Random News: November 3, 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 November 3, 2022, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Here’s all the news that I’ll tell you before losing interest in my own ramblings…

• President Biden made a short address to the nation yesterday to say that the midterms are a “defining moment” for democracy as threats of political violence and voter intimidation loom over the upcoming elections.
• He’s right.
• “We don’t settle our differences in America with a riot, a mob or a bullet or a hammer. We settle them peacefully at the ballot box. We have to be honest with ourselves, though. We have to face this problem. We can’t turn away from it. We can’t pretend it’s just going to solve itself.”
• All true.
• “American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president of the United States refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, he refuses to accept the will of the people, he refuses to accept the fact that he lost. He’s abused his power and put loyalty to himself before loyalty to the Constitution.”
• Yas Joe.
• Here’s a December 31, 2020 email from FPOTUS attorney Kenneth Chesebro to fellow FPOTUS lawyer John Eastman: “We want to frame things so that (SCOTUS Justice Clarence) Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt.” Chesebro contended that Thomas would be “our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6, which might hold up the Georgia count in Congress.”
• This is part of a batch of eight emails that Eastman had sought to withhold from the January 6 select committee but that a judge ordered turned over anyway, describing them as evidence of likely crimes committed by Eastman and Trump.
• I’m not saying Thomas is complicit just from being specifically referenced here. But it doesn’t instill much trust in the supposed neutrality of the SCOTUS overall.
• Trump adviser Kash Patel has been ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating the handling of federal records at Mar-a-Lago. Patel was granted immunity from prosecution on any information he provides to the investigation.
• He flipped.
• Back to the important stuff…
• Want to make yourself feel ill? Look at the polls, which are predominantly run by conservative organizations and tend to reach older voters on land lines.
• Due to those polls, there’s lots of chatter out there about a Republican sweep of the Midterms. I’m not going to lie to you: it could happen. They could take both the House and Senate, and everything that happens after that is exactly what I’ve told you will happen.
• Abortion will be made illegal nationwide and women will be forced to carry the children of whomever impregnates them.
• Social Security will be gutted and then dismantled.
• Many rights that Americans take for granted will be removed.
• It doesn’t have to happen.
• I’m going to tell you some things that may seem unlikely but are 100% true. The folks in red states and swing states like to make you think that you shouldn’t bother voting, but…
• Beto O’Rourke CAN win his election for governor of Texas.
• Cheri Beasley CAN win her election for senator of North Carolina.
• Michael Franken CAN win his election for senator of Iowa.
• Val Demings CAN win her election for senator of Florida.
• Katie Hobbs CAN win her election for governor of Arizona.
• Evan McMullin CAN win his election for senator of Utah.
• Stacey Abrams CAN win her election for governor of Georgia.
• Mandela Barnes CAN win his election for senator of Wisconsin.
• Tim Ryan CAN win his election for senator of Ohio.
• You just have to vote. That’s all you have to do.
• It goes the same for folks in supposed blue states that have strong challenges from GOP candidates, like Nevada, Oregon, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and the rest.
• You just have to vote. If you haven’t already done so, make a plan for Tuesday. Know where your polling place is. Have ID if needed. DO NOT LEAVE THE LINE even after the polls have closed, if you’re running late.
• And now, The Weather: “Dusty” by Niall Summerton
• That Powerball lottery is up to $1.5 billion. That’s a nice chunk of change. I should probably waste a few bucks on some tickets. I could do a lot for the world with that kind of scratch.
• First thing I’d do would be to set up an ongoing charitable trust. Second thing I’d do is… I don’t know. Nothing? I’m not into stuff. Probably get some nice cheese. I like cheese.
• From the Sports Desk… huge game 4 of the World Series last night, and this one is destined for seven games it seems. Astros shut out of the Phillies, so they’re wrapped up at 2-2.
• The Sports Desk also notes that Steve Nash, a two-time MVP as an NBA player and by all accounts one of the smartest minds in basketball, was fired by the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, because the team is made up of a bunch of baby-men who would rather blame their coach than take responsibility for their own actions.
• Nash will be fine, will get another coaching or broadcasting job, and is probably relieved to be away from that dysfunctional hellhole of a team.
• Back on the important stuff.
• The way things might go, especially in predicted close races where voting tallies aren’t available right away, violence is a strong possibility in today’s political landscape.
• I suggest you make some precautionary plans for the days following the election. Not trying to freak you out. My prediction is that everything will be fine. Unless it’s not.
• Today in history… The River Arno floods causing massive damage in Florence (1333). Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea (1493). English Parliament passes the first Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Anglican Church, supplanting the pope and the Roman Catholic Church (1534). French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined (1793). The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper is founded (1838). John Willis Menard (R-LA) was the first African American elected to the United States Congress, but because of some racist shit, he was never seated (1868). Panama separates from Colombia (1903). William Howard Taft is elected the 27th President of the United States (1908). Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T (1911). Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President of the United States (1936). Lyndon B. Johnson is elected to a full term as U.S. president (1964). Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election (1992). The 2020 United States presidential election takes place between Democratic Joe Biden and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. On November 7, Biden was declared the winner (2020).
• November 3 is the birthday of painter Annibale Carracci (1560), businessman Stephen F. Austin (1793), US Chief Justice Edward Douglass White (1845), MLB player Bob Feller (1918), actor Charles Bronson (1921), actor Ken Berry (1933), guitarist Bert Jansch (1943), singer Lulu (1948), actress Roseanne Barr (1952), singer Adam Ant (1954), NFL player Phil Simms (1955), actor Dolph Lundgren (1957), musician Steven Wilson (1967), and guitarist Mick Thompson (1973). 

Well, I’m going to do the things I do. I write this shit at 7am each morning, and invariably as soon as I post it, some other shit happens that will end up in the next day’s news. Life doesn’t happen on a schedule and you never know what the future may hold, for good, bad, or otherwise. I just try and go with the flow. Enjoy your day.