Random News: July 30, 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 July 30, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. I’m up and about, knowing I have a busy dat ahead but still feeling pretty energized after getting involved in some political action last night. Let’s start with that, and find out about some other news that impacts our lives.

• There’s no way I can do a full recap of last night’s “White Dudes for Harris” online rally.
• It was like 3-1/2 hours and every single speaker was superb in their own way.
• To understand the context of this event, you need to rewind the clock a short while.
• This trend began a week again Sunday… the same night after Joe Biden passed the torch for the 2024 election to Kamala Harris. The political networking group “Win With Black Women” held a Zoom meeting that very evening, thinking they’d get a thousand people to attend.
• Instead, the number of participants swelled to more than 44,000, and featured celebratory speeches from activists, business leaders, members of Congress, and staff from the vice president's office.
• As the week progressed, there was a “Win With Black Men” virtual fundraising event that attracted more than 53,000 attendees. On Thursday, there was a “White Women for Harris” event that attracted more than 164,000 participants.
• So who had yet to step up to the plate to show support for Harris? That’s right, the white dudes.
• Organized by activists Ross Morales Rocketto (who emceed the event) and Brad Bauman, one of the first things that was pointed out was that gatherings of white men has, historically, not been for benevolent reasons.
• “Throughout American history, when white men organized, it was often with pointy hats on,” said Rocketto. It felt inspiring to take part in something that flew against this perception.
• ”There's a silent majority of white men who aren't MAGA Republicans, and we haven't done anything to try to capture those votes,” added Rocketto. Well, we have now, thanks to him and the other organizers of this event.
• There were dozens and dozens of speakers. I won’t (and can’t) rehash everything that was said. I will mention a few highlights.
• A totally unexpected surprise toward the start was the appearance of actor Jeff Bridges, who got an email about it earlier yesterday and was excited when he heard about the gathering of his fellow white dudes.
• “I qualify, man! I’m white, I’m a dude, and I’m for Harris,” Bridges said. “A woman president, man, how exciting!”
• A good number of the white dude speakers are people who might end up being Harris’s vice presidential running mate, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced he was withdrawing from consideration moments before the call began. 
• All were great. Buttigieg was, as always, a great communicator. I have to say, though, Tim Walz is fucking fantastic. I love that guy.
• “Make that bastard wake up afterwards and know that a Black woman kicked his ass and sent him on the road and you know that’s something that guy’s going to have to live with the rest of his life,” Walz said. 
• There were plenty of white dude singers (Josh Groban, Lance Bass) and white dude actors (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Hamill, Josh Gad, Paul Scheer). Sean Astin made a particularly poignant and emotional talk.
• Perhaps the biggest laugh of the night came from actor Bradley Whitford, who said, “What a variety of whiteness we have here. It’s like a rainbow of beige.”
• There were also plenty of white dudes from the world of Democratic politics, like White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
• And here’s why this whole thing was important and necessary, and perhaps helps you really get the context of it. Representation matters in this world. If everyone assume that white guys are Dump/MAGA supporters, there’s no one to impart the reality, which is that the majority of us are not.
• And this number was quoted several times by political experts: if just 1-3% of white guys shifted away from the MAGA world, they could never win an election again. In recent years, Republicans have completely relied on the support of white working-class men.
• Again for clarity… if just one percent of white male voters chose not to align themselves with the party of hate and prejudice, it was have a massive impact.
• And then there’s the other point, which is fundraising. We white dudes brought our wallets with us.
• Over 150,000 folks signed up to join White Dudes for Harris. Over 193,000 people attended the kickoff call. And they raised $4.2 million dollars last night for Harris for President.
• You can still make donations to this cause. I’ll include the link in the comments.
• Of note: none of these Zoom calls have been organized by Harris' team, but her campaign absolutely welcomes the assist — and the millions of dollars in fundraising.
• If you wonder if the white dudes call was effective, note that it became such a huge topic taking over the Twitter (aka X) platform — the one owned by Elon Musk — that Musk got scared, freaked out, and banned the “White Dudes for Harris” account from the platform.
• Musk did it during the event. Yes, I’m serious. What a fucking weird douchebag that guy is.
• The automated message when the account was suspended read: "X suspends accounts which violate the X rules."
• A Democratic commentator said: "The 'free speech absolutist' has now suspended White @dudes4harris. Presumably for raising $4M in a few hours. The fascists are terrified. Good."
• There are now 98 days until we elect a women president. We’re not going back.
• Let’s move on with a fact.
• 30 percent of American households have step-children, and 1 in 6 Americans 55 and over are childless. Those are the people who are being called worthless by the Republican Party.
• Let’s do another fact.
• Previous to the advent of the pertussis vaccine, that disease was the number one killer of children worldwide.
• But old Donnie Dump says he’s going to cut all federal funds to any school that insists we vaccinate against pertussis, diphtheria, mumps, measles, and polio.
• The result will be a purposeful mass murder of children across our country.
• We’re not going back to the hellscape of a Dump-led world.
• Are all Republicans the enemy? No, not at all. In fact, one of the themes last night was that we should be engaging those people and trying to help them understand that all we want is a better world for everyone.
• An example of a Republican with the right mindset? How about John Giles, the Republican Mayor of Mesa, AZ, who wrote an op-ed yesterday for the Arizona Republic stating the reasons why he is endorsing Kamala Harris for President.
• Mesa is the third largest city in Arizona, and the Arizona Republic is the largest newspaper by circulation in the crucial battleground state. 
• Giles’ reason that he can’t support Dump include that he refused to accept the outcome of the 2020 election and continues to do so, that he continues to trash the American legal system to delegitimize it, that he orchestrated the "fake elector" scheme in Arizona, that he blocked the bipartisan border bill negotiated in the Senate, that he’s a convicted felon and threat to the nation, and much more.
• The Republican’s reasons for endorsing Harris? It’s her excellent work in the Biden administration that helped Arizona by delivering on their promise with infrastructure funding for the Phoenix-Mesa Airport, creating thousands of new jobs with the CHIPS Act, and Harris’ strong stand against gun violence and for women's rights.
• I know there are a lot more people like him out there.
• Moving on.
• Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, is testifying today before two Senate committees about the security lapses that led to the alleged assassination attempt against Dumpy.
• Rowe became acting director of the agency last week after Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the aftermath of a House hearing in which she was berated by lawmakers and failed to answer specific questions about the communication failures preceding the July 13 shooting.
• The FBI’s No. 2 official is also testifying. Senate lawmakers are grilling the officials about law enforcement lapses in the hours before the attempted assassination.
• In other news…
• Yesterday, Wayne LaPierre, the former head of the National Rifle Association, was banned for 10 years from holding a paid position with the organization. The NRA will not be required to have an independent monitor, though.
• The split decision from Judge Joel Cohen came on the final day of arguments in the second stage of a civil trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
• The first phase of the trial, decided in February by a Manhattan jury, found LaPierre and another deputy liable for misspending millions of dollars on lavish trips and other personal expenses.
• Fucking assholes. Never send the NRA a fucking dime unless you’re an idiot.
• Moving on.
• You know how Dump, over the weekend, told a group of people that they won’t get to ever vote again if he gets elected in November?
• Surprisingly, it was Fox News host Laura Ingraham who repeatedly prodded Dumples the Dictator Clown yesterday over his comments at the conservative Christian summit.
• And Dump wouldn’t deny the meaning of his statement.
• “That statement is very simple. I said, ‘Vote for me, you’re not going to have to do it ever again.’ It’s true, because we have to get the vote out. Christians are not known as a big voting group,” said the Tangerine Twat.
• What?
• And now, The Weather: “The Bed” by Lutalo
• Let’s do a chart. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles from mid-October 1964… the week that Kamala Harris was born!
• Having “Oh, Pretty Woman” be number one is appropriate.
• 1. Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison And The Candy Men). 2. Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Manfred Mann). 3. Dancing In The Street (Martha & The Vandellas). 4. Bread And Butter (The Newbeats). 5. Remember (Walkin' in the Sand) (The Shangri-Las). 6. We'll Sing In The Sunshine (Gale Garnett). 7. It Hurts To Be In Love (Gene Pitney). 8. G.T.O. (Ronny And The Daytonas). 9. Last Kiss (J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers). 10. A Summer Song (Chad & Jeremy). 11. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) (The Beach Boys). 12. Baby I Need Your Loving (Four Tops). 13. Funny (How Time Slips Away) (Joe Hinton). 14. Let It Be Me (Betty Everett & Jerry Butler). 15. I'm On The Outside (Looking In) (Little Anthony And The Imperials). 16. Haunted House (Jumpin' Gene Simmons). 17. You Must Believe Me (The Impressions). 18. Matchbox (The Beatles). 19. House Of The Rising Sun (The Animals). 20. Save It For Me (The 4 Seasons Featuring the "Sound of Frankie Valli”).
• From the Sports Desk… the medal count for Team USA at the Paris Olympics is now up to 20.
• We picked up two more silver medals via Jagger Eaton in Men's Street skateboarding, and Katie Grimes in the Women's 400m Individual Medley in swimming.
• And then a whole bunch of bronze medals that include Nyjah Huston in Men's Street skateboarding, Asher Hong/Paul Juda/Brody Malone/Stephen Nedoroscik/Frederick Richard in Artistic Men's Team gymnastics, Emma Weyant in Women's 400m Individual Medley swimming, Luke Hobson in Men's 200m Freestyle swimming, Ryan Murphy in Men's 100m Backstroke swimming, and Nick Itkin in Men's Individual Foil fencing.
• USA! USA!
• Today in history… Baghdad is founded (762). The Virginia General Assembly convenes for the first time (1619). Founding of Baltimore, MD (1729). Uruguay wins its first FIFA World Cup (1930). Congress decides that “In God We Trust” is the new national motto (1956). Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act, establishing Medicare and Medicaid (1965). Apollo 15 lands on the moon with the first lunar rover (1971). Jimmy Hoffa disappears and is never seen again (1975). 50,000 people demonstrate in Communist Poland (1981). NASA's Mars 2020 mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral (2020).
• July 30 is the birthday of Ming emperor Hongzhi (1470), pianist Maria Anna Mozart (1751), novelist Emily Brontë (1818), engineer/businessman Henry Ford (1863), MLB player Casey Stengel (1890), banker Henry W. Bloch (1922), puppeteer Sid Kroft (1929), guitarist Buddy Guy (1936), director Peter Bogdanovich (1939), singer-songwriter Paul Anka (1941), saxophonist/composer David Sanborn (1945), actor/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947), drummer Rat Scabies (1955), actress Delta Burke (1956), lawyer Anita Hill (1956), NBA player Bill Cartwright (1957), singer-songwriter Kate Bush (1958), actor Lawrence Fishburne (1961), actress Lisa Kudrow (1963), NBA player Chris Mullin (1963), actress Vivica A. Fox (1964), director Christopher Nolan (1970), actress Hilary Swank (1974), and soccer player Hope Solo (1981).

As usual, there’s plenty more news, but I’m a regular person who has things to do. Enjoy your day.