SCOTUS, Putin and Florida

The Schloss-Blog is looking at court decisions and getting sick.

In Florida, Scot Peterson, an armed resource officer, was charged with failing to protect students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High when the now-convicted Nikolas Cruz, doing life for killing 14 students and 3 staffers, rampaged through and committed his crimes in 2019. Peterson was acquitted on all charges.

Peterson, a Broward County officer, allegedly ran from the gunshots and claimed to not know from where they were coming. Witnesses testified it was clear from where they were coming.

In D.C., meanwhile, the Supreme Court tossed out Affirmative Action in suits against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University. Despite years of precedent upholding Affirmative Action, the Supreme Court's six conservative justices tossed it aside. This was the second time in a year the court had taken to precedent-busting, with the Dobbs decision last year throwing abortion back to the states being the first.

Is it any surprise that in Florida you can skate on failing to protect young lives from bloodshed? And from now on, you will always will, apparently. What's the use, therefore, of having school resource officers?

And it's already tough enough to find equality in the faces of students in classrooms in America's top colleges and universities. Now it will supposedly be even tougher.

Public opinion, as it does for reproductive rights, pretty much leans decidedly toward maintaining college classroom equality.

Don't tell the Supreme Court.

On top of all that, the court dismissed the Biden Administration's forgiving of student loans, inconveniencing millions who were depending on that financial relief.

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Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that in Russia in June and in the United States three-plus years ago, both countries had to survive government overthrows.

Who's next?

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Elon Musk has lost a reported $17 billion for his investment in Twitter. That's $17 billion, with a 'b.'

Now, he has called out jiu jitsu champion Mark Ziuckerberg of Facebook for mano-a-mano in the cage.

My money's on Zuck, both in the ring and on the corporate books.

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Nusrat Chowdhury has become first Muslim female to become a federal judge. The former director of the Illinois ACLU office will sit in Brooklyn.

Can we find a way to get to replace Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court?

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Can't help but think that now that SCOTUS has backed a website designer who didn't want to design for a gay couple on free speech grounds, can grocery stores refuse gay shoppers? Can theaters refuse gay patrons? Can churches refuse gay parishioners? 

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Things tense at work?

Another Fast Company contributor says take a timeout. Reassess yourself. Project your future. To yourself, that is. And according to another contributor, you double down on your strengths. You invest in relationships. You connect however you would to someone or something larger than you (what?). 

Do all that, and you have just become Vladimir Putin.

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Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Happy Fourth of July. Here's to you Florida - you just acquitted someone who apparently let your kids down, and their teachers, and their friends and their families.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.