26 | January | 2023 | Plaid Line

By: Brogan Frey

According to ballotpedia.org, on Election Day, in November, 35 senate seats were up for grabs. 14 seats held by Democrats, and 21 seats held by Republicans were up for election in 2022. One of those Democratic senate seats belonged to Senator, and Pastor, Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

Now may be a good time to explain what a runoff is. A runoff election occurs when no candidate running for a spot gets more than 50% of votes. That is what happened in the election between Raphael Warnock and Hershel Walker.

Something that I found very interesting about this race is the fact that this was not the first time that Senator Warnock had won a runoff race. Back in 2020, he ran against then-incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, and since neither candidate got 50% of the vote, that election went to runoff as well.

This election was a Special Senate election, because Loeffler had been appointed by Governor Brian Kemp to fill the remaining 2 years of the six year term previously being served by former Senator Johnny Isakson, who was elected in 2016 but resigned at the end of 2019, citing his health.

The fact that Senator Warnock has been a part of, and won 2, senate runoff elections is incredible, and also shows how split the state of Georgia is between being Democratic or Republican.

But on to the effect this election could have, and will have, on American politics.

This election gave the Democratic Party a very narrow advantage in the senate, with Democrats and the few similar voting Independents occupying 51 of the senate seats, with Republicans occupying the remaining 49.

Before this election, the senate was split evenly, with Vice President Kamala Harris being the tie breaker.

Now, with the majority, Democrats will be able to process legislation and nominations much faster, filling a Supreme Court vacancy would be easier, and Vice President Harris will not be needed as often to break up tied votes.

So, although the Democrats didn’t continue to hold the majority in the House of Representatives, they still have control of the White House and now the Senate, allowing them to get more bills passed more efficiently.

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By: Gabe Kleiber

This recipe is from http://reciperobber.com/viewrecipe.php?recipe_id=248

This is from my mom’s own personal food website, and I wanted to make this because it usually only takes her half an hour to cook, but is still one of my favorites.

It has less than 10 ingredients and only 4 steps, could easily be made by a middle schooler, but still manages to cover every base a taco should. It is easily better than many of its restaurant counterparts. If anyone is interested in learning to cook, this would probably be my number one suggestion.

Even though the recipe says to grill, a cast iron skillet does the job just fine. This is the only thing you actually have to cook, the rest is just prep and assembly. The night I made this I was in a time crunch, so I just microwaved the tortillas. In total, it took around 25-30 minutes. For an experienced cook, it is easily doable in under 20.

With all the talk about speed, I don’t mean to understate how good the taco itself is. A beautiful golden crust on well seasoned shrimp, mixed with the acidity from the lime is already a good dish on its own. But combined with the texture and freshness of avocado, and the multi-layered flavors of pico de gallo with a slight dash of hot sauce elevates it to extraordinary new heights.

This would certainly be an accepted dish at a fine dining restaurant, but it was made by a home cook in half an hour. This is truly a gem among dishes. I could eat this every week and be left with an appetite for more and plenty of time to spare. One of the best and easiest meals to make I have ever seen in all my years of eating. 10/10

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