Day: Thu August 25, 2016

The Republican Party of Minnesota finds itself in a pickle. 

~ Guy Hall

(City Pages) It’s their fault.

Earlier this year at the state Republican convention in Duluth, the party picked its 10 electoral college voters. The state party was also supposed to choose 10 alternate electoral college names. It didn’t.

Therein lies the problem.

What could’ve been an in-house mess went public yesterday, when blogger and former Republican Party of Minnesota official Michael Brodkorb noticed that something didn’t look right about the Secretary of State’s sample ballot. Donald Trump wasn’t on it.

Honest to FSM, could it become any more of a clown show?

The state’s Republicans are now scrambling, after realizing they hadn’t picked and therefore submitted the 10 alternate electoral voters.

The party has attempted to piecemeal a solution, appointing alternate electors in a hastily called meeting Wednesday night, according to Brodkorb. (State GOP officials could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.) That solution defied party protocol, which calls for a 10-day notice for any on-the-fly party convention.

But Brodkorb suggests that by circumventing the process, the Republican Party exposed itself to possible legal challenges that would keep Trump’s name off the ballot. Party leaders should “hope and pray” their last-minute appointment doesn’t bother any party members.

Well, I guess it can. Pass the popcorn.

Oh, and the highlighting is mine.

And butter on the popcorn, please. No, not that crap they serve at movie theaters. Real butter.

Forests Yes; Parks No

~ Guy Hall

(Bark Bark Woof Woof) August 25, 1916: The National Park Service was founded. Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. How many national parks have you visited? What’s your favorite?

I’ve camped in National Forests and I’ve visited National Forests, but I’ve never been to a National Park except for the time I did a turn in the parking lot of the Voyageurs National Park when I was out on a bicycle ride. Back in the late 90s I camped up in Superior National Forest. Then, just last month Tina and I hikee the Sturgeon River Gourge Wilderness in Ottowa National Forest.

Speaking of the Sturgeon River Gourge – I’ve got pictures I’ve been meaning to post. I’ll have to get to that tonight after work.

Trump Damages Human Intelligence Capabilities

~ Guy Hall

(Washington Monthly) Most of the words that issue from Donald J. Trump’s lips are disjointed nonsense, and his recent “national security” speech was no exception. Occasionally, however, Trump utters a notion that carries a modicum of truth. As a former Army intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan, I can say that this time he was right about…

Again, when actual professionals with experience and knowledge speak, they are able to clearly identify how Trump as President would be a disaster for our country.

First, consider the domestic ramifications. Trump has publicly ridiculed the parents of a Muslim-American Army officer who died serving our country. Furthermore, Trump announced that he would create a McCarthy-esque Commission on Radical Islam that will allegedly help “expose the networks in our society that support radicalization.” In Trump’s world, Muslims are merely targets of—not true partners in—a solution to radicalization.

His divisive statements, wrongheaded policy proposals, and apparent ignorance of the vital role that Muslims in the U.S. have already played in combating terrorism by willingly reporting information to law enforcement undermine the relationships built over many years between law enforcement and Muslim communities—relationships defined by trust, not fear. With Trump as the president, how could we expect any Muslim to trust the government enough to provide information?