Random News: June 13, 2023

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 June 13, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. It’s a big day — dare I say historic? — but for now we’re just going to do what we do…

• For today’s Pride note, let’s discuss same-sex marriage.
• I’m actually more like most people than you might assume. When I first started hearing about men with husbands and women with wives, it threw me a bit. But then like other things in life that are new (“I can get the Internet on my PHONE? This is crazy!”), I got used to it and now it just seems like a part of normal life, as it should be.
• As of 2023, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 34 countries that have a total population of about 1.35 billion people (17% of the world's population).
• The first same-sex couple to be married legally in modern times were Michael McConnell and Jack Baker in 1971 in the United States; they were married in the county of Hennepin County, MN.
• The first law providing for marriage equality between same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed in the continental Netherlands in 2000 and took effect on April 1, 2001.
• Scientific studies show that the financial, psychological, and physical well-being of gay people are enhanced by marriage, and that the children of same-sex parents benefit from being raised by married same-sex couples within a marital union that is recognized by law and supported by societal institutions.
• A series of Gallup polls found that nationwide public support for same-sex marriage reached 50% in 2011, 60% in 2015, and 70% in 2021.
• It was on June 26, 2015 that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case Obergefell v. Hodges.
• Previous to that ruling, it was on a state-by-state and even county-by-county basis as to whether or not people of the same sex could legally marry each other, or if their union would be legally recognized in other places.
• Today it’s the law of the land, as it should be.
• The very idea of laws that tell people who they’re allowed to love is beyond ridiculous. As they saying goes, if you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get gay married. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.
• Same-sex marriage is recognized now in all of North America, much of South America, Australia, Western Europe, and other places.
• It is not recognized (and is in some cases completely illegal) in nearly all of Asia (especially the Middle East due to conflict with Muslim law) and Africa. In the world’s two most populous countries — India and China — neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are allowed, though both countries allow unregistered cohabitation and legal guardianship.
• Anyway, I’m proud to live in a country where people are free to establish a commitment to a person they love. Like any other freedom, it requires constant vigilance to protect; there are many conservatives who want to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and make America more like Saudi Arabia or Russia in that regard.
• And now the news…
• What was former president Donald Trump doing the day before his historic appearance in federal court facing federal charges of espionage and obstruction? He was scrambling to find a qualified Florida lawyer willing to join his defense team.
• Several prominent Florida attorneys declined to take Trump on as a client after two of the key lawyers handling the documents matter — Jim Trusty and John Rowley — resigned last week.
• Why wouldn’t there be a line of lawyers wanting to represent a former president in a high-profile case? Three reasons.
• One, they know that it will be a near-impossible task to defend his actions as described in the indictment.
• Two, being attached to Trump has been to the detriment of nearly everyone he works with, since they either get sucked up into his illegal/immoral actions or he turns on them eventually.
• Three, that he tends not to pay his bills for services rendered.
• Anyway, he never ended up finding a new lawyer, so at today’s arraignment, Trump is expected to be represented by two of his existing lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise.
• The arraignment is scheduled for 3pm ET/noon PT. I have nothing more to say about it for now, other than hoping that the scene of protestors around the Miami federal courthouse remains peaceful.
• Moving on…
• After the Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship last night (see Sports Desk below), nine people were shot near Ball Arena early Tuesday as celebrations were winding down. A suspect was also shot. Three of the victims were reported in critical condition.
• Way to ruin the fun, you gun fuckers.
• I saw a ridiculous headline yesterday: Joe Biden gets root canal without general anesthesia! And I was like… no one get general anesthesia for a root canal. Trust me, I’ve had like six of them.
• Anyway, Biden had to rearrange his schedule. He’s fine. Here’s another silly media quote about it: “White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to say what caused Biden’s dental pain and led to the root canal.”
• What the actual fuck.
• Moving on…
• Some pieces of shit broke into a pool facility in Massachusetts on Sunday, stole chemicals and poured muriatic acid on three slides at a playground. Two children suffered burn-like injuries. 
• Just end these people when you find them. I’m serious.
• Current California governor and the likely 47th President of the United States Gavin Newsom had a hourlong one-on-one interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last night. 
• By all reports, Newsom passed this test of handling right-wing talking points with flying colors. He didn’t take the bait when Hannity dangled it. He seemed calm, articulate, and confident.
• Some would say he seemed presidential.
• As mentioned above, today will hopefully not turn into some violent event, but we still have plenty of news ongoing about the people who participated in the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt.
• Two men who were active-duty members of the Marines Corps when they stormed the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty yesterday to riot-related criminal charges.
• Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen are scheduled to be sentenced in September by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes. Both pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
• While many Capitol rioters are military veterans, only a few were actively serving in the armed forces when they joined in on the insurrection.
• And now, The Weather: “Red Hot Dust” by Mirrorball
• The Golden Globes will no longer be held by the defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Instead, Dick Clark Productions and Todd Boehly’s Eldridge have acquired the assets of the awards.
• Fox News has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tucker Carlson, alleging that the conservative network’s former star anchor breached his contract by launching a new show on Twitter.
• I’m not sure whether to root for Fox or for Carlson in this battle which will get ugly. I’ll go with neither.
• From the Sports Desk… congrats to the Denver Nuggets for winning their first-ever NBA championship. They beat the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the Finals. The Nuggets lost only one game in the West Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.
• They deserve this championship, and their center Nikola Jokic is 100% deserving of his Finals MVP award.
• Today in history… Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests and nuns (1525). Georgia provincial governor James Oglethorpe begins an unsuccessful attempt to take Spanish Florida during the Siege of St. Augustine (1740). Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves (1774). Twentieth opera of Giuseppe Verdi, ‘Les vêpres siciliennes’, is premiered in Paris (1855). A fire devastates much of Vancouver, British Columbia (1886). Germany launches the first V1 Flying Bomb attack on England, but only four of the eleven bombs strike their targets (1944). The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their Fifth Amendment rights before questioning them (1966). Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell play together as an infield for the first time, going on to set the record of staying together for 8-1/2 years (1973). Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passes beyond the orbit of Neptune (1983). A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages (1994). The United States withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (2002). The jury acquits pop singer Michael Jackson of his charges for allegedly sexually molesting a child in 1993 (2005). Volkswagen is fined one billion euros over the emissions scandal (2018). 
• June 13 is the birthday of physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831), poet W. B. Yeats (1865), actor Basil Rathbone (1892), composer Carlos Chávez (1899), actor Paul Lynde (1926), sculptor Christo (1935), actor Malcolm McDowell (1943), guitarist Howard Leese (1951), actor Tim Allen (1953), actress Ally Sheedy (1962), singer-songwriter/guitarust Rivers Cuomo (1970), actor Chris Evans (1981), and actress Kat Dennings (1986).

Okay, so… my day started horribly and I spent the first hour or so of consciousness full of rage, but I’ve mellowed out some. Problems and challenges in life are always relative, and most things are more easily solvable than they first appear. It’s always important to keep that in mind. I’m okay now. I do recommend that you keep an eye on the actual news today and be aware of what’s transpiring in the Trump arraignment. Regardless, I’ll fill you in tomorrow, since that’s what I do. Enjoy your day.