November 7, 2016

Latest report on voting - Chicago

600,000 early votes cast in Cook County. The most ever. The majority of voters are women. PEople of color are coming out in droves. Lines for early voting stretch blocks long in certain areas.

No matter who wins, this appears to be the highest turnout ever, according to a Cook County election official.

Heh, take that, Bruce Donald Rauner. Your $26,000,000 personal investment did little but make radio and local tv companies happy.

Sigh, still there is a problem. For 5 minutes of local evening news, it feels like there are 20 minutes of attack ads.

November 7, 2016

I was just struck by a horrific thought.

What if the race is closer than we expect (or hope), and one or two states will make the difference, say, Ohio, NC, or even Florida?

Bush v. Gore was wrongly decided by a 5-4 majority. No such vote is possible now, even by my maths, given only 8 supreme justices. So, there is a possibility that the conservative 6th circuit or a conservative group of another federal appeals court will be issuing the final ruling on this election.

I shudder at the thought. Hopefully, we will kick as so broadly and widely, it will never come to this. But still . . . . .

November 6, 2016

A primer on he who is The Donald

https://m.

Make sure your volume is on high.

Had a great opportunity yesterday to check the pulse of 'Murica. Every year, SOFA has a show at Navy Pier on Chicago's magnificent lakefront. Artists and art lovers from around the world. Korea, Japan, Australia, and more. The place was packed with boys and girls, moms and dads, and children of all ages.

There was some truly inspired and inspiring art pieces here. Overall, I have to say that of the 20 or so SOFA shows that I have been to, this is probably the most talented and fun.

People were extremely friendly to one another, and it was easy to strike up conversations with total strangers. While the talks started out on art, it seemed (and I slightly pushed) the conversations slowly ebbed to the topic of the election. Despite talking to many dozens of visitors, (I was there Thurs., Fri. And Sat.) I was hard pressed to find anyone supporting the Teh Donald. The foreign art lovers who were here expressed concern because even after George W. Bush, America is still viewed as a pillar of democracy and the leader of the free world. They are actually fearful of Trump, and believe him to pose a danger to the world. Some of them either have, had, or escaped some sort of fascist or overpowering form of government, or have had recent wars on or near their borders. A buffoon, a fool, a pig, but a dangerous one.

The americans here (from every state), uniformly expressed a hope that Hillary wins, even if some did not care for her or for her self-imposed issues and questions. I did not find one Trump supporter - or at least anyone who would admit it at a huge art show.

OK, as surveys go, this has some problems. First, this is Chicago. Not only is our sky blue because of the EPA, our politics are too. Second, one gets the feeling that art and today's Trump supports mix about as well as oil and water. Lastly, most of the people were well read, interested in current affairs, and were well versed on the arts - again, not traits commonly found in bible beating, gun toting, small-minded, Trumpistas.

So, while the crowd was large, and pretty much set on electing Hillary, I concede that there may be a bias in favor of reality that may not exist among those who will vote the Cheetoh Head.

November 5, 2016

So, trump only likes illegals he can sleep with?

And he pounded the shit out of his son in public?

AND, Melania was illegal while working here sans a visa?

And then, to top it off, the NY office of the FBI is conspiring with Trump?

What the hell happened to our political cistern?

November 2, 2016

Can anyone from Texas help me out?

I want to understand what a "Texas Gentleman" is and what or who they are supposed to be.

When a high ranking elected state official calls the democratic candidate a cunt, and even the current governor is offended, how does that comport with the pride that Texas has over its manners and behavior?