Random News: January 15, 2024

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 January 15, 2024, and it’s a Monday. It’s a holiday today in the USA that I shall honor below, but it’s also a busy-as-fuck day in the world of trying to make a living, so I shall be working on this brisk Monday.

• Today in the USA, it’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It honors the Baptist minister and civil rights activist who was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta,  and assassinated in 1968 at age 39.
• Dr. King was instrumental in history-making activism, including the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. The authorities tried jailing him, which led to the attention of national media and greatly expanded his influence as the best-known spokesman of the civil rights movement.
• He helped organize the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, where he gave one of the most highly-regarded speeches in American history. A portion of it is as follows…
• “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
• 

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
• 

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.


• “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.


• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


• “I have a dream today.
• 

“I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.


• “I have a dream today.”
• He was assassinated by James Earl Ray at 6:01 pm on Thursday, April 4, 1968, as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal US holiday after Ronald Reagan (who was initially against the holiday) signed it into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later in 1986.
• Some states resisted observing the holiday, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. Arizona was the only state that actually rescinded it after implementing it, resulting in millions in lost tourism money as well as multiple protests and the NFL’s removal of the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix.
• It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
• I find it likely that the hypocrisy about Dr. King and his message will be on full display today. Republican politicians who spend all year railing against the teaching of Critical Race Theory will quote King's "I Have a Dream" speech today.
• Dr. King was considered a huge threat to the American power structure during his lifetime, and was incredibly unpopular among the mainstream. Part of the civil rights movement's success was due to its disruptive nature: massive boycotts, marches, sit-ins, and other acts of civil disobedience that put powerful peoples' time, money, and good names in jeopardy.
• So take it with a grain of salt when people claim we’re in a “post-racial” world and try to deny the continuing patterns of racism and the history of slavery. If you’re going to honor Dr. King, at least do it in a way that is genuine.
• So happy MLK Day. If you don’t understand why the actions of one man merit a whole-ass holiday to celebrate his birth, you need to learn more about this one man’s impact on the country and the world.
• Let’s do some news.
• Voting is set to begin tonight in frozen-ass Iowa as former President and current accused felon Donald John Trump s likely to coast to victory in his party’s nomination.
• The Iowa caucuses, which officially kick off months that comprise the Republican presidential primary process, begin tonight at 8pm EST. Caucus participants will gather inside more than 1,500 schools, churches and community centers to debate their options, in some cases for hours, before casting secret ballots.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley are fighting for second place. I suppose they are both hoping that Dump is either in jail or no longer among the living by the time the election rolls around.
• With the coldest temperatures in caucus history expected and dangerous travel conditions in virtually every corner of the rural state, the campaigns are bracing for a low-turnout contest.
• Displaying his usual compassion and selflessness yesterday afternoon, Donnie Dump told people hoot prioritize their actions in the life-threatening cold that grips Iowa.
• “You can’t stay at home,” he said in regard to the caucuses. “Even if you’re sick as a dog. Even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it.”
• Worth it for whom, you blathering odiferous slimy ball of scum? Worth it for whom?
• Let’s move on.
• Beyond Dr. King, I want to send some respect to another brave man.
• This weekend, principal Dan Marburger of Perry High School succumbed to his injuries incurred in the school shooting that happened there on January 4.
• Marburger was shot multiple times in the mass shooting attack at the school. Despite that, he took action and was hailed a hero after trying to save students by talking to and distracting the shooter as the deadly attack unfolded.
• He put himself in harm’s way and blocked the shooter for long enough to allow a large group of students to escape the school cafeteria where the carnage occurred. Marburger worked at schools in Perry, IA, for over 25 years.
• Rest in peace to this courageous person.
• In other news…
• The Biden administration demanded yesterday that Texas immediately stop its efforts blocking US Border Patrol’s access along a portion of the US-Mexico border, where late Friday a woman and two children drowned after agents were barred from the area by state officials.
• The letter, directed to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, states that Texas’ actions are unconstitutional. “Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities.”
• Sick fucking bastards. The cruelty is what they lust for. They probably couldn’t have been happier as that mom and her kids died.
• Let’s move on to something more light-hearted, please.
• Madison Marsh, representing the state of Colorado, is the new Miss America. She’s also a 22-year-old second lieutenant in the US Air Force and master’s student at the Harvard Kennedy School’s public policy program.
• Cool. Side note: when’s the last time you watched a beauty pageant? I’m pretty sure it was in the ‘80s for me.
• Can you believe it’s the 15th anniversary of US Airways Flight 1549, the plane that went down from a bird strike and had to land on the Hudson River? Feels like a few years back, maybe five. Amazing. Hats off to Captain Sully Sullenberger.
• And now, The Weather: “Kids Driving the Elevator” by Micah Preite
• The weather remains the actual top news story. I don’t have to tell you that’s it’s cold. I can tell you the reason that it’s cold: global climate change.
• It’s actually quite simple. Less ice in the Arctic creates a weaker jet stream and an unstable polar vortex.
• As a result, the cold air moves south, which is what you’re experiencing right now. Summers will continue to get hotter and winters will be colder, and severe weather of all kinds will grow worse and worse. These frigid temperatures happen because of a warming planet, not in spite of it.
• Remember that next time someone refuses global warming because they’re cold at the moment.
• It’s too late to change for your lifetime, but you might be able to lend a hand to your kids’ and grandkids’ generations and beyond.
• From the Sports Desk… a shocking upset and a battle for the ages happened yesterday in the NFL Wild Card playoff round.
• First, the Green Pay Packers ran rampant over the heavily-favored Dallas Cowboys, winning 48-32 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score seems. QB Jordan Love had a near perfect day, throwing for 272 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
• The other game was an all-out back-and-forth brawl that ended with the Detroit Lions beating the Los Angeles Rams 24-23. It was the Lions’ first home playoff win since 1991, and only the franchise’s second postseason victory since winning the 1957 NFL title.
• Crazy! Congrats Packers and Lions. We will have the full divisional round picture after today’s games.
• Today in history… Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London (1559). New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence (1777). Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage (1782). Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union in the US Civil War, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy (1865). The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta (1889). James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball (1892). A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150 (1919). The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington County, VA (1943). The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, where the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 (1967). The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm (1991). Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online (2001). US Airways Flight 1549, captained by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off (2009). 
• January 15 is the birthday of actor/playwright Molière (1622), animal rights activist Richard Martin (1754), singer-songwriter Ivor Novello (1893), drummer Gene Krupa (1909), actor Lloyd Bridges (1913), minister/activist Martin Luther King Jr. (1929), singer-songwriter Captain Beefheart (1941), singer-songwriter Ronnie Van Zant (1948), actor Mario Van Peebles (1957), actress Regina King (1971), NFL player Drew Brees (1979), rapper Pitbull (1981), music producer Skrillex (1988), and NFL player Deebo Samuel (1996).

Alrighty. I have to go work out and then do a bunch of work. Salute to Dr. King in any case. Enjoy your day.