US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

[Elfdart]

The kind of conservatives who talk about banning porn watch porn all the time. The rest of us just know the flavor they enjoy slapping the salami to better as The Handmaid's Tale.

The current House Speaker says he makes his teenage son "monitor" his computer browsing, lest he be tempted to watch Alexis Texas do what she does best. I'm the opposite of a wowser, but I find this disturbing as hell. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall in Mike Johnson's house?

Son, every so often I get the urge to log into BRAZZERS. Then I get an even stronger urge and well Son, I just can't control myself. If you should catch me giving it the ole Five-Knuckle Shuffle, could you...

...STOP ME BEFORE I WANK AGAIN!

I'm not one for kink-shaming, but that's just weird. I remember a more innocent, wholesome time when porn was about sexy French maids and busty librarians. Ah, memories!

Porn stars launch campaign against Project 2025 targeting swing states

I guess you could call this campaign contribution a money shot!

[bilateralrope]

The current House Speaker says he makes his teenage son "monitor" his computer browsing, lest he be tempted to watch Alexis Texas do what she does best. I'm the opposite of a wowser, but I find this disturbing as hell. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall in Mike Johnson's house?

Disturbing. Easily bypassed because Mike Johnson has the money to afford a device he doesn't tell his son about.

Then you can start asking the obvious question about the devices Mike Johnson uses to view classified information.

[Mr Bean]

The current House Speaker says he makes his teenage son "monitor" his computer browsing, lest he be tempted to watch Alexis Texas do what she does best. I'm the opposite of a wowser, but I find this disturbing as hell. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall in Mike Johnson's house?

Disturbing. Easily bypassed because Mike Johnson has the money to afford a device he doesn't tell his son about.

Then you can start asking the obvious question about the devices Mike Johnson uses to view classified information.

Well that's not a worry for the most part. When it comes to classified information we don't exactly let Senators load up TS briefings on whatever no name Chromebook they bought at Best Buy. The US goverment provides the computers, the connections and the software. The only thing that gets around this is email because we can't stop Secretaries of X or Senators from forwarding classified emails from their secure emails to their normal emails. Made infamous by Secretary Clinton of course but she's not the first/last or current offender as this is a long running problem which is why the security types prefer to hand out classified information on good old fashion paper which can be tracked, logged and when it walks out the door they can at least stop people.

[Raw Shark]

I'm not one for kink-shaming, but that's just weird. I remember a more innocent, wholesome time when porn was about sexy French maids and busty librarians. Ah, memories!

Memories, indeed. I dated a busty librarian once. Head librarian, at her branch. (No French maids on my resume, but they ain't found a way to kill me yet) She was a nice, wholesome lady who was really good at encouraging the joy of, um, reading, and.... I'll be in my bunk.

[Raw Shark]

Okay, back. Where I was going with that before I got sidetracked was: You could tell this girl watched a lot of porn. She had some routines that you could tell she got there and had fun role-playing the hot stereotype on her own time. Shouldn't we, as Americans, have the right to enjoy doing that, or meeting somebody like that?

[LadyTevar]

I think this is called "VOTE BUYING"

Elon Musk Giving Aways $1million a Day to Voters in Swing States

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said he will give away $1m (£766,000) a day to a registered voter in key swing states until the US presidential election on 5 November.

The winner will be chosen at random from those who sign a pro-US Constitution petition by Mr Musk’s campaign group AmericaPAC, which he set up to support Republican nominee Donald Trump's bid to return to the White House.

The first lottery-style cheque was given away to a surprised attendee at a town hall event in Pennsylvania on Saturday night. Another cheque was handed out on Sunday.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who supports Kamala Harris, called Mr Musk's strategy "deeply concerning."
Shapiro told NBC News' Meet the Press that law enforcement should potentially look at the payments.

The contest is open to voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, all key battleground states that will ultimately decide the White House election.

Election law expert Rick Hasen wrote on his personal Election Law Blog that he believed Mr Musk's offer was "clearly illegal".

Federal law states that anyone who "pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting" faces a potential $10,000 fine or a five-year prison sentence.

Though Mr Musk is technically asking voters to sign a form, Mr Hasen questioned the intent behind the strategy.

"Who can sign the petitions? Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal," said Mr Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) law school.

Those who sign the petition - which pledges to support free speech and gun rights - must submit their contact details, potentially allowing AmericaPAC to contact them about their vote.

Both Mr Musk and AmericaPAC have been approached for comment.

Campaigns and political action committees rely on tactics like petition signing, survey requests, or merchandise purchases to build massive databases of voter information. That data can then be used more accurately to target voters, or raise funds from supporters who are already onboard.

In Pennsylvania, Mr Musk is giving voters $100 for signing the petition, plus another $100 for each person they refer who signs. Voters in other battleground states get $47 per referral.

But the strategy may be covered by a loophole under US election law because no-one is being directly paid to vote - despite introducing money into a process that could identify likely Trump voters.

In the US, it is illegal to provide payments to get people to vote - not only for a certain candidate, but to simply cast a ballot.

The rule prompted icecream-maker Ben & Jerry's to give its product free to everyone on election day in 2008, having initially planned to limit it just to those with an "I voted" sticker.

While campaigning on Sunday, Trump was asked about Mr Musk's giveaway.

"I haven't followed that," he said, adding that he speaks to Mr Musk often and he is a "friend".

The founder of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly Twitter, has emerged as a key Trump supporter.

Mr Musk launched AmericaPAC in July with the aim of supporting the former president's campaign.

He has so far donated $75m (£57.5m) to the group, which has quickly become a central player in Trump's election bid.

The Trump campaign is highly reliant on outside groups such as AmericaPAC to canvas voters.

A statement on the group's website reads: “AmericaPAC was created to support these key values: Secure Borders, Safe Cities, Sensible spending, Fair Justice System, Free Speech, Right to Self-Protection.”

Mr Musk said he wants to get “over a million, maybe two million, voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment”.

“I think [it] sends a crucial message to our elected politicians,” he added.

Mr Musk is currently the world's richest man, with an estimated net worth of $248bn (£191bn), according to US business magazine Forbes.

[Raw Shark]

I fully support the 1st and (as it was intended) 2nd Amendments. And I vote. And we're both autistic fuck-ups! I would like my million dollars, please, Elon. Preferably in cash, because I trust your pasty, chubby ass as far as I can throw it. I'm sure you understand.

[bilateralrope]

Revealed: Trump ground game in key states flagged as potentially fake

Data suggests canvassers linked to Elon Musk’s America Pac falsely claimed to have visited homes of potential voters

Hugo Lowell in Washington
Sat 19 Oct 2024 16.30 BST

Donald Trump’s campaign may be failing to reach thousands of voters they hope to turn out in Arizona and Nevada, with roughly a quarter of door-knocks done by America Pac flagged by its canvassing app as potentially fraudulent, according to leaked data and people familiar with the matter.

The potentially fake door-knocks – when canvassers falsely claim to have visited a home – could present a serious setback for Trump as he and Kamala Harris remain even in the polls with fewer than 20 days until an election.

The Trump campaign earlier this year outsourced the bulk of its ground game to America Pac, the political action committee founded by Elon Musk, betting that spending millions to turn out Trump supporters, especially those who don’t typically vote, would boost returns.

But leaked America Pac data obtained by the Guardian shows that roughly 24% of the door-knocks in Arizona and 25% of the door-knocks in Nevada this week were flagged under “unusual survey logs” by the Campaign Sidekick canvassing app.

The Arizona data, for example, shows that out of 35,692 doors hit by 442 canvassers working for Blitz Canvassing in the America Pac operation on Wednesday, 8,511 doors were flagged under the unusual survey logs.

The extent of the flagged doors in America Pac’s operation underscores the risk of outsourcing a ground-game program, where paid canvassers are typically not as invested in their candidate’s victory compared with volunteers or campaign staff​.

America Pac denied it was experiencing that level of actual fraud in Arizona and Nevada and declined to comment on reporting for this story.

“Sidekick was never expected to handle the auditing of America Pac’s door operation. The reason the Pac is confident in its numbers is because of the auditing procedures each canvassing firm puts in place and the auditing procedures of the Pac writ large,” a person familiar with the America Pac operation said.

The Trump campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

But multiple people familiar with the Campaign Sidekick app, including a recent auditor for Blitz Canvassing and a senior executive at another vendor who signed a non-disclosure agreement with America Pac, agreed the unusual activity logs were an effective tool to detect cheaters.

The unusual activity logs, for instance, showed a canvasser who was marked by GPS as sitting at a Guayo’s On the Trail restaurant half a mile away from the doors he was supposedly hitting in Globe, Arizona. Another canvasser was recorded marking voters as “not home” two blocks away from that apartment.

The Guardian also conducted its own test to see whether manually removing instances of “false positives” – doors wrongly marked as fraudulent – would show the unusual activity logs were too sensitive. Using a randomly picked sample of 26 canvassers in Arizona, the rate of suspected fakes was in line with the overall rate.

Suspicious doors

The Trump campaign took a gamble this cycle when it outsourced the bulk of its ground game to political action committees, after the Federal Election Commission​ earlier this year for the first time allowed campaigns to coordinate its voter turnout efforts with ​outside groups.

The campaign initially envisaged multiple pacs helping to drive the Trump vote, but America Pac ultimately became the largest and most ambitious of the outside groups as it poured more than $29.8m into its field operation for Trump and became the only Pac with a material presence in every battleground state.

The largest of the other Pacs involved with doing field work, such as Turning Point Action and America ​First Works, have a smaller footprint. Turning Point’s team in Wisconsin has also since been subsumed into America Pac’s operation, two people familiar with the matter said.

A​s a result of its heavy investment, America Pac has been able to post impressive numbers of door-knocks in only a matter of months through its network of several vendors and dozens of subcontractors under those vendors in each of the battleground states.

But in the final stretch toward the election, as the total door-knocks have increased, so too have suspected fakes, according to the leaked data. On 15 October, 20.1% of doors in Arizona were flagged under the unusual activity logs. On 16 October, it rose to 23.8% and on 17 October, it hit 26.9%.

The uptick was also reflected in Nevada. On 15 October, 21.2% were flagged by the unusual survey log, a figure that rose on 16 October to 23.8% and then jumped dramatically on 17 October to 30.1%.

Under normal circumstances, a canvasser walks up to the door of a home where a Trump voter lives. The canvasser then navigates to a list of questions on the smartphone app and records responses to the survey.

An unusual activity report on the Campaign Sidekick app is auto-generated when a survey is filled out by a canvasser some distance from the location of the target voter’s home.

The app has built-in tolerances and generates an unusual survey report after taking into account several factors, such as how quickly the canvasser at issue is supposedly hitting doors and whether the responses are recorded more than 100ft away from the target door.

America Pac has said its auditing is done by its vendors. In Arizona and Nevada, Blitz Canvassing is understood to audit the numbers at least every five days and, when a canvasser is caught cheating, they are immediately fired with their walkbooks reassigned to another canvasser.

“The America Pac field program is the most robust and effective outside canvassing effort ever, knocking on more doors with more people in more isolated terrain than has ever been done before,” America Pac’s vendors Blitz Canvassing, Echo Canyon, Synapse Group, Patriot Grassroots and Campaign Sidekick said in a joint statement.

“We are fully confident in the authenticity of our door counts thanks to the rigorous auditing infrastructure each canvassing firm deploys to supplement Campaign Sidekick’s strong capabilities, and we are on pace to exceed every single one of our door goals,” the statement said.

But that auditing system used in Arizona and Nevada only works if the fraudulent canvassers are caught quickly, which has not always been the case. In one instance, one canvasser was terminated for blatant fraud only after he had worked for five days and supposedly hit 796 doors – with every single one flagged as suspicious.

Part of the problem with paid canvassing, in general, is that canvassing vendors are disincentivized to fire canvassers the more doors they hit because the vendors are paid by the door. If the doors are not hit, the vendor owes money back to the client or owes that many “free” doors.

For America Pac, there is further disincentive for vendors to fire canvassers who might only be frauding one door out of every 10 – effectively someone who just cuts corners – because the labor supply of canvassers is diminished this late in the cycle and hiring a replacement is increasingly difficult, two people familiar with the situation said.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk, teaming up to find new ways for people to be corrupt.

I fully support the 1st and (as it was intended) 2nd Amendments. And I vote. And we're both autistic fuck-ups! I would like my million dollars, please, Elon.

I wonder if we will make it to election day before we get another story about Musk not paying what he owes.

[Solauren]

That's not a Trump or Musk thing.

All organizations like that have those kind of issues. People not doing their job.

I mean, I think just about everyone has spotted the occasional collection of undelivered fliers sitting in the trash or a recycle bin.

[bilateralrope]

It's an Elon Musk linked PAC that decided to pay people to go door knocking, instead of getting volunteers who care about the campaign. My impression is that isn't a common move, and it's the move to paid workers that creates the incentive for the door knockers to lie.

[Solauren]

It's an Elon Musk linked PAC that decided to pay people to go door knocking, instead of getting volunteers who care about the campaign. My impression is that isn't a common move, and it's the move to paid workers that creates the incentive for the door knockers to lie.

True.

I'm just saying it's not political or even high level stupidity/incompetence in this case.

BUT - The idea of paying people to do the door knocking isn't a bad one. It just needs proper supervision.

For example - the last time (before door to door sales were outright banned in Ontario), I saw any kind of large scale door to door sale effort, in addition to the door knockers, I saw the supervisor van at the end of the street (not impressive as I live 3 houses from the corner).

[Elfdart]

The latest map shows Harris slightly ahead in North Carolina, but the state just Ku Kluxed over 700,000 names off the rolls. There's also that phantom 1-2% that tell pollsters they're not voting for Trump -only to vote for him anyway (the only Trump voters with shame, I guess). Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are also within the Trump Twilight Zone. He's also slightly ahead in Georgia and Arizona.That leaves Michigan...

The way Harris goes out of her way to shit all over Muslims/Arab-Americans in Michigan, in addition to making excuses for the Gaza Genocide, I'm wondering if she's trying to throw the election. The alternative theory, that she's just that fucking stupid and inept, is even more disturbing to contemplate. Ritchie Torres? Really?

There is one ace up her sleeve, though: Women came out in much higher numbers in the mid-terms and the "Red Wave" was turned into a piss puddle. They're about the only chance Harris has right now.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-prefers-dictator-approach-former-chief-staff-says-2024-10-23/

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist and "prefers the dictator approach to government," his former White House chief of staff said in a series of interviews with the New York Times.
With less than two weeks until the Nov. 5 election, John Kelly, a longtime critic of Trump's, told the Times that the former Republican president had no understanding of the U.S. Constitution or the concept of the rule of law.

Kelly said the former president would seek to rule like an authoritarian if he returned to the White House. In the interviews published on Tuesday, he quoted Trump as having told him German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler "did some good things."
Trump's team has denied the accounts.
"He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government," Kelly said, according to the newspaper. "Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he's certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators - he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure."

A retired U.S. Marine Corps general, Kelly served as Trump's White House chief of staff between 2017 and 2019. Since Kelly left the White House the two men's relationship has soured and both are open about their disdain for each other.
"John Kelly is a LOWLIFE, and a bad General, whose advice in the White House I no longer sought, and told him to MOVE ON!" Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said in a statement that Kelly "has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories."

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said on Wednesday that the reported remarks were troubling.
"It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans," she told reporters outside her official residence.
"In a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guard rails against his (Trump's) propensities and his actions," Harris said on Wednesday.
Kelly has made critical comments about Trump in previous interviews. He is not privy to internal discussions inside Trump's orbit and so cannot speak with certainty about how Trump will govern.
Harris has seized on comments Trump made during a Fox News event in December when he said that if he won the 2024 election he would be a dictator, but only on "Day One," to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Harris and fellow Democrats argue that Trump is a threat to U.S. democracy, something Trump denies and has said is true of the Democratic candidate.
Retired U.S. Army brigadier general, Republican Steve Anderson, said on a call with reporters organized by the Harris campaign that he was disappointed Kelly did not go as far as endorsing Harris after his criticism of Trump.
In the Times interview, Kelly stressed that as a former military officer he was not endorsing any candidate.

Kamala Harris compares Trump to Hitler and calls him a 'fascist' in three-minute plea to America

Kamala Harris on Wednesday used the power of the vice presidential residence to unleash a scathing attack on her Republican rival Donald Trump, warning he would be another Adolf Hitler if he wins a second term in the White House.

Standing outside her home at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Harris cited an interview Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly gave to the New York Times where he said Trump often spoke admirably of Hitler when he was in the White House.

'It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler - the man who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews,' Harris said.

'Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable and, in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guard rails against his propensities and his actions,' she added.

'So the bottom line is this, we know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power. The question in 13 days will be, what do the American people want?'

Harris and her surrogates have increased their attacks on Trump as the election gets closer and polls show the race is a virtual tie.

Wednesday's marked Harris' most direct and daring attack to date, where she essentially charged that Trump would turn the country into a police state if he wins the November election.

Her speech came 13 days before the election. The vice presidential residence at the Naval Observatory is rarely used as the setting for political events.

'This is a window into who Donald Trump really is from the people who know him best, from the people who worked with him side-by-side in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room and it is clear from John Kelly's words that Donald Trump is someone who I quote, certainly falls into the general definition of a fascist,' Harris said.

But now Kelly went on the record with his concerns.

Kelly, who served on Trump's staff from 2017 to 2019, told the New York Times that Trump meets the 'definition of fascist' and claimed the former president does not have an understanding of American history or the Constitution.

Kelly, 74, alleged that Trump once said 'Hitler did some good things' and praised the Nazi dictator for having 'rebuilt the economy'. Kelly also told The Atlantic on Tuesday that Trump said he wanted his staff to be more like 'German generals in World War II' because they were 'totally loyal' to Hitler.

Additionally, the retired Marine veteran doubled down on previous claims that Trump branded American servicemembers who died or were injured as 'suckers and losers', adding that the ex-president 'may be the only American citizen that feels that way about those who gave their lives or served their country'.

A Trump campaign spokesperson hit back at Kelly's claims in a statement to The Times, saying the former political advisor 'has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated'.

Harris used that interview to further her case to be the next president. Kelly has not endorsed her candidacy.

Her remarks were short - only about three minutes - but to the point.

'Donald Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired four-star general, confirmed that wild Donald Trump was president he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler,' she said.

'Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the united States constitution. He wants a military that is loyal to him. He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally. One that we'll obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the constitution of the United States,' she added.

'In just the past week, Donald Trump has repeatedly called his fellow Americans the enemy from within - even said that he would use the United States military to go after American citizens. And let's be clear about who he considers to be the enemy from within - anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him,' she said.

[Raw Shark]

Both of my grandfathers were members of Antifa back in the early 1940s. It was called the United States Navy back then, but they were my ancestors and we felt the same.

[The Infidel]

The really frightening thing is not Trump. There will always be assholes like him littered around the world. The thing I find scary, is that 50% of Americans still want to vote for him. 50% wants to vote for an oligarchic fascist.

There was an opinion poll, a proper one, done in Norway, and 84% of Norwegians would have voted for Harris and 11% for Trump if we could vote in the US election.

I'm telling you, if Trump wins, and I met an American here in Norway that tells me he didn't vote for Harris, I'm gonna go full apartheid on his ass. "We don't want your kind here!"

[Raw Shark]

The really frightening thing is not Trump. There will always be assholes like him littered around the world. The thing I find scary, is that 50% of Americans still want to vote for him. 50% wants to vote for an oligarchic fascist.

You and me, both, bud. I had no idea how fucking stupid half of my fellow countrymen are until seven years ago. I pine for the days when "Republican" just meant, "Yeah I don't want to pay taxes and am kind of a douche," instead of, "Yeah, I'm batshit crazy."

[Batman]

IS it 50% still though? Trump seems to be shedding supporters faster than animals shed their winter pelt in summer.

[Solauren]

I'm telling you, if Trump wins, and I met an American here in Norway that tells me he didn't vote for Harris, I'm gonna go full apartheid on his ass. "We don't want your kind here!"

What if they said they voted that way because they want to see the US go down the shitter?

[bilateralrope]

IS it 50% still though? Trump seems to be shedding supporters faster than animals shed their winter pelt in summer.

The most amusing loss of support for Trump that I've seen is: Former KKK Leader David Duke Endorses Jill Stein, Trashes Donald Trump.

[Ralin]

IS it 50% still though? Trump seems to be shedding supporters faster than animals shed their winter pelt in summer.

The most amusing loss of support for Trump that I've seen is: Former KKK Leader David Duke Endorses Jill Stein, Trashes Donald Trump.

"Of course I reject any 'endorsement' from a white supremacist like David Duke, unlike Kamala Harris who can't stop bragging about her endorsement from white supremacist mass murderer Dick Cheney."

Okay that is a decent comeback.

[Raw Shark]

IS it 50% still though? Trump seems to be shedding supporters faster than animals shed their winter pelt in summer.

Valid point. Most of the Republicans that I hang with are sick of the guy, but I don't consider the kind of people I would hang with to be a representative enough sample.

The most amusing loss of support for Trump that I've seen is: Former KKK Leader David Duke Endorses Jill Stein, Trashes Donald Trump.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, I guess.

[Raw Shark]

IS it 50% still though? Trump seems to be shedding supporters faster than animals shed their winter pelt in summer.

Valid point. Most of the Republicans that I hang with are sick of the guy, but I don't consider the kind of people I would hang with to be a representative enough sample.

The most amusing loss of support for Trump that I've seen is: Former KKK Leader David Duke Endorses Jill Stein, Trashes Donald Trump.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, I guess. When a straight-up Nazi endorses a Jewish lady over you, you've fucked up, son.

[Raw Shark]

"Of course I reject any 'endorsement' from a white supremacist like David Duke, unlike Kamala Harris who can't stop bragging about her endorsement from white supremacist mass murderer Dick Cheney."

Okay that is a decent comeback.

STEIN FROM THE TOP ROPE! She's giving out shade like Oprah gives out cars. "Look under your chair!"

[The Infidel]

I'm telling you, if Trump wins, and I met an American here in Norway that tells me he didn't vote for Harris, I'm gonna go full apartheid on his ass. "We don't want your kind here!"

What if they said they voted that way because they want to see the US go down the shitter?

Don't care! Thing is, US is not a tiny banana republic nobody cares about. What happens in the US affects the whole world, including me. We need a united and strong NATO more than ever. We need a united West more than ever, and Trump (aka Putin's bitch) is the opposite of what is needed now.

You know, German really have some nice words, like "Backpfeifengesicht": A face that badly needs a beating, like when Trump smiles his Mussolini smile.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Europe has been trying to "Trump-proof" their plans for Ukraine aid in case he wins and the USA leaves Ukraine at the mercy of Russia. The very fact that this is even necessary is damning all by itself.