Random News: October 19, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 19, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. Not quite sure what I’m writing next, but if I keep tapping my fingers, words usually come out…

• I’ve got some amazing numbers for you in regard to one crucial state: Georgia. Allow me to frame this for you.
• Midterm elections never, ever draw the same number of voters as presidential election years. Example: on the first day of voting in 2014, Georgia cast 20,898 votes.
• Well this year, on Monday, Georgians hit the polls with a fucking vengeance, and 123,834 people voted on that one day.
• Compare that to their last Midterm election, aka the Blue Wave midterm, where 70,848 people voted the first day. Compare it to the presidential year of 2016 when 90,671 voted on that Monday. For Georgia, 2022 is by far a record for turnout in early voting in a midterm election.
• Let me be very clear: THERE ARE MANY MORE DEMOCRATS THAN REPUBLICANS IN THE USA.
• These numbers are real and tangible and a better indicator of what’s going to happen than ANY poll or ANY news pundit on your TV or your favorite websites.
• The higher the voter turnout, the more likely that we have a real chance of doing things like codifying abortion rights for the country, and protecting other rights on the chopping block that include Social Security and Medicare.
• No matter where you live or what obstacles they try and put up to subvert American democracy and prevent you from voting… FUCKING VOTE.
• Thank you.
• It seems half a lifetime ago that the big tabloid news story was the disappearance of college student Kristin Smart.
• Probably because for me, 1996 was almost exactly half my life ago.
• Anyway, I was shocked to see the headline that they’d actually convicted a guy of her murder. It’s not often you see convictions in cases from 26 years ago.
• Keep Ukraine in your thoughts. Russia has been hitting them hard with rocket and drone strikes.
• Putin has now declared martial law in four illegally annexed Ukraine territories.
• There are freeze warnings in many places in the Eastern US, from DC to North Texas to Chicago. As I’ve mentioned roughly 10,000 times before, climate change is causing more severe weather that ranges from devastating storms to bigger extremes in both hot and cold temperatures.
• And now, The Weather: “Charlie” by Sam Valdez
• The increasingly irrelevant FPOTUS is scheduled to be in court this morning, testifying under oath at a trial for defamation after he denied raping writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
• From the Sports Desk… MLB conference series are finally in full swing, so to speak. The Phillies lead the Padres 1-0 in the NLCS, while the Yankees and Astros face off today in Houston for Game 1 of the ALCS.
• Today in history… King John of England dies at Newark-on-Trent and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry (1216). Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology (1512). John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States (1789). Austria cedes Veneto and Mantua to France, which immediately awards them to Italy in exchange for the earlier Italian acquiescence to the French annexation of Savoy and Nice (1866). Max Planck discovers Planck's law of black-body radiation (1900). Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University (1943). President Nixon rejects an Appeals Court decision that he turn over the Watergate tapes (1973). Black Monday has the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 22%, 508 points (1987). Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity (2005). 
• October 19 is the birthday of activist John Woolman (1720), actress LaWanda Page (1920), actor Robert Reed (1932), musician Dave Guard (1934), illustrator Peter Max (1937), actor Michael Gambon (1940), singer-songwriter Peter Tosh (1944), actor John Lithgow (1945), musician Patrick Simmons (1948), actor/director John Favreau (1966), animator Trey Parker (1969), actor Chris Kattan (1970), and MLB player José Bautista (1980). 

My Wednesday plan is pretty typical. Gonna wrap up these bullets, then exercise, and then fight a bunch of metaphorical dragons (that are mostly myself). I’m going to try and have a good day and make some kind of positive impact, even in a very small way. Every tiny little good thing adds up to a better world for everyone. Enjoy your day.

Random News: October 18, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 18, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday. Here’s whatever points of interest I can scrape together while doing about a thousand other things…

• As I mentioned over the weekend, we voted for the upcoming 2022 National Election on Saturday by dropping off our ballots at an authorized dropbox.
• Yesterday in the early afternoon, less than 48 hours after dropping off our votes, I got the following email…
• “This is a message from the California Secretary of State on behalf of Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters. Your ballot for the November 8, 2022, General Election was received and counted. Thank you for voting!”
• It should be that easy for every single person in the USA. If we can do it in California, the nation’s most populous state, your state can do it too if they want.
• I hear terrible stories of people not being allowed to get ballots, of being dropped from voter rolls, of people needing multiple confirmation signatures to validate their vote, of little or no early voting, and of course of long lines in hard-to-access places on election day.
• WHY?
• You already know why. It’s in certain factions’ best interests to make it as hard as possible for you to take advantage of the one power you have as a US citizen.
• Fuck them. Vote however you can.
• The election is three weeks from today.
• On this coming Friday, human ball of dirty congealed pork grease Steve Bannon will be sentenced for defying a a subpoena to testify before the January 6 House Select Committee.
• The contempt of Congress charges are for one count for failing to appear for a deposition and another for refusing to hand over documents. He was found guilty on July 22.
• The DoJ is recommending him to be sentenced to six months in jail and pay a $200,000 fine.
• He will still face other charges for fraud in a separate case. His trial date for defrauding MAGA people with his fake “Build The Wall” scheme isn’t until November 2023.
• And now, The Weather: “Gretel” by Alex G.
• Yesterday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent a letter to the Secret Service to get a full accounting of the spending at Trump-owned properties during FPOTUS’s presidency. 
• Apparently, Trump was charging our Secret Service up to $1,185 per room, per night. This is miles above the government per diem rates.
• We pay for that, you know. The taxpayers pay for that.
• It happened at least 40 times between January 20, 2017 and September 15, 2021. Trump charged the USA more than $1.4 million in Secret Service rooms at his shitty hotels.
• From the Sports Desk… we still don’t know who’s playing in the ALCS. Rain delayed the Yankees/Guardians game last night, so we’ll know today who’s facing the Astros.
• In other Sports Desk news, the Denver Broncos were up 10-0 after the first quarter of last night’s Monday Night Football game, and still managed to lose to the Los Angeles Chargers 19-16 via a flurry of field goals. With a third of the season done, there is still one very unexpectedly undefeated team in the NFL: the Philadelphia Eagles are at 6-0.
• Sheep may go to heaven and goats may go to hell, but according to a news report out of Glacier National Park in Montana, it’s the goats who are winning the battle to access natural salt licks.
• “We were surprised that mountain goats won,” said Joel Berger, a professor at Colorado State University.
• The study concluded that the goats get greater access to the salt compared to the sheep because they are meaner. Anyone who’s ever been around a goat could have told you that.
• Today in history… King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris that defends the rights of the Frankish nobles while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom (614). African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery (1775). Herman Melville's ‘Moby-Dick’ is first published as ‘The Whale’ (1851). United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million (1867). The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain (1898). The British Broadcasting Company is founded by a consortium to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters (1922). Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón marries actress Eva Duarte (1945). Texas Instruments announces the first transistor radio (1954). NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch take part in the first all-female spacewalk when they venture out of the International Space Station to replace a power controller (2019).
• October 18 is the birthday of poet Lady Mary Wroth (1587), painter Luca Giordano (1634), composer Baldassare Galuppi (1706), painter James Brooks (1906), Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau (1919), singer-songwriter Jessie Mae Hemphill (1923), musician Chuck Berry (1926), actor George C. Scott (1927), actor Peter Boyle (1935), actress Dawn Wells (1938), NFL player/coach Mike Ditka (1939), assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (1939), songwriter Cynthia Weil (1940), TV host Huell Howser (1945), composer Howard Shore (1946), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), tennis great Martina Navratilova (1956), actress Erin Moran (1960), musician Wynton Marsalis (1961), sportscaster Rachel Nichols (1973), skier Lindsey Vonn (1984), MLB player Yoenis Céspedes (1985), and WNBA player Britney Griner (1990).

Well, my Tuesdays are pretty busy, wedging a grocery store run in between meetings and work deliverables. I’m not going to worry about things; I’m just going to do things until I have less things to worry about. One thing I say that tends to always be true: bad shit will happen and good shit will happen, and they happen to everyone, and the only difference between a sad person and a happy person (other than certain aspects of brain chemistry) is the ability to recognize and appreciate the good times. Enjoy your day.

Random News: October 17, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 17, 2022, and it’s a Monday. Here are forthcoming items that bounce like a super ball around my brain…

• The former President, on his Truth Social network, said yesterday that American Jews better “get their act together” before “it is too late!”
• Too late for what, Donald?
• Not one Republican spoke out against this blatant statement of antisemitism, so I’m going to assume they’re all onboard with it.
• “We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This ‘Jewsplaining’ is insulting and disgusting.” - Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the American Defamation League.
• Remember when we said that a right-wing Supreme Court would reverse Roe v. Wade and most people thought that was an “alarmist” position and was extremely unlikely, if not impossible?
• Well, I’m here to tell you that eventually, the goal of a Republican-led congress is to repeal the 19th Amendment that allows women the right to vote.
• What, is that too “alarmist” for you? Couldn’t possibly happen?
• Guess we’ll see, if enough of you either don’t vote or if you vote for GOP candidates.
• Those men can’t wait to laugh at women who don’t know they are voting for their own rights to be removed. That’s already happening.
• Plans are already in the immediate works to make abortion illegal across all the states, to nullify same-sex marriages, to make homosexuality itself illegal, and to remove access to contraception even for married couples.
• Along with taking away the money you already paid into Social Security and Medicare.
• Current headlines are reading, “GOP keeps lead for House control, Democrats' momentum stalls amid economy worries”
• They want you focused on something that’s momentary and solvable. We’ve been through many economic crunches worse than this… in the late 2000s, in the early ‘90s, in the mid-70s, obviously in the 1930s, and so on.
• But what they really want is to make long-lasting changes that tighten their grip of authoritarian government control.
• Inflation is terrible, but it’s temporary. The changes to our rights as Americans can last forever.
• Also, ask yourself this: prices are super high, and corporations are reporting record profits. Why are you blaming the many governments of the world? How about blaming greed instead?
• From the Sports Desk… we now have out MLB conference series almost lined up. The ALCS will feature the Houston Astros versus the winner of tonight’s Game 5 matchup of the Yankees and Guardians, and the NLCS has the Philadelphia Phillies taking on the San Diego Padres. I’m not bitter about the 111-win Dodgers losing to the substantially weaker Padres. If you want to be a champ, you have to win when it counts.
• The Sports Desk would also like to note that out of 13 NFL games this week thus far, he picked exactly four correctly.
• And now, The Weather: “Fallback Man” by Swanes
• Other things going on: literally dozens of shootings, teachers’ strikes, cold fronts moving in, radioactive waste at elementary schools… I mean, really, there are plenty of days where being aware of things is not the preferable option.
• “Sometimes people just want to not feel as if they are walking on eggshells, and they want some acknowledgment that life is messy and that all of us, at any given moment, can say things the wrong way, make mistakes.” - Barack Obama, this weekend
• He’s got a point.
• Oh, and Ye is buying Parler, unless he changes his mind.
• Today in history… Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded (1558). The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England are hanged, drawn and quartered (1660). Eight people die in the London Beer Flood (1814). Aboriginal Australians kill nineteen Europeans in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre (1861). Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service (1907). Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion (1931). Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States (1933). The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England (1956). OPEC imposes an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1979). The 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63 (1989). The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada (2018). 
• October 17 is the birthday of poet Jupiter Hammon (1711), drummer Cozy Cole (1909), playwright Arthur Miller (1915), actress Rita Hayworth (1918), actor Montgomery Clift (1920), actor Tom Poston (1921), guitarist/composer Luiz Bonfá (1922), football coach Don Coryell (1924), daredevil Evel Knievel (1938), singer-songwriter Jim Seals (1941), actor/musician Michael McKean (1947), actress Margot Kidder (1948), actor George Wendt (1948), astronaut Mae Jemison (1956), bassist Pino Palladino (1957), actor/comedian Norm McDonald (1959), singer Ziggy Marley (1968), rapper Wyclef Jean (1969), actor Wood Harris (1969), rapper Eminem (1972), and actress Felicity Jones (1983).

I’m dealing with some family shit that just came up over the weekend. That’s how it goes, life. You’re on a highway trucking along, making good time, enjoying the day, and then a meteor falls out of the sky and smashes the road in front of you and you find yourself swerving around and hoping to survive, and still somehow getting to where you were headed on time. It is what it is. I’ll do what I can. Enjoy your day.

Zak Claxton Endorsements: Midterm Elections 2022

Hello, and welcome to the Zak Claxton voting guide for the General Election in November 2022. You'll find two sections below. First, the people and measures I actually voted for/against here in lovely Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, CA. Second are my general endorsements for various candidates in other places.

NATIONAL ELECTION

United States Senator - Full Term: Alex Padilla

United States Senator - Short Term: Alex Padilla

CITY/LOCAL

State Senator, 24th District: Ben Allen

Member of the State Assembly, 66th District: Al Muratsuchi

United States Representative, 36th District: Ted W. Lieu

DISTRICT

Beach Cities Health District Member, Board of Directors: Michelle Anne Bholat, Noel Lee Chun

COUNTY

Sheriff: Robert Luna

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 60: Anna Slotky Reitano

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 67: Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 70: Holly L. Hancock

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 90: Leslie Gutierrez

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 118: Carolyn "Jiyoung" Park

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 151: Patrick Hare

County Measure A (Authority to Remove an Elected Sheriff): YES

County measure C (Taxing Cannabis in Unincorporated LA County): YES

STATE

Governor: Gavin Newsom

Lieutenant Governor: Eleni Kounalakis

Secretary of State: Shirley N. Weber

Controller: Malia M. Cohen

Treasurer: Fiona Ma

Attorney General: Rob Bonta

Insurance Commissioner: Ricardo Lara

Member State Board of Equalization 3rd District: Tony Vasquez

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony K. Thurmond

State Measure 1 (Right to Reproductive Freedom): YES

State Measure 26 (In-Person Gambling on Tribal Lands): YES

State Measure 27 (Online and Mobile Sports Wagering): NO

State Measure 28 (Additional Funding for Art & Music in Public Schools): YES

State Measure 29 (Requires Doctors for Dialysis Clinics): NO

State Measure 30 (Taxing Highest Wealth for Air Pollution Reduction): YES

State Measure 31 (Prohibit Flavored Tobacco Products): YES

State Judicial: YES to all

REDONDO BEACH CITY

Measure E (Repeal Ban on Commercial Marijuana Businesses): YES

---

GENERAL ENDORSEMENTS in COMPETITIVE/IMPORTANT RACES

Alaska 

Rep At Large: Mary Peltola

Arizona 

Governor: Katie Hobbs

Senator: Mark Kelly

AZ-02: Tom O'Halleran

AZ-05: Javier Ramos

California

CA-03: Kermit Jones

CA-09: Josh Harder

CA-13: Adam Gray

CA-20: Marisa Wood

CA-22: Rudy Salas

CA-27: Christy Smith

CA-41: Will Rollins

CA-45: Jay Chen

CA-47: Katie Porter

CA-49: Mike Levin

Colorado 

Governor: Jared Polis

Senator: Michael Bennet

CO-03: Adam Frisch

CO-08: Yadira Caraveo

Florida 

Governor: Charlie Crist

Senator: Val Demings

FL-01: Rebekah Jones

FL-15: Alan M. Cohn

FL-27: Annette Taddeo

Georgia 

Governor: Stacey Abrams

Senator: Raphael Warnock

GA-14: Marcus Flowers

Illinois

IL-17: Eric Sorensen

Iowa

IA-3: Cindy Axne

Kansas

Governor: Laura Kelly

KS-03: Sharice Davids

Maine

Governor: Janet Mills

ME-02: Jared Forrest Golden

Maryland

MD-06: David J. Trone

Michigan 

Governor: Gretchen Whitmer

MI-03: Hillary Scholten

MI-07: Elissa Slotkin

MI-10: Carl J. Marlinga

Minnesota

Governor: Tim Walz

Montana

MT-01: Monica Tranel

Nebraska

NE-02: Tony Vargas

Nevada 

Governor: Steve Sisolak

Senator: Catherine Cortez Masto

NV-03: Suzy Lee

New Hampshire

Senate: Maggie Hassan

New Jersey

NJ-07: Tom Malinowski

New Mexico

Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham

NM-02: Gabriel Vasquez

New York

Governor: Kathy Holchul

NY-01: Bridget Fleming

NY-17: Sean Patrick Maloney

NY-18: Pat Ryan

NY-19: Josh Riley

NY-22: Francis Conole

NY-25: Joe Morelle

North Carolina

Senate: Cheri Beasley

NC-13: Wiley Nickel

Ohio 

Senator: Tim Ryan

OH-01: Greg Landsman

OH-4: Tamie Wilson

Oklahoma

Governor: Joy Hofmeister

Oregon

Governor: Tina Kotek

OR-05: Jamie McCleod-Skinner

OR-06: Andrea Salinas

Pennsylvania

Governor: Josh Shapiro

Senator: John Fetterman

PA-07: Susan Wild

PA-08: Matt Cartwright

PA-10: Shamaine Daniels

PA-17: Chris Deluzio

Rhode Island

RI-02: Seth Magaziner

Texas

Governor: Beto O'Rourke

TX-15: Michelle Vallejo

X-21: Claudia Andreana Zapata

TX-28: Henry Cuellar

TX-34: Vincente Gonzales

Utah

Senator: Evan McMullin

Virginia

VA-02: Elaine Luria

VA-07: Abigail Spanberger

Washington

Senator: Patty Murray

WA-08: Kim Schrier

Wisconsin

Governor: Tony Evers

Senator: Mandela Barnes

WI-03: Brad Pfaff

Random News: October 16, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 16, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. As usual on these weekend updates, I’m having coffee in a bathrobe, so try not to let that color whatever I’m about to write…

• I voted yesterday in two different elections through two different means. Allow me to elucidate.
• October 19 (this coming Tuesday) is a local election here in lovely Redondo Beach, CA. It is a one-topic election that is vote-by-mail only. Measure E repeals our local ban on commercial marijuana retailers, allowing for up to three store locations.
• I voted yes. Frankly, if you’re a city that doesn’t allow for legal cannabis sales, you should also close down the sale of legal alcohol (and there are dozens of liquor stores in this city).
• Recreational marijuana sales and use has been legal in California for six years. Measure E was endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party and many others.
• I also voted in a somewhat larger and more important election… the United States General Elections.
• Later today, I will be publishing a separate post of all my endorsed candidates. But what I want to tell you about is how as far as I know, California has the best, easiest, most flexible, and most trustworthy voting system in the country.
• If you’re a registered voter in CA, you are sent a ballot and a voting guide. You then have three options for submitting your ballot: by mail, in a designated dropbox, or in person on election day.
• Their tracking system, called BallotTrax, is outstanding. Once you sign up, they will text or email you when your ballot is sent to you, and then send you another text or email to confirm that it’s been received. 
• All the bullshit that people in many other states go through, from having to request an absentee ballot to being forced to stand in long lines on election day, is negated here.
• California wants people to vote. In other states, it’s in their own interest to make it as difficult as possible. Take what you will from that.
• Anyway, I have three voters in my household including myself, Kat, and my adult son. We make it a point to research everything. Each political candidate. Each measure/initiative. Each judicial candidate. It takes a little while, but it’s worth it.
• Yesterday, after doing the research and filling out the ballots, we took a short stroll to Dominguez Park which is a half block away from our house, and dropped off the national election ballot at a dropbox there.
• And on our way back, the mail carrier just happened to be in his truck on our street, so I handed off the local ballot to him, and… done. That was it. I voted in two elections. Didn’t have to get in a car. Didn’t have to stand in a line. Nothing.
• Voting should be that way across the entire country.
• And now, The Weather: “Love Park” by Sofie Royer.
• A couple of other things.
• The FPOTUS, who is getting more and more insane each passing day, made a direct threat to Jews in America, saying that, “U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel - Before it is too late!”
• He was complaining that Evangelicals send him more money than Jews. Tough shit pal. Trump and every one of his supporters can suck my ethnically Jewish dick.
• Antisemitism and fascist authoritarianism have always been connected, and that goes back centuries before Trump or Hitler.
• Trump was right about one thing: Jews in the USA must increase their vigilance and make sure to vote for candidates who don’t encourage violence and hatred toward them.
• Today in history… Empress Wu Zetian proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire (690). Prince Gesualdo of Venosa murders his wife and her lover (1590). Queen Marie Antoinette is executed (1793). Simón Bolívar sentences Manuel Piar to death for challenging the racial-caste in Venezuela (1817). William T. G. Morton administers ether anesthesia during a surgical operation (1846). The novel ‘Jane Eyre’ is published (1847). Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah (1875). Margaret Sanger opens the first family planning clinic in the United States (1916). The Walt Disney Company is founded (1923). Ten Nazi defendants found guilty by the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg trials are executed by hanging (1946). The Cuban Missile Crisis begins (1962). Leonid Brezhnev becomes leader of the Soviet Communist Party (1964). Tommie Smith and John Carlos are ejected from the US Olympic team for participating in the Olympics Black Power salute (1968). Pope John Paul II becomes the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523 (1978). 
• October 16 is the birthday of lexicographer Noah Webster (1758), activist Lucy Stanton (1831), playwright Oscar Wilde (1854), playwright Eugene O’Neill (1888), politician Michael Collins (1890), singer-songwriter Big Joe Williams (1903), actress Angela Lansbury (1925), singer Nico (1938), actress Suzanna Somers (1946), musician Bob Weir (1947), actor Tim Robbins (1958), singer-songwriter Bob Mould (1960), bass god Flea (1962), NBA player Manute Bol (1962), musician John Mayer (1977), WNBA player Sue Bird (1980), and tennis player Naomi Osaka (1997).

As I mentioned above, I have a big-ass voting guide being prepared that covers not only the candidates I actually voted for here in Redondo Beach/Los Angeles County/California, but also my endorsements for candidates at several levels across the USA. First, I’m going to shower and dress myself in human clothing, but look for that soon. Enjoy your day.

Random News: October 15, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 15, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. I’m in a bathrobe and have coffee, so let’s do this…

• The Justice Department, who resembles a deadly snail that can easily annihilate you but takes forever to do so, finally asked a federal appeals court to reverse the appointment of a special master to review documents seized from FPOTUS.
• Reason: FPOTUS had no right to possess the seized materials after he left office and that there was no legal basis for an outside review.
• Duh.
• Trump’s lawyers have until November 10 to file their response.
• A note on the new UK prime minister Liz Truss, who assumed office on September 6, less than six weeks ago.
• There is a huge push for her to immediately resign. That’s really not good.
• Truss won the Conservative Party leadership by promising vast tax cuts and deregulation that she said would shock the economy out of years of stagnant growth.
• Instead, the UK economy has tanked even harder as result, and Truss has already had to reverse two of her big campaign promises so that the country doesn’t fall into total economic chaos. She fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday, whom she’d appointed 28 days prior.
• Yikes.
• Tesla stocks took a nosedive by about 50% from their all-time high last November. I can’t help but think that Elon Musk’s alienation of the people who would otherwise be buyers of his cars might be impacting his brand.
• During the Georgia senatorial debate last night between Hershel Walker and Raphael Warnock, Walker pulled out a toy police badge.
• Walker has never been any kind of law enforcement officer, though has frequently pretended he was. Like a child.
• Side note: no props were allowed at the debate, yet Walker used one anyway. If you can’t follow the rules of a simple debate, how you can you be in charge of making the rules for a country?
• And now, The Weather: “Farther West” by Anna Arrabas.
• From the Sports Desk… sigh. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who rode the league’s best offense to 111 regular season wins, have gone cold. They lost to the Padres and are down 2-1 in their NLDS series. Game 4 is tonight. In other MLB playoffs, the Phillies are up 2-1 over the Braves, while in the ALDS the Astros lead the Mariners 2-0 and the Yankees and Guardians are tied at 1-1.
• For the first time, this year’s season of crab harvesting in Alaska has been canceled entirely. The crab population is down over 80% due to climate change and the continual use of unethical harvesting methods.
• Many people in places like Alaska, Washington, Oregon and elsewhere count on crabbing as their main source of income.
• Some polls. Again, I only share these from the standpoint of how close things are and how important your vote is. Act accordingly…
• Ohio Senate: Vance (R) 47% (+3), Ryan (D) 44% (Trafalgar)
• Pennsylvania Senate: Fetterman (D) 47% (+2), Oz (R) 45%, Gerhardt (L) 3% (Trafalgar)
• Arizona Senate: Mark Kelly (D-inc) 46% (+3), Blake Masters (R) 43%, Marc Victor (L) 4% (OnMessage)
• Wisconsin Senate: Mandela Barnes (D) 48% (+1), Ron Johnson (R-inc) 47% (Morning Consult)
• Utah Senate: Evan McMullin (I) 46% (+4), Mike Lee (R-Inc) 42% (Hill Research)
• Georgia Senate: Warnock (D-inc) 49% (+3), Walker (R) 46% (Civiqs)
• Arizona Governor: Kari Lake (R) 47% (+3), Katie Hobbs (D) 44% (OH Predictive)
• Michigan Governor: Whitmer (D-inc) 44%, Dixon (R) 44%, Buzuma (L) 3%, Hogan (G) 2% (Insider Polling)
• Georgia Governor: Kemp (R-inc) 51% (+5), Abrams (D) 46% (Civiqs)
• New York Governor: Hochul (D-inc) 50% (+6), Zeldin (R) 44% (Schoen Cooperman)
• CO-03: Adam Frisch (D) 45% (+5), Lauren Boebert (R-inc) 40% (Center Street)
• MT-01: Zinke (R-inc) 41% (+1), Tranel (D) 40% (Victoria)
• FL-13: Lynn (D) 47%, Paulina Luna (R-inc) 47%
• Vote please. And get your friends and family to vote too.
• Today in history… Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption (1582). Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason (1793). The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation (1878). Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by France for espionage (1917). The New York Municipal Airport, later renamed LaGuardia Airport, is dedicated (1939). Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive (1951). FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community (1956). The Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale (1966). Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL (1989). The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn (1997). The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history (2008). 
• October 15 is the birthday of poet Virgil (70 BC), astronomer Asaph Hall (1829), philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844), boxer John W. Sullivan (1858), politician Paul Reynaud (1878), author Mario Puzo (1920), singer-songwriter Barry McGUire (1935), actress Linda Lavin (1937), musician/activist Feta Kuli (1938), actress Penny Marshall (1943), musician Chris de Burgh (1948), skateboarder Stacy Peralta (1957), chef Emeril Lagasse (1959), and actor Dominic West (1969).

Okay well… enough of this bathrobe. Time to be a person. It’s overcast and raining and I love it… perfect Saturday. Enjoy your day.

Random News: October 14, 2022

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.

---

Good morning. It’s October 14, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here is a batch of information that may be of varying levels of interest…

• God, where to start?
• Ummmm.
• Okay, let’s go with the January 6 Committee. I’m not going to recap the whole thing for you. You can find plenty of it on all online news site. The highlights… 
• The committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony. He says he’ll testify, but only if he can do it live. Get your popcorn. Side note: he’ll never testify once he realizes he’s responsible for what he says under oath.
• They clearly demonstrated that Trump knew he had lost the election, acknowledged that fact to people directly, and yet still went forward with trying to overturn the results.
• The hearing also featured new records obtained from the Secret Service, and new deposition footage from former Trump Cabinet members, showing how FPOTUS still remains a danger to democracy heading into the 2024 election.
• One of the most amazing parts was the previously unseen footage of congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer taking action behind the scenes.
• Enough on that for now. But wait…
• The Supreme Court has rejected FPOTUS's request to intervene in the criminal investigation regarding his theft of documents that were stored at Mar-a-Lago.
• Trump had addressed his case directly to Justice Clarence Thomas. It was summarily and unanimously rejected with no justices dissenting.
• Ha ha. But wait…
• You know how the NYAG is investigating the Trump Organization for fraud in a $250 million civil suit? 
• I am not making this up: he thought he could wriggle out of it by transferring the company’s assets to a new company that he registered in Delaware as (drum roll)… Trump Organization II.
• Letitia James is already shutting it down, after she stops laughing.
• Let’s talk about the death penalty.
• As you’re probably aware by now, Nikolas Cruz, the man who pleaded guilty to the shooting murder of 17 students and teachers (and injury of dozens more) in Parkland, FL, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• The only other option in his sentencing was death.
• Most countries around the world have abolished capital punishment, aka the death penalty. However, about 60% of the world’s population still live in a place where it is permitted… mostly because the #1 country for state-based executions by far is China.
• Here’s a list from 2020 in order of countries and the number of people executed by the state that year: China (1000+), Iran (314+), Egypt (83), Saudi Arabia (65), Syria (24+), Somalia (21+), Iraq (17+), Yemen (14+), United States (11), and South Sudan (9+).
• How do I feel about the death penalty? Conflicted, just like most of you.
• If my child was killed, would I feel the need for revenge? Yes, of course.
• Has every single person who has been executed for an alleged crime been guilty of said crime? Most likely not, and there’s an old saying that I’m generally onboard with: I’d rather see 99 criminals walk free than see one innocent person murdered by the state for something he or she did not do.
• And now, The Weather: “Sapphire” by Space Equator.
• You know how Florida governor Ron DeSantis lured 50 legal asylum-seeking immigrants onto a plane and dropped them off in Massachusetts with no food or housing just to “own the libs”?
• A Texas sheriff has certified that the migrants are, as a result, the victims of a crime, which qualifies them all for a special visa that they would not have otherwise been eligible for.
• Some piece of shit teenager killed five and injured two more during a shooting rampage along a nature trail in Raleigh, NC yesterday. Of course, being a white kid, he was taken into custody and will receive a fair trial (though he was severely injured via unknown circumstances).
• See, white guys who commit mass murder are crazy, but black men are thugs.
• Today in history… The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings (1066). Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence (1322). The First Continental Congress denounces the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts and demands British concessions (1774). George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film (1884). The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the 1908 World Series; this would be their last until winning the 2016 World Series (1908). Theodore Roosevelt is shot and wounded but still delivers his scheduled speech (1912). Prisoners at Sobibor extermination camp covertly assassinate most of the on-duty SS officers and then stage a mass breakout (1943). Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to exceed the speed of sound (1947). Martin Luther King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence (1964). The first live television broadcast by American astronauts in orbit is performed by the Apollo 7 crew (1968). Jim Hines becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 9.95 seconds (1968). The first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights draws approximately 100,000 people (1979). U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs (1982). Eric Rudolph is charged with six bombings, including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia (1998). The Steve Bartman Incident takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois (2003). Felix Baumgartner successfully jumps to Earth from a balloon in the stratosphere (2012).
• October 14 is the birthday of businessman William Penn (1644), UK prime minister George Grenville (1712), US president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890), actress Lillian Gish (1893), poet E. E. Cummings (1894), basketball coach John Wooden (1910), Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (1916), actor Roger Moore (1927), White House lawyer John Dean (1938), fashion designer Ralph Lauren (1939), actor Harry Anderson (1952), musician Thomas Dolby (1958), police brutality victim George Floyd (1973), singer Usher (1978), and NFL player Jared Goff (1994).

Well, as I’ve mentioned previously, Fridays are often not my favorite day work-wise, with a lot of projects dumped on me at the last minute. I’m going to try and be productive without feeling like the world will fall apart if I don’t jump through every hoop. One of the nice things about getting older is the improved ability to say, “Nope, not gonna do that.” Enjoy your day.