Random News: September 30, 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 September 30, 2025, and it’s a Tuesday. I’m sipping my coffee and seeing what’s happened in the world that might impact you and me and the people we love. There’s a lot of those things. More every day, really.

• I don’t see any scenario in which the U.S. government doesn’t shut down at midnight tonight.
• Yesterday, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders left a White House meeting with Lord Dumplepants showing no sign of compromising from their entrenched positions in order to avoid a lapse in funding.
• As typically happens, if government funding legislation isn’t passed by Congress and signed by Dump tonight, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation’s economy.
• It’s a shame that Republicans hate health care so much, they — who control the House, Senate, and White House — are willing to let this happen.
• But, as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he left the White House, “There are still large differences between us.”
• Dumpy has shown zero interest in entertaining Democrats’ demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting yesterday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
• Of note: it was Dictator Dump’s first meeting with the “big four” leaders in Congress since retaking the White House for his second term.
• Long story short, Dump wants the government to shut down, perchance to fire a bunch of people in important services that Americans rely on. 
• So obviously, he’s not going to negotiate. Why would he?
• Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.
• That’s all. That’s why Republicans are shutting down the government.
• Any legislation to fund the government will need support from at least 60 senators in the 100-member Senate. That means that at least eight Democrats would have to vote for the short-term funding bill, because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is expected to vote against it.
• Snort.
• There is a proposal for a one- or two-week stopgap if Republicans will work with Democrats on a health care fix. But you know they would never do it if it made Dumpy upset and have a little fit.
• On a related note, after the meeting, Dump shared an AI-generated racist video on social media depicting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and a mustache and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking in a fake voice.
• Dump is like the rich bully kid in high school that everyone hates, secretly or openly.
• Shortly after Dump posted the video, Jeffries wrote, “Bigotry will get you nowhere. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down.”
• Schumer followed moments later, commenting, “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.”
• Fact check: true.
• Let’s move on.
• Dump and his unqualified Fox News host-turned-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are having their little meeting in Quantico, VA with every general and admiral in our military branches as I write this.
• So far, what’s happened…
• Hegseth plugged his book.
• Hegseth told the highest-ranking officers in our Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines that physical fitness standards should be high.
• Hegseth said he is removing the ability for troops and defense personnel to anonymously file whistleblower complaints, report toxic leadership, or point out unequal treatment based on race, gender, sexuality or religion.
• And Hegseth also said the military would be redefining things like bullying and hazing in the military so that the young men and women could be tortured as such without fear of retribution.
• He’s a fucking piece of shit. No wonder they hate him.
• After that was Dumpy’s turn to address the audience. He was met by total silence as he began his address to the hundreds of senior U.S. military officers.
• He didn’t know what to do, nor did he understand that this was standard military decorum.
• “I’ve never walked into a room so silent before,” Dump said, appearing super uncomfortable in the quiet room. He continued: “If you want to applaud, you applaud.”
• They did not. It fucked Dumpy up. A guy like Dump only can draw energy off of instantaneous feedback. As a result, Dump’s remarks were delivered in a half-speed monotone.
• Ha ha.
• Dump was really unnerved. He said, "If you don't like what I'm saying you can leave the room, because there goes your rank, there goes your future.”
• Ya know, this fucking guy, right before the event, said that he'll fire generals "on the spot" if he dislikes them. I’m serious.
• No word on if he’s fired the entire military yet for not clapping and bowing.
• Let’s move on.
• You may have noted that there’s been very little follow-up in major media about the man who, on Sunday, attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, killing four and injuring eight more.
• Compare it to the media coverage about the assassination of that one guy a few weeks ago.
• But it is coming out that Thomas “Jake” Sanford, 40, had served in the Marines and worked as a mechanic in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Sanford drove his huge truck around town with two giant American flags flying from the bed behind him… the same truck he used to ram into the church. He wore Dump t-shirts and had a Dump sign in his driveway.
• He was MAGA through and through.
• And he harbored open hatred for the LDS church. About a week before the attack, he met Kris Johns, a city council candidate. Sanford asked him two questions: “What are your thoughts on guns?” and “What are your thoughts on Mormons?”
• You know, one commonality of these violent and fatal attacks: they do seem to all be perpetrated by white American guys.
• I mean, it’s true. Shrug. But I don’t see “white American men” being singled out as a terrorist organization. Why not?
• Since we referenced the Charlie Kirk assassination…
• Yesterday, Tyler Robinson — the 22-year-old man charged with killing Kirk — appeared in court remotely. During the hearing, the suspect and his newly-appointed legal counsel decided they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.
• There probably is.
• Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty. Robinson didn't enter a plea during yesterday’s hearing.
• Robinson is scheduled to appear in person for his next hearing on October 30.
• Let’s move on.
• Here in California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law yesterday that will force major AI companies to reveal their safety protocols — marking the end of a lobbying battle with big tech companies like ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Meta and setting the groundwork for a potential national standard.
• It is already being watched in Congress and other states as an example to follow as lawmakers seek to rein in an emerging technology that has been embraced by the Dump administration in the race against China, but which has also prompted concerns for its massive and obvious potential to create harms.
• Newsom said, “California has proven that we can establish regulations to protect our communities while also ensuring that the growing AI industry continues to thrive. This legislation strikes that balance.”
• The measure, SB 53, requires some AI developers to publicly disclose their safety and security protocols. It also creates a way for companies and the public to report major safety incidents to the state.
• The law includes whistleblower protections for AI workers and lays the groundwork for a state-run cloud computing cluster dubbed CalCompute.
• As I’ve said many times over many years, thank God I live in this state. I am beyond lucky to be a Californian.
• Moving on.
• From the Business Desk, some fuckery to keep an eye on. 
• Yesterday, the massive video game publisher Electronic Arts announced that it agreed to be taken private in a deal valued at roughly $55 billion by a group of investors that includes a firm managed by Dump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
• If completed, it would be the largest buyout of a publicly traded company in history. The investors would partly finance the deal with a $20 billion loan from JPMorgan Chase.
• The deal is led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which already owns about 10 percent of Electronic Arts, as well as the private equity firm Silver Lake and Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
• EA is a sports-gaming juggernaut, with EA Sports FC  for soccer and Madden for football. It’s also a conduit into the lives of millions of children and young adults who are the biggest market for these sports-based video games.
• And now they will be all the more influenced by the Saudi kingdom and by Dump.
• The Electronic Arts buyout would need the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a panel of government agencies that reviews international deals for security concerns. Some lawmakers have previously called for scrutiny of the Saudi fund’s investments in sports for national security reasons.
• “People don’t often think about video games and national security together, but these are platforms that reach millions of Americans and often collect a lot of personal data,” said Aaron Bartnick, a former official who worked on national security reviews of foreign investments and who is now a fellow at Columbia University.
• Let’s move on.
• I truly enjoyed the complete meltdown and crash out of the MAGA world after yesterday’s announcement of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner.
• Probably my favorites complaints were those MAGAs who made statements like, “Of course the NFL would announce a non-US citizen for the Super Bowl halftime show.”
• And of course, he’s right that the NFL has featured non-US citizens to perform at halftime! Those would include Rihanna, Shakira, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, U2, and others.
• But Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, making him 100% a U.S. citizen. let’s face it: Bad Bunny isn’t white and performs in a. language other than English. That’s the problem.
• And now, The Weather: “Ecstatic Heads” by mark william lewis
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s literally the last day of September in 1990, 35 years ago today. I am slogging through my bachelor’s degree and I’m dating the woman who I’d marry, have a son with, and eventually divorce… so it goes.
• Everything ends up working out fine. Here was the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time. Pretty meh for the most part.
• 1. (Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection (Nelson). 2. Close To You (Maxi Priest). 3. Release Me (Wilson Phillips). 4. Blaze Of Glory (From "Young Guns II") (Jon Bon Jovi). 5. Praying For Time (George Michael). 6. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven (Phil Collins). 7. Do Me! (Bell Biv DeVoe). 8. Thieves In The Temple (Prince). 9. Oh Girl (Paul Young). 10. My, My, My (Johnny Gill). 11. I Don't Have The Heart (James Ingram). 12. Heart Of Stone (Taylor Dayne). 13. Romeo (Dino). 14. Can't Stop (After 7). 15. Everybody Everybody (Black Box). 16. Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice). 17. Unskinny Bop (Poison). 18. Have You Seen Her (M.C. Hammer). 19. Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers). 20. Policy Of Truth (Depeche Mode).
• From the Sports Desk… in yesterday’s battle of winless teams, the Dolphins noted their first victory of the year over the hapless Jets… but at a cost.
• Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill dislocated his left knee and tore multiple ligaments during Monday night's 27-21 win over the Jets. He was hospitalized overnight, his season is over, and possibly his career.
• Sad.
• Today in history… Henry IV is proclaimed king of England (1399). Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his forces enter Tula territory in present-day western Arkansas, encountering fierce resistance (1541). The first performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death (1791). Thomas Edison's first commercial hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation (1882). Radoje Ljutovac becomes the first soldier in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft with ground-to-air fire (1915). The League of Nations unanimously outlaws "intentional bombings of civilian populations” (1938). NBC broadcasts the first televised American football game (1939). The 1947 World Series is the first to be televised and the first to include an African-American player (1947). The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time (1968). Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation (1980). Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in a Danish newspaper (2005). 
• September 30 is the birthday of astronomer Michael Maestlin (1550), activist Ann Jarvis (1832), businessman William Wrigley, Jr. (1861), physicist Hand Geiger (1882), sexologist Charlotte Wolff (1897), bassist/bandleader Thelma Terry (1901), drummer/bandleader Buddy Rich (1917), US Army captain Lewis Nixon (1918), novelist Truman Capote (1924), activist Elie Wiesel (1928), actress Angie Dickinson (1931), singer Cissy Houston (1933), singer Johnny Mathis (1935), drummer Dewey Martin (1940), music producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), singer Marilyn McCoo (1943), singer-songwriter/guitarist Marc Bolan (1947), actress Fran Drescher (1957), singer-songwriter/guitarist Marty Stuart (1958), actor Eric Stoltz (1961), singer-songwriter/guitarist Trey Anastasio (1964), actress Jenna Elfman (1971), actor Daniel Wu (1974), MLB player Jeremy Giambi (1974), tennis player Martina Hingis (1980), and rapper T-Pain (1984).

Well, as usual these days, that was a lot of stuff and we never have time to go as deep into these important stories as we should. I always recommend that you follow up on things you find interesting and get the rest of the story for yourself. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 29, 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 September 29, 2025, and it’s a Monday. It looks like a lovely day out there as the sun starts to peek over the eastern horizon. I got a good night’s sleep and am feeling a little more optimistic about facing the day, even though it’s Monday. I’m sure that enthusiasm will fizzle once I get through this news and into my work day.

• Let’s get rolling.
• Yesterday, the state of Oregon filed a lawsuit against Dumpy after the Orange Menace said he will send troops to Portland.
• It comes after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent a memo to Governor Tina Kotek authorizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to the city of Portland, per state Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
• The troops are to be deployed for 60 days to protect federal property "where protests are occurring or likely to occur.”
• The lawsuit argues that Dump lacks authority to federalize the National Guard. California filed a similar lawsuit in June after the administration sent troops to Los Angeles.
• A reminder, if you missed it yesterday: Dump ordered Hegseth to send "all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any other ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists."
• Fucking douchebag.
• Gov. Kotek said, “When the president and I spoke yesterday, I told him in very plain language that there is no insurrection or a threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state. Despite this, and with all evidence to the contrary, he has chosen to disregard Oregonian safety and ability to govern themselves.”
• And apparently Dumpy is getting confused about PDX as well.
• "I spoke to the governor, she was very nice," Dump said. "But I said, 'Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening? My people tell me different.' They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place… it looks like terrible."
• Jesus fucking Christ.
• Let’s move on.
• New York City Mayor Eric Adams is dropping out of the race, ending his reelection bid at the order of Dumpy and other Republicans who have wanted to consolidate the opposition against popular Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
• Mamdani, a democratic socialist, notched a huge win in June’s Democratic primary over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now mounting an independent campaign.
• Dump and other conservatives are now backing Cuomo in a big way. They’re scared to death of Mamdani. But Adams dropping out isn’t going to give a big boost to Cuomo.
• Adams had been running fourth in most public polls behind Mamdani, Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
• And state and national Democrats are increasingly coalescing around Mamdani in recent weeks due in part to Dump’s push to reshape the race in Cuomo’s favor. The election is just over five weeks away on November 4.
• Moving on.
• I think you can count on a government shutdown starting on Wednesday. The Democrats are holding tough, and Dump said yesterday, "I just don't know how we are going to solve this issue.”
• How about give in to the Democrats’ simple request for health care for Americans?
• As we mentioned, Dumpy is meeting with congressional leaders today ahead of the October 1 deadline for lawmakers to reach an agreement on a spending bill that would avert a shutdown.
• Dump is privately cherishing the idea of a shutdown, welcoming the prospect because it will enable him to wield executive power to slash some government programs and salaries.
• But Democrats have forcefully pushed back against Dump's mischaracterization of their positions on both government funding and on immigration. And they have repeatedly noted that people who are in the U.S. illegally are not eligible to receive Medicaid coverage. 
• The Democrats are fighting for all Americans’ health care. Dump and the Republicans are shitting on it. End of story.
• This weekend, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “What we are doing is fighting to protect the healthcare of everyday Americans in the midst of this Republican-caused crisis that is devastating hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics.”
• The meeting scheduled for today has Dump talking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Jeffries.
• Let’s move on.
• I stopped covering every significant instance of gun violence in this column. I did that for a solid year and it was so discouraging — with no signs of any changes — that I sort of gave up.
• But I will mention yesterday’s attack on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, MI. 
• As you’ve probably heard, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, drove his truck into the church and started shooting congregants, then set the building on fire with hundreds of people inside. Sanford was later killed in a shootout with responding police.
• At least four people were killed and eight others were injured in the shooting and fire. Officials say they believe more victims will be found as they comb through the rubble.
• So who is this Jake Sanford asshole? He was a veteran of the Iraq War, and served four years in the Marines, rising to the rank of sergeant.
• Donnie Dump already weighed in, writing, “This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.”
• Perhaps. But if so, it was done by one of his own. Sanford was pictured wearing Dump-supporting clothing with slogans saying, “Make Liberals Cry Again.” He’d had a Dump sign in his yard.
• So watch how quickly this guy disappears from media coverage as a result.
• And in another weekend mass shooting, 40-year-old Nigel Max Edge was arrested in a Saturday mass shooting in North Carolina that killed three people and injured five.
• He’s been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He is currently held without bond.
• Edge is also a former Marine and an Iraq War vet. Odd coincidence, I suppose. No word yet on whether he was also a Dump supporter like Sanford.
• So far this year, in the USA there have been at least 324 mass shootings — in 272 days. Mass shootings are most often defined as an incident where at least four people are shot.
• Let’s just move on. What else can we do?
• From the Entertainment Desk…
• Yesterday, millions of MAGAs nearly shit their pants when it was announced that the 2026 Super Bowl halftime will be headlined by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny.
• Mr. Bunny commented, “Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
• Does this guy has the qualifications to be the Super Bowl halftime performer? You bet. Four No. 1 albums, 113 (!) Hot 100 hits (including 15 top 10s), three Grammys, one No. 1 single and much more.
• But he also canceled a number of US-based concerts this year, not wanting to put his fans in danger of being abducted by ICE… which they would have been.
• The fact that this guy is perceived as anti-Dump, anti-ICE, and sings most of his songs in (gasp) Spanish is already making MAGA scream about boycotting the entire Super Bowl. I’m loving it. And it feels purposeful, which I also love.
• With Kendrick Lamar last year and now Bad Bunny this year, it almost feels like the NFL is trolling the racists of the country, and I’m all here for it.
• Can you imagine Dumpy trying to sign an executive order to keep Bad Bunny from performing? I can 100% see that.
• Let’s also acknowledge that Bad Bunny is an American. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. People born there are U.S. citizens, in case you’re confused.
• Super Bowl LX will be held on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
• Moving on with some actual weather news…
• Eastern U.S. people, be prepared for tropical storm Imelda, which is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it moves off the Southeast coast this week, kicking up dangerous surf, rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion from Florida through the Carolinas.
• And at the same time, Hurricane Humberto, which briefly exploded into a rare Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds Saturday, is now a large Category 4 hurricane. Located a few hundred miles east of Imelda, Humberto’s massive size will compound the hazards for US beaches this week, driving deadly rip currents and big waves farther north along the East Coast than Imelda alone.
• Be safe, my peoples.
• And now, The Weather: “Magic” by Nameless Warning
• From the Sports Desk… ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary sports fans, we have a final MLB playoff picture. Here we go…
• American League Wild Card: 6-seed Tigers at 3-seed Guardians. 5-seed Red Sox at 4-seed Yankees. 1-seed Blue Jays and 2-seed Mariners have a bye until the divisional round.
• National League Wild Card: 6-seed Reds at 3-seed Dodgers. 5-seed Padres as 4-seed Cubs. 1-seed Brewers and 2-seed Phillies get the bye.
• All Wild Card series start on Tuesday.
• In other Sports Desk news, the NFL had a crazy day yesterday with upset wins by the Steelers, Falcons, Giants, Jaguars, and Chiefs… and an even more unlikely 40-40 tie between the Packers and Cowboys last night.
• Tonight’s two MNF games are the Jets at Dolphins (battle of the winless wonders), and the Bengals at Broncos.
• Today in history… Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner (1011). Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades (1227). Protestant coup officials in Nîmes massacre Catholic priests in an event now known as the Michelade (1567). The United States Department of War first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men (1789). Germany's Supreme Army Command tells Kaiser Wilhelm II and Imperial Chancellor Georg Michaelis to open negotiations for an armistice in WWI (1918). The First American Track and Field championships for women are held (1923). The Kyshtym disaster is the third-worst nuclear accident ever recorded (1957). NASA launches STS-26, the first Space Shuttle mission since the Challenger disaster (1988). John Roberts is confirmed as Chief Justice of the United States (2005). The stock market crashes after the first United States House of Representatives vote on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act fails (2008). Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria (2013). 
• September 29 is the birthday of Roman general/politician Pompey (106 BC), polymath Michael Servetus (1511), novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547), English admiral Horatio Nelson (1758), physicist Enrico Fermi (1901), fashion journalist Diana Vreeland (1903), singer/actor Gene Autry (1907), director Stanley Kramer (1913), football coach Bum Phillips (1923), model/actress Anita Ekberg (1931), singer-songwriter/pianist Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), actor Larry Linville (1939), actress Madeline Khan (1942), violinist/composer Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), composer Mike Post (1944), singer-songwriter/guitarist Mark Farner (1948), TV host Bryant Gumbel (1948), animator Gábor Csupó (1952), journalist Gwen Ifill (1955), singer-songwriter/bass player Les Claypool (1963), actor Mackenzie Crook (1971), NFL player Calvin Johnson (1985), NBA player Kevin Durant (1988), and singer Halsey (1994).

That’s plenty for now. So look… this might be a weird week. Things might happen. I mean, things always happen, but I’m referring to things that end up being something that a future kid has to study for a U.S. History test. But as always, I advise you to stay strong, remain positive, and keep fighting for what’s right. If you want to know how, just ask me and I’m happy to give you specific advice. Enjoy your day.

Alex G at the Greek Theater - Los Angeles, CA (09.27.25)

I can actually tell you the exact moment I got into singer-songwriter Alex G. I'd heard his name before... some general chatter around the indie world for years about this guy creating these terrific home-brewed, genre-absent tunes and posting them to Bandcamp. At that time, he was releasing stuff as (Sandy) Alex G, and it was in summer 2019 that a tune of his popped into my suggested content on some platform — YouTube or Bandcamp or who knows what.

But the moment I heard the song "Gretel" off the album House of Sugar, I was absolutely hooked. As I stated at the time in my year-end "best-of" list, "I guess I'm late to the (Sandy) Alex G trip; House of Sugar is the seventh album from this Philly-based singer-songwriter. But holy shit, it's great. "Gretel" is up there in my favorite songs of the entire year."

Since then — and his having dropped the "Sandy" moniker for subsequent albums — I've enjoyed everything this guy has done, from the soundtrack work he did to his two most recent albums, 2022's God Save the Animals (another entry on that year's "best-of" list) and this year's excellent Headlights, released in July.

Almost Didn't Make It

I nearly talked myself out of going to the show, and that would have been a huge regret. I wasn't feeling terrific during the days leading to September 27 — just a ton of work stress and life stress being the culprit, I suppose — and then that very morning, it turned out we'd also committed to doing a street protest. That's a lot of energy use for one day, at least for me.

So I wasn't feeling it, and a couple of times nearly told Kat that it might be better if we skipped the show, despite having great seats and really wanting to be there. But I did not; I know myself well enough that once I actually get going on something, I get past my woes and focus on the adventure at hand. Also, while Kat would have understood, I also know for a fact she'd have been super disappointed. She'd purchased the tickets months earlier, and both of Alex's latest albums are probably among her favorite all-time. I wasn't going to let a bout of nerves stop us, though I was pretty miserable until we hit the road.

Drive to the Greek

But by the time we were cruising up the 110 North, I was perking up. One cool thing: I knew Kat had never been to the Greek before, and it had been a good number of years since I did either. But it's a seriously cool and iconic Los Angeles music venue; I was glad she'd have the opportunity to check it out.

There's no such thing as a zero-traffic moment driving through downtown LA, but all things considered, we got to the Greek very quickly — even accounting for the standard evening gridlock on Los Feliz Boulevard. Since we'd pre-paid for parking, we pulled right into Lot G just above the venue, and strolled on in. I really like the Griffith Park area; if it wasn't such a pain in the ass to get up there form the South Bay, I'd probably spend more time there in general.

A quick side note: after we pulled up and parked, I saw a large shape swoop down and land on a small structure to our right. It was a massive Great Horned Owl, which I — for reasons unknown — intuited as a good luck sign for the rest of the evening. I wasn't wrong.

Alex G Fans

I have to say, the modern concert experience is just so fucking convenient. Kat had our ticket and parking info on her phone, and with zero lines or waiting, we were able to park the Jeep and then enter the Greek with nothing more than a scan. That is such an improvement to the old way.

The crowd was super diverse. I saw young teenagers at the all-ages event, but I saw plenty of people in there 40s and 50s, so Kat and I didn't feel like the weird old hipsters that we might have been at a different indie music concert. The people there to see Alex G (as well as his support act Kevin Abstract) also had the typical Los Angeles spectrum of races and genders and sexual orientations and so on. I'm always my most comfortable in that kind of environment. Regardless of differences, everyone there seemed super chill and very appreciative of the music performances.

And something I've observed in the past five years: Alex G fans are fucking serious fans. It reminds me a bit of other artists who have cultivated an extraordinarily loyal and emotionally-attached batch of people. There were plenty of them there last night. It was definitely an enthusiastic and appreciative audience.

The Show

It was superb. Alex's set list leaned heavily into his most recent album, which was perfect for me. The set also included some great tunes from the previous few albums, along with some of Alex's older stuff from his early output. I will mention that the sound quality at the Greek was completely outstanding... a hats-off to the FOH engineer, whoever they may be. The stage lighting was superb and dynamic, and yet didn't distract from the show itself.

There was a point, after the first couple of tunes, that Alex's band ran into some tech issues. While they got those straightened out, Alex did two solo songs that were really amazing, and kept the crowd spellbound. Speaking of which, Alex — while sitting down at the keyboards — told the crowd a fascinating story.

"I was born here in Los Angeles. And after high school, I decided to go to clown school. And they said I wasn't funny enough to be a clown. I know. It broke my parents' heart. And that's when I started taking piano lessons. And, uh, I practiced hard and I studied hard and I put the time in. And I got a full scholarship to Juilliard, the music school."

Which is pretty cool. And complete bullshit. Literally none of that is true. And Alex is that kind of guy. He's just a weird and interesting and probably doesn't give a shit whether you like him or believe him or not. Sometimes being an unreliable narrator is also an important role.

So all in all, I am super happy that I pushed my negative vibe to the side and went to the show. Alex is an amazing and unique talent, and I am super happy I got to experience him doing his stuff live and in person. 100% worthwhile.

Alex G set list...

• Louisiana
• Gretel
• Sarah (Technical difficulties (solo))
• Whale (Technical difficulties (solo))
• Harvey (Problems fixed but promised a fan)
• June Guitar
• Runner
• Real Thing
• Beam Me Up
• Afterlife
• Oranges
• Bug
• Kicker
• Brick
• Horse
• Blessing
• Immunity
• Logan Hotel
• Is It Still You in There?
• Bounce Boy
• Spinning
• Forever
• Headlights

Encore:

• Far and Wide
• Southern Sky
• Black Hair
• Change

California Strong: Hold the Line (09.27.25)

There are some days where I wake up on the day of an activism event raring to go. I can't wait to get out there and hit the street, sign in hand, ready to support the causes that are most important to me. And I can tell you, with 100% honesty, that the morning of Saturday September 27, 2025 was not one of those days.

I was burned out. It had been a rough week work-wise, I wasn't feeling physically or mentally great when I got out of bed, and had I given in to my initial vibe of the day, I would have blown off the demonstration that we'd signed up for. But we're at a point where every single opportunity to stand up in the face of fascism is crucial. If we don't do it now, we may not have the option in the near future.

So I dragged my ass out of bed on Saturday morning, got ready, prepped my signs, and headed a few blocks down the street to where our section of "California Strong: Hold the Line" was being held. This action event was different than many of the others in which we'd previously participated. Instead of everyone gathered in one spot, the point of the protest was to form a "line in the sand" that extended along the entire coastline of California. The spot that Kat and I were assigned was here in Redondo Beach, along Pacific Coast Highway. 

Yes on 50

The main message for this protest was our support of Proposition 50, the statewide ballot initiative that California voters will be deciding in a special election on November 4. Known as the "Election Rigging Response Act," the proposition is a legislative constitutional amendment that would temporarily replace the state's congressional district maps for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. A "yes" vote is a vote to approve these new maps, drawn by the state legislature. 

California is holding this vote in response to the Trump administration's efforts to gerrymander congressional districts in other states, including Texas and Missouri. Those states, I should add, didn't give their own citizens an opportunity to be part of the decision as we are here. And it's said that Trump isn't stopping there; he's demanding similar gerrymandering tactics in places like Indiana and Florida as well.

Also note that the California measure is temporary. The independent Citizens Redistricting Commission would be responsible for drawing new maps again after the 2030 U.S. Census. The proponents of Prop 50 — including our beloved California Governor Gavin Newsom and prominent state and national Democrats — argue that a "yes" vote is a necessary and temporary response to partisan redistricting efforts in other states.

A Worthwhile Day of Action

Despite my bitching and moaning about having to go — especially on the same day that I had a concert to attend that night — as soon as I pulled up and saw groups of resistance fighters on each corner, I was suddenly very glad to be involved. The event went fine. It was held from 10am to noon, and hundreds of cars passed by while we waved our signs.

Redondo isn't considered a super politically-active town, but despite that, a huge ratio of passers by indicated their support. Horn honking, thumbs-up, and friendly waves were very typical. Less typical — but still present, thankfully in much smaller numbers — were the negative responses. A few middle fingers raised, some unkind words, and one guy who tried to throw a beverage in my direction as he hurried by. He mostly missed; MAGAs have poor athletic ability or physical coordination.

Showing Support

After we'd been out at our assigned location for nearly two hours, Kat and I hopped back in the Jeep and took a little tour of the area. Starting around the Torrance/Palos Verdes border and looping back north toward our home, we became the cheerleaders, blaring our horn as we drove by with my fist raised in defiance out the driver's side window. Note: don't try this yourself. I am an expert.

We didn't take many pics during the event; we were too busy being participants to document it at the same time. But I've grabbed some shots via social media of people up and down the California coast who were actively engaged. See some of those below.

But the next huge event I want you to keep in mind: Saturday October 18, when the next "No Kings" day of action is scheduled. Over 1,000 events are being planned nationwide for that day. Please plan on participating. It's now or never.

Random News: September 28, 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 September 28, 2025, and it’s a Sunday. I’m waking up with a… not a hangover, because I don’t drink alcohol, but a “did too many things and was around too many people and it was somewhat overwhelming” day yesterday. I’m sure with some coffee and other miraculous cures, I’ll be around to my normal self soon enough.

• On that topic…
• I’m very glad I participated in yesterday morning’s “California Strong: Hold the Line” protest. It was exactly as I predicted… small groups of people on nearly every corner for miles and miles.
• I’d say on a 90% basis, the honks and waves and fists of support far outweighed the few boos and middle fingers.
• After we spent a good hour and a half out on Pacific Coast Highway waving our signs, Kat and I hopped in the Jeep and spent the end of the event supporting the others… driving by and leaning on the horn, fist raised in resistance defiance.
• I did, however, actually get assaulted in a minor way. Some piece of shit threw his beverage in my direction out of his car window as he drove by like a pussy. I got hit with a sprinkle or two.
• Not the end of the world, but it’s typical that right-wing violence plagues even the most chill and peaceful of protest actions.
• I did other stuff yesterday, but we’ll save that for later. First, the news.
• The lengths that the Dump administration is going to in order to obfuscate the Epstein files is just mind boggling.
• I mean, let’s just start with Portland, OR.
• Yesterday Dumpy made what might be one of his more insane statements — I know, it’s hard to choose between so many — when we said he was sending military troops to Portland, which he described as “war-ravaged.”
• Dump said he’s authorizing the troop to use “Full Force, if necessary.”
• So to be perfectly clear, a reminder that it’s not right for a president to send military into cities with threats of killing American citizens. Let’s start there.
• Second: Portland is the opposite of a war zone. It’s a peaceful and fun and culturally fascinating place that’s accepting of humans, be they gay, hipsters, immigrants, lumberjacks, or bicyclists.
• Or what the fuck ever. 
• Side note: while Dump called out Portland specifically, it’s important to note he didn’t limit his threats to that lively Pacific Northwest city. He said he’s also directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide troops to “any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
• So while I was out in the street protesting peacefully, Dump was threatening me for doing so. That right to protest is in our Constitution. Now doing so makes one a trrorist as defined by Dump.
• Hundreds of years of precedent had stopped all U.S. presidents previous to Dump from directing the nation’s full counterterrorism apparatus against domestic political opponents.
• But now here we are in a fascist dictatorship. I will tell you… I have a. feeling that not every member of our military or law enforcement will be as comfortable violating the Constitution as Dumpy is.
• So there might be some more interesting times ahead.
• As if we needed more.
• Let’s move on.
• The government is about to shut down in a matter of days.
• As I mentioned previously, despite Republicans holding the House, Senate, and White House, the government cannot pass a budget without the help of Democrats.
• And - as I support 100% — the Democrats are using this leverage to try and help Americans. They have requirements for this budget to expand our health care policies, but Dump has called them “totally unreasonable” and refused to even meet with Dem leaders to discuss the compromises.
• By the way, what is this “unreasonable” demand that Dump also called “unserious and ridiculous?” Democrats want an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. That’s all.
• But now Dump has no choice, knowing the shutdown will be perceived as the fault of himself and his party. The latest reports say that Dumpy the Sad Clown will meet with top congressional leaders from both parties tomorrow.
• Will Dumpy budge before the shutdown on Wednesday? I find it less likely that the Democrats will. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries committed that he will not.
• He said, “Our position has been very clear: cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save health care.”
• Jeffries doesn’t want a shutdown either, by the way. He stated, “Well, it’s my hope that we’ll avoid one. At the end of the day, Republicans do control the House, the Senate and the presidency.”
• Indeed.
• Moving on.
• We need to once again mention that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a last-minute global gathering of the nation’s top generals in Quantico, VA.
• It’s said that even top generals and their staffs don’t know the reason for the meeting. There is a viable theory that Hegseth and Dump are planning to erase the Defense Department’s status as a nonpartisan institution.
• And against the backdrop of Dump’s new threat for troops to use full force against Americans, this seemingly-impossible idea has some merit.
• Interestingly, it was announced this morning that Lord Dumpypants himself has decided to attend the meeting of generals on Tuesday morning.
• There are about 800 generals and admirals spread across the United States and dozens of other countries and time zones. Typically, each of these officers oversees hundreds or thousands of rank-and-file troops.
• So this might be the moment that those military leaders have to choose between following a fascist’s maniacal and often illegal orders, versus staying faithful to their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution.
• Anyway, the addition of Dumpy at Quantico will now put the Secret Service in charge of securing the event. This whole fucking thing sounds like a clusterfuck waiting to happen, I should note.
• And a quick side note: after hearing about the meeting, retired U.S. Army Commanding General Ben Hodges made a social post referencing a meeting Hitler convened in which German generals were required to take an oath of allegiance to him.
• To which Hegesth sarcastically replied, “cool story, general.” Fucking prick.
• Some unnamed military officials expressed concerns about having so many high-ranking commanders in one location, while another said it could make overseas commands “diminished if something pops up.”
• Well yeah. This whole thing fucking reeks of both villainy and ineptitude.
• Let’s move on.
• As I mentioned above, so many things going on in Dumpyworld right now seem to all be distractions from the inevitable release of the Epstein files.
• In addition to weird announcements teasing news on Amelia Earhart’s mystery (what the fuck?), yesterday Dumpy found a new point of blame for the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
• Dumpy says it was the FBI’s fault. I’m serious.
• He said that the FBI had “secretly placed” 274 agents to agitate the crowd of rioters who stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
• In reality, the inspector general of the Justice Department revealed 10 months ago that “hundreds” of FBI agents went to the Capitol to assist at the request of the beleaguered Capitol Police.
• As they should have, obviously. We needed all the help we could get against those insurrectionist assholes.
• The IG report also found no evidence that the agency had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6. None. Zero.
• Reminder: Dump was president on January 6, 2021. The FBI was serving under Dump at that time.
• Even his current FBI director, the weirdo Kash Patel, walked back these false claims by Dump. Patel corrected Dump and confirmed that agents were there on a crowd-control mission.
• But either way, you can see that what they’re attempting is a rewrite of history in regard to January 6, one of the darkest days in U.S. history thus far.
• With more dark days to come, of course. Don’t kid yourself otherwise.
• And now, The Weather: “California” by Jouska
• I mentioned having had a late (for me) night last night. Kat and I went up to the Greek Theater in the Griffith Park area of Los Angeles to see a live music show.
• Being into the indie music, we’re longtime fans of the singer-songwriter Alex G. Kat had grabbed us some tickets months ago, when Alex added a second sold-out night at the Greek.
• She’d never been to the Greek before, and it had been a good while for me as well. It’s such a great open-air (but still intimate, somehow) venue in a natural amphitheater.
• The show was fucking phenomenal. He and his band are incredibly talented, his songs are uniquely superb, the live sound was spectacular, and the performance was super tight. Is Alex pretty big right now in the indie world? He was the musical guest on the second night of the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this week.
• From the Sports Desk… it’s the fourth Sunday of the NFL season.
• The most lopsided game of the day — and possibly the season — is New Orleans at Buffalo. The Bills are a crazy -16.5 favorite. Yikes.
• Checking in on the WNBA semifinals, the 4-seed underdog Phoenix Mercury have the 1-seed Minnesota Lynx on the brink of elimination, leading 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is today.
• Similarly but opposite, the 2-seed Las Vegas Aces have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Indiana Fever. Their game 4 is also today.
• Today in history… Pompey arrives in Egypt and is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy XIII (48 BC). King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors (1238). Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California, becoming the first European in California (1542). The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval (1787). The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted, and will be made public on 13 October (1821). The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves (1871). Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska (1919). Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin (1928). Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better (1941). CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later (1951). Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit (2008). Protests begin in Hong Kong in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing (2014).
• September 28 is the birthday of philosopher Confucius (551 BC), plumber/inventor Thomas Crapper (1836), broadcaster/CBS founder William S. Paley (1901), TV host Ed Sullivan (1901), singer/refugee Maria Franziska von Trapp (1914), spy Ethel Rosenberg (1915), poet/singer Tuli Kupferberg (1923), actor/singer Marcello Mastroianni (1924), singer Koko Taylor (1928), actress Brigitte Bardot (1934), guitarist/inventor Emmett Chapman (1936), singer-songwriter Ben E. King (1938), NFL player/politician Steve Largent (1954), guitarist/songwriter George Lynch (1954), pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), NHL player Grant Fuhr (1962), comedian Janeane Garofalo (1964), actress Mira Sorvino (1967), model Dita Von Teese (1972), NBA player Bonzi Wells (1976), rapper Young Jeezy (1977), singer-songwriter/guitarist St. Vincent (1982), and singer-songwriter Hilary Duff (1987).

Alrighty. I’m still kinda groggy from last night, but getting better as the coffee does its job. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 27, 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 September 27, 2025, and it’s a Saturday. I don't have much time to put together this news report today; I’m soon going to go directly participate in some newsworthy action in a little while.

• As I mentioned yesterday, I’m getting out the door somewhat early on this overcast Saturday morning. Kat and I are participating in an action event… “California Strong: Hold the Line.”
• Today from 10am-noon, pro-democracy groups across California are coming together to organize a human chain along the entire coast to protest Dump’s increasingly aggressive attacks on our democracy. 
• Our local part of this protest, in LA’s South Bay area, is massive. For those who know this part of SoCal, the human chain starts in the San Pedro area on Western Avenue, heads all the way to Pacific Coast Highway, and continues northwest through Lomita, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and El Segundo, ending at PCH and Imperial at LAX.
• That’s 15.5 miles of “Fuck This Shit.” I’m making my sign tonight, supporting the “YES ON PROP 50” cause on one side, and condemning Dump’s attacks on immigrants and our democracy itself on the other.
• And the spot I signed up for is straight down the street from my home, which is nice. I’m an activist, but I’m also a slacker who enjoys his weekends.
• Let’s do the news.
• Yesterday, Dump asked the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, pushing the issue back before the justices for the second time this year.
• Despite more than a century of understanding that the 14th Amendment confers citizenship on people born in the United States, the Dump administration told the Supreme Court that notion was “mistaken” and that the view became “pervasive, with destructive consequences.”
• While the Supreme Court handed down an important decision in June that dealt with birthright citizenship, that case was technically focused on a more procedural question of how much power lower courts had to stop a policy implemented by a president.
• That case was decoded by the usual suspects in a 6-3 majority. The court essentially limited – but did not completely rule out – the power of courts to block those policies.
• Due to that decision, states and individuals who were challenging Trump’s birthright order scrambled to file new cases to shut down Dump’s disgusting and unAmerican birthright policy through other means, including class-action lawsuits. The Supreme Court implicitly allowed those other types of nationwide blocks to continue.
• A series of new rulings have continued to keep Trump’s policy on hold, and the administration is now asking the justices to take up those cases to settle the issue once and for all.
• So this is it. It’s the moment when we all find out collectively if the SCOTUS is going to allow for an open dictatorship, and the abandonment of our Constitution and its Amendments.
• In related news…
• Based on another Supreme Court ruling that came down yesterday, I’d say that the Constitution is pretty much doomed, which means America is also soon doomed.
• Yesterday, the far-right SCOTUS allowed Dump to freeze $4 billion in foreign aid payments, handing the White House a significant victory in its monthslong quest to claw back spending that was approved by Congress last year.
• Yes, you read it right. Dump is taking back money that was approved by our Congressional reps.
• At issue is $4 billion in foreign aid, including for global health and HIV programs, that was allocated by Congress but that Dump deemed wasteful.
• And now this court decision gives Dump even more power to cancel more congressionally approved money in the future. And it comes as Congress is barreling toward a deadline Tuesday night to fund the government or risk shuttering federal agencies.
• I probably don’t have to tell you that the court’s three liberal and only sane justices — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented from the decision.
• Kagan wrote that “is just the price of living under a Constitution that gives Congress the power to make spending decisions through the enactment of appropriations laws. If those laws require obligation of the money, and if Congress has not by rescission or other action relieved the executive of that duty, then the execu­tive must comply.”
• But no. The executive branch has now taken that power away from Congress, as long as we have a Congress that’s too wimpy — or too beholden — to stand up to Dump.
• Can you see why I’m spending my Saturday morning standing on a busy fucking highway with a sign in my fucking hand? It’s imperative that we flip both the House and Senate in 2026 and end this madness.
• And keep in mind: these SCOTUS rulings are going to set precedent for the next Democratic president we elect, and every one of these decisions will apply in the other direction.
• I relish the days to come when President Newsom (or President Harris or President Pritzker or President Ocasio-Cortez or President Buttigieg or President Whitmer) will make use of these same rulings in ways that — frankly — MAGA folks aren’t capable of understanding yet.
• Moving on with some better news.
• Yesterday, broadcast affiliate owner Sinclair said it is returning "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to its ABC stations, ending its preemption of the late-night show.
• A few hours later, affiliate owner Nexstar caved as well.
• And sure enough, the show was back on Sinclair- and Nexstar-owned ABC affiliates last night. Sinclair owns 38 ABC stations across the U.S.; Nexstar owns 30.
• Why did they cave so quickly? Because people raised fucking hell about it, and the idea of losing a ton of fucking money — with potential boycotts of their advertisers in the works — was worth more to them than standing on their high horses.
• Of note: despite being blocked on both Sinclair and Nexstar — representing about a quarter of the network's affiliates — Kimmel’s shows after his brief suspension have had the highest ratings of anything on late night, and have generated tens of millions of views on online platforms like YouTube.
• By the way, Nexstar is in the middle of a $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, a rival broadcaster. If allowed to go through, the deal would make Nexstar by far the largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S.
• That deal requires FCC approval. Hmm.
• It’s high time we strengthened and enforced our monopoly laws so just a handful (or less) of companies with their billionaire CEOs don’t end up controlling all of our media. The Nexstar/Tegna merger must be stopped.
• Moving on.
• Dumpy is out there just openly being a fascist now. As per above, he probably figures all he has to do is go to the Supreme Court with every case, and he’ll always win.
• Why bother even thinking about the Constitution anymore? Not that he ever did, or knows what it is.
• Yesterday, Dump admitted that he’s going after other political opponents via criminal prosecution after the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
• Dumpy slimed, “It’s not a list, but I think there will be others. These were corrupt, radical left Democrats. … No, there will be others. That’s my opinion. What they’ve done is terrible, I hope, frankly, there are others because you can’t let this happen to a country.”
• I did have to laugh when some stable genius MAGAs were celebrating the indictment of a liberal Democrat like Comey.
• Welp.
• Comey is a lifelong Republican. He was appointed the U.S. Attorney for SDNY by George W. Bush in 2002. And Comey helped get Dump elected in 2016.
• His comments in regard to an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails were a tipping point in that election.
• So if you think I give a single shit about James Comey, you’re dead wrong., But I do care about a fascist dictator asshole using our justice system to punish anyone he doesn’t like.
• Let’s move on.
• From the Immigration Desk…
• Yesterday, ICE arrested the superintendent of the Des Moines public school system — Iowa’s largest — saying he is in the country illegally from Guyana and has an outstanding immigration removal order.
• Ian Roberts, who has led the 31,000-student system since 2023, was detained after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached him in a vehicle.
• According to ICE, Roberts entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa. He attended Coppin State University in Baltimore and earned a master’s degree from St. John’s University in Queens.
• He also represented Guyana in the 800-meter track race at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• Back in 2014, it was noted that a troubled public high school had undergone significant changes under Roberts’s leadership. More students were getting accepted into college, attendance rates improved, and student discipline issues decreased.
• But Roberts is also not white, so it’s understandable why ICE went after him. Remember, the Supreme Court recently said it’s fine to hunt people down based on the color of their skin.
• We have another story from the Immigration Desk. This one is about a U.S. citizen.
• Rafie Ollah Shouhed is a 79-year-old owner of a Los Angeles-area car wash who is seeking $50 million in damages from the federal government after U.S. immigration authorities attacked him, causing severe bodily injury.
• After ICE beat him and slammed him to the ground, Shouhed suffered broken ribs and a traumatic brain injury.
• His lawyer stated, “These masked agents’ conduct was lawless, reckless and cruel. If this can happen in broad daylight to an American senior citizen who committed no crime, it can happen to anyone. This was not law enforcement, it was an assault on civil rights and our democracy cannot survive if federal agents operate above the law.”
• It was on September 9 that masked ICE goons entered Shouhed’s car wash in Van Nuys. Video captured one ICE gestapo member push the owner down as he entered the building. 
• And in fact, the only reason Shouhed went outside was to provide proof that his employees were authorized to work, but the agents swore at him, pushed him, and violently body-slammed him onto the pavement.
• And even afterward, instead of providing him with medical care, ICE detained the senior citizen — a fucking United States citizen, for God’s sake — for almost 12 hours.
• He’s not the only one suing. The mother of a 15-year-old U.S. citizen who federal agents detained at gunpoint is seeking $1 million in damages and is accusing the Trump administration of false imprisonment and unconstitutional racial profiling.
• Moving on.
• In news from the International Desk, despite being repeatedly condemned as a war criminal by other world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly's current meeting in New York, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his turn to speak on the world stage yesterday.
• Representatives from dozens of countries walked out as Netanyahu approached the podium, where he delivered a frankly disgusting address.
• In regard to Palestine, the country in which he is committing genocide, Bibi said, “We're not done yet. The final elements, the final remnants of Hamas, are holed up in Gaza city. They vow to repeat the atrocities of October 7 again and again and again, no matter how diminished their forces. That is why Israel must finish the job, that is why we want to do so as fast as possible.”
• “Finish the job.” Vile.
• Bibi’s actual audience wasn’t the gathering in that room. His address to the U.N. General Assembly was broadcast live on loudspeakers aimed at Gaza from the Israeli side of the border. Netanyahu also said his speech was being streamed live to the cellphones of Gazans.
• And now, The Weather: “Far and Wide” by Alex G
• Let’s do a chart. It’s late September 1967. I am still 21 months away from being born. Where am I?
• Gotta say, with few glaring exceptions, this is a smoking’ good chart. It’s amazing to think of all these albums being hits at the same time, and many of them remaining popular today, 58 years later.
• That’s far less likely with most of today’s hits. It’s not because “new music sucks!” but because the labels don’t cultivate big, longterm catalog artists anymore. The money for recorded music just isn’t there like it used to be. Just saying.
• Here’s was the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart at that time.
• 1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles). 2. The Doors (The Doors). 3. Headquarters (The Monkees). 4. Flowers (The Rolling Stones). 5. Surrealistic Pillow (Jefferson Airplane). 6. Groovin' (The Rascals). 7. Release Me (Engelbert Humperdinck). 8. With A Lot O' Soul (The Temptations). 9. Aretha Arrives (Aretha Franklin). 10. Insight Out (The Association). 11. Four Tops Reach Out (Four Tops). 12. I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Aretha Franklin). 13. Born Free (Andy Williams). 14. Sounds Like... (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass). 15. Revenge (Bill Cosby). 16. Doctor Zhivago (Soundtrack). 17. The Sound Of Music. (Soundtrack). 18. Super Hits (Various Artists). 19. More Of The Monkees (The Monkees). 20. A Man And A Woman (Soundtrack).
• From the Sports Desk… another glance at MLB standings with just a few games remaining in the regular season. Here are the current playoff seeds.
• American League: 1- Blue Jays (92-68). 2- Yankees (92-68). 3 - Mariners (90-70). 4 - Red Sox (88-72). 5 - Guardians (86-74). 6 - Tigers (86-74). Still hoping: Astros (85-75).
• National League: 1- Brewers (96-64). 2 - Phillies (95-65). 3 - Dodgers (91-69). 4 - Cubs (90-70). 5 - Padres (88-72). 6 - Reds - (82-78). Right on the verge: Mets (82-78).
• Today in history… William the Conqueror begins the Norman conquest of England (1066). The death of Pope Urban VII, 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, ends the shortest papal reign in history (1590). Lancaster, PA becomes the capital of the United States for one day after Congress evacuates Philadelphia (1777). The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is ceremonially opened (1825). Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit (1908). The Republic of China is recognized by the United States (1928). USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3 but dies in the attempt shortly after (1956). Rachel Carson's book ‘Silent Spring’ is published, inspiring an environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1962). Over two million people participated in worldwide strikes to protest climate change across 2,400 locations worldwide (2019).
• September 27 is the birthday of Florence ruler Cosimo de' Medici (1389), king Louis XIII of France (1601), philosopher/politician Samuel Adams (1722), chemist Hermann Kolbe (1818), cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840), magician Harry Blackstone, Sr. (1885), pianist/composer Bud Powell (1924), actor Wilford Brimley (1934), sportscaster Dick Schaap (1934), TV host Don Cornelius (1936), singer-songwriter/guitarist Randy Bachman (1943), singer-songwriter/actor Meat Loaf (1947), MLB player Mike Schmidt (1949), musician/songwriter Greg Ham (1953), actor/singer Shaun Cassidy (1958), radio host Marc Maron (1963), NBA player/coach Steve Kerr (1965), politician Debbie Wasserman Schultz (1966), actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972), singer-songwriter/guitarist/actress Carrie Brownstein (1974), rapper Lil Wayne (1982), singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne (1984), and actress Jenna Ortega (2002).

Okay. I have to get ready and leave. I’m also going to a show tonight up at the Greek Theater. Hopefully everything works out as planned. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 26, 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 September 26, 2025, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Woke up after a night full of sleep but also full of bizarre and unsettling dreams. I feel like I need a nap, and it’s 7am. Despite that, I’m up and showered and dressed and drinking coffee, so we might as well see what’s happening in the world. 

• Starting with some happy news: yesterday, I received my sample ballot for Proposition 50 here in California.
• It’s not a very complication sample ballot. There’s one and only one measure on it.
• “Authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. Legislative constitutional amendment. Requires temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. Directs independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to resume enacting congressional district maps in 2031.”
• And our choices are “Yes” or “No.”
• The actual ballots go out in the first week of October. I will be voting YES and submitting it at my local ballot box ASAP.
• Moving on.
• I have a bit of a busy day planned for tomorrow.
• First, I’m hitting the street (literally) tomorrow morning for “California Strong: Hold the Line in South Bay LA.”
• Pro-Democracy groups across California are coming together to organize a human chain along the entire coast to protest Dump’s increasingly aggressive attacks on our democracy. 
• The South Bay LA route runs along 15.5 miles of Pacific Coast Highway, and our spot on the route is conveniently just a few blocks down the street from my home here in Redondo Beach.
• This will be a peaceful demonstration of California's strength and solidarity to fight back against the Dump regime's immoral actions against our communities and his election rigging redistricting power grab. It’s a moment to show the world that California will not back down.
• The main message here? Yes on Prop 50!
• So that’s in the morning. Tomorrow night, Kat and I have tickets to see an indie artist we both like a lot — Alex G — at the Greek Theater here in Los Angeles.
• As I said, busy day.
• Okay, let’s really do some news. There’s a lot of it.
• Last night, former FBI Director James Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in Dump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
• It’s frankly disgusting. Living on a country where a leader would invent crimes to prosecute people he doesn’t like? Might as well be in Stalin-era Soviet Russia.
• Comey is now the first senior government official to face federal charges in one of Dump’s largest grievances: the 2016 investigation into whether his first presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
• He’s been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
• Dump pressured AG Pam Bondi to drum up criminal charges against his enemies. But even an ass-licker like Bondi has concerns about the case.
• However, Dumpy may be the one paying a big price here.
• Comey posted a video, stating, "My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let's have a trial, and keep the faith.”
• Yes… let’s have a trial indeed. A trial where Comey can show the evidence leading to the accusation that Dump has been a puppet for Putin for the past decade.
• For now, let’s move on.
• Dumpy also tried to screw everyone else in the country yesterday, saying that he will put import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks starting on October 1.
• Dump provides no legal justification for the tariffs, but claimed that the huge new taxes on kitchen cabinets and sofas were needed “for National Security and other reasons.”
• What the actual fuck, you bloated orange sack of diarrhea?
• I’m much more concerned that your prescription drugs are about to double in price.
• In 2024, America imported nearly $233 billion in pharmaceutical and medicinal products. The prospect of prices doubling for many medicines could send shock waves to voters as health care expenses — as well as the costs of Medicare and Medicaid — will massively increase.
• Is that what you voted for, you dipshit MAGA shitheads? 
• Moving on.
• According to the FBI, the gunman who opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas hated the U.S. government and wanted to incite terror by killing federal agents.
• The gunman, who fatally shot himself, also left behind a note saying that he hoped the attack would “give ICE agents real terror,” said FBI director Kash Patel yesterday.
• The gunman had also allegedly downloaded a document titled “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management” containing a list of Homeland Security facilities, again per what Patel claims.
• Joshua Jahn, 29, was identified as the shooter by an anonymous law enforcement official. Frankly, Jahn sounds like he was kind of an idiot.
• Also: don’t shoot people.
• Let’s move on. 
• Following up on a story we mentioned yesterday is the highly unusual directive sent from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, ordering hundreds of the U.S. military’s generals and admirals to gather on short notice — and without a stated reason — at a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week.
• Jebediah Dickless Vance tried to downplay it.
• "It's not particularly unusual that generals who report to the secretary of war and into the President of the United States are coming to speak with the secretary of war. It's actually not unusual at all and I think it's odd that you guys have made it into such a big story."
• And then Dump immediately contradicted Vance, saying it was “A big story.”
• There is a ton of speculation as to the actual reason the USA’s top military leaders are being brought to one place at the same time, which — contrary to Vance’s reply — is 100% extraordinary, and not in a good way.
• I’m not a gossip column, so I’m not going to repeat what’s being said out there. But a lot of it is really… very… bad.
• For now, let’s keep moving on.
• A branch of the National Archives released a mostly unredacted version of Rep. Mikie Sherrill's (D-NJ) military records to Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally of Jack Ciattarelli, her GOP opponent in the New Jersey governor's race.
• The documents included Sherrill's Social Security number — which appears on almost every page — home addresses for her and her parents, life insurance information, Sherrill's performance evaluations, and the nondisclosure agreement between her and the U.S. government to safeguard classified information. 
• The disclosure violates the Privacy Act of 1974 and exemptions established under the Freedom of Information Act. 
• Fucking disgusting cheaters. I hope you good folks in New Jersey get your revenge by ensuring that Sherrill is the next governor of your fine state.
• Moving on.
• Microsoft has terminated a set of services for the Israeli military after an investigation suggested Israel was using the company’s cloud computing technology for mass surveillance of Palestinians.
• Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company had “ceased and disabled a set of services to a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense.” The move comes after an investigation reported that Israel’s military intelligence unit relied on Microsoft Azure to store millions of phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
• Smith said that Microsoft does not provide technology “to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians,” a principle it has applied “in every country around the world.”
• I can’t say I’m shocked. Israel has shown few ethical actions — or none at all — in its treatment of the people of Palestine.
• Let’s move on with a little good news.
• Republican Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s top public schools official and a complete Christofascist asshole, is resigning.
• Walters — a giant sycophant of Dumpy — recently pledged to put a Turning Point USA chapter in every high school to honor Charlie Kirk and end what he called “wokeness” in public schools.
• This giant asshole also tried to require social studies teachers to promote conspiracies about the 2020 election, track the immigration status of children in schools, and require applicants for teacher jobs coming from California and New York to pass an exam designed to safeguard what he described as “radical leftist ideology.”
• As if all that wasn’t bad enough, he also issued a mandate that public schoolteachers incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in grades 5 though 12.
• This is America, you fucking piece of shit. We have no official religion and and our Constitution expressly forbids the state to force religious teachings in public schools.
• I’m very glad he’s gone.
• Moving on.
• Were you one of the people fooled into thinking you were getting great deals by signing up for Amazon Prime? You might be getting some cash back.
• Yesterday, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a Federal Trade Commission case over whether it duped customers into signing up for Prime and made it difficult for customers to cancel their membership. 
• As part of the settlement, Amazon will provide $1.5 billion in refunds to customers that were harmed by what FTC referred to as "deceptive Prime enrollment practices." About 35 million Prime customers who were impacted by the practices could qualify for $51 each as part of the settlement.
• Oooh, fifty-one bucks!
• Amazon is also required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty, the largest in any FTC rule violation case to date. The FTC said the $1.5 billion payout to customers is the second highest restitution award in the agency's history. 
• Prime customers who are eligible for the payout include those who may have signed up for a membership via the company's "Single Page Checkout" between June 23, 2019 to June 23, 2025.
• And now, The Weather: “Departure (feat. Rozi Plain)” by Robin Kester
• Let’s do a chart. It’s late September 1983, and I am a sophomore in high school. 10th grade. Not much to report on this period of my life.
• I actually have a diary entry from that very day 42 years ago, but it’s so hideously immature I’m not going to reprint it in full. I will mention that I wasn’t happy about having first period geometry. I did usually have a girlfriend at various points around that time.
• I also had a band that, in retrospect, was really cool. We weren’t good enough to adequately play covers, so instead we did this weird blend of all-original punk and prog rock.
• Meanwhile, some of the pop music was good — MTV was huge — and a lot of it was shit. Here was the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time…
• 1. Tell Her About It (Billy Joel). 2. Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Bonnie Tyler). 3. The Safety Dance (Men Without Hats). 4. Maniac (Michael Sembello). 5. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All (Air Supply). 6. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (Eurythmics). 7. Human Nature (Michael Jackson). 8. Puttin' On The Ritz (Taco). 9. (she's) Sexy + 17 (Stray Cats). 10. Don't Cry (Asia). 11. King Of Pain (The Police). 12. Far From Over (Frank Stallone). 13. True (Spandau Ballet). 14. Promises, Promises (Naked Eyes). 15. Every Breath You Take (The Police). 16. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You (Laura Branigan). 17. Islands In The Stream (Kenny Rogers Duet With Dolly Parton). 18. She Works Hard For The Money (Donna Summer). 19. Lawyers In Love (Jackson Browne). 20. I'll Tumble 4 Ya (Culture Club).
• From the Sports Desk… the Seahawks were handily beating the Cardinals last night until the fourth quarter, when Arizona scored two quick TDs and suddenly the game was tied with second remaining.
• Seattle made an outstanding drive and, with no time remaining, kicked a field goal to win 23-20. Still, it got pretty exciting at the end there.
• Today in history… William II is crowned King of England (1087). Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England (1580). The Parthenon in Athens, used as a gunpowder depot by the Ottoman garrison, is partially destroyed (1687). George Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson the first United States Secretary of State (1789). Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity (1905). The United States Federal Trade Commission is established (1914). The ocean liner RMS Queen Mary is launched (1934). United Nations troops recapture Seoul from North Korean forces (1950). Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall (1959). In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy (1960). Abbey Road, the last recorded album by the Beatles, is released (1969). Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter (1981). The PBS Kids Channel is shut down and replaced by a joint network with Comcast called Sprout (2005). Hurricane Helene makes landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, killing over 250 people and causing US$78.7 billion in damage (2024).
• September 26 is the birthday of gardener/environmentalist Johnny Appleseed (1774), physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849), photographer/activist Lewis Hine (1874), poet T. S. Eliot (1888), philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889), composer George Gershwin (1898), actor George Raft (1901), fitness expert Jack LaLanne (1914), singer-songwriter/guitarist Marty Robbins (1925), singer-songwriter Brian Ferry (1945), singer Gal Costa (1945), activist Andrea Dworkin (1946), singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John (1948), musician Cesar Rosas (1954), actress Linda Hamilton (1956), singer-songwriter Darby Crash (1958), sports executive Jeanie Buss (1961), drummer John Tempesta (1964), politician Beto O’Rourke (1972), NHL players Daniel and Henrik Sedin (1980), and tennis player Serena Williams (1981).

Well, I’m not out of news, but I am out of time. Please keep your head up and be aware of the shot going on around you. We’re at a point in history where getting caught by surprise could be lethal to yourself and the ones you love. Be prepared, make plans, and be ready for whatever comes next. I know you can do this. Enjoy your day.