Closest House Race

 According to Hot Air, there is a House race in Iowa that is down to single digits in the vote counting.

The closest House election in the country is even closer now. I wrote about this race earlier this month. Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks led Democrat Rita Hart on election night by fewer than 300 votes. Then an election auditor discovered that Jasper County had counted a block of 406 votes for Miller-Meeks twice. Subtracting those double-counted votes put Hart in the lead. But then another county discovered it had failed to report 271 votes for Miller-Meeks, putting her back in the lead but only by 47 votes. Now a recount has tightened the race to single digits.

Currently, six votes by the last count.

I remember a judgeship in a small rural parish in Louisiana, back in the late '80s or early '90s.  The sitting judge had died and they held an election to find a replacement.   The vote came out a dead-tie.  Both candidates became plaintiffs and started suing everyone in sight.  Because they had no sitting judge, the state Supreme Court appointed an ad-hoc judge (retired) from another parish to sort it out.

I  happened to know the parole officer who worked that parish, his office was down the hall from mine.  I stopped in to ask about the dilemma, and asked if he was going to take his caseload book to the Registrar of Voters and see how many of his caseload had illegally voted in that race.

"Have you lost your damned mind?" he retorted.  "I don't even want to walk down the hall of the Courthouse."  He lived in that parish, and certainly did not want to be the star witness in the case.

They eventually decided that disaster, and I don't recall how it turned out.

Business owners in Buffalo, NY demand confront health inspector: "Go get...

Some officious bureaucrat enters a building on a complaint and gets thrown our because she is on private property without a warrant.

That's the way it is supposed to work.  Come back with a warrant.

What's Going On?

 The family was talking yesterday at lunch, and of course, politics came into the conversation, and I made the statement that either Sidney Powell was about to unload the biggest crime ever perpetrated on electoral politics, or she was barking batshit crazy.  I didn't see any other options to what I was seeing in the news.

At some point shortly thereafter, the conversation turned to firearms oddities, like the Chiappa Rhino and the Charter Arms Explorer pistol.  

We're watching a political drama play out, probably unlike anything I've seen in my lifetime.  The 2000 election was close, but I believe that this drama exceeds the "hanging-chad" drama because that one focused on bureaucratic incompetence, while this one seems to hinge on allegations of criminality.

This morning over coffee, I'd reading that the Trump campaign is distancing themselves from Powell.  She seems to have crossed some line that is causing consternation and they're cutting her loose.  That same article linked above also says that Georgia Republicans are threatening to boycott the Senate runoff because of Republican shenanigans.

There are things at play here that I don't understand.  But, I don't have time to understand them.  There are lots of things to do today, and I'd best get busy.

Australian Gun Owners Warning to Americans, If It Happened to Us It Can ...

11/19/20 - Gov. John Bel Edwards' Update

Below, I've shared the briefing of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards from this pat Friday.  He has some guest speakers, but skip forward to the 43:00 minute mark.  He talks about what Louisiana neds to do to slow the spread of Covid as we enter into the holiday season.

I understand his frustration.  Many of us here in Louisiana are tired of Covid, fatigued, and ready for a return to something that approximates normality.  Now may not be the time, and most of us are doing the absolute minimum that he requires.  He talks about his hope that next Thanksgiving we can gaher and give thanks for all our blessings,

My prayer this season is that once this is behind us, our Governor will exert as much time and energy in expanding freedom i Louisiana as he has spent contracting freedom during this Covid  emergency.

That is my prayer, but I have no expectation.  His first tern was marked by mass out-migration, decreasing property values, and an expansion of the welfare state.   The good news in all of this is thta a vaccine is supposedly in final trials and this crisis might be over in a very few months.  The other good news is that i an hearing rumors that Bel is being considered for a couple of positions in the Biden administration.  One, is Secretary of the Army.  Bel is a West Point graduate, and a tabbed Ranger.  The other rumor (which I think is a hoot) is that he is being considered as an ambassador the Vatican.

Louisiana needs freedom, and I think that John Bel Edwards is neither politically nor philosophically inclined to deliver it for us.  That would require a sever reduction of government influence in our daily lives, and he is simply not suited for that task. 

No Prisons?

 Hot Air, and PJMedia is reporting that BLM is pushing the Biden/Harris administration for some face-time to talk about the BREATHE act, which, among other things, puts forward a raod map to abolish federal prisons.  

One of the more prominent voices pushing for this bit of insanity is Patrisse Cullors, a name that pops up frequently in discussions involving BLM. As she told the Hollywood Reporter, this plan “provides for full decarceration of federal detention facilities within 10 years and enacts a moratorium on all new federal prison, jail, immigrant and youth detention construction.”

This is a great idea that flows logically from "defund the police'.  If the police aren't arresting folks, we certainly won't need prisons to put those people in. This sounds like a real unifying proposal, because  we deplorables won't need to worry if we ignore some as-yet-to-be-determined "assault weapons ban".  I can see a number of unintended consequences.

If the mission of the radical left is to fundamentally transform the American landscape, defunding the police seems like a great start, but abolishing the prison system is a left wing wet dream.  Until they realize that it works both ways.  Without the deterrent of prison, there is no real alternative to total chaos.  All that will be left for normal citizens to protect their lives and property is the ability to shoot intruders and stack them up like cordwood at the edge of the property.

If the left gets theri way, the next four years is going to be a wild ride.  

Experiment

 I went to the butcher shop this morning because I intend to cook a big ol' pot roast for lunch tomorrow.  My butcher is amenable to reasonable request, and when I asked him for a 5 lb chuck roast, he did his best.  The only problem was the first slice came out just a tad under 4 lbs.  

I told him to not worry about it, just cut me a bigger one, and I"d take both of them.

I've been thinking for a while about sokeing a chuck roast on the smoker, not unlike how I smoke brisket.  I figured they were both beef, and amenable to the same treatment.  So, when I got home, I fired up the smoker and set about giving that smaller roast a good salt-and-pepper rub.

The only two seasonings beef needs is salt and pepper.  You can put anything you want on your beef.  You are not going to hurt my feelings, but all it needs is salt and pepper.

I like to cook my smoked meat low and slow.  225-250F for as long as it takes.  I put that chuck roast in the smoker for five hours, then took it out and wrapped it in aluminum foil,  put it back in for another two hours.

I'll slice it in a bit, and we'll make sandwiches.

New Mexico Goes Batshit Crazy

 Just when I think that Louisiana has it bad, I et a cal from my son in New Mexico.  The governor there is closing grocery stores.

The New Mexico Health Department shut down two grocery stores in Roswell because of too many rapid responses due to COVID-19 exposures. In Carlsbad and Hobbs, they are down to one grocery store in each community after the other was closed for two weeks by the Health Department. Residents say this is causing some people to panic.

Bureaucrats run amok.  The voters in the state should remember this at the next election.  New Mexico has a lot going for it, but the governor ain't one of those things.

Random Scenes

 Random scene from a parking lot.  Yeah, that pup is wearing shades.

That pup is chilling.

"A Time for Choosing" by Ronald Reagan

Listening to the words of Ronald Reagan in his 1964 speech, it's hard to understand that he is not talking about us today.  He was, at the time, the governor of California, a life-long Democrat who had recently switched to the Republican party and was trying to help Barry Goldwater ascend to the presidency. His words in 1964 continue to resonate today.

Biden Wants A Buyback.

I will nt comply.

Drawing The Line

 Law enforcement officers all over the country may soon have to make a choice; obey their petty tyrant governors, or honor their oath.  It's a simple choice and sometimes you have to say no.

At least one Sheriff in Oregon has decided to honor the oath.

“We understand the realities of Covid-19,” they said, “but we draw the line when we are dealing with decisions relating to individual residences, religion, or businesses.”

That is exactly the correct attitude to take.   

Not Likely, Doc

 Our petty tyrant governor gave an impassioned press conference yesterday when he implored Louisiana to redouble it's efforts to fight the dreaded Wu-Flu.  He had a guest speaker, some idiot named Thomas, who declared that we are all health-care workers now and should do everything we can to reduce the spread of the virus.  His argument was that the hospitals have the beds, but  not enough staffing to provide critical care.

The doctor said every Louisiana resident should consider themselves a “healthcare provider” because they have the ability to prevent the virus from spreading to others particularly, their loved ones.

The doc might recall that the draft ended in 1973. The US no longer forces people into service, either in the military nor in health care.  I didn't sign up to be a health-care worker.  Of course, in his hyper-scientific world of critical care, he's the boss.  He doesn't have tie to study things like history,   We now believe that it is better to convince people to enter certain career fields, through incentives, not coercion.

But, then we get to his real distress.

Dr. Thomas said the issue with hospital capacity is not whether a hospital has enough beds but instead whether a hospital has adequate staff to care for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. He said his staff is tired and stressed out and with more COVID-19 patients, the more likely hospital staffers are to contract the virus themselves. The doctor also said additional personnel cannot be brought in from other parts of the U.S. because hospitals in every state are also dealing with a surge in patients.

It sounds like y'all have horrible staffing issues, Doc.  And, this bozo works for the LSu system, which is the largest trainer of physicians in the state of Louisiana.  How many did they graduate last year?  How many registered nurses?  Not enough, evidently.  Now, he's pleading with us to not overwhelm his hospitals.  They gt caught flat-footed by the Wu-flu and now they want us to make up the shortfall.

I would sugest to Doc Thomas that their medical staffing charts are totally insufficient to a pandemic, and that perhaps they should take a hard look at what is necessary during an emergency.  The last pandemic in the US, by all accounts, was in 1918 during the Spanish Flu epidemic.  

We make 100-year flood maps to guide us in our planning.  Perhaps the medical profess should make 100-year pandemic maps to guide their staffing.  But, the last thing the medical profession should do is blame us for their lack of planning.

As a young army officer, I had  conversation with a young physician.  I told that youn physician that in the atomic age, we could provide her with 10,000 critical burn patients in the space of about 15 minutes.  I asked her if the medical profession was up to the challenge.  She said "No.".  Perhaps it's time for the medical profession to quit whining an get busy.  They chose the field.  It's what they signed up for.

We're Not There Yet

 Running errands yesterday, the big topic of discussion was the Covid shutdown that many states are experiencing  Louisiana was one of he harder hit states, due to New Orleans and Mardi Gras, flooding he state with the Wu-flu.  We've been under restrictions ever since, starting with a Stay At Home order, continuing through Phase 1, 2, and we're currently in what the Governor calls Phase 3, but most of us consider Phase 2.5.

We are still under a mask mandate, which seems to be in effect only in the big box stores.  In smaller, family run businesses, you seldom see a mask, and i many restaurants, you seldom see a mask.  The Churches have long since ignored the Governor, still believing that the First Amendment applies to the states and the Church is governed by a higher power.

But, with the wave of Covid running through the other states, it is a topic of discussion, and the rumor ill is interested.  The Governor addressed those rumors yesterday, saying simply, "We're not there yet."  Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the Governor still has plenty of time to put a damper on the holidays.  He'll probably time his announcement to achieve the maximum outrage.

PawPaw as to leave this acre in another hour, to go help grandson Zach get out of the dorm at LA Tech.  His quarter ends today, and everyone has to move out of the dorm until they return in early December. for the Winner quarter.  Tech is on the quarter system, as opposed to the semester system.  It's just another way of breaking up the school year.  It's a pretty day for a drive, so I'll take advantage of the nice weather.

What'cha Cooking, PawPaw?

 I don't know how it's going to turn out, but Belle asked me to cook for her office today, so this morning early, I went out to the shop, and butterfly'ed a pork loin, stuffed it with cheese and sausage, then rolled it in bacon.

Rolling it was fun, but the parchment paper helped a bunch.  It would have been nice to have a second pair of hands helping me, but I managed.

It wet in a 375 oven and we'll check it in a couple of hours.  I'll make a batch of Ouida potatoes and take it to them for lunch.  If it doesn't suit them, then Popeye's is just down the road.

Po' Ol' Cedric

 That's Cedric Richmond, the only (D) congress-critter from Louisiana. He serves the New Orleans area and found himself a job in the Biden administration.  They announced it yesterday.

Only problem for Cedric is that he ain't "left" enough.    The woke bunch is wailing and moaning that he's tied to Big Oil.

Progressive environmental group the Sunrise Movement on Tuesday criticized President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) to be his senior adviser over Richmond’s fossil fuel donations. 

It seems that Richmond took money from the oil industry.  As does every Louisiana politician who wants money for yard signs.

 “One of President-Elect Biden’s very first hires for his new administration has taken more donations from the fossil fuel industry during his Congressional career than nearly any other Democrat, cozied up to Big Oil and Gas, and stayed silent and ignored meeting with organizations in his own community while they suffered from toxic pollution and sea-level rise,” said Varshini Prakash, the group’s executive director, in a statement. 

The Dems have a huge problem.  One of them being that if their plans work out, they won't have Trump to rail against.  They are going to have to pick a new target, because wailing and moaning only works if you have someone to wail about. 

Profanity in Comments

 I have to say this every couple of years, and now it's time.

If you look at the post below, you will notice that I deleted a comment where the commenter thought profanity was the best way to express thoughts.

I encourage comments.  I enjoy comments.  But, this is my blog and I don't have to tolerate poor behavior. Just as I've thrown people our of my physical home,for poor behavior, I'll not tolerate rudeness.

It's hard to insult me.  After 37 years in police work, I've been called every name in the book. I know that I'm old, decrepit, and a fat man.  That is not news and does not contribute to the conversation, but I don't consider that a reason to eject someone.  When I see rudeness or profanity I click the garbage can icon and send the comment to the trash pile.

There a people here who have been commenting since this blog began, back in 2005.  Many have disagreed.  I"ve learned a lot from those folks.  But, in this little corner of the internet, I'm the boss.