Random News: August 10, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s August 10, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. Just all kinds of whatever coming next…

• Lots of deaths lately, or so it would seem. In actuality, the rate at which people die, and the ages they tend to do so, remains fairly consistent.
• In any case, RIP to Lamont Dozier who, along with the Holland brothers, co-wrote and produced 14 US Billboard number 1 hits including many of the most well-known Motown hits of the ‘60s. He was 81.
• I want to make sure everyone is clear about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. Some folks seem to think that this is a situation where Trump checked out some library books and forgot to return them on time.
• Ironically, it was Trump himself in 2018 who made the removal of classified documents a federal felony.
• But we have yet to get any information as to what was actually being searched for during the raid. Until we do, it’s all speculation. I cited US Code § 2071 yesterday, something that would prevent Trump from holding office ever again if found guilty. However…
• Pursuant to Title 18 U.S. Code § 794(a), if Donald Trump sold classified documents to other countries such as Russia or Saudi Arabia, it could be punishable by life imprisonment or death.
• Yeah. This is a really big deal. Bigger than almost anything that’s happened in this country before from a standpoint of the crimes of a national leader.
• Donald himself made a bunch of statements about this topic back when he was running for office.
• “Anyone being investigated by the FBI is not qualified to be the President of the United States.” - Donald J. Trump, stated on 8/3/16, 9/7/16, 10/15/16, 10/20/16, 10/21/16, 10/25/16, and 10/30/16.
• The current MAGA-world talking point (including a message from Trump himself this morning) is that if there’s a bunch of incriminating evidence, it must have been planted there by the FBI. This guy is so fucked.
• True statement: “If they can charge a former President with crimes, they can charge anyone! Even you!” Yes. Yes, that is 100% accurate. If you break laws and are caught, you can and likely will be charged with crimes. It’s one of the founding principles of this country.
• I’m sick of talking about this piece of shit, but…
• Yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled that the House Ways & Means Committee can obtain former President Trump's tax returns from the IRS. Wuh woh.
• And this morning, Trump was deposed in a civil trial by the NY AG, and took the Fifth Amendment on every response to not incriminate himself.
• In other news…
• President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which will invest more than $200 billion over the next five years so the US regains a leading position in semiconductor chip manufacturing. Go Joe!
• A pro-MAGA clothing brand called Lions Not Sheep was fined $211,335 by the FTC after they found the company removing “Made in China” tags and replacing them with fake “Made in the USA” labels.
• Again, the irony of a guy making shirts with “Let’s Go Brandon” and images of guns and flags and anti-China propaganda, and they buying the shirts from China, is kind of typical for the MAGA world.
• From the Sports Desk… congrats to Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who joins Babe Ruth as only players in MLB history to have at least 10 HRs and 10 pitching wins in same season. He’s a special athlete and I’ve got nothing but respect for him (despite being on the Angels).
• QotD: “I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.” - Leonardo da Vinci
• And now, The Weather: “Guest Speaker” by Daisynuke.
• Today in history… Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats the Magyars (955). Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships set sail to circumnavigate the globe (1519). Elizabeth I signs the Treaty of Nonsuch (1585). King Marthanda Varna defeats the Ducth East India COmpany, ending Dutch colonial rule in India (1741). Word reaches London of the US Declaration of Independence (1776). Louis XVI is taken into custody and his guards are murdered by the Parisian mob (1792). The Louvre opens (1793). Missouri is admitted as the 24th state (1821). The Smithsonian Institution is chartered after Jane Smithson kicks down $500,000 (1846). Felix Hoffman — who also created heroin — synthesizes acetylsalicylic acid, aka aspirin (1897). ‘Candid Camera’ debuts on television (1948). The Secretary of Defense is placed in charge of the Army, navy, and Air Force, and establishes the Department of Defense (1949). The US Army sprays 20 million gallons of defoliants and herbicides over South Vietnam to deprive the Viet Cong of food and cover (1961). Postal employee David Berkowitz is arrested as the serial killer Son of Sam (1977). Three members of a family are killed in a car accident, leading to the Ford Pinto litigation (1978). The US pays $20,000 to each of the Japanese-Americans who were relocated and interned in WWII (1988). Timothy mcVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the Oklahoma City bombing (1995). 
• August 10 is the birthday of King of Aragon James II (1267), organist Hieronymus Praetorius (1560), businessman Henri Nestlé (1814), bass player William Manuel Johnson (1872), President Herbert Hoover (1874), Monopoly game inventor Charles Darrow (1889), actor Jack Haley (1897), guitar builder Leo Fender (1909), singer and sausage guy Jimmy Dean (1928), Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield (1940), singer Ronnie Spector (1943), progressive rock flute lord Ian Anderson (1947), singer Patti Austin (1950), actress Rosanna Arquette (1959), NBA player John Starks (1965), actor Justin Theroux (1971), model/actress Angie Harmon (1972), and, um… personality and influencer and model and I don’t know what these things mean Kylie Jenner (1997).

Last note: don’t concern yourself with people calling for civil war over Mar-a-Lardo being raided. First, because justice must always prevail, and no one is above the law. Second, because these yokels are idiots who could no more organize a civil war than they can do advanced calculus. So do what you do, keep fighting for good things, and enjoy your day. I know I will.