Random News: July 31, 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 31, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. I’m feeling pretty normal so far today. No complaints.

• We’ll start with some very exciting news.
• The DNC announced last night that Vice President Harris will be the only candidate on the Committee's virtual roll call ballot for president.
• No other candidates met the threshold of support necessary to qualify.
• Starting tomorrow (August 1), delegates in the Democratic Party will begin their virtual vote to select their new nominee.
• The nearly 4,000 pledged delegates allocated during the Democratic primary process will be voting on the nomination.
• Party leaders announced last night that delegates will be able to vote electronically beginning at 9am ET on Thursday, August 1. The voting will conclude at 6pm ET on Monday, August 5. Delegates will vote through an online platform run by the DNC. 
• Once the roll call begins, each of the voting delegates will receive a personalized and watermarked form to cast their vote. The DNC will then tally the votes and share the full results after the roll call is closed. 
• I can’t really remember an election in my lifetime when this many Democrats stood unified in support of a single candidate like we are now. Recent polling shows nearly 90% of Democrats are supportive of a Harris presidency.
• The first schedule of speakers has come out for the Democratic National Convention, which runs August 19-22. It has President Joe Biden speaking on the opening Monday, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on Tuesday, the as-yet-unnamed VP nominee on Wednesday, and Kamala Harris herself on Thursday.
• Let’s move back to yesterday evening’s National Organizing Call that came in the form of a front seat to the Harris rally, streamed live from Atlanta, GA.
• First off, the arena was packed with 80,000 excited people of all ages, genders, and races. Packed in a way that Dumpy could only dream about. When Harris walked out, the place erupted with the same intense energy as if a rock star was taking the stage.
• Harris told the boisterous crowd that the next few months would be a serious fight and acknowledged the Democrats were right now the underdogs — but assured them they would win in November.
• And I have to say… two weeks ago, I was almost ready to write off Georgia in the presidential win column. Biden was not polling well there versus El Dumpo. But with Harris? I think this state is 100% back in play and winnable.
• You likely remember 2020, when Biden won that state by just 11,779 votes out of 5,000,000 voters. The same folks who made that happen are even more excited about the Harris campaign. I think they’ll do it again.
• Harris’s speech there was superb… full of good energy, straightforward messaging, a combination of seriousness and humor, and much more human and down to Earth than any presidential candidate since Obama.
• Including Hillary Clinton. I think Kamala is just far more electable for about a zillion reasons.
• Another Zoom call for Harris happened last night. It was a gathering based on JD Vance’s comments that the US was being run by Democrats, corporate oligarchs, and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too”.
• So those cat ladies (and dog ladies) organized on a call that was hosted by Christine Pelosi, a political consultant and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, and Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic party.
• 22 million US women meet JD Vance’s description of being miserable childless cat ladies. I wonder how they’ll vote in November?
• In more Harris news…
• I’m 100% fine with whoever she chooses as her VP/running mate. Any of the remaining 4-5 possible contenders are great by me.
• And I’m in no hurry to know her choice, but it is coming very soon. Her campaign announced that next week, she’s hitting the road in battleground states, and her VP is coming along.
• It’s now been confirmed that early next week, we’ll know whether its Tim Walz, Pete Buttigieg, Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, or Andy Beshear. Or someone completely out of left field, though I doubt it.
• Harris is heading out on a barnstorming 7-city, 4-day tour of battleground states along with her running mate next week… and the first stop is in Philadelphia, in a state where one of her VP candidates happens to be the governor.
• Hmm.
• After Philly, Harris and her VP will be heading to western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, Savannah, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. And that all between Monday and Thursday.
• The weird 78-year-old Republican candidate can only handle one event per week, sadly.
• Let’s move on to some important international news.
• Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital of Tehran yesterday.
• You’d probably think this is good news, but this major development throws the region into an unpredictable and dangerous new phase.
• Haniyeh was the second leader of an Iran-backed group to have been assassinated in the past day, following the killing by Israel of Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in Lebanon.
• And here’s the problem: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to avenge Haniyeh’s death. 
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was “not aware of or involved in” the killing of Haniyeh. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the Haniyeh assassination.
• I hope you all understand, Iran is a big, developed country with a formidable military force and advanced weaponry. Don’t mistake it for Iraq despite being one letter apart in name.
• If Iran launches a full assault on Israel as a result of this, the USA would be obligated to defend its ally.
• Let’s warily move on for now.
• Project 2025 has become a weight around the neck of Dumples the Clown, the Republican presidential candidate.
• So sad, too bad.
• Former member of the Donald Trump administration and director of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Paul Dans stepped down yesterday after Dump’s campaign freaked the fuck out.
• But make no mistake: the Heritage Foundation confirms that they’re moving forward with Project 2025.
• Heritage is currently busy building a database of potential highly-vetted new loyalist hires to staff a second Trump White House.
• Dump has claimed that he hasn’t read Project 2025 (which I believe, since he doesn’t read at all), that he doesn’t know who’s behind it (although the creators are former Dump staffers and people close to him), and doesn’t know anything about it.
• But Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, wrote a foreword to a forthcoming book by Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, in which Vance lauds their work..
• “The Heritage Foundation isn’t some random outpost on Capitol Hill; it is and has been the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump,” wrote Vance.
• Last note… a reminder: Dumpy’s name appears in the Project 2025 manifesto 312 times.
• Moving on.
• Yesterday was the primary election in Arizona. In the most significant races of the night, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and former local news anchor Kari Lake were officially chosen as their parties’ respective Senate nominees.
• Gallego is a Harvard grad, a devoted Marine vet who fought in Iraq, and has been a successful lawmaker in the US House since being elected in 2010. He’s going to beat Lake handily and replace outgoing weirdo Kyrsten Sinema.
• Moving on.
• A brief note about the Republican messaging via Dump’s running mate J. D. Vance, when he stated that, “People without children don't have the same stake in America" compared to those who’ve produced offspring.
• “They don't have the same stake in America” was literally said about German immigrants, Irish immigrants, Italian immigrants, Jewish immigrants, pretty much every group of immigrants, women, freed slaves, Black people in general, and anyone who didn't own land.
• Keep it in mind when you vote.
• Been awhile since I had a need to mention Ye Olde Human Turtle. I kinda almost forgot he existed.
• Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that President Biden’s proposed term limits for Supreme Court justices are “unconstitutional” and will be “dead on arrival” in Congress.
• Biden has proposed authorizing presidents to appoint justices every two years and limiting them to 18 years in active service.
• Joe also called for a constitutional amendment to make clear that no former president would have immunity for crimes committed while in office, and for a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.
• Both concepts are popular with a wide swath of the American people.
• But Mitch is shocked and appalled. Gotta say, times are gonna change sooner or later, and they will eventually with or without the likes of Mitch McConnell.
• What is Dumpy doing today? I really don’t care, do you?
• Turns our Ole Dumpster is addressing the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago, and they are not happy about it.
• NABJ co-chair and Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah announced that she had stepped down from her position at the convention following the announcement, writing, “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck. For everyone else, I’m looking forward to meeting and reconnecting with all of you in the Windy City.”
• And now, The Weather: “Wish You Well” by Peel Dream Magazine
• From the Sports Desk… more medals for Team USA at the Paris Olympics. The total is now 27.
• The Women’s gymnastic team brought home the gold in the Artistic category, with a team that included that best of the best: Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Hezly Rivera.
• Silver medals were awarded to Robert Finke (Men's 800m Freestyle swimming), the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay swimming team (Drew Kibler, Brooks Curry, Blake Pieroni, Chris Guiliano, Carson Foster, Luke Hobson, and Kieran Smith), and Perris Benegas (Women's Park BMX Freestyle cycling).
• We also picked up a big batch of bronze medals in various events. Congrats go out to the Men’s gymnastic team in the Artistic category: Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Frederick Richard.
• Bronze medals also went to Team USA in swimming - Women’s 400m Individual Medley (Emma Weyant), Men's 200m Freestyle (Luke Hobson), Men's 100m Backstroke (Ryan Murphy), fencing - Men's Individual Foil (Nick Itkin), rugby - Women’s (Team USA), and swimming - Women's 100m Backstroke (Katharine Berkoff).
• USA! USA!
• Today in history… Marc Antony wins the Battle of Alexandria over Octavian, but most of his troops desert (30 BC). The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (781). All remaining Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect (1492). Christopher Columbus “discovers” Trinidad (1498). Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War (1763). Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city (1856). The Nazi Party wins 38% of the vote in German elections (1932). New York International Airport is dedicated, and is later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport (1948). Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes (1964). Michael Phelps breaks the record for most medals won at the Olympics (2012).
• July 31 is the birthday of Holy Roman emperor Maximillian II (1527), French Prime Minister Henri Brisson (1835), painter Mary Vaux Walcott (1860), animation producer Fred Quimby (1886), music producer Ahmet Ertegun (1923), guitarist/composer Kenny Burrell (1931), tennis player Evonne Goolagong (1951), actor Michael Biehn (1956), drummer/composer Bill Berry (1958), businessman Mark Cuban (1958), guitarist Stanley Jordan (1959), NFL player Kevin Greene (1962), actor Wesley Snipes (1962), DJ/musician Fatboy Slim (1963), author J. K. Rowling (1965), NFL player Gus Frerotte (1971), MLB player/manager Gabe Kapler (1975), singer-songwriter/guitarist Zac Brown (1978), actor/screenwriter B. J. Novak (1979), and NFL player DeMarcus Ware (1982).

Whew. These bullets are getting harder and harder to write comprehensively each morning in a one-hour flurry between 7-8am. But I think it’s worth it. Enjoy your day.