325 Comments

We're not across the finish line yet. Keep the Support Chickens handy.

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However, here is hopeful news on the early voting front called Trump's Turnout Trouble. https://youtu.be/EZvQCIsu8Zs?si=NMM2KMBzYmJb98Xi

This lifted my spirits because it is about people who have already voted.

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Fascinating! I think that would be a fun job to have. A new set of puzzles every two years. Never be boring.

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Yes we are not there yet. Stories like the one JV tells in Georgia show how hard the MAGAs are looking to get every vulnerable mind with mis and disinformation about confidence in the vote process. This also shows that they are not confident about their message. I believe they want to grab power any and every way they can.

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Potter, the problem for Republicans is they have no message beyond hate immigrants, hate Woke (whatever that is), own the libs (whoever they are). They have no positive message. As Kamala Harris says, Trump plans to go to the oval office with an enemies list while she plants to go with a "to do" list. If Republicans actually listened and thought for a minute, they would see the difference and decide the Trump, hateful whining is no good for anyone but Trump.

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His followers are beyond reason. They don’t hear what he is saying or it doesn’t penetrate. Also hate is addictive. I think Kamala Harris has done very well because she’s such a contrast. But it’s beyond her control, or anyone’s anymore about the magnetic pull this MAGA monster has.

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That "stench of desperation" is also emerging from tRump's overtaxed Depends, as the news worsens on his election chances...feh!

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Desperation is on full display lately and getting worse every day. If he / they believed their own GOP hype his threats would not be growing more blatant and overwhelming his daily rants.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/harris-church-trump-muses-reporters-shot-115447145

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Don't these people ever get tired of lying?

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I don’t think they can. All the power they have comes from lying to people who want a share.

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It's what they do. Remember, the phrase "Trump lies" is redundant.

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Jon, I just saw the count of lies in public in office for Trump at 30,500. How anyone can lie that much is beyond comprehension. His cult expects that level of lying because in their world, those are truths because they came from the mouth of their deity. That sounds cynical, but listening to Trumpers and Trumpettes interviewed, it is clear they have bought the whole Trump package lies and all and are willing to go with it no matter who is hurt and how our nation is damaged. Pathetic!

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It's election crack - it's what they feed on and are addicted to.

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They can't stop lying because just about everything they've said and represent is a lie. The lies are so blatant that I find them insulting. How stupid do they think we are? Seems, pretty incredibly stupid!

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Even worse, MAGA either doesn’t believe it’s lying … or just doesn’t care.

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David, what is worse, to me, I think they like the lies to a great extent because they see it as "taking it to the man," as rebellious folk used to say. They like the idea of pulling something over on people and they certainly love that Trump has bamboozled our media and a bunch of otherwise intelligent people. It's amazing that they would put their time and effort into supporting a total jerk who will do nothing for them or anyone else but rich white men just to support the lies and their Baby Donnie. Gasp!

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I've never been able to understand this. If they put even half of the effort that they put into lying into working on legislation that benefits their constituents then they might win. However, since they are trying to elect Orange Garbage Man, I'm grateful that they do not.

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They lie like they breathe. It's automatic. It's their default setting. 2nd nature.

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Chuck, you are right and those folks have had nearly 10 years of practice learning to love and use the lies. Trump has always been a liar, but they have seen what he has gotten for his lies and it is quite a lot, the presidency. Every Republican I have heard ads for and read about lies quite a lot, not only with impunity, but with vigor and I think, pleasure.

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Kathleen, the simple true answer is, "no." They have nothing but lies since that is what they are fed by Trump and Kump all the time, and thinking through issues is not something they would choose to do.

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founding

Your Answer, simple: No!

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No. Lies come in all shapes and sizes as they, by their nature, distort and devolve on the run to suit the tellers' stories, ('alternate facts' anyone?).

That's been trump's and magas' shtick, he's an ego driven self obsessed grifter and couldn't lie straight in bed. Maga's entire narrative is based on, CO2 essentially, just a maga load of exhalations that … made words happen.

Sad that so much BS just adds to global warming.

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Lies feed the orange base (MAGA ).

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So tired of these frivolous lawsuits. I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg. After the election there will probably be an avalanche of them. In my opinion judges should charge fines for frivolous lawsuits. These attorneys know better.

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Maybe, just maybe, we will see enough of the state and federal judges hold the line swiftly and sharply come the flood.

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I’m hoping you are correct. That’s why it is so important for everyone to vote BLUE up and down the ticket!

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We can also count on the legal groups like Democracy Docket and others that will be present with lawsuits of their own to take down the lies.

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The legal groups have wives, daughters, neices, Moms, grandmothers at home. Democracy defenders need to fight off the Magat racists, rapists, porn addicts,molesters mysogynists, womanizers, pedophiles that are waiting for Project 2025 to kick in.

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WJB, the idea that all those awful people (I was a victim of multiple pedophiles) are waiting for project 2025 to kick in is nauseating to say the least. I have read parts of Project 2025 but didn't realize that it was designed to allow all those people free rein.

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The puzzle pieces are there and groups like the Heritage Foundation...Opus Der...Federalist Society.....want to remove a womans right to vote.......the national abortian ban.......it goes on and on. ...take Scott Ritter...a female FBI agent caught him trying to pick up an underage girl over the internet

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I had to look up Scott Ritter, and discovered he's a convicted sex offender. Makes me wonder how many of the people involved in the groups you mentioned are of a similar ilk? That's scary, to say the least.

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I believe in that 100%!

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I just posted a comment that, in essence, made the same point. I'm wondering if there are no repercussions for willful bad/ignorant behavior in the legal profession. The law is a profession. Lawyers have to pass an exam that show they understand the law. So what's with all the filings that have no merit.

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IMO it is all don-old’s backers. The Project 2025 crew.

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Ask Rudy Guliani about that.

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I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know for sure, but I think there must be some recourse the judges have for dealing with such lawyers/lawsuits. So far all I've seen are warnings, but the you-know-what has not yet hit the fan.

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Deciding the merit of a lawsuit is the job of judges and juries, not the parties filing, and I still believe in the system.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

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In my experience in federal chambers, the big deterrents/comeuppances for these kinds of filings are the threat of paying the other sides costs and fees ( that kind be huge) and the fear of disbarment or a lesser sanction by the relevant board of overseers.

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So that when the FELON loses, bigly, he can blame the courts.

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I believe you commandeered MJT's word/non-word! :-)

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So did I.

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Quick search found this:

"The Penalties for a Frivolous Lawsuit

The judge can order the litigant to pay a civil fine or the defendant's attorney fees and other costs incurred by the prevailing party while preparing for a frivolous lawsuit. The person being sued in a frivolous lawsuit may also counter sue for these costs."

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Better yet, pro bono work for the other side for a dose of “proper ethics”

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It’s been happening with Democracy Docket all through the campaign.

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Great idea!

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Again, where is the judicial uproar over these frivolous lawsuits? Are these cases not dismissed with prejudice? Billionaire Trump has enough money (of course not his own) to sue forever. CBS for ten billion?

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IMO it should add if you have more than three frivolous lawsuits, we will have a cell waiting for you.

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Filing frivolous lawsuits is and has always been part of the system. They lose 90% of the time, and the 10% residual, although frustrating and sometimes tragic, is worth the 90% win. Mark Elias and the Democracy Docket is on the job!

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Instead of fines, those lawyers should have their licenses suspended- 6 months first offense, lifetime for next offense.

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Then they would sue over the definition of "frivolous". Give the Supreme Court a chance to fiddle with Merriam-Webster.

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i hope all these lawyers are getting paid...

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Doubtful. IMO. He’s probably promising them a cabinet seat if he gets elected.

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I am so tired of the Republican party with their constant lies. The moral compass is broken in these people. Worse, they do everything in their power to gaslight the public.

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I think a lot of people are tired of the Republican Party, even the Republicans. Here is a discussion of Trump's Turnout Trouble.

https://youtu.be/EZvQCIsu8Zs?si=NMM2KMBzYmJb98Xi

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Linda LIAR, LIAR,PANTS ON FIRE is my reaction to Trump.

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It’s a collective lie. Someone needs to figure out how this works. Perhaps … Trump lies. Influencers sane wash it. Fox News spreads it. Insiders threaten any Republican who publicly disagrees. Trump mirrors the criticism… e.g. says the Democrats are lying about his lie to muddy the water.

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Or...people know they're lying and don't care. They were always like this and Trump gave them permission to embrace who they authentically are - hypocrites and liars, immoral and soulless.

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Very heartening indeed to see Brad Raffensperger continually and with great vigor push back against election interference and election law-breaking, He led the charge against the flagrantly partisan GA Elections Board rewrite of the state's own laws governing canvassing, certification, etc., and Raffensperger shows no patience with GOP mischief-making as we near Election Day....three cheers for the rule of (election) law in GA!

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I hope his vote goes to the right place too. It is almost like Trump is pushing him away by being so obnoxious. I guess being obnoxious works for one until it doesn't. Abortion might have been a bridge too far.

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I would really love to know who Nikki Haley votes for.

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Might not be the same person as her husband. First of all, I have wondered how she ended up backing Trump after she stopped her campaign. I wondered if her husband told her to do it. However, as we know, he won't be in the voting booth with her, and I assume he has to vote from overseas where he is serving.

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She backed Trump because she wants a future in Republican politics. Then Trump gave her the cold shoulder. Trump has been politically tone deaf to not go after the Nikki Haley voters. Maybe he gave up on them since they would not vote for him even after she was off ballots in many primaries. Kinda reminds me of the many Republicans who voted for Joe Biden in Georgia. And Trump ignored campaigning for the two senate runoff seats in Georgia won by John Ossof and Rev. Warnock.

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Well, according to this it does not seem like this strategy is working so well for Trump. It is a discussion of the early voting that includes how many new voters are voting, and it is called Trump's Turnout Trouble.

https://youtu.be/EZvQCIsu8Zs?si=NMM2KMBzYmJb98Xi

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Last I heard (which was quite some time ago), he was still planning to vote for trump. I hope he's changed his mind.

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Both he and Gov Kemp said that they'll support tRump, but also will be on guard for MAGA disruption and attempted crashing of votes counts and county certification processes. At least Raffensperger and Kemp will be spared the "Just 11,740 votes, fellas, that's all I need" phone calls from "the president".

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I wonder if Raffensperger and Kemp are stating they will vote for tRump just to protect their backsides but will pull the lever for Harris when they enter the privacy of the voting booth. This may apply to many repubs who will vote against tRump.

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I hope they're just talking when they say they'll support trump. Otherwise, how can they be believable about handling voting correctly? That said, I do believe they will make sure that MAGA can't interfere.

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That’s his public position, which I simply do not understand seeing as how donvict throws him under the bus at every opportunity. I seriously question his private actions though.

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I just don’t understand his, and his governor’s, insane insistence on publicly maintaining the convict is the best in leadership the country has to offer.

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Thank you for your continued analysis and vigilance.

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This really did help calm-ala me. Here in AZ my husband is working for the AZ Dems on their phone banking effort. Yesterday they made a million calls. They're joined by people all across the country and even in Europe to get undecided folks to vote for Kamala and to make sure everyone turns in their ballots. They get lots of positive responses. I'm not sure the polls reflect what's happening in AZ. Fingers crossed here/

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What I’ve read from many: don’t pay attention to polls this close to the election. Also, there are many misleading, Republican based polls that…spoiler alert…are not accurate nor factual. One of many lies that Republicans are spreading to suppress or discourage voting.

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I wonder if polls are ever accurate. They aren't when we're far out from an election, and if they aren't when we're close to an election, why bother?

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Gives the media something to talk about.

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And get their audiences unnecessarily riled up. Polls drive me nuts.

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I sure hope you are right about polls in AZ!

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We’ve already received info from our recorder’s office that our blue ballots have been accepted! Pinal County, AZ

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Cheating to win is not winning. We teach that early to our children. We will win this week and the election will be fair. I do see a tsunami coming and its color is deep blue!

Thanks Joyce for your tireless efforts!

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Kathi I wonder why Trump has threatened a law suit, if anyone released his grades from Wharton and Fordham. Might this certify that he is Dumb Donnie (with bone spurs)?

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Correction (if you'll forgive me): FAKE bone spurs.

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Susan To be totally correct, Bone Spur Donnie laughingly said that he didn’t remember which ankle was the fake bone spur. Since the doctor who identified the bone spur was an office rentor of Fred Trump, shouldn’t their have been a receipt for lies rendered?

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Ankle? Bone spurs stick out from the talus (heel bone) toward the front of the foot. I think the doctor never examined trump, just wrote the letter, probably to keep his rent from being raised. Definitely should have gotten a receipt for lies.

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Though we may never see actual grades, we will always have this immortal quote from one of his professors... https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/10/12/1705902/-Former-Wharton-Professor-Donald-Trump-Is-the-Dumbest-Goddam-Student-I-Ever-Had

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Well, yeah.

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The GQP has been cheating and rigging with gerrymandering and voter suppression for years, and states like Texas would be blue it not for them.

The tsunami is coming from Puerto Rico living on the mainland.

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As one who lives in Texas, and who has seen the quality of the political people we have who are democrats, I would love to see the state turn blue, in the liberal direction. When it was blue before, it was very conservative.

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I have been thinking the same thing. I just hope we are right.

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When will someone go after these people with malicious prosecution suits?

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Per SNL, "Stay CALM-ala and CARRY ON-ala"!

The Georgia GOP sounds like team spirit, all right -- the Putin Kleptocracy team!

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Surprised Obama-la wasn't somehow worked into the skit.

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It does have a ring, doesn't it? But this was about Kamala and Kamala, and it was a fun skit about identity and self-assurance.

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It will be an unceasing barrage for quite a while now. And after the decision is made, it will still be a desperately divided country. We gird our loins, take good care of ourselves and each other and look for meeting ground anywhere we can. This is no time to argue with neighbors over the fence! It's time to bring an extra cup of coffee and talk about something quiet and calm. If my neighbors won't do that I'll continue to talk to the Cardinals and Blue Jays at my feeders. It's not the same world and my job is to find my productive place in it. I'm f****** exhausted from people being strung out with anxiety and fear. Let's just have each others' backs and move forward one correct step at a time. Take a break when we need it, eh? Have a beautiful Sunday.

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I agree. My health is suffering as a result. We have got to get through and somehow get past this!!!

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I think a lot of us are experiencing health problems and nightmares from this. It's traumatic stress disease without the 'post'. Please take care of yourself!

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lol I guess I think of it with a big P, as we had four years of him in the WHITE HOUSE, and, well, I mean, that's like housing the rapist at the orphange or the raccoon at the grain shed, or any other analogy you care to use. It's definitely something we all have to take into account right now, no matter who we are! xo

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If you have cardinals and blue jays, this time of year you probably also have juncos (who are ground feeders). If you do, please tell them I miss them.

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My camera feeder tells me we have those, but they are always turned-around mourning doves! We had ONE grackle early in the spring, none since. Now, with cooler nights, we're getting mr and mrs cardinals, blue jays and downy woodpeckers along with black capped chickadees and finches and sparrows. Also some wonderfully funny nuthatches. No wonder so many fun cartoon characters are patterned after birds. I'd post you some pics but I cannot do that here, and rightly so. xo How are you holding up?

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OH and one juvenile racoon every night who makes my daughter and I laugh so hard, watching him hang upside down above the camera lens, and only his lil hands mooshing around in the mostly depleted seed . Hilarious.

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Thanks for the reminder about birds! I love watching them, but so many people have taken down trees & shrubs and just planted grass that we no longer have the kind of habitat around that we used to. Plus bird populations are declining in general. I have noticed that we got more late migrants this year, and that could mean that some will stay over the winter. I've long wanted a bird cam, and since most of the habitat is on the NW side of my house (where I have no windows), I might hint big time for a bird cam under my tree. I have an old monitor I can dedicate to it. I'm glad you brought the topic up- it gives me something positive to ponder at bedtime. I always try to do this, to help set my brain up for good dreams. Takes practice, but it works.

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Mimi, the juncos are much smaller than the doves, and in my experience they are always in flocks. They always come back to the same spot every year if you put seed out for them. I miss the downy woodpeckers (really smart birds in my experience) and the cheeky chickadees. We do get a few finches here in far west Texas, but not many. I'm holding up okay, I think. Thank you for asking.

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Take care I'll pass on your hellos, that's if i see them

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Thank you, Mimi!

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Any time Susan.

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Even after Kamala’s eight years as President, it will still take another decade or more of rational “non-corporate” state and federal politicians to clean up the pile of manure MAGA has dumped on this nation. Step #1: a law abolishing Citizens United. Step #2: a law banning dark anonymous campaign donations. Step #3: expand SCOTUS to at least 13 justices. Step #4: have Congress pass a law holding SCOTUS to the same code of ethics applied to other federal employees AND establish a non-partisan panel to investigate and enforce violations of that code. Step #5: pass laws to convert all the “norms” that corrupt federal employees have shown us how to “ beat the system”. Step #6: pass laws prohibiting the President from controlling the FBI vetting process of appointees ( reference, Kavanaugh).

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Trump needs to scram-ala!

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Absolutely loved SNL! I teared up.

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In 2016 it was the Russians and Faux News. Now it’s major news outlets sanewashing the ramblings of an old man, and judges deciding that the concepts of standing and harm don’t apply to rightwing politically motivated lawsuits. Even after Trump’s time in office, I never thought I’d see Americans working so hard to pervert our institutions.

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Here’s a good one. Google “Ohio Sheriffs Office Lieutenant”. This is unreal. The rot is through and through….I wonder what his party affiliation is??? Mimics Trump use of power to inhibit disaster aid for his perceived detractors. Not worthy of the job..either of them.

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The SNL opening was magic! Keep Kalmala and carry-on-ala❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️! Thank you, Joyce, for your amazing leadership, great writing and insightful legal analysis that has brought us to this exciting tipping point. There’s no going back🤗.

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It's a really sorry state of affairs when every word that comes out during a political campaign has to be analyzed to determine what is truthful and what is not. Right now, one has to assume that anything uttered by the MAGA wing, the RNC or the two top candidates is a lie based on past history.

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