Random News: January 20, 2025

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 January 20, 2025, and it’s a Monday. It’s a big day on many fronts, and that includes a lot of news. I’ll get as much done as I can. Let’s get rolling.

• It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year.
• King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society. The movement led to several groundbreaking legislative reforms in the United States.
• President Ronald Reagan originally opposed the holiday. But due to public pressure, on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill into law, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana, to create a federal holiday honoring King.
• The final vote in the House of Representatives to establish MLK Day on August 2, 1983, was 338–90. The final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983, was 78–22, both veto-proof margins. 
• And the holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986. I was in the last semester as a senior in high school at that time.
• As I do each year, let’s see the text of King’s speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963…
• “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.


• “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."


• “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.


• “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.


• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


• “I have a dream today.


• “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
• “I have a dream today.”
• Rest in peace, Dr. King.
• By a random alignment of the calendar, today also the inauguration of Dumpy the Elderly Buffoon as the 47th president of the United States.
• I don’t know what time the inauguration is. I have no intention of watching.
• To be fair, I don’t watch television at all except for some sports. And despite it being a federal holiday, with a huge business event starting later this week, I have a busy day at work.
• But even if my alternative was to stare at a wall for three hours, I wouldn’t be adding to the TV viewership of what might end up being one of the most infamous events in US history.
• Count me out.
• Frankly, the last inauguration I watched start to finish was for Barack Obama in January 2009. Now that was indeed a historic day that we could be proud of as a nation.
• I think before that was Clinton in 1992. And as happy as I was about it, I didn’t watch Biden’s in 2021 either, if that puts it in perspective.
• I’m not a person who thinks of our public servants as celebrities. I don’t even think that inaugurations are necessary at all.
• Just get to fucking work. Stop being an attention whore. Do your job. I’ll applaud you for that, if you’re any good at it.
• I do understand that it’s part of our country’s famed peaceful transition of power that worked for every leader with one glaring exception.
• Let’s move on to an important story on the international front.
• Yesterday, Israelis welcomed the return of the first wave of hostages from the Gaza Strip, hours after Israel and Hamas' long-awaited ceasefire went into effect and spurred many displaced Palestinians to trek home by foot after 15 months of brutal conflict.
• Is it a permanent end to fighting in the area? There hasn't been long periods of peace in the Middle East for my entire lifetime, and I have no reason to expect it will last long this time either.
• But any period of peace is good.
• More than 46,800 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Much of the enclave was reduced to rubble by ferocious Israeli airstrikes and shelling.
• President Joe Biden — a phrase I will soon miss being able to write — celebrated the safe return of three female hostages — the first in a coordinated effort expected to continue in the coming days — and said a ceasefire was reached due to "the pressure Israel put on Hamas backed by the United States."
• Hundreds of aid trucks were beginning to enter Gaza yesterday and today. Lest we forget, this most recent period of war kicked off on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a cross-border terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken as hostages.
• Maybe the terrorist groups will think twice next time. Or not. It’s impossible to tell.
• Let’s move on.
• I have one more Biden story to report… probably my last one with him as POTUS.
• This morning, on his last day in office, Biden issued preemptive pardons for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.
• These pardons are rather unprecedented. Biden is issuing them as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor, Emperor Dump.
• The pardons serve to protect several outspoken critics of the incoming president, including former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, whom Dump has vowed retribution against.
• Joe wrote, “These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
• That is true. Also, Biden noted that the pardons did not denote guilt.
• “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” he wrote.
• We’re going to miss that guy in ways that a lot of people have yet to understand… but will soon enough.
• Let’s move on.
• Just so everyone is clear on the TikTok drama…
• The app didn’t have to go dark yesterday. The ban merely said it couldn’t be available on Apple’s App Store or Google Play store.
• The owners of the app purposefully took it down to create panic among its users, so Donnie Dump could look like a hero for bringing it back.
• And yes, it came back up after about 12 hours.
• Some people really did lose their shit over the short outage, which speaks to how addictive the app is for some users.
• A 19-year-old Wisconsin man was arrested after he allegedly admitted to starting a fire at a U.S. Congressman's office over the TikTok ban.
• Officers were called to 525 N. Peters Ave. in Fond du Lac shortly after midnight Sunday morning, where U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman leases office space. 
• The cops located the young man nearby. He admitted to officers that he started the fire as a "response" to the recent conversations around a TikTok ban.
• Jesus Christ. You’re gonna burn down a building over a silly video sharing app?
• Please do keep in mind that the person who was responsible for having it banned in the first place was (drum roll please)… Dumples the Clown himself.
• He forced Republican lawmakers to agree to the ban due it being a tool for spying by its Chinese owners. Once the law was passed in a bipartisan effort, it was challenged at the Supreme Court and the justices voted unanimously to uphold that ban.
• And then Donnie did one of the biggest flip-flops in history, contradicting his own command to ban the app.
• And regardless of how you feel about TikTok specifically, any time a President uses executive order to overrule a law that was created and passed by Congress and then upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court is showing an unconstitutional abuse of power.
• And he’s going to keep doing that unless he’s challenged.
• When my son sought my opinion on this matter yesterday, here’s what I told him.
• “Imagine if I busted into your room and pulled your computer out and locked it in my office. And then I gave it back to you, expecting that you’d be grateful and full of admiration for my generosity at having returned it.”
• I think that struck a nerve for him.
• Me? While I understand TikTok and make use it — like I do all social media platforms — for business purposes in my role as a marketing exec, I don’t personally have a TikTok account. I’m not the target audience for TikTok.
• But as I’d mentioned previously, the entity who was most against the ban was the ACLU, who argued that singling out TikTok was an attack on our First Amendment freedoms of the press.
• Dumpy merely wants to get his hands on that sweet TikTok cash… either for himself directly, or indirectly by forcing its sale (or partial sale) to one of his wealthy friends.
• Moving on.
• On Friday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, will replace JD Vance in the U.S. Senate. Vance, of course, was elected vice president, and resigned his Senate seat after just two years.
• Husted, 57, will serve until a special election in November 2026, the winner of which will complete the remainder of Vance's term.
• It was speculated that wealthy guy Vivek Ramaswamy would want the Senate seat, but Ramaswamy instead announced he wants DeWine’s job as Governor after his term expires.
• What that means is that Ramaswamy would likely withdraw from working with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
• Ramaswamy’s exit could upend DOGE, a non-governmental group which is run in some fashion by another rich guy, Elon Musk, and aims to reduce government spending by up to $2 trillion by July 4, 2026.
• Also… a little political bird told me that the moment Dump is sworn in, a lawsuit against the existence of DOGE is lined up and ready to be filed.
• Good.
• Let’s have a few words about the incoming president.
• I don’t like him. I didn’t like him in 2016, and I like him even less now.
• Does that mean I hope he fails? No.
• I want his terrible programs to be ineffective, yes. But in his role as the leader of our country? I want him to be successful and indeed, for the USA to benefit.
• I genuinely wish him luck in that regard, as I would any incoming US president.
• What I believe we are going to see is that the people most negatively impacted by Donald J. Trump will be the very people who supported him so strongly.
• A social media post from an older-looking guy named Lance was shared this past week…
• “I voted for you and because I'm disabled your now going to screw me!! This crap that your team is suggesting to mess with my snapp benefits and ssi is pathetic!! I was born and raised in the United States of America and your big ideas to screw me over!! I prayed for you.”
• It’s obviously too late for those folks — who will be utterly devastated by Dumpy’s policies — to change their vote. But they will somehow have to live with the results.
• And not all of them will. Live, that is.
• Maybe it will be a lesson on a grand scale, and in 2028, we’ll have a backlash to the current prevailing mindset that it’s always someone else who’s the problem, and that the policies of a fascist won’t affect you.
• Because in many cases, the folks wearing the red MAGA hats will actually be the first targets and the most immediately impacted.
• And in regard to the reported avalanche of executive orders Dumpy will allegedly issue today…
• A new AP-NORC poll shows — as you’d expect — that a lot of Americans are not supportive of his plans.
• Only about 2 in 10 support pardoning most Jan. 6 participants.
• About half of US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose imposing a tariff, also known as an import tax, on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. Only 3 in 10 are in favor.
• Only 4 in 10 are in support of deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not been convicted of a crime… but 7 in 10 support deporting all immigrants (legal or otherwise) living in the U.S. legally who have been convicted of a violent crime.
• And just 3 in 10 are in favor of eliminating protections for transgender students under Title IX.
• It’s going to be a divisive era in American history… but that’s just the time in which we live. I wish it wasn’t, but it is.
• And now, The Weather: “Fading” by Glasstrees
• I’ll once again mention in real weather news — though I hardly need to — that it’s fucking cold around much of the USA. Please don’t fuck around. Take every precaution to not freeze to death, please.
• From the Sports Desk… it was a hard-fought close game, but the Eagles held on to a 28-22 victory over the Rams in the NFC Divisional game.
• They now face the Commanders in the NFC Championship game. That’s on Sunday, January 26 at 12PM PST/3PM EST.
• And later yesterday, in an epic back-and-forth battle, the Bills defeated the Ravens 27-25. Buffalo goes on to the AFC Championship, where they’ll face the defending champion Chiefs (who are a -1 favorite as of now).
• That game is on Sunday 1/26 as well, at 3:30PM PST/6:30PM EST.
• And of course, the winners of those two games face each other in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday February 9. At the moment, the Eagles are favored to win the Super Bowl, but they have to get there first.
• Today in history… The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament” (1265). Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out in the Battle of Rio de Janeiro (1567). The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings (1649). The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia (1788). Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War (1841). The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base (1887). Newly formed automaker General Motors  buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division (1909). The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released (1929). King George V of the United Kingdom dies and his eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII (1936). Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms (1937). John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office (1961). Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America; 20 minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages (1981). Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time (1986). Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States (2009). Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America; at age 78, he is the oldest person ever inaugurated (2021). Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President of the United States (2021).
• January 20 is the birthday of composer Johann Hermann Schein (1586), lawyer/politician Richard Henry Lee (1732), botanist Carl Linnaeus the Younger (1741), physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775), suffragist Harriot Stanton Blatch (1856), mafia boss/politician Enoch L. Johnson (1883), musician/songwriter Lead Belly (1888), actor George Burns (1896), businessman Aristotle Onassis (1906), pianist/composer Juan García Esquivel (1918), director Federico Fellini (1920), actor DeForest Kelley (1920), singer-songwriter Slim Whitman (1923), actress Patricia Neal (1926), comedian Arte Johnson (1929), astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930), film director David Lynch (1946), singer-songwriter Paul Stanley (1952), sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953), comedian/commentator Bill Maher (1956), MLB player/manager Ozzie Guillén (1964), actor Rainn Wilson (1966), political strategist Kellyanne Conway (1967), musician/producer Questlove (1971), politician Nikki Haley (1972), actor Evan Peters (1987), NFL player Nick Foles (1989), NBA player Tyler Herro (2000), and NFL player J. J. McCarthy (2003).

I’m not gonna tell you what to do… but I’m advising that you don’t watch the inauguration. Not because you should bury your head about what’s going on in the world; otherwise I wouldn’t take the time to write this shit for you every morning. But your act of not turning on your TV will make a difference. Tomorrow, Dump is going to crow about having the “biggest TV viewership ever, for anything,” and you need to not be part of that. Don’t give him that assist. Enjoy your day.