Random News: August 9, 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 9, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. Got a busy day ahead work-wise, but I’m feeling pretty good so far this morning, and I hope it lasts.

• Let’s start with some absolutely fantastic news for a change.
• In a special election held yesterday, Ohio overwhelmingly defeated their Issue 1, which would have raised the threshold of the state’s voters to implement a constitutional change from a mere 50% +1 majority to 60%.
• Is this a big deal? It’s a HUGE fucking deal.
• Ohio jammed in a 6-week abortion ban that went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. It’s one of the harshest in the nation. Many women do not know they are pregnant before that 6-week time frame.
• A state court blocked the six-week law, and legal proceedings are continuing.
• The entire purpose for this single-topic election that was jammed in by Republicans was to try and stop voters this fall from changing the Ohio constitution to protect women’s reproductive rights.
• What this was, was a landslide mandate that the people of Ohio will not stand for candidates who support forced birth. Every single GOP candidate in that state should be shaking in their boots right now.
• The proposed Ohio constitutional amendment, which has qualified for the November ballot, would protect the right of individuals to make their own reproductive decisions, including on contraception and abortion. It would forbid the state from prohibiting or interfering with the "voluntary exercise of this right."
• No state thus far has been successful in efforts to take away rights of voters to change their state’s constitution. Arkansas and South Dakota put forth legislative measures that would've imposed the supermajority threshold for the adoption of constitutional amendments, and both failed. Republicans in Missouri's legislature attempted earlier this year to replace its simple majority bar with a 57% marker, but failed to even send the issue to voters for the final word.
• This is amazing, excellent news, and I’m proud to have been born in Ohio.
• It’s also a sign for politicians across the USA in coming elections: those of you who supported the repeal of Roe v Wade should start polishing your resumes. Very few people in this country are going to elect (or re-elect) forced-birth candidates.
• The young people, the women, and even the sane older guys like me will make sure of it.
• Moving on…
• I rarely talk about things that have yet to happen. That being said…
• Fani Willis, the Atlanta-area district attorney investigating Donald Trump and his allies has been lining up witnesses to appear before a grand jury in order to craft a narrative around how Trump and his supporters tried to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State.
• She is expected to spend two days presenting her case before a grand jury next week.
• Willis could seek several indictments against Donnie and his pals as she eyes a sweeping racketeering case that shows Team Trump operating as a criminal enterprise in their endeavors to upend Georgia’s election results.
• Is Trump scared of Willis’s investigation? He’s has launched three separate unsuccessful suits seeking to quash it. 
• More on all that later.
• Yesterday, a divided Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to enforce regulations aimed at clamping down on so-called ghost guns — firearm-making kits available online that people can assemble at home.
• The vote was 5-4, with conservatives Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal justices in the majority.
• The rule clarified that ghost guns fit within the definition of "firearm" under federal law, meaning that the government has the power to regulate them in the same way it regulates firearms manufactured and sold through the traditional process.
• Good news.
• In other SCOTUS/gun news, there’s a case in the court's coming term (starting in October) concerning whether people accused of domestic violence have a right to own firearms. The conservative justices will undoubtedly want men who beat their wives to have access to guns. Keep an eye on that shit this fall.
• Moving on…
• Ron De Santis’s presidential campaign is going horribly. He is replacing his campaign manager, bringing on James Uthmeier, his chief of staff from his state office.
• Here’s what you have to understand (opinion forthcoming)…
• Trump is unelectable, but the Republican party won’t get behind anyone else, because they have to bend to the will of the MAGA cult.
• If you want to keep a Democrat in the White House for the next 8+ years or longer, let them keep running Trump over and over.
• The one thing you don’t want is an alternative that the GOP can rally around, be it De Santis or someone else. So this is good.
• Montgomery, AL police announced yesterday that arrest warrants were issued for three men in the chaotic brawl at the city’s riverfront dock that was captured on video and showed punches thrown, people hit with chairs and at least one person tossed into the water.
• Richard Roberts, 48, was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, and Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, were each charged with one such count. The chief described the three as white men who were connected to the private boat owner.
• Third-degree assault is considered a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama and is punishable by up to a year in prison. I enjoyed seeing them punished by getting their asses beat, but that’s just a personal observation.
• Moving on…
• Does your child have a name you use other than his or her full legal name? Like, if your son is named Michael, do people call him Mike?
• Not in Florida they don’t.
• Florida students will now be required to get their parents' consent before using a nickname in schools. It’s a move designed to target the LGBTQ+ community, but in typical Florida fashion, it inadvertently extends far beyond it’s nefarious goal.
• In an email sent yesterday morning, parents and guardians of Seminole County students were advised that school districts in the state are now "required to develop a form to obtain parental consent to use any deviation or nickname from the child's legal name in school."
• ”If you would like for your child to be able to use a name aside from their legal given name on any of our campuses, we will ask for you to complete the consent form titled 'Parental Authorization for Deviation from Student's Legal Name Form.'"
• I thought the Republicans were all about FREEDOM? But I can’t even be Zak if it says Zakary on my birth certificate? Or Jeff if it says Jeffrey? Or Ron, if I’m the governor and my legal name is Ronald?
• By the way, even if a transgender student did get permission from their parent to use a different name, teachers would still not be obligated to use that student's preferred pronouns.
• That’s due to Florida House Bill 1069, which was approved by DeSantis and went into effect in July. The controversial bill prohibits school employees from being required to use "certain titles and pronouns."
• Related side note: we need a new batch of first names that aren’t associated with any gender. Like Spadango, Clep, Mistin, Shoob, Glorp, and Xithinimi. Feel free to use any of those if you’re planning on a baby.
• In other Florida news, the state’s high schools are now removing studies of Shakespeare, including the full text of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, concerned that they won’t be in compliance with the Republicans’ new law restricting sexual content.
• What a shithole state.
• There was another state election yesterday… the primaries for Mississippi. Gov. Tate Reeves won his GOP primary for re-election, and he’ll face off with Democrat Brandon Presley for the governor race in November. Presley is the second cousin of Elvis, and actually has a good shot at winning the red state.
• Thank you very much.
• And now, The Weather: “Talking to Yourself” by Lewis Coleman
• Thoughts going out to the people of Hawaii. Evacuations are underway across the Big Island and Maui as unprecedented wildfires have damaged structures, prompted rescues and even spurred some to jump into the ocean to escape danger.
• It’s being driven by winds associated with powerful Category 4 Hurricane Dora, which is passing hundreds of miles south of Hawaii, which are helping to fan the flames over the islands.
• Severe weather also impacted the East Coast over the past couple of days, with several people dead and over a million without power. Damaging winds and large hail battered the region, with tornado watches and warnings issued across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. Toppled trees and power lines were seen falling into roads and some homes in multiple states.
• Stay safe out there, please.
• In other news…
• The microphone that Cardi B hurled at an unruly fan last month in Las Vegas is now worth a whole lot more than it used to be, selling for nearly $100,000 yesterday in an eBay auction.
• That Shure wireless mic retails for about $1,000.
• Proceeds from the mic auction are going to two charities: Friendship Circle Las Vegas and the Wounded Warrior Project. Nice.
• Let’s do some charts. It’s August 1987. I am 18 years old and not knowing what the fuck I’m doing, and would remain dazed and confused for about two more years. It was, frankly, a bad time for me. I didn’t really get my shit together until I re-enrolled in University and started taking some responsibility for my own life.
• Regarding the music, i’d forgotten that the soundtrack from ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ had so many hits on it… mostly schlocky crap. I should note that Suzanne Vega had a big hit with “Luka”, and she was an early adopter of Second Life, as some of you may recall. Also, the Steve Winwood album had some well-written pop tunes on it.
• What was I listening to at that time? Probably a lot of prog rock and metal, and some Grateful Dead from cool bootleg tapes.
• 1. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2). 2. I Want Your Sex (From "Beverly Hills Cop II") (George Michael). 3. Shakedown (From "Beverly Hills Cop II") (Bob Seger). 4. Heart And Soul (T’Pau). 5. Luka (Suzanne Vega). 6. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You (Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine). 7. Who's That Girl (Madonna). 8. Cross My Broken Heart (From "Beverly Hills Cop II") (The Jets). 9. Alone (Heart). 10. Wot's It To Ya (Robbie Nevil). 11. La Bamba (Los Lobos). 12. Don't Mean Nothing (Richard Marx). 13. Only In My Dreams (Debbie Gibson). 14. Rock Steady (The Whispers). 15. The Pleasure Principle (Janet Jackson). 16. Back In The High Life Again (Steve Winwood). 17. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Whitney Houston). 18. Kiss Him Goodbye (The Nylons). 19. It's Not Over ('til It's Over) (Starship). 20. Seven Wonders (Fleetwood Mac)
• From the Sports Desk… I am so happy! I got signed up for my favorite NFL Pick ‘Em Pool yesterday. You likely have a calendar with little scheduled reminders for important things you need to do, like meeting to attend or various project deadlines and stuff, right?
• At this time of year, every year, I enter a calendar item for every Tuesday morning to make my picks. I’m pretty serious about it. I follow along the season, look at Vegas odds, stay aware who’s injured or suspended or whatever, what teams have momentum versus those who are stagnating… and none of it really matters, since it’s all for fun.
• But I have won that same pool, run by my friend Jess Smith, several times over the many (13?14?) years I’ve been doing it.
• Today in history… Julius Caesar defeats Pompey, who flees to Egypt (48 BC). The Creek native Americans sign a treaty and give up huge sections of Alabama and Georgia (1814). Philosopher Henry David Thoreau publishes his memoir ‘Walden’ (1854). Thomas Edison receives a patent on a two-way telegraph (1892). Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1902). Jesse Owens wins his fourth medal at the Berlin Olympics (1936). The US Forestry Service releases posters featuring Smokey the Bear for the first time (1944). Nagasaki is devastated by the atomic bomb Fat Man, killing tens of thousands of people instantly and many more later (1945). Singapore becomes the only country ever to gain independence unwillingly, being expelled from Malaysia (1965). Followers of Charles Manson kill Sharon Tate and four others (1969). As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, and Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president (1974). Shannon Eastin becomes the first woman to officiate an NFL game (2012). Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, MO, is shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer, sparking protests and unrest in the city (2014).
• August 9 is the birthday of colonial settler John Webster (1590), psychologist Jean Piaget (1896), educator Willa Beatrice Player (1909), astrophysicist William Alfred Fowler (1911), actor Robert Shaw (1927), NBA player Bob Cousy (1928), tennis player Rod Laver (1938), boxer Ken Norton (1943), actor Sam Elliott (1944), drummer Pete Thomas (1954), actress Melanie Griffith (1957), actress Amanda Bearse (1958), rapper Kurtis Blow (1959), fashion designer Michael Kors (1959), singer-songwriter Whitney Houston (1963), NHL player Brett Hull (1964), journalist Hoda Kotb (1964), NFL/MLB player Deion Sanders (1967), actress Gillian Anderson (1968), NBA player Derek Fisher (1974), actor Dan Levy (1983), actress Anna Kendrick (1985), activist/politician Sarah McBride (1990), and singer-songwriter Arlo Parks (2000).

I can’t tell you what a big deal that Ohio vote was yesterday. Not just for Ohio, I promise, but for the whole USA. At this very moment, hundreds of politicians, from local to county to state to national, are having to rethink their positions of support for forcing women to reproduce. I’ll bet you see some “evolving opinions” on the topic pretty soon here. Enjoy your day.