Random News: June 24, 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 24, 2024, and it’s a Monday. It’s finally heating up here in my lovely beach city, and the shorts have come out from their long hibernation. I’m waking up today with a very clean office space, the unintended side benefit of the massive ant attack that happened yesterday. Let’s see what’s happening.

• Today is the two-year anniversary of an infamous day in American history, when the Supreme Court made their landmark decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
• In that moment, the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), returning to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal statutory law.
• We are obviously at a precipice where one wrong move could place the draconian control of women’s reproductive rights fully into the hands of the government for every state in the nation… or for the rights of women to be retained as a choice for each individual.
• Nearly all conservatives said we were being alarmist when we said for years that they were going after Roe v. Wade. Now it’s been two years since then, and you’ve seen the terrifying results.
• This election between Biden and Trump isn’t some football game where you pick a team and the winner gets a trophy. It’s a matter of stopping the direction of the USA from spiraling into religious totalitarianism and extreme nationalism.
• I have faith that the kind people of this country will step up and not allow that to happen. It’s time to send a message about who we are as a country… and that message will be contained within your vote this Roevember.
• Let’s do some news.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down.
• Yay?
• Instead, Israel will be sending more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
• Ugh.
• Tensions were already high between Israel and Hezbollah. Netanyahu also made it clear that he’s going to continue the inhumane war in Gaza.
• If you need a little background, Hezbollah is backed by Iran and is much, much stronger than Hamas.
• It would mean a much higher risk of a larger, region-wide war involving other Iranian proxies and perhaps Iran itself could get involved. That could cause heavy damage and mass casualties on both sides of the border.
• So that’s really not good at all.
• We’re down to the final week of Pride Month, and today’s Gay of the Day is American artist, designer, and activist Gilbert Baker, best known as the creator of the rainbow flag.
• Born in 1951 in Parsons, KS, Baker served in the U.S. Army between 1970 and 1972. After an honorable discharge, Baker taught himself to sew.
• In 1974, Baker met Harvey Milk, the topic of yesterday’s honors, who challenged Baker to devise a symbol of pride for the gay community.
• Baker’s first rainbow flag design had eight colors with specific meaning behind each one: hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic/art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit.
• Baker chose the rainbow motif because of its associations with the hippie movement of the Sixties, but noted that the use of the design dates all the way back to ancient Egypt.
• Thirty volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the first two flags for the Pride parade in 1978.
• Due to manufacturing difficulty, Baker’s flag eventually settled a couple of years later on six of the original colors.
• It was a decade later in 1989 that Baker’s rainbow flag came to further nationwide attention after John Stout sued his landlords and won when they attempted to prohibit him from displaying the flag from his West Hollywood, CA apartment balcony.
• The original flag has been modified and repurposed in various times, such as in 2018 when designer Daniel Quasar released a redesign incorporating elements from both the rainbow flag and trans pride flag to bring focus on inclusion and progress within the community.
• In June 2019, Baker was posthumously named of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
• Moving on.
• While we’re still awaiting some very important Supreme Court decisions later this week, and new case was taken up just this morning.
• Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Biden administration’s challenge to a transgender care ban in Tennessee, delving into the complicated and politically fraught issue of gender-affirming care in a substantive way for the first time.
• Tennessee’s law, enacted last year, bans hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors and imposes civil penalties for doctors who violate the prohibitions. It is among a growing number of state laws enacted in recent years targeting transgender care.
• Per the Human Rights Campaign, nearly half of US states have enacted bans on transgender care for minors.
• The case will be heard this fall. It’s going to be another landmark-level case of high importance.
• In other news…
• Some shitty news out of here in Los Angeles, where a pro-Palestinian protest held outside a synagogue devolved into chaotic street violence yesterday.
• The LAPD had to respond to two protests in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Pico Robertson, just south of Beverly Hills. Multiple altercations broke out in the middle of the street and on sidewalks.
• A violent protest at an actual place of worship isn’t acceptable for any cause under any circumstances. LA mayor Karen Bass agrees: “Violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood today was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable.”
• So does Governor Gavin Newsom, who wrote, “The violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling. There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”
• I should note that these kinds of actions tend to end up turning the public against what might otherwise be a worthy cause. Bad idea all around.
• Let’s move on.
• A quick reminder that there are some primary elections to keep an eye on tomorrow.
• One is in Colorado, where Lauren Boebert is looking to hang on to her job. New York has both House and Senate primaries, South Carolina has a runoff, and Utah has Governor and Senate voting.
• Hate to say it, but Boebert — the lady who gives handjobs in theaters with kids present — will likely win her primary. Guess we’ll know for sure tomorrow.
• While we’re talking about elections, I thought I’d throw in this tidbit.
• A new poll gives President Biden a massive lead over former President Dumples the Clown among voters younger than 30.
• The CBS News/YouGov poll found 61 percent of likely voters younger than 30 surveyed support Biden, while just 38 percent support Trump.
• What are the issues these young voters care about? Far more of them say abortion, climate change, and race and diversity issues would impact their vote compared to those older than 30.
• Woman and young people may save us yet. Now everyone just has to actually vote. Only 66 percent of the under-30 group said they will vote in the 2024 election, while 94 percent of those 65 and older said they would vote.
• Sigh. C’mon people!
• Moving on.
• We have a new entry in the Asshole Files. Meet Elizabeth Wolf, 42, of Euless, TX.
• Wolf saw members of a Palestinian family in an apartment complex pool and questioned where she was from, adding in racist statements about her not being American.
• Then she grabbed the family’s 3-year-old child and pulled her underwater and held her there, trying to drown her.
• Wolf was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication as she tried to leave the scene, and was charged with attempted capital murder and injury to a child.
• Side note: the victims are all American citizens. Wolf’s attack on the child may be considered as a hate crime. Sure looks like it.
• And now, The Weather: “Those Goodbyes” by Katy J Pearson
• Here’s a topic I wish we didn’t have to return to in our weather news.
• More than 1,300 people have now died so far during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia due to extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites.
• Apparently there’s an official process to be a hajj pilgrim, but some 83% of the 1,301 fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances in soaring temperatures.
• Sigh.
• Meanwhile, back in the USA, 100 million people across 27 states are on alert for extremely high temperatures coast to coast.
• A number of states are also experiencing tornadoes, flooding, and other severe weather.
• I was very glad this weekend to be home in Redondo Beach (high of 78º F) as opposed to, say, Palm Springs (high of 113º F). 
• Stay safe from this climate change-inspired extreme weather, folks. Or do your best, anyway.
• I would be remiss not to mention that 25 years ago today, on June 24, 1999, I got a call at work in the midst of an important business event to tell me that I’d better get my ass to the hospital in Torrance, CA.
• I had just enough time to fight traffic from Santa Monica to the South Bay where that evening, my son was born.
• I’ve said it before and will say it again: being a dad has been nothing but good for my life, and while I’m probably not the world’s best dad despite what it says on the coffee mug he once gave me, I think I do pretty well at it.
• Let’s move on.
• For no reason at all… my list of top 20 Presidents of the United States of America, ranked in order by me.
• 1. George Washington. 2. Abraham Lincoln. 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt. 4. Thomas Jefferson. 5. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 6. Barack Obama. 7. Harry S. Truman. 8. John F. Kennedy. 9. Theodore Roosevelt. 10. Joe Biden. 11. Bill Clinton. 12. John Adams. 13. James Madison. 14. Lyndon B. Johnson. 15. Ulysses S. Grant. 16. Ronald Reagan. 17. Andrew Jackson. 18. James Monroe. 19. Jimmy Carter. 20. Woodrow Wilson.
• And the five worst…
• 41. Franklin Pierce. 42. Warren G. Harding. 43. James Buchanan. 44. Andrew Johnson. 45. Donald Trump.
• From the Sports Desk… tonight’s the night, winner takes all.
• Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup finals starts at 8PM EDT/5PM PDT between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
• In the past 100 years, only two other teams fought back from a 3-0 deficit in the Finals to get to a Game 7, and only one of them — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs — won the Cup.
• If the Oilers somehow win this after being down 3-0, this “reverse sweep” will be one for the ages.
• In non-sports Sports Desk news, I found it beyond annoying that six climate protesters stormed the 18th green while the leaders were lining up their putts for the final hole of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship yesterday.
• They delayed the finish for about five minutes after waving smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface before Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia finished their rounds.
• I’m a climate change activist. In what way did these people think this would be helpful to our cause? Now they just look like assholes.
• Today in history… The Vikings sack the French city of Nantes (843). John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings (1497). Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England (1509). The first Republican constitution in France is adopted (1793). Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract (1916). The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League (1922). Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister (1939). Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington (1947). The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC (1949). In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment (1957). South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment (1995). In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional (2004). In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states and overturning the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (2022). The Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin launches an insurrection against the Russian government (2023).
• June 24 is the birthday of explorer John Ross (1777), psychologist Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795), businessman Roy O. Disney (1893), boxer Jack Dempsey (1895), basketball player/businessman Chuck Taylor (1901), astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915), actor Al Molinaro (1919), astronomer Carolyn S. Shoemaker (1929), actor/director Robert Downey Sr. (1936), singer Arthur Brown (1942), guitarist/composer Jeff Beck (1944), saxophonist Chris Wood (1944), economist Robert Reich (1946), drummer Mick Fleetwood (1947), actor Peter Weller (1947), singer-songwriter Curt Smith (1961), singer-songwriter Hope Sandoval (1966), singer-songwriter Ariel Pink (1978), actress Mindy Kaling (1979), NBA player JJ Redick (1984), soccer player Lionel Messi (1987), and my son Nick (1999).

Time to start this work week up, beginning with a workout that I’d rather not do but will anyway. Enjoy your day.