Random News: November 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.

---

Good morning. It’s November 9, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. Despite this past week’s series of unfortunate events, I feel pretty good waking up on this Saturday. Pretty normal, anyway; the sun rose, I put on my robe, I made coffee. No one knows what the future holds, but for the moment, I find that I haven’t lost any of my typical optimism.

• And by that, I mean for myself and those close to me. A whole lot of other people are going to be facing some of the worst times of their lives.
• We’re going to be discussing that in coming months, as well as providing resources that may help the USA in its fight against Trumpism and Project 2025.
• But for now…
• I’d like to talk a little bit about something I brought up many times during the election: Donald Trump is old and unwell.
• There were reports — obviously unconfirmed — that Trump’s health condition is far worse than is being told to the public. That’s allegedly one reason why he’s barely said a peep after the election.
• But instead of speculating about rumors and hearsay…
• Let’s start with a tangible fact: the average lifespan of a male in the USA is currently 74.8 years.
• Interesting side note: US women live to be 80.2 years on average, and the difference in life expectancy between men and women in the US is one of the largest in the world.
• Anyway, back on topic. Donald Trump is 78-1/2 years old at this moment. He is the oldest person ever elected president. Both mentally and physically, he has shown signs of major deterioration on multiple occasions.
• What happens when a President dies? We have a plan in place for that, defined by the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which was submitted to the states on July 6, 1965 by the 89th Congress, and was adopted on February 10, 1967.
• It made clear that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office by impeachment.
• And, as I hope you already understand, the likelihood of Trump surviving the next four years — or even a small portion of that time frame — is very doubtful.
• That means that JD Vance will be the President of the United States at that point.
• It has always seemed to me that Trump’s appeal is based on the classic effect of a cult leader or demagogue, where their popularity is not really focused on the person’s qualities or effectiveness.
• It’s the person themself. I think that was true of every dictator from Joseph Stalin to Adolf Hitler to Pol Pot, as well as cult leaders that range from L. Ron Hubbard to David Koresh to Jim Jones to Sun Myung Moon and many more.
• So here’s my question to you.
• If Trump dies while in office, should it be assumed that the loyalty of the MAGA crowd automatically and fully transfers itself to Vance?
• My first take: no, it definitely does not. Vance is not charismatic. He doesn’t have a similar personality or presentation style to Trump.
• He’s probably smarter than Trump, and definitely more capable of speaking on an intelligent level, which is actually not a good thing; after Trump dies and he’s the president, he’ll be able to couch the evil of his administration in less revolting terms.
• But it will be no less evil.
• So that’s just something to think about as we move into this new era.
• Let’s do some actual news.
• A cadre of blue-state governors is already preparing a litany of political and legal moves to shield their states’ policies and residents from federal actions under Trump's new administration.
• I already mentioned the special legislative session of California lawmakers that’s kicking off December 2 at the order of Governor Gavin Newsom.
• He specifically stated that the session would be the “first of several actions” by his administration and the Legislature to begin “shoring up California’s defenses against an incoming federal administration that has threatened the state on multiple fronts.”
• That made president-elect Dumpy freak out, and he began throwing insults at our state and its administration on social media. That’s what Dumpy does, especially when he’s scared.
• Illinois Governor JB Pritzker — who, like Newsom, is considered to be among the Democrats in the 2028 mix for President — echoed many of the same themes during a press conference this week.
• “To anyone who intends to come, take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior You come for my people, you come through me,” he said.
• New York Governor Kathy Hochul also announced an effort this week — the “Empire State Freedom Initiative” — designed to address “policy and regulatory” threats that could happen during Trump’s administration.
• The effort, being conducted along with Attorney General Letitia James, will address federal legal threats to reproductive freedom, immigration issues, civil rights, gun safety, climate change progress, environmental justice, and other issues.
• “I’m committed to working with anyone on policies that make our state stronger, safer and more livable — but my administration will also be prepared to protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms from any potential threats,” said Hochul.
• Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she would use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect our residents” and to “hold the line on democracy and the rule of law.”
• You may recall that Healey was the state’s attorney general during Trump’s first term, and challenged his administration several times on immigration policies.
• Colorado Governor Jared Polis referred in a statement to “the Free State of Colorado,” suggesting he’ll take protective action. “We will do everything in our power to protect Coloradans and their freedoms,” he said. 
• Even some states whose electorate voted for Trump are joining this sentiment.
• Wisconsin Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said yesterday that his office is “prepared to defend the rights of Wisconsinites” during the next four years under Trump.
• He said, “If the new administration infringes upon the freedoms of Wisconsinites or attempts to use our system of justice as a tool for vengeance, we will act.”
• But Kaul cautioned that he could do little if a national abortion ban is passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump.
• Of course, Trump promised during the campaign to veto any such national ban and leave it to the states to decide.
• I don’t believe anything that Trump has ever said.
• So…
• I know what some of you are thinking.
• And I’ve seen you making posts about it, some in jest, some in anger.
• And no. We’re not taking any blue states and seceding from the USA. You can stop that whole train of thought before it leaves the station.
• First of all, we don’t leave the country. We are the country. The USA has the largest GDP (economy) of any country on the planet, and the blue states are where most of that money comes from.
• Second, there are tens of millions of good people that live in red states. We don’t abandon our friends.
• Third, regardless of our extreme differences, both sides are far stronger — economically, militarily, culturally to some degree — as a united country rather than multiple smaller sovereign entities.
• But it does seem like there’s the development of a loose, um, confederacy… no, strike that. A coalition — yes, that’s better — of states that are putting together plans to ensure that the protections of the United States Constitution are bolstered in a way that a dictatorial leader will not be able to break the laws of the land to ruin the lives of people here.
• And once again, I’m damn glad to be a near lifelong Californian.
• A quick break to debut a new section of Random News. It’s called “Hey, You Have Rights!”
• We’re going to start with one that may become very important to people in various states under the next Trump regime: the 10th Amendment to U.S. Constitution. Here’s what it says…
• “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
• Also known as the “States’ Rights” amendment, it’s super ironic that through much of American history, the 10th Amendment was called upon to defend horrible state laws that ranged from slavery to gun ownership to immigration to segregation and much more.
• But that doesn’t mean it also doesn’t also apply to liberal states who refuse to take part in federal plans that are unconstitutional.
• So as of now, “States’ Rights” and our freedoms under the 10th Amendment will be crucial toward defending the people of blue states against the federal government.
• Cool, huh? Thanks to the founding fathers for their foresight. We’ll be talking more about the ways we’ll be protected via the Constitution in future posts.
• Let’s move on.
• Have a VERY important point I want to bring up: do not castigate entire states just because the outcome of the vote was in Trump’s favor.
• First of all, despite seeing a state colored red on a map, it doesn’t mean that nearly half the voters didn’t vote against Trump.
• It’s been said that even with the somewhat lopsided victory, if a total of 140,000 people had voted the opposite way in swing states, we’d be celebrating Kamala Harris as president today instead of gearing up for a cold civil war.
• But there’s another perspective I want you to keep in mind.
• I want you to feel sympathy for MAGAs.
• No, I’m not insane. Hear me out.
• A lot of them just aren’t… well informed. Or, to be less nice, smart. They were susceptible to being fooled by a con man. Hey, it happens. It’s always been a human weakness… buying into what a charismatic figure is selling.
• I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard reports over the past few days since the election about people who are hardcore Trump supporters just now learning about what tariffs really are.
• How they won’t be getting holiday bonuses because their companies have to purchase inventory now before he tariffs kick in.
• How the prices of consumer goods — things that nearly everyone buys and needs — will skyrocket in the coming year.
• How the highest percentage of people by far who are reliant on government programs to live — including Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and much more — live in red states.
• How without immigrants to help work our crops, that food will be rotting on the vine, severely impacting farming operations and resulting in scarcity (and higher pricing) of foods across the country.
• So while I understand the need to place blame on the people responsible for what will happen, maybe also think some good thoughts for them.
• Because they will be hit first, and hit the hardest. And they’ll have to look their kids in the face and know that their choices were what allowed these things to happen.
• Back to the news.
• Do you know about the 4B Movement?
• It’s something that originated in South Korea as a protest against misogyny and sexism.
• The movement has four requirements for women who participate: No dating men, no marrying men, no sex with men, and no childbirth.
• Following the results of the 2024 presidential election — during which abortion became a sticking point for many voters — some women are encouraging each other online to bring the movement to the United States.
• The aim, advocates say, is to protest Trump and Republicans, who tend to favor more restrictions on abortion than Democrats do.
• Is that fair? Obviously not. Plenty of men supported Harris; worse, many women supported Trump.
• But an entrepreneur named Ashli Pollard stated it well.
• "Somebody in my comments had a really great analogy where she said: 'If you had a bowl of Skittles, and you were told that one of those Skittles was poisonous, would you dissect and study and take hours and hours to understand which one of the Skittles was going to do it? No. You would dump out the bowl. You would walk away. That's what we're seeing with the 4B movement."
• Of course, the reaction of the MAGA world is that they’ll just plan on raping more women if they wont’t willingly provide sex. they’ve said this quite openly.
• Something to consider.
• Moving on.
• A lot of folks have been asking me what they can do, right now. I will be honest and tell you that on a direct basis… not a lot. The election is over.
• While there’s been a ton of speculation about whether or not the election was fair, I refuse to be one of those election deniers who engulfed the US with their bullshit over the past four years.
• If you want me to even consider that the election was rigged in some way, show me actual evidence and proof, not some speculative idiocy of how something might have happened.
• But there is something you can start on today: get involved with groups of like-minded people who are putting together plans to resist the incoming administration and fight the downfall of democracy.
• I’d like to invite all of you to join me a week from tomorrow on Sunday November 17 at 7pm ET for “STOP Project 2025 Training: Mobilize for Change!”
• It’s a one-hour online event, and I’ll pop a link into the comments. The goal is to help you learn about the real and urgent threat of Project 2025 and why it's essential to mobilize now to stop it.
• It's also an opportunity to be part of a movement dedicated to protecting our future. Your voice and participation are critical in this fight.
• Sign up.
• There’s certainly more news that I’d typically be covering… wildfires in Southern California, horrible instances of antisemitism in Europe, and much more.
• But my energy, as you can tell, is focused right now on one topic… saving the USA and the world. It’s sort of important, ya know?
• And now, The Weather: “Diver” by Dorothea Paas
• From the Sports Desk… a quick look at leaders in the NFL’s current standings.
• AFC: Chiefs (8-0), Bills (7-2), Steelers (6-2), Ravens (7-3), Texans (6-3).
• NFC: Lions (7-1), Commanders (7-2), Vikings (6-2), Eagles (6-2), Falcons and Packers (6-3).
• Today in history… Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery (694). Kentucky marshals abduct abolitionist minister Calvin Fairbank from Jeffersonville, IN, and take him to Kentucky to stand trial for helping a slave escape (1851). The Great Boston Fire of 1872 (1872). Theodore Roosevelt is the first sitting President of the United States to make an official trip outside the country, inspecting progress on the Panama Canal (1906). Cambodia gains independence from France (1953). Garry Kasparov, 22, of the Soviet Union becomes the youngest World Chess Champion by beating fellow Soviet Anatoly Karpov (1985). Capital punishment in the United Kingdom, already abolished for murder, is completely abolished for all remaining capital offenses (1998). Firefox 1.0 is released (2004).
• November 9 is the birthday of Great Britain/Ireland king George II (1683), condensed milk inventor Gail Borden (1801), philosopher/poet/politician Muhammad Iqbal (1877), actor Ed Wynn (1886), actress/inventor Hedy Lamar (1914), vice president Spiro Agnew (1918), actress Dorothy Dandridge (1922), MLB player/manager Whitey Herzog (1931), astronomer Carl Sagan (1934), MLB player Bob Gibson (1935), singer-songwriter/guitarist Tom Fogerty (1941), actor Lou Ferrigno (1951), politician Sherrod Brown (1952), actor Robert Duncan McNeill (1964), singer-songwriter/guitarist Susan Tedeschi (1970), singer-songwriter/guitarist Corin Tucker (1972), singer-songwriter Nick Lachey (1973), and MLB player Adam Dunn (1979).

I know that was a lot, but while the days in which you live are part of history, it’s all the more important to impart this kind of perspective. Look in the comments for the link to the online event on November 17. Enjoy your day.