Random News: August 19, 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.

---

Good morning. It’s August 19, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’m just sitting here waiting on a hurricane, but let’s not be dramatic about it. Also, it will be a tropical storm when it gets to me tomorrow. So basically it will rain some. We’re fine. Let’s see what’s happened and what’s happening…

• I’ve been doing focused coverage of That Former President Guy far too often in recent times, only because of the slew of indictments that have arrived in the past few months. Otherwise, I’d never have bothered giving him the attention.
• He should be thought of as a bizarre form of entertainment and nothing more. Anyway, if something of relevance happens in his ongoing criminal fucking around and finding out, I’ll be sure to tell you.
• Otherwise, fuck it.
• I will mention that it appears certain that The Lyin’ King is planning to skip the first Republican presidential debate on this coming Wednesday, and is instead expected to sit for an interview with one of the few remaining talking heads who will eat his ass, a certain Tucker Carlson.
• Can you imagine Donnie on a debate stage against other Republicans at this stage? Bringing up his fucking indictments? He’d give so much ammo to his own prosecution, it would be beyond hilarious.
• Even without Dump there, the debates will be about him. Who’s in it and why? As things currently stand, eight candidates have met the RNC’s minimum standards for polling and donor support, but only five have completed the final step by signing the RNC’s loyalty pledge (to support the eventual candidate)…
• DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, Scott, and Burgum are in as such. Trump, Pence, and Christie qualify with polling and donors, but haven’t signed the pledge. That just leaves Hutchinson, Suarez, and Hurd, who don’t meet the criteria.
• None of this matters, and no, I have zero intention of watching this clown show.
• Regardless, at this point, That Guy’s lawyers are begging him to say nothing to anyone, ever. No press conferences, no debates. With his combination of ego and lack of self-awareness, he won’t be able to stop himself though. He faces an August 25 deadline to surrender for his arrest in the Georgia RICO case.
• I mentioned the upcoming Proud Boys’ sentencing yesterday. Guess who left to their preemptive defense?
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), of course. She tweeted about it after the DOJ announced it is seeking a 33-year sentence for Enrique Tarrio’s role in planning the Jan. 6 failed coup attempt.
• Tarrio was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May, the most serious charge brought against anyone related to the riots.
• Yesterday, Sporky wrote, “You know who the Justice Department is not seeking 33 years in prison for? Antifa/BLM violent rioters who burned, looted, destroyed $2 billion in property in George Floyd riots. And Hunter Biden and Joe Biden for taking criminal bribes selling political influence and favors.”
• Your word of the day: Deflection (psychological defense mechanism): Involves redirecting or “deflecting” blame for one’s own mistake onto someone else in an attempt to preserve one’s own self-image. With deflection, the individual is consciously aware that they’re truly the one at fault as they pass deflections off onto other people.
• Moving on…
• Katie Rinderle, a fifth grade teacher in Marietta, GA, has been fired and her termination upheld by the Cobb County School Board of Education in a 4-3 vote along party lines.
• What did she do? She read a children’s book on gender identity to her class earlier this year.
• The storybook she read, “My Shadow Is Purple”, is by Australian author Scott Stuart. It’s about a child who reflects on his mother’s shadow being pink and his father’s shadow being blue, and says their shadow is purple.
• I’m sure the kids will never recover.
• In other news, FEMA said yesterday that it has approved more than $5.6 million in assistance to nearly 2,000 households in Maui so far as the federal government tries to help survivors of the devastating wildfires.
• They approved a one-time payment of $700 per household for needs like clothing, food, or transportation. The agency will also pay to put survivors up in hotels and motels and says it has paid out $1.6 million in rental assistance as of Friday.
• That’s… a good start, but those folks are going to need a lot more help than that, obviously. Example: in the wake of the Northern California wildfire in 2018, FEMA paid out $238 million in assistance.
• And now, The Weather: “The Weeks” by Art School Girlfriend
• I promise, I’m not being flippant about Hurricane Hilary. I’ve kept a close eye on the storm path and rainfall and wind speed predictions for my specific area. Having lived in this neighborhood since 1995, I know what the flooding patterns and such.
• Some folks not very far away will get it much worse than us. I don’t want to discourage anyone from being well prepared. Simple stuff. Have water available. Food. Pet supplies. And plan for potentially losing power for awhile. All that logical shit.
• At the moment, it’s been a mostly sunny and pleasant morning, though it’s suddenly getting more dark and overcast… hmm.
• I mentioned yesterday that I had a weird story about a colleague. I can tell you without mentioning identifying details. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.
• There’s a guy I’d worked with for well over a decade — we’re both outside contractors for a longterm mutual client. Let it be known that I’ve almost always had a contentious relationship with this person, which is rare for me. I get along with nearly everyone.
• Anyway, on Thursday morning, I was surprised to find out that he’d suddenly departed the company which he’d founded without any previous warning. One of our coworkers decided to Google him to see why he’d changed jobs.
• Except his LinkedIn profile isn’t what popped up at the top of search. Instead, it was that he’d been arrested in a fucking child sex trafficking sting. He’s in jail and facing multiple felonies.
• Holy fucking shit.
• I don’t need to get into any other details of all this, but I mention it to bring up the idea of trusting your instincts about people. On multiple occasions, this guy said and did things that made me feel extremely cautious about him and I never trusted him, ever.
• Anyway, that blew my mind. Going back to 2012, I was in meetings with this dude at least weekly. This wasn’t some casual acquaintance. So, as I always say, let justice be served.
• From the Sports Desk… the Women’s World Cup final between Spain and England is tomorrow (8/20 at 3AM PT/6AM ET). I won’t be watching. I’ll be in bed sleeping through a storm. But go whichever team you support!
• Today in history… Octavian compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul (43 BC). In Salem, MA, one woman and four men are executed for practicing witchcraft (1692). The last major battle of the Revolutionary War happens at the Battle of Blue Licks in present-day Kentucky (1782). The New York Herald breaks the news of the California Gold Rush to the East Coast (1848). US Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and are massacred in return (1854). The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens (1909). Germany approves Adolf Hitler's appointment as head of state with the title of Führer (1934). Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam (1945). Severe flooding in the northeast caused by Hurricane Diane claims 200 lives (1955). The Soviet Union moves toward dissolution when Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on vacation in Ukraine (1991). Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević (1999). Google has its IPO on Nasdaq (2004). 
• August 19 is the birthday of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus (232), engineer Orville Wright (1871), fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883), poet Ogden Nash (1902), inventor Philo Farnsworth (1906), writer Ring Lardner, Jr. (1915), publisher/politician Malcolm Forbes (1919), screenwriter/producer Gene Roddenberry (1921), jockey Bill Shoemaker (1931), actress Diana Muldaur (1938), drummer Ginger Baker (1939), singer Ian Gillan (1945), US president Bill Clinton (1946), songwriter/bass player John Deacon (1951), actor/director Jonathan Frakes (1952), NFL player Anthony Muñoz (1958), actress Kyra Sedgwick (1965), singer/rapper Nate Dogg (1969), and actor Matthew Perry (1969).

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to relax and do a little flood proofing here just in case. Enjoy your day.