Random News: June 22, 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 22, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. I try to live in the moment when I can, and I’m very much enjoying this particular moment, lounging in my robe with a fresh cup of delicious coffee. I’m not even going to allow whatever shitty news I read fuck up my day.

• Let’s start with a pop quiz.
• What’s the official religion of the United States?
• There’s an official answer to this question. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that the country shall have no official religion. End of story.
• Anyone who tells you that Christianity — or any other religion — is somehow more important or official than any others is spouting anti-American gibberish.
• So when things happen like a state — say, Louisiana — making laws that require the Ten Commandments to be placed in every school classroom, they are declaring themselves against one of the primary tenets upon which this country was founded.
• Let’s talk about those Ten Commandments. Are those part of Christianity?
• I mean, Jesus didn’t have anything to do with them. That was from Moses, the most important prophet in Judaism.
• Per religious lore, Moses was the leader of the Israelites and is credited for the authorship of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).
• So spare me with this Christianity bullshit. If you want people to be focused on the Ten Commandments, that’s straight-up Jewish worship.
• If you want to post something that’s Christian, why not go with something Jesus said, like The Beatitudes? You know, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” and so on?
• But back on topic: the USA has no official religion, and no implied religion, and no requirements for any religion at all.
• And while I rarely get offended, the idea that state-funded schools — paid for my citizen’s taxes — where children are legally mandated to attend, and having one religion’s messaging forced upon them is fucking offensive.
• I’m ethnically Jewish but religiously atheist. Why should I, in a country based on freedom that my own fucking ancestors founded, be forced to observe other people’s religious practices that aren’t aligned with my beliefs?
• Final point: presumptive Republican presidential nominee Dumples the Clown wrote on social media yesterday that the entire country should follow Louisiana's lead in requiring the Ten Commandments to be on display in public schools.
• So if you think this is just something that affects other people far from where you live, you’re wrong.
• Much in the same way that Dump and the Republican party want to make abortion illegal in every state, this is a national issue that will affect you and your family and friends.
• Also, if I may… really Don? You like those Ten Commandments? You violate each of them on a daily basis, you smelly hypocritical pile of animated lard.
• Let’s do some news.
• Yesterday’s round of Supreme Court decisions didn’t include the item that the entire country is holding our collective breath to hear… Trump v. United States.
• The wording of that case: does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office, and if so, to what extent?
• But this week’s rulings did include some very important stuff, including the closely-watched case of United States v. Rahimi.
• The Court upheld a federal law that prohibits people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms. It’s the first time in a good while that the SCOTUS didn’t cave to the most originalist and outdated interpretation of the Second Amendment.
• The ruling was 8-1 in favor of the Biden administration, which was defending the law — one of several federal gun restrictions currently facing legal challenges.
• To understand Rahimi, you have to know about the court's 2022 decision that expanded gun rights. In that case, the court for the first time ruled that there is a constitutional right to bear arms outside the home.
• The current case concerned Zackey Rahimi of Texas. His partner obtained a restraining order against him in February 2020. Rahimi argued that he cannot be prosecuted under the federal gun possession restriction in light of what the Supreme Court concluded in 2022.
• Every justice with the exception of Clarence Thomas agreed he’s fucking wrong. Why would we make it tangibly legal to put guns into the hands of provably violent people?
• Side note: five justices each wrote separate concurring opinions explaining their views. Why does this matter? Because those will shape how the court will approach future gun cases, several of which of currently pending.
• Moving on.
• Today’s Gay of the Day, celebrating Pride Month, is not an actual human being. Instead, it’s a comic book character who’s become iconic in recent years due to a series of blockbuster films: Deadpool.
• Yep, the wisecracking, morally questionable “merc with a mouth” from Marvel, who made his comic debut in 1990 and was then portrayed excellently by Ryan Reynolds in a number of movies.
• Is Deadpool’s sexual orientation canon? Sort of. In December 2013, the character was confirmed as being pansexual by Deadpool writer Gerry Duggan.
• Co-creator Fabian Nicieza is a bit more nebulous on the topic, stating, "Deadpool is whatever sexual inclination his brain tells him he is in that moment. And then the moment passes."
• And in the past couple of years, Ryan Reynolds, who not only stars as the superhero but has produced the massively successful films, has been urging Marvel to let Deadpool be openly bisexual in future films.
• Why does any of this matter? Because the Deadpool franchise has been remarkably successful, with the two films released thus far holding positions as some of the top-grossing R-rated films of all time.
• Deadpool is nothing is not cool, and having a guy who’s comfortable in his pansexuality allows other people who enjoy the character to be more comfortable in theirs.
• That’s how it works. Salute to Deadpool!
• Let’s do some super bad news. You knew it was coming eventually.
• Yesterday, a Nevada judge dismissed an indictment against six Republicans accused of submitting certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donnie Dump the winner of the state’s 2020 presidential election.
• Why? Because Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus ruled that Las Vegas was the wrong venue for the case.
• While Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said he’ll now take the issue of these fake electors to the state Supreme Court, the defense attorneys bluntly declared the case dead, saying that to bring it now before another grand jury would violate a statute of limitations.
• The trial would have included state GOP chairman Michael McDonald; national party committee member Jim DeGraffenreid; national and Douglas County committee member Shawn Meehan; Storey County clerk Jim Hindle; and Eileen Rice, a party member from the Lake Tahoe area.
• Each was accused of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument — felonies carrying a penalty of up to four or five years in prison.
• Sigh. We’ll see if any justice ever happens there.
• Moving on.
• The official death toll from this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca has soared past 500 and the true toll could be more than double that.
• In the past seven days alone, billions of people around the planet felt heat with climate change-fueled intensity that broke more than 1,000 temperature records worldwide.
• Far higher than typical numbers of heat-related deaths and illnesses are hitting every continent other than Antarctica, and coming earlier than ever before.
• So maybe be aware of that and plan accordingly. And yes, this is the human-assisted global climate change that we’ve told you about for decades. This is exactly what’s been predicted, and it will get worse.
• We told you. Shrug.
• In other news…
• Hadley Duvall of Owensboro, KY became an abortion rights advocate after she was raped by her stepfather as a child. 
• She’ll be campaigning with first lady Jill Biden in Pennsylvania this weekend as part of a 2024 election push around the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade.
• Duvall, 22, has been publicly discussing the consequences of abortion restrictions, particularly those without exceptions for rape or incest. When her stepfather raped her at age 12, she became pregnant and miscarried.
• This is what Republicans want across the nation. Do not allow it to happen. Vote this November.
• Moving on.
• I’m trying to figure out this crazy shit with Oakland, CA Mayor Sheng Thao.
• On Thursday, federal agents searched the mayor's home, along with several properties owned by men linked to a recycling company that contracts with the city.
• Law enforcement sources said there were four search warrant executions in Oakland as part of a larger operation. The FBI confirmed yesterday that no arrests were made.
• Thao said she was unaware of any investigation until the FBI searched her home.
• Hmm.
• Let’s move on.
• You know those yokels who forgot to remove ammunition before heading to Turks and Caicos, a country where it’s expressly forbidden and legally punishable?
• Another one got off lightly. Glad for him I guess.
• Ryan Tyler Watson of Oklahoma pleaded guilty last month to possessing four rounds of ammunition. He had been released on bail and ordered to stay on the islands while awaiting this sentence.
• Yesterday Watson received a 13-week suspended sentence and a $2,000 fine – $500 per bullet. He will not need to serve the 13-week sentence and returned to Oklahoma City last night.
• Maybe know the laws of the places you visit. Also, maybe be aware when you have guns or ammunition on your person.
• And now, The Weather: “best friend on the cross” by salvia palth
• From the Sports Desk… holy shit, I don’t believe it. The Stanley Cup Finals are going to a game 7.
• The Edmonton Oilers trounced the Florida Panthers 5-1 in game 6 last night, paving the road for a historic game 7 matchup on Monday in Florida. Reminder: no NHL team since the 1942 Maple Leafs has overcome a 3-0 deficit in the finals.
• Today in history… Romans defeat Macedonians in the Battle of Pydna (168 BC). The Catholic Church forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the universe (1633). The United States Department of Justice is created by the U.S. Congress (1870). George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1911). Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa (1941). The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by the US Congress (1942). U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill (1944). The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, OH, spurring passage of the Clean Water Act and the foundation of the EPA (1969). Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy (1978). Diego Maradona scores the famous “Hand of God” goal allowing Argentina to defeat England in the World Cup quarterfinals (1986).
• June 22 is the birthday of explorer George Vancouver (1757), criminal John Dillinger (1903), film director Billy Wilder (1906), fashion designer Bill Blass (1922), actor Ralph Waite (1928), politician Dianne Feinstein (1933), actor/singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson (1936), music producer Chris Blackwell (1937), journalist Ed Bradley (1941), singer-songwriter/musician Howard Kaylan (1947), NBA player Pete Maravich (1947), singer-songwriter/musician Todd Rundgren (1948), actress Meryl Streep (1949), actress Lindsay Wagner (1949), politician Elizabeth Warren (1949), singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper (1953), comedian/actor Freddie Prinze (1954), actor Tim Russ (1956), lawyer/activist Erin Brockovich (1960), NBA player Clyde Drexler (1962), author Dan Brown (1964), NFL player Kurt Warner (1971), TV host Carson Daly (1973), and NFL player Champ Bailey (1978).

That’s all for now, folks. Enjoy your day.