Random News: December 2, 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.

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Good morning. It’s December 2, 2024, and it’s a Monday. I am fighting my very typical December stress, with my busiest time of year work-wise combining with holiday stress and general life stress. What I generally find is that the only way through it is to do it, as in, the more I get done, the less there is to worry about.

• Let’s do the news.
• President Biden announced late last night that he signed a pardon for his son Hunter Biden, in a major reversal in the final weeks of his presidency.
• Biden had repeatedly pledged not to pardon his son, who was convicted in June of three separate felony charges related to his purchase of a revolver in 2018 when he was battling an addiction to illegal drugs, which he lied about on paperwork to obtain the gun, and pleaded guilty to nine tax evasion charges in a separate case September.
• Republicans reacted predictably. Everyone from Dump to Speaker Mike Johnson to that bastion of class Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed shock and outrage.
• They seem to have very selective memory.
• In the final hours of his presidency in 2021, Donnie Dump pardoned 74 people and commuted the sentences of 70 others. For context, a pardon wipes out a conviction, commuting reduces or shortens a sentence.
• Some of those who were granted clemency were Dumpy's close associates and allies, such as former campaign manager Paul Manafort, long-time ally Roger Stone, his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, Charles, and adviser Steve Bannon.
• Did Dumpy pardon more than most Presidents? Nope! Harry Truman pardoned close to 2,000 people. Ronald Reagan pardoned over 400. Nixon pardoned nearly 1,000.
• And while Obama only pardoned about 400 people, he commuted the sentences of another 2,000.
• Of course, stating the obvious: if Dump follows through on his campaign promise to pardon all of the people tried and convicted for their actions in the insurrection on January 6, 2021, that will add over 1,000 to his list.
• Biden’s reasoning was pretty straightforward. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong," Biden said.
• I’m not even making any judgement here. Pardons are a perk of the office, and all US presidents in my lifetime have issued them, especially at the end of their term.
• And I’m not at all upset that the Republicans are feigning angst. It’s all theater.
• Let’s move on.
• Stellantis is the fourth-largest automaker in the world, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group and Hyundai Motor Group. They’re the makers of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, and Peugeot, among other brands.
• They announced yesterday that CEO Carlos Tavares has resigned due to differences with the board and in the face of disappointing sales and calls for his ouster.
• The departure comes following a steep drop in Stellantis’ sales, a glut of unsold vehicles on dealers’ lots, layoffs at several of its plants, and calls for his departure from the United Auto Workers union, which represents its US workers.
• If I may be frank, the fact that nearly every industry has consolidated into these massive conglomerates where just a few huge companies control a huge majority of the market is never a good thing for consumers.
• Let’s move on.
• Here in my home state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are returning to the state Capitol today to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Dump presidency.
• Newsom is well known as a fierce critic of Dumples the Clown. He is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda.
• He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.
• California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success. “We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” said Newsom.
• Dumpy often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. I say that makes him a fool.
• Side note: Democrats hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation. We outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.
• Thank all the gods I’ve spent nearly my entire life here. Actually, thank my late parents, who moved us here in 1975.
• Let’s do… something entirely different.
• I’ve been doing one of my every-so-often deep dives into some weighty scientific information… things like quantum field theory and related topics.
• I always find it helpful to keep in mind that the little things we do in our short time of being alive are extraordinarily inconsequential in a universe that’s been chugging along for billions of years.
• A little perspective goes a long way.
• And no, I’m not going to explain quantum field theory here. The world’s most renowned experts find it difficult to explain to other very knowledgeable people.
• One of history’s most respected theoretical physicists, Richard Feynman, said in the 1960s that, “Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy.”
• That’s not to say that it’s not understood and accepted by most physicists; it’s showing how counterintuitive it is compared to more established big-picture physics ideologies like classic Newtonian physics or Einstein’s relativity.
• Anyway, that got me thinking about the stuff that makes up reality. And then that got me thinking about what I’m made of.
• Here’s a list of what chemical elements I, and you — a human, presumably — are made of. All measurements below are listed by mass.
• Oxygen: 65.0%. That’s right. You are 2/3 a colorless, odorless, flammable gas.
• Carbon: 18%. All life that we know of is carbon-based.
• Hydrogen: 10%. This makes sense, because you are mostly water, so that hydrogen and oxygen is the water that makes up most of you.
• So those three elements alone — some of the most common elements in the entire universe, I should add — make up 93% of you. What else?
• Nitrogen: 3%. 
• Calcium: 1.4%. Side note: it’s a metal. You’re made of metal.
• Phosphorus: 1.1% of your total body mass will burst into flame quite easily.
• Potassium, Sulfur, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium: all less than 1%.
• You also have tiny amounts of Iron, Fluorine, and Zinc inside you. These trace elements are essential to keeping your body functioning, even in small amounts.
• Where did all that shit come from? Originally from an exploding star, and refreshed via the things you eat.
• Basically you’re a ghost controlling a robot body made of stardust. Stop worrying so much.
• And now, The Weather: “Dragonslayer9999” by Jaeger
• From the Sports Desk… last night’s game with the Niners visiting the Bills was one for the ages. Not because it was a great game — the Bills won 35-10 — but because the entire game seemed to be held in a snow globe.
• Buffalo locals had to come to the stadium and get tons of snow off the field for the game to commence.
• The victory saw the Bills improve to 10-2 and become the second team this week to punch their ticket to the postseason, following the Kansas City Chiefs.
• And quarterback Josh Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history with a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown in a single game. He’s currently the odds-on favorite for MVP.
• Today in history… The University of Leipzig opens (1409). Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech (1766). In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas (1823). In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West (1845). Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, WV (1859). Alabama ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks (1865). Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile (1927). In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy (1930). New York City's LaGuardia Airport opens (1939). During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction (1942). In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism (1961). The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations (1970). Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart (1982). NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope (1993). Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (2001). Cannabis is removed from the list of most dangerous drugs of the international drug control treaty by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (2020).
• December 2 is the birthday of lawyer/politician John Breckinridge (1760), painter Georges Seurat (1859), businessman Charles Edward Ringling (1863), singer Maria Callas (1923), general/politician Alexander Haig (1924), actress Julie Harris (1925), lawyer/politician Harry Reid (1939), fashion designer Gianni Versace (1946), politician Deb Haaland (1960), actress Lucy Liu (1968), bass player/songwriter Nate Mendel (1968), rapper Treach (1970), tennis player Monica Seles (1973), singer-songwriter Nelly Futado (1978), singer-songwriter Britney Spears (1981), NFL player Aaron Rodgers (1983), rapper/chef Action Bronson (1983), and bass player/composer Tal Wilkenfeld (1986).

I’m going to try and follow my own advice today, and not freak out about stuff that, in the big picture, is actually small and will be quickly forgotten. Anxiety is a bitch, but I’ve got some tools in my bag that minimize its effects. And no matter what you’re going through, it’s always up to you as to how you react and allow it to affect you. Keep it in mind. Enjoy your day.