This week has been one for the record books…the Supreme Court has handed down some momentous decisions, the Strait of Hormuz is, or isn’t, seeing shipping traffic, Wall Street has lost some of its luster with investors and…soaring temperatures are being blamed for hundreds of deaths in Spain as quakes in Venezuela have killed hundreds of others.
The Supremes sided with the Trump administration on his assertion that he had the right to strip humanitarian protections from Haitians and Syrians. As pundits opine, the more than one-million potentially covered by the decision are making what they hope are unnecessary preparations to face potential deportation. Meanwhile, employers are wondering where they will find replacement workers should the administration actually begin deportations. In other significant decisions, the high court sided - twice- with Second Amendment arguments, ruling against anti-gun measures that will have a ripple effect on other jurisdictions that have modeled their anti-gun regulations after those the court invalidated. Read more in Dan Zimmerman’s column in today’s edition.
And the industry has lost another familiar face. The Outdoor Wire received word late this week that Roy Jenks, longtime chronicler of the Smith & Wesson brand and products, has died. Jenks, who chronicled Smith & Wesson’s progress from their first model to today, died Wednesday. We’ll have more details as they become available next week in the Wires.
As we look at the week ahead, most of us are focusing on the long weekend observation of our collective semiquincentennial. That’s the nation’s 250th anniversary for those of us who prefer that term to bisesquicentennial. Better known as the America250 celebration, we’re all preparing for a long weekend of parades, fireworks, family gatherings and….heat. According to the National Weather Service, the eastern half of the United States will face a “dangerous heatwave” with widespread 90+ degree temperatures and the West will face extreme fire dangers along with scorching temperatures. Severe weather and flooding threaten the central U.S. and scattered storms will dampen spirits across the Gulf Coast and Southern Rockies. The good news? No plagues of frogs or locust in the forecasts.
In observance of this significant national observance, we won’t be in your in box next Saturday morning. Hopefully, you won’t notice as you’ll be doing something fun instead.
Happy birthday, U.S.A.
– Jim Shepherd