Random News: May 18, 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 May 18, 2025, and it’s a Sunday. I’m up somewhat early on what seems to be a lovely day, wearing a bathrobe, sipping my coffee, and taking a look around to see what’s transpired in the world.

•  A reminder about something I’ve mentioned before: June 14 is a national day of action called “No Kings.”
• Events are being scheduled across the USA on the same day that Dumpy is throwing himself a $100 million taxpayer-funded birthday party in the form of a gaudy military parade in front of his house.
• While he glorifies himself, the people of the country will be sending him a sharp rebuke; we don’t want a king in the USA. We want democracy.
• Dump has defied our courts, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services.
• We don’t just lie down and accept this shit. We’re Americans. We fight back.
• I’ll put a link in the comments to find a No Kings event on June 14 near you. Clean ahead.
• And now, the news.
• An act of terrorism hit the Southern California desert yesterday morning when a person set off a car bomb outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs.
• The person, who has yet to be identified, had posted rambling online writings before setting off the explosion and dying in the process.
• Authorities were still working to piece together a motive and build a chronology of events leading up to the attack.
• The writings left behind — in which the suspect communicated a belief that the world should not be populated — appear to shed light on the person’s state of mind and help explain the conclusion that the attack was targeted and intentional.
• While others were injured in the blast — which was so powerful it impacted blocks of businesses — no one else died beyond the suspect.
• Also, while the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic was damaged, the clinic’s IVF lab and stored embryos are offsite and were not damaged.
• Moving on.
• In more weirdness, a Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York last night.
• The impact snapped its three masts, killed two of its crew members, and left some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.
• The 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage, but at least 19 people aboard the ship needed medical treatment.
• It was unclear what caused the ship to veer off course. NYPD said the ship had just left a Manhattan pier and was supposed to have been headed out to sea, not toward the bridge.
• So that’s odd.
• Let’s move on.
• I’m sure you remember when Dumples the Economic Clown said — over and over and over — that other countries would pay for his “beautiful tariffs.”
• And some people — sorry to say, the less informed and intelligent portion of the populace, who don’t really have a grasp of how trade and finance work — believed him.
• The rest of us screamed that tariffs — all tariffs — are a tax on the people and the businesses for the country who is importing the goods… in this case, the USA.
• So please allow me to ask you why yesterday, Dump was screaming at Walmart, telling the retail giant to “eat” the costs of the tariffs. Aren’t they being paid by China and other exporting countries?
• No. No, they’re not. And Dump knew that all along.
• As Dump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses.
• How the fuck was that going to happen? See kids, the way that Walmart and other big-box and online retailers make money is to sell goods at a low profit margin in high volume.
• And if the cost of getting those goods into the country and into their stores goes up, they have to either raise the retail prices or literally lose money and go out of business.
• Walmart had warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats will increase in price.
• Dumpy lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.
• What the fuck? What kind of communist bullshit is Dump talking about here? I thought he liked capitalism.
• I’m serious. Here are Dumpy’s words…
• “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
• Not charge the customers anything? Is that how we do business in the USA?
• I mean, look: yes, Walmart made billions last year. That’s what businesses are supposed to do. The American system of capitalism is driven entirely by greed.
• And the grand majority of those profits end up in a very small number of hands… and certainly not those of the workers who generate the profits.
• But why would Dump think that a retail company is going to pay for his bad decisions?
• And is his government going to help the already low-paid Walmart workers who would be laid off or otherwise impacted by Walmart eating the costs of his horrible tariff plan?
• I didn’t think so.
• Also, if you were under the impression that the tariffs were not as big of an issue after Dump caved on them recently…
• This morning Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the tariffs could go back to the ridiculous rates slapped on them on Dump’s laughably-named “Liberation Day” last month if they don’t engage in various negotiations.
• Moving on.
• I want to take a quick look at the false impression that Dumpy’s alleged tax cuts in his budget plan would provide relief to typical Americans.
• Dump claims that his bill delivers "permanent tax cuts and bigger paychecks."
• That is true… if you’re earning over $1 million per year.
• Making less than that, loser? You won’t get anything beyond the scrapings of the bottom of the barrel.
• Allow me to be specific. If the bill is passed, households with more than $1 million in annual income would see their after-tax earnings rise by 4.3%. That’s significant; those well-off people would save nearly $90,000 per year.
• But if you’re in the lowest-earning 20% of Americans, your after-tax income would rise 0.6%, or an average of $90 annually. 
• Annually. That’s $7.50 per month. So they’re going to take away your health care along with a ton of other crucial government resources, and then justify it by letting you keep an extra two dollars per week?
• And those couple bucks per week don’t come close to making up for what you lose in the process. To pay for the cut for the wealthiest Americans, federal programs such as Medicaid and food stamps get slashed.
• Who does that affect? The low- and middle-income households who are already getting fucked.
• And ironically, the reason why Dump’s bill hasn’t already passed the House is that five Republican members of the House Budget Committee voted against advancing the measure, saying the legislation doesn’t do enough to slash federal spending.
• They want to take away even more. If that pisses you off, stop supporting Dump and the Republican’s plans. Vote for candidates who won’t screw you and your family and friends.
• And welcome to the Resistance.
• Moving on.
• Dumpy is so shocked and butthurt by the Supreme Court not rolling over on his use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport immigrants with no due process that now he’s openly threatening them.
• A reminder that this is one of the most far-right Supreme Courts in US history, and includes several members that Dumpy himself appointed.
• Yesterday, Dumpy was starting social posts claiming that the Supreme Court put “an illegal injunction on the president of the United States, preventing him from commanding military operations to expel these foreign terrorists.”
• So now we’re at a point where the POTUS is calling the SCOTUS “illegal.”
• I’ll add that Dump also shared MAGA propaganda saying that these “terrorists” should be released near the homes of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh.
• A reminder to you all: the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to due process for all people — not just citizens or documented immigrants.
• Denying that right is what’s illegal per the law of the land, and even this far-right Supreme Court has made that clear.
• And now, The Weather: “Some People Can Change” by hockey season
• From the Sports Desk… no basketball games yesterday, but in the NHL, the Stars beat the Jets 2-1 in a game 7 overtime thriller. They’ll head to the Western Conference Finals where they’ll face Edmonton.
• In the NBA, game 7 between the Nuggets and Thunder is today, starting at 12:30 PT.
• Today in history… Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople (332). Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela (1499). John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts (1631). The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France (1756). The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional (1896). The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription (1917). President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority (1933). Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier (1953). Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage (1980). Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern (1994). A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra (2005). Joe Biden announces his presidential campaign (2019).
• May 18 is the birthday of mathematician/astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048), photographer Mathew Brady (1822), mathematician/philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872), film director/producer Frank Capra (1897), politician Jacob K. Javits (1904), singer Big Joe Turner (1911), singer/TV host Perry Como (1912), actress Miriam Margolyes (1941), singer-songwriter Albert Hammond (1944), MLB player Reggie Jackson (1946), keyboardist Rick Wakeman (1949), singer-songwriter/composer Mark Mothersbaugh (1950), singer-songwriter/guitarist George Strait (1952), NHL player Jari Kurri (1960), tennis player Yannick Noah (1960), NHL player Marty McSorley (1963), singer-songwriter Martika (1969), actress/writer/producer Tina Fey (1970), singer-songwriter Jack Johnson (1975), and NFL player Vince Young (1983).

I’m starting to consider things like eating breakfast and taking a shower and putting clothes on myself. These all seems like good ideas at some point. Enjoy your day.