Random News: June 29, 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 29, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. I’m in my blue bathrobe and enjoying some Peet’s organic Las Hermanas medium roast. So far, so good. Let’s take about stuff.

• I have a pretty broad circle of friends and acquaintances and other points of contact that spans multiple social nets.
• As such, I saw a wide range of reactions to the admittedly awful debate on Tuesday night.
• These ranged from, “Who cares? Not one person’s vote is going to be swayed by one stupid debate,” to “We have to get someone today to replace Biden or Trump will win in a landslide!"
• I genuinely don’t believe either of these sentiments to be accurate.
• One thing that stood out were the fact checks in all the news stories yesterday… the ones it would have been great to see while a certain smelly fat guy was spewing lie after lie to the American public unchecked.
• Dump claiming "we had the greatest economy in the history of our country” during his presidency: False.
• Dump claiming he did not refer to U.S. soldiers who were killed as "suckers and losers": False.
• Dump claiming that a former Democratic governor supported killing babies: False.
• Dump claiming Biden has the "largest deficit" in history of U.S.: False.
• And these aren’t matters of opinion or interpretation. They are provably false statements. Lying is for assholes, because it’s the easiest thing to do.
• It’s what Dumples has done his whole career. Why would he change now, going on 80 years old?
• One thing you may have missed was yesterday’s Biden rally in North Carolina. I really wish that Biden had been available the night before.
• Joe was fucking fired up. He was defiant. He spoke loudly and clearly. Biden vowed he will beat Donald Trump in November, making clear he has no plans to end his reelection campaign.
• ”I know I'm not a young man − to state the obvious. Folks, I don't walk as easy as I used to. I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back," Biden said, with the large crowd enthusiastically cheering the whole time.
• He was simply a different man than he was on the debate stage the night before. Go watch it if you want and tell me I’m wrong.
• As long as we’re harping on this shit, I’d like to remind you that two of our most esteemed Presidents for their oratory skills — Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama — had absolutely awful debates.
• Reagan got his ass kicked in a debate versus Walter Mondale in 1984. It was so bad that Reagan — who’d been leading the polls in huge margins — was faced with headlines about whether he could beat Mondale. 
• He ended up crushing him in one of the most lopsided elections in history.
• Who recalls Barack Obama having an awful debate night against Mitt Romney in 2012? Obama himself called it a stinker. The headlines the next day stated predicting a one-term presidency.
• That November, Obama had 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206.
• Anyway, I remain in support of Joe, his fine administration, and the Democratic Party. One off night isn’t going to change that for me.
• Moving on to something much more important: yesterday’s Supreme Court rulings.
• You’d probably think I’d be focused on Fischer v. United States, the decision that weakens the obstruction charges against January 6 insurrectionists.
• Nah. I mean, it’s fucked up, but I see how they were following the letter (though not the spirit) of the precedent case.
• The one that’s going to be a very big deal for all Americans was Loper v. Raimondo, aka overruling the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine.
• Chevron has been in the sights of conservatives going back to the ‘80s. With this new ruling, the federal government has almost no ability to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety, and consumer protections.
• It’s a far-reaching and potentially lucrative victory to business interests, at the expense of the people who it previously protected.
• In some ways, this will have a bigger negative impact on more Americans than any of this court’s most horrifying decisions, including overturning Roe v. Wade.
• The heart of the now-defunct Chevron decision says federal agencies should be allowed to fill in the details when laws aren’t crystal clear.
• It’s a huge power grab by the courts, with judges now in control of decisions that they may know nothing about, as opposed to dedicated experts.
• Environmental, health advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, organized labor, and Democrats on the national and state level had urged the court to leave the Chevron decision in place.
• Oh well. Gone now.
• Interestingly, by tossing out Chevron, the SCOTUS not only handcuffs Biden but every future President coming from any political outlook.
• My last note on the SCOTUS for the time being: they have issued decisions on all but four cases that came before them this term. Those are coming Monday. Pretty late in the season, coming July 1. Hmm.
• And one of them is Trump v. United States, asking the question whether — and if so to what extent — does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office?
• Depending on what the answer is, American history will change at that moment.
• Let’s move on.
• With our penultimate entry in our month-long Gay of the Day column, recognizing key figures in the LGBTQIA world, let’s put our hands together for one of the most well-known and beloved members of that community: actor, author, and activist George Takei.
• Takei rose to fame in the late 1960s for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the original series of the Star Trek franchise.
• Born in Los Angeles in 1937 to Japanese American parents, Takei and his family faced horrible anti-Japanese discrimination after the start of WWII.
• They were forced to live in the converted horse stables of Santa Anita Park before being sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Rohwer, AR. The family was later transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California.
• After being released from the internment camp, Takei’s family was left without any bank accounts, home, or family business; they were forced to live on Skid Row in Los Angeles for five years.
• In 2005, Takei publicly revealed that he was gay and had been in a committed relationship with his partner, Brad Altman, for 18 years at the time.
• This was of no surprise to the Star Trek community, who’d been aware of Takei's sexuality since the 1970s. Takei had long been actively involved in LGBT organizations previous to his announcement in a magazine interview.
• In 2008, Takei and Altman were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood.
• A memorable moment with Takei happened in 2011, when a Tennessee State Legislature bill prohibited school teachers or students from using any language that alludes to the existence of homosexuality.
• In response, Takei offered his name as a substitute for the word “gay,” as in supporting “Takei marriage” or watching “Takei pride” parades; or even via slurs such as, “That's so Takei.”
• Takei currently serves as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign "Coming Out Project.”
• He has been the recipient of multiple honors for his tireless work in defense of the LGBT community. His humor and kind personality have endeared him to millions, and help ease the stigma associated with admiration of gay people.
• Perhaps this quote from Takei in reference to gay people says it all: “”We are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive. We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior. The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender."
• Hats off to George, and here’s hoping you have a Takei day!
• Let’s move on. I think we all need some happy news to brighten our day. Aha! Here’s the perfect thing.
• Yesterday the Supreme Court turned aside Steve Bannon’s last bid to delay his July 1 deadline to report to prison. Ha!
• The gelatinous Dump political strategist and right-wing podcaster has to turn himself in to a low-security federal prison by Monday.
• The court didn’t state its reasons for denial, but lower courts had already said that Bannon failed to raise substantial legal questions over his two-count conviction for refusing to provide documents or testimony to a House committee probing the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
• Do you want to know why Bannon thinks he should remain out of jail? He argued that he was relying on advice from an attorney and did not “willfully” break the law by ignoring the congressional subpoena.
• Try that next time you get a court date, folks. See how well that works when you don’t show up. Lordy.
• Moving on.
• With the flurry of headlines on Thursday, you might have missed something super important on Wednesday.
• President Joe Biden pardoned potentially thousands of former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.
• He is “righting an historic wrong” to clear the way for them to regain lost benefits.
• Biden’s action grants a pardon to service members who were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which criminalized sodomy. The law, which has been on the books since 1951, was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.
• Those covered by the pardon will be able to apply to receive proof that their conviction has been erased, petition to have their discharges from the military upgraded, and move to recover lost pay and benefits.
• That is the right thing to do, and something only a President like Joe Biden would bother doing.
• Let’s move on.
• With the recent news in states like Louisiana and Oklahoma mandating Christian biblical study in public schools, I wanted to ask a quick question about one simple and oft-quoted three-word phrase.
• “Love thy neighbor.”
• I believe the full phrase is, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” It’s Matthew 22:39, if you give a shit.
• What if we describe the neighbor in question? Does it make s difference?
• Love thy Black neighbor? Love thy gay neighbor? Thy homeless neighbor? Immigrant neighbor? Muslim neighbor? Trans neighbor? I mean, are you supposed to love your atheist liberal Democrat neighbor, for Christ’s sake (literally)?
• Yep, all of those and more. I mean, as long as these states are forcing Bible study in a country where one of our top laws says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” they should then require it to be followed literally.
• I should also ask the question whether students who are not Christians will be allowed to attend schools in those states, or if so will still be required to study Christian doctrines, or if they will be made to feel unwelcome in any way, while being legally required to go to those schools?
• Because if it was my kid, I’d already have teams of lawyers lined up and ready to sue the state for millions the moment an incident occurred.
• And it’s the people of states like Louisiana and Oklahoma who will foot the bill for those suits.
• And now, The Weather: “SEA” by Aaberg
• A sad Rest in Peace going out to droll funnyman Martin Mull, who died yesterday at 80.
• I still love Mull’s breakthrough role from the late ‘70s as Barth Gimble on the satirical TV series “Fernwood Tonight,” alongside Fred Willard.
• You probably know him for more recent stuff, like roles on “Arrested Development” and “Roseanne.” Truly enjoyable actor and a good musician too. RIP.
• From the Sports Desk… let’s check in the the WNBA and see who’s atop the standings.
• 1. New York Liberty (15-3). 2. Connecticut Sun (14-4). 3. Minnesota Lynx (13-4). 4. Seattle Storm (11-6). 5. Las Vegas Aces (9-6).
• So now you know.
• Today in history… Sverre is crowned king of Norway, leading to civil war (1194). English crown bans tobacco growing in England, giving the Virginia Company a monopoly in exchange for tax of one shilling per pound (1620). Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time (1889). The first Miss Universe pageant is held and Armi Kuusela from Finland wins the title of Miss Universe (1952). The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System (1956). Prior to re-entry, the crew capsule of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft depressurizes, killing the three cosmonauts on board (1971). The United States Supreme Court rules in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment (1972). Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet (1974). Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir for the first time (1995). The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law (2006). Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone (2007).
• June 29 is the birthday of Aragon queen — and my 28th great-grandmother — Petronilla (1136), diplomat/statesman Peter Agricola (1525), Japan emperor Go-Mizunoo (1596), poet Lavinia Stoddard (1787), poet Celia Thaxter (1835), activist/politician Julia Lathrop (1858), physician/clinic founder William James Mayo (1861), writer/pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900), actor Slim Pickens (1919), actor/producer Robert Evans (1930), singer Little Eva (1943), actor Gary Busey (1944), actor Richard Lewis (1947), drummer Ian Paice (1948), NFL player/sportscaster Dan Dierdorf (1949), sportscaster Craig Sager (1951), singer-songwriter Don Dokken (1953), singer-songwriter Colin Hay (1953), MLB player Pedro Guerrero (1956), actress Maria Conchita Alonso (1957), actress Sharon Lawrence (1961), NHL player Theoren Fleury (1968), actor/musician Bret McKenzie (1976), writer/comedian Colin Jost (1982), NBA player Kawhi Leonard (1991), and NBA player Michael Porter Jr. (1998).

I have a few things to do today, just little things around the house that I never have time to do during the week. But mostly, I’m just chilling. At least I hope that’s the case. Enjoy your day.