Happy New Year!

I wish all readers of Progressives Chat a safe, enjoyable, Happy New Year!

Here is looking ahead to 2019…

Merry Christmas!

During this week, there will be just one blog entry thread.

For all who observe the holiday, I wish readers of Progressives Chat a Merry Christmas!

Here, in alphabetical order according to song title, are five selections of holiday music:

A Segue To Christmas: ‘SCTV’

A couple weeks prior to posting this blog entry, I was coming across videos of the Toronto, Canada comedy troupe Second City Television—also known as SCTV—which were utterly remarkable. (For more information: Second City Television.)

The variety series took shots at celebrities and some cultures for which, from 1976 to 1984, were relevant for the times. (Well, some if it isn’t limiting to just that particular period of time. There is some content, from these videos, which would or would not play here in 2018.)

Among the cast of SCTV: John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin (whose performance was nominated for a 1982 Emmy), Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas. (The cast were among the staff who won Emmys in 1982 and 1983 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series; well, Moranis, O’Hara, and Thomas won in 1982 while Short won in 1983. I have not posted any videos including Short.)

Due to the fact that next week is Christmas, and the following week is New Year’s, I am letting those particular weeks have just one thread each [Mondays, December 24 and 31, 2018]. This one blog topic, good for the weekend, will tie in with Christmas. (Other videos have nothing to do with Christmas. This is mostly an entertainment-related blog topic.)

Christmas

Celebrity

Celebrity & Politics

Politics

The Best of 2018

Last year, my first calendar year with Progressives Chat, I wrote and posted an entry on “The Best of 2017” [The Best of 2017].

With “The Best of 2018,” I gave myself a rule: No more than one video can be listed from the same source. But, I will confess: This is what personally appealed to me, very strongly, for subject matter and how well these videos were executed.

One source not listed: Jamarl Thomas. He deserves honorable mention particularly for his 2018 videos on United Kingdom politics—for Brexit—and with regard for prime minister and Conservative leader Theresa May vs. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“The Best of 2018” is posted on this date [Monday, December 17, 2018], two weeks prior to the actual end of 2018, because the topic I have scheduled for Friday [December 21, 2018] will be entertainment-related. It will also be a segue to Christmas. For the next two weeks, the last two weeks of 2018, I will have just one thread on Mondays [December 24 and 31, 2018].

(Side Note: On the Saturday, December 15, 2018 The Jimmy Dore Show, it was mentioned Dore interviewed Ralph Nader just recently. Dore said the video, however many parts, will get released. I don’t know when that will be. But, even if I wait until January 2019, I intend to post it as a blog topic for Progressives Chat.)

#01 “Hillary Clinton: I Got More Votes In The Places That Matter”
Secular Talk [March 16, 2018]

Kyle Kulinski covers Hillary Clinton’s controversial comments, in India, about her Election 2016 loss and how she explains that voters—apparently outside her 20 carried states—were backwards in denying her election to the presidency of the United States. When Hillary Clinton expressed this, it became the best example yet why she was never worthy of the presidency of the United States. This topic was covered, as well, by the likes of The Humanist Report’s Mike Figueredo and The Jimmy Dore Show’s Jimmy Dore. But, the one (of the three) who assessed it best—for being direct and insightful—was Secular Talk’s Kyle Kulinski.

#02 “Ocasio–Cortez Calls Out the ‘How to We Pay For It’ Double Standard”
The Humanist Report [August 21, 2018]

The Humanist Report’s Mike Figueredo comments on Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, in a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo, who was challenged on the cost of Medicare for All. (“The sticker shock.”) The 29-year-old U.S. House Rep.-Elect, at the time the Democratic nominee who unseated the renomination bid of incumbent Joe Crowley from New York #14, turns the tables on Cuomo and addresses hypocrisies of such arguments opposing Medicare for All.

#03 “Obama Joins Club of the Super Rich
— Defends Global Capitalism in Lecture”
The Real News [July 29, 2018]

The Real News had an excellent three-part segment, which was one of my blog topics [‘Obama Says Inequality Led to Rise of the Right, but Takes No Responsibility for It’], and this is the first part of a discussion between host Paul Jay and guest Leo Panitch, co-author of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Enemy of American Empire (2012). The two examine just how not only wed is Obama to the “Super Rich” but that he embraces them (while understanding their destruction).

#04 “Michelle Obama Shames Women
— Offers Them Nothing”
The Jimmy Dore Show [June 6, 2018]

Although it wasn’t the most important subject, this was my favorite 2018 video from The Jimmy Dore Show as Jimmy Dore pulls no punches of previous First Lady Michelle Obama voter-shaming people—especially women—who allowed for Donald Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election of 2016. Kudos also go to Jimmy Dore’s wife, Stef Zamorano, who is terrifically funny as she mocks the condescending attitude by Michelle Obama: “Jimmy—I’m sitting here, next to Ron and Arnold and you, and I’m trying to figure out, ‘Where’s my place in this world as a woman? I’m helpless. I need another woman to tell me how to feel about being a woman.”

#05 “Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership
Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race”
The Intercept [April 26, 2018]

Caught on audio was the Democratic Party’s No. 2 leader in the U.S. House, Steny Hoyer [D–Maryland #05), telling candidate Levi Tillemann the party had selected Jason Crow to be the nominee for Colorado #06. This came from a report by The Intercept’s Lee Fang [Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race]. Afterward, the controversy moved the despicable superdelegate Elaine Kamarck, in an attempt to justify this corruption, to write a piece in defense [Actually, National Democrats Should Interfere in Primaries]. (Refer to “The Best of 2017” link. You will see Elaine Kamarck interviewed by The Young Turks’s Emma Vigeland.) This was yet one more reason why, as I had in 2016, refrained from having voted for a single Democratic nominee and/or incumbent from my general-election ballot in 2018.

May Day

Wednesday [December 12, 2018] was quite a day for United Kingdom prime minister Theresa May.

The 62-year-old faced a Confidence—or, a No-Confidence—vote for whether she would continue as leader of the Conservative Party.

The outcome was 200 votes in favor. So, May survived. But, 117 were opposed to her continuation.

(Coverage is provided in the above video, from CBS News, and May speaks past the mark of 26:45.)

While the U.K. has a parliamentary system, numbers wise this is not good. It is not good to have 36 percent of one’s party not supporting its leader. That is an outcome, and one can apply it here in the U.S., that is not good for a political party and its leader. It is not good for the Conservatives in the U.K.

Jamarl Thomas has posted lots of good content from his uploaded videos to YouTube. He live-streams a lot. Thomas has given plenty of his attention to U.K. politics. He is correct—it is fascinating. The members of Parliament debate in the U.K. Here in the U.S, it is a p.r., as with the latest example of president Donald Trump meeting up with the congressional leaders of the Democratic Party, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, to supposedly discuss building a border wall. It was just more fake theatrical nonsense aimed at the True Believers (those loyal to either Team Red or Team Blue). And I will post, just below, video of Thomas covering this vote.

Although I don’t follow U.K. politics enough, I think Theresa May—dealing miserably with Brexit—is a failure. She needs to go. The next prime minister of the United Kingdom needs to be Jeremy Corbyn.

The 2018 U.S. House Midterm Elections, One Month Later

The 2018 midterm elections for U.S. House: 

Light shades are the net gains. 

Republicans won three pickups. 

Democrats won either forty-three or forty-four pickups. 

Democrats, having flipped the House, won an overall net gain of at least +40.

After Election Day, in presidential and midterm election cycles, it can take roughly a month for a precious few races to get called. Sometimes, they are ones for U.S. House. This turned out to be the case during the week which followed Thanksgiving. There was a false call for California #21 in favor of Republican incumbent David Valadao. But, there was still outstanding vote. Once it was actually done, the winner was Democratic challenger T.J. Cox. As of December 8, 2018, the race for North Carolina #09—which was retracted by the Associated Press (AP retracts call in North Carolina Congress race and Democrat officially withdraws concession in North Carolina race amid election fraud investigation)—is still outstanding. (On the above map, for the U.S. House elections results, that congressional district appears in a neutral color.)

The 2018 Democrats, who entered the [Election Day | November 6, 2018] midterm elections with 195 in the U.S. House, flipped control of the lower chamber with not only their needed +23 but with at least +40 net gains in seats.

The Democratic Party will enter the next Congress, in January 2019, with a new majority of at least 235 to the 199 or 200 seats for the Republicans. And, if you would like, you can see where the 2018 Democrats achieved this on the above map. (This manifest from 21 states. It would be 22 if that outstanding race flips Democratic in North Carolina. Seven of the net gains came from California.  You can look at the map more closely on a tablet or a smartphone.)



EFFECTIVE 12.10.2018 @ 12:00 a.m. ET: Wikipedia [ 2018 United States House of Representatives — Elections ] has it the 2018 Democrats won the U.S. Popular Vote, for the U.S. House, by +8.57 percentage points. It was 53.41 percent for the Democrats; 44.84 percent for the Republicans. (My elections prediction was the 2018 Democrats—while winning a majority pickup of the U.S. House—would end up winning the U.S. Popular Vote by +8.50 and a net gain of +35 seats. Link: Election Predictions.)

This is not to say, necessarily, these are the final numbers. (Last week, Dave Wasserman kept updating these on his Twitter page. And, of course, so has Wikipedia. But, I wanted to get this completed here while we are still in 2018. So, a cut-off is necessary.)

Going by that latest, what this means is the 2016-to-2018 national shift was Democratic +9.65. (The 2016 Republicans won the U.S. Popular Vote, for the U.S. House, by +1.08. It was Republican 49.11 percent; Democratic 48.03 percent.) 

With a net gain of +40 seats, the 2018 Democrats won an average of +4.15 seats with each percentage point nationally shifted in their direction. 

With a net gain of +41 seats, the 2018 Democrats won an average of +4.24 seats with each percentage point nationally shifted in their direction. 

From the previous midterm elections—in which the U.S. House flipped to the White House opposition party (which occurred in 1946, 1954, 1994, 2006, and 2010)—the historical average over those five cycles was +3.64 net gains in seats with each nationally shifted percentage point. (This is keeping in mind the U.S. Popular Vote, for U.S. House, was not recorded before the 1940s.)

If the 2018 Democrats won +40 net gains in seats, they raised that historical average to +3.72 net gains in seats over what are now six applicable midterm cycles (of the U.S. House having flipped to the White House opposition party).

If the 2018 Democrats won +41 net gains in seats, they raised that historical average to +3.74 net gains in seats over what are now six applicable midterm cycles (of the U.S. House having flipped to the White House opposition party).

While the 2018 midterm election period was still in progress, Five Thirty Eight’s Nate Silver had it figured the 2018 Democrats needed to win the popular vote by +5.5 in order to reach the +23 seats needed to flip the House. I went with the whole number of +6. 

It turns out the 2018 Democrats performed higher than historical average and were able to reach their necessary +23 by winning the U.S. Popular Vote by +4.47 percentage points (if their net gain is +40) or +4.35 percentage points (if their net gain is +41).

(Wikipedia has it Minnesota #07 was the tipping point seat with the 2018 Democrats having flipped the U.S House. Its margin was +4.26.)

In summary (and electorally): The 2018 midterm election voters were absolutely determined to flip the U.S. House from Republican to Democratic; the voters were able to deliver the House to the Democrats with a popular-vote margin of +4.47 (or, better, +4.35) percentage points; and the voters also nearly doubled that popular-vote margin and, by doing so, almost doubled the Democrats’ necessary net gains in seats to make this result decisive. (Yes, it was a wave election. For the United States House of Representatives.)

Now, that is just one part of electoral politics. Following such a thing can be like keeping track of a sport. It can be fun. What comes after that is something else. Ralph Nader has said it before: After the Democrats have won a given election cycle, he asks, “What did you win?” Meaning, for the voters who were strongly for the Democrats—“What did you win?” That is the question especially all self-identified Democratic voters should be asking themselves. I don’t sense they do. With these 2018 midterm election results, I don’t think many of them will. Here, for one’s consideration, is an example of what the 2018 [U.S. House] Democratic voters have won:

Remembering Linda Creed

I was listening to some music from a genre I have always enjoyed, R&B, and from a period for which I am fond, the early-1970s, and came across particular songs which were co-written by Linda Creed.

I was aware Creed died April 10, 1986, at age 37, from breast cancer. But, as I was looking her up on Wikipedia, I found that Thursday [December 6, 2018] would have been her 70th birthday.

According to the April 13, 1986 New York Times, with its obituary on Linda Creed, “Working with her songwriting partner, Thom Bell, [Linda] Creed was known throughout the recording industry but turned down offers to appear on The Tonight Show and other television programs, preferring to maintain a quiet family life.” (Link: Linda Creed, Songwriter, 37; Known for the ‘Philly Sound’.)

Creed co-wrote music for The Stylistics, during the first half of the 1970s, with Thom Bell. This included “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart),” from the group’s self-titled debut album of 1971. (It was later recorded in a duo by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and, a personal favorite of mine, Patti Austin.) More tracks for the group for which Creed had written included “People Make the World Go Round,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

(Thom Bell, who turned 75 this past January 26, was the first-ever winner of the [1974] Grammy for Producer of the Year [Non Classical]. This was for recordings not only by The Stylistics but especially The Spinners, with their LP Mighty Love, which included the title track, as well as the group’s No. 1 Billboard hit collaboration with Dionne Warwick, “Then Came You.” A Seattle Times interview, with Bell, from February 2018, is here: A Hall of Fame hitmaker finds happiness and harmony in Bellingham.)

With her background in Philadelphia soul, and that she joined Bell to work for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, the launch of Linda Creed’s career began in 1970. This was with Dusty Springfield, one year after that singer’s legendary Dusty in Memphis album (which included the supreme “Son of a Preacher Man”), who recorded Creed’s song “Free Girl.” (Side note: Just to show that you can connect many things to politics—Gamble, Huff, and Anthony Jackson wrote The O’Jays’s 1974 hit “For the Love of Money,” which was used a good 30 years later as the opening theme music for then-future U.S. president Donald Trump’s NBC reality–competition series The Apprentice.)

Creed co-wrote, with Michael Masser, “The Greatest Love of All,” which was featured in the 1977 biopic movie on boxer Muhammad Ali, The Greatest. According to Wikipedia, “The lyrics of the song were written in the midst of [Creed’s] struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives.” 

Linda Creed was survived by her husband, music promoter Stephen Epstein, and their two daughters.

In 1987, family and friends established the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation. (Link: http://lindacreed.org.)

In 1992, six years after her death, Linda Creed was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. (Link: https://www.songhall.org and https://www.songhall.org/profile/Linda_Creed.)

Below are some of Creed’s songs. They include the separate recordings of “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)” by The Stylistics and Patti Austin and “The Greatest Love of All” by George Benson and Whitney Houston (whose version garnered her a 1986 Grammy nomination for the top award, Record of the Year).

‘Special Guest Peter Douche’

This past Saturday, December 1, 2018, Uphill Media uploaded an interview of Progressive Weekly Review with “Special Guest Peter Douche.”

The video lasts well over an hour. But, the interview ends just after 49 minutes. I make this available, here at Progressives Chat, for anyone who may be interested.

‘How populist are you?’

The Guardian last week presented a quiz one may take to determine one’s level of populism.

I have a screen shot of this above.

But, right here, is the link: How Populist Are You? — Quiz.

Once Again, Here Is Hillary Clinton…

Hillary Clinton strikes again!

Last week, during the week of the holiday that was Thanksgiving 2018, was a published article in The Guardian.

More followed.

Hillary Clinton, the most unpopular presidential nominee in the history of the Democratic Party, who lost the 2016 presidential election to the most unpopular presidential nominee in the history of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, unnecessarily reminds us of the following: While it is not good the president of the United States is Donald Trump, it is good the president of the United States is not Hillary Clinton.

The latest: Hillary Clinton, on not only right-wing populism but also immigration, and what a beauty!

Here, with the following screen shot, is a reminder: Clinton, Blair, Renzi: why we lost, and how to fight back.

I posted it, last week, anyway. But, that was in the comments section.


There is more: Hillary Clinton: Europe must curb immigration to stop rightwing populists.

An opinion piece, in response to this, was followed here: Hillary Clinton’s chilling pragmatism gives the far right a free pass.

Below are some videos—ones by Jimmy Dore, Jamarl Thomas, Mi Casa Es Su Casa’s Niko House, and The Rational National’s David Doel—which have since been uploaded to YouTube.

(I am hoping for videos also come from Tim Black, The Humanist Report’s Mike Figueredo, and Secular Talk’s Kyle Kulinski, or anyone else like The Real News; so, I can add however many of them here as well.)

Thanksgiving Week!

During this week, there will be just this one blog entry thread.

I wish everyone, here at Progressives Chat, a Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Appreciation: Joni Mitchell

Last week, on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, was the 75th birthday for the legendary songwriter and singer Joni Mitchell.

She was born Roberta Joan Anderson, on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. 

I haven’t had the time to write more lengthy about Joni Mitchell. (This was much due to the elections. Timing.) Anyone can do his reading on Mitchell’s roughly 50-year career—including being in her early-20s when she wrote “Both Sides, Now”—and her personal life (including a daughter, born during the 1960s, not revealed until Mitchell was past age 50).

(I wrote and posted, this past March, on the milestone birthdays of other music greats: James Taylor, 70; Quincy Jones, 85; George Benson, 75; and Chaka Khan, 65. To some people looking at those numbers, their ages, it can feel a bit strange. But, as the passing of time shows—well, it does add up. And, so, Joni Mitchell is now 75.)


Mitchell’s career was most prominent during the late-1960s and thoughout the 1970s. She delved into more mainstream pop fare during the 1980s (Dog Eat Dog, 1985; Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm, which garnered her a 1988 Grammy nomination for Female Pop Vocal Performance for the entire LP). Mitchell’s 1990s albums Turbulent Indigo (1995 Grammy for Best Pop Album) and Taming of the Tiger (1998) were more remarkable. I did enjoy her 2002 comment, in Rolling Stone, on what had become of the music industry. While describing it as a “corrupt cesspool,” Mitchell added, “I'll be glad if the industry goes down the crapper.”

In 2008, jazz great Herbie Hancock won the 2007 Grammy for Album of the Year for River: The Joni Letters, an LP which paid tribute specifically to the songs of Mitchell. She even recorded, with Hancock, on “Tea Leaf Prophecy.” (Wikipedia mentions Mitchell shared in some credit with that Grammy: “Although officially a Herbie Hancock release, Mitchell also received a Grammy due to her vocal contribution to the album.”)


In 2015, Joni Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm. She has been mostly absent from the public. (I don’t have a feeling she will record again. But, I want to be wrong.) In the following picture, Mitchell was at the recent concert tribute in her honor. Rolling Stone reported here: Joni Mitchell at 75: Friends and Admirers Honor an Icon at Moving Tribute Show.

Below are five tracks I appreciate from the following albums: Ladies of the Canyon (1970); Blue (1971); Court and Spark (1974 Grammy nominee for Album of the Year which also included Record of the Year nominee “Help Me”); Turbulent Indigo (1995); and her stirring 2000 re-recording of “Both Sides, Now” (which nabbed her a Grammy nomination for Female Pop Vocal Performance from the album Both Sides Now).

‘Maj. Danny Sjursen: War, Ignored; The Pentagon's Empire of Secrecy…’

Last Thursday, November 8, 2018, The Zero Hour host RJ Eskow interviewed Maj. Danny Sjursen on the 2018 midterm elections and that the continuation of wars was not made an election issue.

As much fun as one can have with election outcomes, this is much more important. The timing happens to also be good. So, I have chosen to make this half-hour video the topic of this blog entry.

Election Night Was ‘Real’ For Abby Martin

I was tempted to write a post-Election 2018 analysis. But, I came across The Real News’s coverage and was impressed by much of it that I wanted to present some of it as this blog entry’s topic. I was particularly appreciative of Abby Martin. And I will share it here.

Election Day

The day has arrived.

The 2018 midterm elections.

I invite readers to comment, as they normally would like, but I really want to encourage comments which will have a focus on the day’s elections.

Here, listed in order of population rank, and on Eastern Time (because of broadcast- and cable-news coverage), is a timeline for when states’ polls will be closing [if you want local information, here is a source: State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2018) ]:

Source: PBS image. (Date is uncertain but is applicable here in 2018.)

07:00 p.m. ET

 • Georgia
 • Virginia
 • Indiana
 • South Carolina
 • Kentucky
 • Vermont

07:30 p.m. ET

 • Ohio
 • North Carolina
 • West Virginia

08:00 p.m. ET

 • Florida
 • Pennsylvania
 • Illinois
 • New Jersey
 • Massachusetts
 • Tennessee
 • Missouri
 • Maryland
 • Alabama
 • Oklahoma
 • Connecticut
 • Mississippi
 • Maine
 • New Hampshire
 • Rhode Island
 • Delaware
 • District of Columbia

08:30 p.m. ET

 • Arkansas

09:00 p.m. ET

 • Texas
 • New York
 • Michigan
 • Arizona
 • Wisconsin
 • Colorado
 • Minnesota
 • Louisiana
 • Kansas
 • Nebraska
 • New Mexico
 • South Dakota
 • North Dakota
 • Wyoming

10:00 p.m. ET

 • Iowa
 • Utah
 • Nevada
 • Montana

11:00 p.m. ET

 • California
 • Washington
 • Oregon
 • Idaho
 • Hawaii

01:00 a.m. ET

 • Alaska

Election Predictions

I chose this thread’s date to post my predictions for next Tuesday’s [Nov. 6, 2018] midterm elections. 

I will not post a thread on Monday [Nov. 5]. That is because I will have one, simply titled “Election Day,” on Tuesday. One can use it if, for example, he feels like posting comments during Election Night. I figure this will allow an opportunity for readers to give up-to-date comments as Election Night unfolds. The “Election Day” thread will be posted at 06:00 a.m. ET. 

This blog topic is about my “Election Predictions.” 

Readers of Progressives Chat are also welcome to offer their predictions. 

In the meantime, I summarize—for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Governors—why I am making my predictions. For any questions, on some of the details, one can refer to these previous, 2018 blog topics: Democrats Magic Number +7 ; Coming Up: U.S. House ; Coming Up: U.S. Senate ; and  Coming Up: U.S. Governors .

U.S. HOUSE

 • 2018 Prediction: Democratic pickup for a new majority
 • U.S. Popular Vote Target Margin (whole number; adjusted after prior blog entry): Democratic +6
 • Predicted Margin: Democratic +8.50
 • 2016 U.S. Popular Vote Margin: Republican +1.08
 • Shifted Margin from 2016: Democratic +9.58
 • Historical Avg.—Since 1946—Gained Seats, Per Percentage Point Nationally Shifted (adjusted after a previous error of +3.59): +3.64
 • 2018 Estimated Net Seat Gains: Democratic +35
 • Effective January 2019: Democrats, with 230 seats
 • Map: An estimate range between 16 to 25 individual states will be involved. Multiply them by either 1.5 or by 2—and it is one more example why the 2018 Democrats are in position to flip the U.S. House. (Due to limited effectiveness with its appearance, no actual map will be presented here.)

U.S. SENATE

 • 2018 Prediction: Republican hold [retained] for majority
 • U.S. Popular Vote Target Margin: Democratic +14
 • Predicted Margin: Democratic +13
 • 2012 U.S. Popular Vote Margin: Democratic +11.82
 • Shifted Margin from 2012: Democratic +1
 • 2018 Estimated Net Set Gains: Democratic +1
 • Effective January 2019: A 50–50 tie; Republican U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will be the tie-breaker vote (when necessary)
 • Map: Solid shades are Republican or Democratic holds; those in light shades are pickups

U.S. GOVERNORS

 • 2018 Prediction: Democratic pickup for a new majority
 • U.S. Popular Vote Target Margin: Democratic +4
 • Predicted Margin: Democratic +4.50
 • 2014 U.S. Popular Vote Margin: Republican +4.09
 • Shifted Margin from 2014: Democratic +8.59
 • Historical Avg. (Since 1990s) Gained Seats, Per Percentage Point Nationally Shifted: +1.51 (I’m predicting an estimated +1.33)
 • Effective January 2019: Democrats, with 27 governorships
 • Map: Two maps will be presented. The first map, which includes tossups, shows my estimate that Democrats, entering 2018 with 16 governorships, will win a net gain of at least +9 to reach 25. But, the following map shows no tossups—and I go ahead and make my prediction

Final Notes

 • The hour of 09:00 p.m. ET: This is the earliest hour a projection can be made for the 2018 Democrats, should they succeed in flipping the U.S. House. (And this would be to the tune of +30 or more net gains in seats; approximately up to ten will be coming from the 10:00 p.m. ET closing in Iowa and several more from the 11:00 p.m. ET hour closings in California and Washington.)
 • The hours of 11:00 p.m. ET or afterward: This is when I anticipate the majorities for the levels of U.S. Senate and U.S. Governors will be projected.

Coming Up…

We are about to enter the last two months of 2018. I have some plans for Progressives Chat.

On the schedule:

 • Thursday, November 1, 2018: “Election Predictions.” I will go ahead and present them, five days in advance of Election Day, and the next blog topic will be…
 • Tuesday, November 6, 2018: “Election Day.” This will be an open thread for Election Day. Some discussion sites use this type of thread to comment as Election Night as unfolding. I will leave this thread to Progressives Chat readers to determine its flow.
 • Monday, November 19, 2018: The week of Thanksgiving Day. This thread will be for the entire week. There will be no thread created for the day after Thanksgiving. This is going to be a weeklong holiday thread. Speaking of which…
 • Monday, December 24, 2018: The week of Christmas. This thread will also be a weeklong thread.
 • Monday, December 31, 2018: The week of New Year’s Day [2019]. One more weeklong thread.

The point of having these weeklong holiday threads is with respect for Progressives Chat readers to be able to get a break from what may be routine. Whether or not one does to take a break…this will create some opportunities.




Now, given this blog topic’s date, and considering the next one scheduled, I have one last message:

A ‘Hallmark’ Tradition

Are you looking forward to Halloween?

Don’t.

Never mind Thanksgiving.

It’s time for Christmas.

Today, Friday, October 26, 2018, at 02:00 p.m. ET, marks the new two-month long period of Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas.”

Yes—it’s Christmas Time from Hallmark. And it’s tradition.

I wrote last year on this topic. Here is the link: It’s Almost Here: The 2017 Hallmark Channel ‘Countdown to Christmas’.

I will spare the details on the 2018 lineup of original titles. All one needs to know is this: Two people, who are clearly meant to be together, end up officially getting together. Within the last five minutes. That’s every Hallmark Channel movie for you! Just wrap this theme of movies in nice Christmas packaging. And, once again, don’t be bothering yourself with Halloween or Thanksgiving.

I came across this interesting video, at YouTube, from a person calling himself Company Man. He does research on different corporations. And he was impressed with Hallmark. Here is his video: