On March 30, 2023, a New York grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump (R) on thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records. This made Trump the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. He pleaded “not guilty.”
On June 8, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on thirty-seven felony charges relating to national defense information, withholding or destroying records, and conspiracy. Three more counts were added in a superseding indictment on July 27. On August 1, another federal grand jury indicted Trump on four new felony charges of conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding relating to the 2020 election. Trump pleaded “not guilty” to all charges in both cases.
On August 14, 2023, a Georgia grand jury indicted Trump on thirteen felony charges including RICO violations, conspiracy, and false statements, each also related to the 2020 election. Trump also pleaded “not guilty” to these charges.
Imagine, if you will, a national park that has no distinguishing features. It’s a generic mountain. Its description is ephemeral, and its location is undefined. Here’s its website. Enjoy.
The 2023 list of ugliest cars has a couple of truly momentous changes. The former number-two ugliest car, the Toyota C-HR, has been discontinued and sent to the great junkyard in the sky. And the former ugliest car, the Toyota Prius, which has been a long-time presence on this list, has been completely redesigned . . . and it looks fine. Oh, how times have changed.
There are fewer ugly cars on the market now than there have been in many years. It was a challenge to come up with a list of ten, and some of the cars in the lower half aren’t really that bad. With the C-HR disappearing and the Prius slipping off the bottom of the list, that left room for the Jeep Renegade in the ninth position and the Chevrolet Bolt in the tenth. I have also made some adjustments to the order to reflect changes in my opinions.
To qualify for this list, a car must be sold in volume to the general public in the United States. Volume is defined subjectively based on my observations (in other words, if I see them on the roads, they qualify; if I don’t, they don’t). Vehicles are excluded if they are not sold new in North America, sell in very low volume, or are sold only for exotic, military, commercial, or other special purposes.
It’s time for another batch of random photos! These include pictures of my pets, nature photos, and a bunch of weird stuff that I have come across in my day-to-day life. I hope you enjoy them!
Public primary elections for the Democratic and Republican parties of Virginia will be held on June 20, 2023. Off on a Tangent makes recommendations to primary voters in state- and federal-level races in Virginia and local elections in Loudoun County whenever nominees will be chosen in a contested public primary election.
Political parties are private organizations that should have no formal standing in our political system. As private organizations, they are free to choose their nominees through whichever process they wish—common methods include conventions, caucuses, private “firehouse primaries,” and direct nomination by party leaders. But in Virginia and many other states, the Democratic and Republican party duopoly has given itself permission to hold public primaries when they wish to. These are managed by state election authorities and funded by the taxpayers.
When a party chooses to have a public primary for an office in Virginia, it is “open”—any registered voter may vote in it. Virginia does not have formal party registrations and party membership is a private matter between the party and the individual. A voter’s party membership status may affect whether they can participate in a private nomination process, but it is irrelevant in public primaries. That said, a voter may only vote in one party’s primary on a given day. If both major parties are having public primaries for an office, the voter must pick one or the other.
The public primary system is unconstitutional. Private organizations may not use public agencies and funds to conduct internal business. The state also cannot discriminate between organizations—meaning if they are going to offer this service, they must offer it to any organization of any type. If we’re going to allow public primaries for the Democrats and Republicans, we must allow the Libertarians and Greens to have them too . . . and the Rotary Club, and your neighborhood association, and your swim team, and your church, and Starbucks, and Google. Either everybody can do it, or nobody can.
I do not vote in party primaries because I am not a member of any party. I have no inclination (and no right) to influence who a private club wants to nominate for elected office unless I am a member of the club. But I am a taxpayer, which means I’m paying for it when the parties chose to nominate with a public primary. For that reason, I make recommendations in public primary races, but not in races where the parties are choosing their nominees privately.
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.
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