I reckon a lot of you probably view me as a crazy left winger. And that may well be fair, but if you’re wondering how I got here , I’m gonna have a crack.
In my 20s I had pretty much zero interest in politics. I grew up in Central Qld, surrounded by conservative influences.

Towards the end of the Howard years I began to feel that what he was doing wasn’t right, probably starting when they changed the rules retrospectively in the wharfie dispute. But it was even more troubling when he began adopting Hanson’s racist immigration views, and children

Overboard was a shameful chapter in racist dog whistling. I was disappointed that he spent the proceeds of the mining boom on Johnny’s Battlers instead of future proofing our economy and building a sovereign wealth fund. His failure to implement any sort of climate policy was

His biggest failure though, in my opinion. Despite that, I admired his guts with the gun reform he achieved following Port Arthur.
It was with renewed hope that I rode the #Kevin07 wave to a change in government. I felt hopeful that Australia was going to be a world leader in

The fight against climate change. How disappointed I was, as Rudd and the Greens completely botched a golden opportunity. Then Rudd showed a streak of cowardice I still cannot comprehend after miners spent a few bucks on tv ads attacking the RSPT. Julia jumped in the hot seat

People bellow out "lock him up!" about Joe Biden at Trump's rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

"the misery of unleashed work and horror" #wut

Following a remarkably low energy performance in Minnesota on Friday evening, Trump sounds sedated during his first of four rallies on Saturday in Pennsylvania

As 1,000 Americans die each day from coronavirus, Trump calls Hunter Biden's (alleged) emails "the biggest story anywhere in the world"

Trump does not sound like a guy anticipating a big victory in 72 hours. His audience in Bucks County isn't really reacting as he drones on and on.

A) This is “Capitol Crunch.” Congress often faces an avalanche of activity in December as lawmakers try to wrap up for the year. And the challenges this year are particularly acute.

B) Talks go on behind the scenes about a potential coronavirus relief package. We truly don’t know the size of the final product. But we keep hearing that the bipartisan “baseline” will be a little more than $900 billion.

C) But there are still major sticking points over liability protections and money for state and local governments.

D) It appears that the only way to advance any sort of coronavirus bill will be to latch it to the big, $1.4 trillion, omnibus spending bill which leaders and appropriators have been working on for weeks. But that’s far from settled, too.

E) Issues still remain regarding migrant detention policy and money for the wall.

Frankly, it’s going to take until at least early next week to get a coronavirus bill which can jell – let alone, the bill to avoid a government shutdown at 11:59:59 pm et on December 11.

What is happening on the floor of the United States of House of Representatives is tragic.

Tragic because it was preventable. Tragic because most of the Republicans in the House are themselves brainwashed into believing that this is all *just politics.*

1/

I take no joy in supporting impeachment against the President.

In fact, it pains my soul to know that the Commander in Chief launched an attack on his own people, on the People's House, on democracy.

It is tragic.

2/

Our checks and balances have failed.

Our institutions of justice have failed.

The only power that has not failed is the power of the American people. We voted and we won.

And that's why Trump attacked it.

3/

This is an attack on us as a people. It is an attack on those the autocrat cannot control. He has radicalized those who feel disenfranchised and he sent them into the Capitol as his pawns while he watched the attack with glee from afar.

4/

He was capable of doing this because he has not one or two or even three lieutenants in Congress--but over 150 of them.

Their loyalty to Trump--their thirst for power--their devotion to a political party--and, yes, their fear of exiting the cult--has ruined our country.

5/

Caution: Thread

Unsolicited advice to INC & Oppo. Parties

I had done an analysis of performance of non-BJP parties, particularly INC in 2019 LS elections to look for lessons for 2024. I focused on INC as it occupies no2 position in our polity despite its dwindling profile
+

Accordingly I divided the States/UT into 3 categories - A, B and C

Category A represents those States/UT where INC remains either No1 or No2 as per vote share in 2019 elections (Primary Party); Category B refers States/UT where INC is not No1 or No2 but has/can have partner
+

Category C represents States/UT where INC is a marginal player and where alliance is also not practically possible.

As we know, BJP won 303 seats (NDA at 355) (incl. SS-18). INC won 52 (UPA at 92). Other Parties won 96 seats
Category-wise breakup of 52 seats given in Table:

+

INC remains a primary force in 245/543 seats, ie 45%; however, it managed to win just 38 seats here, ie 16% success rate

Please be noted 245 includes TL(17), JH(14) and ND(7) where INC was no2 but I am doubtful if it will be so if elections are held now

Breakup of 245 below👇
+

Of 27 States/UT in Category A, INC drew a blank in 15 of them. Only 2 States, PJ and KL contributed 23 of 38 seats. Balance 15 came from 10 States/UT and it did not cross 3 seats in any of them

Pl note INC strongholds(!) are distributed across country but with very little heft+

5 January #MAGAanalysis #Overturn

What Will Pence Do Tomorrow?

Both @annvandersteel and @KateScopelliti put forward this story, last night. It is an important story we must consider

Check out Mrs. Young's words:

"I voted for Mayor Lightfoot after she came to my church because I believed in her as a Black woman."

Lori Lightfoot is a horrible human being. Not only did she attempt to do the same thing as her white predecessor &

withhold video of white police terrorizing a black person, but she lied about seeing the video and "falsely denied her administration withheld footage of the raid from Ms. Young." So miss me with this bullshit that somehow black life is safer under black politicians...

If statutorily possible, black Chicagoans should immediately launch a recall election to remove Lightfoot from office. She should never again be allowed to occupy public office. Put simply, black life isn't even safe under black leadership....

Just ask the family of Rashard Brooks why black Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is blocking their settlement negotiations regarding the white cop who murdered Brooks in a Wendy's drive through parking lot. I need you to comprehend precisely what Lorraine Hansberry was saying..

when she said "all my skin folk aint my kinfolk." Black people have little 2 show for their black leadership. White supremacy is so sinister that it often puts black faces on white horror. Hence, U often get the same, if not worst outcomes even when black folks are figureheads...

(TRUE STORY) In the weeks before the 2020 election, ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne was desperately trying to get to me through an intermediary to share info about the coming election he claimed was critical.

I ignored his overtures.

Donald Trump invited him to the Oval Office.

I had messages from Byrne's rep on every social media platform I'm reachable on. I decided that his public instability was such that I wanted nothing to do with him. Incredible to think that the President of the United States—the most powerful man alive—made a different decision.

MORE/

NOTE/ What's telling about this—and what U.S. media might wonder about, now—is whether Byrne was contacting me to tell the same tale he told the president in the Oval. Seems unlikely, right? Seems like maybe Byrne is just peddling nonsense wherever he thinks he can get attention?

NOTE2/ Here's what I can tell everyone (and media): Byrne represented—via his rep—he'd been in touch with Roger Stone, and wanted to talk to journalists pre-election about the FBI/Comey. I'm sure I'm not the only one he contacted. After all, we know he contacted the White House.

I'm not a lawyer, but I think this lawyer might not be doing a good job today of being a lawyer

"When you're driving down the street and you look over at your wife and you say, 'hey you know what, that guy is about to drive through the red light and kill that person...'"

"Senators of the United States... they're not ordinary people. They're extraordinary people in the technical sense of extraordinary people."

WHERE IS HE GOING WITH THIS?

This is what you get when your lawyer realizes he isn't getting paid upfront.

IS THE CAT LAWYER AVAILABLE

This is the list of Representatives who wanted to overturn our election, invalidate million of voters & make UNELECTED donald a Dictator.
Pg1
Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.)
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.)
Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-Ga.)
Rep. James R. Baird (R-Ind.)
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)

Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.)
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.)
Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-Ga.)
Rep. James R. Baird (R-Ind.)
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.)
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.)
Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.)

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.)
Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas)
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-La.)
Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.)

Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.)
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.)
Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-Ga.)
Rep. James R. Baird (R-Ind.)
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.)
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.)
Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.)

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.)
Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas)
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-La.)
Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.)

If you listen to the pundits, you’d think that the @HouseGOP did very well during the 2020 elections.

That’s not quite true.

Here’s what actually happened.

The only state in the country where the GOP had a net gain in House seats since Trump took office in 2017 is Minnesota. The party gained one seat there in 2020.

In the following states, the GOP gained seats in 2020 - but - only gained the same number of seats that it lost in 2018:

Florida
(Lost 2 seats in 2018, gained 2 seats in 2020)

Iowa
(Lost 2 seats in 2018, gained 2 seats in 2020)

New Mexico
(Lost 1 seat in 2018, gained 1 seat in 2020)

Oklahoma
(Lost 1 seat in 2018, gained 1 seat in 2020)

South Carolina
(Lost 1 seat in 2018, gained 1 seat in 2020)

In the following states, the GOP gained some seats in 2020 - but - not as many seats as the number of seats it lost in 2018, leaving a net loss of seats in the Trump era:

California
(Lost 7 seats in 2018, gained back 3 of them in 2020. GOP now holds 11 of CA’s 53 House seats)

Thread: Pence Power – What is it? Recently, I’ve read a lot about the powers of the president of the senate (that’s the VP). Many talking about this feel that for Pence to refuse to present the dem electoral votes on Jan 6, the Electoral Count Act must be ignored/set aside ...

The nonsense happening in DC last night is important for a lot of reasons, mainly two - it shows how Trump is different from Berlusconi, his probable inspiration; and is a textbook example of how chaos most often than not helps status quo/centrist/stability 1/

Our own Silvio went to power with large and stable support from NE right-wing industrialists who had felt excluded from power during the 1st Republic (1945-1992). He was also popular with the NE and Center professional and commercial middle classes 2/

Last but not least, while he was not amazingly popular with Italy's military, he never antagonized them, and he never alienated the Italian diplomatic corp (mostly a closed class). He had his own agenda, not always in line with "Atlantic interests," but played his cards well 3/

Berlusconi promised stability to center-right voters dismayed by the Democratic Christian party's collapse, "efficiency" to professional classes, keeping taxes down, etc. He acted as a virulent anti-communism, but by 1994 this was just a charade to keep his audience in line 4/

As by then, there was no credible "communist threat" around, and the splinters of the former Communist party were playing "who's more in love with the markets?". So you see, Berlusconi, for all his bluster, was you average conservative tycoon - just smarter than most. 5/

One thing people on the Right could learn from the Left: stop treating elections and court cases as either total victories or final defeats. The battle for truth, justice, and the American Way is never-ending. Never let either friends or foes convince you otherwise.

Granted, there is far too much centralized coercive power in our system, so a lot of bad things can happen after a national election. The stakes are always high - much *too* high for a constitutional republic of sovereign citizens.

But generally speaking, the Left has long been better about using power when they have it, and redoubling their efforts to regain power after they lose it. The Right is more susceptible to all-is-lost fatalism and hopelessness born of deep (and often justified) cynicism.

Left-wing groups are more likely to see themselves as fighting endless crusades. If they lose an election, it means the voters were wrong and must be re-educated or punished, or the election was stolen by the dastardly Republicans. They never question their righteousness.

That's the level of commitment to cause that you must be ready to contend with if you're hoping conservative beliefs will prevail. In fact, even greater commitment is required, because too much of our corrupt political and media system inherently favors collectivism.

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I’ve rushed to finish this. Consider yourself warned.

In early 2016 I met with a political friend in South Florida. On my trips there we’d get together sometime for drinks and a meal. This time he was perplexed by the staying power of Donald Trump in the primaries.

Reason #3 why Biden should not rejoin the Paris Climate Accords: it is immoral. A moral international policy is one that expands human flourishing and human freedom. Paris is a path to outlawing fossil fuels, the way to provide affordable, reliable energy for billions of people.

Global CO2 emissions are rising, and not because of the US (1/6th and falling). They are rising because billions of people in the developing world are bringing themselves out of poverty by using fossil fuels to power factories, farms, vehicles, and appliances.

The developing world overwhelmingly uses fossil fuels because that is by far the lowest-cost way for them to get reliable energy. Unreliable solar and wind can’t come close. That’s why China and India have hundreds of new coal plants under construction.

The only moral and practical way to lower global CO2 emissions is to encourage innovation that could make low-carbon energy cheap for everyone. It is immoral and impractical to tell the whole world, especially the developing world, to stay unempowered and poor.

While many claim that our climate is less livable than ever because of fossil fuels, it is actually more livable than ever thanks to fossil fuel powered development. Rising CO2 levels will cause mild, manageable warming as well as significant global greening--not a crisis.