I use Edge. Everyone is free to do their own search on the browser of their choice.
One person's misinformation is another's truth...
And vice versa. < g >

Thanks, possh. I question that one, too.
A search is in order, but I'm not in the mood at present.

I am in total agreement...

@IH Geek [Dave] @IH Admin [Shelly]

Well put, Mr. G. Praying Trump gets back in and cleans house.
Nice day ahead in these parts.
Not as warm as you like it but all in all, quite pleasant.
Take cae.

Herschel Walker to Barack Obama: ‘Telling Us to Vote Based on Color Is a Step Backward’
WARNER TODD HUSTON 11 Oct 2024 3:03

Former Georgia candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker blasted Barack Obama for sending black people backward in equality by demanding they vote based on skin color.

Walker’s slam against Obama came after the former president warned that not enough black people — especially black men — are supporting Harris, according to the current polls.

“Barack Obama, you forgot how hard we fought for our right to vote! Telling us how to vote based on color is a step backward. The bad policies of Biden/Harris have hurt us all. We need unity brother, not division!” Walker wrote, adding #Togetherwestand.

Obama’s comments followed a September 30 Pew Research poll that found only 84 percent of black people said they were planning to vote for Kamala Harris for president, while 13 percent said they were backing Trump. By contrast, Joe Biden won 92 percent of the black vote in 2020.

Harris’s declining support among black people has a lot of Democrat insiders worried, and Obama voiced that worry when he visited the important swing state of Pennsylvania this week.

“We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities, as we saw when I was running,” Obama told Harris supporters in Pittsburgh.

“Now, I also want to say that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” Obama exclaimed. “So if you don’t mind, just for a second, I’m going to speak to y’all and say that when you have a choice that is this clear, when, on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences.”

“She’s had to work harder and do more and overcome and achieve the second highest office in the land,” Obama insisted.

Despite Obama’s pleas, black voters have been abandoning the Democrat Party. From 2018 to 2022, the Republican share of the black vote jumped from nine percent to 13 percent.

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2024/10/11/herschel-walker-barack-obama-telling-us-how-vote-based-color-step-backward/

Worthless... the word of the day for this administration.

DHS chief Mayorkas spends under six hours in Helene-hit NC before bolting to grab sushi at DC Nobu: ‘Complete failure’
By Josh Christenson and Steven Nelson Published Oct. 11, 2024 Updated Oct. 11, 2024, 2:47 p.m. ET
https://nypost.com/2024/10/11/us-news/dhs-chief-mayorkas-spends-under-six-hours-in-helene-hit-nc-before-grabbing-sushi-at-dc-nobu-complete-failure/

Great pictures, Bull. Thanks!

omg You do have your work cut out for you. You may not be a young buck anymore but now you're a well-seasoned one. I suspect you make up for things by being far more efficient than you were in your youth. Cutting the fronds off the canal palm (I assume that's today's chore), it going to be a major b.i.t.c.h. Geez. Good luck and be safe. You're still da man! ! !

Keep us posted when you can. I do enjoy your adventures. Thank you for sharing them.

Good Morning, Bull.
Hope your new chainsaw arrives early so you get a lot of good use out of it today and for however long it takes to clean up the fallen palms. Careful around the canal. That doesn't sound like it's going to be fun.

Here's to the new day.
Life remains good.

Social Security COLA Set at 2.5% for 2025
With inflation slowing, annual benefit adjustment will be lowest in 4 years
By Andy Markowitz Published October 10, 2024

Social Security beneficiaries will get a 2.5 percent increase in their monthly payments next year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Oct. 10.

The 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is the lowest since 2021, reflecting a continued cooling of inflation following a surge in consumer prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2.5 percent COLA will bump up the estimated average Social Security retirement benefit by $49 a month, from approximately $1,927 to $1,976, starting in January, according to the SSA. The estimated average survivor benefit will rise from $1,788 to $1,832 and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) from $1,542 to $1,580.

“Inflation is clearly top of mind, not just for retirees, but for Americans generally, and the annual COLA provided by Social Security is a critical feature of the system,” says Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Charles Schwab.

“Some may feel the increase for 2025 is low relative to the inflation they feel in their pocketbooks,” Williams says. “Still, it’s a welcome increase that builds on a 5.9 percent increase in payments in 2022, 8.7 percent in 2023 and 3.2 percent this year.”

Social Security COLA, by year, since 2000 at the link.

COLA follows prices — with a delay
The COLA is determined by year-to-year changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which track?s price trends for a market basket of goods and services. The CPI-W is a subset of the overall Consumer Price Index, the federal government’s main gauge of inflation.

The 2025 adjustment represents the difference between the average CPI-W for July, August and September of 2024 and the average for those months in 2023. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Oct. 10 that the index rose at a 2.2 percent rate in September, following increases of 2.4 percent in August and 2.9 percent in July.?

Because one year’s COLA reflects the prior year’s price trends, there can be a lag in how it affects retirees’ pocketbooks. For example, 2022’s 5.9 percent increase was outpaced by that year’s inflation, which reached 9 percent. That produced an 8.7 percent COLA for 2023, a year when inflation ebbed to 3.4 percent by December.

The 2025 COLA could still buttress beneficiaries’ buying power if the inflation rate continues to drop. However, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Professional Forecasters is projecting that the main Consumer Price Index will hold steady at 2.4 percent through the first half of 2025.

“This adjustment means older Americans will receive needed relief to help better afford essential items from groceries to gas,” Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. But even with the COLA, she added, “we know many older Americans who rely on Social Security may find it hard to pay their bills. Social Security is the primary source of income for 40 percent of older Americans.”

Insurance, health care have impact
In some categories, such as health care, long-term care and home and? auto insurance, costs have risen at a greater clip than inflation overall, putting a bite on those on a fixed income who rely on Social Security.

Home insurance premiums increased by more than 20 percent from 2021 to 2023, according to Insurify, an online insurance marketplace.

“It’s likely that premiums will continue to increase into 2025 as natural disasters grow more frequent and damaging,” says Betsy Stella, vice president of carrier management and operations at Insurify. “For many retirees, homeownership represented financial security, but rising home insurance is turning it into a substantial financial strain for some.”

COLA gains can also be offset in part by increases in premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient services such as doctor visits. For most Part B participants, premiums are deducted directly from their Social Security payments.

In their 2024 annual report, Medicare’s trustees projected that the standard Part B premium paid by most Medicare beneficiaries — $174.80 a month this year — will rise to $185 a month in 2025. That would effectively reduce the Social Security COLA by $10.20 a month for most recipients.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services typically announce Part B premium prices in mid-October.?

“It may not feel like the cost of living is only at a 2.5 percent inflation rate, but that is where we are now,” says Lisa Featherngill, national director of wealth planning for Comerica Wealth Management.

“It’s also important to think about the fact that Social Security has built in increases from the last three years,” she adds. “We’re building on the compounding of those rates over time. It is factoring in where we’ve been, and the fact that some prices just haven’t gone down.”

Funding shortfall on the horizon?
Social Security is almost entirely funded by a payroll tax of 12.4 percent on eligible wages, with employers and employees each paying 6.2 percent. (Self-employed people pay the full 12.4 percent.) The tax is applied to earnings up to a certain threshold, which will increase next year from $168,600 to $176,100.

That revenue goes toward Social Security payments for current beneficiaries, with any excess funneled into two trust funds — one for retirement and survivor benefits, the other for disability benefits. The funds had combined cash reserves of nearly $2.8 trillion at the end of 2023, but in recent years outlays for benefits have exceeded incoming tax revenue.

That means the SSA has had to tap the trust fund reserves to fully cover scheduled benefits. In their most recent annual report, Social Security’s trustees project that the trust funds will run short by 2035 and the program will only be able to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits, unless Congress acts to stabilize the system’s finances.

“While this [cost-of-living] adjustment is important, there is more we must do to ensure older Americans can continue to count on Social Security,” Jenkins said. “AARP continues to call on Congress to take bipartisan action to strengthen Social Security and secure a long-term solution that Americans can rely on.”

Andy Markowitz covers Social Security and retirement for AARP. He is a former editor of the Prague Post and Baltimore City Paper.
https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/info-2024/cola-set-for-2025.html?

Ice fog ? ? ? Too warm for that.
I didn't think you'd be as happy as I am with the change in weather.
There's something for everyone in the great northeast.
Hang in there, Noble Sir.
As the world turns... it will warm up again.
I promise.

What goes around, comes around.
Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to spend the last four years squawking about stolen elections.
In all fairness, it's usually the demorrhoids who refuse to concede a loss. What a stinking mess.
Batten down the hatches. The fit will hit the shan.

Top Democrats, Including Election Denier Jamie Raskin, Won’t Commit to Certifying a Trump Victory
WENDELL HUSEBØ 10 Oct 2024 5:52

Top congressional Democrats told Axios on Thursday they would not commit to certifying the 2024 election if former President Donald Trump wins.

The failure to commit to certifying the election would prove many members to be hypocrites, including House Oversight Committee ranking member and former January 6 committee member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who told Axios that he is unsure if he’ll certify a Trump win.

If Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it,” Raskin said, assuming the election was free, fair and honest. “I definitely don’t assume that,” he added. “Democrats don’t engage in election fraud and election fabrication.”

A video surfaced in September of a panel discussion in February 2024 in which Raskin speculated that Congress would invalidate a Trump election victory, even though it could be at the risk of “civil war.”

“It is not clear whether Raskin was actually outlining a plan of action, or rather using a hypothetical to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court was placing what he considered an undue burden on Congress to keep Trump out of office,” Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak reported.

House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-MA) also told Axios that Democrats would only certify a Trump victory “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to … We have to see how it all happens.” McGovern also objected to Trump’s electors in 2017.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who objected to George W. Bush’s victory in 2005, said she did not “know what kind of shenanigans he [Trump] is planning … We would have to, in any election … make sure that all the rules have been followed.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet answered if she would support certifying a Trump victory, although she has been highly critical of Republicans who objected to President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.

For years, Democrats claimed Republicans are election deniers because they questioned the entirety of elections, but Democrats have also denied election outcomes over 150 times.

Biden and Democrats have a long history of contesting election outcomes, including Hillary Clinton and Barbara Lee (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), who have all cast doubt on every single Republican presidential victory in the last two decades. In fact, every single Democrat president since 1977 has questioned the legitimacy of U.S. elections, according to the RNC. Biden cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2022 midterms.

In both 2013 and 2016, Biden claimed that Gore won the 2000 presidential election. In May 2019, Biden said he “absolutely agrees” that Trump is an “illegitimate president.” According to a pool report, Biden claimed in 2013: “This man [Gore] was elected president of the United States of America.”

Democrats have not just denied election results. They have labeled elections as “stolen,” “fraudulent,” and a “coup d’etat.” In 2002, Gore claimed he “would have won” if every vote in Florida was counted and that he “absolutely” believed he would become president after the ordered recount. In 2016, Hillary Clinton said that the Supreme Court “took away a presidency” in Bush v. Gore.

Democrats repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2004 election. In 2006, then-DNC Chairman Howard Dean stated that he was “not confident that the election in Ohio was fairly decided” in 2004. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it is “appropriate” to have the debate concerning the 2004 election and claimed that there were “legitimate concerns” regarding the “integrity” of U.S. elections. Then-Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) cast doubt on the security of electronic voting machines in the 2004 election, saying he was “worried” that some machines do not have a paper trail.

Democrats have also cast doubt on the 2016 election. In 2017, seven House Democrats tried to object to the 2016 election electoral votes. After President Trump’s victory in 2016, 67 Democrats boycotted his inauguration, with some claiming Trump’s victory was not legitimate.

In September 2017, Hillary Clinton said she would not “rule out” questioning the legitimacy of the 2016 election. In October 2020, Clinton claimed that the 2016 presidential election was not conducted legitimately, saying, “We still don’t really know what happened.”

Most recently, Democrats supported Stacey Abrams in her stolen election claims. Hillary Clinton said Stacey Abrams “would have won” Georgia’s gubernatorial race “if she had a fair election” and that Stacey Abrams “should be governor” but was “deprived of the votes [she] otherwise would have gotten.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said, “I think that Stacey Abrams’ election is being stolen from her.” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) contended that “if Stacey Abrams doesn’t win in Georgia, they stole it.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said “the evidence seems to suggest” the race was stolen from Stacey Abrams.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/10/10/top-democrats-including-election-denier-jamie-raskin-wont-commit-to-certifying-a-trump-victory/

Yahoo! There's frost on the roof.
And I'm not talking about my super shiny white hair.
Yeppers. It's about 37° out there and the roof is covered with its first coat of frost this season.
Very exciting.
(Sorry, Gmenfan.)

Answer: I am for one. (Though I'm still not getting cocky.)

Morning, cap. I'll be joining the chorus of early voters, too.
We start on the 26th.
This will be my first time doing an early vote.
The election is too important to wait for the last minute. (JMO)
Have a good one.

Morning, Larry. Are you talking about the countdown clock I stickied?
I was going to leave it up until the election, but I'll defer to your wishes.
Let me know. Good to see you up and moving.
My day is made.

O, Lucky Man! with power already. Good Morning, Bull.
You were blessed with this one.

Those trees are going to be a bitch to clear but holy cow after Ian, this must seem like a piece of cake. Is there anyone who can help you with the work? Especially with the tree that is partly in the canal. Got to hand it to you. You are in superb shape to be able do this kind of cleanup work. Kudos, Kid.

Here's to FP&L. Love the locals' nickname for it. They did deliver this time.
The best part of all this... Bubba's paws stayed dry.
Yep. Life is good. Good luck with the clean up.

Aha! and Good Morning, MG.
For some reason I thought you were on the east coast of the state. I had to look up Collier on the map. You did luck out in more ways that one. Glad you were spared the tornado activity. TWC is showing the remains of neighborhoods. Horrible. Glad you got a good night's sleep. < g >

Stay safe and carry on. Thanks for letting us know you did well.

DeSantis rips Harris again for butting into Milton response: ‘No role in this process’
By Ryan King Published Oct. 10, 2024, 12:40 p.m. ET
Biden's not alone in undermining Harris...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis briefed President Biden on the fallout from Hurricane Milton Thursday morning while hammering Vice President Kamala Harris once again over her swipe at him for not taking her call earlier this week.

The Sunshine State governor chided that Harris “doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters,” and again accused her of politicizing the crisis.

“She has no role in this process. And I’ve been dealing with these storms in Florida under both [former President Donald] Trump and [President] Biden. Neither of them ever politicized it,” DeSantis told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” hours after Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.

“In fact [during] all of the storms I dealt with under this administration, although I worked well with the president, she has never called … She has never offered any support,” the Republican emphasized. “She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.”

Earlier this week, multiple reports emerged that DeSantis’ staff had turned down an attempt by Harris to reach him late last month in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene making landfall Sept. 26.

When pressed about those reports on Monday, Harris, 59, attacked DeSantis, 46, without using his name.

“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — is utterly irresponsible and it is selfish,” she told reporters.

DeSantis has insisted he had no knowledge of the veep’s initial attempts to reach him.

“I don’t have time for those games,” he said Thursday. “I don’t care about her campaign, obviously I’m not a supporter of hers.

“For her to say that my focus should be on catering to her rather than worrying about my own people just shows she doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters.”

While DeSantis has sniped at Harris, Biden has commended the governor for doing a “great” job in preparing for Milton. DeSantis has returned the favor by publicly crediting Biden for giving his state everything it has asked for thus far.

During their phone call Thursday morning, DeSantis explained that state officials are still assessing the extent of the damage done by Milton, and Biden vowed to continue green-lighting federal support, per a readout from the White House.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Deanne Criswell was on the call as well.

“All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Governor DeSantis,” Biden, 81, told reporters Wednesday. “He’s been very gracious. He thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”

Last week, Biden toured damage from Helene in Florida but did not meet up with DeSantis, who was holding a press conference about 300 miles away at the time.

Harris took time off from the campaign trail Wednesday to sit in on a FEMA briefing on Milton, but only succeeded in raising eyebrows for looking distracted on the call, then blurting out, “It’s a live broadcast,” apparently to a member of her staff.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/10/us-news/desantis-rips-harris-again-for-butting-into-milton-response-no-role-in-this-process/

I was pleased Bull did so well, too.
Also happy to hear you came through the storm unscathed and
had your power restored so quickly.
Continue to stay safe.

No kidding. FOX had a field day with the 32 32 32 32 shtick.
She is such a maroon and her sidekick described himself perfectly -- Knucklehead.
We are such dead meat if those two get in.

The word from Bull this morning: https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=175208082

Ethel Kennedy, Human Rights Advocate and Widow of RFK, Dies at 96

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: Ethel Kennedy attends the 30th Robert F. Kennedy Human RightDrew Angerer/Getty
SIMON KENT 10 Oct 2024 2:55

Ethel Kennedy, human rights advocate and widow of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, died on Thursday after suffering a stroke last week and being hospitalized. She was 96.

Her death was announced by her grandson Joe Kennedy III in a post on X.

“It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother, Ethel Kennedy. She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week. Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly,” said the former Massachusetts Congressman.

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie. Please keep her in your hearts and prayers.”

Born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, Kennedy’s life was marked by tragedy even before Sirhan Sirhan made her a widow in 1968 by gunning down her husband while he was running for president, NBC News reports.


(File/Original Caption) Robert Francis Kennedy and his bride, the former Ethel Skakel, and the groom’s sister,Eunice Kennedy, who was a bridesmaid at the wedding, are enjoying a joke at the sumptuous reception at the Skakel estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. Young Kennedy and his bride were wed in a colorful ceremony at St.Mary’s Roman Catholic Church with many prominent socialites on hand for the ceremony. He is the son of the former Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy. The youngsters will honeymoon in Hawaii. (Getty)

Kennedy’s parents, coal magnate George Skakel and his wife, Ann Brannack Skakel, were both killed in a 1955 plane crash.

She was then by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California.

Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier.

In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an apparent drug overdose, AP reports.


(File/Original Caption) Sen. Edward Kennedy, back, stands behind the widow of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Mrs. Ethel Kennedy, second left, with her five children, and his wife Joan, right, as they pause at the grave of assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 20, 1970, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)

“One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb,” family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, told the Boston Herald after Michael Kennedy’s death.

The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy.

Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/10/10/ethel-kennedy-human-rights-advocate-and-widow-of-rfk-dies-at-96/

NONSENSE!
Old Kamaltoe does that all by herself.

You live ! ! ! And so does your generator.
Practice makes perfect as the saying goes.
Sounds like you've got the drill down to a science.

If the only damage you have is a mess of trees and branches, you are one of the lucky ones. Compared to the aftermath of Ian, you must be feeling blessed right now. Good work. God is watching out for you.

Thanks for letting us know how you're doing.
Good luck with the cleanup and may you be among the first to get your power restored.

Sure hope you are right, cap.

Morning, cap. After seeing how poorly the Feds are managing the aftermath of these hurricanes,
I don't know how anyone could vote for the skank.
Let us pray common sense prevails and Trump wins.
Meanwhile, enjoy the day.

Guud Morning to you, Larry.
Our days are off to a good start.
We're both still breathing.

Morning, MG. Is your truck still standing?
Hope both you and your vehicle are in good shape this morning.
Please let us know how you did when you are able.
Good luck.

Congratulations on weathering the storm, Bull.
I see the timestamp was last night.
Wondering if you still have power.
TWC says there are 2.9 million without it at the moment.
Good luck with the cleanup.
Sure glad this didn't turn into Ian Redux.

Very cool, Mr. G. Thanks for the great find.

Excellent news, Red. Remain safe. Enjoy the storm.

May your power be with you.
You must be breathing much easier right now.
Continued good luck wishes.

Howdy Red. Watching TWC. Looks like your area will be affected by the east coast storm surge from Milton.
You've fared well during previous storms.
Hope you get through this in good shape too. Good luck.

Good luck, MG. Stay safe.

Doomsday scenario. Hope they are soooo wrong.
US NEWS
Hurricane Milton expected to be so powerful, it could forever change Florida’s coastline
By Isabel Keane Published Oct. 9, 2024, 7:23 a.m. ET
(Let's hope the experts are very wrong.)

Hurricane Milton is expected to be so ferocious, it will cover nearly every beach on Florida’s west coast — and forever change the Sunshine State’s coastline, experts have warned.

At least 95% of Florida’s west coast beaches are forecast to be inundated — or continuously covered by ocean water — when the hurricane, predicted to be one of the strongest ever, is expected to make landfall Wednesday as many still recover from Helene, the US Geological Survey.

“This is the most severe level of coastal change,” the federal agency warned — while saying that “Milton’s waves and surge” could cause “erosion and overwash” to 100% of the state’s beaches...

Lots of pictures/illustrations and the complete story here:
https://nypost.com/2024/10/09/us-news/hurricane-milton-expected-to-be-so-powerful-it-could-forever-change-floridas-coastline/

Thanks for the reminder, Larry.
Go Trump!

How Trump can win the popular vote: Blue-state House races hold the key
By Daniel McCarthy Published Oct. 8, 2024, 6:08 p.m. ET

Democrats should brace for a shock four weeks from now — the possibility not just of a victory for former President Donald Trump, but a win so big that Trump beats Vice President Kamala Harris in the popular vote.

Trump doesn’t need to do that, of course: He can return to the White House just by winning enough battleground states.

But if he does get more votes than Harris nationwide, it will prove he is more popular, and his message even more powerful, than when he overcame former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Trump’s path to this next upset runs through the House of Representatives.

His chances of success in the popular vote are intimately linked to the GOP’s prospects of extending its House majority.

Democrats only need a net gain of five seats to retake the House, yet there’s reason to think they won’t get that — even if Harris wins the presidential race.

After all, when President Joe Biden received more than 81 million votes four years ago, Democrats still lost 13 seats in Congress.

Trump and the Republicans are almost two parties, allied but distinct, and not every Trump voter bothers to turn out for other Republicans when Trump isn’t on the ballot.

That hurt Republicans in the last midterm elections, just as Trump’s presence helped the party in 2020, when polls seriously underestimated GOP turnout.

The election will be:
But if congressional Republicans need Trump, now he knows he needs them too.

He learned the indelible lesson at the end of his last term that a Democratic House will impeach him, regardless of whether it can get the Senate to convict him.

This election is different from 2016, when Republicans felt safely in control of the House — or 2020, when they despaired of reclaiming it.

This time a GOP majority’s survival is in the balance, and Trump is motivated to save it.

That calls for measures that could win Trump the popular vote, too.

What Trump’s team learned from the 2022 midterms is that blue-state Republicans matter.

New York, New Jersey and California might be out of reach in the presidential struggle, but they have closely contested House races that Republicans must win to control Congress.

As of Oct. 4, the Cook Political Report listed six California House seats as competitive — five of them, all with Republican incumbents, as tossups.

New York has five competitive congressional seats, three of them tossups for currently Republican-held seats.

Painfully aware of the stakes, Trump aims to max out the blue-state GOP vote.

That includes repudiating one of his own signature achievements: Trump now favors bringing back the federal deductions for state and local tax payments — the SALT deductions — he got rid of in his first term.

In high-tax states like New York and California, abolishing SALT was deeply unpopular.

Trump’s dash to the middle on abortion policy troubles social conservatives, but this evolution, too, may help him and other Republicans in more socially liberal blue states.

Meanwhile, immigration, a divisive topic when Trump began talking about it years ago, is now an issue on which a broad majority of Americans agree — and they agree with him.

A solid 59% of voters polled by Marist late last month expressed support for deporting all illegal immigrants.

Typically immigration ranks second only to inflation among Americans’ top concerns — a powerful current for Trump to tap on Election Day.

He vastly increased his base of support from 2016 to 2020, winning more than 74 million votes in his contest with Biden.

And while Biden received more than that, in his second outing Trump not only improved on his previous total but blew past the nearly 66-million-vote mark Clinton set when she won the popular vote.

If Harris draws Biden-like numbers, she’ll almost certainly win the popular vote, though she could still lose the swing states — and with them, the White House.

But if Harris draws Clinton-like numbers, Trump has an excellent chance of winning not only the battleground states, but the popular vote as well.

National polls heading into the final weeks are almost tied — and Harris is running behind where Biden and Clinton stood at this point in their races, both in national polling and most surveys of the battleground states.

Trump is still the underdog, but he’s doing better than in either of his previous races.

Democrats should prepare for heartbreak.

Republicans, for their part, should prepare to make this opportunity count.

Daniel McCarthy is the editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/08/opinion/how-trump-could-win-the-popular-vote-with-blue-state-help/

I share your hope for a weaker Miltie. You have a good one, too.

Howdy, Larry. How's my favorite town crier?
Trump should hire you as his publicist.

Morning, cap. Good video. I started watching and will finish later.
TWC is blathering in the background and pulling my focus.
Dry air and wind shear may weaken old Miltie.
At least, I hope so.
Be well and enjoy the day.