Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[lineygoblue]

Heh, you're in an overwhelmingly Republican County, right? The people glaring were likely Trumpers. Only evil, crooked, depraved Democrats vote by mail.

Well, everyone is a evil Republican 'trumper' out here and we all know each other. I think the glares were more along the lines of, "does he really think his vote is going to count?"

[iam416]

Ah, Putin's Cock Holster:

Biden Wimps Out on Russia — Again

Speaking of Russia, I don’t want to put words in Garry Kasparov’s mouth, but as he criticizes President Biden’s early moves on Russia in the Wall Street Journal, do you get the sense he’s starting to feel like the victim of a bait-and-switch?

The day after the [Belarus] hijacking, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with his Russian peer, Nikolay Patrushev, to lay the ground for the summit. They talked about “normalizing,” a euphemism for appeasement. Normalizing relations with a dictatorship only normalizes dictatorship. Yes, as Biden supporters are quick to say, even Ronald Reagan met with the Soviets. But he did so with concrete national- and global-security demands and from a position of strength. So far there is no such agenda for a Biden-Putin meeting.

Ten years ago in Moscow, Mr. Biden had the nerve to talk tough to Putin, but he lacked authority. Now he commands the full power of the presidency and must prove he hasn’t lost his nerve.

I can’t remember who said it on Twitter, but Democrats are “reverting to factory settings on Russia.” Back in July 2020, Biden made this promise regarding Russia’s election meddling:

Today, I am putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments on notice . . . I will direct my administration to leverage all appropriate instruments of national power and make full use of my executive authority to impose substantial and lasting costs on state perpetrators. These costs could include financial-sector sanctions, asset freezes, cyber responses, and the exposure of corruption. A range of other actions could also be taken, depending on the nature of the attack. I will direct our response at a time and in a manner of our choosing . . . If any foreign power recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy, I will not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs.

Somehow Biden has shifted from “I will impose substantial and lasting costs” to trying to “normalize” our relationship with Moscow?

[Hannibal]

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[Mike]

Mike- In fairness, North Carolina Republicans were literally recorded talking about how new voting restrictions and congressional districts would minimize the black vote and be good for their party. That's not paranoia, there's legit evidence the new districts were explicitly designed to benefit Republicans and every court, including the Supreme Court, viewed it that way. And that wasn't two generations ago; it was only about 5 years ago.

I think a lot of what the Georgia bill did has been wildly exaggerated by Dems but a word about the drop boxes. First it's my understanding that the boxes can only be used during normal business hours of the board of elections. So 9 to 5 probably. And they have to be located either outside the Board of Elections or another state agency. To that I say then: what's the point of having drop boxes? In my mind they're explicitly so you DON'T have to drop your ballot off during the work day.

And while it's true that every county is now required to have at least one drop box, they also put strict limits on how many a county can have based on a formula of 1 drop box for every 100,000 people. The practical result is that a lot of suburban Atlanta will have significantly fewer drop boxes next election. I think it's obvious the goal here was more about reining in the high population counties rather than ensuring rural counties had at least one.

Also, I know it didn't make it into the bill, but a number of Republicans were quite vocal about ending Sunday voting, which everyone views as an explicit shot at black churches and their traditional "Souls to the Polls" trips. "Our only motivation is election security, not partisan gain" becomes a harder sell when you have comments like that.

I don't understand the need for drop boxes or Sunday voting or early voting or absentee ballots unless you're out of town - you know... absent on election day. Show up the first Tuesday (after the first Monday!) in November or request an absentee ballot and mail it in. I didn't even know there were such things as "early voting days". Does Michigan have this? I know Georgia has 18 and that isn't enough for some folks.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Most states have early voting. New York, oddly enough, is one that historically does not.

Most expansion of voting hours are tied to the notion that the more people participating in democracy is an inherent good. I'm sure some here strongly disagree with that.

What's the longest you have ever personally had to wait in line to vote?

[Mike]

15 minutes maybe.

[Dr. Strangelove]

RIP, the Trump Blog. It was a great 29 days

[Mike]

He probably stiffed his ISP on payment.

[Dr. Strangelove]

15 minutes maybe.

Same for me. What's an unreasonable amount of time to be expected to wait? To me anything around an hour is pushing it and much beyond that is unacceptable. Presumably early voting helps spread out the wait in big counties. It's easier than opening a shit ton of more polling places on election day.

[lineygoblue]

I waited 1 1/2 hours to vote in the Poppy Bush v Clinton election,... and my vote was useless. Poppy lost. Thanks H Ross Perot.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I waited 1 1/2 hours to vote in the Poppy Bush v Clinton election,... and my vote was useless. Poppy lost. Thanks H Ross Perot.

Did you use the little punchcards back then or those old school voting machines with the curtains?

[Hannibal]

Trump Has Reportedly Been Telling People He’s Going to Be President Again by August, Which Would Suggest He’s Planning a Coup (Or Has Fully Descended Into Madness) | Vanity Fair

https://www.vanityfair.com

Meanwhile, his craziest supporters believe he’s going to be president again soon, too.

Democrats will believe literally anything.

[Hannibal]

Don't worry, Froot, if Trump marches on Washington and overthrows the government in another Coup d'etat, you can always retreat to the Cry Box that your overlords built for you.

🤣🤣🤣

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[Mike]

Ha. Remember when places like UM Law School provided cookies and teddy bears to people who were traumatized by the 2016 presidential election? I must have missed that this last go ‘round. I mean... public university and all...

[Dr. Strangelove]

Democrats will believe literally anything.

So are Mike Lindell, Mike Flynn, Sydney Powell, and Lin Wood true believers, or are they just exploiting the thousands and thousands of Republican voters that actually believe in QAnon prophecies?