We are here

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This is where we are. Read the whole thing:

Silverman on Security @silvermansecurity.bsky.social
[October 24, 2026]
Here is where I want to focus in. The Biden administration tried to return to normal, to reset back to historic norms under the belief/assumption that Trump 1 was some sort of historical aberration. 1/
1/26

Turns out the Biden admin was the aberration. A brief interregnum where an admin fiddled as the US smoldered before it was reignited into a conflagration that is burning everything to the ground. None of the actual leaders & planners for the events of 6 January 2021 were held accountable. 2/
2/26

BG (ret) Perry’s electronic devices were never examined because he claimed Speech & Debate clause protection & DOJ proceeded to go through w/the litigation on that. The Speech & Debate clause DOES NOT cover plotting an autogolpe & revolt against the constitution in various locales around DC!!!! 3/
3/26

Everyone may remember Marjorie Taylor Green & other Republican reps & senators leaving the White House after a planning session for the events of 6 January, going to the press set up, & making statements &/or taking questions. NOT COVERED BY THE SPEECH & DEBATE CLAUSE!!! 4/
4/26

Taylor Green had NOT even been sworn in yet!!!! And, yet, nothing, nada, crickets!!!! Just allowed to go on as if she hadn’t done anything, let alone tried to overthrow the constitution, constitutional order, & the Republic. Same w/all the other co-conspirators. 5/
5/26

Sure, about 600 or so schmucks & a couple of dozen hard core Proud Boys and Oathkeepers were prosecuted, but they didn’t plan the events of January 6, 2021. The people who did – Trump, Meadows, Perry, Taylor Green, Stone, Patel, & dozens & dozens of other elite & notable Republicans – walked. 6/
6/26

The attempt to prosecute Trump himself came way too late & was basically an afterthought partially forced by the congressional investigation that made it untenable for Garland & his team to keep keeping their heads down in the search for a return to historic norms for DOJ. 7/
7/26

And so an American Rubicon was crossed. The revolt against the constitution & constitutional order never ended. It was rolled into the GOP’s 2022 midterm campaigns & Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. And it eventually paid out w/his reelection & GOP majority control of Congress. 8/
8/26

But this was the crossing of an American Rubicon, not THE American Rubicon, because we’d already had several previous crossings of an American Rubicon. In 2000 the “Brooks Brothers” rioters, including Kavanaugh & Schlapp, shut down recounting activities in Florida. 9/
9/26

Which contributed to the Supreme Court selecting W as the 43rd president rather than let the legally authorized Florida recount continue. Every Republican official, operative, consultant, & lawyer involved in that was rewarded. An American Rubicon was crossed. 10/
10/26

This too was the crossing of an American Rubicon, but not THE American Rubicon. Because in 1980 an American Rubicon was crossed when Reagan’s campaign conspired w/the Iranian revolutionaries to NOT release the hostages in order to damage Carter & increase Reagan’s chance of being elected. 11/
11/26

Yet, this was also the crossing of an American Rubicon, but not the American Rubicon because in 1968 Kissinger, working for Nixon despite being employed as a peace negotiator by the Johnson admin, conspired w/the North Vietnamese to NOT agree to the peace deal on the table. 12/
12/26

This successfully increased Nixon’s chance of election, which in turn would see Kissinger elevated to Secretary of State, & prolonged the war for six more years killing thousands of additional Americans & Vietnamese. Here too AN American Rubicon was crossed, but not THE American Rubicon. 13/
13/26

Because in the early 1930s a group of hyper-wealthy elites, including such GOP stalwarts as George Herbert Walker & Prescott Bush, conspired to overthrow the constitution & constitutional order by manipulating the Bonus Army remnants thereby forcing an unelected fascist co-president on FDR. 14/
14/26

That plot failed thanks to Maj Gen (ret) Smedley Darlington Butler, but it was ultimately swept under the carpet by both Congress & the news media. 15/
15/26

In NOT a single one of these examples, in not a single one of these crossings of an American Rubicon, was anyone who planned, oversaw, or profited from these attempts to subvert &/or overthrow the constitution or constitutional order held accountable. 16/
16/26

The simple fact is that everyone who planned, oversaw, & profited from their actions got away scot free! There were either perfunctory, at best, investigations that were allowed to fizzle or everyone was told to move on, look forward not back. or trust in the strength of American institutions. 17/
17/26

What Trump, his aides, surrogates, & enablers are doing now, did from November 2020 through January 2021, & from January 2021 to January 2025 were at least the third, fourth, and fifth crossings of an American Rubicon in my lifetime. 18/
18/26

This 🧵 isn’t meant to demoralize, it’s not meant to critize Andy’s point, which is the only correct one. Accountability must come & it must be swift, severe, transparent, & final! 19/
19/26

The problem is the history of the US, just for the past 93 years or so, is that there is no accountability for attempts by Republican elites & notables to overthrow &/or subvert the constitution & constitutional order. Just more rewards & profits for doing so. 20/
20/26

We are where we are because there hasn’t been accountability. Even when our institutions were more or less intact, rather than completely subverted & now run by the people engaged in overthrowing the constitution & constitutional order. 21/
21/26

We’ve run out of American Rubicons. There’s no constitutional order to shore up, repair, & augment to prevent a next time because the constitution is what the GOP has revealed it to be: some nice sounding words on old parchment preserved under glass. 22/
22/26

That’s why the lively, & usually good faith discussion on here, about we have to reestablish fidelity to the constitution, constitutional order, & rule of law when trying to clean up this mess versus we need to be ruthless & not worry about it the way Trump & team have done misses the point. 23/
23/26

There’s no going back to what was normal. That’s broken. And not just broken, Trump, his team, his supporters have pulverized it. Something completely new will have to be established rather than the reestablishment of what was w/some renovations & reinvigorations. 24/
24/26

I don’t know what that new thing is or should be. I have some thoughts about it, but that’s for another day. 25/
25/26

What I do know is the reactionary revanchist revolutionary Trump/MAGA movement & its captured GOP have made sure that if we get through this, which is a big if, the rubble will have to be thoroughly cleared before we can begin to attempt to build something new & more capable of enduring. 26 & end/
26/26

===========================

Adam Silverman is a national security professional who writes at Balloon Juice.

Denny Hoskins (r): read the room, man….

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Another statewide republican politician in Missouri, in a long line of examples, who continually trips on his own shoelaces.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

Missouri Secretary of State
[October 24, 2026]

A theme throughout President Harry S Truman’s 1948 Whistle-stop campaign, Missouri’s favorite son emphasized that the power of the US government rests with the people.

The November 3 general election is just ten days away—make your voice heard!

[….]

On the importance of voting

When you vote, you are in control of your government.
– Harry S Truman –

Denny Hoskins

Some of the responses:

You keep his name out of your mouth.

There is considerable irony in Secretary of State Denny Hoskins invoking Harry Truman’s words: “When you vote, you are in control of your Government.”
Truman meant considerably more than simply encouraging people to show up on Election Day.
In those 1948 remarks, Truman said, “I trust the people, because when they know the facts, they do the right thing.” He said the American people themselves should decide what kind of government they wanted. Throughout that whistle-stop campaign, he repeatedly returned to the same principle: ordinary citizens exercise control over their government through the ballot box.
That fuller context matters.
Because when more than 300,000 petition signatures were submitted asking that Missouri voters be allowed to decide whether to accept the legislature’s mid-decade congressional redistricting, Hoskins attempted to keep that question from the ballot. The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously concluded that he was wrong.
The Court found the petition legal, sufficient and timely and pointed to the plain language of the Missouri Constitution, which reserves to the people the power to approve or reject “any act of the general assembly” through referendum, subject to specified exceptions. The Court ordered Hoskins to certify the petition and put the question before Missouri voters.
There is a similar contradiction with Amendment 6, which concerns protecting Missouri’s initiative and referendum powers and limiting the legislature’s ability to undo decisions voters make through those processes. Hoskins initially refused to certify that measure as well before ultimately certifying it pursuant to the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision.
So quoting Truman here deserves some scrutiny.
You cannot invoke an American icon’s words about citizens controlling their government while leaving out the principle underlying those words. Truman’s message was not that voters should have a voice only when government officials are comfortable with the question being decided. His repeated message was that political power ultimately belongs to the people and that voting is how they exercise it.
No one can know exactly what Harry Truman would say about a Missouri political controversy nearly 80 years later.
But we do know what Truman actually said.
“I trust the people.”
“When you vote, you are in control of your Government.”
Those principles are difficult to square with fighting to prevent Missouri citizens from voting on a referendum after they had satisfied the signature requirements, particularly when Missouri’s highest court ultimately ruled unanimously that the Constitution gave them precisely that right.
Harry Truman’s legacy belongs to history, not to any current officeholder. If you are going to borrow the credibility of his words, you should be prepared to live by the democratic principle behind them.
Otherwise, quoting Truman becomes less a tribute to his principles and more an exercise in political convenience.

Oh I will, bud. I sure will. You and your red blazer can bank on it!

So you’re yes on 6?

This is why I’m voting Yes on 6, because we are in charge of our government and the folks elected to represent us need to be reminded of that.

Except when Hoskins, Kehoe, or Hannaway disagree with how you vote… 😒

Please don’t invoke Truman. You, sir, are no Truman!

Unless you elect people who will not listen to the will of voters…Yes on 6!! Because actions have consequences

Glad you agree Denny. Yes On 6

Yes on 6! The rest are tricks!

This is rich coming from you. 🤡

Rich, coming from you!

Unless you live in Missouri. Missourians make their voices heard, place amendments. Then the legislature wants to tell us we don’t know what we want.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

And then the Missouri GOP tries to interfere in your vote

Yes on 6 to maintain your power.

Yes on 6.

The irony of Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins posting this cannot be understated. Here’s a statement that Harry Truman delivered at one of those whistle stops so many years ago:
“When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan ‘Down With Socialism’ on the banner of his ‘great crusade,’ that is really not what he means at all.”
“What he really means is ‘Down with Progress–down with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal,’ and ‘down with Harry Truman’s fair Deal.’ That’s all he means.”
[….]

You were on my mind when I voted this morning 😊😊

President Truman would say Hoskins is a disgrace to his office and the great State of Missouri! I will VOTE YES on Amendment 6 and NO on Prop A, the gerrymandered voting map! Missouri’s right to petition has been part of our Constitution since 1908. The same Constitutional right Hoskins, Kehoe and Hanaway thought they could overrule and both Supreme Courts ruled against them. We won’t let any of them forget this!
[….]

So much irony with this one. Vote yes on 6.

Pahhlease!

Interesting that you didn’t feel this way about the new maps! Aye on 6!

We need to get rid of the corrupt party Hoskins belongs to, but they will find a way to cheat & rig this election (already starting in Alaska). We need to overwhelm this fascist gop regime, take control and insert sweeping reform to ensure such incredible corruption never takes place again. You’re part of the problem Denny Hoskins, you’re a fascist traitor who serves one man, not the people. History will not be kind to your ilk.
[….]

Wow, your hypocrisy is effing stunning.

Truman’s rolling over in his grave every time you say his name

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, How dare you.

I will Vote NO on 3, 7, 8 and Prop A.

Then how come we have to keep voting down the abortion ban, over and over? You DO NOT allow Missouri citizens to control the government they fund.

Does MO still elect any non-slimeballs, or is it pretty much just guys like you?

I vote in every election because Missouri Republicans in 2026 are still making laws about womens’ bodies and cheating to silence our petitions, votes and voices.
[….]

We are voting Denny. And don’t worry we will be voting out your precious map

Get his name out of your mouth and off your meme.

You are a horrible slimey disgusting American traitor.

That’s rich coming for you.

Not in Missouri.

That explains why you try so hard to overturn our votes.

God you’re a hypocrite

Now that’s a ratio.

Obama wore a tan suit once.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2017 file photo].

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court (September 25, 2026)

A paragraph for Missouri history (September 25, 2026)

Being obtusely wrong still makes you wrong, Denny (September 26, 2026)

Denny’s Dirty Ball (September 28, 2026)

What color is the sky in Denny’s (r) world? (0ctober 3, 2026)

We Get Mail – “NO” on Proposition A (October 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A (October 10, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A – with emphasis (October 15, 2026)

Campaign Finance: there’s still work to be done (October 22, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): keep stepping on that Fascist rake (October 23, 2026)

Taigan Plummer (D): Open Town Hall in Warrensburg – October 24, 2026

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This afternoon Taigan Plummer, the Democratic Party candidate in the 54th Legislative District, held another in a series of open town halls in the district. Interested voters showed up at the community room at the local public library for an hour and a half long conversation.

Taigan Plummer (D).

There was significant and detailed discussion of all of the ballot measures. Taigan Plummer and audience engaged in an educational discussion.

Before the forum started an elderly lady [not pictured] who saw my camera asked me if I was with the local paper. When I told her I wasn’t she appeared disappointed. I briefly explained Show Me Progress. She wasn’t particularly interested.

After the ballot issue discussion Taigan Plummer opened the discussion up for any questions. There were thoughtful questions on statewide and local issues.

Towards the end of the town hall that same elderly lady, angrily reading from a script, threw out small numbers (literally, small change when it comes to these things) stating that the candidate was late in paying her local taxes a few years ago – “making our schools and services suffer.”

One of the other attendees (noting the script) asked her, “Who wrote that for you?”

Taigan Plummer was calm, polite, and turned the conversation. She explained that at the time she had been working 60 hours a week at a minimum wage job, had two children, lost her job, and had debilitating health issues. She paid the delinquent taxes shortly after, with penalties/interest. She pointed out that she was not a person of means and at that time, like many people today, she had to make a choice of putting a roof over her children’s heads and feeding her family, or paying her taxes on time
.
One other attendee commented, “That’s the kind of everyday person we want representing us.”

As the townhall ended the audience (with one exception) stood and applauded.

I checked the blog archive on my phone – I knew it was there. I found it.

I approached the elderly lady and politely asked her if she knew who Denny Hoskins (r), our current Missouri Secretary of State, was. She did. I then pointed out that when he was a full year into his first term as a right wingnut republican member of the Missouri House Denny Hoskins (r) didn’t pay $16,091 in property taxes on his rental property and had accrued $4,227 in penalties. [That’s over $20,000.] At the time Hoskins made all kinds of excuses, but finally got a loan and paid his delinquent taxes.

That’s the beauty of a long memory and archives with direct references to the public record.

I told her what I found offensive was her selective outrage. She didn’t respond.

There’s a distinct difference between someone falling on hard times and someone with apparent means acting as if the rules don’t apply to them.

Oh, and Barack Obama wore a tan suit once.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2017 file photo].

Previously:

Brandon Phelps (r): we get a slick mail piece (October 24, 2026)

Brandon Phelps (r): we get a slick mail piece

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“…Missouri ranks 49th out of 50 in state funding for public education…”

Missouri Schools Face $270 Million Gap in Funding

14 Oct 2026 education funding, foundation formula, K-12 schools, Missouri education

While the cost of educating students continues to rise each year, the funding Missouri schools receive from the state to pay for teacher salaries and classroom supplies would remain flat under recent recommendations from the State Board of Education. If those recommendations are enacted into the next budget, there would be a $270 million gap between the cost of educating students and the amount school districts receive from the state. This means local public schools will need to make tough choices in the coming years to balance their budgets, like cutting teachers or support staff or student programs.

Missouri’s Foundation Formula is the calculation used by the state to determine how much state funding is needed to provide a baseline level of per student funding for all Missouri school districts. The cost of fully funding the Foundation Formula grows each year to keep pace with rising inflation. But for the first time in a decade, Missouri will no longer reimburse districts for the full amount required under Missouri’s Foundation Formula, based on current requests.

[….]

A $270 million shortfall in the Foundation Formula is a $315 gap per student .

Statewide, it is the equivalent of the average salary of over 4,500 teachers or over 8,100 support staff (such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, paraeducators, and office staff) across all of Missouri’s local school districts[1].

This could result in a gap of over $1,000 per student in the school districts that rely most heavily on state funding.

[….]

WARRENSBURG R-VI
The estimated shortfall in this school district is $1,125,390 each year or 1.8% of all spending.
That is a gap of $328 per student and is the equivalent of 19 teacher(s) or 34 support staff.

[….]

HOLDEN R-III
The estimated shortfall in this school district is $327,570 each year or 1.7% of all spending.
That is a gap of $274 per student and is the equivalent of 6 teacher(s) or 10 support staff.

[….]

– Missouri’s own formula for what schools need calls for a $388 million increase in funding in the next budget year. But in September, the State Board of Education instead opted to request flat funding.

– Based on that decision, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) does not even request full funding in its recently released departmental budget book.

– Schools were already underfunded by $190 million in the current state budget, with an additional cut to student transportation.

– What’s more, policymakers used one-time budget tricks to balance the budget in the current year. Because they used temporary measures this year, DESE needs $118 million in new general revenue funds just to reach the flat funding level requested next year.

[….]

And:

Missouri vs. national average
Where school funding comes from (FY25, share of total revenue).

National avg
Where US schools get funding
47% state
45% local
8% fed

Missouri
What MO schools rely on
33% state
49% local
18% fed

[….]

Missouri already gets 14 percentage points less from the state than the national average. Missouri ranks 49th out of 50 in state funding for public education, and this year the legislature undercut the foundation formula by $190 million. We are starting from a bad place — not what kids and teachers deserve….

[….]

“…Missouri ranks 49th out of 50 in state funding for public education…”

This arrived in today’s mail:

“…Brandon Phelps puts our kids, teachers, and classrooms first…”

Bullshit is right.

Brandon Phelps (r) is the incumbent in the 54th Legislative District. Taigan Plummer (D) is the Democratic Party candidate challenging him in the November General Election.

“…Missouri ranks 49th out of 50 in state funding for public education…”

Campaign Finance: saturation

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Vote “NO” on Amendment 3.

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission for the anti-choice, anti-trans bigots, anti-women’s health care PAC pushing Amendment 3 on the November ballot:

253648 10/23/2026 Her Health, Her Future PAC Conservative Leadership for Southeast MO PO Box 609 Kennett MO 63857 10/22/2026 $10,000.00

C253648 10/23/2026 Her Health, Her Future PAC Her Health Her Future Missouri 1254 Devonworth Drive Town Country MO 63017 10/22/2026 $500,000.00

[emphasis added]

“Your religion does not rule my body”

Not unchallenged.

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission for the campaign to preserve access to women’s health care:

C253512 10/23/2026 Stop the Ban Protect Freedom and Democracy 620 E Armour Blvd Kansas City MO 64109 10/23/2026 $153,970.25

[emphasis added]

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for the campaign to preserve access to women’s health care:

C253512 10/24/2026 Stop the Ban Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Inc 123 William Street New York NY 10038 10/23/2026 $750,000.00

[emphasis added]

“He who hath not a uterus should shut the fucketh up”

Vote “NO” on Amendment 3.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Next (August 3, 2026)

Campaign Finance: bring a nuke to the fight (September 4, 2026)

Campaign Finance: there’s plenty more (September 24, 2022)

Campaign Finance: even more (September 28, 2026)

Campaign Finance: be under no illusion (September 30, 2026)

Campaign Finance: an emphatic “NO” (October 2, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “…and they shall sow the public right of way and all the empty lots across the land with their yard signs…” (October 4, 2026)

Campaign Finance: that about sums it up (October 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: keep it coming in (October 7, 2026)

Campaign Finance: all that right wingnut money, just to vilify a tiny minority (October 9, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “…It’s the only way to be sure.” (October 14, 2026)

Campaign Finance: no quarter (October 14, 2026)

Campaign Finance: keeping it up (October 15, 2026)

The current temperature out there (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: you’re next (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “We will not go back” (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: Solidarity (October 19, 2026)

Campaign Finance: all-in for the anti-choice propagandists (October 20, 2026)

Wasting all that money (October 22, 2026)

Campaign Finance: – no quarter – “NO” on Amendment 3 (October 23, 2026)

Vote “NO” on Amendment 3.

“NO” on congressional district gerrymandering – Proposition A – we get mail

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Vote “NO” on Proposition A.

In this afternoon’s mail:

DC politicians are making backroom deals
to stay in power

Vote NO on Prop A by Nov 3

Paid for by People Not Politicians,
Mike Pridmore, Treasurer.

Stop Politicians’ Power Grab.

You are supposed to pick your representative, not the other way around. Prop A would:

Ensure DC politicians pick their own voters

Cut up Kansas City into three districts

Remove your ability to vote them out

Vote NO on Prop A by Nov 3

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court (September 25, 2026)

A paragraph for Missouri history (September 25, 2026)

Being obtusely wrong still makes you wrong, Denny (September 26, 2026)

Denny’s Dirty Ball (September 28, 2026)

What color is the sky in Denny’s (r) world? (0ctober 3, 2026)

We Get Mail – “NO” on Proposition A (October 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A (October 10, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A – with emphasis (October 15, 2026)

Campaign Finance: there’s still work to be done (October 22, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): keep stepping on that Fascist rake (October 23, 2026)

Vote “NO” on Proposition A.

The birds return

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Especially when you bribe them with suet and seeds.

This morning in west central Missouri:

Cardinal. Cardinalis cardinalis.
Canon 5D III, Tamron 150-600 mm.
f 6.3, 1/125, ISO 800, 428 mm.

If you feed them, they will come…

Blue Jay. Cyanocitta cristata.
Canon 5D III, Tamron 150-600 mm.
f 6.3 1/125, ISO 800, 400 mm.

Blue Jay. Cyanocitta cristata.
Canon 5D III, Tamron 150-600 mm.
f 6.3 1/125, ISO 800, 400 mm.

Previously:

For the birds, mostly (October 22, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): keep stepping on that Fascist rake

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The thing is, he doesn’t care.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

On social media, from the official Missouri Secretary of State social media page:

Missouri Secretary of State
[October 21, 2026]

With ELECTION DAY less than two weeks away, some words of wisdom President Lincoln delivered to Congress at the onset of the Civil War. His message underscored the importance of free and fair elections.
In that spirit, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins encourages all of those eligible to vote in the November 3 election, and reminds everyone that no-excuse absentee voting is underway.
#Vote
sos.mo.gov/elections

On the importance of voting

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets. – Abraham Linoln

Denny Hoskins, CPA

Uh, dog whistle anyone?

Some of the responses:

You are a f*ck, aren’t you.
Your post hints at veiled violence.

When can we expect to see daily updates to the website on early vote totals?

agree. Right now 46 states are providing some degree of early vote info. At minimum the number of Voters. Several states do provide data on registration status, gender, age and race or race or ethnicity. I don’t care that we don’t provide any of those but I want up to date daily totals posted publicly like the rest of the states do. I don’t trust our secretary of state any further then I could throw him and I’m a very old lady with a very small throw

Missourians, beware. This appears to be a calculated attempt at political provocation.
By invoking Lincoln’s comparison of ballots and bullets just days before an election, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is using rhetoric that could bait an angry individual into making a threat, allowing him to recast himself as the victim of political intimidation.
This is not the first time his political rhetoric has raised such concerns.
Do not take the bait. Challenge his conduct, scrutinize his decisions, and hold him publicly accountable. But do not give him the threatening response that could be used to manufacture a narrative of political persecution.
Political accountability, not manufactured martyrdom.

he’s an idiot and tried to steal our right to vote on propositions!

Hoskin belongs in prison. No bullets necessary.

Well said. Mo Republicans want violence for a government take over. That is why they ignore our democracy and pose with guns in ads. It isn’t about 2a or they would advocate for small govwernment. It is also noted that DHS is now knocking on resident’s door in KC and STL to “catch voter fraud”. IF there is voter fraud in Missouri that is Hoskins fault. He is in charge of elections. So much for small government. The Mo Republicans are treading all over us, the State and US constitution. This is why we vote in every election up and down the entire ballot. This is why we show up loudly non-violently to speak up again and again at city, county, and State meetings and local community gatherings.
[….]

Yeah when they are respected and not in gerrymandered districts

Practice what you preach buddy. You tried to take our right to vote on a proposition because “YOU” didn’t like it. It is our privilege to vote on them ALL.

“Fair elections” is respecting the voters, which you have not and we are forced to vote AGAIN because you didn’t like the outcome. What happens when you don’t like the outcome AGAIN???? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Where does cheating and ignoring the will/vote of the people fall, Denny?

Says the man who got punished by SCOTUS and MO courts for screwing over voters. Oh, the Republicans left the principals of Missouri President General Grant and Illinois President Lincoln a long time ago.
[….]

This has gone beyond being a sore loser. This is volatile behavior.

Says the dude who tried to subvert that process, illegally, until the courts held him accountable.

Hoskins, please just quit.
The people of Missouri, the MO and US Supreme courts are done with your games.

Are you threatening violence? It sure seems so.

This feels like when someone incessantly posts bible verses/passages but actively supports the indisputably most corrupt and closest living person to the actual devil himself. *cough* Ann Wagner *cough*

Denny you have proven repeatedly that you do not care about voter, their privacy, will, or integrity. Get off your soap box before you fall off.

Denny, what have I told you about invoking civil war dialogue into electoral politics.
Shame on you.
Missouri had a specific place/position in the civil war that should NOT be ignored, nor should it be invoked during voting.
My Great,great grandfather was the last surviving member of Union veterans in Missouri.
He immigrated here at 15, lied about his age, and fought the white enslaving plantation owners with his life, and WE WON.
I AM PROUD OF HIM LYING AND FIGHTING for the Union.
You are treading on sacred space and invoking violence where none should be present.
Not to mention, you’re a common schoolyard bully who targets transgender children and queer families out of public spaces.
You are ANTI-democracy and ANTI-American.
Shame on you, Denny.
Shame on you.
[….]

Mr. Zero Credibility chimes in with a Lincoln quote. Ha.

A disgrace to the office, resign loser

You are an embarrassment

From the guy who walks around with a bat? Can you not?

Then maybe you should respect our votes.

Obama wore a tan suit once.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2017 file photo].

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court (September 25, 2026)

A paragraph for Missouri history (September 25, 2026)

Being obtusely wrong still makes you wrong, Denny (September 26, 2026)

Denny’s Dirty Ball (September 28, 2026)

What color is the sky in Denny’s (r) world? (0ctober 3, 2026)

We Get Mail – “NO” on Proposition A (October 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A (October 10, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “NO” on Proposition A – with emphasis (October 15, 2026)

Campaign Finance: there’s still work to be done (October 22, 2026)

Campaign Finance: – no quarter – “NO” on Amendment 3

Tags

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Vote “NO” on Amendment 3.

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for the campaign to preserve access to women’s health care:

C253512 10/23/2026 Stop the Ban The Fairness Project P.O. Box 21337 Washington DC 20009 10/22/2026 $580,000.00

C253512 10/23/2026 Stop the Ban PROMO 2200 Gravois Ave. St Louis MO 63104 10/22/2026 $50,000.00

C253512 10/23/2026 Stop the Ban Abortion Action Missouri Foundation 1210 S Vandeventer Ave St Louis MO 63110 10/22/2026 $150,000.00

[emphasis added]

No quarter.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Next (August 3, 2026)

Campaign Finance: bring a nuke to the fight (September 4, 2026)

Campaign Finance: there’s plenty more (September 24, 2022)

Campaign Finance: even more (September 28, 2026)

Campaign Finance: be under no illusion (September 30, 2026)

Campaign Finance: an emphatic “NO” (October 2, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “…and they shall sow the public right of way and all the empty lots across the land with their yard signs…” (October 4, 2026)

Campaign Finance: that about sums it up (October 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: keep it coming in (October 7, 2026)

Campaign Finance: all that right wingnut money, just to vilify a tiny minority (October 9, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “…It’s the only way to be sure.” (October 14, 2026)

Campaign Finance: no quarter (October 14, 2026)

Campaign Finance: keeping it up (October 15, 2026)

The current temperature out there (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: you’re next (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “We will not go back” (October 16, 2026)

Campaign Finance: Solidarity (October 19, 2026)

Campaign Finance: all-in for the anti-choice propagandists (October 20, 2026)

Wasting all that money (October 22, 2026)

Vote “NO” on Amendment 3.

“Keep abortion safe and legal”