Random News: February 24, 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 February 24, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. I’m your guy in a blue bathrobe, chilling on a weekend morning and finding out what interesting and/or important things have happened in the world.

• Let’s start with the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that defined embryos as “children,” which has opened up a massive can of worms for the GOP.
• Yesterday, Republicans were scrambling to distance themselves from the issue. The campaign arm of the Senate GOP urged candidates to “clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF,” citing strong public support for IVF access. 
• Alabama themselves know how badly they fucked up. A bipartisan effort is now underway in the state to draft “clarifying” legislation that would “protect” IVF treatments.
• But they know this is for show, and merely intended to placate folks in an election year. Many of the same lawmakers who are expressing dismay about Alabama have a direct record of having voted to support a federal bill that would have restricted IVF in the same way.
• Look at what’s happened since the Republicans forced the overturning of women’s reproductive rights with reversing Roe v. Wade.
• The backlash against the fall of Roe was almost instantaneous and cut across party lines. Red-state Kansas voted overwhelmingly to reject an amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to ban the procedure. Similar ballot measures in other states have seen abortion opponents consistently lose.
• For the moment, until Alabama legally clarifies their own court’s ruling, IVF medical providers in the state have their hands tied, not knowing if they’ll be prosecuted for providing care to couples who want to have children.
• My governor Gavin Newsom said it well. "The Republican Party has decided rapists have more of a right to become a parent than the families desperately trying to have a child through IVF."
• None of this would have been possible without the overturning of Roe v. Wade, something Donnie Dump is proud of and takes complete credit for having accomplished. As recently as last night, Dumpy bragged about it publicly.
• The writing is on the wall for the next steps in the Republican goals of controlling women: they will be removing access to contraception/birth control. But even that is part of a bigger picture plan for them.
• This very week, a right-wing activist shared a post from the Heritage Foundation, a far-right think tank, that said “conservatives have to lead the way in restoring sex to its true purpose, and ending recreational sex and senseless use of birth control pills.”
• Ending recreational sex. Yup.
• Chris Rufo commented to the post, “‘Recreational sex’ is a large part of the reason we have so many single-mother households, which drives poverty, crime, and dysfunction. The point of sex is to create children—this is natural, normal, and good.” 
• So — whether you’re Democrat or Republican, left- or right-wing, an extremist or a centrist — I want you to think long and hard about voting for people who want to have the state and federal government involved in your decision to have sex, and with whom, and for what purpose.
• Keep in mind that in reality, the vast majority of Republicans — upwards of 90 percent — support access to birth control pills, and a majority of Republicans feel abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances.
• That’s one of many reasons why the fringe elements of the GOP are leading their whole party into a death spiral.
• This fall, you’ll have your opportunity to make your voice heard in a tangible way. If you don’t want to allow the government into your bedroom, do not vote for candidates who want to restrict your decisions in that very personal topic.
• It’s fascinating — in a horror-film way — that the most supposedly patriotic people in the USA, those who paste “Never Forget” stickers about 9/11 on their trucks, have so much more in common with their sworn enemies than they do with the rest of their own country.
• If I describe a group as anti-LGBT, anti-science, anti-women’s rights, anti-abortion, anti-separation of church and state, and pro forced theocracy, tell me… am I referring to MAGA or the Taliban?
• Think it through.
• Moving on for now.
• Tick tock, Donnie. The clock started yesterday.
• The civil fraud judgment against El Dumpo was finalized in New York on Friday, making official a verdict that leaves the former president on the hook for more than $454 million in fines and interest.
• The formalized verdict gives Dump a 30-day window to appeal, which he has vowed to do. However, within that same time frame, he must deposit sufficient funds in a court-controlled account or secure a bond for the total amount.
• Meanwhile, the interest on the debt is now nearly $111,984 each day. The amount will continue to accrue even while they appeal.
• Welp, “Go Fash, Lose Cash” is a saying I’ve heard.
• Speaking of Donnie… last night was special for him. He spoke at a formal event for Black conservatives in South Carolina ahead of today’s Republican primary in the state.
• During his speech, he claimed, “A lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, there’s something there.”
• So this white billionaire has been every bit as discriminated against as a Black person, okay. But wait.
• "These lights are so bright in my eyes I can't see too many people out there... I can only see the Black ones. I can't see any white ones. That's how far I've come. That's a long way isn't it?" 
• No.
• “When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1. You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”
• Also no. By the way, Don, stating that Black people like mugshots is sorta, I dunno, racist, maybe?
• And then, during some bullshit about having supposedly renegotiated the cost of remodeling Air Force One, Dump said this: “I have to tell you, Black president, but I got $1.7 billion less. Would you rather have the Black president or the white president who got $1.7 billion off the price?”
• I’m not making any of this shit up. 
• Side note: when the camera panned around to the crowd, the audience at this Black conservative event seemed to be mostly white. Odd.
• Let’s move on.
• A Wisconsin ethics panel is recommending that local prosecutors pursue criminal charges against one of Dump’s fundraising arms and several other Republican committees that violated state campaign finance law in an effort to topple a lawmaker who Dumpy didn’t like.
• Dump’s Save America political action committee conspired with local Republican honchos to circumvent the state’s donation limits during their unsuccessful bid to unseat Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in the 2022 Republican primary.
• Get their asses.
• Yesterday was a very, very bad day for the people who used to run the NRA, including its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre.
• A jury in a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office found that the gun group mismanaged charitable funds when it failed to stop top executives from diverting millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures.
• Think about how foolish you’d feel about now if you’d donated money to the NRA. Jesus.
• LaPierre has to pay the NRA $4.3 million in damages for mismanagement and misspending charitable funds. Former CFO Wilson Phillips has to pay back $2 million for breaching his fiduciary duties as an executive.
• Let’s move on.
• We were under balloon attack again yesterday.
• It was a little balloon flying at 45,000 feet over the mountainous Western United States, but it was still intercepted by a fighter jet over Utah.
• When NORAD fighter pilots investigated the balloon, they determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security. Officials said the balloon intercepted Friday was not sent by a foreign adversary and posed no threat to aviation or U.S. security.
• Good job, I guess?
• I mentioned in passing above, though it’s hardly worth the effort to type, that South Carolina’s GOP primary is today.
• Nikki Haley, the only GOP contender other than Dumpy, was born and raised in South Carolina. She’s never lost an election there, and that includes two governor’s races. So you’d think she has a pretty good shot there today, right?
• No. She has no chance at all.
• Every recent public poll in the state shows Dumpy leading Haley by wide margins. The two candidates draw support from two very different sets of voters: Dump wins huge margins with very conservative voters, evangelicals and those without a 4-year college degree. Haley does best among the college-educated, with non-evangelicals and moderates.
• The simple answer for South Carolina’s election today is that Dump’s supporters as described above make up about 3/4 of the state’s voters. He’s going to win by double digits. I’ll be shocked at any other outcome.
• And now, The Weather: “Cry Quicker” by R. Missing
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s February 1974, and here’s the top of the Billboard 200 album chart. I’m like five years old. This chart is extreme in its eclectic directions. Folk, R&B, nostalgia, prog rock, proto metal… it’s all over the damn place.
• 1. Planet Waves (Bob Dylan). 2. John Denver's Greatest Hits (John Denver). 3. Under The Influence Of... (Love Unlimited). 4. Court And Spark (Joni Mitchell). 5. You Don't Mess Around With Jim (Jim Croce). 6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John). 7. Hotcakes (Carly Simon). 8. Tales From Topographic Oceans (Yes). 9. Band On The Run (Paul McCartney And Wings). 10. Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich). 11. Ship Ahoy (The O’Jays). 12. I Got A Name (Jim Croce). 13. The Joker (The Steve Miller Band). 14.. American Graffiti (Soundtrack). 15. The Singles 1969-1973 (Carpenters). 17. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Black Sabbath). 18. Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield). 18. Brain Salad Surgery (Emerson, Lake & Palmer). 19. 1990 (The Temptations). 20. Ringo (Ringo Starr)
• From the Sports Desk… the San Antonio Spurs’ rookie center Victor Wembanyama had quite a feat last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. He joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001) as the only NBA rookies to have a 5x5 game — at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a game. Wemby also became just the second player to have 5 blocks and 5 steals in consecutive games, joining Michael Jordan.
• But the Spurs lost 113-108 to the Lakers despite the rookie's best efforts. Despite their rookie superstar, the Spurs are currently 11-46 and in last pace in the Western Conference.
• Today in history… ‘Rinaldo’ by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premiered (1711). In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review (1803). Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives (1868). The stage premiere of ‘Peer Gynt’, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Oslo, Norway (1876). Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament three months earlier (1920). A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25 in The Battle of Los Angeles (1942). South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recapture the citadel of Hué (1968). Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years (2008). Days after recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders a full scale invasion of Ukraine (2022).
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• • February 24 is the birthday of Japan emperor Toba (1103), anthropologist/author Wilhelm Grimm (1786), activist Lydia Becker (1827), painter Winslow Homer (1836), suffragist Zara DuPont (1869), MLB player Honus Wagner (1874), admiral Chester W. Nimitz (1885), actor Abe Vigoda (1921), actor Dominic Chianese (1931), businessman Phil Knight (1938), keyboardist Nicky Hopkins (1944), singer/guitarist George Thorogood (1950), actress Debra Jo Rupp (1951), businessman Steve Jobs (1955), actor Billy Zane (1966), comedian Mitch Hedberg (1968), boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1977), actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. 91991), and rapper Earl Sweatshirt (1994).

That’s a lot of stuff. Anyway, I guess I’ll do things like taking a shower and getting dressed and then whatever comes next. Enjoy your day.