A number of analysts have looked at the final weeks of life for this British Muslim terrorist guy, and come to the conclusion....complete mental breakdown. This was even before he stepped onto US soil.
Paranoid Schizophrenia? The one thing that isn't discussed openly....how this guy's life went the final six months. Was he hooked-up on drugs? Was he seeing a mental health clinic? Was he fired from his job?
I'll limit it to six comments:
1. Compared to some past moments of 2021....he seemed reasonably sharp.
2. On the Russia comment, he's already accepted the idea that an invasion will occur....some piece of the Ukraine will be carved off, and there's not much the US will do other than sanctions.
3. 'I don't believe the polls' comment. Bill Clinton lived and breathed by the polls....every ounce of success in the Clinton era....came from analyzing the polls and changing course when necessary. So whatever you saw for 2021.....is still the course for Joe Biden and team in 2022.
4. Some people (after the press conference) used the term 'foggy' to discuss how Joe Biden saw things. I would suggest that he reminded me of a old guy who was simply out of his league and doing the best he could. From all the Senate years....the chief talent that he showed....was embellishment of his record. I simply saw the same talent at work.
5. He did say that for the 2024 campaign (he intends to run)....that VP Harris will be his choice for VP. I think she was standing there in a state of shock.
6. It was not a bad press conference, but if you were a Democrat and looking for some great moment of inspiration.....sorry, you just didn't get that. I personally doubt that you will get another press conference for at least six months.
If you sat down with ten regular working-class people and said there needs to be a written 'word' on voting rights.....after eight hours of talks....the entire end-result would be around forty lines of text.
You'd have a piece written to say 'one-man, one-vote'.
You'd have some text to say you register ahead of time in your home state.
You'd write a piece to say multiple voting gets you actual jail time or a fine.
To suggest that you'd write some text that only the federal government can control this.....would be laughed upon by the people in this group.
For Biden and team to suggest that 500-odd pages of text is required? That would be laughed upon as well.
So I don't see this federalization of elections to be going anywhere. In fact, if you gauged people....on the top 100 problems in the nation....this federal voting situation doesn't fall into that position. The fact that President Biden doesn't grasp this?
In the past week, I listened to a NPR podcast. To be honest, maybe around the 1990 to 2000 era....I caught three hours of NPR a week, and lately....in an average year...it's about two hours (for the whole year).
So this podcast was an odd piece. This was a diet-authority person.....being interviewed, and basically telling people to take a stand....refuse to be weighed at the doctor's office....refuse to give them your weight....and refuse to confirm or deny your current nutrition situation.
It was a rather shocking 'stand' to take, with NPR more or less validating the idea.
Far left agenda? Well....back in the 1990 to 2000 era....that was the weekly problem I had with their news program.
This anti-diet agenda? Well....I could sign up for something like this, and be a full-fledged member. The odds that this was a one-time mistake and some intern with the NPR-club screwed up? Well.....yeah, that's probably a 80-percent chance.
An indicator that NPR is changing into something else? Maybe.
I noticed this fact the other day and it's been on my mind.
As of October 2020.....5.1-million Americans (over the age of 18) had a felony in their background. It comes out to near one person out of every forty-four.
I sat there pondering over this.
Over my entire Air Force career and the twenty years since then....I've known around eight individuals who were brought up on charges and convicted of a felony situation. In each single case....the guy made one stupid decision and couldn't alter his path from that moment on.
Are the 5.1-million mostly guys? No one breaks the numbers down, and I would make a humble guess that of this group....probably 98-percent are men. Women are more unlikely to commit a felony situation.
How you should view this? Once you leave the house in the morning....the odds are from that moment at 7 AM, until 7 PM when you likely return....you've come across at least one or two people who have felony convictions in their past.
Just something to think about.
Throughout high school, and even college....I'd come across these people who did next to nothing on study/projects....marginally got a 'C' (you'd always ask how they deserved that), and would score just enough to pass onto the next level.
By age 25, you could measure their intelligence level, and they were remarkably at the age 13 level of knowledge and capability.
I knew people in the Air Force....who bluffed their way through basic and some tech school, and five years later....were near 'zero' on knowledge about their field of expertise. Some would go on and wrap up a twenty-year career....lacking any real intelligence or capability.
VP Harris reminds me of those people. Because she was a female, and black.....she got a four-star bluff card, and was never challenged to prove her value. Now? Well....she's screwed because she'd have to study, and she simply doesn't have that capability.
The new folks hired to be on her staff? Most, I think....will be gone by December....realizing that she's not capable of putting in effort to improve.
Any lessons learned? I doubt it.
And I will suggest this....she's not the only one in Biden's group who has a problem like this.
After a fair amount of chatter, I went and reviewed basic structure:
1. Prohibit states from requiring an excuse to vote absentee.
Absentee was originally developed for military/state department folks who were out-of-country. At some point (probably 1980s), it came into play within senior citizen retirement homes, and hospital-bound people. My general problem with this federal idea is that you'd end up with people who vote in two or three states, and no real apparatus to prevent multiple voting.
2. Require states to mail absentee-ballot applications to all voters.
The truth is.....they already do this....in all fifty states. I'm not sure why they need to even bring this up....other than to suggest that some don't mail them out.
3. Require states to let voters to apply for an absentee ballot online.
The truth is....states generally already do this. Again, it's odd to suggest you need to federally mandate states on this.
4. Prohibit states from requiring absentee ballots to be notarized or have witness signatures.
States generally use one or the other in terms of making them valid.
5. Ensure states count all absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days.
On this, I can remember throughout the 1980s....applying for an absentee ballot three months before a primary/election, and only getting it five days before the election itself. You can blame the mail system on this (particularly if assigned overseas). My general problem here....if 75-percent of a state population voted absentee....you couldn't wrap up the election for a minimum of ten days. The potential for fraud? It's significant.
6. Mandate states to offer 15 consecutive days of early voting.
Some states offer a week....some go up to 15 days. The budget/man-power required to run something like this? Most states would probably say three days are enough if given any choice over the matter.
7. Mandate “to the greatest extent practicable” that polling places to keep waiting time to under 30 minutes.
I just started laughing. At Arlington, my wait on the 2012 election was almost three hours. In one particular year in Alabama....it was about 90 seconds. I don't know how federal 'fixing' could resolve this.
8. Mandate states that require voter IDs to also accept sworn statements signed by the voter.
Sounds fine....shouldn't this same rule work for buying booze, picking up drugs at the pharmacy, conducting car registrations, or buying smokes? I should just be able to write on a scrap of paper.....I'm Joe X and am 21....right?
We should just all carry around sworn statements in our pocket....3x5 inch index cards to say who are, if this makes any sense.
9. Mandate states let to allow people to register to vote on Election Day.
Wondering why it takes 3 to 5 hours at the polling station already now....with people showing up and trying to already register on election day?
The minute you move into a town....you ought to be mandated to show up at the driver's license office and note your change of address....with that also going to the voting folks.
10. Mandate states to let folks to register to vote online.
How would you present that ID? Or would you have one of the World-of-Warcraft IDs that you bought with the digital sword/shield?
11. Mandate states to offer automatic voter registration at the department of motor vehicles and other government agencies.
First, what do they mean by 'other' government agencies? Fishing and hunting license shops?
Onto the current situation....most states already offer automatic voter registration like they discuss. Some have a voting desk right next to the driver's license shop. Why mandate something when almost all of them already do it?
12. Tightly restrict states’ ability to purge voters from the rolls.
Are we talking about dead-voters?
What do we mean by 'tightly'?
Most states have a law to mandate purge schedules....particularly on dead voters. The county clerk gathers up the official records, with the county judge overseeing the listing, and the elimination occurs. Why would you involve the federal government in this process?
13. Make Election Day a national holiday.
This sounds like a good idea, then you ask questions. Throughout most communities....even on a national holiday....various stores/restaurants are open. I would make a humble guess that 20-percent of the nation still works on national holidays.
Most European countries mandate voting to occur on Sundays. Why not mandate that action in the US?
Also, how would you handle primaries? Make those national holidays as well?
14. Somehow, make it illegal to deceive voters (in an intentional way) to NOT vote.
Basically, you'd be admitting that fifty percent of the nation is stupid enough to believe some propaganda that you shouldn't vote.
15. Give the right to vote back to people convicted of a felony but out of prison.
Various states have done this....others are discussing it. It's just not a federal matter. It's pretty easy to avoid felony crimes....about 99-percent of all people I've known in life....did so with ease.
16. Implement public funding for congressional campaigns by matching every dollar a candidate raises from small donors with $6 from the government.
Why make this a federal matter, and use federal tax revenue? Why $6? Why not $12? Who is a small donor....the guy giving $25 or the guy giving $250, or the guy giving $2,500?
You might as well give public funding to every family making $25k or less a year.....a $1,000 grocery gift card to Piggly Wiggly.
17. Mandate “dark money” groups to disclose their donors.
Why? People would just invent 'transparent-but-dark-money' next.
18. Manufacture some type of disclosure requirements for political ads on Facebook and Twitter.
Who would be in charge of this? Former Twitter/Facebook employees?
19. Provide funding for states to upgrade their election infrastructure.
What do they mean by infrastructure? Computerized but crappy system enhancements? Who will be in charge of this, and how connected are they to some lobby group?
20. Establish federal standards for election equipment.
This begs all kinds of questions. If the standard is crap....how can the people trust in the system to function?
21. Mandate the use of paper ballots.
Most all states do this already. Why federalize the idea?
22. Establish specific redistricting criteria for fair maps and require nonpartisan redistricting commissions in every state.
Who is in charge? This begs all kinds of questions. Nonpartisan redistricting commissions would become a joke.
23. Count prisoners at their last address, instead of where they’re incarcerated, for redistricting.
What if the guy never registered to vote in Texas, for that six-year period of crime he succeeded in? What if the guy has never registered a single time in forty years of crime....to vote? What if homeless folks were put into this category, but never registered a single time in California for the past four elections?
24. Mandate tax returns of Presidential candidates be made public.
Why? How about Governor, Senator and House members as well? What if the guy made $22-million last year....gave you his return, and it says he paid $99 for federal taxes? Does a tax return establish a guy's character or lack of character?
25. Bar members of Congress from sitting on corporate boards.
Around 15 House members currently sit on 'boards'. It would be curious to have them stand and explain how they have a full-time job presently, and also carry on with a board job.
But if you are serious about this....shouldn't this be 'any other' job....not just corporate boards? What if some Senator wanted to operate a gas station while serving? What if a House member wanted to sell wood paneling on the side?
26. Bar members of Congress from using public money to settle sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits.
Just make a stupid two-line law that says the most public money you can use for government lawsuits is $99. You don't need federal gimmicks to resolve this.
27. Establish a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.
Well...how about a ethics code for House/Senate members too?
28. Finally, shrink the Federal Election Commission from six members to five in order to avoid tie votes.
How about three members?
The problem with this whole bill....maybe it started with good intentions, but at 791 pages....it's complicated and just makes a bigger mess. You really don't want the federal government coming in to fix things.
