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.
Good morning. It’s August 18, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. So far this morning, I am thankful for my delicious coffee and for the lack of chainsaws. Those are small things but allowing yourself to be grateful for the mundane is definitely a key to a happy life. Let’s check out the news and hopefully not ruin my optimistic mood.
- I’ll open with a note of caution.
- In August 2016, which now seems like 10,000,000 years ago, every single poll had Hillary Clinton ahead in the polls on average by anywhere between two and eight points.
- It seemed a foregone conclusion that she was going to beat Dump and we’d have our first woman President of the USA.
- Some very legitimate polls had her up by even more.
- An Ipsos/Reuters poll from August 18-22 of that year had Hillary up by 12, 45% to 33%. A Quinnipiac poll from August 18-24 had her up by 10, 51% to 41%.
- This is why for the most part, I’ve stopped mentioning polls here. Has the methodology improved over the past eight years? Yes it has… but not enough to be trustworthy.
- So it’s with that note of caution that I’ll say that Kamala Harris’s numbers continue to increase over Dumpy in many polls. Some conducted this week have her up by as much as six points. Others have it as a more conservative 2-3 points, which is within the margin of error.
- Don’t fucking believe any of them. Every single vote will be crucial… especially in swing states, yes, but it’s just as important everywhere.
- If you assume your neighbors are all voting, and they assume the same, we get a low turnout and then terrible things happen.
- You must vote. You owe it to yourself and your family and your friends and the future of America and the world.
- Something to consider in that regard…
- I came across an interesting comparison I wanted to share: it’s between the similarities of Trump’s Project 2025 and of Muslim countries under Sharia Law.
- Where you have a government focused on the doctrine of a single religion.
- Where women, by law, have less rights than men.
- Where homosexuality itself — much less things like same sex marriage or support for transgender people — is illegal and severely punishable.
- Where science takes a back seat to a single religion’s tenets.
- Where there’s no separation between church and state and one religion is forcibly taught in schools.
- And of course, where abortion is illegal and punishable.
- If that’s what you want, there are plenty of countries where the official government is a theocracy — a form of government in which the ultimate leader is a supreme deity.
- Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen all come to mind.
- Donald Trump’s Project 2025 clearly states that they will turn the United States into a similar country, where only white Christian males have the freedoms that we all enjoy now.
- Do not allow that to happen.
- Let’s talk about next week’s Democratic National Convention a little more. They’ve release a few more details about each day’s theme, and the speakers who will be present.
- Monday’s theme is "For the People,” and will feature President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
- Tuesday is "A Bold Vision for America's Future,” with President Barack Obama, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
- Wednesday will be "A Fight for Our Freedoms,” with Gov. Tim Walz, President Bill Clinton, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
- On the final day, Thursday, the theme is "For Our Future,” which is when Vice President Harris will formally accept the nomination.
- Let’s move on.
- Yesterday was another outstanding and productive day for a Democratic plan you may not know about. It’s called “Operation Let Trump Speak.”
- There was more fallout over Dump’s statement on Friday that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “actually much better” than the Medal of Honor given to military personnel who risk their lives.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars, one of the nation’s largest and oldest veteran advocacy organizations, condemned former Dump’s statement.
- “These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterized the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty,” wrote VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt.
- I fully agree. If you support the USA’s military, you agree too. Dump crossed that line so hard that it doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a Republican or Democrat, a liberal or conservative.
- It was a vile and disgusting way to denigrate all branches of our military. He should be deeply ashamed, as should anyone who supports him.
- Meanwhile, Dumpy’s continued focus on Harris’s gender and race couldn’t come at a worse time for the Republicans, as Harris has opened a gaping lead with female voters.
- A brand new New York Times-Siena poll found Harris ahead of Trump by 14 percentage points with women in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada, where just a few months ago in May, Dump and President Joe Biden were tied with women.
- In Pennsylvania, women backed Harris 54 percent to 41 percent, while men supported Trump, 49 percent to 42 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll this month.
- Overall, Harris is now leading Trump by two points in the state. Her numbers will continue to rise as his fall.
- Moving on.
- Are all women politicians good? Are we electing Harris specifically because she’s a women?
- Hell fucking no. Case in point: I want you to be aware of a woman named Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee to run public education in North Carolina.
- Morrow filmed a video after attending the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol urging Donnie Dump to put "the Constitution to the side" and use the military to stay in power.
- She called for mass arrests of anyone who helped certify the 2020 election. In March's Republican primary, Morrow defeated the incumbent North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction.
- Morrow had previously called for the public execution of Barack Obama and the death of Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats in comments on a since-deleted X account.
- I really hope, on a number of fronts, that North Carolina chooses well come November 5.
- Speaking of North Carolina, that’s the state that El Dumpo gave a shout out to in his speech yesterday.
- ”And then I walk in, and speak for 15 minutes, and leave. I don't know... Would that be ok, North Carolina?" said Dump to the attendees of his rally… in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
- He said nothing of consequence at that rally beyond his usual stream of consciousness non sequiturs and personal attacks.
- Actually, he did have one thing that was very important to him: he thrice declared that he was better looking than Kamala Harris.
- Three times. I’m not kidding. This is a real, live maniac here, folks.
- In other news…
- I must know 20 or more people who’ve had COVID in the past week or so, and the CDC agrees that it’s on the upswing around the country.
- The good news: with such a high percentage of the populace vaccinated, this summer’s wave has not resulted in hospitals being overwhelmed.
- Don’t get me wrong; elderly people and those with compromised immune systems are still dying.
- Why does it peak in summer? Simple. People travel more and are in enclosed spaces with lots of other people. And also, yes, the virus continues to evolve, just like a cold or flu does.
- We can contain it but we’ll almost certainly never wipe it out any more than we can the common cold.
- The hot spots for COVID right now are in the West and South, based on the CDC’s testing of wastewater.
- Try not to get it. How? C’mon, you know the answer. Same as always: mask up, wash hands frequently, and try and stay out of crowded indoor spaces.
- And now, The Weather: “Fadda Radda” by Snoozer
- From the Sports Desk… we’re just over two weeks from the start of the NFL’s new season. It’s a terrific distraction for me. I participate in a pick ‘em pool, I follow along with trends and injury reports and matchup odds.
- And of course, I like the game itself. I’ve been a football fan since I was about six years old.
- This seems pretty early, but here’s the schedule for week one, which starts on Thursday September 5.
- Baltimore at Kansas City, Green Bay at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Arizona at Buffalo, Tennessee at Chicago, New England at Cincinnati, Houston at Indianapolis, Jacksonville at Miami, Carolina at New Orleans, Minnesota at New York Giants, Las Vegas at Los Angeles Chargers, Denver at Seattle, Dallas at Cleveland, Washington at Tama Bay, Los Angeles Rams at Detroit, and New York Jets at San Francisco.
- There is no such thing as a sure bet on Week 1. No one has a fucking clue as to how these teams will be after the offseason changes.
- However, DraftKings has the Bengals over the Pats at -9, which I’d say is likely accurate.
- Today in history… Castillian and Aragonese forces take Málaga (1487). John White returns from England to find the Roanoke Colony deserted (1590). A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain (1783). Pierre Janssen discovers helium (1868). A great fire destroys almost half of Thessaloniki, Greece (1917). The 19th Amendment is ratified, giving voting rights to women (1920). Nabokov’s controversial novel ‘Lolita’ is published in the US (1958). James Meredith becomes the first Black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi (1963). Australia and New Zealand withdraw their troops from Vietnam (1971). Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko is arrested and beaten and later dies from his injuries (1977). A power blackout in Java affects nearly 100 million people, one of the largest outage events in history (2005).
- August 18 is the birthday of first English-descent child born in the USA Virginia Dare (1587), composer Antonio Salieri (1750), UK prime minister John Russell (1792), businessman Marshall Field (1834), businessman Max Factor (1904), activist Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911), politician Caspar Weinberger (1917), actress Shelley Winters (1920), US first lady Rosalynn Carter (1927), businesswoman/racist Marge Schott (1928), director/rapist Roman Polanski (1933), MLB player Roberto Clemente (1934), actor Robert Redford (1936), actor Martin Mull (1943), singer-songwriter Sarah Dash (1945), comedian Elayne Boosler (1952), actor Patrick Swayze (1952), comedian Denis Leary (1957), actor Edward Norton (1969), actor Christian Slater (1969), actor Andy Samberg (1978), NFL player Jeremey Shockey (1980), artist/model Frances Bean Cobain (1992), and singer-songwriter Clairo (1998).
That’s plenty for now. I’m going to take a shower and do various things. Enjoy your day.
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