Happy almost Thanksgiving everyone! It’s quite special living minutes away from the location where the very first Thanksgiving took place in this country. So we take Thanksgiving very seriously around here. Speaking of giving thanks, how about Election Day 2023?! I know it’s been 2 weeks since the Dems kicked so much ass on Election Day but I can’t stop thinking about it. I am loving all this winning! Like I have said so much, the Repubs and the media can keep beating the “Biden is old!” and “Trump leads in the polls!” drum all they want. Meanwhile, we’ll just keep winning elections. I’ll take that deal.
So please have a happy and joyous Thanksgiving Day holiday. I hope you won’t have to deal with any uncomfortable conversations around the dinner table with any MAGA family members this year but if you do, let us know how it went and how you handled it. Luckily for my wife and I, we avoid family all together. Most of our family has succumbed to the MAGA cult, so we just avoid them altogether! And it’s a joy to just spend a quiet Thanksgiving Day with just us and our animals. I’ll take that deal too.
So, without further rambling on my part, let's do this!
Most North Carolina municipal elections are nonpartisan. But it’s not unusual for parties to recruit, train, endorse and support candidates.
Democrats swept the mayor’s race and council seats in Huntersville, in Republican-leaning northern Mecklenburg County — the first time that’s ever happened, according to Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer.
“This is an odd election,” Bitzer said, adding that the Huntersville area has been growing and becoming more politically competitive.
“I think it’s demographics,” Bitzer said. “I think it’s the competitive nature of urban suburbs. That’s where the real battleground lies in this state’s politics.”
I have a special place in my heart for NC. By all accounts, it’s supposed to be a lovely place. The only family I have left that haven’t joined the MAGA cult, lives there. They are increasingly frustrated with the flailing state party in that state. I can’t blame them. Recent elections have been disastrous for Dems in that state and their state party was a mess on the level of FL Dems. And that’s saying something! And the Repubs there are nasty and are making quick plans to take over everything and lock in power forever by rigging all future elections.
BUT- they have a new state party Chairwoman. Her name is Anderson Clayton and she is the youngest state party Chair in the country at age 25! And she is kicking ass and taking names. She was recently interviewed by the folks on the DKos election podcast, The Downballot. She is awesome, go check it out.
George Santos will not run for re-election in 2024 after the House ethics committee released a damning report on his conduct.
The panel found the Republican congressman from New York "blatantly stole from his campaign" and exploited "every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit".
On social media, Mr Santos called the report a "politicized smear".
Still, he said he would not seek a second term in light of the probe.
"My family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time," Mr Santos wrote in a long post that also called the report biased.
His time in office could end sooner than next November, though.
Another Repub trainwreck. Can we just be done with this asshole already? Looks like he’ll be trading in his cozy House job for a less than cozy jail cell.
Democratic candidates will run for 64 of 100 House seats and seven of the 18 state Senate seats up for a vote in 2024. Democrats will also field candidates for state treasurer and U.S. Congress.
To be clear, no one thinks Democrats are going to win control of the House anytime soon. But even winning a few races could make a huge difference for the party, because spending bills in Arkansas require a 3/4 vote in both chambers of the state Legislature. Since 2018, Republicans have held more than 3/4 of the seats in the 100-member House, leaving Democrats with very little leverage.
Democrats are crediting Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders with giving them the best shot in a decade at making a dent in the GOP supermajority.
I know some of these states are very hostile to Democrats but we have to keep fighting regardless. Good for them for not giving up and giving in.
The attorney general of Nevada is quietly investigating Republican activists and operatives who falsely pledged the state’s six electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2020, despite Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
In recent weeks, investigators have questioned witnesses about the attempts of the so-called alternate electors to present themselves as viable representatives of the states’ voters, according to three people familiar with the probe. Investigators have also asked about documents those people prepared as part of the effort.
The probe, which until now has not been publicly reported, is the latest sign of potential legal jeopardy for the Republicans who, amid Trump’s bid to cling to power, posed as electors in states that Biden won. False electors in Georgia and Michigan are already facing criminal charges, and an investigation is underway in Arizona.
Good! Go get ‘em! These traitors to democracy must be caught and charged. Lock. Them. Up!
US consumer inflation cooled more than expected last month, according to government data published Tuesday, providing welcome news for policymakers looking to control price increases without damaging the economy.
The consumer price index (CPI) inflation gauge increased by 3.2 percent in the 12 months to October, down from 3.7 percent a month earlier, the Labor Department said.
Someone tell the rest of the media please?
Come down to the teen center and he’ll proudly give you a tour of the old building. Weathered newspaper articles on the walls proclaim “Wilmington Teen Post has new home” or “Raffle aims to help teen center.”
Back when he was a kid, there was plenty of violence. But back then, someone would get stabbed.
“Now it’s shootings,” he’ll tell you. “They have guns. And that’s the scary part.”
Mike wonders about gun laws. What difference would they make? The shooters are just kids themselves. They can’t buy guns legally. But they get them, from parents, or from older gang members, or from street peddlers. Ghosts.
This is a long article but worth the read about one person trying to make a difference in their community. Always worth remembering that amongst all the evil, awful people in this country, there are lots of good people too.
“With its losses mounting, Trump Media is also burning through cash, ending June with $2.4 million in cash, down from $19 million a year earlier . . .” Aimee Picchi wrote for MoneyWatch. “The company reported an operating loss of $23.3 million in 2022, although it recorded a $50.5 million net profit after a change in value tied to its convertible notes.”
The disclosure also contained a warning from the company's accountants, who said they had “substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.” It’s possible that Trump Media's pending deal with DWAC could provide the funding the merged company needs to make good on its obligations and help drive growth, MoneyWatch noted. Trump Media is negotiating its debts with lenders, and the filing warned that management had concerns about its ability to pay for the company's liabilities and meet its obligations to lenders, according to the report.
Good. Keep those losses coming for his propaganda platform. Can’t die soon enough.
Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have joined a growing list of blue-chip advertisers who are pulling advertising and promotions from the social-media outlet X in the wake of a recent antisemitic remark posted by the venue’s owner, Elon Musk.
A Lionsgate spokesperson said Friday that the entertainment company “has suspended advertising on X because of Elon Musk’s recent antisemitic tweet.” The move comes as Lionsgate is marketing the release of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” the latest film in its “Hunger Games” franchise. IBM earlier Friday said that it had “immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”
This asshole just can’t help himself, can he?
Last month, I published an investigative report about how Moms for Liberty, a group dedicated to rewiring American education toward the far right, had taken over the board of education in the Pennridge School District, about half an hour outside Philadelphia. Moms for Liberty, a heavily funded astroturf organization linked to GOP leadership, wasn't especially subtle in its strategies, pinpointing a handful of swing districts in purple states, like Virginia and Pennsylvania, and targeting school board elections, which are usually low turnout and easy to win. Once installed, Moms for Liberty members started banning books and Pride flags, as well as protesting that teachers were "grooming" kids with "smut," which usually meant either a history book or acclaimed, age-appropriate fiction. The idea was to create moral panics around sex and race that could tip national elections towards Republicans.
Well, it backfired.
As I reported, parents in the Pennridge district eager to fight back against right-wing radicals formed the Ridge Network and got the word out, arguing to voters that the group was degrading the quality of the public schools. This week, those efforts paid off: Democrats won all five of the open school board seats in the district, wresting control away from Moms for Liberty.
Based on the most recent election, it appears as though everyone is fed up with these lunatics. Good. Keep showing them the door.
And more great election news you may have missed 2 weeks ago!
THIS ^^^^^^ !!!!
And I’m out, folks. Take care of yourselves and have a Happy Thanksgiving!