Random News: December 6, 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 December 6, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday. I’m too busy and annoyed about being busy, so let’s do this. Let’s go. You in? Let’s do this…

• Today is the runoff in the Senate race for Georgia, pitting highly-qualified, highly-ethical, highly-intelligent current Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock against that football player.
• I have complete faith that GA will do the right thing. I hope we hear the results pretty quickly.
• I have much less faith in this nightmare of a Supreme Court, who will be hearing arguments tomorrow in Moore v. Harper, a case that would give state legislatures more control over elections — which could have a dramatic impact on everything from who gets elected to Congress to what rules voters must follow to cast their ballots in 2024.
• This started out as a fringe right-wing effort in 2018, and now, in this hellscape created by the most right-wing SCOTUS in American history, is a legitimate possibility. State legislatures would have enormous power over a range of issues, including partisan gerrymandering, early and mail-in voting rules, voter ID measures and felon disfranchisement.
• Keep your eyes on that.
• In other SCOTUS news, it’s looking very likely that outright discrimination toward LGBTQIA+ people in this country will soon be legal.
• The Court seemed to favor the Colorado web designer who has stated she will not build sites for same-sex weddings.
• That’s a tiny step away from being able to hang a sign in a store window that says “No Blacks Allowed”. Except they probably wouldn’t use the words “Blacks”.
• In other news of shitty humans…
• The attack on the Moore County, NC power station has been elevated to a state of emergency for the area. Far-right groups have long talked about targeting the country’s power grid for terrorist attacks; this was a very planned and deliberate effort.
• What we can hope for at this stage is that the FBI devotes a ton of resources to find and catch the perpetrators, and then the courts make an example out of them to the point that any other domestic terrorist will think twice before taking this action.
• And now, The Weather: “Indie Dream Boy” by Yungatita
• Arizona officially certified the results of the 2022 election yesterday, despite the whines of election fraud from people with zero evidence of election fraud. Time- and money-wasting legal challenges are likely ahead.
• Lava is still flowing on the big island of Hawaii from the eruption of Mauna Loa. The state has activated its National Guard troops to help in the response as the lava nears Daniel K. Inouye Highway.
• Rupert Murdoch, the Fox Corporation chairman, is set to be deposed next week in Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News over its coverage of election fraud in the 2020 election.
• Dominion is one of two election technology companies to have sued Fox News. Smartmatic, another voting technology company, has filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against the network.
• The only reason I’m hopeful about the suits is that perhaps they will discourage not only Fox but all media outlets to be more responsible for accurate reporting of election information.
• Rest in peace to Kirstie Alley, who passed away yesterday at age 71 after a short battle with cancer.
• There are very few people who come to mind who are so likable onscreen and obviously capable as an actor, and yet so absolutely the opposite in the real-life views and behaviors.
• I mean, there are probably a lot more, but few made it so obvious and public as Ms. Alley did in recent years. Again, RIP.
• Today in history… Kyiv falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan (1240). The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar (1534). The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia (1790). Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1865). The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed (1884). London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs (1897). Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire (1917). The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives (1921). U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene (1933). At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones at Altamont Speedway, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards (1969). The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (1973). In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections (1998). In ‘A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.’, the Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement (1999). 
• December 6 is the birthday of English king Henry VI (1421), chemist/engineer Charles Martin Hall (1863), businessman Fred Duesenberg (1876), actress Agnes Moorhead (1900), gangster Baby Face Nelson (1908), pianist/composer Dave Brubeck (1920), NFL player Otto Graham (1921), actress JoBeth Williams (1948), actor Tom Hulce (1953), comedian Steven Wright (1955), guitarist/songwriter Peter Buck (1956), guitarist Randy Rhoads (1956), drummer David Lovering (1961), director/producer Judd Apetow (1967), sort-of football player Johnny Manziel (1992), and NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo (1994).

So… I woke up with a shitty crick in my neck. I mean, sleeping should be a wonderful period of rest, not an invitation to someone hurt the fuck out of yourself while unconscious. Now my head does not want to move to the left. And of course, it’s a busy work day plus a grocery shopping day plus I have a show tonight at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life. I believe that the power of Ibuprofen will be much appreciated at some point soon. Enjoy your day.