Wag the dog: 2023 in review
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
“The tail wagging the dog” is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. Its earliest use is in the 1858 play “Our American Cousin,” (yes, the same play that Abraham Lincoln was watching in 1865.). The 1997 film “Wag the Dog” shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of “actions in order to distract from domestic scandal.”
With this being the first day of the last month of 2023, and our nation currently at $33.833 trillion in debt (FYI – 33.833 trillion seconds ago, was more than one million years ago!), here’s a look back at the top news stories for each month thus far for this year that distracted us from how badly the federal government is screwing every one of us.
January – The La Vergne, Tenn., Police Department sex scandal
Five police officers were fired and another three suspended without pay following an investigation into a sex scandal within the department, which included officers having sex on duty and city-owned property. Maegan Hall, the sole female, was fired from her position as a police officer when she was caught being involved in an affair with six other fellow officers. She in turn filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her superiors at the La Vergne Police Department groomed her for sex and created a hostile workplace.
February – The Chinese Spy Balloon
From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a high-altitude balloon originating from China flew across North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the United States. On February 4, a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast of South Carolina in about 47 feet of water. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer stated that “shooting down the balloon over water wasn’t just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain.”
March – Silicon Valley Bank
On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed after a bank run, marking the third-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. It was one of three bank failures, along with Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank, all in March 2023 in the United States.
April – Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney
A boycott on Anheuser-Busch products, specifically its Bud Light products, the then top beer brand in the United States, began in April 2023. The boycott began because of a sponsorship the company conducted with TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney on April 1, which was part of a larger campaign to address Bud Light’s decline in sales and attract younger audiences. Mulvaney, a male to female transgender, promoted the company’s Bud Light beer brand during NCAA Basketball’s “March Madness.” Sales in Bud Light dropped dramatically and have not recovered.
May – Coronation of Charles III and Camilla
As of 2023, there are 43 sovereign states in the world with a monarch as head of state. There are 13 in Asia, 12 in Europe, nine in the Americas, six in Oceania, and three in Africa. However, in the U.S.A., most can only name one of them. This past May held the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.
June – Sub Implosion
On June 18, 2023, the Titan, a submersible operated by American tourism and expeditions company OceanGate, imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and Canadian Coast Guard led the search and rescue efforts. Aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force and U.S. Air National Guard, a Royal Canadian Navy ship and several commercial and research ships and remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROVs) also assisted in the search. The search involved both a surface search and an underwater sonar search. Millions were spent, even though all had died instantly.
July – Hunter Biden
Federal prosecutors charged Hunter Biden with two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion and a felony charge related to a gun purchase. In a deal with prosecutors, the felony tax charge was dropped, if Biden agreed to plead guilty to only the two misdemeanor tax charges and to enter a pretrial diversion program related to the gun charge. On July 26, the plea deal was rejected by the presiding judge, who cited concerns over immunity Biden might receive from future charges and gave 30 days to both the government prosecutors and Biden’s defense team to provide additional information. Biden changed his plea from “guilty” to “not guilty” and will now stand trial for all charges brought against him.
August – A video of a drunk “Karen” went viral when she accused a passenger of stealing her AirPods and claimed that the passenger was “not real” (as in a “skinwalker” or a lizard person in human form). The “Karen” was identified as Tiffany Gomas, 38, a Texas marketing executive. At the scene she insisted that the plane would crash before she was escorted off of the airport premises by airport police. She later offered a public apology for her meltdown.
September – Lost F-35
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 was lost over South Carolina after the pilot ejected from the aircraft near North Charleston. Initial efforts to search for the aircraft were focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, with both the military and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division participating in the search. The military also called on the public to provide information on the location of the missing jet. Debris from the jet was later found 75 miles away in a field in Williamsburg County, close to Joint Base Charleston.
October – Speaker of the House Fired
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove its speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, through a motion to vacate filed by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a fellow member of the Republican Party. McCarthy’s removal marked the first time in American history that a speaker of the House was removed through a motion to vacate.
November – I could write about Elon Musk’s Starship blowing up, but for us here in Alabama, this will only take two words: “Iron Bowl.”
December … Biden standing at an all-time low
As we enter December, a recent NBC poll found Biden’s approval rating at the lowest level of his presidency, with a majority of voters holding “negative” feelings toward him. Only a quarter of American voters want Biden to run for reelection, according to a poll conducted by The Economist/YouGov. Additionally, there is also a much-discussed NYT/Siena College Poll showing former President Donald Trump leading Biden in five of six key battleground states. Welcome to the 2024 presidential election year! … I wonder if anyone will bring up the national debt?