Random News: September 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 afternoon. It’s September 10, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. Various things…

• I got some sad news yesterday that an old friend of mine passed away. He was about the same age as me, mid-50s, and died due to COVID-19 complications. I don’t have any other details.
• The one realization that hit me was that my memories of him are of one of the nicest people I’d ever met. “Nice” can be a weird word, but this guy was the epitome of it. Kind, gentle, always likely to leave you with a smile after any chance encounter.
• I guess I’m saying, no matter whatever else you do in life, what people will remember is how you made them feel.
• RIP Jeff.
• Ukraine is making amazing counteroffensives against Russia. They are liberating cries that had been occupied. Slava Ukraini!
• We finally got a reprieve in our weather last night in the form of the outer edge of Hurricane Kay. It rained pretty well last night and this morning, and it did remove some of the horrifying humidity. Much more reasonable today and continued cooling this coming week.
• The DoJ and the former president/criminal have each submitted two proposed people for the role of special master, should that be a necessary step in the criminal investigation of the FPOTUS.
• The DoJ’s two nominees are Thomas Griffith and Barbara Jones. Griffith is a retired federal judge and George W. Bush appointee. Jones is a retired federal judge and a Clinton appointee.
• Team FPOTUS suggested Paul Huck Jr. and Raymond Dearie. Dearie is yet another retired federal judge who was a Reagan nominee. Huck is a lawyer who represented Trump before and is part of the evil Federalist Society.
• So we’ll see.
• They made the official proclamation of King Charles III as the British monarch this morning. I’ve heard a bit of confusion about this process. To clarify… 
• Charles became king the moment Elizabeth passed away. Things like the proclamation today are all part of traditional ceremony. He’s already the king. His coronation won’t happen for a long while. When Elizabeth’s father George died in early 1952, her coronation wasn’t until June 1953, some 15 months later.
• They’ve said Charles’ coronation will be sometime next year.
• In terrible people news, Stephen Miller, a former White House speechwriter and senior adviser to Trump, has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department. They are reportedly seeking information about the Save America PAC, alleged "fake electors," and communications between Miller and many other shady people.
• I’d like to remind you that your vote in November may be the only thing saving the freedom of choice for every woman in the country. Please put together a plan for voting, be it in person, by mail, or by dropbox.
• Any Democratic gains in the House or the Senate are one step closer to codifying these reproductive rights for your sisters, daughters, wives, mothers, aunts, friends, and everyone else.
• 58 days.
• And now, The Weather: “Heartlow” by Jane Weaver.
• From the Sports Desk… the Sports Desk says it’s going to be weird tomorrow, the first Sunday of the NFL season. He’ll have multiple tabs open, looking at scores, live game footage, and his pick ‘em pool performance. It’s be weird for about three minutes while he reacquaints himself as a football fan, and then it will be fucking awesome.
• For those of you who don’t spend time on the west coast, NFL games start at 10am. You wake up, have coffee, maybe some breakfast, and bang zoom, kickoff. I always enjoy that.
• Today in history… Nathan Hale volunteers to spy for the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1776). Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine (1846). A sheriff's posse kills 19 unarmed striking immigrant miners in Lattimer, PA (1897). Abebe Bikila becomes the first sub-Saharan African to win an Olympic gold medal, winning the marathon in bare feet (1960). Switzerland, traditionally a neutral country, becomes a full member of the United Nations (2002). The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in history, is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland (2008).
• September 10 is the birthday of lute player Nicholas Lanier (1588), composer Henry Purcell (1659), mathematician/philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839), activist Laura Cornelius Kellogg (1880), physicist Arthur Compton (1892), director Robert Wise (1914), golfer Arnold Palmer (1929), fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld (1933), journalist Charles Kuralt (1934), baseball great Roger Maris (1934), NBA player Bob Lanier (1948), complete piece of shit Bill O’Reilly (1949), guitarist Joe Perry (1950), actress Amy Irbong (1953), actor Colin Firth (1960), musician David Lowery (1060), director Guy Ritchie (1968), senior adviser to Joe Biden Neera Tanden (1970), and NBA player Ben Wallace (1974).

Well, I’ve got various projects and housekeeping as most of us do on weekends. I suppose I’ll do them. Maybe. It’s really hard to tell what I’ll do at any given time, even though overall, I’m very consistent as a person. Sounds contradictory, but I do get done what needs doing. Just not always… now. Enjoy your day.