Random News: December 7, 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 7, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. I have way too much to tell you and way too little time to do it, which is basically the definition of life. Here we go…

• Congratulations to Reverend Raphael Warnock. He’s been re-elected as the junior US Senator from the state of Georgia after a runoff election.
• With the re-election of Senator Warnock, Joe Biden is the first President since FDR in 1934 to not lose a single Senator of his own party in a midterm election.
• This is Warnock’s second run-off election, the last one being when he defeated Kelly Loeffler in January 2021.
• In his short time in office, Senator Warnock helped pass the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act, all of which helped American families.
• What do the following people have in common… Kari Lake, Lee Zeldin, Leora Levy, Mehmet Oz, Don Bolduc, Tudor Dixon, Adam Laxalt, Kim Crockett, Darren Bailey, Mark Finchem, Blake Masters, Doug Mastriano, Kristina Karamo, and now Herschel Walker?
• Every one of them was highly endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, and every one of them lost.
• I’m not just shitting on Trump here. What it means is that the Republican Party is going to have to openly acknowledge that the FPOTUS is poison to their efforts for election, and will now be much more focused on removing the MAGA ideology from their party. 
• Unfortunately for ALL of us, it won’t be easy and the damage done will likely take a generation or more to undo.
• Moving on.
• Yesterday, a Manhattan jury convicted former President Donald Trump’s real-estate organization of a huge tax-fraud scheme.
• The jury found The Trump Corporation and The Trump Payroll Corp. guilty of 17 total felony counts, including first-degree scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
• Trump himself was not named as a defendant and will not face charges.
• That criminal case is separate from a civil fraud suit filed in September by state Attorney General Letitia James, where Trump, three of his adult children and his companies of systematically are accused of falsifying Trump’s balance sheets over the course of a decade.
• In other news…
• The election of the new Speaker of the House of Representatives is shaping up to be a serious battle of assholes.
• The obvious contender is Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who has been the leader of the GOP House for a good while. However, as much of a prick that McCarthy is, he’s not enough of a prick for the super far-right side of the Republican party.
• Enter Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who yesterday announced his own bid for the Speaker’s seat.
• If you’re not familiar with Rep. Biggs, he’s one of the worst proponents of election denial, and was a direct supporter of the January 6 failed coup attempt.
• So here’s the deal: there are only 222 Republicans in the House. If McCarthy can’t win 218 votes on the first ballot, it will go to multiple ballots until someone does – something that hasn’t happened in about a century.
• And it looks like there’s a decent shot of just that happening. McCarthy only was able to gather up 188 votes for his nomination as Speaker. Good times.
• Regardless, Biggs might have another topic taking up his focus; Special Counsel Jack Smith just subpoenaed officials in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin for Trump communications in the January 6th investigation.
• As a reminder, Jack Smith is investigating the criminal cases against the FPOTUS focused on both the stolen classified documents found via search warrant at Mar-a-Lago as well as his direct actions in the attack on the United States on January 6, 2021.
• And speaking of January 6, the House Select Committee announced yesterday that they will issue criminal referrals to the Justice Department based on its inquiry.
• Note that they have made no decision on who it will recommend charging or what offenses it will cite. Guess we’ll see eventually.
• And now, The Weather: “Conservative Hell” by Dry Cleaning
• There was a special ceremony yesterday in Congress for the Capitol Police who received gold medals for their bravery and heroism in defending our democracy.
• Interestingly, at the end when government representatives were lined up to shake hands with the award recipients, all of them seems to shake hands with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, but then moved past Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy while refusing their outstretched hands.
• Both men — but especially McCarthy — are allegedly on the side of the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol that infamous day.
• The family of fallen Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick said Republicans' continued loyalty to Trump was part of the reason for the silent protest.
• Good call.
• Time Magazine has named Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the 2022 Person of the Year. I liked that the award also named the “Spirit of Ukraine” as a co-winner.
• Time also named their “Heroes of the Year”. It’s the women of Iran. This is very well deserved. Brave people inspire us all. 
• Authorities found about two dozen shell casings at sites of the domestic terrorist attack at North Carolina electric substations. These MAGA terrorists have long planned to attack America’s electrical grid and infrastructure, and this will happen again.
• Tens of thousands of NC residents remain without power, forcing schools to close, shuttering businesses that don’t have generators, and leaving many people without heat.
• Today is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The attack on the Hawaii naval base happened on December 7, 1941… “a date which will live in infamy” per FDR’s speech.
• Today in history… Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius (43 BC). The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England (1732). Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution (1787). First concert of the New York Philharmonic (1842). The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary (1917). German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa (1932). The Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1941). Instant replay makes its debut during the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia (1963). Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched (1972). 
• December 7 is the birthday of composer Bernardo Pasquini (1637), businessman Richard Warren Sears (1863), actor Eli Wallach (1915), actor Ted Knight (1923), philosopher Noam Chomsky (1928), actress Ellen Burstyn (1932), singer-songwriter Harry Chapin (1942), MLB player Johnny Bench (1947), singer-songwriter Tom Waits (1949), NBA legend Larry Bird (1956),  actor C. Thomas Howell (1966), musician Louise Post (1966), NFL player Terrell Owens (1973), singer-songwriter Damien Rice (1973), and MLB player Yasiel Puig (1990).

Whew! That’s a crazy amount of shit in one day, and a lot of it was good… really good. I have a pretty normal day ahead and I’m looking forward to it. Enjoy your day.