"Cultural Issues" (opens in separate window)

a republic, if you can keep it

friday, august 14th, 2020

Florida’s hanging chads from the 2000 Bush vs Gore contest will look like a walk in the park compared to what it will take to declare a winner this year.

COVID-19 has completely upended how votes are cast and counted. It is inevitable that in competitive states such as Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania delays will happen in getting to the final tally. This is why it is so critical that election officials, starting with Secretaries of State, make it convenient to vote and put in place proper safeguards from the start.

Understandably, Pew Research found that most Americans (64%) favor their state allowing all voters to vote by mail or absentee ballot. The challenge is the discussion has been oversimplified as either “mail or absentee voting is good” or “mail or absentee voting is bad.” The reality is that few states have experience with mail-in elections. Going into 2020, only four states conducted all mail-in elections, and it took them years to refine the process, secure the proper equipment, and train officials.

As we have seen in state elections this year, states that have done it right provide voters with trustworthy voting and timely results. Yet, states that have done it wrong raise legitimate concerns and delay results.

In New York, two outcomes offer insights on what are plausible scenarios in the general election. First, multiple weeks after the primaries occurred, there were still three contests for U.S. House that a winner had not been officially.

Second, in the Special Election in the 27th congressional District, the Republican, Chris Jacobs, led 70-28% on Election Night. Weeks later with nearly all the mail-in votes counted, his lead is 53 - 45%.

The logical conclusion is that, at this point, Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on mail or absentee voting. A prominent Republican pollster, Glen Bolger, recently tweeted: “Yikes—just finished a statewide survey in a swing state. The quarter of the voters who plan to vote by mail or absentee break 15% Trump/75% Biden on the Pres. ballot. Republicans are skeptical about voting by mail, and that is a problem up and down the ballot.”

Let’s fast forward to the fall election. A recent USA Today article cited the conclusions of Greg Miller, co-founder and chief operations officer of the OSET Institute, a research firm developing open source technology. “Short of a landslide, it’s possible no one will know who won the White House on Nov. 4. If it’s very close, the count could go to Thanksgiving—or longer.”

Now, connect the dots on a very plausible scenario. On Election Night, President Trump is ahead and winning in the Electoral College. Trump and Republicans are elated. Democrats and the media pundits who have made it clear they are for Biden caution that votes which have not been counted – mail-in and absentees—could well change things.

Late on Election Night, President Trump declares victory, asks Biden to concede victory in the interests of bringing the country together. Biden refuses.

Days turn into weeks, and the 600 lawyers already hired by the Biden campaign are in courts doing whatever it takes to advantage his candidacy. Biden slowly crawls from his deficit and starts to take over states, mostly ones run by Democrats. At some point, Biden decides he has won and demands President Trump concede. This leaves America with the nine Justices of the US Supreme Court deciding which ballots are counted and which are not.

There is only one conclusion to be reached here. The 2020 election will put a strain on the very foundations of our democracy. Unless Americans are prepared to have another Presidential election decided by the courts, we need our election officials to do what it takes to assure we have an election that is safe, fair, and honest. The words of Benjamin Franklin have never rung truer. When asked by a group of citizens what sort of government the delegates to the Constitutional Convention had created, he replied "A republic, if you can keep it.”

© 8.08.2020 by David Avella, "Townhall.com".

A Day In The Life.

Up at 7:30a on Friday, it was already 72° outside – had a couple smokes in the garage while the coffee brewed, did my DR (Type 1 Diabetic Routine - Blood Sugar Level Test and Sliding-Scale Insulin Shot), applied the CBD Hemp Ointment to my neck, shoulder and lower back, had Soft-Boiled Eggs w/ Toast In a Bowl, for breakfast, and checked the weather and news.

I had errands to do, so I went food shopping, to the bank to deposit some checks, the USPS to get stamps and out into the country to just ride and enjoy the Jeep HEMI. The skies opened-up and poured, so I headed back home to unload and get some lunch. 2½" in less than 45mins! After lunch, I grabbed a 2½hr nap, and started watching History's incredibly-well-made Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation Marathon, until dinner. Afterward. I continued with the series, until 11p, and unplugged for the night.

I slept-in until 10a on Saturday, did the usual morning routines of DR, coffee and breakfast, and finally got some of the piling-up paperwork on my office-sunroom, done. It was only 68° outside, but humid, so I fired-up the garage's dehumidifier and Dyson Cooler, and relaxed with a few smokes and coffee. I had no errands to get done, so I stayed-inside and finished-up that niggling pile of crap paperwork. It was another NBC (Nothing But Crap) day for CATV, so I watched some reruns of "Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation" until 11:30p, and quit for the night.

Up at 7:30a on Sunday, I decided to "cave" and watch the F-1 Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, so I did the usual morning routines, made Avocado Toast w/ Sunny Side-Up Egg for breakfast, had a new 2lb bag of Kona Hawaiian Estate Coffee opened, and relaxed until 9a, when the GP began. (No "CP Show" or "Rush Show" to post today, thankfully.) It runs 2hrs or XX-number of miles, whichever comes first. I watched until 11a, ran some errands, and did the midday DR and lunch.

After lunch, I grabbed a 3hr snooze, did some computer house cleaning work, and watched History's "American Pickers" Marathon until 6p and dinner, then watched a new, well-produced series on History, "Apocalypse Earth" until midnight. Lights out.

I'm not thinking straight. I'm not feeling great. I'm not sleeping too well. I'm not doing what I know I can. I can't help myself. Only time will tell.

I slept-in until 8:45a on Monday, and had to hurry to get the "Chris Plante Show" posted to a new, weekly FR thread. After that, I did the usual routines, and did some quick errands down south to Red Lion, as temps climbed into the 90s. It was already 92° by lunch, so I did the midday DR and had a light one, took a snooze for a couple hours, and did basement condo chores until dinner. Tomorrow, I have to go to a local garden center with 2-3 ladies on the condo board, to advise them on purchasing replacement trees and shrubs. I watched the "American Pickers" Marathon until 11p, and quite for the night.

Up at 6;39a on Tuesday, I just knew the weather would be brutal, again. Two CHCA HOA board members stopped-by, and we drove to a local garden center/nursery, and bought 2 more trees to help replace the 7 which were taken down this Summer, along with other trees from another local nursery. By 10:30a, it was already 88° and the humidity was getting much worse. Back by 11:30, I dropped=off the two HOA ladies, and had to get to Rite Aid to p/u some waiting Rxs. Rite called 2x more, as I was on the way home, but I decided to waiting until tomorrow to p/u the additional Rxs. It's sure be nice if they'd get all my Rxs done at once, and simply place one call, instead of 3-4.

"BREAKING NEWS CRAP" Mentally-ill & unstable, lying plagiarist, dementia-riddled, Lunch Bucket Joey Biden has picked half-breed, mutt-bitch, liar, hypocrite, scumbagette, leftist, nasty, doper, whore (SF Mayor Willie Brown's hosebag), Jew-hater, racist, skank, black-hater and impersonator (she's Jamaican-Indian, NOT black), phony US Sen Kamala (Comrade) Harris (CA), corrupt CA AG, for Lunch Bucket/ Slo-Joe Biden's VP! UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE! The death sentence is revealed.

I had a 2hr nap on the LR couch, after lunch, did condo chores in the basement, dinner and watched Tucker/Hannity/Laura on Fox until 11. Yea sure, I'm watching my diet.

I watched news until midnight, since I have a clear day tomorrow and don't have to get up early, and called it Yankee Doodle, at midnight.

Oversleeping until 8:45a, I hurried to get the "CP Show" daily thread posted, made coffee, did the morning DR and had a light breakfast. 87° outside already at 10a, I had some more Rxs waiting at Rite Aid, so I drove over to get them. Becky called with the sad news that her neighbor's brother, who was 70 with Type 2 Diabetes and a heart bypass, just died at UPMC-Pinnacle ICU, from the Red Chinese CCP Virus Flu, a day ago,which reminded me to be ever so cautious.

I did the midday DR, had an Olive Loaf Sandwich on a French Roll, and started work on some rapidly-piling-up paperwork. It was just too hot, at 94° and 80% humidity, to go out for a smoke. I curled-up on the couch for 2½hrs, and had a half-glass of "Butter" Chardonnay when I woke at 6p. It was another NBC (Nothing But Crap) night on CATV, so I decided to choose some streaming programs I hadn't seem yet.

After the evening DR, I had Member's Mark Smoked and Flame Roasted Norwegian Salmon Slices and Angel Hair Pasta with Avocado and Tomatoes, listened to the computer's 1,000w v5.1 Surround Sound medley of partial 375 YT Song List. It was nice listening to music, and skipping TV. I did watch FoxNews' Tucker, Hannity and Laura until 11p, and called it a day.

Up at 8:30a on Thursday, I got the "CP Show" daily posted to FR, did the morning DR, made coffee and breakfast. I had no errands to run, and with temps only in the mid-80s, but high humidity, I opted to do some gardening and condo chores. Nothing worth a shit on CATV today. "Shark Week" on Discovery all week (who the hell watches that shit?), and just abject crap on History Channels, so after lunch, I grabbed a few hours of sleep on the LR couch, and almost finished-up a pile of paperwork on my office-sunroom desk.

I watched FoxNews' "Tucker", "Hannity" and "Laura" until 11p, and called it a week. Tomorrow, Sherry and I are headed to The York Galleria, to do some laps and get hugs.