Tag: 2024 elections

Harris’ Campaign Pushes Back Against Criticism Over Her Lack of Interviews

Vice President Kamala Harris‘ campaign team is facing mounting criticism for her limited media engagement, as a senior adviser attempts to downplay concerns by citing the candidate’s busy schedule.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the Harris-Walz campaign, defended the vice president’s scarcity of press interviews during a recent appearance on CNN.

When pressed about Harris’ reluctance to face media scrutiny, Bottoms insisted, “She’s a very busy person.” This explanation comes as Harris continues to dodge substantive interviews, raising questions about her ability to withstand the rigors of a presidential campaign and her willingness to be transparent with the American people, per Fox News.

During an interview with CNN, Bottoms was pressed by anchor Jake Tapper about how Harris has not regularly sat down for interviews since launching her presidential campaign.

“Why,” Tapper asked. “Why is she not doing more interviews to talk about her policies and answer some of the questions that voters have about her policies and her change on her views on some of them?’”

In response, Bottoms said the vice president has participated in several interviews.

“Well, Jake, she’s done interviews,” Bottoms replied.

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What’s So Goofy About Eliminating Taxes?

A prominent libertarian is calling Trump’s tax proposals to eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security benefits “goofy.” What’s so goofy about eliminating these taxes and letting Americans keep more of their money?

Said Trump about tip taxation: “For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy, because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips. You do a great job of service. You take care of people, and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved.”

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): “All cash and non-cash tips an received by an employee are income and are subject to Federal income taxes. All cash tips received by an employee in any calendar month are subject to social security and Medicare taxes and must be reported to the employer.” Tips include:

  • Cash tips received directly from customers.
  • Tips from customers who leave a tip through electronic settlement or payment. This includes a credit card, debit card, gift card or any other electronic payment method.
  • The value of any noncash tips, such as tickets or other items of value.
  • Tip amounts received from other employees paid out through tip pools, tip splitting, or other formal/informal tip sharing arrangement.

Said Trump about Social Security taxation: “Seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security and they won’t.”

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA):

Fifty percent of a taxpayer’s benefits may be taxable if they are:

  • Filing single, head of household or qualifying widow or widower with $25,000 to $34,000 income.
  • Married filing separately and lived apart from their spouse for all of 2020 with $25,000 to $34,000 income.
  • Married filing jointly with $32,000 to $44,000 income.

Up to 85% of a taxpayer’s benefits may be taxable if they are:

  • Filing single, head of household or qualifying widow or widower with more than $34,000 income.
  • Married filing jointly with more than $44,000 income.
  • Married filing separately and lived apart from their spouse for all of 2021 with more than $34,000 income.
  • Married filing separately and lived with their spouse at any time during 2021.

(Income here is “provisional income” — adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest income + half of Social Security benefits.) Congress has never adjusted the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits to taxation. They have never even been indexed for inflation.

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Kamala Encourages Americans To Grill “Friends And Neighbors” About “Misinformation”

During a cringe fake Hollywood town hall meeting earlier this week, Kamala Harris suggested that everyday Americans should get in the faces of their friends and neighbors about “misinformation”.

Yes, really.

The entire thing from start to finish was cringe overdrive, hosted by billionaire Oprah Winfrey with an audience made up of the likes of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

You know, real representative of American voters.

At one point Harris was asked a hard hitting question by Meryl Streep, and responded “It’s very important that we all speak to our friends and our neighbors about misinformation and help them now see how it occurs, where it is occurring.”

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Harris Allies Continue Calling Trump ‘Threat to Democracy’

Two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump have not clarified the Democratic position on whether that Republican represents an existential threat to democracy. The White House still calls him a threat. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has mostly discarded that talking point.

Trump wants it to stop either way. At least, when directed towards him.

“It is time to stop the lies, stop the hoaxes, stop the smears, stop the lawfare or the fake lawsuits against me, and stop claiming your opponents will turn America into a dictatorship. Give me a break,” the Republican nominee said at a Wednesday rally in New York.

“Because the fact is that I’m not a threat to democracy,” he continued, before turning around and using the rhetoric he just condemned against his opponents. “They are.”

The problem for Trump: Harris has moved on from that rhetoric after the first assassination attempt. She did not use any of the democracy boilerplate during her debut rally in Milwaukee in July, and when she accepted the nomination in Chicago last month, she spoke in broad terms about “freedom.”

This was a sudden change, as Harris was in the habit of denouncing Trump as “a threat to our democracy.” She used that exact phrase numerous times while Biden was still on the ticket, most recently on July 13, which was coincidentally the day of the first assassination attempt.

It took Gov. Tim Walz a little longer. While he won national headlines for branding Republicans “weird,” the Minnesota Democrat also called Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, “fascists.”

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New Study Claims Millions of Non-Citizens May Vote in 2024

A recent study suggests that up to 2.7 million non-citizens could vote illegally in the 2024 election, raising alarms about the integrity of the democratic process. The report from Just Facts, a nonprofit research institute, estimates that between 10% to 27% of adult non-citizens in the U.S. are illegally registered to vote. With millions of potential illegal votes, critics fear the results of key elections may not reflect the true will of American citizens. The findings have ignited debate about election security, illegal immigration, and the challenges of ensuring only citizens vote in federal elections.

Key Facts:

– The Just Facts study estimates that between 10% to 27% of non-citizen adults are illegally registered to vote in the U.S.
– The U.S. Census counted over 19 million non-citizen adults in 2022, meaning between two and five million could be illegally registered voters.
– In 2008, a study showed that 81% of non-citizen votes went to Democrats.
– Former President Trump has promised to address illegal immigration and voter fraud by strengthening border security and deporting non-citizens.
– Critics, including think tanks like the Cato Institute, have questioned the accuracy of the study’s estimates.

The Rest of The Story:

The report by Just Facts has sparked significant concern about illegal voter registration ahead of the 2024 election. According to the study, anywhere from two to five million non-citizens are currently registered to vote, which could influence the outcomes of major races, including the presidency. These estimates are derived from U.S. Census data showing that 19 million non-citizen adults live in the country.

James Agresti, the author of the study, explained that non-citizens can easily register to vote because states don’t require proof of citizenship. “In no state in the nation are they required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote,” Agresti noted, highlighting the loopholes in voter registration processes.

The report has drawn attention to how these illegal votes could skew results, as seen in past elections. In 2008, for example, 81% of non-citizens who voted reportedly favored Democratic candidates. Concerns about election integrity have grown since the 2020 election when a vast number of votes were cast by mail or early, which some critics believe made it harder to detect potential fraud.

While supporters of voter registration reforms are pushing for stronger verification processes, critics have downplayed the study’s findings. The Cato Institute, for instance, claims that the number of non-citizens voting could be closer to zero, casting doubt on the validity of the study’s estimates.

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Nebraska Court Weighs Legal Challenge That Could Prevent Medical Marijuana Ballot Votes From Being Counted After Election

A Lancaster County District Court judge said Friday she intends to issue “narrowly” at the end of next week whether to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Nebraska’s medical cannabis petitions.

Judge Susan Strong made the announcement during a 20-minute initial briefing on the lawsuit filed by John Kuehn, a veterinarian, rancher, former state senator and former member of the Nebraska State Board of Health. The lawsuit seeks to either remove the two certified marijuana measures from the November 5 ballot or prevent counting of votes and void the election results.

“Hopefully we can all work together and resolve these claims as expeditiously as possible, hopefully before the election, though I understand we don’t have to,” Strong said at the initial hearing. “I think that would be the best course.”

Under state law, challenges to ballot measures can come before or after the election at issue, but Strong and attorneys for Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) and Kuehn said they were inclined to move quickly so voters know the impact before November’s election.

Attorneys for Evnen and the campaign sponsors each asked for all or part of the lawsuit to be dismissed. The sponsors’ attorneys derided the lawsuit as the “equivalent of a recount.”

Kuehn alleges too many invalid signatures

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HERE WE GO: Voters in Montgomery County Receive Ballots with Incorrect Names

Here we go.

Voters in Montgomery County, Maryland received sample ballots with incorrect names.

According to WTOP, the Montgomery County’s Board of Elections sent 132,217 ballots to voters in the 8th Congressional District and many of them were surprised to see they were incorrectly labeled.

An official with the Montgomery BOE said an issue with the spreadsheet used to print the names and addresses led to the errors.

It is unclear how many voters received ballots with the wrong name.

Every voter in the district was emailed a digital version of their sample ballot.

How convenient!

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Gun Control Hypocrite Kamala Harris Admits on Live TV That She and Walz Are Gun Owners and She Would Shoot Intruders, Then Regrets Saying It

In a town hall interview with Oprah Winfrey, Kamala Harris’ long-standing hypocrisy on gun control was exposed for all to see.

Kamala, known for her anti-gun rhetoric, let slip that not only is she a gun owner, but she would use it to shoot intruders if they dared to break into her home.

For someone who has championed stricter gun laws and even floated the idea of mandatory buybacks, this unscripted moment laid bare her duplicity.

When pressed during her interview with Oprah, she dropped the bombshell that she and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz both own guns.

“I’m a gun owner. Tim Walz is a gun owner,” said Kamala, much to Oprah’s surprise.

“I did not know that,” Oprah said.

But the real jaw-dropper came next. Harris, seemingly emboldened by the moment, continued: “If somebody breaks in my house, they’re getting shot.”

Harris, apparently realizing the gravity of her words, laughed nervously and backpedaled, adding, “I should have not said that. My staff will deal with that later.”

The hypocrisy is glaring. Here is a woman who has championed gun control measures for years, pushing for an assault weapons ban, mandatory gun buyback programs, and tighter restrictions on law-abiding gun owners—yet she is quick to admit she would use her firearm for self-defense.

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Senators Push Big Tech to Increase Content Moderation, Share More Info With Government Ahead of 2024 Election

During a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing titled “Foreign Threats to Elections in 2024 – Roles and Responsibilities of U.S. Tech Providers,” several senators urged Big Tech executives to increase their censorship of foreign “disinformation” and share more information with the federal government.

While the senators pushing these measures insisted that such efforts would be focused on foreign adversaries who are creating inauthentic content, previous incidents, most notably the censorship of the infamous Hunter Biden laptop story, have shown that measures claiming to combat foreign disinformation often result in the speech of Americans being censored.

In his opening statement, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) told the witnesses, Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) President and Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker, that he hoped the hearing would result in greater information between Big Tech and government.

“Our committee’s bipartisan efforts also…resulted in a set of recommendations for government, for the private sector, and for political…campaigns,” Warner said. “Recommendations for which I hope today’s hearing will serve as a status check. These recommendations included greater information sharing between the US government and the private sector…about foreign malicious activity. Not domestic, foreign malicious activity.”

He continued by claiming that there’s already been “a pretty successful effort to share threat information about foreign influence activity with the private sector” and complained that X (which has reduced censorship on its platform since entrepreneur Elon Musk took over) didn’t send a representative to the hearing.

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FBI Reveals That Iran Hacked Trump Campaign Materials And Gave Them To Biden/Harris

The AP is reporting that the FBI has uncovered evidence that Iranian hackers stole materials from the Trump campaign in the Summer and provided them to what was then the Biden/Harris campaign.

The report notes that the emails were sent to “people who were associated with Biden’s campaign” in June and July when he was still the Democratic nominee.

The FBI uncovered the “unsolicited” evidence as part of its efforts to investigate election interference.

The emails “contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails,” a government statement noted.

It is not known if the Biden/Harris campaign reviewed the materials.

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