Indictment
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History June 12 - 18.
Happy Monday, Okay History, friends. I hope you had a much better weekend than me and President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump turns 77 on June 14, and five days earlier, he was indicted again, this time for 37 felony counts related to handling classified documents, obstructing justice, and providing false statements.
We shall see if, once again, he is ABOVE THE LAW.
At the same time, on Friday, my body was indicted by a kidney stone that obstructed my kidney and the tube that attaches my kidney to my bladder, causing intense pain that, I cannot lie, hurt like the dickens.
Much like Trump’s criminal process, I wait for the final outcome. Right now, the stone sits somewhere in my bladder, presumably being arraigned before being expelled from my body. I’m not sure when it will happen, the doctor told me it could be in the next few days or weeks, but for now, we speculate how bad everything could be – both for the country and the area of my body where stones pass.
Unlike Trump, who has experienced being indicted, this is the first time I have encountered a kidney stone. But much like the impending Georgia indictment that Trump could experience soon, I was told that my other kidney also has a stone, ready to deliver an indictment on my overall health. It looms over me like a dark cloud. Awesome.
Trump and I agree that indictments and kidney stones are baseless intrusions into our personal lives. However, it can be easily argued that both exist very much in reality, and we must deal with the consequences that forces beyond our control want us to experience the most excruciating pain we have ever felt.
So both of us will rage against the wrongs placed upon us. That should help. We will not look to prevent this sort of thing from happening, like drinking more water in my case, or President Trump not waving secret documents around like it’s a new puppy he wants to introduce to everyone he comes in contact with.
The waiting game has begun. But the fireworks will be here soon enough.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. Here's what I got:
1. Abraham Lincoln delivered the House Divided speech on June 16, 1858. The soon-to-be-elected 16th President of the United States gave his first of many memorable speeches concerning the state of slavery. I annotated the address back in 2021.
2. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated on June 16, 1903. Henry Ford and twelve stockholders signed papers creating the company that would roll out its first gasoline-powered car a month later.
3. The Supreme Court ruled reciting the Lord’s Prayer in school unconstitutional on June 17, 1963. In an 8-1 vote, the Court ruled in Abington School District v. Schempp that reading the Bible and praying in school was a no-no. States continue to pass laws to see if this decision will eventually be overturned.
Okay, so a short, Maundy Monday Newsletter for you. Hopefully, it wasn’t too painful. You did wait all weekend to get to this point.
I’ll be back on Friday with another Ask Me Anything edition. If you want to learn more about kidney stones, just shoot me an email at chris@okayhistory.com.
In the meantime, drink water, stay away from caffeine, and don’t watch the news.
Okay,
Chris
Kidney stones are no joke. That’s the closest any guy will get to experiencing labor pain!
Blue looks really concerned for you. A few years ago, I had my first (and hopefully last) kidney stone. Strangely, hubby George got one exactly a week later (both Saturdays in the middle of the night). He'd never had one either. And although the exit point for me is different than yours (still very small!), I can confirm that the whole ordeal rivaled the pain of childbirth. Good luck with that!