The War on Rainbows

6.17.26

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Let’s break down the latest news.

MLB Warns Players After Pride Night Protest….Major League Baseball reprimanded several San Francisco Giants players after they altered or declined to wear Pride Night hats during a game against the Chicago Cubs. Pitchers Landen Roupp and JT Brubaker wrote Bible verses on their caps, while pitcher Sam Hentges chose not to wear one at all, citing personal religious beliefs. MLB said the modifications violated league rules and warned the players against future violations. The Giants reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, while acknowledging that some players made personal decisions that disappointed fans.

Common Sense Takeaway: Why do white male Republicans want to be victims so bad? Pride Night isn’t about you. It’s about others who have been historically oppressed. Are you so offended by other’s happiness that you have to make yourself the center of the story? Pretty bizarre, honestly.

Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Trillionaire…A few days ago, Elon Musk officially crossed the $1 trillion net worth threshold following SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO, making him the first person in history to achieve trillionaire status. The vast majority of his fortune comes from his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla, with SpaceX alone now valued at more than $2 trillion. Musk’s personal wealth is now estimated at over $1.1 trillion—more than the combined fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Larry Ellison. To put that in perspective, Musk’s wealth exceeds the annual economic output of countries like Sweden, Ireland, and Taiwan, and represents more than 3% of the entire U.S. economy.

Common Sense Takeaway: Genuine question. Why does anybody need a trillion or a billion dollars? I make a fraction of that, and I still donate and help people out when I can. If I had a billion dollars, I would instantly fund every public school and youth program in America to help lift kids out of poverty. Not Elon though—he uses it to hinder free speech, crush our democracy, and harass his daughter online.

Luigi Mangione Plans Psychiatric Defense in CEO Murder Case….Attorneys for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, told a New York judge they plan to argue that Mangione was suffering from an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of the shooting. The judge ordered Mangione’s psychiatric records to be turned over to prosecutors and unsealed ahead of trial. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. His state trial is scheduled to begin September 8, while a federal trial is expected next year.

Common Sense Takeaway: Wow. This shooting happened over 18 months ago, and the trial is just now starting to get underway. Mangione’s decision to shoot the UnitedHealthcare CEO led to almost a class war resurgence at the time, but his decision to use a psychiatric defense undercuts what people presumed was the motive for the killing—Thompson’s wealth and power.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Check back tomorrow for more.