“CNN anchor Jake Tapper is going viral for his stunned reaction early Wednesday when told that Vice President Kamala Harris had failed to outperform President Biden’s 2020 results in a single state. Tapper asked CNN chief national correspondent John King to pull up a graphic showing in which states Harris had gotten at least 3% more votes than Biden had in the last election — just to be presented with a gray map reflecting her failure even in that. ‘Holy smokes!’ Tapper gasped. ‘Literally nothing?’ ‘Literally nothing,’ King confirmed. The slide, which would have lit up states where Harris outperformed Biden by 3% or more, was instead completely gray. ‘Literally not one county?’ Tapper asked again, still sounding shocked in the footage, which was viewed more than 5 million times in just one clip shared on X.” (11/06/24)
“The 2024 presidential campaign is ending pretty much where it began: loathing the never-ending presence of Donald Trump. On the day before the election, The New York Times front page displayed a gaudy editorial (badly disguised as ‘News Analysis’) under the title ‘Torrent of Lies Redefines Political Norms.’ Doesn’t that sound like a hard-charging rerun of 2016? Nothing ever seems to change from the paper that gaudily proclaimed under Trump that ‘The Truth Is More Important Now Than Ever.’ You can point and laugh, since The New York Times refused to admit that Hunter Biden’s laptop full of corruption details was authentic until 2022, and then it acknowledged reality in a story on page A-20, in paragraph 23. It was buried, almost like an unmarked grave.” (11/06/24)
“Nashville’s ‘Choose How You Move’ $3.1 billion transit plan is moving forward. Voters on Tuesday gave the overwhelming green light for a major overhaul of the city’s bus systems, sidewalks and traffic signals with 66% of the city voting to approve the plan. The approval means Davidson County’s sales tax will increase by half a cent, which will go directly to funding the transit plan. The increase will go into effect Feb. 1 and put Davidson County in line with surrounding countries like Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Dickson and Maury, which all have a combined 9.75% sales tax. Passage marks a major win for Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who has made the referendum a hallmark of his administration since he took the helm last year.” [editor’s note: Even some of my “progressive” local friends saw through this debacle, which raises the cost of groceries and clothing for everyone, to produce a long term screwup of the city – SAT] (11/06/24)
“California voters have rejected Proposition 33, a ballot measure that would have allowed cities to dramatically expand rent control protections. With 94.9% of precincts reporting at least partial results, ‘no’ votes were winning with 61.6% (5.7 million voters). About 3.5 million people voted in favor of the measure. The ballot measure needed only a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to pass. The proposition would have repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a 1995 state law that set limits on how cities and counties could apply rent control — sets of laws that allow governments to regulate how much landlords can charge tenants.” (11/06/24)
“To wake up the morning after Election Day was to understand the appeal of oblivion. Regaining consciousness meant assuming the crushing weight of the darkest knowledge. The Motherfucker is back. ‘Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard,’ wrote American journalist H.L. Mencken in 1916. Now, everyone will unleash their theories. Salvaging comfort in a situation like this means smoothing down the events so that they conform to our own world view. So people will say: Kamala Harris lost because she did not embrace the policy views that I do. Or: Kamala Harris lost because the ignoble rats on the [left/ right/ middle] did not work hard enough for her.” (11/06/24)
“Protests have erupted in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the country’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu said a ‘crisis of trust’ between the two leaders led to his decision, adding that his trust in Gallant had ‘eroded’ in recent months and Foreign Minister Israel Katz would step in to replace him. Gallant said his removal was due to disagreement on three issues, including his belief that it is possible to get the remaining hostages back from Gaza if Israel makes ‘painful concessions’ which it ‘can bear.’ Many protesters on the streets were calling for Netanyahu to resign, and demanding the new defence minister prioritise a hostage deal.” (11/05/24)
“Turns out subway madman Jordan Neely was alive after Daniel Penny released his chokehold — why on earth is the broader public just learning this now? Bombshell video played in the opening days of Penny’s trial … two of the cops who arrived on the scene confirming that Neely still has a pulse. Penny has been portrayed by leftist activists and their media allies as a cold-blooded racist killer. This footage dramatically undercuts that (though the detail about Neely’s faint pulse has appeared in court filings). … After all, Bragg is famously pro-crime, even violent crime. So why on earth would he come down so hard on Penny? The ugliest answer here is almost certainly the truest: Penny is white and Neely is black …” (11/04/24)
“The intensity of an election cycle can create an overwhelming environment filled with stress, debates, and a constant influx of information. Finding peace amidst this chaos is essential for mental well-being. Here’s how exercise, mindful social media use, and natural herbs can support your calm and clarity during these high-pressure times. 1. The Power of Exercise: Move for Your Mood … 2. Limiting Social Media: Filter Your Feed for Peace … 3. Nature’s Calm: Herbal Allies for Anxiety Reduction …” (11/05/24)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Mark Sappenfield
“Some 236 years ago, it would seem that James Madison foresaw this moment. Election Day in the United States has arrived, and the great question that lies ahead is one he spent no small amount of time attempting to answer. How does a nation with democratic principles prevent the winners from walking all over the losers? Madison’s answer was a masterstroke of realpolitik. In political factions, he saw the human tendency to be whipped into groups of passion and ill will toward others. And in the clash of faction on faction, he saw checks and counterbalances. Many American voters say they’re anxious about who wins. What happens to the losing side? James Madison thought deeply about that question, and we the nation has learned more since. Yet as Americans go to the voting booth today, I wonder: Is there really no moral element?” (11/05/24)
“Will Rogers said, ‘Everything is funny as long as it’s happening to somebody else.’ Kamala Harris'[s] presidential campaign can attest to the truism after the vice president appeared on ‘Saturday Night Live’ three days before the presidential election. Make no mistake, there is nothing funny about an apparent violation of federal law by NBC and ‘SNL.’ With Harris and Trump locked in a close race, the appearance was a bonanza for the campaign. It also was presumptively unlawful.” [editor’s note: Unless Trump asked for his equal time and was denied it, it wasn’t unlawful, “presumptively” or otherwise. Turley continues to beclown himself – TLK] (11/04/24)
