November 3, 2021
Afternoon Update:
New Jersey. Brent Johnson of NJ.com: "Phil Murphy, a Democrat who has pushed New Jersey in a more progressive direction and overseen the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, won a second term as the Garden State's governor Wednesday night, narrowly defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a bitter and closer-than-expected race that was too close to call for nearly 24 hours. The race was called by The Associated Press early Wednesday evening.... As of just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Murphy's margin over Ciattarelli was less than a percentage point -- 50% to 49.2%. It's a difference of 19,440 votes out of 2.4 million cast, which if it holds up would make it among the closest governor's race New Jersey has ever had.... The Ciattarelli campaign criticized the call by the AP. 'With the candidates separated by a fraction of a percent out of 2.4 million ballots cast, it's irresponsible of the media to make this call when the New Jersey Secretary of State doesn't even know how many ballots are left to be counted,' Ciattarelli spokeswoman Stami Williams said in a statement. It's possible the race could still be contested. Mail-in and provisional ballots may be counted through Monday, and Ciattarelli could petition the state courts for a recount."
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Some Democrats, such as Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.), are saying that the slow pace of progress on the Build Back Better Act, which has in turn delayed passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, hurt Democrats in Virginia." MB: Hey, let's ask Joe Manchin what he thinks about that! "... Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has slowed down negotiations on a massive $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, says the 'unbelievable' Republican victories in Virginia's statewide races Tuesday validate his concerns about inflation and moving the Build Back Better Act too quickly through Congress.... 'I've been saying this for many, many months, people have concerns, people are concerned,' he said...." MB: If "people have concerns," Joe, it's because you & your Republican friends have been raising those "concerns."
Christopher Mathias of the Huffington Post: "At least seven Republicans who attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C., that turned into a deadly insurrection were elected to office Tuesday. Three were elected to state legislatures, and four won positions at the local level.... Among the Jan. 6 attendees who won office on Tuesday were two Republicans reelected to the Virginia House of Delegates: Dave LaRock and John McGuire. Earlier this year LaRock, responding to criticism from a Black elected official about his role in the insurrection, said the official should focus on 'the needs of the colored community.'"
Felicia Sonmez & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved President Biden's nomination of former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as U.S. ambassador to Japan, even as two Democrats on the panel voted in opposition. The nomination now advances to the full Senate. Emanuel has faced sharp criticism for his handling of police misconduct, including the 2014 police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a Black Chicago teenager. The two Democrats opposing Emanuel during Wednesday's voice vote were Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Edward J. Markey (Mass.). In a statement Wednesday morning, Merkley said he had reached his decision after carefully considering Emanuel's record and 'the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh in.'... It is rare for a senator to issue a statement opposing a nominee chosen by a president of their own party." Merkley's statement is here.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A New York law that imposes strict limits on carrying guns outside the home seemed unlikely to survive its encounter with the Supreme Court, based on questioning from the justices on Wednesday during two hours of arguments. Several members of the court seemed to be searching for a way to rule narrowly in the case, which could involve deciding that local officials have too much power to deny licenses to people seeking to carry guns in public for self-defense while affirming the state's right to exclude guns from sensitive places." ~~~
~~~ Marie: What's most "unlikely to survive" is public safety. I don't think the Supremes have any idea how stupid many gun-toting Americans are. I recently heard a person say a premedicated premeditated (thanks, Forrest!) murder (by gun) was justified because a teenager had told the shooter that the guy he shot had sexually abused her. IOW, it's okay to shoot people dead if you hear a rumor they might have committed a terrible (but non-capital) crime. Apparently the justices couldn't get past the Second Amendment to the Fifth & Fourteenth, which feature due-process clauses.
~~~~~~~~~~
Elections 2021
Massachusetts. Boston. Ellen Berry of the New York Times: "Michelle Wu, who entered public service out of frustration with the obstacles that her immigrant family faced, will be the next mayor of Boston, pledging to make the city a proving ground for progressive policy. Buoyed by support from the city's young, left-leaning voters and by Black, Asian and Latino residents, Ms. Wu, 36, soundly defeated City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George. Ms. Essaibi George, who ran as a pragmatic centrist in the style of former Mayor Martin J. Walsh, had the backing of the city's traditional power centers, like its police, its trade unions and its working-class Irish American neighborhoods."
Minneapolis. Gregory Krieg, et al., of CNN: "Voters in the city rejected a ballot measure to overhaul policing drafted amid the national fury over George Floyd's murder by a police officer but that went to voters as rising concerns about gun violence drained energy from the protest movement that had launched it. CNN on Tuesday projected that Minneapolis Question 2 had failed, effectively ending a push to give the city council oversight of a new Department of Public Safety and done away with a requirement to employ a minimum number of police officers tied to the city's population. The status quo-affirming result is a setback to both citywide and national efforts to fundamentally reduce or eliminate the role of police in America."
New Jersey. At 3 am ET Wednesday, the gubernatorial race is still too close to call. At 4 am, Gov. Murphy (D) was trailing Jack Ciattarelli (R) by only 60 votes, according to CNN. Update: As of 9:30 am, according to CNN, Murphy leads by 5,700 votes, and the only two counties with still-uncounted votes lean Democratic. So that's a wee bit of good news. The race has not been called.
New York City. Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Eric Leroy Adams, a former
~~~ Michael Gold & Karen Zraick of the New York Times: "In New York City, a global beacon that draws a diverse population from all over the world, the City Council has never had a person of South Asian descent -- or a Muslim woman -- among its membership. That changed on Tuesday, when Shahana Hanif, a former City Council employee, won her election in a Brooklyn district that covers Park Slope, Kensington and parts of central Brooklyn." ~~~
~~~ Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Alvin Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney on Tuesday and will become the first Black person to lead the influential office, which handles tens of thousands of cases a year and is conducting a high-profile investigation into ... Donald J. Trump and his family business. Mr. Bragg, 48, a former federal prosecutor who campaigned on a pledge to balance public safety with fairness for all defendants, beat out seven other Democrats for the nomination earlier this year and will succeed Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat who did not seek re-election."
Ohio Congressional Race. Jennifer Medina & Mary Astor of the New York Times: "Shontel Brown, a Democrat, won a House seat in a special election in Cleveland on Tuesday, defeating her Republican opponent, Laverne Gore. Ms. Brown had narrowly won the Democratic primary for the seat earlier this year, after its previous occupant, Marcia L. Fudge, was appointed by President Biden as the secretary of housing and urban development. Ms. Brown defeated Nina Turner, a former state senator and a top surrogate for Bernie Sanders when he ran for president, in that primary, which attracted big Democratic names and millions of dollars. The district, Ohio's 11th Congressional District, encompasses most of Cleveland and much of Akron and is heavily Democratic." ~~~
~~~ Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry Gomez of NBC News: "Aftab Pureval won Cincinnati's race for mayor on Tuesday, according to unofficial results, making the 39-year-old lawyer the first Asian American elected to lead the city. Pureval defeated David Mann, a city councilor and fellow Democrat who previously served as mayor and in Congress, 66 percent to 34 percent with all precincts counted, according to unofficial results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections. Pureval will succeed term-limited Mayor John Cranley, who is seeking Ohio's Democratic nomination for governor in 2022."
Virginia. Gregory Schneider & Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Virginia voters chose Republican Glenn Youngkin as their next governor, according to several projections -- a dramatic reversal for a state that had appeared solidly Democratic in recent years and a significant loss for President Biden and the party's establishment. Former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe came up short in his bid to become only the second Virginia governor since the Civil War to win a second term, with key suburban districts joining rural parts of the state in favoring Youngkin by a narrow margin. Republicans appeared to sweep the other statewide races, with Winsome Sears projected to win lieutenant governor and Del. Jason Miyares (Virginia Beach) declaring a win for attorney general. Sears is the first Black woman elected statewide in Virginia and Miyares would be the first Latino. A red wave also washed through the House of Delegates, turning a 55-45 Democratic majority into what could become a 51-49 Republican majority. The victories, projected by the Associated Press and Edison Research, come only a year after Biden carried Virginia over Donald Trump by 10 points, a wild swing that casts doubt on Democrats' agenda in Richmond and Washington alike." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post analyze Youngkin's successful dancing-with-Trump strategy. MB: Like so many "both-sides" journalists, Scherer & Dawsey are unwilling even to mention Youngkin's late-campaign racist theme opposing the teaching of critical race theory, an approach to scholarship that would be discussed only at the university level and not explained to, say, eight-year-olds. If the implications were not so diabolical, it would have been amusing to listen to reporters interviewing "ordinary voters" (white people) about their opposition to critical race theory. The gist of their responses, even when pressed, was, "I don't know what it is, but I don't like it." What these "ordinary voters" do seem to know is that it's not about glorifying Robert E. Lee and fondly recalling genteel life on the old plantation. The lessons of Virginia, IMO, are two: (1) Democrats must find more attractive, inspiring candidates -- McAuliffe is a crass political operative; and (2) many Republicans and so-called Independents don't care for in-your-face racist appeals, as they don't like to think of themselves as racist, but they are favorably drawn to less overt "pro-white" messages. Youngkin was lucky that (1) his opponent was McAuliffe, but he was smart to exploit Number (2). In addition, ~~~
~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is right: "Democrats in Congress had months to prove that they could legislate, to demonstrate that a government of the people, by the people and for the people could still function despite the creeping authoritarianism, the daily assaults on truth and the conspiracy-minded paranoia. They let President Biden down. They let the country down. And on Tuesday night, Terry McAuliffe paid the price.... Glenn Youngkin ... ran a Trump-inspired campaign of disinformation, conspiracy theories and race-baiting. It wasn't terribly close.... The Manchins and the Sinemas and the Jayapals, by making the perfect the enemy of the (very) good, have handed an advantage to an illiberal faction that is stoking White nationalism.... Had congressional Democrats moved three months ago to enact Biden's infrastructure legislation and Build Back Better agenda, the huge stimulus within those bills would already be boosting the economy and creating jobs.... Youngkin's victory confirms a depressing reality: Trumpism succeeds as a tactic even in the absence of Trump. Though Youngkin nominally distanced himself from Trump..., he ran a classic MAGA campaign, raising racial fear and animus among White voters by scaring them about crime and the phantom menace of critical race theory." ~~~
~~~ The AP's analysis, by Sara Burnett & Hannah Fingerhut, does address Youngkin's racist appeal.
~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth Harris, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Tuesday sued to stop Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the United States, from acquiring its rival Simon & Schuster, a major antitrust lawsuit and a sign of a different view of corporate consolidation than the one that has prevailed for decades in Washington.... Earlier this year, President Biden signed an executive order focused on spurring competition across the economy. He has appointed skeptics of corporate concentration to the Federal Trade Commission and his economic policy team. His nominee to lead the Justice Department's antitrust division, Jonathan Kanter, is a lawyer who represented critics of the tech giants. And the federal government has gone to court to block a series of corporate deals this year...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan Weisman & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Democrats reached a deal on Tuesday to add a measure to control prescription drug costs to President Biden's social safety net plan, agreeing to allow the government to negotiate prices for medications covered by Medicare, as the House moved closer to a vote on the sprawling bill. The prescription drug deal is limited. Starting in 2023, negotiations could begin on what Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon called the most expensive drugs -- treatments for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as anticoagulants. Most drugs would still be granted patent exclusivity for five years before negotiations could start, and more advanced drugs, called biologics, would be protected for 12 years. But for the first time, Medicare would be able to step in after those periods, even if drug companies secure patent extensions or otherwise game the patent system." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Sen. Josh Hawley on Tuesday blocked swift confirmation of several State Department nominees, in a continuation of the unprecedented GOP-led campaign to slow-walk most of President Joe Biden's picks for top foreign policy posts. The Missouri Republican, who has previously said he would hold up Biden's national security nominees over his misgivings about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, objected to eight of the nine nominations that Democrats sought to unanimously approve on Tuesday, saying he was doing so on behalf of himself as well as some of his GOP colleagues who had separate objections.... Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have dramatically slowed down the process of installing those individuals in their positions, drawing ire from Democrats, Biden's State Department, European allies and even some Republicans.... A visibly angry [Bob] Menendez [(D-N.J.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee,] and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted Hawley during floor speeches on Tuesday evening as Hawley was running down the list and objecting to the nominees one by one.... Hawley did, however, allow one nominee to be confirmed unanimously -- David Cohen, Biden's pick to be ambassador to Canada." ~~~ MB: I'm going to guess than Hawley found Cohen to be the only nominee among the nine to be manly enough for the job. ~~~
Can we be surprised that after years of being told that they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games? While the left may celebrate this decline of men, I for one cannot join them. -- Josh Hawley, in a speech ~~~
~~~ Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "The effort to combat toxic masculinity in the US has led men to consume more pornography and play more video games, the Missouri senator Josh Hawley claimed in a speech to a group of Republicans. Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida, Hawley addressed the issue of 'manhood', which he said was under attack, and called for men to return to traditional masculine roles.... [Hawley,] who notoriously raised a fist in support of a mob outside the US Capitol on 6 January appeared to echo talking points made by the likes of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that opposes feminism and believes men are under attack from liberal elites." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court, which has not issued a major Second Amendment decision in more than a decade, will hear arguments on Wednesday on a New York law that imposes strict limits on carrying guns outside the home. The question of how the Second Amendment applies to carrying guns in public is an open one. When the Supreme Court established an individual right to own guns in 2008 by a 5-to-4 vote in District of Columbia v. Heller, it addressed only the right to keep firearms in the home for self-defense. At the same time, it indicated that many kinds of gun regulations are permissible."
Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "Elon Musk doesn't think visionaries like him should pay taxes the way little people do. After all, why hand over his money to dull bureaucrats? They'll just squander it on pedestrian schemes like ... bailing out Tesla at a crucial point in its development. Musk has his sights set on more important things, like getting humanity to Mars to 'preserve the light of consciousness.'... There's an enduring claim on the right that taxing billionaires will discourage them from doing all the wonderful things they do.... [However, the evidence from the days when taxes were highly progressive and corporate taxes were twice what they are now demonstrates that] the superrich won't go on strike if forced to pay some taxes.... What I suspect, although I can't prove it, is that what really drives someone like Musk is an insecure ego.... The important point, however, is that the pettiness of billionaires comes along with vast power. And the result is that all of us end up paying a steep price for their insecurity." ~~~
~~~ Marie: In fact, most of us think we have very good reasons that taxes should be lowered on people under our particular circumstances. While I don't actually think my taxes are too high, here are some "reasons" I might claim unfair or excessive taxation: 1. People whose incomes are far higher than mine -- like, say, Elon Musk & Donald Trump -- are taxed at a much lower rate than am I. 2. I'm retired. 3. Much of my income comes from investments my husband and I bought with income that already was taxed once; so taxes on my current income amount to double taxation! 4. Even my Social Security income is taxed. Clearly, I've already paid taxes on that income, too, plus I paid more into Social Security than I'll get out of it. 5. My investments contribute a lot to the economy! 6. I live in a high-property-tax state, and my local property taxes are no longer all tax-deductible from my federal taxes (as they were pre-Trump). 7. My local school taxes are astronomical, and I'll never be sending any more kids to school. 8. I don't travel much, so I "underuse" expensive public infrastructure. 9. In fact, other than Medicare (for which I still pay!), I don't use public services much at all. Think about it. I'm sure you too can drum up reasons and "reasons" that someone (or a family) in your situation should pay lower taxes.
Kashmir Hill & Ryan Mac of the New York Times: "Facebook plans to shut down its decade-old facial recognition system this month, deleting the face scan data of more than one billion users and effectively eliminating a feature that has fueled privacy concerns, government investigations, a class-action lawsuit and regulatory woes.... Facial-recognition technology, which has advanced in accuracy and power in recent years, has increasingly been the focus of debate because of how it can be misused by governments, law enforcement and companies." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2024 -- or 2020 -- or Who Knows? Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "QAnon supporters gathered in Dallas [at the site where President Kennedy was assassinated] on Tuesday in the hopes that John F. Kennedy, Jr. would make major revelations. 'QAnon supporters are gathering for an event in Texas on Tuesday at which they falsely believe JFK junior will reveal he is not dead and announce a 2024 presidential run with Donald Trump, the former president,; the Independent reports. The son of America's 35th president died in 1999. Journalist Steven Monacelli posted a video of members of the crowd chanting a euphemism for 'f*ck Joe Biden' while holding a Trump-Kennedy QAnon banner.... The banner is from 2020, showing yet another 'prophecy' that did not occur." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "At the site overlooking where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated nearly six decades ago, scores of QAnon believers outfitted with 'Trump-Kennedy 2024' shirts, flags and other merchandise gathered. They forecast the president's son John F. Kennedy Jr., who has been dead for over 20 years, would appear at that spot, emerging from anonymity to become Donald Trump's vice president when the former president is reinstated."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here: "President Biden said Tuesday the United States has 'reached a turning point in our battle against Covid-19,' following a green light from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 5-to-11-year-olds, clearing the way for millions of children to get immunized against the virus."
Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday formally endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 through 11, a move that will buttress defenses against a possible surge as winter arrives and ease the worries of tens of millions of pandemic-weary parents. At a meeting earlier in the day, a panel of scientific advisers had unanimously recommended that the vaccine be given to these children. Inoculations could begin as soon as this week. 'Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation's fight against the virus that causes Covid-19,' Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the C.D.C., said in a statement Tuesday night." The AP report, an update of a report linked yesterday afternoon, is here.
Aw, That Wasn't So Hard, Was It? Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Two months after the Pentagon began requiring all troops to get the coronavirus vaccine or face dismissal, the vast majority have now had shots, in part because none received a religious exemption, military officials said. While vaccine exemptions are often broadly worded, requests based on religious beliefs are coming under close scrutiny in the military and at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the first federal agency to impose a mandate. They will likely be followed by the rest of the federal government, where most workers are required to be vaccinated by the end of this month. The Biden administration will release a federal vaccine requirement for private companies with 100 or more employees 'in coming days,' a representative for the Department of Labor said this week."
Beyond the Beltway
I don't think it is hyperbole when I say this is how totalitarian regimes unfold. If you deny science and you deny the universities the critical role they play in American society, then you truncate free speech, academic freedom and the dissemination of information. -- Prof. Jeffrey Goldhagen, University of Florida ~~~
~~~ Florida. Monique Beals of the Hill: "A fourth University of Florida professor claims the school rejected his request to testify against state leaders and provide his expertise on the impact of COVID-19 on children even though he said he would not have been compensated for the testimony. Jeffrey L. Goldhagen, a University of Florida professor and pediatrician, was asked to testify against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida commissioner of education, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Board of Education for a case in which Florida parents and children sought to overturn the state's ban on mask mandates in schools, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education." MB: To read the Chronicle story, you have to sign up. ~~~
~~~ Ana Ceballos & Mary Klas of the Miami Herald: "Last year, four University of Florida law professors who wanted to sign a 'friend of the court' brief in a lawsuit challenging a new felons voting law were told that they could not identify themselves as university faculty members in the filing because it involved 'an action against the state.' In August, university officials told a UF professor of pediatrics that he couldn't work on two cases challenging the state's ban on mask mandates because participating in lawsuits against Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration would 'create a conflict' for the university. And on Monday, UF announced that three political science professors can be allowed to provide expert testimony in a voting access case against the state only if they do it without pay.... For the faculty at the state's flagship university, the episode has Orwellian overtones." MB: Who knew that a teaching post at a state university came with a lip-zipper?
Way Beyond
Ethiopia. Declan Walsh & Simon Marks of the New York Times: "Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Tuesday and called on its citizens to pick up arms and prepare to defend the capital as rebel forces from the northern region of Tigray pressed south toward the city following the capture of two key towns. The Tigrayans, who have been fighting the government for the past year, have joined forces with another rebel group as they advance on the capital, Addis Ababa. Foreign officials monitoring the fighting said there were signs that several Ethiopian Army units had collapsed or retreated. The state of emergency reflected the rapidly changing tide in a metastasizing war that threatens to tear apart Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country. It also marked another dismal turn in the fortunes of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner whose international reputation has been battered by a war that has led to reports of human rights violations, massacres and famine."
France/Australia. Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "France on Wednesday doubled down on its anger with Australia for tearing up a $67 billion submarine deal, with Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault accusing the nation of intentionally deceiving Paris and of worsening the diplomatic rift with 'low' tactics. In remarks to Australia's National Press Club in Canberra, Thébault said Australia's decision to cancel the contract for diesel-powered boats in favor of a nuclear-submarine alliance with the United States and Britain was 'treason in the making' and a 'stab in the back.' His scathing comments followed the leak of a text message from President Emmanuel Macron to Prime Minister Scott Morrison that appeared in a Sydney newspaper on Tuesday, in which the French leader had asked, 'Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?' The leak -- intended to show that Paris knew the submarine contract could be canceled -- came after Macron accused Morrison of lying to him about Australia's plans." MB: Can't see where there's any treason here. By definition, you can't commit treason against another country.
News Lede
CBS News: "The Atlanta Braves are World Series champions for the first time since 1995. The Braves won the 2021 World Series on Tuesday, defeating the Houston Astros 7-0 (box score) in Game 6 to take the series, 4-2. The Braves, who won the title at Houston's Minute Maid Park, were paced by an offensive onslaught and a gem from left-hander Max Fried in the title-clinching win."
Australia. "My Name Is Cleo." New York Times: "A 4-year-old girl who vanished in the dead of night while camping with her family in a remote area of Western Australia was found 'alive and well' 18 days later in a locked house, the authorities said on Wednesday. The girl, Cleo Smith, was freed after the police broke into the empty house in Carnarvon, the same town where she and her family lived. Detectives openly wept upon finding her. The police later detained a 36-year-old man and said he had no known connection to the family. 'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her "What's your name?"' Col Blanch, Western Australia's deputy police commissioner, said in a statement. The AP's story is here.
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Reader Comments (14)
Sigh …
Virginia Goober-elect Youngkin went to Rice U. in Houston, so he's familiar with Texicans. Will he take a trip back there in the next few weeks to see how modern confederates run nullification programs, so important to the advancement of states' rights?
One thing we know -- since the R won Va., the election was obviously fair and square, on the up and up, and clean as a hound dog's tooth. Res ipsa loquitur and Q.E.D. You will see no krakens here, my friends.
Post election thoughts:
Overall, a mixed bag, but then I've heard we are a divided country.
Said my Virginia piece yesterday and added a Milbank-like comment to my wife last night. Because politics is largely theater, successful politicians at least give the impression that they are actually doing something. That's why I don't understand why our Seattle progressive (Jayapal) and her buddies, who I sense do truly care about the common good, didn't foresee the consequences of their inaction.
DINO Manchin, on the other hand, probably doesn't care, and Sinema? Wrapped up in herself as she appears to be, I'm not sure she even notices.
On election observation:
I'm been doing that this year for the first time. Today will be my last stint, two hours of watching three or four seasonal hires open pre-slit ballot envelopes (we are a mail-in ballot state), separate the ballots from the secrecy sleeve and inspect the markings on the ballots themselves for machine readability.
Interesting process, with more internal checks than I would have guessed. First, the ballots, still in their envelopes, are collected from the mail and from drop boxes around the county. Always two people assigned to this duty. The envelopes are bundled by source and fed through a machine that photographs and records the signatures on the outside of the envelopes for later comparison with signatures on file.
The machine kicks out envelopes about which it has some question and those are inspected and processed by hand.
Then the process I first described, after which the ballots are scanned and the voting data stored. Eventual totals are run only on Election Day...
There's more, including multiple counts of the ballots handled by both machine and human and always, careful reconciliation of those numbers at each stage, but I think that's enough for a sketch.
I was and am impressed with the process and the professionalism I encountered.
Hard to think, though, as I sit and watch all those ballots stream by, of how many have recorded really wrong answers to mostly simple questions.
Marie, as a fellow retiree, I can only say 'Hear, hear!" Nearly all of what you state also applies to me.
While I'm here, I'd like to say that while I rarely comment, I do thoroughly enjoy reading Reality Chex regularly. I don't know how you do it, but you do a phenomenal job!
Rocky–-your "sigh" brought on the first laugh of the day which was so welcome since laughs these days are scarce. So I scrambled about to find some positives:
Michelle Wu: first woman and person of color (I'm always tickled with that description––I'm hoping in years to come it will become unnecessary) elected Boston Mayor. Take that all you Irish naysayers.
John Deere workers reject tentative deal and decide to remain on strike.
Eric Adams, Democrat, Black, elected Mayor of NTC.
M.T.G., our blond nitwit in Congress, was fined $48,000 for violating House mask rules. See Margie? there are consequences for being so contrary–-see how your garden ain't gonna grow.
and so––just a few bright spots in our cloudy day but not enough to quell the disappointment in Glasgow. Biden brought faded daises instead of a bright new bouquet. Manchin promised “clarity” on his stance Monday morning, said a few hours later said that he was “open to supporting a final bill that helps move our country forward. But I’m equally open to voting against a bill that hurts our country.” One imagines that the statement quickly made its way through the vast negotiating hall in Glasgow.
Once again the Democrats are being blamed for not being bulldogs–- showing ones teeth and growl, getting into the dirt and mud-ball fights but when you have, as in this case, two stubborn holdouts and a group of progressives that refuse to water down the bills, plus the other party who has become moribund and broken then....
Ken: I appreciated your description of that operation–-comparing my simple ballot voting yesterday with yours which is more complicated as of course it would be. The Mister and I worked the polls for years back in the day and never once ran into any problems. We were working on 9/11 when someone mentioned a plane had crashed into one of the towers; I remember the chill in the air then.
John F. Kennedy Jr. didn't appear at Dealey Plaza and I'm so
disappointed that he won't be able to run with trump in 2024.
Wait. Wouldn't JFK Jr. be a Democrat?
What are these people on?
From the Dallas Morning News, reporting on the event, after trump
is reinstated as president, he will step down and JFK Jr. will become
president.
Michael Flynn will be appointed vice president. Trump will
ultimately become "king of kings".
Excuse me, have to go. Got a luncheon date with Donna Summer.
Let the post election gloating, scamming, lying, and future plans for democratic ratfucking begin…
Jesus.
There’s a lot going on here.
The Democratic Party is so fractured, they win a presidential election and gain the upper hand in the House and (sort of, but not really) in the Senate, and then it’s a fucking free for all: “we want what we want and fuck you” or “we’re really Republicans so we are going to screw whatever plans you have” rather than realizing that their entire future, and that of the country, is in the balance.
They needed to all come together and solidify their majorities rather than infighting and demanding to get their way or else, or at least battling it out while being painted as a party in disarray, unable to govern, to the low information types, which is most of the country.
Then there’s the media, going along with Fox talking points about how horrible Biden is because he hasn’t fixed everything in six months, predicting that Democrats will lose everything instead of pointing out that, once again, a Democratic administration has to spend years cleaning up after Republican treason, and they have to do it with both hands tied behind their backs while walking a tightrope blindfolded in the middle of a hurricane.
Nooooo…let’s all pile on Biden. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court. If Breyer doesn’t retire in time for Biden to name his replacement, we may get someone even worse than Trump doing it in 2024 (think Alex Jones on the Supreme Court). Of course, McConnell won’t allow anyone to be named if he retakes them senate in 2022, so there’s that.
Fuck.Me.
@Marie: Otto Correct did a funny on you but I like it. Fourth
paragraph down. Indeed, lots of murders and suicides are done by
the 'premedicated'.
AK: It seems to this old man that us Democrats have the problem of a "Big Tent" philosophy turning into a three ring circus,
@Marie: Make that 5th paragraph down.
BobbyLee,
Good point. And while we’re up on the high wire, doing fancy maneuvers, confederates are down on the sawdust passing out their Kool-Aid to everyone in the crowd, and while they’re at it, telling anyone who will listen that Democrats are getting ready to loose the tigers and lions on their kids and sending acrobats out to steal their freeedoms and their guns.
@Forrest: I do believe you're right -- statistics show that an awful lot of murders are committed by the premedicated. Thanks for catching my mistake. It was kind of a classic, doncha think?
An entertainment from the WAPO on an otherwise gray news day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trump-campaign-payments-for-command-centers-at-dc-hotels-could-undermine-executive-privilege-claim-in-jan-6-investigation/2021/11/02/f05297bc-3680-11ec-8be3-e14aaacfa8ac_story.html