Facing the music
Too much to comment on, so I mostly won't.
However will do a podcast episode with Mark Bishofsky this Friday, where I'll likely have to find various ways of saying "I don't know" to keep it interesting. But we'll also talk about IDOREAD, which I think will change how we interact with information, and items I don't normally discuss like Julian Assange and the Maxwell trial.
In election world, I don't see many options beyond going forward with elections that are: 1 day, in precinct, with ID, and counted publicly. Legislatures need to make these changes... the trick has been how to raise awareness enough that they are persuaded to... when it was the politicians who put all this in place to begin with, a conundrum! (Maybe if we ask even more nicely... jk.)
South Dakotans showed up to their Capitol and counted votes in front of legislators, one of whom commented that he should have brought his shotgun. Who knows what was meant by that. But it looks like several counties are going machine-less in 2024 as well. Good!
In Minnesota, many are preparing for precinct caucuses on the 27th (2 days from today). Hope to see you there! My plan is to meet some new people and ask questions of those pretending to be republican leaders. Will also present a resolution for the party platform that is summarized in the 3rd paragraph above... 1 day elections! What a concept!
Sunday is music day in our household so I've been playing a bit of piano and learning guitar chords. It's fun to watch my fingers fumble around on the strings, producing sounds more bizarre than the words that come out of our current secretary of state's mouth regarding how good MN's elections are... LOL, it might continue to get weirder for a few months yet.
Speaking of the MNSOS, the recent Supreme Court case that 16 Members of the Republican Party of Minnesota signed onto, could put the MNSOS in deep doo doo (hint: think preferential treatment on data requests)... you can follow that story as the year progresses here: https://projectminnesota.com/a24-0216
Basically, in addition to the #2 the MNSOS finds itself in, the leadership of the Republican Party of Minnesota has shown itself to be multiple times incompetent and it will finally be documented so that 1.5 million to 2 million republican voters will be able to read and see for themselves. I think those attending caucus this year and in 2026 will eventually transform this party so that it represents the people, not the elites.
The Party's current leaders in name only (because the true leaders are those people who care about their neighbors and children) may try to say that the members who intervened in MN Supreme Court A24-0216 don't have the best interest of the party in mind, or some version of this, but the receipts are on our side, and so is time... we have all the time in the world to show people when they are ready to read.
This will take a bit of time, mostly because many Americans don't like to read. I only started truly reading anything in the last two years of my life, and I'm 36 now. So now I can honestly say, I DO READ. But more are starting to read, and they are also teaching their children how to, which will help in the long run.
There's been a few posts added to Project Minnesota. I invite you look around and to please enjoy your stay. Feel free to send story ideas to erikvanmechelen@protonmail.com, or to use that email address to sign me up for Eventbrite events in Los Angeles, or to add me to waste paper basket email digests of alleged republicans.
Remember, facing the music is a choice!