BloggeRhythms

FoxNews.com reported yesterday that recount campaign lawyer Jonathan Abady said: “Make no mistake — the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania. We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans."

The campaign announced that it would seek an emergency federal court order on Monday for a recount in Pennsylvania where barriers “are pervasive and the state court system is ill-equipped to address the problem.” 

On the same day, “Journal Editorial Report” host Paul Gigot interviewed Hans Anatol von Spakovsky, who according to Wikipedia is an “American attorney and a former member of the Federal Election Commission. He was nominated to the FEC by President George W. Bush on December 15, 2005 and was appointed by recess appointment on January 4, 2006.”

During the interchange Mr. von Spakovsky answered many questions regarding the voting process itself, particularly mentioning the electronic equipment employed almost everywhere in the nation at present. 

Mr. von Spakovsky explained that the machines themselves scan every ballot individually. Furthermore, whereas each machine is unique and none are interconnected, in order to alter or change any cast votes in any way, every machine involved would also have to be tampered with individually in all three states. Thus, the chances of any kind of significant alteration is physically impossible.

He then went on to explain a different kind of, and very real, problem having to do with the registration process itself. In all states but one, at present, registration is on the “honor system” where voters present some form of I.D., such as a driver’s license to prove citizenship. 

In that regard, many states now issue that kind of documentation to “illegals” as a matter of course, particularly pushed for by the Obama administration for the past eight years. And therefore, if those individuals claim to be citizens, registration officials have no current method of confirmation. 

When asked how many fit the category,  Mr. von Spakovsky could only offer a guess which he believed was somewhere between 6  and 10%. And although many may have therefore voted illegally, those votes have already been counted too.

Thus, in the opinion of Mr. von Spakovsky, and as  as matter of practical reality, the chances of the recounts making any kind of difference in the election results are most assuredly zero.             

FoxNews.com also reported that “Sarah Palin -- an early Donald Trump supporter and possible administration hire -- is questioning whether the president-elect’s Carrier jobs deal is a case of “crony capitalism.” 

While saying she’s “ecstatic” for Carrier employees, she also wonders whether keeping 1,000 jobs in Indiana “is in fact a case of political influence on the free market, while acknowledging that the specifics of the deal remain unclear.” 

In an op-ed for the Young Conservative website, Palin wrote: “When government steps in arbitrarily with individual subsidies, favoring one business over others, it sets inconsistent, unfair, illogical precedent.” 

The paradox here is painfully obvious, because in her reaction Palin points out several disappointing problems ingrained in our political system. On one hand, we now have a situation where a politician clearly doesn’t understand how business works or how “deals” are done. Yet, “deals” are the heart and soul of business transactions. And each is unique due to terms, conditions and individual circumstances. Which means that one size does not fit all and realistically, because each business circumstance is different, solutions can never be uniform across the board. 

On the other hand, what would the left, and their lap dog press corps have said if the deal fell through and Carrier packed up and left for Mexico? They would have had a field day, vilifying Trump as a blowhard fraud who stole an election and then failed to deliver on a campaign pledge as promised. 

So, for the better of their own party, and as a favor to all those Americans seeking a vastly improved business future, pure political hacks like Palin and others having no practical business experience ought just bite their tongues, sit back, relax and get the hell out of Trump’s way while he continues on his quest to rebuild the nation’s economy, one “deal” at a time, like it's supposed to work.   

And then as so often happens, an excellent example of individual transactional success was posted by a reader, relieved2016, who wrote: “In 1992 the State of South Carolina paid $36 MUSD in cash to buy land for BMW to build a 900 person Manufacturing Plant in Spartanburg, SC. On top of that they gave out $10 MUSD in Tax incentives and had to pay to create longer runways at the GSP Airport. Today that plant employees 8000 workers and dumps $500 MUSD directly into the local economy not counting the jobs created by BMW suppliers moving into the area. They do that every year. 

“The liberal comments on the $7 MUSD Tax incentives for Carrier are stupid & smack of someone completely biased & clueless.    

By the way, $36 MUSD in 1992 would be the same as $62 MUSD today and $10 MUSD in tax incentives would be the same as $17 MUSD today.” 

Next, Chad Pergram, also @FoxNews.com headlined his column: “Becerra's exit is true sign of unrest among Capitol Hill Democrats, not Pelosi-Ryan” 

Mr. Pergram goes on: “To the casual observer, the leadership contest between House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California, and Rep. Tim Ryan, Ohio, offered a look into the fissures cleaving the Democratic Caucus. 

“Pelosi vs. Ryan provides a glimpse into the problem younger, ambitious Democrats have with promotion opportunities. But the sudden announcement Thursday about House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., leaving Congress lays out the essence of the issue -- in IMAX 3D with Technicolor and Dolby Surround sound.” 

After reporting that Becerra claimed he’s leaving because Governor Jerry Brown nominated him to be California’s attorney general, Mr. Pergram explains the complex interworking's of position jockeying within Democrat the party itself and how and why key positions are sought and acquired. Much of the underlying strategy is planned well in advance, with particular individuals anticipated to ultimately attain particular roles. 

In Becerra’s case, his decision to leave the House “rocked the U.S. Capitol and Sacramento. Many Democrats lawmakers were preparing to support Becerra for the Ways and Means job.” 

However, with retreads such as Pelosi and Schumer in positions of power it seems quite likely that many more thought to be potential powers for the future will walk away too. Because many of them would most assuredly want to be  the “Captain” some day soon. But not if the boat's the Titanic.  

That's it for today folks. 

Adios