#who are you voting for and can i just copy your ballot' so i told him to vote for bernie HDJSDHSFHSN

[bbeelzemon]

I havent really sat down and really talked to (texted) my brother in a while BUT i found out hes playing animal crossing (hes usually not much of a gamer, especially for nintendo games), which im very surprised about because i was literally wondering earlier today if he would even like this game, AND i found out that both him and his girlfriend hold the same political revolutionary ideals that i do! Neat!

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 111

This may be my favorite spooky story of the October, although I admit it is not the best one of the bunch by a long shot. It is a very-shortened and edited version of “Paid Piper” by Tanith Lee, from her collection Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. I don’t own the story in any way, shape, or form beyond owning 2 copies of the aforementioned book (one hardcover, one paperback). I don’t know if the story is in print anymore, but if you can find a copy that is legible, please consider picking it up. The 1983 edition is a retelling of 9 popular fairy tales, and I understand the 2014 edition has an extra one, based on “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”.

Quick shout out to @baelpenrose who had to sit through me writing this and the eventual reveal. ;) you are so patient, lol.

P.S. I am in the U.S, so if you have early voting in your state, please go vote now so you are exposed to fewer people. If you are still able to register to vote, please do. If you can’t vote in person, please vote by mail-in ballot and check local regulations on how to turn it in.

Once everyone stopped laughing, Maverick held up his hand. “I have a story,” he offered. After a brief moment, he accepted silence as permission to speak and started telling his story. 

“In the Muromachi Period, there was a small village named Bodaiju, which lay beside a river. Bodaiju was a prosperous village, for they gave offerings to Tesso in hope that the rats would not ruin each years’ harvest.  One late summer afternoon, the washer-woman’s daughter Himari was stealing a moment to wash her hair while her mother thought she was hard at work.  Himari dreamt of being a priestess in the temple and leading the prayers to Tesso, because the priestesses wore beautiful white robes with wide belts, and never had rough hands like Himari’s were.

“Just as she was wringing out her hair, Himari heard the song of an unusual bird. Following the song, she was surprised to find that it wasn’t a bird at all, but a young man playing a wooden flute.  As he played, animals drew close to him in curiosity, and even the trees seemed to bow closer in order to hear his music.  Himari had seen musicians before - they came every year during the harvest in hopes to earn extra coin by providing the entertainment for the local celebrations.  But none had played such music as the young man before her made now.  Himari’s heart and soul could feel the freedom of the sky and the mountains as he played, and her soul ached to see these things for herself.”

While Maverick wound his story, Simon leaned over to me and whispered, somewhat relieved, “This sounds like a fairy tale.”

I just arched a brow in a way that I hoped he would realize meant Just wait, or at least Really? Are you sure?

Maverick continued. “Without realizing, Himari stepped closer to the musician, snapping a twig beneath her foot as these things happen in stories like this. The music stopped, and the young man looked up at her.  Rather than anger at being interrupted, he was smiling gently. “Who are you?” he asked, as though she were the stranger in this land.

“I am Himari,” she answered. “Who are you?”

“Who do you think I am?”

“I thought it was a bird singing,” she responded, embarrassed. “Before I saw you.”

“The young man kept smiling. “I saw a temple in the distance. Who do you worship here?”

“We pray to Tesso,” Himari confessed, glancing down. “He keeps the rats from ruining our harvest.”

“Does he?” the musician asked before standing to walk away.

“Suddenly terrified, although she couldn’t say why, Himari turned as well and ran in the opposite direction, toward home. Even while her mother scolded her for being lazy, Himari felt she would rather be standing there than be back in that clearing in the woods.

“That night, Himari thought of the young musician. She berated herself for not getting his name, for not insisting he tell her where he was coming from or travelling to.  She berated herself even harder for being afraid of him with no reason.”

Beside me, Simon groaned as he realized what was happening.  Charly grinned viciously as she and Tyche rose to their feet to go back to pumpkin gutting, Conor and Coffey closely behind them.

Maverick raised his voice so they could hear, winking at our partner as the other man realized that Maverick couldn’t tell the story and work at the same time. “The festival of the harvest was three weeks later, and every night Himari thought of the musician. Would he be one of the entertainers playing that year, in the grand homes of the rich men in the village?  Even as she donned the snow-white robes and berry-red sash of a temple maiden - as all girls in the village were until they turned sixteen - she could not think of Tesso, or the fine clothes she was wearing instead of washing.  She could not even think of how rough her hands were when she touched the silk of her robes.

“She could only think of the nameless young man.

“As all the temple-maidens lined up behind the shrouded statue of Tesso that would be carried through the fields by the young men of the village, a familiar tune drifted on the breeze.  As faint as the music was, Himari could hear it as though it were played in her very ear.  Soon, the entire village could hear the beautiful music that swelled impossibly from a single wooden flute, played by a single young man in travelling clothes.  Himari forced herself not to gasp, not to look as though she had met him before.

“Blustering, the mayor asked the musician what he was doing, as the village had already paid for entertainment during the procession. “I only ask to play for your village,” the young man. “For the honor and joy of your people, for the prosperity of your harvest.”

“And you would charge us less than those we have already paid?” the mayor asked.

“I only ask that you pay me what I deserve.”

“After much haggling, during which the musician would only ask to be paid what he deserved, the mayor finally relented - not admitting that there were no other entertainers that year.  And so the procession began: first through the streets of Bodaiju, then over the river and into the fields.  For minutes, or hours, or days, the village marched and danced without feeling weary, without aching feet, following the nameless musician.  That day, the sun seemed to stand still in the sky as they celebrated their harvest for what felt like lifetime upon lifetime.

“But, eventually, every path within the village and every row in every field had been marched and danced upon, and the sun seemed to be upon the horizon after no time at all and an eternity.  The mayor, no less tired than when they began, turned to the musician. “I was wrong about you, young man,” he said. “I have never felt so well after a festival, and you deserve to be rewarded for all your hard work.  Whatever you want, in gold if you like.” Other men in the village clamoured to sweeten the deal, offering bread, honey, wine, fine cuts of meat, and the like.

“But the young man shook his head. “I want none of that,” he told them.

“Surely you didn’t play for free?”

“What I want is better than gold, or wine, or beef,” the musician told them. “I only want your hearts.”

“Incredulous, the mayor started laughing. “Our hearts?” he asked. “Our love? You are a stranger to us. Take our gold, our wine, even our finest horse, but we cannot love a stranger to our village.”

“Unphased, the young man shook his head. “If you will not give me your hearts willingly, then I will take them,” he promised.  Immediately, the men and women of the village began jeering the man, who no longer looked young at all. Stones were thrown at him behind slurs, both striking with sharp accuracy. With a sad smile, the man turned and began to leave the village, and though his flute was in his hand by his side, the music he had played for them echoed on the wind.  With a great chorus of baying and howling, no sooner had the no-longer-young man reached the gate of the village, than every dog from every home bounded after him with the ropes that bound them trailing.

“The air chilled as silence fell over the villagers, now as frightened as Himari had been when she met the man that first time by the river.  In the days and weeks after, Bodaiju was nearly silent and no one dared speak above a whisper.  Children were kept close to their mothers, even as siblings told each other that the musician would come back and eat their hearts if they misbehaved.

“However, as time does, months passed and nobody was found with their heart missing. Lovers still met in secret, and couples still married.  It seemed nothing had really changed in Bodaiju, the curse upon the village nothing but an empty threat.  Over the course of the winter, it was forgotten entirely.

“When summer began, and the first of the births that always followed the festival was stillborn, Bodaiju suddenly remembered the musician’s curse. By the end of the summer, no children had been born crying, and many mothers hearts were broken.  By the end of that year, there were no more births at all, and as the children of the village grew to be adults, no more laughter could be found in Bodaiju.  In the summer of Himari’s twentieth year, the river that watered their abundant crops dried up, and those that could left the village.  Even now, you will find Bodaiju on no map, and none whose family come from there, for the curse of a musician who could find no kind people in a village beside a river. All that remains the tale of Bodaiju, shared by those who left the village.”

Arthur leaned back and rested his weight on his hands as Maverick finished the story. “That’s…. Actually a terrifying idea,” he admitted, seemingly impressed.

Simon groaned again and rubbed his face briskly. “At least if that one was true, it happened a long time ago,” he sighed. “Much less terrifying that way.”

“Because the idea that a mysterious stranger could cause every person in a small village to spontaneously become sterile is so far from reality,” Grey intoned solemnly, gesturing at all of us.  Maverick and I both snickered, but Simon paled when he realized the irony. They gave us a small smile before continuing. “I honestly feel badly for the young man… He just wanted to be loved for who he was.”

“Are you kidding!?” Charly called over. “That didn’t give him the right to take all the dogs!”

That set Arthur chuckling. “Because stealing the dogs was the worst thing he did in that story. Certainly not magical mass-infanticide.”

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[redrobinhoood]

no choir | chapter 9, to be still

AO3 Link | 2200 words (approx) | Chapter 1, Chapter 8, Chapter 10

Chapter Summary: Riyo, Fox, Jek, and Thire find a moment to talk about the future and to reflect on the past

Riyo glanced back into her living room, taking note of the steady rise and fall of Fox’s chest in the light of the sunset that streamed through the window. He was turned away from her, staring out onto the city, nearly silhouetted in the light. She checked the temperature of the stove a last time before walking over to the couch and sinking into the material beside Fox.

“How does it feel?” She asked as she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her head over his sternum so that she could hear his heartbeat.

“Boring. What do beings do all day?” He tenderly wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, keeping his other hand pressed against his torso. None of the painkillers Riyo had were of the potency that he needed.

“Guess we’ll find out. I’m officially off the Pantoran ballot now.”

Fox sighed and leaned his head against hers. “It feels like a betrayal.”

Riyo knew that he was speaking for them both. “Yes, it does.”

They sat in silence, watching the sunlight bounce between the glassy windows of Coruscant in a kaleidoscope of warm color. Riyo would almost be sad to leave it behind. Almost. She couldn’t help but see every building as a potential sniper perch waiting to be filled. Then she reminded herself that every assassin so far had failed. She was still alive; Fox was still alive.

There was a knock on the door, and Riyo rose to answer. She ushered the two stormtroopers inside, trying to ignore the gasp of shock from one of them. She shut the door.

“Hey, Thire.” Fox’s voice carried across the room to them.

“I thought you were dead.”

Riyo turned around to watch the men embrace, cringing at the sound of discomfort Fox made when Thire wrapped his arms around him.

“I thought I was too.”

Riyo stepped forward so that she stood next to Jek, who had remained relatively in the doorway, and threw an arm around his waist, pulling him in for a side hug. “Thank you.”

“I did my duty, Riyo. Nothing more.” He looked from his brothers to her. “What are you going to do now?”

“Return to Pantora, then find some backwater planet where they won’t recognize us.”

“What biome?”

“Why?”

“So I know where to picture you two in my head.”

Riyo looked up sadly at Jek. She felt some of the pain that Fox did at leaving behind his brothers. She’d have given almost anything to take Jek and Thire with them, more if she could’ve freed the whole Guard. They had been like family to her before the Republic fell. “Some form of forest. Somewhere with trees.”

Jek nodded. “That sounds lovely.”

Riyo turned her attention back to Fox and Thire. She remembered a different time when Thire was here. When they had first learned of the mole, the night she had almost lost Fox and had fallen asleep with the two men on the couch. That had been a year ago. That night had been full of pain. Today, watching the way the men clung to each other as if they were the other’s lifeline, she felt a small rise of hope.

---

Fox sat down gingerly at the small table that was pushed into the far corner of the kitchen. There was the light touch of Riyo’s hand on his shoulder, but she didn’t reach out to help him down. She knew that he was determined to be self-sufficient once more. Across the table from Fox, Jek was hesitantly raising a spoonful of soup to his mouth. Fox grinned at the perplexed look on Jek’s face at the empty spoon lowered.

“It has flavor.” Jek managed.

The other three beings laughed, though Fox found his cut short by a stabbing pain in his chest. Too much too soon.

“Yes, it does.” Riyo grinned. Fox loved to see her life this; relaxed, smiling, getting along with his brothers. He couldn’t imagine how she saw them. Did she see the same face copied and pasted with varying hairstyles like most beings did, or could she tell each one apart by the small quirks in their mannerisms? Fox was certain it was the latter. She could tell them apart in uniform, helmetless should be no problem.

“I don’t know what to think.” Jek laughed. He’d had soup before, they’d all had, and he’d on occasion eaten outside of the dining hall, Fox had taken him and Thire for caf at Mariela and Sienn’s café, but to the best of Fox’s knowledge Jek had never had any soup outside of the tasteless protein-water that passed as soup in the barracks dining halls.

“It’s very good.” Thire swooped in to cover for Jek. He was less shocked by the flavor, having occasionally eaten with Fox and Riyo over the past years throughout their investigation into the mole. “Thank you, Riyo.”

“Anything for the Commanding Officer of the Guard.” Riyo raised her drink to Thire, who slowly raised his own to touch hers. “I read the bulletin that went out this morning.”

“You deserve it, Thire. You have my utter faith that you’re the man for the job.” Fox raised his glass to join the other two. “Make sure someone keeps me updated on how well you’re doing in a few months.” While Fox still felt the guilt of leaving behind his brothers, it had lessened from before when it had been fully his choice, and he felt more at ease knowing for certain that Thire would take his place. He would have been comfortable leaving most of his staff officers in charge, but if he’d had a choice, it would’ve been Thire. He was the only commander on the guard who had not been designated such by the Kaminoans, earning his rank through his own prowess. Fox couldn’t think of a better man in these times.

Thire looked down sheepishly. “I could never replace you, Fox.”

“Don’t. The office is yours. Make it yours, and don’t worry about the things that I’ve done.”

Jek spoke up from behind a full spoon of soup. “Fox, this is exactly the inspirational osik that he’s talking about. Is he like this with you too, Riyo?”

“No comment.” She laughed. “He’s right though, do keep in touch.”

“We will.” Jek promised. “So, Thire, how are you going to make the office yours?”

"Well, I’ll increase your workload for one.”

Jek laughed, but his grin quickly faded when Thire didn’t laugh with him. “You’re serious.”

Thire took a slow, dramatic sip of soup before he answered. “I think I’m going to take us back to a three-commander system. Me, Jek, and Captain Seeley.”

“You’re promoting me?”

“But you hate Captain Seeley.”

Thire scoffed at his brothers and moved his spoon around in the soup. “Seeley will keep me in line. Besides, having a nat-born in command will bring a new perspective.”

“Is this what the Emperor wants?” Riyo asked.

“The Emperor doesn’t know yet.” There was a hint of rebellion in his voice. “I don’t plan on asking his permission either. The paperwork has already been signed anyways, it’ll be official tomorrow.”

Fox scoffed. “You’re turning into me, Thire.”

“I suppose.” Thire looked to his brother. “Fox?”

“Thire?”

“What happened when we went to talk to the Emperor?”

Fox bit the inside of his lip in concern. “We told him and Lord Vader about the mole, then we decided to further discuss it in the morning. He dismissed me but asked you to stay behind.”

“I don’t remember that. I remember walking in the door, then I woke up on his couch. Darth Vader was there?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t….” Thire’s voice trailed off as his brow knit into a look of concentration.

"Thire?” Riyo reached across the table to lay a hand on his arm.

Thire scoffed and shook his head. “I thought I had something. It’s gone now.”

Fox was horrified when he realized that he couldn’t tell whether Thire was lying or not. Before, he had always known Thire’s thoughts. Now, he realized that Thire really was turning into him. He would’ve been upset if he wasn’t so proud of him.

“There is one thing I do remember, from after you left. The Emperor and Darth Vader know about you two. They’ve known for a while now.”

Fox’s breath caught in his throat.

“He’s lying.” Riyo gasped.

“Vader had a hologram. He showed me it. I didn’t remember until that night or I would’ve said something earlier. But now, Riyo, you can’t let them know that he’s alive. Staying home from the Senate, working odd hours, everything that you’ve done over the past few days, this needs to become your routine for the next month.”

Riyo nodded tersely. “I can do that.”

“Ri.” Fox found his voice.

“I can, Fox.” She turned to him. “Let me protect you for once.”

“What about my new CT number?” Fox turned to Jek. “Can I go with her?”

“I’ve already ‘killed’ CT-5851, Fox. Improperly stored munitions, there was no body and no way he, you, could have survived.”

“I can’t do nothing!”

“You are literally regrowing an organ, Fox. That’s not nothing.” Jek shot back. “You gotta be able to eat solid foods before you throw down with the Emperor.”

“Fox, I’ll be fine.” Riyo threw her arm over Fox’s shoulder and leaned against him, rubbing her hand down his arm in an attempt to calm his outburst. “I’ll be here with you for most of it anyways. I just need to clean my office and perhaps say goodbye to old friends in the Senate, the few that are left. There’s no votes being held this month, maybe a few private meetings but I don’t have much of a reason to be in the Senate now anyways.”

Thire spoke up again. “I’ll give her an escort, Fox. One of the boys who she knows. We’ll keep her safe.”

Fox looked back and forth between the three of them. “Okay. I give in.”

“When have we ever let you down?” Jek asked.

Fox shook his head and reached for his glass of water in response, letting the conversation continue without his input, allowing the opportunity to recite the list to him slip away.

---

Riyo took a deep breath as she stepped off the ramp of the starship, breathing in the air of her homeworld for the first time in forever. She wanted to close her eyes and let the chilly air envelop her, but she had one last duty to perform.

There was so much she wanted to say to the new senator. So many things. How to navigate the personal ambitions of the other senators, finding like-minded beings that share your desires, how to avoid burnout, where the Pantoran market on Coruscant was if one ever missed home, knowing which tasks were trivial and which would prove to be vital, all of the knowledge and wisdom Riyo had accumulated over the past four years. But she couldn’t. She was to greet the senator this one time and then the stormtrooper guard were to escort them immediately back to Coruscant. Not a moment for mentoring. Not a moment for sentimentality. She had been told that it was to minimize danger to the two of them after the failed assassination attempt that had taken the life of Commander Fox. But she knew better. Thire had let slip something beyond her worst nightmare on her last day in the Senate before swearing her to secrecy. The new secret burdened her shoulders every time she looked at the stormtrooper who currently stood on her left side. He could never know that the man who he had placed his utter trust in was the same man who had ordered his death. Riyo had found herself to be thankful for the Emperor’s treachery in that it had saved Fox’s life. But she knew that he wouldn’t see it the same way.

She shook hands with the young man who stepped up to greet her. They’d barely had time to exchange formalities before they were both being moved away. Riyo nearly protested before the light touch of Jek’s hand on her arm pulled her back to reality. She almost reached out for Fox, not realizing that in the heat of the moment that he had slipped away.

Once she was inside the statehouse she did reach out to Jek. All sentimental goodbyes had already been said out of the sight of other beings, but she clasped his hand tightly as she shook it.

“Thank you, Commander, for everything.”

“It’s been my honor, ma’am.” She was no longer a senator.

She stood where he had left her as she watched her escort march away. Back to Coruscant, back to the Empire. As she watched the painted pauldron fade out of sight in the crowd of white plastoid she hoped that they weren’t marching back to their graves.

If one less stormtrooper escorted the new senator to Coruscant, nobody noticed.

[boopboopboopbadoop]

Righteous Karens At The Polls

Ok, so local/state primaries were yesterday. I did a bunch of research and presented my notes on each candidate to my family. After some discussion, we decided to use my sample ballot. My stepdad even met us at the polls because he, too, wanted to copy off my sample ballot. You know you’re finally an adult when instead of reading off your parents’ ballots, they read off of yours.

But anyway, this is only the preface to the bigger story.

So we get to the polls and the sign in lady is really really mean and my mom is kinda seething, but we’re all just like whatever. There are no tables like usual because covid, so we all find a booth and I unfold my sample ballot and we get bubbling. Then we hear this screeching and it takes us a second to realize we’re the ones being screeched at FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM!

The mean sign in lady, in the rudest tone of voice she could possibly muster, screamed across the room. “EXCYOOSE ME! EXKYOOSE ME! YOU CAN’T HELP HER! YOU CAN’T HELP HER!” (this was not righteous yelling or simple yelling to get attention. This was filled with venom. And it was making a scene.)

My mom tries to quickly and calmly remind her what we told her when we walked in. We’re a family.

The lady keeps screeching at us. I’m like whatever I’m already done have fun guys (because again, the stupid thing is, they WEREN’T helping me. I was helping them.)

So I’m waiting to submit my ballot and knowing the supervisor of elections is going to get a letter. Because there’s never been a problem with us sharing a booth before (maybe it’s because we don’t usually vote with my stepdad?) and covid regulations don’t apply because we’re a family. And even if there’s always been a problem and just nobody has noticed, we would have been fine with a nicer correction. If somebody had come up and said “excuse me y'all, I don’t know of a statute about this, but we were told that it’s one per booth” we would have gladly dispersed and even apologized for the oversight! But no! This cantankerous old lady decided to yell at us like we’re 3 years old across the room and make a scene. I get it, maybe sometimes parents try to coerce their children into voting a certain way, but that was very obviously not the case as I showed her from the very beginning that I had the sample ballot, and also a simple tap on the shoulder and an “excuse me?” would have worked just fine!

And as soon as I heard my mom whisper “This is not going to end well”, I knew the Karen was going to come out.

You see, my mom has the capacity to behave like the ultimate Karen. She has the other Karens quaking in their boots. But here’s the catch. She only does it when one of us has actually been legitimately wronged and/or the employee has ACTUALLY crossed a line. So she also has righteous anger on her side.

I try to go with her, but she tells me to wait in the lobby with my stepdad, so we’re just out there like “do do do do do...” while we can hear her yelling at the nasty old lady, who turns out is the supervisor (who apparently has the very appropriate last name of Crab), so she’s asking for the higher supervisor. That bitch wants to make a scene? Then my mom will make a scene, see how she likes it.

So we finally leave and then we get held up by the poll watcher, who informs us that this is not a new problem, and then the assistant supervisor of elections WHO HAPPENED TO BE THERE joins her like wtf happened here and I had trouble not laughing as I listened to my mom fight to censor our preferred insult of “cantankerous old bitch” into “mean old biddy”.

TL;DR: My entire family got yelled at by a cantankerous old bitch at the polls for something we weren’t actually doing.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

At 106, MacCene Grimmett is one of the oldest voters in the state of Utah. Though women didn’t have the right to vote when she was born in 1913, by the time she was of voting age, the 19th Amendment had passed. She has voted in every election since, she told her local Fox affiliate, including the Utah County municipal general election last November.

But that time, the centenarian cast her ballot in a novel way: She voted via an app.

America is 174 days away from a presidential election. It’s also in the middle of a pandemic that upended normal life, requiring mass shutdowns and social distancing. Those two things don’t exactly jive.

Having millions of Americans stand in crowded polling places for hours to cast a ballot on Election Day sounds like the makings of a public health disaster — especially if there is a second surge of COVID-19 infections in the fall, as some experts predict. So now, election officials are looking for ways to hold elections remotely. One option that has been proposed is voting via an app on a smartphone or electronic device, just like Grimmett did last fall (though so far, states seem to only be considering this option for certain groups of voters, such as voters with disabilities).

It seems like an obvious solution: With so much of our daily lives now virtual, why couldn’t our elections be moved online too?

Voting online or via an app has even been tested in small elections a handful of times, but election security experts and even the founder of one of the most prominent voting apps on the market, Voatz, say there’s a laundry list of reasons why this technology isn’t ready for prime time. (Not to mention the fact that 19 percent of Americans still don’t have a smartphone, and as many as 21.3 million Americans still lack access to broadband internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission.)1

“I don’t know what I can say to explain this better: This is an incredibly dangerous idea,” said Mike Specter, a computer science Ph.D. student at MIT who has researched voting technology.

Specter told me there are a number of security and privacy concerns with voting online, which includes voting via an app, and that no technology so far has been able to solve these issues.

For starters, there is currently no way to ensure that each individual voter’s device is secure. Malware covertly installed on a voter’s phone could potentially alter the voter’s ballot or prevent it from being properly transmitted, Specter said. And even if the device is clean, election security experts say there are too many steps required to ensure that the ballot a voter submits online is the one actually counted. With a paper ballot, a voter marks their vote by hand and can visually verify it’s correct. A hard copy is also retained, which can then be audited. But with a digital vote, there are many steps that can create a gap between the vote cast and the vote counted.

“If you think about it, we have several versions of what that vote is and there is no way to verify that all those versions are the same,” said Duncan Buell, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina. “We have one version, which is what the voter sees in the form. We have another version, which is what gets transmitted by the software. We have a third version, which is the version that gets received by the storage system and then we have another version, which is what gets printed out and tallied by the election officials.”

And if the vote is intercepted at any point in that chain, there is no way to verify that a change had been made. It’d be like passing your paper ballot down a chain of strangers and trusting that nobody adjusted it before the vote was counted.

For the Utah County municipal election in which Grimmett voted by app, military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities could vote remotely using Voatz. But a report earlier this year by Specter and his colleagues at MIT found multiple security vulnerabilities in the chain of information that a hacker could exploit, including learning how a user voted, changing the user’s ballot or even accessing the user’s private information.

Voatz claimed the researchers’ methodology was flawed, but every online voting platform has faced similar challenges, according to Maggie MacAlpine, co-founder of Nordic Innovation Labs, a security consultancy firm that specializes in safeguarding elections. MacAlpine said when election officials have run trials of other online voting software in the past, they invited white hat hackers (computer security experts who attempt to hack into a system the purpose of assessing vulnerabilities) to test the software live.

“They have always gotten in with laughable ease,” MacAlpine said. “Every single time.”

It’s a longstanding problem, too. In 2010, for example, Washington, D.C., was considering a new online voting platform and invited researchers from the University of Michigan to test it. But when the Michigan fight song began playing after every ballot was successfully cast, it was clear the system wasn’t as secure as officials had hoped. And as the MIT analysis of Voatz shows, things haven’t gotten much better in the last decade.

MacAlpine noted that even if there was a completely secure system, there’s currently no way to have an online vote that is both anonymous and auditable. An anonymous vote protects against voter coercion, suppression, or vote selling. An auditable vote protects against any errors or breaches, because officials can conduct a recount. But that combination, which is possible with a paper ballot, isn’t yet possible online.

Voatz, though not the only online voting vendor in the market, has attracted a lot of scrutiny because it has been used by multiple state and local elections to facilitate absentee voting. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Nimit Sawhney, takes issue with a lot of the criticism the company has received, saying there are multiple layers to security and accuracy that protect against the issues raised. But even Sawhney said that at this point, the company couldn’t handle this fall’s presidential election.

“Nationwide would be a huge stretch,” Sawhney said. “We are a tiny little startup. There are about 25 people on our team. For us to be able to claim that we can do elections for 200 million people on a smartphone? That would be naive.”

So what’s a country to do when a pandemic is forcing us apart, but an online election is still a science fiction dream? Each of the experts I spoke to said the same thing: vote by mail.

Planning needs to start now, to make sure ballots are printed off and mailed in time, and that voters know their options for casting a ballot. In-person voting will still most likely take place as well. But experts told me if we want those well-spaced lines for the ballot boxes to be less than a few miles long, we’ll have to vastly ramp up mail-in voting by November.

“We’re going to have a hard time doing it this year,” Buell said. “But we have almost no choice.”

[eldritchsurveys]

663.

The Collector : What is in your Nine Inch Nails collection? What are you favourite items to own? >> I don’t have an NIN collection. I just took this survey because it seemed to have okay questions when I skimmed it. (Only these first four are questions about the band, lol.)

Deep : Favourite Nine Inch Nails Music Video? >> Closer, I guess. It’s the only one I remember aside from Only, which wasn’t all that interesting (song’s catchy, though).

The Frail : Favourite Nine Inch Nails Album? >> The Downward Spiral, I suppose. Never really thought about it. Year Zero was good too.

All The Love In The World : Favourite Nine Inch Nails Song? >> I don’t have one. There are a fair few that I like, of course, but I’ve never looked at one and thought “this one is my absolute favourite of all the NIN songs I know”.

Happiness In Slavery : Do you enjoy your job or school life? >> I don’t have either of those and I’m quite content that way.

Burning Bright (Field on Fire) - Do You Feel That During The Years As You Have Grown Up, You Feel Reborn? >> Death and rebirth is kind of just a theme with me, in general.

The Fragile : Do You Think You Can Fix A Broken  Person? >> I think a person that feels broken can eventually come to feel less so. I don’t think that it’s anyone else’s responsibility to guide them there. I do think that other people can be a vital source of support and encouragement during that process, if they choose to be.

Ringfinger - What Are Your Feelings On Marriage/Relationships? >> I think marriage and romantic relationships are, you know, great. I don’t necessarily want to partake in romance, myself, but I see their value for others. (And, obviously, I see the legal/social value for marriage, seeing as that’s mostly why I agreed to it in the first place.)

Terrible Lie - What Is The Biggest Lie You Were Ever Told? >> I have no idea. One time my father didn’t tell me our puppy had run away or gotten loose or whatever until I kept asking where he was. I thought that was dumb.

Help Me I Am In Hell - What Is Your Worst Nightmare? >> I have no idea.

Gave Up - What Is Your Go-To Thing To Calm You Down When You Are Pissed Off? >> Venting to Can Calah. It’s about the safest thing I can do, because I tend to behave irrationally and potentially make things worse when I’m upset.

A Warm Place - Your Favourite Place To Be? >> In my bed, tbh.

While I’m Still Here - How Would You Like To Be Remembered? >> I’ve never given it much thought. I figure it’s beyond my control anyway.

Copy of A - Do You Believe We Are In A Simulation? >> No, but I’m always willing to entertain the idea for thought experiments.

The Becoming - Can You Open Up To Other People Easily? >> Not. At. All.

Underneath It All - Are You Over Your Worst Experience? >> Of course not. Repetitive trauma has left indelible marks on my body and mind. The more I try to pretend otherwise, the worse things get, so I might as well acknowledge it.

Love Is Not Enough - Do You Believe In “Second Chances”? >> Sure. They just don’t have to come from me.

Sunspots - Are You Afraid of Growing Older? >> Nah. I am afraid of becoming infirm, or losing senses, that sort of thing. But not just of growing older in general.

Sin - What Is Your Ultimate Pleasure? >> I have no idea.

Something I Can Never Have - If You Could Say Anything To The One Who Got Away, What Would It Be? >> I don’t have anyone like that.

Dear World, : How Do You Sleep? >> Fitfully, a lot of the time. I was sleeping consistently well for a while but in the last few months it’s been a roller coaster.

I’m Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally : Have you ever lost someone who meant everything to you? >> Sure. Eventually, I figured out that no one can actually mean everything to me, and cut that maudlin shit out.

La Mer : Do you love the ocean or do you have a fear of it? >> I love it and I fear it.

March of the Pigs : Do you eat meat? >> Yeah.

Closer : Do you choose to follow a religion? >> I’m considering it, but it’s a constant source of debate in my head right now. Mostly because I have this idea of religion as a restrictive thing, something that would take away from my personal sense of freedom rather than complementing my search for meaning or whatever. It’s something I feel like I need to discuss with someone other than, you know, my own self, to get some perspective aside from my own, but I have no idea with whom.

Starfuckers Inc. - Celebrities You Think Are Attractive? >> Meh.

Shit Mirror - Are you afraid of where the world is currently heading? >> No. I understand why people are, of course. I just... personally can’t afford to expend any energy on fearing for the future. I have enough on my plate with the present.

I’m Afraid of Americans - Do you follow politics or do you choose to stay out of that stuff? >> I choose to keep my political consumption to a minimum. For one, it legitimately doesn’t interest me most of the time. But also, like... it’s all a shitshow. I don’t think my life is enriched by knowing every little thing going on in Washington, or obsessively watching Democratic debates to figure out who is “best”. I don’t fucking know. I can’t be bothered. I’m legitimately just going to vote for whoever ends up on the blue side of the ballot in November, and hope for the best.

In This Twilight - If the end was nigh, how would you choose to go out? >> I mean, I doubt I’d be able to choose.

Year Zero : Do you have plans for the apocalypse? >> No. I don’t believe in the apocalypse and I tend not to plan for things I don’t actually expect to happen.

The Downward Spiral : Do You Feel Like You Have you reached your lowest point and have you recovered since? >> I don’t know if I’ve reached my lowest point. I’ve reached very, very low points. I think that’s enough. I’d rather not try to see if I can get lower.

Hurt : If you could, would you re-start your life again? >> Please, god, no.

The Wretched : What Do You Hate In Life? >> I hate the lasting effect of trauma.

The Lovers : Do You Have Any Vices? >> Sure. Drinking, mostly.

Maybe Just Once : Do You Feel Like a Lucky Person When It Comes to Love? >> I don’t really know what that means. I’d dare say that I’m pretty unlucky in love in general, because I... have not ever had much of it.

Gunshots by Computer : What Are Your Thoughts On Modern Technology? >> I mean, I love it? It has its downsides like anything else, but I love it all the same.

That’s What I Get : Did You Ever Have an Emo Phase? >> Nah. I pretty much stuck with goth through everything.

Not So Pretty Now: Who Is Your Most Disliked “Celebrity”? >> ---

Every Day Is Exactly The Same : Do You Feel Like You Are Stuck In The Same Routine In Life? >> Well, right now, I kind of do keep to the same routine all the time. I don’t think that I’m necessarily stuck, I just... live like this. It’s fine, for the most part. I’ve had a lot of excitement in the past, it’s not necessarily how I want to live my life all the time.

Get Down, Make Love : Do You Have a Cover Song That Tops The Original? >> Yeah, there are quite a few covers that I prefer to the original. Dream Theater’s cover of Rainbow’s Stargazer is an example.

Screaming Slave : Do You Prefer Heavier Music or Softer Music? >> I like both.

Ahead of Ourselves : Do You Think Toxic People Can Change? >> I think anyone can change. Whether they will or not is the question, not whether they can.

Leaving Hope : Is There A Song That You Listen To That Just Emotionally Destroys You? >> Sure, I guess.

Somewhat Damaged : Have you ever been in a full on physical fight? >> Yeah.

Piggy : Have you ever been betrayed in some way by a person you cared about? >> Eh, maybe. That’s not really the verb I’d use, though.

Lights In The Sky : Thoughts On The Possiblity of an Afterlife? >> The possibility is always interesting to consider.

Big Man With A Gun - Are You For Capital Punishment? >> I really have no opinion.

Eraser : What Would Your Ideal Final Words Be? >> ---

Ghosts I-IV : Do You Have Any Supernatural Beliefs? >> Some would say. Those aren’t the words I would use, though.

You Know What You Are? - Thoughts On Fake People? >> I don’t know any fake people.

Home : Where On Earth Right Now Would You Like To Be? >> I’m fine right here. We just washed bed linens and it’s always nice to burrow into a clean bed.

I’m Not From This World : What song just gives you the creeps? >> I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way about a song.

And The Sky Began To Scream : Thoughts on How To Destroy Angels? >> I like a couple of songs. I haven’t really heard anything aside from that one EP, because I kind of keep forgetting to check out their other works.

Tapeworm : Do you have an embarassing illness/accident story you are willing to share? >> I don’t have any stories like that.

Fist fuck : Do you have any kinks/turn ons/turn offs? >> Yes.

Everything : Do you feel free? >> I guess. I never really thought about it, but generally, yes, I am free.

The New Flesh : Favourite horror film? >> I don’t know. I am very fond of the Hellraiser franchise in general, but not necessarily because of the quality of the films, if that makes sense... Oh, there’s also Event Horizon, that’s a horror movie and an overall favourite of mine.

[patriotsnet]

What Republicans Are Running Against Trump

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-republicans-are-running-against-trump/

What Republicans Are Running Against Trump

Republican Presidential Hopefuls Move Forward As Trump Considers 2024 Run

Republican Bill Weld running against Trump

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Less than three months after former President Donald Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him atop the Republican Party is already beginning.

Trumps former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has launched an aggressive schedule, visiting states that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 primaries, and he has signed a contract with Fox News Channel. Mike Pence, Trumps former vice-president, has started a political advocacy group, finalized a book deal and later this month will give his first speech since leaving office in South Carolina. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been courting donors, including in Trumps backyard, with a prominent speaking slot before the former president at a GOP fundraising retreat dinner this month at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort where Trump now lives.

Trump ended his presidency with such a firm grip on Republican voters that party leaders fretted he would freeze the field of potential 2024 candidates, delaying preparations as he teased another run. Instead, many Republicans with national ambitions are openly laying the groundwork for campaigns as Trump continues to mull his own plans.

Read more: Trump vows to help Republicans take back congress in 2022

Theyre raising money, making hires and working to bolster their name recognition. The moves reflect both the fervour in the party to reclaim the White House and the reality that mounting a modern presidential campaign is a yearslong endeavour.

Who Is Trump Reaching

If the former president proves to be a kingmaker in the 2022 midterms, his allies say he may seek reelection in 2024.

The Republican Party is just a name, Steve Bannon told me last week. I had called him to ask about the influence he believes his old boss still carries inside the GOP. The bulk of it is a populist, nationalist party led by Donald Trump. As for the rest of it? The Republican Party, pre-2016, are the modern Whigs, he added, referring to the national party that collapsed in the mid-19th century over divided views on slavery.

Bannon might not be the most reliable barometer of the political moment, but some of Trumps fiercest Republican critics share his belief that the former president maintains a strong grip on his party. He sparked this , and now others are going ahead and taking the baton of batshittery, Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois and a staunch Trump critic, told me last week.

After losing badly in 2020, the GOP wants candidates who can win in 2022. But the partys biggest star seems less concerned with fellow Republicans electability than with their fealty. Trump aims to punish incumbents who voted for his impeachment and reward those who support the culture war hes stoked. Republicans want to talk about Joe Bidens liberal leanings and how inflation is making life more expensive for most Americans. Trump wants to talk about himself and his personal woes.

What will voters want to hear?

Also Check: Obama Is Republican

House Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump Won’t Run Again

The Associated Press

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Susan Walsh/APhide caption

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Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

One of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol announced Thursday night he will not seek reelection in Ohio next year.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a former NFL player with a once-bright political future, cited his two young children for his decision and noted “the chaotic political environment that currently infects our country.” He is the first Latino to represent Ohio in Congress.

“While my desire to build a fuller family life is at the heart of my decision, it is also true that the current state of our politics, especially many of the toxic dynamics inside our own party, is a significant factor in my decisions,” Gonzalez said in his statement.

Gonzalez, 36, would have faced Max Miller in the 2022 primary. Trump has endorsed Miller, his former White House and campaign aide, as part of his bid to punish those who voted for his impeachment or blocked his efforts to overturn the results of the election. Trump rallied for Miller this summer.

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Who Are The Republicans Running Against Trump In 2020

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served as a U.S. Representative for South Carolinas 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and 2013 to 2019. Sanford won the 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election, wherein he defeated the Democratic incumbent Jim Hodges. He was re-elected in the 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election, and consequently served as Governor of South Carolina from 2003 until 2011.

Former South Carolina Gov. announced Sunday that he is running for president as a Republican, becoming the latest to challenge President Trump in the GOP primaries.

In a series of tweets, Sanford explained the reasons why he was entering the 2020 race as a republican:

I am compelled to enter the Presidential Primary as a Republican for several reasons the most important of which is to further and foster a national debate on our nations debt, deficits and spending.

We have a storm coming that we are neither talking about nor preparing for given that we, as a country, are more financially vulnerable than we have ever been since our Nations start and the Civil War. We are on a collision course with financial reality. We need to act now.

As I have watched the Democrat debates I hear no discussion, or even recognition, of what is occurring. Instead I hear a laundry list of new unpaid for political promises. On the Republican side, spending is up well above President Obama.

Trump Endorsements Jolt Gop Races

While the party is focused on the November 2022 general election, Trumps gaze is fixed on the primary election season that begins next spring.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa. |

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Staten Island borough president. Michigan state Senate. Arizona secretary of state.

Donald Trump is endorsing candidates in party primary elections all the way down the ballot, a level of involvement thats virtually unheard of among recent former presidents.

Whats remarkable about Trumps picks isnt just their breadth hes endorsed close to 40 candidates so far in 23 states its their seemingly random quality. Whats even more unusual is that the political goals of the GOPs de facto leader arent necessarily in sync with his own party in some cases, they are starkly at odds.

If theres a thread running through nearly all of Trumps endorsements, it is his habit of rewarding allies and punishing enemies. So far, at the national level, hes backed primary challengers to four House GOP incumbents and one sitting senator all of whom voted for impeachment.

In Georgia, where three of the states top Republicans have incurred Trumps wrath for resisting his efforts to overturn President Joe Bidens win there, Trump has been especially active.

By ANDREW DESIDERIO and JAMES ARKIN

By CLAIRE RAFFORD

By DAVID COHEN

Filed Under:

Read Also: Donald Trump Calling Republicans Stupid

Sen Josh Hawley Of Missouri

Though controversial, Hawley, 41, is a fundraising machine and hes quickly made a name for himself. The blowback Hawley faced for objecting to Bidens Electoral College win included a lost book deal and calls for him to resign from students at the law school where he previously taught. His mentor, former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri, said that supporting Hawley was the biggest mistake Ive ever made in my life.

Still, he brought in more than $1.5 million between Jan. 1 and March 5, according to Axios, and fundraising appeals in his name from the National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in more cash than any other Republican except NRSC Chair Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Just because youre toxic in Washington doesnt mean you cant build a meaningful base of support nationally.

One Republican strategist compared the possibility of Hawley 2024 to Cruz in 2016. Hes not especially well-liked by his colleagues , but hes built a national profile for himself and become a leading Republican voice opposed to big technology companies.

Hawley and his wife, Erin, have three children. He got his start in politics as Missouri attorney general before being elected to the Senate in 2018. Hawley graduated from Stanford and Yale Law.

Trump Endorses Republican To Run Against Rep Liz Cheney In Wyoming

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman in her expected primary challenge against Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.

I strongly endorse Republican House of Representatives Candidate Harriet Hageman from Wyoming who is running against warmonger and disloyal Republican, Liz Cheney, Trump said in a statement.

Harriet is a fourth-generation daughter of Wyoming, a very successful attorney, and has the support and respect of a truly great U.S. Senator, Wyomings own Cynthia Lummis. Harriet Hageman adores the Great State of Wyoming, is strong on Crime and Borders, powerfully supports the Second Amendment, loves our Military and our Vets, and will fight for Election Integrity and Energy Independence . Unlike RINO Liz Cheney, Harriet is all in for America First. Harriet has my Complete and Total Endorsement in replacing the Democrats number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney. Make America Great Again!

Trump has long opposed Cheney, one of a handful of Republicans to vote twice to impeach Trump, and Politico reports that backing Hageman will test his ability to get candidates into Congress.

The left-leaning political website also reported that as a final step before officially announcing her campaign later this week, Hageman resigned Tuesday as one of Wyomings members of the Republican National Committee.

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Republicans Who Embraced Trumps Big Lie Run To Become Election Officials

Countrywide campaigns for secretaries of state underscore new Republican focus to take control of election administration

Democrats: Texas voting bill marks dark day for democracy

Republicans who have embraced baseless claims about the 2020 election being stolen are now running to serve as the chief elections officials in several states, a move that could give them significant power over election processes.

The campaigns, first detailed by Politico last week, underscore a new focus to take control of election administration. Secretaries of state, who are elected to office in partisan contests that have long been overlooked, wield enormous power over election rules in their state, are responsible for overseeing election equipment, and are a key player in certifying making official election results.

Winning secretary of state offices across the country would give conspiracy theorists enormous power to wreak havoc in the 2024 presidential election, including potentially blocking candidates who win the most votes from taking office.

This is an indication of wanting, basically, to have a man inside who can undermine, said Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a government watchdog group. Clearly these are not people who believe in the rule of law. And people who run our government need to follow the rule of law. So it is concerning that they are running.

Former Us Ambassador To The United Nations Nikki Haley

Local GOP Responds To 3 Republicans Running Against President Trump

Haley, 49, stands out in the potential pool of 2024 Republican candidates by her resume. She has experience as an executive as the former governor of South Carolina and foreign policy experience from her time as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley was a member of the Republican Partys 2010 tea party class. A former South Carolina state representative, her long shot gubernatorial campaign saw its fortunes improve after she was endorsed by Sarah Palin. Haley rocketed from fourth to first just days after the endorsement, and she went on to clinch the nomination and become her states first female and first Indian-American governor.

As governor, she signed a bill removing the Confederate flag from the state Capitol following the white supremacist attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston. She left office in 2017 to join the Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Quinnipiac poll found she was at one point the most popular member of Trumps foreign policy team.

I think that shes done a pretty masterful job in filling out her resume, said Robert Oldendick, a professor and director of graduate studies at the University of South Carolinas department of political science.

Haley criticized Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters, saying she was disgusted by his conduct. Oldendick said he thought her pretty pointed criticism of the president will potentially cause some problems.

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Sen Tim Scott Of South Carolina

One thing Scott has going for him that other potential 2024 contenders do not is a bunch of their endorsements. Scotts up for reelection next year, and in an ad kicking off his campaign released last week, Republicans including Cruz, Pompeo, Haley and Pence all backed his candidacy. Scott is positioning himself as a Trump-friendly conservative. In his ad, he included a clip of Trump calling him a friend of mine, and at a rally for his reelection, Scott said he wanted to make sure this wasnt a centrist crowd after asking them to boo Biden louder, according to The State.

Trump Opposes Republicans Running For Ohio Senator As His Family Renames Cleveland Indians To Guardians

Former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he did not want to win the Republican primary in Ohio to fill the retired seat of Senator Rob Portman.

Trump aimed at Ohio State University Senator Matt Doran. Matt Doran officially participated in the race earlier in the day.

Dolans family owns the Cleveland Indians and will change the name of the team to Cleveland Guardians after the end of the season.

People who change the name of the once renowned Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not run for the US Senate, Trump said.

20:02 EDT, September 20, 2021 | Has been updated: 21:24 EDT, September 20, 2021

Former president Donald Trump Announced on Monday who didnt want to see him win the Republican primary Ohio To fill retired Senator Rob Portman Senate Seat.

Ohio Senator Matt Doran officially participated in the race earlier in the day as Trump announced that the Cleveland Indians owner Dorans family would change his name to Guardian after the baseball season was over. I aimed at Doran.

People who change the name of the once renowned Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not run for the US Senate on behalf of the great people in Ohio, Trump said in a statement.

Former President Donald Trump sent a statement Monday night that he would not support Ohio Senator Matt Dorans bid to the US Senate.

Trump correctly pointed out that Matt Doran was publicly critical of his familys decision to change his name.

Also Check: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

Emboldened ‘unchanged’ Trump Looks To Re

The set of advisers around Trump now is a familiar mix of his top 2020 campaign aides and others who have moved in and out of his orbit over time. They include Miller, Susie Wiles, Bill Stepien, Justin Clark, Corey Lewandowski and Brad Parscale.

While his schedule isn’t set yet, according to Trump’s camp, his coming stops are likely to include efforts to help Ohio congressional candidate Max Miller, a former White House aide looking to win a primary against Rep. Anthony Gonzales, who voted to impeach Trump this year; Jody Hice, who is trying to unseat fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger as Georgia secretary of state after Raffensperger defied Trump and validated the state’s electoral votes; and Alabama Senate candidate Mo Brooks, according to Trump’s camp.

Trump’s ongoing influence with Republican voters helps explain why most GOP officeholders stick so closely to him. Republicans spared him a conviction in the Senate after the House impeached him for stoking the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, House GOP leaders have made it clear that they view his engagement as essential to their hopes of retaking the chamber, and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was deposed as Republican Conference Chair this year over her repeated rebukes of Trump.

Those numbers suggest that Trump could be in a strong position to win a Republican primary but lose the general election in 3½ years. A former Trump campaign operative made that case while discussing Trump’s ambitions.

Republicans Not Named Trump Who Could Run In 2024

A growing number of Republicans are already jockeying ahead of 2024 as they await former President TrumpDonald TrumpCapitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt says he saved lives on Jan. 6Biden presses Fox’s Doocey about Trump-Taliban dealBiden says deadly attack won’t alter US evacuation mission in AfghanistanMOREs decision on another possible White House run.

While Trump has not confirmed whether he will launch a third presidential bid, he has repeatedly teased the idea since losing the election in 2020.

I’m absolutely enthused. I look forward to doing an announcement at the right time, Trump said earlier this month. As you know, it’s very early. But I think people are going to be very, very happy when I make a certain announcement.

But that hasnt stopped speculation from building around other high-profile Republicans seen as potential heirs apparent to the former president.

Here are nine Republicans not named Trump who could run for president in 2024.

Ron DeSantisBiden’s stumble on Afghanistan shouldn’t overshadow what he’s accomplished so farMaskless dad assaulted student who confronted him, police sayTampa Bay residents asked to conserve water to conserve COVID-19 oxygen supplyMORE

DeSantis came in second place behind Trump in the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in Orlando earlier this year.

DeSantis, who is running for reelection in 2022, also offered a preview of whats to come in his political future.

Rick Scott

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[yodaguru]

“10 days of Darkness”

This is an interesting read that I found so check it out.

IMPORTANT!

We've read about this on the cue boards for years. There have been many times where many, including myself, have thought we were in it. But all of us were wrong. Trump won the election. And then overnight, he had it stolen from him. We've had to watch the trolls dance on Trump's metaphorical grave and celebrate the fall of America and the rise of socialism. 

4 days later, plenty of proof of cheating, and they announce Joe Biden as the President Elect...projected, of course. I get messages every day from hurt Trump supporters who think what's the use? We can't win without cheating and we can't stop them. And in the end, we still lost. 

And where again is Bill Barr? Why hasn't he gotten involved yet? Valid questions. 

So, what if I told you Trump wanted to lose? Yep. What if I told you that losing by way of cheating from the other side was the plan?  It's about exposure and optics. 

Trump HAD to win in a landslide, and he did. So that the amount of cheating required for the Dems to win was so vast that it was impossible to hide it. Had Trump overcame like he did in 2016, there would have been no legal battle over it. The lower courts would have thrown them out, like they are right now (except for PA). 

The Supreme Court wouldn't have heard it since it was both left leaning and there wasn't an emergency situation that involved national security. But losing with a conservative lean in the courts, with mounds of evidence, was the play. Evidence that is impossible to deny. Now by the constitution, if the race is close, then Congress can decide the winner. This is why they cheated just enough to edge out a win for Biden so that if Trump challenged and couldn't get a supreme court case, they could just decide in favor of Biden. 

Stay with me...I know this is a long one. I'm going to clean it up for you in a bit. The Dems think they have the optics on this one by declaring Biden the winner. But here's the thing...this race isn't even over. Here's why... Patriot Joe M had his tweeter account suspended over this comment:

"Patriots, be warned. President Trump has legally 'claimed' the states he knows he won fairly. The counting going on is now just a formality because the intent is to settle in court, not at the counting stations. If he loses this count, it means nothing, because this election will be Amy Coney Barrett's to decide. I promise ad guarantee you, Biden will never be sworn in as President." 

Twitter took him down hours later. Not the post, the entire account. What is he talking about? He used the key words "legally claimed" when referring to Trumps victory. In other words Trump will lose the election optically, but the court will say he won. I know that sounds crazy to you but let me tell you why this is true. Biden won the count. Cheating or not he won the count. That's a fact. But the states that kept accepting and counting ballots after the day of the election are in violation of their own state laws. What? What am I talking about? 

PA...they have laws on the books that states that they cannot accept any new ballots that arrive AFTER the day of the election. Anything coming in afterward is invalid. Well, you're thinking, "well the supreme court of PA overrode that law in a court ruling and gave them 3 more days to collect." And you would be right. But according to how the governmental system is set up, the courts can't create law, they can only ENFORCE the law that is already on the books. In order for the state to follow the direction of the Supreme court of their state, they need to actually go back and rewrite the laws to REFLECT the courts decision. People...every day is an IQ test because these bright souls didn't do that. They NEVER rewrote the laws to make the states supreme court ruling legally binding. Well, what OTHER states were this careless and lazy with the legal process? 

30 states. Over 30 states did the same thing and are violating their own laws by counting new votes after the day of the election. In other words, all these trucks coming in at 2 and 3 in the morning on the morning of November 4th and beyond are invalid. Biden WON the count, but only because they kept counting invalid votes for days after the election ended. The Supreme Court of the United States will not count those votes. And since Trump was in the lead when the election ended, he is the legitimate legal president. This is why I kept telling you all that ACB was the Trump card. The NUCLEAR card would be martial law and mass arrests...but that's a very dangerous call for the country. To win, legally in the court system, was the Trump card, people. And while in the court they can unload all the evidence to show mass cheating. In Michigan. They discovered a glitch in the vote tally system. After votes were cast in one county, over 6000 votes for Trump "glitched" over into Biden votes. Glitched. 

Well, this software was used in 47 other counties in Michigan...and used all over the COUNTRY. If they all averaged the same number of vote glitches, that's well into the MILLIONS of votes that were altered after cast. Here is the interesting part. The ballot machines...were ALL connected to the internet. Yes, they are supposed to be to linked to inTRAnet...meaning internal computer networks of that one facility But they're not supposed to be linked to the world wide web. Sydney Powell, General Flynn's attorney, said that they discovered an algorithm that calculated how many votes Biden needed to win. She said they found out the machines were transferring just enough votes from Trump to Biden so that he could win. That's why they were doing "recounts" and we kept seeing Trumps numbers go down and Biden's go up in various states. Now here is the "you can't make this stuff up" part. The software that the machines are using to tally up the votes is owned and controlled by Paul Pelosi. 

Yes...Nancy Pelosi's husband. He not only sits ON the board of the software company that tallies the votes, he majority OWNER of it. So these "glitches" that only "glitch" in one direction isn't a glitch, it's a computer program designed to do all of this without any of us knowing it. It does it so fast that we can't even detect it during the actual counting. This is how they were able to call states 10 minutes after the elections closed. The algorithm calculated a Biden win based on information they entered into the system. Patriots...if Sydney Powell has this information, you KNOW the DOJ does. And they probably have more that will come out in the Supreme Court hearings. 

The DOJ. Where are they? They have the goods. They don't need the courts to tell them to arrest, just the command from POTUS. Why are they so quiet? 10 days of darkness. It wasn't what we thought, people. It wasn't 10 days of media blackout, 10 days of social media blackout...10 days of darkness to a period of time where cue went dark, the President lost the election, and it looks like were headed to a socialist government. The DOJ...by constitutional law they can't get involved with the election until.....10 days after election day. 10 days. The election was on November 3rd, by law they have to wait until the 14th to get involved. It doesn't mean they can't make arrests. They can arrest some small time players that were involved with the plot. I'm told from a reliable source last night that a few of these arrests will happen next week sometime. But after 10 days, Barr can arrest anyone from the intern in the Biden break room to Biden himself. Cue said the first big arrest will shock you. I can't see another shocking thing that the "President-Elect" of the United States getting arrested for treason, ballot fraud and crimes against humanity. 

Sit back, grab your popcorn and watch the movie. The Patriots are in control. We are in the storm.” NOTE: I did not write this. It was sent to me in a FB message from an unknown author and I copied and pasted. 

[anthonybialy]

Counting on Not Counting

Of course our time in Hell hasn't ended. The one certain result is that we're enduring something eternal. Whatever we did to deserve bickering over tallying is rotten enough to be punished for far past our human conception of time. I blame politics, naturally. Governments that can't count are surely careful with your money. I'm calling your mom but not Pennsylvania.

I'd feel sorry for anyone who woke up expecting to know who won the presidency if degenerate insomniacs weren't also left waiting to discover what nobody really wants to learn. We all want an answer to the most reluctant question. Nobody's opened the box on Schrödinger's vote. Even if there's not certainty, it's safe to guess radiation will pour out.

Those conniving thieves entrusted with the supreme civic duty of handing out “I voted” stickers must be trying to steal the election if they stopped counting at three in the freaking morning. Why didn't they hire sleepless darkness dwellers to count votes until the Tim Hortons dining room opens?

Seize the chance to come up small.  The incumbent setting himself up to moan about being cheated is the first time he's ever plotted ahead. Naturally, it's not for anything other than his benefit. Donald Trump risibly claiming he already won is so in character that Aaron Sorkin would've called the dialogue too predictable.

Bracing to find out which regrettable option commandeered the Electoral College's chancellorship is like waiting at the doctor's office: we want it to be over but not by hearing the diagnosis. There's pain on the horizon that can only be forestalled for so long. But at least we'll know what brand of suffering is in store, unlike the inscrutable question of why either is good. With options narrowed down to wrestling Godzilla or drinking lava, not knowing who won is a temporary win.

I'm only speculating without information because I'm trying to keep up. Our nation's hobby is the natural byproduct of an election that provokes irritability. Guessing who prevailed during a game that's not televised might get me a cable news gig.

Why not focus on why each potential outcome will bring pain? That'll help cope with uncertainty. Votes are split between two prominent gentlemen who have each been astoundingly unproductive through their respective preening careers. Joe Biden is the prototypical useless federal employee, which makes it wholly unsurprising he's trying to fake his way to the biggest job. As for his similar enemy, everyone should've picked up on Trump's bluster distracting from utter lack of accomplishment by now. But if those unnervingly impressed by the color gold didn't see there's nobody strong behind the curtain by the time the casino-closer ruined the USFL,  it's not happening after nearly a full term.

These are the two best humans America has to offer. Why do you deny logic? A lack of answers means just a bit longer to ponder how black holes of negativity were the final celestial objects. Take these extra few moments before fate sucks us in to not let politics reflect who we are. Americans are supposed to thrive without the government's help, as this election confirms before we even know the final score.

Tribes are offended by being compared to present political factions. Venom gets more poisonous as the differences become more slight. Just know you're supposed to despise anyone with a different logo tattoo. Sports fans are reasonable by comparison.

Each will end America, so what's the point? The formality of which bad Teutonic era whose descent we're copying is the only technicality left. Partisans bicker whether America is becoming East Germany or the previous undivided naughty version. No matter whose will triumphs, the letter S appearing consecutively will now be stacked.

In reality, we'll just bust in the more traditional manner, namely by going broke. The final two both think Social Security is a good investment, which shows how this is the worst choice. Entitlements will continue to bankrupt an allegedly free nation while one of two egomaniacs bravely cowers from ever turning them into an investment. Biden's more honest about wasting what's yours on your behalf, which isn't quite a virtue.

Nothing's ultimate about this fight. A slap battle between a lifetime and longtime Democrat has been even less thrilling than anticipated. Hitting after the bell doesn't feel like fun bonus action. Nobody told Biden the bout started.

Free people shouldn't be this upset about not knowing which buffoon gets a jersey from the handful of championship team members who bother showing up at the White House. We're going to be stuck with a nasty geezer whose ambitions far outreach accomplishments as executive soon enough, so relax for a few days.

Uncertain moments provide time to focus on minimizing the president's powers, especially the imaginary ones. Panicking about unilateral enactment of creepy promises gives the winner exactly what he craves. I'd say nominate a woman next time if it'll get me Bumble matches.

Don't nominate a horse's ass next time. The simple yet tricky notion applies to both sides, win or lose. Bipartisanship brings us together. Having to write in someone to avoid casting a ballot for an atrocious human means nobody wins. Voters already chose between one who's a bad president and one who would be. All that's left is adding up golf strokes. Low score should win.

Proclaim victory to create inadvertent levity. Cultivating integrity would've been a good idea decades ago if an executive hopeful would like to convince the public he's won today. That bigmouthed little man is going to end up with the least deserved title in recent memory. It works either way.

[shirlleycoyle]

Threatening Voter Emails Included Highly Suspicious ‘Hacking’ Video

On Tuesday, an unknown number of Demoratic voters in Florida, Arizona, and Alaska received a threatening email urging them to vote for "Vote for Trump or else!" 

"We are in possession of all your information," the email read. "You are currently registered as a Democrat, and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you. Good luck."

The emails, as Motherboard reported Tuesday, were spoofed to appear that they came from the Proud Boys, a violent far-right group. Proud Boys claimed to have nothing to do with the emails.

One of the people who was the target of this email campaign received a second, identical email that also contained a link to a video, which was uploaded to the cloud file sharing website Orangedox. The video seems to be an attempt to scare voters into thinking that this goes beyond an email-related intimidation campaign and is an organized effort to disrupt the mail-in ballot portion of the election. The strategy shown in the video appears to be similar to a version of a scheme laid out by 4chan earlier this week that Motherboard has already debunked as a serious election threat. 

Election experts say that the strategy shown in this video is a fear mongering tactic that shows a method of manipulating votes that will not work, and is likely intended to undermine faith in the electoral process. Motherboard is not publishing the video because it contains some voters' personal information and it is also a propaganda video designed to intimidate voters.

"This is just bullshit fear mongering"

The two-minute video plays over an instrumental of Metallica's "Enter Sandman." The video opens with footage of President Trump during a previous press briefing, in which he says, "I think that mail in voting is a terrible thing." The video then immediately cuts to a logo with the Proud Boys name. The video shows a screen recording of an alleged hacker scrolling through what they present as voter data. They do this in part with a tool called sqlmap, an established tool for taking advantage of vulnerabilities in websites, often to extract data. The alleged hacker then uses some of the information contained in the databases to access the website of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, and then prints out a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots (FWAB) as a PDF document.

FWAB ballots are described by the government as "emergency backup ballots" for military members and citizens who live overseas and did not receive mail-in or absentee ballots from their states. Election experts say this is designed to make voting easy, that FWAB ballots are only used as a matter of last resort, and that other types of ballots supersede FWAB ones. Also, only certain people qualify for FWAB ballots.

"FWABs are typically ballots of last resort, and if any other ballot has been submitted by the voter, they trump the FWAB," Matt Bernhard, a cybersecurity researcher who works for the elections security non profit VotingWorks, told Motherboard in an online chat. 

Do you work on election security? Do you do vulnerability reserch on voting machines or ssystems? We’d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, Wire/Wickr @lorenzofb, or email lorenzofb@vice.com. You can contact Joseph Cox on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com

At the end of the video, the person controlling the computer shows that they have several folders labeled with the name of American states, and shows files that are supposedly mail-in ballots PDFs they downloaded. It's impossible from the video to know whether these files actually contain ballots, and whether the folders all contain files or not.

Ben Adida, the executive director of VotingWorks, said that it's possible to do what the video shows, "but this attack is detectable and comes with very harsh penalties [for voter fraud]."

"This is just bullshit fear mongering," Bernhard said. "First of all, showing us a bunch of files in a file system doesn't prove anything. second of all, the databases shown are quite possibly ones that are publicly available anyways, or that have been posted to dark web sites after leaks." 

Gregory Miller, a cybersecurity expert and one of the founders of the Trust the Vote Project, also found the video to be suspicious.

“There are lots of reasons to believe this is misinformation as much as anything. As we’re looking more closely, the manueves they’re taking to ‘suggest’ they are hacking into voter information stores appears to be lots of smoke and mirrors, if you will. In other words, it appears on closer inspection to be a hoax of its own,” he said in an email.

A screenshot of the video contained the a threatening email seen by Motherboard.

The video also shows data that includes names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and redacted Social Security Numbers—all types of data that may be publicly available.

Bernhard explained that the ballots shown in the video are federal absentee ballots that have to be signed, and then physically mailed for them to count as votes. 

"Unless they're going to figure out a way to forge thousands of signatures, that ain't gonna work," Bernhard said, adding that it would require a lot of effort to print all the ballots, forge hundreds or thousands of signatures, and then mail them out.

There is no convincing indication that the alleged hacker is using sqlmap to break into any website or server that may be hosting such data. It is possible to use sqlmap locally; that is, not point the tool to a remote website, and instead interact with files stored locally. 

Michael Patterson, who was named in some of the data, told Motherboard that the information included in the video was accurate.

“That is pretty crazy. So, if I understand it correctly, they are sending emails to people telling them to vote for Trump and some of the emails contain a video proving that they have personal information? If some fascists want to show up to my house, I feel bad for them. I am a combat veteran and a communist, it wouldn’t go well for them,” he told Motherboard in an email.

There are few clues about who made this video. Metadata for the video does not seem to show anything that could be used to help identify who made it.

A few hours after a source sent Motherboard the video, the file was removed from the sharing site Orangedox. It is not clear if the user deleted it, or if Orangedox itself did so. Motherboard archived a copy of the video before it was removed.

Chad Brown, CEO of Orangedox, said the company's privacy policy prevented him from sharing information unless contacted by a law enforcement agency. Orangedox would then provide the agency with all necessary information on the user account.

"We don't make any copies of the files that our users post," Brown added.

The video and the viral 4Chan post instructing people to attempt to disrupt the mail-in voting process is similar in that election security experts agree that both pose very little risk, but give the appearance that impropriety is possible in the mail-in vote despite the risk being very low.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the video itself. On Tuesday, local media reported that the FBI was investigating the threatening emails more generally.

(Disclosure: Gavin McInnes founded the Proud Boys in 2016. He was also a co-founder of VICE. He left the company in 2008 and has had no involvement since then.)

Would you like to read more stories about hacking, privacy, and surveillance? Subscribe to our pop-up 'zine The Mail. The next issue is about hacking culture.

Threatening Voter Emails Included Highly Suspicious ‘Hacking’ Video syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[personal-blog243]

Copied and pasted:

There is one absolute truth about Trump: He is a consistent, absolute, unrelenting, fearless, and professional liar. A serial liar. A factually proven liar. How many lies now has the Washington Post proven in these four years? 25,000? A lie at least twice during every waking hour? Think of all the bad people you’ve known in your life. Even the worst ones you couldn’t say that about.

So why on earth would we believe him today? Has he earned your trust now? No. Yet, we’re decent enough to not want him to be sick, to wish him well, and maybe just this once give him the benefit of the doubt because why would he lie about this?

That’s not the question. The question we — and yes, I mean you, too, the media — the only question we really need to be asking is this: Why would Trump all of a sudden just start telling the truth?

All of you, my friends, have been saying for four years, “Trump’s a liar! Trump is a liar!” Why would you believe him now? He very well may have COVID-19. In fact, let’s assume he does. Of course he has it! Does that make him not Trump? I’m certain Mussolini came down with the flu one time. Pinochet and Franco would catch a cold every now and then. Margaret Thatcher must have had a migraine or two. None of them suddenly became nice or did good things - or started telling the truth - because they got sick. Jesse Helms with a runny nose was still Jesse Helms.

But Trump has a history of lying about his health. His longtime New York doctor, Dr. Bornstein, admitted a few years ago that Trump dictated his perfect “doctor’s letter” during the 2016 campaign. Then there was the White House doctor who said Trump could live “200 years!” What about his lying about that emergency trip to Walter Reade “to complete his physical?” Trump also has a history of lying about his opponents’ health (like when Hillary fell ill at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony, or what he’s now been saying about Biden’s health).

So we must be skeptical. We must always remain skeptical when it comes to Trump. He may have it. But it’s also possible he’s lying. That’s just a fact.

But why would he lie about this? What would he have to gain? I mean, it looks bad that he’s called it a hoax for seven months, and he totally mismanaged the government response — and now he has it? Doesn’t it look terrible that he’s spent months downplaying wearing masks, dismissing social distancing, holding large rallies filled with elderly, at-risk supporters and even killing his own supporters like Herman Cain? And doesn’t this go against his brand of always projecting (and exaggerating) his own strength, his health, his genetics, his virility? Yes. This is all true. He would not want to admit he‘s come down with a hoax.

But — he’s losing the election. And he knows it. It’s not 2016. He was hated in 2016, but he���s hated even more now. Millions of Americans are ON FIRE and on the verge of serving him up a major league ass-whooping and a record landslide defeat.

So he needs - badly - to totally change the conversation about this campaign.

And he just has.

Democrats, liberals, the media and others have always been wrong to simply treat him as a buffoon and a dummy and a jackass. Yes, he is all those things. But he’s also canny. He’s clever. He outfoxed Comey. He outfoxed Mueller. He outfoxed 20 Republicans in the GOP primary and then did the same to the Democrats, winning the White House despite receiving fewer votes than his opponent. He’s an evil genius and I raise the possibility of him lying about having COVID-19 to prepare us and counteract his game. He knows being sick tends to gain one sympathy. He’s not above weaponizing this.

He’s been lying about how soon a vaccine will be ready. What better way to hammer home that lie then by directing a saga in the final weeks before the election that culminates in the release of this “vaccine.”

The NY Times tax story was horrible for him. As was The Atlantic story about him calling American troops losers and suckers. There are a dozen more of these stories coming in October. Just last night, The New Yorker detailed how his campaign finance director (and Don Jr’s girlfriend) was fired from Fox News for....well...behaving like a typical Fox News host by sexually harassing her assistant and forcing Fox to pay a $4 million settlement to that assistant due to her behavior. And also, last night, there was CNN playing an audio recording of Melania talking shit about children separated from their parents at the border — AND talking shit about Christmas. Christmas!

These stories are about to be a daily occurrence. However, they may get less airtime and be less damaging since Trump and FLOTUS are now “sick” and supposed to be in our thoughts and prayers.

But most dangerously, HE MAY USE THIS TO PUSH FOR DELAYING/POSTPONING THE ELECTION. The constitution does not allow for this, but he doesn’t give a f*ck about the constitution. He and his thug Attorney General Barr have no shame and will stop at nothing to stay in power. He may even use this as an excuse for losing.

Then there’s this:

He may use his Covid as a pretext to drop out of the race and move Pence to the top of the ticket. Pence would temporarily become President, and then Pence could pre-emptively pardon Trump for all of his crimes.

Again, though, he may have COVID. He probably does. But never, ever, ever take him at his word and never, ever, ever underestimate his survival skills or the depths of his deception or his evil.

What can YOU do today? Make your plan to vote and stick to it. Question everything. And if you and I are finally convinced he has it, do NOT sit silent as he schemes how to use this illness for his benefit.

Finally, on a personal note: Stay alive Mr. President. Your exit from public life must happen in the right and decent way. You have many years to live. You have a child to raise. Grandchildren who need you. A base that loves you. And the families of nearly the quarter-million dead who might be alive today had you done your job, had you cared, had you not played politics with people's lives. Over 200,000 lost souls — and YOU KNEW! You told Woodward in February it was a plague. 200,000 dead because of decisions you made, because you denigrated science and ignored the doctors.

I’m certain you’re listening to them now.

Covid must not remove you. That’s our job. With a pen and a ballot.

[sinrau]

When Alex Howard, a resident of Washington, D.C., failed to receive an absentee ballot for the city’s June 2nd primary, he assumed that he would have to vote in person. Then, by chance, on the day of the election, he saw a Twitter post alerting voters of the option to vote remotely over the Internet. Howard, a digital-governance expert at Demand Progress, an advocacy group for good governance, decided to give it a try. “I’m a poker and a prodder and a professional evaluator of government I.T. programs,” he told me. “I like to see how things work.” He was directed to a Web site typically reserved for members of the military, which sent him to a site where he confirmed his date of birth and address. He then logged on to another site to vote. A few minutes later, he e-mailed his completed ballot to the Board of Elections. “There were people who stood in line for hours and hours to vote, and here I was, voting at home on my laptop,” he said. “It was really good for my family from a health standpoint, but whether it’s a good idea at scale—I don’t think so.” He is still waiting to hear if his ballot was received.

If there was ever a good time to vote on a smartphone or computer, during a global pandemic would seem to be it. Internet voting doesn’t require social interaction, and it’s convenient and familiar: selecting candidates from an online ballot is not much different from ordering items on Amazon. An April survey of twelve hundred registered voters found that forty-six per cent of respondents were worried about catching COVID -19 if they or a family member were to vote in person, and nearly half of respondents said that they would like the option of voting online. West Virginia will allow disabled voters to use a mobile platform in November’s general election.

The idea of voting over the Internet gained traction after the 2000 Presidential election, when the country was thrown into a constitutional crisis owing, in part, to faulty voting machines. People were already shopping and banking online, and there was a feeling that maybe voting online was a way to supersede America’s aging election infrastructure. In 2002, Congress authorized the Department of Defense to develop an online-voting system for the military. Two years later, when it became clear that the integrity of the ballots sent over the Internet could not be assured, the program was shut down. Undeterred, Congress, in 2005, asked the Election Assistance Commission, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to develop standards for a secure, online absentee-voting system. After years of study, they gave up, reporting that such a system was not yet feasible. Still hoping to facilitate mobile voting, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment ( MOVE ) Act of 2009. It directs the states to create a way for voters in those categories to obtain and return absentee ballots by mail or electronically. Every state is required to deliver ballots online; thirty-two states also allow some subset of voters—typically deployed members of the military, citizens living abroad, and the disabled—to return them that way, too. When Howard voted online, it was through a system set up under the MOVE Act.

For computer scientists who study election software, online-voting programs are a security nightmare. They invite bad actors to slip in undetected and compromise election systems, leaving those systems susceptible to denial-of-service attacks, ransomware, malware, and vote flipping. In 2014, a team of computer scientists at a company in Portland, Oregon, that builds secure systems for the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense showed, in real time, how easy it is to change the contents of a voter’s PDF file as it travels over the Internet. They sent a video of their attack to secretaries of state and other election officials, and posted an explanatory video on YouTube, showing all the weak links in the online transmission of ballots. “This is not just a theoretical danger,” one of the researchers, Joe Kiniry, said at the time. “Votes are silently changed after they leave your computer and before they reach election officials. What’s more, there’s no trace of foul play.” Last month, in anticipation of renewed calls for online voting during the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security sent a federal risk assessment to state election officials around the country, warning them of the insecurities of Internet voting and concluding that the technology was not advanced enough to be widely disseminated.

The decision by the D.C. Board of Elections to allow residents to use a system reserved for overseas and disabled voters appeared to have been made the night before the election. Washington was under an emergency lockdown order because of the pandemic, and there was a curfew in place because of the protests. Hundreds of voters had not received their absentee ballots. It was not the first time a crisis spurred election officials to bypass election laws and offer domestic voters the option to cast ballots online: in 2012, New Jersey allowed Internet voting after Hurricane Sandy. The decision was a disaster. According to one report, “hundreds of those who attempted to vote electronically said they were met by busy signals, email error messages or silence, and could not tell if their ballots were counted.” In that election, around fifty thousand voters returned ballots by e-mail or fax, which precipitated an eighteen-month investigation by the Constitutional Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School. According to the clinic’s report, the eleventh-hour work-around contravened New Jersey election laws and left the results open to manipulation.

In D.C. this month, about five hundred residents received ballots by e-mail in a primary election that may not have seemed especially significant. “I guess there are Russian hackers that can do anything, but I doubt they’re really concerned with the Ward 2 D.C. election,” Elissa Silverman, the district-council member who posted the tweet that Howard saw, told the Wall Street Journal the day after the primary. But that’s shortsighted. As Jeremy Epstein, a cybersecurity expert and the vice-chair of the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, told me, “Attackers may well use a low-consequence election to scout out the landscape, learn the vulnerabilities, and then save their opportunities for attacking a real election later on.”

The online primary voters in D.C. were using OmniBallot, a software package developed and licensed by a company called Democracy Live. In February, the King County Conservation District, a natural-resources-assistance agency in Washington State, used the system to allow all registered voters to vote on their smartphones for the board of supervisors. A segment on NPR called it “a historic moment for American democracy.” Bryan Finney, the C.E.O. of Democracy Live, told me that almost all of the jurisdictions that use OmniBallot—over ninety-five per cent—only use it to deliver ballots to voters, who then return printed copies by posted mail. D.C. had been one of these “one-way” jurisdictions. “Electronic ballot return was turned off there,” he said. But when I pointed out that Howard had been directed to return his ballot online, Finney said that doing so was “outside of OmniBallot and out of our purview.” If other jurisdictions are allowing voters to cast completed OmniBallots over e-mail, Democracy Live would not know.

Why You Can’t Just Vote on Your Phone During the Pandemic #web #website #copied #to read# #highlight #link #news #read

[bublp0pr]

Thaaaaat’s politics!

fanfiction idea:

A story focussed around an NPC character. Minimal to no reference to Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore, Toriel. 

(I mean, obviously to put things in motion you need a bit of a catalyst so I’ll include Flowey to make things interesting, but still)

So Flowey is playing around with his power and has a friendly chat with the “Thaaaaaaat’s politics” bear. And he goes “You know, mister, you really should run for mayor.” 

Now, Bear has a crush on the inn keeper, who lost her husband in the Core accident and is now a single mother running the business on her own. But he’s never had the courage to actually confess. The little bun needs a responsible role model in their life and he’s not sure he can fit that bill. Flowey manipulates him, saying that he could impress her if he became mayor. This is the turning point for him and he becomes driven to make this happen and rock the boat.

He starts gathering support from the other under appreciated NPCs in Snowdin. We take a little look under the hood at the 1 dimensional characters, flesh them out a bit with relationships and backstory, establish their families and personalities etc. as Bear tries to convince them to meet in the centre of town. 

They congregate together and have a discussion that raises some pretty convincing points about some of the not-so-sensible things Asgore has put in place and all the discontent that happen under the current system 

(Papyrus is there too i suppose, he personally doesn’t see the problem with dangerous puzzles at every turn and “overcrowding” just means more chances to make friends in his opinion. He does get mildly concerned when people point out that their only law-enforcement is by an over powered fish lady with low impulse control and mild anger management issues, who doesn’t even live in Snowdin or understand their town’s core values... Sans is just too lazy to even bother showing up. But never mind them! Who needs main characters?! pffft)

At the end of the day, they agree to send out some representatives to the capital to  bring their concerns to the capital and demand that they be given the right to have their own mayor. A very confused king listens to them over a cup of tea agrees lets them hold an election.

And here’s where Flowey has to come back in to keep the story interesting. Because underhanded political feuding is something he’d love to get his sneaky little vines all tangled in. 

Bear runs of course but so does the shopkeeper, Dogaressa, Grillby (not that he wanted to, he hates public speaking. But his customers pushed him into trying because of how well-liked he is), one of the ladies who writes the newspaper and Sans (again, someone else volunteered him, more for the joke of it. Papyrus confronts him about it, [insert pun here] and he somehow pulls out before it’s even started.) 

He starts the campaign out strong, trying to gain respect in the community and presenting strategies for re-allocating their resources to improving the lifestyle of locals. But with Flowey as his campaign manager, this isn’t going to be a clean fight >:)

Flowey knows what makes people tick: empty promises, bribes, scandal, blackmail, slander. Again and again he offers to “help” Bear win the election. It starts off with harmless suggestions, nothing he’d feel... uncomfortable with. Just a little leverage. That’s all. At the start Bear insists that he’s better than that. He got into this thing to clean up this town, not step on monster’s toes to gain power. 

The town starts to divide into different sides of support. Everyone really gets into the festivity of the thing, with parades, posters, flyers and all sorts of stuff. Monsters raise good points and get inventive with how they sell their persona. Conversation on the UnderNet is abuzz about this new system and what it could mean for other locations such as Waterfall and Hotland in the future. Polls about who people think will win turn up in the newspaper. Mettaton starts a TV special promising full coverage of the story. There’s a new energy to the place that the monsters hadn’t even realised they’d been missing. 

Unbelievably, it’s the lesser encounter enemies that start to become the main demographics for voting. Making allowances for the anarchist desires of the teenage gangs in the woods, promising better treatment of Gyftrots in future with more efforts to raise awareness of the mistreatment during this gift-exchanging holiday, the removal of the snowball tax, distribution of more caps for icecaps, more union breaks for Royal Guardsman (Sans is mysteriously always suddenly very present when people bring up this one)

But the competition starts to become more ruthless (thanks to some intervention from anonymous plant sources) And slowly, as he gets more desperate, he gives in starts to try out some of Flowey’s “friendly suggestions”. (Thaaaaaats politics!)

I saw Dogamy with a certain bunny at Grillby’s the other night... Haha. Can’t you keep a collar on that husband of yours Dogaressa? 

What would Undyne say if she found out about all those “dog treats” you’ve been sniffing Doggo? My my, if someone were to... oh, I don’t know, tell her. What would she do I wonder?

So you want out of your job sending ice to the Core, Ice Wolf? ...I know a guy. That can be arranged.

One by one, the competition drops out in fear, stress or shame. There’s some last minute underdog candidate but they haven’t so much as shown their face since signing up (does it really even count as running if they just suddenly trot into the room and leave a paw print on the ballot paper and then running away again before people could make copies ; ) ??) Bear looks like he’s going to win. 

Feeling confident about his chances, the night before election he builds up his courage and goes to confess his feelings to the innkeeper. She rejects him because of the awful way he treated her sister, (Flowey had threatened to distribute her secret cinnamon bunny recipe to every vendor in the underground). He goes to Grillbys and tries to drink his feelings away. Grillby remains silent, but Bear knows he’s judging him. “Tt’s all that flower’s fault!” He’d moan. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t think it would be like this!” 

Flowey’s waiting for him outside when he leaves for the night. He’s not happy that his toy is acting so irresponsibly the day before election. They deserve a small scolding, a little reminder of who’s really in charge here. There’s too much at stake here. Once Bear becomes mayor, Snowdin will be his. An entire town in his pocket! The possibilities are endless... He can’t afford stupid mistakes so close to getting his prize. 

Bear, with a little liquid courage still in his system, stands up to Flowey. He says that he can’t take this anymore and has decided to step down. 

...

Flowey doesn’t like being told no. 

Perhaps he wasn’t clear enough. Did he honestly think that Flowey had dirt on every person in Snowdin and couldn’t tear his reputation apart too? “I’ll tell Asgore what you’ve done... I’ll tell him every single dirty crime you’ve committed for this. Hehehehe! We’re in this together you and I! To the very end.”

Bear has no choice. In dismay he goes back to his home, ashamed of the monster he has now become. 

The next day, Asgore himself visits Snowdin for the counting of the votes. Bear looks up at that stage like a man looking at his own guillotine. From the trees, Flowey watches with a keen eye. He’s already tampered with the votes. Snowdin’s as good as his. He just needs to make sure there’s no funny business. 

Bear searches through the crowd of people and spots the innkeeper. Walking over to her, he apologises for everything he’s done and what he’s about to do. “Wait, what? What you’re about to... Bear?” He’s already walking towards the stage. A fluffy white dog is sleeping on one side of the stage. It looks quite comfortable despite the noisy location. Asgore smiles at him as Bear takes his place on the stand. The dog is the first to speak. With a small yawn, it stands up and moves to the microphone. It lets out another yawn and a small bark before pantering back to it’s warm little spot on the wooden stand. 

Bear looks at it nervously. Dammit. Who’s supposed to say no to a speech as direct and persuasive as that?? He shuffles his cards and walks to the podium. Looking down at his furry paws, he can see them trembling. With a sigh he looks up at the crowd. He sees the faces of those he used to get here today. With one last glance, he tosses aside the notes carefully written by Flowey and tightens his grip on the microphone. 

Mettaton shoves BurgerPants, who’s carrying the heaps of camera equipment shakily in his hands. “ARE YOU FILMING THIS YOU WORTHLESS THING?” Last minute drama. How thrilling!! With a grumble he zooms in on the determined look in Bear’s eye.

“I would like to formally apologise for how I’ve acted. I started this simply wanting the best for my town and somewhere along the way, I lost that focus. To my fellow candidates, my fellow citizens of Snowdin, my fellow monsterkind: I am sorry for how I have behaved towards you. I... am unfit to be your mayor. For this reason,” He glances at the king, “I have decided to abdicate.” 

There are collective gasps from the crowd. Monsters watch in a mix of pride, shock and confusion as the tiny white dog receives a sash around it’s neck and licks Asgore’s face.

Flowey is seething in the background. How dare he?! A sick grin twist on his face. “Oh... you think you’re so clever do you??? We’ll see who’s clever you idiot.” 

Vines spread their way through the crowds of people without them noticing. 

Bear leans down and shakes Annoying Dog’s paw with a weak smile. It barks happily, but looks like it would rather be returning to its nap. 

Once in position, the green rope grows sharp thorns and becomes tense, tearing through the hoards of people. There are shrieks as all the monsters are suddenly raised in the air. Flowey emerges from the ground, a large smile on his face. “Sorry folks! Change of plan! Looks like it’s going to be a hostile takeover.” He cackles loudly. Monsters try and fail to struggle against him. 

“Bear, Bear, Bear!” He sighs in mock disappointment. “I had such high hopes for you! But now look what you’re gone and done! I tried to warn you, I really did. What is it with monsters and never,” He squeezes the monster tighter “following through?”

Bear is terrified. He’d never seen Flowey this dangerous before. Sure, there’d been that disturbing look to his face when he spoke about certain things... but never like this. “P-p-please...” He starts blubbering, scared for his life. 

This is starting to bore Flowey. He’d never be able to control the monsters properly after this point. As soon as he lets go of Asgore, he’s dust. In fact, in a few minutes Undyne’s probably going to arrive as well. Maybe he should just reset. 

A monster manages to wriggle their way out from his grip. Flowey sends bullets towards them flippantly, turning the thing to dust. “Here’s how this is going to work, pal. I’m going to kill you-” There’s a small wail at this.  “SHUT UP!” He screeches at him. “I’m going to kill you. And then I’m going to start turning the rest of these monsters to dust one by one until Undyne arrives. Unless Mr Asgore here takes me to the human souls.” It’s not a well thought out plan but this timeline’s already ruined anyway, it can’t hurt to be direct. 

Asgore lifts up his head in confusion, then it morphs into horror. He goes grim. 

“No.” 

Flowey starts laughing. “Hear that people?! KING ASGORE here, doesn’t think your lives are worth saving!” There are a few mumbles from the crowd. Asgore remains stoic. The good of monsterkind is worth more than the life of the individual. Flowey leans in closer to him. “You know, these worthless idiots do have a point. You’re a pretty sucky king, Fluffy buns.” He giggles at the stupid nickname. Asgore stares at him with an intense anger. “Let these people go.” Flowey tilts his head. “Sure thing! Will do! Just give me the souls.” The two are inches apart, glaring at eachother unwaveringly. 

A blue spear sails between the two. Ah. That’s his cue to leave. “Well, this has been fun!” He calls. “We should do it again sometime! Maybe next time you can play along a little better though, Bear?” 

Bear is in over his head here. He just hangs in Flowey’s vines, powerless. 

Flowey pulls back his attacks and disappears into the ground with a grin as the rest of the Royal Guard approaches. 

RESET. Continue?

[patriotsnet]

Are The Republicans Winning The Election

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/are-the-republicans-winning-the-election/

Are The Republicans Winning The Election

California Recall Lesson: Republicans Believe In Elections Only When They Win

Winning Elections: Why and How the Republicans Win

Republicans,;like totalitarians, believe in elections. But only if they always win.

New case in point? California, where voters on Tuesday appeared inclined to keep Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election.

Cue Larry Elder, the leading Republican to replace him, who started dropping unsubstantiated claims that the election was;rigged against him.

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The only proof Elder offered was the fact that California voters were poised to pick Newsom over him or anyone else on the long list of possible replacements.

How could that be? Republicans can only lose if theyre cheated, right?

I Do Not Buy That A Social Media Ban Hurts Trumps 2024 Aspirations: Nate Silver

sarah: Yeah, Democrats might not have their worst Senate map in 2022, but it will by no means be easy, and how they fare will have a lot to do with the national environment. And as we touched on earlier, Bidens overall approval rating will also make a big difference in Democrats midterm chances.

nrakich: Yeah, if the national environment is even a bit Republican-leaning, that could be enough to allow solid Republican recruits to flip even Nevada and New Hampshire. And then it wouldnt even matter if Democrats win Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

One thing is for sure, though whichever party wins the Senate will have only a narrow majority, so I think were stuck in this era of moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin and Lisa Murkowski controlling every bills fate for at least a while longer.;

sarah: Lets talk about big picture strategy, then, and where that leaves us moving forward. Its still early and far too easy to prescribe election narratives that arent grounded in anything, but one gambit the Republican Party seems to be making at this point is that attacking the Democratic Party for being too progressive or woke will help them win.

What do we make of that playbook headed into 2022? Likewise, as the party in charge, what are Democrats planning for?

With that being said, the GOPs strategies could still gin up turnout among its base, in particular, but its hard to separate that from general dissatisfaction with Biden.

Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger: National Gop Figures Didn’t Understand Our Laws

But Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, said on Wednesday that the system is working exactly the way it is intended.

“The irony of saying ‘fraudulent votes have been found’ â he has gained in the finding of these votes,” he said.

Raffensperger has said he’s been pressured by top Republicans to find ways of disqualifying ballots that hurt the Trump campaign.

“They say that as pressure builds, it reveals your character, it doesn’t change your character. Some people aren’t behaving too well with seeing where the results are,” Raffensperger told NPR’s Ari Shapiro on Tuesday.

“At the end of the day, I want voters to understand that when they cast their ballot in Georgia, it will be accurately counted. You may not like the results and I get that. I understand how contentious it is. But you can then respect the results.”

Poll workers check voters’ identifications on Election Day at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wis. The Trump campaign has announced it is filing for a recount in two Wisconsin counties.hide caption

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Poll workers check voters’ identifications on Election Day at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wis. The Trump campaign has announced it is filing for a recount in two Wisconsin counties.

President Trump’s campaign announced Wednesday morning it is filing a petition to formally ask election authorities to conduct a recount in two Wisconsin counties. President-elect Joe Biden won the state by a little more than 20,000 votes.

Recommended Reading: Did Donald Trump Really Say Republicans Are Dumb

Gop Scores An Early Win In 2024 Race

New Census figures show the gap between the popular vote and the Electoral College is widening.

As a result of Census Bureau population figures released Monday, if every state voted the same way in 2024 that they did in 2020, President Joe Biden would win three fewer Electoral College votes than he did in November. |

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President Joe Bidens path to reelection just got a little harder.

As a result of Census Bureau population figures released Monday, if every state voted the same way in 2024 that they did in 2020, Biden would win three fewer Electoral College votes than he did in November, while the Republican nominee would win three more.

The shift is only a marginal one it would only affect the closest of elections.

But that doesnt mean the new state numbers which are used to apportion the number of congressional districts each state gets, and thus the number of electoral votes wont alter the landscape in 2024 and 2028.

Here are five reasons why:

The gap between the popular vote and the Electoral College is widening.

Biden beat then-President Donald Trump by 74 Electoral College votes. A net gain of six votes for Trump wouldnt have mattered.

But in a close race like the one in 2000, where just five electoral votes separated George W. Bush and Al Gore the re-balancing of the Electoral College could tip the scales.

Thats significant for a party whose presidential candidates have won the national popular vote only once since 1988.

But thats right now.

The Numbers Are Grim Republicans Are Winning At Normalizing Voter Suppression

Voter ID laws which are sculpted to make it harder to vote are wildly popular with voters, according to surveys

Voter suppression has been around for as long as the republic. Stories of subterfuge and ballot box-stuffing schemes are such a part of American political folklore, theres an entire book about them. So in one sense, there is nothing particularly novel about Republican politicians efforts to rig the vote, or the important revelations that rightwing groups and corporate officials are coordinating state-level campaigns to make it harder to vote.

However, a new nugget of polling data illustrates that something more fundamental has happened: voter suppression is no longer a plot engineered in the shadows and denied in public, for fear of criticism by a population that considers such measures grotesque. Instead, voter suppression is having its coming-out party because more and more Americans now consider it to be a perfectly legitimate and even laudable campaign tactic.

The data point comes in a new CBS/YouGov survey, buried under the topline finding that almost two-thirds of Republican voters do not consider Joe Biden the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, despite Bidens electoral college and popular vote victories.

Nearly half of Republicans surveyed supported the latter move, with the strongest demographics in support being female Republicans, non-white Republicans and white Republicans with no college degree.

Read Also: Democrats Have Tried To Impeach Every Republican President Since Eisenhower

Biden Avoids The Microscope

Another benefit Biden can enjoy from having his party control both chambers of Congress is that Republican investigatory powers will be greatly diminished. With Democrats in charge of Senate committees, embarrassing and potentially explosive investigations are unlikely to materialise.

Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson will no longer run the Government Oversight Committee, so his planned forays into Hunter Biden’s China dealings and any connections to the incoming president will go away. The same applies to Lindsey Graham and the Judiciary Committee, which was expected to hold more hearings into the 2016 Russia election-meddling investigation and the origins of Robert Mueller’s special counsel probe.

Any new Democratic scandals that crop up should also avoid a full and potential politically damaging airing – a luxury Trump also enjoyed during his first two years in office and sorely missed during his final two.

The Trump-Russia saga in 350 words

Biden Flips Coveted Georgia The Last State To Be Called By The Ap

The full hand recount of the state’s 5 million presidential votes resulted in a narrowing of Biden’s lead over President Trump in Georgia, but not nearly enough to change the result. He started out with a 14,000 vote lead, and now leads by just over 12,000 votes.

The recount, formally known as a risk-limiting audit, is intended to verify the contest’s winner. As Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Stephen Fowler reported, four counties uncovered a few thousand previously uncounted votes, which subsequently cut into Biden’s margin of victory.

Douglas, Walton, Fayette and Floyd counties all experienced issues with missing or unscanned votes related to human error â but the numbers weren’t significant enough to change the outcome of the election.

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There is no mandatory recount law in Georgia, but state law does allow for a recount if the margin is less than .5%. It currently stands at .2%.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the hand audit last week, citing the close margin of the race.

The four counties with new vote totals must recertify their results. Statewide election results must be certified by Friday. The Trump campaign then has until Tuesday to request an additional recount, which would be by machine rather than by hand.

Trump has repeatedly questioned the integrity of Georgia’s vote counting, it both a “joke” and a process that led to “fraudulent votes” being found.

Read Also: Are Any Republicans In Favor Of Impeachment

Redistricting Is The Next Step On A Path To One

The redistricting process kicked off this week in Washington. The Census Bureau released initial data from the 2020 census Monday afternoon, , which means that congressional district boundaries will soon be redrawn to account for changes in population.

These changes will probably tend to benefit the Republican Party, as conservative states will get more seats for instance, Texas will gain two seats, while New York, California, and Illinois will all lose one. Republicans are also certain to use the process to try to gerrymander themselves as many additional congressional seats as possible by leveraging their control of a majority of state legislatures. And that is just the opening tactic in a long-term strategy to abolish American democracy and set up one-party rule.

Today in Michigan, gerrymandering means Republicans enjoy a 3.4-point handicap in the state House and a 10.7-point handicap in the state Senate; in Pennsylvania, it’s a 3.1-point handicap in the House and a 5.9-point handicap in the Senate; and in Wisconsin, a 7.1-point handicap in the House and a 10.1-point handicap in the Senate.

It’s impossible to gerrymander the Senate, of course, but luckily for Republicans that chamber is inherently gerrymandered due to the large number of disproportionately white, low-population rural states that lean conservative. The swing seat in the Senate is biased something like 7 points to the right.

A Late Surge In Latino Voters Helped Newsom Keep His Job

Who is Winning US Election 2020 | Full 360 Analysis | Analysts, Democrats, Republicans on NewsX

For weeks, Democrats openly worried that Latino voters were not going to show up in force for Gov. Gavin Newsom. That might have spelled doom for the party, which has relied on support from Latino voters to rise to its current grip on power in the state.

But early numbers suggest that it might have been history repeating itself: a late investment in Latino voter outreach, and a late uptick in interest and voting among Latinos. Though it was far from unanimous, the majority of Latino voters backed Mr. Newsom, with some Latino-heavy precincts defeating the recall by as much as 88 percent, according to an analysis by the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Early numbers, though, suggest that Latino voters may still not be showing up to the polls at the same rates as white, Black and Asian American voters. As of Tuesday morning, 30 percent of Latino voters who received their ballots by mail had sent them back, compared with 50 percent of white voters and 40 percent of Black voters, according to Political Data Inc., a Sacramento-based research group.

Historically, Latinos are more likely to vote late, and many observers thought it was possible to see a last-minute surge among those voters. Exit polling suggests that Latinos made up roughly 24 percent of all voters in the recall, and that about 60 percent of those Latino voters favored keeping the governor in office.

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Some Republicans Including Trump Make Baseless Pre

As Election Day dawned in California, some leading Republicans were preparing to declare the results marred by fraud.

Elder had already set up a link on his campaign website to a petition asking the state legislature to investigate voting fraud. In recent interviews he encouraged citizens to report voting issues to his campaign and said a team of lawyers was ready to act if needed.

The pre-election efforts to undermine confidence in the results were led by former president Donald Trump, who sent out a statement Tuesday morning warning of rampant voter fraud. In a Tuesday evening interview on Newsmax, Trump repeated his baseless claims, urging viewers to take a look at whats going on right now in California with the mail-in ballots and all the crap that theyre doing.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday outside a voting location at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock, Charlotte Dutra, 68, a retired human resources analyst for Turlock Irrigation District, said she is a proud Republican and voted yes to take out.

Dutra said she filled out her recall ballot and dropped it off in person. She said she believes there was fraud in the 2020 election, and shes still skeptical of election integrity in California because the current secretary of state was appointed by the White-privileged Gavin Newsom.

There is no evidence that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Can Pence Affect The Outcome

While Pence has said he welcomes objections to the electoral college count, his role in the processopening envelopes and affirming the victoriesis largely ceremonial.

Last month, Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican from Texas, filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to give Pence the authority to overturn Bidens win, but Pence successfully requested the case be dismissed, with an attorney for the Department of Justice arguing he was not the right defendant.

Read Also: Why Do Republicans Want To Take Away Health Care

Newsoms Efforts To Combat Coronavirus Sway Some Voters

In a rapidly gentrifying part of Inglewood, Calif., Gov. Gavin Newsoms imposition of restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic swayed some voters as did Republican Larry Elders statements that children do not need to be vaccinated or wear masks.

Keeping a candidate in office thats going to protect health-care workers, protect children, enforce the mask mandate at this point Im on the front lines. I work at UCLA Health in a hospital setting as a manager and am in the thick of it, seeing children get sick, Jolie Emenike, 41, said about the issue that drove her to vote against the recall Tuesday morning.

I dont want to see the vaccine or mask mandates change, she said.

For Dan Sabin, too, the vaccine rules were top of mind, though his conclusion was different.

I was subject to a vaccine mandate when I was younger in Romania. We overthrew our government, but I still have the lasting effects of that mandate, said Sabin, 33. I definitely recalled Gavin Newsom.

Although he called mail-in ballots a massive risk, the software engineer said he trusts the election process.

Im not really sure. You have to trust the people that do the ballots, he said. Ultimately, the people that work in there are people in the community.

If Rep Liz Cheney Doesnt Have A Home In The Gop Who Does

To be sure, though, Fragas own research has found that white voters, regardless of how easy or hard it is for them to vote, consistently turn out at higher rates than voters of color, so we do want to be careful of not reading too much into this. Jennifer McCoy, a political scientist at Georgia State University who studies the effects of polarization on democracy, told me that she thought the current emphasis on voter restrictions boiled down to Republicans thinking they could appeal to Trumps base by codifying his baseless claims of voter fraud. know they have to attract Donald Trump supporters who now believe there is fraud, said McCoy. So a large part of the current efforts to change voter laws was a direct response to this last election. Large majorities of Republicans continue to believe Bidens win is not legitimate, and a that only 28 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning people agreed that everything possible should be done to make voting easy, a steep drop from 48 percent in October 2018.

The GOPs restrictionist bent sends the message that Republicans dont want Black and brown Americans to vote. In September 2020, 54 percent of Black respondents and 35 percent of Hispanic respondents told FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos they believed Republicans didnt want people like me to vote.

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Why Are Republicans Fighting So Hard For Georgia

While the presidential election results were full of disappointments for Donald Trump, losing Georgia may have been the unkindest cut.

Like Arizona, the state hadn’t been carried by a Democrat since 1992. But unlike that desert state, Georgia wasn’t considered an electoral battleground until the campaign’s final weeks.

That, along with the narrowness of the Biden lead in the state, may be why the Trump team has fought so furiously to flip the state to his column – even if it means going to war with local Republicans overseeing the state’s election.

The president’s efforts to cast doubt on the results in Georgia are complicated by the fact that the state’s two runoff contests in January will decide control of the US Senate. The more he feuds with his own party in the state, the greater the risk division will lead to Republican defeat.

Trump is making Georgia his first presidential visit since the election. The stated purpose is to campaign for the two Republican incumbent senators, but he is sure to continue to call into question the presidential verdict in the state.

Reversing the election results has proven to be a futile battle, but it seems the only thing worse for this president than actual defeat is appearing to accept it.

[ladystylestores]

India’s coronavirus cases, Himalayas, K-pop: Your Monday Briefing

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning.

We’re covering India’s growing outbreak, the tensions between India and China in the Himalayas and Lebanon’s financial crisis.

India’s raging coronavirus outbreak reaches a revered actor and his circle

On a day when India reported more than 28,000 new coronavirus infections, one case in particular caught the whole country’s attention: Amitabh Bachchan, a Bollywood star and one of India’s most revered figures.

Mr. Bachchan, known as Big B, announced on Saturday to his 43 million followers on Twitter that he had tested positive, before urging his recent contacts to get tested themselves. His son, Abhishek, and daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, both actors, have also become infected.

India, which closed down early and then reopened to save its battered economy, is now racking up about 30,000 new reported infections each day — more than any other country except the United States and Brazil. And it is rapidly catching up to Brazil. With more than 850,000 cases nationwide, hospitals in India are overflowing.

case study: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/world/europe/coroanvirus-scotland-england.html

Here are the latest updates and maps of where the virus has spread.

In other developments:

Caught between Indian and Chinese troops

Weeks after a deadly brawl erupted along the border between China and India, thousands of both countries’ troops are amassed over a contentious, jagged line in the Himalayas.

New satellite photos reveal a major Chinese buildup, including new tents, storage sheds, artillery pieces and even tanks. It all adds up to a growing Chinese push into the Indian region of Ladakh, a move locals say has been in the works for years.

Our reporter spoke to some of the few thousand Ladakhis trapped in between, who are Tibetan in culture but who identify as Indian. They say that incursions have happened for years within a code of silence.

Details: Indian Army officials, who declined to comment, did not act when Ladakhis told them of Chinese incursions into the area, perhaps avoiding conflict or refusing to face the fact that a more powerful and aggressive military was steadily nibbling away at it.

Context: Analysts say China may be taking a more aggressive approach in the area, and may have been provoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brand of renewed Indian nationalism.

A protest vote in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s opposition party said on Sunday that over 600,000 residents of the city cast ballots in primaries that some viewed as a symbolic vote against tough national security laws.

The unofficial poll will decide the strongest pro-democracy candidates to contest elections in September for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. The party is aiming for a majority in what is usually a pro-Beijing body by riding a wave of anti-China sentiment stirred by the new laws.

Though the primaries are only for the opposition camp, participation can be seen as a gauge for popular opinion. It remains to be seen whether Beijing’s new powers will make that path impossible.

Quotable: “A high turnout will send a very strong signal to the international community, that we Hong Kongers never give up,” said Sunny Cheung, 24, one of a batch of aspiring young democrats out lobbying and giving stump speeches.

If you have 13 minutes, this is worth it

Haunted by those she could not save

For all their hero status, health workers around the world face intense pressure and stress, intensified by this pandemic. Dr. Lorna Breen, above, was known for being an unflappable emergency room doctor in Manhattan — until the virus. She suffered a breakdown in the midst of the crisis, and she died by suicide in April.

Dozens of her loved ones shared memories of her with our reporters, and told them about how she was devastated that she could not help many of her patients. “She had something that was a little bit different,” recalled her colleague and friend Dr. Barbara Lock, “and that was this optimism that her persistent efforts will save lives.”

Here’s what else is happening

China: Xu Zhangrun, a law professor in Beijing known for criticizing the Communist Party, was allowed to go home after being detained a week ago, people familiar with him said.

K-pop: Fans of the band Blackpink, many of them in India, unleashed a torrent of criticism, including accusations of cultural appropriation and disrespect, after a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha flashed onscreen in a music video. The video was removed, and the band apologized. It was another example of how eagle-eyed K-pop fans will come together to push for issues they believe in.

Roger Stone: President Trump’s commutation of the sentence of his former campaign adviser for obstructing an investigation into Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign was the latest example of Mr. Trump bending legal machinery to his advantage.

In case you missed it: The center-right People’s Action Party, which has never been out of power, won again in Singapore’s elections, but by a narrower margin than usual. The opposition racked up a record 10 of Parliament’s 93 seats.

Snapshot: Above, the police drag protesters in Beirut on Sunday. Our correspondents took stock of how Lebanon’s financial crisis has sent inflation soaring and closed businesses, replacing the city’s once raucous nightlife with an eerie desolation.

What we’re reading: This South China Morning Post article about students derailed by U.S. visa restrictions. “U.S.-China tensions are playing out not just on the world stage but at schools like the University of Rochester, where 19 percent of students are Chinese,” writes Jennifer Jett, an editor in Hong Kong. “But it’s not as simple as one side against the other.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: David Tanis’s vegetarian burger doesn’t mimic the texture or look of ground meat, but it isn’t meant to. It’s more like deluxe refried beans, with an egg on top.

Read or listen: The Times Magazine’s “Decameron Project,” inspired by Boccaccio’s 14th-century tales during the plague, brings together 29 new short stories from writers including Margaret Atwood, Yiyun Li, Esi Edugyan and Charles Yu. You can listen to two of the stories here.

Make: You can turn your copy of The Times (or any other newspaper) into ornamental beads, with a little glue and our templates.

Reopening and reclosings seem to be everywhere. For those minimizing their exposure, At Home has our full collection of ideas on what to read, cook, watch, and do.

And now for the Back Story on …

Personal finance lessons

Paul B. Brown, a freelance writer, entered the pandemic believing he was in good shape financially, but he lost most of his income virtually overnight. Now, he says, he has a lot more to do. He shared some of the lessons he has learned.

Keep even more cash on hand.

The standard personal finance advice is to have at least three months of living expenses stashed away in something liquid and ultrasafe. I am going to try to get that number up to a year’s worth of reserves. The goal is more to create peace of mind than to increase my net worth. I never want to worry about meeting day-to-day expenses again.

Manage debt more aggressively.

I’ve always paid off my full credit card balances each month, so I have never had credit card debt. But I do have three mortgages. I always paid more than I had to each month on each mortgage, because I considered prepaying a kind of forced savings. The mortgages have different interest rates. From now on, I am going to put all extra payments toward the one with the highest interest rate.

Keep the big picture in mind.

You never buy insurance because you hope to submit a claim someday. You do it to protect against a time when something awful may happen. I have always thought of saving money the same way.

But the pandemic has made me realize that I’m not sure how much I’ll really need to have salted away to protect my family and to keep our solidly middle-class standard of living intact, both now and into the future.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina

Thank you To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is on the fate of President Trump’s tax records. • Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Ingredient in a croque monsieur sandwich (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • “The Jungle Prince of Delhi,” a Times story about the mysterious royal family of Oudh from the reporter Ellen Barry, is being adapted for an Amazon series by the director Mira Nair.

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R.I. Campaign 2018: Mattiello-controlled PAC gave $1,000 to ex-Republican Earnheart - News - providencejournal.com

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=7971

R.I. Campaign 2018: Mattiello-controlled PAC gave $1,000 to ex-Republican Earnheart - News - providencejournal.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A PAC controlled by House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello gave $1,000 — the maximum donation state law allows — to Michael Earnheart, the Trump-voting former Republican who is challenging progressive female legislator Moira Walsh in the September Democratic primary.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joseph McNamara rescinded his endorsement of Earnheart over Walsh in a Providence House race amid national headlines about the uproar among Rhode Island Democrats over the state party’s apparent snub of progressive women. “Will & Grace” actress Debra Messing — who grew up in East Greenwich — was among those taking to Twitter in Walsh’s defense.

Mattiello has not responded to inquiries about why his “Fund for Democratic Leadership” donated to Republican-turned-Democrat Earnheart’s campaign to unseat Walsh. The contribution was one of 18 $1,000 contributions the PAC made to Democratic lawmakers and candidates for House seats held by Republicans or currently open.

“Bwahahahaha. I guess I really made him angry,” Walsh tweeted.

“Quick shoutout to @RISpeaker,” she later added. “Thank you for getting involved with my opponent, it brings me great press and tons of donations. Thanks for all your help, nick!”

Earnheart did not disclose the July 25 contribution from the Mattiello-controlled PAC on the campaign report filed this week for the period that ran from July 1 through Aug. 14. In fact, he disclosed only two sources of money: a $4,050 personal loan and an unspecified $275 “in-kind contribution” from Mattiello’s mail-ballot guru, Ed Cotugno of Greenville.

Earnheart told The Journal he would issue a statement soon. The short version: “I don’t have the check.”

He said he never received the check because, he has deduced from the PAC filing, it was sent to the wrong address — 43 Charles St. instead of 433 Charles St., where he lives. “That should be a good story instead of going around making assumptions,” Earnheart said, blaming the media.

“If you all did any due diligence whatsoever, this would be a non-issue. I’m disappointed,” Earnheart said before he hung up on a Journal reporter. 

State GOP Chairman Brandon Bell — who is himself a candidate running against an incumbent who got $1,000 from Mattiello — issued this statement: “Tricky Nicky Mattiello and his back-stabbing staffer Leo Skenyon will never forgive Representative Walsh for exposing the ‘insane amount of drinking’ that has been going on at the State House.

“But more importantly,” said Bell, “how can Rhode Island Democrats ever criticize Republicans for supporting President Trump, when the House Speaker through his PAC is donating to a pro-Trump former Republican against an incumbent Democrat? Any Rhode Island Democrat who supports the Speaker after this cannot, with a straight face, ever criticize a Republican when they agree with the President.”

The 27-year-old Walsh has been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly since she went on radio, soon after her arrival at the State House in 2017, and talked about how much drinking she saw there. More recently, she joined the dissidents on the House floor in denouncing a watered-down version of a pay-equity bill.

In an impassioned speech on June 21, Walsh said: “I think it is unwise to put into law that sexism is legal as long as you have less than 18 workers. I don’t think it is wise for a room that is so heavily weighted toward men to be telling women what they do and do not deserve.”

“I think that a room that is 70 percent men telling women that they should be grateful for the crumbs that fall off their plate is shameful,” said Walsh, alluding to the male-dominated makeup of the House of Representatives.

Earnheart told The Journal, in an interview this summer, that he switched his party affiliation back to Democrat from Republican last December because he feels “far more aligned” with the Democratic Party, never liked the national GOP’s attempt to squash gay marriage, always had an itch to run for office and felt that someone needed to challenge the “far-left” Walsh from within her own party, or she’d have a “cake-walk” to reelection as the state representative for House District 3 in Providence.

Walsh produced copies of Earnheart’s deleted tweets, including one that said: “Just so you are aware, illegals are self-entitled lawbreakers and thieves, stealing jobs and government benefits meant for our own people.” Another that appeared to come from his @maearnheart Twitter account talked about Muslims and Jews, with this observation: “Rape culture is literally being created by these Muslim grooming gangs.”

A photograph of Earnheart at a Trump rally carrying a MAGA [“Make America Great Again”] sign that had appeared on the UpriseRI.com advocacy blog also circulated.

After a grand jury cleared the police officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Earnheart acknowledges posting a now-deleted tweet that said: “Justice was served.”

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