This will be the end result if the this year’s presidential election results in chaos

Posted: October 1, 2020 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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The internet is full of conflicting information about what would happen if there is no clear winner by inauguration day in this upcoming presidential election.  This scenario is highly likely because of the absolute chaos that will be caused by so many states adopting mail in ballots because of the Coronavirus pandemic.  To find the truth about what would happen I decided to check the most original source material I could find on the subject, the United States Constitution.  

The Twelfth Amendment governs exactly what would happen if there is no clear winner of the presidential election.   I knew it would end up in the House of Representatives and I dreaded that because, as we all know, the Democrats control the House.  After reading the amendment and doing some research I was greatly relieved.  Here is the appropriate clause of the amendment.

The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice.

I tried to use Google to find out the breakdown of the House of Representatives by party and state.  Google as usual failed to provide search results for a clear and concise search request.  Thankfully I found the information in this Breitbart article Pollak: How Pelosi’s House of Representatives Could Re-elect Trump.  As you can see it was great news for us lovers of liberty.

While there are 435 representatives, there will only be 50 votes. And a current tally of representatives in each state shows that there are more Republican-majority delegations than Democrat-majority delegations. Republicans control 26 delegations; Democrats dominate 22; Pennsylvania is tied and Democrats have a 7-6 Michigan plurality.

I was concerned about the Democrats derailing the entire election, which should result in a Trump victory, by not Showing up when the election is handed off to the House.  To prevent that from happening there would need to be more than thirty four States that have at least one Republican Representatives who would show up.  There are only seven or eight states that have no Republicans so we are safe. 

The Breitbart article gives the exact timing of when the election would be handed off to the House of Representatives if there is no victor.

It seems almost certain that neither party will accept a close result in the presidential election on November 3. And given the likely delays due to vote-by-mail, recounts, and legal challenges, it is possible neither President Donald Trump nor former Vice President Joe Biden will have an Electoral College majority by December 14, when the Electors cast their votes.

The Twenieth Amendment governs exactly what would happen if the House of Representatives could not come up with a winner by Inauguration Day.

 If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice-President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice-President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualified.

As you can see, whichever party wins the House in the November election would appoint a temporary president until the election mess is finally sorted out.  It is a tremendous incentive to do our best to make sure the Republicans take back the House.

Bidenball not withstanding If LeBron wins the Title in LA he passes Jordan for 2nd Best of all time.

Posted: October 1, 2020 by datechguy in nba, Sports
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The only sports I’ve watched this year has been five to ten minutes of game five between the Celtics and Heat and that only because I was seated at a restaurant right next to a TV that I could not avoid, however there is a sports subject I think is worth bringing up.

This week the Lakers began their series with the Heat in the bubble for the title and apparently one game one (heard that on the radio on the way home).

If the Lakers win then this will mean that LeBron James will have won titles in three different cities under three different coaches with three different system while being the primary driver of his team.

He will have also managed to do it in a year where there was no home court advantage.

In my opinion that puts him above Jordan as he will have proved that he can lead any team in any system to a title even though he will have one less ring.

Of course Kareem won six titles over twenty years with two teams including one at age 39 and 40 so Mr. James may still be involved in a two way tie for 2nd best of all time.

And neither in my opinion tops Bill Russell who not only has 11 rings but won two of them as a player coach although you will be able to make a case for Kareem based on longevity or for James based on the wins in different systems without sounding ridiculous.

In my opinion if someone can make a case can be made that you are as good as Bill Russell without sounding crazy you are something special and whatever my opinion of Mr. James political opinions he is without question the best player of the 21st century and, if he wins this title clearly better than Jordan.

Last Night’s Debate Trump by Decision and What’s Was With Biden’s Eyes?

Posted: September 30, 2020 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Because I was working last night I only got to hear about 25 min of the debate on the radio before coming home and watching the whole thing.

I did a twitter thread (accidentally in several parts during the night on my impressions of that 25 min then livetweeted my thoughts as I watched the debate making sure I didn’t see any social media so I could judge on what I saw.

I did it on twitter because I figured nobody would read a liveblog that’s three hours late. The full thread is here but here are the main points.

  1. The biggest question going into the debate was if Biden could function. He clearly could which means that his position on the ticket is secure, and that debate is over. That’s the good news for him, the bad news is that if either during the next debates or during interviews he slips back into “slo Joe” mode the question is going to be what happened? Did he just rise to the occasion as an Ezzard Charles in round 14 vs Marciano or was he drugged up for the debate.
  2. There was a big difference between watching the Debate and listening to it. Biden’s voice was pretty good and his comeback, while factually BS were not bad, but his appearance was terrible, particularly his eyes which jumped out at you. He also had a habit of looking down while the president was speaking which, while it might have been to consult or take notes made it look like he was out on his feet, sort of like an android being shut off to conserve power. I submit and suggest that if you were watching you could not help but notice that.
  3. All of that being said I really liked the back and forth and when they would go back and forth he usually held his own. I think that while Trump was and is superior in those things it’s the type of thing that brought him to life the most.
  4. After the debate I saw a lot of hitting of Chris Wallace but it seemed to me that while he did favor Biden slightly he clearly asked good questions and tough questions to both candidate and as stated he did allow them to free for all a bit which were in my opinion the best (and most entertaining) parts of the show.
  5. Yeah he was harder on Trump, at some points a lot harder, but the media’s always hard on Trump, so I judged him on that scale. The fact that he was also hard on Biden is the difference to me.
  6. As for President Trump he was, pretty much himself. I think he had a good debate and several huge hits. The Hunter Biden stuff was strong (Biden’s attempt to pivot to his other son was smart as was admitting the drug problem there). The democrat cities there was a big hit, but his best thing was the 47 year theme. I only heard it once on the radio not knowing that it was a reoccurring piece for him. That left a mark.
  7. The: “I’ve done more in 47 months that you have in 47 years” was the line of the night for him. That being said I think he passed up several open shots where he could have touted his actual record of accomplishments and instead used those moments to hit Biden. Particularly on the exchange about race. I’m also shocked that when he had the chance he didn’t bring up his peace deals. It was almost the Maricano / LaStrazza fight where he was punishing him rather than knocking him out.
  8. My final judgement. I think Trump won both on the radio or watching but on the radio he might have won (based on a twelve rounder) 118-110 but on TV he won 118-105 but either way it was clearly a 12 round decision not a knockout, although Andrew Sullivan (who endorsed Biden this week) may disagree

Update: Cue classic SNL

The Biden money tree

Posted: September 29, 2020 by chrisharper in elections, Uncomfortable Truths
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By Christopher Harper

As DaTimes delves into the illicitly obtained tax returns of Donald Trump, the news organization has failed to analyze the finances of Joe Biden, who heralds himself as the “common man.”

That common man and his wife made more than $30 million over the past two years through book deals and speeches, costing about $100,000 a pop.

What is appalling is all the information about the Biden family and its shenanigans that DaTimes fails to follow up on, preferring instead to continue its partisan attacks on Trump.

As I delved into the Biden family finances, I was surprised to find the most detailed account in POLITICO before it jumped on the Biden bandwagon. See https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/08/02/joe-biden-investigation-hunter-brother-hedge-fund-money-2020-campaign-227407

As the former vice president rolled out his tired speeches for another run, POLITICO analyzed the sleazy back story of how Biden’s family took advantage of his government positions.

That story is far more than Hunter’s recent antics in China and Ukraine. The story goes back to Biden’s first days in the Senate.

As POLITICO puts it in the 2019 investigation, “[V]entures, over nearly half a century, have regularly raised conflict-of-interest questions and brought the Biden family into potentially compromising associations. This investigation offers the most comprehensive account to date of the politically tinged business activities of Biden’s brother and son, and is the first time former associates of James and Hunter have alleged that the pair explicitly sought to make money off of Joe’s political connections.”

As Joe was entering the Senate in 1973, including a seat on the Banking Committee, his younger brother James operated Seasons Change night club with help from unusually generous bank loans.

From 2001 to 2008, Hunter worked as a Washington lobbyist for the banking industry—a period when Joe pushed a sweetheart deal on bankruptcies that benefited his son’s employer, MBNA.

James and Hunter take over Paradigm Global Advisors as Joe sat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Paradigm was the first of several such companies that James and Hunter used to expand into China, Ukraine, and elsewhere, riding on the coattails of Joe’s government position.

With his brother as vice president, James joined HillStone International, which in 2011, obtained a $1.5 billion deal to build houses in Iraq.

In 2013, Hunter traveled to Beijing with his father on official business. While there, he introduced his father to his Chinese business partner, Jonathan Li of Bohai Capital, with whom he had concluded a lucrative real estate deal.

In March 2014, Russia invaded Crimea’s Ukrainian peninsula, and Joe led the Obama Administration response. A month later, Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings gave Hunter Biden a lucrative board position worth $600,000 a year.

Perhaps DaTimes should expend the same amount of effort in unraveling the Biden family’s fortune as it did on Donald Trump.

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