Random News: January 21, 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 21, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. My coffee is Peet’s Sulawesi-Kalosi and my robe is blue, so let’s do what we do…

• I’m kind of “meh” on news today. Most of it is follow-up on stuff we’ve already mentioned here.
• All the things that have been happening are still happening.
• Here’s a new one.
• White House Chief Of Staff Ron Klain is expected to step down in coming weeks.
• It’s the most significant changing of the guard in the Biden administration since he took office almost exactly two years ago.
• Klain has told people in private that he was planning to resign since the midterm elections. A search for his replacement has been underway since then.
• Alrighty then.
• There’s a continuing standoff between the Biden administration and the GOP-led House who want to kill Social Security and Medicare rather than increase the debt ceiling.
• My sympathies for the many of you who will be personally affected by this dangerous game that Kevin McCarthy is playing.
• Moving on.
• In better news, the Lunar New Year kicks off this weekend. The Year of the Tiger draws to an end, and the Year of the Rabbit starts tomorrow.
• Gong Hei Fat Choy!
• The rabbit is traditionally a symbol of hope and peace, possibly signaling a calmer year ahead.
• Many of you saw this already, but I had to share my laughter and derision in regard to the people who saw the promo for Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and got way too upset.
• A good number of them mistook the use of the spectrum rainbow in the graphic for a sign of gay pride support.
• "Sad to see a band that was once great has gone full WOKE!!! I loved your music before, NOT LISTENING NOW!"
• But the super double funny thing is that Pink Floyd absolutely, 100% unequivocally, undeniably, and proudly is and always has been, completely fucking woke. I guess some folks didn’t realize the fascist hammers from ‘The Wall’ were meant to be seen in a negative light. 
• Lordy.
• And now, The Weather: “God is a Woman’s Name” by Indigo Sparke
• You know Elizabeth Holmes, the lady who was convicted last January of defrauding investors with the bullshit blood testing startup Theranos?
• In November, she was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, but has appealed it and is generously not yet in jail, currently being pregnant.
• However, she attempted to flee the country after her conviction. I hope they add to her sentence as a result.
• From the Sports Desk… football.
• Today in history… The first American novel, ‘The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth’ by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston (1789). After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793). Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate (1861). New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor (1908). Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty (1932). American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury (1950). The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States (1954). Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, UK (1981). The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined (1997). Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States (2017).
• January 21 is the birthday of anatomist Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714), businessman/soldier/politician Ethan Allen (1738), explorer/soldier/politician John C. Frémont (1813), Confederate loser Stonewall Jackson (1824), chemist Felix Hoffmann (1868), mystic Grigori Rasputin (1869), director Baldassarre Negroni (1877), fashion designer Christian Dior (1905), soldier Richard Winters (1918), actor Telly Savalas (1922), actor Paul Scofield (1922), actor Benny Hill (1924), golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940), tenor Plácido Domingo (1941), singer-songwriter Richie Havens (1941), actress Jill Eikenberry (1947), singer-songwriter Billy Ocean (1950), lawyer/politician Eric Holder (1951), businessman Paul Allen (1953), actress Geena Davis (1956), NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon (1963), NBA player Detlef Schrempf (1963), actor Ken Leung (1970), and singer-songwriter Cat Power (1972), 

Okay. That’s all. Go back to what you were doing before. I’ll do things too. Enjoy your day.