AL West Again

My Harris-Walz 2024 yard sign was finally delivered yesterday, and it is proudly on my front lawn. See the featured photo. I am still waiting for my campaign gear.

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This caught my eye yesterday. It is a story on ABC Channel 13 news. See this:

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — On Tuesday, Houston residents in some areas may have noticed a large presence of law enforcement, but don’t be alarmed – authorities said there is no threat to the public.

According to FBI Houston, this is all part of a “sweeping court-authorized operation” being conducted at multiple locations throughout the city. The FBI said law enforcement will be at the locations for several hours on Tuesday.

In a statement, the FBI told ABC13 it’s working with the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Houston Fire Department, the Houston Police Department, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

“Due to the ongoing nature of the federal investigation, we are unable to provide additional details at this time,” the FBI wrote.

According to law enforcement sources, ABC13 is being told this has ties to potential public corruption, though the FBI would not comment.

The public corruption mentioned at the end has me curious. This usually means the involvement of elected or public officials or both. Stay tuned for sure.

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I am glad there is finally a story on this. Of course, it won’t satisfy the big lie promoters. See this AP story:

Elections officials across Pennsylvania have begun assessing their voting machines using a procedure known as logic and accuracy testing, which helps confirm their equipment is working properly ahead of Election Day.

All election equipment used by Pennsylvania counties — ranging from ballot-marking devices used for some in-person voting to machines that tabulate mail and absentee ballots — is put through this pre-election stress test.

Counties in the commonwealth are required by law to conduct logic and accuracy testing before any election, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. All states do similar testing.

“Really, we are testing the voting system end to end,” said Forrest Lehman, director of elections and registration in Lycoming County. “It’s almost like we’re running a small-scale election.”

HOW IT WORKS

During logic and accuracy testing, election officials create sample ballots with various configurations of layouts and votes, which is known as a “test deck.”

The test deck includes ballots that are designed to trigger warnings or fail, such as ballots with no votes at all or too many votes in a contest. The test deck is run through the machines to ensure they are counting votes accurately and flagging errors.

This process helps officials confirm not only that the machines are working properly but that ballots are laid out properly and don’t have any proofing errors, such as missing candidates.

“Logic and accuracy testing, combined with post-election audits of the voted ballots, consistently provide evidence that voting machines are doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Mark Lindeman, director of policy and strategy at Verified Voting, a group that tracks voting technology in the U.S. “The systems and processes are good, and they’re getting better.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE

Pennsylvania counties have until 15 days before the election to certify that they have completed the logic and accuracy test. How long it takes them varies.

Philadelphia finished its testing on central tabulation scanners for mail ballots and ballot marking devices used for in-person voting on Friday, Nick Custodio, deputy to Philadelphia City Commission Vice Chair Lisa Deeley, wrote in an email. Local officials will continue to conduct a “functional test” on all ballot marking devices, a process that will take at least another week.

Here is the entire AP read: Preparing Pennsylvania’s voting machines: What is logic and accuracy testing? | AP News.

Got it?

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We did it last night. Another AL West Division title. Tags tweeted the list of division titles in Astros history here:

1980 NL West

1986 NL West

1997 NL Central

1998 NL Central

1999 NL Central

2001 NL Central

2017 AL West

2018 AL West

2019 AL West

2021 AL West

2022 AL West

2023 AL West

2024 AL West

Nice.

After last night, the Astros, Orioles, and Padres are now in the MLB playoffs.

My best friend and I were there last night. It was an exciting game. The team came through in the clutch.

A playoff clincher and two Dollar Dogs is tough to beat.

We are in the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. We will host a Wild Card series beginning next Tuesday.

We have come a long way since being down 10 games in the AL West back in June. Our last regular season homie is this afternoon.

#Relentless for sure.

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