Random News: February 5, 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 February 5, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I believe that things happen, and that I like telling you about some of them…

• We shot down the Chinese spy balloon. China is not happy about this.
• “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response.” - China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• What? Fuck off, China. Don’t fly spy balloons over us and we won’t shoot them down. Easy peasy.
• Little side note for fun… an F-22 Raptor costs $200 million. It then costs $85,000/hour to fly. A single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile costs $400,000. I’m mentioning this in case you’re wondering why we can’t have health care or solve homelessness in the USA.
• It turns out the US a) blocked the Chinese balloon from gathering intel while over land, b) blocked it from transmitting data back to China, c) used the time to gather intel on the balloon itself, and d) waited until the balloon was safely off the shore and then immediately shot it down.
• Some critics still complained that the balloon was allowed to traverse the USA, saying that the former President would never have allowed that.
• Except he did. Three times.
• Senior Pentagon officials confirmed last night that at least three times, Chinese spy balloons flew over the USA during the Trump presidency. Trump knew about them and did nothing.
• My final note on Ballooney McBalloon is that the debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and the recovery operation began immediately with several ships.
• And now, The Weather: “Headspace” by Sharon Van Etten
• A new national windchill record was set Friday night in New Hampshire. At Mount Washington, it felt like -108° F thanks to a temperature of -46° F and wind gusts of 127 mph.
• Jesus.
• Tuesday night will be the second State of the Union address by President Biden.
• A year ago, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) heckled Biden during his SotU speech, and photographs of their shouting went viral, embarrassing GOP leadership.
• White House aides are privately admitting that they wouldn’t mind that happening again this time. It shows the contrast between the rabble-rousing idiot in the crowd versus the steady leadership on the dais.
• It’s likely that Biden’s focus will be on big legislative achievements, the success at fighting the national pandemic emergency, the economy stabilizing and still growing, great jobs numbers, and how the midterms went very well for his party.
• Let’s go Joe!
• In very bad, not good, bigly sad news for the former guy, it was announced this morning that the network of donors and activist groups led by conservative billionaire Charles Koch will oppose Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, mounting a direct challenge to the former president’s campaign to win back the White House.
• There is essentially no possibility of him being president without the support of Koch.
• “The best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.” - Emily Seidel, chief executive of Americans for Prosperity (AFP)
• The move marks the most notable example to date of an overt and coordinated effort from within conservative circles to stop Trump from winning the GOP nomination for a third straight presidential election.
• He’s toast.
• As a result, we can start to count more and more on Ron DeSantis being the GOP candidate in 2024, facing off most likely against the incumbent Democrat president Joe Biden.
• I have a lot to say about DeSantis. In many ways, he’s worse than Trump. But I’ll save that for future chats.
• Do we keep talking about George Santos, if that’s his actual name?
• The latest update says that a prospective staffer named Derek Myers has alleged that Santos sexually harassed him and touched his groin. He also claims that he was made to work as an unpaid volunteer despite being promised employment.
• Oh. I guess the Grammy Awards are on tonight. Huh.
• From the Sports Desk… the NFL Pro Bowl on on today. It’s a meaningless exhibition game that never features the actual best players in the sport, because most of them are either playing in the following week’s Super Bowl or are injured or decline to participate.
• I’ll probably check it out casually, considering that after next week, I have to wait until August to see football again.
• Today in history… J. P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel, a $1 billion steel company, having bought some of John D. Rockefeller's iron mines and Andrew Carnegie's entire steel business (1901). Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world's first synthetic plastic (1907). The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto (1917). Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane; this is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military (1918). Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith launch United Artists (1919). General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila (1945). A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, GA, never to be recovered (1958). Astronauts land on the Moon in the Apollo 14 mission (1971). Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges (1988). 
• February 5 is the birthday of businessman John Boyd Dunlop (1840), engineer/businessman André Citroën (1878), politician Adlai Stevenson II (1900), John Carradine (1906), novelist William S. Burroughs (1914), actor Red Buttons (1919), drummer Hal Blaine (1929), MLB legend Hank Aaron (1934), NHL coach/announcer Don Cherry (1934), artist H. R. Giger (1940), producer/screenwriter Stephen J. Cannell (1941), singer-songwriter/producer Barrett Strong (1941), NFL player Roger Staubach (1942), singer-songwriter/producer Al Kooper (1944), actor Christopher Guest (1948), drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, actor Tim Meadows (1961), actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (1962), actress Laura Linney (1964), and singer-songwriter Bobby Brown (1969).

I guess that’s it. I’m not sure what I’m doing today. I could go back and visit my dying parent in the hospital again, but they are not really coherent and it’s just a big ball of depression for me. My current wish, for my parent and myself, is that they wrap up the process of dying as quickly as possible. First, I’m going to shower and get dressed, and then figure out shit from there. Enjoy your day.