tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70758696438167884562024-03-19T01:47:21.226-07:00Zak ClaxtonMusician Zak Claxton fills you in on his live performances on the Internet, on the creation of his original music and with his indie rock band They Stole My Crayon, and occasional progressive politics, and more.Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.comBlogger1685125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-43276644185680309502024-03-17T11:00:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:44:46.256-07:00Random News: March 17, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALzbzeamChzflBVheCw1aMmJer7E3RfU0DnlOXTElj_aRmriOM77ilAwmRYhnkcRNRqmH05JgCMzFlh1SObyuh9VrhwoTZfwZg1-5nhgLNLNTfpauEtR30AscD7GYs3tGZN-s3lN-DLUM04IJoHJgjA4hKXtTcaxEzqiuuzExQacUYuJ-m3G0UvJKwtY/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALzbzeamChzflBVheCw1aMmJer7E3RfU0DnlOXTElj_aRmriOM77ilAwmRYhnkcRNRqmH05JgCMzFlh1SObyuh9VrhwoTZfwZg1-5nhgLNLNTfpauEtR30AscD7GYs3tGZN-s3lN-DLUM04IJoHJgjA4hKXtTcaxEzqiuuzExQacUYuJ-m3G0UvJKwtY/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 17, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate. While I’m relaxing here in my bathrobe with my cup of Peet’s Major Dickason’s Blend, let’s find out what the Irish-inspired holiday is all about.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Remember when you were a kid and were told that St. Patrick’s Day was to celebrate when some guy “drove the snakes out of Ireland?”</li><li>If you were at all like me as a child, you probably thought that Ireland didn’t seem like a place that would have been overrun with venomous reptiles.</li><li>And you’d have been right. Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary, and the “snakes” were an allegory for pagans and their practices. There were no actual fucking snakes. Just people who didn’t want to be Christians and got driven from their homes as a result.</li><li>Sounds about right. Anyway, he was an evangelist, and converted the pagan Irish to Christianity. He died on March 17, 461.</li><li>Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church.</li><li>Why do people drink on this somber and religious holiday? Historically, the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, and let’s face it, a lot of people will use any excuse to get drunk.</li><li>Fun Fact: Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival. I get that. It’s fun. I like fun.</li><li>Since I enjoy bringing up the unjust and controversial aspects of, well everything, note that LGBT groups in the US were long banned from marching in Saint Patrick's Day parades in New York City and Boston, resulting in the landmark Supreme Court decision of Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston.</li><li>Anyway, my only real childhood connection to the day was remembering to wear green when you went to school, or you’d get pinched.</li><li>Enough on that. Got some important shit to cover.</li><li>The racist piece of shit who once called himself President of the United States did a rally yesterday in Dayton, OH, where his crowd cheered when he said that immigrants are “not people.”</li><li>“I don’t know if you call them people. In some cases they’re not people, in my opinion. But I’m not allowed to say that because the radical left says that’s a terrible thing to say.”</li><li>Immigrants are people. This same dehumanizing language has been used many times throughout history.</li><li>Black people who were brought to the the USA by force and were required to be slaves were considered equal to three-fifths of a free individual. That’s in article one, section two of the Constitution of the United States.</li><li>Irish and Italian immigrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries were not considered as people in the same way that white Anglo-Saxon citizens were. Jews and gays were not people according to the Nazi regime of Germany in the 1930s.</li><li>So Donnie Dump isn’t making up anything new. It’s a page from a playbook that’s been around for literally thousands of years, where any person who didn’t look like, speak like, dress like, or act like the predominant population of an area was considered less than human.</li><li>Dumpy wasn’t done being a piece of shit. He made a very Trumpian threat after that statement.</li><li>“Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”</li><li>I shouldn’t have to tell you that this kind of rhetoric is exactly what inspired January 6, and it will indeed lead to needless suffering and death…. especially for the MAGA folks who try and enact Dump’s apocalyptic vision of violence.</li><li>I will say, though, it does inspire the rest of us to be fully ready for when a small minority takes it upon themselves to negate free and fair elections.</li><li>We’ll be ready, and thanks to lessons learned on January 6, 2021, so will our law enforcement and national defense forces. If MAGA wants to take on the USA after Dump loses in November, I say to bring it the fuck on.</li><li>The Biden administration was quick to respond.</li><li>“This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence. He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”</li><li>Agreed.</li><li>Moving on to Sunday Gunday, where we take a quick scroll through the incidents of gun violence in the USA over the past two days.</li><li>Three dead including a 13-year-old girl in a shooting in Falls Township, PA. Three dead in a murder-suicide at an apartment in SW Miami-Dade, FL. Two dead, five wounded in a shooting in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. Two dead in a shooting in Vidalia, GA. One dead, five wounded in a shooting in a bar in Indianapolis, IN. One dead, two injured in a shooting at a bar and grill in Romulus, MI. One dead, two injured in a shooting at a live music venue in east El Paso, TX. One dead, one injured in a shooting in the Grand Crossing neighborhood of Chicago, IL. One dead, one wounded in a shooting in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA. One shot dead on Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, TN. One shot dead in Fishers, IN. One shot dead near a shopping center and apartment complex in northwest Charlotte, NC. One shot dead inside a car in East Liberty, PA. A woman shot dead in Ballwin, MO. A woman shot dead in Orlando, FL. Three juveniles shot at Newport on the Levee mall in Newport, KY. Two people shot in the East Village of New York City, NY. One shot and in critical condition in Bunnell, FL. A juvenile shot inside a home in Toledo, OH. A man shot on a hiking trail in San Marcos, CA. </li><li>That’s not even close to all of them. I just can’t do this all day.</li><li>Not-Fun Fact: your kids are statistically more likely to be killed via gun violence than any other cause of death.</li><li>Please vote for candidates who support common sense firearm regulation. Thank you.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Underdressed at the Symphony” by Faye Webster</li><li>From the Sports Desk… my mind is still boggled at the amount of movement in the NFL free agency season this past week. I mean, look at the quarterbacks alone.</li><li>Raiders’ Jimmy Garoppolo to the Rams. Vikings’ Kirk Cousins to the Falcons. Patriots’ Mac Jones to Jaguars. Steelers’ Kenny Pickett to the Eagles. 49ers’ Sam Darnold to the Vikings. Colts’ Gardner Minshew to the Raiders. Browns' Joe Flacco to the Colts. Giants’ Tyrod Taylor to the Jets. Commanders’ Sam Howell to the Seahawks. Saints’ Jameis Winston to the Browns. Seahawks’ Drew Lock to the Giants.</li><li>It’s gonna be fun seeing new jerseys on these dudes in (checks calendar) five more fucking months before the NFL season gets rolling.</li><li>Today in history… Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius (180). The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city (1776). The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed (1861). Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO (1948). The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite, which is also the first satellite to achieve a long-term orbit (1958). Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel (1969). A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2% (1992). </li><li>March 16 is the birthday of Scotland king James IV (1473), SCOTUS chief justice Roger B. Taney (1777), engineer/businessman Gottlieb Daimler (1834), social reformer Martha P. Falconer (1862), composer Alfred Newman (1900), NFL player Sammy Baugh (1914), singer Nat King Cole (1919), singer-songwriter/guitarist Paul Kantner (1941), serial killer John Wayne Gacy (1942), singer-songwriter John Sebastian (1944), author William Gibson (1948), actor Kurt Russell (1951), actor Gary Sinise (1955), NBA/MLB player Danny Ainge (1959), actor Rob Lowe (1964), singer-songwriter Billy Corgan (1967), fashion designer Alexander McQueen (1969), bass player Melissa Auf der Maur (1972), soccer player Mia Hamm (1972), singer-songwriter Justin Hawkins (1975), porn actress Stormy Daniels (1979), singer-songwriter Grimes (1988), singer-songwriter Hozier (1990), and actor John Boyega (1992).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Time to do various things that aren’t this. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-36140984833222384642024-03-16T12:30:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:42:19.085-07:00Random News: March 16, 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qp7ikCQqoycnrnLb8p6xg8qSoW2ycJIExtI05hyphenhyphenhihAOtCcIKiY_lyPlwU4esb_RI-1wQy-5A34lIkcoKbpRA4-1Loy0jbeg8CAFXXpIK9_zvxSAxh-QvhpG8dnCn2ZwJNoE2WJBOwuze9oEFGBDetxCrv2J0zT6hauiMGMrK_ykBDr_ZrhDDkHDxhY/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qp7ikCQqoycnrnLb8p6xg8qSoW2ycJIExtI05hyphenhyphenhihAOtCcIKiY_lyPlwU4esb_RI-1wQy-5A34lIkcoKbpRA4-1Loy0jbeg8CAFXXpIK9_zvxSAxh-QvhpG8dnCn2ZwJNoE2WJBOwuze9oEFGBDetxCrv2J0zT6hauiMGMrK_ykBDr_ZrhDDkHDxhY/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><br /></i><p></p><p><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;">everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning, or afternoon if I’m being truthful. It’s March 16, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. Kinda feeling more normal about Daylight Saving Time after a week of being annoyed by it, so I’m here in my blue bathrobe with a big cup of coffee and ready to explore the happenings of this wacky world with you. Let’s see what’s up.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Yesterday, former vice president Mike Pence said that he will not endorse Donnie Dump, the president with whom he served.</li><li>There is no historical precedent for a former vice president of the USA to withhold endorsement of the former president for subsequent political endeavors. Withholding his endorsement in this remarkable break with tradition, Pence rebuked his former boss in strong terms yesterday, saying Dump’s agenda doesn’t align with his view of conservatism.</li><li>On Fox News, Pence said, “Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years, and that is why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.”</li><li>A lot of folks can’t remember what the Republican party used to be. Granted, I wasn’t a fan of them then, either.</li><li>Think of it like a well-intentioned Facebook group, maybe one set up to get volunteers to keep a local park clean. The group does well and many people join and participate in its goal.</li><li>And then one day, some guy comes into the group and says, “Yeah, it’s great we can keep the park clean, but you know who’s doing most of the littering? The black kids.”</li><li>And while there are some mild protests and arguments, he doesn’t get banned right away because the group admins don’t want to create controversy. A couple of like-minded racists want to hear him out and agree with him. And the group’s founders are kind of scared of them.</li><li>The next thing you know, the entire group has a singular focus of racism, no one is cleaning up the park, and while the group still has the same name, it’s completely been stolen from them, and all the people who started it have been driven out.</li><li>That’s the Republican Party in 2024.</li><li>I know some people don’t want to abandon the Republican Party. It’s what they always supported before, and perhaps their parents supported it, or most of the people in the area where they live support it.</li><li>But to be clear, the party they’re involved now in is NOT THE SAME PARTY as it was just 20 or so years ago. It has the same name, but that’s about it.</li><li>It got invaded by outsiders and all of its missions of conservatism were pushed aside.</li><li>I’ll quote Mike Pence again on this topic…</li><li>“Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party we’ve long known will cease to exist. And the fate of American freedom would be in doubt.”</li><li>Another former VP and staunch conservative, Dick Cheney said in a video, “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters.”</li><li>If you don’t believe Pence and Cheney, believe the new MAGA Party itself. Lara Trump, the co-chair of the RNC, said last week, “Anyone who is not on board with seeing Donald Trump as the forty-seventh president and America-loving patriots all the way down the ticket being supported by the RNC is welcome to leave because we are not playing games.”</li><li>So, if you’re a traditional conservative or even a neocon who wants small government, family values, and other aspects of America that you thought were the right direction under leaders like Ronald Reagan, you are being told you are no longer welcome in the GOP.</li><li>You’ve been asked to leave. Why are you still trying to be pals with these disgusting MAGA people who do not want you there and have clearly told you as such?</li><li>Anyway, Pence is out. Let’s move on.</li><li>Yesterday, President Joe Biden expressed support for Senate Leader Chuck Schumer after he gave a speech castigating Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for Israel to hold elections and replace Bibi.</li><li>Joe said, “I think he expressed a serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans.”</li><li>Schumer, notably, is the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US government, perhaps giving him more leeway to be openly critical of Netanyahu’s actions. He’s been a long-time strong supporter of Israel, but said the Israeli leader was allowing "his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.”</li><li>Fair point, sir.</li><li>More than 30,000 Palestinians — the majority of them children and women — have now been killed in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas terrorist group attack on Israel on October 7.</li><li>But the actual number of Palestinian dead is likely to be far higher, as the count does not include those who have not reached hospitals, among them thousands of people still lost under the rubble of buildings hit by Israeli air strikes.</li><li>The conflict will continue to impact the elections in the USA, but I believe there will be some resolution on it well in advance of the general election in November.</li><li>What won’t get resolved before then? The battle to maintain women’s reproductive rights, along with those for contraceptive access, in vitro fertilization, and LGTBQ+ freedoms.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in a 9-0 unanimous decision that public officials may block people on social media in certain circumstances. I told you about these cases when they were brought to the court last year.</li><li>While it might surprise you, I agree with them. Written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court set a clearer standard for when public officials are state actors online and when they can have more control over their social media presence.</li><li>The cases involved local public officials in Michigan and California (city managers, school board members) who used their personal Facebook page for things like family news and vacation pics, but also would post things like press releases.</li><li>They started getting attacked on their personal pages, and removed the posts and banned the repeat offenders. </li><li>In her opinion, Barrett wrote that “if (defendant) Freed acted in his private capacity when he blocked (plaintiff) Lindke and deleted his comments, he did not violate Lindke’s First Amendment rights – instead, he exercised his own.”</li><li>Fair enough. Note that most public officials do have some means of actual official contact, including via social media. Going after them on the page where they show you pics of their kids’ sports teams and what they had for lunch is pretty trashy, if you ask me.</li><li>In another tidbit from the Supreme Court, Peter Navarro is still trying to wriggle out of his jail sentence. He’s supposed to report to prison in Miami to start serving his sentence by Tuesday March 19.</li><li>Yesterday, Navarro asked the Supreme Court to let him stay out while he appeals his conviction for refusing to testify before Congress about his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.</li><li>He was already shot down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week. It will be interesting to see how the Supremes vote. If they keep him out of jail, we’re in for real problems regarding the accountability of all the criminals who tried to illegally overturn the 2020 election.</li><li>Including Dumpy. Stay tuned on this. Moving on.</li><li>In 2019, the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award was established to recognize "an extraordinary woman who has exercised a positive and notable influence on society and served as an exemplary role model in both principles and practice." Past recipients have included Queen Elizabeth II and Barbra Streisand.</li><li>But next month, the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation will present it to four men and Martha Stewart. Among the winners are two convicted felons, the founder of right-wing Fox News, and Elon Musk.</li><li>RBG’s family is blasting the foundation's selection of this year's recipients, saying the decision is an affront to the memory of the late justice and her values.</li><li>”This year, the Opperman Foundation has strayed far from the original mission of the award and from what Justice Ginsburg stood for," said Jane Ginsburg.</li><li>Everything turns to shit at some point. Again, this is what happens when bad actors take over a formerly noble organization, per our unintentional theme of the day.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Seeds of Evil” by youbet</li><li>Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, but since it’s on a Sunday this year, it’s a solid bet that a lot of Americans are drinking green beer today.</li><li>Fun Fact: Cook County, IL (which includes Chicago) is the nation's county with the largest Irish-American population. It comes in at 418,997. Now you know why they dye that river bright green every year.</li><li>I’m not gonna preach about what you do on informal holidays like St. Paddy’s or Cinco de Mayo, where most of you appropriate other people’s cultures and eat and drink until you have no cognitive ability or reasoning skills and then assault a waiter, drive into an embankment, and get arrested or, ya now, whatever else you had in mind to do for fun today.</li><li>As I always say, enjoy your day.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… LA Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald announced his retirement yesterday after 10 dominant seasons.</li><li>He was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time first-team All-Pro, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, and the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Donald holds the Rams' franchise record for career sacks.</li><li>Honestly, I think NFL players who leave the game before their bodies are forever damaged are the smart ones.</li><li>Today in history… Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them in English, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.” (1621). The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point (1802). Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, MA (1926). Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in at least 4,000 deaths (1945). Launch of Gemini 8 with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott performing the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit (1966). Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States (1988). Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery (1995). The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93%, an even greater crash than Black Monday (2020).</li><li>March 16 is the birthday of astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750), US president James Madison (1751), physicist Georg Ohm (1789), comedian Henny Youngman (1906), mass murderer Josef Mengele (1911), US first lady Pat Nixon (1912), politician Charles Goodell (1926), actor Jerry Lewis (1926), opera singer Christa Ludwig (1928), film director Bernardo Bertolucci (1941), TV host Chuck Woolery (1941), singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker (1942), actor Erik Estrada (1949), singer-songwriter Ray Benson (1951), singer-songwriter/guitarist Nancy Wilson (1954), NFL player Ozzie Newsome (1956), rapper Flavor Flav (1959), singer-songwriter Patty Griffin (1964), NBA player Blake Griffin (1989), musician Wolfgang Van Halen (1991), NBA player Joel Embiid (1994), and MLB player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1999).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, time to do stuff and things, whatever they may be. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-40038546557861102672024-03-15T08:30:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:40:09.913-07:00Random News: March 15, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF9JcNgwb-uqGeqAYSx8n5sU6rkX8lSMXEUcw_zCcsbZKTyEQYyswr4l3p0jhEpLzx0Ca9VyyIkSQQQvuaVVtgt3NXR28o6rhbwptjSnUb1fH3zC2_-deCv1NmTPSsruwQGP0qn51vtem0Yju4zOR_Eo98aff0HWUofqzlzRHI4ul-8649Br1T3loBWg/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF9JcNgwb-uqGeqAYSx8n5sU6rkX8lSMXEUcw_zCcsbZKTyEQYyswr4l3p0jhEpLzx0Ca9VyyIkSQQQvuaVVtgt3NXR28o6rhbwptjSnUb1fH3zC2_-deCv1NmTPSsruwQGP0qn51vtem0Yju4zOR_Eo98aff0HWUofqzlzRHI4ul-8649Br1T3loBWg/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 15, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I am even more glad than usual to have made it back to Friday. Feels like I will really appreciate a weekend once it arrives. Let’s do some news.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Starting with a breaking story that makes me happy.</li><li>The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donnie Dump and his gang ruled this morning that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis can continue with the prosecution but only if Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor she appointed and had a romantic relationship with, exits the case.</li><li>Bye Nathan!</li><li>Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that the defendants failed to meet their burden in proving that Willis’s relationship with Wade was enough of a conflict of interest to merit her removal from the case.</li><li>To be clear, he also found an “appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team” and said either Willis and her office must fully leave the case or Wade must withdraw for the case to proceed.</li><li>Again, bye Nathan! Best of luck in your future endeavors. And now that case can get back on track where it belongs, focused on Dump’s criminal racketeering schemes.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, vice president Kamala Harris toured a Planned Parenthood site in Minnesota along with its chief medical officer.</li><li>So what?</li><li>Well, it was the first time in history that a US vice president or president has ever visited a facility that provides women’s reproductive care, including abortions.</li><li>The first woman elected vice president, Harris has made stops in key swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona in recent months as she tries to rally voters on the abortion issue.</li><li>Harris spoke to staff at the Planned Parenthood on Thursday about how abortion restrictions in other states have affected their work in Minnesota.</li><li>The Republican attack on women goes beyond abortion rights, and their next targets involve birth control… and despite what you may have heard, they’re still going after IVF in a big way.</li><li>In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos created and stored for in vitro fertilization treatments are “unborn children” — and that those who destroy them could be held liable under a wrongful death law — ardent abortion opponents at the Heritage Foundation and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, among other groups, have sought to push lawmakers and state legislatures toward regulating IVF treatments in the United States.</li><li>You may consider those groups to be right-wing fringe weirdos, but guess what?</li><li>They are tremendously influential to the Republican lawmakers whom they bankroll. Their endgame is simple: make the regulatory environment so burdensome that IVF clinics are forced to close.</li><li>They will not stop until they control every aspect of women’s choices in sexuality and reproduction. Do not allow these old men to dictate what you do in life!</li><li>Let’s move on, or rather back to another Don the Con criminal case.</li><li>Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected a bid by crime boss El Dumpo, who’d begged her to throw out his classified documents criminal case, and she appeared skeptical during hours of arguments of a separate effort to scuttle the prosecution ahead of trial.</li><li>She issued a two-page order saying that a dismissal of charges was not merited. The case, as you likely know, involves boxes and boxes of records, some highly classified, that Dump took to his Mar-a-Lago estate when he stole them from the White House.</li><li>Cannon, whom Dumpy himself appointed, said that a dismissal of the indictment would be “difficult to see” and that it would be “quite an extraordinary” step to strike down an Espionage Act statute that underpins the bulk of the felony counts against Trump.</li><li>So that is very, very good news.</li><li>If you can believe it, one of Dump’s asshole lawyers said these words in court: “He had the authority to do whatever he thought was appropriate with his records.”</li><li>Actually, the law says the exact opposite. Presidents are allowed to remain their purely personal notes under the 1978 statute known as the Presidential Records Act.</li><li>But the documents Dump stole were clearly presidential, not personal, and included top-secret information and documents related to nuclear programs and the military capabilities of the U.S. and foreign countries.</li><li>He’s not going to weasel out of this.</li><li>In other Dump news in a yet another criminal matter…</li><li>Yesterday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a judge that his office is willing to delay the upcoming trial of former President Donald Trump by a month.</li><li>Yes, that sucks. Dump’s hush money trial was set to begin just 10 days from now.</li><li>But why? Well, this is actually good. </li><li>31,000 pages of additional records relating to Dump’s crimes were just turned over by the U.S. Attorney Office, and there are still more to come.</li><li>So Dump's lawyers asked for a 90 day delay as a result, or a dismissal of the case. It’s the kind of thing that if not handled carefully could be the basis of a dismissal, and appeal, or an overturn of conviction.</li><li>So Bragg giving them an additional 30 days is long-term smart.</li><li>Dump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in this case, related to reimbursements to his former attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.</li><li>Speaking of adult-related topics… say goodbye to online porn, Texas.</li><li>Yesterday, the adult content platform Pornhub blocked access from Texas, citing a recent legislative enactment that came into force last fall. The legislation, which was contested by Pornhub on grounds of First Amendment violations, but an appeals court dismissed the argument.</li><li>Texas passed HB 1181 in 2023, which required porn site operators to authenticate the age of their users and mandated the display of health advisories regarding the impact of consuming adult content.</li><li>Pornhub put out a statement to its user that read, in part, “While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, providing identification every time you want to visit an adult platform is not an effective solution for protecting users online, and in fact, will put minors and your privacy at risk.”</li><li>I tend to agree.</li><li>Pornhub boasts a substantial global presence. IN the past three months alone, between December 2023 and February 2024, the platform garnered 6.7 billion visits, with 27.7 percent originating from within the United States.</li><li>And Texas has long been a large consumer of porn. Oh well, I’m sure no one will ever make a connection between the ID you now have to show with the viewing history of midget BDSM content you use to get off, right?</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Peter Navarro is going to jail. Ha ha.</li><li>Yesterday, a federal appeals court denied the ex-Dump adviser’s bid to avoid reporting to a federal prison next week to begin serving a four-month sentence for his contempt of Congress conviction.</li><li>The unanimous decision from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals means Navarro will have to report to a federal prison in Miami by March 19.</li><li>Wait, we have more piece-of-shit news.</li><li>Yesterday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was served a subpoena to sit for a deposition in a civil lawsuit that involves allegations he had sex with a 17-year old-girl.</li><li>Gaetz was issued the subpoena by attorneys representing the woman who is now in her 20s and was at the center of a years-long investigation by the Justice Department into allegations that the Florida congressman had sex with her when she was a minor.</li><li>There’s a name for someone who has sex with a child. That name is “rapist.”</li><li>In world news, Russians are heading to the polls for a presidential election that is already decided.</li><li>They will hand Vladimir Putin a fifth term in power. His “opponents” in the so-called election were carefully curated by the Kremlin, and pose no real threat to his dictatorship.</li><li>Putin’s actual opposition candidates are all either dead, jailed, exiled, or barred from running. His reelection would extend his rule until at least 2030. Putin will remain in power until his death, and he’ll likely surpass Joseph Stalin in his rule over the country.</li><li>It’s very important we look at Putin as an example of why we never want to allow a dictator to get into office in this USA.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “the REAL” by KÁRYYN</li><li>In some real weather news, at least two people have died in a possible tornado that hit an Ohio mobile home park, and significant injuries and flattened buildings were reported in an Indiana town as severe weather struck several states yesterday.</li><li>Severe weather events will continue around the world due to global climate change that is accelerated by mankind’s overuse of fossil fuels.</li><li>It will only get worse. We’re long past the point of reversing course. We can only hope to slow it down.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… another big NFL free agency story from last night, this time for the Chicago Bears, who got Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Chargers. He’ll bolster the Bears' offense opposite wideout DJ Moore.</li><li>From the sorta-Sports Desk… apparent third-party VP candidate Aaron Rodgers has gotten hurt before the game even started.</li><li>It’s been reported that Rodgers shared his beliefs with multiple people — including a journalist — that the shooting at Sandy Hook in Newtown, CT, which claimed the lives of 26 people (including 20 victims who were children between six and seven years old) wasn't real.</li><li>After the story broke, Rodgers denied the report and stated in a social post that he has “never been of the opinion that the events did not take place.”</li><li>But a few years ago, Rodgers had multiple conversations where he brought up demented conspiracy theories about the event, referring to “men in black in the woods by the school”, falsely claiming those men were actually government operatives. Multiple sources have said that Rodgers claimed, “Sandy Hook never happened… All those children never existed. They were all actors.”</li><li>When asked about the grieving parents, the source recalled Rodgers saying, “They’re all making it up. They’re all actors.”</li><li>What a sick fucking piece of shit. I hope his Achilles falls out.</li><li>Today in history… The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place (44 BC). King Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, granting limited religious freedom to all Christians (1672). Maine is admitted as the twenty-third U.S. state (1820). Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne, ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty (1917). Germany occupies Czechoslovakia (1939). President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress "We shall overcome" while advocating the Voting Rights Act (1965). Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union (1990). Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change (2019).</li><li>March 15 is the birthday of US president Andrew Jackson (1767), physician/epidemiologist John Snow (1813), physician Emil von Behring (1854), mathematician Grace Chisholm Young (1868), singer-songwriter Lightnin' Hopkins (1912), actor Lawrence Tierney (1919), NFL player Norm Van Brocklin (1926), music producer Arif Mardin (1932), SCOTUS justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933), actor Judd Hirsch (1935), songwriter/bass player Phil Lesh (1940), director David Cronenberg (1943), singer-songwriter Sly Stone (1943), guitarist Ry Cooder (1947), singer-songwriter Dee Snider (1955), singer Bret Michaels (1963), singer Mark McGrath (1968), actress Eva Longoria (1975), rapper will.i.am (1975), MLB player Kevin Youkilis (1979), and NFL player Taylor Heinicke (1993).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>It is indeed the “ides of March” today. I’m not scared of superstitious dates. I did get laid off from a job 24 years ago today, but that turned out to be a very good thing. I’m going to have a happy Friday and so should you. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-29558974754039282662024-03-14T08:30:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:38:16.558-07:00Random News: March 14, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJ29YOZg0VyvX5c3UMb8iRoSNsgr3xOAfWoTffxFNiT9SCHEybo1fKLAcEpmzdzBc5VqezHBWczHA6lGkIXhT_6Kb57FAvFBEOVGzjyOXr4zpCyt55y-SczxdSFp-_803moKmzoCZiehuohKw3uuyElL9OfUttu8f9wecIj2WgVAl-KcAoDoD-A3377k/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJ29YOZg0VyvX5c3UMb8iRoSNsgr3xOAfWoTffxFNiT9SCHEybo1fKLAcEpmzdzBc5VqezHBWczHA6lGkIXhT_6Kb57FAvFBEOVGzjyOXr4zpCyt55y-SczxdSFp-_803moKmzoCZiehuohKw3uuyElL9OfUttu8f9wecIj2WgVAl-KcAoDoD-A3377k/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 14, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I’m feeling relatively good on this brand new day, as the sun turns the sky from black to gray, and I’m here and writing anyway. Let’s do this.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Yesterday, the House passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in the United States.</li><li>Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill through the House with limited debate, and it passed on a lopsided vote of 352 to 65, reflecting widespread backing for legislation that would take direct aim at China in an election year.</li><li>Why do this now? Simple. US intelligence forces determined that Chinese ownership of the platform poses grave national security risks to the United States, including the ability to meddle in elections.</li><li>The interesting thing about this is that the coalition behind the ban included Republicans, who defied former president Donnie Dumpster in supporting it.</li><li>However, the bill is not at all a sure thing in the Senate, where Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has been noncommittal about bringing it to the floor for a vote and where some lawmakers have vowed to fight it. And even if it passes the Senate and becomes law, it is likely to face legal challenges.</li><li>But here’s the weird thing: this fast-tracked bill seem very bipartisan but has its splits within each respective party.</li><li>President Biden has said he would sign the bill into law, but top House leaders like Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, voted against the bill.</li><li>Donnie Dump said he opposed the bill, but many of his strongest allies in the House, like Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 4 Republican in the House, voted for it.</li><li>And here’s the reality: TikTok is a huge harvester of its users personal data… but so is Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and all the Google properties like its search engine as well as YouTube.</li><li>Every one of them are mining data about you. How do I know? Because I work in the advertising world, and the amount of information I can access on you via Facebook alone is astonishing.</li><li>I can pinpoint target my clients’ Facebook ads based on everything you’ve ever liked, videos you’ve watched, comments you’ve made on posts, your age, your location, your race/ethnicity, your political interests… and more.</li><li>The only difference is that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, at least for now.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>The presiding judge in the Georgia criminal case against El Dumpo and his crime team has thrown out some of the charges against the former president and several of his co-defendants.</li><li>Do I like this? No, But is it the end fo the world? Also no.</li><li>The partial dismissal by Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee leaves most of the sprawling racketeering indictment intact.</li><li>McAfee ruled that six charges in the 41-count indictment related to Trump and some co-defendants allegedly soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer lacked the required detail about what underlying crime the defendants were soliciting.</li><li>So now Dumpy is now facing just 88 charges over the four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida.</li><li>In another of those cases, today Dump’s lawyers are trying to convince a federal judge in Florida to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents case against him.</li><li>Judge Aileen Cannon is set to hear arguments on two motions filed by Dump, one that says the former president is shielded from prosecution by a federal recordkeeping law, and another that claims one of the charges presents numerous open legal questions. </li><li>Smith charged Dump with 32 counts of unlawfully retaining classified government records after he stole documents from the White House during the presidential transition. Big Smelly and two aides are also accused of engaging in a scheme to obstruct investigations.</li><li>Obviously keeping an eye on that. As we know in the USA, no one is above the law. Not you, not me, not former or current presidents.</li><li>Let’s talk about voting.</li><li>Now that the presidential candidates have sealed their respective party nominations, do the remaining primaries even matter?</li><li>Yes, absolutely. Each one of them predicts trends and is particularly valuable for showing the direction of voting patterns in swing states.</li><li>To that end, next Tuesday (March 19) is another big batch of them, with Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio all having their primaries for both Democratic and Republic voters.</li><li>Please vote! Thank you.</li><li>And that brings up another important thing to consider.</li><li>As you know, Dumpty Dump won Georgia on Tuesday with 84.5 percent of the vote, as well as winning Mississippi and Washington.</li><li>But Nikki Haley, despite dropping out of the GOP primary race a week earlier, still received 13 percent of the Republican vote in Georgia, amounting to more than 77,000 ballots.</li><li>Now I”ll remind you that in 2020, Trump lost Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes. And I can guarantee you that while some of the Haley supporters will hold their nose and vote for Dump in the general election, not all of them will.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>I want to talk about Nex Benedict, the 16-year-old nonbinary student in Oklahoma who died a day after getting beaten in their high school bathroom.</li><li>Her death was used a a result of suicide, per the autopsy report released yesterday. She overdosed on diphenhydramine and fluoxetine, more commonly known as Benadryl and Xanax.</li><li>Like many people, I suspected this was the case. But I want to tell you: death by suicide as a result of continual bullying is just another form of murder as far as I’m concerned.</li><li>One has to look at the state of Oklahoma, which in recent years has passed numerous bills that are openly hostile to LGBTQ communities.</li><li>The state failed Nex and people like them. The culture allowed bullies to feel empowered to harass and intimidate and harm this person to the point that they felt suicide was the only way out.</li><li>And there’s no accountability for the people who caused this. It’s depressing, but there is a way to pay it forward, and that’s to be sure that wherever you live, you fight like hell for the rights of people who aren’t like everyone else.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Wait. No. Let’s stay on this for a moment.</li><li>The number of American adults who identify as LGBTQ+ has more than doubled in the last 12 years, according to new polling from Gallup.</li><li>The latest results show that 7.6% of U.S. adults now align themselves with the LGBTQ+ community — up from 3.5% in 2012, when Gallup started collecting this data. Compare that to four years ago, when the figure was 5.6%.</li><li>Little opinion here: nope. The number is probably similar to what it’s always been, but younger people in a more accepting environment are far more likely to be open and truthful about it.</li><li>The study itself says, ”Adults in these younger generations are far more likely than those in older generations to identify as LGBTQ+."</li><li>And I say, “Adults in younger generations are far less likely to lie about their sexual orientation than those in older generations.”</li><li>More than one in five Gen Z adults — age 18 to 23 during the data collection period — identify as LGBTQ+.</li><li>And about one in three Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+, most as bisexual.</li><li>If your whole worldview is entangled in attacking the LGBTQ+ community, you’re going to be in a larger and larger minority as time goes by.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Right now in the Senate, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is holding a hearing regarding standardizing 32-hour work week.</li><li>I like tis idea. Who brought it up?</li><li>Our buddy Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Yesterday, Bernie introduced a bill to establish a standard four-day workweek in the United States without any reduction in pay.</li><li>The bill, over a four-year period, would lower the threshold required for overtime pay, from 40 hours to 32 hours. It would require overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times a worker’s regular salary for work days longer than 8 hours, and it would require overtime pay at double a worker’s regular salary for work days longer than 12 hours.</li><li>The committee will hear from United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, among other witnesses.</li><li>Go Bernie! Man, we could have had that guy as a President. Ah well.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she would issue pardons for tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana charges going back decades.</li><li>If approved, the pardons will apply to all adult Massachusetts state court misdemeanor convictions before March 13, 2024, for possession of marijuana or “Class D substance.” Most people will not need to take any action to have their criminal records updated.</li><li>I support this 100%. Healey said the pardons would apply to those arrested as far back as the 1970’s war on drugs and earlier.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Bat House” by hockey season</li><li>If you’re in Colorado, you don’t need a weatherman to see which way the wind blows. A major storm dumped heavy snow on the state overnight, their biggest in years.</li><li>Major sections of Interstate 70 were closed in the Colorado mountains, with numerous reports of vehicles stranded on the highway for hours.</li><li>Stay safe, my mountainous friends.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… nah. Sports Desk has the day off.</li><li>Today in history… Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin (1794). ‘The Mikado’, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London (1885). Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt (1903). Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead (1942). A USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, CA (1961).</li><li>March 14 is the birthday of composer Johann Strauss I (1804), SCOTUS justice Joseph P. Bradley (1813), dentist Lucy Hobbs Taylor (1833), US vice president Thomas R. Marshall (1854), railroad engineer Casey Jones (1863), physicist Albert Einstein (1879), race car driver Lee Petty (1914), photographer Diane Arbus (1923), actor Michael Caine (1933), songwriter/music producer Quincy Jones (1933), NBA player Wes Unseld (1946), actor Billy Crystal (1948), MLB player Kirby Puckett (1960), and gymnast Simone Biles (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s enough. Oh, one more thing. Remember how happy I was yesterday that I only had one more simple dental procedure and would then be done for years? Yeah, no. It ended up taking three hours and after my latest root canal, my dentist wasn’t happy with the fit of a permanent crown, which then required a new set of impressions and I still have to go back yet again to have that installed once it’s ready. Fucking hell. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-79509355174918956982024-03-13T08:30:00.000-07:002024-03-17T12:35:45.835-07:00Random News: March 13, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI2FUq9QX-lI-tch4kVBowNFmf5z-1TDaxT-cxHX732C1C9njNGlBgeCYu5PpF2keuWl5hyolIwW2oOnDQchboenacQMmEOYl3a7INCZG4_NQO5xwGI1x8IY8OvTX7TXeobo8qHgzHJU6EMMB47BVrwUDzKa6EALy8QeRazqsU-6Y4rMJ84N4KHSHV68/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI2FUq9QX-lI-tch4kVBowNFmf5z-1TDaxT-cxHX732C1C9njNGlBgeCYu5PpF2keuWl5hyolIwW2oOnDQchboenacQMmEOYl3a7INCZG4_NQO5xwGI1x8IY8OvTX7TXeobo8qHgzHJU6EMMB47BVrwUDzKa6EALy8QeRazqsU-6Y4rMJ84N4KHSHV68/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 13, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. Later today, I have the final round of my dental hell, and while I’m dreading it like any normal human being, I’m also excited that it will be done for a good long while. Meanwhile, once again we have a ton of news to talk about and limited time in which to do it, so with no further delay…</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>After yesterday’s primaries in states including Georgia, Washington, and others, we have an official 2024 presidential matchup within our seemingly unavoidable two-party political system</li><li>First, President Biden clinched the 1,968 delegates needed to earn the Democratic presidential nomination. Later in the evening, Dumpelstiltskin passed the 1,215 delegates to officially become the GOP nominee.</li><li>This matchup was a foregone conclusion we’ve known for months if not longer. It sets up the first US presidential rematch since 70 years ago, when Dwight D. Eisenhower faced Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956 (and won both times).</li><li>Only one person in US history, Grover Cleveland, served two non-consecutive terms, like Dumpy is attempting now. Others, including Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Millard Fillmore, and Martin Van Buren, tried and failed.</li><li>I’ve heard people ask whether these two elderly men are the best we’ve got. It’s far too complicated to answer with a simple yes or no. I will say this.</li><li>Now that we know beyond all doubt that one of those two men — assuming they are alive and well in November, and able to carry out the duties of the office — will be president again, I do recommend that you take a close look into your heart and determine which one has the values that best represent the type of person you are.</li><li>I’d also say you should objectively look at what both men did for the USA during their respective presidential terms, including the challenges they faced and how they reacted.</li><li>Then make your choice and cast your vote this fall.</li><li>Moving on. There are tons of other important news.</li><li>Yesterday, the Biden administration announced another package of military aid to Ukraine worth up to $300 million. The new funding became available as a results of savings made in weapons contracts.</li><li>Well done. The President reminded people that the package is “not nearly enough,” and Congress needs to pass additional funding, because Putin will not stop at Ukraine and will try and take over Poland and then all of Western Europe.</li><li>He’s right. Moving on.</li><li>Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) surprised the fuck out of the political world yesterday when he announced that he will leave the House on March 22. Yeah, like in just over a week.</li><li>Buck’s decision will leave Republicans with only 218 seats in the chamber, compared to Democrats' 213. Republicans can still only afford to lose two votes on any bill with united Democratic opposition, assuming full attendance.</li><li>When did Speaker Mike Johnson find out about Buck's departure plans? Oh, at the same time as everyone else, when Buck announced it. Buck later said he’d called Johnson about 30 minutes before the announcement went live and left a voicemail. </li><li>That’s cold, man. Johnson was completely blindsided. So sad, too bad.</li><li>When asked about his colleagues’ reaction to his sudden resignation, Buck made a cryptic statement about what will come afterwards. He replied, "I think it's the next three people that leave that they're going to be worried about."</li><li>My goodness.</li><li>The extra great part of this: Buck is leaving Colorado’s 4th congressional district where Lauren Boebert is trying to run for his former seat. Now they’re going to have to hold a special election in June, and BoBo won’t even be on that ballot.</li><li>Meaning it will be even harder for her to win in the fall, assuming she was even able to win the primary.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, the Supreme Court extended a temporary freeze on the enforcement of Texas’ fucked up “Show Us Your Papers” immigration law — SB 4 — that allows state law enforcement to detain and arrest anyone they even suspect of entering the country illegally.</li><li>Without action from the high court, the Texas law would have gone into effect today. It’s now paused through at least Monday while they review it.</li><li>Here’s hoping.</li><li>And speaking of bad legal takes…</li><li>I want to be sure you’re aware that on Monday, El Dumpo said that one of his first acts as president if he wins in November would be to free those charged and convicted of crimes related to the January 6 failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol.</li><li>That’s right. The ones who assaulted cops, who vandalized the center of our government, who smeared their own shit on the walls. Who threatened elected members of our government with assault and rape and execution.</li><li>Dump will free them all from receiving any punishment for their crimes. Do not allow this smelly fuck to make a mockery of our laws and our entire system of justice. Do not elect him.</li><li>Let’s talk a bit about former special counsel Robert Hur, who appeared before Congress yesterday to explain his investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents.</li><li>I have less to say about this than you might assume. Hur got slammed from both sides. The Democrats were angry that he added editorial-like opinions to his findings. Republicans were mad at Hur’s decision not to prosecute the president.</li><li>What it really came down to was that Hur found plenty of exculpatory evidence that led him to conclude that Biden’s actions weren’t illegal, and ultimately concluded that criminal charges weren’t warranted.</li><li>Fine. Let’s move on.</li><li>If I mention Aaron Rodgers, you may think I’m doing a sports story ahead of the sports section.</li><li>Nope.</li><li>He’s supposed to be the New York Jets' starting quarterback this year, but apparently has another job offer: that of vice president of the United States.</li><li>The former NFL MVP is at the top of the list of potential running mates for third-party candidate and well-known anti-vaccine proponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</li><li>I’m not making this up. RFK Jr. reported it to the New York Times, saying he’s been speaking "pretty continuously" with Rodgers over the past month, and the domain name "kennedyrodgers.com" was also registered last week.</li><li>Hmm, let me think about how I feel about this.</li><li>Hahahahahahahahahahahaha (deep breath)… hahahahahahahahaha…</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>As I’ve mentioned, March is Women’s History Month, and it’s time for our annual reminder that there remains a persistent wage gap between men and women who do the same jobs.</li><li>Why mention this each year in mid-March? Because this is the point in a new year that women have to work to earn equal pay of what men made in 2023.</li><li>Women working full time, year-round earn 84 cents for every dollar men make, inching up from 83.7 cents last year. But that amount falls to 78 cents when you include seasonal and part-time workers, who account for roughly a third of women in the U.S. workforce.</li><li>For women of color, the pay gap is even bigger.</li><li>It’s no longer a matter of differences in education or experience. Women with master's degrees earn 72 cents for every dollar earned by men with the same degree, and they earn less than men with bachelor's degrees. Women with associate's degrees earn less than men with only high school diplomas.</li><li>Maybe someday this will be straightened out and made fair… but we keep talking about it and nothing changes.</li><li>Let’s talk about something that can help all people, but with even more benefits for women: strength training.</li><li>Research shows people who do weight training a few days a week live longer, but women get the biggest boost in longevity. Strength training is also good for mood, and it helps protect joints and bones.</li><li>A study based on the habits of about 400,000 adults in the U.S., and researchers found people who did strength training 2 to 3 times a week had about a 20% reduced risk of premature death.</li><li>And now you know one reason that despite never, ever wanting to workout every damn weekday morning, I do it anyway, and while I complain about it, I still highly recommend it for everyone.</li><li>My workout — which I do from 8:00-8:45am Monday through Friday — isn’t difficult and provides both physical and mental health benefits. And it does not have to be difficult, especially when you’re starting out.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Do It Anyway” by Ford Chastain</li><li>Let’s do a chart. It’s March 1978. I am in fourth grade. ‘Saturday Night Fever’ is completely dominating the music charts, but in between those songs are amazingly schlocky soft rock/easy listening/adult contemporary hits.</li><li>1. Night Fever (Bee Gees). 2. Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees). 3. Emotion (Samantha Sang). 4. Lay Down Sally (Eric Clapton). 5. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water (Andy Gibb). 6. Can't Smile Without You (Barry Manilow). 7. I Go Crazy (Paul Davis). 8. Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill). 9. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) (Chic). 10. Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel). 11. Thunder Island (Jay Ferguson). 12. The Name Of The Game (ABBA). 13. What's Your Name (Lynyrd Skynyrd). 14. If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman). 15. Falling (LeBlanc & Carr). 16. Happy Anniversary (Little River Band). 17. (What A) Wonderful World (Art Garfunkel With James Taylor & Paul Simon). 18. Our Love (Natalie Cole). 19. Jack And Jill (Raydio). 20. The Way You Do The Things You Do (Rita Coolidge).</li><li>From the Sports Desk… wouldn’t it be more fun if the NFL didn’t announce free-agency trades and draft picks, and you only got to see who was on your team when they ran out of the tunnel?</li><li>More from trade mania: Saints QB Jameis Winston to the Browns. Titans RB Derrick Henry to the Ravens. Packers RB Aaron Jones to the Vikings. Bengals RB Joe Mixon to the Texans. Seahawks QB Drew Lock to the Giants. Vikings DE/OLB Danielle Hunter to the Texans. And many more.</li><li>Today in history… Harvard College is named after clergyman John Harvard (1639). Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto receives its premiere performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist (1845). The Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves is passed by the United States Congress, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation (1862). Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module (1969). The 2013 papal conclave elects Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church (2013). President Donald Trump declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a national emergency in the United States (2020). Breonna Taylor is killed by police officers who were forcibly entering her home in Louisville, KY (2020).</li><li>March 13 is the birthday of UK prime minister Charles Grey (1764), US first lady Abigail Fillmore (1798), astronomer Percival Lowell (1855), physicist John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (1899), publisher/philanthropist Walter Annenberg (1908), science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard (1911), cartoonist Al Jaffee (1921), singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka (1939), actor William H. Macy (1950), actress/guitarist Charo (1951), bass player Adam Clayton (1960), actor/rapist Danny Masterson (1976), and rapper Jack Harlow (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>So, that’s it for now. As I said up top, gonna get this dental shit over and done with. Today’s procedure is not anything any sane person looks forward to — one more root canal — but it is tiny compared tot he stuff I’ve already been through. I’ll be fine. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-1649084223565301552024-03-12T08:30:00.000-07:002024-03-12T09:10:19.962-07:00Random News: March 12, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPeuR6oai4-mSAiC24aoagAOY8hUz-P0kzbm7GiwxQV8gPEG7DxcjoTvJlcgDqR2ZA9AArAmYF0KxWUmCYXP0NesURx30YRwWKdI4Pu8lMRhC4O7WHsci1RJ3I1BbVNo3V5FGBMZ4T-bobt4EL-k1bUyCecr8EdcjWMv0HqmioDwFXF9fgnIDmfzuNi0/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPeuR6oai4-mSAiC24aoagAOY8hUz-P0kzbm7GiwxQV8gPEG7DxcjoTvJlcgDqR2ZA9AArAmYF0KxWUmCYXP0NesURx30YRwWKdI4Pu8lMRhC4O7WHsci1RJ3I1BbVNo3V5FGBMZ4T-bobt4EL-k1bUyCecr8EdcjWMv0HqmioDwFXF9fgnIDmfzuNi0/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 12, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. It’s the second day of waking up in total darkness and cursing the person responsible for having invented Daylight Saving Time. I’ll get used to it eventually… but not today! Anyway, we have a ton of news, so we’d best get on it.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Donnie Dump is trying to delay the inevitable: the start of his first criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin in less than two weeks.</li><li>In a motion filed March 7 and made public yesterday, Dump's attorneys asked Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan to delay the trial, which is currently set for March 25, until after the Supreme Court rules on whether Dump is shielded from criminal prosecution by "presidential immunity" in another one of his criminal cases.</li><li>Let’s start with the most hilarious part about this and then work our way backwards. Ready?</li><li>The crime El Dumpo is accused of in this case stems from a hush money payment made by an attorney for Dump to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in the days before the 2016 election.</li><li>Stop right there. He’s asking the court to hold back his trial based on something that already doesn’t exist: “presidential immunity”.</li><li>But the best part is that the crime he is accused of happened in 2016, BEFORE he became president. Dumpster was sworn in on January 20, 2017. he was NOT president at that time and even if the world turned upside down and US presidents were immune from all criminal punishment, he simply was not president then. End of story.</li><li>Back to the main topic, though: lower federal courts have already determined that no such immunity exists. It didn’t exist for any other president, and Dumpster is no exception to the rule.</li><li>The Supreme Court will be hearing his claims of immunity for his many crimes on April 25.</li><li>In the Stormy Daniels case, Dump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records tied to payments reimbursing the attorney, Michael Cohen, in 2017. Dump has pleaded not guilty and denies all wrongdoing.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>We should talk about Haiti, the poorest and most strife-ridden nation in the Americas.</li><li>Yesterday, Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign following weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the impoverished country.</li><li>It is currently a lawless nation, controlled by heavily armed gangs who have tightened their grip on the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince, and attacked the main prison to help thousands of inmates escape.</li><li>Henry — an unelected official — had led the country supposedly on an interim basis since July 2021 following former President Jovenel Moïse's assassination, but he’s repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must be restored first.</li><li>Their last election was held in 2016. So that’s not good at all. I’m not sure if anything can truly fix Haiti, though.</li><li>Moving back to the USA.</li><li>The moment they took control, the new leadership team at the Republican National Committee — handpicked by Donnie Dumperino — started firing dozens of employees.</li><li>About 60 people were told they were no longer employed.</li><li>This is, of course, all part of the plan for MAGA to wrap up its total takeover of the former Republican party, diverting all contributions and donations to Dump’s personal use for his legal bills and other grifting needs.</li><li>I would be SO angry if I was a traditional Republican, whom the party has not only abandoned but has clearly been told they are no longer welcome.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>You know how I’ve been telling you that Republicans have their sights set on your Social Security?</li><li>Yesterday, Dumpy said the quiet part out loud in an interview. He was pressed on how he plans to resolve the long-term solvency problems of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. His response?</li><li>“So first of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting. And in terms of, also, the theft and the bad management of entitlements — tremendous bad management of entitlements — there’s tremendous amounts of things and numbers of things you can do.”</li><li>The Biden campaign quickly jumped on Dump’s admission and posted the video to various social nets with the caption, “Not on my watch.”</li><li>If you need a reminder: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are funded by your money that you’ve been paying into at every job you ever had. Stopping any program like that would be straight up stealing from you.</li><li>It’s not their money. It’s yours. Don’t let the Republicans fuck you out of it.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>As we’d mentioned previously, it’s another big voting day in many states. Perhaps the main state to keep an eye on is Georgia, a swing state that helped usher in Joe Biden’s presidency in 2020.</li><li>Donnie Dump will likely get enough Republican delegates to officially be their nominee after today. Based on the states holding primaries and caucuses, President Biden may receive the official party nomination today or may have to await next Tuesday’s round of votes.</li><li>Here in my state, we had just one ballot initiative while voting on March 5, aka Super Tuesday: California’s Proposition 1.</li><li>Its main purpose is to issue $6.38 billion in bonds to fund housing for homeless individuals and veterans, including up to $4.4 billion for mental health care and drug or alcohol treatment facilities and $2.0 billion for housing for homeless persons.</li><li>Sounds good, huh? I voted Yes.</li><li>But as they slowly continue the vote count from my state with about 40,000,000 residents, a full week later it’s still unclear as to whether this will pass or not. With 76% of the precincts reporting as of this morning, the vote stands at Yes with a very narrow lead of 2,921,235 votes (50.30%) to No at 2,887,648 (49.70%).</li><li>Still impossible to know if it will pass or not.</li><li>In other news, if you were hoping for some kind of exhibitionist thrill the next time you stay in an Airbnb, they seem to be finally curtailing their voyeuristic policies.</li><li>Airbnb is banning the use of indoor security cameras in listings globally, the short-term rental platform announced yesterday.</li><li>Previously, Airbnb allowed hosts to have indoor security cameras in common areas as long as the devices were clearly disclosed on the listing page and placed in visible spots in the home. </li><li>However, hundreds of instances of guests finding cameras all over these properties have been documented, even though indoor security cameras were never allowed in spaces like sleeping areas and bathrooms.</li><li>Hosts who do currently have indoor security cameras have until April 30 to remove them. After this date, a host who violates the new policy could face consequences including listing or account removal on the platform.</li><li>Now ask yourself how the company can possibly police this action? I still say to assume that some perv is watching you at all times in every Airbnb.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>You know Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that went into effect in March 2022? Yeah, that’s not legal.</li><li>Florida education officials and a group of LGBTQ advocates and families have reached a legal settlement that clarifies the scope of the statute, spelling out that students and teachers are allowed to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms, as long as it is not part of formal instruction.</li><li>The plaintiffs, which included civil rights organizations, parents, students and teachers – sued over the statute just days after Ron DeSantis (R) signed it into law.</li><li>So yes, you can say gay in Florida. All of that bullshit by the right-wing weirdos was for nothing.</li><li>But as long as we’re discussing Florida…</li><li>Yesterday, the NAACP made an official announcement to Black student-athletes, telling them to reconsider attending public colleges and universities in Florida.</li><li>The letter was in response to the University of Florida and other state schools that have eliminated their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It was also addressed to current and prospective student-athletes.</li><li>Last year, DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting the use of state funds for any DEI programs. The University of Florida responded this month by closing the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminating 13 full-time DEI positions and 15 administrative appointments, and ending DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.</li><li>Hey, I’m sure they’ll do fine with white-only athletes.</li><li>Hahahahahahahahahaha… oh man, that’s funny.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>This week marked the start of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar. In 2024, it runs from March 10 to April 19.</li><li>How many people on Earth observe this religious event? Oh, only about a quarter of the entire population of the planet, comprising Muslims in every country including some 3.5 million Americans. And those people are fasting from sunup to sundown, every day, for a whole fucking month.</li><li>It’s not just fasting in the way you might be picturing it. They can’t even drink anything, including water.</li><li>No fucking way I could do that. I constantly consume things. I rarely go a full hour without eating or drinking something. I would be a terrible Muslim. I’m barely good at being an atheist.</li><li>Here’s a tip on supporting your Muslim friends (or at least not being insensitive to them) during this time…</li><li>You can feel free to eat in front of them. They get it. But don’t insist they join you at a business lunch or other mid-day event where food is served to everyone but them. That’s shitty.</li><li>Also, don’t compare what they’re doing to some fad weight-loss diet you’re on. That’s not the point of it.</li><li>You can say “Ramadan Mubarak” to your Muslim friends, which means “Happy Ramadan”. No one will take offense, except maybe some white nationalist MAGA guy who overhears you being kind to another human being.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “To Remember Yourself” by Darvid Thor</li><li>Rest in peace to Karl Wallinger, the frontman of World Party and early member of the Waterboys. He died Sunday at 66.</li><li>You may recall their 1987 hit “Ship of Fools.” Wallinger always worked with his friend Sinead O’Connor’s on her debut album ‘The Lion and the Cobra’ and O’Connor in turn sang backing vocals on the first two World Party albums. He was also the musical director for the Gen-X-defining 1994 film “Reality Bites.” RIP.</li><li>And another RIP in the music realm goes goes out to singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, who became an icon of power pop as the frontman of the Raspberries before achieving even bigger hits as a solo artist in the 1970s and ’80s. He died at age 74.</li><li>If you don’t know Carmen from the Raspberries’ breakout hit, “Go All the Way” in the early ‘70s, you probably know his solo songs like “All by Myself,” “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” and “Hungry Eyes.” Rest in peace.</li><li>I mentioned yesterday that I suddenly had some pain above my knee when straightening my leg, like getting up from sitting. I am not a doctor, but this diagnosis is fairly obvious: it’s quadriceps tendinitis.</li><li>Pretty common for athletes, and it’s likely that some of the repetitive motions I do every morning while working out for the past 12 years have come back to haunt me.</li><li>It should get better on its own in maybe 4-6 weeks. I’ve had instances of tendinitis before. never fun, but I get past it eventually.</li><li>Meanwhile, I need to figure out some other form of cardio that doesn’t involve me using that set of muscles. I’ll live.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… more surprises from the NFL’s free agency turntable. Some highlights…</li><li>Vikings QB Kirk Cousins to the Falcons. 49ers QB Sam Darnold to the Vikings. Colts QB Gardner Minshew to the Raiders. Giants QB Tyrod Taylor tot he Jets. Giants RB Saquon Barkley to the Eagles. Raiders RB Josh Jacobs to the Packers. Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins to the Raiders. </li><li>I mean, that’s just a few of hundreds of moves. You probably won’t have any idea who’s on your team when preseason starts in August.</li><li>Today in history… The Girl Guides — later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA — are founded in the United States (1912). Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713 (1918). Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States, the first of his "fireside chats” (1933). Sir Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the World Wide Web (1989). Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO (1999). Financier Bernie Madoff pleads guilty to one of the largest frauds in Wall Street's history (2009). A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (2011). The United States suspends travel from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020).</li><li>March 12 is the birthday of composer Thomas Arne, E (1710), US first lady Jane Pierce (1806), farmer Charles Boycott (1832), author Jack Kerouac (1922), astronaut Wally Schirra (1923), playwright Edward Albee (1928), actress Barbara Feldon (1933), singer Al Jarreau (1940), actress/singer Liza Minnelli (1946), politician Mitt Romney (1947), singer-songwriter James Taylor (1948), songwriter/bass player Steve Harris (1956), MLB player Darryl Strawberry (1962), colonel/politician Tammy Duckworth (1968), and journalist Jake Tapper (1969).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Welp, that’s a lot of everything. There’s more, but I’m out of time. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-85332289347911007112024-03-11T08:30:00.000-07:002024-03-11T09:54:03.090-07:00Random News: March 11, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf1q5UbySnQQzDraEn_lINwG13KptFHTwqwn45_SpmfQ_2L1OvPjI5xTVXTPoCIt03wo5moYhfnnIf0wkRxMx6yzgK2z2ScXp7MnT0ulX9n00-DlPPSk4diqk_9H-W70sZI8ngM0OwZCxhKLvRGZOtboP7p1LnooEXG3bfM_3adA0wAA5cwJcT7-_9YM/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf1q5UbySnQQzDraEn_lINwG13KptFHTwqwn45_SpmfQ_2L1OvPjI5xTVXTPoCIt03wo5moYhfnnIf0wkRxMx6yzgK2z2ScXp7MnT0ulX9n00-DlPPSk4diqk_9H-W70sZI8ngM0OwZCxhKLvRGZOtboP7p1LnooEXG3bfM_3adA0wAA5cwJcT7-_9YM/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 11, 2024, and it’s a Monday. It’s also the first Monday after the start of Daylight Saving Time and I’m grumpy as fuck. Making the day all the better, last night I got one of those “hey, you’re old, here’s a random pain for no reason” issues with my knee, and that hurts too. Great start to the week. Let’s do some news.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>As you may have heard president Been mention last week in the SOTU address, a U.S. Army ship is heading to the Mediterranean on an emergency mission to build a temporary pier in Gaza that can receive large aid shipments.</li><li>The expansion of U.S. aid efforts to Gaza comes amid signs of growing tension between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's military operations in Gaza, which have left more than 31,000 Palestinians dead.</li><li>Biden has steadfastly maintained that Israel has a right to defend itself, but said in his address that it also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.</li><li>I agree with both sentiments, and they are not mutually exclusive.</li><li>A logistics support ship, the U.S. Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on Saturday and is on its way to the eastern Mediterranean, carrying the initial equipment necessary to construct the temporary pier.</li><li>Over the next 60 days, roughly 1,000 troops will deploy to the area to build the floating platform where cargo ships can offload aid onto smaller military vessels, which will transfer them to a causeway attached to the beach, where trucks can pick it up and distribute it within Gaza.</li><li>A full long-lasting cease fire and return of all hostages would be preferable, but this is a good step.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>A lot of GOP talking heads have been asking if you’re better off than you were four years ago.</li><li>Let’s see… in March 2020, people were wiping their asses with coffee filters, being unable to find toilet paper in any stores.</li><li>In early March 2020, the following things were shut down almost at once: the NBA, the NCAA, the NHL, SXSW, the E3 and NAB shows, Disneyland, almost all international borders.</li><li>None of us knew if we were going to live or die, there was no vaccine, and the president at the time was telling us that only a few people had COVID-19 and it would be gone by Easter, and not to worry about it.</li><li>In fact, it was four years ago this very day — March 11, 2020 — that many places around the USA went into a total lockdown.</li><li>So yes. Unquestionably, 100% without any reservations, I can say with all confidence that I am much, much, much better off now than I was four years ago, and a huge portion of that improvement is thanks to the efforts of Joe Biden.</li><li>Thanks Joe!</li><li>I should probably mention the Oscars. I’ve stated before, I stopped watching awards shows probably 15 or more years ago, and I find I have zero interest in them.</li><li>So I didn’t watch them, but most people seem to be saying that it was a great show. The awards highlights: ‘Oppenheimer’ was the big winner, winning seven awards out of 13 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.</li><li>That last one was given to Robert Downey Jr., winning the first Academy Award in his 40-plus-year career.</li><li>Of course, what I really enjoyed in reading the recap was host Jimmy Kimmel calling out Donnie Dump in real time while the show aired. After reading a social post from Dump, Kimmel quipped, “I’m surprised you’re up this late. Isn’t it past your jail time?"</li><li>The entire audience erupted in gales of laughter. I’m sure you know how much Dumpy can handle being poked fun at. Answer: not at all. He’s a giant pussy and is probably envisioning revenge against Hollywood right now.</li><li>Super irrelevant side note: one of Jimmy Kimmel’s earlier jobs was here in Los Angeles on local radio station KROQ in the mid-1990s as Jimmy the Sports Guy during the Kevin & Bean morning show. I’ve enjoyed Jimmy for a long, long time.</li><li>Okay, moving on.</li><li>In accountability news (aka the FA, FO section), Peter Navarro, an economic adviser to Dumpy, has been ordered to report to a Miami prison March 19 to begin serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt at the Capitol.</li><li>Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress — one for failing to produce documents related to the probe, and another for skipping his deposition.</li><li>Fuck him. I hope he hates prison.</li><li>Sensitive topic ahead, if you want to skip it…</li><li>I limit my specific talk about gun regulation to my Sunday Gunday feature so I’m not constantly bombarding you with that depressing shit. One thing I do not cover there is self-inflicted gun violence.</li><li>In the United States, firearm suicide is a devastating public health crisis, claiming nearly 25,000 lives every year — about 68 deaths a day. The problem is not getting better; the firearm suicide rate has increased over the past decade.</li><li>And no one is more susceptible to it than veterans. An average of 4,600 veterans die by firearm suicide every year.</li><li>That’s approximately one in five adult firearm suicides. Over the past 20 years, the veteran firearm suicide rate has increased by 51 percent, compared to a 32 percent increase for non-veterans over this same period.</li><li>When people have easy access to guns and they go through what might be a temporary depressive episode, they may make a sadly permanent decision.</li><li>If you care about preventing gun violence and care about US military veterans, I may have some recommendations regarding political candidates who support these causes as well.</li><li>Moving on, and still in the “sensitive topic” realm…</li><li>There’s more fallout from the horribly-executed GOP rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address last week.</li><li>Karla Jacinto, the woman whose story Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) shared in her response as an example of Biden’s immigration policy, spoke up over the weekend, confirming she was trafficked before Biden’s presidency and said legislators lack empathy when using the issue of human trafficking for political purposes.</li><li>Jacinto stated that Mexican politicians also took advantage of her by using her story for political purposes and that it’s happened again in the United States via the Republican’s twisted use of her story.</li><li>And let’s be clear: girls and women are indeed victims of sex trafficking, and calling attention to that fact is very important. It just shouldn’t be done in a misleading way to gain political points and deflect blame from where it belongs.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Beside Myself” by Little Kid</li><li>The northeast is getting some heavy weather, with high winds and high tides affecting places like New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and elsewhere.</li><li>What was formerly considered severe weather is now more and more commonplace. That will only get progressively worse. Plan accordingly.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… some big moves this weekend during the NFL offseason.</li><li>Former Denver QB Russell Wilson is now a Pittsburgh Steeler, while former Patriots QB Mac Jones is now a backup in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, the Bucs re-signed QB Baker Mayfield to a three-year deal.</li><li>Today in history… Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation (1708). The first performance of ‘Rigoletto’ by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice (1851). In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre (1927). United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan (1941). Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights (1981). Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state (1985). The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague (2003). The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic (2020).</li><li>March 11 is the birthday of politician/SCOTUS justice John McLean (1785), mathematician/economist Joseph Louis François Bertrand (1822), bandleader Lawrence Welk (1903), UK prime minister Harold Wilson (1916), businessman Rupert Murdoch (1931), SCOTUS justice Antonin Scalia (1936), singer-songwriter Bobby McFerrin (1950), author Douglas Adams (1952), music producer/businessman Jimmy Iovine (1953), singer-songwriter Nina Hagen (1955), drummer Vinnie Paul (1964), singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb (1968), actor Johnny Knoxville (1971), singer-songwriter Benji Madden (1979), actor Anton Yelchin (1989), and NBA player Anthony Davis (1993).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, well. I hate daylight saving, or, more specifically, the transition to DST. I’m going to be taking various steps to distract myself from my bad fucking mood so it doesn’t last any longer than necessary. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-38696188833889986482024-03-10T11:00:00.000-07:002024-03-10T13:48:13.599-07:00Random News: March 10, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1RseuyBh2eS0ZlZJCSj1w_JFjOBtY4c4qFHppxQEgL9ibDGkAcJe1mEgF_xOZk5S24kCrMFH131GhtNUXPB0yE4Tm2RHuf_zyYQ41K4w7dK1H-Ff49TlitUy5kx1INypD2Chs2TTCZv4XgsMAwE61S6xX33aYrvLxz-iH3KvARaFejXa8F6NPFMuU1w/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1RseuyBh2eS0ZlZJCSj1w_JFjOBtY4c4qFHppxQEgL9ibDGkAcJe1mEgF_xOZk5S24kCrMFH131GhtNUXPB0yE4Tm2RHuf_zyYQ41K4w7dK1H-Ff49TlitUy5kx1INypD2Chs2TTCZv4XgsMAwE61S6xX33aYrvLxz-iH3KvARaFejXa8F6NPFMuU1w/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 10, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. As I’d griped about yesterday, it’s also the first morning of Daylight Saving Time, but as usual, it being a Sunday, the real pisser will be tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off in pitch black darkness. We’ll save those complaints for later. For now, let’s do some news.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I will make one mention of DST, since it affects a good number of us who do international business or have friends situated around the world, as I believe most of us do in 2024.</li><li>The propensity for Americans to assume that everyone in the world does the same as they do is reflected on this topic. True, the bulk of the United States, most of Europe, and parts of Canada, Australia, Latin America, Brazil and the Caribbean continue to do Daylight Saving Time.</li><li>Side note: not even the entire USA observes DST. Hawaii and Arizona skip it, as do American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</li><li>But plenty of other places around the world have opted out of it entirely. These include all of Asia, and most of Africa. Over the past ten years, Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Namibia, Russia, Samoa, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay, and most of Mexico have all ended the practice.</li><li>Perhaps someday we’ll join them and the world will be as one.</li><li>Okay, news.</li><li>If you want to hear a tangible sign that President Biden’s SOTU speech was effective, this is a good one: his re-election campaign brought in $10 million in the 24 hours following the address on Thursday.</li><li>The sum is a record for Biden’s re-election effort. The money flowed in via approximately 116,000 donations from 113,000 contributors.</li><li>Biden’s campaign had $56 million in the bank at the end of January, while the DNC had $24 million. Dumpy and the Republican National Committee, meanwhile, had $30 million and $9 million on hand, respectively.</li><li>And now that the Republican National Committee is being run by Dump’s daughter-in-law Lara, whatever cash they have will be going to Dump’s personal legal troubles.</li><li>They are so fucked.</li><li>Speaking of which… </li><li>On Friday, Donnie Dump secured a $91,630,000 bond for the judgment in his defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll. The previous day, the judge overseeing the case shot down Dump's request for a temporary delay of the penalties.</li><li>Where did he get that cash? </li><li>Dumpy obtained an appeals bond from the Virginia-based Federal Insurance Company totaling $91,630,000 to cover the $83 million judgment in the case plus interest.</li><li>Who is this “Federal Insurance Company”? It’s a subsidiary of Swiss-headquartered insurance company Chubb Group LLC. In 2018, Trump appointed Chubb’s CEO Evan Greenberg to a White House advisory committee for trade policy and negotiations.</li><li>It is not clear from court records what collateral Trump presented to obtain the bond from Chubb.</li><li>What is clear is that Dumpy has not yet learned his lesson. One day after posting that bond in excess of $91 million that allows him to appeal the defamation judgment he owes E. Jean Carroll, he went and defamed her again, opening himself up to a third lawsuit.</li><li>Last night in Georgia, he said Carroll's story was "totally made up."</li><li>”$91 million based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn't know ... She said things. And when I denied it — I said, 'It's so crazy. It's false' — I get sued for defamation."</li><li>Keep it up, smelly fat man.</li><li>Moving on…</li><li>Many of us for the past nearly two years have been horrified by the attack on women’s reproductive rights via the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Roe v Wade decision.</li><li>President Biden has vowed to return these rights to American women. At the State of the Union on Thursday night, he said, “If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”</li><li>But in reality, Roe was never enough to truly ensure reproductive autonomy in the first place. It came under attack almost immediately after being passed in 1973.</li><li>Over the decades, elected officials and the courts took a hammer to Roe by passing and then blessing hundreds of restrictions, some targeting abortion facilities and doctors with excessive regulation, others erecting barriers between pregnant people and care, many of them based entirely on junk science.</li><li>In the years before Roe fell, near-total bans on abortion had become commonplace, passing in a number of states under the notion that legal personhood should begin before the person exists.</li><li>Whatever happens next to stop the government from controlling the sexuality and reproductive freedom of women, it has to go beyond the limited scope of Roe. We should be looking for more freedoms, not just scratching back the ones that have been stolen from us.</li><li>Start by electing people who believe women can make their own choices without government interference.</li><li>In other news, maybe today is a day to appreciate the remaining freedoms you have as an American not living under a dictatorship.</li><li>A Moscow court has sentenced a Russian university student to 10 days in jail for naming his Wi-Fi router with a pro-Ukrainian slogan.</li><li>Oleg Tarasov, a Moscow State University student, named his Wi-Fi network as “Slava Ukraine.” He was found guilty of propaganda on Thursday, and authorities confiscated his router.</li><li>Don’t let the USA get that way by putting Dumpy back in control. Dump is an admirer of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, as you’re all aware. He’d love to put your college kids in jail for actions like this.</li><li>It’s Sunday Gunday here at Zak’s Random News, where we look at just some of the incidents of gun violence in the USA over the past couple of days.</li><li>Three people shot dead, five more injured in a shooting in Jonesboro, AR. Two dead and another seriously injured in a triple shooting in Mooresville, NC. A mother and her 11-year-old daughter shot dead in Worcester, MA. Two dead in a shooting at a store in Kansas City, MO. A man and a woman shot dead, another injured in separate shootings in St. Louis, MO. One dead and two injured in a shooting in Jersey City, NJ. One dead and two injured in a shooting in Baton Rouge, LA. One shot dead outside of a bowling alley in Cleveland, OH. A teenager shot dead in Bridgeport, CT. Another teenager shot dead in Lexington, KY. A man shot dead in Fort Collins, CO. A man shot dead in Coatesville, PA. A child shot in northeast Columbus, OH. One shot dead in southeast Albuquerque, NM. One shot dead in Fort Lauderdale, FL. One shot dead in DeLand, FL. One shot dead in Ferriday, LA. A 21-year-old woman shot dead in Petal, MS. A teen high school student shot dead in a drive-by north Harris County, TX. One shot dead in the Hermosa neighborhood in the Northwest Side of Chicago, IL. Two teenagers and a woman bystander shot in Downtown Atlanta, GA. Two shot in Westland, MI. Two shot in Sacramento County, CA. One woman shot on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, CA. Another woman shot in a domestic violence incident in northeast Fresno, CA. One man shot in the parking lot of a bowling alley in Kenner, LA. One shot in the Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati, OH. One shot in Orlando, FL. One shot in Apopka, FL. One shot in Toledo, OH. One shot in Bay Point, CA. One shot near American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.</li><li>So, a fairly normal weekend of gun violence in the USA. Reminder: these are not ALL the shootings from Friday and Saturday; just those I see in a quick scroll of news, and it doesn’t include police shootings, suicides, or accidental shootings.</li><li>Those happen all the time too.</li><li>If you don’t like it, use your power to vote for candidates who support common sense gun regulation.</li><li>A little follow-up to Sen. Katie Britt’s (R-AL) GOP response to Biden’s SOTU speech. It was hilariously lampooned on the cold open to SNL last night, by the way.</li><li>But I just wanted to mention that Britt’s office admitted that the horrible sex trafficking story she used to illustrate Biden’s border policy was indeed that of Karla Jacinto Romero, who was forced to work in brothels in Mexico from 2004-2008 while George W. Bush was president.</li><li>It’s a terrible story, but it happened 20 years ago in a different country while a different person was president.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Reground the Garden” by German Error Message</li><li>Let’s do a chart. I enjoyed checking out the bottom of an album chart yesterday. Let’s do it again today, except it’s the bottom of the Hot 100 singles chart from 40 years ago in March 1983.</li><li>I must admit, not only am I not familiar with many of these songs, but also feel I’ve never heard of a good number of these artists and bands. But they, unlike 99.999999% of all musicians, can say they had a song on the charts.</li><li>81. Remember What You Like (Jenny Burton). 82. Runaway (Bon Jovi). 83. Club Michelle (Eddie Money). 84. Body Talk (The Deele). 85. Hyperactive (Thomas Dolby). 86. Flashes (Tiggi Clay). 87. The Dream (Irene Cara). 88. You're Looking Like Love To Me (Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack). 89. Do You Love Me (Andy Fraser). 90. The Sun And The Rain (Madness). 91. Each Word's A Beat Of My Heart (Mink De Ville). 92. It's Gonna Be Special (Patti Austin). 93. No Parking (On The Dance Floor) (Midnight Star). 94. Twist Of Fate (Olivia Newton-John). 95. Taxi (J. Blackfoot). 96. Time Will Reveal (Debarge). 97. Baby I Lied (Deborah Allen). 98. Stay With Me Tonight (Jeffrey Osborne). 99. The Curly Shuffle (Jump 'n The Saddle). 100. Nightbird (Stevie Nicks).</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the top 20 NFL quarterbacks in history based on career passing yards.</li><li>1. Tom Brady (89,214). 2. Drew Brees (80,358). 3. Peyton Manning (71,940). 4. Brett Favre (71,838). 5. Ben Roethlisberger (64,088). 6. Philip Rivers (63,440). 7. Matt Ryan (62,792). 8. Dan Marino (61,361). 9. Aaron Rodgers (59,055). 10. Eli Manning (57,023). 11. Matthew Stafford (56,047). 12. John Elway (51,475). 13. Warren Moon (49,325). 14. Fran Tarkenton (47,003). 15. Carson Palmer (46,247). 16. Vinny Testaverde (46,233). 17. Drew Bledsoe (44,611). 18. Joe Flacco (43,936). 19. Russell Wilson (43,653). 20. Dan Fouts (43,040).</li><li>Today in history… After establishing the city of Santo Domingo, Christopher Columbus departs for Spain, leaving his brother in command (1496). Charles I dissolves the Parliament of England, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule (1629). An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from occupied territories (1735). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War (1848). The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell (1876). Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison (1922). Mildred Gillars, aka "Axis Sally”, is convicted of treason (1949). Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama's palace to prevent his removal (1959). In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. (1969). Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus (1977). Silicon Valley Bank collapses due to a run on its deposits, in the second largest bank failure in US history (2023).</li><li>March 10 is the birthday of poet/critic Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (1772), educator/activist Hallie Quinn Brown (1849), sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876), businessman Alfred Peet (1920), basketball player Marques Haynes (1926), actor/martial artist Chuck Norris (1940), songwriter/guitarist Tom Scholz (1947), director/screenwriter Paul Haggis (1953), terrorist Osama bin Laden (1957), model/actress Shannon Tweed, (1957), actress Sharon Stone (1958), songwriter/bass player Jeff Ament (1963), music producer Rick Rubin (1963), NFL player Rod Woodson (1965), singer-songwriter Edie Brickell (1966), actor Jon Hamm (1971), singer-songwriter Robin Thicke (1977), singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood (1983), actress Olivia Wilde (1984), actress Ego Nwodim (1988), and NFL player Justin Herbert (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Time to hop in the shower and get dressed and do things. My task of the day is setting up the security system we acquired for the house awhile back, so if tomorrow’s news starts with my injuries from falling off a ladder, I won’t have to explain why. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-39481894875677664362024-03-09T12:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:46:19.488-07:00Random News: March 9, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxZHqkkhnbuuIS5HEevMwiwEdp7xkmv3NJpBpgeUSYYBAhbJwXZiu1yGeG7YKQJa0oGs_s_vvzTp09f-fdmmEyqRsWVYcasTFjMhvigppXtPjY-1wd4QyA7mHM4omZAylKxF07V5MqUdyzPifwNSjiPtLqA2-ByUcD3wImsyx2NvEayDKX7NlGNlL62Y/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxZHqkkhnbuuIS5HEevMwiwEdp7xkmv3NJpBpgeUSYYBAhbJwXZiu1yGeG7YKQJa0oGs_s_vvzTp09f-fdmmEyqRsWVYcasTFjMhvigppXtPjY-1wd4QyA7mHM4omZAylKxF07V5MqUdyzPifwNSjiPtLqA2-ByUcD3wImsyx2NvEayDKX7NlGNlL62Y/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning- uh, good afternoon. It’s March 9, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. As usual, I’m in a blue bathrobe and drinking coffee as I race down the information superhighway, stopping here and there when something piques my interest. then I note it and share it with you. That’s the way we do it.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Welp, here we go again with the Daylight Saving Time in the USA and many other places. It starts tomorrow (aka tonight at midnight).</li><li>I know, I know… you all love DST. I do not. I’ve explained why many times.</li><li>I own a business and I get up early in the morning. Especially on Monday, it will be all kinds of fucked up, being basically pitch black dark for the first entire hour of my day.</li><li>And then getting to sleep at night will be a bitch for a good week or so while I adjust to the clock change. I don’t need it to be light until late in the evening. It does nothing for me.</li><li>Anyway, set your clocks tonight for an hour ahead. </li><li>Now, some news.</li><li>Just because Super Tuesday was last week doesn’t meant he primary voting season is over… far from it.</li><li>Next week on March 12, there are Democratic and/or Republican primaries in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, and for Democrats Abroad.</li><li>Following in the week thereafter, primaries are in Guam, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio. Any time you have an opportunity to vote, please do so.</li><li>There are likely other candidates and ballot measures to help choose, and your vote for president is going to influence the perceived support of your preferred candidate as the race continues.</li><li>VOTE! Thank you.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, who was appointed by Donnie Dump, sided with one of President Joe Biden's immigration policies in a surprise ruling yesterday.</li><li>He ruled against Texas and 20 other Republican-led states challenging a Biden administration program that allows up to 30,000 migrants who are seeking asylum from four countries to enter the U.S. on an emergency basis each month.</li><li>The program applies to approved migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Applicants are required to be sponsored by a person in the United States and must arrange their own travel to the country by air to participate.</li><li>Tipton ruled that Texas lacked standing to bring the lawsuit and had not demonstrated that it was "injured" by the program. He also noted (and the DHS and the Republican states agreed) that the number of migrants entering the country under the program has dramatically decreased by as much as 44 percent.</li><li>Good. Fuck those states.</li><li>Speaking of President Biden, he just launched a new ad campaign on the heels of his very well-received State of the Union speech on Thursday night.</li><li>The ad directly addresses Biden’s age, which I think is smart.</li><li>He says, "Look I'm not a young guy. That's no secret. But here's the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people."</li><li>The spot then ticks through his record on the recovery from the pandemic, climate change, lowering prescription drug prices and the economy. </li><li>Biden then notes how Dumpy failed to pass an infrastructure law, and reminds people that Dump "took away the freedom of women to choose."</li><li>The ad is part of a recently announced $30 million battleground state ad buy and will air in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.</li><li>More than a few of you hit me up to ask why I didn’t mention anything about the GOP rebuttal to the State of the Union the other night by Senator Katie Britt (R-AL).</li><li>I didn’t say anything about it because it was so incredibly pathetic that I almost felt badly about even bringing it up. It was obvious that the GOP did not anticipate the fire and energy that Dark Brandon brought to the stage.</li><li>Her fellow Senator in the state, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said this about her performance, which was filmed in a kitchen. “She was picked as a housewife, not just a senator, somebody who sees it from a different perspective. I mean, she did what she was asked to do. I thought she did a good job. And it’s hard when you’ve never done anything like that.”</li><li>Fucking Jesus. But I do need to call out Britt’s speech now for reasons of truth.</li><li>She told a graphic sex-trafficking story about a woman who was sexually abused “over and over” by members of Mexican drug cartels on the United States side of the Rio Grande.</li><li>Britt implied also that the woman had confided the story to her, and that the events had occurred during President Biden’s administration.</li><li>Except none of that is true.</li><li>The victim Britt referenced was Karla Jacinto Romero, who has told her story many times publicly, including to Congress; the events didn’t occur in the United States; and they happened during George W. Bush’s presidency.</li><li>How can you vote for people who lie to you at every opportunity? They take you for fools, and they laugh at you behind your back. Hell, they laugh in your face.</li><li>So that’s how the Trump party plays their game. Little side note: if you’re worried Biden is old (which he is), what’s the difference between him and the other guy, who went to high school at the same fucking time?</li><li>Biden graduated in the class of ’61; Dump was ’63. if you’re going to use age as your big fucking factor in choosing, then acknowledge there’s almost no difference there.</li><li>Choose the guy who is going to do the right thing and who stands for all Americans. Don’t choose the one who’s under 91 felony costs across four criminal investigations. This isn’t a difficult choice, people.</li><li>Okay, let’s move on.</li><li>Looks like TikTok is going bye-bye in USA.</li><li>House Republican leaders huddled yesterday morning and will move forward with a vote next Wednesday on a bipartisan bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok — or face a ban in the USA.</li><li>Interestingly, they’re doing this despite Donnie Dump being against it.</li><li>The legislation from Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the leaders of the House Select Committee on China, would force Beijing-based ByteDance to sell off TikTok within 180 days or they’ll penalize app stores that host it.</li><li>El Dumpo is angry because he says a TikTok ban would help his enemy Mark Zuckerberg. he said in his fucking moronic Hitleresque way, “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”</li><li>But the bill has broad bipartisan support in Congress, and on Friday President Biden said he would sign the bill into law if it passes. House Speaker Mike Johnson also endorsed the bill earlier this week.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>With the possibility of a Trump presidency and his oath to ban abortion nationwide, many states are now reexamining laws that help shore up (or, in many cases, weaken) women’s reproductive rights in regard to abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF).</li><li>As it stands today, more than a third of states consider fetuses to be people at some point during pregnancy. Any one of them could be the next Alabama. So lawmakers and organizations on both sides of the political spectrum are scrambling to understand state statutes, some of which are nearly four decades old.</li><li>Alabama passed a bill to reassure fertility clinics that had halted operations in the wake of the state’s Supreme Court ruling in February that deemed embryos legally children.</li><li>But legal experts said the hastily-written bill also carries the unintended consequence of preventing patients whose embryos are destroyed due to clinic negligence or product malfunction from suing for damages.</li><li>And the law notably sidesteps the legal issue of whether or not embryos are legally minor children.</li><li>Want to know the states where blastocysts and embryos and fetuses are people?</li><li>Every stage of the pregnancy: Arizona, South Dakota, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and of course Alabama. Every stage while carried in the womb: Alaska, Wyoming, and Georgia. At viability: Montana, Ohio, and South Carolina.</li><li>Look… you said we were being alarmists when we told you they were going after Roe v. Wade. Now they’ve straight up said they want to ban the choice of women across the country.</li><li>BELIEVE THEM.</li><li>Side note: making contraception illegal and reversing legality of same-sex marriage are the next goals coming up for the Republicans. Then killing Social Security and Medicare that you already paid for.</li><li>Do not say you weren’t warned. I’m here. I’m wanting you now. You can stop them if you want with your vote.</li><li>Moving on to some international news.</li><li>Yesterday, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been found guilty on charges relating to drug trafficking and weapons possession.</li><li>But I thoughts presidents were immune from criminal punishment? Oh wait, that’s just Dump. Never mind.</li><li>A New York Federal District Court convicted the 55-year-old ex-president of three counts including conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and to use machine guns and destructive devices.</li><li>Side note that will surprise no one: Hernández was lauded by Donnie Dump as a man who helped the U.S. stop "drugs at a level that has never happened."</li><li>Snort. Moving on.</li><li>We’ve covered the burgeoning issue of AL and its use in deep fakes, especially in porn.</li><li>This week, five eighth-grade students have been expelled from their Beverly Hills school for their involvement in using artificial intelligence to generate nude images of classmates and sharing them with others.</li><li>The kids grabbed pics of the faces of fellow students at Beverly Vista Middle School and superimposed them on AI-generated nude bodies. The victims are 16 eighth-grade students.</li><li>I can tell you from memory: kids that age can have very few morals, and if there’s tech out there that allows this to be easily accomplished, I promise there are many more middle- and high-school kids doing it, and it probably happens a lot.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “CCS” by veronicavon</li><li>Speaking of weather, the lower 48 states just had the warmest winter in 130 years of record-keeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Temperatures were more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than average.</li><li>Winters are warming faster than any other season in most of the U.S. As humans add heat-trapping gasses to the atmosphere, the coldest places and coldest temperatures are being affected the most, having profound implications for food and water supplies.</li><li>Keep laughing at climate change, folks. I’m hoping the next intelligent species to evolve here may learn from your mistakes.</li><li>Because we are toast.</li><li>I thought a fun chart today would be the bottom of the Billboard 200 album chart for this day in 1974, 50 years ago on March 9.</li><li>Some of these are on their way up; most are on their way down, and a good number of them barely made it on the chart in the first place.</li><li>181. Mott (Mott The Hoople). 182. His California Album (Bobby Bland). 183. Here Comes Inspiration (Paul Williams). 184. Now & Then (Carpenters). 185. Stomp Your Hands, Clap Your Feet (Slade). 186. All-Time Greatest Hits (The Lettermen). 187. Half-Breed (Cher). 188. Takin My Time (Bonnie Raitt). 189. Living And Dying In 3/4 Time (Jimmy Buffett). 190. Windfall (Rick Nelson). 191. Barbra Streisand...And Other Musical Instruments (Barbra Streisand). 192. Godspell (Original Cast Recording). 193. Loud 'N' Proud (Nazareth). 194. Creative Source (Creative Source). 195. That's A Plenty (The Pointer Sisters). 196. I Can't Stand The Rain (Ann Peebles). 197. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Harris). 198. Abandoned Luncheonette (Daryl Hall John Oates). 199. Tabernakel (Jan Akkerman). 200. Press On (David T Walker).</li><li>A funny story from Tuesday afternoon, when I had eight shiny new crowns installed n my mouth. The dentist remarked that they’d done a good job of matching the shade to the rest of my old-ass teeth.</li><li>I said that was good because otherwise my mouth would look that that truck in your neighbor’s yard that has one new rim.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… former MLB MVP Joey Votto, who has been openly pleading in recent weeks for an opportunity to play ball despite being age 40, has agreed to a minor league deal with a Toronto Blue Jays.</li><li>Glad for him. Votto is a likable dude. And he’s Canadian and gets to play for his home team, even as a minor leaguer.</li><li>Today in history… Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais (1796). Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine (1815). The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally (1841). Giuseppe Verdi's third opera, ‘Nabucco’, receives its premiere performance in Milan (1842). The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush (1842). Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, NM (1916). President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies (1933). Allied forces carry out firebombing over Tokyo, destroying most of the capital and killing over 100,000 civilians (1945). The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York (1959). Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis (1960). Chrysler announces its acquisition of American Motors Corporation (1987). The Notorious B.I.G. is murdered in Los Angeles after attending the Soul Train Music Awards (1997).</li><li>March 9 is the birthday of explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1451), politician/SCOTUS justice David Davis (1815), businessman/politician Amasa Leland Stanford (1824), politician/diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov (1890), actor/activist Will Geer (1902), engineer Paul Wilbur Klipsch (1904), composer Samuel Barber (1910), novelist Mickey Spillane (1918), saxophonist/composer Ornette Coleman (1930), actor Raul Julia (1940), chess player Bobby Fischer (1943), guitarist Robin Trower (1945), and actor Emmanuel Lewis (1970).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, so I’ll remind you again, set your stupid clocks forward. Might as well do it now. A lot of your clocks probably do it themselves, like your computer and phone and smart appliances and all that. But I know some of you have normal fucking things that are not robots, so set those and mourn the loss of an hour of your life for no fucking good reason. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-35943941203206970782024-03-08T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:44:33.511-07:00Random News: March 8, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpicc7Up27kA6tOZhSpOi4Qu38fCNK_Wt9bgowDc9YoW81U5kyCxC99CWdq3QwLTJEt2kB71BLHv7J2dbJeSMlzsM5Sj_gKFuYDfLVeit8Xujrv-vTGnxcsMxENNX2EvKOcfdfHd1OmuYsojY7XX413CViTceJBrEcScfwFC4v6G0S-86lzl8w69af6OA/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpicc7Up27kA6tOZhSpOi4Qu38fCNK_Wt9bgowDc9YoW81U5kyCxC99CWdq3QwLTJEt2kB71BLHv7J2dbJeSMlzsM5Sj_gKFuYDfLVeit8Xujrv-vTGnxcsMxENNX2EvKOcfdfHd1OmuYsojY7XX413CViTceJBrEcScfwFC4v6G0S-86lzl8w69af6OA/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 8, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I woke up happy after last night’s outstanding performance by the President at the State of the Union, and now how a giant cup of coffee which is further brightening my day.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Let’s get it rolling with last night’s State of the Union address from President Joe Biden.</li><li>I don’t think it’s even a question that it was likely one of Biden’s finest speeches of any sort in his long political career.</li><li>Biden was focused and fiery. He didn’t let his speech challenges get in the way of his message. He was defiant and straight-up challenging attendees from Congress and the Supreme Court to do better.</li><li>He didn’t seem like the sleepy old guy from the right-wing narrative. He was intense, energetic and optimistic. He handled hecklers with grace. He was prepared with responses to defend any attacks.</li><li>You can easily watch the whole thing or read summaries of Biden’s SOTU speech anywhere; I won’t be recapping the whole thing. I’d say Biden hit on every one of the primary issues of the USA and the world, from Ukraine to Palestine, to women’s reproductive rights, to gun violence, to fair taxation of the super wealthy, and a lot more.</li><li>I was objectively impressed with the guy. It may have been the best SOTU speech I’ve ever seen, stacking up against some great ones from orator dudes like Reagan, Clinton, and Obama. I think it was a big moment for him and potentially for the future of the USA.</li><li>It wasn’t just me. Immediate polling after the SOTU said that a large majority of Americans who’d watched the speech had a positive or very positive reaction to it.</li><li>You likely saw a large number of lawmakers on the left side of the room wearing white. Those were members of the Democratic Women's caucus, and their outfits with pins reading "Fighting for Reproductive Freedom" were there to emphasize their support for reproductive rights.</li><li>Women voters who will not allow their freedoms to be taken from them — and the men who support their efforts — are going to be the biggest factor in the 2024 election.</li><li>Meanwhile, the US economy continues to boom as 275,000 jobs are added, unemployed rate stays below 4% for 25 straight months, and wage growth continues to outpace inflation.</li><li>Biden’s wisdom, mental sharpness, and leadership were all on full display last night. That’s the Joe Biden we elected in 2020 and will do so again this November.</li><li>In any case, it was a huge win at a critical time. I think some folks who’d become apathetic about the coming election are now energized and ready to back Joe any way they can.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Today is International Women’s Day. It’s celebrated on March 8 every year, and is a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.</li><li>In some parts of the world, IWD still reflects its political origins, being marked by protests and calls for radical change.</li><li>In case you think otherwise, women are still paid less than men for the same work, are not presented with as many opportunities for growth and advancement, are less likely to be trained and chosen for leadership roles, are far more likely to be victims of violence and of sexual harassment, are subjected to antiquated gender roles, have less access to education worldwide, and have decisions regarding their reproductive plans made on their behalf without their approval.</li><li>The only way any candidate is going to win at any level in US politics this year is to offer women the respect they deserve.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>Not that I want to waste any space on this amazing piece of shit, but disgraced former New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the House by his fellow lawmakers in December, turned up last night at the SOTU sporting a bejeweled collar.</li><li>Santos used the moment to announce another bid for office. I welcome the embarrassing distraction that he’ll bring to other GOP races this year.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>As long as we’re talking about the GOP, let’s give a few words to the woman who will almost certainly be the co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Lara Dump.</li><li>Ms. Dump stated this week that Republicans who do not like her father-in-law Donnie Dump should leave the party.</li><li>But she also said that Republicans would pay for all of El Dumpo’s legal bills, and that every penny the RNC has will go on electing him, if members vote her in as the next co-chair.</li><li>To be clear, we liberals are VERY much in favor of this. We want every single penny that Republicans take in donations to be used for Dumpy’s legal defense and re-election spending.</li><li>None of that money will do to down-ballot GOP candidates. Just straight into Dump’s pockets to spend as he wishes.</li><li>We also want the many Republicans who had been less than supportive of Dump to feel openly unwanted with hostile statements telling them to leave the party.</li><li>So Lara Dump is the perfect woman for the job. I endorse her 100%.</li><li>Moving on…</li><li>The New York judge presiding over El Dumpo's hush money case ruled yesterday that he'll use an anonymous jury when the case goes to trial this month.</li><li>Dump and attorneys in the case will know the identities of the jurors, but their names will be shielded from the press and the public. Judge Juan Merchan cited "a likelihood of bribery, jury tampering, or of physical injury or harassment of juror(s)” by Dump and his supporters.</li><li>Jury selection in that trial is scheduled to begin on March 25.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>The Senate passed legislation yesterday that would compensate Americans exposed to radiation by the government by renewing a law initially passed more than three decades ago.</li><li>The bipartisan bill by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) would expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include more people who believe that exposure caused their illnesses. While some Republicans have balked at the cost — an estimated $50 billion, according to Hawley’s office — the senators have argued that the government is at fault and should step up.</li><li>I agree.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “CD Wallet” by Homeshake</li><li>I was reminiscing not long ago about Spring Break. It was a much bigger deal for me in high school than it was in college, though I got up to some pretty major shenanigans in both eras.</li><li>Growing up in Southern California, it was pretty typical to head out toward Palm Springs and the general desert area. I never had any money, which seems kinda crazy to me in retrospect, leaving on a vacation without a dollar in my pocket.</li><li>But somehow I survived. I remember one year while I was at San Diego State, going out to Lake Havasu with some friends and doing some waterskiing, and ending up having to be rescued by the Coast Guard. Long story.</li><li>Mostly Spring Break for me was another excuse for abuse of drugs and alcohol and general debauchery. I’m glad I lived through that and grew up eventually.</li><li>Anyway, I bring this up because Florida — a major East Coast destination for Spring Break — is imposing new rules for visitors in hopes of preventing chaos.</li><li>Miami in particular is being clear about this, having released a video that pulls up old headlines about violence and arrests during past spring break weeks. </li><li>Gov. Ron DeSantis, the enemy of fun, had this message to visitors: "If you're coming here to enjoy Florida, and to have a good time, fine. If you're coming for these other reasons, if you're committing crime, causing havoc, you're going to pay the price."</li><li>From the Sports Desk… Quarterback Russell Wilson is visiting today with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he also spoke with the New York Giants yesterday as the free agent-to-be seeks his next NFL team.</li><li>Wilson is expected to meet with other teams, including possibly the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s going to be released by the Denver Broncos at the start of the league year, which is on Wednesday of this week.</li><li>I do like Russ and wish him well. I don’t think he will be anything close to an elite quarterback for whatever remains of his career, and it’s super unlikely he’ll accept a backup position.</li><li>Today in history… Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León — my 29th great-grandmother — Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León (1126). An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes "African Slavery in America", the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery (1775). French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot's license (1910). The United States Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule (1917). Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race (1936). The iconic Volkswagen Type 2 "Bus" begins production (1950). US Marines arrive at Da Nang, Vietnam (1965). Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time (1979). While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an "evil empire” (1983). International Women's Day marches in Mexico become violent with 62 police officers and 19 civilians injured in Mexico City alone (2021).</li><li>March 8 is the birthday of composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714), journalist/politician Simon Cameron (1799), SCOTUS justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841), actress Louise Beavers (1902), actor Alan Hale Jr. (1921), actress/dancer Cyd Charisse (1922), singer-songwriter Richard Fariña (1937), actress Lynn Redgrave (1943), actor Micky Dolenz (1945), bass player Randy Meisner (1946), singer-songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (1947), singer-songwriter Gary Numan (1958), journalist Lester Holt (1959), NBA player/broadcaster Kenny Smith (1965), actor Freddie Prinze Jr. (1976), and tattoo artist/model Kat Von D (1982).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s plenty of news for now. I’m happy it’s Friday, and while lunch is many hours away, I’m already looking forward to my weekly sushi extravaganza. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-15855163354105203912024-03-07T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:43:01.282-07:00Random News: March 7, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2LZ0JHapJuDP9sBAi8EUxfYxg9Du6UqPvW-SzYv01xS_UegQqD_tdTIbCLPuDMt6ZsL7c6PZtSp-bnIOXnjlnUgBej0gPkrt6vgKtgUOA82zhQaniwtxP-7L1JAgZcYZT5bQN-9x81PpkzuRxJ822nB4S_lwsZba5-wGkBOpVqhNctb5pf80XoFlYtk/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2LZ0JHapJuDP9sBAi8EUxfYxg9Du6UqPvW-SzYv01xS_UegQqD_tdTIbCLPuDMt6ZsL7c6PZtSp-bnIOXnjlnUgBej0gPkrt6vgKtgUOA82zhQaniwtxP-7L1JAgZcYZT5bQN-9x81PpkzuRxJ822nB4S_lwsZba5-wGkBOpVqhNctb5pf80XoFlYtk/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 7, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Feeling pretty good thus far today, since I’m up and showered and dressed and caffeinated. Might as well see what’s happening around the world. Hopefully something good. Let’s find out.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Tonight, President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union speech. What is the State of the Union speech and way does it happen?</li><li>Fun fact: it’s not optional. The address fulfills the requirement in Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution for the president to periodically "give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."</li><li>For the first hundred of so years or the USA, this was a written report that the President committed to Congress. </li><li>After 1913, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, began the regular practice of delivering the address to Congress in person as a way to rally support for the president's agenda, while also submitting a more detailed report. With the advent of radio and television, the address is now broadcast live in all United States time zones on many networks.</li><li>The annual gathering puts leaders from both parties and all three branches of government on display in the same room. It's an illustration of how the system is supposed to work.</li><li>President Biden faces at least two big tasks in tonight’s State of the Union speech: to offer an agenda for the rest of his term, and to show voters he is ready for another one.</li><li>Biden is pressing lawmakers to pass spending bills, approve funding for Ukraine, and address a crisis at the border. All these measures are stuck in the Republican-led House of Representatives.</li><li>I’ll be watching. You should too.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, the Supreme Court scheduled a date of April 25 to review El Dumpo’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.</li><li>Interesting that they scheduled it for the very last day of the court’s argument calendar.</li><li>Dumpy’s election obstruction trial was originally scheduled to begin this week until the Supreme Court stepped in to say they’d hear arguments in this absolutely ludicrous case, which, I should add, is titled “Trump v. United States of America.”</li><li>That’s appropriate. No one tries to fuck the USA harder than Donnie Boy.</li><li>If the case is delayed more and more, and Dumpy is re-elected, he will simply order the Justice Department to drop the federal charges against him. In addition, it is Justice Department policy not to prosecute a sitting president.</li><li>Donnie’s claim is that US presidents are completely immune from criminal prosecution, as has been the historical case of kings and malevolent dictators. It is the exact opposite of what the founding fathers of this country specifically designated when the USA was created.</li><li>Guess we’ll see how it goes. Also, if the Court agrees with Dump, there’s no legal reason at all that the current president couldn’t just have Dump killed before the election with no fear of prosecution.</li><li>I’m serious.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>After getting his ass handed to him in 2024 presidential primaries across the country, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) has exited the Democratic field.</li><li>"Clearly and convincingly, Democratic primary voters have opined that I'm not that guy," Phillips said. He’s right.</li><li>Phillips also said he is endorsing Biden. Good.</li><li>Contrastingly — and disappointingly, I should add — progressive left Democrat Katie Porter, who’d been running for the open US Senate seat in California, went on social media after she lost badly to centrist Dem Adam Schiff, saying the election was “rigged”.</li><li>We don’t need Democrats to echo things that Donald Trump says.</li><li>Porter tried to clarify later, saying, "'Rigged' means manipulated by dishonest means… At no time have I ever undermined the vote count and election process in CA, which are beyond reproach."</li><li>Then don’t say what you don’t mean. Getting outspent in a campaign is part of life. It doesn’t mean the election itself was unfair.</li><li>Her approach to not conceding gracefully is going to cost her future political career, which is a shame. Bad choice, Katie.</li><li>I want to back up to the vote margins from Super Tuesday once again. There’s an important point you should recognize.</li><li>Here are what percentage of people voted for Nikki Haley in various states. Will some of these vote for Dump in the general election in November? Yes, of course… but not all of them. And these numbers are way higher than any of the pundits predicted.</li><li>Colorado: 33.4%. Maine: 26.2%. Michigan: 26.6%. Minnesota: 29.1%. North Carolina: 23.4%. New Hampshire: 43.2%. Nevada: 30.4%. Utah: 32.8%. Virginia: 34.8%.</li><li>That is significant, and will absolutely impact the election. Remember, Dump needs even more support than he got in 2020 when he lost to Biden.</li><li>And this time, Dump is in the race as the self-proclaimed man who singlehandedly killed Roe v. Wade, removing the rights of women’s reproductive freedom for millions across the country.</li><li>This week, France — reacting directly to the step backwards in women’s rights in the USA — became the world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Monday.</li><li>Lawmakers from both houses of the French Parliament voted 780 to 72 in favor of the measure, easily clearing the three-fifths majority needed to amend the French constitution.</li><li>The move was hailed in the country as a history-making way for France to send a clear signal of support on reproductive rights, with abortion under threat in the United States, as well as in parts of Europe, like Hungary, where far-right parties have come to power.</li><li>Following the vote, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the words “my body my choice.”</li><li>If you re-elect Joe Biden, he has stated that a primary goal of his second term would be to enact legislation that codified the rights of women to reproductive freedom across the entire country.</li><li>His opponent Donnie Dump says he’ll make abortion illegal in almost all circumstances in every state. Take your pick, folks.</li><li>I should also note that voter turnout in many areas was fucking pathetic. I live in the country’s most populous county of all… Los Angeles County. We have about 5.7 million registered voters here.</li><li>But less than a million voted in LA County on Super Tuesday. C’mon people. What the fuck? We make it SO easy to vote here. There are thousands of people who literally gave their lives so that you can vote, and then you did what on Tuesday? Watched Netflix? Jacked off and ate Cheetos?</li><li>This fall, step the fuck up.</li><li>Let’s do some Fuck Around, Find Out news.</li><li>The private Christian school Liberty University has agreed to pay a record $14 million fine after the Education Department found a systemic and persistent failure by the institution to comply with a federal law on campus safety.</li><li>Liberty did not notify people on campus about emergencies and dangerous situations such as bomb threats, the attempted abduction of a young girl, and people accused of repeated acts of sexual violence.</li><li>In addition to the fine, they must spend $2 million on campus safety improvements during a two-year post-review monitoring period.</li><li>Good. Fuck them.</li><li>In other accountability news, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the “Rust” film, was found guilty yesterday of involuntary manslaughter.</li><li>Her trial stemmed from the 2021 on-set fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun that was held by actor Alec Baldwin.</li><li>I have to say… that’s her literal job, ensuring firearm safety on set. The involuntary manslaughter charge carries up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The judge did not set a sentencing date.</li><li>Let’s move on to that Christian fast food establishment Chick-fil-A. The owner of one such restaurant in Ohio, 49-year-old Stacy Lee Austin, drove 400 miles to North Carolina to have sex with a 15-year-old.</li><li>He’d met the child on a social media app. Investigators said they found Austin’s underwear in the trashcan of a bathroom in the home along with some of the juvenile’s clothing. Deputies said Austin admitted to the sexual acts, but his main concern was losing his job with Chick-fil-A.</li><li>He is being charged with statutory sex offense with a child and placed in the Rowan County Detention Center under no bond due to the Pretrial Integrity Act.</li><li>Sigh.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Brown Paper Bag” by DIIV</li><li>From the Sports Desk… here’s who’s leading the NBA right now.</li><li>Eastern Conference… Celtics (48-13), Bucks (41-22), Cavaliers (40-22), Magic (37-26), Knicks (36-26), Heat (35-26).</li><li>Western Conference… Timberwolves (43-19), Thunder (43-19), Nuggets (42-20), Clippers (40-21), Pelicans (37-25), Suns (36-26).</li><li>Today in history… Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives (1799). Senator Daniel Webster gives his "Seventh of March" speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war (1850). Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the “telephone" (1876). A group of 600 civil rights marchers is brutally attacked by state and local police in Selma, AL (1965). </li><li>March 7 is the birthday of mathematician/astronomer John Herschel (1792), artist Piet Mondrian (1872), actress Madame Sul-Te-Wan (1873), composer Maurice Ravel (1875), philanthropist/activist Dorothy de Rothschild (1895), race car driver Janet Guthrie (1938), actor Daniel J. Travanti (1940), businessman Michael Eisner (1942), singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt (1944), singer-songwriter Arthur Lee (1945), actor John Heard (1946), singer-songwriter Peter Wolf (1946), NFL player Franco Harris (1950), actor Bryan Cranston (1956), tennis player Ivan Lendl (1960), singer-songwriter Taylor Dayne (1962), comedian Wanda Sykes (1964), NFL player Steve Beuerlein (1965), actress Rachel Weisz (1970), actress Jenna Fischer (1974), actress Laura Prepon (1980), and poet Amanda Gorman (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s plenty of news. I have a normal day planned, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. A normal day would be nice, regardless. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-6575548944838818462024-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:41:28.023-07:00Random News: March 6, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMxYbqOszXrC-WfhofT0YXvoKz_Av_obX5KKrg_Y5M5lfZ5qJctDZwhI00PyVBrVjGybER7qmyXVHvUXUf4MVV4WBZG7uFD7uyYKvqhTGVam0dn9Smfdh7CGoz3p_F6aVzJFLAKfnvvDKxN2k6XypPJmDb-RGs585k0ktj_qioFnQmyYQ3i7EXPpNMlE/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMxYbqOszXrC-WfhofT0YXvoKz_Av_obX5KKrg_Y5M5lfZ5qJctDZwhI00PyVBrVjGybER7qmyXVHvUXUf4MVV4WBZG7uFD7uyYKvqhTGVam0dn9Smfdh7CGoz3p_F6aVzJFLAKfnvvDKxN2k6XypPJmDb-RGs585k0ktj_qioFnQmyYQ3i7EXPpNMlE/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 6, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. I am feeling pretty good today about most things. I also have a mouth full of new teeth, having had eight permanent new crowns installed yesterday afternoon, and I keep sliding my tongue across them with their perfectly smooth and glassy surfaces. Weird.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Let’s talk Super Tuesday.</li><li>Most races went exactly as predicted. One thing you might not know: Joe Biden’s performance yesterday as the incumbent candidate exceeded that of even Barack Obama in 2012.</li><li>In some states Biden’s support level was well into the 90% range and above.</li><li>Donnie “El Dumpo” Trump was the other big winner, but by much, much smaller margins. Dump even managed to lose a state — Vermont — to his opponent Nikki Haley. That took all the pundits by surprise; Dump was supposedly favored by about 30 points in that race.</li><li>I just mentioned Haley. She dropped out of the race this morning. She didn’t immediately endorse Dump, but I suspect that she will eventually.</li><li>Exit polls yesterday show about 4 out of 5 Haley voters declined to commit to backing the GOP nominee in November. She averaged 26 percent of the vote across the 15 Super Tuesday states. Fascinating.</li><li>Anyway, we all knew the presidential race would be between Biden and Trump, and now it is. It will become official for both men in the next week or two after they accumulate enough delegate votes to get the actual nomination from their respective parties.</li><li>Some other Super Tuesday news.</li><li>In my state of California, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), famous for leading the two Donald Trump impeachments in the House, won the election to compete this fall for the open Senate seat left by the late Dianne Feinstein. His opponent, as planned, will be Republican baseball player Steve Garvey.</li><li>The opponent could have been one of the other two Democratic reps who ran in the race, but that would have ended up being a costly battle, and Schiff basically promoted Garvey rather than fighting it out with Katie Porter or Barbara Lee.</li><li>Schiff will now crush Garvey, who has no political experience and is unlikable, in the general election this fall.</li><li>The downside: Porter and Lee now give up their House seats as a result of this gambit. But they knew it was possible going in. I predict they’ll both be back at some point.</li><li>In other Senate news from yesterday, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) will be the Democratic nominee for Texas and will face Republican Ted Cruz in November. Allred has been the favorite to take on Cruz for a while for his great fundraising and media presence. Polls have consistently shown Allred and Cruz in a dead head for the Texas Senate seat.</li><li>That would be fucking awesome to kick Cruz’s ass to the curb. Let’s go Texas! Note: Texas is NOT a red state as you likely assume. It’s very purple. Allred does indeed have a shot.</li><li>North Carolina Republicans fucked up in a big way by nominating Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson as their candidate for governor of that state. Robinson is a huge extremist who, among other things, has attacked school shooting victims and questioned whether the Las Vegas massacre was real, suggested Black Americans should pay reparations rather than receive them, and denied the Holocaust ever happened.</li><li>And Dump has praised him for his outlook, because of course he did.</li><li>Another big winner yesterday wasn’t even on the ballot. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is opting against running for reelection, avoiding a messy three-way race that would have put Democrats in a difficult position.</li><li>Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was already leading polling in a hypothetical three-way race before Sinema dropped out. Now he stands a much better chance of crushing weirdo Republican Keri Lake this fall.</li><li>There’s a lot more to review about Super Tuesday but I don’t have the time or the patience to do it all here and now. Pretty soon, we’ll be pivoting our focus to the general election and do a bunch of state-by-state analysis on what needs to happen to bury the MAGA party.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with former president and current accused felon Donnie Dump on Sunday in Palm Beach, FL along with other wealthy Republican donors.</li><li>Dump desperately needs their money to pay for both his legal bills and his general election campaign. if they give him the money, it’s unknown what he’s promising them in return.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “POP POP POP” by IDLES</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the NBA’s leaders in points per game.</li><li>1. Luka Doncic (DAL): 34.6. 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC): 31.0. 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL): 30.8. 4. Donovan Mitchell (CLE): 28.0. 5. Kevin Durant (PHX): 27.9.</li><li>Those dudes are ballers. For real for real.</li><li>Today in history… Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam (1521). York, Upper Canada, is incorporated as Toronto (1834). After a thirteen-day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured (1836). The Supreme Court of the United States rules 7–2 in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case that the Constitution does not confer citizenship on black people (1857). Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society (1869). Bayer registers "Aspirin" as a trademark (1899). Italian forces become the first to use airships in war, as two dirigibles drop bombs on Turkish troops encamped at Janzur, from an altitude of 6,000 feet (1912). President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday", closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions (1933). Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States (1967). For the first time the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory (1975). Forbes names Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person, for the first time, at $112 billion net worth (2018).</li><li>March 6 is the birthday of painter/sculptor Michelangelo (1475), author Cyrano de Bergerac (1619), poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806), gun designer Georg Luger (1849), journalist Ring Lardner (1885), singer-songwriter Furry Lewis (1893), bandleader Bob Wills (1905), actor Lou Costello (1906), TV announcer/co-host Ed McMahon (1923), guitarist Wes Montgomery (1923), economist Alan Greenspan (1926), MLB player Willie Stargell (1940), singer-songwriter/guitarist David Gilmour (1946), singer-songwriter Kiki Dee (1947), actor/director Rob Reiner (1947), actor D. L. Hughley (1963), NBA player Shaquille O’Neal (1972), NFL player Sage Rosenfels (1978), and fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried (1992).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, that’s it for now. I have shit to do and smooth teeth to lick. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-61872727929311812942024-03-05T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:39:27.757-07:00Random News: March 5, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYOqFC7mr7IGFIjwM7tTh3Km_bIRABzEoeBrAaMRSSKI2W1TVFTB3Hk7nS4XY_v2TdC1nYO5xoBanh6ZDO1yAdeCUilicSx0x-_Zdnkio-CLvD53fJOMDxzWfnfuqTCdr9Y3WQNTSygrAtryLRDwpgyvNqiK9lu9of3YzQpKWa8fO9UT4-B8p5HJ0Qr0/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYOqFC7mr7IGFIjwM7tTh3Km_bIRABzEoeBrAaMRSSKI2W1TVFTB3Hk7nS4XY_v2TdC1nYO5xoBanh6ZDO1yAdeCUilicSx0x-_Zdnkio-CLvD53fJOMDxzWfnfuqTCdr9Y3WQNTSygrAtryLRDwpgyvNqiK9lu9of3YzQpKWa8fO9UT4-B8p5HJ0Qr0/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 5, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. It’s also Super Tuesday, the date where the most states have their primary elections. We’ll get to that shortly, but I will say that no matter who and what you support, you should be voting every chance you get. Use it or lose it. Okay, let’s go.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Before I do, let me state that a good chunk of the Internet seems to be down at this very moment, including all Meta properties (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and many other important Internet locations.</li><li>Not sure when I’ll be able to post this collection of news as a result.</li><li>I don’t know why just yet, but it seems to be a large-scale situation. Interesting that it’s happening today. More on that later, I suppose.</li><li>Let’s talk Super Tuesday.</li><li>I actually don’t have a lot to tell you about Super Tuesday. By now, I have to assume you have either already voted or know who you’re voting for.</li><li>Some of the down-ballot choices having nothing to do with the presidential election are probably more important to your lives than the other stuff. Races for office like governor, senator, congressional rep, and various propositions are often vitally important to your day-to-day lives.</li><li>Want some predictions? They’re very easy. In the GOP, Donnie Dump will win every state by a considerable margin. Nikki Haley may be planning on dropping out later this evening or tomorrow.</li><li>Joe Biden will win by even larger margins despite any “protest vote” against him due to the perception that he can unilaterally control conflict in the Middle East.</li><li>It’s probably a good thing we’ll be getting this part done and moving to a point that the formal nominees of each party are set in stone.</li><li>And again, above all… VOTE! It’s one of the only real powers you have as an American.</li><li>I got some help early this morning from another person who is encouraging people to vote. Her name is Taylor Swift.</li><li>In the midst of her tour, she wrote on Instagram, “Today, March 5, is the presidential primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories. I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today. Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the US, check your polling place and times at Vote.org.”</li><li>Note that like me, Taylor didn’t tel you who to vote for. She just said to vote. if anyone gets threatened by that, maybe they should ask themselves why.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>Or, in this case, move back… to November 2020, just five days after Joe Biden won the presidential election.</li><li>That’s the day that a conservative lawyer named Kenneth Chesebro emailed a former judge who was working for the Dump campaign in Wisconsin, James R. Troupis, pitching an idea for how to overturn the results.</li><li>Chesebro’s idea was that the Dump campaign could allege various systemic abuses and, with court proceedings pending, encourage legislatures to appoint alternative pro-Dump electors that could be certified instead of the Biden electors chosen by the voters.</li><li>Troupis loved the idea and brought Chesebro into the Trump legal team. That email he sent is the earliest known evidence in what would become known as the false elector plot. It was released yesterday along with a trove of more than 1,400 pages of text messages and emails belonging to Troupis and Chesebro as they settled a lawsuit against them filed in Wisconsin.</li><li>I am going to have celebrations each time one of these pieces of shit face consequences for their actions. Every single person who tried to dance around the legal and fair election process in the country and got caught needs to be brought to justice and pay a hefty price to discourage it from happening again.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>This morning, the Biden administration announced it would sharply limit the fees that credit card companies can charge customers who fall behind on their bills, aiming to cap the penalties at $8 in a move that immediately drew fierce resistance from financial giants.</li><li>Under the new regulations, credit card issuers including Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase cannot charge more than $8 for a late payment unless they can explicitly point to data showing they must impose higher fees to make up for losses.</li><li>In issuing the restrictions, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the government intends to close a legal loophole that had allowed some financial giants to charge an average of $32 per month for a missed or late payment.</li><li>Those late fees reaped more than $14 billion in revenue for credit companies in 2022.</li><li>Fuck them and their greed.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira agreed yesterday that he caused one of the most extraordinary leaks of national defense secrets in years and accepted a prison sentence of 16 years.</li><li>Teixeira, 22, agreed to plead guilty to all six counts charging him with willful retention and transmission of national defense information. In exchange, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with additional counts under the Espionage Act.</li><li>This dumbass kid accessed and printed hundreds of classified documents and posted images of them on Discord prior to his arrest last April.</li><li>We need to do a better job of screening people who have access to this kind of information.</li><li>I want to move on to some confirmation of disturbing information in regard to the Israel-Hamas war that involves sexual violence.</li><li>Please skip the next set of bullets if this is too sensitive a topic for you.</li><li>Okay, here we go.</li><li>Confirming something we already knew, a United Nations report released yesterday found signs that sexual violence was committed in multiple locations during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, and said that some hostages being held in the Gaza Strip had also been subjected to rape and sexual torture.</li><li>We’ve covered this topic before, and certainly not just in regard to the current conflict. I wish we hadn’t had to have covered it.</li><li>But sexual violence his extremely commonplace in war situations, and that has been true for thousands of years. And I hate to break it to you, but every country who has invaded another territory has been guilty of it.</li><li>Yes, including the United States.</li><li>Back in the present situation, experts said they had found reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence occurred during the Hamas-led incursion into Israel, including rape and gang rape in at least three locations: the Nova music festival site and the area around it, as well as Road 232 and Kibbutz Re’im.</li><li>Sexual violence and rape are not acceptable in any situation, ever, and in military conflict, it is specifically outlawed by the Geneva Convention and other rules governing war.</li><li>Okay, let’s move on from that.</li><li>Former Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, head of legal Vijaya Gadde and General Counsel Sean Edgett filed a new lawsuit against Elon Musk and X Corp yesterday in federal court, arguing that they are owed $128 million in unpaid severance.</li><li>In their complaint, the ex-Twitter executives say that after Musk backed himself into a deal to buy Twitter, now X Corp., for $44 billion, he took revenge against these executives personally, and tried to recover some of his expenses by repeatedly refusing to honor other clear contractual commitments.</li><li>I’m not at all shocked. Elon is an asshole, and assholes simply don’t pay people per their agreements. That should remind you of another asshole who happens to be running for president.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Shamble” by Curling</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the Denver Broncos have informed nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson they plan to release him, a move that ends a tumultuous two-season run with the team.</li><li>Wilson will be formally released on March 13, the official start of the new NFL year. Will he just retire or will another team pick him (and his massive contract) up? We do not know.</li><li>Today in history… King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorizing them to explore unknown lands (1496). Nicolaus Copernicus's book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published (1616). Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later (1770). Samuel Colt patents the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber (1836). George Westinghouse patents the air brake (1872). Winston Churchill coins the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, MO (1946). Country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, TN (1963).</li><li>March 5 is the birthday of guitarist/composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887), Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (1898), actor Rex Harrison (1908), businessman Laurence Tisch (1923), actor Jack Cassidy (1927), actor Dean Stockwell (1936), actor/singer Murray Head (1946), singer-songwriter Eddy Grant (1948), singer Elaine Paige (1948), magician Penn Jillette (1955), singer-songwriter Teena Marie (1956), singer-songwriter Andy Gibb (1958), NFL player Michael Irvin (1966), guitarist John Frusciante (1970), and NFL player Justin Fields (1999).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Well, seems like it’s going to be an interesting day in several ways. I’m going back to the dentist for some small stuff this afternoon, so try and be nice to each other in the meantime. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-3954604857419313122024-03-04T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:37:15.664-07:00Random News: March 4, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i-jIYnlBQq7K2GSFQpH_0ZG1hoqJ9p3YlLuVADziPr_lrn5fQO8LrTWMsg4WbEJ4iSsnFRyqmEWMrVoXFcrvfSF0ZE90B5KUsA4rK-2lttRN6EpbhHg6JVpbCx_D66d5hVC2TvMGVLTF1hcc9KxBRSMWRfhhTrBFBkKAxz23yOaZayTPqRIC8nS50JY/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i-jIYnlBQq7K2GSFQpH_0ZG1hoqJ9p3YlLuVADziPr_lrn5fQO8LrTWMsg4WbEJ4iSsnFRyqmEWMrVoXFcrvfSF0ZE90B5KUsA4rK-2lttRN6EpbhHg6JVpbCx_D66d5hVC2TvMGVLTF1hcc9KxBRSMWRfhhTrBFBkKAxz23yOaZayTPqRIC8nS50JY/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 4, 2024, and it’s a Monday. I’m feeling pretty well rested and ready to start a new week. Let’s see what’s going on in the world so I can be informed and aware on this lovely morning.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Starting with some breaking news.</li><li>As expected, the supreme court this morning unanimously allowed Donnie Dump to remain on Colorado’s presidential ballot, reversing a state supreme court decision barring him from the election because of his actions leading to the insurrection on January 6, 2021.</li><li>The ruling leaves El Dumpo as the leading candidate for the Republican nomination and for now removes the Supreme Court from directly determining the path of the 2024 presidential election. The justices fast-tracked the challenge from voters in Colorado, and issued their decision one day before Super Tuesday when that state and more than a dozen others hold primary contests.</li><li>Again, no surprise. I had predicted a 9-0 ruling on this matter months ago for many reasons, most of them having to do with the somewhat ambiguous language of the 14th Amendment as it relates to presidents and what an insurrection is.</li><li>As should be obvious but I’ll mention it anyway, this means Dump remains on all state ballots, not just Colorado.</li><li>The main basis of their ruling was that states do not have the power to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.</li><li>"Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse.”</li><li>Before you get all pissy about the three liberal justices agreeing with this, here’s what Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson wrote…</li><li>”Today, the majority goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from becoming President. Although we agree that Colorado cannot enforce Section 3, we protest the majority's effort to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of that provision. Because we would decide only the issue before us, we concur only in the judgment."</li><li>Makes sense.</li><li>There are still at least two more cases that the highest court will hear regarding Dumpy that could affect his electability. Next month, the Supreme Court will hear Dump’s challenge to a unanimous ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that said he is not protected from criminal prosecution by presidential immunity.</li><li>The justices separately have agreed to review the validity of a law that was used to charge hundreds of people in connection with the January 6 failed coup attempt and is also a key element of Trump’s four-count federal election obstruction case in Washington.</li><li>So that’s that for now. I will say this: ultimately, the courts will never save America and the world from Donnie Dump. The only thing that will is your vote. If we win, we win at the ballot box, not in any court.</li><li>Count on that and plan accordingly. Polling has shown Dump ahead of Biden in key swing states like Michigan, Arizona and Georgia, with Biden ahead in Pennsylvania and the two candidates neck-and-neck in Wisconsin.</li><li>Speaking of voting, yesterday, former South Carolina Gov. and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley won the Republican presidential primary in Washington, DC, after three days of voting in the nation’s capital.</li><li>Don’t get too happy. First, Haley is awful. Second, she’ll be dropping out of the race after Super Tuesday, which is tomorrow. But Haley will receive all 19 delegates that were up for grabs in DC for her first win of the 2024 Republican nomination process.</li><li>I’m just glad that it made Donnie super angry, because you know it did.</li><li>In other news of El Dumperino, former Dump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg will be pleading guilty to perjury charges today related to the testimony he gave in the New York civil fraud trial of Dump and his company.</li><li>The plea is not expected to include a cooperation agreement that would require Weisselberg to testify at a future trial. It will almost certainly affect Weisselberg’s own punishment.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>I was happy to see that Vice President Kamala Harris used strong and direct language yesterday in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that would last for six weeks.</li><li>She made her comments as she spoke in Selma, Alabama, on the anniversary of the civil rights march later known as “Bloody Sunday”.</li><li>She also delivered one of the sternest condemnations of Israel’s failure to allow humanitarian aid to citizens of the Gaza Strip from the White House so far, remarks that came after Israel’s military was widely criticized for opening fire as Palestinians swarmed an aid truck carrying flour. More than 100 Palestinians were killed in the incident.</li><li>Good. I have nothing but respect for the VP. I voted for her as my state’s AG and Senator before she got called by Joe to help lead the country.</li><li>This Thursday night, President Joe Biden will make his State of the Union speech. He’s going to ask a question: whose side are you on?</li><li>Are Americans on the side of lower health care costs and democratic freedoms? Or on the side of drug company profits and tax breaks for the wealthy?</li><li>It will be Biden’s third State of the Union speech, and he’ll use the moment to remind voters about hard-won legislative victories of which they’re mostly unaware.</li><li>He’ll also look to ease growing unhappiness inside his own party about his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.</li><li>Hope it goes well.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “ride around” by Goat Girl</li><li>From the Sports Desk… huge congratulations once again to Caitlin Clark, who passed "Pistol Pete" Maravich for the most points in history scored by a Division I basketball player, men's or women's.</li><li>Clark got the record by hitting two free throw with 0.3 seconds left in the half.</li><li>You will hear some people whining that Maravich's NCAA scoring mark isn’t comparable to Clark’s. She’s played 130 games over four seasons, while Maravich averaged 44.2 points over 83 games during three seasons in an era when there was no 3-point line or shot clock.</li><li>But every era in sports has its advantages and disadvantages. Purely based on the numbers, Clark is the best NCAA basketball player of all time, bar none. The honor is well deserved.</li><li>Today in history… Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean (1493). The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter (1628). In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect (1789). Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state (1791). The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress (1794). John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4 (1797). The city of Chicago is incorporated (1837). The United States Department of Labor is formed (1913). Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives (1917). Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States, becoming the last president to be inaugurated on March 4 (1933). The USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin (1944). In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles' John Lennon declares that the band is "more popular than Jesus now” (1966). The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for HIV infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States (1985). The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex (1998). </li><li>March 4 is the birthday of French queen and my 26th great-grandmother Blanche of Castile (1188), violinist/composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678), painter William Payne (1760), football player/coach Knute Rockne (1888), businessman Richard DeVos (1926), actress Paula Prentiss (1938), singer-songwriter Bobby Womack (1944), singer-songwriter/guitarist Chris Rea (1951), actress Catherine O’Hara (1954), politician Tina Smith (1958), boxer Ray Mancini (1961), bass player Jason Newsted (1963), writer/musician/actor Chaz Bono (1969), NBA player Draymond Green (1990), and model/socialite Brooklyn Beckham (1990).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Well, March the Fourth be with you! Wait, that’s not a thing. Never mind. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-8652272822978074272024-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:35:19.772-08:00Random News: March 3, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2m1Ue-leiV3ZK1PeyF4frFCbENplwBoC0U5PstddUlcLcdBJ0z8DgFhcl2BojM60XzQq67NjWMJJVlZdXElTDa2pjS_abJ9fpiWdl_e153duqwB-iqxKULsLGC1UqH2FYHl0dKoQ5AwXl0jFKM00dk0P6Zg9_hLJcP4K5mHhrOrPhWEZn26sK-L6GBw/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2m1Ue-leiV3ZK1PeyF4frFCbENplwBoC0U5PstddUlcLcdBJ0z8DgFhcl2BojM60XzQq67NjWMJJVlZdXElTDa2pjS_abJ9fpiWdl_e153duqwB-iqxKULsLGC1UqH2FYHl0dKoQ5AwXl0jFKM00dk0P6Zg9_hLJcP4K5mHhrOrPhWEZn26sK-L6GBw/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 3, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. I slept in until 8AM, which is almost unheard of for me, so now I’m enjoying my coffee and figuring out what’s going on in the world. Never really do, but at least I can tell you some things that are happening in the meantime.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Yesterday, the USA completed a successful airdrop of food into Gaza, parachuting in packages that contained more than 38,000 meals intended to help alleviate hunger in the besieged enclave.</li><li>We plan to do more of those soon.</li><li>The operation marked an expansion of the United States’ direct role in addressing a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza — where a lack of food and acute hunger have forced some people to eat weeds and animal feed. However, aid groups have warned that the airdrops are insufficient for the enormous need.</li><li>Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and France have also carried out aerial aid deliveries in recent days.</li><li>Why not just drive food and other aid into Gaza via land vehicles? Well, last week, at least 118 people were killed and 760 injured when a crowd converged on an aid convoy. Israeli troops fired on the crowd, leading to the carnage.</li><li>Let’s be clear here: if it wasn’t for the actions of terrorist groups like Hamas and the Houthis, there wouldn’t be the dire situation in the first place.</li><li>But if there’s no ceasefire in the near future, it’s understandable that many people around the world consider this war a form of genocide against the Palestine people.</li><li>Something has to change. Since the war began after a Hamas attack on October 7, at least 30,410 people have been killed and 71,700 injured in Gaza, per the Gaza Health Ministry. A majority of those people are civilians (including children). It’s unacceptable. </li><li>In somewhat related world news, the cargo ship Rubymar sank in the Red Sea after being struck by an anti-ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis on February 18, and sank early Saturday.</li><li>This poses a significant environmental risk to one of the world’s busiest waterways and the home of many coral reefs; the ship was carrying some 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer.</li><li>The ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying will cause an environmental disaster. No one seems to give a shit about the longterm effects of their actions anymore.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>It’s the biggest week of the 2024 primary elections in the USA, with Super Tuesday lined up for March 5 in a couple of days.</li><li>I’ve had a number of people ask me whether voting in the primaries matters. My general response is that voting always matters, and there are always candidates and legal initiatives that are important in every single election.</li><li>Ironically, perhaps the least important race — the one for President of the USA — gets all the attention. It’s actually the stuff below that slot which most impacts your lives.</li><li>Anyway, Super Tuesday includes Democrat and/or Republican primaries in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and American Samoa.</li><li>We already know the presidential candidates who will be officially nominated by their respective parties soon enough: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. It’s not in question.</li><li>But the primary elections have many more important things going on in many states.</li><li>Here in California, for example, is a State race that will be impactful. There are four main candidates who are vying to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee, plus Republican Steve Garvey, a former first baseman for the Dodgers.</li><li>Schiff is the easy favorite, polling at around 25 percent. Garvey and Porter are right around 20 percent for the coveted second spot.</li><li>Schiff is running a smart game. See, in my state, the top two candidates from any party end up facing off in the fall, which means it could be two Democrats (i.e., Schiff and Porter). But Schiff has essentially been promoting Garvey, who has zero chance of winning in the general election, as opposed to Porter, who would have a better shot.</li><li>Also in California pre-election polling, a majority of voters (69%) plan to vote “yes” on Prop 1, a ballot measure that authorizes $6.38 billion in bonds to build mental health treatment facilities for those with mental health and substance use challenges.</li><li>I already voted. I’m not tell you who I voted for in the Senate race, but I will tell you I voted yes on Prop 1. And yes, of course I voted for Joe Biden, and to re-elect my great congressional Rep. Ted Lieu.</li><li>I’ll remind you that no matter where you live, a vote for a Republican candidate or Republican-backed law is always, without fail, a vote for removal of women’s rights, a vote for government control of your private choices, and a vote for the elimination of civil rights and systems of equality and diversity that we’ve worked so hard to achieve for the past 60+ years in this country.</li><li>Don’t go backwards. Anyway, please do vote… every election, every time. It all matters, I promise.</li><li>I do have to mention one item from this week about El Dumpo, the man who would like to lead the country again. he was talking to Sean Hannity and said this while bragging about having killed right right for women to make their own reproductive choices…</li><li>“Under Roe v. Wade, they had the right to kill the baby after birth. I mean, literally, after birth in some cases.” - Donald John Trump</li><li>Now, I don’t care what your political outlook is. Just ask yourself if that is true. Ask yourself if that guy is telling you the truth. Take your time. Do all the research you want. Find out if Roe v. Wade permitted the killing of children after they are born. Find out if that was ever, in any conceivable way, true.</li><li>Why would you put your trust in a guy who simply lies whenever the truth is inconvenient for him?</li><li>I know I talk a lot about the MAGA faction that has bullied their way into taking over what used to be the Republican Party.</li><li>But there are — I promise this is true — an impactful number of people who still consider themselves Republican but could not, in good conscience, ever support another presidency under Donnie Dump.</li><li>Recent polling data via AP VoteCast says that if Dumpy is the GOP nominee, which he will be, a large enough percentage of primary voters say they would not vote for him in November's general election.</li><li>It’s not huge numbers, but it is definitely substantial enough to impact the election.Two in 10 Iowa voters, one-third of New Hampshire voters, and one-quarter of South Carolina voters say they will refuse to vote for Dump in the fall. And this unwillingness to contemplate a presidential vote for El Dumpo isn’t confined to voters in the earliest states.</li><li>Keep in mind that based on the previous election, Dump would have to win over some of the moderates who supported Biden in 2020 if he wants to return to the White House.</li><li>From that perspective, even a small amount of opposition from within his own party — not to mention broad skepticism among independents — will be a problem for him this fall.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Oregon recriminalized drugs on Friday, undoing a key part of the state's first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history.</li><li>The state Senate approved House Bill 4002 in a 21-8 vote after the House passed it 51-7 on Thursday. Gov. Tina Kotek will sing it into law.</li><li>The measure makes the possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail. It enables police to confiscate the drugs and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks. Drug treatment is to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties.</li><li>So much for that. Look, I’d support full-on decriminalization if I thought the majority of people could be responsible with their drug use. They can’t and they won’t.</li><li>Let’s go back to politics for a moment.</li><li>Yesterday afternoon, Republican J.R. Majewski announced he will bow out of the GOP primary for a key Ohio congressional seat they’re looking to flip.</li><li>He thought he was being funny on a podcast when he said that Democrats arguing with him on the internet was “like being in the Special Olympics. No matter how good you perform, you’re still a fucking retard.”</li><li>Ohio’s primary in March 19. Please lend your support to incumbent Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur if you’re in the 9th district. She’s far less likely to use slurs like that about your disabled children. Thank you.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Pop Star” by Lime Garden</li><li>From the Sports Desk… last night, LeBron James reached 40,000 regular season points. He drove past Michael Porter Jr. and hit a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Denver Nuggets for the historic basket.</li><li>LeBron passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark of 38,387 points to become the league's all-time leading scorer in February 2023. He has also played the second-most regular season and most playoff minutes in league history. He is the only NBA player with at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.</li><li>Amazing. I don’t care how you feel about him otherwise; these are records that are unlikely to be broken in our lifetimes. Who’s the second place active player in scoring? It’s Kevin Durant, with 28,342.</li><li>Today in history… The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau (1776). The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise (1820). Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state (1845). The Territory of Minnesota is created (1849). The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail (1873). John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy (1910). The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem (1931). In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India (1939). NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module (1969). An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers (1991). </li><li>March 3 is the birthday of author/journalist William Godwin (1756), engineer/businessman George Pullman (1831), engineer Alexander Graham Bell (1847), businessman/con artist Charles Ponzi (1882), actress Jean Harlow (1911), actor James Doohan (1920), actress Diana Barrymore (1921), singer-songwriter/guitarist Doc Watson (1923), fashion designer Perry Ellis (1940), singer-songwriter Jennifer Warnes (1947), singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock (1953), radio host Ira Glass (1959), NFL player and failed political candidate Herschel Walker (1962), rapper Tone Lōc (1966), actress Jessica Biel (1982), and NBA player Jayson Tatum (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, that’s plenty for now. Time to get out of this robe and into some responsible adult things. Oh, but first to eat the super unhealthy breakfast that just arrived. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-26683874391833006672024-03-02T11:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:32:26.992-08:00Random News: March 2, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWe1PksrUB-QggITLpNGEuNP-R6holsJUse5gYkbQ2ohsmdmwnP3Pv4u97ZvAwJIZvAAZ-VHSxTZJCUsz5hC9rjgFcrnLxzE-FDP0qEnyLt_1VTx67iXA0XCvs5sdrMhkJFSLr8QnM7MLTW8Qo30okqzPzi32cfpXqeqauThfq7d3eylL9pH9puO8uOw/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWe1PksrUB-QggITLpNGEuNP-R6holsJUse5gYkbQ2ohsmdmwnP3Pv4u97ZvAwJIZvAAZ-VHSxTZJCUsz5hC9rjgFcrnLxzE-FDP0qEnyLt_1VTx67iXA0XCvs5sdrMhkJFSLr8QnM7MLTW8Qo30okqzPzi32cfpXqeqauThfq7d3eylL9pH9puO8uOw/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 2, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. I’m wearing a robe and enjoying coffee on a cloudy and occasionally drizzly day. Plenty of news to discuss as I lazily start this day.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>First, with lots of people voting in primaries over the next week, I want to tell you about something in my state of California. It’s our Voter’s Bill of Rights, a list published by the state that clearly explains your rights as a voter.</li><li>I’m not sure if you have something similar in your state or not, though your should. Anyway, hopefully all of this is applicable to you wherever you live in the rest of the USA.</li><li>You have the following rights.</li><li>The right to vote if you are a registered voter. You are eligible to vote if you are: <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a U.S. citizen living in California, at least 18 years old, registered where you currently live, not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony, and not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.</li><li>The right to vote if you are a registered voter even if your name is not on the list. You will vote using a provisional ballot. Your vote will be counted if elections officials determine that you are eligible to vote. </li><li>The right to vote if you are still in line when the polls close.</li><li>The right to cast a secret ballot without anyone bothering you or telling you how to vote.</li><li>The right to get a new ballot if you have made a mistake, if you have not already cast your ballot. You can ask an elections official at a polling place for a new ballot, or exchange your vote-by-mail ballot for a new one at an elections office, or at your polling place, or vote using a provisional ballot.</li><li>The right to get help casting your ballot from anyone you choose, except from your employer or union representative.</li><li>The right to drop off your completed vote-by-mail ballot at any polling place in California.</li><li>The right to get election materials in a language other than English if enough people in your voting precinct speak that language.</li><li>The right to ask questions to elections officials about election procedures and watch the election process. If the person you ask cannot answer your questions, they must send you to the right person for an answer. If you are disruptive, they can stop answering you.</li><li>The right to report any illegal or fraudulent election activity to an elections official or the Secretary of State’s office.</li><li>I mean, how clear and easily understandable is that? I will never stop being appreciative of my wonderful state. Again, you can probably look and see if your state has similar information.</li><li>Okay, let’s do the news, starting with something disconcerting.</li><li>Yesterday, a federal appeals court overturned a sentencing enhancement used against January 6 defendants charged with felony obstruction. It means that over 100 convicted rioters may have to be resentenced.</li><li>It’s not clear what benefit any of the Jan. 6 assholes will receive because of the ruling. It could have an impact in plea negotiations, eliminating one bargaining chip used by prosecutors when encouraging defendants to plead guilty without a trial.</li><li>But if the Supreme Court reverses or pares back the use of the obstruction charge, all of those cases would have to be reconsidered anew. The courts are still working their way through the latter half of 1,300 charged cases, three years after the failed coup attempt.</li><li>Side note: Obstruction of Congress is one of the four felony charges Donnie Dump faces in D.C. federal court; he is also accused of conspiring to commit that crime.</li><li>Okay, some better news about the Smelly Dump.</li><li>Under last month's fraud trial judgment, Donnie's debt to New York rises by $111,984 in interest per day. That means every nine days, he owes the state another $1,000,000.</li><li>As of today, his total fraud trial judgment, originally $454M, rose to $455M.</li><li>Ha ha.</li><li>Now some justice news.</li><li>Kevin Monahan, the guy who shot and killed a young woman who was a passenger in a car that mistakenly drove up his driveway last year, got sentenced to 25 years to life in prison yesterday.</li><li>The judge was accepting none of his shit. He said, “I think you really could possibly do the same thing again. It’s obvious to me that you feel justified. You don’t take any responsibility for the outcome of your actions. You just don’t get it.”</li><li>Fuck that guy. Hopefully he’ll never get out.</li><li>In other justice news, federal authorities have announced an investigation into allegations of bullying involving Nex Benedict, the non-binary teen who died after a fight with classmates in a women’s bathroom at their high school in Oklahoma.</li><li>The US Department of Education said yesterday it was investigating whether Owasso public schools, outside Tulsa, had “failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students” – a violation of federal law.</li><li>They were responding to a complaint brought by Kelley Robinson, president of LGBTQ+ rights group Human Rights Campaign, who claimed the school district had notice of sex-based harassment at the high school, including instances of bullying, violence, and harassment, that it had failed to respond appropriately to, creating discrimination.</li><li>Good. Get their asses.</li><li>It’s been awhile since we checked on Florida. How are things going down there?</li><li>The University of Florida is terminating all its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions to comply with a state law passed in January that prohibits state or federal funds from being used to fund the programs.</li><li>Ah.</li><li>They can’t even teach sociology there. In a fucking university system. The education board said that a “principles of sociology” course could no longer be taught and would be replaced with a general American history class.</li><li>Why would anyone want to hire a Florida graduate anymore, knowing they’re not receiving one of the most important aspects of a college education?</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Any Light” by Loving</li><li>Let’s do a chart. It’s March 1993. I graduated from college and am scrambling to get a job in a shaky economy. Here’s what I’d hear if I turned on a pop station while driving around LA in my shitty Toyota pickup (which I never did, since I was listening almost exclusively to grunge and alt-rock).</li><li>Some reasonably good stuff here mixed in with some utterly forgettable compete shit music.</li><li>1. A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme) (Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle). 2. I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston). 3. Ordinary World (Duran Duran). 4. Informer (Snow). 5. Nuthin' But A "G" Thang (Dr. Dre). 6. I'm Every Woman (From "The Bodyguard") (Whitney Houston). 7. Mr. Wendal (Arrested Development). 8. Hip Hop Hooray (Naughty By Nature). 9. Don't Walk Away (Jade). 10. Bed Of Roses (Bon Jovi). 11. 7 (Prince And The New Power Generation). 12. Here We Go Again! (Portrait). 13. Saving Forever For You (From "Beverly Hills, 90210") (Shanice). 14. Get Away (Bobby Brown). 15. Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) (Digable Planets). 16. I Got A Man (Positive K). 17. Comforter (Shai). 18. That's What Love Can Do (Boy Krazy). 19. If I Ever Fall In Love (Shai). 20. Two Princes (Spin Doctors).</li><li>From the Sports Desk… rest in peace to legendary Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Andy Russell, a two-time Super Bowl champion, who died yesterday at 82.</li><li>He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection while part of the famous Steel Curtain defense as part of a star-studded trio of linebackers featuring Jack Lambert in the middle and Jack Ham on the other side.</li><li>Today in history… Vasco da Gama's fleet visits the Island of Mozambique (1498). The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes (1797). The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country (1807). The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted (1836). The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins (1859). The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act (1867). Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 U.S. presidential election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote (1877). United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion (1901). Allied aircraft defeat a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea (1943). Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points (1962). The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets (1972). Previously been available only in Japan, Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets (1983). Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations (1992). The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson are officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia (2017).</li><li>March 2 is the birthday of Scotland king Robert II (1316), politician DeWitt Clinton (1769), soldier/politician Sam Houston (1793), brewer/philanthropist Carl Jacobsen (1842), pianist/composer Kurt Weill (1900), writer/illustrator Dr. Seuss (1904), actor/singer/producer Desi Arnaz (1917), actress Jennifer Jones (1919), author/journalist Tom Wolfe (1930), Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931), novelist John Irving (1942), singer-songwriter Lou Reed (1942), author Peter Straub (1943), guitarist Larry Carlton (1948), singer Karen Carpenter (1950), actress Laraine Newman (1952), singer-songwriter Dale Bozzio (1955), singer-songwriter Jon Bon Jovi (1962), actor Daniel Craig (1968), rapper/actor Method Man (1971), singer-songwriter Chris Martin (1977), NFL player Sebastian Janikowski (1978), actress Rebel Wilson (1980), NFL player Reggie Bush (1985), and NFL player Tua Tagovailoa (1998).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That seems like enough news for now. Do fun things. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-7882949803181576232024-03-01T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:29:44.811-08:00Random News: March 1, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNMzfuI5vywo077fnzUkqlQnZ-ifHDC5CQOMOROfTxWjfq8xIA07ADlAF2lNOik51rUckjyJ7R-QVk3zleirGPu7n20JGmsl315clbQpqB88HddFfTsPKwgu_WiPYxvootdB87wt89paRx40ygVozNoctVFx9QGP-FuVwu9vuLx4KJAADBdv9Uu95RxA/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNMzfuI5vywo077fnzUkqlQnZ-ifHDC5CQOMOROfTxWjfq8xIA07ADlAF2lNOik51rUckjyJ7R-QVk3zleirGPu7n20JGmsl315clbQpqB88HddFfTsPKwgu_WiPYxvootdB87wt89paRx40ygVozNoctVFx9QGP-FuVwu9vuLx4KJAADBdv9Uu95RxA/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s March 1, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming weekend… not for any specific reason other than that of enjoying things to do that I don’t have to do. I guess that’s the definition of a weekend, pretty much.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Rabbit rabbit rabbit.</li><li>Yes, it’s a brand new month, and March happens to be Women’s History Month. What is it, and how did it start?</li><li>In the USA, Women's History Month traces its beginnings back to the first International Women's Day in 1911. But it wasn’t until 1969 when a woman named Laura X in Berkeley, CA organized a march on that day which had been largely forgotten about by then.</li><li>She also thought it unfair for half the human race to have only one day a year, and called for National Women’s History Month to be built around the obscure holiday.</li><li>She had a point. Eleven years later in February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women's History Week.</li><li>By 1986, fourteen states had declared March as Women's History Month. The following year, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9, which designated the month of March as Women's History Month.</li><li>Most of you probably have no concept as to how women have been treated, historically and even currently, as second-class citizens of the world.</li><li>Here in the USA, it was barely over 100 years ago that women were “allowed” to vote in elections with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.</li><li>You want something more recent? It wasn’t until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) was passed in 1974 that women were able to get their own credit cards in their own name. That’s right. When I was a child, women could not get a fucking credit card unless it was under their husband’s account.</li><li>How about something that conservatives are gunning for right now: no-fault divorce. Previous to the 1970s, a woman required her husband’s permission to end a marriage, and it trapped women in abusive marriages.</li><li>After the passage of no fault divorce, suicide rates for women dropped by 20%. From 1976 to 1985, overall domestic violence rates dropped by a quarter to one-half in states that adopted no-fault divorce laws.</li><li>Anyway, there are still many, many discrepancies between the rights and privileges of women and men, in the USA and around the world. We will be looking at those from time to time over the course of this month.</li><li>And a side note: I am indeed a feminist. In the same way that I don’t have to be a person of color or a gay person to offer my support to their goals, I have a strong belief in equality and justice, and if you can’t see the injustices suffered by women around the world, you’re fucking blind.</li><li>And unironically, I’d saw to my fellow male humans, be a fucking man and step up to support women. Guys who aren’t feminists are fucking pussies.</li><li>Okay, let’s do the news.</li><li>Several countries have joined the UN in calling for an investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza. At least 117 people were killed and more than 760 injured yesterday as they crowded around aid trucks.</li><li>This is completely unacceptable, and Israel is quickly losing more and more international support due to actions like these. </li><li>As is typical in war, the first casualty is the truth; Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots. The evidence is not on Israel’s side here.</li><li>While 14 of the UN Council's 15 members supported the motion, the US blocked it. It’s far past the time that the US condemned Israel’s actions in this war and called for a cease fire.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, the House approved a short-term funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend, sending the legislation to the Senate before today’s funding deadline.</li><li>The legislation — which passed in a 320-99 vote — kicks the two government funding deadlines to March 8 and March 22, buying lawmakers more time to hash out their differences on spending bills and push them over the finish line.</li><li>Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) knows a shutdown would be blamed on House Republicans, who have demanded controversial policy additions to funding bills.</li><li>But the far-right MAGA contingent of the Congress are now mad at him for working with Democrats (which is actually his job). Only 113 Republicans voted for the bill, compared to 207 Democrats.</li><li>Let’s move on for now.</li><li>A federal judge in Austin, TX ordered the state government yesterday to suspend enforcement of a controversial law that would allow state law enforcement agents to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally.</li><li>Judge David Alan Ezra wrote, “If allowed to proceed, SB 4 could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws. SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”</li><li>Without action from the court, the law was set to go into effect this coming Tuesday March 4. </li><li>Texas is, of course, appealing. They want their law enforcement officers to approach anyone who looks vaguely Latino and demand to see their papers. Remember this when you vote.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>It’s a busy day for America’s favorite smelly criminal, Donald John Trump.</li><li>Two hearings Friday, one in Georgia and the other in Florida, could hold significant implications for Dumpy and the criminal charges he faces for his actions around the 2020 election and retaining classified information after leaving office.</li><li>In Georgia, Dump and his co-defendants are delivering final arguments in their effort to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from the case. In Florida, meanwhile, a federal judge could push back Trump’s trial date in the classified documents case.</li><li>Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Dump proposed moving the trial in the Mar-a-Lago documents case later into the summer. Smith said he believes that Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera, should go to trial on July 8, 2024.</li><li>Keeping an eye on that, obviously.</li><li>Dump has only until next weekend to pay the $83.3 million verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit unless a court rules otherwise. </li><li>And he’s only weeks away from the bill being due for his $454 million penalty in his New York civil fraud trial.</li><li>Reports are flying around that Dumpy is completely embarrassed by the public knowledge that he is not, in fact, rich. He’s stated publicly many times that his wealth is in excess of $10 billion. But if that were the case, he’d have already paid these judgements and not been accumulating massive interest or having to sell off his properties and other assets.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a trove of classified military documents and posting them online, has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty.</li><li>Teixeira, who was 21 years old when he was arrested, is accused of abusing his security clearance and posting classified documents on social media sites, such as Discord. He revealed the kinds of military equipment the United States was prepared to give to Ukraine, how the equipment would be transferred, and how the equipment would be used upon receipt.</li><li>Fuck that kid.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “No Way” by Ford Chastain</li><li>In real weather news… uncontrollable wildfires in Texas and dangerous blizzards in California. Welcome to the rest of your life, and please don’t say climate scientists didn’t warn you for decades. They did. Now you’re fucked.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… want to know where the NCAA Men’s basketball tams are from?</li><li>By conference… Big 12: 9, SEC: 7, Big Ten: 6, Mountain West: 6, Big East: 5, ACC: 5, Pac-12: 2, American: 2, WCC: 2, and Atlantic 10: 2.</li><li>I'm sure this means something to someone who follows college sports. That someone would not be me.</li><li>Today in history… Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars, marking the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi, or"Four Rulers of the World” (293). The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States (1781). United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas (1845). Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S. state (1867). Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park (1872). Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, MO (1893). Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay (1896). Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later (1953). Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice (1974). Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992). Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide (1998). Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security (2003). </li><li>March 1 is the birthday of mathematician/diplomat John Pell (1611), SCOTUS justice William Cushing (1732), pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin (1810), poet Basil Bunting (1900), bandleader Glenn Miller (1904), actor/soldier David Niven (1910), novelist Ralph Ellison (1914), singer/TV host Dinah Shore (1917), Israel prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922), NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle (1926), singer/activist Harry Belafonte (1927), actor Robert Conrad (1935), singer Roger Daltrey (1944), actor Alan Thicke (1947), actress Catherine Bach (1954), actor/director/producer Ron Howard (1954), singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw (1958), actor Javier Bardem (1969), singer-songwriter Kesha (1987), singer-songwriter Justin Bieber (1994), NFL player Tyreek Hill (1994), NFL player Ja'Marr Chase (2000).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay, gotta go. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-71366620516846606312024-02-29T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:27:40.840-08:00Random News: February 29, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1FWHpVO_yMiGP2NAT10F9E-n2EqH6s-5KZLGh6zwU1ugMG5o2GjysXpdpajWRXM43XCwvJ_pDXtdXZ_NBsvxRF4xgQRgScdIPbhibsQLT-CVOFQvVYEApMxjehyphenhyphenAVEyeAlTjibU2TSUB1VT-hnmBffCJgXcMpLdEvJgn29LKXPZfWrp31_yP_K_Rbl0/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1FWHpVO_yMiGP2NAT10F9E-n2EqH6s-5KZLGh6zwU1ugMG5o2GjysXpdpajWRXM43XCwvJ_pDXtdXZ_NBsvxRF4xgQRgScdIPbhibsQLT-CVOFQvVYEApMxjehyphenhyphenAVEyeAlTjibU2TSUB1VT-hnmBffCJgXcMpLdEvJgn29LKXPZfWrp31_yP_K_Rbl0/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 29, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. It’s also Leap Day, a topic we will cover in a moment. There’s also an incredible amount of important news happening, so try to stay alert here, because shit is going down that will affect the rest of your life and those of generations to come. Let’s do it.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>But let’s start with that zany leap year.</li><li>How many days are in a year? 365, right?</li><li>Not really. It actually takes Earth 365.242190 days to orbit the sun. It would be easier if the rotation of the planet and the time it takes to complete an orbit were somehow synchronized identically, but no, it doesn’t work that way.</li><li>So every year, there’s almost an extra quarter of a day difference between the two measurements. Without an extra day every four years or so, the calendar starts to get fucked up. What used to happen in May then happens in April, and so on.</li><li>If you’re in a civilization that needs to know what time of year it is to do things like plant and harvest crops, this eventually becomes a big problem.</li><li>This was figured out by the Hebrew, Chinese, and Buddhist peoples thousands of years ago, and they adjusted their calendars accordingly in various ways.</li><li>The Julian Calendar which was introduced in 45 BC included an extra day every year. It wasn’t quite right; that led to an overcorrection by about eight days each millennium.</li><li>So it wasn’t until the 16th century that Pope Gregory XIII sought to address that problem, which is why we’ve used his Gregorian calendar ever since. It adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100.</li><li>Um… except a leap day is still added in years divisible by 400. Confusing much? Anyway, it works.</li><li>Why add the leap day in February specifically? Because it was already the shortest month. Basically, they were like, “Fuck it, just put it in February,” and no one had a better idea.</li><li>Alright. Happy Leap Day, I guess. Let’s do some real news.</li><li>Donnie Dump tried to play “Let’s Make a Deal” with a New York appellate court yesterday, trying to halt collection of the $454,000,000 civil fraud judgment while he appeals.</li><li>He tried to negotiate by offering them a $100,000,000 appeal bond instead of paying the full amount due.</li><li>No deal! Judge Anil Singh declined to address the amount of the bond, effectively requiring Trump by default to post a bond for the full judgment of $454 million.</li><li>And he has to pay it all within a few weeks. Dump’s defense attorneys had argued that Dumpy had no way to secure a higher amount without selling off some of his real estate.</li><li>This man does not have the money, people. He stated under oath not long ago that he had around $400 million in cash available. That was a lie.</li><li>New York attorney general, Letitia James has said that she will seek to seize some of Trump’s assets if he is unable to pay the judgment. El Dumpo has until March 25 to secure a stay before Tish James starts taking away his shit.</li><li>Important side note: Justice Singh did lift a ban on Dump’s ability to obtain loans from a New York bank, which could allow him to access the equity in his assets to back the full bond amount, assuming some bank is insanely stupid enough to loan him the dough.</li><li>Welp. We’ll all watch while that plays out.</li><li>We have another big Dumpy news item from yesterday, one that would mean the end of democracy and America as we know it if it doesn’t work out the right way.</li><li>The Supreme Court agreed to take up whether Don the Con can be criminally prosecuted over his efforts to overturn his 2020 re-election loss, setting up a historic case that tests the limits of presidential immunity.</li><li>The justices’ order keeps Dump’s January 6 criminal trial proceedings on hold, for now, but it also hands a win to Special Counsel Jack Smith by keeping alive a pathway for his prosecution to reach a jury before the 2024 presidential election.</li><li>Let’s look on the bright side for a bit.</li><li>Dumpy had urged the justices to hold off on taking up his immunity claims on the merits until he first exhausts his appeal options in a lower court. Why?</li><li>Because that process would’ve lasted weeks, if not months, which would’ve aided Dump in his efforts to delay, delay, delay, and further run out the clock so he can first have a shot at returning to the White House and end the prosecution before a jury gets the case.</li><li>The high court’s order establishes an expedited schedule, setting up oral arguments during the week of April 22 and likely enabling the landmark decision to be handed down by the end of June or sooner.</li><li>Let’s be clear: if the Court sides with Dump, that means a US President is now a king. A person who is above the law and is immune from any and all prosecution for crimes they commit.</li><li>It’s the exact opposite of what the USA’s founding fathers stated for the intent of this country.</li><li>However, if the extreme right-wing conservative-majority court ultimately sides against Dump, as many legal observers expect, it would then allow Smith’s prosecution to move forward, providing Dump’s judge with a window to still schedule the trial before November’s election.</li><li>It is concerning that the Supreme Court took up this case at all. Remember, SCOTUS cases are only taken up at the discretion of the justices themselves.</li><li>So, this may end up being one of most important Supreme Court cases of our lifetimes, and one that will affect not only Dump but also Biden and every POTUS yet to come.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, a Cook County, Illinois judge ordered the state election board to remove El Dumpo from the state’s March 19 primary ballot, but put her order on hold until Friday in anticipation of a likely appeal.</li><li>Ha ha.</li><li>Judge Tracie Porter’s decision comes amid national debate over whether Dump is disqualified from the presidency because of his actions related to the January 6, 2021, failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, and whether that attack amounted to an insurrection.</li><li>As you’re probably aware, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule on this matter soon in regard to similar actions in Colorado and Maine, and Colorado’s primary election is Tuesday. </li><li>We should find out soon enough.</li><li>In other huge news from yesterday, Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he's stepping down as the upper chamber's GOP leader after 17 years at the helm. Mitch turned 82 last week.</li><li>In emotional remarks on the State floor yesterday, McConnell outlined his 40 years in the Senate. Note that while Mitch is stepping down as leader, he did not say he was making any plans to actually retire. </li><li>I will never shed a tear for Mitch fucking McConnell. More than anyone else, including Dumpy McDumpster, Mitch was the architect of this worst-ever Supreme Court that stands to destroy our democracy.</li><li>Side note: as purely evil a Mitch is, you have to understand that he’s no longer conservative enough for the MAGA contingent that took over the former Republican party. That’s why he’s stepping aside.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Yesterday, a Republican senator blocked legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children under state law.</li><li>We told you that despite their denial, Republicans want to maintain complete control over women’s reproductive freedom. Don’t listen to their words; watch their votes.</li><li>Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) tried to pass the measure using unanimous consent. But Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MI) objected to Duckworth’s move for a vote.</li><li>They are who they say they are. They’ve already blocked access to abortion. They’re already making laws to discriminate against gay and trans people. They’re already taking steps to make IVF difficult to access or straight-up illegal.</li><li>And next they are coming for contraceptives, and then to control who you can love. Do not vote for a single one of them, ever.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Yesterday something happened that strongly reaffirmed my opposition to capital punishment when Idaho botched the execution of convicted serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech.</li><li>Creech is 73 years old, and make no mistake… he seems like an awful person. He was convicted of five murders, and was sentenced to die for the killing of a fellow prisoner with a battery-filled sock in 1981.</li><li>The U.S. Supreme Court denied three requests from Creech for a stay of execution yesterday morning. There were no noted dissents. The execution would have marked Idaho's first in more than a decade.</li><li>But then, state officials tried and failed 10 times to access veins in both of his arms and legs to inject him with the lethal injection drug pentobarbital. They couldn’t get it figured out, and now Creech’s death warrant has expired.</li><li>His public defenders stated, "We are angered but not surprised that the State of Idaho botched the execution of Thomas Creech today. This is what happens when unknown individuals with unknown training are assigned to carry out an execution.”</li><li>Sigh. Moving on.</li><li>In our continuing coverage of the pieces of shit who tried and failed to overthrow the USA on January 6, 2021, meet Michael Joseph Foy. He was sentenced yesterday to more than three years in federal prison for assaulting law enforcement officers with a hockey stick during the brutal battle at the lower west tunnel of the U.S. Capitol.</li><li>Foy was found guilty of felony charges in June. Federal prosecutors sought more than eight years in federal prison for Foy, who assaulted cops after traveling to Washington with a "TRUMP 2020" flag.</li><li>But U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan — who is also overseeing El Dumpo’s delayed federal trial on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss by conspiring to obstruct Congress and disenfranchise American voters — said that the Justice Department's request was "unreasonable" and didn't factor in Foy's prior military service and other factors in his life in the lead-up to Jan. 6.</li><li>Mighty nice of her, I guess.</li><li>Let’s do some good news.</li><li>Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) has now officially been sworn in after he won a special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District earlier this month. He replaces the disgraced and expelled George Santos.</li><li>So as of today, the Republicans' House majority has shrunk again. On any party-line vote going forward, Republicans will only be able to afford to lose two of their members and still see their priorities pass if all members are present and voting.</li><li>And that’s a big “if”, considering that representatives will be busy campaigning this year to save their own seats, or busy “looking after their family” as Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claims she’ll be doing.</li><li>One more note on voting.</li><li>We mentioned yesterday that next week on March 5 is Super Tuesday, when a whole bunch of sites hold their primary elections.</li><li>We should also note that between now and then, there are Republican caucuses and primaries in other states. Saturday March 2 has the Michigan caucus, and the primaries for Idaho, and Missouri. D.C. has their on March 3, and North Dakota on March 4.</li><li>Vote! And help others to vote. It’s so easy. Just head to vote.org to get your questions answered.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Fishbrain” by Mount Kimbie</li><li>Rest in peace to comedian/actor Richard Lewis. He died Tuesday at age 76. Lewis had been battling Parkinson’s for the past year or so, and then had a heart attack.</li><li>One pretty neat story about him was his relationship with Larry David. They were born three days apart in the same hospital, met at summer camp when they were 12, and have had a lifelong friendship ever since.</li><li>Lewis was respected as a stand-up in the ‘70s and ‘80s and had some films and comedy specials, but became more well known to newer audiences in the past 20+ years via his regular appearances on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”</li><li>Let’s do a chart. It’s this week at the end of February in 1996. I am 27, and working in pretty much the same job I have today… writing press releases, creating advertising, doing all manner of marketing spin, and being a corporate dweeb in general. This is the top of the Billboard Modern Rock tracks, which would have encapsulated the current new music I’d have been listening to at the time.</li><li>Note that by 1996, Modern Rock was primarily lumped into the “post-grunge” subgenre. Like any period and type of music, there were good songs and shit songs. This list is pretty good, though.</li><li>1. Wonderwall (Oasis). 2. 1979 (Smashing Pumpkins). 3. Ironic (Alanis Morissette). 4. Brain Stew/Jaded (Green Day). 5. Santa Monica (Watch The World Die) (Everclear). 6. Heaven Beside You (Alice in Chains). 7. In The Meantime (Spacehog). 8. Airplane (Red Hot Chili Peppers). 9. Naked (Goo Goo Dolls). 10. Glycerine (Bush). 11. Follow You Down (Gin Blossoms). 12. Peaches (The Presidents of the United States of America). 13. Just a Girl (No Doubt). 14. The World I Know (Collective Soul). 15. Big Me (Foo Fighters). 16. Natural One (Folk Implosion). 17. Cumbersome (Seven Mary Three). 18. I Got ID (Pearl Jam). 19. Caught A Lite Sneeze (Tori Amos). 20. Only Happy When It Rains (Garbage).</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the biggest headline in Japan right now is about a Los Angeles Dodger. Shohei Ohtani announced on social media today that he is married.</li><li>Ohtani, who in December signed a record-breaking contract worth $700 million over 10 years, wrote on Instagram in Japanese: "The season is approaching, but I would like to announce to everyone that I have gotten married."</li><li>Well, congrats. I’m pretty sure that he’s the best baseball player I’ve ever seen in my lifetime thus far.</li><li>Today in history… Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to trick Jamaican natives into providing him with supplies (1504). The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations (1796). St. Petersburg, FL is incorporated (1892). In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old (1916). For her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award (1940). Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal (1980). North Korea agrees to suspend uranium enrichment and nuclear and long-range missile tests in return for US food aid (2012). Joe Biden wins the South Carolina primary election (2020).</li><li>February 29 is the birthday of religious leader Ann Lee (1736), composer Gioachino Rossini (1792), saxophonist/composer Jimmy Dorsey (1904), MLB player Pepper Martin (1904), burlesque performer Tempest Storm (1928), actor Dennis Farina (1944), serial killer Aileen Wuornos (1956), rapper Ja Rule (1976), video game composer Lena Raine (1984), NHL player Cam Ward (1984), and NBA player Tyrese Haliburton (2000).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Holy fuck, that’s a lot of big news. I’ve got plenty to do today, so my plans are pretty well established, so now I just have to do them. Easy enough. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-71261493535556248532024-02-28T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:24:22.216-08:00Random News: February 28, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1YgAip_jEKYuAjnVClSXxR9bQOwhEtO-LDfk1gIIcpgYrV7boAnxBch3o-pkLqhcO20TPdhA5qDLW5szYiL2_HnrRZ3OB0zX-xbpBSUwi4wg0OukojC9UMAwdyr86DM0DkFS8ZOP1_3tO3tx7nbJd5dwuEa6RzFIQCRdnqY_O1P48wmcjF7JWnFM8Us/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1YgAip_jEKYuAjnVClSXxR9bQOwhEtO-LDfk1gIIcpgYrV7boAnxBch3o-pkLqhcO20TPdhA5qDLW5szYiL2_HnrRZ3OB0zX-xbpBSUwi4wg0OukojC9UMAwdyr86DM0DkFS8ZOP1_3tO3tx7nbJd5dwuEa6RzFIQCRdnqY_O1P48wmcjF7JWnFM8Us/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 28, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. Another busy news day, but I’ve got a big cup of coffee and have fingers with which I can type. Let’s do this.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Starting with coverage of yesterday’s primary election in Michigan. Both Biden and Trump handily won their respective races as we get closer to their nearly inevitable rematch this fall. However, there are some aspects that need to be reviewed.</li><li>In the Democratic primary, president Joe Biden got 81.1% of the votes, easily trouncing the two other candidate names who remained on the ballot. However, Biden’s victory came with a warning from progressives, young voters, and Arab American Democrats in the form of an “uncommitted” protest vote that got about 13% of the total.</li><li>They want Biden to change course on Israel’s war in Gaza, or risk losing a significant chunk of support in what could be a decisive general election state.</li><li>I’ve long supported the idea of “vote with your heart in the primaries, but vote with your head in the general election.” Ultimately, if a good number of those folks don’t vote for Biden in November, they could end up with Donnie Dump, a president who has already threatened to deport all people of Muslim background.</li><li>Before anyone panics about 13% of Michigan’s voters selecting “uncommitted” as their choice, I also want you know that in 2012, Barack Obama had nearly the same percentage and ended up destroying his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, by over 400,000 votes that fall.</li><li>Moving over to the Republican side, El Dumpo defeated his remaining challenger Nikki Haley by 68% to her 26%. This is actually much more alarming for the MAGA world. More than 30% of the GOP base came out to vote against the unquestioned leader of their party.</li><li>And a good portion of those folks will not support Dumpy in the general election no matter what.</li><li>Weird side note: while Joe Biden was awarded all 109 of Michigan’s Democratic delegates, only 16 of Michigan’s 55 delegates to the Republican National Convention were at stake in Tuesday’s primary, with Dump getting 9 and Haley getting 4. The rest will be awarded at a state party convention Saturday.</li><li>And another note on polling: the most recent 538 polling average had Dump winning Michigan by 57 points. He ended up winning by about 30.</li><li>Shrug.</li><li>Anyway, we’re now less than a week out from Super Tuesday, where 16 states plus one territory will result in hundreds and hundreds of delegate votes that will lead to the eventual official party nomination for the leading candidates.</li><li>There is no question that these will end up being Joe Biden and Donald Trump.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>It’s the season for major court cases, and there are a couple of them on tap today.</li><li>The Supreme Court is considering whether a ban on bump stocks — an accessory that allows semiautomatic rifles to fire hundreds of bullets per minute — is legal. They were banned by the Trump administration after dozens of people were killed and hundreds more injured at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas in 2017.</li><li>A bump stock has a similar effect to turning a legal rifle into an illegal machine gun. There’s no way in hell they should be legal. I’m betting this disgusting Court that lacks any semblance of ethics feels otherwise.</li><li>Here’s a moment of comedy from Monday’s Supreme Court hearings about social media companies and the First Amendment.</li><li>Justice Samuel Alito, perhaps the most conservative member of this shitty Court, asked a question and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t trying to be funny. It was about whether editorial protections that newspapers have are applicable to social media platforms.</li><li>"Let's say YouTube were a newspaper, how much would it weigh?" he asked, and the room erupted in laughter.</li><li>Fucking Jesus. This guy is deciding laws for tech firms?</li><li>In terrible law news, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Indiana’s ban on care for transgender youth to take effect immediately.</li><li>The court issued a stay yesterday, overturning a June decision from a federal judge that blocked the health care ban. Indiana’s Senate Bill 480 bans health care providers from administering gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors.</li><li>I’m at a point now where I’d support a boycott on business with companies based in states that enact these draconian measures. Money talks.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Last week, Owasso, NE police said in a statement last week that “preliminary information” from the medical examiner’s office indicated that 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict “did not die as a result of trauma.”</li><li>Some people took the department’s statement to mean that any potential injuries Benedict sustained from the fight didn’t cause their death. However, Lt. Nick Boatman, a police spokesperson, said yesterday that that wasn’t what the statement was intended to mean.</li><li>We’ll be watching for more information as it becomes available. And if it becomes clear that Benedict’s beating resulted in or contributed to their death, we do expect murder charges to be filed accordingly.</li><li>As long as we’re talking about teenagers, we should mention Tyler Jay Boebert, the 18-year-old son of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).</li><li>He was arrested yesterday after a recent string of vehicle trespass and property thefts. Boebert faces multiple felony counts of criminal possession of identification documents, conspiracy to commit a felony, and more than 15 additional misdemeanor and petty offenses.</li><li>As of this morning, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office listed Tyler Boebert as an inmate in the county jail with no bond amount or release date set.</li><li>In a high level of irony, just hours before her son’s arrest, Rep. Boebert wrote, “The Biden Crime Family will go down as the most corrupt political family in American history,” despite the fact that she, her ex-husband Jayson, and her son have all faced charges in the past six months.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Starbucks and a union seeking to organize the coffee chain's U.S. workforce said yesterday they have agreed to create a framework to guide organizing and collective bargaining and potentially settle scores of pending legal disputes.</li><li>Starbucks and Workers United said in a joint announcement that during talks last week to settle an ongoing court case, a constructive path forward emerged on the future of the nationwide labor campaign that began in 2021 and has led workers to unionize at nearly 400 of the company's 9,000 U.S. stores.</li><li>Commenting on this, President Biden wrote, “Months ago, I sat down with Starbucks Workers United leaders to discuss their fight for better conditions and pay. Today, I applaud workers and Starbucks for announcing a framework that respects the right to form and join unions. When workers win, we all win.”</li><li>Joe is right.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Prosecutors preparing for El Dumpo’s first criminal trial next month are seeking a partial gag order to prevent him and those speaking on his behalf from disparaging witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the case, and have asked a judge to protect jurors by shielding their names and addresses from public view.</li><li>This is just the first of four prosecutions Dump faces as he closes in on the 2024 Republican nomination for president, in regard to Dump’s hush money payment during the 2016 election.</li><li>Shielding the names and addresses of jurors will help “ensure the integrity of these proceedings, minimize obstacles to jury selection, and protect juror safety.”</li><li>Dumpy’s defense lawyers will have a chance to respond to Bragg’s motions before Judge Merchan rules on them.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Alesis” by Mk.gee</li><li>Some crazy weather last night in the Midwest, with severe thunderstorms in Illinois and Michigan, and at least two tornadoes touching down in Ohio. Be safe out there, friends.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the current five best goalies in the NHL based on goals allowed.</li><li>1. Connor Hellebuyck (WPG): 2.21. 2. Adin Hill (VGK): 2.26. 3. David Rittich (LA): 2.32. 4 (tie). Pyotr Kochetkov (CAR): 2.35. 4 (tie). Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA): 2.35.</li><li>Today in history… Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés (1525). The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (1922). James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place in April's Nature Magazine (1953). The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers (1983). The first Gulf War ends (1991). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, TX, starting a 51-day standoff (1993). GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way (1997). The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damages Seattle metropolitan area (2001). Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415 (2013). </li><li>February 28 is the birthday of screenwriter Ben Hecht (1894), chemist/activist Linus Pauling (1901), gangster Bugsy Siegel (1906), architect Frank Gehry (1929), actor Gavin MacLeod (1931), racing driver Mario Andretti (1940), graphic designer Storm Thorgerson (1944), NFL player/actor Bubba Smith (1945), actress Bernadette Peters (1948), comedian Gilbert Gottfried (1955), actor John Turturro (1957), singer-songwriter Cindy Wilson (1957), NHL player Eric Lindros (1973), MLB player Aroldis Chapman (1988), and NBA player Luka Dončić (1999).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>There’s always more news, but never more time. Gotta go. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-51482108798764316872024-02-27T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:21:37.717-08:00Random News: February 27, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnnoavGkNZagFLParHoy8KG3MxissT9QJDdXz1EUIFKFvvW05LclEHztHLxYxtiPdajJff51ZiegNc-gynhiFUvM9RNHiuAVkk4D9EnQidfVoysXR3Tf0nOgr2eI7FA858MZL8ci41Hx0QkKBiy3RbRYRRQ0dRAc2EjIkCWi58GUBTjZdKh0K9yvV6eg/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnnoavGkNZagFLParHoy8KG3MxissT9QJDdXz1EUIFKFvvW05LclEHztHLxYxtiPdajJff51ZiegNc-gynhiFUvM9RNHiuAVkk4D9EnQidfVoysXR3Tf0nOgr2eI7FA858MZL8ci41Hx0QkKBiy3RbRYRRQ0dRAc2EjIkCWi58GUBTjZdKh0K9yvV6eg/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 27, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. Tons of stuff going on, so let’s jump right in.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>President Joe Biden said yesterday that he hopes a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would pause hostilities and allow for remaining hostages to be released can take effect by early next week.</li><li>Negotiations are underway for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to allow for the release of hostages being held in Gaza by the militant group in return for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.</li><li>The proposed six-week pause in fighting would also include allowing hundreds of trucks to deliver desperately needed aid into Gaza every day.</li><li>Let’s hope they can get this done before the start of Ramadan around March 10.</li><li>And for those of you voting in Michigan’s primary today, please view this as a genuine sign that Biden is truly working toward peace in the Middle East and getting to a point of better lives for the besieged Palestinian people.</li><li>Back in the USA…</li><li>Let’s talk about the Republicans and their Life at Conception Act. It was introduced in January 2023 by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) and has 125 total Republican sponsors in the House, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.</li><li>The legislation defines the term “human being” to include “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”</li><li>After the Alabama Supreme Court decided frozen embryos used in IVF are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death, a number of Republicans raced to distance themselves from the ruling.</li><li>But under the Life at Conception Act, equal protections under the 14th Amendment would be granted at the moment of “fertilization” — regardless of whether the union of sperm and egg occurs inside the body, which is what happens in a traditional pregnancy, or outside the body, which is the case with IVF.</li><li>Do not believe their bullshit. Republicans want to control every aspect of the sexuality and reproductive freedom of women in every possible way. Vote accordingly. </li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>A federal judge ruled yesterday that the FBI informant indicted earlier this month for making false statements about President Biden and his son will remain jailed.</li><li>After having been initially released, Alexander Smirnov was planning to flee the USA. Good thing he was caught in time. Smirnov had been receiving information from Russian intelligence.</li><li>As to whether the House GOP now drops their investigation or not remains to be seen.</li><li>Let’s do some other news.</li><li>Yesterday in Tennessee, a bill was passed that would largely ban displaying pride flags in public school classrooms. The 70-24 vote sends the legislation to the Senate, where a final vote could happen as early as this week.</li><li>At least two people against the bill were kicked out of the gallery due to talking over the proceedings as Democrats and other opponents blasted the legislation as unfairly limiting a major symbol of the LGBTQ+ community in schools.</li><li>Republican Rep. Gino Bulso, the bill sponsor, said parents reached out to him with complaints about “political flags” in classrooms. When pressed about whether the bill would allow the Confederate flag to be on display in classrooms, Bulso said the bill would not change the current law about when such a symbol could be shown.</li><li>Uh huh. Sigh. Moving on.</li><li>As promised, I want to follow up on yesterday’s Supreme Court activity, where they wrangled with a pair of cases that could help define the future of the Internet.</li><li>Legal experts say they're the most important First Amendment cases in a generation. The question is whether states like Florida and Texas can force big social media platforms to carry content the platforms find hateful or objectionable.</li><li>Most of the justices — including Chief Justice Roberts — seemed to side with a key argument from the social media platforms: that decades of free speech jurisprudence mean government officials cannot compel people or businesses, including social media giants, to speak.</li><li>I agree.</li><li>This is based on what happened after January 6, 2021, when big social media sites booted Don the Con from their platforms, fearing his posts could provoke more unrest.</li><li>Home-grown extremists like the Proud Boys and foreign groups like the Islamic State have deployed social media to attract converts and broadcast violence.</li><li>If the laws in Texas ad Florida stand, social media companies wouldn’t be allowed to moderate content on their own platform. </li><li>Places like Facebook and Twitter would be filled with hate speech, porn, and violent threats, and there would be nothing you could do about it.</li><li>I’ll keep you updated on their decision.</li><li>Here’s another follow-up from yesterday.</li><li>Donnie Dump’s attorneys did file a notice of appeal of the ruling in his New York civil business fraud case… but as I suspected, the notice did not mention the bond he would need to post for an appeal.</li><li>That notice is meaningless until he puts up the cash. That didn’t stop a bunch of media assholes from writing “TRUMP APPEALS VERDICT” headlines yesterday morning. He’s done no such thing.</li><li>Here’s the thing: if we was going to put up the half-billion dollars he needs to start the appeal, he would have wanted to do it as fast as possible. Putting up the bond would stop collections of his assets (which start in under 30 days) and would stop the more than $111,000 of interest per day.</li><li>But he hasn’t done shit yet except formally announce that he intends to appeal.</li><li>Let’s move on to some outstanding world news.</li><li>Hungary's parliament voted yesterday to ratify Sweden's bid to join NATO, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays that have frustrated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.</li><li>The vote passed overwhelmingly with 188 votes for and six against. Unanimous support among NATO members is required to admit new countries, and Hungary is the last of the alliance's 31 members to give its backing since Turkey ratified the request last month.</li><li>Hell yes. Let’s go Team NATO! Welcome to the party, Sweden.</li><li>And now back to the USA again.</li><li>Yesterday, New York state lawmakers voted to reject new congressional districts proposed by a bipartisan commission. Their state Senate voted 40-17 to reject a set of congressional lines offered by the Independent Redistricting Commission while the state Assembly voted 99-47 to reject the map. </li><li>The new House map was introduced after Democrats won a lawsuit to allow the IRC a second opportunity to offer a set of congressional lines after they deadlocked last time.</li><li>Fuck all the gerrymandering bullshit.</li><li>And now a headline that writes its own punchline…</li><li>Donnie Dump Jr. received a letter containing a white powdery substance at his Florida home yesterday afternoon. </li><li>Put away that rolled up dollar bill, Junior. Anyway, early results indicated the substance was not deadly, though tests were inconclusive as to what the actual substance was.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Butterfly Net” by Caroline Polachek & Weyes Blood</li><li>From the Sports Desk… here are the leaders in rebounds per game in the NBA.</li><li>1. Domantas Sabonis (SAC): 13.2. 2. Rudy Gobert (MIN). 3 (tie). Nikola Jokic (DEN): 12.3. 3 (tie). Anthony Davis (LAL): 12.3. 5. Jalen Duren (DET): 12.1.</li><li>Today in history… Henry IV is crowned King of France (1594). The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America (1782). The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (1844). The British Labour Party is founded (1900). A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett (1922). Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14 (1940). In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest (1943). The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified (1951). The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government (1973). </li><li>February 27 is the birthday of Roman emperor Constantine the Great (272), poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807), sociologist/philosopher George Herbert Mead (1863), SCOTUS justice Hugo Black (1886), physiologist Charles Herbert Best (1899), author John Steinbeck (1902), actress Joanne Woodward (1930), actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932), activist/politician Ralph Nader (1934), actor Howard Hesseman (1940), political strategist Lee Atwater (1951), guitarist Neal Schon (1954), politician Maggie Hassan (1958), NBA player James Worthy (1961), NFL player Tony Gonzalez (1976), singer-songwriter Josh Groban (1981), NBA player Devin Harris (1983), and NFL player Chandler Jones (1990).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s a lot of news. I’m going to go work out and then do work and then work on other work things. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-55902770230584662972024-02-26T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-03T17:19:09.271-08:00Random News: February 26, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQVGS_qUIIZ4iLc_RpdoskqjU8PTgtlZ0HaZ_xziw6nyblbRYETDuMhF9Pw0vaK6ff5WS5we_C3ytkDQ0Cru0LjQWxrPi6u2U7fD3j-6TMea-NTCGGa5GyMZC7bgOtXi8mWLDrKdIrR2UvYTy61royLKQ9PPRNudebFhWWQhECHNfCsH_PLJtRdaYkTI/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQVGS_qUIIZ4iLc_RpdoskqjU8PTgtlZ0HaZ_xziw6nyblbRYETDuMhF9Pw0vaK6ff5WS5we_C3ytkDQ0Cru0LjQWxrPi6u2U7fD3j-6TMea-NTCGGa5GyMZC7bgOtXi8mWLDrKdIrR2UvYTy61royLKQ9PPRNudebFhWWQhECHNfCsH_PLJtRdaYkTI/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 26, 2024, and it’s a Monday. It’s time to see what is happening in this world of ours. If you don’t know, how can you make it better?</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Let’s start with some breaking news: Donnie Dump has appealed his $454 million New York civil fraud judgment. His lawyers filed a notice of appeal this morning asking the state’s mid-level appeals court to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron’s verdict.</li><li>Dump’s appeal was expected. What’s unclear is if he’s already put up the nearly half billion dollars it takes to formally move the appeal process forward.</li><li>And if so, where he got it. Fascinating. Guess we’ll all see eventually.</li><li>Moving on…</li><li>As expected, Ronna McDaniel said this morning that she will step down next month as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee following Donnie Dump's endorsement of a new slate of leaders to direct the party.</li><li>Dump has endorsed North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley to be the next chairman of the RNC, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to be co-chair, and top campaign aide Chris LaCivita to be the party’s chief operating officer.</li><li>What is the Dumpinator’s goal here? Simple. He wants the RNC to pay all of his legal bills, and not to use their spending power on any other candidates but himself.</li><li>There is currently a resolution circulating within the RNC that would bar the committee from paying the legal bills of Dumpy. That will be tossed aside quickly as soon as the new regime takes over in March.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Let’s talk about tomorrow’s primary elections in Michigan, an important swing state.</li><li>An effort to vote for “uncommitted” rather than supporting President Biden is being spearheaded by progressive groups and Arab American grassroots organizations in the state.</li><li>This is, of course, a form of protest toward a perceived lack of support for Palestine and refusal to force a cease-fire in the ongoing Israel/Hamas war. Michigan has the highest population density of Arab Americans in the USA.</li><li>I think Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says it well: “A second Trump term would be devastating, not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban. This is, I think, a very high-stakes moment. I am encouraging people to cast an affirmative vote for President Biden.”</li><li>Think about the big picture, folks. Thank you.</li><li>In other election news, it’s only a matter of time before Nikki Haley is forced to end her campaign as the only obstacle against Dumpy taking the GOP nomination.</li><li>Americans for Prosperity, the organization backed by conservative billionaire Charles Koch, will stop its spending in support of Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, they announced yesterday.</li><li>Even after her unsurprising primary loss in South Carolina over the weekend, Haley said she still planned to continue her campaign. But without major donor cash, it’s difficult to see how she presses on past another week or so.</li><li>Dump mocked her after the loss on Saturday. I think she’s out after Super Tuesday (March 5) and will immediately endorse Dump afterwards. That’s what they do.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>Vigils took place across the nation for Nex Benedict, a bullied nonbinary Oklahoma teenager who died the day after a fight in a high school bathroom.</li><li>The local police department has since said Benedict’s death was not a result of injuries suffered in the fight, based on the preliminary results of the autopsy.</li><li>Vigils for Nex were held in Oklahoma and locations across the country, including Boston, Minneapolis, New York and Southern California in the days following the student's death.</li><li>As mentioned yesterday, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in two cases that could dramatically reshape social media, weighing whether states such as Texas and Florida should have the power to control what posts platforms can remove from their services.</li><li>The case will affect whether sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok should be able to make their own decisions about how to moderate spam, hate speech, and election misinformation.</li><li>It’s a big fucking deal. I’ll keep you abreast of how it goes, of course.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “loner” by Night Tapes</li><li>In other weather news, Michigan — where today’s important primaries are being held — faces severe storms with possible hail and up to 60mph wind gusts. It’s shit like that which makes me happy to live somewhere where early voting is easy and encouraged.</li><li>Let’s talk about porn… and AI.</li><li>For the past decade or so, porn has been primarily dominated by two entities: Pornhub, a free site supported by ads, and OnlyFans, a subscription platform where individuals control their businesses and their fate.</li><li>But AI will soon be able to create photorealistic images and videos that put viewers in the director’s chair, letting them create whatever porn they like. </li><li>The big question is how to prevent abuse. AI generators don’t have morals; they can be used to create content that depicts violence, rape, sex with children, or a celebrity — or even a crush from work who never consented to appear.</li><li>Currently, no federal laws protect the victims of nonconsensual deepfakes. That means that you, or your family and friends, could end up in porn images that never existed in reality and that they certainly never consented to.</li><li>To add some perspective… porn remains a giant industry accounting for a substantial chunk of all internet traffic. Major porn sites get more monthly visitors and page views than Amazon, Netflix, TikTok, or Zoom.</li><li>It’s going to be a problem, and unless lawmakers start doing something soon, it’s a genie that won’t easily be put back into the bottle.</li><li>Let’s do a chart. It’s this exact day 40 years ago in February 1984, and this is the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles.</li><li>I am a sophomore in high school and I am constantly jamming and practicing and recording music, including working on some of my own songs. What else am I doing in February 1984? I have various girlfriends, I smoke weed, I play various sports, and I can’t drive because I am a grade ahead of my age and while most of my classmates are getting drivers licenses, I am still doing a lot of walking.</li><li>1. Jump (Van Halen). 2. Karma Chameleon (Culture Club). 3. 99 Luftballons (Nena). 4. Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper). 5. Thriller (Michael Jackson). 6. Joanna (Kool & The Gang). 7. Nobody Told Me (John Lennon). 8. Let The Music Play (Shannon). 9. Wrapped Around Your Finger (The Police). 10. An Innocent Man (Billy Joel). 11. That's All (Genesis). 12. Somebody's Watching Me (Rockwell). 13. I Want A New Drug (Huey Lewis & The News). 14. Talking In Your Sleep (The Romantics). 15. Here Comes The Rain Again (Eurythmics). 16. New Moon On Monday (Duran Duran). 17. Running With The Night (Lionel Richie). 18. Think Of Laura (Christopher Cross). 19. Owner Of A Lonely Heart (Yes). 20. Yah Mo B There (James Ingram With Michael McDonald).</li><li>From the Sports Desk… not really a sports story, but a video popped up yesterday that shows 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton involved in a scuffle at a youth football tournament in Atlanta.</li><li>Newton does not appear to throw any punches in the video and seems to be fending off three other people. It’s uncertain what prompted the altercation.</li><li>C’mon people. Be better.</li><li>Today in history… Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun (1616). Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba (1815). Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London (1909). President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park (1919). President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming (1929). Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration which leads directly to the development of radar (1935). U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day (1971). The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff (1987). In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people (1993). Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, FL (2012). 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara State, Nigeria (2021).</li><li>February 26 is the birthday of playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564), author Victor Hugo (1802), fashion designer Levi Strauss (1829), soldier/hunter Buffalo Bill (1846), physician/businessman John Harvey Kellogg (1852), businessman Herbert Henry Dow (1866), animator Tex Avery (1908), actor Robert Alda (1914), actor Jackie Gleason (1916), actor Tony Randall (1920), singer-songwriter/pianist Fats Domino (1928), singer-songwriter/guitarist Johnny Cash (1932), singer-songwriter Mitch Ryder (1945), singer-songwriter/keyboardist Jonathan Cain (1950), singer-songwriter Michael Bolton (1953), politician Tim Kaine (1958), bass player Tim Commerford (1968), singer-songwriter Erykah Badu (1971), NFL player Marshall Faulk (1973), and NBA player Tim Thomas (1977).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Okay then. Lots of ongoing things to keep an eye on. I hope you’re staying aware and awake. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-48646299976951617012024-02-25T11:30:00.000-08:002024-02-25T12:10:14.940-08:00Random News: February 25, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVh9a87pEK_r3SLOniytuhXj50dJiLyLMoVyX95r2JPUeEz1Js3rq6okGWOLV8phx-43ACubYUE-puhjq4ccF9ATVb_bNlHRilUzIVF5O9-aMkdjstpuC5MhVJpIRKLmmZ8lug5w7hyJbo7gaeuz8EyTFbEIy2Nj0VHmQzZtT3__BNYwZjnlFaToBwpp8/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVh9a87pEK_r3SLOniytuhXj50dJiLyLMoVyX95r2JPUeEz1Js3rq6okGWOLV8phx-43ACubYUE-puhjq4ccF9ATVb_bNlHRilUzIVF5O9-aMkdjstpuC5MhVJpIRKLmmZ8lug5w7hyJbo7gaeuz8EyTFbEIy2Nj0VHmQzZtT3__BNYwZjnlFaToBwpp8/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 25, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. I’m a guy in a bathrobe and I have some delicious Peet’s Sumatra in my cup, so let’s explore the many things that make up the current news.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Everything went as expected in the South Carolina GOP primary. Donnie Dump was declared the victor about ten seconds after the polls closed.</li><li>One interesting way to consider it, though, is that 40% of voters in one of the most conservative states in the country chose Nikki Haley over Dump. I don’t think that bodes super well for Dumpy in the general election when he faces Biden.</li><li>Polls going into the SC primary had Dump up more than 30 points over Haley. They were 10 points off. 10 points is a massive difference in polling accuracy, even with the standard margin of error.</li><li>I should note that President Biden easily won the presidential primary here earlier in February. In fact, to make an unfair comparison that suits my views, Biden won with 96% of the vote, while Dump got less than 60%.</li><li>Perhaps in bigger primary news is this coming Tuesday’s election in a major swing state. Michigan’s primary on February 27 is for both Democrats and Republicans.</li><li>It’s a serious test of President Biden’s ability to navigate dissent within the Democratic Party over his response to Israel’s war with Hamas, due to the state’s high population of Arab Americans.</li><li>Dump is also looking for another primary win that would add to his sweep of the early-voting states and move him that much closer to becoming his party’s nominee.</li><li>The results this Tuesday will be closely watched for any clues about where Michigan is trending before the November election. With a narrow win in 2016, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since 1988. Biden reclaimed the state for Democrats in 2020, contributing to his defeat of Trump.</li><li>I think the most important thing for liberal Michiganders to remember is this: you may be upset regarding Biden’s support of Israel right now. But Dump has said many times over that he would like to literally deport American citizens who are of Muslim descent.</li><li>And a vote for anyone other than Joe Biden — including a vote for “uncommitted” — is a vote for Dump. It’s just true.</li><li>Meanwhile, the Michigan Republican Party is trying to emerge from an internal struggle between two competing pro-Dump factions. Regardless, you can bet almost 100% odds that Dump will beat Haley in that state as well.</li><li>Just a week later is Super Tuesday, where more than a dozen states (including mine) will hold elections with thousands of delegates at stake.</li><li>I do have a little breaking news about Ol’ Dumperino this morning: Federal District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Dumpy's request for an emergency stay on the collection of the $83.3 million dollar judgment won by E. Jean Carroll against him.</li><li>Pay up, bitch.</li><li>Enough on that. Let’s move on to a disease we shouldn’t have to be talking about in 2024: measles.</li><li>This week, health officials in Broward County, Florida confirmed a seventh case of the virus, a child under age 5. The patient is the youngest so far to be infected in the outbreak, and the first to be identified outside of Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, near Fort Lauderdale.</li><li>How contagious is measles? It’s literally the most infectious pathogen in humans that we know of. Unvaccinated people have a 90% chance of becoming infected if exposed.</li><li>So you’d think that people would get this disease all the time, right? No, because measles is a required childhood vaccination in most places in the USA and has been for multiple generations.</li><li>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Friday there have been at least 35 measles cases in 15 states in 2024. Florida’s outbreak is the largest in the U.S. right now.</li><li>Why? Because Florida health and education authorities are scared to even mention, much less require vaccination for anything. Pertinent note: the standard MMR vaccine that’s required in most states for children to enter public school offers 97% protection against infection.</li><li>While we’re in health news, let’s talk about an aspect of the recent attack on in vitro fertilization (IVF) that you might not have considered: cancer patients who want to have children.</li><li>See, people fighting cancer have for years turned to IVF as a way to preserve their reproductive options. The recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court — that frozen embryos are considered children under the law — may end up removing the only way of having a family after chemotherapy and radiation treatments.</li><li>Those treatments, as effective as they are at helping people live longer, often have the side effect of infertility and premature menopause. Freezing embryos and using IFV to gestate them is the only option they have.</li><li>I think it needs to be explained that in a situation where fertilized eggs are legally recognized as children, you need to understand the IVF process a little better.</li><li>To ensure a viable birth, multiple eggs are made available, and then those are tested to see which will most likely be viable. It’s common for five eggs to be processed in this way, with two of them being used to try and create a pregnancy, and the three others discarded with the parents’ consent.</li><li>This law that defines a fertilized egg as a child could be interpreted so that the medical facility, the parents, or both, could be charged with manslaughter or murder.</li><li>Get it now?</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Wait, hold on. One more thing.</li><li>The majority of House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have signed onto a bill that would ban all abortions nationwide and completely rip away access to IVF.</li><li>This aligns with their “Project 2025” plan to restrict reproductive rights in all 50 states under a second Trump term.</li><li>By the way, the GOP’s “Project 2025:” also rapidly privatizes Medicare if Trump wins. It would be a historic handout to the insurance industry, and the death of Medicare as we know it.</li><li>Okay, enough for now.</li><li>You’re probably reading these words on a social media network right now, most likely Facebook.</li><li>Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that will determine whether state governments or tech companies have the power to set the rules for what posts can appear on popular social networks.</li><li>And that will absolutely affect you if you use Facebook, X, Reddit, Threads, or any other social net you can access in the USA.</li><li>Here’s the topic of the case. In 2022, a Reddit user called a Star Trek character a “soy boy,” and the discussion board’s volunteer moderators kicked him out.</li><li>The user filed a lawsuit against Reddit under a landmark Texas law that prohibits social media companies from removing posts or accounts based on a viewpoint — an unprecedented regulation subverting how the internet has operated for decades.</li><li>So now, the constitutionality of that Texas law is being questioned at the highest level, along with a related Florida law which prohibits platforms from suspending the accounts of political candidates or media publications.</li><li>You’re probably smart enough to know what’s at stake here. </li><li>Do you want the government telling private companies that they are forced to be a platform for hate speech? Look, I’m no fan of censorship, but why should Facebook or any other social platform be literally required by law to host violent and other harmful posts?</li><li>Ridiculous. Keep an eye on this.</li><li>It’s Sunday Gunday, where we take a quick look at recent incidents of gun violence in the USA over the past two days.</li><li>Two dead in a shooting in Wichita, KS. One dead, three wounded in a shooting at a parking lot in Kansas City, MO. One dead, three wounded in a shooting at a bar in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. One dead, one wounded in a shooting in South Los Angeles, CA. A woman shot and killed in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, CA. A woman shot and killed at a motel in Madisonville, TX. One shot dead by his roommate in Jefferson County, CO. A 16-year-old shot dead in his car in Antioch, CA. One shot dead during a carjacking in Selma, CA. One shot dead in Eagle Grove, IA. One shot dead in Raleigh, NC. One shot dead in Cudahy, WI. Three people shot in Willingboro, NJ. Two people shot in Winston-Salem, NC. Two people shot in New Orleans, LA. A teenager in critical condition after being shot at a hotel in the River North area of Chicago, IL. A teenager seriously injured in a shooting on a Green Line Train in Washington, DC. A teenager seriously injured in a shooting in Stoughton, MA. A teenager shot on a SEPTA train in Philadelphia, PA. One shot in a road rage incident in Blaine, MN. One shot on a bike trail in Colorado Springs, CO. One shot at an apartment complex in Huntsville, AL. One shot in the Bellevue neighborhood of Nashville, TN. One shot in New Haven, CT. One shot in Orange City, FL.</li><li>Super important note: these are only shootings from the past 48 hours, and I only cover a short list of the ones I see via a quick scroll through news on Sunday mornings.</li><li>I do not cover the many accidental shootings, suicides, or police shootings that happen each weekend. So my list is actually really small compared to the full scope of gun incidents that are mostly preventable.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “I Told You So” by Briston Maroney</li><li>From the Sports Desk… some of you are probably doing an NCAA bracket. I sometimes think about doing it, and then never do, because I don’t follow any college sports and don’t plan on starting.</li><li>However, here are the top seeds in each of the four men’s tournament divisions.</li><li>Midwest: 1. Purdue. 2. Marquette. 3. Alabama.</li><li>East: 1. UConn. 2. North Carolina. 3. Iowa State</li><li>West: 1. Arizona. 2. Kansas. 3. Creighton.</li><li>South: 1. Houston. 2. Tennessee. 3. Duke.</li><li>Today in history… George Frideric Handel's opera ‘Nero’ premiered in Hamburg (1705). Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm (1836). Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress (1870). In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin (1956). President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule and Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines' first female president (1986).</li><li>February 25 is the birthday of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841), tenor Enrico Caruso (1873), diplomat/politician John Foster Dulles (1888), spiritual leader Meher Baba 1894), comedian Zeppo Marx (1901), NHL player King Clancy (1903), actor Jim Backus (1913), author Anthony Burgess (1917), singer Ralph Stanley (1927), singer-songwriter/guitarist George Harrison (1943), wrestler Ric Flair (1949), NBA player/coach Kurt Rambis (1958), comedian Carrot Top (1965), actress Téa Leoni (1966), actor Sean Astin (1971), comedian Chelsea Handler (1975), actress Rashida Jones (1976), NBA player Jimmer Fredette (1989).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s all I’ve got. Time to do things that aren’t this. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-9823263994284166172024-02-24T11:30:00.000-08:002024-02-24T12:10:32.779-08:00Random News: February 24, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnHAk1GmMQOoAnFsAvwQNhY6Pdk2AJQNh5fvCtoaPgmwzIILS94PBNodLsly1S9-Kps8xTrGAazLMrWYJNG8xQ4MMXxga5vfq4Y_As6weW7AenRh1bsrRfCiiYTzi0ii0EIQX-sGCWrwEtQoSXv81kYo3wMGuRh-GCLZ54FQoLuZKqOX9q1Nn53GA-lo/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnHAk1GmMQOoAnFsAvwQNhY6Pdk2AJQNh5fvCtoaPgmwzIILS94PBNodLsly1S9-Kps8xTrGAazLMrWYJNG8xQ4MMXxga5vfq4Y_As6weW7AenRh1bsrRfCiiYTzi0ii0EIQX-sGCWrwEtQoSXv81kYo3wMGuRh-GCLZ54FQoLuZKqOX9q1Nn53GA-lo/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 24, 2024, and it’s a Saturday. I’m your guy in a blue bathrobe, chilling on a weekend morning and finding out what interesting and/or important things have happened in the world.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Let’s start with the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that defined embryos as “children,” which has opened up a massive can of worms for the GOP.</li><li>Yesterday, Republicans were scrambling to distance themselves from the issue. The campaign arm of the Senate GOP urged candidates to “clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF,” citing strong public support for IVF access. </li><li>Alabama themselves know how badly they fucked up. A bipartisan effort is now underway in the state to draft “clarifying” legislation that would “protect” IVF treatments.</li><li>But they know this is for show, and merely intended to placate folks in an election year. Many of the same lawmakers who are expressing dismay about Alabama have a direct record of having voted to support a federal bill that would have restricted IVF in the same way.</li><li>Look at what’s happened since the Republicans forced the overturning of women’s reproductive rights with reversing Roe v. Wade.</li><li>The backlash against the fall of Roe was almost instantaneous and cut across party lines. Red-state Kansas voted overwhelmingly to reject an amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to ban the procedure. Similar ballot measures in other states have seen abortion opponents consistently lose.</li><li>For the moment, until Alabama legally clarifies their own court’s ruling, IVF medical providers in the state have their hands tied, not knowing if they’ll be prosecuted for providing care to couples who want to have children.</li><li>My governor Gavin Newsom said it well. "The Republican Party has decided rapists have more of a right to become a parent than the families desperately trying to have a child through IVF."</li><li>None of this would have been possible without the overturning of Roe v. Wade, something Donnie Dump is proud of and takes complete credit for having accomplished. As recently as last night, Dumpy bragged about it publicly.</li><li>The writing is on the wall for the next steps in the Republican goals of controlling women: they will be removing access to contraception/birth control. But even that is part of a bigger picture plan for them.</li><li>This very week, a right-wing activist shared a post from the Heritage Foundation, a far-right think tank, that said “conservatives have to lead the way in restoring sex to its true purpose, and ending recreational sex and senseless use of birth control pills.”</li><li>Ending recreational sex. Yup.</li><li>Chris Rufo commented to the post, “‘Recreational sex’ is a large part of the reason we have so many single-mother households, which drives poverty, crime, and dysfunction. The point of sex is to create children—this is natural, normal, and good.” </li><li>So — whether you’re Democrat or Republican, left- or right-wing, an extremist or a centrist — I want you to think long and hard about voting for people who want to have the state and federal government involved in your decision to have sex, and with whom, and for what purpose.</li><li>Keep in mind that in reality, the vast majority of Republicans — upwards of 90 percent — support access to birth control pills, and a majority of Republicans feel abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances.</li><li>That’s one of many reasons why the fringe elements of the GOP are leading their whole party into a death spiral.</li><li>This fall, you’ll have your opportunity to make your voice heard in a tangible way. If you don’t want to allow the government into your bedroom, do not vote for candidates who want to restrict your decisions in that very personal topic.</li><li>It’s fascinating — in a horror-film way — that the most supposedly patriotic people in the USA, those who paste “Never Forget” stickers about 9/11 on their trucks, have so much more in common with their sworn enemies than they do with the rest of their own country.</li><li>If I describe a group as anti-LGBT, anti-science, anti-women’s rights, anti-abortion, anti-separation of church and state, and pro forced theocracy, tell me… am I referring to MAGA or the Taliban?</li><li>Think it through.</li><li>Moving on for now.</li><li>Tick tock, Donnie. The clock started yesterday.</li><li>The civil fraud judgment against El Dumpo was finalized in New York on Friday, making official a verdict that leaves the former president on the hook for more than $454 million in fines and interest.</li><li>The formalized verdict gives Dump a 30-day window to appeal, which he has vowed to do. However, within that same time frame, he must deposit sufficient funds in a court-controlled account or secure a bond for the total amount.</li><li>Meanwhile, the interest on the debt is now nearly $111,984 each day. The amount will continue to accrue even while they appeal.</li><li>Welp, “Go Fash, Lose Cash” is a saying I’ve heard.</li><li>Speaking of Donnie… last night was special for him. He spoke at a formal event for Black conservatives in South Carolina ahead of today’s Republican primary in the state.</li><li>During his speech, he claimed, “A lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, there’s something there.”</li><li>So this white billionaire has been every bit as discriminated against as a Black person, okay. But wait.</li><li>"These lights are so bright in my eyes I can't see too many people out there... I can only see the Black ones. I can't see any white ones. That's how far I've come. That's a long way isn't it?" </li><li>No.</li><li>“When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1. You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”</li><li>Also no. By the way, Don, stating that Black people like mugshots is sorta, I dunno, racist, maybe?</li><li>And then, during some bullshit about having supposedly renegotiated the cost of remodeling Air Force One, Dump said this: “I have to tell you, Black president, but I got $1.7 billion less. Would you rather have the Black president or the white president who got $1.7 billion off the price?”</li><li>I’m not making any of this shit up. </li><li>Side note: when the camera panned around to the crowd, the audience at this Black conservative event seemed to be mostly white. Odd.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>A Wisconsin ethics panel is recommending that local prosecutors pursue criminal charges against one of Dump’s fundraising arms and several other Republican committees that violated state campaign finance law in an effort to topple a lawmaker who Dumpy didn’t like.</li><li>Dump’s Save America political action committee conspired with local Republican honchos to circumvent the state’s donation limits during their unsuccessful bid to unseat Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in the 2022 Republican primary.</li><li>Get their asses.</li><li>Yesterday was a very, very bad day for the people who used to run the NRA, including its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre.</li><li>A jury in a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office found that the gun group mismanaged charitable funds when it failed to stop top executives from diverting millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures.</li><li>Think about how foolish you’d feel about now if you’d donated money to the NRA. Jesus.</li><li>LaPierre has to pay the NRA $4.3 million in damages for mismanagement and misspending charitable funds. Former CFO Wilson Phillips has to pay back $2 million for breaching his fiduciary duties as an executive.</li><li>Let’s move on.</li><li>We were under balloon attack again yesterday.</li><li>It was a little balloon flying at 45,000 feet over the mountainous Western United States, but it was still intercepted by a fighter jet over Utah.</li><li>When NORAD fighter pilots investigated the balloon, they determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security. Officials said the balloon intercepted Friday was not sent by a foreign adversary and posed no threat to aviation or U.S. security.</li><li>Good job, I guess?</li><li>I mentioned in passing above, though it’s hardly worth the effort to type, that South Carolina’s GOP primary is today.</li><li>Nikki Haley, the only GOP contender other than Dumpy, was born and raised in South Carolina. She’s never lost an election there, and that includes two governor’s races. So you’d think she has a pretty good shot there today, right?</li><li>No. She has no chance at all.</li><li>Every recent public poll in the state shows Dumpy leading Haley by wide margins. The two candidates draw support from two very different sets of voters: Dump wins huge margins with very conservative voters, evangelicals and those without a 4-year college degree. Haley does best among the college-educated, with non-evangelicals and moderates.</li><li>The simple answer for South Carolina’s election today is that Dump’s supporters as described above make up about 3/4 of the state’s voters. He’s going to win by double digits. I’ll be shocked at any other outcome.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Cry Quicker” by R. Missing</li><li>Let’s do a chart.</li><li>It’s February 1974, and here’s the top of the Billboard 200 album chart. I’m like five years old. This chart is extreme in its eclectic directions. Folk, R&B, nostalgia, prog rock, proto metal… it’s all over the damn place.</li><li>1. Planet Waves (Bob Dylan). 2. John Denver's Greatest Hits (John Denver). 3. Under The Influence Of... (Love Unlimited). 4. Court And Spark (Joni Mitchell). 5. You Don't Mess Around With Jim (Jim Croce). 6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John). 7. Hotcakes (Carly Simon). 8. Tales From Topographic Oceans (Yes). 9. Band On The Run (Paul McCartney And Wings). 10. Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich). 11. Ship Ahoy (The O’Jays). 12. I Got A Name (Jim Croce). 13. The Joker (The Steve Miller Band). 14.. American Graffiti (Soundtrack). 15. The Singles 1969-1973 (Carpenters). 17. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Black Sabbath). 18. Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield). 18. Brain Salad Surgery (Emerson, Lake & Palmer). 19. 1990 (The Temptations). 20. Ringo (Ringo Starr)</li><li>From the Sports Desk… the San Antonio Spurs’ rookie center Victor Wembanyama had quite a feat last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. He joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001) as the only NBA rookies to have a 5x5 game — at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a game. Wemby also became just the second player to have 5 blocks and 5 steals in consecutive games, joining Michael Jordan.</li><li>But the Spurs lost 113-108 to the Lakers despite the rookie's best efforts. Despite their rookie superstar, the Spurs are currently 11-46 and in last pace in the Western Conference.</li><li>Today in history… ‘Rinaldo’ by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premiered (1711). In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review (1803). Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives (1868). The stage premiere of ‘Peer Gynt’, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Oslo, Norway (1876). Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament three months earlier (1920). A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25 in The Battle of Los Angeles (1942). South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recapture the citadel of Hué (1968). Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years (2008). Days after recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders a full scale invasion of Ukraine (2022).</li><li><br /></li><li>• February 24 is the birthday of Japan emperor Toba (1103), anthropologist/author Wilhelm Grimm (1786), activist Lydia Becker (1827), painter Winslow Homer (1836), suffragist Zara DuPont (1869), MLB player Honus Wagner (1874), admiral Chester W. Nimitz (1885), actor Abe Vigoda (1921), actor Dominic Chianese (1931), businessman Phil Knight (1938), keyboardist Nicky Hopkins (1944), singer/guitarist George Thorogood (1950), actress Debra Jo Rupp (1951), businessman Steve Jobs (1955), actor Billy Zane (1966), comedian Mitch Hedberg (1968), boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1977), actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. 91991), and rapper Earl Sweatshirt (1994).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>That’s a lot of stuff. Anyway, I guess I’ll do things like taking a shower and getting dressed and then whatever comes next. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-25508579456394301222024-02-23T08:30:00.000-08:002024-02-24T12:08:24.354-08:00Random News: February 23, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRkvewcDmypdbBaA-Io1OH2scfIBu_bu0mucaV8qz9nxl_EUVUIqidN2cGaYQa6Ghr9TyobK81Vw8j-Mtkw7T2niMfsHVGQEg2Wd027ZKpyiIGhyphenhyphenwzG1DgOP7ccTUlv144ahYZqj3QNWrmzZUJz1G-aKpRmdejy2uODJigvKdt9oNPkvv2La8S6q1HaQ/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRkvewcDmypdbBaA-Io1OH2scfIBu_bu0mucaV8qz9nxl_EUVUIqidN2cGaYQa6Ghr9TyobK81Vw8j-Mtkw7T2niMfsHVGQEg2Wd027ZKpyiIGhyphenhyphenwzG1DgOP7ccTUlv144ahYZqj3QNWrmzZUJz1G-aKpRmdejy2uODJigvKdt9oNPkvv2La8S6q1HaQ/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 23, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I wrapped up the second big portion of my dental extravaganza yesterday, and I’ll tell you more about that down below. First, let’s check out some news.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>That Alabama supreme court decision that we mentioned earlier this week, the one that defined frozen embryos as “children”, is becoming a real problem for Republican politicians.</li><li>A poll run by conservative Kellyanne Conway's consulting group says 85% of Americans support in-vitro fertilization (IVF), including 78% of pro-life respondents and 84% of Evangelical respondents.</li><li>But by supporting the Alabama court decision, Republicans are causing IVF access to be shut down.</li><li>Three fertility clinics in Alabama have already halted part of their IVF treatment programs amid legal concerns following the ruling, causing uncertainty for patients trying to start families. If embryos are children, then any number of laws could be used to prosecute both fertility clinics and the people trying to become parents.</li><li>Let me tell you what’s behind all this: conservative men want to force all women to have penetrative sex in order to get pregnant. 100% of this stuff comes down to removing the sexual choices of adult women.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>We’re back… on the moon.</li><li>The US-made Odysseus lunar lander made a touchdown on the moon yesterday, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to accomplish such a feat.</li><li>Odysseus is the first vehicle launched from the United States to land on the moon’s surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.</li><li>The uncrewed spacecraft launched last week from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The moon, as you hopefully know, is that big rock orbiting the planet that you sometimes see in the night sky from its distance of about 240,000 miles.</li><li>If you get in your car to drive to the moon, it would take five months non-stop doing 60mph the whole time.</li><li>Also, don’t do this.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>Today’s number of the day: 87,502, which is how many additional dollars of interest Don the Con owes every single day, along with the rest of his massive fraud penalty in New York.</li><li>Ha ha, loser. Also in loser news…</li><li>Late last night, Donnie Dump begged Judge Aileen Cannon for his classified documents charges to be dismissed in seven separate motions, asserting presidential immunity and other legally dubious defenses.</li><li>Some of Dumpy’s motions are publicly available, while others will remain under seal for days until the parties discuss necessary redactions.</li><li>Similar arguments from his lawyers have already been rejected in the D.C. election subversion case. An appeals court panel unanimously ruled earlier this month that Dump does not have immunity in that case. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the matter, which could settle the question in both cases.</li><li>To put into context what El Dumpo is demanding of the courts: if this were allowed, any POTUS could declassify all of our most sensitive secrets when leaving office and sell them to Putin five minutes later with zero legal repercussions.</li><li>It’s insane and insulting to the American people that Dumpy would even ask, as desperate as he is.</li><li>That wasn’t all of Dumpy’s crying and begging for the day.</li><li>The judge overseeing the $355 million civil fraud case has denied Dump’s request to delay the judgment for a month.</li><li>In an email reply, Judge Engoron rejected the request for an additional 30 days, writing, “You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay.”</li><li>Dump fails a lot.</li><li>In final Smelly Man news of the day, he arrived for a speech in Nashville last night over an hour and a half late, and then appeared both visibly tired and was often incoherent and had trouble pronouncing many words.</li><li>Shrug.</li><li>In other news…</li><li>Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who lied under orders from Russia about a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family, was again taken into custody yesterday in Las Vegas, two days after a judge released him.</li><li>Ha ha, you piece of shit.</li><li>Smirnov, 43, was arrested while meeting with his lawyers at their offices in downtown Las Vegas. His claims have played a major part in the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family.</li><li>It’s ridiculous and frankly embarrassing for the Republicans that they have yet to drop their investigation even after the evidence came out that Smirnov is a Kremlin-backed tool.</li><li>Speaking of Russians, as we mentioned earlier this week, today President Joe Biden announced more than 500 new sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.</li><li>Biden said the sanctions would target those connected to Navalny’s imprisonment, as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across several continents.</li><li>The U.S. is also imposing export restrictions on almost 100 entities that support Russia’s military efforts and taking action to reduce Russia's energy revenues.</li><li>Good.</li><li>A little reminder of the 2024 primary voting schedule. We’re about to hit the big rush of election days.</li><li>Tomorrow (February 23) is the South Carolina Republican primary. Next Tuesday is Michigan’s for both Democrats and Republicans. Michigan is super fucked up right now for the GOP, having split into two factions each running their own primary process.</li><li>Idaho, Missouri, D.C., and North Dakota also have Republican primaries over the subsequent week.</li><li>And then on Tuesday March 5, aka Super Tuesday, 17 different states and territories all have their primaries at once.</li><li>Please vote. Thank you.</li><li>Back to Asshole News for a moment.</li><li>A federal judge affirmed a $5 million arbitration award against former crackhead and MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell in favor of a software engineer who challenged data that Lindell said proves China interfered in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and tipped the outcome to Joe Biden.</li><li>Lindell launched his "Prove Mike Wrong Challenge," as part of a "Cyber Symposium" he hosted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in August 2021. Lindell offered a $5 million reward for anyone who could prove that data he released there were not valid data "from the November 2020 election."</li><li>A guy proved it. Now Lindell is on the hook for that $5 million. It’s unclear if Lindell has the money to pay him.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “Go Away” by Sofia Bolt</li><li>I know everyone loves updates on my ongoing hell of dental health.</li><li>Yesterday morning I was scheduled for four root canals. And despite my dentist having done a bunch of the prep work, the first one was a fucking nightmare that took over two hours.</li><li>I hung in there for two more root canals, but that was my limit. I’d already spent four hours in the dentist chair two weeks ago, and then another 3-1/2 yesterday. I’d had enough.</li><li>The good news: all that’s left is one root canal and getting my permanent crowns affixed. The hardest part by far is done. I do have a couple more appointments coming up, but those will be a cakewalk compared to what I’ve already been through.</li><li>Oh, and in stark contrast to my last multi-hour dentistry session, as soon as the novocaine wore off, I was… perfectly fine. No pain, no anything.</li><li>Back on augmentin for awhile though. I mean, yay for antibiotics and not dying at a young age from infections. Boo for being on antibiotics far too often lately, even when it’s necessary.</li><li>Okay, way more than enough on that.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… Major League Baseball has a pants problem. Specifically, that the new uniforms are see-through.</li><li>An MLB spokesperson said in a statement that adjustments are being made to the jersey size, waist, in-seam, thigh fit and the bottom of pants, based on player requests to reps from Fanatics, Nike and MLB, who have been visiting training camps and conducting uniform fitting and feedback sessions with players.</li><li>I mean, we go to games to see balls and strikes, but perhaps less balls are better.</li><li>Today in history… Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty (705). Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, PA, to help to train the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1778). The Siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, TX (1836). Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union (1870). Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminum from the electrolysis of aluminum oxide (1886). Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity” (1903). U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission — later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission — which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States (1927). German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time (1927). Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg (1941). The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh (1954). Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American citizen, is shot and murdered by three white men after visiting a house under construction while jogging at a neighborhood in Satilla Shores near Brunswick in Glynn County, GA (2020).</li><li>February 23 is the birthday of diarist/politician Samuel Pepys (1633), composer George Frideric Handel (1685), banker/businessman Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744), businessman César Ritz (1850), sociologist/activist W. E. B. Du Bois (1868), journalist Agnes Smedley (1892), physicist Allan McLeod Cormack (1924), actress Majel Barrett (1932), actor Peter Fonda (1940), NFL player Fred Biletnikoff (1943), singer-songwriter Johnny Winter (1944), NFL player Ed "Too Tall" Jones (1951), guitarist Brad Whitford (1952), singer-songwriter Howard Jones (1955), MLB player Bobby Bonilla (1963), businessman Michael Dell (1965), actress Niecy Nash (1970), actress Emily Blunt (1983), comedian/actor Aziz Ansari (1983), actress Dakota Fanning (1994), and NBA player D'Angelo Russell (1996).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>I’m going to appreciate a normal day with no dentistry. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7075869643816788456.post-91989348115659762692024-02-22T08:30:00.000-08:002024-02-24T12:06:45.756-08:00Random News: February 22, 2024<p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx70WkJvcHfTJq4u6CqEKIsU-1GqrOKVjmpqzm8ORhDulxx582HjcurAny1wwe2jUrYIe81Con_X2_cUV1l_DC5LuYGVw73EkQLkGTWlZJRmDQlW4LzEmajrhUTzRpOicLSs-zXCInX0JS8XgGJetciOxlQxVsUHyPWPMabr1E3Z3H79Vo748MkKvFspA/s2430/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2430" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx70WkJvcHfTJq4u6CqEKIsU-1GqrOKVjmpqzm8ORhDulxx582HjcurAny1wwe2jUrYIe81Con_X2_cUV1l_DC5LuYGVw73EkQLkGTWlZJRmDQlW4LzEmajrhUTzRpOicLSs-zXCInX0JS8XgGJetciOxlQxVsUHyPWPMabr1E3Z3H79Vo748MkKvFspA/w640-h446/zcblog_randomnews.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><i>DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not </i><i>everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"></p><hr style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;" /><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105); color: dimgrey; font-family: Lato; font-size: 18.479999542236328px;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Good morning. It’s February 22, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. As I mentioned previously, I am off to a very early dental appointment that’s going to take a good while to complete, so if my news seems abbreviated, that’s why. Let’s do this.</b></div></div><p><br /></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Starting with a breaking story from this morning…</li><li>AT&T’s network went down for many of its customers across the United States, leaving customers unable to place calls, text or access the internet.</li><li>Although Verizon and T-Mobile customers reported some network outages, too, they appeared far less widespread. T-Mobile and Verizon said their networks were unaffected by AT&T’s service outage and customers reporting outages may have been unable to reach customers who use AT&T.</li><li>This feels like some kind of targeted attack, but as of now, there are no explanations as to why many of the country’s cellular network services were down. However, it was said that there’s no indication that this morning’s outage was the result of a cyberattack or other malicious activity.</li><li>Shrug. Let’s move on.</li><li>Yesterday, an Arizona prosecutor said she will not extradite the man accused of killing a woman in a New York City hotel because she doesn’t like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.</li><li>Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell told reporters in Arizona that she's ordered her staff not to cooperate in any efforts to send Raad Noan Almansoori, 26, back to New York where he's wanted in connection to the slaying of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38.</li><li>Almansoori is being held without bail in Arizona, where he's been accused of stabbing two women.</li><li>In response, the Manhattan DA's Office cited data that shows murders being more common in Phoenix, the largest city in Maricopa County, as compared to New York City.</li><li>“In Manhattan, we are serious about New Yorkers’ safety,” said their rep. “New York’s murder rate is less than half that of Phoenix.”</li><li>Not honoring an extradition within the USA for a murderer? That doesn’t seem legal to me. Guess we’ll see.</li><li>Moving on.</li><li>President Biden and Democrats started off the year with a significant fundraising edge over El Dumpo and the Republican National Committee, per campaign finance reports filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission. </li><li>Biden's campaign entered February with $130 million cash on hand across its affiliated committees. Dumpy's political apparatus continued to spend more than it raised in the first month of the year, continuing a trend from 2023, which showed the operation has been bogged down by steep legal bills as Don the Con continues to bounce between the courtroom and the campaign trail. </li><li>His campaign, along with the Republican National Committee and the political action committees supporting him, had just $65 million cash on hand combined to start February. </li><li>Ha ha.</li><li>A relevant side note…</li><li>Dump’s original ruling with interest would indicate he will need to secure a bond worth more than $540 million. But it’s unlikely that he’ll be allowed to use his properties as collateral.</li><li>It’s more likely that he’d have to liquidate some assets to secure a bond. The bond company will also charge a fee that could total millions of dollars.</li><li>His lawyer Alina Habba said she expects to post a roughly $400 million bond within a 30-day window to file a notice of appeal, which begins after a court clerk enters Engoron’s final judgment.</li><li>But even his own real estate assets are not liquid, so if El Dumpo loses the appeal, the process of converting them to cash could be difficult — perhaps even more so in a case that was centered around disputes about the actual value of the properties.</li><li>And some breaking news here too… this morning, one of Dumpy’s attorneys asked Judge Arthur Engoron for a 30-day delay in enforcing the ruling in the civil fraud case.</li><li>In response, a special counsel in the New York attorney general's office, Andrew Amer, said in a letter to Engoron today that the defendants don't "provide any basis for staying enforcement of the judgement." Amer said that the defendants "requested such relief in their post-trial brief, which the Court declined to grant."</li><li>Fuck him. Pay up.</li><li>Let’s move on to another scumbag with money trouble… good old Rudy Giuliani.</li><li>A bankruptcy judge ruled this week that to appeal the $148 million ruling in his recent defamation case, Giuliani must acquire third-party funding that’s approved by the court.</li><li>U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said that Giuliani’s financial situation is so precarious that the fees required to appeal the verdict can’t come from Giuliani’s assets.</li><li>Fuck both of them. Rudy and Donnie alike.</li><li>Let’s do some good news.</li><li>Yesterday, First Lady Jill Biden announced $100 million in federal funding for research and development into women’s health as part of a new White House initiative that she is heading up.</li><li>The $100 million will be used to invest early in “life-changing” work being done by women’s health researchers and startup companies that cannot get private support, she said.</li><li>“We will build a health care system that puts women and their lived experiences at its center. Where no woman or girl has to hear that ‘it’s all in your head,’ or, ‘it’s just stress.’ Where women aren’t just an after-thought, but a first-thought. Where women don’t just survive with chronic conditions, but lead long and healthy lives.”</li><li>Cool. That’s encouraging.</li><li>And now, The Weather: “All My Life” by boerd & Boko Yout</li><li>Here’s a tip: no matter how much you like animals, you probably shouldn’t own one with the word “monster” in its very name.</li><li>Colorado man Christopher Ward, 34, was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on February 12. </li><li>His girlfriend entered a room to see the Gila monster named Winston latched onto Ward’s hand. Ward immediately began exhibiting symptoms, vomiting several times and eventually passing out and ceasing to breathe. He died a few days later.</li><li>Two things to point out. First, Gila monsters are illegal t own in most places, including Lakewood, CO. But second, the bites of these venomous reptiles can cause intense pain and make their victims pass out, but normally aren’t deadly.</li><li>Either way, try owning a cat, or a hamster, or something else that may hurt you but is less likely to kill you. Just my advice.</li><li>From the Sports Desk… here’s stuff about a sport I know almost nothing about despite having spent five years in my youth playing it in organized leagues.</li><li>Lionel Messi helped set up both goals and Inter Miami survived extended second-half pressure from Real Salt Lake to earn a 2-0 victory in Major League Soccer's season opener on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, FL.</li><li>Yay! Or… boo! I have no idea. I know Messi is good.</li><li>Today in history… Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty (1371). Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars (1819). The United States Republican Party opens its first national convention in Pittsburgh, PA (1856). The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee (1872). In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores (1879). President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states (1889). Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 (1959). In Lake Placid, NY, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3 in a game known as the Miracle on Ice (1980). In Roslin, Midlothian, British scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned (1997). </li><li>February 22 is the birthday of Hungary king Ladislaus the Posthumous (1440), US president George Washington (1732), philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788), general/Scout Association founder Robert Baden-Powell (1857), actress Marguerite Clark (1883), poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892), actor Robert Young (1907), radio/TV announcer Don Pardo (1918), tallest human Robert Wadlow (1918), actor Paul Dooley (1928), politician Ted Kennedy (1932), MLB player/manager Sparky Anderson (1934), film director Jonathan Demme (1944), drummer Harvey Mason (1947), NBA legend Julius Erving (1950), Kyle MacLachlan (1959), zoologist Steve Irwin (1962), actress Jeri Ryan (1968), actress Drew Barrymore (1975), NBA player Rajon Rondo (1986), and NFL player Khalil Mack (1991).</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>So yes… I’m leaving in a few minutes, heading back to the dentist for another round of major work this morning. I’m planning on everything going fine. Enjoy your day.</b></p>Zak Claxtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05938522525080606514noreply@blogger.com0