Random News: June 28, 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 28, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. Many things happen every day, and we get to find out about some of them. Even when it's things you don't want to know, you're better off being aware than ignorant, so let's go...

• We’re nearing the end of June, which means we’ll soon be closing out our daily look at LGBTQIA+ topics in celebration of Pride.
• I’ve enjoyed it and I learned a lot. I really did.
• I also don’t want to leave anyone out, which is why today we’re going to explore the “I” in the initialism. I is for Intersex.
• I have to be careful here because compared to all the other letters, “I” is the one that can be the most easily misconstrued, and I don’t want to impart any wrong information.
• While I don’t believe that sexual orientation or gender identity is a conscious choice, people who are intersex aren’t given the option of being anyone other than who they are. So, let’s start with a definition.
• Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.
• Somewhere in the range of 0.02%–0.05% of people are born with ambiguous genitals. Doesn’t seem like very many, but do the math: in a world populated by about 8,000,000,000 people, that means up to 40,000,000 people are intersex. That’s a lot.
• Terms used to describe intersex people are contested, and change over time and place. Intersex people were previously referred to as "hermaphrodites" or "congenital eunuchs” in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• These terms are no longer used, and terms including the word "hermaphrodite" are considered to be misleading, stigmatizing, and scientifically wrong in reference to humans.
• Globally, some intersex infants and children, such as those with ambiguous outer genitalia, are surgically or hormonally altered to create more socially acceptable sex characteristics. There is no firm evidence of favorable outcomes of these treatments.
• Note that it’s more than the external genitalia that’s affected. Intersex people often have reproductive organs and chromosomes that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. It’s an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations.
• I’m not going to list the various conditions that result in an intersex condition. It’s extremely varied. One in 5,000 women are born without a vagina. As many as one in 500 males have Klinefelter syndrome which gives them an extra X chromosome and affects their sexual function.
• But here’s the thing: I don’t want you thinking of intersex people as having had “birth defects”. 
• In many cases, intersex people are capable of having completely typical functionality in their lives. But since they are usually assigned some gender at birth, upwards of 20% of people with intersex variations experienced gender dysphoria.
• Why are Intersex people part of the LGBT world? Some say they shouldn’t be.
• The inclusion of intersex in LGBT can fail to address intersex-specific human rights issues, including creating false impressions that intersex people's rights are protected by laws protecting LGBT people, and failing to acknowledge that many intersex people are not LGBT.
• It’s been said that a good reason for inclusion is that LGBT activism has fought for the rights of people who fall outside of expected binary sex and gender norms. I get that.
• At the same time, I also get why intersex people have their own challenges that don’t fall under other parts of LGBT inclusion, and I respect that too.
• It’s a big world with a lot of people, and all of us are, in our own way, at least somewhat unique. I think one of the keys to happiness is to understand and accept the differences between us while making it a priority to support people who may be marginalized by those differences.
• That’s all on that. Let’s do some news…
• I was in a hurry yesterday with Supreme Court rulings flying in, and I don’t think I gave enough significance to the landmark decision in Moore v. Harper, which closes the path to what could have been a radical overhaul of America’s election laws.
• Not to overdramatize it, but the opposite ruling would have essentially meant the end of democracy in America as we know it.
• What they did yesterday was to rebuff a legal theory that argued that state legislatures have the authority to set election rules with little oversight from state courts. This was a huge goal of right-wing conservatives.
• But they rejected this “independent state legislature” theory in a 6-3 vote via a case about North Carolina’s congressional map. The once-fringe legal theory broadly argued that state courts have little — or no — authority to question state legislatures on election laws for federal contests.
• It would have upended congressional elections across the country — and potentially the presidential election — heading into 2024. But the Supreme Court concluded that the U.S. Constitution allows state courts to continue to interpret state constitutions to put limits on lawmakers’ powers.
• Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the court’s opinion, joined by Sotomayor, Kagan, Brown Jackson, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. Not at all surprisingly, Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented.
• Just wanted you to be aware that this was one of the most important SCOTUS decisions of your lifetime. The Court was on the right side of history with this. Well done.
• In Marmalade Toast news…
• Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was asked by former President Donald Trump to "find" 11,780 votes for him in the 2020 election, will be interviewed today by investigators working for special counsel Jack Smith.
• President Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes in the 2020 election, flipping the state blue for the first time since 1992. On Jan. 2, 2021, Trump called Raffensperger, a Republican, and asked him to "find" 11,780 votes for him, which would have given Trump a one-vote margin over Mr. Biden.
• ”So, what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.” - 2020 presidential election loser Donald Trump
• Moving on…
• In a disgusting story that tells you we have a long way to go in this country, five Mississippi deputy sheriffs who responded to an incident where two Black men accused the deputies of beating and sexually assaulting them before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired or resigned.
• The announcement comes months after Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker said deputies from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department burst into a home without a warrant. The men said deputies beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy, and shocked them repeatedly with Tasers in a roughly 90-minute period during the Jan. 24 episode.
• Jenkins and Parker have also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and are seeking $400 million in damages. Only two of the deputies who raped and tortured these men, Hunter Elward and Christian Dedmon, have been identified.
• If you say to me that there’s no need to point out that Black lives matter, maybe you need to wake the fuck up.
• Even here in supposedly liberal Los Angeles County, CA, hate crimes soared in 2022, with year-over-year rises recorded in crimes targeting virtually every demographic group.
• All told, there were 2,120 reported hate crimes in California, a 20.2% jump from the year prior. Overall, the number of such events has risen 145.7% since 2013.
• CA Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta: “Hate-filled rhetoric fills our social media feeds and dominates the news cycles. It infiltrates our schools and our community gatherings. It seems to be at so many places; it’s so pervasive.”
• Sigh.
• Here’s a crazy story…
• A former Maryland police chief convicted of setting a dozen fires that targeted officials, chiropractors, and relatives who he felt had snubbed him was sentenced to multiple life terms in prison yesterday.
• David Crawford, 71, was sentenced to eight life sentences plus 75 years in a serial arson case that the state’s attorney’s office said spanned nearly a decade across six counties.
• And now, The Weather: “Thread” by Wombo
• Chicago had the worst air quality among big cities across the world yesterday. I saw AQI numbers from there well over 200, which is fucking awful.
• The smoke is from the worst-ever Canadian wildfires. It made Chicago’s air worse than what’s breathed in the biggest, historically most polluted cities in India and China. Other Midwest cities, including Detroit and Minneapolis, were also rated among the worst. Ugh.
• The smoke is expected to gradually push south and westward and dissipate.
• And yes, Texas continues to be brutalized by extreme heat. Heat-related emergency room visits are spiking in the state. Forecasters warn the dangerously high temperatures will continue to expand into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Mid-South through Thursday.
• Meanwhile, grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported preliminary data indicated a historic power use of 80,828 megawatts (MW) yesterday. ERCOT warned the record would likely be broken again today as surging demand for air conditioners puts a strain on the grid.
• Interestingly, solar power provided nearly 20% of the Texas grid’s power needs on Tuesday before demand reached a new high.
• For no reason: the top 20 Billboard hits for June 28, 1980 (I had just finished 6th grade at the time and had already been playing guitar for four years)…
• 1. Coming Up (Paul McCartney). 2. Funky Town (Lipps Inc.). 3. The Rose (Bette Midler). 4. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me (Billy Joel). 5. Against the Wind (Bob Seger). 6. Little Jeannie (Elton John). 7. Steal Away (Robbie Dupree). 8. Biggest Part of Me (Ambrosia). 9. Cupid/I’ve Loved You for a Long Time (Spinners). 10. She’s Out of My Life (Michael Jackson). 11. Let’s Get Serious (Jermaine Jackson). 12. Let Me Love You Tonight (Pure Prairie League). 13. Shining Star (Manhattans). 14. Cars (Gary Numan). 15. Call me (Blondie). 16. Magic (Olivia Newton-John). 17. One Fine Day (Carole King). 18. Tired of Toein’ the Line (Rocky Burnette). 19. Should’ve Never Let You Go (Neil Sedaka & Dara Sedaka). 20. Don’t Fall In Love with a Dreamer (Kenny Rogers w/Kim Carnes).
• From the Sports Desk… some bizarrely sad news about former college and NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett, who died yesterday in an apparent drowning at a Florida beach. He was 35.
• Mallett was a star at Arkansas and then backed up Tom Brady for the Patriots before stints with the Texans and Ravens.
• Today in history… The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness (1778). Coronation of Queen Victoria of the UK (1838). The first conformation dog show is held in England (1859). The US Congress establishes the first federal holidays - New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (1870). Labor Day becomes an official US holiday (1894). The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal (1902). Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, leading to WWI (1914). The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies of World War I (1919). Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merge their two car companies and call the new one Mercedes-Benz (1926). The Korean People's Army kills almost a thousand doctors, nurses, inpatient civilians and wounded soldiers in the Seoul National University Hospital massacre (1950). Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity (1964). The Stonewall Riots start in New York City, launching the Gay Rights Movement (1969). Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round of a match for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield's ear (1997). 
• June 28 is the birthday of English king Henry VIII (1491), painter Peter Paul Reubens (1577), playwright/composer Richard Rodgers (1902), actor/director/screenwriter Mel Brooks (1926), actor Pat Morita (1932), US secretary of defense Leon Panetta (1938), comedian Gilda Radner (1946), actress Kathy Bates (1948), actress Alice Krige (1954), NFL player John Elway (1960), actor John Cusack (1966), actress Mary Stuart Masterson (1966), NBA player Bobby Hurley (1971), and businessman Elon Musk (1971).

Well, that was mostly shitty news. But it be that way sometimes. I’m going to try and have a normal and productive Wednesday. I think I can do that. Enjoy your day.