If the presidential nominating process is the weakest part of our political system -- and, perhaps not coincidentally, one not referenced by the founders -- the vice presidential selection process comes solidly in second place. Some might even argue it's a contender for the top spot.
When Vice President Calvin Coolidge ascended to the presidency on the death of Warren Harding in 1923, a wag remarked that Silent Cal's career had exhibited unmistakable signs of celestial intervention.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. -- In June, America's mass media propaganda machine endangered the public by spreading insidious "disinformation" -- while purporting to debunk "disinformation."
Not everyone is suffering job loss, income declines and financial devastation from the coronavirus pandemic. Some people are looking to get rich off the tragedy. Trial lawyers see COVID-19 casualties and images of asbestos and tobacco lawsuits dancing in their heads. They are drooling over the prospects of a $100 billion COVID-19 jackpot. The Democrats in Congress who the trial bar has spent years buying and paying can't wait to help in the grand heist.
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
Pollsters have observed a consistent enthusiasm gap between supporters of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Any factor that dampens Democratic turnout could contribute to a second come-from-behind victory for the GOP.
"Protestors in California," tweeted ABC News, about an incident in Oakland, "set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified."
There is a real possibility that, this coming week, Joe Biden will be selecting the 47th president of the United States.
For the woman Biden picks -- he has promised to exclude from consideration all men, black, brown, white or Asian -- has a better chance of succeeding to the presidency than any vice presidential nominee in U.S. history, other than perhaps Harry Truman.
Which states would lose seats and which states would gain seats?
— President Trump recently indicated that he wants the 2020 census reapportionment of House seats to exclude undocumented immigrants from the calculation.
— If undocumented immigrants are excluded, the 2020 reapportionment calculation will change, including changing the number of House seats allocated to the two largest states, California and Texas.
— There are significant legal and logistical hurdles that probably will prevent undocumented immigrants from being excluded from congressional reapportionment calculations.
Michael Scott "Mike" Adams was a brilliant professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He was an unapologetic conservative who wrote prolifically and fought valiantly against the forces of political correctness and pure evil. He advocated with unbridled passion on behalf of the unborn. He trained his sharp tongue and prolific pen on radical feminists, campus liberals, racial demagogues, domestic terrorists and tyrants for more than two decades.
— In 2016, Donald Trump inspired higher Republican turnout in Pennsylvania, while Hillary Clinton couldn’t offset her losses in the non-metro parts of the state.
— Voter registration trends in Pennsylvania are mirroring the 2016 picture — all of the counties in Philadelphia’s suburban collar are Democratic by registration while Republicans have flipped some working class counties.
— With the third party vote projected to be down from 2020, former Gov. Bill Weld’s (R-MA) relative strength as a Republican protest presidential candidate in this month’s Pennsylvania Republican primary may be a warning sign for Trump.
— Joe Biden, who frequently talks up his working class Scranton background, gives Democrats a good chance to move the state back into the blue column, but it’ll hardly be an automatic shift.
This week, American astronauts returned to earth. Their trip to the space station was the first manned launch from the U.S. in 10 years.
Back in 2009, Nancy Pelosi infamously declared the best way to revive the economy was to dole out ever more generous food stamps and unemployment benefits. The more people collecting welfare the better. At the time, this notion seemed laughable. Now this economic illiteracy seems to have become a conventional wisdom.
With the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse under nightly siege from violent radicals, and Portland's police hard-pressed to protect it, President Trump sent in federal agents to secure the building.
1. My vote is a personal endorsement. It says, "I, citizen Ted Rall, approve of Joe Biden's career in public office." I do not. Voting for Biden would be a retroactive endorsement of his vote to invade Iraq, which killed over 1 million innocent people. Voting for Biden would be a retroactive endorsement of his long history of racism, beginning with his disgusting opposition to court-ordered busing.
If things had proceeded according to schedule, we'd be checking the polls this week to see if Joe Biden had gotten a bounce from his acceptance speech in Milwaukee. That's because the Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled for July 13-16.
How great a burden can even an unrivaled superpower carry before it buckles and breaks? We may be about to find out.
If you listen to the mainstream media, the election is over. Joe Biden has an insurmountable and growing double-digit lead over President Trump for an election that is still over three months away.
Eight shifts, almost all benefiting Democrats.
— Recently-released fundraising reports indicate a mismatch between the best-funded GOP candidates and the districts in which they are competing.
— At this point, Democrats are more likely to net House seats than Republicans, although we’re still not expecting much net change overall.
— There are eight rating changes this week: seven in favor of Democrats, one in favor of Republicans.
