Random News and Notes 20 April
Today in 1861 then Colonel Robert Edward Lee resigned from the US Army. He had been offered command of the Union army three days after his native Virginia seceded from the Union. Lee opposed secession, but he was a loyal son of Virginia. His official resignation was only one sentence. Two days later, Lee was appointed commander of Virginia’s forces with the rank of major general. He spent the next few months raising troops in Virginia, and in July he was sent to western Virginia to advise Confederate commanders struggling to maintain control over the mountainous region.
On this date in 1971, SCOTUS released its decision in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The question before the Court was whether federal courts were constitutionally authorized to oversee and implement desegregation plans—specifically using busing—to actively integrate public schools. The Court unanimously upheld the use of busing, attendance zones, and racial quotas as legitimate remedial tools to eliminate state-imposed segregation. Subsequent SCOTUS decisions have watered down the ruling in Swann, most importantly in in Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman where the Court held that the equitable power of federal courts to restructure the operation of local school boards is “not plenary” and may be exercised “only on the basis of a constitutional violation”.
And wrapping up the today in history segment we go to 1999 and Littleton, Colorado where two despicable subhumans killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher at Columbine High School. They wounded another 23 before killing themselves. The murder spree lasted all of 40 minutes. The investigation determined that Harris and Klebold chose their victims randomly. Their original plan was for two propane bombs to explode in the school’s cafeteria, potentially killing hundreds of people and forcing the survivors outside and into the gunmen’s line of fire. When the bombs didn’t work, Harris and Klebold went into the school to carry out their murderous rampage.
Now, News!
We kick off our news coverage with a story out of Alaska. Two troopers from the 11th Airborne are recovering after being mauled by a brown bear. The incident occurred on a land nav course at the Arctic Valley training area near Anchorage, Alaska. Lt. Col. Jo Nederhoed, a spokesperson for the division, said both soldiers were receiving appropriate medical care as of April 18. The training area is part of JB Elmendorf-Richardson.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) characterized the encounter as a defensive attack by a bear that had recently emerged from its den. This marks the second time land navigation training at JBER has produced bear attack casualties. In May 2022, Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant, 30, of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was killed by a brown bear while marking a land navigation course at the same base.
Do they not teach you to leave the wildlife alone anymore?
Several political commentators have said liberalism is a mental disorder. Well, it seems that might actually be true. A recent study drawn from the General Social Survey, the graphic compares self-reported diagnoses across political leanings for white respondents under 40 shows that those on the left side of the political spectrum are far more likely to be mentally ill.
Similar patterns show up in Pew data for young white liberal women and studies of teen depressive symptoms rising fastest among liberal females.
Keep in mind, correlation is not causation.
Shamar Elkins, 31, shot and killed seven of his own children, ages 3 to 11, and one other child in Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood after wounding two women, including his separating wife. Police chased Elkins into Bossier City after he carjacked a vehicle, and officers fatally shot him. Elkins was a NG Vet and a convicted felon.
The soft on crime judge that gave him probation has the blood of the victims Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Khedarrion Snow, 6; Braylon Snow, 5; Markaydon Pugh, 10; and Sariahh Snow, 11 on his or (more likely) her hands.
Anyway, no trial, no prison and we the taxpaying public aren’t paying to warehouse him for 25 years.
U.S. Central Command reports directing 27 vessels away from Iranian ports since the US blockade began on April 12 This announcement comes on the heels of the USS Spruance firing on and holing an Iranian flagged container ship bound for Iran. US Marines then took control of the vessel.
