Radio Liberté

 There was a piece over the weekend written by Politico, which goes at the topic of Trump leaving office, and creating his own 'network'.

The jest of this?  Well....the way this was written....Oprah Winfrey has attempted this and boldly failed....the system just doesn't work like you'd think.  Then they added....conservatives all watch Fox-News, so he can't take them over.

I sat and pondered over this.

In this position, I wouldn't bother with a news network.  I'd organize and package a Internet Radio network....calling it 'Radio Liberté' (yes, the French spelling for Liberty, with the funny é at the end).

I'd hire a French-speaking salty gal, to give a 60-second introduction of every hour....kind of relating this to 'occupied-France' and how the home-front needs to stay focused and alert.  The intro would end with her saying that the 'allies' are coming. as of such-and-such day of the Iowa Caucus in 2024.  

Then I'd hire twenty-five hosts to provide 1-to-2 hour pieces.  I'd make sure Latinos got at least three hours a day of 'chatter'.  I'd find a serious black conservative minister to talk over black community problems.  I'd find a financial expert to take apart California crazy spending.  I'd have weekend jazz fests and Mariachi band music.  I'd bring in Derschowitz once a month and just him lecture Constitutional law.  I'd bring in former baseball players of the 1970s and talk about the era where social gimmicks were not practiced.  

(this sounding like the original NPR in 1974?  Yeah....that was kinda how they started)

Cost?  I'd make this a internet station and a subscription required (figure $6.99 a month).  Without the subscription.....no package.  Just my humble estimate, but I think you could easily round 500,000 subscribers in sixty days.  

I do agree....Oprah Winfrey failed miserably on the network business.  She didn't didn't have the quantity of an audience to keep a network thriving.  

As for each evening ending around 10 PM?  I'd have a 8-minute conversation/speech by Trump.  Play it like spring of 1944....with the French patiently waiting for the landing at Normandy.  

The Voter Saving Ink

 Of the one-thousand odd things from the November election....the one key thing that I look over and it continues to bother me in some way......there is the one-mark ballots.

By one-mark ballots, this is an entire page of candidates and amendments (not just the Presidential race), where ONLY one single line was marked.

As an example, the ballot I had from Alabama had roughly 20 lines of candidates and ballot measures.

I'll readily admit....every four years...at least four ballot measures appear, and I might be keenly aware of one single ballot measure, with the other three zero knowledge.  I tend to always vote 'no', if I don't know anything about the measure.

I've discussed in the years past with other folks.  Some from California would remark that they have a serious problem in understanding the list of political options and measures.  

But here in this ballot discussion....there's this issue that 450k ballots, from five states...returned to be counted and ONLY the Presidential race was marked. NOTHING else on the page submitted was marked.

Around 98,000 ballots in Pennsylvania, around 80,000 to 90,000 in Georgia, roughly 42,000 in Arizona, around 110k in Michigan and roughly 62,000 in Wisconsin.

I'm told by journalists and experts....this is normal.

I'm a bit skeptical that this is normal.

You'd have to assume that Senator races are significant (like in Georgia) but that 80k to 90k didn't mark that?  Same issue in Arizona and Michigan.

To say it's occurred in past races?  Well....that would drag me back to those races and ask just how far back do you have one-line ballots filled out?  Does this go back to the 1990s?  The past four to six election periods?  And no one really said anything or went out to ask people why they don't fill out the 20-odd other lines?  

The comical thing here....you could in most states....pick up the ballot and just mark ALL-REPUBLICAN or ALL-DEMOCRAT at the top, and at least get most of the ballot filled out and leave the measures empty.  But they didn't even choose to do that.

You end up with some guy or gal....who just saved a ton of ink....by marking one single X in a column, and leaving the rest blank.  

Just something to think about.  

Observations

 1.  How many times has Colin Powell announced that he's probably not a Republican?

Well....I'd suggest over a 20-year period....it's probably been at least sixty times.  He probably carries a 3x5 inch index card in his pocket to recite the quote precisely.

2.  If you flew into DC for the 'riot' and got on the bad-boy list....you can't fly home until the investigation is done.  Amtrak or Greyhound?  Probably the only route unless you call your cousin to come and pick you up.

3.  "We came very near to half of the House dying on Wednesday."  Quote by AOC.  

Logic would dictate here that a Marine unit needs to be stationed inside of the capital building and ready to launch a counter-offensive if required.  (note: it's fairly silly to imagine this, or AOC's scene).