USA Politics (redux)

[JBS]

Too bad. They should. The true test of an independent judiciary is legally being challenged against, and upholding the result of, the latest elections. When was the last time thw Finnish judiciary upheld the latest elections against a legal challenge?

The extreme to which Trump is taking things is unprecedented, but election challenges in court are part of our system, especially in close elections. There are IIRC two Congressional seats which have yet to be decided, one in Iowa and one in New York, because very slim margins (I think the difference in Iowa was about 10 votes) have made recounts and a court challenge necessary. The one in New York may not be decided until the spring.

The American view of election officials is trust but verify.

[Florestan]

Where do you learn that Bill Galston is partisan, please?

Here: :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Galston

He was deputy assistant for domestic policy to U.S. President Bill Clinton (January 1993 – May 1995).[1][7][9] He has also been employed by the presidential campaigns of Al Gore (1988, 2000),[11][12] Walter Mondale,[12] and John B. Anderson.[13]

[Florestan]

You win!

[Florestan]

The extreme to which Trump is taking things is unprecedented,

Is it illegal? Is it unconstitutional?

but election challenges in court are part of our system, especially in close elections.

Say whaaaat?

There are IIRC two Congressional seats which have yet to be decided, one in Iowa and one in New York, because very slim margins (I think the difference in Iowa was about 10 votes) have made recounts and a court challenge necessary. The one in New York may not be decided until the spring.

Unlike Finland or New Zealand, right?

The American view of election officials is trust but verify.

Most wise.

[Florestan]

Outstanding.  You are being asked - seriously, apparently - how you knew a partisan polemicist was partisan.  A first, even for GMG!

I know Clinton, Gore and Mondale. John B. Anderson is an unknown quantity to me., though.

[JBS]

I know Clinton, Gore and Mondale. John B. Anderson is an unknown quantity to me., though.

True to my quixotic nature, he was the first person for whom I cast my ballot in a Presidential election

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Anderson

[drogulus]

     Look, the election is truly over. Vladdy congratulated Biden, and Mitch followed soon after.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

As an aside, is anyone else here having problems watching video clips on CNN at the moment?  I was trying to watch the one about McConnell a few minutes ago...tried adjusting settings for this website...was able to see an ad then, but even though it says "now playing", the screen was black.

PD

EDIT:  Never mind...it's working now. 

[milk]

From the failing New York Times: After weeks of declining to recognize Biden's win, Mitch McConnell congratulates him for being the president-elect.

It's official now.  That is because only now is it official.  It is imperative to recognize the fact that the press plays no official or legitimate role in determining election winners.  I suspect mass hysteria concerning Trump's purported attempts to steal the election will continue nonetheless.

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/16/946995614/ex-houston-police-officer-charged-in-attack-over-bogus-election-fraud-plot?ft=nprml&f=139482413



Ex-Houston Police Officer Charged In Attack Over Bogus Election Fraud Plot

..Aguirre said he was working for the group Liberty Center for God and Country when on Oct. 19 he pulled a gun on a man who he believed was the mastermind of the scheme...Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Aguirre "crossed the line from dirty politics to commission of a violent crime and we are lucky no one was killed."...Aguirre's scheme was reportedly part of a paid investigation by the right-wing Liberty Center group, whose CEO is Republican activist Steven Hotze. It was later discovered that Aguirre was paid $266,400 by this organization for this involvement.

[Todd]

McConnell getting much of what he wants in emerging relief deal

St Addison holds the line.  Dems had better fight real tough in Georgia to show him who's boss next year.

[Karl Henning]

The Dangerous Idolatry of Christian Trumpism

We can pray peace will prevail, but we'd be fools to presume it will.

[Karl Henning]

The Dangerous Idolatry of Christian Trumpism

We can pray peace will prevail, but we'd be fools to presume it will.

As for hysteria:

And here's what he says about Americans who disagree, who believe that Trump lost the election:

Everybody who is not hopped up about this ... you are the Germans that looked the other way when Hitler was preparing to do what he was preparing to do. Unfortunately, I don't see how you can see it any other way.

That's right, you're like the Germans who didn't object to the rise of Hitler. And is this deep conviction built on unassailable evidence of mass fraud? No, not at all. He doesn't even really care about the courts:

So who cares what I can prove in the courts? This is right. This happened, and I am going to do anything I can to uncover this horror, this evil.

Later he says, "We need to fight to the death, to the last drop of blood, because it's worth it."

[Karl Henning]

"Biden-stole-the-election" hysteria after-market:

"What are Republican members of Congress so scared about that they're still clinging to crazy conspiracy theories about election fraud, even after the Supreme Court has acted and the electoral college has voted? Is there a path back to sanity and civility after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden?

Unfortunately, the road ahead still seems blocked — and not just by President Trump. Republican House members tell me there's a rage in their districts among grass-roots GOP voters who believe, without evidence, that the system is rigged and the election was stolen by Biden."

RTWT here.

[Karl Henning]

"Biden-stole-the-election" hysteria after-market:

"What are Republican members of Congress so scared about that they're still clinging to crazy conspiracy theories about election fraud, even after the Supreme Court has acted and the electoral college has voted? Is there a path back to sanity and civility after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden?

Unfortunately, the road ahead still seems blocked — and not just by President Trump. Republican House members tell me there's a rage in their districts among grass-roots GOP voters who believe, without evidence, that the system is rigged and the election was stolen by Biden."

RTWT here.

Spineless to begin with, now they're in thrall to the whackjobs.


"The message is to move on, but it's hard for Republicans to hear when they're hunkered down — still intimidated by Trump and frightened by an angry base that seems to have lost the ability to separate election fact from fiction."

[drogulus]

Is it illegal? Is it unconstitutional?

     When despotic aspirants use courts to steal/overturn/reverse elections the question of legality comes up. As often as not democratic systems are legally killed. It's the best way to do it if you don't have total control over the organs of state security and the military. Trump doesn't have control and he knows the state is still deep enough to resist full throttle banana-ism.

     Trump thought he could use the legal system against itself and failed for the reason I gave. Ideological zealotry is not personal loyalty.

[71 dB]

"Biden-stole-the-election" hysteria after-market:

"What are Republican members of Congress so scared about that they're still clinging to crazy conspiracy theories about election fraud, even after the Supreme Court has acted and the electoral college has voted? Is there a path back to sanity and civility after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden?

Unfortunately, the road ahead still seems blocked — and not just by President Trump. Republican House members tell me there's a rage in their districts among grass-roots GOP voters who believe, without evidence, that the system is rigged and the election was stolen by Biden."

RTWT here.

The system IS rigged, but not by Biden, but by the oligarchs, the establishment, the rich. For the most part they are fine with either Trump or Biden being the president as long as a real lefty doesn't get into the White House. Bernie Sanders not being the president is the REAL rigging. The corporate media does good job at keeping Americans as clueless as possible about that.

[T. D.]

     When despotic aspirants use courts to steal/overturn/reverse elections the question of legality comes up. As often as not democratic systems are legally killed. It's the best way to do it if you don't have total control over the organs of state security and the military. Trump doesn't have control and he knows the state is still deep enough to resist full throttle banana-ism.

     Trump thought he could use the legal system against itself and failed for the reason I gave. Ideological zealotry is not personal loyalty.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/tommy-tuberville-electoral-college-reaction/index.html

[SimonNZ]

just catching up with this now:

Hacking campaign targeted US energy, treasury and commerce agencies
'Significant and ongoing' cyber attack, suspected to be the work of Russia, poses a grave risk to 'critical infrastructure entities' as well

"The US government continues to reel from a large and sophisticated hacking campaign that affected top federal agencies, including the energy department, the treasury and commerce departments, and is even said to have targeted the agency responsible for the country's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Authorities expressed increasing alarm over the hack, suspected to be the work of Russia, warning that it poses "a grave risk" to federal, state and local governments, as well as "critical infrastructure entities".

In a statement on Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) also warned that it will be difficult to remove the malware inserted through network software.

"Removing this threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging for organizations," the agency said.

Thursday's comments were the most detailed yet from the agency since reports of the hack emerged over the weekend. The US government on Wednesday confirmed that an operation by elite hackers affected its networks and said the attack was "significant and ongoing".

The true scale of the breach is still unknown, but looks to have extended beyond the US government. On Thursday, Reuters reported that Microsoft was also hacked as part of the suspected Russian campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.

SolarWinds, the company behind the software targeted by hackers, said earlier this week that up to 18,000 of its more than 300,000 customers had downloaded the compromised software.

Hackers believed to be working for Russia introduced malware into SolarWind's popular network safety tool called Orion, which is used by numerous government agencies and large corporations.

The hack began as early as March, when malicious code was snuck into updates to Orion, which monitors the computer networks of businesses and governments for outages.

That malware gave the hackers remote access to an organization's networks, including internal emails. The content the hackers sought to steal – and how successful they were – remains unclear.

Cisa said it was continuing to analyze the other avenues used by the attackers. So far, the hackers are known to have at least monitored email or other data within the US departments of defense, state, treasury, homeland security and commerce.

The US Energy Department also said they have evidence hackers gained access to their networks as part of the massive cyber campaign. Politico had earlier reported the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the country's nuclear weapons stockpile, was targeted. The disclosures raise further national security concerns."[...]

TRUMP STAYS SILENT ON NUCLEAR-STOCKPILE HACK, FOCUSING ENERGY ON SHOWERHEADS AND TOILETS INSTEAD
Surprise, surprise: The president has said nothing about a massive Russian hack. But he's right on top of low-flow toilets and showerheads.


That guy Trump fired for saying the voting was conducted and counted fairly was the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, right?

[JBS]

just catching up with this now:

Hacking campaign targeted US energy, treasury and commerce agencies
'Significant and ongoing' cyber attack, suspected to be the work of Russia, poses a grave risk to 'critical infrastructure entities' as well

"The US government continues to reel from a large and sophisticated hacking campaign that affected top federal agencies, including the energy department, the treasury and commerce departments, and is even said to have targeted the agency responsible for the country's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Authorities expressed increasing alarm over the hack, suspected to be the work of Russia, warning that it poses "a grave risk" to federal, state and local governments, as well as "critical infrastructure entities".

In a statement on Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) also warned that it will be difficult to remove the malware inserted through network software.

"Removing this threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging for organizations," the agency said.

Thursday's comments were the most detailed yet from the agency since reports of the hack emerged over the weekend. The US government on Wednesday confirmed that an operation by elite hackers affected its networks and said the attack was "significant and ongoing".

The true scale of the breach is still unknown, but looks to have extended beyond the US government. On Thursday, Reuters reported that Microsoft was also hacked as part of the suspected Russian campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.

SolarWinds, the company behind the software targeted by hackers, said earlier this week that up to 18,000 of its more than 300,000 customers had downloaded the compromised software.

Hackers believed to be working for Russia introduced malware into SolarWind's popular network safety tool called Orion, which is used by numerous government agencies and large corporations.

The hack began as early as March, when malicious code was snuck into updates to Orion, which monitors the computer networks of businesses and governments for outages.

That malware gave the hackers remote access to an organization's networks, including internal emails. The content the hackers sought to steal – and how successful they were – remains unclear.

Cisa said it was continuing to analyze the other avenues used by the attackers. So far, the hackers are known to have at least monitored email or other data within the US departments of defense, state, treasury, homeland security and commerce.

The US Energy Department also said they have evidence hackers gained access to their networks as part of the massive cyber campaign. Politico had earlier reported the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the country's nuclear weapons stockpile, was targeted. The disclosures raise further national security concerns."[...]

TRUMP STAYS SILENT ON NUCLEAR-STOCKPILE HACK, FOCUSING ENERGY ON SHOWERHEADS AND TOILETS INSTEAD
Surprise, surprise: The president has said nothing about a massive Russian hack. But he's right on top of low-flow toilets and showerheads.


That guy Trump fired for saying the voting was conducted and counted fairly was the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, right?

Yes. So perhaps he wasn't as competent as people would like to believe him to be.

[SimonNZ]

Yes. So perhaps he wasn't as competent as people would like to believe him to be.

Is that your interpretation?

I was thinking that removing the head of the agency and the resulting disorder was possibly seen by the hackers as the last piece they needed for the attack to go ahead and make the response that much less effective.

I haven't read much about him but I haven't heard anyone question his competence, and the overall election security should be some indication.