Random News: November 6, 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 November 6, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday.

• Let’s get it out of the way: Donald Trump was elected as the 47th president of the USA last night, per all projections.
• Votes are still being tallied as of 7am PT, but it was Trump’s win in Wisconsin put him over the 270 threshold needed to clinch the presidency.
• I am not going to get into a big analysis of “why.” I believed, and still believe, that Kamala Harris was an excellent candidate who was highly qualified to be POTUS.
• I am also not going to entertain the second-guessing aspects of “what if we’d stuck with Biden?” No one can answer that.
• While I felt confident that Harris would win, a good portion of my optimism can be chalked up to a couple of points.
• One is that I had faith that in the big picture, America was a place of kindness, where women are given an equal level of respect as men. I do not think that’s the case anymore. I guess I’m not too old to learn things.
• The other — and this is my own fault — was the propensity that many of us share to surround ourselves with like-minded people in a bubble.
• As such, I refused to believe the polls that turned out to be pretty accurate. Like most humans, I tend to believe the things that appeal to me, and doubt that which doesn’t. 
• I do want to be clear: every moment I spent supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz was worth it. I’d do it again with pleasure.
• But I also want to say that throughout the race, I clearly said that either of the candidates could win. There was never a clear front-runner.
• If I gave anyone a false sense of optimism about this, I do apologize. It’s pretty terrible that while I am as saddened as any of you, I am not shocked.
• For good and bad, this is America. We have a long track record of doing terrible things, often against our own best interest and that of the world.
• So where are we now, and what happens next?
• I’m not going to start speculating. We have plenty of time ahead to look over the many possibilities of what happens in a second Trump term.
• I want to preemptively express my condolences to the people whose lives will be most impacted by the potential devastation of his policies.
• As a white heterosexual middle-aged male, it’s not myself who has the brunt of my concern. But I do think that in many ways yet to be defined, every American will pay some price for the decision we collectively made last night.
• And frankly, the world itself — with America’s long-staring position as a superpower — will be affected by this.
• However, I’m not going to dwell on what might happen.
• I know a lot of you are deeply sad. I know others are emotionally numb. And yet others are openly angry. I’m not going to tell you to feel otherwise. Your feelings are legitimate. I will not negate them.
• But I do want to mention some other aspects of the 2024 election. Not all of it was bad, and some of it is still ongoing.
• Let’s continue with the shitty news, while we’re in that mode.
• The Senate will flip to Republican control. There are still six races yet to be called, but the makeup of the upper chamber of Congress looks like it will be 52-48 in favor of the GOP.
• With Trump as president and a Republican Senate in place, a lot of horrible shit will happen. I don’t want to sugarcoat any of this.
• It is unknown at this point who will have control of the House of Representatives. There remains a possibility that the Democrats will reach the 218 tipping point that allows them to take over.
• If that becomes the case, Hakeem Jeffries will become Speaker.
• But that remains up in the air for now.
• I do want to talk about some important wins from last night.
• Measures to protect abortion access in Arizona, Colorado, New York, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, and Nevada passed. In New York, Colorado, and Maryland, where abortion is legal at least up to the point of viability, the measures will maintain current abortion access.
• Voters in Florida and South Dakota, however, decided to retain their draconian abortion bans. Nebraska seems on track to also continue their ban, though votes are still being counted in their dueling measures that are for and against.
• Both Colorado and California voted to remove same-sex marriage bans from their respective state constitutions.
• I want to quote the statement from the American Civil Liberties Union from last night.
• The ACLU wrote, “We’re clear-eyed about the chaos and destruction a second Trump administration will cause to our nation. That’s why we’re done with handwringing, admiring the problem, or waiting anxiously to see which unlawful action President-elect Trump will take on Day One. We are ready to take action the minute Trump takes the oath of office.”
• And I want this to be known. There have been people preparing for this moment for months, if not years. There are steps being taken behind the scenes to shore up our rights and freedoms.
• I know that’s not a lot of comfort. I’m not tell you to keep your chin up or to have some silly sense of optimism at this moment.
• But I will say this.
• In ways that most of you can’t even imagine, any move to turn the USA into a fascist dictatorship will be fought.
• It will be harder in some places than others. But the fight will go on. We’ve held this democracy for 248 years; it’s not going away overnight.
• A lot of work will be done between now and January 20, and then continuing after Trump takes office.
• One final point I’d like to make for now: try to refrain from placing blame on each other. Don’t feed Russia’s intentions. Today Putin and his gang have succeeded. But we have to stick together as we navigate this. It’s the only way.
• And one other note for now.
• As I laid awake last night between fitful moments of sleep, I briefly considered stopping my daily random news, thinking, “What’s the point?”
• And then as I dragged myself out of bed to try the seemingly impossible task of having a normal day today, I realized something.
• It’s more important now than ever. Every single person’s efforts to fight for what’s right in their own unique way is now a necessity if we want the USA to survive.
• So… give up? Fuck no.
• Game on.
• And now, The Weather: “Grinning William” by Blood Wizard
• From the Sports Desk… nope.
• Today in history… Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States with only 40% of the popular vote, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas in a four-way race (1860). Rutgers College defeats Princeton University 6–4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game (1869). President William McKinley is re-elected, along with his vice-presidential running mate, Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New York (1900). The 1st Ukrainian Front in WWII liberates Kyiv from German occupation (1943). ‘Meet the Press’, the longest running television program in history, makes its debut on NBC (1947). Art Modell announces that he signed a deal that would relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore (1995). Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the United States Senate (2012). The Democratic Party wins the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections (2018).
• November 6 is the birthday of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494), instrument designer Adolphe Sax (1814), economist Charles Dow (1851), composer John Philip Sousa (1854), basketball inventor James Naismith (1861), film director Mike Nichols (1931), actress Sally Field (1946), singer-songwriter/guitarist Glenn Frey (1948), journalist Maria Shriver (1955), actress Rebecca Romijn (1972), NBA player Lamar Odom (1979), actress Emma Stone (1988), and comedian Bowen Yang (1990).

Now that these news bullets are written, I’m going to do what I do every day. Put on sweats, go downstairs, work out, and be productive and do work to earn a living. It’s all I can do. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about more stuff soon enough. I’m not going anywhere. Enjoy your day.