Saturday, December 9, 2023

GET ME REWRITE: Cascade County Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant turns election oversight into an incompetent clown show

 
HeadlineGreat Falls Tribune, 12/8/2023
Meanwhile, Merchant narrowly edged out former longtime Cascade County Clerk Rina Moore in 2022, while having virtually no experience. [Like the moron who won the presidency in 2016.]  What followed was a series of election mistakes and lawsuits, prompting the two veteran commissioners, Briggs and Larson, to consider removing the elections office from the clerk and recorder position.  [emphasis added, followed by editorial comment]

"Mean Talking Blues", GOP theme song written by Woody Guthrie in 1945




Beginning in the late 1930s, Guthrie decided that the public needed to hear songs about the hardships of Americans’ minorities in an effort to expose the destructive power of racism. Some of these lyrics only briefly address the race issue. For example, by creating a highly ironic narrator in “Talking Meanness” (“Mean Talking Blues”), he offers some amusing blows against those who would encourage various forms of hate. In particular, he makes a none too subtle slap against those who would “get colors to fighting one another/friend against friend/sister against brother” or even “the stripped against the polkadots.”

Dear new residents of Brunswick County North Carolina, I hope you realize what you got yourselves into. Best, Retiring Guy

 
Population:  Wikipedia
Graphic and headline:  New York Times, 11/29/2023

From the Times:
The growth also makes it more difficult to evacuate when storms strike. In these booming coastal counties, residents and local officials say that roads and bridges are not keeping pace with the growth. “Our biggest problem is our infrastructures not being able to keep up,” said David McIntire, the deputy director of emergency management for Brunswick County, the fastest-growing coastal county in North Carolina this century and part of the Wilmington metro.

Based on recent presidential election returns, it's possible that the majority of residents, new and old, dismiss climate change as a hoax.


Related post:

Apparently, our tax dollars cover the cost of clown makeup for Rep. Scott Allen and Sen. Andre Jacque

 
Not to mention the waste of time on a book censorship crusade.

HeadlineWisconsin Examiner, 12/8/2023
One day, teachers and library staff across Wisconsin may find that they could be prosecuted for allowing K-12 students to view certain books or other materials. A new Republican legislative proposal to penalize educators for exposing children to obscene materials comes out of a wider effort to restrict what K-12 students can see or read. The bill had its day on Tuesday before the Republican-led Assembly Committee on Education. AB-308 would remove protections for school and library staff against being prosecuted for providing “obscene” materials to minors. If passed, the bill would create a new class of felons — teachers and library staff who are found to have provided students with inappropriate books or other media.

Related posts:

Robert Smith (1944-2023) Warren Area High School class of 1962

 
1962 Dragon yearbook


1967 Warren City Directory

  • Smith Robert W (Nancy)  USAF r13 South Carver Street
  • Smith William H (Rachel C) driver Hall Baking h13 South Carver Street 
1983 Warren City Directory
The popularity of Robert as a baby name is graphed here.  Let's take a look at Jesse.


During the 20th century, Jesse has never charted lower than 151, which occurred in 1964.  Overall, he has spent 71 years in the top 100 (1900-32, 1939-42, 1972-2005), peaking at #37 in 1981.  


Other members of the WAHS Class of 1962 (20)

2023
Peter Colt.  (10/23)

2022

2021
James Smith . (11/12)

2020
Bert Bliss.  (10/15)
Stephen Massa.  (10/9)
Bruno Vavala.  (7/2)


Grandma Moses on the cover to Time magazine (December 28, 1953)

 
Carl Nelson paging through Time with his sons Larry and Paul

Photo by Retiring Guy's mom

Close-up of the cover, which features Grandma Moses.


Dear new residents of Horry County South Carolina, I hope you realize what you got yourselves into. Best, Retiring Guy

 
Population:  Wikipedia
Graphic and headlineNew York Times, 11/29/2023

From the Times:
Horry County is large and flat: Nearly a quarter of its land lies within a floodplain. A sign shows the height of the expected 100-year flood level in Conway, S.C. In inland towns like Conway, S.C., floodwaters can stay long after a hurricane is gone. 
After Hurricane Florence made landfall, it took about a week for the rainwater to flow down to Conway. But the water stayed for over a week. 
“It sits for a while and it just destroys everything,” Ms. O’Leary said. 
Water entered her home, flooding the first floor and a bedroom. Her husband and son evacuated to Myrtle Beach, while she stayed for a few days to document the floods. 
Afterward, there were large piles of debris lining street after street in her neighborhood, filled with ruined flooring, kitchen cabinets and bathroom fixtures. 
When her son’s elementary school reopened and he saw the devastation in the neighborhood, she said he stopped smiling and became quieter for months.

But then perhaps most of the residents dismiss climate change as a hoax.


Welcome to poll-based, fill-in-the-blanks political journalism


Headlines: CBS News,  ABC News, Forbes

New York Times, 1/23/2016
Over a monthlong period ending Thursday night — a monthlong period, mind you, that included the Christmas and New Year’s break — there were 11 polls in Iowa, 10 in New Hampshire and nine nationally. There were polls focused on 10 different states. 
And their findings were often treated as breathless news. On Wednesday evening, I visited the home page of the Politico website — I’m using Politico as a random example — and spotted four stories that were essentially about poll results. 
My television was on: The CNN anchor Erin Burnett began her show with a report on the latest poll.
 

OPINION: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the personification of evil

 
Headline:  Washington Post, 12/8/2023
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is an exception. He deserves no such respect, only condemnation for his unnecessary, inexplicable cruelty. No moral person — no person with true compassion for life — could be launched on Paxton’s current crusade against a Texan named Kate Cox. 
Cox is a 31-year-old mother of two, about 20 weeks pregnant with a third, very much wanted. But the fetus has Trisomy 18, a severe genetic disorder. Some 95 percent of such pregnancies do not make it to term or are stillborn. Half of those born with the condition do not survive beyond the first week; 9 out of 10 die within the first year.

Related posts:

Day 1136 of GOP election denial hysteria (Trump Big Lie Clown Show Circus, Robert Spindell of Wisconsin edition)

 
ATTACK Of the Clown Show zombies
Starring Wisconsin Elections Commission
member and fake elector Robert Spindell
Headline: The Nation, 12/7/2023
But just one piece. The threat these people pose to fair elections has not gone away. 
For instance, one of the fake electors, Milwaukee County Republican activist Robert Spindell, still serves on the Wisconsin Election Commission, thanks to an appointment by Wisconsin State Senate majority leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg). This means he helps administer elections in a state whose last presidential election he deliberately tried to sabotage.

Related posts:
Day 938 (Doug McLinko)
Day 942 (Glenn Youngkin)
Day 944  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 945 (Jeff Serdy)
Day 946 (Todd Graybill)
Day 947 (Kyle Ardoin)
Day 949 (Frank LaRose)
Day 951 (Garland Favorito)
Day 952 (Doug Logan)
Day 954 (Brian Pritchard)
Day 955 (David Cross)
Day 956 (Suzi Voyles)
Day 957 (Josh McKoon)
Day 958 (David Whipple)
Day 960 (Joe Oltmann)
Day 961 (Theresa Manzella)
Day 962 (Sandra Merchant)
Day 964 (Stuart Hadlund)
Day 965 (Kari Lake)
Day 966  (Andro Lerario)
Day 971 (Jason Snead)
Day 982  (Joseph Mastroianni)
Day 983 (Mike Lindell)
Day 984 (Robert Sutherland)
Day 985 (Charlie Kirk)
Day 992  (Stan Grot)
Day 996 (Tim O'Hare)
Day 998  (Shawnna Bolick)
Day 999 (Dave Williams)
Day 1000 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1003  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1004 (Dinesh D'Souza)
Day 1005  (Sonny Borrelli)
Day 1006 (Daire Rendon)
Day 1007 (70% of GOP voters)
Day 1011 (Peter Bernegger)
Day 1013 (Sidney Powell)
Day 1015 (Matt Maddock)
Day 1016 (Nick Sherman)
Day 1017  (Boris Epshteyn)
Day 1019 (Rudy Giuliani)
Day 1020 (Eric Burlison)
Day 1025  (Mark Finchem)
Day 1026 (Brian Schimming)
Day 1027 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1030 (David Whipple)
Day 1031 (Jeffrey Clark, John Eastman) 
Day 1032 (Joe Oltmann)
Day 1033 (Kari Lake)
Day 1035 (Abe Hamadeh)
Day 1037 (Douglas Frank)
Day 1039 (Warren Daniel)
Day 1040 (Craig Berland)
Day 1041 (Jason Frazier)
Day 1042 (Tina Peters)
Day 1044 (Meshawn Maddock)
Day 1046  (Jim Womack)
Day 1049 (Devin LeMahieu)
Day 1051 (Shawn Still)
Day 1053 (Ron DeSantis)
Day 1054  (Kristina Karamo)
Day 1055 (Cathy Latham)
Day 1056 (Kari Lake)
Day 1057  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1059 (Warren Daniel)
Day 1064 (Mike Thompson)
Day 1065 (Scott Hall)
Day 1069  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1072 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1074 (Sharon Hewitt)
Day 1081 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1082 (Amanda Jennings Smith)
Day 1083 (Kari Lake)
Day 1084 (Bob Bachenberg)
Day 1085 (Sidney Powell)
Day 1086 (Kenneth Chesebro)
Day 1087 (Gym Jordan)
Day 1088 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1089 (Tom Emmer)
Day 1090 (Mike Johnson)
Day 1091 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1094 (Jim Marchant)
Day 1095 (Donald Trump)
Day 1096 (Mike Johnson)
Day 1097 (Seth Keshel)
Day 1098 (Doug Basler)
Day 1099 (Amy Kremer)
Day 1100 (Gabrielle Hanson)
Day 1101 (Mike Lindell) 
Day 1102 (Harrison Flo\yd)
Day 1103 (Steve Scalise)
Day 1104 (Kari Lake)
Day 1105 (Deborah Flora)
Day 1107 (Rick Weible) 
Day 1110 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1112  (Dan Scorvino)
Day 1114 (Mark Zuckerberg)
Day 1115 (Patrick Henry)
Day 1116  (Jim DeMint)
Day 1117 (Peg Cage)
Day 1118  (Sonny Borrelli)
Day 1119 (Kristina Karamo)
Day 1121 (Ron Hanks)
Day 1122 (Tom Crosby, Peggy Judd)
Day 1123 (Nancy Landry)
Day 1124 (Ken Buck)
Day 1125 (Burt Jones)
Day 1128 (Kari Lake)
Day 1129 (Cleta Mitchell)
Day 1132 (Klete Keller)
Day 1133 (Andrew Hitt)
Day 1135 (Alan Hostetter)

Scott Walker's "Foxconned in Wisconsin": The jobs engine that wasn't

 
Headline Biz Times, 12/8/2023
A verification form submitted to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. shows that the electronics manufacturer invested $26.6 million in its Wisconsin facilities last year and employed 1,029 people. Out of those 1,029 positions, 261 were newly created jobs. 
Out of the newly approved $6.3 million in tax credits, $4.1 million was earned from Foxconn’s total job creation and $2.2 million was earned from the company’s total capital expenditures in 2022. 
Foxconn has been awarded $43.7 million dollars in tax credits from the state since the company began receiving the credits at the end of 2020. Last year, the manufacturer earned $8.5 million worth of state tax credits.

Other Foxconned in Wisconsin posts:
2021
GET ME REWRITE: Yes, Foxconn's $100 milion pledge to UW-Madison was nothing more than a cynical election ploy by Scott Walker.  (8/11)
The mysteries of Foxconn (season 2).  (5/12)
The collapse of Donald Trump's '8th Wonder of the World'.  (4/20)

2020
GET ME REWRITE: Two gullible guys from Racine County still believe anything Foxconn tells them.  (10/23)

Keeping tabs on Foxconn Place in

9 members of Texas Supreme Court do not reflect the demographics of the state

 
9 whites, 8 non-Hispanic.

Photo:  Texas Supreme Court
Headline:  Dallas Morning News "Breaking News email
The Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Dallas-area woman’s abortion late Friday night after a judge permitted the procedure in an emergency hearing only a day earlier. 
Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned the state’s highest court to stay the lower court’s ruling in one of the first lawsuits brought by a pregnant person seeking an abortion since the state banned the procedure in nearly all cases after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Related post:

Friday, December 8, 2023

GET ME REWRITE: One-man clown show Vivek Ramasmarmy flirts with a third-party run

 
Top headline and graphic:  New York Times, 12/7/2023
Bottom headlineDes Moines Register, 12/8/2023
Campaign operatives for Ramaswamy attended a local party event this week, and Ramaswamy has had conversations with two Iowa Libertarian officials, including one instance where he expressed interest in joining the ticket, one of those officials confirmed. 
Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author who in 2004 voted for a Libertarian presidential candidate, has openly criticized Republican leadership and policy as he seeks the party's presidential nomination in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. 
But he has struggled to gain traction in Iowa and other early states, Ramaswamy's potential defection to a third-party ticket could shake up an election that already contains several independent hopefuls.

Other 'smarmy posts:
November 2023
Based on the August hoopla over Vivek Ramaswamy's candidacy, that 'something new' is a younger version of Trump

October 2023

Day 1135 of GOP election denial hysteria (Trump Big Lie Clown Show Circus, January 6 insurrectionist edition)

 
ATTACK Of the Clown Show zombies
Starring January 6th insurrectionist
Alan Hostetter
Headline: NPR, 12/7/2023
A retired California police chief, who led pro-Trump protests and called for "traitors" in government to be "executed as an example," was sentenced to 135 months — just over 11 years — in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.  
After representing himself at his trial earlier this year, Alan Hostetter was convicted of conspiring to obstruct Congress' certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory, bringing a hatchet onto Capitol grounds, and disorderly conduct. While Hostetter joined the mob on the steps of the Capitol, he stopped short of entering the building and did not assault police officers during the riot. 
"This defendant's conduct was terrorism," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mariano, who argued that Hostetter's lengthy career in law enforcement meant he should have known better.



Related posts:
Day 938 (Doug McLinko)
Day 942 (Glenn Youngkin)
Day 944  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 945 (Jeff Serdy)
Day 946 (Todd Graybill)
Day 947 (Kyle Ardoin)
Day 949 (Frank LaRose)
Day 951 (Garland Favorito)
Day 952 (Doug Logan)
Day 954 (Brian Pritchard)
Day 955 (David Cross)
Day 956 (Suzi Voyles)
Day 957 (Josh McKoon)
Day 958 (David Whipple)
Day 960 (Joe Oltmann)
Day 961 (Theresa Manzella)
Day 962 (Sandra Merchant)
Day 964 (Stuart Hadlund)
Day 965 (Kari Lake)
Day 966  (Andro Lerario)
Day 971 (Jason Snead)
Day 982  (Joseph Mastroianni)
Day 983 (Mike Lindell)
Day 984 (Robert Sutherland)
Day 985 (Charlie Kirk)
Day 992  (Stan Grot)
Day 996 (Tim O'Hare)
Day 998  (Shawnna Bolick)
Day 999 (Dave Williams)
Day 1000 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1003  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1004 (Dinesh D'Souza)
Day 1005  (Sonny Borrelli)
Day 1006 (Daire Rendon)
Day 1007 (70% of GOP voters)
Day 1011 (Peter Bernegger)
Day 1013 (Sidney Powell)
Day 1015 (Matt Maddock)
Day 1016 (Nick Sherman)
Day 1017  (Boris Epshteyn)
Day 1019 (Rudy Giuliani)
Day 1020 (Eric Burlison)
Day 1025  (Mark Finchem)
Day 1026 (Brian Schimming)
Day 1027 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1030 (David Whipple)
Day 1031 (Jeffrey Clark, John Eastman) 
Day 1032 (Joe Oltmann)
Day 1033 (Kari Lake)
Day 1035 (Abe Hamadeh)
Day 1037 (Douglas Frank)
Day 1039 (Warren Daniel)
Day 1040 (Craig Berland)
Day 1041 (Jason Frazier)
Day 1042 (Tina Peters)
Day 1044 (Meshawn Maddock)
Day 1046  (Jim Womack)
Day 1049 (Devin LeMahieu)
Day 1051 (Shawn Still)
Day 1053 (Ron DeSantis)
Day 1054  (Kristina Karamo)
Day 1055 (Cathy Latham)
Day 1056 (Kari Lake)
Day 1057  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1059 (Warren Daniel)
Day 1064 (Mike Thompson)
Day 1065 (Scott Hall)
Day 1069  (Janel Brandtjen)
Day 1072 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1074 (Sharon Hewitt)
Day 1081 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1082 (Amanda Jennings Smith)
Day 1083 (Kari Lake)
Day 1084 (Bob Bachenberg)
Day 1085 (Sidney Powell)
Day 1086 (Kenneth Chesebro)
Day 1087 (Gym Jordan)
Day 1088 (Mike Lindell)
Day 1089 (Tom Emmer)
Day 1090 (Mike Johnson)
Day 1091 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1094 (Jim Marchant)
Day 1095 (Donald Trump)
Day 1096 (Mike Johnson)
Day 1097 (Seth Keshel)
Day 1098 (Doug Basler)
Day 1099 (Amy Kremer)
Day 1100 (Gabrielle Hanson)
Day 1101 (Mike Lindell) 
Day 1102 (Harrison Flo\yd)
Day 1103 (Steve Scalise)
Day 1104 (Kari Lake)
Day 1105 (Deborah Flora)
Day 1107 (Rick Weible) 
Day 1110 (Jenna Ellis)
Day 1112  (Dan Scorvino)
Day 1114 (Mark Zuckerberg)
Day 1115 (Patrick Henry)
Day 1116  (Jim DeMint)
Day 1117 (Peg Cage)
Day 1118  (Sonny Borrelli)
Day 1119 (Kristina Karamo)
Day 1121 (Ron Hanks)
Day 1122 (Tom Crosby, Peggy Judd)
Day 1123 (Nancy Landry)
Day 1124 (Ken Buck)
Day 1125 (Burt Jones)
Day 1128 (Kari Lake)
Day 1129 (Cleta Mitchell)
Day 1132 (Klete Keller)
Day 1133 (Andrew Hitt)