Category: Politics

How can it possibly take more than a day to gather and report the results of the Iowa caucus from just 1765 precincts?

The initial reports (nearly a day late) show Buttigieg with a small lead at 26.9% (with 62% of precincts reporting), followed by Sanders in a close second at 25.1%. However, one has to wonder why – even at this late stage – only 62% of the precincts are being reported. What if all the data has actually been received, but the Iowa Democratic party is cherry-picking precincts to report so as to undermine Sanders and boost Buttigieg as the New Hampshire primary approaches? It’s not that far fetched; the DNC’s alleged actions to suppress Sanders in his primary run against Clinton are well known. Why not expect more of the same now?

What if the final report shows Sanders as the leader in Iowa? If the NH primary has been completed by the time the full results are released, the damage will have been done. Buttigieg will have built momentum at Sander’s expense, and little will be possible to recover the lost advantage. Once again, Sanders will have been thwarted by the Democratic party.

I’m very interested to see who the final winner is in Iowa, and when those results are released to the public.

We are entering a dangerous time in our history. Partizan rhetoric has grown with each election cycle, and the increasingly extreme swings in voter opinion have the potential to lead us down a path of despotism and dictatorship. Our politicians have failed to end this destructive cycle (and instead have chosen to feed upon it), but we are reminded now that government in a free society exists by the consent of the governed. The responsibility to restore our society falls upon us, not the politicians.

In crafting a solution to our current state of political affairs we must be cognizant of our own internal partisanship. Our emotions have the potential to swing us not to a solution, but instead to anything except the status quo. This is how the extreme come to power – not by virtue of their ideas, but by virtue of their supporters hate for the opposition. Hate pulls us all down; our goal instead should be to pull everyone up. We should strive to better all our lives, not just a few – and not at the expense of others. To do this we must move away from the extremes.

Insist that sanity, moderation and mutual agreement return to our system of government. Insist on a return to consensus, on a return to a time before the explosion of “nuclear options” decimated any possibility of negotiation and mutual agreement. Insist on a system free from the tyranny of the majority, to a system instead where minority opinions are fully considered and where no one’s opinion is silenced simply because the majority do not agree. Insist on an increase in liberty for all, not new limits for some.

Do not cut off your nose to spite your face. Do not accept an even more extreme solution simply because it is on your side of the political fence. Insist instead that both parties put forth reasonable candidates, rejecting any change otherwise. Send the politicians a message that you will not permit this escalation of extremes to continue.

Given the current economy, I’m willing to wait the politicians out and force a positive change. Are you?

California has always had its own rules for energy efficiency; California’s Title 24 is a leader in energy policy, frequently setting the model for others to follow.

So why is the fact that California is going further than federal guidelines a story at all? Maybe because it’s just another jab at Trump? I’m no cheerleader for Trump, but I am getting tired of partisan stories whose only purpose is to denigrate one party or another.

California Will Enforce The Energy-Efficient Lightbulb Rule Trump Wants To Reverse

They’re worried about how prison populations, counted locally for census purposes, will affect the apportioning of representation in our state and federal governments. But they don’t seem too worried about the impact of 10+ million illegal aliens…

‘Your Body Being Used’: Where Prisoners Who Can’t Vote Fill Voting Districts

Why am I not surprised? Here are some excerpts from an NPR article entitled:

Pelosi Says She Plans To Send Articles Of Impeachment To Senate

I think the best part of this is the actual URL for the article, which gives a different title or description for the story:

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/18/789062780/house-democrats-weigh-a-move-to-delay-senate-impeachment-trial

That’s right! The title and the URL convey completely different tones to the story: the title says the House will send the articles to the Senate, while the URL says the House is weighing a move to delay. Do you think that maybe a partisan editor had his hand in the cookie jar on this one, resulting in a more politically-correct last-minute change to the title?

But wait – there’s more:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she plans to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate once she has more information about the contours of a Senate trial.

Interesting – except that the house has no say whatsoever in an impeachment trial. Or so says Article 1 of the Constitution… something I would expect a sitting U.S. Representative to have read.

Still more contents of the article at odds with the title:

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said withholding the articles from the Senate would serve as leverage in obtaining witnesses sought by Democrats.

I think the title might have been re-written to paint House Democrats in a more favorable light and downplay the delays orchestrated by the House. In any event, this inaccurate and partisan reporting is why I no longer consider NPR my preferred independent source of news. They’ve proven to me over the last several years that they are no longer capable of reporting objectively.

I’ll say:

Ed Buck included in Elizabeth Warren’s list of Obama-era endorsements; campaign calls it ‘mistake’