Random News: August 23, 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.

---

Good morning. It’s August 23, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I am waking up today feeling glad that there’s a weekend ahead… not an uncommon feeling for the world on a Friday morning. Lots of stuff to discuss, so let’s get into it.

• Yesterday was the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention. Like the rest of the event, it was very well produced.
• On a brief aside, I’ll mention that during the day yesterday, silly rumors were flying all over the political sphere about potential celebrity appearances there.
• That’s… just silly. It’s a political event, not a talk show or concert or ComicCon or the like. So all of the people who were, like, tracking the planes of Beyoncé and Taylor Swift… they were setting themselves up for disappointment.
• And that is silly as well, because last night was an absolutely historic event on its own, with the first black woman in history accepting the nomination for President of the United States of America.
• I actually loved the comment made by political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen: “Turns out the DNC surprise guest was the friends we made along the way.” I agree!
• The speakers who did present on Day 4 included a wide range of folks across the spectrum of leadership and government, including Sec. Deb Haaland, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Bob Casey, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Maura Healey, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Gov. Roy Cooper, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Rep. Lucy McBath, Rep. Joe Neguse, Rep. Maxwell Frost, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Rep. Colin Allred, Rep. Ruben Gallego, Gabby Giffords, and more.
• Some of my personal favorite moments, in no particular order…
• The “Exonerated 5”, who were formerly called the Central Park 5 when they were wrongly imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a jogger, spoke out about Dump having taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for their execution.
• The five teens, now middle-aged men, were completely exonerated via DNA evidence. Dump never offered any kind of retraction of apology.
• Liz Warren walked out to an overwhelming standing ovation and getting emotional at the outpouring of love and respect for her. I voted for that lady to be President in the 2020 primaries and I don’t regret that decision one bit.
• Republican Adam Kinzinger was absolutely fantastic. His message of learning about Democrats and finding that we’re the ones who are patriotic in comparison to the Republicans was fantastic.
• He also called Donnie Dump “weak” at least five times. Kinzinger also reference putting country over party multiple times, something that was echoed by the nominee herself later in the evening.
• I enjoyed the speech by Leon Panetta, who made his appeal on the topics of national security and support for the armed forces in his endorsement of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
• What does he know about that topic? Oh, a few things. He was White House chief of staff (1994–1997), secretary of defense (2011–2013), director of the CIA (2009–2011), and oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
• Panetta said, “Trump tells tyrants like Putin they can do whatever the hell they want. Kamala Harris tells tyrants, ‘The hell you can. Not on my watch.’”
• Actor/comedian D.L. Hughley had some great zingers, including, “I guarantee you Kamala has been Black, a lot longer than Trump's been a Republican.”
• There were spotlights on victims of gun violence. There were women there to relate their personal stories of the fight for their reproductive rights. And there was a lot of outreach toward sane Republican people who’ve had their party stolen from them by the Trump/MAGA faction.
• And I’d say the same thing as the others: let’s put the past aside and extend our open arms and welcome those folks back to a place of kindness, sanity, and patriotism with the Democrats.
• The final moment of the evening was, of course, Harris’s acceptance of the POTUS nomination.
• Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation as she closed out the DNC, the vice president argued that her personal story and background as a prosecutor made her uniquely qualified to protect Americans’ interests against a former president she cast as only having his own interests in mind.
• “Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” Harris said. “A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
• Harris also directly addressed the elephant in the room… the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. And it was her most firm statement to date, condemning the terrorism actions of Hamas and expressing unwavering support for Israel as a friend and ally of the USA while also describing a postwar future in which Palestinians can “realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
• Her address — and, as I mentioned, the entire Democratic convention at large — was intended to appeal to a broad swath of Americans, not just us partisans who are already energized by her candidacy.
• She reached out to Republicans and Independents, trying to connect with voters who just weeks ago were disaffected with both of their options for the White House.
• That’s smart.
• One of the final notes was, “I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans. I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred America’s constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.”
• And now is where I’ll warn every single Democratic voter who feels the huge level of momentum and enthusiasm with the Harris/Walz campaign at this moment: we have a long, long way to go over the next 74 days.
• And despite any poll you’ve seen, the fact is that we are still the underdogs in this fight. As Michelle Obama said the other night, you can’t sit back and be a spectator. “No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is going to be an uphill battle,” she stated.
• The stark reality is that electing Harris means overcoming part of the voting populace who would never under any circumstances support a Black woman, or a woman at all, along with those who have been brainwashed by MAGA for the past 10 years or so. Often, these are the same people.
• You have to do something to ensure a better world for yourself, your children, your family, and your friends. And yes, we’ll be talking in coming days about what those things are that you can do.
• Let’s move on, sort of.
• I made mention yesterday, while covering Day 3 of the DNC, that everyone with a heart fell in love with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son Gus, after the neurodivergent young man started tearing up seeing his father on stage.
• He stood and shouted, “That’s my dad! That’s my dad!”
• Apparently having a loving family is something that the MAGA world finds vile.
• “Talk about weird …” posted conservative media pundit Ann Coulter, sharing an article about Gus.
• Failed MAGA congressional candidate Mike Crispi of New Jersey also got in on the action, outright mocking a kid with a learning disability.
• “Tim Walz stupid crying son isn’t the flex the left thinks it is. You raised your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”
• I thankfully got off of Twitter entirely almost a year ago, but I took a peek at that heel site and it’s true: MAGA Republicans have been openly mocking the kid for supporting his father.
• How is that acceptable by anyone? How is that American?
• So consider yourself on notice: if you’re a MAGA supporter and I find out that you have anyone in your family with disabilities, I’m going to ask you how you feel about defending your party’s treatment of them.
• Okay, let’s move on.
• Can I ask a favor of you?
• Can you stop using the word “female” when the word you’re looking for is “woman”?
• Yes, “female” and “male” are accurate scientific descriptions of gender. And no, this isn’t some statement that I’m making to differentiate between biological genders versus transgender people, though that does come into play in modern life.
• It’s more about defining people. Use “female” for rhinos and zebras and raccoons. People are men and women, or boys and girls. Unless you’re a doctor or scientist and the precise vernacular is necessary for your work, let’s use terms that are uniquely applicable to us as humans.
• So Kamala Harris will be our first woman POTUS. Start using that, please.
• Moving on to some very bad news that I wish I didn’t have to mention in the midst of all this optimism, but feel obligated to.
• Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted a Republican request to reinstate an Arizona law demanding proof of American citizenship for voter registration.
• In a 5-4 ruling, with Coney Barrett joining the liberals in dissent, justices reinstated part of a 2022 law that rejected such forms if the voter did not provide proof of citizenship.
• The law's full revival would have excluded more than 41,000 people from voting in November's election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
• So, if your skin is brown in the state of Arizona, be prepared to prove you’re a US citizen. The fact that so many people in Arizona who will be subject to this bullshit are Native Americans makes my fucking blood boil.
• Arizona election officials had better be pretty fucking careful about how this is enforced. If some white lady from Sweden gets to vote and a brown guy born in Tucson doesn’t, it’s going to be a real big problem.
• The only good news here is that the SCOTUS rejected the law's provision to mandate that voters who used a separate federal registration form should submit such documentation.
• Moving on to some more bad news. Sorry, gotta do it.
• Yesterday, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that abortion will not be on the ballot in November, rejecting the petition to bring an abortion access measure before voters because they say organizers had failed to submit the required paperwork on time.
• In a narrow 4-3 ruling, the court’s majority sided with Republican Secretary of State John Thurston who in July rejected a petition submitted by Arkansans for Limited Government that carried over 100,000 signatures because the group had not submitted training certifications for paid canvassers it used.
• Vote them all out. That’s the only power we have. Vote every one of them out of office at every opportunity you have.
• And now, The Weather: “Mutations” by Nilüfer Yanya
• Let’s do a chart. In September 1969, I was three months old. Kamala Harris was four years old. Tim Walz was five.
• Despite us being too little to appreciate it at the time, the music was really good. This is the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart at that time.
• 1. Johnny Cash At San Quentin (Johnny Cash). 2. Blind Faith (Blind Faith) 3. Best Of Cream (Cream). 4. Blood, Sweat & Tears (Blood, Sweat & Tears). 5. Romeo & Juliet (1969) (Soundtrack). 6. Smash Hits (The Jimi Hendrix Experience). 7. The Soft Parade (The Doors). 8. Hair (Original Cast Recording). 9. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly). 10. Best Of Bee Gees (Bee Gees). 11. This Is Tom Jones (Tom Jones). 12. Crosby, Stills & Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash). 13. Nashville Skyline (Bob Dylan). 14. Bayou Country (Creedence Clearwater Revival). 15. Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin). 16. Suitable For Framing (Three Dog Night). 17. Hot Buttered Soul (Isaac Hayes). 18. Dark Shadows (The Score) (Soundtrack). 19. The Age Of Aquarius (The 5th Dimension). 20. Tommy (The Who).
• From the Sports Desk… let’s take another peek at MLB standings, but this time for the entire sport. Look how tight this shit is!
• 1. Dodgers (76-52). 2. Yankees (75-53). 3. Phillies (74-53). 4. Guardians (73-54). 5. Brewers (73-54). 6. Orioles (74-55). 7. Diamondbacks (72-56). 8. Twins (71-56). 9. Royals (71-56). 10. Padres (72-57).
• Today in history… the Golden Horde lays siege to Moscow (1382). George III states that the American colonies are in open and avowed rebellion (1775). A state named Franklin in what’s now eastern Tennessee declares itself independent but is not accepted into the USA and only lasts four years (1784). Japan declares war on Germany in WWI (1914). Italy executes anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti (1927). Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies in WWII (1944). César Chávez begins the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history (1970). The World Wide Web is opened to the public (1991). Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown during the Libyan Civil War (2011). Chandrayaan-3 mission initiated first Moon landing in Indian history (2023).
• August 23 is the birthday of King Louis XVI of France (1754), physicist/astronomer Sarah Frances Whiting (1847), actor/dancer Gene Kelly (1912), actress Barbara Eden (1931), drummer Keith Moon (1946), singer-songwriter Linda Thompson (1947), singr-songwriter/actor Rick Springfield (1949), actress Shelly Long (1949), guitarist/songwriter Dean DeLeo (1961), actor River Phoenix (1970), politician Gretchen Whitmer (1971), NBA player Kobe Bryant (1978), singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas (1978), NBA player Jeremy Lin (1988), and NBA player Seth Curry (1990).

Whew, okay. I enjoyed the DNC, but like many things that are exciting and cool, I’m also glad it’s over. Time to buckle down and do the real work. Thanks for reading, as always. Enjoy your day.