Random News and Notes 24 May

No Photos this week. They will return next week

Again another busy day in history, so another list.

• John Hancock is best known for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence, which he jested the British could read without spectacles. On this date in 1775, he is elected president of the Second Continental Congress.
• In 1884, Samuel F.B. Morse dispatches a telegraph message from the U.S. Capitol to Alfred Vail at a railroad station in Baltimore, Maryland. The message—“What Hath God Wrought?”—was telegraphed back to the Capitol a moment later by Vail.
• After 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River opens in 1883, connecting the great cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history.
• On this date in 1917, the Royal Navy introduces a convoy system for ships heading to and from the British Isles. The Admiralty long resisted the convoy idea, but mounting losses to the German U-boats forced their hand.
• In 1941, Germany’s largest battleship, the Bismarck, sinks the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood. The victory was short lived; Bismarck herself would be sunk 3 days later.

We start the news with the shooting that happened outside the White House last evening.

According to a Secret Service spokesperson, a suspect approached a Secret Service checkpoint near 17th and Pennsylvania, took out a weapon from a bag, and began firing at the officers there. The Secret Service returned fire, striking the shooter, who died on the way to the hospital. A bystander was also hit and is hospitalized in serious condition.

The suspect has been identified as Nasire Best, 21, of Maryland. It seems Nasire is was a nutter and had previous run-ins with the USSS.

Staying in DC, there were (are?) reports that a deal with Iran is near. Trump himself posted about it:

I remain skeptical. Let’s be honest here, the Ayatollahs have a long and storied history of saying one thing and doing another when it comes to negotiations with the west. I have already seen official statements from Iranian officials saying Trump is lying about the deal and they refuse to give up their nuclear material. Call me a cynic, but this smells of the Iranians playing for time.

I will withhold final judgement on the ‘deal’ until I see actual details.

On May 20 around 10 a.m. near Sedona in Coconino National Forest, a group of men were filmed defacing Cathedral Rock. The group ignored protective chains and a filming tourist to deface the iconic formation sacred to tribes like the Yavapai and Hopi. Federal law bans such damage, with penalties up to $20,000 fines and a year in jail; the witness reported it to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office and rangers, but no arrests have been made.

There has not been positive identification of the retards, but they are reported to be Indian* nationals. Deportation is too good for them.

*Dot not feather

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued administrative subpoenas to political streamer/Marxist Hasan Piker and CodePink co-founder Madea Benjamin for their roles in the ‘Nuestra América Convoy’ in March. The probe examines possible sanctions violations, like unlicensed transactions or stays at restricted hotels, despite exceptions for humanitarian aid.

Sanctions are sanctions, and violating them has consequences regardless of the motivation behind the violation.