Random News: August 15, 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 August 15, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I have a pretty busy day ahead, and there’s plenty of news to discuss, so let’s just jump in.

• The first political rule of Zak’s Random News: polls are bullshit.
• Say it again: polls are bullshit. Your actions should always assume the attitude that your candidate — in this case, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz — are huge underdogs, and that every single vote matters, regardless of where you live.
• That being said, all legitimate signs continue to show that Harris’s entry into the presidential election has dramatically shaken up the 2024 landscape, with polls increasingly shifting toward the Democrat’s favor over her GOP rival, Donnie Dumpster.
• She is now leading or tied with Dump in six of seven battleground states, according to poll findings released yesterday.
• The non-partisan Cook Political Report Swing State Project survey found Harris with an overall 1-point advantage across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
• Dumpy’s only lead in the battleground polling is in Nevada, but Harris has narrowed the margin there by 6 points since Biden was on the ticket. Harris and Dump are currently tied in Georgia.
• Even in states like North Carolina, Florida, and Texas, Harris has at least some possibility of winning.
• As we mentioned not long ago, the former phenomenon of “double haters” had threatened to make a big impact on this election, but no more. Harris’s entry in the race immediately halved the number of people who identify as such, and the number continues to dwindle.
• A previous Monmouth poll had 17 percent said they did not have favorable views of either Biden or Trump. Now that’s down below 8 percent.
• The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s analysis of top polls shows that Harris has a 1.6 percentage point lead nationally, with 48.1 percent to Trump’s 46.5 percent.
• So in addition to polls being bullshit, all of these are close enough that you should assume that each and every vote matters a lot… because it definitely does.
• And a reminder: at this time in 2016, Hillary Clinton was far ahead of Donnie Dump in the polls.
• Vote. Vote like your life depends on it, because it fucking does.
• In related news…
• I attended the California for Harris/Walz online event last night. It wasn’t very exciting, but frankly I’m not involved in these things to be entertained.
• The speakers, who included Senator Alex Padilla, Rep. Pete Aguilar, and members of the Harris campaign team, were focused on direct action items such as canvassing in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, phone banking, community building, and the like.
• They also smartly bought up some info on essential down-ballot House races, especially in flippable districts in our state.
• Some other election news…
• Yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz agreed to participate in a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News on October 1 in New York City. Later in the day, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio agreed to participate.
• The debate will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and Face the Nation moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
• I am very much looking forward to this.
• Speaking of Vance…
• An open letter signed by more than 1,000 veterans and military family members bashed Dumples the Clown and Vance for their politically motivated attacks on Tim Walz’s military record.
• “JD Vance’s recent comments attacking Governor Walz’s service record are disrespectful and deeply disappointing, especially given Vance’s own service — which we are also profoundly grateful for. But given Donald Trump’s long record of expressing disdain for service members, veterans, and their families, it’s unsurprising that his running mate has stooped to such lows.”
• Dumpy Dumperton did one of his rallies in Asheville, NC yesterday. Thomas Wolfe Auditorium forced Dump to pay $82,000 up front  due to his propensity to not pay his balls. He’s stiffed over a dozen places in his various rally events, essentially doing a dine and dash.
• The venue in NC held just 2,431 people, indicating Dump's insecurity about crowd size and filling it, as Harris surges in NC polls.
• Meanwhile, Vice President Harris will be unveiling a proposed ban on price gouging in the grocery and food industries, embracing a strikingly populist proposal in her most significant economic policy announcement since becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee.
• In a statement released last night, the Harris campaign said that if elected, she would push for the first-ever federal ban on food price hikes, with sweeping new powers for federal authorities.
• Tomorrow, she will also announce plans to lower prescription drug and housing costs.
• Moving on.
• From the Health Desk, a warning about a disease on the upswing that shouldn’t be.
• A wave of pertussis, aka whooping cough, infections is continuing to worsen nationwide, per the CDC, with weekly reported cases now accelerating to the highest levels seen in the U.S. for years. 
• At least 259 pertussis cases were reported during the first week into August, up from 215 weekly cases towards the end of June. 
• Whooping cough had plummeted to record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to more people at the time wearing masks and staying home from schools and offices. 
• I have to say, since the end of 2019, I’ve had far fewer cases of contagious diseases (colds, etc.) than I’d typically have had, and I still mask up in crowded situations like the grocery store. I might keep doing that forever.
• Let’s do some international news.
• I am, at heart, a pacifist. I think war is a horrible way to resolve conflicts. But I have to hand it to Ukraine, who finally decided that the best defense against Russia is a good offense.
• Ukraine’s stunning incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region was a bold gamble, committing their limited resources to a risky assault on a nuclear-armed enemy with no assurance of success.
• But as of yesterday, Ukrainian officials said they controlled 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of enemy territory, including at least 74 settlements and hundreds of Russian prisoners of war.
• No one knows what happens next in this unprecedented situation. Will Ukraine dig in and keep the conquered territory, advance further into Russian territory or pull back?
• Either way, I find myself liking the idea that the bully — Russia — got punched in the nose and was unprepared.
• Remember back in February 2022 when Russia first invaded their neighboring country, and the “experts” predicted they’d take total control in two weeks?
• Welp.
• Back in the USA, I know this next item sounds so insane that at first I assumed it was some kind of urban myth.
• Nope. 
• Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan went to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida last year. She ordered a meal that she was assured was free of dairy and nuts due to her severe allergies.
• She had a near immediate reaction and died of anaphylactic shock. They’d ignored her dietary needs and lied to her when they served her the deadly meal.
• Her widower filed a wrongful death suit against Disney. But Disney, in a court filing, argued that the case ought to be dismissed and settled out of court because Piccolo agreed to the company’s terms of use.
• When did he do that? When he signed up for a one-month free trial of Disney+ in 2019.
• The lawyers claim that “When you create a Disney+ or ESPN+ account, you also agree to the Walt Disney Company’s Terms of Use,” which “govern your use of other Disney Services”. The services include “sites, software, applications, content, product and services”, which include the Disney Parks and Resorts website, they say.
• I genuinely hope this fucks them in a huge way.
• In other news of stupid shit, the State Fair of Texas will have a five-story cowboy named Big Tex, but they decided not to have guns there.
• This comes after a shooting last year on the fairgrounds in the heart of Dallas, when one man opened fire on another, injuring three people and resulting in police clearing the fairgrounds. Seems like a good idea, right?
• Not according to the outrage from Republican lawmakers, because of course. Yesterday, extreme asshole state Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened a lawsuit unless the fair reversed course.
• Texas Republicans love it when their citizens shoot and kill one another. That’s how they get off.
• And now, The Weather: “A Hideous Win” by Vilde
• An RIP going out to Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr., founder of the "Famous Amos" cookies known and beloved nationwide. He died yesterday at 88.
• Amos built his brand from one bakery in Hollywood, California, in 1975 and a family recipe. His is definitely a Black American success story.
• I remember once in the early ‘80s my dad taking a business day trip to San Francisco and being super excited that he’d met Amos on his plane.
• Another RIP to Oscar-nominated actress Gena Rowlands, whose screen career spanned nearly seven decades and more than 100 film and TV credits. She died yesterday at 94.
• Rowlands was known for both her work in early independent cinema alongside her first husband, director John Cassavetes, as well as crowd-pleasing titles later in her career, including “Hope Floats” in 1998 opposite Sandra Bullock and the hit film “The Notebook” in 2004.
• Let’s do a chart. 
• In 1990, Kamala Harris got her first big job after completing her law degree, hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, CA. Here’s the top of the Billboard 100 singles chart when she was getting started there.
• 1. Vision Of Love (Mariah Carey). 2. The Power (Snap!). 3. Rub You The Right Way (Johnny Gill). 4. Cradle Of Love (From "Ford Fairlane") (Billy Idol). 5. If Wishes Came True (Sweet Sensation). 6. Come Back To Me (Janet Jackson). 7. Unskinny Bop (Poison). 8. King Of Wishful Thinking (From "Pretty Woman") (Go West). 9. She Ain't Worth It (Glenn Medeiros Featuring Bobby Brown). 10. Do Me! (Bell Biv DeVoe). 11. Jerk Out (The Time). 12. Have You Seen Her (M.C. Hammer). 13. Blaze Of Glory (From "Young Guns II") (Jon Bon Jovi). 14. Make You Sweat (Keith Sweat). 15. Epic (Faith No More). 16. Could This Be Love (Seduction). 17. Release Me (Wilson Phillips). 18. Girls Nite Out (Tyler Collins). 19. Hold On (En Vogue). 20. When I'm Back On My Feet Again (Michael Bolton).
• From the Sports Desk… let’s take another look at the leading MLB teams as the season starts to move toward its later days.
• American League: Guardians (72-49), Yankees (72-50), Orioles (71-50), Twins (67-53), Royals (66-55).
• National League: Dodgers (71-50), Phillies (70-50), Brewers (68-52), Diamondbacks (69-53), Padres (69-53).
• Today in history… Starting date of the First Crusade (1096). The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a divine wind (1281). The Panama Canal opens to traffic (1914). Will Rogers dies in a plane crash in Barrow, Alaska (1935). ‘The Wizard of Oz’ premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood (1939). Hirohito broadcasts Japan’s surrender in WWII (1945). India gains independence from British rule (1947). South Korea is established (1948). The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in Bethel, NY (1969). Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed with his family during a military coup (1975). The SETI project hears the “Wow! signal” (1977). Apple introduces the iMac (1998). Kabul falls into the hands of the Taliban as Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan along with local residents and foreign nationals, effectively reestablishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021).
• August 15 is the birthday of general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769), MLB player/manager Charles Comiskey (1859), actress Ethel Barrymore (1879), chef Julia Child (1912), graphic designer Paul Rand (1914), pianist/composer Oscar Peterson (1925), businessman Malcolm Glazer (1928), politician Maxine Waters (1938), songwriter Jimmy Webb (1946), singer-songwriter/guitarist Tom Johnston (1948), Princess Anne of the UK (1950), drummer Tommy Aldridge (1950), author Stieg Larsson (1954), philanthropist Melinda Gates (1964), actress Debra Messing (1968), actor Ben Affleck (1970), rapper Nipsey Hussle (1985), actress Jennifer Lawrence (1990), and rapper Chief Keef (1995).

The good news for my stress level is that my big important deadlines for the day happen early in the day, so by noon I should be far less freaked out than I am at the moment. It’s a funny thing; I can be as prepared and ready to do my job as anyone could hope to be, but I remain on edge until it actually happens successfully. I suppose that’s normal human behavior, and I guess I’m a normal human. Sometimes. Enjoy your day.