Random News: October 9, 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 9, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. Here are some “easy like Sunday morning” thoughts…

• One person I definitely don’t waste time and energy thinking about is Kanye West.
• The man constantly paints himself as a victim despite being extremely wealthy and famous. His desperate need for attention manifests itself in many ways, most of them egregious.
• The only reason I bring him up now is not his “white lives matter” clothing collection recently introduced. Instead, it’s the fact that both Twitter and Instagram had to remove messages and restrict his access due to threats against Jewish people. 
• I will not tolerate bigots or racists and will always call out their hateful actions when I see them. If you support and/or defend Kanye West, my assumption is that you agree with his views about Jewish people.
• Anyway, back to not giving any time to hateful people who don’t deserve our attention.
• The 2022 election is just over one month away.
• All elections matter. However, the Senate balance and the future of our nation can be boiled down to the following ten races with their current polling averages.
• Arizona: Mark Kelly (D-inc) vs. Blake Masters (R). RCP polling average: Kelly +4.1
• Colorado: Michael Bennet (D-inc) vs. Joe O’Dea (R). RCP polling average: Bennet +8.3
• Florida: Marco Rubio (R-inc) vs. Val Demings (D). RCP polling average: Rubio +4
• Georgia: Raphael Warnock (D-inc) vs. Herschel Walker (R). RCP polling average: Warnock +3.8
• Nevada: Catherine Cortez Masto (D-inc) vs. Adam Laxalt (R). RCP polling average: Laxalt +2.1
• New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan (D-inc) vs. Don Bolduc (R). RCP polling average: Hassan +6.6
• North Carolina: Ted Budd (R) vs. Cheri Beasley (D). RCP polling average: Budd +1.5
• Ohio: J.D. Vance (R) vs. Tim Ryan (D). RCP polling average: Vance +1.2
• Pennsylvania: Mehmet Oz (R) vs. John Fetterman (D). RCP polling average: Fetterman +4.3
• Wisconsin: Ron Johnson (R-inc) vs. Mandela Barnes (D). RCP polling average: Johnson +3
• Most of these are obviously very close, further reinforcing the fact that every single vote matters.
• Why is the Senate race so important? The Senate is the body of government that has the highest degree of influence over the laws that rule our country.
• With a Republican majority, the Senate will move ahead on its promises of a national abortion ban, and their stated intents of making contraception illegal, reducing or removing Social Security and Medicare, and eliminating the rights and protections of marginalized groups including LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and racial and ethnic minorities.
• At some point, you will look back and wish you’d had an opportunity to stop the USA from becoming a totalitarian, fascist, white nationalist regime… but you do have that chance. Right now. All you have to do is vote.
• In some places in the USA, this is a holiday weekend. Despite it being a federal holiday, we do not celebrate Columbus Day in California (though theoretically it’s Indigenous People’s Day instead). Most things are open here on Monday as usual, including schools and businesses. Banks and government buildings/post offices will be closed.
• It was the first week of work for the newest Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. By all accounts, she was extraordinarily impressive in her efforts there.
• However, with the balance of the Court tilted so far to the right, it’s unlikely that many of the cases that get in their sights will come out favorably, with the Voting Rights Act being the latest that’s likely on the chopping block.
• From the Sports Desk… the Seattle Mariners did something absolutely historic yesterday. Down 8-1 against the Blue Jays in the bottom of the fifth inning, they rallied back to win the game, and their Wild Card Series, 10-9. It was the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and baseball's largest rally to clinch a postseason series. Amazing.
• In other MLB news, the Guardians beat the Rays and will move on to the ALDS. The Phillies also swept their series against the Cardinals, and will be in the NLDS. The only Wild Card series still in play is the Mets versus Padres, tied 1-1. That will wrap up tonight.
• And now, The Weather: “Stevie” by Warpaint.
• Russia retaliated against Ukraine for blowing up their bridge by sending missile strikes into Zaporizhzhia. At least 12 were killed and dozens injured.
• And yes, the threat of nuclear annihilation remains on high alert for the world right now. I would like to stay alive for a good while. I have things to do. Hopefully these maniacs can either get their shit together or be eliminated so that they are no longer a concern to the rest of us.
• Today in history… Kepler's Supernova is the most recent supernova to be observed within the Milky Way (1604). The Collegiate School of Connecticut — later renamed Yale University — is chartered in Old Saybrook (1701). In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia (1812). The siege of Sevastopol begins in the Crimean War (1854). Union cavalrymen defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia (1864). Boulder Dam — later called Hoover Dam — begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles (1936). The National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight” (1969). ‘Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends’ premieres (1984). Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the "fourth" US television network (1984). North Korea conducts its first nuclear test (2006). The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its all-time high of 14,164 points before rapidly declining due to the 2007-2008 financial crises (2007). Pakistani Taliban attempt to assassinate outspoken schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai (2012). 
• October 9 is the birthday of composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835), physicist Karl Schwarzschild (1873), pharmacist/businessman Charles Rudolph Walgreen (1873), activist Alice Lee Jemison (1901), Nixon toady E. Howard Hunt (1918), actor Fyvush Finkel (1922), singer-songwriter John Lennon (1940), cartoonist Mike Peters (1943), bass player John Entwistle (1944), singer-songwriter Jackson Browne (1948), TV host Sharon Osbourne (1952), actor Tony Shaloub (1953), actor Scott Bakula (1954), singer Ini Kamoze (1957), football player Mike Singletary (1958), prime minister David Cameron (1966), singer-songwriter PJ Harvey (1969), and singer-songwriter Sean Lennon (1975).

What am I up to today, you ask? Not a whole lot. However, I have been more and more aware that it’s been a very long time since I did an online live music show outside of Second Life, and that many of my friends have been patiently awaiting such a thing. So, no promises, but if I’m feeling it and the technology gods smile in my favor, I might fire up the camera and do a Facebook Live show at 1PM PDT (4PM EDT). We’ll see if I’m up for it. Enjoy your day.