Random News: December 5, 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 December 5, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. Yesterday was insanely busy. Today will make yesterday seem easy. Still, I’m here and ready to be a productive human being on this currently fresh new day. Let’s see what’s going on.

• The White House issued a warning yesterday in regard to the US’s support of Ukraine to aid in defending the ongoing invasion by Russia: we’re out of money and nearly out of time unless Congress acts to approve additional funding and support.
• “I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from US military stocks,” - Shalanda Young, director of the office of management and budget
• Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address US senators by video during a classified briefing to try and garner more urgent support.
• Even Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson knows what’s at stake. “Of course, we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the necessity of assisting there,” he stated.
• But of course, that doesn’t stop the GOP-majority House form trying to tie Ukraine aid to changes in US border policy. So we’ll see what ends up happening there.
• Moving on.
• A case before the Supreme Court today that started as a couple fighting a $14,729 tax bill might end up costing the federal government billions. Good job, government. Slow clap.
• The legal question in the case involves how to define income for tax purposes. But the Supreme Court’s decision could have sweeping implications for how much the government can dip into the earnings of wealthy Americans who can shield those holdings from taxes.
• Charles and Kathleen Moore are a retired couple who live in Washington state. They claim that since that 15 grand was reinvested, they can’t be taxed on it. The legal question in the case involves how to define income for tax purposes, particularly on stakes in foreign-owned companies.
• The problem there is that’s the same argument that could be made by billionaires who shield their holdings from taxes, and if the Moores win this case, there will be follow-on lawsuits challenging a wide swath of federal taxes and upending proposals to tax the ultra-rich.
• It is a rare occasion for the Supreme Court to delve into the meaning of the Constitution’s 16th Amendment, which outlines Congress’ power to order the collection of income taxes.
• But wait.
• In Moore v. U.S., there’s another issue: Justice Samuel Alito.
• David Rivkin, one of the Moores’ lawyers involved in the case, interviewed Alito in two articles published in The Wall Street Journal that addressed recent claims of ethics violations on the court and the power of Congress to legislate on the issue.
• And now Alito refuses to recuse himself despite already having been influenced in regard to the case and expressing opinions publicly. And, of course, both Alito and Thomas have accepted “gifts” valued in millions from the very billionaires who will be the most impacted by this decision.
• Sigh. Fucking pricks.
• In WTF? news, cops in the suburban Bluemont neighborhood Arlington, VA were trying to investigate a man who shot a flare gun from his residence last night when the entire house exploded.
• No serious injuries were reported, but the fate of the suspect, who was believed to be inside the house at the time of the explosion, is still unclear. I’m going to assume he’s pretty broken up… as in, a thousand small pieces. Neighbors said the blast could be heard and felt for miles.
• In other news, for some reason, they’re still holding Republican presidential debates. The fourth debate will feature a field narrowed down to four candidates: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman and weirdo Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all qualified for the debate tomorrow in Tuscaloosa, AL.
• I’m still not sure, on several levels, why they’re bothering with these.
• Speaking of DeSantis and his priorities, he unveiled his budget for Florida in 2024, which includes $1,000,000 for the state to sue the College Football Playoff Committee.
• And speaking of GOP candidates in general, El Dumpo’s lawyers missed a court deadline for appealing the gag order in Dumpy’s civil fraud trial in New York City. The Dumpster had wanted an expedited appeal to New York’s highest court, but his lawyers did NOT get the request filed in time.
• You snooze, you lose, loser. Moving on.
• Our Asshole of the Day is YouTuber Trevor Daniel Jacob.
• In November 2021, he posted a video titled “I Crashed My Airplane” to promote a sponsorship with a wallet company. Anything for money, right?
• Yesterday Jacob was sentenced to six months in federal prison for the stunt, having intentionally crashed his plane and then lying about it to investigators and the Federal Aviation Administration. 
• People could have been killed but at least he got those sponsorship bucks. Asshole.
• Let’s talk about governments who ignore the will of the people.
• Less than a month ago, Ohio voters approved marijuana use, possession, and sales for adults. The state’s Issue 2 was a 57-43% vote, a considerable landslide in voting terms.
• Despite that, Ohio Senate Republicans are using their House Bill 86, a non-controversial bill tweaking state liquor laws, to try and demolish Issue 2.
• The proposed changes include eliminating home growing, halving the amount of THC for legal sales, increasing the state tax of weed sales by an additional 50%, and blatantly discouraging dispensaries from operating or starting in the first place.
• Keep that in mind next time you vote, Ohioans. These people do not give a single shit about what the majority of citizens in your state want.
• And now, The Weather: “Locked Crush” by Paper Tapes
• From the Sports Desk… if you’re a fan of the NFL, last night’s Monday Night Football game was a great one. The overtime game ended up 34-31 victory in favor of the Cincinnati Bengals, who upset the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence suffered an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter. Initial tests say it’s a sprain, so hopefully it’s minor and he won’t miss much time.
• Today in history… In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale (1766). At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts (1775). Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives (1831). In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California (1848). The Football Association bans women's football in England from league grounds, a ban that stays in place for 50 years (1921). The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, repealing the nationwide prohibition of alcohol (1933). E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery bus boycott (1955). The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there (2005). 
• December 5 is the birthday of composer Francesco Scarlatti (1666), US president Martin Van Buren (1782), US general George Armstrong Custer (1839), zoologist/ornithologist/entomologist/ethnographer Clinton Hart Merriam (1855), pilot/businessman Clyde Vernon Cessna (1879), film director Fritz Lang (1890), animator/producer Walt Disney (1901), physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901), politician/racist Strom Thurmond (1902), film director Otto Preminger (1905), singer-songwriter/harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II (1912), singer-songwriter/pianist Little Richard (1932), writer/journalist Joan Didion (1934), singer-songwriter/guitarist J. J. Cale (1938), singer-songwriter Andy Kim (1946), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jim Messina (1947), NFL player Jim Plunkett (1947), singer-songwriter/guitarist John Rzeznik (1965), comedian Margaret Cho (1968), and actor/race car driver Frankie Muniz (1985).

Well, it’s not even 8am and I’m already running late. Gah! Enjoy your day.