Politics – Page 3 – Really Right

Trump’s (Team) Steps in it Again

Some days I really wonder if the Republicans would rather be in the permanent minority like they are in Sacramento, California. An irrelevant bunch, who can go on the local friendly paper/news channel and preach about how “we need Republican’s ideas to fix this state!” They can carve out their individual fiefdom and never lose, and that’s ok.

I made the above statement because this came out this AM.

Tim Scott calls Obamas video shared by Trump ‘most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House’

The video was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account which I did see. It is based on the Lion King movie, with Donald Trump depicted as the Lion King, other political types were depicted as well, including, the Obama’s as monkeys. Yeah, you read that right. Two black people, the former President and his wife, were depicted as monkeys, in the year of our Lord 2026. Folks I might be alone on this, but this is pretty dang racist.

Oh, the Senate’s lone Black Republican agrees…

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott said about the video in a post on the social platform X.

“The President should remove it,” the Senator added.

Folks I want to say this, I do not think Donald Trump is a racist; however, he is, in my opinion, too flippant with his words and says/does stupid things. I will also add, I do not believe this video was created or even posted by him. Nevertheless, it was on his account, and as of 4 PM left coast time, no one has been fired. This tells me it wasn’t just “some intern” either. I want to see heads rolling, this is no better than people cheering Charlie Kirk’s death or wishing death on Rep. Omar. Whoever decided to portray the Obama’s as monkeys may be one of the dumbest people on earth.

Why do Republicans do this? They shouldn’t, but they never seem to learn.

Granted, the following is a list of things I have witnessed in my life, not so much on a nationwide level, but they were disturbing, nonetheless.

Tony Andrade’s (RIP) email to Sac Central Committee members depicting watermelons growing in the White House Garden when Obama got sworn in. Blatantly racist, a few members called him out, some maybe even supported it. Why? Stupid!
Dominic Foppoli putting up “Republicans freed the slaves signs” at my university late at night the day before MLK Jr’s birthday. Time and place, it was neither one, and while, yes, a Republican president freed the slaves, posting those flyers was felony stupid.

Folks, Republicans don’t do that, or should I say real Republicans. However, there is a new breed of Republican that came out of the closet when Trump got elected. It’s a new breed of character who I honestly detest. I have no need for the Jorge Riley’s of the world. They spout racist, drunken BS that no one agrees with, yet they are allowed to speak freely. I long for a simpler time. We are supposed to be above this; the Democrats are the ones who protest in trees, burn their clothing, riot, loot, set things and buildings on fire, not us. But that has changed. Believe it or not, January 6^th changed that narrative, and now the GOP must try to change it back. Things like this do not help, they hurt the cause, and badly. Hopefully some adults will take over, and soon. With today’s proceedings, we are no better than the folks who cheered Charlie Kirk’s death as mentioned above. Was it Trump or someone else? Who cares, damage inflicted cannot be undone.

Folks I have a feeling, as much as I hate to say it, and do not wish to believe it, these types of mistakes may well cost Trump Congress in November. I hope I am wrong.

The Chief

Editor’s Note: I saw a claim on Facebook that the offensive video was made over a year ago and has been circulating on social media since then. After the proverbial stuff hit the fan, it was removed from Trump’s official page.

Minnesota Mayhem is the 2026 Campaign

Above: Minnesota’s Samali inspired state flag.

What you are seeing in Minnesota right now is the 2026 campaign. As usual, it’s right out of the Marxist handbook. This same plan of anarchy is currently being cloned in various parts of the United States and will roll-out nationwide in the next few months unless Trump and company squash it like a bug now.

Before I get to that, I have watched the video of the nurse dude being shot. Folks, the Babylon Bee’s Not the Bee has a good timeline of the incident.

The bottom line is that it was a righteous kill.

The guy interfered with a police action.

He did not comply with lawful orders given by law enforcement.

As a result of not obeying the police, they attempted to arrest him. He resisted more.

He was maced and they tried to get him on the ground and handcuff him. He resisted more.

As they were wrestling him to the ground, the gun became visible and reportedly discharged. Simultaneously to this, a law enforcement guy yelled, “Gun”. Then the guy was shot.

Once he was no longer a threat, then the law enforcement guys tried to administer first aid to the man.

The Siig pistol that the guy had in his possession is known to accidentally discharge when dropped. So, the nurse guy could have shot, the pistol may have fallen out of his holster and discharged, or a policeman could have gotten his finger on the pistol and the struggle made it go off, or the report of the first shot being from the man’s pistol is incorrect.

In the video, the law enforcement guy lined up his shot before firing. He aimed and then fired. Given that this situation was so high profile, I don’t think he would fire without knowing it was the proper procedure in this situation.

Oh, later this little nugget came out about the protestor.

CNN reporting that Alex Pretti broke a rib during a separate altercation with federal officers a week before he was fatally shot attempting to obstruct an immigration operation.

Oh, speaking of nurses, this nurse babe posted a series of videos on how to find ICE agents on dating websites and then poison them. She was rewarded with unemployment for her sage remarks.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and the VCU Police are investigating after a nurse at the hospital made a series of videos about fighting back against federal law enforcement.

VCU anti-ICE nurse references paralytic drug in video instructing healthcare providers to ‘sabotage’ agents

“Sabotage tactic, or at least scare tactic. All the medical providers, grab some syringes with needles on the end,” she said. “Have them full of saline or succinylcholine, you know, whatever. Whatever. That will probably be a deterrent. Be safe.”

Signal Groups

First, the part nobody explains but assumes that you know already. Signal is an app that can be installed on cell phones. (There is also a PC version.) You can communicate with individuals or groups via text message or video communications. All communications on Signal are encrypted. This is to ensure privacy. Signal is used because it provides encryption, is reliable, and is not owned by one of the large Silicon Valley tech companies. Large Silicon Valley tech companies are known for cooperating with Federal warrants and the degree of privacy their products provide is suspect in some circles.

I think the command-and-control stuff that you read about is run by people using laptops or desktop computers. The machinery behind the protests is based on military warfare tactics. These guys are well financed. I think their funding is separate from anything related to Somalia “refugees” and fraudulent businesses.

for more see: Cam Higby Exposes Real-Time Tracking of Federal Agents in Minneapolis

I hope to demonstrate many of my claims shortly. The following are all from the Facebook page Donald Trump For President.

Minnesota Lt. Governor a Leader of Protesters

“LAWYER UP”: Former DOJ Chief of Staff Issues Grave Murder Charge Warning to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan

The legal walls are closing in on Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor. Following the explosive revelation that Peggy Flanagan allegedly operated as a “dispatch admin” for the radical ICE-interference network under the handle “FlanSouthside,” one of the nation’s top legal minds has issued a chilling warning about her future.

The Felony Murder Warning

Chad Mizelle, former Chief of Staff at the Trump DOJ and Acting General Counsel at DHS, stated plainly that if the Signal chat is tied to the Alex Pretti shooting, Flanagan is in “serious trouble.”

Mizelle explained the “felony murder” reality: if you are involved in a conspiracy-in this case, interfering with federal ICE operations-and someone dies as a result, every participant in that conspiracy can be charged with murder.

Mizelle clarified that the law applies even if the person who died was a member of the group, like Alex Pretti. Being the “admin” of the coordination network makes the legal liability inescapable.

From “Direct Action” to Federal Indictment

As the dispatch admin, “Flan Southside” allegedly oversaw the real-time tracking and doxxing of federal officers at locations like McDonald’s and local apartment complexes, creating the violent friction that led to the fatal shooting.

Mizelle’s warning underscores that being a sitting Lieutenant Governor does not grant immunity for participating in a criminal conspiracy to obstruct federal law enforcement.

In a blunt message to the State Capitol, Mizelle advised, “LG Flanagan better lawyer up. She may have some federal agents who want to talk to her … “

The “ICE Watch” isn’t a game anymore-it’s a potential murder case. When the second-highest official in the state is caught running the switchboard for a mob that gets people killed, the federal government has a duty to act.

Minnesota State Representative in Leadership Role

THE RESISTANCE CONNECTION: Startling new revelations have emerged connecting the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti to high-level organizational efforts within the Minnesota state legislature.

Reports indicate that Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse shot by federal agents on Saturday, was an active member of the anti-ICE “Signal” chats used to coordinate rapid responses and track federal agents across Minneapolis.

The Man Behind the Chat

State Rep. Alex Falconer: The freshman DFL legislator from District 49A has publicly admitted to leading these “rapid response networks”.

Falconer, who describes himself as a “community organizer at heart,” uses the Signal app to recruit residents into a “resistance network”.

Falconer has been vocal about his involvement, offering resources to help families “impede” ICE, providing legal help, and even offering to move cars for those afraid of being targeted while plowing apartment lots.

Members of Falconer’s Signal groups are instructed to send alerts when they see “suspicious vehicles” or known federal agents.

On the morning he was killed, news of the ICE operation near Nicollet and 26th was reportedly transmitted across these very rapid response networks, drawing protesters-including Pretti-to the scene.

While Falconer frames the groups as a way to “look out for one another,” federal critics argue these networks are being used to intentionally obstruct and harass officers carrying out lawful duties.

Representative Falconer’s open participation in these “resistance” chats has drawn intense scrutiny, as he concurrently serves on the Commerce and Education Policy committees.

As the BCA investigates the shooting, questions are mounting about whether state-level officials are using their positions to incite dangerous confrontations between citizens and federal law enforcement.

Meanwhile on Signal Groups

“THE FEDS ARE ALL IN HERE”: The Moment the Radical “ICE Watch” Signal Chat Realized They Were Infiltrated

The digital fortress of the radical left in Minneapolis is crumbling. Leaked screenshots from the encrypted Signal group “WARD 4 N MPLS RR ALERTS” reveal a state of absolute panic as agitators realized their “trusted” network for tracking federal agents had been breached by law enforcement.

At 11:13 AM, a user named “John Dough” dropped the bombshell that sent the group into a tailspin:”

The Feds are all in here.” This realization triggered a massive exodus, with dozens of participants- including users like “Gerbs,” “Big Dog,” and “Kovala Bear”-immediately fleeing the group.

Group admins like “Livid” desperately tried to lock down the chatter, pleading with members to move all non-essential messages to “patrol or community hubs.” They acknowledged that a “large amount of trolls” had infiltrated the chat, despite their claims of “actively monitoring” and keeping the network secure.

Before the mass exit, the chat was a breeding ground for radical threats. A user named “Communist Krusher” openly threatened to “snatch you up and take you to the lake” and throw people in, while others used slurs and told “trolls” that they would be “going to jail.”

The “Signal” for Obstruction

The “WARD 4” chat served as a primary dispatch for “Rapid Response” requests-the tactical coordination used to physically “impede” and “block” ICE and Border Patrol agents during lawful operations.

This infiltration follows the exposure of “FlanSouthside” (Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan) as a fellow Signal admin. The realization that federal agents are now inside these groups suggests that the “Criminal COVER UP” at the highest levels of the Walz administration is being systematically dismantled from the inside out.

With the “Feds” now monitoring their every move, the radical left’s ability to coordinate “direct action” and doxx federal agents in real-time has been severely compromised.

When the “revolution” is being live-streamed to federal agents, the game is over. The panic inside the Ward 4 Signal chat proves that these agitators know their “coordination” is a federal crime.

Minnesota is an Insurgency

Former Special Forces Warrant Officer gives his take on Minnesota protests: “What’s unfolding in Minneapolis right now isn’t ‘protest.’ It’s low-level insurgency infrastructure, built by people who’ve clearly studied the playbook.”

[As a former Special Forces Warrant Officer with multiple rotations running counterinsurgency ops -both hunting insurgents and trying to separate them from sympathetic populations-I’ve seen organized resistance up close. From Anbar to Helmand, the pattern is familiar: spotters, cutouts, dead drops (or modern equivalents), disciplined comms, role specialization, and a willingness to absorb casualties while bleeding the stronger force slowly.

What’s unfolding in Minneapolis right now isn’t “protest.” It’s low-level insurgency infrastructure, built by people who’ve clearly studied the playbook.

Signal groups at 1,000-member cap per zone. Dedicated roles: mobile chasers, plate checkers logging vehicle data into shared databases, 24/7 dispatch nodes vectoring assets, SALUTE-style reporting (Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment) on suspected federal vehicles. Daily chat rotations and timed deletions to frustrate forensic recovery. Vetting processes for new joiners. Mutual aid from sympathetic locals (teachers providing cover, possible PD tip-offs on license plate lookups). Home-base coordination points. Rapid escalation from observation to physical obstruction-or worse.

This isn’t spontaneous outrage. This is C2 (command and control) with redundancy, OPSEC hygiene, and task organization that would make a SF team sergeant nod in recognition. Replace “ICE agents” with “occupying coalition forces” and the structure maps almost 1:1 to early-stage urban cells we hunted in the mid-2000s.

The most sobering part? It’s domestic. Funded, trained (somewhere), and directed by people who live in the same country they’re trying to paralyze law enforcement in. When your own citizens build and operate this level of parallel intelligence and rapid-response network against federal officers- complete with doxxing, vehicle pursuits, and harassment that’s already turned lethal-you’re no longer dealing with civil disobedience. You’re facing a distributed resistance that’s learned the lessons of successful insurgencies: stay below the kinetic threshold most of the time, force over-reaction when possible, maintain popular support through narrative, and never present a single center of gravity.

I spent years training partner forces to dismantle exactly this kind of apparatus. Now pieces of it are standing up in American cities, enabled by elements of local government and civil society. That should keep every thinking American awake at night.

Not because I want escalation. But because history shows these things don’t de-escalate on their own once the infrastructure exists and their own once the infrastructure exists and the cadre believe they’re winning the information war.

We either recognize what we’re actually looking at -or we pretend it’s still just “activism” until the structures harden and spread.

Your call, America. But from where I sit, this isn’t January 2026 politics anymore.

It’s phase one of something we’ve spent decades trying to keep off our own soil.]

– Eric Shwalm

Liberals Hunting for Trouble

The Irony of the Minnesota Whistle-Blowers A viral video is calling out the total absurdity of the “resistance” in Minnesota, where activists are spending their days hunting down federal agents just to scream for attention. The message is clear: if you have to go looking for your “oppressors” in your car with a “cute little whistle,” you might not be the victim you claim to be.

Man says “Okay, so let me get this straight.

Liberals in Minnesota waking up every day, getting in their cars with their little cute whistles, hunting down ICE agents. And when they find said ICE agents, on their free will, they then interfere with federal agents, on top of trying to ID normal civilians because they think said normal civilian might be ICE agents. Wait, you’re oppressed how, again? Like, okay, wait, wait, let’s back up. You’re a victim how, again? Because, listen, my man, no time ever … Minnesota fatigue is real. No time ever in human history, people who were oppressed by the state or any government, at no time, did it ever occur to them, “Hey, let’s get in my car and let’s go find our oppressors. We’ll blow our whistles at them and honk at them. Over here, oppress me! Me, me, me, me, me, me! I’m oppressable!” Like, what the f** k? Somebody please make this shit make sense!”

My Thoughts

My point in posting this stuff is twofold, as always, big tech has a way of making this stuff go away, typically by removing it from the Internet or burying it via their search algorithms, and secondly to show context instead of just a pull quote in a vacuum.

This protest is well funded, well organized, and being replicated all over the country. This is a Marxist revolution on steroids. It very much reminds me of the domestic terror groups in the 1970’s that blew up police stations and really loved car bombings.

Trump has forced the Democrats to fight for their lives instead of just rollover like the rest of the Republicans that were ok with their extinction via unchecked immigration and the “Great Replacement”. I will say bluntly that if Trump fails, the Republic that was America is over. Will he get credit for saving the country? Nope, but he definitely can prolong its existence.

My final comment is that if Elon Musk had not defunded USAID, then tens of thousands of paid protesters would be torching the country right now and Congressional Republicans would be negotiating away our freedom to keep their lousy jobs doing nothing.

Trump is Working with Liz Warren on Legislation? Impeach! Kidding

That sound you are hearing is the people’s brains (what’s left of them) at the local CRA chapter exploding on command. How could The Donald choose to work with a far-left crazy liberal?

It’s easy, and it’s something I would advise the Democrats to do more often actually.

If there are two things I wish Donald Trump learned from his first term, it’s that his own party really doesn’t want to work with him (in my humble opinion that has mostly continued to this day), and that Executive Orders are easily overturned by either; the Court, or his successor in office. If these things Trump wants are codified by Congress they become very hard to repeal or replace, like Obamacare. In all honesty, this term for Trump, I can only really think of one piece of legislation (the big beautiful bill) he has used Congress for. Everything else will be easily repealed or undone, before lunch the day his successor is sworn in (assuming it’s not a Republican).

Enter the Democrats in Congress.

Folks it’s painfully obvious that the Republicans do not want to eliminate or replace Obamacare, I could care less what Sean Hannity or any other host on Fox has to say about this. They had a chance, had no plan, and when voted on couldn’t muster the votes. Other pieces of legislation, they show little interest in being of assistance. Trump has actually dealt with a lot of drama in his first year back in office, nearly all of it started by his own party! Tom Massie, Rand Paul, Don Bacon, Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, and a few others have either opposed his moves or made headlines screaming about “the Constitution.” Sure, I hear them on blowing up the “suspected” drug boats in the Caribbean, and arresting Nicolas Maduro, but is that the hill you wish to die on?

Trump made his comments and will be signing (signed?) and Executive Order limiting credit card interest to 10%. I cannot get a reading on his own Party on this, but if he is doing an Executive Order, he likely found out there isn’t much appetite on the GOP side for this. Enter Liz Warren. Warren is a fierce fighter of big banks and the ways they conduct business, resulting in hurting the poor and middle class. Do not get me wrong. She is wrong on quite a bit, but in this case, she sides with Trump. Warren can try to carry this bill through the Senate and get the House on board too, perhaps. It’s a Trump piece of legislation but in this case common ground exists. I have a feeling the GOP won’t want to hear Liz Warren sponsored it, so they will jump on board.

My point of this blog is politics creates strange bed fellows, but also Trump views everything as a deal, and he is not a conservative, he is a populist. Learn the difference! If I was leading the Democrat Party I would quit this impeachment and 25^th Amendment nonsense, likely being pushed by far left media types like Matt Dowd used to do, and work with him. He seems willing and ready to deal on almost anything. Think of the possibilities? Democrats may well have a congressional majority next year, rather than sharpening the knives (impeachment and 25^th Amendment), why not set the stage for deal making. Hate the ICE raids going on? Maybe strike a deal saying can you only go after the criminals? Leaving the family and day laborer types who are not criminals alone? Maybe cut a deal and say we will speak to the Democrat governors and communicate you only want to get the criminals and will do it for only a couple months? Trump may go for it if he gets an increase in defense spending, or if we can get some serious regulation roll back. Maybe tell Trump you want to see the ships in the Caribbean not blown up anymore, but in a trade, we will let you spend more money to hire inspectors at our ports and border patrol officers?

This already kind of happened in Maryland, Wes Moore, the governor, actually welcomed the FBI and ATF being sent in to work in Maryland. He didn’t want the National Guard, he gave valid reasons as to why. Folks are willing to work with Trump on certain issues, leverage that! Trump has a major say over members of his own party, and an election is coming this year.

Warren is not wrong on this, neither is Trump. Let us see if more deals are made.

The Chief

Trump had a Good Day (01/07/26)

Bloggers note: No way was this going to be posted the day I sent it to William due to an earlier blog submission. Any changes after today will create a retraction to this story.

The day didn’t start well as a woman was killed by ICE Agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I will state I am never happy to hear anyone getting killed by authorities. There is more to this story, I am sure. If the ICE agent was in the wrong throw the book at him; however, I have a sneaky suspicion the person no longer with us was no saint in the matter.

On to the good parts.

First Trump is going to ban defense corporations from using government funds to buy back stock and pay dividends unless they make serious changes to manufacturing capacity and research. Here is some info below….

President Donald Trump said he would move to block U.S. defense contractors from paying dividends or repurchasing shares unless they significantly increase spending on manufacturing capacity and research, remarks that sent shares of major arms makers lower.

In a social media post Wednesday, Trump also called for sharp limits on executive compensation at defense companies, saying pay should be capped at $5 million until firms construct what he described as “NEW and MODERN Production Plants.” He argued that contractors are failing to produce and maintain military equipment quickly enough.

Defense companies “are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment,” Trump wrote. “This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!”

Folks to put it lightly, this needs to happen, and I hope it does. By no means am I insinuating that we should be stockpiling for war, we do need increased capacity to build war machines faster and more efficiently. The bottom line is that times are far different from fifteen years ago. We must be vigilant that war could break out in the not-too-distant future. Folks, the 90-day people amongst us will be angry but why should our taxpayer dollars go towards bloated executive compensation, stock buybacks, and dividends? That tells me we are being grossly overcharged. Why is it that everything to the older generation must be based on the almighty dollar and how big my bank account is? To be clear, I am not saying, and neither is Trump, they shouldn’t be allowed to make money, but look at the profits these companies are churning out.

Rampant Fraud … My Solution

I’ve been thinking about the below Editor’s Note,

Editor’s Note: One issue that is not refuted in the above is stolen identities and organized crime. I suspect the bulk of fraud is via this mechanism. In my experience, government is ill equipped to deal with fraud as the presumption of any government program is that the applicant is eligible.

William is in fact correct. Fraud is likely coming from stolen identities, organized crime, and professional crooks. The honest reality is that the fraudsters are always several steps ahead of normal people. Think of it like this: to keep the honest person honest you put a lock on your front door. However, the burglar doesn’t care that you have a lock and has a device to pry said door open. Bottom line, if the bad guys want it, they will achieve their goal. In this case, the fraud is committed by folks who know how to avoid detection and may even have people on the inside doing the dirty work for them.

I am proposing a solution, unlike many in the Republican Party, I know I want to “throw this out there.” It’s not perfect but here goes.

Universal Basic Income.

Yep, the 90-day guy called it the “stupidest thing he has ever heard. Saying that’s socialism.” The only thing he knows about socialism is that Sean Hannity rails against it. He is loyal to the folks at Fox News. He describes his generation and Republicans in general pretty well, be against everything. Folks voting NO on everything is not a long-term strategy. This mentality is what led us to Obamacare. When asked for his plan, he shrugged. With the amount of TV he consumes, he should know we are facing a serious crossroads in our country.

Think of it this way, we have so many government programs: Section 8, SNAP, disability, unemployment, welfare, just to name a few, what if we replaced them all. Replace them with 1 federal government program. Universal Income isn’t going to be $100,000, not even close. Income would be verified by the IRS annually with your tax return. If you find work and earn an income over ____ you come off the program. Steal my identity and apply? You will be rejected because I earn too much income. This would be verified by the IRS not an administrative law judge. Lose your job during the year? You would have documentation of that to be sent in with your application! To quote Dave Ramsey, folks on UBI (Universal Basic Income) aren’t going to be seeing the inside of very many restaurants. This will probably be in the neighborhood of $35-55k a year depending on where you live, not work.

We have to start thinking differently about an ever-changing work environment. People are having their jobs outsourced overseas constantly. Stores close simply because they “aren’t making enough profit” AI and quantum computing are going to replace a lot of jobs. When workers retire, the replacement is hired for half or two thirds the salary to save money. This constant cutting of expenses as the basic structure of profit and loss statements does not bode well for the workforce long term.

Our workforce of the future needs to be viewed differently too. Some people are disabled and cannot work or cannot work full time. Others will lack a skillset to work. Let’s be real. When Schools and Universities are saying that graduating high school students (incoming class) only read at a 4^th grade level, we have a real issue! That isn’t going to get better with time. That generation is going to be left toiling and twisting in the wind. We shut down our country for 3 years and it has consequences which are just now being felt. Many didn’t finish high school/college. Many students also picked up bad work habits due to the Covid shutdown. Most jobs do not get filled permanently. If they have something, it’s just on a temporary basis. Sadly, these items are basically uncorrectable. Automation is only going to eliminate more positions which again is making the population more and more unemployed. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have both spoken about importing folks to the USA on H1-B? Visas to work here. Due to the structure of our educational system, that is the future of our workforce folks.

Paying for it? Well, this is the stumbling block. I’m too lazy to look it up as of press time but collapsing all the federal/state aid programs and their subsequent employees would free up quite a bit of cash to fund this. We do not know how much fraud is truly going on, but this collapses several programs into one program. Streamlines the process and makes it so theIRS will be annually verifying income. It may not be the answer, but I think it’s a start. I have also heard Mark Zuckerburg, and others discuss funding this with some of their own wealth, so there is that.

As far as the obvious Fox News comeback, what will stop people from just not working, or working for cash under the table? There isn’t, but I will say $35-50k is not a whole lot of money, so your lifestyle won’t be great. Much like my remark about food stamps, I highly doubt those folks are using them to buy a filet mignon.

Make the application in person only, verified by a government issued ID, and must have a bank account verified in their name. If they do not possess all three of these, sorry can’t help you. No judge to sign off, no paperwork mistakes. Income verified and viola. As mentioned above, IRS checked each year for fraud purposes. Get caught, you are arrested and permanently removed from the program. Check has to go to an address not a PO Box. Will it stop all fraud? No. Will folks on the program use the funds for illicit activities? Sure. The point isn’t to stop all fraud going on, that’s impossible. But my idea is to make it a lot more difficult, that’s all.

If you hate my idea…. May I respectfully ask for your submission?

The Chief

Editor’s Note: I don’t wish to speak directly to the merits of this idea, although collapsing the infamous social safety net into a handful of programs instead of the thousands of existing and overlapping programs being administered currently appears to have merit. I just want to remind you of the plans that Joe Biden had for the IRS. Biden wanted every financial transaction in the United States reported to and tracked by the IRS. The goal of the plan was that the IRS would become our financial Big Brother. Part of the proposal was that the IRS would eliminate income tax filing for individuals. At year end, they would either send you a tax bill or a refund for overpaid taxes. One reason for the program was to eliminate fraud (that it would boost tax revenue was assumed as well).

Fifty Year Mortgages do not help Affordability

The fifty-year mortgage idea was floated by the Trump administration as a way to make home buying more affordable for the younger generations. While this may sound good on paper, it’s yet another way the older generation wants to saddle the younger ones with insurmountable debt. This is called “financial engineering” it’s the latest go to from the Baby Boomer generation that is entering the later stages of life… I mean power on this earthly plane.

You see, as things are currently, you have two options for a mortgage on a home, 15- and 30-year terms. Folks like Dave Ramsey and others rail against a 30-year loan, and he isn’t totally wrong. The problem is, we have a massive affordability crisis, as far as buying “your first home” is concerned. I say buy the place, if you can afford it, and you can always make extra payments toward your mortgage to build equity and own it quicker. Case in point, 10 years ago, I bought my first home, for $325,000. As of today, Zillow has it valued at $600,000. As you can see, starter homes are very expensive.

Enter the older generation. Having learned nothing from the financial crisis circa 2008, they now are floating a 50-year mortgage. This is the same group that floated and sold; interest only mortgages, negative amortization mortgages, NINJA (no income, no job, no asset) mortgages, and no down payment loans. This sunk the financial and credit markets so badly that banks needed federal government bailouts to stay in business. Foreclosures ran rampant and destroyed neighborhoods and cities. 15-17 years later we are not students of history, we just look for a new means to get to an end.

To be fair, this generation has been at it for a while now in regard to affordability. One thing William will tell you, I railed on the new 84-month car loan that replaced the 60-month car loan. This also had nothing to do with affordability. It was just a financial tool to get “you into that car you love so much.” It became not can you afford it, but how much can you pay monthly? We will adjust the dials in the finance department and make the numbers work. I do not know too many people who think it’s a smart idea to finance a vehicle for 7 years. Oh, check out what interest rate you will be paying, news flash it won’t be 0%.

Back to the 50-year mortgage, I ran some numbers, and it amounts to about a $300-400 savings per month in terms of a lower payment. This is based on a 30-year mortgage running about $2,600 which is common now. As you can see, the savings might help, but it comes with drawbacks. First, the interest rate will not be cheap as the bank will be holding the note for 50 years. Also, the age of the house will come into play. Buying that home built in 1960, it’ll be over 100 years old before the mortgage is 2/3 paid off! This carries significant risk for the bank as the asset could be falling into a state of disrepair. Also, you do not and will not build much equity over the life of that mortgage, so when you are looking to buy your bigger house, you won’t have much for a down payment. Just look at the amortization schedule. You will see the first 7-8 years is virtually all interest, not much toward principal.

The last thing to remember, the man pushing these mortgage ideas is none other than President Donald John Trump, a man who loves debt. Look it up, his corporation owes billions in loans. This is no shot at him, he made a ton of money in real estate, but he did it with the corporation holding the paper not himself. In this case, he is making you hold the debt personally. He has made zero attempts to cut the debt or deficit as President (this term or last), and a budget will never be a thing under him. He see’s things through the eyes of “as long as you can make the payment you are fine.” It’s the way his generation feels.

In closing, please think long and hard before you fall for these shenanigans put out by the older generation. The only thing they care about is wealth generation. The 90-day calendar types love it because this means home builders can sell more homes, banks can write more loans, and profits will go higher. They could care less about affordability; they prefer you locked into loan terms that won’t seem like a good move in a decade. This will not end well. I am happy there has been push-back on these mortgages. The truth is that some people will not be able to afford a home. You may not be able to afford that sports car, getting another credit card will not solve your problem. A class/seminar on budgeting/credit should be required.

Stop fleecing the younger generations. Be a student of history. We are entering a rough cycle in terms of affordability. Adding more years to the term is pointless. It’s time we grow-up as a country.

My Take on Gerryrigging I mean Gerrymandering

As an opening note, remember I am a Libertarian who votes with the Republicans, think of me as the opposite of Bernie Sanders who is a Socialist but votes Democrat.

Under the Constitution, we conduct a census every 10 years, meaning we count everyone in every; state, county, city etc. For the sake of this blog, I am not going to touch the “illegals were counted” argument. I am simply making a point about the lines drawn. Yes, I am aware and agree that certain states play “creative accounting” with the numbers. After the states finish the count, they send their figures to the feds. The total population then gets divided by 435 (the number of congressmembers) and a number of representatives for each state is determined. Let’s say 800,000 people. Then they take each state’s population and divide by that number and that is how many “districts” they get awarded. States that grow in population may/will gain seats, those who lose population or do not grow fast enough may/will lose seats. Each state is guaranteed 1 congressmember. Obviously for states that lose/gain, they must re-draw their district lines. This occurs once a decade. Some states have the state legislature draw them, others like California have an independent commission. These maps, when approved, go into place, typically for the election in years ending in “2,” for the next decade. Sometimes these maps are delayed by courts, or the voting rights act. Typically, this is due to racially altered districts, I’ll explain more below.

So, the Republicans in Texas, via Trump, decided to re-draw their lines for the upcoming election. While this is not specifically forbidden, they do not gain or lose seats, they just redraw the lines. They drew the new lines in such a way as to try to “gain” 5 Republican seats. The 90-day guy needed a new pair of man panties upon hearing this, it was the best news ever! They then moved on to Missouri redrawing the lines to obliterate the Democrat representing Kansas City. Ditto in North Carolina with a Democrat representing a “swing seat.” This is like shooting fish in a barrel, right? Then Comrade Newsom in California decided he would get in on the fun, and the voters passed an initiative to adopt new Democrat drawn lines, and suddenly it wasn’t so fun for Republicans. I will give Newsom credit, we have an “independent” commission, and he went to the voters and the voters approved a measure to override the commission and adopt new maps. I am not saying Its right, but it was the correct process. From what the interwebs are saying, Virginia, Maryland, and Illinois are kicking around the idea of re-doing their maps. Those would benefit the blue team. As a side note, Ohio was forced by the courts to re-draw their map, it appears the red team will gain a couple, Utah was required to re-draw theirs, blue team will gain one.

So, as you can see, we have bedlam.

The red team is angry that the blue team is doing it, the blue team is saying the red team started it. Truth is both couldn’t be more wrong. What the Founders had in mind were districts drawn so that regions/areas/cities/towns with the same needs get a representative who serves their interests. Think of it like this; if the Geater Sacramento area was in one district, the representatives could focus on; infrastructure, public transit, redevelopment funds, things bigger that more developed cities need. On the other hand, places way up north of Sacramento like Chico, Red Bluff, and the rural cities nearby have completely different needs; timber industry, farming, rural internet etc. My point is, what these maps did, was put the rural areas in with parts of the large cities, (both sides did this) to create districts the other side cannot win. For example, what do Santa Rosa and Sonoma have in common with Alturas and Chico? Outside of smoking weed, I’d say very little, but it now has 45% Democrat registration making it unwinnable for a Republican. This is a common theme both parties used, it’s been going on for years, but the pedal was pushed to the floor this go round. Also, both parties “shored up incumbents,” meaning they took members who may lose their seats and put people/areas containing large amounts of voters from the other team into a neighboring district. Think of it like this, as far as Northern California is concerned, if you remove some rural parts of Kevin Kiley’s district, and replace with a city like Rancho Cordova it could suddenly become unwinnable.

The other issue I have is that this sets a dangerous precedent going forward. How often will we be redrawing these seats? Let’s use this example. A congressperson from a former safe seat wins by only 4% due to shifting demographics. Do you re-draw the lines shifting parts of the closest “big city” out or draw in more of the “rural area or military base” in? To be clear, I am targeting both parties here. This would mean we become a banana republic, and sadly we are getting very close to being one.

What is my solution? Well, nothing is perfect, but I would start by saying cities should not be split up. For example, the City of Nashville should have representation from 1 person, not be “cut up” into four pieces and spread out making it impossible for a Democrat to win. Likewise in California, there should be 2 Republicans representing rural northern seats, not 2 Democrats representing Bay Area/Norcal hybrid seats. This actually gives representation. The idea here is the rep from a city will argue for certain things and against others, also bringing perspective from city life, the rural rep will do the opposite. This is healthy. By carving up Nashville or putting Bay Area cities in with northern rural areas, they do not get a voice. Frankly there is no point in even visiting there.

As far as competitiveness goes, I doubt many seats will be competitive but at least the maps would create actual representation. The other point here is states would likely be sending a coalition of representatives that looks like their states voting demographics. I mean shouldn’t CA be sending about 38% of its representation as Republicans? Ditto in Texas for Democrats? The way the lines are currently being drawn creates an out of whack representation demographic. Does anyone think North Carolina, a literal toss up state in presidential elections should send 11 Republicans in a 14 seat delegation?

With all the talk of rigged elections, doesn’t this actually seem like rigging an election? Creating a district your guy cannot lose? Or even being remotely challenged?

SNAP/EBT Benefit/Fraud/Use Explained

During the government shutdown you heard a lot about SNAP/EBT/CAL Fresh benefits. I will explain the propaganda both sides were using. 90% of it is not true, 100% of it was deplorable. I will explain the program and the amount of “fraud” taking place. If you are reasonable, you will learn something, if you are far right or left, you will not; feel free to quite reading if you fit into the latter categories.

Understanding what SNAP is. It is a supplement. People on SNAP are what I refer to as the “working poor.” They are folks working 12-15 hour days, possibly even 7 days a week, because the jobs they have pay minimum wage. They do this because their primary job doesn’t give them 8 hours a day or 30 hours a week to be eligible for benefits. These folks have their money run out around the 20^th or so of each month. Sure, there are disabled folks on here to who cannot work.
What you can use SNAP on. It’s essentially groceries and fast food. It will not work on alcohol and some prepared foods.As a result, you see the person in line having to swipe the card numerous times, and likely remove items that aren’t eligible for SNAP from their cart because the system will not take payment.
How much is the benefit? It’s about $188 a month. Again, the point of this program is a “supplement” not a living benefit, think of it as “something extra.” Look at that figure again. Folks, it’s $188. Recipients getting this aren’t going out to dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. If you live in the real world, the folks on SNAP, as Dave Ramsey says “are only seeing the inside of a restaurant if they are working there.”

As you can see above, this program isn’t one that folks are getting rich off of, it’s just a way to put food on the table during the latter part of the month. No one is living high on the hog here.

I will now refute the criticisms the uninformed on both sides of the aisle spew about this program.

It’s rampant with fraud. This is flat-out, not true. First the benefit is so small that it’s barely worth the time to apply if you are doing it for nefarious reasons. I am sure your household income is verified, either via the IRS or State Tax Board so it would be pretty easy to catch the liars. If someone is working for cash or under the table, I am not sure how to catch those types, but it’s a small number. Now in regard to the folks selling their benefit card for cash to purchase drugs or alcohol, I am not sure how you stop that, but again that isn’t a large part of the program. Again, I just do not see a lot of people fraudulently being on this government program.
These people did it to themselves. In some cases, yes, I will concede that point, having a felony on your record severely limits the jobs you can have. Not finishing high school also will limit you, as is the case with having children out of wedlock. However those people are the exception, the rule is what I am talking about. Most of these recipients are working multiple jobs and are barely able to tread water. This is due to C-suite types not wanting to pay a living wage to folks and cutting hours to not allow benefits to be offered.
All they buy is junk food with it. This is mostly true unfortunately. Again, what we are dealing with here are folks with very little work skills, working for very little pay. Also, due to their schedule, they may not be able to cook or know how to cook. In that case buying, chips, cookies, cereal, frozen dinners, and soda is what they do. They can stretch these items out, I guess. Yes, this food is bad for you healthwise, but it does no one any good giving people who can’t cook; beans, rice and flour. It’s a deeply systemic problem that has been allowed to grow out of control.
Illegals are getting benefits in large numbers. This isn’t true. Why would you sign up for a program and call attention to yourself, especially with the current group in the White House. Let’s all agree on something, it isn’t illegals pulling off the fraud.
Not paying them during the shutdown will teach them a lesson. I heard this from a couple Republicans. Anyone else need proof that taking God out of our lives was a bad thing? Starving people to teach them a lesson? What is the matter with you. This is actually worse because the true “hunter/gatherer” mentality comes out and folks start doing drastic things to feed their families.
Can’t food banks take care of it? Nope. The truth is they can barely handle their current caseload; this just made the issue worse.

As you can see from the above, I am making light of the fraud, and what these folks buy. The questions being asked and statements made are a problem. We should be asking how are 42 million Americans on this program? That’s a ton! How DID this happen? We can talk about fixing this but I feel we are too far gone. Where do you start when 42 million people are on it? RFK Jr., for all his faults, is onto something about limiting the types of foods folks can buy with these benefit cards. I do not think they should be accepted at fast food places either but again the bulk of these folks can’t cook, or their schedule doesn’t allow them the time. It’s a chicken or the egg type argument.

If we want to be real about the program, I think those of us that are reasonable would agree, 7/10 of these folks do have a need to be on the program and receive the benefits. They as stated work multiple jobs, weird hours, and just cannot get ahead. 1/10 are likely fraudsters, but how do you catch them? As detailed above, it’s pretty hard to catch the person selling their card for cash at the local park/street corner. This is also likely a number higher than is reality. The remaining 2/10 are where the real problem lies. These are folks who are clueless as opposed to the 7/10 who are helpless. These people put themselves into this situation by having a deserved criminal record, having kids when they cannot afford them, and other poor choices. These are the folks we need to stop assisting. They likely spend countless hours watching the tv on the couch and intentionally not picking up more hours at their job because they are lazy. Frankly put, we help out way too many clueless folks in this country, we are bankrupting ourselves as a result. This is the group DOGE should have targeted.

Chief

PS now back to your regularly scheduled programming of tossing out far right and left ideas about this issue.

Editor’s Note: One issue that is not refuted in the above is stolen identities and organized crime. I suspect the bulk of fraud is via this mechanism. In my experience, government is ill equipped to deal with fraud as the presumption of any government program is that the applicant is eligible.

Republican Women Gone Wild

Folks, two Republican woman had pretty bad incidents this past 10 days. Embarrassing actually, and no I’m not talking about wardrobe malfunctions or scandalous meltdowns.

Blogger note: It will be interesting to see if William believes the same as me on these two pieces of work. To set the scene for the blog I am a religious person who does not watch porn, nor frequent strip clubs, or take part in other vices such as gambling.

Number 1 Republican gone wild: Nancy Mace had a meltdown as TSA officers escorted her to the gate at an airport.

The profane incident at the Charleston International Airport threatens to derail her run as she said she would sue the airport authority for defamation and false reporting.

An initial incident report from the Charleston county aviation authority police department first obtained by Wired describes Mace cursing at airport staff, saying that this was no way to treat a “f—ing US representative”. She invoked the name of South Carolina senator Tim Scott, saying that the Republican lawmaker would not be treated as she was, according to the report.

Mace had this to say: “I’m not going to be the next person shot and killed in cold blood,” Mace said. “Last Thursday morning, I absolutely, 100% confronted the airport employees who put my safety at risk. Did I drop an F-bomb? I hope I did. Did I call them incompetent? If I didn’t, they absolutely earned it.” Mace claimed that she “personally had more than two dozen security breaches” at the airport.

TSA agents right now and during the incident in question are working without pay. Sure, they will get backpay when the shutdown ends, but contrast that with Mace who IS being paid during the shutdown. Mace is running for governor, and this will likely be beginning of the end for her hopefully.

Mace also brought us this viral moment earlier.

“When I woke up this morning at 7 — I was getting picked up at 7:45 — Patrick, my fiancé, tried to pull me by my waist over this morning in bed,” Mace recounted Wednesday with a smile at the breakfast hosted by GOP presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in the Palmetto State.

“And I was like, ‘No, baby, we don’t got time for that this morning,’” Mace said she told her future spouse, Patrick Bryant. The pair got engaged last year.

“I gotta get to the prayer breakfast,” Mace told the crowd. “And I gotta be on time,” the 45-year-old lawmaker said, before adding, “A little TMI.”

“He can wait. I’ll see him later tonight.”

Yeah, she shared that at the prayer breakfast.

Oh, and that fiancé she passed on sex with? She later accused him of sexual assault. He is countersuing saying it was made up. Who do you believe?

The ex-fiancé of Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., filed a lawsuit this week claiming that she fabricated sexual assault allegations against him in a scheme she allegedly manufactured with a friend’s estranged wife, reports said.

The lawsuit filed by Patrick Bryant on Thursday claims allegations made against him in a May lawsuit from a “Jane Doe” were false, according to WCSC. The outlet reported that the original lawsuit claimed Doe was assaulted in 2018 at the home of Eric Bowman by another man and that he and Bryant filmed it — an alleged incident that Mace referenced during a speech on the House floor in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.

Republican gone wild number 2: Lauren Boebert

Rep. Lauren Boebert and her boyfriend Kyle Pearcy, a real estate broker from Windsor, Colo., attended a Halloween party in Loveland, Colo., on Friday night, in costumes portraying a Mexican woman and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, photos obtained by ABC News show.

The congresswoman was dressed in a traditional Mexican dress and wore a sombrero while Pearcy wore an ICE vest over fatigues.

A chalkboard sign that appeared in other photos from a separate public event the couple attended the same night which are widely circulating online was slung on the back of a chair and is out of the frame in the pictures, according to a party guest who spoke to ABC News.

The text on the sign, which appears to be joke mocking the pronunciation of “you see” said “Mexican Word of the day: JUICY. Tell me if Juicy ICE coming.”

Blogger note: The Mexican word of the day is an internet meme that went viral for a while, its offensive making fun of Mexican speech, but it was a copycat move here. Not original writing.

Ok, I have a real problem with this. It was a Halloween party of what seemed like a community gathering. As in a public type of setting. This is the thing about Boebert, she doesn’t know how to read the room or understand that sometimes going viral is stupid and dumb. The costume is a great display of someone not having an IQ higher than the temperature of the room. There were obviously quite a few that found this offensive, she was photographed and it went viral online for the wrong reasons. Wearing a traditional Mexican dress and having an ICE agent escort you as your date is plain tone deaf as a member of Congress. This would likely get my approval if it was a party of staff and other employees, maybe even fellow Republicans, but not a public event. Let’s just be honest, the costumes are offensive to at least half the country, it’s a bad look.

Of course, the 90-day guy laughed like a hyena and said come on she is expressing herself. “She is showing her ass, not literally, but figuratively” I responded. His laughter makes perfect sense; he is a man who views TV as the real world. He lives in fantasy, not reality. I guarantee he would not be laughing or approving if in front of other people. He tells jokes of men having sex with sheep, goats and donkeys so it’s clear what he finds normal.

Oh, Boebert is also famous for her other excursions such as the documented “date” at the movie theatre where she was giving her date a hand job and allowing him to fondle her breast. Behavior that was caught on security cameras. Oh, said “date” was a well-known Democrat handler.

In closing, the point of this blog is not to attack Republicans, it is to call out bad behavior by electeds. We would be doing the same if they were Democrats. The reason we spotlight this behavior is they, like professional athletes, are supposed to be role models. These two are anything but. In the case of Boebert, it’s time to grow up. You are blessed with being very attractive, but that isn’t a pass. She plays to the hard right, “podcast bros” and the whack jobs. There are lots of illegally here; Mexican laborers and workers who work jobs we do not want to do. Bottom line, it’s offensive and a very bad look. In the case of Mace, it’s time for her to go as well. She made the crude comments about her fiancé and wanting to have sex prior to a prayer breakfast, then accused him of sexual assault. She seems to have fallen into “Law and Order SVU culture” as I call it, cry rape or sexual assault and you are guilty until proven innocent. Its conduct unbecoming. My father used to tell me Republicans do not do things like that. It’s time to return to that philosophy, as this is not a winning or good look.

Chief

PS Mace had another meltdown after I finished this blog, seems like the sexual assault is now rape. She looks like a soon to be former elected official.

“What kind of guy sues his own rape victim and sues women he filmed without their knowledge, permission or consent for YEARS? Who does that?” Mace posted Friday morning. “Can’t wait for a court hearing on this!!! Put me in coach—I’m ready to testify, under oath—this guy should be rotting in a jail cell—not suing his victims!!!

“HOLD THE LINE,” she added.

Prop 50 in CA is going to Pass? Blame the GOP

There is another election on Tuesday, next week or this week pending the publishment of this blog. The editor is on sabbatical out of the country; we pray his Visa or Passport paperwork is in order.

CA is voting on a Proposition 50, which they labeled Stop the Trump Gerrymander or something like that. It’s funny, the ballot is quite literally 2/3 of a page. We out here, on the Left Coast, are used to ballots being about 5 pages. Simply put, this measure will re-draw our congressional maps and basically elect 5 more Democrats to Congress in November of NEXT year.

So why do I blame the GOP you ask? Simple, I’ll lay it out in bullet point form with my thoughts.

Trump is the anti-Christ in California. Anything he does, we hate it; or at least a very large majority hate it. Clever on Newsom and Bonta for drawing the legal language as an “anti-Trump” move.
Using very bad surrogates on the campaign. Kevin McCarthy and former Governor Arnold Schwarzengger, two very unpopular ex-politicians, who rank low in respectability among GOP Voters, are somehow the voice of reason? Worse, these guys lack any credibility with the voting majority in California. Seriously folks, who thought putting up a Governor who essentially became a Democrat and a very, very moderate former Speaker as the face of the opposition would be a smart thing? If the CAGOP and CRA hate them (to their credit btw), what do you think the rest of the voters think?
Voter apathy never happened. Elections, especially special ones, have a very, very muted turnout. Typically, it’s just hyper-partisan voters. The hyper-partisan ones on the Right come nowhere near the level of the ones on the Left.
Trump cannot and will not get out of his own way. First, I do not understand the need to redistrict Texas, but I digress. This thing would have died out (Prop 50) had he just moved on, instead they moved on to North Carolina, Missouri, and now Indiana, and possibly Florida are going to redraw. Keeping this issue in the news just further enrages the anti-Trump voter.
Touching on the point above, the opposition has centered on “its illegal.” While that may be true in California, it’s also unconstitutional in the other states where the GOP did it. The argument sounds like one child taunting another, “I can do it, but you can’t.” Its poor messaging and actually energizes the other side more wanting to vote.
CA GOP Leader, James Gallagher, is another problem. He proposed a 2-state solution. I heard and read about this and thought “is this Jimmy Carter in disguise?” Really, he is comparing California to Israel and Gaza? When they were in the midst of an actual war? No way would that ever work.
The shutdown isn’t helping. It doesn’t matter whose fault the shutdown in Washington DC is blamed on. Again, Trump is not popular here. The proposition is framed to voters as a way to stop Trump. See my point?

So, in closing, I’m thinking a result of around 58-42 or so in favor. There are just way too many Democrats and anti-Trump folks out here. Things may have been different if the above were not true, but I doubt it. I do not understand why any of this is actually necessary. President Trump has used Congress for only the “Big Beautiful Bill” as far as I know. It seems weird to go all in on this when he doesn’t actually seem to need anything to get passed by Congress.

Chief.

Full disclosure, I had a different blog written on this, but I thought it was a “little too inside baseball” and will publish it later. It deals more with the nuts and bolts of redistricting than this post.