04/16/24
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, April 16th.
National Librarian Day.
Books, ya know? We love em. They love em. So we love librarians.
And now, the news.
Shooting in New Orleans
-via ABC News
We start how we start here in America, with one dead and eleven injured after a shooting late Sunday night in New Orleans.
It happened near a nightclub called Republic NOLA, in the warehouse district.
No other detains have been released.
Update on Iran and Israel
And of course, we’ve got somewhat of an update on things in Iran and Israel.
Iran is calling the weekend’s attack a “punitive operation” and a “victory,” while Israel remains determined to attack, though no specific response has either been agreed on or made public. Currently, Israel’s war cabinet is discussing when and what the scope of that retribution should be.
Meanwhile, President Biden made his first public address about the attack (as a reminder, he spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday so let’s no act like he’s not been doing anything here). In his address, he reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security, while also noting a commitment to a ceasefire and hostage release.
This, while Hamas has lowered the number of hostages that their willing to release, dropping down to less than 20 people, in its counterproposal in the ceasefire negotiations.
So in other words… things aren’t going great.
And among all that, we’ve got some decisions to be made here in the states. And I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it all comes down to Speaker Mike Johnson.
Not really but… not, not really.
There’s a foreign aid bill that’s been sitting in the House, after being approved in the Senate months ago, which will send aid to Israel, as well as Ukraine and Taiwan. Democrats, as well as Mitch McConnell, want a vote to be called.
But the hiccup is that the bill includes aid for Ukraine. House Republicans don’t wait aid to be sent to Ukraine because of how Dear Leader Trump wants to support his hero Putin, and because of that, Marjorie Taylor Greene, the human form of an eyeroll, has threatened to bring her no-confidence vote to a floor vote, threatening Johnson’s job.
What they can do it push forward a funding bill that only supports Israel, but it’s unclear whether Biden, or even the Senate, would sign it. It’s not even certain it would make it out of the House – at this point, the Speaker (who has a problem with counting to begin with) would basically need all Democratic support since House Republicans are dropping out faster than… you know… other things that drop out quickly….
So put this on your radar but who knows how it’ll shake out. Not well, I’d assume.
Can I suggest something that’ll totally blow your mind? This year, all 435 House Reps are on the ballot. May I suggest, should you have the opportunity, you vote for the most serious, most boring, House Rep? Because these buffoons, these Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, never having a read a book bingbongs are putting actual real counties at risk.
SCOTUS and Idaho Greenlight Hate
-via AP News
On Monday, the Supreme Court reversed an Idaho lower court decision that allows the state’s gender-affirming care ban to go into effect.
This means the state can allow a law that imprisons physicians who provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18 to go into effect.
The two transgender teens who sued to challenge the law still will be able to obtain care, which I’m sure will be really easy because, under the threat of up to ten years in prison, I’m sure physicians are lining up around the block to help two teens who just want to live their lives as their truest and most authentic selves.
This is not forever – all the Court has done here is allow the law to go into effect while lawsuits proceed. So it’s not forever, but I’m sure that’s of zero consolation to the teens who will be negatively affected by this decision.
Rust Armorer Sentenced
-via NBC News
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the Rust armorer, whose lack of any professionalism or, frankly, just a fraction of a thought about safety, led to the death of Halyna Hutchins and an involuntary manslaughter ruling last month, has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison.
Part of the reason for this length of time is that she never once took accountability for her actions. And in fact, in recorded jail conversations to her mom, boyfriend, and attorneys, she called the jurors idiots and blamed the witnesses for what happened.
She deserves that eighteen months. More even, if I had my way, but after those eighteen months are up, there is no way she should ever, literally ever, be allowed on a film set again. I’m not even sure she should be allowed on the Universal Studio Tour ride, but she absolutely should never be able to be hired again.
Alec Baldwin’s trial starts in July.
Trump Crime Update Time
-via NY Times and Washington Post
And of course
Trump Crime Update Time
(Historical and boring, edition)
Trump’s hush money, better name pending, trial began on Monday.
As a reminder, this is being called a hush money case – it is an election interference case. Trump falsified financial documents to pay off two women in order to keep an affair with them out of the news, and therefore keep relevant election information away from voters, ahead of his 2016 election.
Because if there’s one thing he’s going to do… it’s stand an interesting angle that defies physics but not in a good way. But if there’s two things he’s gonna do, it’s election fraud.
Monday was, among other things, jury selection. The day ended with zero jurors being selected.
Team Trump did try to get the judge in the case to recuse himself. He did not. (Feels like a pretty easy thing to have seen coming.)
He also allowed evidence regarding the Access Hollywood tape and subsequent cover up and publicity. The tape itself can’t be shown, but evidence surrounding the ramifications and Team Trump’s reaction can be shown, because it’s relevant.
The Stormy Daniels cover up allegedly began after the tape’s release, in an effort to do damage control for the campaign.
Trump said he was “very proud to be” at the trial, which, frankly, is an absolutely insane thing to have said. But still, he said it.
And while he seemed energetic at first, it appears he fell asleep at one point.
This is not a joke… New York does not allow any audio-video recording in their criminal trials, but Maggie Haberman of the NY Times was in there and noted “Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack.”
So… tell people about that! Because if he’s falling asleep at his literal criminal trial, do we think this guy’s going to stay awake as President? (Let’s never try and find out again).
Also, because Trump did many many crimes, his team asked if he could skip a day next week, to attend a hearing in a different case – as a criminal defendant, he is required to be in court. The judge denied the request.
Jury selection is going to take a while. I will not be updating every day, only when there’s actual news.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of librarians! We love a nerd! I just love the idea of someone loving books so much that they make a whole career out of helping other people love books as well.
This is where my friends and family would like me to remind you that my book, December, is available for sale on Amazon and Apple Books. That’s not coming from me, that’s coming from them. That’s to be of service to them.
But more than… um… mushrooms, it’s also Day of the Mushroom, because just the very idea of you is a psychedelic… I’m proud of you.