(11-04-2026 04:01 PM)b2b Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 04:36 AM)C2__ Wrote:  I could have never imagined a night like last night. Texas was ruby red for a long time and hadn’t had a Democratic governor and Dem senator in over 30 years. It’s a dream come true and the hope is that we can stop Trump from having a free pass to do whatever he wants.

Imagine living through the past 2 years and thinking this is what Trump had. DUUUUUUUUUMMMMMB.

When Democrats have "a free pass to do whatever they want" is when the problems arise. See Jan. 20, 2021-Jan.20, 2023. Now Texas and Georgia will be the recipients of that free pass. Georgia will be like Louisiana in two years. I guess Jim Crow 2.0 in Georgia no longer is a thing.

(11-04-2026 03:58 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  It's inevitable in a 2 party system that any party that remains in power too long ends up taking continued power for granted, makes mistakes and gets to spend a few years in the woods. Democrats have spent a very long time in the woods.

This is not true. California, Oregon, Washington and the entire US Northeast has been 1 party rule for over a generation. Once Dems attain enough power they tend to keep it for good.

(11-04-2026 04:18 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 03:58 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  It's inevitable in a 2 party system that any party that remains in power too long ends up taking continued power for granted, makes mistakes and gets to spend a few years in the woods. Democrats have spent a very long time in the woods.

This is not true. California, Oregon, Washington and the entire US Northeast has been 1 party rule for over a generation. Once Dems attain enough power they tend to keep it for good.

It's called Fascism. One party rule.

Let's give a shout-out to the former members of the U.S. military (Republicans and Democrats alike) who won their races yesterday.

https://www.military.com/dozens-of-veter...-democrats

Good to see Crimson's checks still getting cashed

(11-04-2026 05:03 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  Good to see Crimson's checks still getting cashed

Quote:Let me tell you something absolutely BONKERS from last night’s midterms…

Democrat Ericka Lomick just “won” Texas House District 93 despite being a convicted felon who suspended her campaign months ago.

She pleaded guilty in 2011 to federal charges including mortgage-fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering. Her sentence? 63 months in federal prison.

On her candidate paperwork, she checked the box claiming she had not been finally convicted of a felony. After her criminal record surfaced in September, she suspended her campaign and stopped running.

But Texas election deadlines had already passed, so her name remained on the ballot for both the regular general election and the special election.

And voters still elected her by roughly 51–49%.

Here’s the kicker: Under Texas law, a final felony conviction generally makes someone ineligible to hold office unless they’ve been pardoned or had their disabilities released.

Meaning she can’t actually serve. Her “victory” simply creates a vacancy and triggers yet another special election.

A convicted federal fraudster who quit campaigning still got elected to the Texas House.

Let that absolutely sink in.

Quote:I served as a poll watcher today and noticed something that struck me as rather odd.

Throughout the evening, I carefully kept a handwritten tally of every voter who cast a ballot. Each time I compared my count with the total displayed on the voting machine, the machine consistently showed one or two more votes than I had recorded.

To eliminate the possibility of an error in my counting, I repeatedly reset my handwritten tally to match the machine's displayed total and began counting again from that point forward. Yet, at the next comparison, the machine was once again ahead by one or two votes.

This happened repeatedly throughout the evening.
I'm not suggesting I know the reason for the discrepancies, but the consistency certainly caught my attention. I would be interested in understanding why the machine totals repeatedly differed from my firsthand count of voters.

(11-04-2026 03:46 AM)scorpius Wrote:  I hear a lot about raptures and the end of times because of this. Look at the big picture. So much is going to happen with AI and bots in the next 5-10 years, it's not going to matter much which party is control of government. They won't be able to do much to alter the "rapture" that is about to arrive.

Actually AI appears to be the "image of the beast" as described in Revelation 13.

Where you got the insane idea that anyone can alter the rapture (which is the Resurrection of the dead in Christ) is beyond me. NO ONE can alter the timing of the rapture or the 2nd coming.

The Father alone makes that call.

As usual you are totally out of your depth and have clue what you are talking about.

(11-04-2026 06:20 PM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 03:46 AM)scorpius Wrote:  I hear a lot about raptures and the end of times because of this. Look at the big picture. So much is going to happen with AI and bots in the next 5-10 years, it's not going to matter much which party is control of government. They won't be able to do much to alter the "rapture" that is about to arrive.

Actually AI appears to be the "image of the beast" as described in Revelation 13.

Where you got the insane idea that anyone can alter the rapture (which is the Resurrection of the dead in Christ) is beyond me. NO ONE can alter the timing of the rapture or the 2nd coming.

The Father alone makes that call.

As usual you are totally out of your depth and ahve clue what you are talking about.

It's just a matter of perspective. At least we both agree something rapturous is upon us and that a change in party power isn't going to do much to change this.

(11-04-2026 06:41 PM)scorpius Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 06:20 PM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 03:46 AM)scorpius Wrote:  I hear a lot about raptures and the end of times because of this. Look at the big picture. So much is going to happen with AI and bots in the next 5-10 years, it's not going to matter much which party is control of government. They won't be able to do much to alter the "rapture" that is about to arrive.

Actually AI appears to be the "image of the beast" as described in Revelation 13.

Where you got the insane idea that anyone can alter the rapture (which is the Resurrection of the dead in Christ) is beyond me. NO ONE can alter the timing of the rapture or the 2nd coming.

The Father alone makes that call.

As usual you are totally out of your depth and ahve clue what you are talking about.

It's just a matter of perspective. At least we both agree something rapturous is upon us.

2000 years ago the Bible predicted a time coming when men make a "thing" and are able to make that "thing" become alive and the thing is able to control commerce and everything and monitor everyone in the world all at once. And it coincides with a rising one world ruler through globalism.

Anyone who now can't see those things coming in the very near future is deserving of what they have coming.

Its no longer a question of evidence, its a question of blatant denialism. Which is also what the Bible said the case would be, men denying the obvious because they love their sin more than anything.

(11-04-2026 04:18 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 03:58 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  It's inevitable in a 2 party system that any party that remains in power too long ends up taking continued power for granted, makes mistakes and gets to spend a few years in the woods. Democrats have spent a very long time in the woods.

This is not true. California, Oregon, Washington and the entire US Northeast has been 1 party rule for over a generation. Once Dems attain enough power they tend to keep it for good.

The South was once one party Democratic. Wisconsin and Minnesota were once as Democratic as California. Now they are purplish. West Virginia was the bluest of the blue.

Look at the 1976 electoral votes and then 2000. Half the states flipped parties.

Dems have captured 44 of California's 45 seats decided. In 4 of the other 7, their primary rules have two Democrats running against each other. In one, its two Republicans. In the other two, Republicans have a slight lead. So Democrats will have at least 48 of the 52 and maybe 50 of the 52.

Laura Broebert is behind in CO with 91% in, but its still close.

(11-04-2026 06:50 PM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  2000 years ago the Bible predicted a time coming when men make a "thing" and are able to make that "thing" become alive and the thing is able to control commerce and everything and monitor everyone in the world all at once. And it coincides with a rising one world ruler through globalism.

Anyone who now can't see those things coming in the very near future is deserving of what they have coming.

Its no longer a question of evidence, its a question of blatant denialism. Which is also what the Bible said the case would be, men denying the obvious because they love their sin more than anything.

I don't believe a fully transformed AI society will be considered to have a "one world ruler" unless you consider the technology itself as the ruler. But in reality, the technology will just enable all of humanity to collectively and most efficiently rule themselves. It will effectively become a part of ourselves, eventually to the point where I agree, arguably you could say we destroyed our original selves. That is assuming of course we don't quite literally physically destroy ourselves in the process of going through this change, which is very possible, if not likely. It will be a period of great volatility from here on out until we get through this part of the process, as our technological leaders are warning of more and more often. They would know more than anyone else.

(11-04-2026 02:36 AM)memtigbb Wrote:  Trump's Iran debacle completely screwed the Republican party and all of his supporters. Now Dems are back in control and will stop Trump from accomplishing anything he had intended to do. His legacy will be overshadowed with how bad he mishandled Iran.

Trump mishandled the safety net programs that his own base depends on it as well. Doing sledgehammer damage to Medicaid, SNAP, farm bill aids, money to make sure kids don't go hungry (which farmers get aid that way), Social Security, Medicare, the tariffs, the war on Iran sent the gas prices higher, and so forth. Even working with Israel hurt him as both parties since the 90s think of BiBi a liar. Even his opponent who is a retired military man said Iran never had nuclear weapons. Attacking our friends like Canada and others, and so forth. I have been saying for a year now that even die hard Trump supporters have turned on him and the Republicans and we saw what happened. You guys laughed at me.

I have been connected to, interested in, or directly involved in politics since I was 5 years old, in 1952. My dad was a rubber worker and union official at Firestone in Memphis from 1938 (minus 4 years in the Navy soon after) until his retirement in 1978. He was a diehard Democrat.

I recall in 1952 that my dad was assembling political materials to pass out at work, to keep all the union workers voting Dem. He stayed a Dem until the day he died. He even had me helping him with it, so I was raised in a solid Dem family, and voted Dem until maybe late 20s or 30. Then I shifted to Repub for a few years, then finally became an independent, and mostly voted third party until 2020.

I never knew what my mom was, but I assumed she voted the same.

My sister, a little younger than I am, is also a die-hard Dem, even though she only has one issue: abortion. But she is so hard over, we can't talk politics at all.

At any rate, with that background, I was thinking today, about how many times a political view or implementation by either party made any kind of difference in my life.

I can't think of a single one.

Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon is absolutely stunning this time of year. Just spent 2 days there, before moving on today. Some of you guys maybe need to loosen up a bit and enjoy life while you have a good shot at it. Just a friendly thought.

(11-04-2026 09:03 PM)TripleA Wrote:  I have been connected to, interested in, or directly involved in politics since I was 5 years old, in 1952. My dad was a rubber worker and union official at Firestone in Memphis from 1938 (minus 4 years in the Navy soon after) until his retirement in 1978. He was a diehard Democrat.

I recall in 1952 that my dad was assembling political materials to pass out at work, to keep all the union workers voting Dem. He stayed a Dem until the day he died. He even had me helping him with it, so I was raised in a solid Dem family, and voted Dem until maybe late 20s or 30. Then I shifted to Repub for a few years, then finally became an independent, and mostly voted third party until 2020.

I never knew what my mom was, but I assumed she voted the same.

My sister, a little younger than I am, is also a die-hard Dem, even though she only has one issue: abortion. But she is so hard over, we can't talk politics at all.

At any rate, with that background, I was thinking today, about how many times a political view or implementation by either party made any kind of difference in my life.

I can't think of a single one.

Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon is absolutely stunning this time of year. Just spent 2 days there, before moving on today. Some of you guys maybe need to loosen up a bit and enjoy life while you have a good shot at it. Just a thought.

I am fortunate enough to be able to weather economic storms, so I take the same stance as you that politics do not affect me in a grand way. I do feel for those who are too employed to get government benefits, but too poor be able to navigate inflation. I try to not forget what it was like growing up in that position when my pops company went on strike and we were eating meatless spaghetti and white bread many nights of the week for a couple of months.

That being said, I booked our flights and places to sleep for a Big 5 trip in Utah this spring last night. Had to convince my wife for at least one night in Vegas to experience the insanity.

(11-04-2026 09:11 PM)bobdizole Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 09:03 PM)TripleA Wrote:  I have been connected to, interested in, or directly involved in politics since I was 5 years old, in 1952. My dad was a rubber worker and union official at Firestone in Memphis from 1938 (minus 4 years in the Navy soon after) until his retirement in 1978. He was a diehard Democrat.

I recall in 1952 that my dad was assembling political materials to pass out at work, to keep all the union workers voting Dem. He stayed a Dem until the day he died. He even had me helping him with it, so I was raised in a solid Dem family, and voted Dem until maybe late 20s or 30. Then I shifted to Repub for a few years, then finally became an independent, and mostly voted third party until 2020.

I never knew what my mom was, but I assumed she voted the same.

My sister, a little younger than I am, is also a die-hard Dem, even though she only has one issue: abortion. But she is so hard over, we can't talk politics at all.

At any rate, with that background, I was thinking today, about how many times a political view or implementation by either party made any kind of difference in my life.

I can't think of a single one.

Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon is absolutely stunning this time of year. Just spent 2 days there, before moving on today. Some of you guys maybe need to loosen up a bit and enjoy life while you have a good shot at it. Just a thought.

I am fortunate enough to be able to weather economic storms, so I take the same stance as you that politics do not affect me in a grand way. I do feel for those who are too employed to get government benefits, but too poor be able to navigate inflation. I try to not forget what it was like growing up in that position when my pops company went on strike and we were eating meatless spaghetti and white bread many nights of the week for a couple of months.

That being said, I booked our flights and places to sleep for a Big 5 trip in Utah this spring last night. Had to convince my wife for at least one night in Vegas to experience the insanity.

I'm starting the "Mighty" 5 in two more days, with Zion. I will likely skip Bryce reluctantly, b/c with a serious climb in height to reach that part of Utah, then back down, I will likely pass, b/c it's hard enough to maneuver my trailer without pulling it uphill 4000 extra feet in a day or two, then doing the opposite one day later.

But my real point is, that's a great plan, and I will be happy to report on what I see at 3 of them (Zion, Arches and Canyonlands), in the next 10 days or so, up in my thread near the top of this board. I prefer interstates when I can get them, so I likely will pass on Capitol Reef, as well.

Plus, I've been 100% on the road since August 22, and I'm to the point that I'm ready to get back home and sit still for a few months. But I'm going to enjoy this opportunity to the end of my plan, lol. Should be back home just before Thanksgiving.

(11-04-2026 05:26 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 05:03 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  Good to see Crimson's checks still getting cashed

Quote:Let me tell you something absolutely BONKERS from last night’s midterms…

Democrat Ericka Lomick just “won” Texas House District 93 despite being a convicted felon who suspended her campaign months ago.

She pleaded guilty in 2011 to federal charges including mortgage-fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering. Her sentence? 63 months in federal prison.

On her candidate paperwork, she checked the box claiming she had not been finally convicted of a felony. After her criminal record surfaced in September, she suspended her campaign and stopped running.

But Texas election deadlines had already passed, so her name remained on the ballot for both the regular general election and the special election.

And voters still elected her by roughly 51–49%.

Here’s the kicker: Under Texas law, a final felony conviction generally makes someone ineligible to hold office unless they’ve been pardoned or had their disabilities released.

Meaning she can’t actually serve. Her “victory” simply creates a vacancy and triggers yet another special election.

A convicted federal fraudster who quit campaigning still got elected to the Texas House.

Let that absolutely sink in.

Quote:I served as a poll watcher today and noticed something that struck me as rather odd.

Throughout the evening, I carefully kept a handwritten tally of every voter who cast a ballot. Each time I compared my count with the total displayed on the voting machine, the machine consistently showed one or two more votes than I had recorded.

To eliminate the possibility of an error in my counting, I repeatedly reset my handwritten tally to match the machine's displayed total and began counting again from that point forward. Yet, at the next comparison, the machine was once again ahead by one or two votes.

This happened repeatedly throughout the evening.
I'm not suggesting I know the reason for the discrepancies, but the consistency certainly caught my attention. I would be interested in understanding why the machine totals repeatedly differed from my firsthand count of voters.

Texas 93 is northern suburbs of Ft. Worth.

(11-04-2026 09:11 PM)bobdizole Wrote:  

(11-04-2026 09:03 PM)TripleA Wrote:  I have been connected to, interested in, or directly involved in politics since I was 5 years old, in 1952. My dad was a rubber worker and union official at Firestone in Memphis from 1938 (minus 4 years in the Navy soon after) until his retirement in 1978. He was a diehard Democrat.

I recall in 1952 that my dad was assembling political materials to pass out at work, to keep all the union workers voting Dem. He stayed a Dem until the day he died. He even had me helping him with it, so I was raised in a solid Dem family, and voted Dem until maybe late 20s or 30. Then I shifted to Repub for a few years, then finally became an independent, and mostly voted third party until 2020.

I never knew what my mom was, but I assumed she voted the same.

My sister, a little younger than I am, is also a die-hard Dem, even though she only has one issue: abortion. But she is so hard over, we can't talk politics at all.

At any rate, with that background, I was thinking today, about how many times a political view or implementation by either party made any kind of difference in my life.

I can't think of a single one.

Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon is absolutely stunning this time of year. Just spent 2 days there, before moving on today. Some of you guys maybe need to loosen up a bit and enjoy life while you have a good shot at it. Just a thought.

I am fortunate enough to be able to weather economic storms, so I take the same stance as you that politics do not affect me in a grand way. I do feel for those who are too employed to get government benefits, but too poor be able to navigate inflation. I try to not forget what it was like growing up in that position when my pops company went on strike and we were eating meatless spaghetti and white bread many nights of the week for a couple of months.

That being said, I booked our flights and places to sleep for a Big 5 trip in Utah this spring last night. Had to convince my wife for at least one night in Vegas to experience the insanity.

My wife was talking about how awful she felt in 2008 after Obama won and the Democrats won overwhelming majorities in the Senate and House. But Obama passed and other than Obamacare and its taxes, he didn't do too much damage.