Random News: June 18, 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 18, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’ve had a relaxing weekend so far, but the world keeps turning, and good and bad things happen, so let’s explore what they might be…

• For today’s Pride note, I want to talk about what happens when we don’t talk about these topics.
• The more you learn about something, the more you understand it, and the less you fear it, and the less likely you are to try and kill what you fear due to your ignorance and misunderstanding.
• So let’s talk about two people: Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard.
• Brandon Teena was a transgender man who was described as a tomboy as a child. He identified as male and tried to present as such, dressing in masculine clothes, binding his breasts, and dating girls.
• After his biological gender was revealed, he was kidnapped, beaten, gang-raped, and murdered in December 1993 at age 21. Brandon’s story is told in the Academy Award-winning movie ‘Boys Don’t Cry’.
• Matthew Shepard was described during childhood as friendly with his classmates but teased and bullied due to his small frame and lack of athleticism.
• In 1998 at age 21, Matthew was robbed, beaten, and tortured by two men who targeted Matthew because he was gay. He was left covered in blood and hanging on a barbed wire fence in freezing weather. He died six days later from blunt force trauma.
• At his funeral, members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketing with signs that read "Matt in Hell" and "God Hates Fags”.
• In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The act expanded on existing hate crime laws to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
• Republicans had blocked passage of the bill multiple times in previous sessions. When it passed the House in 2009, the vote was 281–146, with support from 237 Democrats and 44 Republicans, and the passed the Senate 63–28, with just five Republican Senators in support.
• Gay and lesbian youth are particularly prone to victimization. A nationwide study of over 9,000 gay high school students revealed that 24% of gay men and 11% of gay women reported being victimized at least ten times a year due to their sexual orientation.
• Victims often experience severe depression, a sense of helplessness, low self-esteem, and frequent suicidal thoughts. They are two to seven times more likely to attempt suicide.
• What kind of person is so filled with hate that they commit the most egregious possible acts against someone just because of who they are or who they love?
• And that brings us to the final point: I am spending this entire month talking about LGBTQIA+ topics because just maybe one person will learn something that they didn’t know before and develop a better understand of people who are different from them, and realize it’s okay that they’re different, and stop fearing those differences among us.
• And maybe one person doesn’t get harmed or killed as a result. It’s worth every single word.
• Let’s do some news… and after that, I’d really wanted to open with some good news, but…
• There were multiple mass shootings this weekend thus far.
• Two people were killed and multiple others were wounded in a mass shooting at the campgrounds near Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre during the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival last night. The shooter was taken into custody.
• The suspect shot “randomly” into the crowd as he fled.
• Some 2,000 miles east of there, at least 20 people were shot, one fatally, in south suburban Willowbrook, IL early this morning. A large group was gathered in a strip mall parking lot for a Juneteenth celebration that turned violent.
• A Pennsylvania state trooper was killed along with a suspect (and a second trooper seriously injured) in a shootout. 40 shot, 4 killed in Chicago. 10 juveniles were shot and one killed in St. Louis. One dead in Memphis. One in Raleigh. Four shot in South Philly, including a 4-year-old. One dead, two injured in New Orleans. Three in Greenville, SC. Six dead in a murder-suicide in Marion County, TN. One dead in Birmingham.
• This will continue, day after day, week after week, until there’s a political party with the balls to enact common-sense gun laws.
• Moving on…
• It’s Father’s Day today. I am a dad of a grown man whose company I greatly enjoy and for whom I’m always proud.
• I’ll brag for a moment: that young man finished his recent semester at college with three A’s and one B+, and got a score of 196 out of 200 on his final in computer networking. His a CIS major and I think he’ll do well in life.
• Among my many roles in life, none are more important than being a father. It’s not even close.
• And a salute to my dad, who passed away in 2017. I think many of my best qualities, and probably a few of my worst, were the result of his influence. But I know his role in my life was of a very positive nature, and I really have an overabundance of good thoughts in regard to him.
• As long as we’re on the topic of holidays, let’s also talk about Juneteenth. 
• The holiday, observed on June 19, is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, and has been celebrated by communities across the country for more than a century. 
• Juneteenth didn't become federally-recognized until 2021, when President Joe Biden signed legislation adding it to the government holiday calendar. It rose to the forefront of national conversations the previous year with the resurgence and momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• It was June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued an order in Galveston, TX announcing that all slaves were free under the Emancipation Proclamation.
• While Abraham Lincoln had signed into law freedom to all enslaved people in Confederate states more than two years prior, it took time for the news to spread… and there was the little matter of the Civil War still being fought.
• That’s why about 250,000 Black people enslaved in Texas were the last in the country to receive notice of the proclamation. 
• My advice to white people: Juneteenth isn’t a holiday that should be commercialized and watered down and used as a marketing opportunity. If you want to show your support, do so by giving assistance to causes that fight white supremacy and aim for racial equality.
• Moving on…
• Amazingly, the collapsed stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia will reopen within two weeks, per Pennsylvania’s governor Josh Shapiro.
• That’s nuts. I remember when a section of the 10 in West L.A. collapsed during the Northridge quake in 1994, and working around the clock, it still took them a few months to get one of our most traveled roadways back in shape.
• And now, The Weather: “Sicily” by Queens of the Stone Age
• Here’s something that made me giggle… and pull out my bank card.
• Purveyors of political merchandise are stocking up on products featuring Jack Smith, the DOJ special counsel tasked with the prosecution of Donald John Trump for mishandling classified information and obstructing its discovery and return.
• Online marketplace Etsy and others currently offers hundreds of Smith-themed products. Among the offerings are a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” t-shirt, “Somebody’s Going To Get Jacked Up” mugs, “Jack Smith Fan Club” stainless steel water bottles, and “Jack-Hammer Smith” insulated bottles.
• I’m gonna get one.
• From the Sports Desk, kinda… the Los Angeles Dodgers had their Pride Night festivities on Friday after facing criticism for its decision to honor the Los Angeles chapter of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Dodger Stadium.
• The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence promote inclusion, grace and assisting those who are ailing or otherwise in need of support. Those sound like Christian qualities to me. I’ll bet Jesus would have liked them a lot.
• Maybe instead of protesting them, the Los Angeles archdiocese could focus on helping the survivors of abuse that has been repeatedly and systematically covered up by the Catholic Church for decades.
• In other sports news, because it’s Father’s Day and my dad was a helluva great golfer, I’ll cover that sport.
• The U.S. Open is being held at the Los Angeles Country Club. Sunday’s leaders include Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler, tied at -10, with Rory McIlroy right behind them at -9. Fowler shot a fucking 62 on the first round.
• 62. My best-ever 18 holes of golf was an 81, and it was a good day any time I ever broke 90, which happened less times than I have fingers. On one hand.
• Today in history… The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court (1684). The British Army abandons Philadelphia (1778). The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812 (1812). Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory (1858). Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election (1873). Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album (1948). On Space Shuttle STS-7, astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space (1983).
• June 18 is the birthday of publisher E.W. Scripps (1854), winemaker Robert Mondavi (1913), actor E. G. Marshall (1914), NBA player George Mikan (1924), MLB player Lou Brock (1939), film critic Roger Ebert (1942), singer-songwriter/musician Paul McCartney (1942), actress Carol Kane (1952), film producer Barbara Broccoli (1960), singer Alison Moyet (1961), NFL player Bruce Smith (1963), singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne (1973), NHL player Martin St. Louis (1975), singer-songwriter Blake Shelton (1976), NFL player Antonio Gates (1980), and rapper Takeoff (1994).

Okay. It’s time for me to remove this robe and dance naked in my shower. And then do super-fun things like… laundry! And housekeeping! Actually, I’m going to also do something with my son for Father’s Day. I told him I’d take him to the park and push him on a swing. He’s 23. Enjoy your day.