“‘We don’t listen enough; we tell people what’s good for them,’ scolded Senator Chris Murphy on X. ‘Listen to poor and rural people, men in crisis. Don’t decide for them.’ … Kamala Harris absolutely listened to working-class voters. She heard their frustrations about high prices; developed a set of policies designed to improve the affordability of groceries, housing, and health care; and centered them in her speeches and ads. Working-class voters, however, didn’t listen to her, nor what Donald Trump had to say about prices.” (11/12/24)
Source: Independent Institute
by William F Shughart II
“Most political pollsters were wrong about how close the 2024 U.S. presidential election would be, especially in so-called battleground states, which were expected to be toss-ups just days before November 5. Why did the polls underestimate Donald Trump’s popular vote margin wildly and, by extension, his dominance of the Electoral College? One answer is that public opinion polls, and surveys in general, are seriously flawed.” (11/12/24)
“Wall Street lobbyists made a huge push to block Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) takeover of the top Democratic slot on the Senate Banking Committee, but it did not succeed. Warren will take that position in January. ‘I’ve spent my entire career fighting to make our economy work better for middle-class families — not just for the wealthy and well-connected,’ Warren said in a statement. ‘Decisions made by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs have a powerful impact on Americans’ lives, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to fight for families who most need a government on their side.’ Some big hitters tried to prevent this reality, including one of the chief objects of Senate Banking Committee oversight: Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.” (11/13/24)
“In 1852, America imported more than just an education system from Prussia – it imported a blueprint for societal conditioning. The Prussian model, designed to produce subservient citizens and docile workers, remains our foundation. Its structure was explicitly created to foster obedience to state authority – standardized testing, age-based classes, rigid schedules governed by bells, and most crucially, the systematic shaping of minds to accept information from authorized sources without question. … This model spread globally not because it was the best way to educate, but because it was the most efficient way to mold mass consciousness.” (11/12/24)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“The Justice Department is accusing three New York men with conspiring to assassinate Donald Trump. The criminal complaint charges that the government of Iran is directing the assassination effort. U.S. officials are making it clear that a foreign state-sponsored assassinations will not be permitted in the United States. After all, a state-sponsored assassination is nothing more than murder, and the Justice Department is making it clear that murder will not be countenanced in the United States, even when the murder is being directed by a foreign regime. It is worth pointing out, however, that Trump himself got a pass for having assassinated an Iranian general named Qasem Soleimani in 2020 when Trump was serving as president. Given that assassination is murder, why wasn’t Trump criminally charged with murdering Soleimani?” (11/12/24)
“Three years ago, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and nearly 100 of her House colleagues signed a letter urging top Democrats in the Senate to take radical action. ‘This is an existential moment for our country,’ Jayapal and the other House Democrats wrote. ‘We cannot let a procedural tool that can be abolished stand in the way of justice, prosperity, and equity.’ That procedural tool? The filibuster, which requires 60 voters for the Senate to pass most legislation — except for judicial nominations and some budget bills. The filibuster rule, those House Democrats argued in 2021, was preventing Congress from preventing the Senate from ‘advancing critical legislation that can meet the needs of the people we represent.’ It’s a good thing the Senate Democrats didn’t listen.” (11/12/24)
“The only relevant constitutional mandate Donald Trump enjoys is the mandate to be sworn in as president. Think about this way: Trump’s coalition together contains factions that disagree with one another on many things. Assume that self-described Republicans are Trump voters. According to the exit polls, about a third (29%) of voters who support legal abortion voted for Trump, while 91% of those who think it should be illegal voted for him. There are similar divides over support for Israel, mass deportation of immigrants and other issues. … whatever Trump believes his mandate is, at least some of the people who voted for him will have different ideas. Save for dealing with inflation and righting the economy, there’s very little that he can do that won’t result in some people saying, ‘This isn’t what I voted for.'” (11/12/24)
“Donald Trump won the election by getting, and because he got, 312 electoral votes, which is more than the 270 required to win a presidential election. Kamala Harris lost the election by getting, and because she got, 226 electoral votes, which is less than the 270 required to win a presidential election. Yes, it really is that simple. Yes, it really is that concise. And aside from one factor — the ability of the two candidates to enthuse their voters and get them to the polls — the reasons for the vote differentials are a dog’s breakfast of confusing details, each of which could have gone in other directions and changed the outcome.” (11/12/24)
