Trump last night inadvertently gave the reasons of why voting systems need to be in control of individual states

 My takeaway from Trump's address last night is not that Trump made a case for federal control of elections, but that he made the case for 50 states (or even 18 swing states)to continue keeping their own individual control. Why? It is far more difficult to control the mechanics of the vote, including the counting and casting methods, by dealing with 50 separate systems and state laws, especially if bipartisan or public eyes are a part of the process, than it is if the methods are in one federal hand.

Trump's threat is that he will ignore the states' results and seize control of the ballots or other evidence post-election day using force (ICE, FBI, National Guard?) if necessary, destroying any credible chain of evidence that partisan hands tinkered or did not tinker with the evidence.. In the name of voter integrity,, Trump's actions would destroy their integrity.

Some, like Tom Rogers, have recently expressed fears that the anger of street demonstrators that resulted would then give Trump the rationale to declare a national emergency and bring in the troops to take over. Bye-bye, democracy, as the 2026 midterms are overturned. That is a scenario that is not far-fetched, given Trump's past attempts, stopped by his military aides and the Joint Chiefs, in his first term during the George Floyd/Lafayette Square unrests. He wanted to call in the military to shoot the demonstrators in the legs.https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/msnbc-founder-tom-rogers-trump-130000874.html

The fragmentation of election rules that are supervised at the county level in any case, makes it very difficult to rig or fix an election for state or presidential elections. A good example of that is that three county clerks in Colorado followed Trump's orders to "secure" the ballots, meaning only Trump minions could control them for his benefit and tinkering, locking them up away from bipartisan eyes...All three were removed from supervising elections by the state's Secretary of State. One of those clerks who attempted a cover-up, Tina Peters, became Trump's poster child of approval for doing that despite her being sent to prison for violating state laws designed to prevent that act, convicted by a jury and losing her appeals.. Even then, one county like hers did not make a difference in the statewide or presidential electoral count. It is feared Trump will try to do that on a much wider scale, nationwide, using a pretext of suspicion without evidence to justify such seizures or on his orders..

Any evidence that even Russia tried to use active measures to support Trump in 2020 while simultaneously China tried to achieve the opposite is not in doubt. That either succeeded in hacking or breaking into the mechanics of the vote is without evidence and reported so by Trump's own intelligence services and directors in charge when Trump was their boss. There is a difference between foreign actors and illegal voters trying active measures and actually tinkering with the mechanics and methods that changed the outcome that those bad actors wanted. Thanks to diffused 50 state systems, they failed to change the outcome.

Protecting those who are in charge of the ballots is the most important factor in determining whether the elections are fair and free. 98 percent of ballots cast are cast on paper by hand (all mail-in ballots and all in polling places in Colorado are on paper) If a mechanical machine is used, there is a printout of their vote on a machine given to the voter, for the record,, and therefore subject to verification by ninjas and interminable audits by officials per their own state rules and regulations. Those have been ongoing for 6 years, and still no evidence has been found that would have changed any outcome in 2020 or 2024.

The ultimate potential interference in any election is who controls the paper, handwritten or printout of those ballots post-election day, as well as other physical evidence. One party ordering armed federal agents under the control of that party is not to be trusted, no matter which political party it is. However, that is what the Trump administration is trying to make a case for by whipping up public sentiment with reports of attempts by foreign actors or non-citizens to spread their propaganda. Still, there is no evidence they hacked the voting and tabulation systems or changed the outcome. John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence under Trump v.1 and now director of the CIA. in Trump v.II. He is in the position to know, and he ought to testify to Congress under oath.. Getting voting lists? No hacking needed; just look online or order and pay for it from a service. The actual systems were the same and in place in both elections. The only difference is that Trump lost in 2020 and won in 2024.

There will be many loyal MAGA who will accept what Trump claimed as the gospel truth and never give it another thought or question it. So ask yourselves, MAGA, when Trump won in 2024, the election went just fine even though nothing had changed regarding the mechanics of voting systems. In fact, his opponents were in power at that time. The only difference was that in 2020 Trump lost, and in 2024 he won.

There will be many voices objecting to Trump's "address" to the country last night and calling out his lies. Whether MAGA preferred press reports them will be interesting to observe.

For data on 98% of votes already are cast on paper or with a paper trail,

https://www.eac.gov/news/2025/06/30/us-election-assistance-commission-releases-2024-election-administration-and-voting

Fragmentation of election rules and control at the county level: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/election-administration-at-state-and-local-levels

Threats by Trump to seize election evidence using. law enforcement to do so: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/preparing-law-enforcement-demands-election-materials

Felicia Muftic is a former Denver elections official.

Colorado's wildfires , preventing, and fighting them, got whacked by Trump's budget chainsaws

 I have seen comments to postings about the wildfires in Colorado that the fault is poor forest management. FYI65% forests in Colorado are federally owned or controlled and the Trump administration took a chainsaw to agencies and their ability to fight wildfires this spring and last year.

https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorado-land-ownership/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/u-s-forest-service-cuts-raise-concerns-on-protecting-public-lands-and-fighting-wildfires

Sometimes, well-meaning tenderfeet from the East Coast or Midwest like to give us in Colorado advice about how to deal with wildfires. Trump's vacuuming underbrush is typical. One I got the. other day wondered why homeowners just don't have wells and hose down their property. My response to that was the most kind I could muster:

"I don't know where you live, but it does not sound like Colorado...You need to spend some time and get more knowledgeable about the kinds and power of wildfires in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.. If you have ever been near one, you will realize that a handheld hose from a well water is no match for a wind-driven inferno, and if you stand there sprinkling your abode instead of evacuating, you will be toast. Some areas do not have "homes" in certain designated national forests; just establishing a perimeter in rocky and mountainous terrain in a challenge. Our wildfires are better known as crown fires and embers jumping onto closely standing, highly flammable pine forests. They leap and spread from treetop to treetop. I have been near one that went 10 miles in one day, and another 23 miles in 3 days. Others border "urban" areas or cabin subdivisions. And like our area, our Fraser Winter Park area governments with urban interface federal grants and state resources over the past several years have just cut down every pine tree for firebreaks for at least one mile downwind from a national forest and prevailing winds..Wind-borne embers can jump miles ahead and start new ones. Homeowners themselves remove vegetation near buildings. Even then, we are always in jeopardy: Mother Nature can be frighteningly awesome, and it is then that you realize how puny and helpless man is. "

Aside from often unreachable terrain, due to global warming, over the past decade, beetles that feasted on lodgepole pines survived winters when they once were killled by well below zero temperatures. The result is the death of much of our ladgepole pine forests, and the affected trees eventually fell to the ground. We are talking many, many square miles in mostly very rugged areas., already inaccessible. Those have lain there for the past few years, making it difficult to traverse the forests and providing fuel for raging fires, like the one burning in Routt Cunty near Steamboat Springs.

In response to memes that gin up fear of communism

 On one of my Facebook pages, I have seen many a meme attempting to paint Democrats (and even some Republicans) as communists.  Should I bother to reply or even care about such memes?  Given that I still believe there are thinking, curious people who may be tuning in, I replied with the following in the hope that simply shouting memes does little to change opinions, and perhaps some can still be introspective and can question slogans.   My response:

One thing we agree on is that communism is bad, but what is your definition of it? If anything to the left of you is communist, then I think there is a lack of education about political theories. In practice, though, what we remember about soviet communism is the use of theory to justify an absolute dictatorship. Planned and federal control of all elements of the economy failed for sure, and there were no civil or individual rights or fair and free elections. That and fascism share that control over thought and expression, and repress opponents by fear and force. Instead of Marxist ideology, the rationale for fascist repression is loyalty to their great leader with the support of the ultra-rich and powerful. Modern democratic societies are a balance and a blend of both capitalist and government provision, with control by democratic means,..including fair and free elections, whose representatives create the laws that rule. It is not ruled by some all-powerful person who demands obedience to his executive orders. I reject both communism and fascism.

Clarity of thought and mssaging: an example of how Democrats can break through

  Here is an example of being clear on issues that was devised by my local Democratic Party...in Grand County, Colorado.  It may not have a one-word umbrella, but it is at least a step in the right direction and a political plank that local candidates can run on. https://grandcountydems.org/?utm_source=Grand%20Dems%20email%20list&utm_campaign=a20073d1d2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_04_30_06_49_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-0560435747-522472729    )