Random News: July 15, 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 July 15, 2024, and it’s a Monday. With the world-shifting events that transpired, I don’t feel like I had much of a weekend, but that’s what I get for being someone who stays abreast of the news. It’s okay; I’d still prefer knowing things to the alternative of… being ignorant and ill informed.

• Obviously, people are still immersed in the Trump assassination attempt. It’s definitely one of those historical events that, while still unfolding, you want to take it all in while filtering out the noise and bullshit.
• So I’ll continue to mention some details that got released between the initial news and now without being too repetitive.
• First, some info on the victims.
• The man who was killed was 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, and he died shielding his wife and daughter. That’s a sad but noble way to go. I don’t care that the guy was an ultra-MAGA.
• We know that at least two other people were badly injured at the rally: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, PA, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, PA.
• Both were listed in stable condition as of last night.
• One weird aspect of the event is that a good number of witnesses saw the now-deceased 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks climbing to the roof of a nearby building, and they warned local police.
• But when one local police officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, the shooter pointed his rifle at the officer.
• And the officer retreated down the ladder. Wow.
• Look, I’m no superhero, and I’m nothing like a cop. But… man, that’s your job. Had that local cop had his service weapon ready, he could have potentially stopped the whole thing before it started.
• Instead, seconds later, Crooks took his shots in the direction of the stage and Trump.
• So I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about that.
• The FBI, who is leading the assassination attempt investigation, says the AR-style rifle Crooks used was legally purchased by his father. They don’t yet know if he was using it without his father’s knowledge.
• Something I want you to consider about Crooks.
• Had the shooter been anything other than a white male, imagine the media narrative that would have ensued over the past two days.
• I can say with no qualms that had Crooks been Black, this would have somehow been the fault of all Black people. If he had been a Muslim man, you know that there would be calls for outright war in the Middle East.
• And had he been an undocumented “illegal” alien, well… there would be a dozen talking heads on Fox News saying that Joe Biden made it happen.
• Even if the kid had been a big supporter of liberal causes, the way things are polarized today, every single liberal would be blamed. It is what it is. You can’t deny it’s true, either.
• So in that sickening aspect, we’re all extremely lucky that it’s going to be difficult for the violent MAGA world to retaliate against a specific group of people.
• They’re obviously not going to target young Republicans. I hope not, anyway.
• In terms of a motive for Crooks’ attempt to assassinate Trump… nothing yet.
• In fact, about all we know about him is that he was quiet and at least occasionally bullied in school. He also was committed to conservative ideologies.
• Other kids who knew him said he was passionate about history.
• So that’s still a huge question mark.
• President Joe Biden made a primetime address from the Oval Office last night, with the message being that “we must not go down” the road of political violence in America after the assassination attempt.
• “We can do this. American democracy — where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy where the rule of law is respected. Where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions, they’re living, breathing realities.”
• Biden also made reference to other incidents of political violence in recent years, including the January 6 insurrection and the assault on the husband of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
• Well said and well presented. He seemed presidential in the moment, as was appropriate.
• Will any of this change Trump in any way? My first inclination would be to say no, it won’t.
• There are rumors that he is pivoting his messaging away from attacking his opposition and toward a message of unity.
• That will be examined during this week’s Republican National Convention that begins today in Milwaukee, WI.
• So…
• What did the bloodied victim of the assassination attempt do yesterday?
• He played golf. Hey, some people might have visited with the family of the supporter who was killed, or the other folks who were wounded.
• Also, now that I’m aware that his injury was so minor that he’d be out on the golf course the next day, I’ll go back to using my more colorful names for him.
• Like Tangerine Twat. Agent Orange. Or my personal contribution to the lexicon, Dumples the Clown.
• I want to move on to a topic that’s pertinent to this discussion, but one I’ve been meaning to cover for a good while regardless.
• When Republicans were looking for someone to blame over the weekend — since they couldn’t blame the Republican kid who pulled the trigger, of course — I heard one person singled out multiple times across various social media.
• That person is Kimberly Cheatle, the Director of the United States Secret Service.
• And the phrase I heard used over and over again about Ms. Cheatle is “DEI hire.”
• What does that mean? Well, DEI is an acronym that stands for “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” In recent times, it’s become a code word that conservatives, bigots, and racists (and the large overlapping combination thereof) use to mean anyone who is not a white male.
• They use “DEI” to mean all women, black, or brown men. It’s very often used in place of (but in the same context as) the N-word.
• So it a company hires a woman to do a job, conservatives assume they do it to meet a quota… not because the woman has the skills to perform the job.
• So they call that a “DEI hire” so they can nudge and wink at each other.
• And, back on topic, not only are the sick Republicans calling out Ms. Cheatle as a DEI hire but also the ground-level Secret Service agents who protected Dumpy after the shooting.
• Kim Cheatle has held multiple roles in the United States Secret Service for over 25 years. She is widely respected in the realm of security.
• Education time: women have served in the Secret Service for more than 50 years. These GOP pieces of shit are treating it as though this is a new concept.
• Wasn’t the lapse in security that got Dump his little ear scratch the fault of the Secret Service? That’s obviously being analyzed… but the security outside of the event arena was supposed to have been the responsibility of the local police, and we’ve already seen some evidence that they weren’t up to that task.
• Anyway, if you hear the DEI term being tossed around in a derogatory way, it’s always from a person who has an extraordinary hatred of women and non-white males. Keep it in mind.
• Moving on to what should be the most important news of the day.
• Dump’s classified documents case has been dismissed.
• U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the defense motion to dismiss the case this morning, voiding a prosecution that at the time it was brought was seen as the most perilous of the multiple legal threats Dump faced.
• Lawyers for Dump had argued that special counsel Jack Smith was illicitly appointed in violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.
• This is breaking news, but I am sickened. If you ever wanted proof that there isn’t a rule of law in the USA or anywhere else, this should be it.
• Will Cannon’s ruling be overturned on appeal? Normally I’d say yes, but at this point, I can’t count on any of the usual safeguards we have functioning as they should.
• But I will repeat what I’ve said over and over…. the courts were NEVER going to save us form this guy.
• THE ONLY THING WE HAVE IS OUR VOTE.
• And now we are all the more inspired to ensure that every single American voter heads to the polls with a fucking vengeance.
• And now, The Weather: “Big Dogs” by Sour Widows
• Let’s do a chart. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart 25 years ago today in July 1999.
• I’m marginally aware of most of these songs… none are among my favorites. I will add that I was busy with a newborn son at this time frame, and everything outside of that is a little fuzzy.
• 1. If You Had My Love (Jennifer Lopez). 2. Bills, Bills, Bills (Destiny's Child). 3. Last Kiss (Pearl Jam). 4. Livin' La Vida Loca (Ricky Martin). 5. It's Not Right But It's Okay (Whitney Houston). 6. I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys). 7. Where My Girls At? (702). 8. Wild Wild West (Will Smith Featuring Dru Hill & Kool Mo Dee). 9. Fortunate (Maxwell). 10. The Hardest Thing (98 Degrees). 11. No Scrubs (TLC). 12. Genie In A Bottle (Christina Aguilera). 13. All Star (Smash Mouth). 14. No Pigeons (Sporty Thievz Featuring Mr. Woods). 15. Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer). 16. That Don't Impress Me Much (Shania Twain). 17. 808 (Blaque). 18. Happily Ever After (Case). 19. Chante's Got A Man (Chante Moore). 20. Almost Doesn't Count (Brandy).
• From the Sports Desk… now that Wimbledon is done and I can stop writing about tennis (whew), now I’m obligated to cover another sport that doesn’t wang my willie: soccer.
• Congrats to Spain, who broke the record for goals at a European Championship yesterday in Berlin as they beat England 2-1 to secure a record fourth title at the tournament.
• La Roja's 15th goal of the tournament beat the 14 scored by France on their way to winning the 1984 edition of the Euros.
• NFL preseason starts in just over two weeks on Thursday August 1. Please hurry!
• Today in history… Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome (484 BC). John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England (1381). The first university of Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku, is inaugurated in Turku (1640). The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard (1799). US Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, MO, to explore the west (1806). The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years (1834). Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union (1870). Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer's disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer (1910). In Seattle, WA, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products, later renamed Boeing (1916). The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history (1959). Nintendo released the Famicom, later known as the NES, in Japan (1983). AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape and the Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day (2003). Twitter is launched by Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone (2006).
• July 15 is the birthday of Korean queen Yun (1455), painter Rembrandt (1606), activist/suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst (1858), filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker (1925), racing driver Ian Stewart (1929), NFL player/actor Alex Karras (1935), actor Jan-Michael Vincent (1945), singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt (1946), singer-songwriter/guitarist Roky Erickson (1947), drummer Artimus Pyle (1948), singer-songwriter/producer Trevor Horn (1949), publisher Arianna Huffington (1950), wrestler/politician Jesse Ventura (1951), singer-songwriter David Pack (1952), drummer Marky Ramone (1952), singer-songwriter Johnny Thunders (1952), singer-songwriter Ian Curtis (1956), guitarist/composer Joe Satriani (1956), actor Forest Whitaker (1961), Brigitte Nielsen (1963), drummer Jason Bonham (1966), TV host Adam Savage (1967), actor Brian Austin Greene (1973), comedian Gabriel Iglesias (1976), and NBA player Damian Lillard (1990).

I know it’s hard to stay hopeful in this world sometimes. Even for me, a pragmatic but generally optimistic person. What I will tell you is that there are two ways to react to a setback… to curl up and cry, or to stand up and fight. Guess which one I advise you take? Fuck this bullshit. We’re gonna vote and we’re gonna win… and eventually the justice we seek will be enacted. I know this to be true. Enjoy your day.