04/23/24

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, April 23rd.

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day… of course!

Technically I guess this is a day to celebrate writers but this title is… maybe coulda used a writer to take another pass at it, ya know?

And now, the news.

College Protests

-via NPR and Washington Post

Let’s start with a story out of Yale and Columbia University, where campus protests have led to arrests and cancelled classes.

Students are protesting Israel’s response to Hamas and invasion of Gaza, following Hamas’ October 7th attack.

The protests have been going on for months, but things are really coming to a boiling point right now.

At Columbia, the University announced that all classes will be remote after dozens of students were arrested and are facing suspension over a protest encampment.

Over at Yale, between 40 and 45 students were arrested for creating a similar encampment.

Following this, students are colleges around the country, including New York University, MIT, Tufts, and Emerson are setting up protest encampments that both protest what’s happening in Gaza as well as what’s happening to the protestors.

So basically, protests all the way down.

Oklahoma City Mystery

-via ABC News

In Oklahoma City, five people, including two children, were found dead in a home with injuries consistent with homicide.

The relationship between the five people has not been announced, and whether police have any more information they’re not releasing, or just really don’t know more is currently unclear. All we really know right now is that this is a very sad situation and hopefully an investigation will quickly lead to a suspect.

Suspect Breaks into Mayor Bass’ Home

-via NPR

And how about a second story without a lot of answers…

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is safe and neither her, nor her family, were harmed after a suspect broke a window to gain access to her home early Sunday morning.

LAPD responded quickly and were able to take the suspect into custody without incident.

They are not releasing any more information about the suspect for now.

Unhoused in Oregon

-via NY Times

As you were warned, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday over whether people experiencing homelessness in Oregon can be fined for sleeping in a public area, or whether that fine can be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment.

The conservation justices appeared to side with the city’s notion that homelessness should be handled by local lawmakers and not judges, while liberal justices resisted that thought.

Specifically it was the status of homelessness that the liberal justices questioned whether it could be criminalized.

Justice Kagen asked the city’s lawyer if you could criminalize homelessness, to which the lawyer responded that they don’t believe homelessness is a status like drug addiction and Justice Kagan noted: “Homelessness is a status. It’s the status of not having a home.”

So you know… we’ll see when we see, but if they’re spit along ideological lines, and the Court was stacked by Trump to be a 6-3 conservation Court, I think we know where things are headed.

Trump in Court

-via CNN

And finally – Monday was, of course, opening statements in the Trump 2016 election interference crimes case.

No real surprises there. The defense tried to paid Trump as innocent, saying he wasn’t involved in the created of the falsified documents and adding there’s “nothing wrong with trying to influence an election” which I guess is one of those things that’s like… not not true, but maybe that wasn’t the moment to mention it? Probably not super helpful?

Because no, there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. That’s what everyone’s doing.

There is, however, something wrong with falsifying documents to keep information from the voters.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, went with: “The defendant Donald Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again.”

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, which again, is his real name, was the first witness called. He testified for 30 minutes and is expected to continue that testimony today. Prosecutors described him as a co-conspirator in the so-called catch-and-kill scheme that bought and buried Stormy Daniels’ story and thus began this particular criminal scheme that Trump was a part of. He’s a part of a lot of them, but that’s what started this one.

Meanwhile, down the street, in a different criminal scheme, New York AG Tish James came to an agreement with Trump’s lawyer to accept the $175 million bond he put up in his New York money crimes case, with he has been found guilty of (that’s the one where he told easily provable lies that included the size of the buildings he owns, in order to get bigger loans and pay lower taxes).

The bond has been accepted so his appeal can go forward without Tish James taking Trump Tower and turning it into an abortion services building… I’m not saying that’s what she said she’d do, I’m just saying… it’s an option I’d put forward.

All of that fun PLUS – the gag order trial starts today.

Jeepers that’s a lot of crimes! Not who I’d want to be president ever again, that’s for sure.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of… writers! I’m not talking about me, relax (though I do have a book. It’s called December and it available on Amazon and Apple Books and if ya buy it I’ll sign it (if I see you in person) but like… other writers too.

Little word nerds! Little cuties!

But more than that… because you are also a little cutie… I’m proud of you.