05/28/24
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, May 28th
National Hamburger Day!
Which would have made more sense I guess yesterday, Memorial Day, but uh… you know… better late than never I guess?
Obviously I go with veggie burger over real meat but either way, you know what is a never miss (for me)? I thick slice of tomato! Whatever sauces and other things you need, go for it. But come on… a thick slice of tomato? Unbeatable.
And now, the news.
Israel-Hamas War
-via AP News and NPR (Rafah attack), and NPR (ICJ)
Let’s start with the Israel-Hamas war where, over the weekend, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 45 Palestinians, the majority of which are women and children, in Rafah. Dozens more were injured, and there are still victims under the rubble.
This happened in an encampment specifically built for displaced people. Which at this point is just – all of Gaza. Hard to believe there are folks in Gaza that would not be considered displaced at this point.
This area was not under evacuation orders.
Without elaborating further, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a tragic mistake. Initially, Israel’s military said it had carried out a precise airstrike on a Hamas compound, resulting in the killing of two senior Hamas militants. It also became one of the deadliest attack in the war so far.
The deadly strike comes just days after the UN’s International Court of Justice (aka ICJ) ordered Israel to stop it’s attack on Rafah. To which the Israeli government said vaguely. As in, they will continue on in Rafah, in a way that allows them abide by Israel’s interpretation of the ruling.
Imagine trying that in your own life! Yeah, I’ll pay rent. But like, my interpretation of what I think rent should be.
In fact, an Israeli government officially literally said this: “Israel has not carried out and will not carry out military activity in the Rafah area that creates living conditions that could lead to the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part.”
Someone should consider telling him to open a newspaper.
The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency closed meeting for today.
Memorial Day Weekend Tornados
-via NY Times
Over the weekend, at least 23 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of people were left without power after a series of storms and tornados ripped across the South, Midwest, and East Coast.
The severe weather is expected to continue into today in parts of Texas and the Southern Plains, who are expecting strong winds and hail.
The storms also disrupted flights over the weekend, which made a wild travel day even worse. On Friday, the TSA broke a single-day record by screening 2.9 million travelers at US airports.
2.9 million travelers.
What percentage of those travelers do we think needed to be told to empty their water bottles more than once?
Papua New Guinea
-via AP News
Friday’s landslide in Papua New Guinea has buried more than 2,000 people alive, their government says. They are now asking for international help, as only five people have been recovered so far.
Now, I should say, these numbers have varied wildly since the Friday, so I’m saying 2,000 because that’s the number I’ve seen reported out the most frequently. However, it’s important to note that The International Organization for Migration, which has taken a lead role in the international response, has not changed their estimated death toll of 670, pending new evidence.
So, you know – this could change. Ideally, that number goes down and not up. But I do think it’s important to note that there are different numbers out there.
Louisiana Inmates on the Run
-via ABC News
Four inmates escaped a Louisiana jail over the weekend. Two have been caught, while two are still on the run.
They just… went out through a weak part of a chain-linked fence on Saturday. Guards had no idea.
Not only that – they didn’t know until the next day, when a family member of one of the inmates called the jail because two of them showed up at the family member’s house in the middle of the night, looking for a place to stay!
And then they were like – oh dang. I guess we should count these folks?
Also – I say they went out the fence on Saturday. That’s true… for two of the escapees. The other two left the next day! Right before the jail found out about the first two!
Like I said, two escapees have been caught. The other two, Omarion Hookfin and Jamarcus Cyprian, are still on the run.
Bill Walton
-via CBS News
Two-time NBA champion, and NBA Hall of Famer, Bill Walton, died over the weekend. He was 71.
Here’s something I had no idea about - He was arrested in 1972 for protesting on UCLA's campus against the Vietnam War. His coach bailed him out of jail and, according to Walton’s memoir, he told his coach: “You can say what you want. It's my classmates and friends who are coming home in bodybags and wheelchairs."
He was also outspoken about legalizing pot way before states actually started doing it.
He told the Oregonian newspaper in 2017: "In life, being so self-conscious, red hair, big nose, freckles and goofy, nerdy-looking face and can't talk at all. I was incredibly shy and never said a word. Then, when I was 28 I learned how to speak. It's become my greatest accomplishment of my life and everybody else's biggest nightmare."
When I was a kid I went to basketball camp (yeah I went to basketball camp! I’m short but I have great hand-eye coordination and was very good at basketball!), Bill Walton came to talk to us one day. I came home and said he talked a LOT. And honestly, that was kind of all I knew about him until today. Which is a bummer – he sounds like just a really cool dude who loved basketball, loved people, and loved the Grateful Dead.
Imagine SCOTUS Doing the Right Thing
-via AP News
And finally, because it’s been a heavy news days but we’re coming out of a long weekend and I can’t leave you like that!
Two Democratic Senators, Illinois’ Dick Durbin (who is the Senate Judiciary Chair), as well as Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse has requested a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts, after that second Insurrection-Curious (as in, isn’t it curious that at least two of our nine Supreme Court Justices are super into dismantling democracy?) flag was reported outside of Justice Alito’s house.
As a reminder, around the time that rioters were running an upside-down flag through our capitol as a part of their literal insurrection, the Alito’s were flying their flag upside-down outside of their house. And then, just this past summer, they flew an Appeal to Heaven flag, the same flag that many insurrectionists were also running around with, because apparently gave them the right to be a bunch of whinny babies who love Donald Trump (of all people!) so much that they just had to do insurrection.
Two bad flags! So the Senators would like to talk to Chief Justice Roberts about how hey, that’s bad! Yikes… get your court in line, guy.
Unfortch, this is exactly the kind of court of expect from Chief Justice Roberts (because he screwed us on voting rights and, I’m so sorry babe but there is not coming back for you, in my eyes). But I just think it’s nice that they’re at least asking for this meeting.
Listen, this is not a good court right now. Historical Badman Thomas. Aleako. One legitimitaly stolen seat. One seat that’s like, not technically stolen but not NOT stolen. Kavanaugh literally had a sexual assault claim against him and the Senate was so into that crying little baby that their investigation was, at best, a simple sham.
It’s not the most best court.
So get caught trying because we need to be talking about this Court. Especially because, if Donald Trump wins in November, he will put two new, super young, Justices on the Court.
I’m not saying we get the Court back if Biden gets another term, but we can at least stop things from getting worse.
So tell your friends… the Court IS on the ballot this year.
Also tell them that Senators Durbin and Whitehouse tried to get a meeting with Chief Justice Roberts, but I just think that’s so… adorable. They tried! So cute.
Lol imagine if this Court was like okay yes, we will be better.
And that’s it! That’s the news!
Closing arguments begin today in Trump’s 2016 election interference crimes case.
I’m proud of… well I’m proud of Senators Durbin and Whitehouse. When it’s the right thing to do, even if you don’t think you’ll succeed – get caught trying.
Also tomatoes.
But more than that… more than a thick slice of a beefsteak tomato with some salt… because I’m hungry now… I’m proud of you!