Random News: September 28, 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 28, 2023, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. The sun is rising, I just made a fresh pot of Peet’s Organic Alameda Morning Blend — which is delicious — and now I’m ready to see what’s going on in the world.

• Wow.
• When Dumpty Dump first announced his plans to skip last night’s GOP debate to instead do a speech in Michigan, his campaign pretended the address was in support of striking union members.
• But no. Trump fucking spoke at a NONUNION auto parts factory, as a guest of the boss, to a crowd with only a few striking workers in attendance. Fucking amazing.
• See, the striking UAW workers can’t stand Trump, and members of the GOP are saying that striking union workers should just be fired and discarded for cheaper non-union labor. In 2020, Michigan union households went for Biden by 25 percentage points.
• Way to read the room, Donnie Boy.
• But this gets worse. People holding signs saying things like “Union members for Trump” admitted afterwards that they weren’t unions members or even auto workers at all. They’d been paid to attend.
• Typical.
• We have some other, more tangible news about El Dumpo, though.
• Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Donald John Trump’s federal 2020 election subversion criminal case, will not disqualify herself from the matter. Yesterday, she rejected the longshot bid from Dumpy’s team to remove her from the case. 
• Ha ha!
• Here’s a funny little iota from Dumpy’s recent conviction for fraud in New York City. It’s about the golf motel they own in Florida, the place where he kept the stolen documents (whoops, that’s a different felony case).
• Anyway, Big Dump along with Dumpy Junior and Genius Eric are bigly mad that Judge Engoron cited an appraisal of Mar-a-Lago by the Palm Beach County Assessor, which found the market value of the 17.5-acre property between 2011 and 2021 between $18 million and $27.6 million.
• The Dump Family claims that instead, it’s worth $1.5 billion. That’s like… a hundred times more than the assessed value. Even if it were assessed at the very highest end, say $300 million, that’s still six times less than its imaginary worth.
• And the really funny thing: if Mar-a-Lago was worth anywhere near as much as they now claim, then the Trumps have committed massive tax fraud.
• Moving on… to that government shutdown that happens when a GOP-led House doesn’t do the one task that makes up their entire job description: passing a budget.
• The shutdown is now all but 100% going to happen, as House Republicans indicated Wednesday they would not consider a bipartisan Senate plan to fund the government past the weekend deadline.
• Yesterday, the White House Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to be prepared to notify their employees of the status of government funding. More details will be arriving this morning as part of the government’s mandatory contingency process.
• Time for some good news.
• A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors is temporarily blocked, a state judge ruled yesterday, just four days before it was to take effect.
• As you may recall, Montana’s bill drew national attention this spring after Republicans punished Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr — the first transgender woman elected to the state’s legislature — for admonishing lawmakers who supported the bill.
• District Court Judge Jason Marks agreed with transgender youth, their families and health care providers that the law passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature is likely unconstitutional and would harm the mental and physical health of minors with gender dysphoria, rather than protect them from experimental treatments, as supporters said it would.
• Right on. Big ups to Zooey Zephyr, who has been kicking ass in this fight.
• And now, less good news.
• As we mentioned not long ago, New Orleans is dealing with salt threatening local drinking water supplies. Now experts say it cold last as long as three months.
• Collin Arnold, New Orleans' homeland security chief, said that timeframe was based on advice from the Army Corps of Engineers.
• The city is hoping to build a pipeline further upriver to pump water that would dilute the salt at treatment plants. Good luck, Big Easy.
• Some really sad news regarding the recent murder of 26-year-old tech CEO Pava LaPere. The suspect, Jason Billingsley, was already wanted in connection to an attempted murder, arson, and rape that occurred on September 19. He was also on the sex offender registry and was recently listed as non-compliant.
• They found Billingsley, 32, at a train station and arrested him last night. He seems like the worst possible type of person. Police Commissioner Richard Worley said before his arrest, “This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm.”
• Moving on.
• I didn’t watch last night’s GOP debate. I don’t know why that would have been a good use of my time, or frankly anyone’s time. None of these people will be elected president in 2024. But I did read some fact-check recaps.
• Tim Scott claim: Nikki Haley spent $50,000 on curtains as the UN ambassador. Reality: nope. The purchasing decision was made during the Obama administration and Haley was not involved. 
• Mike Pence claim: Trump administration oversaw record-low unemployment for Blacks, Hispanics. Reality: the cherry-picked info from a month in 2019 could be viewed as accurate, but in September 2022 under President Biden, the Hispanic or Latino unemployment rate hit a new record low of 3.9%, and in April the Black unemployment rate hit a new record low of 4.7%. Pence’s info was no longer accurate.
• Nikki Haley claim: China is “stealing $600 billion in intellectual property.” Reality: she’s not necessarily wrong, but her number is the high extreme of an estimated range. The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property estimated in 2018 that Chinese intellectual property theft costs the U.S. between $225 billion and $600 billion annually.
• Vivek Ramaswamy claim: Ukraine banned 11 opposition parties. Reality: Maybe add some context. Zelenskyy did announce in March 2022 that Ukraine suspended 11 political parties because of their strong ties to Russia, and it came one month after Russia launched its invasion of the country. So, duh.
• Doug Burgum claim: “China controls 85% of the rare earth minerals.” Reality: yes, that’s 100% true. China accounts for at least 85% of the world’s capacity to process rare earth minerals.
• Chris Christie claim: Donald Trump added $7 trillion to our national debt. Reality: it was even worse than that. The total public debt increased by approximately $7.8 trillion from the start of Trump’s presidency on January 20, 2017, to when he left office on January 19, 2021. 
• There was only one direct quote that made me giggle from the debate, which was, “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.” - Nikki Haley to Vivek Ramaswamy
• And now, The Weather: “ok nevermind” by rosetan
• RIP to actor Michael Gambon, who died at age 82 after a bout of pneumonia. You probably know him from his role as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six Harry Potter movies.
• Gambon’s acting career spanned more than five decades, including working in theater with Laurence Olivier and starring in the BBC series “The Singing Detective.”
• Let’s talk about weed.
• A new bill that aims to give the marijuana industry access to banking services moved forward in the Senate yesterday.
• The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators last week. The bill would provide legal protection to banks or other financial institutions that offer services to state-legal marijuana businesses.
• The bipartisan Senate Banking Committee voted 14-9 to advance the measure to the full chamber’s floor. Many legal marijuana businesses have been forced to operate in risky all-cash transactions, due to the possibility of federal penalties.
• “I am committed to building bipartisan momentum to finally get a bill signed into law that ends the cannabis cash economy and improves public safety across the nation.” - Rep. Jeff Merkey (D-OR)
• I support this. Marijuana is only still completely illegal in a small minority of 12 states. It is 100% legal for recreational use in 23 states, and legal for medicinal use in another 15 states.
• Here’s a chart for you… it’s the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 singles from 40 years ago in September 1983. Some really good shit in here! I was going into my sophomore year at the time, and music that was made while you were in high school is obviously the best music that ever was, said every asshole ever.
• 81. Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder). 82. Cum On Feel The Noize (Quiet Riot). 83. You Put The Beat In My Heart (Eddie Rabbitt). 84. Baby, What About You (Crystal Gayle). 85. A Little Good News (Anne Murray). 86. All I Need To Know (Bette Midler). 87. Send Her My Love (Journey). 88. Masquerade (Berlin). 89. Major Tom (Coming Home) (Peter Schilling). 90. You Know What To Do (Carly Simon). 91. After The Fall (Journey). 92. High Time (Styx). 93. Should I Love You (Cee Farrow). 94. Don't Girls Get Lonely (Glenn Shorrock). 95. Canvas Of Life (Minor Detail). 96. Life Gets Better (Graham Parker). 97. Is There Something I Should Know (Duran Duran). 98. Don't You Know How Much I Love You (Ronnie Milsap). 99. What's She Got (Liquid Gold). 100. All Time High (Rita Coolidge).
• From the Sports Desk… a blockbuster NBA trade months in the making went through yesterday when the Portland Trail Blazers traded guard Damian Lillard to play to alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Phoenix Suns.
• Portland will receive Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, Milwaukee's 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick, and unprotected Milwaukee swap rights in 2028 and 2030. The Suns will receive Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
• I think you now have to consider the Bucks, along with the Celtics and last years champion Nuggets, as a leading contender to win it all in the upcoming NBA season.
• Over in the MLB, there are only a couple of games left in the regular season, and the playoffs are all but wrapped up (though a few spots are still in play). If the playoffs started today…
• American League wild-card round: (6) Astros at (3) Twins, (5) Blue Jays at (4) Rays. ALDS: Twins/Astros vs. (2) Rangers, Rays/Blue Jays vs. (1) Orioles.
• National League wild-card round: (6) Cubs at (3) Brewers, (5) D-backs at (4) Phillies. NLDS: Brewers/Cubs vs. (2) Dodgers, Phillies/D-backs vs. (1) Braves.
• It’s a good time of year to enjoy sports.
• Today in history… Pompey arrives in Egypt and is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy XIII (48 BC). King James I of Aragon — my 25th great-grandfather — conquers Valencia from the Moors (1238). Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California, becoming the first European in California (1542). The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval (1787). The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted, and will be made public on 13 October (1821). The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves (1871). Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska (1919). Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin (1928). Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better (1941). CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later (1951). Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit (2008). Protests begin in Hong Kong in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing (2014).
• September 28 is the birthday of philosopher Confucius (551 BC), plumber/inventor Thomas Crapper (1836), broadcaster/CBS founder William S. Paley (1901), TV host Ed Sullivan (1901), singer/refugee Maria Franziska von Trapp (1914), spy Ethel Rosenberg (1915), poet/singer Tuli Kupferberg (1923), actor/singer Marcello Mastroianni (1924), singer Koko Taylor (1928), actress Brigitte Bardot (1934), guitarist/inventor Emmett Chapman (1936), singer-songwriter Ben E. King (1938), NFL player/politician Steve Largent (1954), guitarist/songwriter George Lynch (1954), pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), NHL player Grant Fuhr (1962), comedian Janeane Garofalo (1964), actress Mira Sorvino (1967), model Dita Von Teese (1972), NBA player Bonzi Wells (1976), rapper Young Jeezy (1977), singer-songwriter/guitarist St. Vincent (1982), and singer-songwriter Hilary Duff (1987).

As usual, there’s more news to be aware of and discuss, but my time is limited. I have a self-imposed deadline by tomorrow to finish a ton of work-related writing (dozens and dozens of new product descriptions, yay!), and I’m determined to make it happen. Enjoy your day.