Random News: September 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 September 9, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’ve got a fresh cup of joe and I’m ready to go.

• I’m going to enjoy writing this first bullet. I’m savoring it, much like the delicious coffee I’m drinking, but even more enjoyable in ways.
• Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones denied former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' bid to move the Georgia criminal case against him to federal court, ruling that his alleged involvement in efforts to pressure state leaders to overturn the 2020 election results was not part of his official duties as a government official.
• This is massive. If Meadows can’t get his case moved out of Georgia, it’s a big indicator that none of the others will be able to either… including El Dumpo, for the same reason.
• “The Court concludes that Meadows has not shown that the actions that triggered the State’s prosecution related to his federal office. Meadows’ alleged association with post-election activities was not related to his role as White House Chief of Staff or his executive branch authority.” - Judge Jones
• Let’s do some world news in the form of a natural disaster. As I was getting ready for bed last night, news came in of a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco.
• The quake was the strongest to hit that part of the North African nation in more than 120 years. Rescue teams are reportedly struggling to reach the most affected areas, with roads blocked by debris.
• The death toll has surpassed 1,000, and the historic walls of Marrakech, first laid out in the early 12th century, have been damaged.
• My thoughts and hopes go out to those people affected. On a side note, earthquakes and hurricanes and tornadoes don’t care about country borders or religions or political outlooks. When tragedy strikes, the living beings are what matter.
• Moving on… or back to the fuckers who tried (and are still actively trying) to destroy our country.
• Yesterday, it was revealed that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) along with 20 other Trump allies including former Senator David Perdue, former Senator Kelly Loeffler, former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, lawyer Boris Epshteyn, lawyer Lin Wood, and others had been recommended for criminal charges by a special grand jury in Fulton County, GA.
• Fani Willis chose not to indict those folks along with the 19 others )including the FPOTUS) in the RICO case.
• Why did she hold off on them? I don’t think they’ve all flipped, if that’s what you’re thinking.
• Instead, some on the grand jury argued that for political figures like Graham, Perdue, and Loeffler, “pandering to their political base” did not rise to “being guilty of a criminal conspiracy.”
• Willis, who has a stellar reputation as a meticulous prosecutor, apparently agreed. I think that’s fair, assuming no actual crimes were committed, which I also doubt, but whatever.
• In other news…
• Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) issued an emergency order yesterday, suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding county for at least 30 days amid a spate of gun violence.
• Lujan Grisham said she is expecting legal challenges but felt compelled to act in response to gun deaths, including the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium this week.
• Violators could face civil penalties and a fine of up to $5,000. Good.
• How about some positive news about our pal Joe?
• Yesterday, a federal appeals court narrowed a judge’s order that blocked Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies.
• The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed much of the controversial order issued as part of a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general that claimed the administration engaged in unconstitutional censorship in its efforts to combat COVID-19 disinformation.
• The three-judge panel said the preliminary injunction issued by US District Judge Terry Doughty in July was “both vague and broader than necessary to remedy the Plaintiffs’ injuries, as shown at this preliminary juncture.”
• Ha ha.
• In shady and shifty news, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) announced yesterday she will add a proposal to amend the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act to the call for Monday’s special legislative session, saying the state’s sunshine law slows down state government operations and exposes her and other constitutional officers to security risks.
• So typical that right-wingers are also calling for transparency in government… until it applies to themselves.
• Wanna know why she’s doing this? It’s because she doesn’t want information about her own security and travel records to be made public. That’s the only reason. Her proposal also includes a “deliberative process” exemption for executive branch agencies, which would mean records related to policy making would no longer be subject to records requests.
• The other big plan for the Monday special session in Arkansas is to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state.
• I’m still pretty sure that if we just look away for awhile and let some states just be on their own and live with their own decisions regarding topics like disease and guns, many problems would work themselves out naturally. Probably faster than you realize.
• In our continuing coverage of the terrible Americans who tried to overthrow our government on January 6, 2021, meet Eric Munchel, 32, and his mommy Lisa Eisenhart, 59.
• Munchel was the “zip tie guy” who also had a stun gun when he invaded the gallery of the US Senate along with Eisenhart. He was sentenced yesterday to nearly five years in prison, while his mom got two-and-a-half years.
• More than 1,100 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the failed coup attempt at the Capitol. More than 600 of them have been sentenced, with approximately 400 receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from three days to 22 years.
• And now, The Weather: “I'm Just A Lover Now” by Hank May
• Some relatively good news out of Hawaii… out of the 1,300 people initially missing and feared hurt/dead from the Maui wildfires last month, the number of missing has dropped to 66. It’s still too many, but any positive news from that whole situation is welcomed.
• In more disconcerting weather news, for the first time on record, storms have now reached Category 5 strength in every tropical ocean basin in the same year.
• A combination of human-caused climate change and El Niño have heated ocean waters to record levels in 2023, setting the stage for this meteorological feat. The global ocean reached its warmest level on record in August.
• Scientists monitor seven tropical oceans basins around the world for storm development. In addition to the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, Category 5 storms formed in the other five basins earlier in 2023.
• We’re fucked.
• Elmo Muck, who was recently accused of disabling his Starlink satellites to harm US ally Ukraine in their fight for sovereignty against invading Russia, sued the state of California yesterday.
• He is upset that our laws here require social media companies to publicly post their policies on hate speech, disinformation, harassment, and extremism on their platforms.
• I’m serious. That’s the basis of his suit. Muck is becoming more and more open about his hateful ways.
• From the Sports Desk… the U.S. Open’s final matches are happening. Today’s Women’s final is between 19-year-old #6 ranked American Coco Gauff battling #2 ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. In the Men’s final tomorrow, #3 ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia faces #2 ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic tomorrow.
• Also in the Sports Desk… tomorrow is the first real full day of NFL football. I’m excited. I have a whole ritual routine that I only do for 17 Sundays each year. It involves having multiple browser tabs open showing scores, my NFL Pick ‘Em pool, various video coverage and game highlights, and so on.
• Can’t wait.
• Today in history… Christopher Columbus, with 17 ships and 1,200 men, sails on his second voyage from Cadiz (1493). Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned "Queen of Scots” (1543). Thomas Cavendish in his ship Desire completes the first deliberately planned voyage of circumnavigation (1588). The Continental Congress officially names its union of states the United States (1776). Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is named after President George Washington (1791). John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph (1839). California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state (1850). The WWII Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy (1943). Kim Il-sung declares the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, aka North Korea (1948). Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time (1956). The four-day Attica Prison riot begins (1971). Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (2015).
• September 9 is the birthday of Roman emperor Honorius (384), politician Cardinal Richelieu (1585), admiral/politician William Bligh (1754), author Leo Tolstoy (1828), businessman Colonel Sanders (1890), actor Cliff Robertson (1923), singer-songwriter Otis Redding (1941), bass player Bruce Palmer (1946), NFL player Joe Theismann (1949), actor Hugh Grant (1960), actor/producer Adam Sandler (1966), and NBA player Shane Battier (1978).

That seems like enough stuff for a Saturday. Enjoy your day.