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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit a record low. Democratic enthusiasm levels are off the charts. The party holds a clear edge on the generic congressional ballot question. By most measures, the polls point to something like a blue wave this November. The question, for many, is whether they can be trusted.


Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered or voted in U.S. elections. read more


The Wall Street Journal editorial board laced into President Donald Trump over his recent "assistance" to Russia -- accusing him of sticking "a shiv in the back" of Lindsey Graham's legacy. read more


Federal immigration agents broke the arm of a US citizen in what a Democratic congressman said was a "brutal attack" during a confrontation with protesters in California. read more


Milt Policzer: The Justice Department said it was investigating whether the major TV networks violated antitrust law by agreeing not to participate in pool coverage of the White House. read more


Comments

@#2

2020 Electoral College Map
www.realclearpolling.com

...
Biden/Harris: 216
Toss Ups: 197
Trump/Pence: 125
...

Did you mean 2016?

www.realclearpolling.com

...
Clinton/Kaine: 203
Toss Ups: 171
Trump/Pence: 164
...



More from the article ...

... There is reason for concern. In addition to high-profile misses " the most prominent among them, the 2016 presidential contest that elected Trump " recent election cycles have witnessed cratering survey response rates, flawed weighting and turnout assumptions, and a rise in bad-faith actors, not to mention the challenge of vanishing landline phones.

This year, a handful of episodes have further undermined confidence. Polls predicted a slam-dunk victory for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary -- he won by 1 percentage point. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist running in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor, held a double-digit lead in preelection surveys -- she narrowly lost. And a poll in the Los Angeles mayoral race -- which spread widely after one of the candidates, Mayor Karen Bass, touted it on social media -- turned out to be entirely bogus. The Los Angeles Times later reported that the individual behind the sham poll said it was part of a "short-term social experiment" to examine how polling numbers could "spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification."

The polling misfires, however, don't reflect the changes in the industry. There are new methods of reaching people, and new ways to account for the most elusive voters.

Those corrections have seemingly paid off; you may not realize it, but the polls largely nailed the results of the past two midterms.

Still, polls aren't meant to be predictive. They represent a snapshot in time, offering insight into public sentiment and voters' most pressing concerns.

"Certainly, given the polling misses in 2016 and, to some extent, 2020, there's an obvious fear factor," says Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll. "We've done a lot over this past decade to try to improve the control we have over those kinds of errors, but ultimately we can't force people to do polls, and so this remains always a background fear factor." ...

[emphasis mine]

@#9

fwiw ...

obtuse
www.wordnik.com

...
from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

adjective Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.
adjective Characterized by a lack of intelligence or sensitivity.
adjective Not distinctly felt.
adjective Not sharp, pointed, or acute in form; blunt.
adjective Having an obtuse angle.
adjective Botany Having a blunt or rounded tip.
...


disingenuous
www.wordnik.com

...
from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

adjective Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating.
adjective Pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated; faux-naf.
adjective Usage Problem Unaware or uninformed; naive.
...


And back to the thread topic...

@#10 ... Actually, he's a Republican operative ...

There now seem to be some issue around that ...

WaPo Bashed for 'Journalistic Malpractice' After Failing to Report That Voter Who Tangled With El-Sayed Is GOP Operative
www.mediaite.com

... The Washington Post is facing criticism for an article about a viral video featuring a "young man" questioning Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed but omitting the fact that "Tommy" was a Republican operative.

The incident in question happened during one of El-Sayed's campaign events over the weekend, in which an attendee who identified himself as "Tommy" asked about the Muslim Brotherhood, a talking point pushed by the Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI). ...




Reathel Bean & The Doonesbury Break Crew - Rap Master Ronnie (1984)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
[Intro]
[Voice]
Ready when you are, Mr. President

[Reagan]
Well, okay, everybody ready? Uh, Nancy?

[Nancy]
Ready dear

[Reagan]
Jim, Mike, Cap?

[Men]
Yes

[Reagan]
Okay, right, let's do it

[Voice]:
Ok, Reagan campaign message for minority voters, take 37
Can it off, Mr. President

[Reagan]
5, 6, 7, 8, uh.. 9..
Ah!
Oh yeah, Lord have mercy
Now let me here a little bass now Nancy
So good, So fine
You're cooking now mama

[Nancy]
Thank you dear

[Reagan]
Al. Smokin'
We're in a grove now

[Man]
That's groove sir

[Reagan]
Groove, we're in a groove now
Slip me a little keyboard cap
Al, you're God
Now that be fine

[Verse 1]
Okay people, gotta get down
Brother Ron Reagan has hit the ground
Gotta believe he's the dude of the hour
Got the glory, got the power
Ronny can communicate, the cat can rap
I even let Nancy sit on Mr.T's lap
Loves the needy, loves them dearly
Love to read graffitti if they'd only print it clearly
He can break

[Men]
Huh!

[Reagan]
He be trying to make the big box beat
Trying to get those voters on their feet
Get their consent, all I need is 10 percent

[Hook]
Say we want Ron
The guy's pure sex
He's the man
Who signs your monthly welfare checks
Ha ha ... ha ... ha haha!

[Verse 2]
[Al]
Ronny's the boss, he wears the pants

[Nancy]
But that man of mine sure loves to dance

[Al]
Got an open mind on civil rights
[Reagan]
My youngest son grew up in tights

[Men]
Check him out!

[Reagan]
He's heavy

[Men]
Ronny be a legend. Ronny be unique

[Reagan]
Hard to even function with such mystique
He gets down

[Men]
Huh!

[Reagan]
Loves to take to town those dancing feet
He be getting brothers off the street
Hey! Least I've tried
If only more were qualified

[Reagan]
Uh, Ed
Take it easy, Ed
For Gosh sakes, Ed
Debby Boone gave me that album personally
Ed...

[Men]
Everybody's scratchin'
Scratchin' for a wage
Scratchabacha scratch
From the want ad page
Good time scratching
Ronny got a plan
And if that don't hatch
Catch as catch can

...

[Men]
Ronny be a fighter, Ronny will defend

[Reagan]
Lieutenant Bob Goodman is a personal friend

[Men]
Ronny he be tough, Ronny always win

[Reagan]
Don't need cardboard for my shoulder spins

He can freeze

[Men]
Huh!

[Reagan]
He be trying to save those suckers' souls
Trying to get those mothers to the polls
Get their consent. I'll settle for just two percent

[Hook]
Say we, want, Ron
The cat's ok
He's the man
Who's got more juice than Jessie J

Say we, want, Ron
The guy's pure sex
He's the man
Who signs your monthly welfare checks
Ha ha ... ha ... ha ha ha!

[Outro]
That's my [?]
Trust me though
[?]

[Voice]
One more time Mr. President
Bring it on home, sir

[Reagan]
Okay
Light my fire black people, light my fire
Give me your sweet jelly roll
Turn on your love life
Papa got a new safety net for you
Yeah, Fritz, Jelly beans
[?]

That be all
...


@#39 ... Trump had fuentes in the white house for a dinner. ...

Shhhh ... you are not supposed to mention that.

But if you want a laugh, there's this ...

White House slams Trump's dinner with Nick Fuentes, saying bigotry and hate have 'no place in America' (2022)
www.foxnews.com

... Trump has said Fuentes came with Ye and that he does not know who he is ...

Wow, so Pres Trump's security team allowed someone into the White House to dine with Pres Trump without any knowledge of who that person might be?


And, speaking of Brain Dead, I am reminded of this CBS TV series that ran in 2016 ...

BrainDead
en.wikipedia.org

... BrainDead is an American political satire science fiction[1][2][3] comedy-drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King.[4] The series stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Laurel Healy, a documentary film-maker who takes a job working for her brother Luke (Danny Pino), a U.S. Senator, after the funding for her latest film falls through.

Assigned as his new constituency caseworker, she discovers that Washington, D.C. has been invaded by extraterrestrial insects which are eating the brains and taking control of people, including members of Congress and their staffers.

Much of the internal comedy of the series was that, in the altered reality of Washington, D.C. politics, only a few people noticed. ...


One quite interesting aspects of that series was that the speeches of then 2015/2016 candidate Trump were often playing on TVs in the background of the main action.

So, BrainDead... a premonition?



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