RANT: National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes a possibility

Monday, November 9, 2026

https://www.westernjournal.com/big-blue-wave-gives-democrats-power-effectively-end-electoral-college-2028/

Big Blue Wave Gives Democrats the Power to Effectively End the Electoral College Before 2028
By Bryan Chai November 5, 2026 at 4:49pm

*** begin quote ***

For those unfamiliar with the arrangement, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among states to award their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the national popular vote.

The Electoral College would technically remain in place. But once participating states collectively control at least 270 electoral votes, their agreement would effectively make the national popular vote determine the presidency.

Currently, the compact has been enacted by 18 states and Washington, D.C., representing 222 electoral votes. If the five newly Democratic-controlled states join, that number could reach 283. The threshold is only 270.

*** end quote ***

I thought this was dead since “compacts” are unConstitutional?

Imagine the cheating that will go on in the Big Blue States when winning the Presidency would be the reward. 

Argh!

And I don’t understand how “We, The Sheeple” can allow any vestige on the Dead Old White Guys’ magnificent construction to be destroyed.

Argh!

Maybe it is time for everyone to have a Plan B for international relocation.

Sigh!

— 30 —

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RANT: Xavier Becerra led the Department of Health and Human Services and “lost” all those children

Friday, November 6, 2026

https://www.westernjournal.com/californians-just-elected-prolific-child-trafficking-enabler-american-history-run-state/

Californians Just Elected the Most Prolific Child Trafficking Enabler in American History to Run Their State
By C. Douglas Golden November 4, 2026 at 5:37am

*** begin quote ***

Also Democrats, with more than enough proof: “Hey, let’s elect the most prolific enabler of child trafficking in the history of American political officialdom to the governorship of the country’s most populous state!”

Yes, in proof that the blue wave carried plenty of cognitive dissonance ashore, the people who waved the bloody flag of the tenuous, brief, and terminated connection between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein long before Epstein’s crimes were fully known decided that Xavier Becerra, who led the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden, was their best bet to serve four years as governor of California.

*** and ***

Protecting the border was the job of the Department of Homeland Security, but keeping track of minors who arrived unaccompanied was the job of HHS — which is to say, Becerra’s job.
Advertisement – story continues below

As early as 2021, a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children who were released to sponsors in the United States had been effectively lost by HHS after leaving the agency’s shelters.

As it turns out, HHS was merely calling to check in on these children — and in 37 percent of the cases, they got no answer.

*** end quote ***

Unlike the private sector, if you’re in an organization that fails bad, then it’ll be hard to find another job.  (Ask the accountants and secretaries from Enron!)

But in the USA’s Gooferment world, failure means your ready to make bigger mistakes.

Normally I wouldn’t care what the voters of another State pick for their leaders.  In this case, I do. It seems like every loony idea seems to originate in California; although we do get some from Massachusetts and England.

Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy. And, those who work at the top levels are either unable, or unwilling, to get the “system” under control. From that, I assume it is operating as designed.

Shame on them and “We, The Sheeple” deserve the ill-treatment they get.

Don’t blame me; I vote little L libertarian all the time.

Sigh!

— 30 —

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RANT: Please gamble responsibly?

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

https://tuckercarlson.com/morning-note?utm_campaign=october27morningnote&utm_medium=email&utm_source=iterable&utm_content=morningnote

Marshall Worth
October 27, 2026

As a TCN member, you get direct access to our morning news briefing every weekday. Here’s today’s roundup.

Want to catch up on our full Morning Note archive? Browse the complete library here.

*** begin quote ***

Commentary

This Is Mafia Behavior

The next time you see a sports betting commercial, take note of the tiny text at the bottom of the screen. It will read something like this:

“Please gamble responsibly. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.”

Companies like FanDuel and DraftKings do not include those disclaimers out of the goodness of their hearts or because they actually care about preventing Americans from getting addicted to their products. They only do so because U.S. law requires it.

*** and ***

The second man CBS featured is professional bettor Mike Manning. Unlike most sports gamblers, Manning does not place wagers based on intuition. He uses a mathematical approach with analytical models, and the method has proven highly successful. It has earned him his living.

When Massachusetts launched sports gambling in 2023, Manning signed up with every sports gambling app available. He did very well, winning on nearly every platform. Then something unexpected happened. They capped his bets.

“On BetMGM, he started betting $1,000-$5,000 per game, but soon, he said, he was only able to bet $5. On DraftKings, he said he was limited to $25 per bet.”

“It’s that whole ‘ban or bankrupt’ model,” fellow professional bettor Gadoon Kyrollos told CBS.

“You’re exploiting the losing bettor, you’re taking advantage of them, and guys like me get shown the door,” Manning added.

This story’s takeaway is as clear as the sky is blue: the sports betting industry is not your friend. They see Americans as nothing more than ATM machines they can bleed dry, and they have no problem getting people hooked on a wildly gnarly vice to do so. Casino magnates like Randy Fine and Miriam Adelson may see that as appealing, but the rest of us find it gross.

If you are a young man, we hope you will resist the urge to go down the sports betting path. It costs Americans billions of dollars each year, it destroys lives, and the people who run it will have no problem going out of their way to get you hooked. The only solution is to simply never start. You will thank yourself later.

*** end quote ***

The ‘ban or bankrupt’ model” seems like a deceptive trade practice and the FTC should step in and stop it.  It’s unfair to the suckers who fall for this advertising.  

— 30 —

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RANT: No taxation without representation?

Monday, August 31, 2026

https://reason.com/2026/05/18/taxes-and-government-fees-make-up-25-percent-of-car-rental-fees/

Taxes
Taxes and Government Fees Make Up 25 Percent of Car Rental Fees
Travelers make easy targets for revenue-hungry officials.
J.D. Tuccille | 5.18.2026 7:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

Travelers make for easy marks, since they rarely vote in the places that soak them for revenue. The taxes and fees add up. Last year, Tennessee’s WSMV4 reported that at Nashville International Airport, car renters are hit by “multiple taxes and daily charges that can add hundreds of dollars to vacation expenses.”

*** and ***

“In nearly every case we examined, airport fees exceeded the combined taxes charged on a rental contract,” add Hoffer and Macumber-Rosin. “The largest total airport fee is charged at Newark Liberty International, at 40.67 percent—over $101 on a $250 car rental.”

Those fees are usually justified as funding airport operations. But in 2014, The Wall Street Journal’s Heather Haddon reported that “a tax on travelers who rent cars at Newark Liberty International Airport is helping to fund an animal shelter, a park and a jobs program in New Jersey’s largest city.” She added that “rental car companies, tax groups and travelers associations say the taxes unfairly tap people who don’t live in a locality to pay for services that benefit others.”

*** end quote ***

Wasn’t one of the rallying cries of the American revolution?  Carried over from the English Civil War around 1760’s. The principle was “the government should not tax a populace unless that populace is represented in some manner in that government”.

Readers of my blog will remember the many many times I ranted about just this very issue when I had to pay “property taxes” in a different Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee county that the one I voted in.  I have zero voice in that “levy”.  And, since it was a “vacation destination” with only a few full-time year round VOTING residents, taxes were unfairly pushed on “absentee landlords and property owners” via “inflated assessed valuations” by the local real estate “appraisers”.  Wonder where their loyalties were?  Of course, ALL properties were assessed at the “same rate” to pretend “fairness”.  And, of course, those that rented their properties paid “business rates” regardless of incorporation status.  A few rentals were owned by “churches” who got even more of a break since those rentals were for the “poor”; “wink, wink, nod”. Argh!

Here too “the vultures” (local politicians and bureaucrats as well as <highly paid> “authority bureaucrats”) all feast on the “bleached bones” of those who can’t vote locally to protect themselves from being “fiscally raped”.

Argh!

A plague on all their houses!

(“A plague o’ both your houses!” is a catchphrase from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The phrase is used to express irritation and irony regarding a dispute or conflict between two parties.)

This is a real tragedy and should be a violation under the “Equal Protection” clause.  (Where is some bright young lawyer, like a Patrick Henry, looking to strike a blow against the Leviathan for freedom?)

I recently learned of another “fee” imposed on anyone renting a car who is over 70?  Where is the AARP or such protecting seniors from “age discrimination”?

Argh!

— 30 —

 

 

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RANT: I think that taking it for “charity” isn’t right!

Sunday, August 30, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/08/14/lifestyle/builders-find-10-million-in-gold-during-brewery-renovation/

$10M of gold found hidden in brewery cellar while laying sewage pipe
By Ben Cost
Published Aug. 14, 2026
Updated Aug. 14, 2026, 7:54 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

They turned crap into gold.

A routine renovation job in Belgium took an unexpected turn on Tuesday after builders happened upon a gold hoard worth over $10 million while installing a sewer system.

“Our first reaction was actually disbelief,” an 18-year-old student worker named Kobe told local media outlet VRT while recalling the unexpected haul. “Of course, we hadn’t expected to find gold.”

*** and ***

Under Belgian law, the rightful owner has five years to lay claim to the fortune. If they don’t, the forgotten gold can be divided between the finder and property owner provided it’s not associated with a crime.

*** end quote ***

What’s wrong with “finder’s keeper’s”?  I sure wouldn’t tell anyone what I found. Sorry, but I can see all the politicians and bureaucrats, grifters, and “do gooders with your stuff” crowded around to “dip their beak” in your find.  To use an expression from the movie “The Godfather”.  I think the Mafia was better than the Gooferment!  Five years is a long time for the “rats to eat the seed corn”?

Argh!

— 30 —

 

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RANT: Customer Service is a euphemism for ‘please just go away’!

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Dear Lowes and Angi and cloudflare:
 
*** begin quote ***
 
Your email says “connect with my installer” (forwards to Angi) and “view booking details” (forwards to Lowes)
 
BOTH angi and lowes web access blocked by cloudflare
 
email “the site owner” who? @angi, @lowes, @Cloudflare
   With Cloudflare Ray ID: a30afb02fcf02c27 • Your IP: 37.221.112.214 •
 
Angi doesn’t allow an alternative keyboard
 
No angi email
 
Lowes doesn’t allow an alternative keyboard
 
No lowes email
 
Find Lowes install number  … … 
 … … 888-516-1010
 
Call Lowes  … …
<<AI>> — who are you … Customer
<<AI>>– about cabinet?  … NO!
<<AI>>– wait for a real person … Argh!
<<<short wait  —  minute or so>>>
 
<<LOWES PERSON>>– I’m xxx on a recorded line yada yada training purposes
 
<<LOWES PERSON>>– What’s your name … Sigh!  Me Llamo se … <<just joking; they didn’t say press 1 for engrish>>.
 
<<LOWES PERSON>> — What’s your phone number
 
 … … thinking what no caller id? Sigh!
<<ME>> Uno, dos, tres,  … … 
 
<<LOWES PERSON>> —  What’s your problem 
 
… … thinking other than lowes, inflation, fiat money, the warfare / welfare state .. Nothing serious!
<<ME>> I go into my description
 … … install scheduled on 8/26 @ 10
  … … somehow it became 8/26 @ 6
 
 <<LOWES PERSON>>… … “no idea how that happened>. Argh!
 … … let me call installer … Brief hold?  
 
<<ME>>Sure Argh!
 
 … … << some number of minutes later >>
 
<<LOWES PERSON>> … … installer says scheduled on 8/26 @6
 
<<ME>> so who or what changed it?
 
<<LOWES PERSON>> … … when would you like it done 
 
<<ME>> … On 8/26@10am as originally scheduled
 
 <<LOWES PERSON>>… … let me call installer … Brief hold?  
 
 <<ME>>Sure Argh!
 
 … … << some number of minutes later >>
 
 <<LOWES PERSON>>… … installer says can’t do that; when is “convenient” for you?
 
<<ME>>  … …  … …  On 8/26@10am as originally scheduled
 … …  … … I have to coordinate with other people.
 
<<LOWES PERSON>>… … let me call installer … Brief hold?  Sure Argh!
 
 … … << some number of minutes later >>
 
 <<LOWES PERSON>>… … installer says “earliest possible is Friday 8/28 at 10AM”
 
<<ME>>  … …  … … I say “fine. What choice do I have”
 
<<LOWES PERSON>>… … let me call installer … Brief hold?  
 
<<ME>>  … … Sure Argh!
 
<<LOWES PERSON>>… … confirmed and apologizes
 
<<ME>> Why should you appologize? You didn’t screw it and us up.  Thanks. Bye
 
Argh! Argh! Argh!
 
*** end quote ***
 
Doesn’t address all the fun problems getting to this basically unsatisfactory solution.
 
Sigh!
 
— 30 —
 
 
 
 
 
 

On Mon, Aug 24, 2026 at 9:47 PM reinkefj via gmail <reinkefj@gmail.com> wrote:
 
WTH!!!

Ferdinand J. Reinke
16436 ADMIRALS COVE LN WINTER GARDEN FL 34787
571-218-6647
reinkefj@gmail.com

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Angi + Lowe’s <lowes@book.angi.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 24, 2026 at 18:04
Subject: Reminder | Your next assembly booking is coming up on Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 6:00pm!
To: <>
Please Note: Your Lowe’s booking emails will come from Angi.
Angi Walmart
Hi Ferdinand,
Your assembly booking is coming up soon.
We’re excited to get your project started.
Get in touch with your pro.
Connect with your pro →
 
Patio Set Assembly (4 – 6 pieces)
Booking ID #27220869
address 16436 ADMIRALS COVE LN, Winter Garden, FL 34787
 
date Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 6:00pm
Item hasn’t arrived yet? You can easily reschedule your booking here. Please note: you may reschedule or cancel any appointment 24 hours in advance for free.
View Bookings CTA
FAQs
How do I login to my Angi + Lowe’s account?
 
What are my login credentials?
 
Who is responsible for tools and materials?
 
How do I contact my pro?
 
How do I update my booking?
 
What should I do if something is damaged or missing?
Happiness Guarantee Your project is backed by our Happiness Guarantee, and is covered up to the full purchase price plus limited additional damage protection.

Have more questions?

Your Lowe’s assembly service is powered by Angi. If you have any questions, just visit our help center for FAQs or live chat with our agents 24/7 by clicking the chat icon on the bottom right of the page.

Have questions? Chat with us!

By submitting a service request or otherwise using Angi’s services, you agree to Angi’s Terms and Conditions.

You may reschedule or cancel any appointment 24 hours in advance for free. However, since bookings cannot be cancelled or rescheduled once a pro is almost on the move, we can only provide refunds for bookings that are cancelled at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time.Please note that any cancellation of this booking will be refunded to your original method of payment within 5-7 business days.

Privacy Policy

© 2026 Angi | 130 E. Washington St. | Indianapolis, IN 46204

 

—

from my mac osx desktop
 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
“You know me, I’ve got Irish Alzheimer’s, I forget everything but a grudge,” — Pat Fitzmaurice Chicago Fire Department
 
 —  
Ferdinand J. Reinke

16436 ADMIRALS COVE LN
WINTER GARDEN, FL 34787
Phone 571-218-6647

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RANT: For this, I paid extra! Argh!

Saturday, August 22, 2026

<<FROM Lowe’s >>
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-08Aug-19>>

*** begin quote ***

*** end quote ***

Delivery is scheduled for today.

The rep said on the phone <<with I assume a straight face>> “put it out of your way for a couple of days and the installer will call you within two business days to schedule installing it”.  (For this, I paid extra! Argh!)

Not the not the way I’d like it to be done, but I guess now we know. Sigh!

I was ASSUMING (Yeah, I know ASS-out_of_U-and-ME! I forgot again.) that it would be delivered by the installer who would deliver it and go away.  (Hopefully, taking all residue debris away or, at least, flattening any cardboard and bagging up everything else.  I guess cleaning up wold be exceptional and even I, the curmudgeonly cheapskate, would tip the installer for going the extra mile.)

<<<Please, test that assumption and take notes of the results! — Robert W. Malone substack 2026>>>

<<To be continued after the install.>>

# – # – # – # – # 2026-Aug-19 @ 11:20

— 30 —

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RANT: Guess they haven’t head of Amaon Prime or Walmart+ or “free delivery”

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

*** begin quote ***

On Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 4:12 AM reinkefj via gmail wrote:

Kirkland Signature Organic Summit Roast Coffee, Medium Roast, Keurig K-Cup Pods, 120 ct | Costco https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/p/-/kirkland-signature-organic-summit-roast-coffee-medium-roast-keurig-k-cup-pods-120-ct/2001139222

*** end quote ***

Went to order and then <BAMM!> slapped in the face.

NOT ordered. They want a 25$ delivery charge. Guess they haven’t head of Amaon Prime or Walmart+ or “free delivery”. What a way to lose and a stream of future orders. Don’t want my business; fine. Argh!

— 30 —

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RANT: We need about 40 year, 4 decades, 2 generations to erase these SOCIALIST mistakes

Sunday, August 16, 2026

<<FROM FACEBOOK>>
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-08-16>>

*** begin quote ***

Stephen E. Phelps Jr.
Favorites · p͏S͏t͏e͏o͏o͏d͏n͏r͏s͏c͏f͏ ͏3͏u͏s͏t͏f͏3͏2͏g͏ ͏ ͏1͏t͏P͏4͏7͏u͏a͏m͏m͏u͏u͏t͏2͏A͏ ͏i͏2͏f͏g͏t͏:͏t͏3͏i͏1͏3͏f͏0͏M͏f͏7͏0͏8͏l͏g͏l͏u͏ ·

Fúçĸ these scumbag pseudo-Republicans who want to welch on paying back the money that’s been “appropriated” by Congress out of our hard-earned Social Security savings over the years by now pretending that SS and Medicare are “benefits”.

*** end quote ***

Stephen E. Phelps Jr. quoted Steve Warkentin

*** begin quote ***

p͏S͏t͏e͏o͏o͏d͏n͏r͏s͏c͏f͏ ͏3͏u͏s͏t͏f͏3͏4͏g͏ ͏ ͏1͏t͏A͏9͏9͏u͏a͏m͏m͏u͏u͏t͏2͏A͏ ͏i͏2͏f͏g͏t͏:͏t͏3͏i͏1͏3͏f͏0͏M͏f͏7͏0͏8͏l͏g͏l͏u͏ 
I’m happy to share this, but sad that is necessary, because I don’t care what side of the aisle you sit on, this is a fact.
 
Speaker of the house, Mike Johnson, concerning Social Security payments.
 
My contributions were made for me since I was 16 years old, on every wage or salary I received. Those jobs may not have always been the work I wanted to be doing at the time, BUT I always had a job. The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a “Federal Benefit Payment?” I’ll be part of the one percent to forward this.
 
I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you. Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it.
 
The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a “Federal Benefit Payment.” This isn’t a benefit. It is our money paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too. It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.
 
Congress took our money and used it elsewhere. They forgot (oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn’t have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them. And they didn’t pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they’ve told us that the money won’t support us for very much longer. And now, to add insult to injury, they’re calling it a “benefit”, as if we never worked to earn every penny of it.
 
Just because they borrowed the money doesn’t mean that our investments were a charity!
 
Let’s take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government.
 
Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going, PLEASE for the sake of the 92% of our population who need it. Then call it what it is: Our Earned Retirement Income.

*** end quote ***

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE! “Social Security” has always been a Gooferment Ponzi scheme that transfers, wealth from poor minority men to rich white women. It was a step towards socialism, and then communism.

  • It destroyed the extended family by allowing grandparents to “retire” and move places like Florida andArizona away from their families who needed their physical presence ass support.
  • Also, they got everyone used to the idea of a government monthly check thus destroying the savings incentive.
  • The federal reserve system destroyed the value of money and people could no longer put a few coins away for their old age.
  • It created an entitled boomer-class of voters beholding to the Democratic in income-bent politicians.

Both the Democrat and Republican incumbent politicians should share the blame and our scorn at their malfeasance in office. The Democratic Socialist cabal DSA should be laughed out of every election by pointing to North Korea, Cuba, and the third world hell hole.

Stephen E. Phelps Jr. and I don’t agree on a lot of political issues, but on this point, we are in 100% agreement.

Now that the government has made the wage slave class a serfdom we requires two salaries to barely stay afloat, we need a multigenerational decades long GENTLE plan to remove Social Security. We, The Sheeple should not allow the politicians to “pull the rug out “from people who planned their retirement around having that Social Security income.

Like separating “EDUCATION” from the Gooferment (i.e., Gooferment SK-CRUEL-as, we need about 40 year, 4 decades, 2 generations to erase these SOCIALIST mistakes.

— 30 —

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RANT: Gooferment “codes” change without notice or a chance to object

Friday, August 14, 2026

In trying to sell our “old” house, I have a few example of “spectacular stupidity”.

Evidently NOW to sell a house and get a Certificate of Occupancy, all the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors —  regardless of lifespan left —  must be replaced with a non-removable battery. 

WTH

My detectors were replaced when we bought the house 5 years ago because they were flakey and so were the carbon monoxide detectors because they were old and generating false alarms.  No Gooferment involvement!

Argh!

There’s a few dollars (more than 1,000) down the rat hole. And, now there is a fee for the City Inspector come out and confirm.

My Realtors, Handyman, and Contractor were all surprised by this.

And it’s not like a rental.  It was and will be owner occupied so there is NO motivation to cheap out.

Yet Another cash grab and expense incurred.  Glad to be out of the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee.  Hope the last person out shuts the lights off!

— 30 —

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