A Happy Day

Yesterday was a happy day (as is today).  Joe Biden was "called by" the TV networks as the President-Elect.  That doesn't make anything official of course, but they are rather careful about announcing their expectations.  Even Fox News declared that Biden had won, and Fox is a rather die-hard Trump supporter.

I wasn't entirely sure how the Networks could be so certain in some States where there were 100s of thousands of votes left to count and Biden had a 10,000 vote lead or even was losing, but the political TV show hosts gave some detailed explanations later.    

A lot of it had to do with the difference between how Democrats and Republicans voted this year.  Usually, the vast majority of voters vote on Election Day.  But this year, because of the pandemic, States increased the opportunity to vote by mail or early in person at a few locations.  Democrats voted by mail or early; Republicans waited until election Day.

Mail-in and early votes take longer to process.  And the votes from large cities (which are very heavily Democrat) always take longer by sheer volume.  Between the two, the cites needed days to report votes (and none may be truly complete even now).  Overseas, military, and post-marked-but-not-yet-delivered mail-in ballots still have a few days to arrive.

But professional network vote-counters know what voters were still to be heard from Saturday, the almost-certain voter registration, and typical return rates.  A good example was Pennsylvania.  The low-population rural Counties were mostly Republican and had 99% of their votes reported Wednesday.  The major cities were mostly Democrat (approaching 90% in some) and had reported only half of their votes.  

So when Trump was ahead 30,000 votes and 500,000 were still due from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with a typical Democratic majority of 70%, there was little doubt about the outcome.   The States will not announce a winner until the last vote is counted in about a week from now, but the Networks could have a confidence factor above 99.9%.  Well, they don't want to make a mistake like "Dewey Beats Truman" again and besides, they have MUCH more information available now.

So, essentially, the voting is over.  Biden will be the next President and Harris his Vice-President.  The Electoral college will confirm that on December 6th.  Biden will have won with 4 million+ total popular votes.  I am relieved.  I've been waiting for this day for 4 years!

A long national aberration is over.  Trump's victory in 2016 was a hiccup.  Painful to be sure, but temporary.  Biden has promised to return the US to international agreements, balance taxes, restore environmental regulations, organize a National response to the Covid-19 pandemic, attend to excessive force by police against minorities, etc.

To quote President Ronald Reagan (something I never thought I would do) "It is Morning in America".

To quote President Gerald Ford (after Nixon's resignation) "Our long national nightmare is over".

To quote the Munchkins from 'The Wizard Of Oz':  

"Ding-dong! The Witch is dead
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding-dong! The Wicked Witch is dead
Wake up you sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead..."

And I'll offer a panel from 'Doonesbury' from after Nixon resigned:

Today, I will sleep easier than I have for some months. 

The Night Before Election Day

A poem expressing my concerns the time before Election Day in the US... 

"Twas the Night of Election Day

As I paced through the house.

Would we get back to normal, the old voting way

Or would Donald steal it, the Cheating Old Louse?

 

I knew that the polls

On MSNBC

Had the Biden team goals

Being granted, you see.

 

But that's what I thought

In '16, when we "won"

But Hillary still lost what most of us sought

So I won't count my chickens until the last one.

 

Cuz Donald makes Tricky Dick

Seem like a nun

Saying he'd cheat the People with legal stuff sick

By saying the voting was over afore it half-done!

 

He said he would do it

Then said it was fake

And when shown the recording a bit

Said "Let them Eat Cake".

 

And spent 15 minutes

Defending you see,

What he claimed he had not said

To the cameras and we.

 

The businesses all boarded

Their windows today

In expectance of armed crazies with guns all aloaded

If Electoral College count drives Trump away.

 

They will say it is fake news

Conspiracy proven

The Deep State and Anti-Fa fears fanning their illusions

Of being the majority as the Biden's prepare move-in.

 

Or maybe tis I to weep who shall

Weep deep bitter tears

At the end of our laws and see autocrat gall

Replace freedom and voting for may yet years. 

 

Ben Franklin once said

When asked by the crowd,

If we had democracy, monarch, or dread

You have a Republic, defend it or be cowed.

 

Republics are fragile

Just ask the Old Greeks

Or the Romans who had some experience a while.

Nothing good lasts for long, go and vote or be weak.

 

So I pace the floor watching

The news of the day.

I think that the outcome will likely be fetching

But I won't be relaxed for many a day.

 

It takes time to count ballots

Mail-ins take some time.

And Trumpians are trying legal tricks quite lots.

But I think that when Electors meet, Biden gets the dime."

 

Earth Day 2020

Let's say a strange message appeared on my monitor a few days ago.  Let's suppose it came from The Galactic Confederation and went something like this...

"We have received some primitive signals from you.  We assumed they were some sort of sign of intelligent life or maybe a request for membership.  So we investigated.  After all, we have a few picobots around every planet that develops so much as pond scum...

Your application to join us is denied.  

We consider you all to be blarts.  You lay waste to your planet, you are all divisive and warlike, and you eat each other.  WE do not approve.  We note that you are attempting local spaceflight (and badly, we will say).  We will make sure you do not succeed at that until you get yourselves united, organize your resources better, and learn to get your individual energy from non-living renewable sources.

And BTW, we have detected your attempts to discover us.  Your efforts are both puerile and easily thwarted.  We have a whole world dedicated to presenting you images that look very nice and are meaningless.

If and when you "get your act together" in the picobots judgement, WE will contact YOU.  Meanwhile, we would appreciate it if you would stop trying to  galacticAI.univ us.  It's just static and goes straight to the junk balik.   We have one poor Scopinea who spends all day deleting your nonsense and while we give him that function, he is a sad case by our standards though we suppose hesheit would seem like a genius to you.

So fix your own problems before you try to leave your planet.  If you do, we will know." 

Ack Thbbft!

Mark

Fix it before you leave it...