Random News: March 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 March 17, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Since things have happened, you might want to know about them…

• At least two dozen people – from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump’s inner circle at the Florida estate – have been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith to testify to a federal grand jury that’s investigating the former president’s handling of classified documents.
• Good.
• The leader of China, Xi Jinping, is heading to Moscow next week to meet with Vladimir Putin in his first visit to Russia since Putin launched his devastating invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.
• Under Xi, China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion – or even refer to it as such, instead blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.
• Keep in mind that if you’re against the US support of Ukraine, you’re on the same side as both Russia and People's Republic of China.
• Brief side note for comedy…
• “I’ve never seen Putin actually show in any detail his plans to invade Europe. No one has shown me that. So I don’t believe the lies that I’m being told about this.” - Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
• Someone tell her that Ukraine is in Europe, please.
• Speaking of Russia, their Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented state awards to the two Su-27 pilots who forced down a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea this week.
• They did that to troll us.
• Seems like a bunch of people really want direct military hostilities between the world’s nuclear superpowers. I, for one, am not one of them.
• The USA has a border problem… with Canada.
• The number of illegal border crossings between northeast states and Canada over the last five months is nearly 10 times what it was over the same time last year. 
• From Oct. 1 to Feb. 28, about 2,000 migrants crossed the border between Canada and New Hampshire, Vermont and New York south through the forests, compared to just 200 crossings in the same period the previous year.
• Build the wall? 
• More news from up north… Minnesota regulators said they’re monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant, and the company said there’s no danger to the public.
• Well that’s good. Giant and powerful corporations would never lie, right?
• While Xcel reported the leak of water containing tritium to state and federal authorities in late November, the spill had not been made public before yesterday. State officials said they waited to get more information before going public with it.
• Pffffft.
• In other news about corporations and public health, newly released data shows soil in the Ohio town of East Palestine – scene of a recent catastrophic train crash and chemical spill – contains dioxin levels hundreds of times greater than the exposure threshold above which Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists in 2010 found poses cancer risks.
• And they told everyone to go home and that everything is fine.
• This is why we don’t trust these fucking greedy pieces of shit.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced yesterday that the state is on track to cut the number of unsheltered people by an ambitious 15% in two years, and vowed to provide 1,200 tiny homes to help achieve that goal.
• Cool.
• Democrats in Michigan have wasted no time getting their top priorities to the governor's desk. Within the first two months of the legislative session, Democrats passed their centerpiece tax plan, a bill to repeal the state's defunct 1931 abortion ban, and legislation to create civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.
• MI Senate lawmakers also advanced a trio of proposals to expand gun buyer background checks as well as establish gun storage requirements and a new "red flag" law.
• Hell yes Michigan. Keep doing all this.
• Meanwhile, Georgia, Tennessee, and other states are moving backward. The Georgia House on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent medical professionals from giving transgender children certain hormones or surgical treatment.
• It’s worse in Tennessee; their bill’s provisions allow teachers to misgender their students and instituted a ban on gender-affirming medical care for trans youths, despite medical experts and their professional associations saying such care is safe and effective treatment for children with gender dysphoria.
• Doctors in TN would be required to set a timeline to detransition children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy.
• And in Idaho, a bill designed to make students use the bathroom that matches their biological sex has passed the Idaho House 59 to 10.
• I will do many things that are in my power to pull money out of states that discriminate and support hatred. Not just my tiny amount of money. Big corporate money. And I will make sure they know why.
• And now, The Weather: “It Gets Better” by Jaguar Sun & Husbands
• I’m about to poke fun at a religion, so be ready to possibly be mad at me.
• Catholics are getting a special dispensation allowing parishioners to eat meat on Saint Patrick’s Day, which happens to fall on a Friday this year. People like their corned beef on St. Paddy’s, but as most people are aware, Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent in commemoration of Jesus' death on the cross.
• Until it’s somewhat inconvenient, apparently.
• Catholicism has a lot of hard and fast rules that they seem to change whenever they feel like it.
• I guess I should mention this holiday.
• Saint Patrick’s Day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.
• Fun Fact: Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.
• Here in the USA, it’s primarily a drinking holiday. Since I don’t drink alcohol, it’s not much of a big day for me. However, weed is green, in the spirit of things.
• My biggest recollection of St. Paddy’s Day as a kid was making sure to wear green so I didn’t get pinched. Who wants to get pinched?
• From the Sports Desk… nearly everyone who carefully filled out their brackets for the NCAA men’s tournament is already out. 15-seed Princeton pulled off stunning upset of 2-seed Arizona in the first round. Bye, y’all.
• Today in history… Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius (180). The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city (1776). The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed (1861). Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO (1948). The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite, which is also the first satellite to achieve a long-term orbit (1958). Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel (1969). A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2% (1992). 
• March 16 is the birthday of Scotland king James IV (1473), SCOTUS chief justice Roger B. Taney (1777), engineer/businessman Gottlieb Daimler (1834), social reformer Martha P. Falconer (1862), composer Alfred Newman (1900), NFL player Sammy Baugh (1914), singer Nat King Cole (1919), singer-songwriter Paul Kantner (1941), serial killer John Wayne Gacy (1942), singer-songwriter John Sebastian (1944), author William Gibson (1948), actor Kurt Russell (1951), actor Gary Sinise (1955), NBA/MLB player Danny Ainge (1959), actor Rob Lowe (1964), singer-songwriter Billy Corgan (1967), fashion designer Alexander McQueen (1969), bass player Melissa Auf der Maur (1972), soccer player Mia Hamm (1972), singer-songwriter Justin Hawkins (1975), porn actress Stormy Daniels (1979), singer-songwriter Grimes (1988), singer-songwriter Hozier (1990), and actor John Boyega (1992).

I’m going to try and have a low-stress day. I still have tons to do, but it seems possible for me to be very productive and not freak the fuck out about it. I mean, that’s the goal; it may or may not work out that way, but I’m truly going to make the effort to not be in a shitty mood and snarl at people. Enjoy your day.