Random News: June 12, 2024

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 12, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. Typical June weekday morning thus far, waking up, showering and dressing myself, and… oh shit, there are fucking ants! I really dislike those little fuckers, and I don’t enjoy being a mass murderer of them, but someone’s gotta do it. Let’s dial down my insect anger long enough tot explore the things happening in the world.

• Starting with some very positive news.
• A federal judge ruled yesterday that Florida’s laws that ban transgender care for minors are unconstitutional. 
• Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Federal District Court in Tallahassee sided with advocacy groups and three families who had said that the law stripped them of parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their transgender children.
• In a 105-page order, Judge Hinkle said that “gender identity is real” and that a “widely accepted standard of care” includes puberty blockers and hormone treatments that Florida unlawfully banned.
• That law, which was passed by Republican lawmakers and enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023, barred doctors and nurses from prescribing or administering transition-related medication to those under 18 and exposed medical providers to criminal liability and professional discipline if they did so, among other provisions.
• But wait. There’s more.
• Judge Hinkle’s ruling also invalidated a part of the law that said transition care for adults “may not be prescribed, administered, or performed except by a physician.”
• That paves the way for Florida-based nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other medical professionals to provide such care.
• It’s a win for freedom. Moving on.
• Yesterday morning, a federal jury found Hunter Biden guilty on all three federal felony gun charges he faced, concluding that he violated laws meant to prevent drug addicts from owning firearms.
• Seems about right.
• As I’ve said probably 10,000 or more times, no one is above the law.
• And as I’ve also stated, I don’t give two shits what the family members of a politician do or don’t do. I don’t vote for their husbands, wives, kids, uncles, nieces, or grandchildren.
• Imagine if people judged you on the basis of your immediate and extended family. Would you like that? I’m guessing no.
• President Biden issued a statement saying he will accept the outcome of the case, and that he loves his son. 
• That’s how a mature person accepts justice. He doesn’t start screaming about witch hunts, or make threats against judges, jurors, and the entire justice system.
• Hunter Biden issued his own statement after the verdict, expressing gratitude toward his family and in particular toward his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
• And now, we get to hear the angst of the ammosexuals who must be drastically torn today between their Second Amendment wet dreams — “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed! — and their hatred of the Biden family.
• So they’re either in support of common-sense gun control measures like the one Hunter Biden was convicted of, or they’re in support of Hunter Biden himself.
• Can’t have it both ways, you gun fetishists. Pick one and shut the fuck up.
• Moving on.
• In our continuing celebration of Pride 2024, our Gay of the Day is David Bowie.
• Keep in mind that when I mention these people, it’s in recognition of all the letters that go into the LGBTQIA+ rainbow.
• You might find it odd that I chose to focus on Bowie, who purposefully kept his sexuality and gender identity very ambiguous over his entire career.
• While married to his first wife Angie, he famously declared himself gay in a 1972 interview. He affirmed his stance in a 1976 interview, stating: "It's true—I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me."
• But later, he expressed regret at this public declaration, saying his admission was a big mistake due to American puritanism.
• In 2002, Bowie said in regard to his public sexual persona, "I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners nor be a representative of any group of people."
• And yet here I am, making him that very representative he wanted to avoid.
• But it’s been pointed out by the BBC and other organizations that gay rights and gender equality would not have enjoyed the broad support they do today without Bowie's androgynous challenge all those years ago.
• So salute to Bowie. He’s still very much missed since his passing in 2016.
• And now, more news.
• Today is graduation day at Newtown High School in Connecticut. While mixed emotions are normal for this milestone event, few will be more poignant than for the 60 members of the Class of ’24 who survived one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
• That’s right. Those 17- and 18-year-old graduates today were first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
• The 20 victims of that mass shooting — who would be with their class graduating today had they not been killed by a madman with a legally-obtainable semi-automatic rifle — will be honored during today’s ceremony.
• May their memory be a blessing. Moving on.
• Sorry in advance to all the Fox News viewers who are being told that criminals are running rampant through the streets unchecked.
• The FBI just released the latest crime numbers from first quarter of 2024.
• Murder decreased by 26.4%. Rape decreased by 25.7%. Robbery decreased by 17.8%. Aggravated assault decreased by 12.5%. Reported property crime decreased by 15.1%.
• I’m sorry if this doesn’t fit your narrative of how awful things are.
• Let’s move on.
• As you may be aware, it’s coming into the time of the year when we can expect some Supreme Court decisions.
• These final few weeks of their season still have nearly half of the cases heard this year still undecided, including ones that could reshape the law on everything from guns to abortion to social media.
• The justices are also still weighing whether Dumpy is immune from criminal prosecution in the election interference case against him, more than a month after hearing arguments.
• The court heard 61 cases this term, and 29 remain unresolved, with some decisions expected tomorrow and Friday.
• The cases still awaiting decision include those for presidential immunity, the validity of obstruction charges brought against January 6 insurrectionists, the ability for pregnant women to obtain medication abortions, upholding a federal law that seeks to protect domestic violence victims, and much, much more.
• I wouldn’t have any high hopes for this Court to make the right decision on any of these.
• We’ll be watching closely.
• Moving on.
• My only notable news from yesterday’s primary elections was a shocker from Ohio’s 6th district, where a special election was held following former Rep. Bill Johnson’s (R-OH) decision to resign in January, with the winner serving the remainder of his term.
• Johnson had represented the 6th District since 2011, winning reelection in 2022 by 35 points. Trump would have carried the district based on its current makeup by 29 points. It’s a very red district, and the expectation was that a Republican would easily fill the role with no drama involved.
• Except that’s not what happened. 
• GOP state Sen. Michael Rulli only defeated the Democratic nominee, Michael Kripchak, by about 9 points. That’s a roughly 20 percent overperformance for the Democratic candidate from what was expected for this district.
• So keep talking shit, GOP. See what happens. Democrats are energized and ready to come out in record numbers this fall.
• Let’s move on.
• The Republican-led House is expected to vote today on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
• Assholes.
• At issue is Garland's failure to hand over audio of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden about his handling of classified documents. Republicans had demanded the audio after Hur declined to prosecute Biden.
• Yesterday, the GOP-controlled Rules Committee voted along party lines to send the contempt resolution to the House floor.
• We’ll see how that goes.
• And now, The Weather: “play it down” by Goat Girl
• Speaking of weather, I’d be remiss not to mention Sarasota, Florida’s record-breaking 8 inches of rain in just three hours yesterday evening.
• The Tampa Bay area can normally expect 7.3 inches in the entire month of June. The event was so rare that it should only be expected every 500 to 1,000 years.
• Coastal areas in Sarasota County saw up to 10 inches of rain on Tuesday alone, with the same possible today and throughout the week.
• People see the effects of global climate change with their own eyes and still deny it. I’m pretty sure in Florida, people aren’t even allowed to say the words “climate change.”
• From the Sports Desk… the Logo has left the building.
• Rest in peace to Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive. He died this morning at age 86.
• West was the third player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points, was an All-Star every year of his career, and led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times.
• And yes, it’s his silhouette that you see in the middle of the iconic NBA logo.
• After his playing career, West found title success as an NBA executive, building the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s that won five titles in that decade and overseeing the formation the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant tandem.
• Today in history… In England, rebels assemble for the Peasants’ Revolt at Blackheath, just outside London (1381). Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City (1665). The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais (1817). The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, NY (1939). Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday (1942). The film ‘Cleopatra’, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, is released in US theaters (1963). NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement (1963). The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional (1967). The first of the Indiana Jones film franchise, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, is released in theaters (1981). U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (1987). All analog TV stations switch to digital transmission (2009). United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore (2018).
• June 12 is the birthday of Chinese emperor Gao Zong (1107), Tuscany duke Cosimo I de' Medici (1519), author Johanna Spyri (1827), physicist Oliver Lodge (1851), UK prime minister Anthony Eden (1897), businessman David Rockefeller (1915), US president George H. W. Bush (1924), diarist Anne Frank (1929), actor Jim Nabors (1930), sportscaster Marv Albert (1941), composer/pianist Chick Corea (1941), singer-songwriter/bass player John Wetton (1949), drummer Bun E. Carlos (1950), singer Brad Delp (1951), actor Jason Mewes (1974), NFL player Dallas Clark (1979), and NBA player Jrue Holiday (1990).

Other than battling ants, I’m optimistically hoping that today is pleasant, and that I can get some good work done and avoid stress. It’s good to have goals. Enjoy your day.