New - and totally awesome - @RandyRainbow video

Payless fools influencers with a fake store #FakeNews at its finest

Be wary of stories that seem to run counter to what you know. Payless showed off how it easy to be duped if you suspend your disbelief.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/29/business/payless-fake-store/index.html

Stop the insanity!

I simply can't believe that my vote - the one thing that separates us a functioning democracy - will be viewed through the lens of lawyers and lawsuits.

And worse still - this is not the first time we've seen that in Florida.

What's the point of voting if I can't just trust that my vote countered and matters?

Broward County voting

I'm not sure if anyone outside of Florida knows how the voting process works here. We fill out ballots like the ones shown on this post, though obviously this wasn't the one used last week.

You bubble in your selection, then walk over to an optical reader that scans your ballot.

As far as a count - or recount - there's an easy way to eliminate possible fraud or "new ballots being added late"

When you walk into the polling place, you swipe your license or id, or fill out an affidavit, which is recorded.

Absentee ballots are likewise recorded, and they track when they were received back.

A paper ballot is printed and it has on it a code that matches to that ID swipe or request for a ballot.

The first step in any recount would be to compare the totals - how many were swiped, had affidavits, or had been received back - and compare it to what you have. If there was a discrepancy, or a concern about what you see, then you could match them up by code, and see what happened.

And that would eliminate the possibility that there were new ballots added.

And count away at that point. All that really matters is that every vote gets counted. I live in this county. I want to be assured that it was free and fair, and that my vote actually did get counted.

There are a couple of douchebags (a technical term) who are saying it's a liberal conspiracy to undermine the election. If the vote totals match and don't show anything unusual then this is utter nonsense. It seems that they are trying to disenfranchise ME to gain power. Not cool on any level. It's personal.

Now you could rightfully ask the question of what happened: incompetence, an honest mistake, or something more nefarious.

But that should happen after we get on with the counting.

As far as possibly being nefarious, we could read about or build conspiracy theories, but mostly they don't make sense.

As a mental exercise, I tried to build a few that involved cheating by either side, one that was for personal gain, and an elaborate few just because...

Some ended in a why/for what purpose. Some ended in a "yeah but it would be easy to spot if anyone looked, and they are." And the rest were just so wildly silly that they were unlikely.

I would argue it's incompetence at some level. But that's just me.

The mystery of our first instellar visitor just got more complicated #MakeAmericaSmartAgain

It’s Election Day. No excuses. Get out and #Vote

elections always have consequences....

I was thinking about a Smashmouth song from the late 90s “Walking on the Sun”

The jaunty melody belies the serious nature of this song, which is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. The song was written by the group's guitarist Greg Camp, who told Songfacts: "The song was basically a social and racial battle cry. It was a sort of 'Can't we all get along?' song for the time when I wrote it. It was just about all the things that were going on around me as a young person. And I'm, like, God, what is going on? I don't understand why this is happening. It's like we might as well be walking around a planet on fire."

So don't sit back kick back and watch the world get bushwhacked
News at 10:00 your neighborhood is under attack

It ain't no joke I'd like to buy the world a toke
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars
Hey I know it's just a song but it's spice for the recipe
This is a love attack I know it went out but it's back.
It's just like any fad it retracts before impact
And just like fashion it's a passion for the with it and hip
If you got the goods they'll come and buy it just to stay in the clique

[Chorus:]
So don't delay act now supplies are running out
Allow if you're still alive six to eight years to arrive
And if you follow there may be a tomorrow
But if the offer's shunned you might as well be walkin' on the sun

Twenty-five years ago they spoke out and they broke out
Of recession and oppression and together they toked
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire
Just singin' and clappin' man what the hell happened
Then some were spellbound some were hellbound
Some they fell down and some got back up and
Fought back 'gainst the melt down
And their kids were hippie chicks all hypocrites
Because fashion is smashin' the true meaning of it

[Repeat Chorus]

It ain't no joke when a mama's handkerchief is soaked
With her tears because her baby's life has been revoked
The bond is broke up so choke up and focus on the close up
Mr. Wizard can't perform no godlike hocus-pocus
So don't sit back kick back and watch the world get bushwhacked
News at 10:00 your neighborhood is under attack
Put away the crack before the crack puts you away
You need to be there when your baby's old enough to relate

[Repeat Chorus]

You might as well be walkin' on the sun
You might as well be walkin' on the sun
You might as well be walkin' on the sun
You might as well be walkin' on the sun

Fearmomgering, dissociation, and reality #MakeAmericaSmartAgain

Remember that you should vote for your own best interests. Not for party. Not for the guy/gal who says what they want you to believe. Vote for the person who will represent you.

Lately we’ve been hearing about the migrant caravan.  It’s coming. It’s dangerous. The want to destroy “our” way of life.

Let’s assume for a moment that this reporting is accurate. First off, does it pass the “sniff test?”  Does it seem logical?  Okay let’s suppose for a moment that the reporting is compelling enough, and enough people are shouting it that it sounds plausible.

What’s the plan exactly?  People - including women and children - are traveling many hundreds of miles mostly on foot. They have limited rations, and surely they are tired. Are they going to make a big rush across the border? Miles and miles of desert to get...to...where?

Who remembers their civil war history?  In the turning point of the war we had the battle of Gettysburg. One of the big moments came when the confederate army called in more troops. A contingent (I think from NC) travelled many hundreds of miles on foot to reach PA, over the course of a few days. They were well trained, in good physical condition, and supplied well enough to make them ready reinforcements. They had a mere couple of hours rest, and were put into battle as part of “Pickett’s charge” - a full out assault on union positions. They lost. Decisively.

Do you think a group from Central America would fare better with objectives that are completely unclear?

Besides the group size is estimated to be under 7,000.  Think about how many people live in your city. I think that border patrol and the police can handle a group that size. Thousands of troops are required to handle this? Yeah no.

You can educate yourself on the caravan here. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45951782

But what of the Muslim terrorists who are reported to be among them? Hmmm. A group that speaks Spanish and native dialects welcomes in people who don’t speak the language and are, what, brandishing guns? Sounds unlikely.

Meanwhile in what I like to call the “real world” we have actual people committing actual crimes against fellow Americans. Often with guns. But because they don’t fit the narrative (they’re white rather than middle eastern) they are ignored.

Wake up and pay attention! The threat is not from the boogey man, it’s from these nationalists who believe they are better than everyone else.

Arm yourself with knowledge.

Don’t vote for them. Vote blue. Don’t encourage the hate.