Random News: July 2, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s July 2, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. Lazy and semi-coherent items ahead…

• I just saw a headline on CNN that read “What is the Supreme Court and why does it have so much power?”
• Seriously, let me ask you people something. I’m assuming you all went to middle school (or junior high, as some places called it at some times).
• We all (again, I assume) had classes before we were 13 years old that specifically taught you at least the very basic details of the country we live in and its form of government.
• Some of us also went to high school where we had more advanced classes in history, social studies, and government. You probably were taught more details about the Constitution, its Amendments, the system of checks and balances, and so on.
• Why is it, then, that so many fucking adults out there who were born and raised in America seem to have NO FUCKING CLUE about the United States?
• And even more ironically, those who seem to know the least are the ones most likely to consider themselves “patriots”.

• It’s like a huge percentage of people. It’s amazing. It’s mind-blowing. What the fuck? 
• Sigh.
• There has been a multitude of instances of hope in the midst of the repeal of women’s rights to safe abortion. A good number of district attorneys in force-birth states are stating they will not seek prosecution of abortion crimes.
• Some state courts are fighting orders to close clinics. And in some states that don’t force women to give birth, like New York, they are rapidly reinforcing their laws to ensure that safe and legal abortion will continue in their state regardless of what happens at the national level. California will be doing the same soon.
• And perhaps the biggest glimmer of positivity has been the fierce reaction of not only a huge percentage of the nation’s women, but also a majority of men who support their rights to bodily autonomy.

• Always keep in mind: we are the majority. It crosses into both Democrat and Republican sides. It crosses gender and race lines. It’s going to be a night and will take time, and people will suffer in the interim.
• But we will win.
• Apparently so many people watched the new episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ that Netflix crashed. I’m a weirdo who doesn’t really watch TV (I mostly just don’t have time), but that show looks fun. I’ve seen a few clips here and there and I admire the production details.

• From the sports desk… I don’t know jack shit about college sports, but I do know enough that seeing UCLA and USC leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 10 seems mighty fucking bizarre. I don’t know much about it, but it feels like a money thing.

• Try this out: when you find yourself asking “why?” about something, try replying “money”, and then see if that answer fits. It almost always does in some way, often directly.
• The more I learn about space travel, the more I’m becoming aware that it’s almost impossible for organic life forms like humans. Just one example, beyond the radiation and other aspects, is a new study that shows just six months in space resulted in decades worth of bone deterioration due to living in microgravity.
• We have to make this planet work. There’s no way this homo sapiens species is going to live long enough to figure out ways to live on other planets. Zero possibility.
• Fuck this shit. I’m going to work on some music today.
• Music is one of the only things I do that I know with 100% certainty makes the world a better place in which to live. It may be the only thing. I’m serious.


• QotD: “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.” - Richard Adams, ‘Watership Down’
• Today in history… Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident (866). Thomas Savery patents the steam engine (1698). The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with Great Britain (1776). 35 slaves are hanged in South Carolina, accused of organizing a rebellion (1822). 53 slaves mutiny and take over the slave ship ‘Amistad’ (1839). President James A. Garfield is shot by a crazy dude and eventually dies (1881). Guglielmo Marconi gets a patent for the radio (1897). The war between the US and Germany in WWI is formally ended (1921). Amelia Earhart is last heard from somewhere over the Pacific (1937). The first Walmart opens (1962). Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act (1964).
• July 2 is the birthday of Roman emperor Valentinian III (419), feminist writer Lily Braun (1865), writer Hermann Hesse (1877), tennis player and creator of the polo shirt René Lacoste (1904), fashion designer Pierre Cardin (1922), activist Medgar Evers (1925), politician Imelda Marcos (1929), Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas (1932), race car driver Richard Peeetty (1937), writer/comedian Larry David (1947), model Jerry Hall (1956), baseball player and steroid user Jose Canseco (1964), NHL great Joe Thornton (1979), actress Lindsay Lohan (1986), actress Margot Robbie (1990), and rapper Vince Staples (1993).

Now I’m gonna pick up a guitar and write the greatest song in the world. I hope your Saturday is filled with the sweet nectar of excellent mojo.