The Daily Dose/January 5, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: In accordance with what remains of our Constitution, Congress will meet Wednesday to certify the Electoral College results that elected Joe Biden president. The Constitution mandates this be done on January 6 and while some in Congress have gotten their shorts in a knot over this and that over the years, it is usually a fairly routine process.
Fly In The Ointment: Paced by the Idiot-in-Chief Donald Trump, some in the GOP are prepared to mount a challenge to the Electoral College’s results. There is no basis for this. There is no evidence of election fraud and the courts from sea to shining sea – including the US Supreme Court – have dismissed Trump’s judicial challenges.
Dry, Technical Matter: But Congress can reject a state’s Electoral College results. It’s difficult, by design, but it can be done. Here’s how:
More Dry, Technical Matter: First, a member of Congress has to submit, in writing, an objection to a state’s results and to be considered this objection must be signed by one member of the Senate and one member of the House. If this happens, the Senate would withdraw to their chambers and both houses would consider the matter and both would have to vote to reject a state’s submission. And they can’t dismiss a state’s submission simply because they don’t like the result.
Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is very clear on the matter stating, in part, an elector’s vote can only be overturned if the elector was not “lawfully certified” by a state’s governor or the elector’s vote was not “lawfully given” and there is no evidence anywhere that this is the case with any of the 535 electoral votes cast.
The Bottom Line: The GOP’s efforts will fail, of course. If anything does come to a vote, the US House is in control of the Democrats and good luck getting them to reject a Biden victory in a state. Still, though, this charade is a microcosm of the last four years: Trump acting embarrassingly stupid, issuing constant blather and making himself, his party and us look silly.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – It’s doggie central at the hotel this morning. Today’s Diary.
Christ, it was a kennel at the front desk this morning…First, Luke the Maintenance Guy brought Z with him today and left her at the front desk…Regular readers of this crap know Z doesn’t particularly like me – our relationship is best described as “correct” – and can generally be counted on to leave me alone…Then Tammy shows up with her rambunctious new puppy Whiskey…Z immediately starts barking and dispatches herself to the back door to greet him and then they’re both barking and ol’ Sparrow is a cat guy and can’t really take this and then they both charge to the front desk and Whisky sees me and jumps on me and Z doesn’t want to be left out and she runs into me, too, almost shredding my left knee…Yours truly is generally pretty good about chatting with Tammy for a bit but, boy, there are too many noisy dogs and I flee.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1933 – Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, which will connect San Francisco with Marin County. The bridge was completed ahead of schedule and under budget and opened in 1937. The first toll was 50 cents – about $8.90 in today’s money – and today tolls for cars range from $7.7- to $8.70 depending on the payment method used and since 1968 tolls have only been collected for southbound traffic.
In 1999 – Tom Barrasso of the Pittsburgh Penguins establishes a new NHL record for most career points by a goalie in a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Barrasso had two assists in the game, giving him 48 career points, one more than Grant Fuhr of the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. Barrasso’s record still stands.
In 1980 – KC and the Sunshine Band is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Please Don’t Go, the first #1 song of the 1980s. It was the fifth and final #1 song for the group and their sixth and final Top 10 hit. The song also went to #1 in South Africa, Australia and Canada, peaked at #3 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s 19th biggest song of the year. In 1992, a version by KWS peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 and at #1 in Great Britain.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The only graceful way to accept an insult is to ignore it; if you can’t ignore it, top it; if you can’t top it, laugh at it; if you can’t laugh at it, it is probably deserved.
Russell Lynes
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
The last building in the US to be the world’s tallest building was the Sears Tower – now the Willis Tower – in Chicago, from 1973-1998.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NHL record for most career points by an active goalie? – Answer next time!
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