Election 2020: Kraken Released!

First from Vicky Taft at PJ Media, BREAKING: Sidney Powell Releases the 'Kraken' in Georgia with Explosive New Lawsuit

Defense Attorneys Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and others have filed a lawsuit in Georgia demanding that the results of the 2020 election be set aside because of “massive election fraud” and foreign influence in the election. The lawsuit claims that 96,600 mail-in ballots “were fraudulently cast” and that “136,098 ballots were illegally counted as a result of improper manipulation of the Dominion software.”

Powell, a high-profile attorney who represents former Trump National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn, asks that the governor be enjoined from certifying the election. The 104-page lawsuit claims that Gov. Brian Kemp, Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, and the chair and members of the Georgia State Elections Board failed to police the alleged fraud, including “multiple violations of Georgia laws, including O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-30(d), 21-2-31, 21-2- 33.1 and §21-2-522, and multiple Constitutional violations, as shown by fact witnesses to specific incidents, multiple expert witnesses and the sheer mathematical impossibilities found in the Georgia 2020 General Election.”

The lawsuit, co-filed with attorney Lin Wood and an Atlanta attorney, asks a judge to set aside the results of the election in a permanent injunction; enjoin elections officials from certifying the election; demands that all voting machines be subjected to forensic assessment; and asks that election officials produce 36 hours of surveillance video of “all rooms used in the voting process at State Farm Arena in Fulton County, GA from 12:00am to 3:00am until 6:00pm on November.”

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, also alleges that Georgia’s sloppy mail-in balloting was responsible for thousands of shady, illegal votes.

Plaintiff’s expert also finds that voters received tens of thousands of ballots that they never requested. (See Exh. 1, Dr. Briggs’ Report). Specifically, Dr. Briggs found that in the state of Georgia, based on a statistically significant sample, the expected amount of persons that received an absentee ballot that they did not request ranges from 16,938 to 22,771. This range exceeds the margin of loss of President Trump by 12,670 votes by at least 4,268 unlawful requests and by as many as 10,101 unlawful requests.

She alleges that voters were denied their due process because the fraud diluted their votes and treated the mail-in ballots differently in different counties, which is similar to what Trump attorneys have alleged in the Pennsylvania election case.

The lawsuit alleges that “rogue actors” were able to manipulate the voting software.

Russell Ramsland confirms that data breaches in the Dominion software permitted rogue actors to penetrate and manipulate the software during the recent general election. He further concludes that at least 96,600 mail-in ballots were illegally counted as they were not cast by legal voters.

Sundance at CTH has a link to the actual filing in Sidney Powell Files Lawsuit Against State of Georgia For Election “Rigging” – Links and pdf…

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, Matt Margolis at PJ Media,  Judge Blocks Further Certification of PA Election Results Over Mail-in Ballot Fight  

“To the extent that there remains any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 General Election for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America, respondents are preliminarily enjoined from doing so, pending an evidentiary hearing to be held on Friday,” read the injunction from Judge Patricia McCullough. . . .You can read the entire order here.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has promised to appeal the decision but also claims the order has no bearing on the results, as the election was already certified and electors chosen.

State Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican, is responsible for the lawsuit that sought the injunction, which was prompted by the certification of the results on Tuesday. “It appears that respondents’ actions may have been accelerated in response to the application for emergency relief … in an effort to preclude any remedial action by this court faster than this court was able to evaluate the application for emergency relief and the answers to it,” the plaintiffs wrote in their emergency request to halt the certification.

BREAKING: Pennsylvania election certification process blocked by federal judge (PM), Law360, Pa. Judge Halts Election Certification For Mail-In Vote Fight, AP, Pennsylvania judge orders halt to further vote certification, and as usual Sundance has a link to the injunction at Pennsylvania Judge Issues Injunction Against Certification of Election Results…. I guess now the MSM has to stop claiming Trump never wins in court? 

Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Trump Addresses Irregularities in Pennsylvania: 'We Won This Election by a Lot'. PM, President Trump calls in to explosive Pennsylvania hearing on election irregularities. Sundance, President Trump Delivers Remarks at the PA State Senate Hearing on Voter Fraud in the 2020 Election…

Paul Bedard at WaEx, Huge court win lets Trump present ballot evidence, could overturn Nevada result, Sundance, Nevada Judge Sets December 3rd As Date To Hear Election Fraud Evidence… also, Rudy Giuliani Recaps Election Fraud Lawsuits With Lou Dobbs: Pennsylvania “Mailed out 1.8 Million Mail-In Ballots, Got Back 2.5 Million”…

FWIW, I've seen that number disputed. 

Newt Gingrich at ET, The Thieves Who Stole Our Election Got Sloppy. JB Shurk at Da Fed, 5 More Ways Joe Biden Magically Outperformed Election Norms. Ace responds, The Federalist: Joe Biden's Unprecedented, Statistically Unlikely, History-Defying Magical Election "Victory" "They just straight up executed a coup. . . .And of course they'll now cover it up -- and harass, beat, and imprison anyone who notices. . . .Treason never prospers, for if it prospers, none dare call it treason." Roger L. Simon at ET, The Smartmatic Story: From Venezuela With No Love. 

If anything upsets the WaPoo more than the President challenging and losing, it's the President challenging and winning, You don’t have a ‘right’ to a lawyer when you’re trying to steal an election and Trump’s assault on the election could leave a lasting mark on American democracy. Dan McLaughlin at NR, Oh, Now Democrats Care About Legitimacy

Suddenly, Democratic partisans are in high dudgeon at Donald Trump and his legal team spreading irresponsible and self-defeating stolen-election conspiracy theories. For example, the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent complains that Trump’s approach is “designed to place a cloud of illegitimacy over Biden’s presidency.” Julie Pace and Steven Sloan of the Associated Press fret that “Republicans risk leaving millions of Americans with the false impression that the results of the 2020 race are illegitimate. . . . Biden will almost certainly be viewed as an illegitimate president by some voters, potentially denying him that period of goodwill that typically greets a new president.” They quote Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett: “Their intent is to delegitimize this election and thereby delegitimize President-elect Biden’s presidency. It is damaging to the democracy. Once again they’re putting their short-term political interests ahead of the interests of the country.”

Well, well, well, how the worm has turned. Are Democrats and their media partisans actually against undermining the legitimacy of American elections and weaponizing that to weaken the presidency? Some of us were not born yesterday. As has often been the case, the real problem with Trump’s rhetoric is that it comes straight out of the Democratic playbook for undermining the legitimacy of an American election. 

Alright, one more. This might've been the most celebrated New York Times op-ed of December 2016, when the Electoral College subversion scheme was really gaining elite momentum. Anyone who tries to tell you this stuff didn't happen is lying pic.twitter.com/ouzJW08r0F

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 25, 2020

Politico whines,  The Inside Story of Michigan’s Fake Voter Fraud Scandal and Trump carries on a fight everyone else is abandoning "The campaign has gone quiet — no briefings about legal fights, few tweets, a dwindling crew. But Trump is still clinging to the White House." He's still President until Jan. 20, at a minimum.   Time to try accuse some Democrats for violations of the Logan Act! Beth Baumann at Town Hall, State Legislators In Three Swing States Were Caught Off Guard By the Trump Camp's Latest Announcement 

The Trump campaign on Tuesday announced that legislatures in key swing states – Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan – would hold hearings on alleged voter fraud. Legislators in those states, however, say nothing is scheduled to take place.

And the real crime? Vicky Taft at PJ Media, Big Tech Expert Says Google's 'Manipulations' Shifted 'at Least Six Million Votes' to Joe Biden

And something light? From Milwaukee, On day five of election recounts in Milwaukee, all observers were given poop emoji wristbands from Wisconsin Center staff

Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson dismissed the controversy as silly.

"I always thought it was chocolate ice cream, personally," Christenson said when asked about the poop emoji wristbands. "Wisconsin Center is our vendor. They handle the logistics. They are probably just pulling what they have in stock, because this is the first opportunity they've had to be open in quite some time due to this pandemic. So again, it's a non-issue. Everybody got one."

More at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.25.20 and at Ace's The Morning Report - 11/26/20 by J.J. Sefton

Tattoo Thanksgiving

 

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Natalie Dormer up and running on time.

Maryland, My Maryland, UMD Proposes to Force Faculty, Students to Apologize for Existing

Reason, UMD Public Policy School Mandating Ideological Statements on Syllabus, Requiring That Class "Materials" and "Discussions" "Respect All Forms of Diversity"

The University of Maryland School of Public Policy is apparently about to require faculty members to add a statement to their syllabus; here's the cover e-mail, which I got from a source that appears to me reliable. (I tried to check with the e-mail's official sender to confirm its authenticity, and haven't heard back.)

Dear faculty,

As you know from previous emails and communications, the School of Public Policy has committed to creating a syllabus statement with regard to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The committee working on AR Action 6 has been developing this syllabus statement, which will be mandatory for all syllabi starting in Spring 2021. We have worked with the DIB committee and the Faculty Diversity committee for input and we now seek input from the faculty as a whole. You can view the final draft here.

Please let us know if you have any comments or feedback by Friday December 4th.

. . . .

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we are gathered on the stolen land of the Piscataway Conoy people and were founded upon the erasures and exploitation of many non-European peoples. You can find more information about the Piscataway Conoy Tribe at http://www.piscatawayconoytribe.com. For more information about the University of Maryland's project for a richer understanding of generations of racialized trauma rooted in the institution visit https://go.umd.edu/SNW.

Suggested placements: We suggest this statement should be placed just prior to or after the learning outcomes in the syllabus as well as prominent within your ELMS site. Faculty should vocally review these statements within class as well.

Conspicuously omitted, of course, is any acknowledgement of faculty or student academic freedom. What if a faculty member doesn't endorse the land acknowledgment statement, perhaps because he takes the view that conquest of land and the displacement of peoples is the norm in human history (might the Piscataway Conoy have "stolen" land from others who lived there before?), and not something that he thinks merits particular condemnation or explicit attention? Or what if he's skeptical of claims of "generations of racialized trauma rooted in the institution"? The school may have its own view of the matter, but one principle of academic freedom is that faculty need not endorse all the views that the school endorses, and cannot be compelled to publicly make such an endorsement. . . .

11/25/20 Beach Report

My Panasonic Lumix camera is hors de combat after an encounter with the floor, so we'll have to make do with cell phone pictures until that matter is resolved,

Today was warm for November, 55 F, and overcast. Any wind was from the south, which gives us pretty good protection.

We did pretty well on teeth, 31 between Georgia and I, some nice, none exceptional, with a Tilly bone and a sting ray barb.
 

Election 2020: It's All Over Now Baby Blue

Well, We knew it was coming. Fox  Nevada, Pennsylvania certify Biden as winner of presidential vote, Capt. Ed, Breaking: Pennsylvania Certifies Election For Biden, and at Hot Air, AllahPundit crows, Laura Ingraham: I Regret To Inform You That Biden Will Be President. Hide your guns, your precious metals, and small vulnerable children.

Sidney Powell keeps up the good fight. AllahPundit, A “Massive” Lawsuit Is Coming In Georgia Tomorrow That’ll Save Trump’s Presidency while Sundance at CTH, has Sidney Powell Discussing Status of Election Lawsuits and Investigations With Lou Dobbs…

Andrea Widburg at Am Think, Sidney Powell is right about the Venezuela angle in our election. Joseph Hippolito at Front Page, Why Trump Will Win. I remain unconvinced. 

AllahPundit, insincerely asks What’s Team Trump’s *Real* Strategy In Court?, from Meaning in History, UPDATED: What's The Trump Strategy In Wisconsin? and via Wombat socho's In The Mailbox: 11.24.20, from Tom Maguire at Just One Minute, To Be Fair, In His Professional Life Trump Has Presumably Had Good Lawyers. I suspect Real Estate Law is a lot better settled than election law.

Trump is not happy with his legal team's performance, based on plausible leaks from folks familiar with his thinking. Well, nor is Rush.

About that Wisconsin matter? Also via Wombat socho's In The Mailbox: 11.24.20, Weasel Zippers Group Files Emergency Petition In Wisconsin After Finding 150,000 Potentially Fraudulent Ballots refers to  Joseph Weber at JTN Group files emergency petition in Wisconsin after finding 150,000 potentially fraudulent ballots. Primarily, but not exclusively due to the large numbers of people who signed up as "indefinitely confined" and not able to provide ID to vote as  otherwise required. Capt. Ed at Hot Air asks Will A Wisconsin Lawsuit Throw Out 156,000 Votes? and concludes probably not. I agree, it's a high bar to ask a state to throw out that many votes, especially in the era of WuFlu.

Also via Wombat socho's In The Mailbox: 11.24.20, Geller, WATCH: Tech Millionaire Funds Hacking Team, “Says Election 100% Rigged.” “Not Even close”

Much more at Deep Capture, Election 2020 Was Rigged: The Evidence. National File, Election Fraud Expert: Michigan's Elections Results a Physical Impossibility. A claim that more ballots were counted in a period of time than was possible given the number of voting machines allowed. An interesting argument, if true.

“The final red flag is perhaps the greatest,” Ramsland wrote. “In the data are 4 spikes totaling 384, 733 ballots allegedly processed in a combined interval of only 2 hours and 38 minutes. This is physically impossible given the available equipment at the 4 reference locations.”

Brianna Kraemer at JTN, Trump campaign adviser: DOJ 'asleep at the wheel' amid systemic election fraud allegations. Given the composition of the DOJ at lower levels, it's more likely their active in the resistance. 

Life News reports, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona Legislatures Will Hold Hearings on Election Fraud and Ace responds, Republican Legislatures, Which Colluded With Democrats To Flood The States with Unrequested Mail-In Ballots and Turn Down All Verification Procedures to Zero, Now Say They'll Conduct Hearings on Election Integrity "Trump's lawyer Jenna Ellis is hailing this as a victory, but I don't think it is."

Lawfare at it finest, from Herr Professor Jacobsen at LI, Democrats intensify assault on legal system, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., files Bar complaints against Trump election lawyers

Christian Datoc at Da Caller, ‘Do What Needs To Be Done’: Trump Directs His Administration To Begin The Transition Process With Biden but Zachary Halaschak at WaEx reports GSA chief: No pressure from Trump, but Left threatened family, staff, and pets. Is there no low to which they will not sink?

“To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination,” Murphy said amid the torrent of criticism that has been lobbed at her from the Left. “I did, however, receive threats online, by phone, and by mail directed at my safety, my family, my staff, and even my pets in an effort to coerce me into making this determination prematurely."

Paul Bedard at WaEx thinks Trump would have won 311 Electoral College votes if media weren't biased: Survey. Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, EXPLOSIVE Study: Media Suppression of 8 Key Stories 'Stole This Election' for Joe Biden. Don't encourage them by telling them it worked. 

But Capt. Ed claims  Good News — For Now: Majority Of Georgia Voters Want Split Control In Washington (Update). And we should trust polling why?

I don't agree with her politics, but she sure could sing. 

Some Wednesday Wetness

 

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Natalie Dormer up and running on time.

Two Different Approaches to Oysters

In the Bay News today. First, from Maryland, a huge new oyster aquaculture project Ferry Cove Shellfish to open huge oyster hatchery in Maryland

Maryland will soon be home to one of the largest commercial oyster hatcheries on the east coast of the U.S., with the opening of Ferry Cove Shellfish in Spring 2021.

The privately held facility will produce juvenile eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to support the growing demand.

Using advanced hatchery production techniques including a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and biosecurity systems, coupled with its green building design and energy efficient upgrades, Ferry Cove Shellfish aims to provide the industry with high quality, low cost larvae and seed.

In addition, it will be working to develop and implement new, innovative grow out techniques to optimise the production of shellfish and address coastal resiliency issues.

The facility will feature equipment for algal production, water filtration and seawater heating, allowing the hatchery to extend its larvae production beyond the current April to September season.

It will also include back up systems to ensure operations during tropical storms, low salinity and poor water quality events.

Then, in Virginia, the government prepares to pour more money down the hole in the bottom of the Bay: Virginia to Commit $10 Million for Oyster Ground Restoration

Governor Ralph Northam visited the Elizabeth River Project’s Learning Barge last week where he celebrated the restoration of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River and announced $10 million in new funding to support future oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. This spending commitment marks the first time that capital funds, which are typically reserved for infrastructure projects, have been explicitly used to restore Virginia’s natural resources.

“Virginia has made tremendous progress in improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, reviving oyster habitats, and building a legacy of environmental stewardship,” said Governor Northam. “This investment is a recognition that our natural assets are just as important as roads and buildings. The new funding stream that I proposed and the General Assembly adopted in our state budget will ensure that we can meet our restoration goals and achieve a clean and healthy Bay for the benefit of our communities, our economy, and our ecosystems.”
. . .
The effort to restore native oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay is one of the largest and most aggressive in the world. With the signing of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, Virginia and its partners committed to restoring native oyster populations in 10 tributaries by 2025. Since then, Virginia has restored 240.5 acres of native oyster habitat building on earlier restoration of 473 acres. This restoration work has vastly improved water quality and generated billions of baby oysters in the Bay.

240.5 acres! Wow!. The Chesapeake Bay has a surface area of 2.8 million acres. The amount of bottom restored isn't even a rounding error.

I know who I would rather have paying for oyster restoration. 

Election 2020: I Want My Kraken, Dammit!

As of yesterday we were reminded by Trump Campaign: Sidney Powell “is not a member of the Trump Legal Team” (Herr Professor Jacobsen at Legal Insurrection). Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Powell: I’ll Release The “Kraken On Steroids” Soon Even After Getting Cut Loose By Team Trump.  Bonchie at Red State has Sidney Powell Responding  to Trump Campaign's Distancing

This per The Daily Wire.

I understand today’s press release. I will continue to represent #WeThePeople who had their votes for Trump and other Republicans stolen by massive fraud through Dominion and Smartmatic, and we will be filing suit soon. The chips will fall where they may, and we will defend the foundations of this great Republic. #KrakenOnSteroids

Here’s the problem. You can’t represent “WeThePeople” and succeed here. Lin Wood, a fairly well respected conservative lawyer made famous via Nick Sandmann’s defamation litigation, has tried this already and was found to not have standing. No judge is going to let Sidney Powell make it to court because the rules on this stuff are long-standing and can only be changed on appeal. I’ll let you calculate the odds of that happening.

In other words, a lawyer needs a client. In this case, that client needs to be the candidate who was wronged, i.e. Donald Trump. If the Trump campaign is saying they have no association, that’s basically it.

I don't think that's true. We who voted for DJT have an interest in the outcome of the election, and she can represent that. Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Trump legal team shuns Sidney Powell as insiders and national security officials see no evidence supporting her voting machine claims   AllahPundit crows, Why Did Team Trump Dump Sidney Powell? and  Rush Limbaugh On Sidney Powell: If You’re Going To Promise A Blockbuster, You Have To Deliver. Pedro Gonzalez at Am Great, Truth and Fraud in the 2020 Election, Sidney Powell is running out of time to prove her claims. From Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Rudy Giuliani explains why Trump legal team split with Sidney Powell

"I think it's because we're pursuing two different theories," Giuliani said. He said the Trump legal team is focused on "misconduct of the election" by state officials, which he argued deprived the constitutional rights of the president, and predicted that several prongs of their endeavor, including the legal fight in Pennsylvania, will make their way to the Supreme Court.

Stephan Kruiser at PJ Media, The Morning Briefing: Unfortunately, No Kraken Will Be Served for Thanksgiving. But I do wonder how Kraken tastes. Squid is good!

Say I’m jaded, but I’m beginning to feel that Thanksgiving is going to be decidedly Kraken-free.

It’s obvious that President Trump and his inner circle want this thing to get to the Supreme Court. I won’t pretend for a moment that I can see that path getting any clearer, but as I’ve been writing since last week, I am rather enjoying this grand political theater, especially since it’s bothering the Democrats so much. They’re miserable on their best days, and the refusal of the hardcore Trump supporters to acknowledge the Masked Groper as Dear Leader has really got them agitated. One of my lefty comedian friends tweeted Monday night that she would be nervous until January 20th.

Good.

Now let’s just hope the post-Powell press conferences keep the promises floating somewhere in reality.

Really would have liked to have seen that Kraken though.

The Morning Rant at Ace's, by Oregonmuse.  

So right now, it looks like it's all starting to unravel. Even though no thinking person can believe that tens of thousands of votes for Biden can mysteriously show up at 3AM in several swing states and flip them from red to blue and not be massive fraud. It's absolutely maddening to watch this play out in real time.

So, in other words, I'm thinking that it is very likely that the Democrats will have successfully stolen this election. However they did it, Trump's lawyers will not be able to prove it in court. Even though the election is absurd on its face. I mean, seriously, 80 million votes for Biden?? C'mon man, even Joe probably doesn't believe that's a real number.

And I have no idea what's going to happen next. All I know is that I'm not going to like it.

The Right Scoop, WATCH: Alan Dershowitz suggests it’s possible Powell and Giuliani can win, but the bar is high…

Still, back from when they cared about voter fraud, 2006 CNN Segment Warned Over ‘Venezuelan Controlled’ Smartmatic

AP, Breaking: Michigan Election Board Certifies Biden Victory, AllahPundit crows again Michigan Canvassing Board Certifies Biden’s Victory; Update: GSA Chief Finally Orders Formal Transition, Releases Funds To Biden; Update: Trump Supports — And Concedes? and Ace, Michigan Officials Certify Joe Biden's Fraud

John Solomon at JTN, Trump campaign demands recount, signature matching in Georgia ‘Without signature matching, this recount would be a sham and again allow for illegal votes to be counted.’

Capt. Ed, Team Trump: Wisconsin Must Toss All Absentee Ballots Delivered In Person; Update: The Law Says … Maybe, maybe not. And PA Supreme Court Tosses Five More Trump Election Challenges. Spaghetti  meets wall, and Breaking: Third Circuit Grants “Emergency Expedited Review” On Team Trump’s PA Appeal. Lynne Lechter at AmThink has a personal experience Regarding post-election fraud in Pennsylvania

Two days after the election, the mail-in-ballots we never requested, as reported in my article "Stealing Pennsylvania," arrived — without postmarks! They arrived too late for us to withdraw the provisional ballots we were forced to cast.

After another few days, my provisional ballot appeared to have been accepted, but my husband's was not. Nor was the ballot of my very Republican second cousin, also forced to vote provisionally in a different township but same Democrat-controlled county, due to a mail-in ballot request that she also had never submitted. Infuriatingly, the Democrats filed to contest over 4,000 votes in our county — my husband's and cousin's among them. What are the odds that people, who have voted in the same location for over 20 years, would suddenly be suspect?

Post-election, we also learned that other Republican voters, targets of the same mail-in-ballot request scheme, were actually turned away at their poll location, refused the opportunity to vote. The Democrats stole those votes.

JB Shurk at Da Fed has 5 More Ways Joe Biden Magically Outperformed Election Norms. 1. 80 Million Votes, 2. Winning Despite Losing Most Bellwether Counties, 3. Biden Trailed Clinton Except in a Select Few Cities, 4. Biden Won Despite Democrat Losses Everywhere Else and 5. Biden Overcame Trump’s Commanding Primary Vote

John Solomon at JTN has A dozen compelling allegations of voting irregularities in 2020 election, That's all? Jay Valentine at Am Think explains  Why Industrial Scale Fraud Is Just So Hard To Hide. At Front Page, David Horowitz, Fighting Words "It’s a war." Post Millennial, Tucker Carlson says big tech rigged the election

Breitbart, Poll: 79% of Trump Voters Believe ‘Election Was Stolen Through Illegal Voting and Fraud’, Paul Bedard at WaEx, Four more years: 66% GOP wants Trump to run in 2024, 79% say election ‘stolen’ And obstructing efforts to show it only convinces us more. 

Matt Margolis at PJ Media, FLASHBACK: Experts Wanted Hillary to Challenge 2016 Election Results, Alleged Hacking. An astonishing number of Democrats still think Putin handed Trump the election, even after the Mueller report. Tobias Hoonhaut at NR, Why California Republicans Stopped Complaining about Ballot Harvesting and Embraced the Process

“We were either going to do two different things,” Barajas said of the state party’s shift in attitude. “We were either going to continue to whine, oppose valid harvesting, and lick our wounds after the election, or we were going to figure out the rules, look at the chessboard that was put before us, and figure out how to play the game.”

Orange County GOP chair Fred Whitaker explained that in 2018, Republicans in the state had tried to utilize the law in their “own ballot harvesting experiment,” but it “failed miserably.”

“We wasted $25,000 of donor of money on one pilot project to get 12 ballots,” he said in a phone interview.

But this time around, Orange County Republicans upped the ante, placing collection boxes in megachurches such as Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills and Influence Church in Anaheim, as well as targeting Vietnamese voters in Westminster and Fountain Valley.

And while California Republicans say that would rather do away with the practice all together — a position shared by California election-law expert Dr. Rick Hasen — they see it as a necessary evil, especially when locked in a high-turnout battle during COVID-19.

Plenty more links at Wombat's In The Mailbox: 11.23.20, Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, Election Fraud Update for November 23, 2020 and of course JJ Sefton's The Morning Report - 11/24/20 at Ace's.

Tanlines Tuesday

 

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Natalie Dormer up and running on time.

Oregon, My Oregon

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, VIP, Oregon’s Governor Would Like You To Snitch On Your Neighbors’ Thanksgiving Feasts

I guess nobody told Oregon Governor Kate Brown about the old rule regarding snitches and stitches. With the holidays fast approaching and an increasing number of citizens growing tired of government mandates forbidding them from gathering with friends and family to celebrate, Brown is concerned that people may simply ignore her orders and gather around the feast table anyway. So what’s an autocratic executive to do? The answer is as simple as pumpkin pie. She’d like people to keep an eye out for large gatherings in their neighborhood and call the police if they see any suspiciously large, turkey-related activity going on. That’s an idea that’s sure to put everyone in the holiday spirit, right? 

“Look, this is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake. What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy,” the Democratic governor told KGW. “This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance.”

Those committing infractions could face misdemeanor penalties of up to 30 days in jail, fines of up to $1,250, or both, according to the governor’s executive order.

The two-week “freeze” is slated to end Dec. 2 everywhere except Multnomah County, which includes Portland, where the restrictions are in place for four weeks based on the county’s larger population and case numbers.

I’ll start with a brief side note for the citizens of Oregon who may be seeing red right about now. You elected Kate Brown as Secretary of State, allowing her to take the big chair when your last corrupt governor resigned. You then elected her as governor in her own right twice. You asked for this and now you’re getting it good and hard. I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. And no… the fact that some of you tried to recall her twice now doesn’t count. You failed.

And as far as I know the same governor is still just fine with masses of people rioting in the streets of Portland.

Some Residual Russiagate

The election having stolen most of the political energy, Russiagate material has been slow to surface, but I have enough to be worth dumping while it's still fairly fresh.

A day late and a few dollars short, Fox's Brooke Singeman reports that the Durham probe moving 'full steam ahead' after Election Day 

“Durham remains full steam ahead,” the source familiar with the investigation told Fox News.

Another source told Fox News that his investigation “is definitely still happening,” despite radio silence coming from the U.S. attorney from Connecticut.
. . .
One source told Fox News Durham had been “feeling more pressure to get this done and wrapped up” over the summer, but said that Durham “does not want this to be viewed political,” and would likely “punt it to after the election,” which he ultimately did.

Dan Chaitin writes that  Devin Nunes warns 'growing concern' that Biden and Obama will shut down Durham inquiry. I wouldn't be surprised if the Biden administration didn't go after him legally. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Joe Biden’s Transition Officials Received Intelligence On Michael Flynn Before Donald Trump Took Office. 

More business as usual Daniel McCarthy at NYPo, Leaks and lies as the military tries to undermine President Trump

Julie Kelly at AmGreat thinks The Obama-Trump Transition Was More Like Sedition "Barack Obama and Joe Biden may have given a public impression of the peaceful transfer of power, but they were working behind the scenes to sabotage the incoming president." while Stephen Kruiser at The PJ Media Morning Briefing  thinks  Trump Needs to Go Scorched-Earth Until January 20th. I'm OK with that. 

NEW: Senior administration official confirms to @CBSNews as accurate, adding @DNI_Ratcliffe will publicly detail the “depth + breadth of Chinese espionage + influence operations targeting the US” FIRST reported @axios https://t.co/Kv5yAREHSE

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) November 15, 2020

John Solomon at JTN, Senators release new evidence tying Hunter Biden business to communist China, Russian energy. Breitbart, GOP Senators Plan to Continue Probe into Hunter Biden’s Dealings. Follow the money. Michael Goodwin at NYPO wants President Trump to Appoint a special counsel to look into Hunter Biden deals. A good idea. See how long he lasts before China Joe fires him, and see how little the media object. 

PM,  Biden ‘Transition Leader’ Suggested Ex-VP Should ‘Sell Out’ For ‘Millions’ From Corporations

Emails from July 13th, 2016, however, reveal Mackler strategizing how Biden, who was still serving as Vice President at the time, could “sell out” and join corporate boards to grift.

Noting the idea had “been talked about already,” Mackler reasons that if former Senator Evan Bayh could make $1 million from corporate board positions, “JRB” could do “quite well” adopting the same strategy.

Breitbart,  Report: Biden to Name Russia Hoaxer, CNN Analyst Tony Blinken Secretary of State

Former Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly set to announce this week that Tony Blinken, who supported the idea of “Russia collusion,” would be his Secretary of State.

Bloomberg News reported Sunday evening:

President-elect Joe Biden intends to name his longtime adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of State, according to three people familiar with the matter, setting out to assemble his cabinet even before Donald Trump concedes defeat.

In addition, Jake Sullivan, formerly one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides, is likely to be named Biden’s national security adviser, according to two people familiar with the matter. An announcement is expected Tuesday, the people said.

Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security advisor under President Barack Obama, has also been a New York Times opinion writer and a “global affairs analyst” for CNN. In that capacity, he supported the “Russia collusion” hoax.

As Breitbart News reported in 2017, Blinken told CNN: “The president’s ongoing collusion with Russia’s plans is really striking, intentional or not.” He said that Russia had sown doubt about American elections and institutions.

(Subsequently, an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.) 

This is the sort of mentality that our great responsible media gatekeepers and intrepid corporate journalists who “work in the disinformation” space have engendered. These outlets spread conspiracies more prolifically and destructively than anyone. https://t.co/RJUF7lFqBu

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 17, 2020

asd

A Fair Breeze and Following Seas

Capt. Ed and Miss Kim

I got this a few days ago on a Facebook group that a few renegade fishermen and I follow, from Capt. Ed Robinson, a former charter guide, turned author, who I knew mostly from the internet but had fished with on a few occasions: 

We always think we'll have more time, but this is ridiculous, (and the truth). I got sick a few weeks ago - now I'm a dead man. Cancer has devastated my internal organs - Liver, colon, lungs, bones, etc.

I can't be made well enough for treatment or surgery.
I might not make it through the night or I might make it a few more weeks, tops. Hospice is on the way.

I have not had the time for a self-pity party, but the lovely Miss Kim could certainly use some prayers. (maybe buying some of my books would be helpful.

Thanks to all who have touched my life one way or another. Most of the time I have plenty of words. Tonight I'm coming up short.

Followed only a couple days later by news of Ed's passing. 

Ed was a working guy (and a charter guide) in Maryland. After a terrible accident to Miss Kim, followed by a healthy settlement, Ed threw away his job, bought a boat called the Leap of Faith and wrote a book by the same name and moved to Florida. In Florida, he began to write books about person with a similar life trajectory named Breeze. He ended up with 8 books about Breeze, so I guess he was a pretty successful author. I read 3 of the first, but it's not really my genre, so I haven't followed them all.

It the meantime, after surviving, with much distress, several hurricane encounters in Florida, Ed and Kim bought a house in the mountains of North Carolina, where he continued to write.

A link to Ed's site is located on my right wall, Capt. Ed's Boat, so if you're interested and want to read a crime novel or two about live-aboard boating set, and help out Miss Kim at the same time, that's a way to do it. Or, of course, there's a GoFundMe site with the misleading name Help Ed and Kim beat Ed’s cancer.

Election 2020: What's Going on With Sidney?

Mike Miller at Red State, Sidney Powell Tells Newsmax TV: Election Fraud Cases We File This Week 'Will Be Biblical'.  Pirate's Cove, Last Gasp? Sidney Powell Promises “Biblical Lawsuit”.  At Am Great, Roger Kimball is Waiting for Sidney "The pressure to make these allegations disappear is enormous. Where is the evidence?" Angelo Codevilla at AmGreat, Fraud, Evidence, Proof, Power "Sidney Powell and Tucker Carlson ignore the relationship that American law commands between evidence, proof, and power. They should be focused on probable cause, not proof."

But then, as Katie Pavlich at Town Hall reports, something happened,  Sidney Powell’s Status With the Trump Campaign Has Changed

The Trump campaign has released a statement about the status of former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell.

“Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity,” Trump Campaign Attorney Rudy Giuliani and Senior Legal Adviser Jenna Ellis said.

Why Powell’s status as an attorney for the campaign has changed is unclear. Details about her departure, and whether she was fired, were not provided.

Capt. Ed at Hot Air has one point of view Breaking: Powell Goes Under The Bus?. Sundance at CTH has another, Republican Business Interests Separate From Sidney Powell…

Within the business part of the GOP there are massive territorial fights amid those who live on the donations from within political campaigns. The Trump MAGA file is being exploited like a bloody carcass dropped into a pool of piranha. Once you know how the business end works, then a lot of other stuff makes sense. Including this . . .

This is all about who is getting paid by the campaign and RNC. The Trump campaign isn’t going to reimburse Sidney Powell for any expenses, nor is she allowed to make offers of financial payment from the GOP or Trump campaign. The vultures assembling and protecting their paychecks do not want Powell getting paid, nor do they want any financial liability. That’s all this statement is.

This statement by the Trump Campaign has nothing to do with Donald Trump, it is directly related to those interests who derive financial benefit from the Trump campaign. The same network of vultures exists on the DNC side of the equation and they exploit Bernie Sanders donor files.

Andrea Widberg at AmThink is Making sense of the news about Sidney Powell

The Washington Examiner added the claim that "sources close to the president" say Powell lacks evidence, which explains the distancing. Ask yourself if any "sources close to" Trump has ever been correct. They're invariably NeverTrumps. It's possible that this time the source could be correct, but I caution patience.

NEW: Sidney Powell responds:
“I understand today's press release. I will continue to represent #WeThePeople who had their votes for Trump and other Republicans stolen by massive fraud through Dominion and Smartmatic, and we will be filing suit soon.... (1/2)

— Kristin Brown (@kristincbrown) November 23, 2020

This is as serious a constitutional crisis as our nation has ever faced. We will only be the beacon of hope for the world if we are willing to stand with courage and integrity & defend our republic 🙏🇺🇸@SidneyPowell1 @LLinWood @marklevinshow https://t.co/2Ju8CJpZQS

— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 13, 2020

Via Hot Air, WaPoo attempts to explain Pennsylvania, The PA County That Explains How Biden Won Big While Other Democrats Struggled

Now Costello thinks that the previous three years of politics just represented an anti-Trump primal scream by economically successful, well-educated voters.

“There was a group of voters that had to voice their displeasure with Trump, and the only way to do that was to vote against those Republicans,” he said.

In 2020, tens of thousands of Chester County voters expressed their opposition to Trump by voting for Biden, then voted for GOP candidates in other races. In fact, of the five Republicans running across all of Chester County, Trump received the fewest votes.

Or the Dominion/Smartware just stole their votes. Sharyl Attkisson, Dominion voting systems is a no-show at Pennsylvania state hearing. Beth Baumann at Town Hall, explains Why a Federal Judge Tossed Out One of the Trump Campaign's PA Lawsuits

According to Brann, the lawsuit was used as an attempt to throw out legally cast votes.

"Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters. This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated," the Obama appointee wrote. "One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens."

From Da Hill,  Trump vows to appeal judge's dismissal of Pennsylvania election challenge. Paul Bedard at WaEx, Insiders: Trump ‘very confident’ of winning, ‘been in way tougher spots’ Maybe . . . .

Bonchie at Red State reports Michigan AG Suggests Criminally Charging Republican Legislators for Meeting With Trump. Uh, First Amendment, anyone?

Benjamin Ginsberg at the DFP claims I represented George W. Bush in 2000. Michigan must certify for Biden. Well, that's his Opinion, and AllahPundit gleefully reports Chris Christie calls The Conduct Of Trump’s Legal Team Is A “National Embarrassment”

Ken Blackwell at Breitbart call it The Greatest Electoral Heist in American History

Althouse, "I'd like a crisply clear result to come into focus as soon as possible, and I'd like gracious winners and losers, all united in love for our beautiful country." I wrote before going to sleep on election night.

Many more links at JJ Sefton's The Morning Report - 11/23/20 at Ace's and Doug Ross in Larwyn’s Linx: Trump, as Always, Is Fighting, as Promised

Your Monday Morning Stimulant

 

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Natalie Dormer up and running on time.

Beach Report 11/22/20

Fall is well along, with at least half the leaves out of the trees. These Japanese Maples on our usual route down to the beach are spectacular. I found a couple of seedlings on the other side of the street a couple years ago and brought them home, they're growing nicely, but we haven't decided what to do with them yet.

The weather was not as pleasant as yesterday, nor the tide anywhere near as low. It was overcast, breezy and 55 F. Still, we found 19 shark's teeth and a Tilly bone, though none as nice as yesterday's big tooth.

Georgia and Skye are just specks near the water line on the way back. 

Georgia said she thought she saw Whitey fly into the harbor as she was driving down to the beach. On our way back, we drove in to check, and indeed, there he (or she, I don't really know) sitting on the lift slip, which has the day off.

A gust of wind caught him and ruffled his feathers for this photo. 

Election 2020: Promises Made

 Newmax, Sidney Powell: Will Prove Case 'Within Next Two Weeks' in Court

Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell Friday claimed her team will be able to prove, in court, all of their claims concerning the election "within the next two weeks," as "we have more than enough evidence now."

"We have more evidence now than the present population is imprisoned on," Powell told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, while laughing off a statement from Dominion Voting Systems denying the attorneys' claim that the company's software was used to pull votes away from President Donald Trump and give them to Democrat challenger Joe Biden, and that the company had ties to Venezuela.

Sundance at CTH,  Sidney Powell Updates NewsMax TV on 2020 Election Discoveries…

Also, Sidney Powell Talks Details With Larry O’Conner. Beth Baumann at Town Hall, Sidney Powell: Some 'May Need Witness Protection' After Our Exposé. Meanwhile from Breitbart, Tuckah! softens his derision of Powell, Carlson: ‘Great News’ if Powell Proves Tech Companies Switched Millions of Votes — Uncovered ‘Greatest Crime in the History of This Country’. TNP, REVEALED: Dominion/Smartmatic ‘Noncompete’ Agreement Emerges Despite Claims Of Being ‘Fierce Competitors’. Sundance, Dinesh D’Souza Asks Some Simple, Albeit Brutally Obvious, Questions…

Sundance, Unusual Pattern and Ratio Within Philadelphia Ballot Data Indicates Dominion Software Manipulation of Vote… Indications, alas, are not proof.  Also, Jordan Sekulow on New Election Lawsuits: “What’s Coming in Georgia Will Be Shocking”…   

Trump Recount Committee staffer tells Newsmax the server raid was real and raw data showed different

John Solomon at JTN, In new twist, Georgia governor urges audit of ballot envelope signatures to look for fraud Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Trump: “Stay Tuned” For “Big” Voter Fraud Information In Georgia as Hundreds of Activists Gather for ‘Stop the Steal’ Rally in Georgia (Breitbart). ET, Loeffler Calls for Bipartisan Group to Examine Georgia Mail-in Ballots. Good, but probably not sufficient. 

AllahPundit crows, Liz Cheney To Trump: If You Have Proof Of A Massive Election Conspiracy, We Need To See It Right Now. I think that's about right. I'm pretty sure the voting software has the innate capacity to cheat, I suspect Democrats (and some Republicans) know that. The question is whether they used those capabilities and whether evidence can be found to support that charge. But two weeks isn't that long.

Carrie Sheffield at JTN, FEC Chairman: Trump campaign bringing 'legitimate accusations' of election fraud to court

The Trump campaign is bringing "legitimate accusations" to court through affidavits of credible witnesses and other evidence used in its challenges to electoral outcomes in various states, Federal Election Commission Chairman Trey Trainor said.

Trainor said his review of evidence, including numerous affidavits claiming voter fraud and a sworn statement by a prominent mathematician flagging up to 100,000 Pennsylvania ballots, met the first level of legal scrutiny under what's known as motion to dismiss or "Rule 12(b)(6)" of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which would dismiss less credible claims.

Da Beast, Team Trump Leaders, Including Campaign Manager Bill Stepien, Have No Faith in Rudy, I have no faith in Rudy, but I have a lot in the honesty of Sydney Powell. 

NewsMax, Mich. Republicans, After Meeting Trump, Say No Information to Change Election Outcome. GOP Michigan Canvasser Speaks OUT After Feeling Threatened (YouTube). Breitbart, Trump Lawyers: Pennsylvania Lawsuit Dismissal Moves Us Closer to Supreme Court.  Hot Air, Breaking: PA Court Dismisses Giuliani Lawsuit With Prejudice, Reuters, Detroit asks judge to sanction Trump campaign for spreading 'disinformation'. Hot Air, Toomey Congratulates Biden, Says Trump Has Exhausted All Plausible Legal Options. For many Republicans, going back to being the minority would be a blessed relief from responsibility. 

Matt Margolis at PJ Media, Whoa: Nearly a Third of Democrats Believe the Election Was Stolen From Trump. ET, Texas Voter Says Level of Fraud Denial Is ‘Almost Comical’, and the Babylon Bee hits close to the truth with Study Finds Connection Between Believing Russia Rigged 2016 Election And Believing 2020 Election Was Foolproof.

"It seems that people who screamed about Russia for 4 years now have a 100% chance of encouraging everyone to accept the 2020 election results without question," said study head Dr. Rupert Manning. "It's basically all the way across the board: if you believed that Vladimir Putin somehow hacked voting machines, purchased a bunch of memes, and raised an army of millions of Russian bots to disrupt the election and get Donald Trump elected, you certainly now believe that our elections are completely safe and secure."

Fox, CNN pundit says Trump’s rumored actions ‘out of bounds,’ but is reminded Dems did same in 2016 "'It’s so out of bounds that the same thing happened not 4 years ago,' Stephen L. Miller wrote". Sister Toldja at Red State, Adam Housley Schooled Brian Stelter on What Journalism Is and Isn't During Rudy Presser, and It Was Glorious

Brian rather than dismissing it, why not encourage reporters to investigate what he is presenting? He is an attorney and represents the President. If he's lying and evidence is not true, then rip him. Dismissing it outright from the beginning without looking at any of it is bias. https://t.co/IiAN9v934I

— Adam Housley (@adamhousley) November 19, 2020

Journolisters do actual journalism? 

Man who personally pushed the horrifically damaging Russia collusion conspiracy theory for four years says that litigating a contested election is "playing with fire." Do they think people will forget what they did to the country for the last four years? https://t.co/gKKoDdtC9c

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 20, 2020

Jonah Goldberg is looking forward to going to all the good parties again, This Was Always the Plan