(11-01-2026 10:56 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(11-01-2026 10:20 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(11-01-2026 09:16 AM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(11-01-2026 07:18 AM)TripleA Wrote:  That's cool. My magic mushroom is traveling to places I've always wanted to see before my time is up. Different strokes, lol.

And congrats to you as well and for two reasons.

First for having a mm equivalent as a ‘would love to do eventually’, and triply so for taking the bull by the horns and running with it.

O7…… (text symbol for ‘salute’, to be clear, and not some odd random pairing of symbols…)

Thanks. Sometimes I think it's too hard for me to do this alone, and I've had my share of minor mishaps along the way, but I'm still ticking, and figuring out things as I go.

I appreciate the well wishes from all who have posted such.

Sometimes the journey is best solo.

25 years ago had an opportunity to move to a cool gig, and break from the not so pleasant law firm. On the Thursday before my leave date, had lunch with the COO of the place I was going to. He said they wanted me fresh, and said they’d be good with a gap before starting.

That night, after getting a metric ton of stuff to a finish point, I used that vaunted 1200 baud home link to purchase a round trip to New Zealand. And emailed newco to expect me in two weeks

Did a walkabout by myself in the islands. When they left an email to get them info on what stuff I needed at start, I phoned in. Long story short, the planned NZ two week solo chill out turned into a 6 week solo hitchhike / getting rides from new friends and families / helping out on one of the shooting locations for Jackson’s Lord o& the Rings / multiple bungee jumps / about 10 whitewater rafting trips / a black water rafting trip / meeting and partying with the US Americas cup challenger team…..

Best trek I ever had. As I said, and it’s sounds like you are in the midst of, no5 just a trip bu5ba well placed solo journey. With the full dual meaning, all of trip and mental, of the word journey.

SALLLOOOTE.

Very kind of you. I appreciate you sharing your experiences. It's helpful.

I think part of my issue is I recently lost my wife, and it just feels a bit out of place to be doing anything alone right now. Ever since after college, I have had someone important in my daily life. Until now.

I'm fine as long as I'm driving or sightseeing or sleeping. The trip itself is a blast. But the downtime from the weather gives me too much time to think, and I just feel a bit alone. I've had 8 down days due to weather already. Just a way different time in my life than I have ever experienced.

And physically doing everything is also a challenge at my age. I'm not complaining, just musing as to why I'm missing company. But I can deal. I just need to stay busier than the weather is allowing right now, lol.

(10-31-2026 07:12 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(10-31-2026 04:26 PM)Eagleyed Wrote:  

(10-30-2026 07:35 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-29-2026 05:00 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  I don't know if it's illegal, but it's dirty & unethical. But Democrats have played dirty for generations. Republicans try to place nice & just lose.

***** please.

How's Justice Merrick Garland fairing on SCOTUS these days?

Quote:For the first time, the lead consultant to Florida Senate Republicans has admitted to hiring a disgraced ex-senator and approving a dirty trick to recruit a third-party candidate to siphon votes from a South Florida Democrat.

The scheme succeeded. In 2020, Jose Javier Rodriguez, the Democrat targeted by the GOP and by Florida Power & Light, lost by 32 votes to Ileana Garcia, the founder of Latinas for Trump. A third-party candidate who didn’t campaign and who shared the same last name as Rodriguez drew over 6,000 votes.

Patrick Bainter, the Senate GOP’s chief consultant, told Miami’s chief public corruption prosecutor in a December deposition that he was the one who gave the green light to former state Sen. Frank Artiles to find third-party candidates to help defeat two Democrats.

“He said he thought that was something he could do and do well,” Bainter said. “Great. Go knock yourself out.” Bainter then had $100,000 transferred to a dark money non-profit Artiles controlled.

Florida GOP operative admits role in ‘ghost’ candidate scheme that defeated utility-targeted Dem

Both parties have been doing shenanigans like this for years.

Here's the thing.

1) It was only the last name. Not the full name.
AND THE BIG ONE
2) Two people were charged guilty over this, convicted with multiple felonies, and one served jail time. This happened in a state where republicans controlled things and the republicans that did this still went to prison. I've noticed the left talking about this case generally leave out the fact that the republicans that did it were convicted guilty in courts.

They weren’t convicted for recruiting her.

They were convicted of a separate act — that is providing illegal campaign donations of 45k to the candidate.

Facts are your friend.

You are indeed correct if they find no money or other help like filling out forms. I find it highly unlikely all the guy did was say he should run and that's all. It costs a decent amount of money for him to file after all.

I find it suspicious enough for it to be investigated further. This is the same order of events for the Florida one. It was considered suspicious enough to investigate due to the same name. Only later were the crimes uncovered due to investigation.

Now I am genuinely curious. Would 18 U.S.C. § 371 not apply here? And in other cases of same name ballots where it is proven that they were intentionally recruited to confuse voters? Other cases I could find did not have such heavy proof that they were for sure recruited for this purpose while this case does.

"Decoy" Dan will be found dead probably by the end of the week. He has been MIA since Friday. "Dead men tell no tales." I'm sure the Feds have already reviewed his finances. Follow the $$$.

Suicide

(11-01-2026 11:56 PM)Eagleyed Wrote:  

(10-31-2026 07:12 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(10-31-2026 04:26 PM)Eagleyed Wrote:  

(10-30-2026 07:35 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

(10-29-2026 05:00 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  I don't know if it's illegal, but it's dirty & unethical. But Democrats have played dirty for generations. Republicans try to place nice & just lose.

***** please.

How's Justice Merrick Garland fairing on SCOTUS these days?

Quote:For the first time, the lead consultant to Florida Senate Republicans has admitted to hiring a disgraced ex-senator and approving a dirty trick to recruit a third-party candidate to siphon votes from a South Florida Democrat.

The scheme succeeded. In 2020, Jose Javier Rodriguez, the Democrat targeted by the GOP and by Florida Power & Light, lost by 32 votes to Ileana Garcia, the founder of Latinas for Trump. A third-party candidate who didn’t campaign and who shared the same last name as Rodriguez drew over 6,000 votes.

Patrick Bainter, the Senate GOP’s chief consultant, told Miami’s chief public corruption prosecutor in a December deposition that he was the one who gave the green light to former state Sen. Frank Artiles to find third-party candidates to help defeat two Democrats.

“He said he thought that was something he could do and do well,” Bainter said. “Great. Go knock yourself out.” Bainter then had $100,000 transferred to a dark money non-profit Artiles controlled.

Florida GOP operative admits role in ‘ghost’ candidate scheme that defeated utility-targeted Dem

Both parties have been doing shenanigans like this for years.

Here's the thing.

1) It was only the last name. Not the full name.
AND THE BIG ONE
2) Two people were charged guilty over this, convicted with multiple felonies, and one served jail time. This happened in a state where republicans controlled things and the republicans that did this still went to prison. I've noticed the left talking about this case generally leave out the fact that the republicans that did it were convicted guilty in courts.

They weren’t convicted for recruiting her.

They were convicted of a separate act — that is providing illegal campaign donations of 45k to the candidate.

Facts are your friend.

You are indeed correct if they find no money or other help like filling out forms. I find it highly unlikely all the guy did was say he should run and that's all. It costs a decent amount of money for him to file after all.

I find it suspicious enough for it to be investigated further. This is the same order of events for the Florida one. It was considered suspicious enough to investigate due to the same name. Only later were the crimes uncovered due to investigation.

Now I am genuinely curious. Would 18 U.S.C. § 371 not apply here? And in other cases of same name ballots where it is proven that they were intentionally recruited to confuse voters? Other cases I could find did not have such heavy proof that they were for sure recruited for this purpose while this case does.

I have zero problem with investigating it. And if illegal campaign contributions were found with sufficient probable basis to charge, then absolutely charge.

And if there is a crime at the heart of it 371 could absolutely be in play if more than 1 person acted to formulate and commit a criminal act.

But at this point, I don’t see enough there there to charge, let alone sustain a higher standard to convict, let alone if two people acted together to commit an act that is criminal.

And I’m going to be precise here —- any act of trying to convince anyone to run for office looks fundamentally as protected under the 1a.

And to fully honest, I look at it a morally improper —- kind of a high point in dirty politics and deceptive political messaging designed to confuse voters.

As I do many of the Musk funded pro Paxton ads that use three words from a full paragraph to try and convince voters that Talarico supports a position even when the full comment explicitly says the opposite.

Again, fully immoral in an inherent lie. And absolute ****** dirty politics. But not a criminal act.

I find it odd that full MAGA decries (rightfully in the moral sense, and fundamentally incorrec in rhe criminal sense) the very stark act of creating confusion in soliciting a candidate to split the vote, and are not just silent about the very explicit falsehood I note in the Texas campaign above. Not just silence, but actual support of it. Including numerous on this board who parrot that same point with unbounded glee.

Again, that is just a stark comment on objectivity I assume.

Tanq, buddy, stay on topic, please? This is about Alaska, not Texas. (But I get it. You're trying to make a comparison.)

A judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit, and the DOJ is appealing that right now.

(11-02-2026 11:16 AM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  Tanq, buddy, stay on topic, please? This is about Alaska, not Texas. (But I get it. You're trying to make a comparison.)

A judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit, and the DOJ is appealing that right now.

More precise, Im making a point on sheer rank hypocrisy on the matter.

I’m very proud that the DOJ is trying to create law ou5 of the ether over an act of free speech. Not that I’m surprised. I Im mean were talking about a DOJ that is literally trying to ctiminalize the act of staying a number. And the same DOJ who has tried to make tossing a ham sandwich a felony act.

And, are you aware that the R Dan Sullivan has stated he will accept the results of the election? It only seems to be the Trump led DOJ that wants to literally actively interfere with the determination of the state power to certify their own election and elective process.

Yes, sir. I'm aware of that. I'm only pointing out the case isn't over yet.

OK. So from now on we just flood the democrat primaries with dozens of fake candidates with similar names. They think it worked on republicans? They ain’t seen nothing yet. Stupid democrats just go by the ‘D’ next to the name. They will be checking a half dozen ‘D’s on their ballots. And while we are at it we can use AI to make these similar named candidates look very much like all the others to further confuse the idiots. According to the local Clarence Darrow that would be OK just a little dirty.

Seriously, something needs to be done right now about this. Otherwise it just pushes us closer to the slippery slope of not trusting our elections. And we have gone way too far down that slope already.

(11-02-2026 11:29 AM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  Yes, sir. I'm aware of that. I'm only pointing out the case isn't over yet.

I’m fully aware that the case isnt over. Do you agree or disagree with the proponents of thar case (which isnt over) saying that creating confusion through merely asking a person to run for office should entitle an outside party to selectively void an inherent and constitutionally defined power of a state to certify its own election?

My opinion is that I disagree with that stance for a whole host of reasons.

And thank you acknowledging the sheer hypocrisy in the reactions to the two events I laid out. And with sincerity, kudos to you for your objectivity and candor on that. O7

(11-02-2026 11:45 AM)Was SoMs Eagle Wrote:  OK. So from now on we just flood the democrat primaries with dozens of fake candidates with similar names. They think it worked on republicans? They ain’t seen nothing yet. Stupid democrats just go by the ‘D’ next to the name. They will be checking a half dozen ‘D’s on their ballots. And while we are at it we can use AI to make these similar named candidates look very much like all the others to further confuse the idiots. According to the local Clarence Darrow that would be OK just a little dirty.

Seriously, something needs to be done right now about this. Otherwise it just pushes us closer to the slippery slope of not trusting our elections. And we have gone way too far down that slope already.

Unfortunately creating confusion and anger and animus is protected free speech.

If you want to create a civil penalty for doing so that apple across the board to half-baked actions created to create false impressions for voters — morally Im all for it.

Are you?

I’d go even further —- apply it to false or deceptive comments that stir up riots at the Capitol when one is attempting to intentionally interfere with the power reserved to the legislative branch to certify an election, or to simply shitcan voting slates that have been indisputably certified by their selective states.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

And yes we a way down the slope of not trusting elections. Think DJT and J6 and all the abject false and deceptive statements and actions that did just that.

Now —- you complain of a microcosm of that metric ton of **** from then. Rather falsely pious I’d say…. lolz.

I... dude. I was just giving an update. At this point, it doesn't really matter since we're too far down the road leading up to Election Day. I think this was done to purposely disenfranchise voters even though they print their full names (or at least include their middle initials) on the ballot. And according to some of the posts in this thread, it's illegal. That's what I believe. If Trump or someone on the right did this, the left would be up in arms (and rightfully so, admittedly) over it. (Just so we're clear here, I'm talking about what Peltola's campaign's alleged to have done, nothing else.) Even if this is technically legal, it's wrong, regardless of which side does it. There's no need for this sort of thing in politics. None whatsoever.

Now then, I'm getting ready to head to my dialysis session. See y'all later. lol

(11-02-2026 09:43 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Suicide

Mailers Sent Friday to Alaska Voters Promote Fake Dan Sullivan and Omit Current Senator Sullivan