netstack
Texas is freedom land
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User ID: 647
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
One of the speakers at Trump’s MSG rally was talking shit about Puerto Rico.
It’d be a campaign-ending breach of decorum for any other candidate, but for Trump, it was Sunday. Not much chance it swings the election.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Your second link has been updated with the responsible organization:
According to York County officials, the delivery was made by Field+Media Corps, which was acting on behalf of the Everybody Votes Campaign.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
It’s a few paragraphs down the Fox 43 article.
“In some cases, applications contained correct personal identification information, such as the correct address, correct phone number, date of birth, driver’s license number and Social Security number — but the individuals listed on the applications informed detectives that they did not request the form,” Adams said. “They did not complete the form and verified that the signature on the form was not theirs.”
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Would you mind including some more commentary or analysis of your own?
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
I mean, it is something we consider. That’s how PA was able to find its registration-dumpers, how audits like the Cyber Ninjas worked, etc.
I’m sure there are holes, since states and counties have a lot of leeway, but keeping a paper trail and sealing containers are pretty universal. The federal best practices can be found here.
I get the impression that partisanship has led skeptics to think it’s the Wild West out there. In practice, there’s already a bunch of boring procedure that raises the cost of fraud.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Okay, so what do we get for it?
That’s like demanding a car ban because you enjoy biking. Directional agreement is not a blank check.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Short answer: Twitter delenda est.
Direct comparison between Trump and Hitler is silly, which is why even partisan outlets are resisting the urge. What they’re doing instead is quoting the individuals who are drawing those comparisons. The most prominent ones appear to be a state senator and Hillary Clinton. Higher-ups, such as the actual Kamala campaign, prefer to call him a fascist, which is much more defensible. “Hitler” is shorthand for “charismatic fascist,” so our high-heat, low-light excuse for Discourse uses it.
But since you want the steelman, I guess…
Recently, I’ve seen Trump supporters encouraging others to “take him seriously, not literally.” If one applies that standard, why argue over details? He’s obviously a populist with a strong sense of national character. He encourages modern forms of autarky and is skeptical of international cooperation. His supporters deserve to be rewarded and pardoned and his enemies ought to be locked up. There’s the bit where he blames shadowy interest groups for any setbacks. He selects for a real cult of personality. And above all, he cheerfully bulldozes norms so long as he’s winning.
Those are really the big ones. Drain the swamp. Lock her up. Stop the steal. I just want to find 11,780 votes](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/01/03/politics/trump-brad-raffensperger-phone-call-transcript). Anything to get results.
So when you’ve got a charismatic populist with a dedicated base desperate to recover the glories of a bygone era, and he keeps hinting that maybe they can suspend normal procedure just this once, for a good cause…maybe you take that seriously.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Who cares?
No, seriously. If you’re going to drop Twitter/substack links, I’m going to have to ask you to put some more effort in. Talk about why you care, why others should care, your reasoning, your theories.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Who knows what Athens would have done if they didn’t have CCTV?
More seriously, this is a problem with scaling. The peak voting-eligible population of ancient Athens was probably under 60,000. That’s around half the eligible voters in modern Athens, GA. You need a solution that still works at 2,500x the size.
So we do implement most of those features. Physical, printed ballots. Adversarial counting. Cameras. Even the states which hate requiring ID use some form of proof.
The big ones we’re missing are transparent boxes/individual envelopes and a full voting holiday. Sure, I’m in favor of both. I’m even fine with photo ID requirements. But they aren’t free, and I’d argue that they wouldn’t actually reduce the amount of bitching that goes on after an election. Trump and people like him will seize on the counting, the certification, any possible vector for sowing doubt. They have already baked into their worldview a far-reaching conspiracy against him, personally. That’s license to doubt even the most secure process.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
24d ago
Eh, you should see some of the stuff we did contain. Your brand of polite criticism is far from the most difficult thing about this place.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
Oh, shit. More info here. I think the editorial spin is minimizing it, but there's clearly something going on.
The officials said one or two organizations that conducted registration drives in the county in recent months were responsible for the applications. They did not name the organizations.
Huh. So these are known groups, going to some effort to create fake registrations. That's how they have a lead on informing specific counties. Someone had better go to jail.
What's their angle? Are they getting paid by headcount, maybe? Because it does seem difficult to convert these into fake votes.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
Nope.
You know, I was kind of expecting to be criticized for harshness.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
I’m saying that, if the race is close enough, “someone burned two ballot boxes of votes” is fuel for a recount. Or whatever court remedy is allowed. It’s provable in a way that 2020 allegations weren’t.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
There’s literally nothing innovative about arson. In related news, my parents went to see Conclave last week.
I disagree that a couple hundred votes, lost in a fire or flood, would sway the election. Too well-documented, I think. In the inevitable court case, you’d actually be able to point to the abuse, and…hmm. I suppose I don’t know what the remedy would be. Runoff? Cage fight?
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
That would be awesome. We’ve already seen the first wave of augmented senses with proximity radars and, arguably, the backup camera. Stuff like the blind spot indicators. Use those for a bit and it’s unpleasant to go back.
I suspect that display technology is part of this holdup. We’ve certainly tried, and then sort of gave up in the early 2000s. Maybe we’re due for a comeback.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
25d ago
netstack
Texas is freedom land
26d ago
What do you mean by “plausible?”
Tariffs are a way to incentivize something other than pure efficiency. Pay more, but get it made at home. The question is how much more, and what you’re getting instead. In a great-power conflict, that’s supposed to be security.
Trump’s narrative, where bringing manufacturing back home will make it better overall, probably isn’t going to pan out.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
28d ago
I, uh, think there’s some other stuff going on in Xinjiang.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
28d ago
“Replacing” you? It’s a traditional complaint, even.
I guess I wouldn’t mind “supplementing,” either. It’s more accurate.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
28d ago
If the seven-headed beast makes an appearance, we can say the plural community has gone too far.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
28d ago
Maybe you shouldn’t get your news from the Dreaded Jim?
I’d take the other end of those bets at favorable odds. Slight chance of Trump doing time, I guess, but it’s not like we’d ever agree on whether it was deserved.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
28d ago
If a “real” October surprise felt likely, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?
I laugh at the idea this is a coordinated blitz, though. It’s the most natural place for prospiracy: thousands of journalists desperate for something, anything to say about the Bad Man. One of them apparently asked him about the remarks in an interview, and it was off to the races. Even then, the results are blog columns and one-paragraph reports. It’s about as weak as it gets, and I’m confident you could find equivalent surges every month. Trump just has that effect.
Politicians are much better at implementing fiscal and regulatory policy than making sweeping shifts in civil rights. They’re also more interested in doing the former. Niche Internet free-speech forums spend much more time thinking about freedom of expression than the average politician or the average American.
On the off chance that Walz becomes VP, then President, then is handed a draconian 1A bill by Congress, I suppose he’d be likely to sign it. I don’t consider this a likely outcome.
In the interest of the next few items on your list, I suggest voting for the candidate who won’t appoint her family members to diplomatic posts, hire his lawyers and golf buddies to consult, and otherwise funnel money to his own enterprises.
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