07/26/24

Good morning! It’s Friday, June 26th.

It’s the start of the Olympics!

The summer Olympics! Olympic water polo! And footie! And swimming! And diving!

So if you need me, that’s where I’ll be.

(Watching. Not participating. They asked but I turned them down.)

And now, the news.

California Wildfires

-via NY Times

Starting with two California stories!

A potential cause has been found for the start of Northern California’s Park fire, which has burned more than 70,000 acres and is only 3% contained as I record this.

On Thursday police arrested a 42-year-old man who they believe pushed a burning car down a 60-foot embankment which they believe sparked the fire.

I’m no expert but… yeah, that sounds like it could do it.

Thanks to fires in Northern California as well as the 43 active wildfires in Oregon and Washington, air quality is down and smokey skies are not only affecting the west coast of the US and Canada, but all the way to Maine. Maine! That’s the whole other side of the country!

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, many of the fires are exhibiting “extreme fire behavior.” What are they – listening to rock and roll and using cuss words? Feels like fire’s general existence is the extreme behavior.

Anyway, it’s fire season. It’s a bad one. Make good choices, limit outdoor time if the air quality is bad, and don’t push cars fully engulfed in fire down gullies.

Newsom Orders Encampments Cleared

­­-via Washington Post and CalMatters

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Oregon that people experiencing homelessness can be banned from sleeping in public areas, California’s Governor Newsom ordered the state to do the same thing and clear all encampments.

Now, at the governor, all he can do is order it to be done on state land, and heavily encourage cities to follow suit.

San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, said the city will begin the clearing in the next few weeks. While Los Angeles’ mayor Karen Bass responded by saying that homelessness in the city had decreased 10% “because of a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization.”

Here’s the thing – California has a serious housing crisis which includes more than 180,000 Californians experiencing homelessness on an average night.

It’s not a new problem and you can’t just make a broad declaration and hope that’ll fix the problem that hasn’t been able to be fixed in the years before.

I understand he wants to be president one day and this will be a hindrance for that, but just saying “I don’t know, just get rid of all the encampments” without having a solution beyond taking away where people are living… that’s not helping anything. And if he’s doing it just because he wants to be president one day – that’s worse.

This problem requires a real, long-term solution.

This ain’t it, Gaves.

Boneless Chicken Can Have Bones

-via AP News

An Ohio state supreme court has ruled that boneless chicken wings can, in fact, include bones.

The ruling stems from a suit where a man took a bite of the boneless wings, felt it go down wrong but didn’t choke, and three days later when he was sick, a doctor found that a long-thin bone had torn his esophagus. He sued the restaurant as well as the wing supplier and chicken farm.

After being dismissed in lower courts, the state Supreme Court ruled that the word “boneless” in “boneless chicken wings” just refers to the way they’re cooked and everyone knows that chickens have bones.

Okay yeah, everyone knows chickens have bones – you don’t have to be rude about it! But did everyone know boneless just refers to how they’re cooked?

I realize I’m a little out of my element here but I am truly blown away by this.

Nikki Haley… For Some Reason

-via CNN

For reasons truly unknowable, Nikki Haley sat down for an interview with CNN on Thursday and defended everything she said about Trump while she was running against him… as well as her choice in voting for him and now stumping for him.

This isn’t news, nor is it surprising, but it is embarrassing. And if you’re going to embarrass yourself for a wannabe authoritarian who wants to bring democracy crashing to the ground… I’m at least going to call it out.

Because… for what, Nikki? Why?

I think sometimes people forget that what you could have said… was nothing.

Southwest Airlines Makes a Change

-via ABC News

And finally, in news just as confusing as the boneless chicken wing thing… Southwest Airlines is going to start letting people choose their own seats. And they’ll have premium seating on all flights.

Listen, I know airlines are going through it right now but this feels like when you cut bangs because you feel like that’ll fix everything (to be clear, that’s not why I cut my bangs. I cut my bangs because I look adorable like a young Kelly Clarkson).

Anyway, more details about this will come in September.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of… geez, not Nikki Haley that’s for sure. But you know what? It’s time for the Olympics and I am just so excited. So much water polo!

But more than the summer Olympics. Because hey – you’re a worldwide gold medal champ in my eyes more than every four years… I’m proud of you.