05/15/24
Good morning! It’s Wednesday, May 15th.
Break the glass ceiling day!
Hey, here’s something – The World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report estimates that it will take an average of 135.6 years for women & men to reach parity on a whole host of factors. Hence, Break the Glass Ceiling Day is on the 135th day of the year.
So, break that glass ceiling and then drop a ladder down.
And now, the news.
Florida Bus Crash
-via ABC News
We start in Florida, where a bus carrying about 53 farmworkers overturned on a central Florida highway, killing eight people and injuring 38 others. Of those 38, eight are in critical condition and, unfortunately, a Florida highway patrol officer noted that the number of dead may increase.
The accident occurred when a truck, traveling in the opposite direction, veered toward the center line, sideswiping the bus and sending it through a fence. The driver has been arrested for driving under the influence.
Canadian Wildfires
A wildfire in western Canada is growing rapidly, causing evacuations and even affecting the air quality in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
So far fires have engulfed more than 24,000 acres in Western Canada, with 146 active wildfires - dozens of which are characterized as “out of control.”
Oh Canada.
American Arrest in France
-via AP News
Ian Thomas Cleary, the 31-year-old California man who, in 2013 sexually assaulted a Pennsylvania college student before then sending her a message that said, “So I raped you,” had been taken into custody in France last month after a three-year search. He, Ian Thomas Cleary, will be held pending extradition proceedings.
The search for Ian Thomas Cleary began in 2021, after the AP ran a story about the reluctance of local prosecutors to pursue campus sex crimes. A few weeks later, there was a warrant for his arrest.
And now he, Ian Thomas Cleary, has been arrested.
And you might be wondering why I’m saying his name so much in this story. It’s because the woman he raped, Shannon Keeler, spent years collecting evidence and pushing officials to file charges. It was until 2021, eight years after the assault occurred, that the Facebook messages Ian Thomas Cleary sent were used to get that warrant.
Shannon worked harder than anyone in that position should have to, to make sure that we all know the same of her attacker. And so, we’ll say his full name – and hope Ian Thomas Cleary lives a long miserable life in prison.
Speaker Johnson Visits Trump Trial
-via NY Times
Hey here’s something – so Trump has this gag order against him in multiple cases, including the 2016 election interference crimes case, which is going on right now.
And even though he’s a very brave boy who would be happy to go to jail for us, the American people… he sure isn’t saying anything right now. Instead, his supporters are showing up to the trial in hopes of currying favor. And then those folks, who don’t have gag orders, are speaking to the press about how this case is unethical and unjust and Trump is sleeping he just thinks better with a little drool coming out the side of his mouth.
Included in this list of suckups are Senators Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, and JD Vance, as well as Boris Epshteyn, Facist Jason Miller, America’s Mayor’s son Andrew Giuliani, and now… Speaker Mike Johnson.
That’s right – the person that is second in line to the president went and watched the trial of a presidential candidate, before walking out to the press and telling the American public that we should not trust our justice system.
And I know that like – it’s Mike Johnson. He’s a weirdo and we shouldn’t listen to him. But he’s also, thanks to a series of unfortunate events, the actual Speaker of the House. When he speaks, that should hold some weight.
As the Republicans continue their decent into fascism at the behest of a grifter who doesn’t even know how to properly apply his foundation, I think sometimes we need to take a step back and understand how absolutely inappropriate these blurred lines are.
And then hey, let’s win back the House and take that gavel out of that weirdo’s hand.
Alice Munro
-via NPR
Short story author, Nobel laureate, and Canadian, Alice Munro died on Tuesday. She was 92.
I was a fan of her writing (duh, a lot of people were) and so obviously I’m going to give her the last word here:
Memory is the way we keep telling ourselves our stories - and telling other people a somewhat different version of our stories.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of people who bust glass ceilings. And, most important, those who do it in a way that brings others with them.
But more than… chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches… that’s right, it’s chocolate chip ice cream sandwich day.
Because you are a delicious combination of sweet and nostalgic… I’m proud of you!