Author: Patrick Houck

With former President Barack Obama campaigning in Georgia to save Democrats from a midterm “shellacking” similar to his own over a decade ago, election denier and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) appears to be laying the groundwork to challenge the results of the governor’s race. Axios first reported on Abrams’ continuing claims that Georgia’s new election security law is suppressing turnout. However, Republicans are citing the record turnout so far and registration numbers to dismiss Abrams’ claims as meritless. Of course, she’s privately concerned about other developments, in addition to her average 8-point deficit in the polls to GOP…

Every election cycle, voters get told that the current election is the most important one of their lifetimes. For the most part that is true. At the moment, past elections don’t matter as much as the present. Nearly two decades ago, New York State had a Republican governor and even New York City had a Republican mayor. George Pataki served as governor of New York for three terms from 1995 to 2006. Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg (before Bloomberg’s defection to the Democrat Party) oversaw continuous Republican rule of New York City from 1994 to 2007, when Bloomberg announced his…

According to consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), cyber-espionage by the Chinese government, and groups closely aligned with its interests, is surging. A U.S. grand jury indicted members of an elite group of Chinese hackers in 2020. However, far from dissuading the spy ring, the network has redoubled its efforts. As CNN reports: The findings highlight the biggest cyber-espionage challenge facing the Biden administration: combating a Chinese hacking program that the FBI has called more prolific than that of all other governments in the world combined.The Justice Department has aggressively sought to expose the alleged data-stealing campaigns through indictments, and made the case that Chinese hackers…

Hostile forces aligned with America’s greatest adversary pose a serious threat when it comes to several different aspects of national security. To the casual observer, their efforts to wage a disinformation campaign in the homestretch of the 2022 midterm elections may sound frightening. China has only one ideological goal as they work to expand its sphere of influence: To promote and drive support for the priorities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There’s no evidence that they’ve been successful in any meaningful way this time, at least so far. Still, history has shown that new and evolving threats can rise…

A pioneer of the rock ‘n’ roll genre, and an international star with a larger than life personality has died. Jerry Lee Lewis roared onto America’s national consciousness with iconic hits like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Lewis, 87, was the last surviving star of the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll defined by the musical genius of greats like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1586040148508254213 USA TODAY reports: For the longest time, it seemed that if Jerry Lee Lewis wasn’t dead already, then obviously nothing could kill him. But what alcohol, painkillers, a perforated…

A top federal appeals court has denied former President Trump’s latest legal challenge. Trump lost an attempt to keep his 2015-20 tax returns and those of his businesses from being released to the U.S. House’s Ways and Means Committee. https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1585737000014995456 The denial by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit makes it likely that Trump will appeal to the Supreme Court to keep congressional Democrats from reviewing his financial records as much as possible. While Trump has the option to appeal the ruling, the panel of three judges unanimously denied Trump’s request to keep his financial records out of…

Outgoing Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney has endorsed Democrat incumbent Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Despite saying that she would do “whatever it takes to make sure Donald Trump isn’t anywhere close to the Oval Office” again, today’s announcement marks the first time Cheney has endorsed a member of the opposition party. Slotkin, a twice-elected Member of Congress, is running for reelection in Michigan’s newly redrawn 7th Congressional District, a marginally GOP-leaning seat against Republican state Sen. Thomas Barrett. The Cook Political Report puts the race in its toss-up category. https://twitter.com/ElissaSlotkin/status/1585657555535237120 Besides her endorsement, Cheney will appear alongside Slotkin at a Nov. 1…

While South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham received a reprieve in the ongoing probe by Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who’s investigating former President Donald Trump and his associates for possible criminal interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows found out this morning he’s not so lucky. Meadows has been ordered to testify before a grand jury about controversial efforts to keep Trump in the White House after he lost reelection. (RELATED: Clarence Thomas Pauses Lindsey Graham’s Testimony in 2020 Election Probe) The New York Times has the latest on the…

Pennsylvania voters shut down MSNBC interviewer Elise Jordan, who prodded them about the U.S. Capitol riot, which reporters in newsrooms in New York and Los Angeles still think is more important than kitchen-table issues like inflation and crime. https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1584681738327842816?s=20&t=99PrzvRa0ClEhf2f3qVsdQ The voters expressed their opinions in a cogent and respectful manner, further showcasing that the Jan. 6 hearings haven’t moved the political needle. Notably, the panel seemed more informed, at least on certain aspects of the riot, than the interviewer. At one point, multiple interviewees quickly corrected Jordan when she erroneously claimed Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died at the hands…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appears to be on the verge of a double-digit victory. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, DeSantis leads Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist by 10 points. A new Telemundo/LX News survey shows DeSantis leading Crist 51% to 44% among Florida’s growing Hispanic community. In 2018, DeSantis lost the Hispanic vote by some 10 points. Four years later, he may win Miami-Dade County. The stark reality for Charlie Crist is that last night’s debate was the last chance to save his floundering campaign. Attempting to catch DeSantis off balance, Crist broke the debate rules when he took over…