Tag: #threads

Presidential Election 2024 Ballot Prediction Results (Political Post)

The Democratic National Convention has concluded, and the candidate has officially been nominated. That means it time to pull the mayonnaise jar from where it has wintered since last November in the darkest depths below Funk & Wagnall’s back porch* and see how I did on my predictions.  You can see my original prediction post at: https://oddstuffing.com/archives/1128.

The results are mixed. While I was correct as to who WAS NOT going to be the candidate, I missed on who WAS going to be the candidate. 

Quick review: Back in November 2023 I predicted the physical and mental health of our current President, Joe Biden, would have declined to the point where he could no longer be a valid candidate. It’s not that his condition in 2020 was that much better, it’s just that by now it is to the point where it can’t be covered up, denied, or explained away anymore. Everyone points to his disastrous performance in the first debate with former President Donald Trump as the reason he stepped aside. I’m sticking with the notion this was planned all along and the performance was not only anticipated, but necessary to make the move. 

As to the replacement candidate, I predicted either Gavin Newsom or Hillary Clinton. Yup, I missed on this part, and I can only think of a hundred million reasons why. The money. 

The current President’s campaign war chest at the time he stepped away from campaign was more than 100 million dollars and, since the Vice President was on the reelection ticket with him, she gets to use the money. Obviously, there are some MAJOR questions about that from a legal standpoint, but with the Federal Elections Commission, a notoriously pathetic slow to react agency in the first place being part of the Executive Branch of the current government, well guess what… it’s going be ruled as “legal” sometime in the next few years, just in time for the 2024 elections. 

The choice of Vice President Kamala Harris is an absolute surprise, not only for me but for the Democrat party. This is someone who when the President announced his reelection bid, even the party loyalists were openly calling for him to replace her on the ticket because she was dragging him down in the polls.

Vice President Harris has consistently ranked as the least popular Vice President in recent history, potentially all of time. Her patented word salad answers, to her maniacal nervous cackle when she doesn’t have an answer, to the fact she hasn’t accomplished anything she has been tasked with, all add up to someone who is in no way, shape or fashion ready to lead the country. 

Let’s also recall that in her first presidential run in 2020, she was forced to drop out BEFORE the first primary because her performance couldn’t rally enough support, despite having the funding and connections from the Clinton dynasty. When the current President announced his support for her candidacy, in an all too mysterious fashion, I was skeptical if it was the real thing. But then we started to see key campaign staff from the Clintons, Obamas and Bidens start to migrate to her staff. I had to conclude it was true. 

So how is the most unpopular, least productive Vice President going to compete as a candidate? Lots and lots of help. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC): Through all the primaries, the Democrat party ran a candidate they knew was not going to be on the 2024 ballot, as well as viciously kept any potential primary opponent off the primary ballots. When the President stepped aside and endorsed the Vice President, all the President’s delegates magically transformed to Harris delegates. We now have a Presidential candidate who was not primaried in two election cycles as the Democrat Presidential candidate. 

If you’re thinking the Democrat party can’t simply select who they want regardless of the primaries, recall Bernie Sanders lawsuit against the DNC for unfairly biasing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. His case was ultimately dismissed when the Federal Court ruled the DNC could select their own candidate, period. Primaries mean absolutely NOTHING and your vote in a primary is nothing but a popularity contest so the major parties can evaluate the general election support for whomever they choose. 

The media: The media have been repeating the popular myth the Vice President has “grassroots” support across the nation. The LEAST popular Vice President, potentially of all times, whom nobody wanted to stay on the current President’s ticket, suddenly has nationwide grassroots support. Social media, the tech giants as well as traditional television and print media have been effectively erasing inconvenient facts and articles from the internet, as well as substituting complimentary articles. Searches have been altered to show only the side they want you to find. 

The polls: Polling from the day the Vice President announced show her leading the former President in all the battleground states. Yet we recall in the days, weeks, months and years leading up to this, the Vice President was polling at the bottom of the list of people who could potentially replace the current President. 

The courts: The lawfare against the Republican candidate and those who have supported him continues and we can expect ramped up efforts to muddy them up even further in the coming months.  

New voters: Over the past three and a half years, this country has seen a tsunami of unlawful residents flowing into our country, to the tune of an estimated 10 to 20 million, costing our country billions and billions of dollars to provide housing, food, clothing, transportation and medical care. How many of these so-called “asylum seekers” or “migrants” will end up on the voting rolls is unknown, but their being registered as voters is well documented.

The October surprise: We should all expect at least one, likely more, September, October and even first few days of November surprises. It may come in the form of an escalation or US brokered resolution in one of the multiple wars we are financing, a “terrorist” attacks on our own soil, political lawfare accusations, charges or sentences, a new pandemic, or even the current President resigning so the Vice President will be considered the incumbent candidate. 

Voting “season”: Our country used to have a single day when people went to the polls to vote, or had to have their absentee ballots in. Votes were tabulated then and there and the results, even if contested, were announced at the end of the night. Just about every other country in the world still does that, but not us. Our highest technology driven “safest and securest elections ever” require days to weeks or longer of extra behind closed doors counting to come up with the ‘right’ number, especially in the battleground states. 

The puppet masters: Just as I’m thoroughly convinced someone else was running our government for the past three and half years, I’m convinced a different someone else would be running the country under a President Harris administration. The same forces that originally planned to replace President Biden with Vice President Harris are doing it again. Follow the money to figure out who. 

As someone who has witnessed the current Vice President in action in her home state of Kalifornistan as well as her performance in the Senate and as Vice President, I can only shake my head in disbelief. I keep thinking we as a nation can come up with better candidates for office at the local, county, state and federal level, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. 

This is OUR fault folks. We allow the political parties to pick our representatives for us and we wind up with people who do nothing but give the public lip service while they do the bidding of those who put them in place. 

This election is going to be difficult for a lot of people as the lies and smears are going to try to convince you to make an emotional decision. All I can say is vote for the future you want for your country and godspeed. 

Bob

*Okay, it’s really Odd Stuffing’s back deck, but it’s still a valid ceremonial place to let these kinds of things properly age. 

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A Model of Bipartisan Efficiency (Side Rant)

For those who don’t believe our elected officials are working hard in the best interests of our nation, I present to you S.4610 – A bill to amend Title 36, United States Code, to designate the bald eagle as the national bird. Yes, you read that correctly. The Senate of the 118th Congress has brought forth and in a stunning show of bipartisanship, unanimously passed S.4610. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives where it is expected to quickly pass and be sent to the President of the United States for his signature. 

S.4610 – A Senate bill officially designating the bald eagle as America’s national bird after more than 200 years of symbolizing the country.

According to one of the co-sponsors, “Today’s bipartisan passage brings us one step closer to solidifying the eagle’s place as an enduring symbol of our freedom, and I look forward to seeing this legislation pass the House and signed into law soon.”

I for one am grateful that during these trying times when runaway inflation is raising the costs of goods and services, forcing many hard working Americans to simply go without, crime in many of our cities is out of control and the streets are no longer safe to walk or drive day or night, our uncontrolled border is pouring millions of “asylum seekers” and “immigrants” (a.k.a. illegals) into our country, to have all of their needs including housing, food, clothing and healthcare paid for with our tax dollars, law abiding citizens are being stripped of their constitutionally protected rights, radical ideologies rule the day and anyone disagreeing with them faces the full weight of our nation’s law enforcement and legal system, all while our country is sponsoring two foreign proxy  wars and we are propping up economies of countless nations hostile to our own interests, our Congress is laser focused on the hard issues. 

Despite all the trivial distractions, our Congressional representatives, who we pay a minimum of $175,000 per year and enjoy extraordinarily lavish benefits, perks and the advantages of insider information not available to the common US citizen, are able to come together to pass this critical piece of timely legislation. 

BRAVO PATRIOTS!

I invite you to go to https://www.congress.gov to see what your Representatives and Senators have been doing on your behalf. Are they working on things that matter to you and your family? Are they addressing what is important to our nation? 

Maybe it’s time for some different representation. 

Bob

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California’s 1 in 30 Ban Update 

In a rare pro Second Amendment ruling last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a stay issued against an injunction against California’s “1 in 30” ban. The ban prohibits Californian’s from purchasing more than one firearm in a 30-day period. The ruling by a three-judge panel in the case of Nguyen v. Bonta is short and to the point. “The order (Dkt. 9) granting Defendants’ motion for a stay pending appeal (Dkt. 3) is REVERSED.” There was no stay included in the reversal of the stay, so the order was effective immediately. 

The original lawsuit against the ban was filed in federal court on December 18, 2020, when the 1 in 30 ban only covered handgun purchases. The ban was expanded on July 1, 2021, to include semiautomatic, centerfire rifles as well. The law was expanded again on January 1, 2024, to include any firearm, completed frames or receivers, or so-called “firearm precursor parts”.

The 1 in 30 ban was struck down on March 11, 2024, by District Court for the Southern District of California by Judge William Q. Hayes. The judgement was stayed in the original order for 30 days to facilitate the State’s appeal. A stay pending the outcome of the appeals was granted on April 24, 2024, by a separate three-judge panel. 

The justification for the 1 in 30 ban was explained by the State in the motion for a stay as: 

“California law does not limit the total number of firearms that any person may possess, the OGM (one-gun-a-month) law addresses the particular dangers associated with bulk purchases that occur within a relatively brief period of time, such as straw purchases and illegal firearms trafficking. The law makes it more difficult for criminals to acquire firearms by reducing the flow of guns into the black market and thus curtailing the illegal gun market. The law also makes it more difficult for individuals to stockpile firearms for criminal activity.”

During the defense of the stay, the California DOJ attorney claimed that the reason for the gun rationing law was to “disrupt” gun trafficking and straw purchasing. When pressed for evidence the 1 in 30 ban actually does this, the DOJ attorney cited unnamed “some studies” and that other states had adopted one-gun-a-month statutes. 

The state also claimed anyone who needed an additional firearm in that 30 days could “borrow” a firearm until they were allowed to purchase another. This of course is against the law in California as it is illegal to loan or otherwise transfer a firearm to another private party, except between immediate family members, without conducting a Private Party Transfer at a federal firearms dealer and waiting the required 10 days. It is also illegal to transfer ammunition to another private party without going through an “ammunition vendor” and paying for a background check, along with any wait imposed by the State for the completion of the background check. 

The 1 in 30 ban serves as a prime example of California’s draconian approach to gun control. The basis for the law was conjecture based not on factual evidence, but a desire to systemically reduce the number of firearms a person could lawfully obtain. “Some studies”, while not even cited in this case, are usually result of biased, State funded “research” where they start with the outcome and work to create “facts” and numbers to support the outcome. This law also demonstrates the scope creep commonly found in gun control. What started out as a one-handgun-a-month ban, expanded to include semi-automatic, centerfire rifles, then expanded to ALL firearms, frames, receivers and even so-called “firearm precursor parts”. 

The State was very cautious to include in their testimony that they do not limit the number of firearms a person can own, only how quickly they can obtain them. However, if you examine the State’s history of continuously tightening the regulations on lawfully purchasing and the possession of firearms, it is painfully obvious it will only be a matter of time before a hard limit of how many firearms the State will ‘allow’ you to own is imposed. 

The State has the option of appealing the reversal to an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Considering one three-judge panel issued the stay and a different three-judge panel reversed it, an appeal by the State is almost guaranteed. The State has also fared far better with their hand selected en banc panels. We should expect nothing different in this case. 

The latest news indicates the State is still updating the DROS (Dealer Record of Sale), the registration and background check system, to comply with the reversal of the stay, although there is nothing to say this process won’t be dragged out indefinitely pending their obtaining another stay and reversal of the original court decision. 

I’m going to keep saying this, fighting gun control laws after they are passed is a fool’s errand. It is a long shot to even get the right appeal and we the citizens of the United States are not only funding the appeal but the defense of unconstitutional laws. In this game, only the lawyers win and we the people lose our rights in the process. 

What does work? Electing representatives at the local, county, state and federal level who will NOT sell our constitutionally protected rights to the gun control zealots. EVERY seat on EVERY board matters.  Yes, even in Kalifornistan.  

Bob

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Vote Early, Vote Often… A Santa Cruz Story

It’s been five years since I escaped the People’s Republic of Kalifornistan, so imagine my joy at receiving yet another notice from the Santa Cruz County Elections Board to validate my address for my absentee ballot in the upcoming general elections. The notice had my residence address listed as my old Scotts Valley address, with the mailing address of my previous address in New Mexico. The new owners of the property were kind enough to forward it on to Maine for me. 

Now keep in mind, in the past five years, I moved to New Mexico, where I obtained a driver’s license, registered to vote and voted while I was there, then moved to Maine, where I obtained a driver’s license, registered to vote and voted since I’ve been here. According to this notice I received, either of these should have triggered them removing me from the voting rolls in California. But apparently not. 

An unscrupulous person might say, screw it… if they want to send me a ballot, I’ll vote there too. It wouldn’t be a vote they’ll like, but I could send it anyway. But that’s not only dishonest, but illegal. So, one more time, I returned the notice saying I was no longer at either address.

For a while I thought about sending back a notice saying I had died thinking that might give them the hint to clear me off their list, but then I really didn’t want to join the Democrat party. 

Not to be outdone, every year the City of Scotts Valley sends me a reminder that my business license has expired, and I need to renew it promptly to avoid a late renewal penalty. Being the persnickety person I am, I cancelled everything before I escaped the iron grip of Kalifornistan, but again, it doesn’t seem to have taken. Although at this point, I admit to getting a little nostalgic when I read these notices. It’s kind of like getting a Christmas card from an ex. You can appreciate the thought but really wish they’d stop.

Voting integrity is serious problem in this country, as witnessed by the last few general elections. The explosion of mail in ballots (thanks covid), lax to zero validation, purposely signing up unlawful residents or the dearly expired, and unaccountable counting has caused many, myself included, to lose faith in our electoral system. 

How can we consider ourselves a first world nation, a leader in technology, economics, trade, law, medical care, morality and living standards, but we can’t manage to accurately tally the votes for a general election on the same day as the election. Just about every other country on the plant can do it, from the biggest and most advanced countries down to the most rural, remote and destitute third world countries. 

You have to wonder, is it our highly advanced, saftest and securest voting systems ever that cause us to take days, weeks and months to count votes (but only in the battleground states) and can’t be fully audited or is it the people running them? 

While the left leaning of our nation pushes universal mail in voting, the same left leaning companies who support them demand in-person voting for things such as union organizing. Why? Because they don’t have faith the elections will be free from fraud otherwise. Go figure. 

Elections are arguably the biggest civic obligation we as United States citizens have, yet we have a dismal voting participation rate of 66% in the last elections – up from 59% in the previous general elections – placing us as 73rd out of 198 nations. 

As for the imaginary barriers to voting that discriminate against otherwise eligible voters, well, those just don’t exist. They make great campaign fodder and news stories, but they simply do not exist in real life. Anyone who wants it is fully capable of obtaining proper identification documents needed to legally cast a ballot anywhere in the country, but saying some can’t and will be disenfranchised is a great way to keep the voting rolls as open and malleable as possible. 

So, on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024, I encourage you to get out and vote early, but vote only once. 

Fun side note: I wanted to check the date for the general elections this year, so I typed “what date are the general elections in 2024” into a popular search engine. Along with a list or articles and the date, over on the right side of the results page was the picture and article on the candidacy for the current Vice President, and ONLY the current Vice President. Subtle…

Bob

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