Wednesday, March 04, 2020

Vermont’s highest peak, at sunset


77 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you for this link, Alan! It is running ahead of CNN and the other media outlets.

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    2. So, have they stopped counting or what? I don't see any change since yesterday and now I can't even find the % reporting. It must have been more obvious last night. Where should I look?

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  2. Other CA results so far:

    Green Party: So far Howie Hawkins is in the lead.
    Libertarian Party: Vermin Supreme is lagging some guy I never heard of.
    Peace & Freedom Party: Gloria La Riva is in the lead

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  3. OOPS! I forgot to notice the time. Here are my posts from the bottom of the last thread.

    listener3/04/2020 01:34:00 AM
    Alan, which county is yours?

    ~ ~ ~

    listener3/04/2020 01:38:00 AM
    I'd sure like to know what happened in American tonight. All the polls on Monday had Bernie ahead. Suddenly we have this big shift that I can't quite believe is authentic. If feels like another stolen election is on the horizon. I really really hate politics with every fiber of my being. Many thanks to California for being wise like Vermont and Colorado.

    ~ ~ ~

    listener3/04/2020 01:43:00 AM
    Bernie isn't altering his rhetoric to foster party unity, and good for him. If he does he'll be assimilated. If he doesn't, and he has a boatload of delegates, he can again affect the platform of the inevitable Democratic nominee. I say inevitable because it feels to me like something really underhanded or at least profoundly stupid is going on. Either there's something shifty going on behind the scenes or the populace that waited until Super Tuesday to make up their minds had a feeling that Biden is the safer choice. That's ridiculous when you consider how much DT has been after Biden and for how long, as well as that Bernie has an excellent ground operation in every state and Biden does not.

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    1. Candidate attrition may have had some effect.

      What I mean is, one of the articles I read yesterday mentioned a Buttigieg voter in California who purposely voted early to get his vote in and registered. He had a friend who also leaned towards Buttigieg but waited to vote on Primary Day. Then Buttigieg dropped out. The friend said he considered voting for him anyway, but then pretty much said 'what the hell' and voted for Biden.

      There's no way of knowing how representative one voter's experience may be. Still, it seems plausible to me that this young man is not unique. If your candidate leaves the race before you have a chance to vote,even though he's still on the ballot, often times you'll vote for someone else or not vote at all, I suppose.

      That's not my way. A few cycles back my candidate was Dennis Kucinich. He dropped out before the Massachusetts primary; but, I voted for him anyway. That only seemed right to me. But I guess a lot of people aren't firmly committed to their candidates, or something. In any case, I think that may be the answer to one of your questions. People's candidates dropped out before they had a chance to vote and, rather than sticking to their candidate, they switched to another, probably the one all the corporate news outlets are touting as Mr. Electable.

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  4. Damn Discouraging: CNN just called Texas for Biden.
    I was holding out hope that the southern counties would turn the tide.

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  5. I am ambivalent. The POTUS job has been so degraded that anyone can occupy the slot and I am, frankly not inclined to waste a Senator on it. I think it is telling that Biden made a big deal of O’Rourke’s presence. Turning Texas blue is critical. Biden is a nebish, but he’s got enough of a mean streak to take on Donnie Dustbin.

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  6. Before going off to try to do some research (my googling skills leave something to be desired), I need to vent a little spleen.

    I checked Real Clear Politics before shutting down the computer for the night and saw Warren with a 2% spread in Massachusetts at 28% with Sanders and Biden tied for second at 26% each. Warren is not my candidate, but I was pleased, home state pride and all that.

    Less than an hour later I looked in to comment to Mum about Warren eking out a win in Massachusetts, and she told me NBC had just called it for Biden. I couldn't understand it. She then told me in her signature condescending sneer that the country doesn't want a progressive; the country wants a moderate. I merely said, "Uhuh," and walked away.

    I've been fretting about it all night. Not only was I furious that Biden had won not just any state but my state, but for a news outlet to call an election for a candidate who demonstratively had fewer votes than another candidate is nothing short of election fraud.

    This morning I saw the latenight comments on the last thread. Apparently the numbers I saw last night were not the most current ones. That makes me feel slightly better. Still pissed off that Biden won my state, but slightly consoled that it was a legitimate win,not corporate election rigging.

    I still want to find percentages and delegate counts though, nerd that I am.

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  7. So far in California, Bernie has 33.6%, Biden 24.9%, and everyone else got skunked. There are surely lots of mail-in ballots left to be counted, but 99.9% of precincts are reporting. Bernie didn't get knocked out anywhere, evenly divided votes in Texas, and the following states at least previously leaned Sanders. Maybe I will increase my monthly donation to Bernie a little bit, and if the Dems nominate Biden I will change my registration back to Green and vote for Howie Hawkins. Maybe I will change my registration sooner, but there is no rush.

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    1. Alan, you took the words right out of my mouth. Also going to increase my monthly donation to Hawkins while I'm at it.

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  8. I note in the chatter that Bernie supposedly didn't turn out more young people, that the GOP is going to shortly give Biden both barrels (expect the release of previously unused opposition research), the fed's interest rate reduction is being interpreted as desperation (it is the lowest since at least 1871), and worldwide shipping has fallen off precipitously. Cheerio.

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  9. California Election results, with 99% reporting:

    Sanders 33.6%
    Biden 24.9%
    Bloomberg 14.3%
    Warren 12%

    CNN still shows California at 54% counted and hasn’t called it for Bernie, even though AP called it for Bernie at 8pm last night.

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    1. 54% counted with 99.9% reporting sounds about right.

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    2. I see.
      Hmmm. Here in Vermont we tend to count before we report.

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    3. It seems that in California precincts report live votes before the county counts the mail-in votes. Indeed, some mail votes won't even arrive until tomorrow or the next day.

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    4. Thanks, Bill.

      Well that's just ridiculous! I opened ALL of our absentee ballots and made sure they all got counted. I grant you that's only maybe a hundred or so. But if we had a thousand or more we would have simply had more volunteers do it. It really isn't that hard.

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  10. From my inbox:

    Dear Friends,

    Just two weeks before Super Tuesday, establishment Democrats began smearing Bernie Sanders with the lie that Vladimir Putin was preparing to rig the Democratic presidential primary for the Sanders campaign.

    This was part of a coordinated strategy to stop Bernie’s momentum after his big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Going into Super Tuesday, the 538 Forecast was predicting Sanders would win 13 of the 14 Super Tuesday states, with Joe Biden a distant 3th or 4th in most of those states.

    How could Joe Biden outperform all the pre-election polls and exit polls alike to win big first in South Carolina and then in 10 of the 14 Super Tuesday states? Does anyone really believe Biden’s sudden turnaround was due to a few late endorsements?

    Perhaps we’re supposed to believe that Vladimir Putin rigged Super Tuesday for Joe Biden, just to sow divisions in the Democratic Party. It couldn’t be the Democratic establishment rigging any of those primaries for Biden. Because it’s impossible to rig those electronic voting machines, unless it’s Putin and Russia doing the rigging?

    Actually, recall that Progress For All hosted a public forum in December with some of the nation’s leading election security experts concluding that 98% of the voting machines in the country are “inherently vulnerable to outside hacking and insider manipulation of the software.”

    That’s 98% of the voting machines in the United States!

    Unfortunately, few American voters ever question the most unlikely of election results. That’s because the corporate-owned news media reports election results like they were handed down by God Almighty to Moses on Mount Sinai. No, the fact is these election results are all tabulated by three shadowy private firms that are accountable to no one.

    Again, 98% of our voting machines are vulnerable to rigging. We should be asking ourselves who has the means, motive, and opportunity to rig those electronic voting machines, and then to get away with it!

    The sad truth is there’s no reason to trust any election results in this country. The Democrats have squandered the past four years chasing phantom Russian collusion conspiracy theories, instead of making election security and paper ballots the most important issue facing our country.

    Thank you for standing with us to expose this fraudulent system of elections. Keep the faith and keep fighting to restore our democracy!

    Sincerely,
    Tim Canova

    Progress For All, Inc.
    P.O. Box 222073
    Hollywood, FL 33022
    Paid for by Progress For All, Inc., www.ProgressForAll.org

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  11. Scuttlebutt has it Bloomberg has dropped out. I haven't verified that yet.

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    1. That's a relief. Bloomberg was the one Democratic candidate I would have seriously had to hold my nose to vote for, even against Trump.

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    2. Ditto.

      Though may I say I certainly wish that when each of these candidates drop out I wish they'd just keep their preferences to themselves and let the people decide for themselves. How much are Americans SHEEPLE, though, to just go with the flow and vote for whomever seems trendy?!!! Grrr.

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  12. Bloomberg has dropped out (you beat me to it, Cat), Warren probably will.

    “Biden is riding the biggest wave of his political career. But to keep it going — and to fend off Bernie Sanders, who is well-funded and will fight all the way to the convention — Biden needs to avoid any gaffes or new controversies that might cause buyers’ remorse among Democrats. One thing is nearly certain: Republicans will do everything they can to knock Biden off his message. Expect to see new opposition research drop in the next day or two.”
    ==========================
    Bloomberg on Fed rate cut. [Click] Not good for the bond markets—it will be a struggle to stave off deflation.
    ===========================
    Coronavirus brings global shipping to brink of paralysis [Click]

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    1. Pardon me for saying so, but I don't think that the cure for our present ills lies in replacing one president suffering from dementia with another. I noted that when Biden introduced his wife and daughter at a rally a day or two ago he confused them with one another.

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    2. That was at the start of his Super Tuesday victory speech, Alan!

      Apparently they had been standing on the opposite sides moments before and he didn’t see that they had moved. Even so...

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    3. No, observers said the women had not traded places. Biden is just spacey.

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    4. If the Dems expect me to choose between a senile kleptocrat and a senile corporatist, they may have another think coming. I do grant that there is some difference, but not enough for me, given that California has not been a "battleground" state for a long time.

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    5. Susan! I hadn't heard that.

      OMG.

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  13. On a positive note, I got this message today from Sen. Tim Ashe, who is running to be VT’s next Lt. Gov.. (I really do love Vermont!)

    “I became President of the Vermont Senate at the same time Donald Trump became President of the United States. While I couldn't change the outcome of the national election, I have led Vermont's efforts to counter President Trump's worst policies.

    “President Trump adopted bigoted immigration policies. In Vermont, we prohibited law enforcement from providing information for Trump's proposed religious registry and from acting as roundup police to hunt down immigrants.

    “After mass shootings, President Trump runs to the gun lobby for direction. We passed the first meaningful gun safety legislation in Vermont's history.

    “While President Trump defunded Planned Parenthood's health services, Vermont codified women's reproductive rights and funded Planned Parenthood.

    “President Trump rolled back environmental protections and gutted the EPA. Vermont passed longterm water clean-up funding and ensured kids are safe from lead in schools and at child care facilities.

    “President Trump denies global warming. In Vermont we are accelerating our 100% renewable power requirements and requiring that more of it be locally produced.

    “On issue after issue, President Trump is taking the country down a dark path. I've been proud to lead Vermont in a different direction that is inclusive, respects science, and cares about every person's success -- not just the politically connected.”

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    1. *sigh* Yes indeed. Sure wish I could emigrate to Vermont.

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    2. It's not that far! Just about an hour. You'd be welcome!

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  14. Not feeling too well. Probably being downhearted and disgusted doesn't help matters. In any case I'm going to go play my computer game, Bejeweled 2 [click]. That always gets my mind off things, if only for a while. TTFN

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    1. Yeah. Self care is vital right now.

      Might be good to all say what we’re doing in that regard.

      I slept in, looked at grandchild photos, rubbed the cats, and am planning to take an Excedrin Migraine.

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  15. Replies
    1. Yes indeed; I will go add another $5 a month to Bernie.

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    2. Today I was able to send a special donation to Bernie via ActBlue using SeaMonkey. I don't know whether that means ActBlue has gotten its act together, whether it was a one-time unglitch, or whether it was specific to Bernie's site in some way.

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    3. ActBlue is still not working on Sea Monkey for me. Glad you could get through, Bill.

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  16. I looked at the data for current returns in Fresno County. 52,000 votes have been tallied, and there are about 80,000 received but yet to be counted. And that doesn't count ballots mailed but not yet received at the clerk's office. Fresno is probably typical of California counties.

    P.S.: Vermin Supreme stands a chance of gaining the Libertarian nomination; he is only 0.3% behind the current leader in the vote.

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  17. What a rotten day.
    After pondering if our election has actually just been hacked (by Russians sowing discontent), I was just beginning to calm down when I turned on NPR around 4:25pm and someone was interviewing HRC.
    Suddenly it hit me: what if Biden’s VP is named as HRC...?

    Meanwhile, in the fray of late last evening, every time I tried to open CNN I got the message that I needed to update Adobe Flash Player.
    But Oy, Oy, Oy, I relented and it turned out it was fake flash player! And I used my secret computer code!
    I have removed it, but am waiting for a call from Youngest to learn whether I should be freaked. Do I need to change all my passwords?

    At least I never bank online, so my account can’t be hacked through my computer.

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    1. And I yelled at my cat today because she was really bugging me and being needy, and the poor kitty was actually hungry because I had gotten out her dish and can of food then got distracted and never actually had fed her. 😿

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    2. Awh, poor kitty!

      You know things are bad when you yell at the kitties. But forgetting to feed them? That's *really* a bad day.

      Sending hugs for both you and kitties.

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    3. Thanks for your understanding, Catreona. It was mostly a product of my having stayed up 'til 4am watching returns, and even though I slept in I was still not fully functioning. Add to that, my angst towards the world. But it wasn't the kitties' fault. And I made sure to give them extra loves all day. They are so forgiving. Then I remember that they will take a swipe at each other on a regular basis and still wash each others' faces.

      I should add that they'd already had their dry food and some tuna water, before Wil left for work this morning. It's just that they like their wet food better. They weren't starving, just annoyed. ;-)

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  18. Vermont Public Radio just played audio of Bernie, from his campaign office in Burlington, saying he spoke with Elizabeth Warren today and she is assessing and hadn’t made a decision yet about where she goes from here. He said he has known Elizabeth for a long time and respects that she needs some space. They asked him if he asked her for her support and he did not answer the question.

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    1. Well, duh! That was an impolitic question to ask.

      Listener, if I were you, I would not hold my breath waiting for Warren to endorse Bernie.

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    2. I feel confident that she will at some point. But no predictions when.

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    3. Yes, Cat, I agree. Warren didn't support Bernie last time, and I do not believe she's preparing to this time either. I guess I have no illusions left.

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  19. It seems that starting today and continuing for the next 30 days, the vote tallies at the California Secretary of State's web site (and also at least Fresno County) will be updated at 5PM local time. It is now 4PM.

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    1. Evidently I was mistaken. Neither state nor [Fresno] county tallies updated yet, and it is 6:30PM.

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  20. Our neighbors kitty-corner across the street are evidently rather well to do, and active in local Democratic politics. (Diane Feinstein visited one of their fundraising dinners.) They have yard signs out for Andrew Janz for Mayor of Fresno (we are just outside of the city limits), and he didn't succeed--lost to the former Chief of Police, who is clear that Fresno does not have a killer cop problem. Sure. Well, in any event, I will ask them for their Andrew Janz yard signs--they are made of Coroplast and are plenty big enough to make support boards for watercolor sketching in the field. I'm not sure, but it might even be possible to make two support boards from a single yard sign.

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    1. This was the inspiration for my sketching support board. [Click] Mine is somewhat different, but its parentage is obvious.

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    2. Sorry to hear about Andrew Janz. I was on his mailing list for a while, but didn't know he was running for mayor of Fresno.

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  21. Sorry to have been so absent, but the internets/phone have been miserable for weeks now. Most days, I never load a page entire. Thank Godde for DVDs.

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  22. The Pallisers, the Forsythe Sage, Larkrise to Candleford, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, both Marigold Hotels, YaYa Sisterhood, Cleopatra, currently, Rome.

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    1. Sounds a lot better than the current fare on the Innertubes.

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    2. Ah. Clearly a hoopy frood who knows where her towel is. *grin*

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    3. BTW do you have the original radio production? Both it and the later radio productions of subsequent books are, or were, available on CD. The original one comes with neat bonus material. There's also a box set called Douglas Adams at the BBC presented by Simon Jones. *shrug* But you probably knew all that.

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  23. From politicalwire.com:

    “Top surrogates and allies of Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are discussing ways for their two camps to unite and push a common liberal agenda, with the expectation that Warren is likely to leave the presidential campaign soon,” the Washington Post reports. [Click] “There is no certainty she will endorse Sanders or anyone else, but the talks reflect the growing pressure on the Massachusetts senator to withdraw.”

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    1. That's encouraging...maybe. At least it's not a foregone conclusion that she'll endorse Biden.

      How's about a Sanders/Warren ticket? It's not ideal. For one thing, we here in the Commonwealth currently have, if you'll excuse the expression, a Republican governor, who would get to choose Warren's replacement.For another, he should maybe look in the House. I don't have anyone particular in mind, just thinking the talent pool in the Progressive Caucus is considerable.

      BTW Sis chatters to me about what she sees on FB. One item she mentioned is the possibility of a Biden/Buttigieg ticket. She also mentioned Stacy Abrams as being mentioned for Biden's Veep. That's pretty low, trying to poach Bernie's potential running mate. Ah well, Alan, I guess that particular castle was built on pretty flimsy clouds after all. Still, it bugged me.

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    2. A Sanders/Warren ticket might seem nice to the liberal wing, but would never fly because it would be two liberal Senators from New England.

      Daughter was saying tonight that a Biden/Warren ticket would at least help balance out the ticket, whereas Sanders/Warren would be lopsided. It's true. Sanders would need a moderate and Biden needs a liberal. Of course, Sanders/Biden or Biden/Sanders would balance, but someone a tad younger would be wise. After all, two old white guys pushing 80 does not a solid 8 year administration make!

      I had that same exact feeling about Biden poaching Abrams.

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    3. Wil says that whomever is the nominee ought to begin by offering VP to Michelle Obama. I agree! I imagine she's way too smart to do that, though! Ha!

      Daughter remarked, "That would be a game changer!"

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    4. She suggested AOC, but she's still too young. She could run for Parliament if she lived in the UK, though:

      "United Kingdom[edit]
      In the United Kingdom, a person must be aged 18 or over to stand in elections to all parliaments, assemblies, and councils at the European, UK, devolved, or local level. This age requirement also applies in elections to any individual elective public office; the main example is that of an elected mayor, whether of London or a local authority. There are no higher age requirements for particular positions in public office. Candidates are required to be aged 18 on both the day of nomination and the day of the poll. This was reduced from 21 by the Electoral Administration Act 2006."

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  24. Nathan Robinson: Stop saying Biden is the 'most electable'. Trump will run rings round him [Click] “Did we learn nothing from 2016? Trump is savagely effective at destroying establishment politicians – and Biden would lose.” The writer makes a very good case. Too damn good, in fact.

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  25. On NPR today they interviewed two service members who served in Afghanistan to get their impressions of the deal DT made with the Taliban. One said she was not happy about it, having fight for freedoms. The other, a man who lost a leg due to an IED there, said he made peace with all of that already and now just doesn't even listen to the news.

    On a good day, I would have said, "Clearly he hasn't made peace with it." But today I thought, "I feel exactly like that." I don't want to listen to the new anymore. I did not listen to political news today. Only did a little online poking around and listen to about a half hour of non campaign news.

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  26. California vote tally per Secretary of State office:
    Next results update: 3:00 pm, Friday, March 6, 2020

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    1. Oops, that's the Fresno County Clerk's Office; the state results have been updated a bit.

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