“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.”
– Faux-President Donald Trump, from a golf course, upon hearing that the vote recount in Pennsylvania has put Biden over the requisite 270 mark
Filed under News
“In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America. With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.”
– President-Elect Joe Biden
Filed under News
It’s almost over, people! The 2020 U.S. presidential election is almost done. I can see the light of sanity peering above the horizon; struggling and gasping as it may be. But it’s here. As with just about everything else this year, it certainly can’t arrive soon enough.
As of this moment, it appears Joe Biden will be the nation’s 46th Chief Executive. I was more excited when I got the battery replaced in my truck back in July. I’ve never felt so disillusioned with a political campaign as I have these past few months. I mean, here’s what we had in our two principal choices: a narcissistic autocrat and an antiquitous swamp creature. Try to choose the lesser of two evils amidst that morass!
Yet, I still feel optimistic about one thing: democracy seems to be functioning nicely in the United States; the nation that has promoted itself as “The Beacon” of freedom for more than a century. Despite all of the hateful rhetoric and angry Twitter-speak, I see a semblance of hope in our future. People are lamenting the lengthy recounts in some states, but that means enough citizens decided to exercise their right to vote more than their right to watch television and either mailed in a ballot or stood in line at the polls. I was able to walk in and out of a nearby voting facility with no problem last week. I ignored the slew of political signs glutting the grounds around the place and a local newspaper’s “recommendations” for whom I should vote. (I have a better idea! I recommend said newspaper let ME decide!)
As expected, faux-President Donald Trump hasn’t conceded and has already launched a series of lawsuits to stop the various ongoing recounts. He and his minions had tried to suppress the vote all year long. And, as with conservative attempts to undermine Barack Obama’s presidency, THEY FAILED! They couldn’t stop the vote! They just couldn’t. New-age voter suppression tactics – equally anticipated from the right-wing – didn’t play out.
Conservatives have always tried to undermine the voting process. Grandfather clauses and poll taxes segued into fire hoses and violent police officers in the 20th century. That then morphed into voter ID laws, cutting the number of early voting days, limiting voting places and – finally – to sabotaging the entire postal system. And, just like many White southerners have been fighting the U.S. Civil War for over 150 years and STILL haven’t won, right-wing extremists STILL couldn’t stop people from voting this year!
The post-election violence forecast by many hasn’t materialized. Yes, a number of folks on all sides have been protesting. But that belies an incredible number: 160 million. That’s the estimated number of people who voted this year; the highest number since 1900. Considering that more people aged 18-25 voted in the first season of “American Idol” than in the 2000 presidential election, it’s phenomenal!
Thus, democracy is working for us here in the United States. The system is still imperfect, of course, but it’s operating as intended. As tough as it’s been this year, that’s a good thing.
Now, damnit, let’s not see or hear another political ad for at least another year!
Filed under Essays
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. If you go out and make good things happen, you fill the world with hope. And in doing so, you will fill yourself with hope.”
Filed under History
Noun
Latin, 17th century
That which is sought; the answer to a problem.
Example: Our most likely quaesitum to these elections is to remain calm and stop listening to all those political cretins in the media.
Filed under News
“Militia groups and other armed nonstate actors pose a serious threat to the safety and security of American voters.”
– Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nonprofit organization that researches political violence and has tracked more than 80 extremist groups in recent months. The project’s report said Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Oregon “are at highest risk of increased militia activity in the election and post-election period.”
“Could the election devolve into civil war? Unlikely. “But look at World War I: Some worthless, low-level archduke gets assassinated and things escalate out of control. I’ve got people who are concerned that all it would take is a close election and some cheating.”
– Drew Miller, founder of a network of members-only survivalist camps
“The right is not going to give up their power unless they feel threatened. People are opening up to the idea that a riot is the language of the unheard. Property destruction is not violence.”
– Olivia Katbi Smith, a co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America in Portland
“We’re talking about violence in U.S. elections, and that’s insane. This is a real threat, and we have seen increased confidence among the militias.”
– Lisa Kaplan, the chief executive of the Alethea Group, a Washington company that tracks disinformation efforts
“I don’t want to amplify the voices of extremists because the last thing we want is to help them create fear and anxiety. But people need to know there is real concern, that these are the perfect conditions for extremists to try to create chaos.”
– Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism
“I just can’t get product. It seems like 30 million people went out and bought guns. We call suppliers and distributors and they just don’t have any product. Our selection is just terrible.”
– Nate Gerheim, general manager and gunsmith at the Shooters Bench in Russellton, Pennsylvania, about the increased number of recent firearm purchases
“Violence is not popular at all. But even five percent is millions of people, and it only takes a few people to create chaos.”
– Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at the University of Maryland
Filed under News
“We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.”
– Mark Meadows, White House Chief of staff, on CNN
“One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community, which is mostly Democrat, is that President Trump’s policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about. But he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.”
– Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, on “Fox & Friends”
“We’ll have to see if it’s a problem, right? People are entitled to say maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn’t.”
– Donald Trump, on an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer by right-wing extremists
“Because women, suburban or otherwise, they want security. They want security. They want safety. They want law and order. They have to have law and order, and we’re gonna do great. And I love women, and I can’t help it. They’re the greatest. I love them much more than the men. Much more than the men. So I’m saving suburbia. I’m getting your kids back to school, get your kids back to school. And you know what else? I’m also getting your husbands — they wanna get back to work, right? They wanna get back to work. We’re getting your husbands back to work, and everybody wants it.”
– Donald Trump, at a rally in Michigan
Filed under News
“Throughout this pandemic, physicians, nurses, and frontline health care workers have risked their health, their safety and their lives to treat their patients and defeat a deadly virus. They did it because duty called and because of the sacred oath they took. Physicians and patients are all making remarkable sacrifices and we continue urging all to wear a mask, physical distance and wash your hands to reduce suffering, illness and death.”
– Dr. Susan R. Bailey, President – American Medical Association, responding to President Donald Trump’s claim that doctors exaggerate the number COVID-19 patients for the sake of profit
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