Random News: July 2, 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 July 2, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I have a big-ass cup of Peet’s, it makes my life complete, my bathrobe’s colored with blueish hues, so let’s take a closer look at news…

• I know there’s always some sense of despair when an institution like the Supreme Court seems to be going off the rails. You’re probably aware of the some of the worst and most damaging decisions in SCOTUS history.
• Citizens United v. FEC (2010), allowing unlimited personal and corporate donations to super PACs. Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) upheld a Georgia sodomy statute that criminalized gay and lesbian sex. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld state racial segregation laws that were ”separate but equal”. Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. And the horrible Buck v. Bell (1927), which upheld the forced sterilization of those with intellectual disabilities "for the protection and health of the state."
• As bad as those are, I’d say the very worst SCOTUS ruling of all time, hands-down, is Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). The Court’s official decision stated the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, and thus they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens.
• The saving grace is that most of the worst SCOTUS decisions seem to eventually rectify themselves with new justices and new cases to challenge them.
• For now, this Court will continue its far-right push. I’d say that without some other intervention, it won’t be long before they will attempt to repeal Obergefell v. Hodges (same-sex marriage), Lawrence v. Texas (reinstating anti-LGBT sodomy laws), and Griswold v. Connecticut (the right to use birth control).
• Look, you thought Roe was safe when I’d been telling you for years that it wasn’t. Maybe trust me this time.
• Let’s do some world news…
• Rioters in France have been clashing with police for five straight nights after a 17-year-old was shot and killed during a traffic stop.
• The Interior Ministry said early Sunday that 719 people were arrested, 45 police and other gendarmes were injured, 577 vehicles and 74 buildings were set on fire and 871 fires were recorded on public roads. 
• France is also being impacted by deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity. Hmm.
• Moving back to the SCOTUS for a moment…
• Per an ABC/Ipsos poll, 52% of Americans approve of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on restricting the use of race as a factor in college admissions, while 32% disapprove and 16% said they don't know.
• Information that will surprise literally no one: a majority of Republicans (75%) and independents (58%) approve of the ruling, while a distinct minority of Democrats approve (26%).
• Also shocking (not): white people (60%) and Asian people (58%) approve, while only 25% of Black people support the decision. Hispanic people are split, with 40% approving and 40% disapproving.
• Interestingly, though, when asked if white and Asian students have a fair chance of getting into college, 66% overall agreed, while only 47% said the same about Black students and 50% for Hispanic students.
• So basically, people know this screws certain racial/ethnic groups, and they’re okay with that. None of this reaction is unexpected.
• Moving on…
• I cover gun violence on Sundays. I used to just talk in general terms until one day, some random guy seemed to doubt my claims of the number of shootings and mass shootings, and asked for my sources.
• Not only did I provide him links to each news article (which, to be fair, he was appreciative about), but ever since then I started being specific in this report about the where/what aspects of gun violence that happens literally all the time and every day in the USA.
• 30 people were shot and two killed at a block party in Baltimore last night. Seven shot at a nightclub in Wichita. Two shot, one dead in Houston. One dead in Albuquerque. Two dead in Indianapolis. Another two in Baltimore. One in Frederick, MD (what the hell, Maryland?). One in Colorado Springs. A 15-year-old kid in Harlem. An elderly guy in San Francisco. 
• Side note: when I list those, it’s via a very fast scroll down a news page. I’m often only listing a fraction of the shootings that actually happen, and I only list the ones that happen on Friday and Saturdays (which, per my research, are people’s favorite days to kill each other).
• Let’s go back to some other news. I’m kinda fixated on the SCOTUS, which is not atypical for information junkies and history buffs in late June/early July.
• A lot of people are saying that the Colorado web designer who brought her case to the SCOTUS that led to them saying it’s okay to ban LGBT people from your business did so while never having had a customer to turn away.
• Is that true?
• Yes it is. The Portland, OR-based man referenced as “Stewart” in the case just found out about it when a reporter contacted him last week. He is not gay and has been married to a woman for 15 years. And he’s also a web designer who wouldn’t be contacting another web designer for services in the first place.
• He never once contacted Lorie Smith at 303 Creative. The citations to “Stewart” in Smith’s SCOTUS brief were completely her own invention.
• Why wasn’t the case thrown out? Why isn’t Smith being prosecuted for presenting false info? Why doesn’t the falsely-named person in the case sue for for defamation?
• Answers…
• The case wasn’t thrown out because Smith filed a “pre-enforcement challenge” to the Colorado statute because the state would have probably moved against her if she had posted a statement about her intention to refuse service to same-sex couples on her website.
• She’s not in trouble for the false information because that wasn’t the basis for the ruling, apparently.
• And defamation cases are notoriously difficult to win, mostly because the plaintiff has to prove actual tangible damages.
• And now, The Weather: “Pet Architect” by Far Caspian
• Yesterday morning, users of Twitter encountered a new error, saying “rate-limit exceeded”.
• A number of hours later, Elmo the Twit Man announced that Twitter will temporarily limit the number of tweets users can read per day — with separate limits for paid and unpaid users — to combat “data scraping”.
• Under the new limits, verified accounts (those who pay Elmo $8/month) will be limited to reading 6,000 posts per day while unverified accounts (comprising 90% of Twitter users) will have access to just 600 per day. New unverified users can only access 300 posts per day.
• If that seems like a lot, one quick swipe down the mobile app can be dozens and dozens of “views” of Tweets.
• The news follows the announcement on Friday that tweets could no longer be viewed without being logged into an account. 
• I genuinely think Twitter’s death will make the world a better place, and people are already flocking to alternative sites like Mastodon and Bluesky. Twitter advertisers have fled in droves, raising questions about how the company will make money. 
• I give no fucks.
• From the Sports Desk… the 4x champion USWNT is in the FIFA World Cup group E, along with Vietnam, Netherlands, and Portugal. I don’t know what this means or if it’s good or bad or what. I played several years of AYSO soccer as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve ever watched a match that I wasn’t playing in.
• Still, go USA!
• Today in history… Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident (626). Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine (1698). Bach's Magnificat is first performed (1723). The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4 (1776). Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion (1822). Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad (1839). Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (1881). The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890). Engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London (1897). Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight (1937). The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, AR (1962). U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places (1964). The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa (2005). 
• July 2 is the birthday of Roman emperor Valentinian III (419), author Lily Braun (1865), novelist Hermann Hesse (1877), tennis player/shirt designer René Lacoste (1904), SCOTUS justice Thurgood Marshall (1908), fashion designer Pierre Cardin (1922), activist Medgar Evers (1925), politician Imelda Marcos (1929), businessman/philanthropist Dave Thomas (1932), actress Polly Holliday (1937), race car driver Richard Petty (1937), Mexico president Vicente Fox (1942), actor Ron Silver (1946), actor/writer/producer/comedian Larry David (1947), model Jerry Hall (1956), MLB player Jose Canseco (1964), NHL players Joe Thornton (1979), actress Lindsay Lohan (1986), actress Margot Robbie (1990), and rapper Vince Staples (1993).

Okay. I should probably shower and dress and eat breakfast and do laundry and take care of various shit. Enjoy your day.