Before we get on with this post I wish to apologize for my absence on the blog as of late. Between going back to the paying job after a self imposed month and a half leave of absence to protect people I'm around who are at higher risk of the pandemic as well as finding myself falling into recording mode for a project has meant I've been away from the blog. While I wish I could say I'll try and be on here more often one lesson I've learned from the quarantine and its aftermath is that it's not always wise to make statements like that. Now - onto the blog post.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Reopening While Pretending Things are Under Control
First, my apologies for not being on the blog as much recently. While I have been forced by my current living situation to take a leave of absence from the paying job thanks to this damn pandemic I also have been busy with other obligations and projects and haven't had the time to comment on this until now.
As we all know a number of states have begun the process of reopening from lock down from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the guise of "getting the economy running again" A number of places with Repub governors have decided to open certain nonessential businesses and "get people back to work." While the surface rhetoric seems somewhere in the valley of reasonable the underlying doubts appear to tear the argument to shreds when viewed in context.
Originally the CDC (under the minions of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago) came up with specific standards that a state had to reach in order to be considered worthy of reopening. Those standards were quickly discarded by the Mad Fuhrer and his minions in favor of largely letting the states do what they want (though no state had matched the threshold set by the Mad Fuhrer's administration's Task Force said (even when the CDC list was excluded) had to be done in order to reopen). So why now?
Part of it is the understandable frustration of many people being trapped at home either working in a diminished situation or not working at all and wanting to earn money again. The mainstream media likes to keep bringing this up as a main reason for the push to reopen. Most of us are concerned about this since, even though the smart course of action would've been to have a period where no evictions and no shutting off of utilities would be allowed some places went to partial freezes or kept things business as usual, thus requiring some people to keep working while those that were laid off found themselves having to still pay bills while unable to leave home and do their job.
The frustration someone faces in that scenario is understandable it could've been handled by states or the Feds making sure bills were paid and that people could function while the stay at home orders were in place. They could've also done more than one check to help people make ends meet and make sure things didn't reopen until they knew it was safe across the board nationwide. However, as you all know, that isn't what happened.
Some states appear to be slowly getting things under control when it comes to the COVID. Others haven't yet broke and experts predict that another outbreak will hit them hard. Still, a number of states are opening in various phases. Why now?
When it comes to states with Repub governors it may be more a way to wash their hands of the least amongst them more than anything else. In some of these states they've made it so if someone doesn't want to go back to work because of fear of getting COVID-19 it's considered a voluntary quit and they're thrown off of unemployment. It's even more clear when I came across a meme attributed to a restaurant owner in Georgia that pointed out that by opening up if he stays closed out of safety he takes the hit rather than them remaining covered by the state. He also pointed out that if he calls them in and they get sick later than it's the business not the state that's on the hook, leaving him possibly liable. While the latter may be negligible due to plans form teh Repubs in Washington to pass bills shielding business owners form liability if employees who return to work get ill or die from the pandemic, it's still something that lingers for many actual small businesses (who didn't get hte PPP loans that were intended for them as big banks somehow managed to guide much of that money to larger companies who shouldn't have been eligible for it).
As for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago it's more selfish than that. It';s been established that he wants to get back to his rallies again where his ego gets puffed up by MAGA idiots who cling on to every hate filled word coming out of his mouth. However, with everything shut down (and even now now allowig crowds of more than 1o or so people from meeting that's not possible) his daily press briefings were supposed to fill the void of propaganda void but backfired when people were more willing to hear DR. Fauci speak on the virus (and contradict when Donny said shortly before) than swallow the hate pablum. IN the process his ratings have faltered somewhat. Then you factor that thanks to the pandemic he can't tout the great economy anymore and it's easy to see the formula of "open the economy, force people back to work, and the Mad Fuhrer will look good again and beat those Demon Rats [I believe that's what the Repubs want Democrats to be called these days] in November."
While the formula is easy to see it's also easy to see where it can fail. First, forcing everyone to open when medical experts predict another wave of the virus either later this summer or in the fall means a risk that we can fall back into this pattern again later this year. That means that there's a chance everything has to shut down again this fall because things were half-assed in preparation for it to open up. Also of note is the simple reality that people travel form state to state which makes it entirely possible for someone from a more locked down state to travel to a place fully open and catch it before bringing it back to their home state. While our electoral vote winner wants us to believe it'll fade or just leave most of us are up for another round of the quarantine happening all over again somewhere down the road if things aren't ready. Then there;s overlooking that the people on the lower end of the economic spectrum are the ones in the service industry and could be working sick while making your food, thus putting you in danger not out of spite but because they had no choice but to work sick since the GOP didn't want to make. This is the reality too many don't want to take into account when they call for hair salons and restaurants to be fully open before the virus is fully under wraps.
And the saddest part is things didn't have to be like this? However, the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago fired the pandemic response team in 2018 partially because it was an Obama creation. He then ignored several warnings to be prepared for a possible pandemic and even repeated told the press it would not a big deal even when warmed otherwise.
So that leaves us where we are now? Repub states are opening up with some governors and officials even knowing more people will die from the pandemic in the process. While they say it's to get people back to work the fact that our lack of response in terms of testing et al means it's good that we'll see another lockdown again down the road makes this more about fooling people to vote for the Repub party in November rather than make sure every is actually healthy enough to go outside.
While I hope it doesn't get that bad the fact that several states that have reopened large parts of the state have seen jumps in the number of people who have the virus means that it's a very likely possibility. And that's the sickest part of all this.
As we all know a number of states have begun the process of reopening from lock down from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the guise of "getting the economy running again" A number of places with Repub governors have decided to open certain nonessential businesses and "get people back to work." While the surface rhetoric seems somewhere in the valley of reasonable the underlying doubts appear to tear the argument to shreds when viewed in context.
Originally the CDC (under the minions of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago) came up with specific standards that a state had to reach in order to be considered worthy of reopening. Those standards were quickly discarded by the Mad Fuhrer and his minions in favor of largely letting the states do what they want (though no state had matched the threshold set by the Mad Fuhrer's administration's Task Force said (even when the CDC list was excluded) had to be done in order to reopen). So why now?
Part of it is the understandable frustration of many people being trapped at home either working in a diminished situation or not working at all and wanting to earn money again. The mainstream media likes to keep bringing this up as a main reason for the push to reopen. Most of us are concerned about this since, even though the smart course of action would've been to have a period where no evictions and no shutting off of utilities would be allowed some places went to partial freezes or kept things business as usual, thus requiring some people to keep working while those that were laid off found themselves having to still pay bills while unable to leave home and do their job.
The frustration someone faces in that scenario is understandable it could've been handled by states or the Feds making sure bills were paid and that people could function while the stay at home orders were in place. They could've also done more than one check to help people make ends meet and make sure things didn't reopen until they knew it was safe across the board nationwide. However, as you all know, that isn't what happened.
Some states appear to be slowly getting things under control when it comes to the COVID. Others haven't yet broke and experts predict that another outbreak will hit them hard. Still, a number of states are opening in various phases. Why now?
When it comes to states with Repub governors it may be more a way to wash their hands of the least amongst them more than anything else. In some of these states they've made it so if someone doesn't want to go back to work because of fear of getting COVID-19 it's considered a voluntary quit and they're thrown off of unemployment. It's even more clear when I came across a meme attributed to a restaurant owner in Georgia that pointed out that by opening up if he stays closed out of safety he takes the hit rather than them remaining covered by the state. He also pointed out that if he calls them in and they get sick later than it's the business not the state that's on the hook, leaving him possibly liable. While the latter may be negligible due to plans form teh Repubs in Washington to pass bills shielding business owners form liability if employees who return to work get ill or die from the pandemic, it's still something that lingers for many actual small businesses (who didn't get hte PPP loans that were intended for them as big banks somehow managed to guide much of that money to larger companies who shouldn't have been eligible for it).
As for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago it's more selfish than that. It';s been established that he wants to get back to his rallies again where his ego gets puffed up by MAGA idiots who cling on to every hate filled word coming out of his mouth. However, with everything shut down (and even now now allowig crowds of more than 1o or so people from meeting that's not possible) his daily press briefings were supposed to fill the void of propaganda void but backfired when people were more willing to hear DR. Fauci speak on the virus (and contradict when Donny said shortly before) than swallow the hate pablum. IN the process his ratings have faltered somewhat. Then you factor that thanks to the pandemic he can't tout the great economy anymore and it's easy to see the formula of "open the economy, force people back to work, and the Mad Fuhrer will look good again and beat those Demon Rats [I believe that's what the Repubs want Democrats to be called these days] in November."
While the formula is easy to see it's also easy to see where it can fail. First, forcing everyone to open when medical experts predict another wave of the virus either later this summer or in the fall means a risk that we can fall back into this pattern again later this year. That means that there's a chance everything has to shut down again this fall because things were half-assed in preparation for it to open up. Also of note is the simple reality that people travel form state to state which makes it entirely possible for someone from a more locked down state to travel to a place fully open and catch it before bringing it back to their home state. While our electoral vote winner wants us to believe it'll fade or just leave most of us are up for another round of the quarantine happening all over again somewhere down the road if things aren't ready. Then there;s overlooking that the people on the lower end of the economic spectrum are the ones in the service industry and could be working sick while making your food, thus putting you in danger not out of spite but because they had no choice but to work sick since the GOP didn't want to make. This is the reality too many don't want to take into account when they call for hair salons and restaurants to be fully open before the virus is fully under wraps.
And the saddest part is things didn't have to be like this? However, the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago fired the pandemic response team in 2018 partially because it was an Obama creation. He then ignored several warnings to be prepared for a possible pandemic and even repeated told the press it would not a big deal even when warmed otherwise.
So that leaves us where we are now? Repub states are opening up with some governors and officials even knowing more people will die from the pandemic in the process. While they say it's to get people back to work the fact that our lack of response in terms of testing et al means it's good that we'll see another lockdown again down the road makes this more about fooling people to vote for the Repub party in November rather than make sure every is actually healthy enough to go outside.
While I hope it doesn't get that bad the fact that several states that have reopened large parts of the state have seen jumps in the number of people who have the virus means that it's a very likely possibility. And that's the sickest part of all this.
Friday, April 24, 2020
WHY THE HELL IS THE MAD FUHRER OF MAR-A-LAGO ISSUING AN EXECUTIVE ORDER STOPPING ALL IMMIGRATION NOW?
On Monday night April 20, 2020 the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago announced via twitter that, in an effort to "protect our GREAT American workers" he was "issuing an executive order to :temporarily suspend immigration into the United States." This apparently surprised his own minions who had to quickly write up an order for him to sign two days later. All of this leads to a question that's way way too simple to ask - "Why now?"
Look at it simply. Electoral vote winner Donny had already imposed travel bans stopping people from a number of countries from entering the U.S. ranging from China to all of Europe. This was done in a manner that seems ridiculous given that it was imposed after the virus had already reached America and started getting people very sick. Add to this the basic fact that nobody was traveling anywhere because of COVID-19 because many countries were pretty much fully locked down and this sort of order seems even more unnecessary than the travel bans. Since nobody is going anywhere, including people from abroad coming here, what's the point?
The reasoning behind both the COVID travel ban and this executive order may be rooted in one of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and his minions push to make this country even more racist than it already is. The order itself means a stop on issuing green cards for two months where, even though being sponsored by a spouse who's a citizen is okay being sponsored by an employer isn't. This could mean a slight possibility of being a back door test run towards stopping green cards altogether (even though it would anger a lot of employers in the process) - which could also be a stepping stone towards ridding us of birthright citizenship and the road to race based citizenship (an., if the Repubs pull this shit, you can damn well bet that the race they base it on is white).
That is a possibility. However, it's more than likely that this is a distraction intended to keep the white supremacists in the Mad Fuhrer's fan base distracted from how he and his minions screwed the pooch in responding to the pandemic. While he didn't create the virus (if people way smarter than him aren't smart enough to do that you know Donny ain't smart enough to) his actions such as firing the pandemic response team (whose job was to prepare for things like this) back in 2018 as well as his slow reaction to reports in late 2019 that this was coming and he needed to prepare made the pandemic far worse than it could've been. Add to this the resulting rise in unemployment because a lot of places had to shut down as a result plus the wiping out of economic gains made since the recession of 2008 and the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago's talking point of a great economy (which really was only great for the wealthy and corporations, not for most people) gets kneecapped for all intents and purposes.
This, I think, is the main reason for this distraction. While it gets people upset in the media, this is really more to assure the white supremacists who supported him four years ago (and are a big part of why he got into office) that he's getting their agenda done. There's an election in November and while many thought the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and co-electoral vote winner Mikey had a good chance the first crisis not of his own making has caused more damage than anyone intended and electoral vote winner Donny wants things back to normal regardless of who gets hurt.
And while the useo f it as a stepping stone on the path of making it so only white christians can be U.S. citizens would be an added bone for his base, at the end of hte day electoral vote winner Donny cares only about his ratings so while this order makes no damn sense it's red meat to try and keep the most bhateful part of his fan base ready to vote for him this fall.
Look at it simply. Electoral vote winner Donny had already imposed travel bans stopping people from a number of countries from entering the U.S. ranging from China to all of Europe. This was done in a manner that seems ridiculous given that it was imposed after the virus had already reached America and started getting people very sick. Add to this the basic fact that nobody was traveling anywhere because of COVID-19 because many countries were pretty much fully locked down and this sort of order seems even more unnecessary than the travel bans. Since nobody is going anywhere, including people from abroad coming here, what's the point?
The reasoning behind both the COVID travel ban and this executive order may be rooted in one of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and his minions push to make this country even more racist than it already is. The order itself means a stop on issuing green cards for two months where, even though being sponsored by a spouse who's a citizen is okay being sponsored by an employer isn't. This could mean a slight possibility of being a back door test run towards stopping green cards altogether (even though it would anger a lot of employers in the process) - which could also be a stepping stone towards ridding us of birthright citizenship and the road to race based citizenship (an., if the Repubs pull this shit, you can damn well bet that the race they base it on is white).
That is a possibility. However, it's more than likely that this is a distraction intended to keep the white supremacists in the Mad Fuhrer's fan base distracted from how he and his minions screwed the pooch in responding to the pandemic. While he didn't create the virus (if people way smarter than him aren't smart enough to do that you know Donny ain't smart enough to) his actions such as firing the pandemic response team (whose job was to prepare for things like this) back in 2018 as well as his slow reaction to reports in late 2019 that this was coming and he needed to prepare made the pandemic far worse than it could've been. Add to this the resulting rise in unemployment because a lot of places had to shut down as a result plus the wiping out of economic gains made since the recession of 2008 and the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago's talking point of a great economy (which really was only great for the wealthy and corporations, not for most people) gets kneecapped for all intents and purposes.
This, I think, is the main reason for this distraction. While it gets people upset in the media, this is really more to assure the white supremacists who supported him four years ago (and are a big part of why he got into office) that he's getting their agenda done. There's an election in November and while many thought the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and co-electoral vote winner Mikey had a good chance the first crisis not of his own making has caused more damage than anyone intended and electoral vote winner Donny wants things back to normal regardless of who gets hurt.
And while the useo f it as a stepping stone on the path of making it so only white christians can be U.S. citizens would be an added bone for his base, at the end of hte day electoral vote winner Donny cares only about his ratings so while this order makes no damn sense it's red meat to try and keep the most bhateful part of his fan base ready to vote for him this fall.
DO NOT EVEN THINK OF INJECTING DISINFECTANTS TO CURE COVID-19!!!!
The Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago's propaganda conference last night took a turn to the nauseating last night when he asked Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the medical experts on his Pandemic response task force, to check and see if it was possible to inject disinfectants to cure COVID-19 in people as well as the possibility of applying light and heat to people as a cure for the virus.
Let's put aside the obvious fact that if something has to be locked away so toddlers can't do a taste test with it then it's most likely not a good idea to inject it thinking it'll cure a coronavirus. This should be a no brainer. Unfortunately, while electoral vote winner Donny asked Birk and have doctors merely look into it there will be an unfortunate trickle down effect from him bringing it up.
Sadly and nauseatingly, because the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago brought it up it's inevitable that one of his fans who trust his words more than medical professionals will actually try to drink bleach, if not shoot it into their veins, thinking it'll either cure them or prevent them from getting it. While we all want to hope that nobody will when one factors in the couple who got very ill (and the husband died) because they took some fish tank stuff with hydroxychloraquin in it and most people wioth sense live in dread of hearing the news report that someone will kill themselves by drinking some disinfectant thinking
Yes, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and isopropyl alcohol can kill the virus IF THE VIRUS IS ON A SURFACE. Nobody should ingest them thinking it'll cure them. Using them for medicine is generally a non starter and I think it's safe to say that, for the most part, any medical professional will tell you that.
So the point I want to make is simple , I'll repeat the title. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF INJECTING DISINFECTANTS TO CURE COVID-19!!!! NO GOOD CAN COME FROM THIS AND YOU MIGHT DIE!!!!
I just hope most people have the basic sense to realize this is a bad idea and not do it. Unfortunately, somebody out there will do something this ignorant - and pay the price with their health, if not their life.
Let's put aside the obvious fact that if something has to be locked away so toddlers can't do a taste test with it then it's most likely not a good idea to inject it thinking it'll cure a coronavirus. This should be a no brainer. Unfortunately, while electoral vote winner Donny asked Birk and have doctors merely look into it there will be an unfortunate trickle down effect from him bringing it up.
Sadly and nauseatingly, because the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago brought it up it's inevitable that one of his fans who trust his words more than medical professionals will actually try to drink bleach, if not shoot it into their veins, thinking it'll either cure them or prevent them from getting it. While we all want to hope that nobody will when one factors in the couple who got very ill (and the husband died) because they took some fish tank stuff with hydroxychloraquin in it and most people wioth sense live in dread of hearing the news report that someone will kill themselves by drinking some disinfectant thinking
Yes, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and isopropyl alcohol can kill the virus IF THE VIRUS IS ON A SURFACE. Nobody should ingest them thinking it'll cure them. Using them for medicine is generally a non starter and I think it's safe to say that, for the most part, any medical professional will tell you that.
So the point I want to make is simple , I'll repeat the title. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF INJECTING DISINFECTANTS TO CURE COVID-19!!!! NO GOOD CAN COME FROM THIS AND YOU MIGHT DIE!!!!
I just hope most people have the basic sense to realize this is a bad idea and not do it. Unfortunately, somebody out there will do something this ignorant - and pay the price with their health, if not their life.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
March 11 2020_ Primary Election Commentary and Thoughts on White Suburban Moderates and their Role
Yesterday, six states held primary elections in the run up to the 2020 Presidential election in the U.S. The result was Joe Biden winning four of them (Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho) with Sen. Bernie Sanders winning North Dakota and Washington state still too close to call at this point., In the process, the delegate spread is moved further with Biden holding an almost 200 delegate lead over Sanders and calls in the mainstream media and amongst Biden supporters for Sanders to drop out and that it's all over - hoping for a coronation that the establishment Dems and media pundits have long been used to. With this in mind I wanted to post a quick commentary on the issue.
Is it all over yet? The establishment narrative is that Biden has this on lock and Sanders should just disappear somewhere. However, with over 50% of delegates still up for grabs it's still too soon to say it's all over. What is accurate is to point out that it's a lot more difficult for the Sanders campaign from this point forward. While post Super Tuesday may have made the race 50-50, last night's results have made it 61.5-38.5 in Biden's favor. While Sanders' supporters can feel disheartened there's still a slog ahead - a very dangerous slog up a very steep hill, but a slog nonetheless.
So why is Biden seemingly conquering the race when two weeks ago he seemed to be almost dead? One reason is large percentage of black votes for Biden (which we'll discuss in another post). Along with this factor is a high turnout of white suburban moderate voters in many of the primary states. While the mainstream media views this as a good sign for the party establishment I'm not so sure. For example, while white suburban moderates may have been counted on for primary votes how many of them will vote blue no matter who come November (rather than use the phrase as a condescending cudgel against progressives and those fighting issues the Dems all claim to like and support)? While the current coronavirus has put the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago on the ropes one has to take into account that the white moderate often tends to be silent when it comes to issues like the Mad Fuhrer and company locking kids in cages at the border or issues of racial justice. Because they feel these issues don't affect them it should be inquired whether they're really tired of electoral vote winner Donny or just wanting to kneecap Bernie Sanders like establishment forces inside Elizabeth Warren's campaign did to her campaign from the inside (notice how when she started getting more and more moderate it didn't translate to votes and she was out after Super Tuesday).
So why are they appearing now? According to exit polls, they claim to want a return to normalcy after three years of the current regime. However, what normalcy means to the moderate can be up for interpretation. Do they really want a change from the policies of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and a shift towards sanity, if not real change or do they just want things to be less awkward with their Repub friends and family members? I ask this question not to be impudent or difficult but because the Democratic Party establishment has a long history of taking minority votes for granted while seeming to bend over backwards to get suburban whites (even to the point of trying at times to try and throw key issues the party supports under the bus in hopes of gaining their support, as the Missouri Democratic Party in 2018 briefly tried to do with abortion rights before realizing it turned more of their voters off rather than drew in white conservative christians in rural and outer suburban areas).
Anotrher reason I wonder about this is the knowledge that several of the states Biden won yesterday are most likely going to go for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago in the general election this November. Mississippi, for example, had a large number of black voters in the priamry but has been blood red for so long you know damn well a blend of white voters choosing racism over country mixed with voter suppression tactics will go hand in hand to try and screw over Democratic voters), almost making it a shoo-in for electoral vote winner Donny. Missouri had been a bellwether state until 20 years ago and could've gone either way. However, way too many white Missourians love their racism which, along with a war on those who can get pregnant, will turn them out for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago, especially in outer suburban and rural areas.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong about this. However, if Biden does get the nomination they'll have to work damn hard to win over disgruntled Sanders supporters (and knowing that no [primary winner ever gets 100% of the losers supporters in any race) and, given Biden's habit of getting angry when asked challenging questions, this could be a problem. It's also an issue when factoring in the white suburban moderate who, while we hope would go out and get electoral vote winner Donny out of office this fall, are comfortable enough where issues of life and death and inequality don';t affect them so one can nauseatingly envision a chunk of them voting for Biden in the primary and then going back towards MAGA-dom this fall.
Unless whoever wins the nomination for the Democrats takes this into account and has safeguards against that contingency it could bite them in the ass this November.
Is it all over yet? The establishment narrative is that Biden has this on lock and Sanders should just disappear somewhere. However, with over 50% of delegates still up for grabs it's still too soon to say it's all over. What is accurate is to point out that it's a lot more difficult for the Sanders campaign from this point forward. While post Super Tuesday may have made the race 50-50, last night's results have made it 61.5-38.5 in Biden's favor. While Sanders' supporters can feel disheartened there's still a slog ahead - a very dangerous slog up a very steep hill, but a slog nonetheless.
So why is Biden seemingly conquering the race when two weeks ago he seemed to be almost dead? One reason is large percentage of black votes for Biden (which we'll discuss in another post). Along with this factor is a high turnout of white suburban moderate voters in many of the primary states. While the mainstream media views this as a good sign for the party establishment I'm not so sure. For example, while white suburban moderates may have been counted on for primary votes how many of them will vote blue no matter who come November (rather than use the phrase as a condescending cudgel against progressives and those fighting issues the Dems all claim to like and support)? While the current coronavirus has put the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago on the ropes one has to take into account that the white moderate often tends to be silent when it comes to issues like the Mad Fuhrer and company locking kids in cages at the border or issues of racial justice. Because they feel these issues don't affect them it should be inquired whether they're really tired of electoral vote winner Donny or just wanting to kneecap Bernie Sanders like establishment forces inside Elizabeth Warren's campaign did to her campaign from the inside (notice how when she started getting more and more moderate it didn't translate to votes and she was out after Super Tuesday).
So why are they appearing now? According to exit polls, they claim to want a return to normalcy after three years of the current regime. However, what normalcy means to the moderate can be up for interpretation. Do they really want a change from the policies of the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago and a shift towards sanity, if not real change or do they just want things to be less awkward with their Repub friends and family members? I ask this question not to be impudent or difficult but because the Democratic Party establishment has a long history of taking minority votes for granted while seeming to bend over backwards to get suburban whites (even to the point of trying at times to try and throw key issues the party supports under the bus in hopes of gaining their support, as the Missouri Democratic Party in 2018 briefly tried to do with abortion rights before realizing it turned more of their voters off rather than drew in white conservative christians in rural and outer suburban areas).
Anotrher reason I wonder about this is the knowledge that several of the states Biden won yesterday are most likely going to go for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago in the general election this November. Mississippi, for example, had a large number of black voters in the priamry but has been blood red for so long you know damn well a blend of white voters choosing racism over country mixed with voter suppression tactics will go hand in hand to try and screw over Democratic voters), almost making it a shoo-in for electoral vote winner Donny. Missouri had been a bellwether state until 20 years ago and could've gone either way. However, way too many white Missourians love their racism which, along with a war on those who can get pregnant, will turn them out for the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago, especially in outer suburban and rural areas.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong about this. However, if Biden does get the nomination they'll have to work damn hard to win over disgruntled Sanders supporters (and knowing that no [primary winner ever gets 100% of the losers supporters in any race) and, given Biden's habit of getting angry when asked challenging questions, this could be a problem. It's also an issue when factoring in the white suburban moderate who, while we hope would go out and get electoral vote winner Donny out of office this fall, are comfortable enough where issues of life and death and inequality don';t affect them so one can nauseatingly envision a chunk of them voting for Biden in the primary and then going back towards MAGA-dom this fall.
Unless whoever wins the nomination for the Democrats takes this into account and has safeguards against that contingency it could bite them in the ass this November.
Monday, March 9, 2020
The Primary Race So Far - And Another Round of Voting
Before we get into this, pardon my inactivity over the past couple weeks. I've been busy at the paying job and needed to rest. The down side is I was a little out of action. On the other hand it gave me room to process and think.,
So, since Super Tuesday it's been reduced to a two person race for the most part between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders after Mike Bloomberg dropped out last Wednesday and Sen. Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race last Thursday. In the aftermath there's the divide between Biden followers and Bernie followers seems to be getting hyped up more in social media as well as the corporate owned mainstream media. While Warren so far hasn't made an endorsement, there appears to be some key Warren endorsements who switched to supporting Sanders. As the media tried to whip up a scare of Bernie Bros being mean on the Internet (trying to give the impression that all Sanders supporters are like that), there seems to be an attempt to overlook a few things.
First, while the media and Biden supporters want everything to think it's a done deal we have to remember that the primary race is still far from over. At this point Biden has more delegates but it's still a 50-50 race as we head towards the Democratic Convention.
Tomorrow primaries will be held in six states (Idaho, North Dakota, Michigan, Washington, Mississippi, and TTWN's original home base of Missouri). 365 delegates are at stake 99.2% available). While the results will still be far from the 1,991 pledged delegates the Dems need for a nomination. While some predict it'll go easy for Biden (and it might) I still hold by the fact that it's anyone's guess who gets more delegates tomorrow. It's easy for media pundits to armchair quarterback but they're guessing as much as the rest of us.
Regardless of what happens one thing is certain - it's still going to be a long hard slog between now and November.
So, since Super Tuesday it's been reduced to a two person race for the most part between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders after Mike Bloomberg dropped out last Wednesday and Sen. Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race last Thursday. In the aftermath there's the divide between Biden followers and Bernie followers seems to be getting hyped up more in social media as well as the corporate owned mainstream media. While Warren so far hasn't made an endorsement, there appears to be some key Warren endorsements who switched to supporting Sanders. As the media tried to whip up a scare of Bernie Bros being mean on the Internet (trying to give the impression that all Sanders supporters are like that), there seems to be an attempt to overlook a few things.
First, while the media and Biden supporters want everything to think it's a done deal we have to remember that the primary race is still far from over. At this point Biden has more delegates but it's still a 50-50 race as we head towards the Democratic Convention.
Tomorrow primaries will be held in six states (Idaho, North Dakota, Michigan, Washington, Mississippi, and TTWN's original home base of Missouri). 365 delegates are at stake 99.2% available). While the results will still be far from the 1,991 pledged delegates the Dems need for a nomination. While some predict it'll go easy for Biden (and it might) I still hold by the fact that it's anyone's guess who gets more delegates tomorrow. It's easy for media pundits to armchair quarterback but they're guessing as much as the rest of us.
Regardless of what happens one thing is certain - it's still going to be a long hard slog between now and November.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Primary/Caucus Race Update and Thoughts on Tomorrow (Super Tuesday)
So tomorrow's Super Tuesday.
Apologies for not being on the blog lately but I've been busy between the paying job, trying to get the new print issue done, and trying to keep healthy in this weird age. As a result there's a bit about the election primary race that snuck under the radar that I want to comment on. So, let's get to it.
First, since Iowa Bernie Sanders has taken ground in a lot of ways. After winning the popular vote in Iowa (but not the delegates for some reasons) the Senator from Vermont won the New Hampshire primary but still was criticized by mainstream pundits for being popular in small mostly white states. Then came the Nevada caucus where Sanders managed to get an overwhelming and decisive win that gave him momentum.
Yes, former vice president Joe Biden had a big win in South Carolina last Saturday but he was expected to win to some degree. Sanders' second place win was narrower than it was against Hillary Clinton in 2016 but the mainstream pundits seemed to revel in this and hope that it kills either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren's chances of winning the election. It doesn't take into account that SC has a heavy military presence and that Democrats there may be more centrist for that and other reasons. Add name recognition and his win shouldn't be a big surprise. Billionaire Ton Steyer suspended his campaign almost immediately thereafter
The dropping out of the race and support of Biden in the wake of Saturday may have some impact. Both former South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg and MN Sen. Amy Klobuchar suspended their campaigns and have gone on record to endorse Biden. Along with former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, this alliance is giving the mainstream media a chance to brag about Biden's rebirth and how he can clearly take the race from more progressive candidates.
Which leads us to Super Tuesday. With over 1,000 delegates at play and 14 states in play this is where anything can happen. Could it be a game changer for Biden (after only winning one state)? It's possible. Could Bernie Sanders win large in California and have a decent win in Texas and be close to unstoppable? That's possible too. Sen. Elizabeth Warren could even mount a comeback out of left field and keep the race tighter than the coronation the corporate owned mainstream media would like it to be.
The truth of the matter is I don't know what's going to happen once votes are counted on Tuesday March 3, 2020 - and neither does anyone else really. People have some ideas of what might happen but media pundits treating it like a sporting event on the old Wide World of Sports show might not necessarily be a realistic look at how things are on the ground.
So, what I suggest is to take a deep breath, relax, and realize that the election primary race still isn't over. People still have to vote for the candidate they like best (remember, if any time is the time to vote their hearts it's here). Maybe the person they like is electable, maybe not. Regardless, the race is far from over.
Apologies for not being on the blog lately but I've been busy between the paying job, trying to get the new print issue done, and trying to keep healthy in this weird age. As a result there's a bit about the election primary race that snuck under the radar that I want to comment on. So, let's get to it.
First, since Iowa Bernie Sanders has taken ground in a lot of ways. After winning the popular vote in Iowa (but not the delegates for some reasons) the Senator from Vermont won the New Hampshire primary but still was criticized by mainstream pundits for being popular in small mostly white states. Then came the Nevada caucus where Sanders managed to get an overwhelming and decisive win that gave him momentum.
Yes, former vice president Joe Biden had a big win in South Carolina last Saturday but he was expected to win to some degree. Sanders' second place win was narrower than it was against Hillary Clinton in 2016 but the mainstream pundits seemed to revel in this and hope that it kills either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren's chances of winning the election. It doesn't take into account that SC has a heavy military presence and that Democrats there may be more centrist for that and other reasons. Add name recognition and his win shouldn't be a big surprise. Billionaire Ton Steyer suspended his campaign almost immediately thereafter
The dropping out of the race and support of Biden in the wake of Saturday may have some impact. Both former South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg and MN Sen. Amy Klobuchar suspended their campaigns and have gone on record to endorse Biden. Along with former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, this alliance is giving the mainstream media a chance to brag about Biden's rebirth and how he can clearly take the race from more progressive candidates.
Which leads us to Super Tuesday. With over 1,000 delegates at play and 14 states in play this is where anything can happen. Could it be a game changer for Biden (after only winning one state)? It's possible. Could Bernie Sanders win large in California and have a decent win in Texas and be close to unstoppable? That's possible too. Sen. Elizabeth Warren could even mount a comeback out of left field and keep the race tighter than the coronation the corporate owned mainstream media would like it to be.
The truth of the matter is I don't know what's going to happen once votes are counted on Tuesday March 3, 2020 - and neither does anyone else really. People have some ideas of what might happen but media pundits treating it like a sporting event on the old Wide World of Sports show might not necessarily be a realistic look at how things are on the ground.
So, what I suggest is to take a deep breath, relax, and realize that the election primary race still isn't over. People still have to vote for the candidate they like best (remember, if any time is the time to vote their hearts it's here). Maybe the person they like is electable, maybe not. Regardless, the race is far from over.
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