Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Random News: December 31, 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 December 31, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. I will tell you, the experience of years flying by more quickly as your life progresses is 100% accurate. I think the way to slow down and enjoy life is to make sure you find ways to recognize and appreciate each moment. Easier said than done. But I believe it’s true. Try it.


  • It’s the final day of 2024… the 366th day of the year.
  • Did you forget 2024 was a leap year? Indeed it was… hence the 366 days. As I’ve spoken about on many occasions, our common systems of measuring time are not all that accurate for the long term.
  • The leap year came into effect via Julius Caesar. Yes, the Roman emperor. 
  • On January 1, 45 BC, he reformed the historic Roman calendar to make it a consistent solar calendar. His rule for leap years was a simple one: add a leap day every 4 years. 
  • And it was a scientifically pretty good call. A Julian year lasts almost exactly 365.25 days, so every four years would indeed require an extra day to stay aligned with the calendar.
  • Even so, it’s not perfect that way; due to tiny variables, the Julian calendar drifts by about 3 days every 400 years.
  • So they tightened it up further in October 1582 with the Gregorian calendar, the one we still use today.
  • The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long.
  • The rule for leap years is as such…
  • Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400.
  • Alrighty then.
  • Anyway, based on this logic, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but the year 2000 was.
  • Let’s stop wasting time and move on.
  • The schedule of funeral services for former president Jimmy Carter has been released. They span six days, three cities, and multiple stops at places that held significance during his life. President Carter died Sunday at the age of 100.
  • The celebration of Carter's life begins this coming Saturday, January 4, when his remains depart the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, GA, in the morning.
  • The motorcade will travel through Carter's hometown of Plains to his childhood home and family farm before heading to Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and other dignitaries will observe a moment of silence with the motorcade at the state Capitol, honoring Carter's time as a state senator and governor.
  • From there, Carter's remains will lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center, where members of the public can pay their respects from 7pm on Saturday through 6am on Tuesday, January 7.
  • That day, his body will be transported to Washington, D.C., where the former Navy lieutenant will be transferred from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
  • There will be a 3pm Tuesday service where members of Congress will pay their respects in the Capitol Rotunda, and the public will be allowed to pay respects while Carter lies in state.
  • After a final ceremony at the Capitol, Carter's motorcade will travel to the Washington National Cathedral for a National Funeral Service before a final flight back to Georgia on Thursday.
  • Then Carter will be celebrated with a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where he taught Sunday School well into the final years of his life. Following the service, Carter will be interred at the family home in a private ceremony, buried beneath a willow tree next to his late wife Rosalynn.
  • And not to make light of this solemn occasion, but based on the above, Carter seems to have a more interesting and a active life as a dead guy than I do as a living one.
  • Kidding aside, I’m glad to see he’s being honored with the respect that he deserves.
  • Let’s talk about tonight, aka New Year’s Eve.
  • When I was young, tonight was the premier party night of the year. From when I was probably 15 until I was in my early 30s, I can’t tell you how many new years started with me being hungover as hell and wanting to die.
  • At some point, I decided that it was less fun than I’d imagined it was. So I stopped. Not just partying on New Year’s Eve; I stopped drinking alcohol almost entirely.
  • But that was my situation anomy decision. I don’t tell other people what to do. And I’m not saying to go to bed at 9pm.
  • You should have a good time tonight. It’s worthwhile noting the passing of another year and being optimistic about a new year approaching.
  • I’m not going anywhere, but I’ll be here at home with my family, watching the ball drop, eating some snacks, and almost certainly barely staying awake for maybe ten minutes past midnight.
  • But you have fun. And this is really simple: if you drive, don’t drive. And don’t allow people you care about to do that either.
  • And don’t get in fights. And don’t get in trouble with cops. And definitely don’t fight cops. They always win. There’s a bunch of them and they have tasers and guns and stuff. It’s a bad idea.
  • Start the new year on a positive note. Not on a “wake up in a holding cell” note. I speak from personal experience, you see.
  • Why is New York’s Times Square so synonymous with New Year’s Eve? There’s an actual reason.
  • It was 120 years ago in 1904 that the New York Times moved its headquarters to the new Times Building near the bustling intersection of Seventh Avenue, 42nd Street, and Broadway in Midtown Manhattan.
  • The paper's owner, Adolph Ochs, successfully lobbied the city to rename the area, previously known as Longacre Square.
  • So Ochs threw a massive New Year's Eve celebration to commemorate the headquarters' opening, with an all-day street festival and extravagant fireworks display.
  • The party was a smashing success, and it became an annual part of cultural tradition. But just a few years in, the city banned the fireworks display.
  • That's why Ochs asked the Times' chief electrician, Walter Palmer, to come up with a New Year's Eve spectacle that didn't involve ashy firework debris raining down on revelers. And he came up with an illuminated ball that dropped at the stroke of midnight.
  • And now you know.
  • Let’s move on to some actual news.
  • The US Treasury Department notified lawmakers yesterday that a China state-sponsored actor infiltrated Treasury workstations in what officials are describing as a “major incident.”
  • Fucking hell.
  • The Treasury was informed by a third-party software service provider on December 8 that a threat actor used a stolen key to remotely access certain Treasury workstations and unclassified documents.
  • The compromised service has been taken offline and officials are working with law enforcement and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). They claim that there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information.
  • The third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, said hackers gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service that Treasury uses for technical support.
  • How. does a company named BeyondTrust get hacked? Is irony dead? I think it’s dead. I poked it with a stick. It’s dead.
  • Moving on.
  • We’re ringing in the new year with more people than ever before.
  • The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people tomorrow on New Year’s Day.
  • The 0.9% increase in 2024 was a slight slowdown from 2023, when the world population grew by 75 million people. In January 2025, 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths were expected worldwide every second.
  • The United States grew by 2.6 million people in 2024, and the U.S. population on New Year’s Day will be 341 million people. In the coming month, our country will have one birth every 9 seconds and one death every 9.4 seconds.
  • International migration was expected to add one person to the U.S. population every 23.2 seconds. The combination of births, deaths and net international migration will increase the U.S. population by one person every 21.2 seconds.
  • So welcome, new people. And farewell to those who… leave.
  • 2025 brings a slew of new laws to various states across the country the USA.
  • At least 20 states increase statewide minimum wage starting January 1 — the highest in Washington state at $16.66 an hour, followed by California at $16.50. Kentucky becomes the latest state to legalize medical marijuana and several states, including Delaware, tighten gun control.
  • Minnesota is the latest state to increase transparency when purchasing tickets to concerts, sporting events, and other large-scale events. It’s a law that was inspired by a state rep trying to get tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour last summer.
  • A Florida law that bans children under 14 from having social media accounts, and limits 14 and 15-year-olds to accounts authorized by their parents, takes effect tomorrow.
  • California has a slate of new laws to stiffen penalties for retail theft and drug-related crimes.
  • We also have a new law that says schools can no longer require teachers to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents.
  • I voted for that.
  • And now, The Weather: “Only One” by Void Comp
  • From the Sports Desk… we’re heading into the final week of the regular NFL season, and not everything is locked in for the playoffs just yet.
  • In the AFC, the current seedings are (1) Chiefs, (2) Bills, (3) Ravens, (4) Texans, (5) Steelers, (6) Chargers, and (7) probably Broncos. But the Dolphins and Bengals still have dim but present hopes of miracles.
  • In the NFC, the current outlook is (1) Lions, (2) Eagles, (3) Rams, (4) probably Buccaneers, (5) Vikings, (6) Commanders, and (7) Packers, with the Falcons holding onto to hope to get in over the Bucs.
  • By this time next week, the teams and seeds will be set in stone.
  • Today in history… Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul (406). The British East India Company is chartered (1600). Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness (1759). The incorporation of Baltimore, MD (1796). Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of the Province of Canada (1857). Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two (1862). Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, files for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine (1878). Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, NJ (1879). The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square in Manhattan (1907). President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II (1946). General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year (1955). The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government (1983). Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (1992). The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor (1999). Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur (2009). The World Health Organization is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan (2019). The World Health Organization issues its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine (2020).
  • December 31 is the birthday of explorer Jacques Cartier (1491), English general Charles Cornwallis (1738), painter Giovanni Boldini (1842), painter Henri Matisse (1869), businesswoman Elizabeth Arden (1878), American general/politician George Marshall, Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal (1908), singer-songwriter/activist Odetta (1930), actor Anthony Hopkins (1937), singer-songwriter/guitarist Andy Summers (1942), singer-songwriter/guitarist/actor John Denver (1943), actor Ben Kingsley (1943), fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg (1946), singer-songwriter/keyboard player Burton Cummings (1947), singer-songwriter Donna Summer (1948), bass player/songwriter Tom Hamilton (1951), actress Bebe Neuwirth (1958), actor Val Kilmer (1959), singer-songwriter/guitarist Scott Ian (1963), musician Psy (1977), and whatever Donald Trump Jr. (1977) is.



Welp, that’s it for now. My final Random News report of 2024. Tomorrow we start a fresh new version. I’ll add that a lot of people are predicting 2025 to be a terrible year before it even starts, and frankly it’s easy to see why. Will the USA descend into a fascist dictatorship? Will global climate change wreak havoc on our lives? Will the economy crash? I mean, yeah, maybe those things will happen. What’s more important is how you react. Together, we can still make this little planet a good place to live for everyone, if that’s what we want. I remain positive and optimistic. Enjoy your day.

Monday, December 30, 2024

Random News: December 30, 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 December 30, 2024, and it’s a Monday. I hope your weekend was enjoyable, coming into the final couple days of this year and getting ready to welcome the next one. We have plenty to talk about, so let’s do that.


  • Opening with a big rest in peace to the USA’s 39th President, Jimmy Carter.
  • He died yesterday at age 100, the most long-lived President in US history.
  • A lot of people bought into the message that he was a simple peanut farmer. Carter was — like many US Presidents, despite frequent evidence to the contrary — a brilliant man.
  • Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in 1946. He was commissioned as an ensign. The same year, he married Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister Ruth.
  • In 1952, Carter began an association with the Navy's fledgling nuclear submarine program. He was sent to the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C..
  • Famously, after a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor, Carter — then 28 years old — was physically lowered into the damaged reactor, exposing himself to dangerous levels of radiation, to help fix the reactor and avert mass tragedy.
  • After his father died, he returned to his home in Plains, GA to run the family farm.
  • He served as a Georgia state senator (1963–1967), and then governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
  • Civil rights were a high priority for Carter as governor, and he added black state employees and portraits of three prominent black Georgians to the capitol building: Martin Luther King Jr., Lucy Craft Laney, and Henry McNeal Turner. This angered the Ku Klux Klan.
  • Any time you can anger the Klan or Nazis or MAGAs, you’re doing something right.
  • In the 1976 presidential election, Carter won with 297 electoral votes and 50.1% of the popular vote to Ford's 240 electoral votes and 48.0% of the popular vote. It was close.
  • Side note: Texas was blue in that election, and California was red. Look it up.
  • Carter's victory was attributed in part to his overwhelming support among black voters in states decided by close margins, such as Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
  • He was president during a tumultuous time. The country was still shaken by the Watergate scandal, the Vietnam war was just ending, and the world was fighting a wave of economic inflation and global strife, including the Iran hostage crisis.
  • Despite his unpopularity at the time, Carter was very effective as President. He passed more legislation in one term than most presidents do in two. This is something they’ll also say about Joe Biden, someday.
  • Jimmy Carter had a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s.
  • And in fact, his humanitarian efforts that went on decades after his presidency are perhaps themes impressive part of this man’s amazing legacy.
  • I deeply respected this guy. He once said, “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
  • And he did just that. 
  • Even Dumples the Clown managed to be semi-respectful in his statements about Carter’s passing.
  • “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” Trump said.
  • He added, “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect. He was a truly good man and, of course, will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office. Warmest condolences from Melania and I to his wonderful family!” 
  • Well said. Those statements are all true, a rarity for Trump.
  • I wonder if, when Dumpy wrote that (or had it written by someone), he had yet to realize that in accordance with federal law, the flag was lowered to fly at half-staff.
  • And because Carter is a former president, flags are to remain at half-staff for 30 days from the day of Carter’s death. They are expected to be at half-staff until January 28, 2025 on all federal buildings and grounds in the U.S. and its territories, as well as all naval vessels.
  • Which means flags will be at half-staff during Dump’s inauguration on January 20 and for the subsequent first week of his term.
  • Moving on.
  • We have some more Dumpy news breaking this morning.
  • Today, a federal appeals court panel upheld a jury’s verdict finding Dump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and ordering him to pay $5 million.
  • A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded Dump did not sufficiently show any claimed errors affected his rights or warranted a new trial.
  • As you hopefully recall, a New York jury found Dump liable last year for sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and defaming her by denying her story when she came forward during Trump’s first presidency. 
  • And in a separate case, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in defamation damages for continuing to deny her story.
  • Dump is still appealing that verdict, but today’s decision marks a blow in his defense, as it was underpinned by the earlier sexual abuse judgment.
  • Ha ha, you piece of shit.
  • One other note regarding Dumples and the MAGA world.
  • This morning, Dump offered his complete and total endorsement of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), days before a House vote on Friday to elect a new Speaker.
  • So again, we have this schism in the right wing, with Dump supporting Johnson but many GOP House members against him.
  • Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he will not support Johnson, and several other hardline conservatives will not commit to supporting him.
  • And because of the razor-thin House GOP majority, Johnson cannot afford to lose more than one Republican vote — literally one — for Speaker, assuming every member is present and votes for a candidate.
  • So that’ll be fun.
  • In other news…
  • Any concern about bird flu? Maybe you should at least have it on your radar.
  • Dr. Leana Wen said yesterday that the lack of testing for bird flu doesn't mean that the virus isn't alive in humans, and that she feels the federal government "should have learned our lesson from COVID" and should be proactive in making tests available for Americans — and not wait for labs to characterize the cases and their severity. 
  • Makes sense to me.
  • "We should be having rapid tests, home tests, available to all farm workers, to their families, for the clinicians taking care of them, so that we aren't waiting for public labs and CDC labs to tell us what's bird flu or not," she added.
  • The recent outbreak of bird flu stems from a mutation of the H5N1 virus that affects humans more easily, compared to past mutations of the virus that targeted birds and not mammals.
  • On Thursday, the CDC reported its first severe case of bird flu in the U.S. found in a patient in Louisiana who was infected from a backyard poultry flock. The Louisiana case was first confirmed by health officials Friday, adding to the total of 61 reported human cases of H5 bird flu reported in the United States. Another severe case of H5N1 has been reported in a teen in British Columbia.
  • Ugh. C’mon man. We don’t need another disease-ridden period.
  • Also, still glad I mask up in crowded settings. As I’ve said before, I may just keep doing that forever.
  • Let’s move on.
  • The latest news in the MAGA civil war is that Elon is a giant pussy. I suppose that’s not really news.
  • Musk backed off his defense of skilled worker visas in an apparent bid to patch up divisions in the Republican Party.
  • In an about-face of his position last week, he admitted that H1-B visas are “broken” and proposed potential reform. H1-B visas permit highly-educated foreigners to work in the US for up to six years.
  • In his usual manner of giving poorly thought out answers for complex problems, Musk said: “Easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1-B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically.”
  • If it was that easy, it would have been done long ago. The whole reason companies hire H1-B immigrants is to pay them less and work them harder than they can their American equivalents.
  • Musk’s original solution was more on the nose, vowing to kick out “hateful, unrepentant racists” from the Republican Party. But how can you do that when it represents the majority of the party?
  • Tech companies rely on the H1-B visa program to bring in thousands of foreign engineers and other skilled workers each year from India, China, and other nations.
  • And then they’re trapped here, forced to work 70-80 hour weeks for less compensation than they should receive, knowing they’ll be deported if they complain.
  • Meanwhile, the above mentioned racists that Musk referred to are mad that brown-skinned and Asian people are being offered American jobs at all.
  • And now, The Weather: “Rust” by Witch Post
  • In real weather news, a deadly storm system spawned tornadoes across the South and Southeast over the weekend, killing at least four people and destroying homes and schools.
  • In Mississippi, two people were killed, at least six injured, and over 100,000 lost power as tornadoes ripped through the state. In Texas, one person was killed after a tornado tore into areas south of Houston.
  • Stay safe, peoples.
  • Another RIP going out today to actress Linda Lavin, who died yesterday at 87.
  • She was already a success on Broadway when she was chosen to star in a new CBS sitcom based on “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, with the title the show shortened to “Alice.”
  • Lavin become a role model for working moms as Alice Hyatt, a widowed mother with a 12-year-old son working in a roadside diner outside Phoenix. The show, with Lavin singing the theme song “There’s a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985.
  • From the Sports Desk… a bright note amidst an otherwise horrific season for my Las Vegas Raiders.
  • In addition to the team winning two entire games in a row (amazing!), yesterday rookie tight end Brock Bowers broke two NFL rookie pass-catching records in the Raiders' 25-10 win at the Saints, as well as a franchise record.
  • Bowers first surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka's 63-year-old mark for most receiving yards in a season by a rookie tight end.
  • He also set a record for most catches in a season by any NFL rookie. His seven catches for 77 yards Sunday gave him 108 catches for the year with one game to play.
  • In NBA news, here are the current offensive leaders in the league, based on points per game.
  • 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): 32.7. 2 (tie). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder): 30.8. 2 (tie). Nikola Jokic (Nuggets): 30.8. 4. LaMelo Ball (Hornets): 30.1. 5. Jayson Tatum (Celtics): 28.7.
  • Today in history… British soldiers burn Buffalo, NY in the War of 1812 (1813). The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes is proclaimed (1816). The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is proclaimed (1825). The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest in the Gadsden Purchase (1853). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - USSR - is formed (1922). The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan (1927). The Flint sit-down strike hits General Motors (1936). Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel (1996). Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed (2006).
  • December 30 is the birthday of author Rudyard Kipling (1865), Japan prime minister Hideki Tōjō (1884), cricketer Dick Spooner (1919), singer-songwriter/guitarist Bo Diddley (1928), astrophysicist John N. Bahcall (1934), singer-songwriter/guitarist Del Shannon (1934), actor Russ Tamblyn (1934), MLB player Sandy Koufax (1935), singer-songwriter/bass player Felix Pappalardi (1939), director James Burrows (1940), actor/singer-songwriter/guitarist Michael Nesmith (1942), actor/singer-songwriter Davy Jones (1945), singer-songwriter Patti Smith (1946), singer-songwriter/guitarist/producer Jeff Lynne (1947), journalist Matt Lauer (1957), actress/singer Tracey Ullman (1959), bag of dicks Sean Hannity (1961), US secretary of state Mike Pompeo (1963), pimp Heidi Fleiss (1965), singer-songwriter Jay Kay (1969), golfer Tiger Woods (1975), MLB player A. J. Pierzynski (1976), NBA player LeBron James (1984), and NFL player Carson Wentz (1992).


I’m definitely planning a busy work day today, but that’s okay. I still feel like I’m making up time that I lost hanging out on Friday in my least favorite place, a hospital. But that’s okay. Time is an illusion. Try and appreciate whatever time you have regardless. Enjoy your day.

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Random News: December 29, 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 December 29, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. We’re getting down to the final few days of 2024. Perhaps in these waning days, we should look back and see what happened this year.


  • I’ll restate my opinion that there are no bad years or good years.
  • Good and bad things happen to people all the time. And my great year could be your terrible year, and vice versa.
  • There are certain years that humanity as a whole face major challenges. In recent memory, 2020 seemed very hard for most folks due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • But — looking at it from another angle — it did, in some ways, offer people a perspective that they’d likely never had before. We learned from that shit… the lockdowns, the closures, the changes in routines, and appreciating things that you’d perhaps previously taken for granted.
  • I’ve written on this topic before… the idea that people tend to complain about things without realizing how good they actually have it, and how much worse it could be.
  • And that is not in ANY way meant to minimize the challenges that you’ve gone through in 2024, or any other previous year.
  • I have friends and family who’ve faced incredibly tough times, with serious health challenges, financial woes, relationship difficulties, and of course a wide swath of people who get very wrapped up in political and societal issues who found 2024 to be extremely stressful.
  • It’s all legit. When we talk about bad years from a historical perspective, it’s not focused on the individual… because, as I said, each person has their own trail to forge.
  • Scholars have suggested the year 536 as the worst year to be alive. There was a volcanic eruption early in the year, causing average temperatures in Europe and China to decline and resulting in crop failures and mass famine for well over a year.
  • 536 sounds just awful, the more you look into it. I promise that nothing we’ve experienced as humans in the past century came even close.
  • 1349 has to be on anyone’s list of shitty years. The “Black Death” caused by bubonic plague was at its peak, killing somewhere between 25-200 million people, or around 30 - 60% of Europe’s entire population at the time.
  • A little closer to the present, 1918 could have been pretty good, with WWI drawing to a close. But there were still some of the worst fighting in that war going on when the Spanish flu began to take hold. There was no vaccine or effective drugs to fight the H1N1 influenza virus, and around 50 million lost their lives to the disease over the next few years.
  • And frankly, at any time, another virus or previously unknown disease could have the same impact… especially in a world where certain people have disavowed science and allowed themselves to be unnecessarily susceptible to serious illness.
  • But back to the present.
  • If you’re waking up someplace today and you have a home, some food to eat and clean water to drink, clothing to wear, and there aren’t bombs dropping and gunfire popping in the streets, congratulations… you’re leading a pretty fortunate human life, as far as lives go from a historical perspective.
  • And if you have things like phones and computers and vehicles, and get to do things like read books and watch movies, and enjoy pastimes like sports and games, and especially if you are able to spend time being creative with things like music and art… I mean, that’s a huge indication that you are very, very lucky.
  • And overall, you probably have a better lifestyle than any generation of humans that occupied this planet before you.
  • So here’s to 2024. It’s been a year. Ups and downs, successes and failures. And here we are, alive and going into 2025, and whatever it may hold for us.
  • Let’s do some news.
  • Donnie Dump has weighed in his opinion on the rapidly intensifying conservative ivil war between MAGA and his boss, Elon Musk.
  • And he sided with Elon.
  • Snorrrrrrrrrt.
  • Yesterday, Dumpy said he is a believer in the H-1B immigration program. He said, “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them."
  • The Dumpster was unambiguous in his support. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Dump said.
  • He’s now clearly supporting the side of Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sriram Krishnan, and David Sacks against the majority of his MAGA base who don’t want any employment pathways for people outside the USA.
  • Keep in mind that previously, Dumpy had criticized the H-1B program and restricted the access to foreign worker visas during his first term.
  • But now that Elon is the secret actual president, Dump will do whatever Elon says. Dump did another 180 when he recently said that any immigrant graduates from US college, universities, they should get green cards automatically.
  • Interestingly, Dump’s and Musk’s outlook on this one particular issue is shared by most Democrats. And the MAGAs don’t know what to do. They can’t understand being in a position to disagree with their Dear Leader, but this goes completely against their outlook of racism and xenophobia.
  • Poor MAGA. Always fucking themselves.
  • While we’re on this topic of MAGA never getting what they thought they were getting… it’s time to talk about the change in tone between president-elect Dumpy’s statement during the election versus now.
  • He promised voters he’d bring down the cost of groceries quickly. He now admits that it’s difficult to bring down the cost of groceries once they’ve gone up. 
  • He campaigned on a promise that he’d somehow use tariffs to bolster the U.S. economy and manufacturing. Now he says that he cannot guarantee tariffs won’t not lead to higher consumer prices.
  • He ridiculously claimed he’d end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours. He actually stated that if elected, he’d get that done before he even took office.
  • But in his first post-election press conference from his Mar-a-Lago golf motel in Palm Beach, FL, Dumpy suggested that ending the war in Ukraine would be more difficult than easing tensions in the Middle East.
  • Look… no one should be surprised by any of this. In 2016’s presidential race, Dump famously (and repeatedly) vowed he would build a wall along the southern border and that Mexico would pay for it.
  • Very little border wall was ever constructed, and Mexico didn’t pay a dime for the small amount added. U.S taxpayers did.
  • Dump had also promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare. Not only did he fail to get rid of the ACA; he and his teamnEver even proposed any actual plan that could replace it.
  • Fascinatingly, 82% of the people who make use of ObamaCare (which is just a nickname for the ACA, of course) are those who live in Dump-supporting red states. Just 18% are in blue states.
  • Anything that significantly changes the ACA — like removing the pre-existing condition clause — would impact them harshly and immediately.
  • Let’s move on.
  • The Food and Drug Administration is on the cusp of deciding whether to ban a controversial bright cherry-red dye used in drinks and snacks but that has been linked to cancer in animals.
  • The decision on red dye No. 3 is more than three decades in the making.
  • Food safety advocates for years have pressured the FDA to ban the dye used in bubble gum, candy, and fruit cocktails, contending it would be safer to use natural coloring derived from plants such as beets and red cabbage.
  • Red No. 3 was approved for permanent use more than 50 years ago, but people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Dumpy’s pick to lead the nation’s health department), along with social media influencers and lawmakers from both parties are increasingly scrutinizing the chemicals and ingredients found in food and drinks.
  • It’s probably a good idea. We eat so much ultra-processed foods, I think we stop even considering what we put into our bodies.
  • A side note: in 1990, the FDA forbade the use of the color additive in cosmetics like lipstick and blush because studies showed high doses could cause cancer in rats.
  • Shrug. I don’t need my food to be bright and shiny. I just need it to taste good and be nutritionally beneficial.
  • Moving on.
  • In “I Wish People Weren’t Weird and Dumb” news, two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch.
  • The 59-year-old and 37-year-old appear to have died from exposure. The weather and the men’s lack of preparedness led their demise. A family member reported them missing at around 1am on Christmas Day after they failed to return from a Christmas Eve outing.
  • If you’re unclear on this, Sasquatch is a folkloric beast thought by some to roam the forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. He is also known as Bigfoot, though some feel he’s a separate entity.
  • Oh, and… HE’S NOT FUCKING REAL. Don’t die over stupid shit, you fucks.
  • Let’s once again move on.
  • Police in Chile say they have recovered three watches belonging to Keanu Reeves – including a $9,000 Rolex – that are thought to have been stolen from the actor’s Los Angeles home in late 2023.
  • The Rolex Submariner — engraved with the actor’s first name and the words, “2021, JW4, thank you, The John Wick Five” — was found yesterday in eastern Santiago during a police operation linked to a series of local robberies.
  • You… stole…. John Wick’s… watch? Oh shit.
  • And now, The Weather: “Aries” by Free Lunch
  • From the Sports Desk… there are 15 modern era finalists for the next class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Up to five of them will get inducted this year.
  • Here’s the 15. All outstanding players, obviously. I’ll tell you which five I’d choose.
  • Eric Allen, cornerback; Jared Allen, defensive end; Willie Anderson, tackle; Jahri Evans, guard; Antonio Gates, tight end; Torry Holt, wide receiver; Luke Kuechly, linebacker; Eli Manning, quarterback; Steve Smith Sr., wide receiver; Terrell Suggs, outside linebacker/defensive end; Fred Taylor, running back; Adam Vinatieri, kicker; Reggie Wayne, wide receiver; Darren Woodson, safety; Marshal Yanda, guard/tackle.
  • And here’s who I think should be enshrined at Canton.
  • Gates, Kuechly, Manning, Suggs, and Vinatieri. Though Taylor and Smith are fully deserving as well. I mean, all of them are. But I’ll go with those guys.
  • In more NFL Sports Desk news, some big games yesterday, with the Chargers punching a ticket to the Wild Card after killing the Pats 40-7.
  • The Bengals edged the Broncos in OT 30-24. Both teams, somehow, are still not officially eliminated from the playoffs. Their fate comes down to the final week of the season. 
  • And the Rams beat the Cardinals 13-9 due to a last-second interception. We’ll have a pretty good handle on the playoff picture after today’s games.
  • In “I Guess It’s Sports” news, Magnus Carlsen, the world's top chess player, has quit the World Rapid Chess Championship being held in New York after refusing to change out of jeans to abide by a dress code.
  • The Norwegian chess grandmaster was fined $200 on Friday and given a warning by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the governing body for international chess championships, to change into acceptable attire or be disqualified.
  • He was wearing a shirt, blazer and jeans. After receiving the fine, he said, ”I said I'll change tomorrow.” But when officials insisted, he told them to fuck off and left.
  • I’m not a big fan of dress codes either.
  • Today in history… According to John Smith, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh, successfully pleads for his life after tribal leaders attempt to execute him (1607). Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, GA (1778). The United States annexes the Republic of Texas (1845). In the Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment (1890). Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty (1911). Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film, The Squaw Man (1913). The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution (1937). Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia (1989). The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct (2003).
  • December 29 is the birthday of inventor Charles Macintosh (1766), chemist Charles Goodyear (1800), US president Andrew Johnson (1808), UK prime minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809), cellist Pablo Casals (1876), politician Tom Bradley (1917), golfer/architect Pete Dye (1925), actress/producer Mary Tyler Moore (1936), actor Jon Voight (1938), singer-songwriter/bass player Rick Danko (1943), singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull (1946), actor Ted Danson (1947), drummer/songwriter Cozy Powell (1947), TV producer Brad Grey (1957), comedian Paula Poundstone (1959), NFL coach Sean Payton (1963), director/screenwriter Lilly Wachowski (1967), actor Jude Law (1972), NFL player Myles Garrett (1995), and MLB player Julio Rodríguez (2000).


Time for me to get out of this robe and into some productive stuff, whatever it may be. Enjoy your day.

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Random News: December 28, 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 December 28, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. This day — thus far, anyway — is beginning much, much better than yesterday, a topic on which I will elaborate below. For now, I’m in my blue bathrobe and have cup of Seattle’s Best 6th Avenue Bistro… quite a good cup of coffee on a winter morning. Let’s chat.


  • What happened yesterday, you ask?
  • Things were cruising along like most Friday mornings. I got up, showered and dressed, wrote and posted my dally news bullets, and worked out.
  • My schedule was going to be pretty standard, with some meetings and a good amount of work to crank out. And that’s when my ladyfriend — whom many of you know as Kat — got out of bed.
  • She is a tough woman, not at all prone to complaints about anything. But she let me know right away that she was experiencing severe abdominal pain.
  • And frankly, in the 20 years we’ve been together, I’d never seen her like that. She was doubled over, sweating, barely able to even speak, feeling like the pain was so bad she was about to pass out.
  • At first I was hoping it would go away on its own (it didn’t; it got worse). Then I was hoping we could try the urgent care down the street (which was silly, because those places aren’t really set up for those kinds of diagnostic and treatment situations).
  • That all happened in about five minutes until it became obvious that we had no other choice than to get to the ER of our local hospital.
  • And that became the entirety of my day. We arrived at 9am and didn’t get out of there until about 4pm.
  • And that shitty tale ends in good news: Kat is fine. What she was experiencing was a severe symptom related to menopause. While she’s been going through it for years — we’re both in our mid 50s — nothing that drastic had ever occurred previously.
  • So, that’s the best possible outcome, with her being fine beyond the trauma of the pain and the crowded ER waiting room and all that. She was scanned in multiple ways, blood tested, thoroughly checked, and will follow up with her own doctors.
  • However, I missed an entire day of work during my absolute busiest time of year, and unfortunately we live in a rather cruel world where my business clients really don’t give a shit about my having had a family emergency is their work doesn’t get completed on time.
  • Anyway, I’ll be doing some work on this otherwise peaceful final Saturday of 2024 to make up for what I missed yesterday. That’s life; I’m just glad Kat is okay. That’s far more important than my having to work on a weekend.
  • Okay, let’s do some news.
  • Here’s an interesting phenomenon that’s been a slow progression but has gone into overdrive since the election in November.
  • The MAGA crowd had, for years, used so much of their energy “owning the libs.” They spent days and weeks and years on end trolling people to get reactions.
  • But especially because the platform of choice was Twitter, and so many people have departed there after it became clear that the owner of the social media vehicle was enabling and even rewarding the horrid behavior, things are different now.
  • So without an object frothier abuse, they did what abusers do: they turned on each other.
  • And now the MAGA civil war is in full swing, and Dump is still weeks from taking office.
  • You love to see it.
  • And the greatest part of all? It takes no effort. We can just get out the popcorn and watch as they self destruct.
  • The current skirmish between them is all about the H-1B visa program for foreign tech workers.
  • Last night, Elon Musk — the richest man in the world who purchased the presidency — branded Republicans as "hateful, unrepentant racists."
  • And now Dumpy faces a quickly deepening conflict between his richest and most powerful advisors on one hand, and the people who swept him to office on the other.
  • Yesterday afternoon, Musk doubled down, saying MAGAs who continued to blast immigration and the tech community were "contemptible fools," who would "absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed."
  • And then, just before midnight Friday, Musk lost his shit, which made me happy.
  • ”Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend," he wrote.
  • And how do the MAGAs feel about Dump’s boss defending immigration programs?
  • MAGA voices like Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon have hardline views that specifically oppose H-1B visas. They are openly at war with Musk now.
  • And Michael Seifert, the CEO of online marketplace Public Square — whose board of directors includes Donnie Dump Jr. — said yesterday that the H-1B program was "destroying the lives of American workers."
  • All of this makes sense, if you think about it. Vivek Ramaswamy is the child of immigrants who came to the USA via visas. Musk himself is a literal immigrant who used the H1-B program to move to the USA and work here.
  • Ramaswamy is a guy who thinks tech workers should spend 70-80 hours at work every week without extra compensation, something most Americans do not accept but that immigrants have no choice other than to do so.
  • And MAGAs, for the most part, are racists and xenophobes who don’t want anyone who’s not white and born int he USA to be allowed to gain employment hereto specially in high-paying tech jobs.
  • So there’s no easy compromise to this issue, and it’s going to keep ramping up.
  • Get your popcorn ready.
  • Let’s move on.
  • In 2020, Dumples the Clown issued an executive order banning the video sharing app TikTok, claiming it was being used by China to steal data of Americans.
  • At the time, the company successfully challenged the order in court.
  • But Dump continued pushing for a ban, eventually coalescing a bipartisan effort to remove it through legislation.
  • And eventually, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law earlier this year after bipartisan passage in Congress.
  • The law requires the Chinese owner of TikTok, ByteDance, to divest from the platform to an American company, or face a ban that is scheduled to begin January 19.
  • But now, Dumpy — as he is prone to do, usually for reasons of personal gain at the expense of everyone else — is asking the Supreme Court to block the federal law banning TikTok that he himself launched.
  • The nation’s highest court will hear arguments in the case on January 10.
  • Yesterday, Dump’s lawyers filed a brief with the SCOTUS, asking the justices to pause the law to allow his incoming administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
  • Keep in mind, the law already passed muster earlier this month when a federal appeals court turned down TikTok’s challenge of the quickly approaching forced sale or nationwide ban.
  • You can bet that since Dump is suddenly whistling a different tune, the Supreme Court will do as he wants. He’s just probably figuring out how he can make some quick bucks off the situation.
  • And remember: Republicans in Congress and federal law enforcement agencies have stated that the app presents a national security threat that could allow the Chinese government to mine data from its millions of users and show manipulative content.
  • And several Republican-led states have also banned TikTok from government devices, while the state of Montana tried to ban the app altogether.
  • Why? Because they thought that’s what Dumpy wanted.
  • And of note overall… every social media app — including Facebook — makes 100% of their massive income by doing exactly what TikTok is accused of: mining and selling data on its users.
  • Let’s move on.
  • In a preview of something you cenexpect a looter the coming four years, a Colorado man is facing possible bias-motivated charges for attacking a television news reporter after demanding to know whether he was a citizen.
  • Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, was arrested December 18 in Grand Junction, CO, after he followed KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex’s vehicle for around 40 miles from the Delta area. Alex told police that he believed he had been followed and attacked because he is Pacific Islander.
  • After arriving in Grand Junction, Egan pulled up next to Alex at a stoplight and shouted, “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”
  • Egan chased Alex, tackled him, put him in a headlock and tried to choke him out. Coworkers who ran out to help and witnesses told police that Alex appeared to be losing his ability to breathe during the attack, which was partially captured on surveillance video.
  • The guy was right about one thing… this is Trump’s America. Racist and crazy is what defines them.
  • Moving on to some international news follow-up.
  • Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.
  • I mean, Russia shot down a passenger jet for no reason. I’d say an apology is the least Putin can do.
  • The statement said Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”
  • Gee, what a nice guy.
  • In other nice guy (not) news…
  • Dumpy’s buddy Stephen Miller has a far-right legal group that’s threatening California officials with possible prison time if they continue with "sanctuary" policies.
  • The letter, sent out by Miller’s America First Legal two days before Christmas, is directed specifically at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
  • "Federal law is clear: aliens unlawfully present in the United States are subject to removal from the country, and it is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield them. It is also a crime to prevent federal officials from enforcing immigration law. These laws were duly enacted by the people’s elected representatives. Under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, they are the law of the land and supersede any State or local laws to the contrary. In our democratic republic, all State and local officials must comply with them."
  • Fuck that guy. Allow me to tell you something, and I give zero fucks if you agree or not.
  • There is no such thing as an illegal human being. I will assist in any way to allow hard-working people to remain in this country while they pursue he path toward legal work and residence status here.
  • Fuck Stephen Miller and anyone who thinks like him.
  • Meanwhile, Dump’s "border czar" said Thursday that the use of family detention centers for migrants is “on the table,” raising the possibility that the practice ended by the Biden administration could return as early as next year.
  • “It’s something we’re considering," said Tom Homan, who was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration.
  • Homan said the number of “detention facilities” — open-air camps where immigrants would be concentrated while awaiting deportation — would depend on the data.
  • Let’s move on to some news from a better time in America.
  • Warren Upton, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah, has died. He was 105.
  • Upton died Wednesday after suffering a bout of pneumonia. IN a 2020 interview, he said he’d been getting ready to shave when he felt the first torpedo hit the Utah. He recalled that no one on board knew what made the ship shake. Then, the second torpedo hit and the ship began to list and capsize.
  • The then-22-year-old swam ashore to Ford Island, where he jumped in a trench to avoid Japanese planes strafing the area. He stayed for about 30 minutes until a truck came and took him to safety.
  • There were an estimated 87,000 total military personnel on Oahu on the day of the attack. After Upton’s death, there are only 15 still alive.
  • Imagine an America where we’d send a whole-ass country to war rather than lay down and accept the actions and consequences of fascism.
  • And now, The Weather: “Strawberry Moon” by Helena Deland
  • From the Sports Desk… as has been typical fort he past few years, the NFL schedule goes nutty at the end of the season. There are three games today… yes, on a Saturday.
  • The Chargers (9-6) have a must-win game against the Patriots (3-12) to try and stay alive in the playoff race.
  • And their competition in that race, the Broncos (9-6) are also playing to stay alive against the Bengals (7-8), who also still have a dim hope of making it.
  • And in another crucial situation, the Cardinals (7-8) are at the Rams (9-6), and both need the win in the tight NFC West.
  • Today in history… John C. Calhoun is becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign, after being elected Senator from South Carolina (1832). Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army (1835). Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state (1846). Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays (1895). The Syracuse Athletic Club defeat the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden (1902). The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco (1912). Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium (1958). American businesswoman Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (1967). The last scheduled day for induction into the military by the Selective Service System (1972). The United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by President Richard Nixon (1973).
  • December 28 is the birthday of brewer John Molson (1763), astronomer Thomas Henderson (1798), US president Woodrow Wilson (1856), singer-songwriter Pops Staples (1914), writer/publisher Stan Lee (1922), NHL player Terry Sawchuk (1929), actress Maggie Smith (1934), musician Edgar Winter (1946), singer-songwriter Alex Chilton (1950), actor Denzel Washington (1954), NHL player Ray Bourque (1960), computer programmer Linus Torvalds (1969), NFL player Adam Vinatieri (1972), actor/TV host Seth Meyers (1973), and singer-songwriter/pianist John Legend (1978).


Okay. Now I’ll take a shower and drink more coffee and figure out some things to do that make up for my not working yesterday. And maybe even find some time to chill. I need that too. Enjoy your day.

Friday, December 27, 2024

Random News: December 27, 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 December 27, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I am very appreciative that it’s Friday; between work and holiday stuff, I am desperately looking forward to a little actual time off this coming weekend.


  • Let’s jump right in.
  • Starting with the brewing MAGA civil war. What’s it all about?
  • It started over Christmas when a social media post turned into a steaming match between various assholes over race, immigration, and billionaires versus the working class.
  • This was entirely predictable. The MAGA movement came to prominence via the white, less-educated, working class… but is now under the full control of billionaire tech bros and industrialists, many of whom are immigrants.
  • This started last Sunday, when Dumpy named venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as his adviser on AI policy.
  • That made the MAGA racists unhappy, with an anti-Indian backlash on social media. Krishnan has a history of advocacy for lifting caps on green cards.
  • But it really blew up yesterday when Vivek Ramaswamy made a social post blaming an American culture that "venerated mediocrity over excellence" for the growth in foreign tech workers.
  • Oh man. A guy named Ramaswamy attacking American culture? You can imagine how that went. So, his buddy and co-leader of DOGE (whatever that is) — who is also an immigrant — defended him.
  • Elon Musk spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to defend and explain Ramaswamy’s argument, framing it as using immigration to supplement, rather than replace, American workers.
  • But the MAGA crowd took that to mean that America needs more immigration to fill lucrative jobs in America.
  • With psycho people like Laura Loomer screaming to close the borders, this was a huge slap in the face. She’s now calling for a MAGA boycott in the 2026 midterms.
  • Snort.
  • Anyway, I no longer use Twitter or whatever they call it now. But seeing some of the screencaps of the fighting was highly enjoyable.
  • Let’s move on… sort of.
  • A recent article focused on people who supported and voted for Dump for one main reason: they are low-income folks who thought Dumpy was going to bring down the cost of living.
  • Lori Mosura receives $1,200 each month in food stamps and Social Security benefits but still has to decide whether to buy milk or toilet paper.
  • She voted for Dump because, “He is more attuned to the needs of everyone instead of just the rich. I think he knows it’s the poor people that got him elected, so I think Trump is going to do more to help us.”
  • Oh man. That is heartbreaking.
  • Steve Tillia receives $1,600 a month in Social Security disability payments and $300 in food stamps to support himself and his son. Tillia is unable to work after suffering from mini strokes.
  • He’s confident that Dump and GOP leaders will reduce spending by “cutting the fat” out of government — and not slashing benefits.
  • Fifty percent of voters from families with an income of less than $50,000 a year cast their ballots for Dump. They now say they are counting on him to keep their benefits intact even while his Cabinet picks and Republican lawmakers call on him to reduce federal spending.
  • But the aforementioned Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — whom Trump has chosen to lead a new nongovernmental advisory panel, the “Department of Government Efficiency” — have said they want to trim $2 trillion from the government’s annual budget.
  • The only possible way to do that is to slash “entitlement programs” like Social Security, Medicare and food stamp programs.
  • Beyond them, Dump’s pick for White House budget director was a key architect of Project 2025, a plan drawn up by conservatives to guide his second term that calls for steep cuts to programs such as food stamps.
  • GOP leaders in Congress and Dump advisers are also considering significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal aid.
  • These poor people voted for their own demise. It’s just awful.
  • Let’s move on to some news.
  • Finnish authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it purposefully damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables.
  • Yesterday, Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, and took over the command bridge.
  • The Eagle S is part of Russia’s shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.
  • Yikes.
  • Moving on.
  • China is having trouble with angry people.
  • Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China. But the latest surge drew attention.
  • People describe these attacks as “Revenge on Society Crimes.”
  • In November alone, three took place.
  • A man struck people at an elementary school in Hunan province, wounding 30, after suffering investment losses. A student who failed his examination stabbed and killed eight at a vocational school in the city of Yixing. The most victims, 35 people, resulted from a man mowing down a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, supposedly upset over his divorce.
  • I’m telling you, there are far too many angry and crazy people on this planet.
  • Let’s move on with a note from the Science Desk.
  • On Christmas Eve, NASA's Parker Solar Probe — a car-sized spacecraft — came within 3.8 million miles of the sun's surface. It is humanity's closest approach ever to the star at the center of our solar system.
  • The probe was about 10 times closer to the home star than the orbit of the innermost planet, Mercury.
  • As it flew around the sun, Parker also set a record for the fastest human-made object, reaching an incredible speed of 430,000 mph. That’s not much compared to, say, the speed of light. But it’s fast enough to travel from New York to Tokyo in under a minute.
  • We’re nonpositive it survived these insane conditions, but we’ll know today, when it's expected to send its first signal back to Earth since its fly-by.
  • The goal of the mission is to better understand mysteries like why the sun's extended atmosphere is hotter than its surface. Scientists also hope it will help predict solar storms, which can trigger stunning, widespread auroras but also pose a threat to power grids and radio signals.
  • Cool!
  • And now, The Weather: “Always Looking Back” by Caroline Says
  • From the Sports Desk… in the world’s most pathetic NFL game, the Seahawks beat the Bears last night 6-3. No touchdowns were scored.
  • Seattle needed the win to remain in the playoff picture. They’d also need the Rams to lose to the Cardinals on Sunday, and to then beat the Rams in the final week of the regular season.
  • Today in history… Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution (1831). Journalist John L. O'Sullivan argues in his newspaper New York Morning News that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country under “manifest destiny” (1845). Kern and Hammerstein's musical play Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway (1927). Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City (1932). The International Monetary Fund is created with the signing of an agreement by 29 nations (1945). Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital crewed mission to the Moon (1968).  Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship (1978). Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth, the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet (2004). 
  • December 27 is the birthday of astronomer/mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571), microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822), actress/singer Marlene Dietrich (1901), pianist Oscar Levant (1906), gynecologist William Masters (1915), guitarist/songwriter Scotty Moore (1931), actor John Amos (1939), journalist Cokie Roberts (1943), guitarist/songwriter Mick Jones (1944), guitarist/songwriter Lenny Kaye (1946), actor Gérard Depardieu (1948), drummer/songwriter Terry Bozzio (1950), singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff (1951), wrestler Chyna (1969), NFL player Lorenzo Neal (1970), journalist Savannah Guthrie (1971), NFL player Deuce McAllister (1978), NFL player Carson Palmer (1979), MLB player Cole Hamels (1983), singer/songwriter Hayley Williams (1988), actor Timothée Chalamet (1995), and NFL player Brock Purdy (1999).


That’s all I have time to talk about for now. Another busy work day ahead, but also… it’s Friday! Try and have some fun. Enjoy your day.

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Random News: December 26, 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 December 26, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Today doesn’t feel like it should be a work day after the fun and relaxing times of yesterday’s holiday, and yet here we are. I have back-to-back meetings this morning and work deadlines to handle all day long. It’s not what I prefer, but — thinking more maturely — I’m fortunate to be able to work and make an income. Many people would be happy to jump into work this morning if they could. I’ll try and keep that attitude.


  • Today in the UK is Boxing Day. Unlike the USA, where Christmas Day is often primarily centered on giving and receiving presents, the UK and some other Commonwealth nations do that portion of it the following day, which is today.
  • As a teenager, I visited London in 1984, and we flew into Heathrow on Boxing Day. I had no idea what that meant. I assumed it was something to do with pugilistic sports.
  • Like, maybe you fought your brothers and sisters for the presents.
  • I hope you had a good Christmas yesterday — or Hanukkah that started last night — or whatever you celebrate this time of year. Yule. Kwanzaa. Festivus. Doesn’t matter. Hope it’s been fun.
  • I find that my most enjoyable aspect of the season is being able to make people happy in various ways. It’s not always the biggest or most expensive things,either; I think my son’s favorite gift that I got for him was an “Awesome Possum” t-shirt.
  • It’s the word “awesome” above an opossum on a skateboard.
  • I got a theremin. Yes, the bizarre electronic musical instrument that produces sound using two antennae that capacitively sense the relative position of the hands. To play it, you wave your hands around in the air like you just don’t care.
  • It ain’t easy. But it’s cool. Just ask Jimmy Page.
  • Let’s do some news.
  • Starting with a ghastly milestone anniversary.
  • It was 20 years ago today that the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.
  • The numbers are hard to actually take in. The powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries.
  • Those who were killed weren’t much better off. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
  • Marking the date, people gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province today.
  • On a positive note, infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami struck. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of incoming tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.
  • Moving on.
  • Let’s getsome more ugly news out of the way regarding a current developing situation.
  • The Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan yesterday killing 38 people was downed by a Russian air defense system.
  • Flight J2-8243 came down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defense systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months.
  • A source familiar with the investigation into the crash said the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, and its communications were paralysed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny.
  • The source added, “No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft.”
  • That’s fucked up.
  • And, combining bad news and air travel, let’s get another shitty thing out of the way.
  • If you think your family was difficult to deal with at Christmas, at least you weren’t part of the group at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix last night that left three people injured by gunfire and another person stabbed.
  • It happened at around 9:45pm at an airport restaurant that is outside the security checkpoints in Terminal 4. An adult female and two adult males were shot, leaving the female with injuries police describe as a life-threatening. 
  • “I do believe that this was a family dispute that escalated,” said Phoenix police Sgt. Mayra Reeson.
  • Way to celebrate peace on Earth and good will toward men, you fucking assholes.
  • Let’s move on.
  • Ryan Routh, the wacko who may (or may not) have tried to shoot Dumpy on a golf course in Florida, will not go on trial until September 2025.
  • The trial was supposed to start on February 10. However, Routh’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay the trial, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense.
  • Who is the judge? Why, it’s U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the same lady who dismissed the stolen documents charges against the Dumpster.
  • In her order, Cannon said she wanted to err on the side of providing more time given the seriousness of the allegations. A September trial date didn’t amount to an “unreasonable delay,” she said.
  • Routh owned 17 cellphones and numerous other electronic devices, and there are hundreds of hours of police body camera and surveillance videos that have been provided to the defense.
  • Moving on.
  • Speaking of the incoming Dick Tater, Dumpy and President Joe Biden shared slightly different messages for Christmas yesterday. 
  • Joe wrote a social post acknowledging this would be the last time as president he'd wish the nation a Merry Christmas said he hoped the U.S. would "continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency."
  • He later said in a message wishing a happy Hanukkah, "As Hanukkah begins, may it shine from menorahs around the world."
  • Dump had a slightly different take on Jesus’s birthday.
  • “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal,” he began.
  • “Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World,” he continued.
  • And he added, “Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME.”
  • So that’s the guy who 51% of Americans want as our leader. My Chiristmas wish to them: may they get exactly what they voted for.
  • Let’s move on.
  • Many of the cases that are coming up for decision at the Supreme Court are issues that will affect a specific segment of the US population: teenagers.
  • In the coming months, the Supreme Court will decide a series of blockbuster cases that could significantly transform the lives of the nation’s teenagers — potentially limiting access to vaping products, upholding a ban on transgender care for minors, and deciding whether the controversial TikTok ban can be squared with the First Amendment.
  • The disputes are heating up even as there are signs that young people are especially disillusioned with Washington generally and the Supreme Court specifically. A Marquette Law School poll last week found the high court’s approval among Americans 18-29 stands at 44%, lower than any other age category.
  • Frankly, I’m surprised it’s that high.
  • The cases are being fast tracked, mostly due to the fact that the TikTok ban is scheduled to start on January 19.
  • The widely bipartisan TikTok ban followed years of concern that TikTok’s Chinese parent company poses a national security risk. It would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the US onlly if its US-based subsidiary makes a clean break from Chinese ownership.
  • A majority of the court’s justices signaled this month they are prepared to back a divisive Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors.
  • Much of that argument focused on whether courts should defer to state lawmakers in making those difficult choices. Far less time was spent on the transgender minors who have described the care as essential.
  • And third is the pending case about the Food and Drug Administration’s effort to pull vaping products from shelves. Seems like a good idea, right?
  • But the case is actually abot whether the agency followed the proper legal protocols when it stepped in to regulate the multibillion-dollar industry.
  • We’ll keep an eye on those and many other SCOTUS cases in the coming term.
  • And now, The Weather: “Tamagotchi” by Blushing
  • From the Sports Desk… the NFL playoff picture grows ever more set in stone. This week’s games will bring us closer to the final seedings. Here’s what would happen if the playoffs started today.
  • AFC: (1) Chiefs - 15-1, (2) Bills - 12-3, (3) Ravens - 11-5, (4) Texans - 9-7, (5) Steelers - 10-6, (6) Chargers - 9-6.
  • Of those, only the sixth seed is uncertain.
  • NFC: (1) Lions - 13-2, (2) Eagles - 12-3, (3) Rams - 9-6, (4) Falcons - 8-7, (5) Vikings - 11-2, (6) Packers - 11-4.
  • The third and fourth NFC seeds are not at all set and could easily change in the final two weeks of the regular season.
  • Amazing that the NFC North has three playoff teams in one division, though.
  • Today in history… Berengar I — my 36th great-grandfather — is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy (887). The opera ‘Agrippina’ by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice (1709). The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history took place in Mankato, MN, where 38 Native Americans died (1862). Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium (1898). Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee (1919). Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States (1941). The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the United States (1963). The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach (1966). The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War (1991). China opens the world's longest high-speed rail route, which links Beijing and Guangzhou (2012).
  • December 26 is the birthday of astronomer/mathematician Mary Somerville (1780), politician Mao Zedong (1893), actor Richard Widmark (1914), radio/TV host Steve Allen (1921), music producer Phil Spector (1939), politician Gray Davis (1942), MLB player Carlton Fisk (1947), MLB player Ozzie Smith (1954), drummer/songwriter Lars Ulrich (1963), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jay Farrar (1966), actor Jared Leto (1971), fashion designer Alexander Wang (1983), and NFL player Trevor Siemian (1991).


Well… in as much as I’d love to bask in the lazy days that comprise the end of the year, I don’t have that option (or, more appropriately, I don’t allow myself to have it). So, off to work I go. Enjoy your day.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Random News: December 25, 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 December 25, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. And it's Christmas Day.


  • "It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits, have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can.” - Charles Dickens
  • Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. - Luke 2:14
  • And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say — that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then — the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two! - Dr. Seuss
  • “I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.” - Fred Rogers
  • “For it is in giving that we receive.” - Francis of Assisi
  • “Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.” - Andy Borowitz
  • There are plenty of news stories going on, but we’re going to skip them today. They’ll still be stories tomorrow.
  • Let’s talk some more about the holidays.
  • Today marks a rare holiday occurrence — when Hanukkah begins at sundown on Christmas night.
  • It’s just the fifth time in the last 114 years that both holidays are taking place on the same day, and it won't happen again until 2035. 
  • Last time was 2005… but that was the only other time the two have aligned in the last 50 years. So it’s a special year.
  • Mazel tov! In our non-religious household, we are celebrating both holidays. Kat made delicious lattkes last night. No menorah here, but that’s because I’m concerned the cats would light themselevs on fire.
  • Was Jesus a Christian? No, of course not. He was a Jew. So were all of his contemporary followers.
  • Was he even a real person? Yes. Virtually all scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus Christ existed historically. So he was a real person, and by all accounts, a really decent dude as well.
  • Jesus was the Woke King. He protested the racial divide between Jews and Samaritans, and was against the mutual hatred between the Jews and the Romans. Jesus opposed nationalism and xenophobia, or any discrimination and oppression practiced against a people based on their nationality, place of origin, or even religion.
  • Jesus practiced inclusivity and acceptance. He associated with people from marginalized and stigmatized groups, such as tax collectors, prostitutes, and lepers. He challenged injustice. He confronted religious hypocrisy and social injustice, speaking out against oppressive systems and practices. He opposed greed and hypocrisy. And he told his followers on multiple occasions to stay aware of what was happening around them.
  • “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (Mark 13:37)
  • So I think we’d get along pretty damn well, Jesus and I. We prioritize the same topics and talk about a lot of the same stuff, and we’re both Jews with scraggly beards. We could definitely have hung out.
  • Fun fact: “Christ” is a title, not a last name. It means “anointed," and is usually transliterated into English as “messiah."
  • Was he born on December 25? Nah.
  • It’s believed by many religious and historical scholars that Jesus was probably born sometime in the summer, and despite our entire system of dates being based on his purported year of birth (i.e., it is currently been 2024 years), it’s more likely he was born somewhere in the range of 6 to 4 BC.
  • So why do we celebrate this guy’s birthday in late December?
  • It’s… convenient. There’s been a holiday at that time of year for thousands of years before Jesus came round. It was easier to just use that date as opposed to creating a whole other holiday. Makes sense.
  • During Christ’s era, this holiday was also known as Yule and was celebrated by Germanic pagans, but that’s just one of many previous incarnations of the festivities.
  • Romans in the pre-Christian era had celebrations for the Winter Solstice. December 25th was the Romans’ general date to mark the solstice, which is where the specific date of Christmas comes from.
  • Also from ancient Rome, the celebration included adorning buildings and temples with evergreen plants, including evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe and ivy. So that’s where your Christmas tree started. The colors of green and red for Christmas are from these plants and their berries.
  • But way before that, there is evidence that the time around the winter solstice was deemed an important observance for multiple cultures going as far back as the Neolithic, i.e., 10,000 years ago.
  • Anyway, happy birthday, Jesus.
  • Tonight’s menu for the feast at Chez Claxton: Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, roasted carrots with apple cider gastrique, green beans with mushrooms and shallots, and a pecan pie.
  • I bought the pie.
  • And now, The Weather: “rosebud” by Free Lunch
  • From the Sports Desk… two NFL games are on today: Chiefs at Steelers, and Ravens at Texans.
  • Or you could watch five NBA games… Spurs at Knicks, T’Wolves at Mavericks, 76’ers at Celtics, Lakers at Warriors, and Nuggets at Suns.
  • Or you could spend time with your damn family and friends. And yes, I know that’s not an option for everyone. Just a suggestion for those who can.
  • Today in history… First documented sign of Christmas celebration in Rome (336). The coronation of Charlemagne — my 39th great-grandfather — as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome (800). William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy — my 29th great-grandfather — is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London (1066). The Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch (1492). Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage (1758). George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day (1776). The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance (1815). United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans (1868). A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front of WWI to celebrate Christmas (1914). Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat (1977). Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union and the union itself is dissolved the next day (1991). The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005 (2004). An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital (2020). The James Webb Space Telescope is launched (2021).
  • December 25 is the birthday of physicist/mathematician Isaac Newton (1642), diarist/poet Dorothy Wordsworth (1771), nurse/humanitarian Clara Barton (1821), busiensswoman/philanthropist Helena Rubinstein (1872), race car driver/businessman Louis Chevrolet (1878), businessman Conrad Hilton (1887), actor Humphrey Bogart (1899), singer/bandleader Cab Calloway (1907), screenwriter/producer Rod Serling (1924), anthropologist/author Carlos Castaneda (1925), singer-songwriter O'Kelly Isley Jr. (1937), keyboardist/songwriter Bob James (1939), NFL player Ken Stabler (1945), bass player Noel Redding (1945), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jimmy Buffett (1946), NFL player Larry Csonka (1946), singer Merry Clayton (1948), actress Sissy Spacek (1949), singer-songwriter Annie Lennox (1954), singer-songwriter Alannah Myles (1958), MLB player Rickey Henderson (1958), singer-songwriter Dido (1971), Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau (1971), and NBA player Eric Gordon (1988).


Happy holidays to you all! Enjoy your day.