Random News: September 16, 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 September 16, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here are things that I think I might be thinking about…

• Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a sad man with an allegedly very tiny penis, spent $12 million of his state’s taxpayer’s money to charter a plane and fly 50 asylum-seeking refugees to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
• The people were lured onto the plane by being told they were being sent to Boston to get expedited work visas. I guess he thought it would be funny.
• What’s actually funny is this. In pulling his little prank, DeSantis may have actually committed human trafficking crimes. 
• Section 274(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act makes it a federal crime to transport undocumented persons across state lines. Official reports have now been filed as such with the DoJ against both DeSantis and his Texan counterpart Greg Abbott.
• What happened when they arrived in Martha's Vineyard, hungry and tired? There were greeted with warmth and compassion and treated respectfully by the kind residents of that lovely area.
• Since Ron DeSantis represents himself as both a Christian and a Republican, I’m going to assume that all Christians and Republicans agree with his actions… unless, of course, you want to denounce those actions tangibly by voting against him in November. He is up for re-election.
• Florida is ranked 48th out of 50 states in teacher pay and is facing a severe teacher shortage as a result. That money could have been spent on improving the quality of life of Florida’s children instead of “owning the libs”. 
• Let’s talk about lines.
• People are lining up for 14+ hours to see the body of Queen Elizabeth II being carted around England. People are lining up for hours in the USA too, to spend a lot of money on the new iPhone.
• I don’t do lines of any sort. Nothing I have to wait for in person is worthwhile. Fuck lines, or queues, or any situation where I’m behind more than maybe two or three people to do anything in life.
• Speaking of the new iPhone, there’s a bug in iOS 16 that impacts new device activation. Can you imagine waiting line for hours and paying God knows how much money to get a phone-shaped brick?
• And now, The Weather: “Body in the Mirror” by Sungaze.
• The Midterm Elections are on November 8, which is in 52 days. If you vote, Democrats can and will win, and will prevent things like a nationwide abortion ban and planned legislation that will remove more rights of all Americans. Here are some polls.
• Ohio Senate: Ryan (D) 46% (+3), Vance (R) 43% (Fallon Research).
• North Carolina Senate: Cheri Beasley (D) 42% (+1), Ted Budd (R) 41% (Capitol Comm).
• Wisconsin Governor: Tony Evers (D-inc) 49% (+1), Tim Michels (R) 48% (Civiqs).
• Wisconsin Senate: Ron Johnson (R-inc) 49% (+1), Mandela Barnes (D) 48% (Civiqs).
• Utah Senate: Mike Lee (R-inc) 43% (+4), Evan McMullin (I) 39% (Center Street).
• Florida Senate: Rubio (R-Inc) 50% (+5), Demings (D) 45% (Center Street).
• Florida Governor: DeSantis (R-inc) 50% (+3), Crist (D) 47% (Center Street).
• Arizona Senate: Kelly (D-inc) 55% (+20), Masters (R) 35% (Center Street).
• Arizona Governor: Hobbs (D) 53% (+14), Lake (R) 39% (Center Street).
• Pennsylvania Senate: Fetterman (D) 55% (+19), Oz (R) 36% (Center Street).
• Georgia Senate: Warnock (D-inc) 49% (+4), Walker (R) 45% (Center Street).
• Georgia Governor: Kemp (R-inc) 50% (+2), Abrams (D) 48% (Quinnipiac).
• New Mexico Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-Inc) 48% (+5), Mark Ronchetti (R) 43% (Emerson).
• We can win and we will win, with your help. VOTE LIKE HELL!
• Today in history… 35 religious dissenters called Pilgrims set sail for Virginia from Plymouth, England in the Mayflower (1620). The Franco-American Siege of Savannah begins in the Revolutionary War (1779). Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma (1893). General Motors Corporation is founded (1908). A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building on Wall Street in New York City killing 38 and injuring 400 (1920). The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced (1959). Typhoon Nancy, with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Osaka, Japan (1961). The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City (1966). The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion (1987). Manuel Noriega gets a 40-year sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering (1992). 
• September 16 is the birthday of king Henry V of England (1386), rich guy Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777), prime minister Bonar Law (1858), J. C. Penney founder James Cash Penny (1875), TV producer Allen Funt (1914), actress Lauren Bacall (1924), guitarist B.B. King (1925), actor Peter Falk (1927), NBA great Elgin Baylor (1934), actor Ed Begley Jr. (1949), historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1950), guitarist Earl Klugh (1954), baseball player Robin Yount (1955), baseball player Orel Hershiser (1958), actress Jennifer Tilly (1958), singer Richard Marx (1963), actress Molly Shannon (1964), actress Amy Poehler (1971), and singer Nick Jonas (1992).

Okay, well… I have too much to do. Fridays are almost always my busiest work day, which sort of sucks, but is tempered by the idea that I can spend the next two days not being insane, which is nice. I hope you do something fun or interesting or productive, or that you learn something today. You can do that every day, you know. Enjoy your day.