Random News: January 17, 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 17, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. Let’s see what’s happening, as far as we can tell…

• This is nice.
• In Albuquerque, there’s been a string of shootings at the homes of state and local Democratic leaders.
• Yesterday, Solomon Pena, a failed Republican New Mexico state House candidate, was arrested for conspiring with and paying four men to carry out four non-injury shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators.
• Pena is an election denier and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump.
• So now when they lose, they don’t just whine about it; they start shooting their opposition. I think we can expect more of this as the sickness of the MAGA cult results in more loss of sanity.
• Moving on.
• Joe Biden said something yesterday that I’ve mentioned often to gun nuts who claim they need high-powered rifles to take on the government and “protect themselves from tyranny”.
• Fox News poked fun at Biden for his statement, "If you need to worry about taking on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don't need an AR-15."
• They thought that was worthy of ridicule.
• But here’s the reality: you’d never look your attacker in the eye if the federal government wanted to “get you”. You’d never even see or hear them coming.
• You might hear the whir of a drone or the roar of a jet a second or two before you weren’t among the living anymore.
• Your AR-15 and the rest of your precious arsenal would be useless.
• Stop thinking like it’s 1953 in 2023. You’re not taking on the government like the noble patriot you think you are. If you need a high-powered, high-capacity rifle, just be honest about the reason: you are a scared person who is not capable of defending yourself without it.
• I’m being nice and assuming you want that weapon for defensive purposes, as opposed to going on the offensive to steal or murder and so on.
• Moving on.
• We fucked up the planet so much that you can no longer eat fish caught in America’s lakes and rivers. A study was released today that shows how eating one freshwater fish is the equivalent of drinking a month's worth of water contaminated with toxic "forever chemicals”.
• The chemicals, called PFAS, were developed in the 1940s to resist water and heat and are now used in items such as non-stick pans, textiles, fire suppression foams and food packaging.
• Those chemical are indestructible by design, and have been linked to a range of serious health issues including liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses and several kinds of cancer.
• The “safe” level of PFOS in drinking water is 0.02 parts per trillion. Eating one freshwater fish equalled drinking water with PFOS at 48 parts per trillion for a month.
• Sigh.
• You know, or maybe you don’t… I actually go out of my way to avoid talking about shitty news that we can’t do anything about. You never see me mentioning plane crashes, sensational murders, terrible car accidents and so on.
• I also tend not to mention shit that I truly don’t understand, like the debt ceiling and interest rates and the like.
• I only post things that I imagine might be helpful in some way to you, or at least interesting or entertaining. But sometimes, I skip more news than I post.
• And now, The Weather: “Stranger” by Boyhood
• RIP to Gina Lollobrigida, the Italian actress who became one of the post-World War II era’s first major European sex symbols. She died at age 95. 
• She also had a post-acting career as an acclaimed photographer, artist, and filmmaker.
• From the Sports Desk… we have our NFL playoffs Divisional Round matchups for this coming weekend.
• In the AFC, the 4th seed Jacksonville Jaguars will be facing the 1st seed Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, while the 3rd seed Cincinnati Bengals will visit the 2nd seed Buffalo Bills on Sunday in a game that will surely be emotional, since the last time these teams met up just over two weeks ago, someone almost died.
• KC is a -9 point favorite, but the Jags have been on a tear and surprising everyone. Buffalo is only a -4 point favorite over Cincy, and anything could happen in either game, really.
• The NFC will feature the 6th seed New York Giants versus the 1st seed Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday. Sunday’s game will be between the 5th seed Dallas Cowboys and the 2nd seed San Francisco 49ers.
• Again, logic would say that the Eagles, a -7.5 point favorite,. should easily win, but these Giants look pretty scrappy. The Niners are likely going to beat the ass off the Cowboys, but the spread is only -2.5 in favor of SF.
• I’ll be enjoying these games, some of the last of this season.
• Today in history… Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean (1524). Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle (1773). Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina (1781). The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean (1899). Anton Chekhov's ‘The Cherry Orchard’ receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre (1904). The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands (1917). Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect (1920). Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again (1945). Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah (1977). During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II (1992). Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website (1998). Former cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to his doping in an airing of ‘Oprah's Next Chapter’ (2013). 
• January 17 is the birthday of botanist Gaspard Bauhin (1560), publisher/inventor/politician Benjamin Franklin (1706), author Anne Brontë (1820), illustrator A. B. Frost (1851), politician Douglas Hyde (1860), actor/director Konstantin Stanislavski (1863), film producer Carl Laemmle (1867), mafia boss Al Capone (1899), saxophonist Peggy Gilbert (1905), boxing trainer/manager Cus D’Amato (1908), actress/animal rights activist Betty White (1922), actress/singer Eartha Kitt (1927), hairdresser/businessman Vidal Sassoon (1928), actor James Earl Jones (1931), actress/puppeteer Shari Lewis (1933), boxer/activist Muhammad Ali (1942), guitarist Mick Taylor (1949), bass player Jeff Berlin (1953), singer-songwriter/actor Steve Earle (1955), singer-songwriter Paul Young (1956), actor/comedian/TV host Steve Harvey (1957), singer-songwriter Susanna Hoffs (1959), actor Jim Carrey (1962), lawyer/first lady Michelle Obama (1964), NHL player Jeremy Roenick (1970), rapper Lil Jon (1971), actress/singer Zooey Deschanel (1980), NBA player Dwyane Wade (1982), and YouTube guy Jake Paul (1997).

So… Tuesday. A busy day here, usually. I have a grocery store run in the afternoon, meetings and work to do before and after. Just normal life stuff. I’m cool with that. Enjoy your day.