Also on today’s menu:
Haley Campaigns In Londonderry
Bankman-Fried Faces Decades In Prison After Guilty Verdict
Canadian Author Who Faked Deaths Pleads Guilty
Reasonable Republicans — those who are not part of the Trump cult — are bombarding voters with political mail that asserts “You can stop Biden … by letting go of Trump” — but Democrats are failing recognize the reverse of that argument: You can stop Trump by letting go of Biden.
The Democratic National Committee objects to letting voters decide who should represent the party. They put all their efforts into making sure that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee to run against Donald Trump in the 2016 election, sabotaging the campaign of Bernie Sanders, who had a real chance of defeating Trump in the general election. That strategy allowed Trump to take office.
This year, the DNC again is working to defeat the purpose of a primary election, which is to give voters a chance to meet the candidates and choose their nominee for the general election. Not only is it “putting all its eggs in one basket” by promoting the idea that only Biden can win; it has refused to recognize New Hampshire’s right — and legal obligation — to hold the first primary in the United States. It is written into state law, but the DNC will not acknowledge that, and Biden — who should be supporting the law — helped to persuade the DNC that South Carolina should hold the first primary.
Biden personally chose to keep his name off the New Hampshire ballot, which should eliminate him as a candidate in the state, but prominent New Hampshire Democrats are pushing a write-in campaign for Biden. Write-ins should be for people who welcome the votes, but Biden has shunned the vote, and Democrats should move on.
Given that DNC rules will not award a delegate to anyone who wins in the New Hampshire Primary, anyway, voters here have a chance to consider and vote for another candidate who is on the ballot and may better represent them, giving that person a boost in other Democratic primaries. Doing so may result in a candidate who can save the country from Donald Trump, for it is hard to imagine that no other Democrat could defeat the fascist former president.
It is not that Biden has been a bad president; indeed, he was the right person for the job in 2020, restoring an economy devastated by the pandemic. Biden has focused on domestic industry, adding jobs and promoting renewable energy, improving the country’s infrastructure, and restoring the United States’ status in the rest of the world. His steady hand has guided foreign policy away from the anti-democratic movements and he is now carefully maneuvering to support Ukraine and Israel while also steering the discussion toward a permanent solution to the longstanding oppression of Palestinians. The latest statistics have shown that this nation’s gross domestic product has grown by 4.9 percent — far higher than expected — while wages have increased steadily even as inflation has fallen.
Despite all that, it may be time for someone else to take over — someone without the challenges of age, criminal investigations against his family, and now his demonstrated contempt for New Hampshire voters. Democrats who go along with the DNC’s position — that only Biden can defeat Trump — are making the same mistake as the voters who chose Hillary Clinton because the national organization said she was the one to defeat Trump.
The advantage of the New Hampshire Primary is that, unlike other state primaries, it gives a large percentage of voters the chance to meet the candidates in person, ask questions of them, and decide for themselves who should get their vote.
Haley Campaigns In Londonderry
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the U.N., spoke to voters at Poor Boy’s Diner in Londonderry on November 2, discussing foreign policy, national security, and immigration issues, saying, “Our world is on fire” and asking, “What has Congress done for you lately? Nothing.”
In introducing her, Governor Chris Sununu said, “We want a candidate that’s substantive, a candidate that’s conservative, someone that fulfills on the commitment of that conservative agenda.” He told the crowd, “Trump cannot get there.”
Criticizing the leadership in Washington, D.C., Haley said, “Why is Congress the only one that refuses to balance the budget?” She said she would eliminate the federal gas and diesel tax, putting money back into the pockets of the middle class, while also allocating money to the military to address problems at the border and the wars in Europe and the Middle East.
Bankman-Fried Faces Decades In Prison After Guilty Verdict
After fewer than five hours of deliberation, a jury found Sam Bankman-Fried, who had been arrested last year after his cryptocurrency exchange firm, FTX, went bankrupt, to be guilty of fraud and money laundering. The 31-year-old former billionaire now faces a potential maximum sentence of 110 years in prison, although the judge is unlikely to impose such a long sentence. Still, he is likely to impose a decades-long stay when the case goes for sentencing on March 28 next year.
FTX once had a value of $32 billon, but when it went bankrupt a year ago, $8 billon in customer funds were missing. US attorney Damian Williams said after the verdict, “Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history — a multi-billion-dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto. This case has always been about lying, cheating, and stealing, and we have no patience for it.”
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, said, “We respect the jury’s decision, but we are very disappointed with the result. Mr. Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
Canadian Author Who Faked Deaths Pleads Guilty
Dawn Walker, an indigenous woman from Saskatchewan and a prominent Canadian author, has pleaded guilty to parental abduction in contravention of a custody order, possession of a forged document, and forging a passport. The charges arose from kidnapping her son and faking their deaths. She was found in Oregon with her son two weeks later.
The 49-year-old woman who initially pleaded not guilty to the charges said she was fleeing domestic violence when she disappeared. Police had charged her with nine offenses, including parental abduction, identity fraud, and forging a passport.
Both her lawyers and prosecutors have asked the judge for a 12-month conditional sentence, allowing her to serve time in the community, followed by an 18-month probation. Judge Brad Mitchell will decide on final sentence.
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