In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Today is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery and black independence in the US. Laura Saunders Egodigwe has written a terrific piece on Juneteenth, and there are tons of Juneteenth events all over the country, many of which will be stretching into the weekend, and many of which you can find online, if you want to attend or support a local celebration.

[Content Note: Racism; terrorism] This is pretty great: In an interview yesterday, Hillary Clinton called for "a candid national conversation about race and about discrimination, prejudice, hatred" in the wake of the murders in Charleston, and called out Donald Trump's profoundly racist rhetoric from his campaign announcement address as contributing to a culture in which people act on racial hatred. "For example, a recent entry into the Republican presidential campaign said some very inflammatory things about Mexicans. Everybody should stand up and say that's not acceptable. You don't talk like that on talk radio. You don't talk like that on the kind of political campaigns." The interviewer told him she could use Trump's name, but she declined, saying: "I think he is emblematic. I want people to understand it's not about him, it's about everybody. We should not accept [hateful speech in national political conversation]. Decent people need to stand up against it." Right on. This shit doesn't happen in a vacuum.

[CN: Wildfires] Fuck: "With the official start of summer just days away, wildfire season is off to a hot start across the West. As the Associated Press reports, there are currently blazes in at least four states—Alaska, Arizona, California, and Washington—and over 1,000 people have been evacuated in total. According to the U.S. Forest Service there are currently 17 large fires burning."

[CN: Appropriation; video may autoplay at link] Rachel Dolezal has been voted off a police oversight committee in Spokane during a City Council meeting. "The Spokane City Council voted 6 to 0 to remove Rachel Dolezal from the Police Ombudsman Commission due to misconduct which was originally reported in a whistle-blower complaint."

[CN: Homophobia; regionalism] Matthew Tully writes a piece for the Indy Star about what has been happening in Indiana since "the religious freedom spotlight faded, after the cable news networks and everyone else turned away." And, while I think he should have noted more prominently, and not just as an aside, that there's still plenty of homophobia and bigotry being expressed by individual Hoosiers, he's absolutely right to point out that "in public polls and public actions, in ways both quiet and loud, grassroots and corporate, the real Indiana in recent weeks has shown itself not to be a caricature of flyover-state intolerance but rather a state that, like so many others, rejects discrimination and embraces diversity." And, no, it's not because we were shamed into it. The people of the state and the government of the state are often at odds here, and often wrongly conflated by outsiders.

[CN: Near-drowning, but rescue] Kids today! "[Four] young boys are being hailed [as] heroes for their quick actions after they saw a swimmer in distress in an Orlando pond. ...'We were yelling for him to get out of the water. Then he tried to get out of the water and he got caught in a lily pad,' said Kevin Lewis, 9. Freeman Robinson, 10, said he acted fast when he saw the man struggling. Robinson said he directed his two friends, Devonta Hall, 10, and Marion Lukes, 10, to run across the street to an Orlando EMS division. ...Firefighters said the man wasn't conscious when they pulled him out and got him in an ambulance, but regained a pulse after life-saving efforts. The boys said helping rescue the man is an experience they'll likely never forget. 'I never saved somebody's life before,' said Hall. 'I feel really happy because it's, like, my first time helping somebody out,' said Lukes." Blub. THE CUTEST.

[CN: Homophobia] Cool Pope. Very progress. "Pope Francis once again stressed the importance of children being raised by heterosexual parents on Sunday (June 14), likening a long-lasting marriage to a good wine, in which a husband and wife make the most of their gender differences. ...He stressed that heterosexual marriages ensure a couples' happiness and are essential for good parenting. 'Children mature seeing their father and mother like this; their identity matures being confronted with the love their father and mother have, confronted with this difference [between women and men],' Francis said." Yawn.

Twitter is planning to launch some new project which just sounds like a terrible mess. I have never seen a company so determined to ruin the basic functionality of their product.

If you are a fan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul then you may be excited to hear that Vince Gilligan definitely wants Bryan Cranston (and other BrBa faves) to make appearances in the spinoff series. "All of the wonderful characters who may eventually appear on Better Call Saul will appear when it is most organic and fitting to the storytelling of Better Caul Saul and also when we can work out scheduling issues with actors. I would love to see that personally." Me too!

And if you are a fan of Friday Night Lights and/or True Detective, which is set to begin its second season this week starring (among others) FNL alum Taylor Kitsch, then maybe you will enjoy this profile of The Kitsch, especially if you like hearing about how handsome and manly he is!

And finally! This puppy is determined to get attention from hir uninterested older sibling, and it is hilarious.