By Jace, a Trail Mix Contributor
Pour an extra cup of coffee. A bit larger than usual today. A bright and beautiful segue into the holiday season. Baroque music from this side of the pond. All too often forgotten or overlooked. Enjoy the music and enjoy your day!
More Posts by Jace
Good start to a long Sunday.
yahoo: Popular Vote Gap Surges Past 2.2 Million For Hillary Clinton — Donald Trump Least Popular Winner In 192 Years
…..President-elect Trump appeared set to enter the White House with the lowest percentage of votes won since the election of 1824 — an era when the way Americans selected their president was nearly unrecognizable compared to the system that exists today. [….]
Responding angrily to recount efforts in three states where he won by razor-thin margins, Trump on Saturday issued a statement declaring, “The people have spoken and the election is over.”
But if “the people” spoke, it was clearly to reject Trump. Not only was he losing to Clinton by 1.7 points as of Saturday, with the 7,190,133 votes for “third party” and write-in candidates added in, more than 9.4 million more people voted for a candidate who was not Trump than the number who voted for him.
In fact, no elected president since John Quincy Adams — the sixth president of the United States — in 1824 has won a lower percentage of the vote than Trump
“Donald Trump Least Popular Winner In 192 Years” report underscores my comment from last thread:
craig, the verification of more votes, even tho not enough to flip the call, has the upside of pooh poohing the so-called mandate ryan says the gopers have. no sore loser here, just a sad one.
btw, no sore loser here either
fsu ‘noles beat uf gators 31 – 13
and uk wildcats beat ul cards 41 – 38
pogo, congrats on the ‘bama game
bbc: How will the US media cover President Donald Trump?
Earlier this week TV executives and correspondents from mainstream organisations attended an off-the-record meeting at Trump Tower, planning to push for more access to the president-elect.
They hoped that they would be able to come to a better understanding about logistics and coverage of the White House.
Instead, Trump berated them for their biased coverage, as he portrayed it, and for using unflattering images of him.
After news of the meeting leaked out, media executives, speaking off the record with the New Yorker’s David Remnick, unleashed a stream of expletives and said the president-elect doesn’t seem to understand the First Amendment.
“This was unprecedented,” said one person who was at the meeting. “Outrageous!”
[….]
Still rapid-fire shifts in policy have repercussions. As president, he could create massive uncertainty, a situation that reporters will try – as best they can – to cover.
“This is going to be one of the darker and more dangerous things about the Trump presidency,” said New York University’s Jay Rosen.
“In authoritarian states, confusion is the baseline,” he said. “You can never really tell what’s going on, and the confusion is a political tool to keep people powerful.”
Mr Crawford,
Are you related to the William H. Crawford who ran against John Quincy Adams & Andrew Jackson in 1824?
*******
patd brings up interesting points in the strangeness of our electoral system. Wondering though if we went to a popular vote winner system, wouldn’t that open up even more avenues for (potential) fraud? Also what are your thoughts on enacting a shorter time frame on which to present a campaign? At this point our final choices are like the last couple standing in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maybe this is good – who is the strongest, etc. – but a lot of better people get booted or never run because they can’t afford the cost of staging a marathon.
Of course nothing can overcome the responsibility of the Voter to be informed & interested. Ultimately, that falls on us. Can’t legislate commonsense.
jace,
Lovely selection.
Anyone light the candles of Advent or hang the special calendar? What fun it was to open a secret window each day in the countdown to Christmas.
flatus, congrats to your ohio st beating mi 30-27
sjwny, nice little info and picture from sparkpeople to start the candles’ glowing:
Today begins the start of a Journey that will take you through all 4 Weeks of the Advent Season, lighting the Candles of Hope, Peace/Bethlehem or Candle of Preparation, Joy, Love, including the final lighting of the Christ Candle. There are 3 Purple and 1 Pink and the Christ Candle which is White.
Jace
You outdid yourself this morning. That was absolutely lovely.
Since the freeze on the size of the House of Representatives isn’t likely to be lifted, the easiest adjustment is the other major suggestion to fair things up. Currently 10 states have passed laws that state that their electors will vote for the NATIONAL popular vote winner. Those laws don’t go into effect until at least 15 more states join them. Since states are allowed to charge their electors in anyway they see fit, this is perfectly legal.
This would make broadcasting on election night absolutely insane but would more truthfully represent the voters across all 50 states.
craig, why are you berating and dissing Hillary’s lawyer… there are some other reputable constitutional law types supporting the necessity for accountability, lessig for one and here’s another one of the guys who started it according to the guardian:
One of the leaders of the coalition, John Bonifaz, founder of the National Voting Rights Institute, expressed frustration that critics were accusing Stein of exploiting disappointment over the election result to collect money and gather contact details from liberal activists.
“This was all driven by the nonpartisan election integrity community,” said Bonifaz, a constitutional attorney, in his first interview about the recount effort. “I’m the one who asked Jill Stein to file these petitions.”
Oh BTW, Manafort seems to be back in the fold. He was seen at Trumpenstein Castle mounting the elevator. It would seem that Russia’s favorite Candidate is still maintaining the Kremlin connection to Russia With Love.
“This would make broadcasting on election night absolutely insane but would more truthfully represent the voters across all 50 states.”
Jamie, and of course the networks think prognostication is more important than letting the nation as a whole have their say before hand. finding out who the people really voted for and who they voted against seems to me worth the wait. but then again they have products to sell and ratings to make.
Jace, what is there to say except Magnificent
Patd
It would have to be tried to see how it worked out, but I think it would encourage both registration and participation. Since they would have no way of knowing final count, networks could broadcast vote state by state as they came in. It might actually encourage people to get off their duffs and vote while their polls were still open rather than depressing the vote if Electoral Count known too soon.
PatD USF going 10-2 for the season by beating UCF in the battle for I-4 is icing on the cake!
Americans keep looking away from the election’s most alarming story
WAPO may be entering on a new Watergate era. The stories just keep coming.
Patd,
There is no sadder loser than I.
I simply don’t think that any recount will be productive. It is at best a distraction.
As for talk of a mandate that will never fly, you don’t lose the popular vote by 2.2 million, probably 2.4 or 2.5 million when all is said and done and claim a mandate.
Secondly if a recount were to by some miracle flip the out come of the election, I think that one could safely count on rioting in the streets that would boarder on civil war, Trump supporters truly believe in second amendment solutions. They got their country back and they are not going to give it up without a fight.
At this point I would rather move on and prepare for 2018. Were it within my power to do so I would initiate a twofer program in every state especially those with a history of vote suppression. For every vote that is purged or disallowed we should register or re- register two new voters. It’s the kind of work that national political parties are supposed to engage in during off years. Dems need to learn how to do it again. It is not glamours but it is essential. It will pay more dividends than any potential recount or effort to revise the electoral college.
Jamie,
Interesting point, this will be worse than Watergate, and possibly very soon. The crucial question will be if there are any in the media willing to pursue the stories day in and day out until they reach critical mass and make them stick? Recent history is not all that encouraging. We are dealing with a different and dangerous mind set here. If Trump were Nixon he would burn the tapes and jail Woodward and Bernstein.
Sadly for the media, when you are that wrong about an election, folks tend to believe that you are wrong about everything.
agree Jamie, the movement to require electors to vote the popular vote is the easy path to go. Altho I do have reservations about the popular vote giving so much power to the biggest states.
patd, my issue with the Clinton lawyer is that I think her camp has been wise to stay out of it, keep her out of it, and they should keep it that way. If a narrative emerges that she is actively behind this, that’s baaaaad
sjwny and Patd,
Got up early this AM to watch the Advent candles glow in the dark and have a few transcendentally peaceful moments to myself. First the candles and then the music of Advent. I love it.
Jamie and Craig,
The problem is that republicans control too many state houses and legislatures. They know that they will seldom be on the winning side in the popular vote. In essence the EC is their political life line.
Haven’t seen the numbers, but am guessing that there were more total votes cast for dems. in house and senate races as well. Like the EC they just don’t come from the right places.
Thank you Jace — Mr. Cracker and I are enjoying your selections – lovely and it introduces us to things we woudn’t even know about.
The Greens have done the recount thing before — I’m not sure I get the point but if they can uncover irregularities or show the impact of voter suppression — more power to them
We need someone to step up and tell the rest of us what to do. Trumpco is already planning on privatizing everything
Those of us who think government has a different function need to find leadership that will tell us what to do
There is plenty of evidence that privatization does not work.
Jamie, wapo’s right about “…this election’s most alarming story: the successful effort by a hostile foreign power to manipulate public opinion before the vote.” sounds like they got another Pulitzer on the way if someone in the upper ranks don’t do them in. dangerous business considering we weren’t the only voters conned and played with to our detriment. vlad has had better luck with rigging us, brexit, Syria, Ukraine etc than he did rigging the Olympics looks like. but it is comforting that he was eventually called out and penalized for the drugging….hope it won’t be too late for democracies globally before he gets his due on this latest and more dangerous hanky panky.
jace, the russian revelations makes checking out the anomalies of the election very important. sunshine on the faults in system and on those that played with them is imperative.
I would also like to see while there’s still time for ag lynch to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the band of agents within the fbi who violated the hatch act. a little sunshine there would also do some good.
Patd,
I would not disagree, but you knew and I knew and anyone with half a brain knew that Putin was doing his damnedest to influence the outcome of this election. Hell, my guess is that if we could see Trump’s tax returns they would show that he owes Putin money. In spite of this white working class voters in three states pulled the lever for Trump anyway. They wanted to believe the lies Trump told and the lies the Russians told about Clinton, because it was easier than knowing that there is never going to be a wall with Mexico, we are not going to deport 11 million people out of the country and Detroit and Pittsburgh are never again going be the manufacturing centers of the world.
Four years from now when white union voters no longer have a union to belong to, they’ll understand, but for now they are quite secure in their fantasies.
Stein just lost control of the Green Party by becoming a tool of the Clintons. Guess where all of the money is coming from to do the recount? It’s not coming from the “Jill, Not Hill,” Green Party folks. The money for the recount is coming from Hillary’s backers.
So far, I’m OK with the choices I see Trump making, including softening positions on some issues. Hillary is the hardliner with ties to foreign entities that should be feared. Thank goodness the people who were fooled into voting for her, or who just wanted to see any woman in the WH, were in the wrong states. Trump will be prez and it will be fine.
Happy 1st day of Advent.
What “successful effort by a foreign power to influence the election”? You keep spouting Hillary’s winning numbers in the popular vote. Are you saying Putin targeted just folks in WI, OH and PA? Such sour, sour grapes.
Question. In all this post election woo ha, where has Ted Cruz been? If any one was left out in the cold by the result it must have been him.
He was most certainly planning on running against HRC in 2020 and he has no friend in Trunp. If I were Trump I would avoid the Senate on the Ides of March. Ted has that lean and hungry look about him.
“As for talk of a mandate that will never fly, you don’t lose the popular vote by 2.2 million, probably 2.4 or 2.5 million when all is said and done and claim a mandate.”
jace, well tell that to paul ryan that they don’t have a mandate because they lost the pop vote. he declares otherwise. they will say it over and over until the media and thus the country accepts it.
the guardian: Paul Ryan lists Trump-era priorities as he insists Republicans have ‘mandate’
bid, no sour grapes in calling for proper audits… don’t you recheck your bank statements, your change at the store, the lists you rely on? the accuracy and integrity of a presidential election is a hellova lot more important than those.
trump’s the pres-elect. nothing they find will alter that so no sour grapes on my part any more sourer the grapes you taste regarding your once held heroes sanders, warren and stein… all of whom you heartily supported but now have thrown under the bus.
Patd,
That’s just Luntz talk. I remember as do you when George W had political capital . somehow it just didn’t work out. I suppose they could gut medi-care, throw 15 million people off Obama care, and privatize social security, but when you just lost the popular vote by two million plus, alienating an additional 100 million or so voters doesn’t bode well for one’s long term survival.
BID,
If memory serves me correctly it was your former hero Bernie, who first talked about a rigged process. Perhaps Pat is right maybe we should look into it further.
I would also like to see while there’s still time for ag lynch to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the band of agents within the fbi who violated the hatch act. a little sunshine there would also do some good.
Patd,
There is an idea worth looking into. I don’t know if it is too late or not, but if it were possible I would like to see the FBI purged from the top down prior to Obama stepping down. Yes, Trump would get to appoint a replacement, but Comey is already a Trump guy, so there won’t be much difference.
🙁
Jace, another lovely tune by the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate. Thanks again. Got a cold up there in MA, but vitamin C tabs getting the job done.
Wow it’s tough when you see everything through the fever of Clinton Derangement syndrome Find someone new to hate and blame
Recounts are a practice for the Greens – this is not the first time in a presidential campaign
Probably a trivial question at this juncture, but when are we scheduled to raise the debt ceiling again? More to the point how many times will it be raised without Republicans firing a shot?
Craig,
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Take care of that cold.
For the sad losers among us (I shouldn’t have used the word “sore” yesterday, sorry about that) I came across an interesting Jewish phrase over the weekend. Not sure I agree with it or fully understand what it means but here it is:
I was not going to comment at all…but had to say that the only reason that the rs get away with all of the dirty slimy tricks that they do…..is b/c the ds let them…..they let the rs get away with electing the 2nd bush thru the supremes….Gore did not have the guts to fight it out…he was to be the potus……As i said before the election…weeks before Obama could have done Hillary and the ds a huge favor….he could have had all of trumps irs problems brought to light…..what did he do to help out his dem party…..NADA….if the scotus is so important to us……why was it not to him…..he did not get his nominee to the supreme court….he did not help out the dems there either ………many, many indies will not even consider this an important factor in choosing the potus……All proof that Obama is not an dem….he is not an rep either …..he is nothing…..just present is all
Patd is one 1000% to insist on a recount………do not give the rs the pleasure of seeing you surrender…..about looking ridiculous…….hillary made the ds look thata way…..she is the one that should have been looking out for all of the dirty rep…ticks………did she not have the experience to win….only to lose, she ran scared and thought that she had the divine right……..the clintons are the only ones to blame….and no one else……..they took states for granted…..and they lost them due to ignoring them……..she is a great lady…..but a big time loser when it comes to politics……..so….i say push back hard…and at the same time…do what needs to be done right now….to prevent further dem loses in the coming elections….by demanding a recount…you will be taking the first step in letting the rs know that you will be keeping your eye on tha ball……..if you dont…….then they will keep pushing the ds around at will…………if the ds haven’t realized by now that they are as dangerous as a gun wielding monkey in an elevator full of people…all dems… after this….then they deserve to be shot……
Jace, ……thanks for the best sunday serendipity of all….or one of them……..i have mixed feeling about Castro…….some of i admiration…some of it disgust………nothing good to say about Batista at all….he was a piece of ………
Patd, is 1000% right to insist on a recount that should have read…………….she is always right except when she………………………………….i was shaking me head in disbelief……
I’m neither sore nor sad. I am royally pissed off. When a foreign government actively brags that they interfered with our elections, then a magnifying level of a recount is required. Not to change anything but to try to insure that it never happens again. The Electoral College has put a man in office of the lowest possible character this side of a jail cell and that might still happen. The least that can be expected is that media sniff on his heels every second. Of course this won’t happen either since individuals no longer matter just big ratings numbers, brain dead slogans, and the dollars that pay for it all.
solar, thanks for watching my back there with that 1000% support.
however it’s more than “do not give the rs the pleasure…” or taking vengeance. it’s doing what’s right and making sure every vote counts and is counted again to be sure nothing was askew. it’s that boring thing about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s before making official pronouncements.
it’s maddening too that all focus is on the pres-elect’s game of thronettes, who will get this cabinet post and that one. we have a sitting president for another 2 months and a lot of problems here and around the globe that need attention now. issues of import, more important than what the twit tweeted or who he trashed.
worldnewsdailyreport:
Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden announced this morning that he had “clear evidence” that the 2016 US election was rigged by Russian hackers in favor of Donald Trump.
“I have received confirmation through Guccifer 2.0 that malware was used in the electronic voting machines that lead to the victory of Donald Trump” Snowden told an internet conference in Berlin, speaking via a video link from Russia, where he has been living as a fugitive.
is the snowden report above just another one of those “fake news” thingys? see it at a bunch of other suspicious cites. they really like messing with people’s heads don’t they?
Pat,………not vengeance to me…..i dont do that well….and it would take too much out of me….too long in the dark side…….but when it comes to elections……the ds must think of it like the Rs……its War…..and Personal………the ds need to stop talking past the common person…..and fight fire with fire……tooth and nail…..and organize the message a well as the other side……maybe buy a news station or dos…………and above all…..stop underestimating the rs…..
Pat
Russia has been messing with our collective heads for the last year. Snowden is dependent on Russia to keep him out of prison for the next 30 years.
Connect the dots, };-) Just sayin.
Jack
🙂
more head messing as reported by the hill:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
3:30 PM – 27 Nov 2016
solar is a scholar & a gentleman.
Keith Olbermann remains the only correspondent/commentator with any balls to take on whatever the opposition spews forth. Kudos to GQ for giving him a forum. Cable News is what it is & will remain whatever it is. Will be interesting if the foreign outlets (BBC, CBC, etc) will be the place to get the facts concerning the Trump Administration, kind of like when Edward VIII was dallying with Mrs Simpson & America knew the poop but England’s Press had to follow edicts on what to report.
*****
patd, I apologize for my brusque replies to your posts about recounts. It has nothing to do with you, everything to do with Stein. I honestly don’t trust her motives involving anything. Had anyone else presented the recount I would have seen it as a noble if perhaps tilting-at-windmills endeavor. Something ain’t right with the woman. If she turns out to be another Russian puppet manipulating the Left as Trump played the Right I wouldn’t be too surprised. Heck, nothing surprises me at this point.
Mnozil Brass Band
Many replies created, many replies deleted.
There are good and reasonable issues involved in letting a minor party contest and ask for a recount. I have no problem with Stein requesting and the Clinton legal team support doing it. The results will be interesting, if not important.
Think back to all the Snowden releases. One over riding comment, usually under the fold, was that many have concerns about the pedigree of the content. A few suggested a few were “edited” or created by the Russians (FSB most likely, not “hackers”). Frequently was the note that all of them need to be questioned before acceptance. HRC and her team continued their closed shell world. The one she needed to break out of to nail the election. No confirmations or rejections. That is how we do it in the federal world. She is not a fed. She is a politician and should have had a lot a yelling about how those emails were false (I do not care if they were fact or fiction – she needed to be more than tight). But, this is only one area of the fight.
If your car has Sirius/XM and you do not have a subscription, the music channels are free until the 29th. Just tune it in.
Time for an ice cold bud….and a shot of………..bulliet kentucky bourbon…….later
Solar – aye a boilermaker can have quite an effect on the day. Tonight is the last of a bottle of an old vine, uncorked Zin from the Lodi App. of 1944. A wonderful bottle. Sigh, no more in my cellar.
What happens when one does not watch the telly on Sunday morning? The answer is good health and heart care.
With depredation I did not want to enter the commode. I did. If you tweet you might get something happening.
Double B, can i call you that?….say yes cause im probably going to anyway…..i have always been in sports, or working construction in very hot weather sometimes….was not into sweet drinks….but now im starting to experiment a little …..Had a French Martini the other day…..and i liked it very much…..but i still like me my boilers to catch a little fire……….after all, fire is one of the 5 elements that we live by no?……
My buddy that i enlisted on the buddy system with in the military……planned to open up a restaurant/bar when we got discharged…….never came up with a name for it…until a few years later…..i was in advertising for 8 yrs….so he left it up to me to come up with a name……it was to be called Back to Back…….with the logo showing the two Bs back to back……..never happened, he ended up being an accountant for the Carpenters Union, I ended up being a General Contractor…….unless you count all the times that we were propping each other back to back so we wouldn’t fall down…………….Ha…..i remember that our business, vision, etc, etc plans were all the same……….get every body stoned and prop them up….back to back………..woulda been a great bar…..where every one knows your name………..later i B Back………….
Ps…..in our back to back bar….hey thats three Bs…………we would have had the Sally Ride all of the time…..24/4 at least……….
Or, it could have been named 70-80…..dont know why…but ever since i can remember…w.hen ever some one asked me how i felt……always said 70/80……….i mean….what the hell is 50-50, so-so……70/80 is a great way to feel……another name for the bar……..it would have been outlawed…forbade for anyone to say 50-50……….if they did……two things woulda happened……a fast boiler maker….or a bud and shot before they could even sit down………..now when asked again…….bet they would be 70-80 no………haaaaahaa Xr woulda been a regular….he is always at least 70-80………………….in India….when some asked how you are………you might answer….I slept well……that means that your health, all things are great….at least 70-80……..later…..over and out for a while…..
Forgot……SJ…..u made me blush a little…..thanks…….unless that was the boiler maker……hugs anyway it was…..
2-B, or not 2-B
Mr pescado…..knew that you would B around…………….hey know what today is……a favorite of mine……….A shit head Pope….around 10 ad ordered the first Crusades………..dont know why there were any more………….the first one is still going on……and strong…..
Solar,
I have learned to never underestimate the restorative power of a boilermaker. May not want one very often but when I do nothing else comes close. Stay thirsty my friend.
I haven’t had a boilermaker in decades. There has to be a better name than boilermaker for a lager beer with tequila.
I expect the drumpf will make sure his lawyers are at the recount for the same reason Hillary’s lawyer said “to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides.” here’s his statement according to the quardian.
Elias: “Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology, we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves.
“But now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides.”