Post Everything Here

[#1]

[PacificKnots]

That is good news.  This year, most of the tv commercials and mailers were from super pacs.  They were all why you shouldn't vote for the other guy/gal, not why you should vote for your guy/gal.   My local federal representative is in close race and she got a lot of help from super pac's.

[OwlTalk]

LOL, I was just telling my boyfriend this morning that the political commercials will be gone, thank God! On the morning news, the weather for today was only mentioned once, when it's usually shown at least three times the hour.

[JMOldeVintage]

Our local news just reported that DeSantis has the National Guard on stand-by. Again, if nothing else, people in both parties need to step and ask "when has this ever happened and why is it happening now"? My only answer is that for the first time there is a POTUS in office who has gone to extraordinary lengths to divide and conquer the Country for 4 years. In a way that plan worked, plus it's brought out the extremes on both sides. 

Finally, despite Florida's "importance", all the News Channels have to wait until 8pm before they receive election results. That sneaky bit of the panhandle is on Central Time. 

Everyone stay safe and healthy. 

[finickypatternshop]

"Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

I will be making a statement tonight. A big WIN!"

"Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!

12:49 AM · Nov 4, 2020"

Buckle up folks. He wants riots if he doesn't win.

[JMOldeVintage]

Trump stated he's going to the Supreme Court. The insanity coming out of his mouth. Doesn't anyone in the GOP realize what path Trump is leading the party & the Country down?? This is becoming truly unsettling, in some areas it's probably downright scary. 

I don't think I'll watch the news today - I need to keep my sanity. A check-in every once in a while will be enough.

Florida, what can I say. Voted for Trump but the Amendment to gradually increase the State's Minimum Wage to $15.00 by 2026 passed with the required 60% plus of the vote. If nothing else, maybe these results show too many residents are strictly money motivated? 

[PillowDetails]

Just saw a comment on Twitter that sums up how I feel (and what I believe I've said before) - 

America has a pre-existing condition.

[finickypatternshop]

Well some trumplicans are taking the democratic process well (sarcasm). Their dear leader has been prepping them for months for this moment, almost like he knew. It doesn't seem to dawn on them that if they don't count the votes trump already lost, he isn't there yet. At least if they are counted, as done every election, he has a slim chance. Some won't take it well if they announce Biden won. trump is ensuring the US stays divided even if he loses. I can't believe how close some states are.

[kaslkaos]

finding some amusements on twitter -- & what the ???  well, the comments are priceless...

@realDonaldTrump

We have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won’t allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead. Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact,.....

Official sources may not have called the race when this was Tweeted  <-- twitter forced to treat the US president like a 3rd World dictator, trumpists are horrified, the rest of us, it's about time. 

I so hope Mr Biden wins (never count your chickens before they hatch, a few chicks to go yet).  

[JMOldeVintage]

I too wonder about how close the vote counts are in some States. News reporting Trumpers protesting in various States outside Election Offices. Trump wanting to stop the count in some States. This is not how a democracy works.
However, I do see some States making changes to their Election Laws. Some may opt to allow Mail-In Ballots be counted once early voting has started. Others may change requirements on "allowable excuses" for using mail-in ballots. Others may change Laws regarding when a mail-in ballot must be received - this a heated topic especially with all the USPS snafus recently.

On the political side of things - agree with one news commentator who questioned Polls & who exactly is being 'questioned'. 
And of course, I don't think anyone wants to admit that too many people are swayed by lies, that heard often enough, become true. Never mind the folks who use Social Media as their "news provider". 

Making news today in Florida is a nut-case arrested for threatening Gov. DeSantis, Trump & his supporters. Trump's dangerous rhetoric encourages not only his rabid supporters but then it creates this 'boomerang effect' that is quite disturbing.

Not making the top-story news - The USA hit over 100,000 Covid Cases yesterday. Five States hit record numbers. Florida's positive rate continues to climb & one testing site in St. Petersburg closed early because they ran out of tests. Okay, yes, States that are teeming in cases should get priority, but then, "What?" we don't have enough tests to satisfy the Country's needs?

The weather here has been truly like fall, low humidity & keep-the-windows-open temps. But Hurricane Eta, which has smashed Central America may be making a u-turn for Florida - guess we might know something by the weekend. 

Everyone stay safe & healthy.

[PillowDetails]

I learned this today - and admit I am ignorant of so much outside of the US - 

Australia has compulsory voting in elections.

Am I the last to know this?

[JMOldeVintage]

I knew they had the Law. Have no idea how it's enforced.
In theory that sounds good, except for that % of the population who have absolutely idea what's going on around them. Would that cause people to vote on the "movie scenario of people at a horse race" = "I like the name of this person"?
But then again, maybe it encourages people to pay attention to what is happening and therefore Australia may have an informed populous.

[bluetina]

@PillowDetails AND @JMOldeVintage 

In Australia, I believe you have the choice whether to register or not. If you register to vote, then you must do so. You don't have to attach yourself to a particular party though, as in the USA.

[finickypatternshop]

---

In theory that sounds good, except for that % of the population who have absolutely idea what's going on around them. 

---

Sadly, I think trump 'winning' shows that already exists. He just had to tell them the media can't be trusted and not to believe what is before their eyes and they 'believed' him. I don't know what the answer is, look how much voting was up this election and many votes were for trump.

Some politicians depend on uniformed citizens, they could never win without them. I find it worse now with social media playing such a large role, they go for short sound bites that make something look a certain way and hope people don't dig deeper. Sadly many don't. We have some leaders in Canada who do it regularly and I post facts under their tweet but it does little good, the other comments show that people see the clip and buy their crap without checking further.

[JMOldeVintage]

So exactly why is Trump all excited & tweeting about the unemployment numbers?

From CNN: "Another 751,000 Americans claimed first-time jobless benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's down slightly from the prior week. It was a slightly less encouraging report than economists had expected.

On top of that, 362,883 workers not eligible for regular state benefits, such as the self-employed or gig workers, claimed aid under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

Added up, first-time claims stood at 1.1 million last week without seasonal adjustments — largely unchanged from the level of the past few weeks....

Meanwhile, continued jobless claims, which count workers who have applied for benefits for at least two weeks in a row, stood at 7.3 million, down by about half a million from the prior week..."

Or is he trying to make people think there are only 751K unemployed people in the entire Country???

@bluetina - Thank you for the info. Every State here in USA is different, but here in Florida I'm registered to vote as a "No Party Affiliation" (or an NPA) I can vote in any and all general elections, from County/Statewide to National, but due to Florida Law I cannot vote in any primaries to pick a Party Candidate. However, some States allow NPA's to "pick a Party" come Primary Elections & vote in the one of their choice - here in the USA that pretty much amounts to Democrat or Republican.

[finickypatternshop]

"Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

STOP THE COUNT!

9:12 AM · Nov 5, 2020"

 .....................

"Greta Thunberg

@GretaThunberg

So ridiculous. Donald must work on his Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Donald, Chill!

2:53 PM · Nov 5, 2020"

A US president owned by a teen, lol.

[finickypatternshop]

In case that doesn't make sense, this was a tweet from trump a bit ago. She was giving his crap back to him.

"Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!

7:22 AM · Dec 12, 2019"

[JMOldeVintage]

I remember Trump's tweet & even back then she returned a good poke or two. This one is absolutely spot-on!

[JMOldeVintage]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/05/917317541/clots-strokes-and-rashes-is-covid-19-...

I found this to be an interesting read & actually understandable, not full of terms that might cause my brain to malfunction. 

Anyone listen to Trump's little speech/press conference tonight? Took no questions, accused States of fraud, well but only if he didn't win them & has confirmed he'll go to the Supreme Court. Best comment hear so far - based on his start-off saying how well the GOP did in House & Senate races - was that Trump can't have it both ways. Yes, apparently some people can vote Democrat for POTUS but GOP for Congress, or, vice-versa. No that doesn't make the ballot fraudulent. And yes, the comments from Trump, his kids, other people on his "team" are becoming very dangerous.

[finickypatternshop]

That's an interesting article, scary but good info. I read a few months ago that some were thinking covid was more vascular than respiratory so it's good they are getting more data on that. I've read or listened to some people who have 'long haul covid' and it sounds so much like my illness. The difference is mine is a genetic condition that causes those issues and is not really life threatening where covid is life threatening even long term. No matter the cause the symptoms are very debilitating and just like I have been unable to work due to illness there will be many who have covid who will also not be able to. Are countries prepared for the level of those who will be considered disabled. 

Note it is Nov 5 and there is still covid, trump claimed it would disappear the day after the election. Another lie.

I just caught about a minute of trumps spiel and he is in dangerous territory. He will welcome riots in his defence and some on social media are already saying they will defend him and never accept Biden. How will the US recover from him. His kids are afraid of prison, full public meltdown.

Remember the comments from trump supporters towards Hillary supporters. Is it too soon for mugs with 'trumplican tears' on it. I'd give it a try but I don't want to behave like some trump supporters did. If they announce trump lost they can have their 'safe space' that they mocked Dems over. No teasing if there are real tears over losing their dear leader, well at least not publicly. Hopefully this is settled soon.

Edited to add I did an Etsy search and though there are plenty of smug products with 'liberal tears' etc there was at least one with 'trump tears'. It will likely come if they announce Biden won and the liberal tears will lose their market a bit.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/search?q=trump%20tears

[JMOldeVintage]

"A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon" - Retiring GOP Rep. Hurd from Texas.

"If anyone has proof of wrongdoing, it should be presented and resolved. Anything less harms the integrity of our elections and is dangerous for our democracy." Retiring GOP Rep. Mitchell from Michigan.

"This is getting insane," and said, "if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court." - GOP Rep. Kinzinger from Illinois.

"Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud"  and  "If a candidate believes a state is violating election laws they have a right to challenge it in court & produce evidence in support of their claims"  GOP Sen. Rubio of Florida (my addition of bold italics for stressing point). But yeah, this from the Senator who condoned the 'bus incident' in Texas, so......)

"Under our Constitution, state legislatures set the rules and states administer our elections. We should respect that process and ensure that all ballots cast in accordance with state laws are counted. It's that simple. I hope we can reach a final resolution as quickly as possible," GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

"As we await all the results of the election, I urge everyone to be patient. Each state has different deadlines to receive ballots and a process in place to count those ballots". "It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their jobs, and that we ensure all lawfully cast ballots are allowed and counted. The results will be known when all those ballots are counted." GOP Sen. Murkowski of Alaska.

But of course Trump's kids doing daddy's bidding, screaming fraud in the hopes someone will listen. And then Bannon - one of his accounts being banned from Twitter, not for tossing out this sort of rhetoric, but calling for Dr. Fauci of all people to be, well I won't mention the reason.

Who knows what will happen but just another Election Day in the USA.

[PillowDetails]

Kudos to MSNBC (Brian Williams) for cutting off Trump after about 15 seconds of his press conference - I happened to be watching live, and shouted out loud!!  I hear other networks cut in, even Fox, to start "fact checking" and making disclaimers.

Yes - Bannon off Facebook too.

Starting to see rumblings that many in the GOP will be glad to be rid of Trump.

[JMOldeVintage]

"Among conservatives, there is already talk of asking Republicans in the Pennsylvania state legislature to overrule the popular will and submit their own electors on Trump’s behalf. (A top GOP lawmaker in the state has reiterated, through a spokesman, that they will not do that.) Asked whether Republicans in the state should “invalidate” the election, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina replied: “I think everything should be on the table.” "

Yes we were watching local NBC news, then into national news. The interruption for Trump's speech was short and sweet. But my curiosity sent me to cable news to see what else might come out of his mouth. The monotone reading was disgusting. So glad he was fact-checked.

[JMOldeVintage]

@finickypatternshop - I do not envy you, being in a position where your body works against you. I often wonder if it's at least a comfort to know what "caused" the ill effects. Every once in a while you hear about people with "orphan diseases" or issues caused by "unknown viruses".

Yet again the USA hit a record with about 116K confirmed cases of coronavirus. No matter how mild the symptoms, the 200K + who were diagnosed over the past two days could end up with health problems that will affect them for life. 

Trump and his Admin/Press People - not a peep out of them about Bannon's comments. Yes I know Bannon is not involved in the 2020 Election (well at least not publicly, openly) but his name is forever tied to Trump & he or his spokespeople should be condemning Bannon from the rooftops.

Our local Fox News just did an interview with Chris Wallace. Oh, he'd better watch out for more name-calling & attacks on his employer. But the thing that stuck in my head the most was Wallace saying something along the lines of "VP Biden is acting Presidential, he's received constant updates on the election(s) process/progress, that he'd requested & received a briefing on the Coronavirus with details etc. etc." Oh, what a slap in the face to Trump.

[JMOldeVintage]

Trump Tweet: "So now the Democrats are working to gain control of the U.S. Senate through their actions on John James, David Perdue, and more. Would End the Filibuster, “Life”, 2A, and would Pack and Rotate the Court. Presidency becomes even more important. We will win!"

I think Georgia Election Law basically says that if one candidate doesn't get at least 50% of the vote, there is a runoff election between the top two vote getters? So current appointed Senator Loeffler is headed to a runoff in January (I think) with Raphael Warnock. And even though the percentages higher (less opponents in the race) apparently Purdue & Ossoff could end up in a runoff election if neither hits 50%. This has been discussed for months on the news & shouldn't come as a surprise to Trump, or anyone. There is no "plot" out there.

[JMOldeVintage]

From the Tampa Bay Times:

"Jennifer Cabrera isn’t an epidemiologist. Although she holds degrees in electrical engineering, she’s not a scientist either. But as the conservative blogger said on Facebook, she has “followers in the governor’s office.”

One of them is Gov. Ron DeSantis.

So in late October, Cabrera visited Florida’s Capitol and was mysteriously allowed to examine a month’s worth of COVID-19 death certificates — records that the state is not willing to concede are public and that it is not releasing to academics and journalists seeking to better understand the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cabrera then wrote a post on her blog with her husband, Len, claiming that the state is overcounting COVID-19 deaths. “We can tell you definitively that Florida is counting deaths that were not directly caused by COVID-19,” the Cabreras wrote, arguing that some people died with COVID-19 but not from COVID-19.

That’s a meaningless distinction, according to public health experts. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that deaths are actually being undercounted nationwide.

But the misleading Oct. 30 blog post fed into a narrative pushed by DeSantis and President Donald Trump, who argue without evidence that scientists are blowing COVID-19 deaths out of proportion. Fred Piccolo Jr., DeSantis' spokesman, shared Cabrera’s post on Twitter — effectively accusing the governor’s own health department of exaggerating the death toll.

Earlier this month, the office of Jose Oliva, a South Florida Republican and speaker of the Florida House, produced a report analyzing nearly 14,000 of the records.

Oliva’s report concluded that COVID-19 deaths had been overstated by as much as 10 percent because it appeared that some people suffering from COVID-19 died from other causes. (That’s the argument that Jha and other public health experts have dismissed as “cr*p.”)

Piccolo, who served as Oliva’s spokesman before moving to the governor’s office, acknowledged that the speaker’s report was “not a smoking gun.”

The second-guessing of the death toll by conservative media and political operatives has been frustrating for public health experts."

Full Story Link - though may not be available to read as I think they have time limitations:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/11/06/its-crap-desantis-office-leaks-state-records-to-fuel...

Oh how I long for some sanity in how this Health Crisis is handled.