James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.
Five of 10 Republican candidates for the gubernatorial nomination in Michigan are ineligible to appear on the ballot because of invalid signatures on their nominating petitions, the Michigan elections bureau said in a report Monday, upending the race little more than two months before the August primary.
Those the elections bureau said were ineligible include former Detroit police chief James Craig and businessman Perry Johnson, who have been considered the leading candidates for the GOP nomination for Michigan governor. Others were Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown and Michael Markey.
Roughly half the signatures on the nominating petitions are obviously false.
The elections bureau noted that this level of fraud — both in the number of invalid signatures submitted and the number of campaigns affected — was unprecedented. Some of the fraudulent petition sheets tended to show “no evidence of normal wear,” or showed evidence of having been “round-tabled,” a practice in which each person in a group takes turns signing one line of a petition in an attempt to make the signatures appear authentic, the bureau said.
Just more complete fraud from the Republican side. Were they unaware of the fraud, or just turning a blind eye to the fraud because it was cheaper, or were they completely blindsided? Who knows, there are enough fraudsters on the right that campaigns should be extra wary of their contractors though. Rules are for little people.
Alas, it’s not all good news:
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers, made up of two Democrats and two Republicans, will meet Thursday morning to discuss the election bureau’s report and rule on whether the candidates can appear on the Aug. 2 primary ballot.
Democrats will likely go along with the IOKIYAR and allow the fraudulent petitions to stand. They haven’t announced that they are caving, but they are Democrats…
If I eat one more piece of pie, I’ll die!
If I can’t have one more piece of pie, I’ll die!
So since it’s all decided I must die,
I might as well have one more piece of pie.
MMMM–OOOH–MY!
Chomp–Gulp–‘Bye.
I do wonder, though, why Trump is so obsessed with pie as a deadly weapon. Perhaps it’s because he really fears standing there with cream dripping down his face and looking like a fool.
@Mikey:
Thanks! When I share it, I want to give credit.
Overall, I want to applaud the author while hanging my head in shame at where (and what) we’ve become.
It didn’t taste too bad, kind of walnut or something with cream. I don’t think it was diet, though,..
There was at least one more pie in the governor’s face here in the ’80s. That would have been Governor Jim Thompson. Or the ’90s. That would have been Governor Jim Edgar.
I clearly recall that it happened at Cristaudo’s Bakery and Restaurant in the Murdale Shopping Center however the ’80s and ’90s are just too far gone for me to remember when.
Never got tested. Could’ve been garden variety flu. I do not know.
First day or two I was too wrecked to try. Thereafter, I thought “What’s the point?”
It is or it isn’t.
I buttoned up as if it were. 14 days. My interpretation is to not be a potential spreader.
One of the positive things about Covid is that it taught us to have a well stocked pantry where you could could survive off shit in your cupboards alone. I took that to heart.
One day my entire nutrition was peanut butter directly out of the jar and little chunks of Hershey’s milk chocolate.
Perfect meal for me that day. I was not into being erect and standing around waiting for a meal to cook that day I wanted / needed calories ASAP.
You can eat eat peanut butter and chocolate in bed really easy. The downside is that you have to stand up and go to the kitchen to get it. For a couple of days the thought of doing so seemed almost insurmountable.
They play innocuous pop songs on the overhead speakers. Did you ever notice they never, ever play a song that is within 20 years of current on the overhead?
I am used to both popular and fairly obscure pop songs at the grocery store. Feel good pablum.
Yesterday they played The Deadbeat Club by the B-52s in the grocery store on the the overhead speakers. No fooling. I was gobsmacked. If you are them, you pay for a service to offer up up music that is not offensive and basically promotes a feel good, I wanna buy shit vibe.
That is a pretty obscure track. The B-52s charted with a few songs. The Deadbeat Club topped out at mid 30’s in the charts for a few weeks.
I fucking love that song. Truly. It captures the spirit of hanging out and goofing around with friends.
I was both flabbergasted and delighted. This should not happen, but it did happen.
Price Chopper is out of KC. They bought out Dahl’s 4-5 years back.
The Deadbeat Club is one of my favorite songs ever. For a B-52s song it is dead normal. Hanging with your friends. Weirdly normal.
I never expected to hear that song on the nostalgia Price Chopper ambient overhead speakers.
Nineteen dead children. Two dead teachers.
America Is A Gun
By Brian Bilston
England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.
Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona’s hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.
Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.
Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/24/michigan-governor-fraudulent-signatures-craig-johnson/
Roughly half the signatures on the nominating petitions are obviously false.
Just more complete fraud from the Republican side. Were they unaware of the fraud, or just turning a blind eye to the fraud because it was cheaper, or were they completely blindsided? Who knows, there are enough fraudsters on the right that campaigns should be extra wary of their contractors though. Rules are for little people.
Alas, it’s not all good news:
Democrats will likely go along with the IOKIYAR and allow the fraudulent petitions to stand. They haven’t announced that they are caving, but they are Democrats…
Why?
According to Vanity Fair and The Daily Beast, Donald Trump has a deathly fear of being hit by a piece of…pie.
@Mikey:
Mikey, source? Wow!
@CSK:
PIE PROBLEM
by Shel Silverstein
If I eat one more piece of pie, I’ll die!
If I can’t have one more piece of pie, I’ll die!
So since it’s all decided I must die,
I might as well have one more piece of pie.
MMMM–OOOH–MY!
Chomp–Gulp–‘Bye.
@CSK: I read that article the other day, and ever since, I really really really REALLY want him to get a pie in the face. My life will be complete. 😛
@Flat Earth Luddite: https://twitter.com/brian_bilston/status/700011838415704064?s=20&t=PUB2sHVsuiJUC1SsIaBUAg
@Jax:
We can dream.
I do wonder, though, why Trump is so obsessed with pie as a deadly weapon. Perhaps it’s because he really fears standing there with cream dripping down his face and looking like a fool.
@Mikey:
Thanks! When I share it, I want to give credit.
Overall, I want to applaud the author while hanging my head in shame at where (and what) we’ve become.
@CSK:
https://youtu.be/sIRmqMRSXAs
Nah, never mind. Frank & Soupy did it better than TFG ever could
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Then there’s the Mary Tyler Moore episode during which Ted Baxter pushes a pie into the elitist critic’s face.
Trump was in Southern Illinois October 27, 2018 to campaign for the reelection of Republican United States House Representative Mike Bost. No pies to be seen.
There is a tradition of political pie pitching here praciticed most recently when Illinois Governor George Ryan was hit on May 1, 2000. aka Law Day.
There was at least one more pie in the governor’s face here in the ’80s. That would have been Governor Jim Thompson. Or the ’90s. That would have been Governor Jim Edgar.
I clearly recall that it happened at Cristaudo’s Bakery and Restaurant in the Murdale Shopping Center however the ’80s and ’90s are just too far gone for me to remember when.
https://youtu.be/-_7oZeKBpsE
@Kylopod:
I see PIE my brain interprets that as proto indo European. I have been linguistics focused for awhile now.
@de stijl: Yay, you’re back! Did you get over your Covid spell all right?
@Jax:
I did. Felt like crap for 4 or 5 days.
Never got tested. Could’ve been garden variety flu. I do not know.
First day or two I was too wrecked to try. Thereafter, I thought “What’s the point?”
It is or it isn’t.
I buttoned up as if it were. 14 days. My interpretation is to not be a potential spreader.
One of the positive things about Covid is that it taught us to have a well stocked pantry where you could could survive off shit in your cupboards alone. I took that to heart.
I did fine.
@Jax:
One day my entire nutrition was peanut butter directly out of the jar and little chunks of Hershey’s milk chocolate.
Perfect meal for me that day. I was not into being erect and standing around waiting for a meal to cook that day I wanted / needed calories ASAP.
You can eat eat peanut butter and chocolate in bed really easy. The downside is that you have to stand up and go to the kitchen to get it. For a couple of days the thought of doing so seemed almost insurmountable.
That was like 30 steps away, at least.
I was at the grocery store yesterday afternoon.
They play innocuous pop songs on the overhead speakers. Did you ever notice they never, ever play a song that is within 20 years of current on the overhead?
I am used to both popular and fairly obscure pop songs at the grocery store. Feel good pablum.
Yesterday they played The Deadbeat Club by the B-52s in the grocery store on the the overhead speakers. No fooling. I was gobsmacked. If you are them, you pay for a service to offer up up music that is not offensive and basically promotes a feel good, I wanna buy shit vibe.
That is a pretty obscure track. The B-52s charted with a few songs. The Deadbeat Club topped out at mid 30’s in the charts for a few weeks.
I fucking love that song. Truly. It captures the spirit of hanging out and goofing around with friends.
I was both flabbergasted and delighted. This should not happen, but it did happen.
Price Chopper is out of KC. They bought out Dahl’s 4-5 years back.
The Deadbeat Club is one of my favorite songs ever. For a B-52s song it is dead normal. Hanging with your friends. Weirdly normal.
I never expected to hear that song on the nostalgia Price Chopper ambient overhead speakers.
It is a kick-ass song.