I hate it when they say there was no proof that votes were flipped because that is correct, but there is no proof because they never check the machines to see if votes were flipped. The machine owners don't allow independent audits, they claim proprietary rights for their software. It doesn't even have to be the Russians flipping votes, the machines can be pre-programmed.

Why won't Mitch McConnell allow a vote on a bill that was passed in the House that says that all new voting machines must be made in America?

Then there are machines like the ones I have been voting on, no paper trail. I vote into a black hole. Every time I vote I ask for a paper receipt and every time I never get one. Our Democratic governor is trying to install new machines in Pa. but the Republican legislature is stonewalling him, I doubt we will get new machines for the election.

If they wanted a paper trail, paper ballots would still be around or at the very least machines would provide receipts.

and used it redundantly with glee - a practice I am trying to perfect

Awesome word!

via Latin perlucere, "shine through"

the repubs have been hacking elections here since 2000. I've witnessed it first hand, and there have been plenty of reports and examples. The Russians and MF45 only took advantage of systems that have been manipulated for years.

would have been enough for him to pick those who blackmail - wink wink!

Truthfully Gore did not fight enough and that strengthened the Cons to continue stealing elections - indeed to deepen the process.

and I demanded the machine be impounded. The machine was "reset" and I was escorted out of the area.

I'm not convinced that any election in Florida (Governor, Senate, etc.) has been correctly counted for 2 decades.

bangs head

since any Republican legitimately won a national election.

But it was the one that our illustrious ancestors decided didn't matter. So here we are.

Before Comey violated the Hatch Act, Hillary was ahead in almost every poll by 5 points.

a few days after that she dropped to even.

That and the foreign interference, speaks volumes

We just need to remember:

1) The objective is the EC, not the popular vote;
2) The other side won't ever play fair; and
3) There is no depth to which the Republicans will not sink.

Every electoral strategy needs to take these provisos into account.

those critical swing states, where Hillary lost by less than 1%

In other words, it didn't take much, and there is no doubt those factors had a significant impact

before the Comey letter of October 28th.

On Friday, October 21, 2016, the large (triple on average of the year before) Obamacare rate increases (22% on average and over 100% plus in some cases) were leaked out, and by Monday, the 24th, when the official announcement was made, it was a shitstorm. My father (an investment banker who is aces at predicting econ knock-on effects at a political level) said the administration were fools to not wait until after the election to release the new rates and said this would pull 2-3% off the electoral margin.

that said......... (and to show how the media can ratfuck) even though most people were actually shielded to a pretty large degree, the MSM ran a shit tonne of 'hair on fire' stories that really whipped up people into a frothy lather.

That is when the polls started to crater a bit, and the double punch of the Comey letter on Friday the 28th really cemented it.


Obamacare premiums to soar 22%

First published October 24, 2016

https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/24/news/economy/obamacare-premiums/



Obamacare premiums are set to skyrocket an average of 22% for the benchmark silver plan in 2017, according to a government report released Monday.

The price hike is the latest blow to Obamacare. Insurers are raising prices and downsizing their presence on the exchanges as they try to stem losses from sicker-than-anticipated customers. Enrollment for 2017 will be closely watched since insurers want to see younger and healthier consumers enroll.

The benchmark silver plan -- upon which federal subsidies are based -- will cost an average of $296 a month next year. That figure is based on prices for a 27-year-old enrollee in the 39 states that use the federal healthcare.gov exchange, plus the four states and Washington D.C. that have their own exchanges.

For 2016, the benchmark plan's premium rose only 7.2%, on average, for the states that use healthcare.gov. (Looking only at states on the federal exchange, premiums are rising 25% for 2017.)

The average premium increase masks wide variation among the states. In Arizona, the benchmark plan's average premium will increase 116% in 2017. Arizona had the lowest rates of any state this year, said Kathryn Martin, an acting assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

snip


Finally

The other thing I find really fucked up is that the FBI agent that Trump ALWAYS rants about (Peter Strzok and his 'lover' <<< ffs that shit makes me PUKE the way that orange bloated bawbag says that) as being a huge part of his 'the Clinton-loving deep state is out to get me' bullshit

is the fuckstick who WROTE the goddamn first draft of the Comey letter that helped sink the ship

http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2018/images/01/31/strzok.email.pdf

a Al Gore. He won in 2000 also. If repugs don't cheat, they don't win.

I keep trying to imagine "what a wonderful world it would be" if Gore's election had not been stolen from us.

As long as they stick to their current positions, they know that they will lose.

They act accordingly, and take corrective measures.