Random News: July 9, 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 9, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. I’m trying to make my brain function before 7AM, and I think the coffee has its work cut out for it today. Nevertheless, we will begin looking into the things that happen in the world and see if this knowledge will increase our power. It often does.

• I want to touch on a quick comparison. It’s something that seems to confuse a lot of people, and it’s more than a matter of semantics.
• Let’s look at Patriotism versus Nationalism.
• Both concepts involve the love of one’s country, so they must both be good, right?
• No.
• Patriotism stems from the ideals and values of a country; nationalism from the belief in the country’s superiority to others.
• A Patriot isn’t afraid to criticize a country and strives to continually make it better. A Nationalist views a nation as great even if it abandons its core values.
• Patriots look to the future and the opportunities to further advance its values; Nationalists look to the past as a golden era to which they want to return.
• Patriots appreciate the unique positive aspects of other countries and want to work with them for the improvement of the world. Nationalists only view other nations as inferiors and potential threats.
• No one, in any country, should be proud of being a Nationalist.
• And now, the news.
• Charlie Kirk, a giant waste of space whom I rarely if ever have mentioned here, is the founder of conservative group Turning Point USA.
• He recently mentioned one of his favorite parts of Trump’s Project 2025, which is its plan to round up Latinos in mass detention camps.
• “Get immigrants out of my country. Adios. I want my culture back,” he said in a video published in social media.
• I’m going to once again ask my friends here to not vote for the presidential candidate who supports disgusting racism.
• Fun Fact: Donald Trump’s name appears in the Project 2025 manifesto 312 times.
• Not Fun Fact: Dump’s cuts to Social Security means that three out of four Americans who are currently under 59 years old will be forced to work until age 70 at a minimum.
• Dump thinks you’re an idiot. While he disavowed any awareness or connection to Project 2025, Dump’s own published platform, dubbed Agenda 47, overlaps with Project 2025 on nearly every major policy issue.
• 31 of the 38 people who helped write or edit the Project 2025 manifesto served in some capacity in Dumpy’s administration or transition.
• Let’s move on.
• Despite what you read on the clickbait headlines, support for Joe Biden to continue in the presidential race is picking up.
• Yesterday, a number of high-profile progressive politicians, including Squad members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), along with people like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ami Bera (D-CA), along with many others, strongly voiced their support for Joe.
• He’s our guy and I support him 100%.
• Moving on.
• Republicans are very mad at their lord, Dumples the Clown, for seemingly being wishy-washy in regard to the topic of abortion.
• Dump, of course, doesn’t really care about abortion at all. He’ll just say or do anything that he thinks will give him a better chance of being elected.
• At a recent meeting going into the upcoming Republican National Convention, Committee Member Gail Ruzicka expressed her frustration walking out:
• "This never happened before. I've done this several times. There was no committees. We always had sub-committees where we could go in and work on sections of the platform ... They didn't allow any amendments. They didn't allow any discussion. They rolled us. We spent thousands of dollars to be here. Everything they told us they were going to do isn't what happened. And I'm extremely disappointed we don't have the pro-life language ... I've been coming to these since 1992 and this is the first time we haven't had a pro-life platform. I've never been treated so badly."
• So now you have Dump trying to run as essentially a pro-choice candidate while bragging that he’s also responsible for overturning Roe, and trying to keep his rapid base of fundamentalist Christians happy at the same time.
• Not gonna work.
• In other news…
• I sometimes poke fun at Michael Bloomberg because I tend to do that to extremely wealthy little dudes.
• But hats off to him for his latest effort. A $1 billion donation from Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins University will make medical school free for nearly all students there.
• The donation, announced yesterday by Bloomberg Philanthropies, will cover 100 percent of tuition for medical students whose families earn less than $300,000. The gift will also cover living expenses and fees for students whose families earn up to $175,000.
• That’s pretty fucking cool, and the nation’s medical care for future generations will be better as a result. Thanks Mike.
• And now, The Weather: “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned For A Thing I Cannot Name” by Cold Gawd
• A “Get Well Soon” going out to one of my favorite modern musicians.
• Queens of the Stone Age have been forced to cut a number of dates form their current Europe tour due to frontman Josh Homme having to return to the USA for emergency surgery.
• No other details on Homme’s condition were offered, though he did have multiple health issues over the past few years..
• From the Sports Desk… poor Novak Djokovic. He won a match at Wimbledon and cried about the crowd not loving him afterwards.
• Djokovic easily beat 15th-seeded Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just over two hours last night to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. But that wasn’t enough for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
• After ranting about being booed by fans and being told they were just cheering for Rune, the anti-vax tennis guy said, "They were. They were. They were. I don't accept it. I know they were cheering for Rune. But that's an excuse to also boo. Listen, I've been on the tour for more than 20 years. So, trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It's fine. It's fine. It's OK.”
• I can’t stand that fucking guy.
• Today in history… Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome (118). King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (1540). Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III (1762). George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island (1776). Financier James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 US national debt that had been accrued during the American Revolution (1795). Argentina declares independence from Spain (1816). U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore (1850). The Siege of Port Hudson ends, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River (1863). The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law (1868). The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins (1877). Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier’ (1922). American forces take Saipan, bringing the Japanese archipelago within range of B-29 raids, and causing the downfall of the Tojo government (1944). The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalizing homosexuality in New Zealand (1986). The Senate Report on Iraqi WMD Intelligence is released by the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, casting doubt on the rationale for the Iraq War (2004).
• July 8 is the birthday of Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II (1578), writer Ann Radcliffe (1764), UK prime minister Edward Heath (1916), singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood (1929), US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld (1932), actor Brian Dennehey (1938), author Dean Koontz (1945), NFL player/actor/accused murderer O. J. Simpson (1947), TV host/composer John Tesh (1952), politician Lindsey Graham (1955), actor Tom Hanks (1956), singer-songwriter Jim Kerr (1959), singer-songwriter Courtney Love (1964), software developer Marc Andreessen (1971), singer-songwriter Jack White (1975), and actor Fred Savage (1976).

That seems like enough for now, and regardless, I’m out of time. Enjoy your day.