Random News: June 8, 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 June 8, 2023, and it’s Thursday for some reason. Many things are happening. Now, some are definitely happening/already happened, some are kinda maybe happening, and some, well, who knows what the fuck? But let’s check them out anyway…

• First, some daily Pride stuff, as I promised. One thing I’ve noticed is that every generation seems to think that everything that happens around them is somehow new. And really, almost nothing at all is ever new.
• Like, people started being gay and trans around 2011 or something. It didn’t exist before then.
• The reality: ancient works of art and literature in Asia and Europe quite clearly depict details about same-sex relationships from thousands of years ago.
• Cultural icons from around the world convey description of religious entities that transcend gender norms and manifest multiple combinations of sex and gender. Again, we’re talking about eras before the time of Christ… literally thousands and thousands of years ago.
• Can I tell you why you’re more aware of LGBTQIA topics now than you were before? Because it’s less likely that these people are being jailed or beaten or killed for being their true selves.
• I think it’s very likely that the actual percentage of people who are somewhere in the LGBTQIA+ range is probably similar to what it was those millennia ago. It is what it’s always been. And if there’s a main point to Pride month, it’s that it celebrates that now more than ever, gay people are not forced to hide who they are.
• Let’s not go backwards now.
• Let’s do some news. There’s a lot.
• Federal prosecutors have formally notified former President Donald J. Trump in a letter that he is the target of a criminal investigation. This is the clearest signal yet that special counsel Jack Smith is on the verge of a charging decision in his probe of the former president.
• You don’t get a target letter if you’re not getting indicted. And if you’re indicted but he feds, they have an overwhelmingly high conviction rate. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
• If you’re keeping score at home, this investigation is about Trump concealing classified documents at his Florida golf motel, and then orchestrating a scheme to prevent federal authorities from finding them.
• Things get fuzzier from here. Sources say that prosecutors intend to ask grand jurors to vote on the indictment as early as today, but that vote could be delayed as much as a week until the next meeting of the grand jury to allow for a complete presentation of evidence, or to allow investigators to gather more evidence for presentation if necessary.
• Keeping things confusing, in addition to the one in D.C., a separate grand jury meeting in Florida has also been hearing evidence in the documents investigation. Simple reason: Trump’s crimes were allegedly committed in the state of Florida, and under federal law, prosecutors must bring charges against federal defendants in the jurisdiction where the crimes took place.
• Okay, makes sense.
• There’s also some information circulating about Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows. It’s known that he testified to a federal grand jury as part of Jack Smith’s ongoing investigation into the former president, and was asked about Donnie’s handling of classified documents as well as efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
• A different and unconfirmed legitimate news source also had claimed that Meadows already made an agreement to enter pleas of guilty to unspecified federal crimes in exchange for his testimony on the more serious charges against Trump, but Meadows’ attorney said this was, and I quote,“complete bullshit”.
• My reminder: everyone accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. I will afford that asshole the same benefit of the doubt as I would any other accused criminal.
• But wow, when that indictment drops, whenever it may be… as we’ve discussed before, the charges may be very, very, very serious.
• Also, Don is not handling this well, screaming insane claims and threats in all caps via his social network.
• Okay, enough on that until we hear actual news. Moving on. Kinda.
• Yesterday, news came out that former Trump White House official Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by Jack Smith’s federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with the investigation into Jan. 6 and Orange Man's efforts to stay in office.
• The subpoena is for documents and testimony, and Bannon got it in late May. This is not about the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case; it’s about Trump’s efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
• Moving on… with some breaking news from the Supreme Court this morning…
• Their final decision of the day is a 5–4 ruling that affirms the Voting Rights Act's protection in Alabama. They tossed out a Republican-drawn Congressional map in the state that would’ve heavily diluted the Black vote.
• Roberts and Kavanaugh joined the liberals in the decision. This is a huge surprise, a big blow to Republicans trying to game the system, and a major voting rights victory. Good stuff!
• Let’s continue…
• Pat Robertson has died at age 93. He turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president, and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition.
• I’m not here to speak ill of the dead, but that’s something that Robertson did often.
• Example: In 2010, a horrific earthquake struck Haiti, killing an estimated 160,000 people. A day later, Robertson went on The 700 Club and told viewers that Haitians were to blame, claiming they made a deal with the Devil during their 1791 rebellion against slavery.
• He used his large platform to claim LGBTQ people cause hurricanes and earthquakes. He subscribed to the belief that 9/11 was caused by feminists, queer people, and the ACLU, among others.
• In other news…
• Yesterday, President Joe Biden vetoed a bill that would have repealed months of student loan payment forbearance and banned his up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness — regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the legality of the program this month.
• The resolution to force the continuation of student loan payments passed the House in May and the Senate last week, with support from three traitorous pricks: Sen. Kyrsten Simena (I-AZ) and two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT).
• Moving on…
• I’ve been diligent about covering the trials, convictions and sentences of the people involved in the planning and failed execution of the coup attempt at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. This next one was a bit of a surprise.
• Actor Jay Johnston, whose credits include "Anchorman," “Arrested Development," "Bob's Burgers" and "The Sarah Silverman Program," is accused of unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol complex and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted area during the 2021 insurrection.
• He turned himself in to the FBI in Los Angeles yesterday. Johnston's arrest is one of more than 1,000 Jan. 6 cases brought by Justice Department prosecutors to date.
• And now, The Weather: “Retina Show” by Tame Impala
• I want to give you East Coast folks some advice about living with terrible air quality due to fires. I know some stuff about this.
• Don’t go outside more than you have to (duh). Wear a cloth mask (minimally) or (much better) an N95. During one of our bad fire seasons, we got a large air filter for the main area downstairs and smaller units for each room. And don’t give in to the natural desire to open some windows for fresh air. You’ll just make it way worse.
• Your phone probably has a weather app, and that app probably has an air quality index if you scroll around. If the AQI is anything over 200, that is seriously unhealthy, and could trigger immediate health issues for more vulnerable people.
• Everyone in California and the Pacific Northwest has been through this multiple times, often more than once per year, and it’s always awful.
• Moving on…
• Fox News notified Tucker Carlson's lawyers yesterday that the former prime-time anchor violated his contract with the network when he launched his own Twitter show on Tuesday.
• As you recall, Carlson was ousted from Fox in April following a record $787 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
• The fight between Tucky and Fox will be bigly ugly. I’ll need some popcorn.
• Rest in peace to pianist George Winston. He was 73. Winston was the guy who was the first big star of new age music back in the late ‘70s.
• His music built the whole Windham Hill Records label, and he sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. If you want some samples of his mellow solo piano sound, try anything from his 1980 album ‘Autumn' or its follow-up, 1982's 'Winter into Spring.’
• From the Sports Desk… the Denver Nuggets seem once again like an unstoppable force. They beat the Miami Heat 109-94, and take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
• There was some history making in this game. Denver point guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic became the first duo to record 30-point triple-doubles. Yes, both of them. How do you stop that?
• Today in history… Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome (452). Edward the Confessor becomes King of England (1042). James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress (1789). Tennessee secedes from the Union (1861). Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value (1906). The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle (1942). George Orwell's ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is published (1949). The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons (1953). The National Football League and American Football League announced a merger effective in 1970 (1966). James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., is arrested at London Heathrow Airport (1968). Homosexuality is decriminalized in the Australian state of New South Wales (1984).
• June 8 is the birthday of composer Robert Schumann (1810), mathematician Charlotte Scott (1858), architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867), SCOTUS justice Byron White (1917), US first lady Barbara Bush (1925), actor Jerry Stiller (1927), comedian/TV host Joan Rivers (1933), actor/singer James Darren (1936), singer Nancy Sinatra (1940), singer-songwriter/guitarist Boz Scaggs (1944), pianist Emanuel Ax (1949), singer-songwriter Bonnie Tyler (1951), computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee (1955), singer-songwriter Mick Hucknall (1960), actress Julianna Margulies (1967), tennis player Lindsay Davenport (1976), rapper/presidential candidate Kanye West (1977), and tennis player Kim Clijsters (1983).

Okay then. That’s all we have time for now. Speaking of time, it’s time for me to workout, and then work, and then whatever happens after that. Looking forward, I think, to more interesting news tomorrow. Enjoy your day.