Random News: October 22, 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 October 22, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. I’m in a blue bathrobe that probably needs replacing eventually, but let’s chat anyway…

• About 6,000,000 ballots have already been cast in the 2022 Midterm Election.
• Note for context: Democrats in almost every state tend to vote earlier than Republicans, who seem to prefer waiting until election day.
• That having been said…
• In Arizona, ballots cast by Democrats make up 44% of the pre-election ballots cast, while ballots cast by Republicans make up 33%.
• Of the more than 420,000 ballots cast in Pennsylvania, 73% were cast by Democrats and 19% were cast by Republicans.
• Don’t take this to mean any indicator of the outcome of these elections. However, early voting numbers remain on par with the 2018 elections, which had the highest midterm turnout in recent history.
• And we called that election the “Blue Wave”.
• Important note: the majority of political sites and polls still show the GOP minimally taking over the House, and being competitive for the Senate as well. 
• VOTE. It matters a lot.
• The January 6 Committee has officially sent a subpoena to the FPOTUS. 
• The panel is ordering Trump turn over documents by November 4 and either appear in person or virtually for one or more days of deposition testimony beginning on or about November 14.
• I predict one of two things: Trump will not show up, saying his lawyers weren’t allowing it or saying that the Congress has no right to subpoena him (note: they do), or that Trump will show up and it will be a clown show the likes of which you can’t even imagine.
• So we have that to look forward to, or not.
• Human waxy buildup Steve Bannon has been sentenced to four months in prison and a fine for a piddly $6,500.
• Bannon won’t have to serve his sentence until the appeal of his conviction plays out, per his whiny request.
• Federal prosecutors had asked for six months and a $200,000 fine. He got off very easy for the crime of contempt of congress. His sentence was given by Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee.
• Hey Oklahoma! As unlikely as it seems, you guys are showing a real chance at electing a Democrat governor in Joy Hofmeister.
• Never give up. Never surrender. Dem candidates are electable in red states IF YOU VOTE.
• And now, The Weather: “Maxine” by Mah Kee Oh
• Hey, this is nice…
• “I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me. Now what? Now what?” - Kanye West
• I’m gonna keep on wearing Nikes is what. My shoes don’t hate Jews.
• From the Sports Desk… huge trade in the NFL world with Christian McCaffrey, one of the only talented players previously remaining on the Carolina Panthers, now playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
• The Sports Desk also notes that the Astros lead the Yankees 2-0 in the ALCS, while the Phillies have a 2-1 lead over the Padres in the NLCS. Both series continue today.
• Joe Biden has cut the deficit by the largest amount in US history this year, $1.4 trillion. Thanks Joe!
• Matthew Bledsoe of Tennessee stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 2021 after climbing up a wall and entering the building through a door with a broken window as an alarm blared.
• In court, he claimed he was unaware that Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election when he entered the building. 
• He was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Friday. Hopefully he’ll have some time to think and reflect on his actions.
• Today in history… Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō, now known as Kyoto (794). The Ming dynasty defeats the Dutch East India Company (1633). The College of New Jersey, later renamed Princeton University, receives its charter (1746). Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas (1836). The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Gounod's Faust (1883). FBI agents shoot and kill notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd (1934). President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation (1962). Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but turns down the honor (1964). Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping (2012).
• October 22 is the birthday of composer Franz Liszt (1811), actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844), painter/illusrtator N. C. Wyeth (1882), Curly Howard (1903), psychologist/author Timothy Leary (1920), actor Christopher Lloyd (1938), actress Annette Funicello (1942), guitarist Leslie West (1945), actor Jeff Goldblum (1952), actor Bob Odenkirk (1962), skater Brian Boitano (1963), basketball player Dražen Petrović (1964), singer Shaggy (1968), director Spike Jonze (1969), baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki (1973), and baseball player Robinson Canó (1982). 

Might work on some music today. I wrote a sick-ass riff last night, and if I get motivated, maybe I’ll record it. Maybe I’ll take a shower and get dressed and then see how I am. I never know how I’ll be. Usually good. Enjoy your day.