Thursday, September 17, 2020

47: Eating Out



33 comments:

  1. “Senate Republicans on Wednesday brushed off calls from President Trump for a bigger coronavirus relief package, casting doubt on whether there is enough GOP support to move forward with additional economic stimulus measures just seven weeks before Election Day,” Politico reports.

    “President Trump spent much of his 20-minute call with American Jewish leaders making the case for more American Jews to vote for him. He closed by repeating a line that has raised their eyebrows before,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports.
    Said Trump: “We really appreciate you. We love your country also.”

    New Quinnipiac polls of several interesting U.S. Senate races:
    Maine: Sarah Gideon (D) 54%, Susan Collins (R) 42%
    South Carolina: Lindsey Graham (R) 48%, Jaime Harrison (D) 48%
    Kentucky: Mitch McConnell (R) 53%, Amy McGrath (D) 41%

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  2. NYT: Can Biden Fix What Trump Broke? [Click] “E.U. leaders are still learning to navigate a world ever more dangerous for them, while relations with the United States grow more and more awkward.”

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  3. The smoke is a little thicker this morning.

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  4. What are the election laws in your state?

    In Vermont, all ballots must be received by 7:00pm on election night. We are not a postmark state.

    ALL registered voters in Vermont will receive a ballot in the mail this month.

    In the Primary last month (which was done by in-person or absentee ballot) 98% of ballots were counted and reported by midnight.

    For the General Election, town clerks may start processing ballots two weeks ahead of the election (this year only). They will only know how many ballots have been cast. What is in those ballots won’t be known until the machine is tabulated at 7:00pm on Election night.

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    1. Ohio is one of the states that can tabulate absentee ballots before election day.

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    2. I am under the impression that mail ballots are verified and fed through the counting machines as they come in, but cannot be tabulated until the close of polls on election day. Now to see how close I am to right:

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      Here are the permanent rules for all states, and a link to special policies for the 2020 election. [Click]

      California: Signature verification for all-mail jurisdictions can begin 29 days before Election Day. Processing can begin 19 days before Election Day. Jurisdictions that are not all-mail can start processing at 5 p.m. the day before Election Day. A vote count can be accessed or released at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
      For 2020 only (so far): Ballots mailed to all registered voters, processing begins 29 days before election day.
      =========================

      Hmmm; reasonably close to what I thought. I also understand that California has a big lead compared to many states when it comes to installing the mail ballot vote processing and counting machines.

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    3. In Illinois, everyone received a card that allows them to request a mail ballot simply by checking one box, signing the card, and dropping it in the mail. They can also request a mail ballot on-line. That's probably what I'll do if Covid-19 case numbers don't come down in the next three weeks.

      Ballots must be postmarked no later than election day and arrive not more than 14 days following election day.

      I didn't really know when they got counted, so I checked Alan's link (thanks Alan!). Signatures are checked as the ballots come in but votes aren't actually tabulated until polls close.

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  5. Replies
    1. The graph showing cloture voting in the United States Senate since 1917 certainly seems to explain why the Congress has such an abysmal approval rating these days.

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    2. I keep hearing people say we need to eliminate the filibuster. I think we need to eliminate the two-track system. And thanks to Alan for the link. I was aware of a crucial rules change the effectively eliminated the need to keep talking, but didn't know exactly how it operated.

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    3. It's pretty damned arcane. But it sounds to me like all the subsequent contortions would be squelched by reinstituting the previous question motion. And many, perhaps even most, members wouldn't even know what that would mean, so wouldn't put up a fuss about it. Have a voice vote and the deed would be done before they could finish their sip of coffee. "The chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama." "Move the previous question motion." "Second?" "Second." "All in favor?" "Aye." All opposed?" "Nay." "The Ayes have it." [Gavel]

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  6. Federal Judge Blocks Postal Service Operational Changes [Click]
    A federal judge in Washington state granted a request from 14 states to temporarily block operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service that have been blamed for a slowdown in mail delivery, saying that President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are “involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” that could disrupt the 2020 election, the Washington Post reports. Oh, my!

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  7. Trump Drops ‘Law and Order’ Messaging [Click] I wonder what and when he will change to the next theme when he discovers that doesn’t work. . .

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  8. Tesla driver found asleep at wheel of self-driving car doing 150km/h [Click] That’s 94 mph. Story includes a few more examples of the technology. . .

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    1. The crucial paragraph, contradicting the terminology otherwise used throughout the article, occurs at at the end: “Although manufacturers of new vehicles have built-in safeguards to prevent drivers from taking advantage of the new safety systems in vehicles, those systems are just that – supplemental safety systems,” RCMP superintendent Gary Graham said in the statement. “They are not self-driving systems. They still come with the responsibility of driving.”

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    2. And I still think that a Tesla simply doesn't do the job as a display of conspicuous consumption. I'm holding out for a Pierce Arrow, or maybe an Eliica.

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  9. Ohio:As of Thursday afternoon, there have been at least 141,585 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 4,580 deaths, and 14,625 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

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  10. VT: 1705 (+3)
    Still 58 deaths (50days)
    114 active cases
    Recovered 1533 (+3)
    In Hospital 2 (-1)
    Tests 153,195 (+1131)

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  11. Today is the 14th anniversary of the day puddle had to say goodbye to her beloved
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