Random News: November 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.

---

Good morning. it’s November 30, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. Some rather exciting stuff going on around the world and in your neck of the woods, so let’s get down on it…

• Very big trial verdict yesterday pertaining to the January 6 file coup attempt.
• Founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, along with four of his little friends, has been found guilty of seditious conspiracy against the United States among other offenses.
• A federal jury also convicted Rhodes of obstructing an official proceeding and tampering with documents.
• The only other Oath Keeper found guilty of this serious charge was Kelly Meggs. 
• The three other defendants — Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell —were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding as well as a mix of other charges.
• Two more seditious conspiracy trials relating to Jan 6 — one involving more Oath Keepers and the other a group of Proud Boys — are set to start in the coming weeks.
• Get their asses.
• In somewhat related news, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that FPOTUS chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating 2020 election meddling.
• They rejected Meadows' argument he is shielded by "executive privilege.” He was Trump’s main guy in the Big Lie, the campaign to overturn the election.
• Get his ass too.
• In other positive news from yesterday, the Senate passed legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriage, called the Respect for Marriage Act, in a landmark bipartisan vote with a final tally of 61-36.
• The House is expected to pass the bill as early as next week and then send it to Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
• The downside: if this right-wing Supreme Court overturns its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage, a state could still pass a law to ban same-sex marriage (and some likely will).
• The somewhat upside: under the new law, that state would be required to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state.
• It’s good news overall. Ideally it won’t have to be used if the SCOTUS keeps Obergefell in place and not discriminate against same-sex marriage, keeping it legal as it has been.
• And now, The Weather: “Help” by Rozi Plain
• The Sports Desk is being bumped upward for the moment to congratulate the USMNT for their 1-0 victory over Iran yesterday in the FIFA World Cup. They will go on to face the Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
• Congrats to Hershey, PA’s own Christian Pulisic, who scored the game winner.
• I always feel like US soccer is like the small kid on your little league team who manages to catch one fly ball and everyone runs to congratulate them. Like, no one has high expectations and is amazed when they don’t lose immediately.
• Good luck USMNT!
• Still a whole lot of fallout from the infamous Mar-A-Lago thanksgiving nightmare for the FPOTUS. More and more voices from within the GOP have come out in condemnation of the event, as well as of the anti-Semitic outlook of Trump’s visitors.
• Another note to send my good thoughts to my friends in Hawaii. Mauna Loa erupting is a pretty serious event, and with Kilauea erupting at the same time, I’m hoping things won’t get too crazy over there. 
• Georgia is kicking ass! Their voters set a single-day early turnout record Monday as 301,500 people stormed to the polls on the first day they were open in most counties ahead of the Warnock/Walker Senate runoff.
• The state’s turnout was even higher in the runoff Monday than it was during presidential elections, surpassing the previous high of 253,000 early voters on the Friday before Election Day in 2016.
• This is what democracy looks like!
• I’m rarely critical of the Biden administration; for the most part, they’ve been doing an exceptional job.
• Like most Americans, I am hoping this rail strike and the resulting impact to the economy can be averted.
• At the same time, for a supposed pro-union guy, Joe doesn’t seem to be caring at all that the current contract gives the rail workers zero paid sick time and are then disciplined for taking unpaid time off.
• Bernie Sanders wouldn’t stand for that. Neither would Elizabeth Warren. So, elect a centrist and I guess you get centrist results.
• The last railroad strike in the US occurred in 1992 for two days before Congress intervened.
• Today in history… The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial of Federalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (1804). The Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Franklin (1864). The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England (1872). A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles (1900). The Soviet Red Army crosses the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the Winter War (1939). The SS-Einsatzgruppen round up 11,000 Jews from the Riga Ghetto and kill them in the Rumbula massacre (1941). In Sylacauga, AL, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap (1954). Michael Jackson's sixth solo studio album, ‘Thriller’, is released worldwide, ultimately becoming the best-selling record album in history (1982). Exxon and Mobil sign a US$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company (1999). In Seattle, WA, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies (1999). 
• November 30 is the birthday of admiral Andrea Doria (1486), satirist Jonathan Swift (1667), novelist Mark Twain (1835), physician/activist Martha Ripley (1843), actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (1918), actor Richard Crenna (1926), TV host/producer Dick Clark (1929), lawyer/criminal G. Gordon Liddy (1930), NFL coach Bill Walsh (1931), actor/director Woody Allen (1935), activist Abbie Hoffman (1936), director Ridley Scott (1937), bass player Roger Glover (1945), actor Mandy Patinkin (1952), singer Stacey Q (1958), NFL/MLB player Bo Jackson (1962), actor Ben Stiller (1965), DJ Steve Aoki (1977), singer Clay Aiken (1978), and model Chrissy Teigen (1985).

I’ve been pretty productive over the first couple of days back after the Thanksgiving break, and feel a little more caught up, which is good. I work pretty hard, because my boss is a total dick. His name is… me. I’m the dick. Enjoy your day.