- Biden announces that we will be withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, ending what feels like an endless, frustrating, and somewhat fruitless war
President Biden announced yesterday that he will be withdrawing all combat troops from Afghanistan by THIS September 11th… Obviously an incredibly symbolic date. Three Presidents in a ROW now have been trying to get all of our troops home and out of that area, in a strategic way that would not destabilize a whole region, leaving it to become a “hot bed” for terrorist activity. And really, it seems there was never going to be a perfect time or way to pull the plug on this venture. But it was very expensive, and we weren’t really accomplishing anything. Ultimately, it will always be the goal of the United States to help that region stabilize… But doing so by essentially occupying it, seems a little extreme. And somewhat ineffective. I have had friends who specialize in this area make it clear to me that some of the efforts HAVE been worthwhile there – but it’s REALLY hard to see any of that from the view of the general public. It’s been America’s longest war, and most Americans feel like we have nothing to show for it.
Biden is the first President in 40 years to have a child who has served in a war zone, specifically Iraq. SO he knows firsthand how frustrating and scary it is to have a child on the line in a war that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere or accomplishing anything.
Now that said, we may pull out and end up seeing of effective our presence there WAS because we may see an uptick in terrorist activity. But maybe the Afghani government handles it better than anyone anticipated. Who knows. We won’t know until we try. And for now, the Afghani President has tweeted this QUOTE
END QUOTE
Let’s just hope a smooth transition is what we get!
- Kim Potter charged in the killing of Daunte Wright
She went from arresting someone, to being arrested herself. But lucky for her, no one shot her in the process.
Kim Potter, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter for the killing of Daunte Wright. They have moved her trial to avoid a conflict of interest, but the charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. People are still finding it hard to believe that this was fully an accident, given how many years Potter had spent on the force… She would certainly know the difference between a taser and a gun. We’ll keep you guys posted on any movement in this case.
- FULL BODY CHILLS: two men arrested in the disappearance of Kristin Smart
Guys, I feel that I was just MEANT to tell you this story today. If you follow the true crime podcast Crime Junkies, you know the reference of FULL BODY CHILLS. If you’re not a crime junkie, you’ll still kinda get the point. But the reason I actually said “full body chills” TODAY was, I happened to listen to Kristin Smart’s story TODAY for the first time, even though it happened back in 1996 and I have been listening to true crime for years. I had never heard it, but had heard people reference it quite a bit, and decided to watch a Youtube video about it (Kendall Rae, in case you all are curious). But after watching this video on it, I opened my email to a breaking news alert that TWO men, have been arrested for her MURDER! What are the odds that I just so happened to watch to that video TODAY of all days, and then this happened. CRAZY guys. And obviously that moment of opening my email to see that headline gave me… FULL BODY CHILLS! But for those of you who DO NOT know Kristin Smart’s story, I will OF COURSE, back up and fill you guys in on the details.
So Kristen Smart was a young woman attending college at California Polytchnic State University. She was a 6 ft tall beautiful blonde Freshman. She was walking home alone from a party one night, very drunk or possibly drugged, and three other students approached the girl to try to help her get back to her dorm. One of those students, was Paul Flores. He ended up being the one to walk her the full way to her dorm, alone…. And she was never seen again. Obviously, investigators have always hypothesized that this was a rape gone wrong, and that he somehow concealed her body all these years. Remember, this happened back in 1996. At the time, dogs marked in his dorm room, signaling that a dead body HAD been present at the end of his bed. They actually even brought in multiple dogs to double check – and they all indicated on the same spot. But where the body went after that, was a mystery. The roommate at the time, told investigators that Paul confessed to him that he had killed her and taken the body to his mom’s house. But after a search turned up nothing… They were kind of at a dead end. If you don’t know this already, it is VERY difficult to try a murder case in court without the body. Because, its easy to say well, she just could have wandered off and abandoned her life! But we know that was not the case here because Kristin had in fact told her mom she had some exciting big news to tell her, and that she would call her Sunday. No call ever came. But everyone has ALWAYS suspected Paul Flores, and now, almost 25 years later, he AND HIS FATHER have both been arrested. And that obviously gives us an idea of what investigators now believe happened. They also executed a search warrant at their homes and although they still have not found her body, they did find substantial evidence that we don’t know much about yet. And the Sheriff’s office assured the public, that they will continue to look for Kristin’s body REGARDLESS of what happens in court and that it remains a top priority for them.
Here’s to hoping that after almost 25 YEARS OF WAITING, that the Smart family can finally put Kristin to rest soon and pursue the justice she deserves.
And that’s the News Du Jour!
Today, I want to leave you with the quote:
“What will be, will be.”