Random News: January 6, 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 6, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. It’s in the 40s here, which is chilly enough in Southern California for me to have to wear some sweats in addition to my usual weekend bathrobe. Three years ago today, a mob of right-wing insurrectionists, led by the then-President, attacked the US Capitol, and we have plenty of things to discuss on that topic, but let’s talk about all the important shit.

• Starting with some not-unexpected but horrible news all the same.
• Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Idaho's cruel abortion ban to go into effect. They agreed to hear an appeal in the case, scheduling arguments for April.
• The court's order is the first time it has weighed in on a state's criminal law banning abortions since their 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
• Idaho has been a leader of state efforts to criminalize abortion. Its "Defense of Life Act" would would make it a crime for "every person who performs or attempts to perform an abortion," even when the woman's health is greatly endangered.
• The SCOTUS order could have widespread effects, empowering other states with less restrictive bans to pass more stringent laws.
• Before you think all is lost, I have a solution that will completely eliminate this as an affront to the rights of women and Americans in general, and that is to get rid of every single candidate who supports the repealing of women’s reproductive rights and to elect a President who is committed to codifying those rights as federal law.
• That President is Joe Biden. Those candidates are whoever is opposing these draconian abortion laws in every state and local municipality.
• Let’s move on to another piece of Supreme Court news that’s potentially less disheartening.
• The Supreme Court also said yesterday it will decide whether former President and current accused felon Donald John Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, inserting the court squarely in the 2024 presidential campaign.
• The justices acknowledged the need to reach a decision quickly, as voters will soon begin casting presidential primary ballots across the country. The court agreed to take up Trump’s appeal of a case from Colorado stemming from his role in the events that culminated in the January 6, 2021, failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
• They are fast-tracking this compared to their usual snail-like pace. Arguments will be held on February 8, during what is normally a nearly monthlong winter break for the justices. The compressed timeframe could allow the court to produce a decision before Super Tuesday on March 5, when the largest number of delegates are up for grabs in a single day, including in Colorado.
• The court will be considering for the first time the meaning and reach of a provision of the 14th Amendment barring some people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office.
• The amendment has been so rarely used that the nation’s highest court had no previous occasion to interpret it, because previous to Donnie Dump, no person who held the nation’s highest office has acted in such an egregious way.
• Here at Zak’s Random News, we’ve continually covered each and every story of the consequences faced by those who were stupid enough to follow Dump’s orders to try and take the country away by force.
• Here on the third anniversary of the event, there are a few more to report.
• This morning the FBI arrested three people in Florida who were charged in connection with the failed cup attempt on January 6, 2021, and were considered fugitives after fleeing from law enforcement.
• Jonathan Daniel Pollock, Olivia Michele Pollock, and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III were taken into custody early today. They are scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in Ocala, FL.
• Olivia Pollock was set to go to trial last March, but did not show up to court in Washington, DC. Her brother, Jonathan Pollock, has evaded authorities since he was first charged in July 2021. During the insurrection, Jonathan Pollock punched two officers in the face, kneed a police officer, dragged an officer down stairs, charged at law enforcement with a flag pole, grabbed an officer’s neck and pinned them to the ground, and rammed a police shield into an officer’s neck.
• That’s a hero to Republicans. A man with no respect for the country’s laws or the people who enforce them. They will undoubtedly try and raise money for his defense.
• Dump has already stated he will give full pardons to all January 6 insurrectionists, including people like Jonathan Pollock.
• More than 1,265 insurrectionists in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia have been criminally charged for their actions during the failed coup attempt, and more than 890 have been found guilty of federal crimes. More than half of those found guilty have been sentenced to prison time.
• Still to this day, there are plenty of loose ends in regard to January 6, and people who have yet to be brought to justice beyond just the members of the insurrectionist mob.
• Example: the individual who left two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington, D.C., the night before the January 6 attack is still on the loose. The FBI is offering a $500,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible. 
• The FBI says that the unknown individual wore Nike Air Max Speed turf shoes, a face mask, glasses and gloves and a gray hooded sweatshirt. Some people say the person bears a bodily resemblance to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), but I can’t offer an opinion there.
• In any case, January 6, 2021 cannot be thought of as anything other than one of the darkest days in American history. It’s up there with April 12, 1861 (the start of the Civil War), December 7, 1941 (the attack on Pearl Harbor), and September 11, 2001 (the terror attacks at multiple locations).
• It’s been pointed out — and I agree — that January 6, 2021 is worse than 9/11/01 in one specific way, because some 30% of Americans weren’t cheering for the planes when they hit the World Trade Center.
• But there are still plenty of Americans to this very day who are disappointed that the coup wasn’t successful. And they have been planning and plotting for the next one ever since.
• That’s why constant vigilance and continual investigation of the anti-American far-right must remain a priority. The good news is that most of them gladly tell you who they are. They conveniently wear little red hats and publish their plans in public forums.
• Last night, Joe Biden didn’t mince words about the anniversary of this infamous date.
• “Three years ago tomorrow, we saw with our own eyes the violent mob stormed the United States Capitol. It was almost in disbelief as you first turned on the television. For the first time in our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer, transfer of power in America. First time.
• “Smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police. Outside, gallows were erected as the MAGA crowd chanted, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’ Inside, they hunted for Speaker Pelosi. The House was chanting as they marched through and smashed windows, ‘Where’s Nancy?’
• “As America was attacked from within, Donald Trump watched on TV in a private, small dining room off my oval, off the Oval Office. The entire nation watched in horror. The whole world watched in disbelief.
• “And Trump did nothing. Members of his staff, members of his family. Republican leaders who were under attack at that very moment pled with him. Act. Call off the mob. Imagine had he gone out and said, ‘Stop.’
• “Still, Trump did nothing. It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history.”
• So, I’ll end it there. Never forget January 6. Those who bury their heads about the worst events in history will be doomed to repeat them again and again. Never. Fucking. Forget.
• Moving on.
• Let’s cheer up with some happier news that relates to that piece of shit.
• Yesterday, New York Attorney General Letitia James called for a $370 million fine against El Dumpo and his companies.
• Trump owes $168 million of interest saved through fraud; $152 million from the sale of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., the site of one of Trump's hotels; $60 million through the transfer of the Ferry Point Golf Course contract; and $2.5 million from severance agreements for former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Howard Weisselberg and ex-Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney.
• James also called for lifetime bans for Trump, Weisselberg and McConney from participation in the real estate industry as well as from serving as officers or directors in New York corporations or entities. The attorney general also asked for five-year bans for Trump's eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, with the same conditions.
• Trump’s statements of financial condition were falsely inflated by between $812 million and $2.2 billion.
• Fuck him. Eat shit, Don.
• In other news, Wayne LaPierre resigned as leader of the National Rifle Association yesterday, ending his decades-long reign over the prominent gun rights group, and just a few days before the start of his own civil trial in New York.
• The statement by the 74-year-old cited health reasons for his exit, which will take effect at the end of this month. That piece of shit led the NRA for more than 30 years.
• LaPierre and three other current and former NRA leaders are in deep shit. They violated nonprofit laws and misused millions of dollars of NRA funds to finance lavish lifestyles for themselves. LaPierre diverted millions of dollars away from the group’s charitable mission for his personal use of private jets, expensive meals, travel consultants, private security and trips to the Bahamas for him and his family.
• Fuck that guy. Nail him too, Tish James.
• In other asshole news, SpaceX has been accused of unlawfully firing eight workers who were critical of its multi-billionaire chief executive Elon Musk.
• The complaint by a regional official at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accused SpaceX of violating the workers' rights under federal labor law which allows co-workers to jointly advocate for better working conditions.
• And yes, fuck him too.
• And now, The Weather: “Nnff” by Earth Dad
• I probably don’t need to mention that there is all manner of hazardous weather happening dan near everywhere this weekend. Be careful doing whatever it is you do, especially if driving is involved. First snowfalls, major storms, strong winds, high surf… it’s all happening, folks.
• We had another smallish earthquake in Southern California yesterday. This one was far enough east from here that we barely noticed, but many of my other friends in the LA area got a little little jolt from the 4.2M tremor.
• From the Sports Desk… two NFL games happening today in the final week of the regular season. Pittsburgh is at Baltimore, where the Ravens already have a top seed first round bye, and will probably sit most starters. The Steelers still have a tiny hope of making the playoffs with a win, but it would also require other teams to lose.
• The other game today is Houston at Indianapolis. This game has massive implications for both teams in terms of getting a playoff spot. They both have 9-7 records and their whole season hinges on this game. Fun stuff.
• Today in history… Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England (1066). King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves (540). Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes, the forerunner of Morse code (1838). Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government (1847). Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome, Italy (1907). New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state (1912). Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people (1929). United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address (1941). Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandh and are executed the same day (1989). U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1994). Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in five deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress (2021).
• January 6 is the birthday of English king Richard II (1367), martyr Joan of Arc (1412), politician/abolitionist Charles Sumner (1811), composer Max Bruch (1838), composer Alexander Scriabin (1872), poet/biographer Carl Sandburg (1878), cowboy/actor Tom Mix (1880), poet/philosopher Kahlil Gibran (1883), actor Danny Thomas (1912), actress Loretta Young (1913), religious leader Sun Myung Moon (1920), politician Kim Dae-jung (1924), banjo player Earl Scruggs (1924), engineer/businessman John DeLorean (1925), actor Vic Tayback (1930), writer E. L. Doctorow (1931), songwriter/producer Van McCoy (1940), actress Bonnie Franklin (1944), singer-songwriter/guitarist Syd Barrett (1946), singer-songwriter Sandy Denny (1947), guitarist/songwriter Malcolm Young (1953), golfer Nancy Lopez (1957), NFL player Howie Long (1960), director John Singleton (1968), actor Norman Reedus (1969), actor Eddie Redmayne (1982), actress Kate McKinnon (1984), NFL player Ndamukong Suh (1987), and NFL player Jameis Winston (1994).

That seems like enough for now. Never forget January 6. Enjoy your day.