Monday Musings - June 5, 2023

 

1. And here we go. Welcome to the first Monday of June 2023. Time is flying as the year nears its midpoint. There are only 29 Mondays remaining the the year. 

Biking Odenton and Piney Orchard
Odenton, MD
June 4, 2023

2. How about them Orioles? They shook off the injury bug and won another series on the road becoming the first MLB team to post 20 road wins yesterday as they defeated the San Francisco Giants and won that series. Let's Go O's!

3. Tomorrow is the anniversary of D-Day. The political career of Florida governor Ron DeSantis is the epitome of Orbán’s “Christian democracy” come to the United States. DeSantis has imitated Orbán’s politics, striking at the principles of liberal democracy with attacks on LGBTQ Americans, abortion rights, academic freedom, and the ability of businesses to react to market forces rather than religious imperatives. Last week he told an audience that “the woke mind virus represents a war on the truth so we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in the corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of congress. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob. We will make woke ideology leave it to the dustbin of history; it’s gone.” (Letters from an American) I find it sad that DeSantis stole from Churchill to make his speech.

4. Woke. Definition: aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). Why would anyone be anti-woke? Are we trying to turn the clock back to the 19th Century?

5. I managed a 10.64 mile bike ride yesterday. The temperature was a bit cool, but enjoyable. I added a new loop to my route and found another bike trail to explore the next time I head out for a ride.

6. Today in History. Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He was pronounced dead a day later, on June 6, 1968.

The summer of 1968 was a tempestuous time in American history. Both the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were peaking. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in the spring, igniting riots across the country. In the face of this unrest, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to seek a second term in the upcoming presidential election. Robert Kennedy, John’s younger brother and former U.S. Attorney General, stepped into this breach and experienced a groundswell of support.

Oil Prices Jump After Saudi Output Cut - The Wall Street Journal

China Faces Uphill Battle as It Tries to Instill ‘Pro-Birth’ Culture - The Wall Street Journal

The network of sympathizers is carrying out acts of sabotage, and Ukraine has begun providing them with material to stage attacks - CNN

Federal investigators probing what led to fatal crash of unresponsive plane intercepted by US fighter jets near DC - CNN

A Florida woman’s car caught fire with her children inside while she allegedly shoplifted in a mall - CNN

Wagner chief says Russia lost ground around Bakhmut - Reuters

Chinese state media dismiss U.S. diplomat's Beijing visit - Reuters

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD