Retiring Guy's Digest: 2023-08-20

But if Ms. McDaniel welcomed the discussion Wednesday night, so, too, did some Democrats and abortion rights activists, who were eager to remind voters that most Republicans — including those on the debate stage — are far to the right of public opinion. [emphasis added]

“Someone tell her they’re also not going to win if they do talk about abortion,” a leading abortion rights group, Naral Pro-Choice America, responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Case in point: Vivek Ramaswamy sez, "I think abortion is murder."

Much more below.

US Senator Ron Johnson continues to embarrass Wisconsin with his clown show antics

Headline: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/25/2023

The Republican senator described the actions by the group of Wisconsin Republicans as "political activity." He made his comments a day after the former president was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges that he attempted to overturn 2020 election results in the state, the fourth criminal case he faces while campaigning for a second term in the White House.
The group of Wisconsin Republicans who signed the fake elector paperwork are not facing criminal charges, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said earlier this month those participating in the fake elector scheme should be held accountable.

Related posts:

2023.

Thanks to his involvement with fake electors scheme, Wisconsin State Embarrassment Ron Johnson finds his way into Trump indictment. (8/3)

"Our Dumb Senator", starring Wisconsin state embarrassment Ron Johnson. (7/20)

Wisconsin Embarrassment: "Our Dumb Senator" wears a tin-foil hat. (5/1)

Long-running clown show "Our Dumb Senator" now in its 13th year of embarrassment for Wisconsin. (4/27)

Many in Wisconsin think that Ron Johnson should take his own advice . (4/18)

Meet Ron Johnson, the clown Wisconsin re-elected to serve a 3rd term in the U.S. Senate. (4/4)

Long-running Wisconsin show of political incompetence, "Our Dumb Senator", renewed for another 6 years (3/30)

"Our Dumb Senator", starring Ron Johnson, is Wisconsin's long-running farce. Now its in 13th year! (2/15)

Snookered again: Wisconsin elects insurrectionist Ron Johnson to a third term in the U.S. Senate. (1/4)

2022

Unfortunately, too many Wisconsin voters thought Ron Johnson deserved a third term in the U.S. Senate. (12/25)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate. (12/16)

Despicable Ron Johnson and the Wisconsin GOP show us their true colors: sickening shades of puke green. (11/7)

Ron Johnson. Not our senator. Never our senator. Time for a change. Time for leadership. Vote for Mandela Barnes. (11/5)

Ron Johnson and his slithering GOP confederates gear up to fight crime and inflation with plan to take away Social Security benefits. (10/24)

Ron Johnson is a 1%, me/myself/I, special interest conduit. (10/21)

Dear Wisconsin voters, I'd like to report a certifiable election problem. This fraud is posing as our U.S. Senator and thinks he deserves a third term. Best, Retiring Guy. (10/20)

Meet Ron Johnson's biggest fans. (10/13)

If this poll is accurate, there is something terribly wrong with Wisconsin. (10/13/2022)

Actually, perhaps this is the primary reason why Ron Johnson might become Wisconsin's third-term U.S. Senator. (10/12)

Ron Johnson has misrepresented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate for 12 years. Enough is enough! (9/30)

Multimillionaire Ron Johnson wants to put everyone's Social Security and Medicare in jeopardy. (9/28)

Ron Johnson Re-election Clown Show is doing everything possible to antagonize voters of all ages. (8/3)

Dear Wisconsin voters, There are many reasons to deny Ron Johnson another 6 years in the U.S. Senate. Here's another one. Best, Retiring Guy. (series)

GET ME REWRITE: Wisconsin Republicans go on offense to defend cheating in elections

Headline: Wisconsin Watch, 8/25/2023

The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'cracking' as

drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive.

Th UW Applied Population Lab defines 'packing' as

the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.

Meet the leaders of the packing and cracking brigade!

Bad optics: Wisconsin Senate, Wisconsin Assem/bly

Wouldn't you rather have this diverse group in the majority?

How the GOP cheats to win:

See also: Cheating to win elections: Wisconsin GOP attempts to defend the indefensible use of cracking and packing in drawing legislative districts (series)

Covid hospitalizations up in Texas, especially among those 70 and over

Graph: New York Times

Headline: Dallas Morning News email news update

COVID-19 is once again rearing its ugly head, causing hospitalizations and cases to increase while the release of updated booster shots is still about a month away.
North Texas hospitals reported 274 COVID hospitalizations Friday, a 16% jump from 237 patients on Monday, Aug. 21, according to Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council data.

Friday, August 25, 2023

Disappearing cities of the United States: Cleveland, Ohio (2022 census update)

Detroit's 2022 estimated population decreased 3% since the 2020 census. Its population has dropped 60% since its 1950 peak of 914,808. The city has as many residents now as it did in the 1890s.

Source: Wikipedia

Cleveland.com, 3/30/2023

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County continues to be the top county in Ohio for population loss year over year, albeit at a slower rate than last year, according to new census estimates released Thursday.
From mid-2021 to mid-2022, Cuyahoga County lost 11,767 people, more than the total number of people lost in Ohio overall. The year before, Cuyahoga County lost 14,715. Cuyahoga’s population now stands at 1,236,041.

Other 2022 updates:

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

Cairo, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

Detroit, Michigan. (8/25/2023)

East St. Louis, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

Flint, Michigan. (7/20/2023)

Gary, Indiana. (7/19/2023)

Hamtramck, Michigan. (6/15/2023)

Johnstown, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

St. Louis, Missouri. (8/25/2023)

Scranton, Pennsylvania. (7/19/2023)

Wheeling, West Virginia. (7/19/2023)

Youngstown, Ohio. (6/15/2023)

Disappearing cities of the United States: Detroit, Michigan (2022 census update)

Detroit in its heyday.

Postcard from Retiring Guy's collection

Detroit's 2022 estimated population decreased 3% since the 2020 census. Its population has dropped 66% since its 1950 peak of 1,849,568. The city has as many residents now as it did in the mid-1910s.

Source: Wikipedia

Michigan Advance, 5/23/2023

But Duggan insisted on Thursday that the census is undercounting residents and called the bureau “a complete clown show.”
According to the mayor, the U.S. Postal Service reported an increase of 6,300 residential homes in Detroit since 2021. He also pointed to rising home prices and 25 new housing projects that are under construction “as the market struggles to keep up with the demand.”

Which doesn't necessarily translate into a net population gain

It's the same old song warbled by Detroit mayors for decades.

Christian Science Monitor, 3/23/2011

New York Times, 11/22/1990

Cornell Daily Sun, 9/26/1980

The bottom line remains: Detroit is lossing residents like few other US cities.

Other 2022 updates:

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

Cairo, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

East St. Louis, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

Flint, Michigan. (7/20/2023)

Gary, Indiana. (7/19/2023)

Hamtramck, Michigan. (6/15/2023)

Johnstown, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

St. Louis, Missouri. (8/25/2023)

Scranton, Pennsylvania. (7/19/2023)

Wheeling, West Virginia. (7/19/2023)

Youngstown, Ohio. (6/15/2023)

Disappearing cities of the United States: St. Louis, Missouri (2022 census update)

St. Louis's 2022 estimated population decreased 5% since the 2020 census. Its population has dropped 67% since its 1950 peak of 856,796. The city has as many residents now as it did in the 1860s.

Source: Wikipedia

KDSK, 5/2/2023

Overall, the bureau said the region's population fell by 0.4%, or more than 11,000, from 2021 to 2022, to 2,801,319. The regional decline from 2020 to 2021 was 0.23%. And that followed a 2020 census that saw the metro's population growth rank it 47th out of the biggest 50 U.S. regions.
St. Louis County's population declined 0.78% from 2021 to 2022, to 990,414, the bureau estimated, more than the 0.48% decline from 2020 to 2021. The city's decreased 2.38% from 2021 to 2022, to 286,578, worse than a 2.3% decline the previous year, it said.
These are bigger (out-migration) numbers than people anticipated," Ness Sandoval, associate professor of sociology and demographer at Saint Louis University, said of the figures. "There are a historic number of people leaving the region. I don't think anybody (anticipated it being) that high."

Other 2022 updates:

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

Cairo, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

East St. Louis, Illinois. (6/15/2023)

Flint, Michigan. (7/20/2023)

Gary, Indiana. (7/19/2023)

Hamtramck, Michigan. (6/15/2023)

Johnstown, Pennsylvania. (6/15/2023)

Scranton, Pennsylvania. (7/19/2023)

Wheeling, West Virginia. (7/19/2023)

Youngstown, Ohio. (6/15/2023)

GET ME REWRITE: With its virulently anti-abortion platform plank, Minnesota Republicans will continue to lose statewide elections

Headline: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8/26/2023

Election results: Politico

Republican Scott Jensen now says his campaign-trail promise to ban almost all abortions cost him the 2022 Minnesota governor's race and the issue could hurt future candidates if the party doesn't rethink its strategy.
At the same time, his running mate, former Vikings player Matt Birk, is redoubling his efforts in the anti-abortion movement, telling activists to not "back down" in a recent op-ed and fundraising blast to raise money for a crisis pregnancy center.

Read it for yourself

Meet the 'deeply conservative' members of the Ottawa (Michigan) County Board

Headline: Bridge Michigan, 8/24/2023

A political showdown in Michigan's Ottawa County has moved into the national spotlight, after the county’s deeply conservative political leaders instructed the public health officer to cut the county’s contribution to her office’s budget in half.

Writing on the department’s Facebook page, embattled health officer Adeline Hambley said such cuts are “ridiculous” and warned they would “significantly impair, and likely eliminate” health services.

Late Thursday, Hambley wrote in a follow-up post that the proposed cuts “will almost certainly close the health department within weeks of its implementation,” adding that county leaders are attempting “to achieve political victory over COVID-19 at the expense of Ottawa County citizens.”

County leaders’ repeated attacks — stemming from the health office’s enforcement of vaccine and safety mandates during the pandemic — has led the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Michigan Association of Local Public Health to enter the legal battle over Hambley’s future. The organizations filed an amicus brief on her behalf.

Other posts from Crackpotville USA:

As its population increases, Ottawa County Michigan voters find less to like about a hardcore GOP. )(1/5/2023)

Homophobic voters in Michigan town give master class in how to cut off your nose to spite your face. (11/22/2022)

Dear Jamestown Charter Township Michigan residents, A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone. Best, Retiring Guy. (7/25/2022)

Greetings from Trump's America: Ottawa County, Michigan, which is not as Trumpy, or as red, as it used to be. (7/22/2023)

Cheating to win elections: Wisconsin GOP attempts to defend the indefensible use of cracking and packing in drawing legislative districts (Cracking Appleton , part 3)

The district comprises northern quarter of Winnebago County and not a small chunk of southern Outagamie County. It includes all of the city of Neenah and a piece of the city of Appleton. By stretching the western boundary of this district deeper into rural Winnebago County, the GOP has insured that the 55th cannot be flipped.

Nate Gustafson (R-Neenah) has represented the 55th district since January 2023. He defeated his Democratic opponent by 9 percentage points.

Headline: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/11/2023

Map: Wisconsin State Legislature (boxes added)

Somehow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tyler Katzenberger can write an article about legislative district without mentioning 'gerrymandering', 'packing', and 'cracking'.

It's called journalistic malpractice.

The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'cracking' as

drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive.

Th UW Applied Population Lab defines 'packing' as

the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.

Meet the leaders of the packing and cracking brigade!

Bad optics: Wisconsin Senate, Wisconsin Assem/bly

Wouldn't you rather have this diverse group in the majority?

Related reading:

League of Women Voters, July 2018

Winnebago County became the 40th Wisconsin county board to pass a resolution in favor of a fair maps process that's independent, nonpartisan, and transparent. That makes 55% of all counties––representing 68% of Wisconsinites––that have called on the state to pass a bill to create an independent, nonpartisan redistricting process for drawing our election maps. Wisconsinites are overwhelmingly united in ending partisan gerrymandering that puts party over people and politicians over voters.

Other posts in the series:

See also: Spotlight on Wisconsin gerrymandering

Wisconsin gerrymandering spotlight on Assembly District 86: Packing Wausau and cracking Marshfield

What's wrong with this picture?

Packing the City of Wausau (part 2), cracking the City of Marshfield.

Maps: Wikipedia (boxes added)

Marshfield close-up

The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'cracking' as

drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive. [emphasis added]

The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'packing' as

the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.

The other side of dismantling the Wausau area community of interest (inner orange box), courtesy of the Exact-O knives of the GOP gerrymanderers. (See 8/24/2023 post for the rest of the story.)

The majority of the gerrymandered 86th Assembly District is within a selective portion of Marathon County (purple box in above map), with a Wood County add-on that cracks the Marshfield area community of interest. (See "State-based requirements".)

The ineffable John Spiros (R-Marshfield) has represented the district since January 2013. He ran unopposed in November 2022.

Related reading:

Wausau Daily Herald, 10/10/2019

The group chose Marshfield for the conference because of its central location but also because the city fell victim to partisan redistricting in 2013, said former state Assembly representative Amy Sue Vruwink during the press conference.
Vruwink represented the 70th District from 2002 to 2015, according to Ballotpedia, which during most of her tenure included the city of Marshfield. The city is now split down the middle between the 68th and 69th assembly districts.

We have this white male menagerie to thank for the state's current maps..