Show Notes: Ukraine Update, Jobs Report, & Iranian Oil
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Clip of the day:
Ukraine Update
A fire broke out at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as Russian shelling continued throughout the night in southern Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia power plant, now controlled by the Russians, is not leaking radiation according to multiple international agencies. Zeleskey told journalists the attack was an act of terror that threatened the entire continent. Indeed, Europe was uncomfortably close to an unprecedented Chernobyl-style disaster. Here are more headlines from Ukraine:
Zaporizhzhia power plant employees working at gunpoint. - WSJ
Devastating claims of abuse perpetrated by Russian soldiers. - NY POST
Zeleskey survived a THIRD assassination attempt. - Daily Beast
Biden grants visa protections to Ukrainians in the United States. - WSJ
Russia using banned cluster bombs in Ukraine. - CNN
The children of Russian oligarchs are fed up. - DailyMail
Russia helps Iran ferry illicit crude oil. - Free Beacon
Russia cracks down on “fake information” about Ukraine. 50 year jail time. - CBS News
Jobs Go Boom
The good news: 678,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February, exceeding expectations by over 50%. February was the strongest monthly gain since July of 2021.
The bad news: Wages were flat with the average hourly wage standing at $31.58.
The worst news: Inflation remains at a 40-year high.
Iranian Oil
Surely we can all agree that as bad of an idea as using Russian oil is, using Iranian oil is worse. Right? Right?!?!
We aren’t quite sure how, but Kamala Harris managed to give a worse answer to a similar question.
Moderate Democrats Let Stranded
Politico has a brutal story this morning about rural Democrats suffering in silence as their progressive party abandons them.
Conversations with Democrats here reveal the daunting challenges the party faces across the country. They say party leaders need to come to terms with just how calamitous the dropoff of rural support has been. If people here don’t trust the government on the effectiveness of masking and vaccines, they ask, can they be persuaded to back Democrats who are focused on traditional appeals like the services they’ve delivered for their region? But the fundamental question the party needs to answer—one that gnaws at everyone from the Foulkrods and Fitzpatrick to Biden’s advisers in Washington—is how far can they expect to get with people who refuse even to listen?
“Part of this is a failing of Democrats generally over the last year and a half,” says former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a red-state Democrat who has been sounding alarms over the party’s struggles to reach rural voters.
The rest of the news
Commodity prices are soaring as war anxiety increases. - Bloomberg
Navy Seal Morgan Lutrell wins in Texas House proxy primary. - Washington Examiner
Primary turnout in Texas trends heavily favors Republicans. - Twitter
Is Tom Brady REALLY staying retired? - Barstool
BREAKING: Supreme court reinstates death sentence for Boston marathon bomber. - Axios
A powerful essay on Fatherhood, cancer, and what matters most. - The Ringer
The cold hard truth about electric vehicles in the winter. - Axios
I agree. Moderate dems are being forgotten about. Many blacks are moderate especially those in rural areas like West Georgia where I'm from. The thing is most the vast majority are still not going to vote Republican. Not enough in-roads are being made to make the republican party even a consideration. The policies, the rhetoric, and especially the majority of its members do not speak to issues important to us and more often than not, stand in opposition to those issues...But no one wants to discuss that. When was the last time Erick had a black politician on his show that was not a republican? I dont recall any recently but please correct me if I'm wrong. I would love to hear that conversation and would hope it would bear fruit.
I don't understand the Democrats fascination with Iran. Why when they regain power do they want to remove the sanctions against Iran and import their oil. It is confusing and scary.