Random News: October 30, 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 (checks clock) morning. It’s October 30, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. I had a shitty tooth keep me up most of last night so I am not responsible for whatever my fingers are about to write while I watch them prance over my keyboard and try and drink coffee at the same time…

• I really try and avoid some of the shittiest news in these bullets, preferring to focus on things that you can actually affect.
• Whenever I hear about people dying en masse due to “stampede” or “crowd surge” via other humans, it’s awful because it’s always avoidable.
• Concerts, sporting events, religious gatherings, whatever… humans are always just a tiny step removed from our animal evolutionary forefathers. Huge crowds behave in ways that have no resemblance to the kindness and empathy we can exhibit as individuals or small groups.
• That being said, my condolences to the people of Seoul and those who were killed or injured in the Halloween event yesterday. The death toll is currently over 150.
• I also don’t want to dwell on the violent attack on Paul Pelosi. As you likely know by know, the assailant, a MAGA terrorist, was screaming, “Where’s Nancy?” as he committed the attempted murder.
• This was a targeted assassination attempt on the third-highest ranking member of the United States government. It’s a big fucking deal, and we’re not even close to understanding all the implications.
• The MAGA assailant had with him a bag with zip ties and duct tape.
• Meanwhile, Twitter’s new owner, a person so vile and hungry for attention that I’m about done mentioning his name, was spreading homophobic conspiracy theories about the event on his new platform.
• Kinda funny: what do you do about dangerous misinformation on Twitter now… report it to the person who’s spreading it?
• I’ll remain on that putrid platform minimally through the elections next week, and then see if it’s worthwhile staying after that.
• Speaking of something that actually matters… THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS that are in NINE DAYS…
• I’m not gonna tell you to vote. You either are or you aren’t at this point.
• Instead, I’ll just remind you that voting for Democrats, be they progressive or liberal or centrists, is what will allow you to keep your rights.
• And your Social Security and Medicare.
• And to continue to have free and fair elections.
• And to have the best quality of life moving forward, for yourself and subsequent generations.
• If you haven’t voted early, the elections are on Tuesday November 8. That’s it. After that day, if you don’t vote, you may not have the option to do so in the future.
• And now, The Weather: “Parkways” by Fred Thomas
• Along with the rest of the shitty news (sorry), drummer D. H. Peligro has passed away at age 63 via head trauma from a fall. He was a hugely talented and influential musician who is best known for his work with Dead Kennedys.
• He also spent a little while with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, doing some of the songwriting on ‘Mother’s Milk’ and being the guy who introduced teenager John Frusciante to the band.
• I feel obligated to post something positive… did some more work on my new song yesterday, and I don’t yet have a release date, or even a plan to finish it yet, but I can commit that it will be available for listening in some way before the end of they year.
• Or maybe next week. You never know.
• A little news out of Everett, WA. A federal judge has ruled in favor of a bikini barista stand, striking down the city’s dress code ordinance that required the workers to cover up.
• The U.S. District Court in Seattle found the city’s dress code violated the Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. and Washington state constitutions.
• “It is difficult to imagine how this Ordinance would be equally applied to men and women in practice,” said the judge, and I agree.
• Today in history… Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates (758). Simón Bolívar becomes President of the Third Republic of Venezuela (1817). Orson Welles broadcasts a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's ‘The War of the Worlds’, causing a massive panic in some of the audience in the United States (1938). Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the baseball color line (1945). President Eisenhower approves the top-secret document NSC 162/2 concerning the maintenance of a strong nuclear deterrent force against the Soviet Union (1953). The Soviet Union detonates the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful explosive device ever detonated (1961). Quebec citizens narrowly vote (50.58% to 49.42%) in favor of remaining a province of Canada in their second referendum on national sovereignty (1995). 
• October 30 is the birthday of president John Adams (1735), poet Ezra Pound (1885), bodybuilder Charles Atlas (1893), actress Ruth Gordon (1896), journalist Fred W. Friendly (1915), musician Clifford Brown (1930), director Louis Malle (1932), NFL coach Dick Vermeil (1936), singer-songwriter Grace Slick (1939), actor Henry Winkler (1945), journalist Andrea Mitchell (1946), musician Timothy B. Schmit (1947), singer Gavin Rossdale (1965), umm… Ivanka Trump (1981), and NBA player Devin Booker (1996).

Alrighty. Enough news and shit. I am riding the happy high of 600mg of ibuprofen, and about a liter of delicious coffee. I’m going to do things now. Enjoy your day.