OrangeVerse LV: Whining for America

A man in a blue suit walked into the White House briefing room and stood behind the podium. And then he started talking.

If it were a movie or a play opening in New York City, the critics would have given it their usual "You'll laugh!" "You'll cry!" 'You'll wonder how you lived without this character in your life!"  

And I did laugh - actually I guffawed, I did, at the opening act.  

And then, the networks cut him off and went back to their regular programming: commercials for drugs that will cure whatever ails us.  Thanks to that little twist of fate, I was saved from the real-time experience of two-thirds of the remarks, which I'm referring to collectively as Whining for America. 

Whining for Integrity 

Good evening. 

I’d like to provide the 

American people with an update 

on our efforts to protect the integrity 

of our very important 2020 election. 

If you count the legal votes, 

I easily win.

 If you count the illegal votes, 

they can try to steal the election from us. 

If you count the votes that came in late, 

we’re looking to them very strongly, 

but a lot of votes came in late.

 

Whining for Interference

I’ve already decisively won many critical states, 

including massive victories in

Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, to name just a few. 

We won these and many other victories despite 

historic election interference 

from big media, big money, and big tech. 

As everybody saw, we won by historic numbers, 

and the pollsters got it knowingly wrong.

 They got it knowingly wrong. 

We had polls that were so ridiculous

 and everybody knew it at the time.

 

Whining for the Waves

There was no blue wave that they predicted. 

They thought there was going to be a big blue wave.

 That was false. That was done for suppression reasons. 

But instead there was a big red wave, 

and it’s been properly acknowledged actually 

by the media. 

They were, I think, 

very impressed, 

but that was after the fact. 

That doesn’t do us any good.

 

Whining for the Senate

We kept the Senate despite having twice as many 

seats to defend as Democrats, and in a really 

much more competitive states. 

We did a fantastic job with the Senate.

 I think we’re very proud of what’s happened there. 

We had many more seats to defend. 

They spent almost $200 million on Senate races in 

South Carolina and Kentucky alone, 

two races, and hundreds of millions of dollars overall 

against us.

Whining for the Donors and the House

At the national level, our opponent's major donors were 

Wall Street bankers and special interests. 

Our major donors were police officers, farmers, everyday citizens. 

Yet for the first time ever, we lost zero races in the House. 

I was talking to Kevin McCarthy today. 

He said he couldn’t believe it. 

Zero races, very unusual thing, zero, 

and actually, won many new seats with, 

I think, many more on the way.

Whining for the People Who Voted for Me

This was also the year of the Republican woman. 

More Republican women were elected to 

Congress than ever before.

 That’s a great achievement. 

I won the largest share of non-white voters 

of any Republican in 60 years, 

including historic numbers of Latino, African American,

 Asian American, and Native American voters. 

The largest ever in our history. 

We grew our party by 4 million voters. 

The greatest turnout in Republican Party history.

Whining for the Donors Again

Democrats are the party of the big donors. 

The big media, the big tech, it seems, 

and Republicans have become the party 

of the American worker, 

and that’s what’s happened. 

And we’re also, I believe the party of inclusion. 

As everyone now recognizes,

 media polling was election interference 

in the truest sense of that word, by powerful special interests.

Whining for the Polls

These really phony polls, 

I have to call them phony polls, 

fake polls, 

were designed 

to keep our voters at home, 

create the illusion of momentum 

for Mr. Biden and diminish 

Republican’s ability to raise funds. 

They were what’s called suppression polls, 

everyone knows that now, 

and it’s never been used to the extent 

that it’s been used on this last election.

Whining for Florida

To highlight just a few examples, 

the day before election, Quinnipiac, 

which was wrong on every occasion 

that I know of, had Joe Biden up 

by five points in Florida, 

and they were off by 8.4 points 

and I won Florida easily, 

easily. 

So they had me losing Florida 

by a lot and I ended up 

winning Florida by a lot. 

Other than that, 

they were very accurate.

Whining for Buckeyes and Badgers

They had him up four points in Ohio 

and they were off by 12.2 points, 

and I also won Ohio, 

great state of Ohio very easily. 

And the Washington Post said, 

“Biden up 17 points in Wisconsin,” 

and it was basically even. 

They were off by about 17 points,

and they knew that, 

they’re not stupid people. 

They knew that. 

Suppression.

Whining for Whittling

There are now only a few states 

yet to be decided in the presidential race. 

The voting apparatus of those states are 

run in all cases by Democrats. 

We were winning in all the key locations 

by a lot, actually, and then our numbers 

started miraculously getting whittled 

away in secret and they 

wouldn’t allow legally 

permissible observers.

Whining for the Farsighted

We went to court in a couple of instances 

and we were able to get the observers 

put in. And when the observers got there, 

they wanted them 60, 70 feet away, 

80 feet, 100 feet away or outside the building 

to observe people inside the building. 

And we won a case, a big case, 

and we have others happening.

Whining for the Litigation and Corruption

There are lots of litigation, 

even beyond our litigation. 

There’s a tremendous amount of litigation 

generally, because of how unfair 

this process was, and I predicted that. 

I’ve been talking about mail-in voting for a long time. 

It’s really destroyed our system. 

It’s a corrupt system 

and it makes people corrupt, 

even if they aren’t by nature, 

but they become corrupt. 

It’s too easy. They want to find out 

how many votes they need, 

and then they seem to 

be able to find them. 

They wait and wait, and 

then they find them,

and you see that on Election Night.

Whining for the Tarheels

We were ahead in vote in North Carolina 

by a lot, a tremendous number of votes, 

and we’re still ahead by a lot, 

but not as many because they’re 

finding ballots all of a sudden. 

“Oh, we have some mail-in ballots.” 

It’s amazing how those mail-in ballots 

are so one-sided too. I know that it’s 

supposed to be to the 

advantage of the Democrats,

 but in all cases, they’re so one-sided.

Whining for the Keystoners

We were up by nearly 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania. 

I won Pennsylvania by a lot. 

And that gets whittled down to, 

I think they said now we’re up by 90,000 votes 

and they’ll keep coming and coming and coming. 

They find them all over and 

they don’t want us to have any observers. 

Although we won a court case, 

the judge said, “You have to have observers.”

 Likewise in Georgia…

 And they’re appealing, 

actually they’re appealing. 

We won a case that we want people to watch 

and we want to observers and they’re 

actually appealing, which is sort of interesting. 

I wonder why they’d appeal? 

All we want to do is have people watch

 as they do the vote tabulations.

Whining for the Peaches

Likewise in Georgia, I won by a lot, a lot, 

with a lead of over getting close to 300,000 votes 

on Election Night in Georgia. 

And by the way, 

got whittled down and

 now it’s getting to be to a point 

where I’ll go from winning by a lot 

to perhaps being even down a little bit.

Whining Even More for the Peaches AND for the Wolverines

In Georgia, a pipe burst in a far-away location, 

totally unrelated to the location of what was happening 

and they stopped counting for four hours. 

And a lot of things happened. 

The election apparatus in Georgia is run by Democrats. 

We also had margins of 300,000 in Michigan. 

We were way up in Michigan, 

won the state. And in Wisconsin, 

we did likewise fantastically well, 

and that got whittled down.

In every case, they got whittled down.

Whining for the Grand Canyoneers

Today, we’re on track to win Arizona. 

We only need to carry, I guess, 

55% of the remaining vote, 55% margins, 

and that’s a margin that we’ve significantly exceeded. 

So, we’ll see what happens with that, 

but we’re on track to do okay in Arizona. 

Our goal is to defend the integrity of the election.

 We’ll not allow the corruption

to steal such an important election, 

or any election for that manner. 

And we can’t allow silence, 

anybody to silence

 our voters and 

manufacture 

results.

Whining for MEEEEEEEE

I’ve never had, 

I’ve been doing a lot of public things 

for a long time, 

I’ve never had anything that’s been 

as inspirational by people calling,

talking, sending things to us. 

I’ve never seen such love and such affection

 and such spirit as I’ve seen for this.

 People know what’s happening

 and they see what’s happening 

and just before their eyes, 

and there are many instances 

which will be reported very shortly.

Whining for A Very Important Presidential Race

There’s tremendous litigation going on, 

and this is a case where they’re trying 

to steal an election.

 They’re trying to rig an election 

and we can’t let that happen. 

Detroit and Philadelphia, 

known as two of the most corrupt political places 

anywhere in our country easily, '

cannot be responsible for engineering 

the outcome of a presidential race, 

a very important presidential race.

Whining for the Keystoners Again

In Pennsylvania, Democrats have gone to the 

State Supreme Court to try and

ban our election observers and very strongly.

 Now we won the case,

 but they’re going forward. 

They don’t want anybody in there. 

They don’t want anybody watching them as they count 

the ballots, and I can’t imagine why. 

There’s absolutely no legitimate reason 

why they would not want to have people 

watching this process, because if it’s straight, 

they should be proud of it. 

Instead, they’re trying

 obviously to commit fraud. 

There’s no question about that.

Whining for Unhappy and Somewhat Violent People

In Philadelphia, observers have been kept far away, 

very far away. So far that people are 

using binoculars to try and see, 

and there’s been tremendous 

problems caused. They put a 

paper on all of the windows so

you can’t see in, and the people

 that are banned are very unhappy and 

become somewhat violent.

Whining for Circuitry

The Eleventh Circuit ruled that in Georgia, 

the votes have been in by Election Day, 

that they should be in by Election Day, 

and they weren’t. 

Votes are coming in after Election Day. 

And they had a ruling already 

that you have to have the votes 

in by Election Day. 

To the best of my knowledge, 

votes should be in by Election Day, 

and they didn’t do that. 

Democrat officials never 

believed they could win

 this election honestly, 

I really believe that. 

That’s why they did the mail-in ballots, 

where there’s tremendous 

corruption and fraud going on.

Whining for Solicitation

That’s why they mailed out 

tens of millions of unsolicited ballots 

without any verification measures 

whatsoever, and I’ve told everybody 

that these things would happen 

because I’ve seen it happen. 

I watched a lot of different elections 

before they decided to go with 

this big, massive election 

with tens of millions of ballots 

going out 

to everybody. 

In many cases, 

totally unsolicited.

Whining for A Whole Lotta Stuff

This was unprecedented 

in American history. 

This was by design.

 Despite years of claiming 

to care about the election security, 

they refuse to include any requirement 

to verify signatures, identities, or even 

determine whether they’re 

eligible or ineligible to vote. 

People are walking in there, 

they have no idea. 

They just take in the numbers. 

They’re writing down things, 

the workers, and doing a lot of bad things. 

And we have a lot of information coming and

litigation that you’ll see that will shake even 

you people up, and you’ve seen it all.

Whining for the Corruption that Got Me into College

The officials overseeing the counting in Pennsylvania 

and other key states are all part of a 

corrupt Democrat machine that you’ve 

written about. And for a long time, 

you’ve been writing about the 

corrupt 

Democrat 

machine. 

I went to school there 

and I know a lot about it. 

It hasn’t changed since a long time ago 

and hasn’t changed. It has gotten worse.

Whining for Postmarks

In Pennsylvania, partisan Democrats have

allowed ballots in the state 

to be received 

three days after the election, 

and we think much more 

than that, and they’re

counting those without 

even postmarks or any identification 

whatsoever. So 

you don’t have postmarks, 

you don’t have identification.

Whining for Jumping Poll Workers

There have been a number of 

disturbing irregularities 

across the nation. 

Our campaign has been denied access 

to observe any counting in Detroit. 

Detroit is another place, and 

I wouldn’t say 

has the best reputation 

for election integrity. 

Poll workers in Michigan were duplicating 

ballots. But when our observers 

attempted to challenge 

the activity, those poll workers 

jumped in front of the 

volunteers to block their views 

so that they couldn’t see what they were doing

 and it became a little bit dangerous.

Whining for Windows (Do Not Shut Down During Update)

One major hub for counting ballots in Detroit 

covered up the windows again with large 

pieces of cardboard, and 

so they wanted to protect and 

block the counting area. 

They didn’t want anybody

seeing the counting, 

even though these were observers 

who were legal observers 

that were supposed to be there.

Whining for the Changes I Made at the USPS

In Detroit, there were hours 

of unexplained delay 

in delivering many of the votes

 for counting. 

The final batch did not arrive until 

4:00 in the morning. 

And even though the polls 

closed at 8:00 o’clock, 

so they brought it in and 

the batches came in and 

nobody knew where they came from.

Whining for the Love of Biden

We’ve also been denied access 

to observe in critical places in Georgia. 

In multiple swing states, counting was halted for hours

and hours on Election Night. 

With results withheld from major 

Democrat run locations only to appear later,

 and they certainly appeared and they 

all had the name Biden on them, 

or just about all. I think almost all. 

They all had the name Biden on them, 

which is a little strange.

Whining for Challenging Times

I challenge Joe and every Democrat 

to clarify that they only want 

legal votes because they talk 

about votes and I think they 

should use the word 

legal, legal votes. 

We want every legal vote counted, 

and I want every legal vote counted. 

We want openness and transparency, 

no secret count rooms, 

no mystery ballots, 

no illegal votes 

being cast after Election Day. 

You have Election Day and 

the laws are very strong on that. 

You have an Election Day 

and they don’t want votes 

cast after Election Day 

and they want the process

to be an honest one. 

It’s so important.

Whining for Honesty Because Litigation and Stuff

We want an honest election and 

we want an honest count and 

we want honest people working back there 

because it’s a very important job. 

So that’s the way this country is going to win. 

That’s the way the United States will win, 

and we think we will win the election very easily. 

We think there’s going to be a lot of litigation 

because we have so much evidence, 

so much proof, and it’s going to end up 

perhaps at the highest court in the land, 

we’ll see. 

But we think there’ll be a lot of litigation 

because we can’t have an election stolen by like this.

Whining for Size Mattering

And I tell you, the small elections 

were a disaster. Small, very easy to handle 

elections were disastrous. 

This is a large-scale version, 

and it’s getting worse

 and worse every day. 

We’re hearing stories 

that are horror stories, 

absolute horror stories, 

and we can’t let that happen

 to the United States of America.

Whining for Shenanigans

It’s not a question of who wins, 

Republican, 

Democrat, 

Joe, 

myself. 

We can’t let that happen 

to our country. 

We can’t be disgraced 

by having something

 like this happen. 

So it will be hopefully cleared up. 

Maybe soon, I hope soon, 

but it’ll probably go through 

a process, 

a legal process. 

And as you know, 

I’ve claimed certain states and 

he’s claiming states and 

we can both claim the States, 

but ultimately, I have a feeling 

judges are going to have to rule. 

But there’s been a lot of shenanigans 

and we can’t stand for that in our country. 

Thank you very much.

Whining for America

Mr. President?

Why are you undercutting this process, sir?

Are you being a sore loser?

My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: Why Do I Vote?

I vote because it’s my responsibility, my obligation, to participate in our democratic process. 

I vote, in a reliably blue state, even though most times the outcome in national elections is a forgone conclusion. 

I vote for ideas and principles, not parties or personalities. 

If I have to, I vote against bad people, even if some of their ideas are good – because the ends don’t always justify the means. 

I vote for love. 

I vote because people before me fought so I have the right to. 

I vote because what happens in our country matters to me.  

I vote because people around the world hold up their purple thumbs and remind us how much voting matters. 

I vote because I don’t want to let people who don’t vote make decisions for me. 

I vote because I love our country. 

I vote because apathy sucks. 

I vote because my Dad is watching. 

I vote even in non-presidential years. 

I vote to remind politicians who they work for.

I vote for equality. 

I vote for American ideals. 

I vote because people are trying to take away my right to. 

I vote because I'm a middle-aged white lady, and that's what we do.

I vote because I am a patriotic American. 

I vote because people tell me to shut up.

I vote.

The Election Eve Post, 2020 Edition

It's that time again - the night before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That means it's Election Eve, and time for me to do my absolute best to encourage you to vote.

Many of you apparently don't need my encouragement; early voting numbers are through the roof, across the country. Between the early votes and mail-in votes, we're pushing record numbers, and there are still the traditionalists like me, who vote on Election Day, come hell, high water, or even a pandemic, who have yet to be counted. 

But for those of you who aren't among the early in-person or mail-in voters, or the rest of us with a plan, are you thinking that your vote is not important? Is that why you haven't voted yet, or don't have a plan to vote tomorrow? 

Let me tell you, your vote IS important. I know that, because I've been watching all of the activity under way to keep your vote from counting. Over 300 legal challenges to votes have already been seen, according to Stanford Law professor Nate Persily. And we're going to see more before the end of today, and before the end of tomorrow, and before the end of the week and the end of the month... In Texas and Pennsylvania and North Carolina and Wisconsin and Minnesota and more, Republicans are trying to keep you from having a say. That's wrong, plain and simple.

And, of course, in his rallies, in his tweets, in his constant feeding of his propaganda machine - the talk shows on Fox - the president is both complaining about the Supreme Court deciding in favor of voters, instead of in favor of voter suppression, and he is thanking the Supreme Court in advance for their anticipated rulings against voters - against you and me - and looking forward to them handing him the election. That's why, of course, it was so important to get Amy Coney Barrett on the Court before the election. 

Please, let it not be said of you that you sat back and waited for the Supremes to (again) pick the president for us. They have lifetime appointments, sure - but so you do you and I! We have a lifetime of opportunity to vote, to record our decisions. Don't give your voice, on purpose or out of neglect, to a group of political appointees.

As long ago as February, the president started talking about the 2020 election being rigged. Back then, he was trying to foment division among Democrats by saying That Guy from Vermont was 'again' facing a rigged system that would deny him the nomination. Since May, he's been talking about a rigged election more generally, complaining about mail-in ballots, and about drop-boxes where voters are allowed to return their ballots. As with everything that matters to the him, if he can cast aspersions and doubt, he will. He cares not at all what that means for voters - people like you and me - or for our country. He only cares what it means for him.

I care about the outcome of this election - I always care - but I care equally about having everyone vote. We can no longer let the people who don't participate make our choices for us. Tomorrow, Election Day, I'll put on my pearls (for RBG), and my 'resist' pin and my 'vote pin' and I'll go do my civic duty. I'll think of my late father, who unfortunately missed the election of Barack Obama, but fortunately did not have to witness the election after that, and how he taught me about voting when I was ten. 

Allegedly smart people, those experts we hear from all the time, are predicting as many as 150 million votes will be cast. Please - make one of those votes yours. 

As I do every year, I offer the following motivation, in case you're still on the fence. 

After some thought, “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." (1) Actually, “The idea of an election is much more interesting to me than the election itself…the act of voting is in itself the defining moment.”(2) And why is it that “When the political columnists say ‘every thinking man’ they mean themselves, and when candidates appeal to ‘every intelligent voter’ they mean everyone who is going to vote for them”?(3) 

We know it’s true that “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who didn’t vote”(4), and that “A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election.”(5) Do we still not realize, after all these years, that “lower voter participation is a silent threat to our democracy… it under-represents young people, the poor, the disabled, those with little education, minorities and you and me”? (6) 

After all, “the vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men” (7) and “to make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not just observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” (8) 

And complain we do, after every election, when the wrong guy wins. If only people who actually voted complained, it’d likely be a lot less noisy, don't you think? 

Some folks may not vote because they don’t know how to pick the right person. There are a couple different schools of thought on that. On the one hand, some might think that “politics is the art of the possible” (9) while others may subscribe to the thinking that “politics is not the art of the possible, it consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. And it is true that, the great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter the chance to do something stupid.” (10) 

Said another way, a “Vote (is) the instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.” (11) But that’s OK – “personally, I believe that our American system works as long as you participate in it. You must vote and make your voice heard; otherwise you will be left out.” (12) 

It’s generally true that if you “ask a man which way he’s going to vote and he’ll probably tell you. Ask him, however, why – and vagueness is all.” (13) But voting’s really easy; and “all voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong.” (14) And just about everyone likes to play a game every now and then, right? 

The bottom line is, “voting is simply a way of determining which side is the stronger without putting it to the test of fighting;”(15) “voting is a civic sacrament;”(16) and “the future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.”(17) If all of that seems like too much pressure, you have an out: “Vote for the man who promises least. He’ll be the least disappointing.” (18) 

Please, vote. It really does matter, this year and every year. Honestly, "there is no such thing as a vote that doesn't matter."(19) Besides, "not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender." (20)  

My final pitch?  "Talk is cheap, voting is free; take it to the polls." (21)

If you need information on where to vote, help on your ballot, or any other assistance, visit Vote411.org or contact your local Board of Elections. Lots of people are out there, ready and willing to help. 

(Thanks to these folks for their words of wisdom: 1 - Charles De Gaulle; 2 – Jeff Melvoin; 3 – Franklin P Adams; 4 and 13 – Andrew Lack; 5 - Bill Vaughan; 6 - Nancy Neuman; 7 - Lyndon B Johnson; 8 - Louis L’Amour; 9 – Otto Von Bismarck; 10 – Art Spander; 11 – Ambrose Bierce; 12 - Mari-Luci Jaramillo; 14 – Henry David Thoreau; 15 – H.L. Mencken; 16—Theodore Hesburgh; 17 – Dwight D. Eisenhower; 18 – Bernard Baruch); 19 - Barack Obama; 20 - Keith Ellison; 21 - Nanette L. Avery

Sunday School 11/1/2020

For your Sunday School this week, we'll start and end with Jake Tapper, host of CNN's State of the Union.

He set the stage for Tuesday's election, saying the state of our union is "on the edge of our seat." 

Make no mistake, this is anyone's race right now. Both Trump and Biden have clear paths to 270 electoral votes. Casting a shadow on the election, the reality of the coronavirus pandemic, which is surging across the country, new cases hitting a record in nearly 100,000 new cases just on Friday.

Tapper noted that Trump "continues to downplay the pandemic," and that Dr. Fauci is again under attack. Not only that, but

This as the president's chosen adviser on the Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Scott Atlas, who is not an expert on infectious diseases, mocked Dr. Fauci on Twitter and gave an interview to RT, the Kremlin- controlled propaganda network.

Because hey, why not talk with the Russians a few days before the election... 

Switching over to Chuck Todd and the folks at Meet the Press, I was interested in his conversations about the challenges we might see next week and perhaps even later. PA SecState Kathy Boockvar was on to help with that. Todd asked her how much patience we'll need.  She reminded him that "elections have never been called election night," mentioning military and overseas ballots having a full week after Election Day. 

So, I just want to set that straight, that this is a process, and we want to make sure that every single vote of every valid voter is securely and accurately counted.

That said, she expects the "overwhelming majority" of mail-in, absentee, and in-person ballots will be counted "in a matter of days" and that, "for the most part," counties are planning on counting 24/7 until they're done. She did say that ballots received by Friday that are postmarked on or before Election day will be segregated, but they will be counted. And, she hopes that people will "Ignore the lawsuits, ignore the hype. Just get your ballots in today."

Next up? NBC Legal Analyst Nate Persily. He said there've been over 300 lawsuits already, in both battleground and non-battleground states. 

This is sort of the legacy of Bush v. Gore 20 years ago is that the lawyers are becoming an important part of the campaign, as well.

Ballot arrival being a hot issue for litigation, Todd asked "how did that become such a vague deadline when you would think a postmark on Election Day seems pretty simple to me?" In a nutshell, Persily explained that because of the pandemic, some deadlines were extended (by the elections folks in the states, or by the courts).  And that, he said, 

 led to further lawsuits to try to clarify what the rules were, and then those ended up at the Supreme Court, where there's been a fight as to where non-legislators, which is to say state courts or local administrators can extend the deadlines like that.

Citing a UMass Amherst poll showing that 80% were concerned to some degree about election-related violence, Todd wondered how concerned Persily was about that. He said he tries to stay positive, and noted

This is a 100-year flood of voters that we are seeing, and while there's always reasons to be concerned and vigilant, we shouldn't look at Election Day and see isolated instances of problems and assume that that is the story.

Finally, in response to Todd's question that "maybe a responsible government could address when it comes to voting," Persily said we need a "national effort to secure the vote, and he hopes a post-election "autopsy on our election system" is done to see what can be done to ensure future elections run smoothly. 

I have to tell you, over the last six months, we've had hundreds of thousands of these local, sort of unsung heroes who have been dedicating their time to trying to adapt the election infrastructure to deal with the pandemic and they have done an unbelievable job.

He's right about that, for sure.  

Back to Jake Tapper, to lead us down the hall, out the door, and back into the real world.

It's been a horrible year for so many people around the world and here at home in the United States.

A terrifying virus has killed or infected millions of our grandparents, moms and dads, sisters, brothers, friends. The pandemic has cost millions of jobs, thousands of businesses. And it is far from over. We must acknowledge, however, that we have seen so many Americans rise to this moment, first responders and health care providers, good Samaritans and kind neighbors, from the greatest acts of sacrifice from doctors and nurses, who literally gave their lives to care for the sick, to small, but noble actions, as simple as wearing a mask in public.

And now it's time for all of us to take one more action, to stand up and vote.

Whomever you're voting for, and for whatever reason, the idea of this nation, government of the people, by the people, for the people, as President Abraham Lincoln once said, it needs the people. It needs you.

So many of you already have risen to the challenge, braving the pandemic, and bad weather, and long lines, and attempts at discouragement and intimidation and more. It's been a beautiful sight to see, early voters totaling about two-thirds of the entire 2016 tally already, a testament to the mettle of this country, in some of the most challenging times we have ever seen.

What we need to do now is keep going. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, an independent, a political agnostic, vote.

President Thomas Jefferson said -- quote -- "We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

Don't be left out. The state of our union, it's in your hands.

See you around campus. And if you are able to vote, and registered to vote, and fail to vote, you will fail not only yourself, you'll fail the rest of us too.  

Masks up. Pearls on. Go vote.

In Case You Missed It (v60)

Last week's posts, for your initial (or repeat) viewing pleasure.

My Sunday School entry I described as being "out of character" because it was an all-AOC post, and I normally stay away from the Queens representative. Given the alternatives, though, she seemed like the best bet and it was a discussion with Jake Tapper, so I dove in to hear her thoughts on a 'progressive' Biden administration (and her role, should the Dems win), fracking, and on getting young people to the polls.

Turning to younger voters, Tapper wondered if the fracking thing would turn them off enough to stay home. AOC said that younger voters have "a very disciplined, activist mind-set" and aren't so much voting for their "favorite person" or someone they think is "perfect."

...right now, young people are so clear on their stances on many political issues, that they believe that they want to vote for a president that is at least going to be receptive to their advocacy, activism and protest... Joe Biden is a much better person in that position to be receptive and actually listen to the voices of advocates than Donald Trump, who is intensely focused on enriching himself and his friends.

At one point, Tapper told her it was "interesting watching you drag your party into the 21st century," which wasn't the first time they laughed during the interview.

The Extra Credit entry was a stop in the Face the Nation classroom, where Margaret Brennan talked with some of her colleagues about swing states, key voting demographics, and which columns we might find some states land in, whether they're dragged over kicking and screaming, or if they stampede their way in, running full tilt towards change. Ultimately, they landed on the old adage,"it ain't over until it's over." Ain't that the truth.  And here's part of where I landed.

With all of the knot-tying and untying and twists and turns that the punditry is going through already, based on exit polling and based on what they're hearing in prospective polling, in focus groups, from the campaigns, and from their Ouija boards, and with more than a week to go, I fear for what's going to happen next week. 

I dropped in a Quick Take about the decision by the then eight-Justice SCOTUS that sets the stage for the Rs to steal the election.  Here are a couple of excerpts; the first is from the folks at Vox.

If the Supreme Court of the United States had the power to overrule a state supreme court on a question of state law, this entire system of dual sovereignty would break down. It would mean that all state law would ultimately be subservient to the will of nine federal judges... They also sent a loud signal, just eight days before a presidential election, that long-settled rules governing elections may now be unsettled. Republican election lawyers are undoubtedly salivating, and thinking of new attacks on voting rights that they can launch in the next week. (emphasis added)

And this is from Justice ILikeBeer's decision.

For important reasons most States, including Wisconsin, require absentee ballots to be received by election day, not just mailed by election day. Those States want to avoid the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election. And those States also want to be able to definitively announce the results of the election on election night, or as soon as possible thereafter. States that require absentee ballots to be received by election day still have strong interests in avoiding suspicions of impropriety and announcing final results on or close to election night.

He doesn't seem to understand that not counting ballots creates suspicions of impropriety, and that not knowing who the president is on the first Tuesday of November is hardly the consequential thing he - and his president - think it is. We've managed to survive as a country for going on 250 years - and in most of them, we went to bed and didn't know who won the election. We can take it - we're Americans, damnit.

Last week's Wondering on Wednesday meandered around, from the somewhat disappointing announcement that former Miles Taylor, former Deputy Chief of Staff to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was the person most of us hoped was Kellyanne Conway, to a scathing statement by the Philadelphia DA addressing presidential shenanigans, to Amy Coney Barrett's official swearing in at the Supreme Court, to a couple of headlines I got in the same email from a news organization. Take a look.

Republicans are on the verge of a spectacular upside-down achievement

Why Trump's re-election still seems likely 

It's pretty clear, I noted, that clearly no one knows what's going to happen. And I closed that post with some news from British oddsmakers, as well as some entertainment-only odds from a Vegas guy. You can place real or imaginary bets as you choose. 

The most difficult post of the week was Thursday's Middle-aged White Lady Perspective, in which I tackled the supposed differences between how Ds and Rs see the president; those perspectives were published in an op-ed in a Florida newspaper, and shared widely on Facebook. In the bolded statement, 'you' means Dems and 'I' means Republicans. The rest of the words are mine. 

The post was difficult because I didn't want to offend friends who posted it, and also because part of me knows that it's an exercise in futility, because if you believe what the pairings say, you're never going to understand what I'm saying. In the end, though, it was worth it to me to let this out of my head, and not have My Sweet Baboo have to listen to me yelling it. He agrees with me, but pretty sure he's tired of listening. 

You see Trump as a Republican; I see Trump as a Patriot. Donald Trump is not a Republican. He's not a conservative. He goes against much of that the Rs stand for. He says he loves our country, and he hugs and slobbers on the flag, and he waves his arms around during the national anthem, while demanding others stand at attention. He tells us how much he gave up to become president, and he says - regularly - that people who think like he is are 'patriots.'  Everyone else? Not so much. If you think the only way to love our country and be a patriot is to think like you, and be like you, you're missing the entire point of our country. 

And then, it was TGIF time. Two pictures, and 12 words.  That's all I had to offer. 

That's it - you're now all caught up. I'll be back later with today's Sunday School. 

TGIF 10/30/20

 

Make this the one picture we ALL remember!

Please vote.

TGIF, everyone.

My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: 'Seeing' Donald Trump

This letter to the editor, from a Florida newspaper, seeks to clarify the difference in how supporters and detractors see the president. It's popped up on my Facebook page a few times, and I decided to tackle it from my middle-aged white lady perspective. Emphasized comments are from the letter; the rest of them are mine. 

You see Trump's arrogance; I see Trump's confidence. Arrogance is presenting yourself as superior to others, usually in an obnoxious way. Donald Trump is a truly arrogant man. He talks down to everyone, particularly women (even more so to women of color). He is a relentless self-promoter, with world leaders, with the Boy Scouts, and everyone in between. He is a self-proclaimed genius. He knows more than everyone about everything. He alone can fix what's wrong. He is a pompous, overbearing, pretentious, rude, whining man. Honestly, I think the case could be made that he's an arrogant jerk because he lacks confidence, but I'll let the psychological experts make that call.

You see Trump's nationalism; I see Trump's patriotism. This is the first of two references to patriotism in the letter; I'll address them together in a minute. 

You hear Trump's unsophisticated words; I hear Trump's honesty.  No; you hear yourself being manipulated. He very carefully chooses his 'unsophisticated' words; he carefully curates his 4th-grade language level, and you can see how well it works by the way many people - certainly not all (I'm not looking to get into a 'deplorables' argument here) - are so faithful to his message, even when they ought to know better.

There is NO correlation between Trump's language and the truthfulness of what he says. Donald Trump very often is untruthful. In fact, he lies about everything. He lies about some things so often, a Bottomless Pinocchio category was created specifically to document those lies. That he lies with such proficiency, even about totally meaningless things, shows his innate dishonesty.

You see Trump's racism; I see Trump's words being misconstrued and twisted by the media daily to fit their narrative.  If the president's words require a multi-level, photon-torpedo-firing decoder ring to understand, and require an entire network of people to clarify them, he's not getting his message across. Oh wait - silly me. His message is perfectly clear, and his dog whistles hit the mark repeatedly.  It's not the media twisting his words, it's his designated deflectors working at his favorite network, and in the House and Senate, working so hard to twist the media into the bad-guy mold. 

If you think Donald Trump is not racist, explain his incessant attacks on an America judge.  And let me know how you like me being just as racist in that post as Trump. Or what you'd think if your kids, or your coworkers, or your pastor said what he says. 

You see Trump as a Republican; I see Trump as a Patriot. Donald Trump is not a Republican. He's not a conservative. He goes against much of that the Rs stand for. He says he loves our country, and he hugs and slobbers on the flag, and he waves his arms around during the national anthem, while demanding others stand at attention. He tells us how much he gave up to become president, and he says - regularly - that people who think like he is are 'patriots.'  Everyone else? Not so much. If you think the only way to love our country and be a patriot is to think like you, and be like you, you're missing the entire point of our country. 

You see Trump as a dictator; I see Trump as a leader. Trump is not a dictator, but he often talks as if he wants to be one, he admires people who are, and acts as if he is one. He uses the government as if it's at his beck and call, there to do his bidding. That's a gross misunderstanding of both what our government is, and the people for whom it works. It's also not an admired leadership trait.

You see Trump as an authoritarian; I see Trump as the only one willing to fight for our freedoms. Do tell, what freedoms are Trump fighting for? No one I've ever asked can name even one. We do know, that Trump's SCOTUS picks might jeopardize people's rights; we do know that Trump has implemented gun control measures; we do know that Trump regularly threatens the First Amendment... So, again, what are the freedoms he's fighting for on our behalf? 

You see Trump as childish; I see Trump as a fighter, unwilling to cave in to the Democrat lies. He is childish; he stomps out of interviews; he shuts people down; he's a bully domestically and internationally. What "Democrat lies" is he not caving in to when he calls people names? Says they're ugly? Talks about their physical features? Lies about them? Supports conspiracy theorists? Encourages others to be bullies?  He does all of those things, unprompted.

You see Trump as an unpolished politician; I see Trump as a breath of fresh air. Donald Trump pretends to be unpolished, and not a politician. He is not a breath of fresh air, he and his lies and his bullying and his threatening comprise a toxic cloud that hangs over our country, and over our allies. And he is a classic, arm-twisting strongman pol, who threatens members of his own party who might disagree with him. Don't go along with me? No endorsement. A barrage of negative tweets. Attacks against you in your district. Support for your opponent. And you think he's not a politician? That's laughable.

You see Trump as homophobic; I see Trump as the first president who has ever entered office supporting gay marriage. If you cared about LGBTQ rights, including gay marriage, you'd be less than excited about his SCOTUS picks. And, you'd be concerned about his administration fighting for LGBTQ discrimination in the courts; wanting to allow federal contractors to be able to fire LGBTQ employees; our Justice Department defending medical professionals who refuse to treat LGBTQ patients; visas not being issued to same-sex partners of diplomats; that children of gay and lesbian Americans are not allowed citizenship unless they were born of American sperm or an American egg, and so much more. 

You think Trump hates immigrants; I know Trump is married to an immigrant. And serial killers had friends, right?  Marrying an immigrant does not mean you are pro-immigrant. Donald Trump wanted to ban an entire faith from entering our country. He tells Americans to "go back where they came from." He attempted to end DACA, punishing children who were brought here when they were babies. His own companies hired illegal immigrants. He wants to ban the kind of immigration that allowed his in-laws to become citizens.  But yeah, he married an immigrant. 

You see Trump putting an end to immigration in America; I see Trump welcoming immigrants to America legally. Trump has undermined the legal asylum process, reduced opportunities for refugees to come here; suspended the rights of some refugees already here, made the green card process more difficult, rejected many more skilled worker visas, making it harder for American companies to be successful, and more. He's done all of his immigration stuff by Executive Order, a tool he said he would not use.

You see Trump's cages at the border; I see Obama's cages at the border. Look past the cages and look at who was in them - children separated from their parents. That's not the same as detaining families together. And there was no 'zero tolerance policy under the Obama administration. And of course, there are those kids whose parents can't be located. Not a handful of them, over 500 of them. That's on Trump.

You see Trump with a struggling economy; I see Trump with an amazing economy until the China Virus and Democrats shut it down. The markets were doing well. Unemployment rates were continuing their established downward trend. Those things are true. But America is more than the markets, and people seem to forget that it was the Trump Administration that shut down the country. At least, it was Donald Trump who said the biggest decision he would have to make was when to open it back up. So, you can blame China for the virus, if you want, but you should blame Trump for shutting down the country. He said he did it. I believe him.

You see the violence in the streets and call it 'Trump's America;' I see the violence in the streets of Democratic run cities who are refusing Trump's help and call it 'Liberal America.' Woof woof. That's you, responding to the president's unsophisticated dog whistle. 

Congratulations. 

Wondering on Wednesday 10/28/20

Ready... Set... Wonder!

You know, I was kind of bummed today when I saw that Miles Taylor, the former Chief of Staff to Kirstjen Nielsen at the Department of Homeland Security, announced himself the name and face behind 'Anonymous,' the author of the famed 2018 NY Times op-ed that began 

President Trump  is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader.

It’s not just that the special counsel looms large. Or that the country is bitterly divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership. Or even that his party might well lose the House to an opposition hellbent on his downfall.

The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

I would know. I am one of them.

Like many others, I had wondered, not with any focus but sort of randomly, who in the administration might be the author (I had a favorite, I did.) And in 2019, when the book A Warning was published, I wondered again if perhaps it was  my pick, Kellyanne Conway. I thought she was the perfect person to have realized the error of her ways, going from getting him elected to now warning us that we shouldn't allow him back in the Oval after January 20, 2021. But no, it's Miles Taylor.

Now that I don't have to wonder about that any more, I've got time to wonder about a bunch of other stuff.

For example, what kind of person do you need to be to get a major city's District Attorney this mad? Well, you just need to be Donald Trump, that's all. Here's just a piece of what's in DA Larry Krasner's statement:

The Trump Administration’s efforts to suppress votes amid a global pandemic fueled by their disregard for human life will not be tolerated in the birthplace of American democracy. Philadelphians from a diversity of political opinions believe strongly in the rule of law, in fair and free elections, and in a democratic system of government. We will not be cowed or ruled by a lawless, power-hungry despot. Some folks learned that the hard way in the 1700s.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett took another oath today at the Supreme Court; in an unusual celebratory note, she received her first recusal request, too. The election-related case is from Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that, according to the punditry, is a must win for both candidates if they want to get to 270 electoral college votes.  We know, of course, that the new Justice would not commit t recuing herself, and I don't think I have to wonder much what her answer will be - I suspect it's going to be a no, in her best firm mommy voice, but we'll see. 

Finally, I turn my wondering eye to these two articles, which arrived together in an email:

Republicans are on the verge of a spectacular upside-down achievement

Why Trump's re-election still seems likely 

It's hard paying attention to the wildly varying headlines and opinions. These two were similar to others I've seen recently, in which it's pretty clear that the president is going to win, and it's equally clear that the president's not going to win. It's also clear that the pandemic is the most important thing in the election, and equally clear that the economy is the most important thing in the election. It's clearly clear that no one really knows what's clear, and equally clear that everyone knows what's clear.

And all of that had me wondering what the oddsmakers say about the election. According to an article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, 

The U.S. presidential election has officially become the most heavily bet event in the history of the United Kingdom-based Betfair Exchange, the company said in a release. A total of about $259 million in bets have been placed on the matchup between President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate. The handle breaks the record $258 million bet on the 2016 presidential election between Trump and Hillary Clinton. Betfair predicts that as much as $519 million could be bet on the election by Tuesday.

So, lots of money in play, but what are the odds? Biden is a -200 favorite to win the election at Betfair (Trump +200); that means that Biden is the favorite and Trump the underdog. 

A US oddsmaker (for entertainment purposes only, since it's illegal to bet on elections in the US) has Biden at -240 and Trump +220. And, the same guy has Kamala Harris at +800 to replace Biden before the 2024 election.

If it weren't illegal, I wonder how much Trump would put on that? After all, he's already suggesting Biden's only going to last three weeks if he wins... 

What are you wondering about?

Quick Takes (v54): How to Steal an Election

The eight justices of the US Supreme Court have been plowing through election-related cases at a fast and furious clip, announcing decisions almost exclusively without comment over the past several weeks. 

All that changed yesterday, and it's frightening what will happen now that Justice Amy Coney Barrett has been sworn in at a socially-distanced ceremony at the White House.

In Democratic National Committee vs. Wisconsin State Legislature, decided yesterday on a 5-3 vote (Justices Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor dissented, with Kagan writing for the three), it seems to people more knowledgeable than me that the Court has started laying the foundation for putting now sixty collective fingers on the side of restricting votes, rather than counting them - and that they've done it blatantly, and shockingly. 

In the lower court, the judges decided that mailed-in ballots could be counted for up to six days after Election Day, provided that they were postmarked before Election Day. The decision, of course, was based on issues caused by the pandemic and by concerns about the US Postal Service's ability to process mail timely. The Supremes disagreed.

Here's an excerpt from Vox, talking about the majority decisions from Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, with a focus on the concept of 'dual sovereignty' - the premise that the SCOTUS should defer to state court decisions on issues of state law, and that the SCOTUS has the final word on issues of federal law. 

If the Supreme Court of the United States had the power to overrule a state supreme court on a question of state law, this entire system of dual sovereignty would break down. It would mean that all state law would ultimately be subservient to the will of nine federal judges... They also sent a loud signal, just eight days before a presidential election, that long-settled rules governing elections may now be unsettled. Republican election lawyers are undoubtedly salivating, and thinking of new attacks on voting rights that they can launch in the next week. (emphasis added)

And from the Washington Post, which began its analysis by pointing out that, according to Wall Street Journal map, it took an average of 10 days for a first-class letter to be delivered in Wisconsin back in September, we learn that Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence included this ridiculous and irrelevant statement.

Voters who, for example, show up to vote at midnight after the polls close on election night do not have a right to demand that the State nonetheless count their votes...Voters who submit their absentee ballots after the State’s deadline similarly do not have a right to demand that the State count their votes.

He further argued

For important reasons most States, including Wisconsin, require absentee ballots to be received by election day, not just mailed by election day. Those States want to avoid the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election. And those States also want to be able to definitively announce the results of the election on election night, or as soon as possible thereafter. States that require absentee ballots to be received by election day still have strong interests in avoiding suspicions of impropriety and announcing final results on or close to election night.”

In the dissent, Kagan hit back on that argument.

Justice Kavanaugh alleges that ‘suspicions of impropriety’ will result if ‘absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election." But there are no results to ‘flip’ until all valid votes are counted. And nothing could be more ‘suspicio[us]’ or ‘improp[er]’ than refusing to tally votes once the clock strikes 12 on election night. To suggest otherwise, especially in these fractious times, is to disserve the electoral process.

And that, of course, was the majority's intent. It's the president's intent, it's the GOP's intent, it's the Republican National Committee's intent, and it's the intent of Republican-controlled legislatures, perhaps especially where the governor is a Dem.

Back to the Vox article, this time to look quickly at the implications of what Justice Neil Gorsuch had to say in his concurring decision. He focused on the Constitution, which says that

the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.”

And in his "hyper-literal" interpretation, the word 'legislature' means exactly - and only - the body referred to as the 'state legislature, because the legislature - "not federal judges, not state judges, not state governors, not other state officials — bear primary responsibility for setting election rules.” 

The problem with that?

State supreme courts may lose their power to enforce state constitutions that protect voting rights. State governors may lose their power to veto election laws, which would be a truly astonishing development when you consider that every state needs to draw new legislative maps in 2021...

This is our future: uncounted votes, emasculated state courts, and more. Gerrymandering to rig state legislatures? Check. Other voter suppression tactics, such as restricting hours in urban areas? Check. Closing polling places that are accessible via public transportation? Check. 

We ain't seen nothing yet, folks. 

We ain't seen nothing yet.

Sunday School 10/25/20: Extra Credit

It's Extra Credit time, students!  Let's take a listen as Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan talks to a couple of her CBS counterparts: first, Mark  Strassman on the coronavirus, and then Anthony Salvanto with some swing state info.

Strassmann was in Atlanta, talking about the surge in new cases, which he reported have spiked 248% since the start of September; that 31 states are in the red zone for new cases, 11 had single-day records, and Wisconsin- a battleground state - is "in crisis" with seven of the top ten metro areas for new cases. Fun stuff, right, especially now that we've "turned the corner," as a certain someone likes to say.

Voting is underway in all 50 states, and Strassmann said that nearly 3,000,000 Georgians had already voted, "more than double the record set four years ago." He talked about one group, Black Voters Matter, that plans on passing out a quarter million flyers with a QR code listing polling places, as well as wait times in real time, which is really cool. He also mentioned folks who have said the pandemic is a key reason they're voting, and he referenced another display, white flags in DC, place to honor the American lost due to COVID.

His final note? Mike 'My staff all has Covid" Pence will be campaigning in Georgia, because it's now a very tight race there - tied, in fact, in the network's latest poll.

And that's the segue to the Salvanto interview. He echoed what Strassman was hearing from voters, that the pandemic is definitely having an impact: the majority of Biden voters are 'very concerned' about it, while Trump voters are less so; personal character is another key factor for Biden voters. On the other side of things, Trump voters are more concerned about the economy and immigration. They also fear the country is becoming "too socialist," he said, while Biden voters think it's becoming "too authoritarian." One heck of a pickle we're in isn't it?

Brennan asked him about key groups he's watching. He mentioned women with college degrees, who've been trending D since the last mid-terms. Dive deeper to white women with college degrees, and they've been trending D for even longer, going back to 2016. Biden is up with this group compared to Hillary Clinton in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Another key group he mentioned? Seniors. Biden actually is leading with seniors in North Carolina; they're traditionally pretty reliable in the R column - that's where they are in Florida and Georgia.

With 57 million people already having voted, Brennan wondered, "is there a risk here of misreading these early indications?"

Well, it's a tale of two groups. First, you look at the early vote. And we estimate about half the vote in all of these states is already in. Among those voters, Joe Biden has a lead. These are voters who have told us that they voted for Joe Biden. And, also, if you look at the public voting roles, it seems like Democrats are turning out more than Republicans.

But if you look at voters who are still to vote, plan to vote between now and Election Day or on Election Day, that electorate tilts very heavily towards the President. When we get to November 3rd, it's going to be a case of perhaps the Democrats have a lead and then do the President's supporters turn out in large enough numbers to make up the difference. They have done that before. And I would caution anybody: if you read the early vote, or for that matter small polling leads, and think that this race is over, you will be mistaken. Margaret.

She also wondered whether the president needs these three states in order to win. 

If you look at the map and then you put these states, hypothetically, back into the President's column. So I'll put Florida, I'll put Georgia, and I'll put North Carolina, all back to where they were in 2016, which could happen, then he's got to go up and win Ohio again, and I'll put Iowa, again, back in his column. That on the electoral vote count gets him much closer to Joe Biden, and then we are back to the Upper Midwest, and we're going to watch Pennsylvania, maybe Wisconsin, or a couple of those other states, to see if he can flip them from leaning Democratic as well. So, if that feels a little bit like 2016, or that old Yogi Berra line, "It's déjà vu all over again;" maybe it is. Margaret.

"Ain't over until it's over," she said. Ain't that the truth. 

With all of the knot-tying and untying and twists and turns that the punditry is going through already, based on exit polling and based on what they're hearing in prospective polling, in focus groups, from the campaigns, and from their Ouija boards, and with more than a week to go, I fear for what's going to happen next week. 

If we don't have a clear winner, or if we have a thousand million ballot challenges, which we may, the talking heads will be going nuts trying to predict the outcome. In a ratings-driven world, with an impetuous child-president, it's going to be an interesting ride.  And yes, we will have a full Supreme Court to handle the thousand million challenges - Amy Coney Barrett has been sworn in, by Clarence Thomas.

See you around the virtual campus. Mask up, and remember to vote!