Banter Bites

Raw Videos. Raw Emotion.

Unfortunately, "never forget" now applies to a home-grown American tragedy. And once you watch these videos, it will be even harder to forget.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: There's no question we could debate amongst ourselves (especially since Black thinks of debate as a sport) about various aspects of former President Trump's second impeachment trial.

But regardless of the end result, we're all being impacted by the videos that are being shown. Yes, they're being presented by the Democrats as a way to show the violence and chaos of January 6, but neither party can deny it's far more than courtroom positioning as it shows the very symbol of American democracy, the Capitol, being besieged. And not by foreign enemies but American insurgents.

Red started to use her theater degree to explain to Black why the new videos were so powerful, but almost immediately found herself overwhelmed by their emotional impact. Even though she had seen much of the video already, it had never been put together in quite this way. Black, as pragmatic and non-emotional as she is, has no shortage of words about the events of January 6, what led up to it, and the trial itself.

But we both agree that as we watch each new video we're struck by the power of words and images, yet we know that it's critical to remember the videos started with raw footage. And we shouldn't overlook the raw emotion being expressed by members of Congress who were there as it happened.

If you’re looking for a reason not to mow, there’s logic behind letting it grow …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: As is often the case, Red hadn’t heard of the latest trend, “No Mow May,” which is all about lawn maintenance (or the lack of it) until Black started sending her articles about it.

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It’s hard to imagine one holiday celebrates … spring, women’s fertility, workers, and labor rights. But it shouldn’t surprise you that even though it dates back thousands of years, we each “dance around” different aspects of May Day.

If you’ve never thought about May Day, don’t worry, most of us haven’t.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red appreciates that some holidays have historical significance, some have ancient traditions, and some are opportunities for one of Black’s unexpected, but often amusing and clever, comments, but May Day checks all those boxes.

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Spring’s supposed to be full of optimism as it represents a new beginning, with longer days, the trees and flowers blooming, the birds chirping, and a general feeling of rejuvenation. So, whose idea was it to rudely interrupt it with Tax Day? And the fact it’s April 18 this year instead of April 15 (when we ran the article below in 2021, we got two extra days) hardly makes it any less, well, … taxing.

This quote is perfect, except that we don't know who said it, "People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women."

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It's probably a safe bet (yes, the IRS even has specific rules on how to handle gambling income and losses) that no one looks forward to Tax Day, but it would be easy to make assumptions that how people approach this potentially stressful day would be impacted by how much, or how little, money they make …

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