THE TRANSITION DIARY: 71 Days until the Inauguration: November 9, 2024:

 THE TRANSITION DIARY: 71 Days until the Inauguration: November 9, 2024: 

   About two dozen (23) House races were uncalled as of Friday, and neither party has clinched a majority.To maintain control of the House, Republicans need to win just six of the two dozen House seats remaining to be called. Aside from a handful of very close races that have come down to the final ballots, most of the races are in Western states where counting is expected to continue for days.

   Meanwhile, THE DEMOCRATS are in a shambles, blaming each other or MILK TOAST JOE for losing the PRESIDENCY. There appears to be no direction for recovery. Considering that even when the DEMS won an (Senate/House/ State) election, the GOP numbers were substantially higher than previous years. HARRIS gave a “gracious”concession speech to her supporters, many seen crying. Joe continues to hide in the WHITE HOUSE preparing to leave. Where the party goes from here is anybody’s guess. WaPo stated “the party suddenly faces a vacuum at the top” and that “political parties rarely give a starring role to defeated White House aspirants” except for Donald TRUMP. That trend suggests HARRIS is a one and done candidate. Then, there is also the void at DNC Chair as Jaime Harris is not seeking a second term.  SHUMER (Chuck) will be the Senate “minority” leader come January 20th. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) could, if the House turns “blue” become “Speaker” but he will be focused on TRUMPISMS not the leadership of the party.

   So, Who could lead the party? To me it needs to be someone who can figure out what went wrong (autopsy), and modernize the party for a new era. That leader needs to find a policy, a platform which will normalize and be more relatable to the Democratic Party faithful.

   INCOMING PRESIDENT TRUMP (#47) has announced his CHIEF OF STAFF. Susie Wiles, 67, will be the first woman to hold the all-important role. Trump said on Thursday: “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected.” For you sports trivia fans Susie Wiles is the daughter of star placekicker and NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, 

   #47 on an incoming congratulatory call from the UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT handed the conversation over to ELON MUSK. That’s an interesting/strange thing` to do.

   A peaceful transition has been announced by Biden/Harris. Step one after the concession/congratulatory phone calls will be when President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump will meet at the White House on Wednesday morning, in the Oval Office at 11 a.m. Remembering that Trump explicitly did not invite Biden to meet at the White House in 2020, forgoing a custom that Trump participated in with then-President Barack Obama in 2016…to be continued…

The opinions and observations are solely my own views, and I take full responsibility for any errors of fact, not to mention any predictions that prove to be wildly inaccurate.

Kill a Tree for Me

The Jazz Bus: Kill a Tree for Me
The elections are over and the ballots all finally counted, the results are in with a few still being contested. No hanging chads this time, no “oh, he’s your brother the governor” scam, just good old time nasty “he say she say” politics. Finger pointing, outing the opponent for doing this or not doing that or for being “in-bed” with The Speaker of The House while never hinting at what this politician stood for, just against.
Then on Election Day I get to the polling place and knowing in advance a new system was being used I prepared for long lines and in-depth explanations on the procedure. But, ah, not to be. The line was non-existent, and the usual cast of characters from the Board of Elections was in place, mostly my neighbors. After some small talk about our respective families I signed in, got my number which was recorded at the next table, and proceeded to the third table to pick up my paper ballot. Already I was missing the security of the mysterious curtain surrounding the voting machine. The old lever system was good enough for me and the environment too, I think. But more on that later. So I instructed to use a black magic marker hooked to string (no one will steal that sucker) located in the “privacy booth”. This marker was the same one you probably used, as did the guys coughing, sneezing, and wheezing after me. Swine flu here I come. While this unsanitary situation was bad enough for me, it got worse. The most offensive thing to me was handing my completed ballot face up to a guy, my neighbor, who inserted it into the machine to register my vote. He certainly got an eyeful. Leaving a bit uncomfortable I later spoke to friends who felt the same way. Secret ballot, democracy.
A few days later I read in the local paper that millions of unused preprinted ballots, which can never be used in future elections, remain. All must be collected and stored by The Board of Elections for two full years. Accountability, in case they are falsely submitted or something to that effect. While the printing costs were astonishing to begin with, now an additional cost of over $1,000,000 will be needed to secure these unused ballots. So, trees across our great country were cut down to make paper to print these unused ballots, and now my taxes are paying to secure all the ex-trees. What a great system.
With little fanfare, no true hue and cry, a few citizens questioned why we needed a new system in the first place. Modernization, true accountability, and cost effectiveness was the gist of the answer. Your Honor, I rest my case. jazzbus@gmail.com