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)
“A bipartisan group of attorneys general on Monday led the vast majority of the United States’ top state-level legal officials in releasing a statement calling for a peaceful transfer of power regardless of the presidential election results — but three Republican attorneys general were conspicuously absent from the list of signatories. Ken Paxton of Texas, Todd Rokita of Indiana, and Austin Knudsen of Montana did not add their names to the statement, which condemned ‘any acts of violence related to the results.’ ‘A peaceful transfer of power is the highest testament to the rule of law, a tradition that stands at the heart of our nation’s stability,’ said the officials. ‘As attorneys general, we affirm our commitment to protect our communities and uphold the democratic principles we serve.'” (11/05/24)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Some days it’s hard to say which is more horrific: the Gaza genocide itself, or the moral decay throughout our society which makes it possible. I mean, the atrocities in Gaza have a couple million victims. If you add up the populations of the US, Europe, Canada and Australia, you’ve got around a billion people living in a dystopia whose collective conscience is so warped and twisted that they’d allow their governments to support a live-streamed genocide in full view of the entire world. … This has been especially pronounced during the heat of a US presidential race, with tens of millions of voters falling all over themselves to cognitively sweep Gaza under the carpet so they can throw their support behind one of the two mainstream candidates who’ve both pledged to support the Zionist state which is perpetrating this genocide.” (11/05/24)
“It seems that as more and more time goes by, my appreciation for the ingeniousness of our Founding Fathers elevates. … We have a growing movement to replace the Electoral College with a winner-take-all National Popular Vote. … But there are so many reasons why the unique system of voting for president is so vitally important to our republic. And we are, thankfully, a republic — not a majority/mob-rule ‘democracy.’ So here’s a quick civics lesson on the wisdom of the Electoral College.” [editor’s note: The pathway to a better EC is more states following the lead of Maine and Nebraska, and decentralizing to one EV per congressional district. No more swing states, no more one-city-rules-all, and votes in Austin, Memphis & Nashville matter – SAT] (11/05/24)
“As millions of people cast their ballots in the US election, claims have been spreading online questioning the integrity of the vote. Election officials have been quick to reject some accusations of voting malpractice, as well as clarifying some legitimate problems which have been taken out of context. BBC Verify is tracking and investigating the most widely shared claims – here’s four. 1) Viral claim about ballot markings … 2) Claim about absentee ballots for the military … 3) Claim about ‘illegal voters’ in Pennsylvania … 4) Claim about voting machine in Kentucky …” (11/05/24)
“After a two-year-long legal battle, the family of Cedar the goat reached a settlement of $300,000 with Shasta County officials, November court documents show, marking a small victory in a viral saga that gripped the nation. It all began in June 2022, when Shasta County authorities improperly seized a 9-year-old girl’s pet goat, Cedar, for slaughter following a junior livestock auction, the court filing alleges. Now, the defendants — the County of Shasta and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department, including named staff Jerry Fernandez, Jacob Duncan and Jeremy Ashbee — must pay $100,000 of the settlement amount to Cedar’s 11-year-old former owner, who’s referred to in the suit as ‘E.L.'” (11/04/24)
“Going into the 2000 presidential election, the Republican establishment tapped Texas Gov. George W. Bush to beat Al Gore. But the 54-year-old scion’s first electoral test, in the New Hampshire primary, threatened to inscribe him in the annals of history as an obscure loser, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) upset him by 18 points. The stakes for the next contest, in South Carolina, couldn’t have been higher. Eight years later, during McCain’s next presidential campaign, a Vanity Fair reporter named Richard Gooding traveled the Palmetto State to learn how that primary had gone down. He told the locals that he was there to learn about dirty politics. ‘Over and over, that provoked pride: ‘You’ve come to the right place!”” (11/05/24)
“When President Joe Biden took the podium in his hometown of Scranton, Pa., to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, many expected a return to the ‘self-professed unifier’ Biden from the 2020 election, particularly after his recent comments calling tens of millions of Trump supporters ‘garbage.’ If so, they were disappointed when it turned out to be the ‘take him behind the Gym’ Biden. Speaking through clenched teeth, Biden seethed that he wanted to ‘smack [Trump] in the ass.’ Even with the Harris campaign alarmed over his costly gaffes, Biden clearly could not resist the rage. He is not alone. This entire election seems to be a type of political roid rage.” (11/03/24)
“I am dumbfounded by the Democratic Party strategy’s of treating the men of America like an annoying child who repeatedly asks his mother, ‘Why?’ When we hesitate to support a candidate who won’t give us clear answers to our reasonable questions, all we get in response are accusations of hatred or indifference toward a woman seeking power — even though we’ve held up the same expectation for the other candidate. Nearly every major Democratic politician, surrogate and pundit has directed unnecessary aggressiveness toward men, with the party apparently feeling it can take our votes or leave them. Clearly, male voters are not their focus.” (11/03/24)
