Reducing voter fraud

Hans von Spakovsky is The Heritage Foundation’s manager of its Election Law Reform Initiative. He has some proposals to reduce voter fraud:

. . .

Fraudsters can steal votes and change election outcomes in several ways, including: voting in someone else’s name, registering in multiple locations to vote multiple times in the same election, voting even though they’re not eligible because they’re felons or noncitizens, or paying or intimidating people to vote for certain candidates.

Unfortunately, many on the left are attempting to make election fraud easier by fighting laws that require an ID to vote. They’ve pushed to get noncitizens and jailed inmates to vote. And they’ve sued states that have tried to purge their voter rolls of people registered in multiple states.

How can we fix the problem?

Since states control much of the electoral process, they must pass laws requiring government-issued IDs to vote. That ensures people aren’t stealing others’ identities and their right to vote.

States should join voter registration cross-check programs to identify voters registered in multiple places. One cross-check program has identified hundreds of thousands of potential duplicate registrations across 30 states as well as evidence of illegal double voting.

States should also compare voter rolls with government records to identify convicted felons and noncitizens who should be removed from the rolls. And the federal government should cooperate with these efforts and make Department of Homeland Security and other databases available to state officials.

. . .

His article is here.  Note: In June 2018, the Supreme Court Upheld a controversial Ohio voter purge law. 

# # #

A point of definition: Antifa

photo credit: www.dw.com

Dan Bongino has defined the otherwise misnamed Antifa (via Whatfinger.com):

Antifa is Anti-First Amendment NOT anti-Fascist.

# # #

Inspiring Cartoon of the Day

 Ben Garrison cartoon at grrrgraphics.com via Conservative Treehouse

From the grrrgraphics website (a sort of an extended caption):

Citizen journalists are patriots who fight for TRUTH every day, whether as journalists like Thomas Paine or meme creators like Betsy Ross. It was Betsy’s meme that the colonists rallied around as the symbol of American independence. Those first American patriots put it all on the line for truth and freedom, just like modern citizen journalists who are proudly raising the flag.

The_Donald on Redditt has given a good foothold to plant the flagpole as Rush Limbaugh and Sundance at the Conservative Treehouse are raising the original Flag to its upright position, reinstating the intentions of the first American rebels and displaying the political union of the Original 13 Colonies.

Thomas Paine and Betsy Ross (American Intelligence Media) honor the flag and are ready for the war of independence from British tyranny. They have invited patriots around the world to join them in the pursuit of global peace and prosperity, freedom and liberty.

The “fake news” media is in ashes and shambles on the ground due to their continuous lies, propaganda, and deceit spewed on moral and decent people everywhere who reject their falsehoods and evil.

The opposition party’s fake news machines are spent, broken, and crumbled into a trash-heap of garbage.

. . .

More here. 

RELATED: This cartoon is Conservative Treehouse’s illustration for his post titled “The Restoration Alliance.” See here.

# # #

Re-writing History

 image credit: onenewsnow.com

Whether it’s Confederate monuments being torn down, or our language being corrupted into Orwellian terms, or educational institutions from K-12 to advanced learning becoming re-education centers of indoctrination, or jaw-dropping corruptions in the media and government at all levels, these are all interlocking pieces in a master plan. Thaddeus G. McCotter at American Greatness connects all the dots. He starts off: 

Some time ago, I noted the irreconcilable difference between the Left and the rest of America: the majority of our fellow citizens believe America is an inherently good nation that continues its pursuit of a more perfect union; the Left believes America is an inherently evil nation that must be transformed fundamentally into an oppressive socialist state—at best.

For the Left to win this existential argument, it must distort and revile America’s history to destroy the truth of American Exceptionalism. If the past is evil, the present has no choice but to reject America’s history and its defenders; and to embrace the dishonest leftist ideology and the agenda of those who loathe America.

This is a dangerous devolution of the classical American political paradigm, in which both antagonists, conservatives and liberals, agreed America was an exceptional, fundamentally decent nation but differed about how to effectuate a more perfect union. This devolution has several causes, but notable is the incestuous relationship between the leftist media and left-wing academics. 

. . .

What one can expect is this: the New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project.”

According to Mara Gay of the New York Times’ editorial board, the 1619 Project “[i]n the days and weeks to come, we will publish essays demonstrating that nearly everything that has made America exceptional grew out of slavery.”

. . .

Now one understands why the Left rejects the Betsy Ross flag as a symbol of hate. Yet the hate is theirs, not ours. Ergo, why would anyone who rejects the hateful Left subsidize it with their hard-earned money, be it in subsidizing the Left’s brainwashing emporiums or subscribing to its propagandizing fanzines? As the esteemed Thomas Sowell instructs: “We are among the biggest fools in history if we keep on paying people to make us hate each other.”

The entire article is here.

Related: Lest the reader despair, a Millenial named David Grasso gets it, and there’s hope for everyone. From Mr. Grassos’s New York Post article:

. . . The new crop of self-proclaimed socialist candidates is promising a smorgasbord of programs that are intended to get us out of our “struggle-bus” reality.

Given such a journey, it is easy to see why socialism seduces young Americans. We desperately need change if we are ever going to progress as a generation. The problem is, what the socialists are proposing — more government — is exactly the opposite of what we need. In fact, many of the most prominent obstacles we have faced are the result, at least in part, of heavy-handed government interference.

. . .

I understand why millennials are seduced by populist politicians who promise a better life, but they shouldn’t fall for it.

Growing government is expensive and inefficient, and the government machinery already in place is frequently dysfunctional and prone to be hijacked by special interests.

In the end, our generation will be liable for the staggering bill for these programs. Nothing is free, and working millennials will stand to lose trillions of dollars of wealth if we sleepwalk our way into socialism.

Truth is, young people need exactly the opposite of socialism — pro-growth policies and restrained, common-sense regulation. This will create more economic opportunities and more avenues into the middle class. Socialist policies will only choke economic opportunity and make our tough existence far worse.

Sometimes it’s helpful to read somebody else’s perspectives to prepare for your next conversation with a liberal.

# # #

Ohio energy legislation: northern Ohio impact

image credit: 123rf

Energy consumers in Northern Ohio will probably see lower monthly bills, but environmentalists insisting on renewables will not be happy. The Institute for Energy Research reports at the Canada Free Press:

Ohio’s New Energy Bill

Lawmakers in Ohio have chosen to rescue two existing nuclear plants and two existing coal plants in lieu of mandates on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and as a result, lower electricity prices are expected for electricity consumers. Renewable energy will have to enter the market on its own merits once renewable energy reaches 8.5 percent of electricity generated in the state—up from about 3 percent today—and once federal subsidies expire. Residential charges will be lowered by over $2.00 per month by the legislative change and grid reliability is expected to be enhanced. The Ohio bill is contrary to what most states are doing and it will be an interesting exercise to contrast future electricity prices here and in surrounding states that are continuing their renewable mandates and forcing new capital expenditures because of mandates and subsidies.

The new law in Ohio subsidizes two nuclear power plants. Residential customers will pay an 85-cent charge on their monthly bills and large industrial customers will pay up to $2,400. The surcharge will produce about $170 million a year; $150 million of that will be used to subsidize the two nuclear power plants‚Äî908 megawatt Davis-Besse, outside of Toledo, and 1,268 megawatt Perry, northeast of Cleveland, which will close within two years without the subsidy. The remaining $20 million will be divided between six existing solar projects in rural areas of the state. The subsidies are approved through 2026 and would total about $1 billion. The charge will start January 2021. Nuclear power accounts for 15 percent of the state’s energy generation and generates 85 percent of its carbon-free energy.

Read the rest here.

# # #

Google and the Whistleblower

American Thinker contributor Peter Barry Chowka has the update (“Whistleblower: American Thinkerwas on Google’s blacklist of news sites”):

Buried deep in the extensive trove of internal documents documenting Google’s onerous censorship policies is this gem: American Thinker was on the dominant tech giant’s list of “blacklisted” news websites.

The source of the leak is identified as “Google Insider Zachary Vorhies.” On August 14, Vorhies outed himself as the leaker in a video posted at Project Veritas, which published the documents. Among the hundreds of documents is one identified as a news “blacklist” -- titled “Manual list of sites excluded from appearing as Google Now stories.” Sure enough, among the list of 400 or so sites (mostly from the conservative right but some on the left) -- under the subhead “sites with high user block rate” -- is americanthinker.com.

. . .

Vorhies had been providing Project Veritas with documents he downloaded as a Google engineer for more than a year. He decided to go public this week “after he says Google allegedly called the police to perform a ‘wellness check’ on him.” The story, including a 20-minute long video of Vorhies, is a compelling one and is documented in the August 14 release from Project Veritas.

According to Vorhies:

I gave the documents to Project Veritas, I had been collecting the documents for over a year. And the reason why I collected these documents was because I saw something dark and nefarious going on with the company and I realized that there were going to not only tamper with the elections, but use that tampering with the elections to essentially overthrow the United States.

Hyperbole? I don’t think so. More at American Thinker here. The list of blacklisted blogs is here. Many of my favorite bookmarked blogs are on the list. The report with video at Project Veritas is here. Google’s attempts to intimidate the whistleblower are chilling.

# # #

74 years ago today

USS Missouri (pat dooley photography)

On this day 74 years ago, Japan surrendered to the United States, ending World War II. A few weeks later, a formal surrender ceremony took place on the USS Missouri battleship, in Tokyo Bay. From our visit to the USS Missouri, now a museum at Pearl Harbor:

# # #

Leaving The Democrats

cartoon credit:  granitegrok.com

Anthony Keith contributed a piece entitled “Leaving The Democrats” at American Thinker. He concludes:

I never went to college, I am totally self-taught.  I am a doer of many trades and master of none.  I have had a great life in the greatest country on earth.  All along the way, the Democrats have stepped on me, taxed me more, lied to me, called me names, and demanded I give up my rights.  Democrats were the ones pushing environmental causes at the expense of humans and government takeover of healthcare.  They have mismanaged everything they get their hands on, and then blame others for their own deeds.  I watch them lie and cheat and twist words.  

Democrats have alienated their own base to the point they have to argue for foreigners to come into this country illegally in order to vote for Democrats, mainly by calling those of us opposed to this "racist."

In all fairness, the weak Republicans in our government have hardly stood in their way.  But that is another day, another rant.

I am now called racist, homophobic, misogynist, and Islamaphobic.  A gun-toting, Bible-believing bitter clinger.  A deplorable.  A white nationalist.  Nazi. I can’t remember all of my Democrat party subtitles.

But I am middle class. I have been given nothing by our government and have given too much to it.  And it always wants more, telling me I have to pay my fair share.  It is a sad state when you get to a point in life of maximum dollars earned that it is taken away by higher tax brackets and the loss of deductions.

I will never vote for anyone advocating for more government control.  Or for anyone who is trying to denigrate me by name-calling or label-making.  The reason is my life.

The entire column is here, and it is particularly useful since it traces his family’s background as “Roosevelt Democrats” and their underlying values.

# # #

Bernie's idea of a Grand Slam

How socialism works (via Power Line)

# # #

Medicare is going broke

image credit: nextavenue.org

Betsy McCaughey has been one of the most informed critics of healthcare policy ever since Obamacare reared its ugly head. Her latest column at American Spectator sounds the alarm over Medicare Part A and the Democrat candidates’ promises of Medicare For All (titled "Democrats To Seniors: Drop Dead”):

Medicare is going broke,
and the Dems’ presidential candidates couldn’t care less

Baby boomers beware. If you’re in your 50s or 60s and you’re counting on Medicare to pay your future hospital bills, you’re in for a shock. Medicare Part A — the fund that pays hospitals and nursing homes — is running out of money. A mere seven years from now, it will no longer have enough to pay your providers’ bills in full. 

The Medicare Trustees sounded the alarm in June, urging Congress to act “as soon as possible” to protect people “already dependent” on the program.

Good advice, but don’t expect most politicians to take it. The Democrats running for president are in fantasy land, proposing to expand Medicare to millions of younger people or even to the entire population through “Medicare for All.” Never mind Medicare’s insolvency. That’s like a family that can’t pay its mortgage out shopping for a mega-mansion.

. . .

Currently, Trump is using his only option. He’s reducing benefit costs. Any other remedy would require Congress’ cooperation, which is unlikely.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and other backers of Medicare for All are making big promises with no way to pay. 

Read the rest here.

# # #

Protect your rights against those claiming a crisis

Our First Amendment rights are at risk because of corruption in Big Tech, and our Second Amendment rights are at risk because progressives are using crises and tragedy to go for the guns. Prof. William Jacobson puts both risks in perspective at Legal Insurrection:

Every time I think the media-Democrat frenzy could not get any more frenzied, it gets more frenzied.

How seamlessly they have transitioned from almost three years of Russia-collusion-mania to the current frenzy claiming that anyone and everyone who supports Donald Trump is a white supremacist.

Trump supporters now, according the narrative, are both Putin-puppet traitors AND Hitler-wannabees. It’s all so dishonest by design; the leaders of this charge don’t actually believe it, they cynically manipulate their media and social media power to drive their supporters, many of whom do believe it, into hating political opponents as an ideology. MSNBC is ground zero for this manipulative denigration of half the population.

If it only were dishonest, it would be bad enough. But it’s worse because it now has become a hunt to find heretics for public shaming. This is not new, but now it is legitimized as an anti-Trump strategy by the Resistance. Congressman Joaquin Castro naming names in his community, including retirees and homemakers, is a symptom of a culture of total political war on the left. Other symptoms include the attempt to deplatform non-liberal voices from the internet and airwaves, led by well-funded groups like Media Matters.

More here. And the Action Alert from my previous blog on proposed red flag legislation is here.

# # #

Action Alert: red flag legislation

Image credit: medium.com

Cleveland Tea Party rarely comments on issues such as abortion or gun control. But in the wake of the two shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Sen. Lindsay Graham has proposed legislation that begins the march toward gun control and confiscation.  However, yesterday's report in The Hill references his proposed legislation that “would create a federal grant program” – a bill that expands, rather than shrinks the federal government; a core Tea Party value is constitutionally limited government.

The bill introduces subjective “criteria” concerning the so-called “red flags.” Radius at Sparta Report has the definition:

A red flag law-also known as a gun violence restraining order-essentially allows a judge to order police to confiscate an individual’s weapons if that person is deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Sparta Report goes onto to explain why he thinks red flag laws are a bad idea and don't work. 

So here’s part of The Hill’s report:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Monday that he will introduce bipartisan legislation encouraging states to create "red flag" laws and that President Trump is "very supportive" of the idea. 

Graham, in a statement, said he has reached a deal with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on a bill that would start a federal grant program to help and encourage states to create " 'red flag' protection order" laws, which are meant to make it easier for law enforcement to identify mentally ill people who should be banned from purchasing guns.

“These grants will be given to law enforcement so they can hire and consult with mental health professionals to better determine which cases need to be acted upon. This grant program also requires robust due process and judicial review. It does allow for quick action," Graham said in the statement. 

The full report is here. 

So the bill is a "’red flag' protection order” to facilitate “law enforcement so they can hire and consult with mental health professionals.” What could go wrong?  How about the mental health professionals who published The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. None has examined President Trump in person, and any one of them could “identify mentally ill people who should be banned from purchasing guns.” People such as President Trump or members of his family? Or anyone else with whom they disagree.

According to Katie Pavlich at Townhall, Sen. Graham stated that President Trump "seemed supportive." Any wiggle room there?

The Action Alert: call or email any of these offices if you have concerns about the red flag legislation or any other bill leading to expanding the federal government in general, and gun control in particular.

Sen. Lindsay Graham’s phone DC Office: (202) 224-5972

Sen. Lindsay Graham’s email page is here 

White House switchboard Comments #: 202-456-1111

White House email page is here

UPDATE: Add Gov. Mike DeWine and Sen. Rob Portman to the list.

Gov. Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357 or by email here

Sen. Rob Portman:  202-224-3353 or by email here

# # #

Mark Steyn is back on Tucker Carlson

photo credit: SteynOnline

Fox News has been moving slowly left, and the shift is more in evidence on the weekend programming (see, e.g., here). But the last time I commented on this subject, I noted with dismay the sudden disappearance of Mark Steyn as a twice-weekly guest on Tucker Carlson’s prime-time show. I am pleased to say that in this instance, my concern was misplaced. Mr. Steyn was on an unannounced summer break and he returns to his Monday/Thursday appearances with Tucker this week, starting this evening. Good news.

# # #

Twitter: a virus of the mind?

Glenn Reynolds, a/k/a Mr. Instapundit, has a think-piece on the Spectator; his subject is about one of the Big Tech giants, in this case Twitter. Here’s a sample:

Twitter . . . is tightly coupled. The ‘retweet’, ‘comment’, and ‘like’ buttons are immediate. A retweet sends a posting, no matter how angry or misinformed, to all the retweeter’s followers, who can then do the same to their followers, and so on, in a runaway chain reaction. Unlike blogs, little to no thought is required, and in practice very few people even follow the link (if there is one) to ‘read the whole thing’. According to a study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute, 59 percent of people who share a link on social media don’t read the underlying story. . . .

. . .

You can reject Twitter’s toxicity by leaving the platform, as I did in the fall of 2018. But . . . this doesn’t really solve the problem: ‘Absent large-scale collective action by the political/media class to reject the platform, simply logging off Twitter is merely a personal defensive mechanism — a sometimes necessary mental-health break that all too often correlates with diminished influence in the national political debate.’ With Twitter, you can participate and be driven crazy – or you can stay sane, and lose influence. That’s a bad trade-off.

. . .

Rather than focusing on the content of what individuals post on social media, regulators might better focus on breaking up these behemoths, policing anticompetitive collusion among them, and in general ensuring that their powers are not abused. This approach, rooted in antitrust law, would raise no First Amendment or free speech problems, and would address many of the most significant complaints about social media.

As Mr. Instapundit is wont to say, read the whole thing – here.

# # #

The brainwashed generations

image credit: theguardian.com

About ten years ago, Lloyd Marcus stood up as one of the original Tea Party Patriots. These days, he is a frequent contributor to the American Thinker blog. His most recent column will be of interest to anyone who is trying to find ways to communicate with younger generations of Americans who have essentially come through an educational system corrupted with anti-American propaganda. He starts off:

Here is an excerpt from an email from a misinformed white millennial:

Mr Marcus, as a black man, if you don't agree in part with Mr. Kaepernick, I feel bad for you. I am white, and feel that the issues facing the black community in the US from the police, legal elements, property, education are skewed, and need to be rectified. I am concerned that someone with your pulpit isn't out there helping out.

I usually receive emails from progressives who call me an Uncle Tom stupid n***** for loving my country and not viewing myself as a victim. This well-intentioned young emailer is infected with anti-Americanism via public education and casual contact with Democrats, Hollywood, social media, and fake news media. He is a prime candidate for recruitment into a terrorist hate group like Antifa.

Everything he thinks he knows is wrong. For example: Blacks are not persecuted by police. Research data confirms that police are the greatest defenders of black lives. A Harvard study said there is zero evidence of police racial bias. The greatest threat to black lives are black criminals.

My young emailer believes education is skewed against blacks. The opposite is true. K-8 white students are outrageously taught they were born racist and should feel guilty for their “white privilege.” The fact that blacks drop out of school in epidemic numbers has nothing to do with white America. It has everything to do with fatherless households and an abandonment of biblical morality.

Because millennials have a different news feed than us older folks, my young emailer is probably clueless about numerous important cultural and political issues. I suspect he does not know San Francisco is so overrun with homeless people leaving piles of human excrement on the streets that maps are provided to help tourists avoid them. Dangerous diseases are resurfacing.

Marcus covers a lot more ground. You can read the rest here.

# # #

The Fight of Our Lives: documentary

From the documentary’s website: The Fight of Our Lives –- Defeating the Ideological War Against the West examines the internal and external threats facing the West. The cast of distinguished scholars and experts trace the emergence of anti-Western ideas and movements, and their subsequent penetration into Western academia, politics, and society.

We bought the DVD and watched it at home. About 66 minutes. Among those interviewed are Niall Ferguson, Ayan Hirsi Ali, Victor Davis Hanson, Melanie Phillips, and many more; most readers will recognize quite a few of the commentators.

From Cynthia Cai’s The Epoch Times interview with the producer of the documentary, Gloria Greenfield:

Another scholar who contributed to the film commentary was Bruce Thornton, an American classicist at California State University Fresno and research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

“[Thornton’s] understanding of what he refers to in the film as the ‘therapeutic age,’ where feelings are the most important and there’s been a rejection … of taking any responsibility for their actions—I thought that was a very important notion that needed to be addressed in the film,” said Greenfield.

. . .

“Soon after the film came out, I received an email from a professor in Paris, who was so grateful for the film and told me that he was using it in his classrooms,” said Greenfield.

So, do you know any teachers or professors or colleagues who would be interested in organizing a screening or showing it in a local classroom? Check out the website here for lots more information. It's also listed at Amazon. 

# # #

Intergenerational welfare

image credit: buildabear.com

Several years ago, I read Diana West’s The Death of the Grown-up – a sober and somewhat frightening exploration into why America is full of adults who do not grow out of adolescence. The other day, I came across Mark Steyn’s words on the subject:

Almost every structural defect of western societies arises from the contemporary phenomenon of prolonged childhood - later family formation, leading to collapsed birth rates, providing an "urgent need" for remorseless, mass unskilled immigration, setting in motion profound, destabilizing cultural transformation. Indeed, one reason why the existential threat of that transformation is so hard to recognize is because, among its other effects, protracted adolescence so infantilizes the populace (as Wells saw in The Time Machine) that it utterly enervates even a basic survival instinct.

Why be surprised by that? A society in which it becomes the norm for 40-year-olds to climb the stairs every night to their childhood bedroom, the same one that once had the teddy-bear wallpaper and the Thomas the Tank Engine coverlet, will not be a world that makes men, or women, in any meaningful sense of those terms.

The rest of Mr. Steyn's blog post is here. This may not be, technically speaking, a Tea Party subject, but since perpetual adolescence carries its own micro- version of “fiscal responsibility" – or should I say “fiscal irresponsibility” - I thought it worth posting.

# # #

Wrap-up: Democrat Panderfest debate (2)

image credit: CNN via Treehouse

Mark Penn called it a "Panderfest." There are dozens of takes online on last night’s unwatchable Democrat debate, and here are two extracts that are short and snappy. First, Mr. Vodkapundit, closing his drunkblogging report:

It was a big dud tonight.

Not that there weren't any fireworks, because there were a few. Not because it was tedious, which might just be my partisan bias. And not just because the field of ten had maybe three actual contenders.

It was a big dud because -- and correct me if I'm wrong here -- nobody did anything to move the needle.

Biden recovered from his last outing, but didn't show us anything new. Harris failed completely to capitalize on her earlier gains, and if I found out she really was on some kind of cold medicine, I wouldn't be in the least surprised. Booker promised to take on Biden, but demurred. Gabbard is *this* close to being a real contender, but isn't quite campaigning at that level. Castro is better than expected, but not that much better. And the rest were all just kind of there.

. . .

And here's some of Liz Sheld’s Morning Brief at PJ Media:

. . . there is really no difference between the candidates. The most important thing to these jokers is getting rid of Trump and they are counting on people who hate Trump to vote for them no matter what lunatic policies they are pushing. If you think about it, it's a smart strategy: desperate people make rash decisions and the deranged anti-Trump folks are desperate to get rid of Trump. If the cost is open borders, health care for illegal immigrants, an alarmist "climate change" policy that will wipe out loads of American jobs, forcing people out of their preferred healthcare plans in favor of one administered by postal workers, raising taxes, taxpayer-subsidized abortion, post-birth abortion and getting back in bed with Iran, so be it. As I wrote yesterday, the only question that matters in this election is whether people hate Trump more than than they hate these whacked-off policies. If it weren't for this media-Democrat manufactured Orange Man Bad crisis, people wouldn't swallow the radical, left-wing policy crap so easily. G-d help us.

But maybe cartoonist Henry Payne said it best:

# # #

Unwatchable primary debates and Free Stuff

image credit: dreamstime.com

Libertarian John Stossel tallied up the Democrat candidates’ promises and plans for giving away Free Stuff. No matter which candidate is making promises,

We can't afford it! The federal government is already $22 trillion in debt -- $150,000 per taxpayer.

While Trump's $267 billion is bad, the Democrats' plans are worse. We counted $297 billion proposed by Biden, $690 billion from Buttigieg, $3.8 trillion from Warren, $4 trillion from Sanders and $4.3 trillion from Harris. That would double what the entire federal government spends now.

Senator Harris "wins" the free stuff contest.

Taxpayers lose.

The second unwatchable debate is this evening at 8pm – 11pm. The line-up:

Former Vice President Joe Biden; California Sen. Kamala Harris; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; Washington Gov. Jay Inslee; New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand;  Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; and Julián Castro, former housing secretary in the Obama administration.

Remember, Stephen Green, a/k/a Mr. Vodkapundit, will be live drunkblogging again this evening (Wednesday). He watches so you don’t have to. Here’s the link –click to his website; his drunkblog link will be on the right-hand sidebar.

UPDATE 7:50pm: Here's the live link to Vodkapundit's Drunkblog. Click here.

###

Round 2 of Unwatchable Debates

Stone-cold sober Stephen Green, a/k/a Mr. Vodkapundit, will be live drunkblogging both the Tuesday (tonight) and Wednesday Democrat debates this week. He watches so that you don’t have to. Here’s the link to his website; look for drunkblog link on the sidebar. Debate starts at 8pm. Runs for 3 hours!

Please note: Vodkapundit's drunkblog automatically refreshes, so stay at the top of the blog. You can check in from time to time, or scan through it in one hit after the debate is over.

UPDATE 5pm: Here's the page link, and here are opening thoughts from Mr. Vodkapundit himself:

I mean, have you seen these people, the folks who run for office? If you can't have fun at their expense, then you're taking them entirely too seriously. That probably goes double for a race where Slow Joe Biden is the frontrunner in a crowded field of more than 20 candidates. Speaking of doubles, we have another double Democratic debate this week, and I'll be here -- carbo-loaded, glasses-wearing, beverage cart next to my desk -- to have far too much fun with all the action. Click in right here at around 7:45 Eastern on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for all the action.

# # #

Preparing for the Democrat debates this week

It'll take less than 5 seconds:

Cartoon by Steve Breen via Townhall

[Note; check back here after 6pm for Liveblog link]

# # #

Cleveland makes the list

image credit: imgbin.com

Issues and Insights is the editorial blog for Investor’s Business Daily. Here’s part of John Merline’s column (h/t Instapundit):

On Friday, Trump attacked Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, who had been complaining about conditions at the border, by saying “his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous.” Trump called it “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

He’s right about the rats. Last year, the pest-control service Orkin rated Baltimore as one of the “rattiest cities,“ behind Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.

. . .

Indeed, if you want to see what liberal Democratic policies tend to produce, go to any one of those cities, or other Democratic strongholds. Democrats promise to help the poor and downtrodden, grow the middle class, make life more fair. But their policies consistently produce the opposite.

. . .

Washington, San Francisco, New York, Detroit, and Cleveland are also among the 10 worst-run cities, according to WalletHub. Three other Democratic strongholds — Oakland, Flint, Hartford — make WalletHub’s worst-run list. 

Yet, whenever the desperate conditions of these cities get discussed, they’re treated either as if these problems simply fell out of the sky, that somehow Republicans are to blame, or that more taxpayer money will solve everything. The connection to liberal policies never gets made.

. . .

Read the rest here.

# # #