Friday, December 25, 2020

Effort To Recall Far-Left CA Governor Newsom Reaches 870,000 Signatures

100%FedUp  "Unaffordable housing. Record homelessness. Rising crime. Failing schools. Independent contractors thrown out of work. Exploding pension debt. And now, a locked-down population while the prisons are emptied. CA Governor Gavin Newsom must go.

"Less than two years into office, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is being forced to defend his job. Orrin Heatlie, an organizer of the RecallGavin2020.com recall petition, says the campaign has now reached 870,000 signatures.

"The recall campaign must gather 1.5 million signatures by mid-March to force an election, and it will need a surplus of signatures because some are likely to be disqualified during the certification process.

"“He has done this to himself,” Heatlie said. “We wouldn’t have been as successful as we’ve been if it weren’t for Gavin Newsom.”

" 'Dan Newman, a spokesman for the governor, said Californians will have to decide whether they want a “distraction and circus” to pull attention away from the state’s problems. He said a special election could cost taxpayers upward of $100 million as the state works to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations, reopen schools and kick-start the economy.

“This is a ragtag* crew of pro-Trump, anti-vaccine extremists, along with some ambitious Republican politicians who would like to be governor,” Newman said. “I don’t think it’s something anyone wants. I’d be surprised if Californians wanted to spend the extra money and have another election the following year.”

"FALSE! This is something at 870,000 Californians want!" . . .

*Another ragtag circus! Like this one in Germany, 1945:

The elitist snobs in the fashion press have kept the most elegant First Lady in American history off the covers of their magazines for 4 consecutive years.

Weasel Zippers


 

Dave Barry’s Year in Review: 2020 was a year of nonstop awfulness

In election news, Joe Biden makes history by choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate; if elected, she would become the first U.S. vice president whose name can be rearranged to spell “I Alarm A Shark.” During the Democratic debates Harris leveled some harsh criticisms at Biden, but a Biden campaign source says that “Joe has forgotten all about that. Literally.”  For his part, Trump dismisses rumors that he might change running mates, telling reporters “I’m very happy with whatshisname.”

Dave Barry  "We’re trying to think of something nice to say about 2020. OK, here goes: Nobody got killed by the murder hornets. As far as we know. That’s pretty much it." . . .


. . . "In the past, writing these annual reviews, we have said harsh things about previous years. We owe those years an apology. Compared to 2020, all previous years, even the Disco Era, were the golden age of human existence.
"This was a year of nonstop awfulness, a year when we kept saying it couldn’t possibly get worse, and it always did. This was a year in which our only moments of genuine, unadulterated happiness were when we were able to buy toilet paper.
"Which is fitting, because 2020 was one long, howling, Category Five crapstorm.
"We sincerely don’t want to relive this year. But our job is to review it. If you would prefer to skip this exercise in masochism, we completely understand.
"If, however, you wish, for some sick reason, to re-experience 2020, now is the time to put on your face mask, douse your entire body with hand sanitizer and then — to be safe — don a hazmat suit, as we look back at the unrelenting insanity of this hideous year, starting with...


". . . WE WILL ALL DIE hey I found some toilet paper oh no it’s one-ply which is basically the same as using your bare hand thank God I also found some hand sanitizer and speaking of good news Bernie Sanders is endorsing Joe Biden so apparently they’re both still alive if I see one more meme I am going to puke in my facemask I’m afraid to get on a scale my thighs are basically two armadillo-sized wads of pizza dough . . ."

Trump lashes out at Republicans abandoning him claiming that he saved Mitch McConnell and seven senators from losing and blasts Twitter as 'cancel culture at its worst' for flagging his fraud claims

 UK Daily Mail  "President Trump on Thursday vowed that he ‘won’t forget’ how Republicans ‘sit back and watch’ as he tries unsuccessfully to overturn the election, and lashed out at social media giant Twitter for flagging his claims of voter fraud as untrue.

"he president singled out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who drew Trump’s ire earlier this month when he officially recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of last month’s presidential election.

"I saved at least 8 Republican Senators, including Mitch, from losing in the last Rigged (for President) Election,’ Trump tweeted on Thursday.

"Now they (almost all) sit back and watch me fight against a crooked and vicious foe, the Radical Left Democrats.

" will NEVER FORGET!’

"The president has taken credit for McConnell's victory in the Senate race from Kentucky as well as other contests which the GOP won, enabling the party to prevent a 'blue wave' that would have flipped control of Congress to the Democrats.

"Key Senate races that polls indicated could be close or perhaps be won by the Democrats were instead kept in the GOP column, including those of Senators Susan Collins of Maine; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. 

"The Democrats could still control 50 Senate seats if they win both runoff elections for the two Senate seats from Georgia on January 5 - with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris potentially serving as a tie-breaking vote in a deadlocked chamber.  

"Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that Trump ordered his political aides to monitor Republican incumbents who are up for re-election in 2022." . . .

War on Christmas? Biden’s Ag Sec Once Tried to Tax Christmas Trees


"Washington Free Beacon  "President-elect Joe Biden's pick to lead the Department of Agriculture tried to put a tax on Christmas trees the last time he was in charge of the agency.

"Tom Vilsack (D.[of course]), a former Iowa governor who was agriculture secretary when Biden was vice president, implemented a 15-cent tax on each live Christmas tree in the United States in 2011. His attempt ultimately fell short: Facing widespread criticism, the Obama administration paused the tax just one day after it went into effect and abandoned it altogether the following week.

"Vilsack's agency said the Christmas-tree tax was intended to subsidize a $2 million advertising campaign to counter market trends that it claimed increasingly favored plastic Christmas trees over their live counterparts. It was also intended to fund research into growing trees that shed fewer needles.

"Critics scoffed at the idea that a tax was needed to promote Christmas. Then-senator Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) called Vilsack's move "the stupidest tax of all time" and questioned the need for a government-backed advertising scheme for one of America's favorite Christmas symbols.

"Does anyone in America—anyone?—believe that Christmas trees have a bad image that needs taxpayer-subsidized improvement?" DeMint asked.

"Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.) said the tax was a "smack in the face" to all who celebrate Christmas.

" 'It is shocking that President Obama tried to sneak through this new tax on Christmas trees. He might have thought nobody would realize what he did, but I will fight to prevent President Obama from becoming the Grinch who taxed Christmas," Scalise said. "This new tax is a smack in the face to each and every American who celebrates Christmas."

Black farmers, civil rights advocates seething over Vilsack pick

"Progressives and groups representing farmers of color are extremely disappointed that Biden didn’t opt for new leadership at the sprawling department."

. . . “ 'Vilsack is not good for the agriculture industry, period,” said Michael Stovall, founder of Independent Black Farmers, a coalition of Black growers and producers from key Southern states working to raise awareness on issues faced by Black farmers. “When it comes to civil rights, the rights of people, he's not for that. It's very disappointing they even want to consider him coming back after what he has done to limited resource farmers and what he continues to do to destroy lives.' " . . .

Mike Pence is being held out as the potential savior of a fair election

Does not seem likely to me, sadly.

 Andrea Widburg

Ivan Raiklin, a constitutional lawyer, claims that the Constitution grants Mike Pence the power to overturn a manifestly fraudulent election.

. . .  A few observations:

1. I'm not a constitutional scholar, so I don't know if this idea is valid.

2. Trump's retweeting it does not make it valid.  He may just have been charmed by the idea.

3. Trump's retweeting it does suggest, however, that Trump still believes he has some tricks up his sleeve regarding the election.

4. Raiklin's tweet, which went out on Tuesday, asked Pence to send out his letters on Wednesday, something that did not happen.  This video indicates that Wednesday may or may not have been a drop-dead deadline:

 5. This idea puts enormous pressure on Pence.  He has proven to be a rock of stability and competence.  He's also a man of deep faith and patriotism, both of which contribute to courage.  And courage is what Pence would need to act on this legal advice.

America was built on the courage of extraordinary men.  When the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, each man knew he might, at that moment, have signed his death certificate, for each signature was a hanging offense.  Likewise, when the American patriots took up their arms, they risked not only dying in battle; they too risked hanging for treason.

"If Raiklin is right about the law, and the publicly and privately available information about election fraud make it patently clear that Trump won the 2020 election, will Vice President Pence have the courage to act?"


Obamas spending Christmas in Hawaii and generate the best picture ever of the former first couple

 Thomas Lifson  "It’s no surprise anymore when our ruling class travels for Christmas or any other reason that strikes their fancy, while the rest of us are told to give up family reunions, and even church services. So seeing Barack and Michelle Obama in Hawaii, able to jet around wherever their fancy takes them, enjoying their scores of millions of dollars earned from Netflix, books and other post-presidential activities is no surprise. Obviously, Barack has not reached the point he mentioned in 2010, when he said, “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”

"I am actually grateful they took the opportunity to go kayaking and generate the picture in the tweet below, which is to my eyes the best, most revealing view of the couple ever taken." . . .