Hey guys!
This is my first post since I’ve returned from my trip - excluding the one I co-wrote with Ragavan. I would’ve written at least part of this today, but the long flight had wore me down. And my ears wouldn’t pop…
Anyway, as an apology, I am officially starting a new column: “The Good News.” It will be about, unsurprisingly, the good news of the past week. I will publish it every weekend, because we all want to start our days off with a smile, right?
Also, you’ll notice I put a “part 1” on the title of this post. This is for the same reason Ragavan stated - it’s finals month for us students, so we have to worry about petty things like surviving high school. This post will be broken and half, and the other section will be published tomorrow.
Enjoy!
Actually, it may be hard to enjoy the next few stories.
The Nation
Why?
A lot has happened in the US while I was gone. A lot of truly, terrible things. Things that just writing about brings tears to my eyes.
America has lost more innocent, young lives in an elementary school shooting. 19 children and two brave teachers lost their lives in the atrocious massacre that unfolded over the next hour. Yes, hour. I’d bet money that you’re wondering why it took so long for cops to arrive…
Short answer: it didn’t.
When the police arrived, (well over a dozen of them) they made no effort to stop the carnage. Instead, they allowed the shooter to continue committing his terrible acts, while they sat behind a locked classroom door. The first arrest made wasn’t even the gunman - it was a parent, “impeding on the investigation.” In other words, she was trying to save her kids from terror the police seemed unwilling to stop. Finally, the shooter was executed, but not after he had murdered 21 people in cold blood.
Why must this happen?
Why?
There’s much more I could go into, like how gun legislation could have helped prevent this, or why the cops didn’t try and stop the shooter for so long.
But I just can’t.
Why?
Crime Doesn’t Pay
During the turbulent and hotly contested election of 2020, it has come to light that, emboldened by the idea that they could erase their dirty work, breaches of voting security have been reported in Michigan. Only, unlike the claim Donald Trump and supporters made, it was them who committed that crime. Sorry to let you down, pal. Starting in mid-February, Reuters reports that Michigan launched a probe into this matter - the results they came up with were surprising to some: there were reports of vote handlers willingly giving up their machines, then when those machines were done, those machines were tampered with. Other “third parties” simply got “unauthorized access.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they were doing with those things.
These reports of election fraud add up to 11 in the state, and 6 more elsewhere, proving just the opposite of what many Republicans so tirelessly asserted.
To sum it up, here’s a Ben Franklin quote: “Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your windows are glass.”
I think that works. I think.
The World
Europe
War Goes On…
And on… And on…
The fight for Ukraine continues to rage. With the war in the north cooling down and Kyiv firmly in Ukrainian hands, the center of the conflict has shifted to the Donbas region, as I said in a previous post. The key flash point of this offensive is at Sievierodonetsk, located in the north-center of Donbas. The war is still back and fourth, with Russia attacking in a way that is more akin to the total war days of WWI and WWII, not something you’d find in 21st century Europe. There are reports that Russian artillery has been targeting and killing civilians, though they deny these claims. Ukrainians have had caused their fair share of carnage as well, killing (so they say) at least a dozen Russian officials. This includes two generals that died on the same day, though the death of one has yet to be confirmed.
And on… And on…
The First Rumblings
For some time now, Boris Johnson has loomed large in British politics. He’s the guy who “got Brexit done,” and won a landslide victory for his Conservative party in 2019. Now, that power is disappearing before his very eyes.
All because of a scandal.
British news media reports that the Johnsons attended a 30-person party during the middle of the lockdown, a party that directly violates those very rules Johnson represented. Just as worryingly, Johnson claimed last year that no parties had violated social distancing rules. In response to “partygate” as the New York Times describes it, a “Vote of No-Confidence” was held - basically an impeachment. A shocking 40% of the PM’s own party voted against him, but he survived nonetheless. But now, it is clear:
His days are numbered.
Sources
Various articles from The New York Times, Reuters, and CNN were used for this post.
Part 2 of this post will be published tomorrow (June 7th).
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Hi Reed, Thank you for being so diligent with your newsletter. I’ve read many opinion pieces from adult and parent perspectives regarding school violence - but non from a student’s perspective. Maybe both you and Ragavan can write something to share here?
Good luck with finals!