Friday, November 06, 2026

Thursday, November 05, 2026

Read What He Said

Read what this legislator said. It's really amazing what he admitted to in his anger.


Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison (R) on Wednesday called on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to curb Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa’s (D) power before she is sworn in next year.

“We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat,” Harrison wrote in a lengthy post on the social platform X.
Hold it right there! “We still have total power in Texas!" Total power?
Harrison wrote that Hinojosa should not have “unchecked emergency powers” and that “the urgency is undeniable… and inaction is intolerable.” He claimed that Hinojosa will “inherit the powers of a DICTATOR.”

“Due to the absurd (and almost certainly unconstitutional) Texas emergency powers laws, Gov. Hinojosa will literally have the power to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws – including criminal laws – on a whim!” Harrison said.
So, are you saying that right now you have the powers of a dictator?
Hinojosa will likely enter her new role with more powers than anticipated on the campaign trail, The Houston Chronicle reported. She could also face roadblocks, as Texas Republicans have vowed to “hold the line” against the state Democrat’s agenda.
So, the people chose Governor-elect Hinojosa, and the Republicans are pissed. Now they want to ignore the will of the people and hamstring the governor.
The strong night for Democrats in Texas did not apply solely to Hinojosa and Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas), as Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin defeated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), and Democrats won the races for state attorney general, comptroller, railroad commissioner and agriculture commissioner.

Democrats also won the Texas state House, concluding the 24-year run Republicans held in both state Legislature chambers.
Yup! The Republicans are doing everything they can to sabotage the will of the voters!
Texas’ governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and every other statewide candidate fell, upending the state’s political power structure in one night.
Texan Triburne
By Eleanor Klibanoff
Nov. 4, 2026


Everything has changed.

A blue tsunami of epic proportions swept through Texas Tuesday night, decimating the largest, most influential red state and ending the longest statewide shutout of any political party in the country. Democrats up and down the ticket, buoyed by national anger toward President Donald Trump, won seats they haven’t been viable contenders for in decades despite historic spending from their opponents.

Gov. Greg Abbott, the most powerful and well-resourced governor in modern Texas history, was unseated by Gina Hinojosa. Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in past elections cast off impeachment, indictment and infidelities, fell to James Talarico in his bid for the U.S. Senate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the iron-fisted ruler of the Texas Senate, went down to a little known state representative. Republicans lost the attorney general’s office, one of the most influential conservative legal positions in the country. The new congressional map Republicans drew yielded them no gains — in fact, they lost one seat overall.
Even with all their cheating and gerrymandering, they lost! And now they want to cripple the Democrats.
First, both sides will have to emerge from what seems to be a collective shell shock gripping the governing class of the Lone Star State.
In true Texan style they circle the wagons!
“No one ever thought he would be even close to losing. No one thought it. No one talked about it,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP consultant. “He was a rock solid candidate and that tells me this is about something bigger than the candidates we put up or the races they ran.”
So, what does that tell me? After 30 years of Republican control, they now want to subvert the will of the people!
Texas Republicans should hope that this election was decided by a lot of Republicans choosing to stay home, or even cross party lines, in rejection of Trump, Steinhauser said. The only other alternative would be that the state suddenly found a whole lot more Democratic voters, which would make these victories more durable in the future.
No! After 30 years, the people finally woke up!

Like a wounded animal turning on itself, the Texas Republican Party is now looking for someone to blame. In the process, they're devouring their own.
One guy, at least, believes the Texas GOP’s loyalty to Trump is not to blame for Tuesday’s results. In fact, he’s blaming Texas Republicans for not being MAGA enough.

“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump posted on social media Tuesday night. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”
Sen. Bryan Hughes, you just keep thinking that! Go on and attack your fellow Republicans! You have your blinders on, and that's exactly why they lost. They tried to appease the far right and failed to see that voters were fed up with MAGA, woke politics, ICE, and, most of all... Trump!

And now they're trying to sabotage the duly elected governor!

A Has Been? A Flash In The Pan?

The $64,000 question is will they change their ways? Will Republicans in Congress stand up to Trump. Has his gold leaf started to peel?
Guardian analysis shows how tumbling approval ratings may have hurt candidates backed by US president
The Guardian
Ariana Baio in Washington
Thu 5 Nov 2026 


Dozens of Republican candidates directly endorsed by Donald Trump lost their US midterm election races, according to analysis by the Guardian, raising questions over the power of the president’s support.

In past elections, Trump’s endorsements have been coveted. In the final stages of this year’s campaign, he actively urged voters to act as though he were on the ballot.

But just half of the 26 candidates Trump endorsed for the US Senate had won their elections as of Wednesday at 5pm ET, according to a Guardian tally.

Of the 23 candidates for state governor endorsed by Trump, only nine had won their elections. Twelve were defeated, with two races still to be called.
Has Trump endorsements turned to a Jonah?
The US president’s base has been loyal to his choices. In 2022, approximately 82% of candidates endorsed by Trump went on to win their race, according to the New York Times.

While some races still have yet to be called, his endorsement appears to have had a weaker impact on candidates’ prospects in this year’s midterms. The US president’s handpicked candidates running in closely watched races failed to resonate with conservative voters, even in deeply red states.
Is Trump's endorsements become the "Touch of Death?"
The US president’s gubernatorial endorsements performed the worst of the three categories. Democrats flipped five governor seats including in Texas, which hasn’t seen a Democratic governor in more than 30 years, and in Iowa, which hasn’t had a Democrat running the state since the mid-2000s.
His Golden Touch turns out to be "Fools Gold"

Can You Imagine?

If they passed a constitutional amendment banning race from sports... people would be screaming discrimination! But because we're trans they think it is okay to discriminate against us.

You ask these voters how many trans athletes there are and they have no idea!
Restrictions on trans student-athletes were put to voters in Nebraska, Arizona, Colorado and Washington.
19th News
Brooke Migdon
Nov 4, 2026


Nebraska and Arizona have passed ballot measures to ban transgender student-athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams, marking a significant referendum on trans rights. As of Wednesday morning, similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington are still undecided, although early projections suggest that the measures will pass in both states.

[...]

Supporters of the ballot initiative have argued that enshrining the 2025 law in the state’s constitution would help prevent the legislature from repealing the law in future sessions. “One of the things we always worry about when we pass a law is that it can be unpassed,” Republican Rep. Kathleen Kauth, the law’s original sponsor, told Nebraska Public Media in March. The initiative was sponsored by the conservative advocacy group Fairness for Girls. 
These are our "Jim Crow" laws written into the state Constitution! Enshrined discrimination!
Colorado’s ballot measure would similarly designate sports teams from kindergarten through college as strictly male or female based on students’ “biological reproductive systems.” It qualified for the general election after Protect Kids Colorado, the conservative organization behind it, collected more than 168,000 signatures from across the state.
Prey tell... just how are they going to tell? Suppose a girl comes in from Connecticut or another state that allows birth certificates to be changed. How are these going to tell the difference? Hun? Have everyone submit to chromosomes tests? How many girls will have to submit to the indignation of a chromosomes tests?


This blows Republican minds! It doesn't fit in to their little "Father Knows Best" world. Our human rights are being whittled away!

A Dirty Old Man!

[Editorial]

Or the Emperor Has No Clothes!

The glitter has come off and what the people see is a tired old man. But it is not just the U.S. — the world is seeing that too!

From Kyiv to Moscow, and Tehran to Tel Aviv, all eyes were on the Democrats' big win as foreign powers weigh how a flipped Congress will affect international relations.
NPR | By Kate Bartlett
November 4, 2026


One color dominates international headlines about the U.S. midterm election results. French newspaper Libération called the Democrats' win "une vague bleue," or blue wave, Britain's Daily Mail dubbed it a "historic blue tsunami," and The Times of India's headline ran "midterm blues for Trump."

Countries at war were also watching closely, with Ukrainian newspaper The Kyiv Independent's online headline hopeful: "Democrats seize control of Congress in blow to Trump, potential boost for Ukraine."

Russia had a different take. Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the state-run daily newspaper, suggested the results would in fact be a blow to Ukraine, which has firm support from the European Union. "Brussels, brace yourself. After the Republicans' defeat, Trump's wrath will fall on Europe," read the headline.
Russia is right about one thing… Trump's wrath. Where will it fall? Who will he blame for his defeat? Because it was his defeat, he can’t wiggle out of it this time by blaming others.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has an acrimonious relationship with Trump, was forthright in his response.

"Yesterday, American society voted against policies that only impoverish. Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites," Sánchez wrote on social media.

He then alluded to the recent election in Brazil, where the left-wing incumbent president defeated a Trump ally, as well as upcoming Spanish elections later this month. "It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the U.S. And it will happen soon in Spain," he wrote.
The elephant in the room is no longer hidden… it has been exposed!

CBS News reported that;
South Africa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. election results would "introduce a new era in world relations."

"We have seen that the Democrats have taken control of the Senate and of the House, and the people of America have spoken," he said. 

The Trump administration has had tense relations with South Africa, sanctioning officials it accuses of allowing the persecution of the country's White Afrikaner population and inviting its members to apply for refugee status in the U.S. — an opening that some 17,000 have sought to take advantage of.

[…]

France
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure declined on Wednesday, during an interview with the BFM television network, to predict whether President Trump would "accept" the rebuke by American voters or stick to the policies widely perceived as having precipitated the midterm Republican defeat.

[…]

Norway
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Wednesday called the U.S. election results "a powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters."

"Voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the president and the administration have stood for, for example on climate and environment, and in foreign policy and development aid policy."
Trump on the world stage just got the hook! They see him as a weakened old man and are emboldened by it!

One of the results is that now Iran knows that they won the war... it only remains the terms of ending the war.

A bell has rung… and now we need to wait and see how everything settles down. Right now, the world is like a giant game of Pick-Up Sticks, and we have to watch as foreign leaders remove sticks from a jumbled pile, one by one, without disturbing any of the other pieces.

[/Editorial]

P.S. Now that the Democrats control Congress… Trump should be worried that they will release the Epstein files.

Wednesday, November 04, 2026

$442 Million

Do you know what that amount represents?

That is the amount that Musk spent on the election! That is immoral! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that is roughly 162 times greater than the entire lifetime earnings of an average American worker.


Tech mogul Elon Musk joked about the GOP’s steep losses early Wednesday, after spending more than $442 million boosting Republicans in the midterm elections.

Democrats swept control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, winning competitive races across the board and even ousting Republicans in several races viewed as long shots.
Can you imagine being able to joke about tossing over $400 million away like that? What arrogance! When a single individual has the financial power to spend more on a political campaign than hundreds of families will ever see in their lifetimes combined, it naturally sparks intense conversations about wealth, influence, and democracy.
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” Musk wrote on the social platform X, which he owns.
Ha, ha!
He also poured money into America PAC, the super PAC he launched during the 2024 elections. The technology executive gave $76.8 million in October alone, on top of the $76 million he contributed to the super PAC between July and September.

“Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” Musk added in a separate X post early Wednesday.
It was just an investment to him.

And it all when up in smoke yesterday... poof! Four hundred dollars. Gone!

This Is Me!

I'm the little bird.


Dear Eric: I’m part of a group of six women who get together every three months for dinner to catch up on our lives. We rotate on who decides where to eat. We have been doing this for four years now.

My question revolves around eating with GLP-1 users. There are now four women in the group using GLP-1s. Two are diabetics, two use it for weight loss. I and one other are not using them.

As you can imagine with six people eating and talking, we would usually be at a restaurant for one-and-a-half to two hours. Now it seems everything is so rushed.

The women on these medications are done really fast. The other woman and I feel rushed, and sometimes the waitresses see the others done and we feel we have to be done too. We have even stopped eating the salads.

What used to be an enjoyable time for all of us has turned into not fun for the other woman and me. It’s not relaxing and enjoyable anymore.

We have suggested other things like craft classes or walks, but it never works out.

Any suggestions for how to make this enjoyable again for me and the other friend? Or are we just the odd women out now?

— Dining Out
I'm on Ozempic. And I eat like a bird, when I go out to eat you know I will need a doggie bag. I don't like it. I am diabetic and the drug brought down my A1C to below 6 the first time in a decade. My weight went from 255 to 205!
Dear Dining Out: Is it possible for any of the group members to host at her house? This would alleviate the pressure to pay the check and leave. Each member could pitch in the cost of the meal toward food or catering. Or you could do it potluck-style, which might help people who are on specialized diets.

If hosting at home isn’t doable, consider adding a second location to your dinner plans, like a tea house or a dessert shop. These places might be better equipped for lingering with conversation than a restaurant would be anyway. Or meet up for a round of drinks or coffees before sitting down to dinner.

It’ll probably help to talk about this at the group level. If the shared goal is to find a way to talk for two hours and meals aren’t taking two hours anymore, you’re going to need to be creative, but you don’t have to find the solution on your own.
Eating out is not jut about the meal... before the food is brought out, is a social time. When the food is out on the table you just don't wolf it down. I try to pace myself so that I finish with them.



Through out the day I will be commenting on the elections here.

Fake

 I was watching the PBS show Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation, and it made me think: What do I do to make sure what I write about isn't fake?

Whatever my original source is; Facebook, a news aggregator like Google News, or Yahoo News, if it isn’t from a mainstream media outlet, I verify whether other places are carrying the story. Or, I ask an AI about the topic and research it further. Even so, I am always looking for a mainstream media source to back it up.

Even with all of this, I still get caught taking the bait.



A Shellacking?

As of 1:00AM
I will be updating this as results come in.

In governors races...

Democrats flipped at least 3 Republican-held governor seats:
  • Georgia: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, flipping the governorship after more than two decades of Republican control. She will succeed term-limited Republican Governor Brian Kemp.   
  • Iowa: Democrat Rob Sand won the Iowa governor's race, defeating Republican Zach Lahn. He succeeds Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who chose not to seek re-election.   
  • Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, shifting the seat from Republican to Democratic control. She will succeed term-limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine.  
In the House...
According to projection reports from news outlets:   
  • Colorado's 8th District: Democrat Manny Rutinel defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.
  • Iowa's 2nd District: Democrat Lindsay James defeated Republican Joe Mitchell to take the seat previously held by GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson.
  • Kentucky's 6th District: Democrat Zach Dembo won the open seat previously held by Republican Rep. Andy Barr.
  • Missouri's 2nd District: Democrat Fred Wellman defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Ann Wagner.
  • North Carolina's 11th District: Democrat Jamie Ager flipped the seat, marking the first Democratic victory in the district since 2010.   
  • Ohio's 15th District: Democrat Don Leonard defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Carey.
  • Pennsylvania's 8th District: Democrat Paige Cognetti defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr.
  • Pennsylvania's 10th District: Democrat Janelle Stelson defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Scott Perry.
In the Senate...
Flipped Senate Seats
  • Maine: Democrat Troy Jackson defeated five-term Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, ending her 30-year tenure in the Senate.   
  • North Carolina: Democratic former Governor Roy Cooper won the open Senate seat left by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, defeating Republican nominee Michael Whatley.   
  • Ohio (Special Election): Democrat Sherrod Brown reclaimed his U.S. Senate seat by defeating Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted.   
  • Texas: Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the open seat previously held by Sen. John Cornyn, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas in decades.


So far in Alaska (The results are not official yet)...

Major Contests Overview
  • U.S. Senate: The race features Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan. Early reported figures show preliminary leads as votes continue to be tallied.   
  • Gubernatorial Race: The four-way general election includes Democrat Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins alongside Republican candidates Dave Bronson, Treg Taylor, and Bernadette M. Wilson.   
  • U.S. House (At-Large Seat): Alaska's single U.S. House seat remains uncalled while preliminary totals are processed state-wide.
Update @ 7AM
Preliminary returns from Alaska show tight contests in key statewide races:
  • U.S. Senate: Incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan holds a narrow lead over Democrat Mary Peltola. Neither candidate has reached an outright majority, and no race call has been made while initial precincts continue reporting.   
  • Governor: Democrat Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins is currently leading the broad multi-candidate field, followed by Republican Bernadette M. Wilson and other primary contenders.   
  • U.S. House (At-Large): Ballot counting is ongoing for Alaska's single U.S. House seat, with initial tallies remaining too early to call.


Does it meet the defining of a Shellacking? Believe it or not... it doesn't. The election fits the pattern of a normal mid-term election but,

I will say yes.




Early Voting & Total Ballots:

Record Early Voting Volume: Approximately 54 million Americans cast ballots during the pre-Election Day early voting period, exceeding early voting totals from the 2022 midterm elections by nearly 9 million.   
State Highs: In Texas, over 7.7 million voters cast ballots during the early voting window—a 40.5% turnout of registered voters before Election Day.

Break down by age groups:

Demographic Group Electorate Share Key Voting Pattern & Alignment
Young Voters (Ages 18–29) ~10% of total voters Supported Democratic U.S. House candidates by a +47 margin (71% Democrat vs. 25% Republican).
Middle-Aged Voters (Ages 30–44) Moderate share Favored Democratic House candidates over Republicans (59% to 36%).
Older Adults (Ages 65+) High proportion of voters Slightly preferred Republican candidates (51% Republican vs. 47% Democrat).
Hispanic Voters ~16% of eligible voters Backed Democratic U.S. House candidates over Republicans by roughly 60% to 33%.

It is us old fogies that "stood by our man" everyone else saw the light!

Neither major statewide race in Michigan has been officially called yet, as vote counting remains active across the state:
  • Gubernatorial Race: Democrat Jocelyn Benson leads Republican John James as ballots continue to be processed.
  • U.S. Senate Race: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed leads Republican Mike Rogers as precincts report preliminary totals.
  • U.S. House Delegations: In Michigan's congressional districts, 9 of the 13 U.S. House seats have been called so far.
It looks like the Democrats picked up House seats in Michigan.



Historic LGBTQ+ Federal Milestones
  • First Openly Gay Man Elected to the U.S. Senate: Democratic Representative Chris Pappas won the U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire, defeating Republican nominee John Sununu. Pappas becomes the first openly gay man elected to serve in the upper chamber of Congress.   
House Re-Elections & New Entrants:
  • Sarah McBride (D-DE): The nation's first openly transgender member of Congress won re-election to represent Delaware's at-large district.   
  • Sharice Davids (D-KS): Secured a fifth term representing Kansas's 3rd Congressional District.
  • Ritchie Torres (D-NY): Won a fourth term representing New York's 15th Congressional District in the Bronx.  
  • Mark Pocan (D-WI): Won re-election to extend his tenure as one of the longest-serving LGBTQ+ members of the U.S. House.   
  • Jeremy Moss (D-MI): Won Michigan's 11th Congressional District, becoming the state's first openly LGBTQ+ member elected to the U.S. House.   
  • JD Ford (D-IN): Won election to the U.S. House, unseating an incumbent to become the first openly gay member of Congress from Indiana.   
Key State Legislative Wins:
Bentley Hudgins (D-GA): Won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives (District 90), making history as the state's first openly transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker.  

Voting Pattern & Demographic Alignment
According to nationwide voter surveys, LGBTQ+ voters turned out heavily for Democratic candidates down the ballot, supporting Democratic House candidates by wide margins as part of the broader surge in young and suburban voting blocs.



Trans Referendums:
In the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, a small number of statewide ballot measures concerning transgender issues were put directly to voters.

Passed Referendums
Nebraska — Initiative Measure 442 (Sex Requirement for School & College Sports): Passed. This initiative constitutionally restricts participation in female athletic teams at public schools and postsecondary institutions strictly to individuals categorized by biological sex at birth.

Defeated Referendums
Missouri — Amendment 3 (Gender Transition Procedures for Minors & Abortion Ban): Rejected. Voters defeated this constitutional amendment, which sought to ban minors from receiving gender transition procedures, cross-sex hormones, or puberty blockers, alongside other provisions.


Still being counted, Colorado (Proposition 134 & Proposition 135), Arizona (Proposition 318), and Washington (Initiative 638)
[Update 4:45PM: Colorado Proposition 134: Voters rejected the measure, with approximately 70.55% voting NO and 29.45% voting YES. It would have required school and college sports teams to be assigned based on biological sex.]

Several openly transgender women won their races in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections across federal and state levels:

Federal Elections:
  • Sarah McBride (Delaware — U.S. House of Representatives): Democrat Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. Congress, won reelection to represent Delaware's at-large congressional district.   
State Legislative Elections:
  • Leigh Finke (Minnesota — State House): Representative Leigh Finke, Minnesota’s first openly transgender state legislator, won reelection to her seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.  
State & Local Races: 
  • Other historic state legislative victories include Bentley Hudgins in Georgia (winning a seat in the Georgia Assembly as a transgender nonbinary lawmaker). In Alabama Democrat Allison Montgomery won the election for Alabama House District 25. She defeated Republican incumbent Phillip Rigsby in the Huntsville-area district, making her the first openly transgender person elected to the Alabama State Legislature.
We run... we win!



Trump's reaction (The blame game is in full stream):
  • Blaming Candidate Quality: Trump distanced himself from the defeats by claiming he had no personal responsibility. On Truth Social, he posted: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" He stated that voters simply didn't like some of the Republican candidates, adding that certain candidates had alienated his MAGA base by fighting him in the past.
  • Targeting Specific Republicans: Trump specifically criticized defeated Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling him a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only). However, he expressed no regrets about endorsing other losing high-profile candidates like Ken Paxton in Texas or Darline Graham in South Carolina.
  • Praising Democrats: In a shift from his usual rhetoric, Trump congratulated the Democrats, stating that they "did a good job" and "fought hard".
  • Veto Warnings & Bipartisanship: While Trump noted he is prepared to work with the new Democratic majority, he also warned that he holds total veto power and will reject any "insane" legislation they send to his desk.
  • The Impact of the Iran War: Trump acknowledged that his decision to go to war with Iran impacted the midterms due to rising gas prices, though he maintained it was a "very wise decision" that he would make again.


8:20AM Overall Spending Breakdown
Total Cycle Advertising: Estimated to reach $11.6 billion.   
House Races ($1.5 Billion total):
  • Democratic-aligned advertisers: ~$787.3 million   
  • Republican-aligned advertisers: ~$678.9 million   
Senate Races:
Total ad spending in key Senate battlegrounds has seen record levels, led by the Texas Senate race, which alone attracted over $500 million to $573 million in total advertising spend.  


10:00 AM: Gerrymandering!

How It Worked for yesterday's Midterms?
The Republican Strategy: 
States controlled by Republican legislatures redrew congressional maps to turn previously competitive or Democratic-leaning seats into safer Republican districts. They used cracking (diluting Democratic concentrations) and packing (bundling heavy Democratic voting blocs together) to engineer a favorable baseline map.   
The Goal: 
Protect their U.S. House majority by picking up a buffer of redrawn seats heading into the midterm cycle.   

Did it block the Democrats?
No — yesterday's results showed that the aggressive gerrymandering largely backfired.   Because a strong "blue wave" national environment took hold, the defensive buffers Republicans drew were breached:
Dems Surmounted the Maps: 
In states like Texas and Florida, Democrats won key seats and held onto competitive Rio Grande Valley and Central Florida districts that Republicans had specifically redrawn to flip.   

Gerrymandering Backfire: 
When a party stretches district lines too thin to maximize seats (giving themselves modest 5-to-10 point advantages across multiple districts), a larger-than-expected swing by the opposing party can cause all of those newly drawn "safe" seats to collapse simultaneously.   

Outcome: 
Rather than insulating the GOP, Democrats claimed majorities in the House by winning multiple seats drawn explicitly to favor Republicans.   




(I used Gemini AI & ChatGPT AI to organize and tabulate the results and the HTML table)



My analysis:

The Democrats do not have enough votes to overturn a veto... so it is going to be a cantankerous two years. The big question is has any of the Republicans developed backbones? So for the next two years with a divided Congress without a veto-proof majority guarantees a combative, high-friction. environment.

In Maine: it looks like Sen. Collins backed Trump one too many times in critical votes.

Some voters complained about Trump not being on the ballot. Irish Business Times reported...
A confused voter demanding to know why Donald Trump's name was missing from his ballot has sparked a political talking point, after a video shared on X appeared to show a man complaining that he could not find the US president among the candidates.

According to the footage as described, someone explains that Trump is not running in the midterm election. The exchange serves as a reminder of a basic fact about American politics, even as Trump himself urges voters to treat the November contest as a referendum on his presidency.
Well if it was... Trump lost!



To do list:
  • I think that the Democrats need to balance the budget with a "Cut the deficit tax" on those making more than a million dollars a year!
  • Investigate fraud & corruption. (I don't think any criminal cases going forward. Because if they find corruption it will be the DOJ to prosecute the case. Do you really think the DOJ will go against Trump family?)
  • Impeach cabinet members who put Trump before the Constitution (i.e. DOJ and the Department of Defense)
  • Investigate DOGE



3:30PM