Random News: September 20, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 20, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives. Let’s do the news…

• In our continuing coverage of the people who attempted and failed to commit a coup against the USA on January 6, 2021, here’s an interesting one.
• Ray Epps, a former Marine and Trump supporter who became the center of a conspiracy theory, has been charged in connection with the insurrection. Epps is charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds. He's expected to appear in court tomorrow for a plea agreement.
• In the years since the 2021 riot, Epps has been accused of being a government plant on January 6, 2021. Far-right conspiracy theorists believe he was part of a plot to turn the “peaceful protest” into a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol.
• There’s been no evidence to suggest the conspiracy theory has any basis in truth. The FBI in April responded to repeated "60 Minutes" inquiries on the issue with a statement, saying: "Ray Epps has never been an FBI source or an FBI employee."
• So fuck Ray Epps and fuck the MAGAs and QAnons who turn on each other. They all get what they deserve. I’ll update you on Epps’ trial when it happens.
• Let’s do some positive news, in the form of the newly-announced American Climate Corps.
• Today the White House unveiled a new climate jobs training program that it says could put 20,000 people to work in its first year on projects like restoring land, improving communities' resilience to natural disasters and deploying clean energy.
• The American Climate Corps is modeled after a program that put millions to work during the Great Depression. President Biden's climate policy adviser Ali Zaidi says that the program has broader goals beyond addressing the climate crisis.
• "We're opening up pathways to good-paying careers, lifetimes of being involved in the work of making our communities more fair, more sustainable, more resilient."
• That’s awesome. The program will pay participants, and most positions will not require previous experience. The administration is also proposing new regulations aimed at making it easier for participants to enter the federal public service after the program.
• In other, much more annoying news…
• Here’s the funny thing about the pending government shutdown: the people who are forcing the shutdown (Republicans) are fighting other people (who are also Republicans) about the shutdown, when all of them are 100% aware that the spending cuts insisted by GOP hardliners have no hope of being passed by the Senate or signed by President Joe Biden. Their plan is dead on arrival.
• Instead, all that will happen is that federal workers who provide basic services will be furloughed, troops will go unpaid, and the economy will be severely damaged if the impasse is prolonged.
• The House Republicans, with their razor thin margin of majority, are already on thin ice due to their support of measures that control women’s reproductive rights and their focus on topics like drag queens rather than the things that affect everyday Americans.
• A shutdown now could sour voters on the small House majority they gave to Republicans in the midterm elections in 2022, and also slim the chances of any Republican to win at any level, including the presidency, in 2024.
• As it stands, with a Republican majority so thin that Speaker Kevin McCarthy can lose only four votes with its current margin to pass any legislation, and the party so bitterly divided that none of them will acquiesce anything, there’s almost no chance that they’ll do the primary job we hired them to do, which is to pass a budget.
• The only solution is to vote every single one of them out at the earliest opportunity… especially the extremist right-wing coalition. Frankly, that’s the only way the Republican party can save itself and have any hope of continuing in the future.
• Let’s move on.
• Speaking of polarized places, good news out of Pennsylvania. Democrat Lindsay Powell, a nonprofit worker and former staffer for the city of Pittsburgh, won a special election yesterday and gave her party control of the state House of Representatives.
• Powell’s victory was expected, but it's still important because it tips the balance of power in the statehouse’s lower chamber back to Democrats, who will hold 102 seats after she is seated, compared to Republicans’ 101 seats.
• It’s a very similar situation in New Hampshire, where yesterday Democrat Hal Rafter beat Republican James Guzofski by 12 percentage points. Since the seat had been held by a Republican, the Democrats picked up one seat, giving Republicans just a one-seat advantage in the state House.
• There are now 198 Republicans, 197 Democrats, two Independents, and three vacant seats in the New Hampshire House. Amazing.
• In comedy news…
• The three fake Republican electors charged in Georgia’s election subversion case will try to convince a federal judge today to move their case into federal court.
• Former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still and former Coffee County GOP chair Cathy Latham might have had at least a chance of this if they were actual federal officials. But these fake GOP electors weren’t federal officials in 2020.
• Their lawyers argue that since they were acting under the direction of then-President Donald Trump, they were “essentially” federal officials. Ha ha ha ha ha, oh sweet Lordy.
• Let’s move on.
• Food giant Kraft Heinz has announced it is recalling more than 83,000 cases of individually wrapped Kraft Singles American processed cheese slices due to a potential choking hazard.
• Uh oh.
• The recall applies to 16-ounce Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese products with a use-by date between Jan. 10, 2024, and Jan. 27, 2024, and other cheesy packages.
• The voluntary recall came after it discovered that one of its wrapping machines allowed for thin strips of film to remain on the cheese slices after the wrapper is removed, thereby allowing the intermingling of the plastic wrap with the plastic-like cheese.
• Let’s just move on.
• Convicted murderer Billy Chemirmir was killed in prison yesterday morning. He was found dead in his cell at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony. 
• His cellmate, who is also serving a sentence for murder, was identified as the person who killed him. Chemirmir was suspected of killing more than two dozen elderly victims across Dallas and Collin counties. He would also take the jewelry of his victims and sell it for cash.
• He… probably won’t be missed.
• There’s another big developing schism in the GOP… and it’s back on the topic of abortion.
• Trump knows that laws that limit women’s reproductive rights are tremendously unpopular. And sine he doesn’t actually give a shit about the topic, he’s going to say anything that helps gain him votes.
• That’s why he said in an interview last weekend that a six-week abortion ban is "a terrible thing and a terrible mistake," one of the few area where Trump and I are in agreement.
• But now, by playing both side of that fence, he’s at odds with the crazies in his party. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) defended legislation she signed that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, saying, "It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life. I’m proud of the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed and I signed in 2018 and again earlier this year."
• Already, some states are trying to make it a criminal offense for you, as a woman, to seek medical treatment outside of the state, or for me, as a decent human, to help you do so.
• We’ll be talking about this topic a whole lot more as we get deeper into the next election cycle.
• And now, The Weather: “Le Temple Volant” by Crumb & Melody's Echo Chamber
• In hilarious news from this morning, Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter got hacked once again. They’ve since fixed it, and I’m not going to repost what was written there, but I promise you, I was laughing loudly. You can probably see the sceencaps over there on that shithole site.
• Per the just-released U.S. News list, two California-based school are the top public universities in the country. The top spot was grabbed by UC Berkeley, while the second place ranking went to UCLA.
• The rest of the top ten includes U Michigan Ann Arbor, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, UC Davis, UC San Diego, University of Florida, UTA, and Georgia Tech.
• For today’s chart, we’re going back exactly 60 years to September 1963, not long before the British Invasion of the Beatles, Stones, and the rest a few months later. Lots of soundtracks… those were big then. Lots of folk and pop-folk. The beginnings of R&B crossing over the the pop charts. Some surf rock.
• 1. My Son, The Nut (Allan Sherman). 2. Trini Lopez At PJ's (Trini Lopez). 3. Bye Bye Birdie (Soundtrack). 4.(Moving) (Peter, Paul & Mary). 5. Peter, Paul And Mary (Peter, Paul & Mary). 6. Little Stevie Wonder/The 12 Year Old Genius (Stevie Wonder). 7. West Side Story (Soundtrack). 8. Days Of Wine And Roses (Andy Williams). 9. Sunny Side! (The Kingston Trio). 10. Live At The Apollo (James Brown). 11. Hollywood-My Way (Nancy Wilson). 12. Surfin' U.S.A. (The Beach Boys), 13, Shut Down (Various Artists). 14. Lawrence Of Arabia (Soundtrack). 15. So Much In Love (The Tymes). 16. Joan Baez In Concert (Joan Baez). 17. The Barbra Streisand Album (Barbra Streisand). 18. Cleopatra (Soundtrack). 19. Wipe Out (The Surfaris). 20. Joan Baez (Joan Baez).
• From the Sports Desk… the baseball season is coming to a close and the playoffs are about to get rolling. The following teams have secured a playoff spot this far…
• American League: Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. National League: Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.
• The following teams have been eliminated from playoff contention…
• American League: Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oakland Athletics. National League: Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies.
• There are less than ten games left in the regular season. Major League Baseball playoffs begin on Tuesday October 3.
• Today in history… Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem (1187). Cardinal Robert of Geneva is elected as Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism (1378). The Nankai tsunami washes away the building housing the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in, and it’s been outside ever since (1498). Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda which ultimately culminated in the first circumnavigation the globe (1519). The future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom begins the first visit to North America by a Prince of Wales (1860). U.S. President Chester A. Arthur is sworn in upon the death of James A. Garfield the previous day (1881). British police known as "Black and Tans" burned the town of Balbriggan and killed two local men in revenge for an Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination (1920). The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed seven years due to World War II (1946). James Meredith, an African American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi (1962). Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome (1973). Singer Jim Croce, songwriter and musician Maury Muehleisen and four others die when their light aircraft crashes on takeoff at Natchitoches Regional Airport in Louisiana (1973). American football players in the National Football League begin a 57-day strike (1982). In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "War on Terror” (2001). The United States military ends its "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time (2011). Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, resulting in 2,975 deaths, $90 billion in damage, and a major humanitarian crisis (2017). Roughly four million people, mostly students, demonstrate across the world to address climate change, and 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden leads the demonstration in New York City (2019).
• September 20 is the birthday of inventor Frederick Ellsworth Sickels (1819), publisher Herbert Putnam (1861), novelist Upton Sinclair (1878), actor Kenneth More (1914), animator Jay Ward (1920), actress Anne Meara (1929), actress Sophia Loren (1934), guitarist Eric Gale (1938), businessman/politician Pete Coors (1946), novelist George R. R. Martin (1948), bass player Chuck Panozzo (1948), drummer John Panozzo (1948), NHL player Guy Lafleur (1951), singer-songwriter Alannah Currie (1957), singer-songwriter/guitarist Nuno Bettencourt (1966), singer-songwriters/musicians Gunnar and Matthew Nelson (1967),  songwriter/musician Ben Shepherd (1969), and NFL player Dante Hall (1978).

I suppose that’s enough. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 19, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 19, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. I had a night filled with bizarre dreams and woke up feeling weird and disoriented, so I’m extra thankful for delicious coffee. Let’s get grounded back in reality with some news.

• Jeffrey Clark, one of the many co-defendants in the felony RICO indictments against the FPOTUS, is still trying to get his case moved from Fulton County, GA to a federal court. He’s doing so by turning on his former master.
• His lawyers stated yesterday that he drafted a letter to top Georgia officials declaring that the agency had reason to doubt the legitimacy of the state’s election only after he was pressed to do so by then-President Trump.
• U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones was skeptical. He pressed Clark’s lawyers for evidence that Trump had directed him to act. They had no evidence.
• Let’s move on to the favorite thing of Republican lawmakers, shutting down the government.
• The Republican Party in the House of Representatives is looking more like a MMA cage match than a steady government institution as tensions over how to avoid — or not avoid — a potential government shutdown are coming to a boil, with frustrations spilling over into public jabs and airing of grievances without a clear path forward to fund the government past September 30.
• GOP reps are bitterly divided on a short-term stopgap bill that would fund the government through October 31. The measure includes an 8 percent cut to everything but Defense and Veterans Affairs, along with the bulk of the House GOP’s border crackdown bill. 
• More than a dozen far-right conservative Republicans announced they opposed the bill for not going far enough or not addressing other appropriations. By the end of the day yesterday, about 24 hours after the bill was unveiled, the list of Republicans saying they are definite or probable “no” votes had grown to at least 16. In the narrow GOP majority, that opposition would be more than enough to sink the legislation.
• “It’s an unmitigated disaster right now on the majority side,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR). “I’m fearful of what this leads to.”
• They’re a fucking mess.
• Remember COVID? Yeah, that’s still very much a thing.
• People across at least 10 states have now been infected by BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Labs have reported finding BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola, in samples from Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
• This is still yet another variant of omicron. Its known family members – BA.2, BA.2.86 and XBB.1.5 – are all branches on the same tree.
• It’s going to be a constant battle for the rest of our lives as scientists race to create vaccines against a constantly mutating virus.
• Me? I’m as vaccinated as can be, I’ll be getting a booster soon, and I wear a mask in public spaces.
• Moving on.
• Poor Rudy Giuliani.
• I’m not being poetic here. Rudy’s broke. He was sued yesterday by a lawyer who for years represented him in a variety of legal matters. Robert Costello and his firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, allege in the suit that the former New York City mayor owes them nearly $1.4 million.
• The lawsuit claims Costello and the firm represented Giuliani during criminal investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, special counsel Jack Smith and during the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee's investigation.
• Side note: Bob Costello also sued Steve Bannon for unpaid legal bills. Bannon was ordered by a New York judge in July to pay Costello's firm nearly $500,000.
• These people always turn on and eat each other. Every single time.
• Extra side note: Donnie Dump hosted a $100,000 per plate fundraiser in support of Giuliani two weeks ago at his country club in Bedminster, NJ. It was reported that the dinner brought in a million dollars, meaning a whole ten people came. Maybe Rudy can pay some of those bills now.
• In other news…
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Elon Musk to ‘roll back’ antisemitism on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, during an in-person conversation broadcast live yesterday afternoon.
• "I hope you find, within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only antisemitism, or roll it back as best you can.”
• Narrator’s voice: but he wouldn’t roll it back and would in fact encourage it.
• Let’s move on before I get angry at these anti-Semitic fucks.
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) changed the Senate’s informal dress code to allow senators to wear whatever they want on the floor. A notice went out to the Senate sergeant-at-arms and relevant staff members late Friday, and the change went into effect yesterday.
• Some people like to point out that that it allows Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is often seen wearing a hoodie and shorts, wear his casual attire on the Senate floor.
• But other people note that many senators dress in ways that aren’t necessarily traditionally formal. I’m looking at you, Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and your denim vests.
• They found that missing F-35, or at least its crash debris, yesterday afternoon. Each F-35B Lightning II costs about $100 million. Still no clear word on what “mishap” caused the pistol to eject.
• Let’s do some good news.
• Pennsylvania has become the 24th state to make voter registration an automatic part of getting a driver's license or identification.
• “Automatic voter registration is a commonsense step to ensure election security and save Pennsylvanians time and tax dollars. Residents of our Commonwealth already provide proof of identity, residency, age, and citizenship at the DMV — all the information required to register to vote — so it makes good sense to streamline that process with voter registration.” - Gov Joh Shapiro (D-PA)
• Hell yes.
• More good stuff…
• California filed a lawsuit Friday against five of the world’s largest oil companies, alleging that they lied to the public about the damage their product is causing. The state wants the companies to pay into a fund that would support recovery from climate change-related extreme weather events like heavy storms and wildfires.
• I support this.
• And now, The Weather: “really happening” by SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
• Here’s a real quote for ya…
• “But ultimately, all future date nights have been canceled. And I learned to check party affiliations before you go on a date.” - Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), after getting felt up by and fondling a Democrat in public.
• Got a great chart for you today (and yes, album charts are always superior to singles charts). It’s September 1969. I’m three months old, and I guess we’re living in Cleveland, maybe. Here are the top albums of that moment.
• 1. Blind Faith (Blind Faith). 2. Johnny Cash At San Quentin (Johnny Cash). 3. Blood, Sweat & Tears (Blood, Sweat & Tears). 4. Hair (Original Cast Recording). 5. Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival). 6. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly). 7. Best Of Cream (Cream). 8. Smash Hits (The Jimi Hendrix Experience). 9. The Soft Parade (The Doors). 10. Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (The Rolling Stones). 11. Crosby, Stills & Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash). 12. Bayou Country (Creedence Clearwater Revival). 13. Hot Buttered Soul (Isaac Hayes). 14. Nashville Skyline (Bob Dylan). 15. This Is Tom Jones (Tom Jones). 16. Romeo & Juliet (1969)  (Soundtrack). 17. Best Of Bee Gees (Bee Gees). 18. Dark Shadows (The Score) (Soundtrack). 19. Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin). 20. Suitable For Framing (Three Dog Night).
• From the Sports Desk… the curse against the Cleveland Browns is alive and well. Nick Chubb, their All-Pro running back, suffered what coach Kevin Stefanski called a "significant" injury to his left knee in the second quarter of last night’s MNF game and had to be carted off the field. Chubb is expected to miss the remainder of the season, thereby severely dampening Cleveland’s chances of success.
• Today in history… Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion (1676). The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget (1778). George Washington's Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public (1796). Union troops under William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by Sterling Price (1862). Union troops under Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by Jubal Early (1864). The Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor, giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote (1893). Witold Pilecki gets captured on purpose, and is sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to gather and smuggle out information for the resistance movement (1940). Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music (1985). Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all-time saves leader with 602 (2011). A drone strike by the United States kills 30 civilian farmers in Afghanistan (2019).
• September 19 is the birthday of Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (86), Liao emperor Mu Zong (931), explorer Thomas Cavendish (1560), lawyer Leon Jaworski (1905), car designer/businessman Ferdinand Porsche (1909), actress Frances Farmer (1913), actor/TV host James Lipton (1926), actor Adam West (1928), music manager Brian Epstein (1934), singer-songwriter Bill Medley (1940), singer-songwriter Paul Williams (1940), singer Cass Elliot (1941), songwriter/musician Lol Creme (1947), actor Jeremy Irons (1948), model/actress Twiggy (1949), journalist Joan Lunden (1950), music producer Daniel Lanois (1951), songwriter/guitarist/producer Nile Rodgers (1952), singer-songwriter/guitarist Lita Ford (1958), chef Mario Batali (1960), actress Cheri Oteri (1962), singer-songwriter Tricia Yearwood (1964), politician Tim Scott (1965), astronaut Sunita Williams (1965), journalist Soledad O’Brien (1966), TV host Jimmy Fallon (1974), actress Alison Sweeney (1976), NBA player Tyreke Evans (1989), and NBA player Trae Young (1998).

Well damn. Lots more to share with you, but I’m out of that most precious of commodities, time. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 18, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 18, 2023, and it’s a Monday. I spent a good chunk of the weekend on a journey through the past, so what better to bring my brain back to the present than a fresh helping of news?

• Let’s talk a bit about one of the reasons behind the various unions’ strikes lately: the wealth gap between workers and the top bosses.
• The United Auto Workers feel that if Detroit’s three automakers raised CEO pay by 40% over the past four years, workers should get similar raises.
• UAW President Shawn Fain has repeatedly cited the figure, contrasting it with the 6% pay raises autoworkers have received since their last contract in 2019.
• In June, Netflix shareholders rejected executive pay packages in a nonbinding vote, just days after the Writers Guild of America wrote letters urging investors to vote against the pay proposals, saying it would be inappropriate amid Hollywood’s ongoing strike by writers. The WGA wrote similar letters targeting the executive pay at Comcast and NBCUniversal.
• Executive pay is notoriously complicated to calculate because so much of it comes in the form of stock grants or stock options.
• General Motors CEO Mary Barra has held the role since 2019, and is the highest paid, with a compensation package of worth $28.98 million in 2022. The single biggest component was $14.62 million in stock grants. Her pay has increased 34% since 2019.
• Ford CEO James Farley received nearly $21 million in total compensation in 2022, a 21% increase over the $17.4 million then-CEO Jim Hackett received in 2019.
• So while 40% may be a little optimistic, there’s no argument that the wealth gap is widening and the few are benefitting tremendously at the expense of the many.
• Let’s move on.
• In Trump Criminal Enterprise news, a federal judge who rejected efforts by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move his charges in the Georgia election subversion case to federal court is set to hear arguments today from former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark on the same issue.
• Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has accused Clark and Meadows, along with Dumpster and 16 others, of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory and keep Dumpy in power. The 41-count indictment includes charges under the state’s anti-racketeering law. All 19 defendants have pleaded not guilty.
• I saw an article that was fact-checking El Dumpo’s ‘Meet the Press’ interview from yesterday, but basically it was just a transcript of everything he said with the word “Lie” stamped over it.
• He blamed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the violence on January 6, 2021. FALSE.
• He said that Biden directed the Justice Department to indict him. FALSE.
• He repeatedly argued that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him, and he claimed that “there’s no questions about it.” FALSE.
• Remember, Dumpty Dump has had many opportunities to prove these claims in court, and either has had no tangible evidence or lost every attempt and every appeal.
• Another little self-own in Dumb Don’s interview: he said that he didn’t respect lawyers and members of his campaign who told him he lost the 2020 presidential election, and that it was his decision to buy into the theory that the election was rigged.
• That blows apart one of his defense arguments in his federal case in regard to January 6. He can no longer say he was just taking the advice of others in his role in the insurrection.
• And then yesterday, to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Donald Trump post the following on his social network…
• “Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed false narratives! Let's hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!”
• Are you going to vote for this piece of shit anti-Semite? Because if you do, consider yourself an enemy of this liberal Jew, and you will be dealt with accordingly.
• In other news…
• Two pilots were killed yesterday after their planes collided while landing at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, NV. The pilots were identified as Nick Macy and Chris Rushing.
• In similar news, sorta, officials with the Joint Base Charleston air base say a pilot ejected safely from a F-35 combat jet during a "mishap."
• If you happen to see an F-35 laying around somewhere (I’m not kidding), call the Base Defense Operations Center at 843-963-3600.
• I’ve been noting a series of cyberattacks in recent weeks. The latest has hit Clorox, and is causing wide-scale disruption of the company’s operations, hampering its ability to make its cleaning materials.
• The company revealed today in a regulatory filing that it detected unauthorized activity in some of its information technology systems in August. Clorox said it immediately took action to stop the attack, including reducing its operations. It now believes the attack has been contained.
• But Clorox has not been able to get its manufacturing operations back up to full speed. The company said it is fulfilling and processing orders manually.
• A quick note on women’s reproductive rights.
• Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has sued the state’s largest hospital system, claiming it violated patient privacy laws when a doctor publicly shared the story of an Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for an abortion.
• This was a 10-year-old rape victim who was impregnated by her rapist and had to leave her state to get medical case.
• What’s really going on is that Indiana, like most forced-birth states, don’t want people being aware of these stories that show how draconian the states are in their enforcement of brutal anti-women laws.
• Illinois today becomes the first US state to eliminate cash bail. I couldn’t be happier. Here in Los Angeles County, CA, we’re doing the same thing starting next month.
• Cash bail is extraordinarily discriminatory. If you need an explanation why that’s the case, I’ll be glad to tell you.
• Moving on with some sad news.
• Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) announced this morning she will finish out her term in Congress but will not seek reelection. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few months ago, but her statement today said that her doctor had “modified my diagnosis to Supra-nuclear Palsy – a kind of ‘Parkison’s on Steroids.’”
• Wishing her the best of luck in her fight.
• And now, The Weather: “Strange Folk” by Lutalo
• You might need to make plans for Nigel. The tropical storm strengthened into a hurricane overnight, becoming the 14th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.Nigel is expected to rapidly strengthen by Tuesday. The storm is currently located about 935 miles east-southeast of Bermuda.
• My current weather here in Redondo Beach, CA is perfect. Daily highs of 72-73 and overcast. I might even abandon my shorts for some jeans if this keeps up.
• Here’s a super weird story.
• Birmingham, AL cops tased and forcibly arrested Minor High School's band director this week for not stopping his students from performing.
• It happened after a football game between Minor and Jackson-Olin High School. Police wanted to clear out the stadium quickly, but Minor’s band kept playing, which is apparently a use of force situation. The director is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.
• Wow.
• Do we do some Florida Man news? Sure, shy not?
• Volusia County deputies said one person was killed in a DeLeon Springs shooting last night. 42-year-old Brian Ford was shot by his neighbor while he was trimming trees near his property line.
• Investigators are currently questioning the neighbor accused of firing the shot, who was identified as 78-year-old Edward Druzolowski, who is charged with second-degree murder. He confronted Ford about allegedly being on his property, and when Ford didn't leave, he shot and killed him.
• Sigh. Let’s do a chart. This is from September 1989. I was 20 and I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing with my life. I still don’t, but now I can also pay my rent and bills. The music is a mish-mosh of pretty bad pop, hair metal, rap/R&B, and a couple of interesting alternative albums too.
• 1. Repeat Offender (Richard Marx). 2. Hangin' Tough (New Kids On The Block). 3. Batman (Soundtrack) (Prince). 4. Forever Your Girl (Paula Abdul). 5. Girl You Know It's True (Milli Vanilli). 6. Full Moon Fever (Tom Petty). 7. Skid Row (Skid Row). 8. The Raw & The Cooked (Fine Young Cannibals). 9. Cuts Both Ways (Gloria Estefan). 10. The End Of The Innocence (Don Henley). 11. Don't Be Cruel (Bobby Brown). 12. Twice Shy (Great White). 13. Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (Warrant). 14. Paul's Boutique (Beastie Boys). 15. Walking With A Panther (LL Cool J). 16. Keep On Movin' (Soul II Soul). 17. Like A Prayer (Madonna). 18. Blind Man's Zoo (10,000 Maniacs). 19. Martika (Martika). 20. Love And Rockets (Love And Rockets)
• From the Sports Desk: here are the NFL teams that are now 0-2…
• Bengals, Patriots, Vikings, Chargers, Cardinals, Texans, Bears, and Broncos. There are two Monday Night Football games tonight (new Orleans and Carolina and Cleveland at Pittsburgh), so it’s possible that the Steelers and Panthers could be added to this list tonight.
• Today in history… Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor after Domitian is assassinated (96). Norwegian king Harald Hardrada lands with Tostig Godwinson at the mouth of the Humber River and begins his invasion of England (1066). The first cornerstone of the United States Capitol is laid by George Washington (1793). Tiffany & Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City (1837). First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times (1851). Fritz Pollard becomes the first African American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros (1919). The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) goes on the air (1927). General Douglas MacArthur moves his general headquarters from Manila to Tokyo (1945). Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations (1960). Voyager I takes the first distant photograph of the Earth and the Moon together (1977). First mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attacks (2001). Scotland votes against independence from the United Kingdom, by 55% to 45% (2014). 
• September 18 is the birthday of Roman emperor Trajan (53), singer-songwriter/lute player Francesca Caccini (1587), lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709), actress Greta Garbo (1905), actor Jack Warden (1920), director/producer Bud Greenspan (1926), actor Robert Blake (1933), actor Fred Willard (1933), singer Frankie Avalon (1940), singer-songwriter Michael Franks (1944), computer businessman John McAfee (1945), guitarist/songwriter Kerry Livgren (1949), singer-songwriter/bass player Dee Dee Ramone (1951), basketball coach Rick Pitino (1952), football coach/politician Tommy Tuberville (1954), actor James Gandolfini (1961), NBA player Toni Kukoč (1968), actress Jada Pinkett Smith (1971), cyclist Lance Armstrong (1971), rapper Xzibit (1974), and soccer player Ronaldo (1976).

Well, it’s time to start my day for real. I know I keep teasing info about the amazing shit I’m finding in my family tree. One reason I haven’t spoken about it here is that I feel obligated to tell the rest of my family, to whom it directly pertains, that news first. That process is underway. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 17, 2023

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Random News: September 16, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morn- er, afternoon. It’s September 16, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I am deeply immersed in the genealogy project I’ve mentioned a few times lately. I am going to therefore use extreme brevity in this set of bullets today so I can get back to the insanity that is my lineage.

• Federal prosecutors in the case charging Donald Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking an order that would restrict the former president from "inflammatory" and "intimidating" comments about witnesses, per a motion yesterday from Special Counsel Jack Smith.
• U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan released a redacted filing, alleging that Dumpy engaged in new incidents of witness intimidation.
• Specifically, the government is seeking the relief that the Court "enter a narrowly tailored order pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 57.7(c) that restricts certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements; and enter an order through which the Court can ensure that if either party conducts a jury study involving contact with the citizens of this District, the jury study is conducted in a way that will not prejudice the venire."
• Moving on.
• In a travesty of justice that was not unexpected by me, anyway, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted this morning on all 16 articles of impeachment.
• Paxton still faces a federal investigation and state charges.
• Let’s do some shitty news, while we’re being shitty.
• Robert Dotson, 52, was shot and killed in the doorway of his Farmington, NM home after local police officers opened fire when they saw he had a gun. Dotson had a gun because someone was banging on his front door at 11:30 at night… and the police had gone to the wrong address.
• The family has now sued the department for wrongful death and other claims in federal court. I hope they get many, many millions of dollars. It’s the least they should get.
• Some quick hits…
• Ford Motor said it had temporarily laid off 600 non-striking workers at its assembly plant in Wayne, MI, only hours after other employees at the facility had walked off the job early Friday as part of the United Auto Workers' historic strike against the Big Three automakers. 
• Have you seen the Lauren Boebert (R-CO) video?
• We already mentioned she’d been kicked out of a performance of the musical Beetlejuice in Denver for inappropriate behavior. I first thought that behavior was being loud and vaping.
• Um, no. She was giving her date a hand job while he we groping her breasts in an all-ages theater. Kids were there.
• And yes, she was also vaping, yelling, and recording the show on her phone. When she got booted out, she tried the, “Don’t you know who I am?” tactic.
• Boebert has issued an apology, saying, “The past few days have been difficult and humbling, and I’m truly sorry for the unwanted attention my Sunday evening in Denver has brought to the community.”
• Pfffffffttttttttt.
• And now, The Weather: “Were You High When You Loved Me?” by Calson x RUNNER BOY
• From the Sports Desk… Shohei Ohtani has been placed on the injured list and will miss the remainder of the season. It’s sad because that guy can break every record that ever existed if he stays healthy.
• Today in history… 35 religious dissenters called Pilgrims set sail for Virginia from Plymouth, England in the Mayflower (1620). The Franco-American Siege of Savannah begins in the Revolutionary War (1779). Settlers make a land run for prime land in the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma (1893). General Motors Corporation is founded (1908). A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building on Wall Street in New York City killing 38 and injuring 400 (1920). The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced (1959). Typhoon Nancy, with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Osaka, Japan (1961). The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City (1966). The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion (1987). Manuel Noriega gets a 40-year sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering (1992). 
• September 16 is the birthday of king Henry V of England (1386), banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777), UK prime minister Bonar Law (1858), businessmanr James Cash Penny (1875), TV producer Allen Funt (1914), actress Lauren Bacall (1924), singer-songwriter/guitarist B.B. King (1925), actor Peter Falk (1927), NBA player Elgin Baylor (1934), drummer Kenney Jones (1948), actor Ed Begley Jr. (1949), historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1950), guitarist/composer Earl Klugh (1954), MLB player Robin Yount (1955), magician David Copperfield (1956), MLB player Orel Hershiser (1958), actress Jennifer Tilly (1958), singer-songwriter/guitarist Bilinda Butcher (1961), singer-songwriter Richard Marx (1963), actress Molly Shannon (1964), actress Amy Poehler (1971), and singer-songwriter Nick Jonas (1992).

Alright, back to my genes. I’m telling you, it’s pretty mind-blowing. My only hint for the moment is that I’ve taken several family lines back to the 800s, and I still have a long way to go to flesh out all the details. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 15, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 15, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I’ve got my coffee with sugar and cream, so let’s see is everything is what it seems…

• Today is the 258th day of 2023. Now you know that.
• Yesterday’s hearing in the Fulton County, GA trial for the FPOTUS and his team of weenies got pretty testy.
• Snide comments were hurled, voices were raised, and accusations were leveled by prosecutors and defense attorneys during the 90-minute hearing, where the parties asked Judge Scott McAfee to rule on a handful of motions related to the grand jury that handed up an indictment in the case.
• Shrug.
• Another news, House Republicans this week failed to move forward on a procedural vote advancing a bill to fund the Defense Department after it became clear they did not have enough votes to secure its passage.
• The inability to move forward on a basic step to fund the government — the House’s top responsibility enshrined in the Constitution — offered an example of just how difficult it will be for McCarthy and the fractured Republican majority to find consensus, keep the government open and avert blame if a shutdown is triggered. The House has less than a dozen days in session before the September 30 deadline.
• They just suck.
• Hunter Biden has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his purchase of a firearm in October 2018 while he was a drug user.
• The four-page indictment charges Hunter with three felony counts stemming from his possession of a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver in October 2018, which prosecutors previously said he unlawfully possessed for 11 days.
• His attorney says that the statute is "likely unconstitutional" and he expects "the case will be dismissed before trial.” So now, MAGA folks are tasked with the choice of choosing between their beloved 2nd Amendment and their boogeyman, Hunter Biden. I love it.
• If convicted, Hunter Biden could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000.
• Fine. No problem. If someone — anyone — is indicted, they are given the opportunity to defend themselves in court. That’s as true of Hunter Biden as it is of Donald John Trump. If they’re guilty, they should get punished. This is not hard.
• I don’t know a single Democrat who cares whether Hunter Biden gets charged with crimes. I give him the same amount of importance in my life as Amy Carter or Tricia Nixon Cox or Jenna Bush.
• Moving on…
• Let’s do some “Poor Florida” news.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and the state’s surgeon general are warning residents under age 65 against the new coronavirus booster, going against the advice of federal health officials who have recommended the shots.
• As reported here earlier this week, the FDA on Monday approved a reformulated coronavirus vaccine that targets an omicron subvariant and is cleared for everyone 6 months and older. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the shots, manufactured by Moderna and by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
• The CDC recommends that everyone 5 and older receive a single dose of the updated vaccine, which is part of an arsenal of tools the government is using to counter an expected increase in COVID-19, influenza and RSV as the weather turns cooler.
• Since I live in a sane state, I will not be harassed by anyone for getting my booster as soon as possible, which I plan on doing soon after Kat returns from Australia.
• Also, if you’re one of those “vaccines kill everyone!” freaks, I got my first series of COVID vaccinations in April 2021, and then boosters in December 2021, May 2022, and November 2022. Unless I’m a ghost, I’d say these vaccines are extremely safe and exponentially less dangerous than repeated infections of the virus.
• Let’s move on…
• Wisconsin Republicans voted yesterday to fire Meagan Wolfe, the state’s elections chief, just months before the battleground state’s presidential primary.
• Wolfe’s position is a nonpartisan, non-voting one tasked with implementing the decisions made by the three Democratic and three Republican commissioners.
• As the head of the commission, Wolfe has been the target of GOP attacks following the 2020 presidential election, when President Joe Biden narrowly beat former President Donald Trump in the state. These are Republicans who amplified Trump’s lies about widespread fraud in the election, and got mad about absentee ballots used during the pandemic.
• Fuck all the way off, Wisconsin Republicans.
• Let’s do some awful news.
• Two former East Cleveland, OH police officers were sentenced this week for stealing thousands of dollars from people they pulled over during traffic stops.
• Willie Sims, 32, got two years in prison yesterday. Alfonzo Cole, 35, was sentenced Monday to 2-1/2 years in prison and was fined $40,000. In total, Sims and Cole stole $14,781 from six victims between July 2020 and July 2021 while on duty.
• "The one person that the public should be able to have confidence in would be your emergency services, your police officers, your firefighters, your EMTs. You've shaken the confidence of the public in the criminal justice system and the trust they put in police officers.” - Judge Michael J. Russo
• While we’re on the topic of awful news and cops… I’ve been loathe to cover this terrible story, but I might as well now.
• On Monday, body-cam footage of Seattle Police Department officer Daniel Auderer was released with him laughing and joking about the death of 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula. She was struck and killed by a police vehicle earlier this year.
• Kandula was fatally struck at a crosswalk by a police cruiser that was driving at 74 mph on January 23. The collision caused her to be thrown more than 100 feet and she later died from her injuries.
• I’m not going to repeat everything this fucking prick cop said, but if he said it about your child who’d been killed, your blood would boil. Among other things, Auderer said that the young woman “had limited value”.
• Kandula was a graduate student from the Seattle campus of Northeastern University, and was set to graduate this December with a master’s degree in information systems.
• Now Auderer’s statements have attracted the attention of Seattle leaders and the Indian Consulate. Is this the first time that Auderer has acted in ways that no law enforcement officer should act?
• Nope. He was one of more than a dozen officers that savagely beat Brian Torgerson, a mentally ill man, causing  permanent brain damage in 2010. He was investigated in 2016 for using force against a woman while she was handcuffed. He punched and choked a homeless man inside the ER at Harborview Hospital in 2015. He sexually harassed a woman in a holding cell in 2015. In 2016, he punched a female bystander in the face for "interfering with an arrest."
• These complaints have cost tax payers of Seattle over $1.7 million. Why is he still a cop?
• Speaking of assholes… 
• You likely recall that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones lost a lawsuit to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. They were awarded $1.5 billion in that judgement.
• Jones has paid them nothing and continues to beg his audience for funds, but his own documents show his current net worth is around $14 million and his personal spending topped $93,000 in July alone, including thousands of dollars on meals and entertainment.
• In an August 29 court filing, lawyers for the families said that if Jones doesn’t reduce his personal expenses to a “reasonable” level, they will ask the bankruptcy judge to bar him from “further waste of estate assets,” appoint a trustee to oversee his spending, or dismiss the bankruptcy case.
• How did Jones respond? “If anything, I like to go to nice restaurants. That is my deal. I like to go on a couple of nice vacations a year, but I think I pretty much have earned that in this fight,” he said, while urging his audience to keep donating more money for his legal expenses.
• And now, The Weather: “3 45” by Jason Nolan
• Hurricane Lee is barreling toward eastern New England and Canada's Atlantic coast and is expected to make landfall over the weekend. The stormis expected to stay large and dangerous as it continued on a trajectory north.
• Stay safe, friends.
• In local (to me) news, most suspects arrested for non-violent felonies and misdemeanors in Redondo Beach, CA will be cited or booked and then released.
• On July 18, the Los Angeles County Superior Court approved the new zero-bail protocol, which in turn means all county police departments must comply with the rule change. The new bail protocol is slated to take effect on October 1.
• Good. Cash bail has always unfairly targeted lower-income people, who have to remain behind bars while awaiting trial and lose jobs as a result.
• From the Sports Desk… New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said yesterday that surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg "went great.” 
• The four-time NFL MVP posted a photo and statement in an Instagram story the day after his surgery, which he said was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon based in Los Angeles who has worked with numerous professional athletes during his career.
• It’s almost as if Rodgers has some level of trust in medical science. Huh.
• Today in history… King Philip II of Spain sends an "Invincible Armada” to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and gets crushed in the English Channel (1588). The United States "Department of Foreign Affairs” is renamed the Department of State (1789). Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow (1812). The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens (1830). HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands (1835). Japan defeats Qing dynasty China in the Battle of Pyongyang (1894). Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme in WWI (1916). Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika (1935). Marilyn Monroe's iconic skirt scene is shot during filming for ‘The Seven Year Itch’ (1954). U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation (1967). Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times (1978). The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1981). The Summer Olympics are opened in Sydney, Australia (2000). Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history (2008).
• September 15 is the birthday of explorer Marco Polo (1254), dentist/educator/inventor George Franklin Grant (1846), politician William Howard Taft (1857), car designer/businessman Ettore Bugatti (1881), writer Agatha Christie (1890), singer-songwriter/fiddle player Roy Acuff (1903), actress Fay Wray (1907), criminal and US attorney general John N. Mitchell (1913), comedian Nipsey Russell (1918), saxophonist/bandleader Cannonball Adderley (1928), NFL player/actor Merlin Olsen (1940), actor Tommy Lee Jones (1946), NFL coach Pete Carroll (1951), NFL player Dan Marino (1961), comedian/actor Jimmy Carr (1972), Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (1984), NBA player Dennis Schröder (1993).

I have a busy day lined up, chock full of meetings and work deadlines and all the shit that is typical in many people’s lives. That’s fine. This is what life is. Being active, producing things, helping the world do its thing. Enjoy your day.

Random News: September 14, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 14, 2023, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. In addition to my usual work stuff, I spent a big portion of yesterday getting my mind blown with revelations from my ancestry. More of that today, but first, the news…

• We can start with some breaking news out of Fulton County, GA, where Judge Scott McAfee has ruled that Donnie Dump and 16 of his co-defendants in the RICO trial will not be tried alongside Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell starting October 23, 2023.
• The ruling severs Chesebro and Powell’s case from the 17 other defendants who did not request a speedy trial.
• One result of this: Mark Meadows had entered a motion for an emergency stay of the federal district court’s remand order, but now that is null and void since he’ll have plenty of time before his own trial date.
• Orange Man has waived his right to a speedy trial in exchange for his motion to sever his case from that of Chesebro and Powell. He’s trying to figure out how to get to the back of the line.
• Over in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon has finally issued a protective order limiting Trump's access to evidence in the classified documents case while also barring him from publicly discussing sensitive material.
• The order noted that El Dumpo had 3500 pages of classified documents. The number of pages Donnie Boy was legally authorized to have once he left office was, hmm, let’s see… ZERO.
• Moving on.
• A federal judge yesterday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
• However, he declined to order an immediate end to the program and the protections it offers to recipients. The judge's ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program's fate before the high court for a third time.
• Hanen’s order extended the current injunction that had been in place against DACA, which barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the ongoing legal review.
• In other news…
• Yesterday in the impeachment trial of Texas AG Ken Paxton, the House rested its case amid a dramatic day that centered around questions of whether the woman with whom the attorney general had an affair would take the stand.
• The trial is resumes this morning with the first defense witnesses.
• As I’d rather easily predicted over the weekend, a federal judge yesterday temporarily halted a 30-day order from New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham suspending the open and concealed carrying of guns in the Albuquerque area that had sparked bipartisan condemnation.
• The executive order had drawn extensive blowback from the state’s elected Republicans for violating gun rights and also some Democrats and gun control advocates who questioned its constitutionality.
• Yep.
• Let’s do some Asshole News. Not, like, actual asshole news. No one wants that. Or if you do, you’ll need to look elsewhere… I’m sure there’s plenty to choose from.
• Remember Kim Davis? She was the Rowan County, KY clerk who drew international attention when she was briefly jailed for contempt fo court in 2015 over her refusal to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple based on her belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
• A federal jury has just awarded $100,000 to that couple. A jury in Ashland, KY awarded David Ermold and David Moore each $50,000 yesterday. The former clerk had argued that a legal doctrine called qualified immunity protected her from being sued for damages by the couples.
• Nope.
• Asshole #2 is none other than U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who was escorted out of a Denver theater on Sunday night after several people seated near her in the audience complained she was creating a disturbance.
• Boebert were seen vaping and using a cell phone to record the performance, against theater rules, as well as being loud and rude to other theater-goers. Theater staff received three different complaints about the behavior, prompting security to issue a warning to BoBo and her pals during intermission. But five minutes into the second act, the staff received a fourth complaint, and mobilized to remove her.
• One of the ushers reported that Boebs resisted leaving. "They told me they would not leave. I told them that they need to leave the theater and if they do not, they will be trespassing. The patrons said they would not leave. I told them I would be going to get Denver Police. They said go get them," the usher in the report.
• Classy.
• On to some very sad news. The husband of Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) has died after a plane crash in her home state.
• ”We are devastated to share that Mary's husband, Eugene Peltola Jr. — 'Buzzy' to all of us who knew and loved him — passed away earlier this morning following a plane accident in Alaska. He was one of those people that was obnoxiously good at everything. He had a delightful sense of humor that lightened the darkest moments. He was definitely the cook in the family. And family was most important to him. He was completely devoted to his parents, kids, siblings, extended family, and friends — and simply adored Mary.”
• Buzzy Peltola was 57. In case you were unaware, travel by small plane is essential in Alaska due to places that are unaccessible by roads. Several well-known politicians have died in Alaska plane crashes. These include House Majority Leader Thomas Hale Boggs Sr., (D-LA), Rep. Nick Begich (A-AK), Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and others.
• And now, The Weather: “Star” by Mitski
• From the Sports Desk… the second NFL week of the season kicks off tonight with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly is favored by six points.
• Today in history… George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio ‘Messiah’ (1741). The Papal States lose Avignon to Revolutionary France (1791). President William McKinley dies after being mortally wounded on September 6 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz and is succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt (1901). The Hungarian Army kills 158 Romanian civilians in the Ip Massacre, an act of ethnic cleansing (1940). Maastricht becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces in WWII (1944). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, aka OPEC, is founded (1960). Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a gas balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean (1984). The Major League Baseball season is canceled because of a strike (1994). Microsoft releases Windows Me (2000). The first observation of gravitational waves is made, announced the following February by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations (2015). 
• September 14 is the birthday of theologian/astrologer/occultist/alchemist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486), nurse/activist Margaret Sanger (1879), actor Walter Koenig (1936), basketball coach Larry Brown (1940), songwriter/guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith (1949), songwriter/guitarist Paul Kosoff (1950), politician Dmitry Medvedev (1965), rapper Nas (1973), politician Ron DeSantis (1978), singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (1983), NFL player Michael Crabtree (1987),  and NBA player Jimmy Butler (1989).

I’d love to stay and chat more but I’m fresh out of time. Be good to each other, and to animals, and to trees. Enjoy your day.