Random News: September 11, 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 September 11, 2023, and it’s a Monday. I have a rather typical day ahead, or so I believe, but first let’s see what’s happening around this beautiful world of ours.

• It’s 9/11. We all have a 9/11 story. Mine is probably similar in many ways to yours.
• If you need a short recap of the actual event 22 years ago, I’ll give you one. On September 11, 2001, four coordinated Islamist suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States.
• 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the East Coast to California. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and aimed the next two flights toward targets in or near Washington, D.C.
• The third team succeeded in crashing into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington County, VA, while the fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania following a passenger revolt.
• The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, injured thousands more, and instigated the multi-decade global war on terror, and was probably a major turning point in many Americans’ lives.
• Hate crimes against all people perceived to be of Middle Eastern origin (not just Muslims) skyrocketed after 9/11. Policies of the US government that impacted the privacy and freedom of our own citizens took an immediate turn for the worse, all couched in the name of anti-terrorism goals. Radio stations put out lists of songs that were deemed to be “lyrically questionable” were pulled off the airwaves. And of course, entire communities of 9/11 conspiracy theorists were born, and many still are thriving today.
• And it’s interesting that Iraq and Afghanistan were scapegoated and invaded with dubious justification after 9/11, while Saudi Arabia, the home of the actual terrorist leaders like Osama bin Laden, never seemed to get mentioned in the same way, for reasons of money and oil and political influence that is still very much a factor in today’s world.
• Here’s something odd. I could have sworn 9/11 happened on a Monday, and other people I’ve spoken to have the same impression. It didn’t; September 11, 2001 was on a Tuesday.
• My final note, and I’ve said this same thing for the past three years now; 9/11 was a terrible event and will live forever in infamy… but at least it wasn’t our own citizens attacking our country and our free and fair election system and our very democracy, as happened on January 6, 2021.
• While both events were horrible and 9/11 resulted in a horrible amount of death and destruction that continued for decades, January 6 angers me more. Maybe when all of the planners and organizers and perpetrators of January 6 are brought to justice and receive appropriate punishment, like when Osama bin Laden was hunter down and killed, I’ll feel differently.
• And maybe not.
• Let’s move on.
• The impeachment trial of suspended Texas AG Ken Paxton starts its second week this morning.
• During the first week of proceedings, whistleblowers who reported Paxton to the FBI for potential criminal activity portrayed him as obsessed with helping friend and political donor Nate Paul, who was under state and federal investigation for his business dealings.
• In other news, Republicans in Wisconsin are threatening to remove from office the newly elected state supreme court justice Janet Protasiewicz if she refuses to recuse herself from cases involving gerrymandering.
• How about this answer: fuck all the way off.
• The efforts to remove Protasiewicz and the Wisconsin elections commission administrator, Meagan Wolfe, from office have been decried by Democrats and government watchdog groups as undemocratic and could affect the administration of elections in 2024.
• That’s all Republicans have left now. They know they can’t win a popular vote in most places, so they report to any dirty trick imaginable to maintain power and subvert the will of the people.
• Protasiewicz won her election in April in a landslide – an uncommon victory in Wisconsin, where statewide elections are often determined by narrow margins.
• While we’re on this topic…
• In the past nine days, state and federal judges threw out two congressional maps — and helped Democrats avoid a worst-case scenario in Ohio — kicking off an unusually busy redistricting calendar heading into the election year.
• A dozen or more seats across at least six states could be redrawn, increasing the likelihood Democrats could chip away the five-seat GOP House majority through redistricting alone.
• Via redistricting, Democrats could pick up an extra seat in each of a handful of states, including Florida, Alabama and Louisiana, and perhaps several more in New York. It goes both ways; Republicans could still pick up as many as four seats in North Carolina.
• Not only could this give Democrats a slight edge in their bid to reclaim the majority in the House, but it would also increase the number of Black members in their conference. 
• The court rulings and new maps coming in the next four months could determine the 2024 House map. It’s exciting!
• Moving on to the most dangerous asshole in Washington: Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
• Yesterday, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, condemned Tuberville’s ongoing hold on hundreds of military promotions, calling it a “paralyzing” move that amounts to a “national security problem.”
• Tuberville, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has blocked hundreds of military promotions for months over his objection to a Defense Department policy that provides paid time off and reimburses travel costs for service members and dependents seeking abortions.
• Our military is seriously compromised and we are now unprepared to defend our country due to the actions of this one man’s personal crusade. He’s got to go.
• Here’s some lurid shit.
• The Redlands Unified School District in Southern California will pay $2.25 million to settle the latest lawsuit involving a teacher who became pregnant by one of at least two students she was accused of sexually abusing.
• In August 2016, the district agreed to pay $6 million to another former student who impregnated Whitehust while she was his teacher.
• Laura Whitehurst was having sex with multiple 14-year-olds at Redlands High School in 2007 and 2008, in her classroom and at her apartment. Whitehurst taught English and was a soccer coach, and pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with three former students. She served six months in jail and registered as a sex offender.
• Some news from the world of business and empty calories…
• This morning, J.M. Smucker agreed to buy Twinkies maker Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion including debt in a deal that unites two major American snack makers.
• Smucker will pay Hostess shareholders $34.25 per share. Frankly, Hostess products have never been quite as tasty since the original company went bankrupt and was acquired in 2013.
• And now, The Weather: “Hold My Head” by Lutalo
• Your weather should be getting somewhat better in coming days/weeks, unless you’re in an East Coast area that may be impacted by the remnants of hurricanes.
• In entertainment, some disheartening news regarding Drew Barrymore. She announced the return of her talk show amid the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes.
• Drew claims that she will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike, which doesn’t seem possible. Picketing in front of her show in New York will be a focus for the striking writers.
• Bad move, Drew.
• Got a chart for you. It’s the top singles from the Billboard Hot 100 on this date in September 1991.
• A fascinating side note about the song “Wind of Change” by Scorpions, one of the best-selling singles of all time and the record holder for the best-selling single by a German artist.
• There have long been allegations that the song was written by or connected to the Central Intelligence Agency. Klaus Meine denied it emphatically, saying, “It’s a fascinating idea, and it's an entertaining idea, but it's not true at all."
• Hmm.
• 1. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (Bryan Adams). 2. The Promise Of A New Day (Paula Abdul). 3. Motownphilly (Boyz II Men). 4. Things That Make You Go Hmmmm…  (C+C Music Factory). 5. 3 A.M. Eternal (The KLF). 6. I Adore Mi Amor (Color Me Badd). 7. Crazy (Seal). 8. Wind Of Change (Scorpions). 9. Time, Love And Tenderness (Michael Bolton). 10. I Can't Wait Another Minute (Hi-Five). 11. Good Vibrations (Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch Featuring Loleatta Holloway). 12. Too Many Walls (Cathy Dennis). 13. Every Heartbeat (Amy Grant). 14. Unforgettable (Natalie Cole). 15. Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave) (Roxette). 16. The Motown Song (Rod Stewart). 17. Now That We Found Love (Heavy D & The Boyz). 18. Love Of A Lifetime (Firehouse). 19. It Ain't Over 'til It's Over (Lenny Kravitz). 20. My Name Is Not Susan (Whitney Houston)
• From the Sports Desk… yes, the NFL is back. Were there some upsets in Week 1? You betcha.
• In addition to the aforementioned Thursday night surprise with the Detroit Lions (+5) beating the defending champs Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Browns (+25) upset the Cincinnati Bengals, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6) upset the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers (+1) upset the Chicago Bears, the Las Vegas Raiders (+3.5) upset the Denver Broncos, the Miami Dolphins (+3) upset the LA Chargers, and the LA Rams (+5.5) upset the Seattle Seahawks.
• We’ll see what happens tonight in the return of Monday Night Football, with the Buffalo Bills facing the New York Jets who are now led by Aaron Rodgers.
• Also for the Sports Desk… congrats, I guess, to Novak Djokovic, who won his 24th Grand Slam title last night, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the U.S. Open final.
• Today in history… Henry Hudson arrives on Manhattan Island and meets the indigenous people living there (1609). Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury (1789). United States Marine Corps invades Honduras (1919). Construction begins on The Pentagon (1941). Hurricane Edna hits New England (1954). Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast (1961). San Francisco’s BART begins passenger service (1972). General Augusto Pinochet leads a coup in Chile and topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende (1973). Hurricane Iniki devastates the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu (1992). The September 11 terrorist attacks kill 2,996 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda (2001). The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths (2012).
• September 11 is the birthday of organist William Boyce (1711), lens maker Carl Zeiss (1816), astronomer Mary Watson Whitney (1847), writer O. Henry (1862), writer D. H. Lawrence (1885), football coach Bear Bryant (1913), NFL Films founder/producer Ed Sabol (1916), politician Ferdinand Marcos (1917), NFL coach Tom Landry (1924), film director Brian De Palma (1940), percussionist/composer Mickey Hart (1943), guitarist/composer Leo Kotke (1945), singer-songwriter/guitarist Tommy Shaw (1953), actress Roxann Dawson (1958), actress Virginia Madsen (1961), songwriter/composer/DJ Moby (1965), singer-songwriter/pianist Harry Connick Jr. (1967), rapper Ludacris (1977), NFL player Ed Reed (1978), and MLB player Mike Moustakas (1988).

Well, that’s all for now. My Mondays are usually consumed with work, and that’s fine. I have plenty of work to do, so I’ll just do that. There are many people who would want nothing more than steady work as I am fortunate to have. Enjoy your day.