Random News: January 14, 2023

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 January 14, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’m drinking really good coffee and I’m in a robe, so I must be a trustworthy news source. Let’s do it…

• The Biden documents issued is staying at the top of the news cycle. I’ll say once agin: any politician from any party who does something wrong, especially if purposeful, should face whatever consequences come as a result.
• From what I can tell, there are some big differences between the Biden situation versus the FPOTUS in this regard. Republicans have to walk a fine line on this; anything they do to try and come down on Biden in this regard can and will be applied to FPOTUS with a ratio appropriate for the amount of documents taken, how they were stored, who saw them and so on.
• The most glaring difference between the two is that Biden is fully cooperating with the investigation and his own lawyers turned over the materials. 
• Anyway, enough of that for now.
• It’s a three-day weekend for many Americans. Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I’ll talk more about that in a post on Monday.
• It’s not a three-day weekend for me personally, but since some of my clients will be closed, Monday will be a little lighter than usual with meetings and such.
• The latest news on habitual liar George Santos (R-NY), apart from his refusal to resign despite growing calls for him to do so by his own constituents and fellow members of Congress, is that he raised money for a company the SEC says was a Ponzi scheme.
• Because of course he did. This guy is amazing. If you can think of the wrong way to do something, he’s done it.
• Someone got the winning $1.35 billion Mega Millions numbers. They live in Maine. Hats off to them.
• California has a couple more storms rolling through. It’s nicely raining down here at the moment.
• "She actually indicated that she loved it. Okay? She loved it until commercial break. In fact, I think she said it was sexy, didn't she? She said it was very sexy to be raped. Didn't she say that?” - Donald J. Trump, testifying on raping E. Jean Carroll
• Judge Lewis Kaplan upheld the lawsuits against FPOTUS, alleging rape and defamation and seeking unspecified damages by Carroll, saying they could proceed to trial because Trump's challenges were without merit.
• Welp.
• You might have a right to bear arms in Missouri, but women in the state House do not have the right to bare arms. Republicans there adopted a stricter dress code for female lawmakers.
• No rule changes for men’s dress codes were made.
• It’s pretty typical for rules to apply to the appearance of women and not men. From beaches to classrooms to businesses to governments, it’s always been the case that men tell women what they can and can’t wear as to not be a “distraction”.
• That says a lot more about men’s ability to have self control than anything about women, frankly.
• And now, The Weather: “Sandy Eyes” by commercial pop machine
• I was asked by several people about the new House rules under Kevin McCarthy, specifically about the clause that says even just one member could file a motion for him to vacate the seat.
• The question was whether that motion could be brought by a Democrat.
• Answer: yes. It would then require a majority vote in Congress to pass.
• That being said, I seriously can’t imagine a scenario where that would actually happen.
• Anyway, this is neat.
• The wife of an Iowa county supervisor has been charged with 52 felony counts of voter fraud after she allegedly filled out and cast absentee ballots in her husband's unsuccessful race for a Republican nomination to run for Congress in 2020.
• Kim Phuong Taylor, 49, was arrested Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her trial is scheduled to begin March 20.
• As per tradition, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) invited President Biden to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 7, and the president promptly accepted.
• I look forward to it.
• From the Sports Desk… NFL playoffs start today. I’m excited. Today’s games are the Seattle Seahawks (7) versus the San Francisco 49ers (2) at 1:30PM PST, and the Los Angeles Chargers (5) versus Jacksonville Jaguars (4) at 5:15PM PST.
• The very rain we’ve been dealing with here in CA may be a factor in the SEA/SF game. SF is favored by -9.5.
• Jacksonville is oddly cold today, currently at 46º F. Neither LA nor JAX would have an advantage due to chilly Florida weather. LA is favored by only -1.5.
• Today in history… The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government in the USA, is adopted in Connecticut (1639). Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain (1784). Giacomo Puccini's Tosca opens in Rome (1900). NBC's long-running morning news program ‘Today’ debuts, with host Dave Garroway (1952). Josip Broz Tito is elected the first President of Yugoslavia (1953). The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation (1954). The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco, CA's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love (1967).  Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513 (1972). Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets the record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history (1973).
• January 14 is the birthday of politician Mark Antony (83 BC), instrument maker Gottfried Silbermann (1683), military defector Benedict Arnold (1741), physician/phhilosopher/polymath Albert Schweitzer (1875), actor/director/producer Hal Roach (1892), novelist John Dos Passos (1896), television personality Andy Rooney (1919), singer-songwriter Allen Toussaint (1938), actress Faye Dunaway (1941), journalist Nina Totenberg (1944), musician/producer T Bone Burnett (1948), NFL player/actor Carl Weathers (1948), singer Geoff Tate (1959), guitarist Zakk Wylde (1967), rapper LL Cool J (1968), actor Jason Bateman (1969), and singer-songwriter Dave Grohl (1969).

Well, there’s always more, but I need to get my ass up and doing things, even on a rainy Saturday. Enjoy your day.