Thursday, November 15, 2018
Libertarian Senator Mike Lee talks grandly about "conservative" criminal justice reform when all he's after is throwing out federal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses
Mike Lee thinks selling drugs (even while armed with a gun!) doesn't hurt anyone when the evidence is pouring in that marijuana is bad for the health of those who use it.
And he obviously hasn't lived with a user. If he had he'd know they make lousy family members and lousy Americans.
Did the young father of two let his children play with his gun, Senator?
Thanks for nothing, Utah!
For example, when I served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Salt Lake City, Weldon Angelos -- a young father of two with no criminal record -- was convicted of selling three dime bags of marijuana to a paid informant over a short period of time.
These were not violent crimes. No one was hurt. But because Angelos had been in possession of a gun at the time he sold the drugs (a gun which was neither brandished nor discharged in connection with the offense), the judge was forced by federal law to give him a 55-year prison sentence. The average federal sentence for assault is just two years. The average murderer only gets 15 years. While acknowledging the obvious excessiveness of the sentence, the judge explained that the applicable federal statutes gave him no authority to impose a less-severe prison term, noting that “only Congress can fix this problem.”
If only Donald Trump knew that he was president
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told then-President Barack Obama in the summer of 2014 that he could use "very broad power" to limit immigration as he saw fit, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.
In the July 29 letter, Feinstein cites Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act -- the same federal legislation cited by the Trump administration Thursday in unveiling a rule denying asylum claims to migrants who enter the country illegally.
"Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States," the legislation states, "he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."
Feinstein's letter initially notes that the senator has discussed possible legislation with then-Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Feinstein then writes: "there is also an argument that there is sufficient flexibility in current law for the government to respond to the current crisis and that further legislation is not needed." She adds that the authority vested in the presidency by Section 212 (f) means that "no legislation is necessary to give your administration the tools it needs to respond to this crisis, and that any needed temporary measures can be implemented through presidential action."
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
The peers must be incompetent: Peer-reviewed ocean warming paper in premier journal found to have big math boo-boo
From the story here:
However, the conclusion came under scrutiny after mathematician Nic Lewis, a critic of the scientific consensus around human-induced warming, posted a critique of the paper on the blog of Judith Curry, another well-known critic.
“The findings of the ... paper were peer reviewed and published in the world’s premier scientific journal and were given wide coverage in the English-speaking media,” Lewis wrote. “Despite this, a quick review of the first page of the paper was sufficient to raise doubts as to the accuracy of its results.”
Co-author Ralph Keeling, climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, took full blame and thanked Lewis for alerting him to the mistake. ...
“Our error margins are too big now to really weigh in on the precise amount of warming that’s going on in the ocean,” Keeling said. “We really muffed the error margins.”
A correction has been submitted to the journal Nature.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Jon Gabriel explains Kyrsten Sinema's home turf was vote-rich Maricopa County, McSally the comparatively inferior candidate
McSally was too cautious, too negative, too aligned with John McCain for disappointed conservatives, too much of an outsider, and was not Doug Ducey. Sinema was likeable and ran a good campaign.
Here:
McSally and the outside groups supporting her were nearly all-negative, all-the-time. Focusing on the Republican’s remarkable achievements in the military and also in politics would have gone a long way to define a woman few in the state knew much about. Sure, there were a few ads like that, but not nearly enough to match Sinema’s seeming optimism.
McSally hails from Pima County, home to Tucson, while Sinema is from Maricopa County, home to Phoenix. More than half the state’s population lives in the latter, so they didn’t know much about the Tucson-based candidate. She needed to spend a lot more time defining herself since Sinema was already defined to a big chunk of Arizonans.
Laugh of the Day: Photographer plays "Simon Says" with Baraboo WI High School boys of the class of 2019
He says, "Sieg Heil!" and then captures their reaction.
The left is finding no humor in this whatsoever. The boys clearly know how to tweak the liberal tyranny, except for the weirdo in the upper right with gunshot wounds to both earlobes, who has predictably become a hero to the outraged for his passive resistance. The guy front and center left goes even further, flashing the secret sign of white nationalists everywhere.
Sieg away, I say, good old Badger State of mine.
Monday, November 12, 2018
115,622 more people in Maricopa County easily could have voted for Martha McSally, but didn't
McSally: 611,161
Ducey: 726,783
And don't forget Mitt Romney now has to be counted on to cooperate
I can just see it now.
Mitt Romney, Lisa Mercowskie and Susan Collins will form the trio of stooges broken by the death of John McCain to stand in the way of Mitch McConnell.
Well, at least Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are out of the equation.
Mark Levin tonight believes McSally lost in Arizona because conservative Republicans didn't vote for her
Entirely plausible given the bitter primary, and McSally's failure to mend fences after winning. The votes for Ducey were there in Maricopa, but not for McSally.
We pointed out previously that McSally was an unconvincing shapeshifter on immigration.
The difference between the supposedly "hard right" Mark Levin and Arizona Republicans is that Levin actively supported her candidacy despite McSally being a RINO.
Thanks for nothing, Arizona, as usual. Now we're stuck with the lunatic, Sinema, which my spell-checker keeps spelling Cinema.
She will be a spectacle, that's for sure.
One week after the election, Republican hopes for a decisive majority in the US Senate have evaporated tonight
Previously observed narrow leads for Republicans in Arizona and Montana have reversed.
Jon Tester held on to win in Montana by 15,317 votes, and tonight Arizona has been won by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema by 38,197 votes.
The Mississippi run-off at the end of the month is Republicans' last hope of achieving a majority of 53, assuming a recount in Florida doesn't deprive Rick Scott of his victory.
The Hive is already circulating a story tonight about the Republican in Mississippi being a racist, trying to win that race for the Democrats.
Assuming she and Rick Scott both end up losing would mean Republicans would finish with a majority of just 51, hardly the lead-pipe cinch environment to run the board on court appointments.
Jeb Bush joins Marco Rubio in calling for Brenda Snipes to be removed as Supervisor of Elections in Broward County, FL
"There is no question that Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians’ confidence in our electoral process," Bush tweeted.
"Supervisor Snipes should be removed from her office following the recounts." ...
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is among those arguing for Snipes's dismissal.
"She has shown she’s incapable of conducting a large and important election in a way that inspires public confidence and trust," he told Politico.
"She’s been found to have destroyed ballots, in violation of the law. Opened absentee ballots early, in violation of the law. Misprinted ballots that have gone out."
There were plenty of votes available for Republican Doug Ducey in Maricopa County, AZ, so there should have been for Martha McSally
Ducey for Governor in Maricopa County: 717,437.
McSally for Senate in Maricopa County: 603,070.
The Democrat Sinema, who won against McSally, was also outpolled by Doug Ducey in Maricopa County: 649,445.
They didn't like McSally and Sinema in Maricopa County as much as they liked Ducey. For some reason the voters in Maricopa County just liked Martha McSally the least. Clearly Republican voters for Ducey failed to vote for her like they could have.
The governor's race polled 2.156 million votes total in Arizona, and the Senate race 2.162 million votes.
In Maricopa County the governor's race polled 1.276 million votes and the Senate race 1.28 million.
People who think it odd that one race should attract more votes and another fewer votes don't know what they are talking about.
In Michigan, the statewide individual ballot proposals each outpolled any statewide individual office winner.
Sinema win in Arizona is due to Democrat inbound migration to Maricopa County, top US county for relocation 2012-2017
Sinema won Maricopa County by 46,375 votes, 649,445 votes to McSally's 603,070. Just 32,000 votes separate the winner from the loser overall in Arizona as of this hour.
A magnet for affordable housing in the wake of the 2008 catastrophe, the county has probably on balance attracted more voters inclined to vote for a Democrat.
Maricopa County saw more people move to the area than any other county in the U.S. during the past five years.
The county saw 221,000 immigrants between 2012 and 2017, according to a new report from RentCafe. That volume was by far the highest in the country, the report shows. Nearly 150,000 people separated Maricopa County from the 10th-highest site of immigration, Wake County in North Carolina.
Among the appealing attributes for migrants looking for a new city to live in was Maricopa County's relatively low cost of living, especially home prices. Out of the top 10 counties for net internal migration, Maricopa had the fourth-lowest average home price.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Los Angeles County saw 381,000 people leave during the same five-year span. Santa Clara County in Northern California was in the top 10 for people leaving as well.
The world upside down: FDA to ban menthol in cigarettes as 10 states legalize recreational marijuana
FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb plans to announce this week that the agency will move forward with a ban on menthol cigarettes in conjunction with a crackdown on e-cigarettes to curb "epidemic" levels of teen use, senior FDA officials told CNBC last week.
One false move on the bullet train in China and your credit score goes down
Video here.
Dear passengers,
People who travel without a ticket or behave disorderly, or smoke in public areas will be punished according to regulations and the behavior will be recorded in individual credit information system. To avoid a negative record of personal credit please follow the relevant regulations and help with the orders on the train and at the station.
The only person I've heard honestly assess Election 2018 has been Bill Cunningham
Last night on his 10pm broadcast Bill Cunningham accurately expressed how Republicans ought to feel about Election 2018, but don't: with astonishment that Republicans so severely underperformed in normally deep red places like Texas, Arizona, Georgia and Florida.
Do that again in 2020 and Donald Trump will not win reelection.
Build The Wall, or it's Adios America.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Did any national Republican leader warn their voters Eric Holder was targeting governorships to control redistricting?
Not Trump, not Mitch McConnell, not Paul Ryan. We heard zip, zero, nada.
The stupid party strikes again.
The Detroit News reports here:
Voters Not Politicians, the group that spearheaded the [ballot] proposal in Michigan, may have started out as a grassroots campaign, but millions in outside money poured into the state — much of it coming from far-left advocacy groups and Democratic donors. Between July and October, Voters Not Politicians raised more than $13.8 million.
Eric Holder, former attorney general under President Barack Obama, led a national effort this year in Republican-controlled states to back similar measures that would strip redistricting from lawmakers — or at least ensure Democrats took control of legislatures and governorships ahead of the 2020 census. Michigan was one of 12 target states.
Coattails: In Michigan the ballot proposals in 2018 won by more votes than any statewide Democrat winner
Automatic Voter Registration .... 2.762 million votes
Redistricting By Committee ...... 2.507 million
Marijuana Legalization .............. 2.344 million
Donald Trump President 2016 ... 2.279 million
Hillary Clinton President 2016 .. 2.268 million
Gretchen Whitmer MI Gov. ....... 2.261 million
Debbie Stabenow US Senate ..... 2.200 million
Jocelyn Benson MI Sec. of State 2.199 million
Dana Nessel MI Atty. General ... 2.018 million
Saturday, November 10, 2018
'Camp Fire' incinerates Paradise, the "most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began" in California
Reported here:
Not a single resident of Paradise, California, can be seen anywhere in town after most of them fled the Northern California community that may be lost forever. Most of the town's buildings are in ruin. Entire neighborhoods are leveled. The business district is destroyed.
In a single day, the Sierra Nevada foothill town of 27,000 was largely incinerated by flames that moved so fast there was nothing firefighters could do. Only a day after the "Camp Fire" began, the blaze had grown on Friday to nearly 140 square miles and destroyed more than 6,700 structures, almost all of them homes -- making it California's most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began.
Authorities said at least nine people were killed by the "Camp Fire," which as of early Saturday morning was 5 percent contained.
It is one of three major blazes that firefighters are battling across the state.
In Southern California, the 35,000 acre "Woolsey Fire" was 0 percent contained early Saturday. It has forced over 200,000 evacuations. The "Hill Fire" was holding at 6,000 acres.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Climate Update for October 2018
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Climate Update for October 2018:
Max temp 84, Mean Max temp 79
Min temp 27, Mean Min temp 28
Av temp 50.4, Mean Av temp 51.3
Precip 5.69, Mean precip 3.00 (year to date 39.73, 5.21 above the mean annual 34.52)
Cooling Degree Days 20, Mean CDD 9, Season to date 1003, Mean Season to date 690.
The cooling season to date as measured by CDD has been 45% warmer than the mean to date.
Season to date 2018 is 7th warmest on record for total CDD:
1921: 1200
1931: 1061
2012: 1039
1936: 1022
1934: 1007
1933: 1004
2018: 1003
1939: 972.
There have been five months in a row in 2018 with max temps in the 90s, the first time that has happened since 1991.
Money in politics: Democrats spent $14.2 million per seat on average in the ten costliest US House races
And your average US Senate win just recently cost only $10 million (every six years, not every two).
For jobs which pay only $174,000 a year.
There's something funny going on here, Lucy.
Democrats and their allies in the 10 costliest House races spent $142 million to Republicans' $96 million, Reuters' analysis found.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Marijuana legalization is the spearhead of America's anti-conservative libertarian tide and ultimately of America's decline
Eventually there will be no place left to hide from marijuana users in America. And they are going to be the end of America as we once knew it. Marijuana legalization is coming to every state in the country, for the reason that a shared version of libertarianism is now America's dominant ideology, irrespective of political party. The consequences of extreme individualism are about to assert themselves like never before. Formerly, self-control and self-denial as practised by countless millions of America's original inhabitants and their descendants had been key to making America the great country which it became. Those values made possible the hard work and savings which were the necessary predicates of that greatness. But all that is in the rear view mirror now. As Baby Boomers squandered the achievements of their parents, their children have learned from them only too well and have drunk deep from their well of narcissism. People like this will never make the country great like it was. A country full of laid back mellow folks will never work hard and save, nor even acknowledge its need to do so. It is not a coincidence that the most hated men in America in 2012 and 2016 didn't even drink.
Marijuana Won The Midterm Elections :
Michigan voters approved a ballot measure making their state the first in the midwest to legalize cannabis. Missouri approved an initiative to allow medical marijuana, as did Utah. Voters in several Ohio cities approved local marijuana decriminalization measures, and a number of Wisconsin counties and cities strongly approved nonbinding ballot questions calling for cannabis reform. While North Dakota's long-shot marijuana legalization measure failed, cannabis also scored a number of big victories when it came to the results of candidate races. ... In Illinois, Democrat J.B. Pritzker won the governor's race after making marijuana legalization a centerpiece of his campaign. ... Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz (D) wants to "replace the current
failed policy with one that creates tax revenue, grows jobs, builds
opportunities for Minnesotans, protects Minnesota kids, and trusts
adults to make personal decisions based on their personal freedoms." ... In New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who won the governor's
race, said legalizing marijuana will bring “hundreds of millions of
dollars to New Mexico’s economy." In New York, while easily reelected Gov Andrew Cuomo (D) had
previously expressed opposition to legalization, he more recently
empaneled a working group to draft legislation to end cannabis
prohibition that the legislature can consider in 2019, a prospect whose
chances just got a lot better in light of the fact that Democrats took
control of the state's Senate. In Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers supports decriminalizing marijuana
and allowing medical cannabis, and says he wants to put a full marijuana
legalization question before voters to decide. He ousted incumbent Gov.
Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday. ... Last month, a national Gallup survey found that 66 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, including a clear majority of Republicans.
Antifa gunman massacres at least 11 in California country bar late last night
Man dressed in all-black let off at least 30 shots from a pistol with extended mags and threw smoke grenades
Gunman was dressed in all-black, wearing a trenchcoat, glasses, baseball cap and a mask covering his face
The shooter stormed the Borderline Bar and Grill, wearing a black trenchcoat and armed with a pistol equipped with an extended magazine and smoke grenades, and began targeting people as young as 18.
The perpetrator, dressed in all-black, wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a mask covering the bottom part of his face, walked up to the entrance at 11.20pm and shot the doorman before making his way into the venue.
Trump fires another one: CNN's Jim Acosta loses White House press pass
The Ted Turner founded outlet added that Acosta’s pass was pulled “in retaliation for his challenging questions at today’s press conference” . . ..
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Despite Democrat sweep of state offices in Michigan, Republicans still control the Senate and Legislature
Senate: 22-16
Legislature: 58-52
Jeff Sessions sent resignation letter to Trump yesterday, and he's outta there
Reported here.
There goes drug enforcement, and immigration enforcement, and action against sanctuary cities, and . . ..
Rush is wrong: Of 23 seats qualifying as "pure" Republican resignations in the US House according to 538, just 7 flipped to Democrat
That's just 30% of Republican seats resigned flipping to the Democrats.
But of all 35 projected total pickups by Democrats, that's just 20%.
You can't blame resignations, Rush:
CA-49 (66% of the vote counted)
FL-27
MI-11
NJ-2
NJ-11
PA-06
WA-08 (64% of the vote counted).
What matters to Rush Limbaugh is that Trump get reelected in 2020, not that we get jobs, pay raises and The Wall
Politics, not people, is what matters to Rush Limbaugh.
We now face two years of gridlock, attacks, investigations and impeachment because feckless Republicans lost the US House.
Trump and the Republicans squandered their first year, and delivered nothing consequential for average Americans in their second, and now they've paid the political price. Losing 30+ seats and not even running in 30+ more is retreating, not fighting.
Meanwhile we get bupkis, as usual.
The only redeeming thing is that we might get some good judges because Republicans still control the US Senate, but that doesn't pay the mortgage.
Hm, now 14 US sailors in reactor room of aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan face drug abuse charges
Gee, where'd they ever get the idea that drug use was ok?
Already ranked tenth in the nation for drug addiction, drug wave in Michigan sweeps Democrats into power
Proposal One legalizing recreational marijuana dragged the druggies out of the woodwork yesterday, sweeping Democrats into power in Michigan in the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state on the coattails of nearly 2.2 million Yes voters.
In addition they propelled other liberal propositions to victory including redistricting reform and motor voter, attracting 2.3 million and 2.6 million Yes votes respectively.
These voters also rewarded the liberal Republican-endorsed Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Clement with reelection, who controversially voted to put George Soros' Proposal Two on the ballot this summer.
Democrats were swept into office on the coattails of these ballot proposals by vote totals nearly as large as for the proposals themselves.
Despite giving up 7 governorships to Democrats, Republicans look set to control 27 nationwide
Democrats captured governorships in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wisconsin in Election 2018.
DeSantis narrowly defeated the radical Gillum in Florida for a Republican hold there, while Kemp appears to have staved-off gun-grabber Abrams in Georgia.
In a bad sign for Trump's immigration agenda, Kobach in Kansas lost to the Democrat in the general after only narrowly winning his own primary.
What's the matter with Kansas?
Scott Walker finally lost an election in Wisconsin, by the slimmest of margins.
Republican Rauner in Illinois got creamed by Pritzker. They'll have to erect a wall around Illinois now just to keep the people in.
Bill Schuette lost decisively in Michigan in part because the NeverTrump Republican Governor Rick Snyder wouldn't endorse him.
Republicans look set to capture decisive control of the US Senate 55-45 in Election 2018
Republicans have captured US Senate seats in Florida, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota while Democrats have taken Nevada.
Republicans appear headed for victory by narrow margins in Arizona, Mississippi and Montana.
Republicans failed even to run a candidate for US Senate against Dianne Feinstein in California, who is so disliked there by Democrats that she is winning unopposed with just 54% of the vote at this hour.
Election 2018: Democrats projected to take the US House 226-209 in the final tally
With 21 races still outstanding this morning, Democrats have captured a net 26 seats from the Republicans so far, for a total of 219-195.
Democrats lead in 7 more of the 21 outstanding races for a total projected win of 226 seats in the US House.
Republicans didn't even field candidates in 38 districts nationwide.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Kavanaugh accusers now subject to criminal referrals for making false allegations of sexual assault which Democrats insisted we believe
The Boston Herald reports here:
Democrats insist we must “believe women” regardless of the facts, evidence — or lack thereof — when the rest of us smell a rat.
On Friday one of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers, Judy Munro Leighton — a left-wing activist who opposed his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court — admitted to congressional investigators she made up the lurid back seat rape tale as “a tactic” and to get attention. She now admits she’s never even met Kavanaugh. She, along with Julie Swetnick and lawyer Michael Avenatti, are all subject to criminal referrals by the Senate Judiciary Committee on allegations of false sexual misconduct charges.
These are the despicable frauds that Democrat lawmakers insisted we believe.
Detroit News: George Soros-funded Sixteen Thirty Fund really is behind Michigan Proposition 2 just as it was behind the anti-Kavanaugh campaign
From the story here:
The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a 501(c)(4) based in Washington D.C. It recently funded Demand Justice, a social welfare organization that executed a massive campaign to oppose the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh, airing 3,200 ads against Kavanaugh and receiving $2 million from George Soros to further their efforts. Is this the kind of organization we want meddling in Michigan affairs of such lasting importance?
Monday, November 5, 2018
Republicans take 1-point lead in final Rasmussen generic congressional poll before tomorrow's election
Reported here this morning:
The final Rasmussen Reports Generic Congressional Ballot before Election Day shows Republicans edging ahead by one point, but in essence, the two parties are tied. The survey has a +/-2 percentage point margin of error.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that 46% would choose the Republican candidate if the elections for Congress were held today. Forty-five percent (45%) would vote for the Democrat. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) remain undecided.
Clintonite Mark Penn: Trump has ideas, Democrats have only attacks, investigations and impeachment
Here:
Trump has also deployed more specific issue ideas than anyone in a long time. ...
Other than investigations and impeachment, what are the Democrats running on? They have made an issue of health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. Trump has said he too would cover them. The Democratic idea is not a health-care plan, but an attack.
Nor do Democrats have an economic plan many people can remember. Nor a plan on immigration. Nor a plan to deal with jobs migrating to China and Mexico.
President Trump taunts the Democrats, calling them the “open borders” party. And yet the Democrats have absolutely no plan for dealing with illegal immigration. In response, they attack the president personally – exactly how Hillary Clinton handled Trump in the last presidential campaign.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Hm, developing pattern: CNN's gay anchor Don Lemon demonizes white men even though his boyfriend is one, proposes doing "something" about them
So, we have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them. There is no travel ban on them. There is no ban on -- you know, they had the Muslim ban. There is no white guy ban.
I'm sick of headlines from Democrats claiming to defend the republic when they're out to destroy it
Like this one from the prince of liars Andrew Sullivan, the spokesman for the freak zone of democracy, not republicanism: Can the Republic Strike Back?
They don't care about the republic. If Democrats had their way, all the bulwarks of the republic would be gone already: the electoral college, the US Senate, the Supreme Court, borders, citizen-only-voting, law and order, the presumption of innocence, and on and on. They'd replace it all with a two-headed monster of populism, a country led only by the US House and a popularly-elected president, creatures of the mob.
The rest of the republic has to go, and its defender, Donald Trump:
Congress has real power. The press can’t get his tax returns. Congress can. The press can’t truly discover the depth of the corruption in his administration. Congress can. The press can’t publicly cross-examine Cabinet members, order functionaries to answer questions, kill proposed legislation, and air everything where it should be aired — on Capitol Hill. ...
One-party rule has strained this democracy. The Electoral College, gerrymandering, the structure of the Senate, and demographics have given us a government actively indifferent and even hostile to half the country. That single party has now taken firm control of the Supreme Court as well. It will very likely retain control of the Senate in January. Capturing the House is the only way the republic can strike back.
Seats in toss-up move up to 37 at Real Clear Politics, seats likely/leaning Democrat drops to 202, Republican 196
Democrats now need 16 seats from the toss-ups to win the majority, Republicans need 22 to retain the majority.
This assumes Democrats win all 14 seats which only lean Democrat (part of their 202 tally) and Republicans win all 27 seats which only lean Republican (part of their 196 tally).
That puts 78 seats in play 48 hours before the election on Tuesday, 68 of which are Republican seats.
The 114th Congress ended with Republicans in control of the US House with 246 seats. The current 115th Congress began with Republicans in control of the US House with 241 seats.
Republicans currently control 235 seats, Democrats 193, with 7 vacancies, as of the end of September.
My no good dirty hippy Michigan Republican Party is libertarian, not conservative
The robocalls from the Michigan Republican Party are going out this weekend, urging the voters to vote against liberal proposals to "reform" gerrymandering and to allow "automatic" and same day voter registration.
The calls notably mention these as proposals 2 and 3, but never mention proposal 1 which aims to legalize possession, use and cultivation of marijuana.
It's just like term limited Republican Governor Rick Snyder's robocalls urging votes for lowly state senate and house candidates without once mentioning Republican Bill Schuette for governor, John James for Senate, or Tom Leonard for Attorney General, the Donald Trump and NRA endorsed candidates.
To be sure, a Yes vote on proposals 2 and 3 would give Michigan liberals the victories they can't achieve at the ballot box. The strategy is to make an end run around their decades of electoral failure in order to get control of redrawing district lines to favor Democrats. Flooding the zone with their dubious voters is simply the second part of the one-two punch strategy. And if their voters are high on election day, so much the better.
Not recommending a No vote on proposal 1 is simply more proof that the Michigan Republican Party isn't conservative and doesn't deserve the votes of conservatives. After decades of the war on tobacco, somehow smoking marijuana is suddenly supposed to be OK when the evidence is pouring in that it's not.
Combined with the large number of anti-Trumpers among their ranks, Michigan Republicans doubly don't deserve our votes when they run as libertarians in Republican disguise. There's a party for that. It's called the Libertarian Party. They should join it, especially you, Justin Amash, you faker.
We can't vote for Democrats, but we can vote US Taxpayers Party in many instances, and failing that, for hamburger condiments like ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions.
And on the proposals, I'll make it easy for you. Just vote No on all of them, including the Early Childhood proposal and the Caledonia operating millage.
US troops lay down symbolic amount of razor wire along the Rio Grande
A thousand feet when what we need is two thousand miles.
I'm voting for Viktor Orban on Tuesday.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Friday, November 2, 2018
The Nerd is a Jerk: My asshole NeverTrump Republican governor in Michigan, Rick Snyder, just robocalled me asking me to vote for a lowly state senate candidate
But he never mentioned his fellow Republican running to replace him, Bill Schuette, to fill his term-limited seat.
Snyder's failure to back Schuette is a green light in Michigan for Republicans to withhold their vote from Bill Schuette, the candidate for governor endorsed by Donald Trump.
Just for that I'm voting for "Ketchup" instead of for Chris Afendoulis.
And in the race for MI-3, Justin Amash's seat in the US House, I'll be voting for "Mustard".
In many states Democrats are trying to fool the voters by running against their leaders Pelosi and Schumer
But once in office they'll vote as their leaders require, just as Rahm Emanuel's 2006 "Blue Dog" victors did, including for Obamacare. Not one of these people save for Manchin would or did vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.
In Missouri, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) has a radio ad declaring she’s “not one of those crazy Democrats.” She’s in a razor-tight race against Josh Hawley, the state’s attorney general.
In Montana, Sen. Jon Tester (D), whose race against Republican Matt Rosendale has tightened considerably, told The Hill that Democrats “botched” the debate over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
He also criticized Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D) use of DNA results to claim Native American heritage, saying it doesn’t “pass the test.”
In Tennessee and Arizona, former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) are telling voters that they will not back Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) for Senate Democratic Leader. Trump won both of those states in 2016, too.
In West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) broke with his party and backed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation.
In Indiana, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) has a television ad warning of “socialists” who “want to turn health care over to the government “ and of the “radical left” wanting to eliminate U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. ...
In Nevada, where Clinton won a victory, Rep. Jacky Rosen (D) has an ad touting her clash with House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) to reform the Veterans Affairs Department.
“Jacky stood up to Nancy Pelosi to reform the VA,” a veteran tells viewers.
Rosen is in a tight race against Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.).
With 4 days to go to the midterm elections, toss-up races in the US House increase to 36 at Real Clear Politics
As of this morning, Republicans are likely to get 196 seats plus 12 seats polling in their column in the last poll taken in the toss-ups for a total of 208.
Democrats are likely to get 203 seats plus 19 seats polling in their column in the last poll taken in the toss-ups for a total of 222.
Just 4 seats remain tied, and there is no poll in 1 toss-up race.
Fully 25 of 36 toss-up races are polling tied to +2, or 69% of the toss-ups.
For 32 of the toss-up races, the average margin of error is 4.88 points.
Polling is a form of campaigning!
The only poll that counts is 96 hours away.
Remember that giving Democrats control of the US House means two more years of relitigating the 2016 election.
Move on!
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Investors Business Daily has a sensible editorial on birthright citizenship
As Daniel Horowitz recently noted, the only legal justification for granting citizenship to illegals comes in a footnote to the Supreme Court's Plylor V. Doe decision. In it, ultra-liberal Justice William Brennan claimed that illegal aliens had a right to claim jurisdiction under U.S. law. But it's never really been decided as a separate issue by the Supreme Court.
So on strictly constructed constitutional grounds, Trump is right. Whether you hate him or not.
Of course, the counter-argument to that is: We have allowed this system to go on for so long without direct challenge it now has the force of law. That is a legitimate legal argument. It deserves serious consideration, either by Congress or the courts.
And that's our point. As bad as we think birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants is, any decision should be a matter of law and democratic process, not of screaming and name-calling. We have a Congress. We have a court system. The president has, in effect, challenged them to do their job. So they should do it.
If they don't, then Donald Trump, as the nation's chief executive, is well within his rights to issue an executive order if he thinks birthright citizenship represents a violation of the Constitution and threatens harm to the nation. It's his duty.
He has precedent. Axios.com quoted Trump telling reporters Wednesday that, if President Obama can "do DACA, we can do this by executive order."
Real Clear Politics predicts Republicans taking the Senate 52-48 in its no toss-ups map with 5 days to go
Hard as it is to believe, AZ has gone wobbly with Democrat wack job Kyrsten Sinema ahead in the average of the polls by 0.7 points. AZ deserves the military pilot who never crashed her plane to be its next senator, Republican Martha McSally.
Evidently Arizona is suffering from too many Californians. Let's hope they're all high on meth next Tuesday.
In ND Republican Kevin Cramer is well ahead of the Democrat incumbent by an average of 11.4 points.
In MO Republican Josh Hawley is ahead of Democrat incumbent Claire McCaskill by an average of 2 points. A Republican victory would be sweet revenge against the dirty trickster.
Toss-ups other than AZ and MO include the following:
Republican Dean Heller is ahead by 2 points on average in NV.
Democrat John Tester is ahead in MT by 4.2 points on average.
Democrat incumbent Joe Donnelly is in trouble in IN, hanging by a thread by 0.8 points on average.
And Democrat Bill Nelson is still ahead in FL with a 2 point advantage over popular governor Rick Scott.
Republicans are otherwise longshots in New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The corrupt do-nothing Democrats in New Jersey and Michigan especially deserve to be unseated.
With 5 days to go to the election, US House races too close to call now number 34 at Real Clear Politics
Based on the latest dated poll in each race, US House races as of this morning shake out as follows:
Of 34 toss-ups, Democrats are polling ahead in 18 races by an average of +2.83;
Republicans poll ahead in 10 races by an average of +2.50;
5 races are tied, and 1 race has no polling at all.
Democrats are otherwise slated as likely to take 203 seats and Republicans 198.
If the voters vote as the polls predict in the toss-ups, Democrats would take 221 seats, Republicans 208, with 5 tied and 1 unpredictable.
The margin of error in these polls, however, is quite high, often 4 to 5 points.
24 of the 34 races are as close as 0-2 polling points.
218 is needed for a majority.
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