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Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent
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Announcing ‘This Stupid Day’ 2.0

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Calendar Icon

Back in 2017, I launched This Stupid Day, a useful website that defines each day as some stupid made-up holiday. Today, I’m pleased to announce a new update. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Newly revised holidays! I went through the list and made a ton of updates. A bunch of the holidays have been replaced, updated, or reworded.
  • Subscriptions! If you can’t be bothered to go to the website, you can now get This Stupid Day as a free Amazon Alexa flash briefing, a WebCal subscription, or a downloadable ICS file. Add it to your Google and Outlook calendars. Do it now.
  • Improved Technology! This is hard to believe, but 2017 was six years ago. The site needed some updates. It looks better and loads faster now.
  • Rebranding! For some reason, I originally put This Stupid Day under Intersanity Enterprises. Normally that’s where my “serious” tech projects live. That didn’t make sense. Now it’s a “personal” project under the Scott Bradford Creative Enterprises umbrella (just like this website is).
  • An “About” Page! This Stupid Day now has an “About” page all its own! Wow!

With This Stupid Day’s help, you will never miss another National Eat Food Day (June 4) or National Surprise Donkey Day (September 13). This will make you a hero at both social and professional events.

And while you’re at it, check out my Jokes! subsite. I’ve made a bunch of other weird stuff over the years.

Election 2023 Results

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Updated

Last updated: November 29, 2023, 8:00 a.m.

Ballot Races
Virginia Senate, 32nd
100.00% of precincts reporting
Greg Moulthrop (R):38.96%
Suhas Subramanyam (D):60.55%
Other:0.50%
Virginia House, 26th
100.00% of precincts reporting
Rafi Khaja (R):38.81%
Kannan Srinivasan (D):60.89%
Other:0.31%
Loudoun Board, Chairman
100.00% of precincts reporting
Gary Katz (R):42.57%
Sam Kroiz (I):8.36%
Phyllis Randall (D):48.65%
Other:0.42%
Loudoun Board, Dulles
100.00% of precincts reporting
Puja Khanna (D):36.73%
Matt Letourneau (R):62.86%
Other:0.41%
Loudoun Sch. Board, At-Large
100.00% of precincts reporting
Anne Donohue:53.21%
Michael Rivera:46.27%
Other:0.52%
Loudoun Sch. Board, Dulles
100.00% of precincts reporting
Melinda Mansfield:93.14%
Other:6.86%
Loudoun Treasurer
100.00% of precincts reporting
Henry Eickelberg (R):51.79%
Robin Roopnarine (D):47.77%
Other:0.44%
Loudoun Sheriff
100.00% of precincts reporting
Craig Buckley (D):46.21%
Mike Chapman (R):53.40%
Other:0.39%
Loudoun Comm. Attorney
100.00% of precincts reporting
Bob Anderson (R):49.92%
Buta Biberaj (D):49.70%
Other:0.38%
Loudoun Court Clerk
100.00% of precincts reporting
Brian Allman (I):30.94%
Gary Clemens (R):68.04%
Other:1.02%
Loudoun Revenue Comm.
100.00% of precincts reporting
Sri Amudhanar (D):41.44%
Bob Wertz (R):58.16%
Other:0.40%
Loudoun S&W Conservation
100.00% of precincts reporting
Derrick Clarke:5.73%
Johnathan Erickson:15.10%
John Flannery:21.85%
Peter Holden:20.12%
Uzma Rasheed:18.90%
Marina Schumacher:17.71%
Other:0.59%
Ballot Issues
Loudoun School Bonds
100.00% of precincts reporting
Yes:71.10%
No:28.90%
Loudoun Safety/Parks Bond
100.00% of precincts reporting
Yes:78.05%
No:21.95%
Loudoun Transp. Bonds
100.00% of precincts reporting
Yes:75.21%
No:24.79%

Read more . . .

I Voted; Final Thoughts

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Today is the “Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November,” and it is time again to cast our ballots.

In Virginia, we are voting to select members of the Virginia General Assembly—forty members of the Virginia Senate and one-hundred members of the Virginia House of Delegates. We are also choosing local officials to lead our boards of supervisors and school boards, to serve as sheriffs and commonwealth’s attorneys, and more. Some other states are having elections today too.

These races get a fraction of the attention we give to presidential races, or even congressional and gubernatorial races . . . but they are just as important, and maybe more so. Your day-to-day life is affected more by the actions of your local and state officials than those of the president. Do not ignore these races. Change starts at the “grass roots.”

If you are an eligible voter, go vote today.

But first, do your research. Read my endorsements, which explain why I voted the way I did. Read other commentaries. Read the candidates’ websites. Read opinion articles and editorials. Talk to your friends. Don’t pay attention to party lines and hyperbolic ads. Use your head and make your own choices.

Special Statement

The Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney race, more so than any other this year, warrants special attention. Incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj (D) is “the most dangerously incompetent public official by whom I have ever been represented.” It is critically important that she is not reelected. Read the “special statement” in my endorsement for more information.

Please also read the “special statement” before my endorsements in the Loudoun County School Board races, my special “attention” notes in my recommendations for the Ashburn and Leesburg districts on the same board, and special “attention” notes in my recommendations for the House of Delegates races in the 27th, 51st, and 57th districts.

Read more . . .

Senator Feinstein Dead at 90

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Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has died of natural causes at the age of 90.

Feinstein was a “trailblazer” for women in politics. She was the first woman to serve as mayor of San Francisco, California; to represent California in the U.S. Senate; to chair the Senate Rules Committee; to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee; and to preside over a U.S. presidential inauguration. At the time of her death, she was the oldest member and senior Democratic member of the U.S. Congress. She currently holds records for longest-tenured female senator and longest-tenured senator from California.

After graduating in 1955 from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in history, Feinstein participated in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. California Governor Pat Brown (D) appointed her to the California Women’s Parole Board in 1960. She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and made unsuccessful runs for Mayor of San Francisco in 1971 and 1975. In 1976, the “New World Liberation Front” terrorist group made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate her by planting a bomb at her home; it was not armed correctly and failed to explode.

Feinstein—then serving as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—became acting mayor after the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone (D) and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk (D-5th) in 1978. She was soon appointed by the board to serve out the remainder of Moscone’s term. She was reelected mayor in 1979, survived a recall attempt in 1982, and was reelected again in 1983. She did not seek reelection in 1987.

Read more . . .

Virginia General Assembly, 2023

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Seal of Virginia
Seal of Virginia

The Virginia General Assembly comprises two houses: the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates. The Senate is the upper house, and the House of Delegates is the lower house. This year, both houses stand for election.

The General Assembly was established by the British colonial governor in 1619. Initially it was a unicameral body composed of the governor, the governor’s council, and twenty-two elected burgesses. It became a bicameral body in 1642 when the Governor’s Council and House of Burgesses were split to become the upper and lower houses respectively. When the American colonies declared independence in 1776, the Governor’s Council was renamed the Council of State and moved to the executive branch (then dissolved in 1851), the Senate was created to be the new upper house, and the House of Burgesses was renamed to the House of Delegates. The General Assembly is the oldest continuously operating legislature in the western hemisphere.

There are forty seats in the Senate. Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits. Currently, the Democratic Party holds a 22-18 majority. There are one hundred seats in the House of Delegates. Delegates serve two-year terms with no term limits. Currently, the Republican Party holds a 49-46 majority and there are 5 vacant seats.

These are the first General Assembly elections since the post-census redistricting; all districts have been redrawn and renumbered. Technically, all races are open races (since all districts are technically new districts). For the purposes of these endorsements and recommendations, incumbent senators and delegates appearing on the ballot are treated as incumbents in their new districts.

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.