get a deal done. 


Sure, the Twins were Correa's third choice, but so what? If he can put forth seasons similar to his production last year, this unquestionably puts the Twins back into contention for a postseason berth provided they can avoid last year's persistent injury bug. And now that their top offseason priority has been checked off, the club can now focus on augmenting their pitching staff. 


Amazing, isn't it? A week ago at this time the Twins were a literal afterthought in the Twin Cities sports community. In about a week's time they went from that point to many fans counting down the number of days until Spring Training. 


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