Mission Status Update
A tale of two stories: One completed, the other one is about to embark
This is an article on two wildly different subjects, something you the reader might notice based on the photo you have just seen above. Their loose connection between them is trying to accomplish a mission or a goal, one of them has just finished that mission, while the other one is just about to embark on one.
Let’s start with the person who just ended one mission: Joe Biden. Over the weekend, the President signed the debt ceiling bill negotiated last week that was passed through the House and Senate. It is certainly good news for the US and global economy as it prevents a disastrous default, something that will definitely calm the markets down from any anxiety of a looming recession from coming anywhere near total fruition.
Plus, the bill adds bonus points to the current president, his poll numbers are up and even his doubters and critics have been astonished by Biden’s wins throughout the process. By fixating on the fine print aspects of the deal, the Republicans have not been able to push through many concessions the Democrats were forced to compromise in. Moreover, the bonus points go to the President for fulfilling his campaign promise of bringing bipartisanship. In a bitterly divided America, Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign messaged a sense of unity and brought up his experience as a Senator, who has numerous experiences bridging the divide and channeling the power of bipartisanship for the good of the country. The debt ceiling bill certainly is a testament to that message.
Kevin McCarthy, the House leader who was urged by Donald Trump and his radical colleagues in the House to not strike a deal if it does not come to meet their terms, has to his credit (pun intended), successfully pushed the deal through the House. But this is the beginning of his troubles, it just takes one vote for a Motion to Vacate the Speaker, which allows any member of Congress to initiate a no-confidence vote on McCarthy. Based on the slim majority he has over the House, in addition to many in his party who want him to go, McCarthy’s future promises as the speaker of the House might be cut short.
For the wider image, the US has retained most of its credibility and stability economically and politically on the world stage over the debt ceiling bill being passed. However, doubt and worries still linger. The credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings is still putting the AAA credit currently held by the US on negative watch, showing the concern by markets on the flimsiness of the country’s economic stability due to the hyper-partisanship between the two parties.
Meanwhile, allies are concerned by Republican actions and rhetoric during the debt ceiling debate. Some GOP members have shown themselves to be radical in the pursuit of their own goals, and with presidential candidates running for the GOP nomination for President spouting their support for such radical action, allies are concerned about shifting positions on other issues—specifically Ukraine.
On ABC This Week, the longshot Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy informed anchor Martha Raddatz about his Ukraine position:
"I don't think that's a top foreign policy priority," Ramaswamy said, later adding, "I don't think it is preferable for Russia to be able to invade a sovereign country that is its neighbor. But ... I think the No. 1 threat to the U.S. military is right now, our top military threat, is the China-Russian alliance. I think that by fighting further in Russia, by further arming Ukraine, we are driving Russia into China's hands."
"What I think we need to do is end the Ukraine war on peaceful terms that, yes, do make some major concessions to Russia, including freezing those current lines of control in a Korean-war style armistice agreement. ... Which Ukraine wouldn't want to do," he continued. "And also a permanent commitment not to allow Ukraine to enter NATO. But in return, Russia has to leave its treaty and its joint military agreement with China."
The pro-concession stance raised by Ramaswamy is not dissimilar to Donald Trump who said during the disastrous CNN town hall:
“I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying,” Trump said at CNN’s town hall moderated by “CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins. “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
For allies, seeing such perspectives raises alarm bells, the stance between European allies, NATO, and the US under the Biden administration maintains that Ukraine achieves victory by defeating their Russian opponents, such calls for compromise and Trump’s erratic foreign policy during his last administration makes some allies like Germany’s Olaf Scholz to actually endorse Biden’s run for President!
Speaking of Ukraine, if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s Olaf Scholz shouting back at a heckler for calling the German chancellor a “warmonger”:
Message aside, maybe it is because I watched too many history documentaries, but the sound of a German chancellor shouting still sounds a little scary to me.
Anyway, back to the main story!
More can be discussed later on these subjects, changing tune, let’s leave politics for a moment and head into the world of animation and a show I am looking forward to.
The new Disney show Hailey’s On It has been grabbing my attention. Before I move on, here is the trailer:
In case you didn’t have time to watch the video or want more context, the show centers on the titular character Hailey Banks starting to complete a to-do list throughout the new year after a time traveler named “The Professor,” traveled to Hailey’s time and saved her from a chaos bot that wanted to thwart Hailey’s mission. The Professor called Hailey’s to-do list the most important document in history and completing the list will save the world, sensing the gravity and urgency, Hailey agrees to complete her list.
Joining Hailey to complete her list includes Beta, a robot inserted inside a teddy bear who claims to be the world’s most advanced AI designed to help Hailey complete her list. The other person is Scott Denoga, Hailey’s best friend.
Plot twist! One of the missions on the list is for Hailey to kiss Scott! Something Hailey is very aware of, and in the beginning, wants it to be done later. As the show progresses, what will happen to Hailey and Scott’s already interesting and entertaining dynamic? Who can tell? What’s absolutely certain is that there is a lot of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) representation in the show! Hailey’s voice actor Auli’i Cravalho is a Hawaiian native and was the voice actor for Moana, and Scott’s voice actor Manny Jacinto is Phillipino, you might recognize him as Jason Mendoza from The Good Place!
Based on what we know so far, I have a lot of questions. For example: Who is The Professor? Is she Hailey from the future? Or is she a friend or employee of future Hailey, future Scott, or some other person? Plus, who designed and sent the chaos bots to thwart Hailey’s mission, is it The Professor or some other person? There are so many questions and excitement inside my head on the show which premiers June 8 and is on Disney + the next day!
However, a quick note: For those arguing this show with The Owl House because of their obsession with the cartoon and bitterness after the show was cut short by Disney, take a break! The Owl House is a great show and I enjoyed it, but Hailey’s On It is a completely different show that deserves a chance to show itself as a wonderful cartoon. Always comparing shows with each other does not make the show you support better, it actually makes enjoying the shows being compared worse.
It has been a long weekend, to lighten the Monday mood, here is Hailey’s On It’s theme song “The Future’s In My Hands” sung by Auli’i Cravalho, I have been hitting replay on it for a week now! Enjoy! (Edited Note: The first video is the opening for the show, and the Spotify link you can play here is the full version of the song.)