Posted in2026 election

Once again, Nate Silver’s midterm election model is even better for Democrats

As of today, the midterm election is just two weeks away. My mood vacillates between optimism, since Democrats are expected to do well, and anxiety, since if the Democrats come out on top on November 3, Trump may do a constitutionally crazy thing and declare the election is so beset with fraud (which would be a total lie), he's declaring a national emergency and impounding ballots/voting machines. One of the ways I deal with these conflicting emotions is by immersing myself in factual information about the election. That helps ground me in external reality, rather than the internal machinations of…
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Posted inDonald Trump International issues

Let’s not forget Ukraine, though Trump wants us to

It's been a bit more than four and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 for no reason other than a desire to reconstitute the Soviet Union. Back then, I and most other Americans supported the brave Ukrainian people in their fight against a much larger enemy led by an authoritarian despot, Putin. I'm confident this still is the case. Any American who pays attention to the facts knows that the good guys in this war are the Ukrainians, and the bad guys are the Russians. Unfortunately, our Idiot-in-Chief, Donald Trump, wouldn't know a fact if it…
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Posted in2026 election City Council

In November 3 city council election, write in Mai Vang and vote for Micki Varney

Salem voters, soon you'll be getting your ballot for the November 3 election. Two city council races remain to be decided. If you live in Ward 6, be sure to write-in Mai Vang to be your councilor. If you live in Ward 8, be sure to vote for Micki Varney to be your councilor. Mai Vang is the incumbent Ward 6 councilor (East Salem). She's done a great job representing her ward. Vang's web site explains why it is necessary to write-in her name on the ballot. I'm launching my write-in campaign for the November general election to retain my…
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Posted in2026 election Oregon politics

Tobias Read tells Salem City Club Oregon election is safe from Trumpian meddling

Oregon is fortunate to have Democrats in all statewide elected offices. Keep that in mind if you're thinking of voting for Republican Christine Drazan to be governor rather than incumbent Tina Kotek. Because today our Democratic Secretary of State, Tobias Read, assured attendees at his Salem City Club program, "Safeguarding the Process: Oregon's Stand for Secure State Run Elections," that whatever the Trump administration may try to do to meddle with our upcoming November 3 vote by mail election, our state is ready to fight it. Read started off by quoting Benjamin Franklin (this is from Google AI). Benjamin Franklin…
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