Random News: October 22, 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 October 22, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’ve got my coffee and I’d like to know what’s happening in the world, and share it with you as I find out.

• It’s been nearly three weeks since we had a Speaker of the House, the third highest ranking government official behind the President and Vice President.
• But it’s difficult to tell if the Republicans are any closer to stopping their infighting so they can select a replacement for Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), whom the far right wing dumped on October 3.
• The Republicans are attempting to launch a unity pledge for lawmakers to commit to a single candidate. The pledge simply states that the signing member promises to vote for the eventual GOP-designated nominee, no matter who it is.
• I doubt they’ll sign it, much less follow through. The GOP is so fractured and ineffective right now, it’s impossible for them to do literally anything in agreement.
• Seven congressmen have launched Speaker bids, and five of them — Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA), Mike Johnson (R-LA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Jack Bergman (R-MI), and Kevin Hern (R-OK) — have said they would sign the pledge. But Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) have not.
• Emmer is viewed as a top candidate for the job, holding the endorsement of McCarthy.
• However, seven of the Matt Gaetz-led “Hateful Eight” Republicans who ousted McCarthy said they would accept punishment rather than stop supporting their guy Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
• Who are these Reps. who started all this crazy bullshit, leaving us without a functioning government? In addition to Matt Gaetz (R-FL), it’s Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Bob Good (R-VA), and Ken Buck (R-CO).
• They have said that they prefer chaos over a working government and will likely do anything to promote a government shutdown, as will happen before Thanksgiving without the passage of a budget.
• Let’s move on.
• Don the Con posted a video of New York Judge Arthur Engoron to a social media platform with the caption: “It’s scary to think of the amount of power this lunatic currently has.”
• Before you get too excited, doing this does not violate Dumpy’s gag order. El Dumpo is specifically barred from making any public statements, emails, or social media posts regarding any members of Engoron’s staff. But Engoron himself is a big boy and doesn’t give two shits about Diaper Don’s mean words.
• There is one other news items about Dumpinator… this one in regard to lawyer Sidney Powell, who pleaded guilty on Thursday in the massive RICO case brought against Dumpy and his associates in Fulton County, GA. Powell has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case.
• This morning, in a rambling post with plenty of misspellings, El Dumpo wrote, “MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS.”
• Except Trump publicly announced on November 15, 2020, that he “added” Powell to his “truly great team” of lawyers working on the election. She participated in a notorious Trump campaign press conference, alongside fellow Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, where she peddled unfounded conspiracy theories about an international vote-rigging plot to flip millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden.
• Powell also met with Trump on many occasions, including a December 2020 White House meeting where he considered naming her as a special counsel to look for voter fraud. This was the infamous meeting where there was discussion of declaring martial law and ordering the military to seize voting machines.
• Jesus.
• It’s been reported that few, if any, of Trump’s aides and lawyers had predicted that Powell would cut any deal this soon. It took them by surprise and they’re left scrambling to defend against her upcoming testimony against Trump.
• Moving on.
• Sunday is Gunday here at Zak’s Random News, where we look at just some of the gun violence that happened this weekend thus far. Why? So you can have some clue as to how rampant gun ownership in the USA leads to death and mayhem in ways that are exponentially larger than any other civilized country.
• One dead after being shot at a Halloween party in Santa Maria, CA. Another dead after being shot at a Halloween party in Palmdale, CA. One person dead and and three injured in a shooting in Fayetteville, NC. One person dead and and three injured in a shooting in Pine Bluff, AR. One dead and three wounded at a house party in Oakley, CA. One dead and two critically injured after a shooting at a large party in Little Elm, TX. One person dead and and two injured in a shooting in St. Cloud, MN. One dead and two critically injured after a shooting at a large party in Far North Dallas, TX. One person dead and and one critically injured in a shooting in Harris County, TX. One person dead and and one injured in a shooting in Savannah, GA. One dead after a shooting in the Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati, OH. One dead in a shooting in Covington, KY. One person dead in a shooting in Evansville, IN. One person dead in a shooting in Silver Spring, MD. One person dead in a shooting in Birmingham, AL. One person dead in a shooting in Wentzville, MO. One person dead in a shooting in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA. A woman shot to death in South St. Louis, MO. One shot dead in Fort Wayne, IN. A woman shot dead by another woman in Raleigh, NC. Four injured in a shooting in northwest Albuquerque, NM. Two women were shot and one man critically injured in a triple shooting in Central Los Angeles, CA. Two cops shot in La Vergne, TN by the son of the Metro Nashville Police Department Chief. Two people wounded in a shootout in a Walgreens on the North Side of Chicago, IL. One shot in Myrtle Beach, SC. One shot during a road rage incident while traveling south on Interstate 295 near Jacksonville, FL. Another in critical condition after a shooting in the Cedar Hills area of Jacksonville, FL. One in critical condition after a shooting in Fort Worth, TX. One shot at a gas station in Orlando, FL. One shot in Hartford, CT. One shot in Port Charlotte, FL. A woman shot at a smoke shop in the Delhi Township area of Cincinnati, OH. A teenager shot in Hampton, VA.
• This is fucking ridiculous. I swear to you, there were many more, but I can’t spend my whole day listing them. And yes, as always, these are only shootings from Friday and Saturday.
• It’s a fucking sickness, and anyone who tries to justify it in any way is part of the problem.
• You and your family are much more likely to be victims of gun violence than just about anything else that scares you. If you want to do something about it, support candidates who prioritize sane gun control measures.
• And now, The Weather: “Koko” by MUNYA
• And speaking of weather, it’s official: per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, El Niño will drive what could be a warmer or wetter winter in parts of the US this year, depending on where you are.
• While no two El Niño winters are the same, this shift typically brings wetter and cooler weather to the South while the north becomes drier and warmer. That’s exactly what’s expected this winter.
• You probably (?) know this, but El Niño is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, including the area off the Pacific coast of South America.
• It’s an excellent indicator of the weather in the upcoming winter season. Here in Southern California, it usually means a ton of rain compared to a typical year.
• In other news…
• Let’s give some kudos to Dallas bus driver Raquel Radford Baker. Preston, a 7-year-old boy on her bus, swallowed a quarter while playing around with friends, and it got stuck in his throat.
• Baker jumped into action, grabbing Preston and performing the Heimlich as she rushed to the sidewalk. She did the Heimlich several times until the quarter launched out of the little boy’s mouth.
• It was the first time Baker ever had to save a child’s life. Preston vows to keep coins out of his mouth… a good plan in general.
• From the Sports Desk… between Zack Wheeler’s seven shutdown innings and homers from Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, the Phillies put a beatdown on the D-backs in game 5 of the NLCS. They’re now up 3-2. Game six is Monday in Philly.
• Today in history… Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō, now known as Kyoto (794). The Ming dynasty defeats the Dutch East India Company (1633). The College of New Jersey, later renamed Princeton University, receives its charter (1746). Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas (1836). The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Gounod's Faust (1883). FBI agents shoot and kill notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd (1934). President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation (1962). Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but turns down the honor (1964). Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping (2012). Same-sex marriage is legalized, and abortion is decriminalized in Northern Ireland (2019).
• October 22 is the birthday of composer Franz Liszt (1811), actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844), painter/illusrtator N. C. Wyeth (1882), actor Curly Howard (1903), MLB player Jimmie Foxx (1907), psychologist/author Timothy Leary (1920), activist Bobby Seale (1936), actor Christopher Lloyd (1938), actress Annette Funicello (1942), singer-songwriter/guitarist Leslie West (1945), physician Deepak Chopra (1946), actor Jeff Goldblum (1952), actor Bob Odenkirk (1962), ice skater Brian Boitano (1963), NBA player Dražen Petrović (1964), singer-songwriter Shaggy (1968), director Spike Jonze (1969), MLB player Ichiro Suzuki (1973), and MLB player Robinson Canó (1982).

That’s enough for now. I need to take a shower and be less gross. I also need to figure out what I’m going to do about this dental issue that’s making my life less than ideal. I suspect that a dentist and/or oral surgeon will be involved. Enjoy your day.