The Rock of Talk 'Daily Blast' for Wednesday, July 28th, 2021

The Conservative Calendar, Top 10 Links, Local/State News Briefing, U.S. News Briefing, Global News Briefing, and Questions of the Day

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HERE’S THE BLAST!

Reading Time: 9 minutes 10 seconds

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.

— Marcus Aurelius

THE CONSERVATIVE CALENDAR

Forecast from the KIVA Weather Station: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Today is Wednesday, July 28th, the 209th day of 2021. There are 156 days left in the year. It is Buffalo Soldiers Day, National Milk Chocolate Day, and National Waterpark Day.

This Day in History

In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just were executed by guillotine in Paris.

In 1854, the USS Constellation, the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy and now a museum ship in Baltimore Harbor, was commissioned.

In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was certified, establishing citizenship for black Americans and guaranteeing due process of law.

In 1896, the City of Miami, Florida was incorporated.

In 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, igniting World War I.

In 1915, the U.S. began a 19-year occupation of Haiti.

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover ordered the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.

In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, killing 14 and injuring 26.

In 1984, the summer Olympics opened in Los Angeles.

In 2002, nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, were rescued after 77 hours underground.

This Day in Music History

In 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis made his first national television appearance, singing “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” on The Steve Allen Show.

In 1972, Mott The Hoople released “All The Young Dudes.”

In 1973, the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen took place in New York, outdrawing Woodstock. The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and The Band played to a crowd of 600,000. A ticket cost $10.

In 1979, after a show in Cleveland, Joe Perry quit Aerosmith after getting into a screaming match with Steven Tyler. He was replaced by Jim Crespo, but rejoined the band in 1984.

In 1992, Prince trademarked a symbol he had been using on various album covers and promotional materials. The following year, in the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Brothers, he announced that he would no longer go by the name Prince, but rather by the symbol. “It’s all about thinking in new ways, tuning in 2 a new free-quency,” he wrote in a statement. Some in the media began to call him the “Artist Formerly Known As Prince.” After signing with Arista Records in 1998, he began referring to himself by his own name again.

In 2016, Katy Perry performed her songs “Roar” and “Rise” on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Before singing, she encouraged voters to support Hillary Clinton.

Today’s Birthdays

Cartoonist Jim Davis is 76. Actress Sally Struthers is 74. Actress Lori Loughlin is 57. Actress Elizabeth Berkley is 49.

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TOP 10 LINKS: NEWS, COMMENTARY, RESEARCH, AUDIO, AND VIDEO

1. Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce backs United stadium

2. Forest Service rethinks plan to shoot feral cows

3. Governor recommends all New Mexicans wear masks indoor again

4. State agency compares marijuana sales to ‘Krispy Kreme’ when it becomes legal

5. More career fairs pop up as $300 federal unemployment checks expire soon

6. WATCH: Columnist: Fauci is playing a ‘double game’ to DISTRACT us from REAL issue

7. Why the Left Can’t Let Go of Jan. 6

8. Biden’s Rescue Act Targets Americans’ Freedoms

9. The Growing Cost of Obsolete Transit

10. Charles De Gaulle: America’s Best Ally

MAINSTREAM LOCAL/STATE NEWS BRIEFING

(Bolded for your attention / analyses)

3 people believed swept away in an arroyo in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque Fire Rescue crews are searching for three people believed to have been swept away in an arroyo. After heavy rain hit the northeast Albuquerque area Tuesday, the fire department’s rescue unit was called out to search for two people who were spotted around 5 p.m. in an arroyo near Interstate 25. The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning for Bernalillo County shortly before the people were spotted. Last week, three men died after being swept away in arroyos following a flash flood. Their bodies were later recovered.

Albuquerque homicides leave families heartbroken, frustrated

ALBUQUERQUE — Families have been devastated by Albuquerque’s rash of killings as the city has one of its deadliest years in memory. The tally of homicides for the first seven months of the year is about to eclipse the record of 80 set for all of 2019. Police Chief Harold Medina says the criminal justice system is broken and something needs to change. Other cities around the U.S. also are seeing significant increases this year. Albuquerque officials have been working on changes, but families of victims see few consequences for those who repeatedly commit violent crimes.

Bandelier boasts bountiful wildflower bloom, thanks to rain

LOS ALAMOS — A bountiful wildflower bloom at Bandelier National Monument is drawing some early risers who want to avoid the midday crowds. The visitors center is responding to accommodate them. Starting Sunday, it will open a half-hour earlier at 8:30 a.m. Acting Superintendent Dennis Milligan says that will give staff more time to hand out information on trails and safety. The Southwest has been inundated with rain during the monsoon season, bolstering wildflowers. Monument officials say the massive wildflower bloom should last for several more weeks. They say visitors should feel free to photograph the flowers but don't pick them so others can enjoy the view.

MAINSTREAM U.S. NEWS BRIEFING

(Bolded for your attention / analyses)

Study: Only half of American households donate to charity

For the first time in nearly two decades, only half of U.S. households donated to a charity. The findings come from an Indiana University study that confirm a trend worrying experts. Donations to charitable causes are reaching record highs, but it’s being driven by an increasingly smaller slice of the population. The study comes from a survey that has been tracking the giving patterns of more than 9,000 households since 2000. It shows giving participation rates for both religious and secular causes reached new lows in 2018, the latest year with comprehensive figures from those households.

Alleged Epstein victim Sarah Ransome has memoir out in fall

NEW YORK — One of the alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell has a memoir coming out this fall. Sarah Ransome’s Silenced No More: Surviving My Journey to Hell and Back is scheduled for Nov. 17. Ransome has said that she was 22 and an aspiring student at the Fashion Institute of Technology when she met Epstein in 2006. Ransome says in a statement Tuesday released by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, that she wants to “encourage a culture in which women” can “feel the right to stand in their truth.” Maxwell, jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since last July, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges. Epstein killed himself in 2019.

US vows to improve protections for wild horse adoptions

RENO — U.S. officials who are trying to adopt out wild horses captured on public land say they are tightening protections to guard against the illegal resale of animals for slaughter. Advocates say the government needs to do more, including ending incentive payments for adoptions. The Bureau of Land Management said in announcing the changes that the agency is committed to the health and safety of adopted wild horses and burros. It says it intends to begin making additional inspections after adoptions, improve screening of potential adopters and other measures. The bureau says an estimated 86,000 wild horses and burros living in 10 Western states is three times as many as public lands can sustain. Advocates dispute that.

Bear cub burned in wildfire heals at California center

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — An injured bear cub rescued after it suffered burns in a California wildfire is being nursed back to health at a wildlife center at Lake Tahoe. Officials at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care have named the young male bear “Tamarack” after the fire that burned through the Sierra south of the lake and into Nevada. The center's animal care director says the cub is about 6 months old and was walking on his elbows because of burns on his paws. A veterinarian wrapped his paws and gave him painkillers. Officials said they’re working to get a skin treatment that will speed healing. The center will likely keep the bear through winter and release him in the spring.

NBC’s Tokyo Olympics viewership gets off to rough start

NEW YORK — NBC Universal is still waiting to see if there will be a surge of interest in viewership for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. During each of the first three nights of coverage, viewership was down more than 30 percent compared to corresponding nights at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. NBC’s audience this year was its largest on Sunday night, but that still represented a 43 percent drop from five years ago. Viewing habits for live television have changed dramatically in the past five years, so it’s difficult to determine how much NBC’s Olympics slump has to do with that, and how much with the underwhelming performance in Tokyo.

MAINSTREAM GLOBAL NEWS BRIEFING

(Bolded for your attention / analyses)

Vigilantes raid southern Mexico town, abduct 21, burn homes

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico — Mexican authorities say a couple of hundred armed men descended on a town in the mountains of Mexico’s southern Chiapas state, burned vehicles and at least a dozen homes, vandalized the town hall and abducted 21 people. Officials on Tuesday blamed a newly formed vigilante group called “El Machete.” It announced its existence a week earlier, pledging to fight the incursion of drug cartels in the largely indigenous mountain communities of Chiapas. On Monday, masked men carrying rifles spread out through the town Pantelho, moving street by street in search of alleged criminals. The vigilantes appear to include members of the Tzotzil indigenous group and are calling themselves a “self-defense force.” A state official says the gunmen appeared to be looking for members of another group.

3 Mexican ships taking fuel, medical aid and food to Cuba

MEXICO CITY — Two Mexican ships carrying food, fuel and medical supplies are sailing to Cuba and third is scheduled to leave Wednesday. The first ship left Monday loaded with 100,000 barrels of diesel fuel that the Mexican government says will be used to provide power for Cuban hospitals. A second ship operated by the Mexican navy left Tuesday and a third ship will leave Wednesday. The Foreign Relations Department says those two ships will will carry oxygen tanks, needles and syringes as well as basic food items like powdered milk, cooking oil and beans.

Palestinian killed by Israeli troops in West Bank

JERUSALEM — Palestinian health officials say a man was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said the man approached troops wielding an iron bar. Shadi Omar was shot near the town of Beita, where residents have held weeks of protests against an unauthorized Israeli settlement outpost. The Israeli military said Omar began ‘‘advancing rapidly’’ towards Israeli troops, who responded with warning fire and then shot him as he continued to advance. Palestinians near the Eviatar outpost say the settlement was built on their land and they fear it will be merged with larger settlements. Last month there were near-daily protests against the outpost.

Koreas talk again in dormant channels, agree to improve ties

SEOUL — North and South Korea exchanged messages in communication channels that have been dormant for more than a year and agreed to improve ties. That still leaves any resumption of stalled negotiations to rid the North of its nuclear weapons a long way off. Seoul officials said that liaison officials from the Koreas had several phone conversations Tuesday including one on a military hotline and agreed to resume speaking regularly. The rivals use the channels to lay out their positions on issues and even propose broader dialogue. Some experts say North Korea aims to improve ties with South Korea to improve its position before any nuclear diplomacy with Washington would resume.

Kosovar survivors of Croatia bus crash return to homeland

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Some of the survivors of a deadly bus crash in Croatia have flown home to Kosovo to a welcoming crowd at the country’s international airport at the capital Pristina. A plane flew in Tuesday from Osijek, Croatia, bringing 21 ethnic Albanian Kosovars two days after the crash that killed 10 people and injured 43. The bus carrying 67 passengers and two drivers swerved off a highway while traveling from Frankfurt, Germany, to Kosovo early Sunday. Croatian authorities say the driver behind the wheel at the time had dozed off and lost control. More than 100 people waited with flowers at the airport to meet arriving family members. President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca also were at the airport.

‘ROCK OF TALK’ QUESTIONS OF THE DAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY (PLEASE ANSWER IN COMMENTS)

1. Why do chambers of commerce consistently support higher taxes and bigger government?

2. Ever been to Miami?

3. Why are ratings for the Olympics down by only 30 percent?

4. Is Garfield funny or lame?

5. Shoot feral cows or “rope ’em and round ’em up”?

6. Favorite Aerosmith song?

7. Why is Albuquerque’s murder rate out of control?

8. Is Showgirls one of the best worst movies of all time?

9. Will we ever know the full truth about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell?

10. Donuts or weed?