tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49970518507810598402024-02-21T10:23:57.955-08:00The Lips Are MovingA Showcase of Political Skulduggery, Ineptitude, and MalevolenceDallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-82868205601481342162019-07-31T04:54:00.001-07:002019-07-31T04:54:13.857-07:00He's Still an Asshole-- And Oh, Yes, Hillary.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QbfeSSOlj4LIGoZ6fYv5TbbHoIB_ozMckgDDPTwoFqkDgl1z7t2dE60BxipFs0g0ora0ty6gwhJlPM9syCL1OOXEhxRxia5yh7wTRYozvg9sebsC0aRrexv7RHJ4BcHBG6OshLL4fNrn/s1600/New+York+Magazine+Trump+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="381" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QbfeSSOlj4LIGoZ6fYv5TbbHoIB_ozMckgDDPTwoFqkDgl1z7t2dE60BxipFs0g0ora0ty6gwhJlPM9syCL1OOXEhxRxia5yh7wTRYozvg9sebsC0aRrexv7RHJ4BcHBG6OshLL4fNrn/s400/New+York+Magazine+Trump+Cover.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
It's mid-2019, and yep, Donald J. Trump is still an asshole. In fact, for some bizarre reason, he's the asshole-in-chief. How did this happen?<br />
<br />
C'mon, you know how it happened. It happened because P.T. Barnum was right: there's a sucker born every minute. And unfortunately, there have been a lot of minutes, with predictable results.<br />
<br />
And it also happened because of a decades-long, vigorous disinformation campaign about Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. And yes, in the run-up to the 2016 election, Russia took the lead. And yes, it was suckers who took the bait. And yes, the election was thrown by the huge and unfortunately effective disinformation campaign, which the suckers latched on to like piglets latch onto the teats of their mothers.<br />
<br />
How can you tell if you're a sucker? Ask yourself--do you have a dislike or distrust of Hillary? Does it give you a creepy feeling just to look at her on hear her name? If so, then yep, you bit the big weenie. Congratulations. You have been programmed. You have been manipulated.<br />
<br />
The Hillary-haters I've spoken with broke down when I asked about specifics. They had only talking points. Well, the e-mails. Well, Pizzagate. Well, Benghazi. Well, she had people murdered, maybe. Well, she stood by her womanizing husband. Well, she's just evil. They had no real information. They had no specifics. They just have a feeling and some cleverly-implanted key words. They were low information fools, and so are you if you can't give me chapter and verse about why you hate Hillary, actual facts. I mean, she served as First Lady of Arkansas for FOUR TERMS! She served for EIGHT YEARS as First Lady of the United States of America. She served as Senator for the State of New York for EIGHT YEARS and as U.S. Secretary of State for FOUR YEARS; in fact, she was the country's first female Secretary of State. She ran for President of the United States in 2008 and 2016.<br />
<br />
Clinton earned the B.A. degree from Wellesley College, with departmental honors in political science, and received the J.D. degree from Yale Law School; while at Yale she served on the editorial board of the <i>Review of Law and Social Action.</i> After earning her doctorate, she did a year of postgraduate studies, also at Yale. While in law school, she worked at the Yale Child Care Center. worked on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, gave free legal advice to the poor at New Haven Children's Services, and served on Senator Walter Mondale's Committee on Migratory Labor. Her primary legal interest is children's law and family policy. She has written five books,<br />
<br />
Hillary has been politically active since age 13, when she worked as a canvasser in the 1960 Presidential Election. While at Wellesley, she interned at the House Republican Conference. She worked on the campaigns of Nelson Rockefeller, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. During the Watergate scandal, she advised the House Committee on the Judiciary.<br />
<br />
She taught criminal law at the School of Law at Arkansas State, where she was one of only two female faculty members. She co-founded a rape crisis clinic and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, served as staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund, served on the boards of directors of Legal Services Corporation, New World Foundation, Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services, and several corporate boards. In 1979, she was made partner at Arkansas' Rose Law Firm. During her husband's first term of office she was chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform.<br />
<br />
And there's so much more, but I'm just going to stop here.<br />
<br />
Hillary Clinton is no angel. She has made political compromises, played a bit of tit-for-tat, fell for the lies about weapons of mass destruction in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, Through it all, she has remained a fierce advocate for children and women. But what, what, I ask you, is so fucking bad about her?<br />
<br />
Millions of Americans hate Hillary Clinton. They can't quite say why. At the same time, they adore Donald John Trump, who has not in his entire life done one damn thing for the United States. That includes serving as President, which I would argue is something he has done TO America rather than FOR it. He is screwing this country in soooo many ways, and people are blind to it because of disinformation from Republicans, Fox News, and, oh, yes, and most certainly, the Russians.<br />
<br />
Fuck all y'all who hate Hillary and fuck all y'all who adore or even put up with the asshole-in-chief. Stop being low information asswipes. Learn how to think.<br />
<br />
That is all.<br />
<br /></div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-9997869995970479242017-02-25T02:06:00.001-08:002017-02-25T02:06:35.187-08:00Donald J. Trump: Teeny Weeny Peenie (@RealDonaldTrump) (@POTUS)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I know it. You know it. And you might as well face it, the rest of the world knows it.<br />
<br />
You have a teeny weeny penis.<br />
<br />
I mean, c'mom. You're 70 years old. You're 50 pounds overweight. You subsist on fast food grease and fat and empty carbs. It doesn't work anyway, so you might as well admit it.<br />
<br />
You have a teeny weeny peenie!<br />
<br />
One reason we know, Donald, is because you bragged about your penis size on national TV. Any man who has to brag about the size of his genitals is saying "It's not so great down there" (and you bragged when Marco Rubio made fun of the size of your hands, yes you did, and in front of an audience of millions of people!)<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tOX6aIEV5kE" width="560"></iframe>
</center>
<br />
You did, Donald, you did, and let's face it, those stubby little fingers do not hold a lot of promise for the size of whatever that is you have almost protruding from your groin.<br />
<br />
Another reason we know, Donald? Phallic symbols. Who else but someone feeling inadequate would erect a monstrosity like Trump Tower and put their name on it? And Donald, you didn't stop at just one! C'mon, admit it, you have a serial phallic symbol problem.<br />
<br />
And Donald—Rubio was right, and not only about the size of your fingers. By your bullying remarks about the physical characteristics of others, including a disabled reporter, you have forfeited the right to expect not to be skewered because of your teeny weenie.<br />
<br />
But the main reason we all know, Donald, is because of your hand-faxing problem.<br />
<br />
Here, let's let Graydon Carter tell it: <blockquote class="tr_bq">
The myriad vulgarities of Donald Trump—examples of which are retailed daily on Web sites and front pages these days—are not news to those of us who have been living downwind of him for any period of time. I first encountered Trump more than 30 years ago. Back then he was a flashy go-getter from an outer borough eager to make his name in Manhattan real estate. Which he succeeded in doing in the only way he knew how: by putting his name in oversize type on anything he was associated with—buildings, yes, but also vodka, golf courses, starchy ties, and even a sham of a real-estate school. Most people who own private planes include their initials as part of the tail number. Not Trump. On his campaign jet, a Boeing 757, his name runs from the cockpit to the wings—in gold letters, 10 feet high. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Like so many bullies, Trump has skin of gossamer. He thinks nothing of saying the most hurtful thing about someone else, but when he hears a whisper that runs counter to his own vainglorious self-image, he coils like a caged ferret. Just to drive him a little bit crazy, I took to referring to him as a <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2016/02/donald-trumps-short-fingers-a-historical-analysis">“short-fingered vulgarian”</a> in the pages of Spy magazine. That was more than a quarter of a century ago. To this day, I receive the occasional envelope from Trump. There is always a photo of him—generally a tear sheet from a magazine. On all of them he has circled his hand in gold Sharpie in a valiant effort to highlight the length of his fingers. I almost feel sorry for the poor fellow because, to me, the fingers still look abnormally stubby. The most recent offering arrived earlier this year, before his decision to go after the Republican presidential nomination. Like the other packages, this one included a circled hand and the words, also written in gold Sharpie: “See, not so short!” I sent the picture back by return mail with a note attached, saying, “Actually, quite short.” Which I can only assume gave him fits.</blockquote>
Those are the words of Graydon Carter, founder of <i>Spy </i>magazine and, since 1992, editor of <i>Vanity Fair.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"What, <i>Vanity Fair</i>? Fake News! Failing magazine! Alternative facts! Yooge hands! Yoooge!"<br />
<br />
Fuck you, Donnie.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/10/graydon-carter-donald-trump" target="_blank">Here's </a>the link to Graydon's post in <i>Vanity Fair's </i>November 2015 issue.<br />
<br />
I just have to say anyone who, like Frank, the freaky guy at the office who is forever photocopying his butt, sends images of his hands decades later to someone who called him (accurately) a short-fingered vulgarian, is insecure, and with good cause, about the size of his penile unit.<br />
<br />
So yeah, @RealDonaldTrump, you have a teeny teeny, teeny weeny wienie!<br />
<br />
I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it.</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-77202338098311779012017-01-27T05:32:00.002-08:002017-02-25T02:10:24.095-08:00Donald Trump, You are a LOSER When It Comes to Appearance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l8ajUDl7JrA" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
Donnie, Donnie, Donnie. What is with the way you look? It's horrible. It's embarrassing.<br />
<br />
You should take GQ's sartorial advice. Really. Pick up the red phone and give them a call. Now, before you put on your absurdly long tie. Just set the tie down and back away. Slowly.<br />
<br />
First, what's with your hair? It does not seem to attach to your scalp anywhere. Grown men do not wear their hair like this. And the color! It seems to change from Oompa Loompa to fluorescent orange to mandarin to kumquat to tangerine. Can't you just pick one color not found on earth and stick to it?<br />
<br />
Then there's your face! Don't stick out your lower lip so much and for god's sake wash off that Cheeto dust! We know you love food that's bad for you, but really!<br />
<br />
As GQ pointed out, your pants are baggy and wrinkled. Your jacket is oversized and usually unbuttoned and the sleeves of your shirt are too long. You are a rumpled, frumpled hot mess!<br />
<br />
Who dresses you? Whoever it is, the moment you assume full evil dictator powers, you should have them taken outside and shot.<br />
<br />
Donald, you do not look Presidential. You barely look human. Watch the GQ video. Watch it over and over. I know you probably are doing that right now because it pisses you off—but for the sake of the nation, heed their advice.<br />
<br /></div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-67068026716978485272017-01-27T05:13:00.002-08:002017-01-27T05:33:32.472-08:00Donald Trump, You Are a LOSER!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Let's face it, Donnie, you are a loser. Loser, loser, looooooser!<br />
<br />
Only a small percentage of people like you. Many despise you.<br />
<br />
You look a mess-- Bozo has nothing on you.<br />
<br />
Your brain is not good-- your IQ is not what you would have us believe it is, Believe me.<br />
<br />
You are a bald-faced liar. You cannot talk for two minutes without telling a whopper.<br />
<br />
Your character is not good. You are a huckster and a cheat. Trust me on this.<br />
<br />
You are a swindler. A loer serial swindler. You, and not Hilary, should be in prison.<br />
<br />
Your judgment is not good.<br />
<br />
Your attention span is tiny. You can't even listen to the critical daily Presidential briefings.<br />
<br />
Your speech is incoherent.<br />
<br />
You have no impulse control.<br />
<br />
You are mentally ill. You have all the diagnostic critieria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder and seem to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's.<br />
<br />
You are not kind.<br />
<br />
You are not funny.<br />
<br />
You are not wise.<br />
<br />
You are a fascist.<br />
<br />
You are a racist.<br />
<br />
You are a sexist.<br />
<br />
You are a bully.<br />
<br />
You are an inciter of violence.<br />
<br />
You are a traitor. You put Russia's interest before the interest of the United States. What is with this bromance with Vladimir Putin?<br />
<br />
You are a braggart. You cannot talk about anything without winding up talking about yourself. Most of what you say about yourself is a lie.<br />
<br />
You are a serial abuser of women.<br />
<br />
You are a child of privilege. You inherited millions of dollars. You are not a self-made man.<br />
<br />
You are a loser at business. If you had simply invested the tens of millions your father gave you in the 1970s you would have more money today.<br />
<br />
You have a small dick. Face it. Otherwise you wouldn't be so obsessed with comments about your small hands.<br />
<br />
You are a loser as a husband. You cannot seem to keep a marriage together.<br />
<br />
You pretty much bought two of your three wives from the Eastern bloc.<br />
<br />
You are a loser as a father. You have raised at least three narcissists. It's too early to tell about your younger offspring.<br />
<br />
You are a loser as a negotiator. You are not able to even deal with the President of Mexico. We all saw you sitting there looking meek when you visited last year.<br />
<br />
Your fucking Make America Great Again hats are made in China.<br />
<br />
You are an ignoramus. You don't read. You know nothing.<br />
<br />
You are insecure. That's why you talk yourself up so much. You are a loser man-child who at bottom despises himself.<br />
<br />
The reason you call other people losers is because you are such a big fucking loser yourself.<br />
<br />
Donald Trump, you are a LOSER, LOSER, LOSER!<br />
<br />
LOSER, LOSER, LOSER, LOSER, LOSER, LOSER!<br />
<br />
LOSER.<br />
<br />
And a sore one at that.</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-16643268710591812842017-01-24T04:37:00.004-08:002017-01-24T04:37:50.730-08:00Science<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQt9j-EwrFiLYOHH1MYI91s08lJbXXiXfh32FGtN_06LAgvwQDJeFBxmj1eJ__VTlgV8Tnzm2vBKoO9aMn7sZ4Tob0IwiMmxwkaMeYpksTTBzktsPcQNpayD2zWHmmg4xXdYYfhU7PAiNr/s1600/Ibn+al-Haytham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQt9j-EwrFiLYOHH1MYI91s08lJbXXiXfh32FGtN_06LAgvwQDJeFBxmj1eJ__VTlgV8Tnzm2vBKoO9aMn7sZ4Tob0IwiMmxwkaMeYpksTTBzktsPcQNpayD2zWHmmg4xXdYYfhU7PAiNr/s320/Ibn+al-Haytham.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ibn al-Haytham, the Muslim scholar who, hundreds of years before<br />Englishman Francis Bacon, developed a scientific method</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
If you drive a car, use a cell phone or computer, wash and dry your clothes and bedding in machine, and are in fact alive because you would have died of a horrible childhood disease were it not for antibiotics, you are enjoying the benefits of science. Were it not for science you would be huddled in a hovel, pockmarked with scars from smallpox and suffering from rickets, trying to stay warm and alive.<br />
<br />
Science can be used for good or evil, but the knowledge it provides is your friend.<br />
<br />
The roots of science originated with the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who championed the empiricism and the inductive method. If you don't know what those are you fucking should and should go and look them up before you open your mouth and make a fool of yourself.<br />
<br />
The scientific method was formulated by Muslin scholar Ibn al-Haytham in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In the 13th century English friar Roger Bacon used the empirical method in his studies of optics, but it was another Englishman, Francis Bacon (no relation, or at least not close enough to count) who in the late sixteenth century formulated the method of accumulating knowledge we call science.<br />
<br />
I am not going to digress into an explanation of science and how it works, but know that it is science that has provided humanity with the knowledge and technology that has led to the modern world.<br />
<br />
Scientists are not perfect and are as subject as anyone else to personal, non-evidence based beliefs, but the scientific method is a precious tool and only a fool disregards or disbelieves the body of knowledge that, thanks to science, has accumulated since the time of Francis Bacon.<br />
<br />
Science, on the other hand, IS perfect. That is not to say it is not messy-- it certainly is-- but it eventually advances our knowledge. Differences of opinion and contradictory data are resolved by additional applications of-- you guessed it-- science and we understand the world and ourselves a little better.<br />
<br />
What I'm working up to is this: you should give little credence to those who deny science. Make all the fun you want of climate scientists, but you disregard their data at your own peril.<br />
<br />
Damn it, I am educating again! No more! I am now going after Trump!</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-54417606138546757402017-01-24T03:54:00.003-08:002017-01-24T04:02:53.575-08:00Repurposing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I launched this blog in 2012 my intention was to shine light on the crimes, misdemeanors, and general bad behavior of politicians without regard to political party. I attempted to shine the light of reason on the bad behavior, buttressing my arguments with facts which I sourced.<br />
<br />
I did not set out to skewer only Republican politicians, or even primarily Republican politicians, but when it came in hypocrisy, divisiveness, and knownothingness, Democrats and politicians of minority parties just couldn't hold a candle.<br />
<br />
As, during the recent presidential campaign, the bad behavior of Republican politicians ramped up to unbelievable levels, as I came to understand reason came to play no role whatsoever in the beliefs of their followers and I was wasting my time and effort in trying to educate, I grew increasingly frustrated-- and this showed in a loss of steam, just as I was building a case about voting rights and responsibilities. I pulled the plug in August of last year.<br />
<br />
I now relaunch this blog. Unlike its previous incarnation (posts are still up, folks!), I will no longer play nice. My new target is not politicians in general, but the corrupt and nepotistic administration of Donald J. Trump. I will be pulling no punches.</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-74281802901784113272016-08-19T21:15:00.001-07:002016-10-27T07:34:22.886-07:00Pulling the Plug<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwLV5noUmxG6fz55dH2M_JYm-qkAcFrKDL5RRsAVHUNMNn6gPomsLZ7tjcLVPQJWLH8cf_Q6M5M8BmibL8JEHjy8peA5vQ6dT594CVDuCv79ahAmNTL3U_HWqkQazn1WIXAAHZCeB8Ln3/s1600/Pinocchio+and+Jiminy+Cricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwLV5noUmxG6fz55dH2M_JYm-qkAcFrKDL5RRsAVHUNMNn6gPomsLZ7tjcLVPQJWLH8cf_Q6M5M8BmibL8JEHjy8peA5vQ6dT594CVDuCv79ahAmNTL3U_HWqkQazn1WIXAAHZCeB8Ln3/s640/Pinocchio+and+Jiminy+Cricket.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
When last I was in this space I was working hard to build a case about the almost total lack of voter fraud in this country. Voter fraud, of course, is multiple voting by an individual or voting in a district in which one is not registered or otherwise voting fraudulently. It is rare, rare, rare, not an issue at all and certainly not one to excite the passions of conservatives to the point they should pass bills in many states to ostensibly stop voter fraud but actually targeting Democrats and especially racial and ethnic minorities. There is no frigging voter fraud to amount to, certainly dozens of cases at most in a country with hundreds of millions of citizens-- and if you believe otherwise I won't say you're a fool, but I will say you have absolutely no regard for data, for facts, or for common sense and are easily misled.<br />
<br />
I was then going to build a case for ELECTION fraud, meaning systematic attempts to prevent people from voting by gerrymandering, passing absurd voter ID laws, or intimidating or misleading voters. There's one HELL of a lot of election fraud going on, and I was going to document it.<br />
<br />
But just as I was ready to wind up the there-is-no-voter fraud-problem-in-this-country part of my clever plan I ran out of steam. I just couldn't make myself come here-- for months and then for years. I wasn't sure why. Now I know why.<br />
<br />
The problem was I was absolutely wasting my time in a country which has perfected and excused buffoonerly, in which lies have come to have precedence over truth, in which boasting and bluffing trumps (pardon the intentional pun) data, and in which facts mean nothing at all. That was why I was psychologically unable to proceed.<br />
<br />
So this is my last post. It makes no sense to talk sense when nonsense is the political currency of the day. When politicians go out of their way to out-absurdify one another (and yeah, I'm not sure adsurdify is a word either, but if it isn't it should be), when there is no regard for and a disdain for data, for the truth, it's time to exit stage left.<br />
<br />
Maybe I'll check in again when the no-nothings have earned their Darwin Awards.<br />
<br /></div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-9509692997293926022014-01-11T08:34:00.001-08:002014-01-11T08:39:34.029-08:00Voter Suppression: The Real Problem: II: Changing and Shortening Voting Hours<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xegosm3r_dKyiSriJe4xbnUtXWgVkj18rLpFmgjrRd1sEaR_MIxDLNAWJIQ2qVOymYd9l0FWMiJdBUFE7lJ87PLaBug0g22bGDOY9hiov-t8J_e9qu766KCffg-pVnDIrNvHMZp3xQgW/s1600/Pat+McCrory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xegosm3r_dKyiSriJe4xbnUtXWgVkj18rLpFmgjrRd1sEaR_MIxDLNAWJIQ2qVOymYd9l0FWMiJdBUFE7lJ87PLaBug0g22bGDOY9hiov-t8J_e9qu766KCffg-pVnDIrNvHMZp3xQgW/s1600/Pat+McCrory.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">NC Governor Pat McCrory: “We didn’t shorten early voting, we compacted the calendar.”</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In recent years extended voting hours and early voting processes have allowed voters who work long hours or who will be traveling on election day to cast their vote. In this decade Republicans have been successful in shortening the hours in which polling stations are open.<br />
<br />
Those most affected by these cuts are working people-- and especially those who work long hours. In other words, voters likely to vote for Democrats.<br />
<br />
I could cite dozens of insteances, but let's choose just two. For examples, I've selected cases that don't sound all that bad at first glance.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In June, 2012 Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal agreed with the legislature to shorten voting hours on Saturday election day. The difference wasn't much-- just one hour. Polls would open at 7 am instead of 6 am-- but for people working on weekends with early shifts that left no time for voting.<br />
<br />
Here's another example. In North Carolina, the voting schedule was reaarranged. In keeping with the law the total number of hours the polls were open remained the same, but seven days of early voting was eliminated. Republican Governor Pat McCrory infamously said, “We didn’t shorten early voting, we compacted the calendar.”<br />
<br />
Doesn't sound like much, does it? But cumulatively, millions of voters have been disenfranchised by Republican-led efforts to suppress voting by shortening polling hours and early registration.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Sources:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jindal agrees to shorter election day voting hours</b>. (2012, 12 June). WWLTV News. Read it <a href="http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/158536095.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Isquith, Elias. (2013, 20 November). North Carolina’s GOP governor: “We didn’t shorten early voting, we compacted the calendar.” Salon. Read it <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/20/north_carolinas_gop_governor_we_didnt_shorten_early_voting_we_compacted_the_calendar/">here</a>.</div>
</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-4652919976582602172013-10-12T07:40:00.002-07:002013-10-12T07:40:41.039-07:00Falling All Over Themselves...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We interrupt this series of posts on election fraud to remind our readers Republicans are still queuing up in their attempt to say the most inaccurate, inane, and insane things possible. Here are just a few examples.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDEFVcIHU8M1YBHLS9lyc89y9Nras_z0EsGXy-zaEooxCl62V19pJozWcdeS7fWZ8gJNnok5e_AWG3shdQ3ztsuZiblP6iWL0C3mHHAxe6FtAROTbXZGjwBAq_UlQy2St7vqw37yWnI0q/s1600/Dennis+Baxley,+R-FL,+Rep..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDEFVcIHU8M1YBHLS9lyc89y9Nras_z0EsGXy-zaEooxCl62V19pJozWcdeS7fWZ8gJNnok5e_AWG3shdQ3ztsuZiblP6iWL0C3mHHAxe6FtAROTbXZGjwBAq_UlQy2St7vqw37yWnI0q/s1600/Dennis+Baxley,+R-FL,+Rep..jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, 8 October Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-FL) equated lesbian mothers with drug users, calling them dysfunctional and atypical households that get in the way of a child's education.<br />
<br />
Baxley is the father of Florida's unfortunate stand your ground law and has sponsored voting laws designed to keep students and renters from voting.<br />
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<br />
<h3 class="entry-header entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/10/equality-florida-wants-rep-baxley-to-apologize-for-statement-regarding-gay-parents.html" target="_blank">Equality Florida wants Rep. Baxley to apologize for statement regarding gay parents</a>. (2013, 8 October. Miami Herald Blog. </span></span></h3>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/stafford-jones-alachua-co_n_2317521.html" target="_blank">Florida Voter Law Designed To Keep Students, Renters From Voting, GOP Politicians Admi</a>t. (2012, 18 December. Huffington Post.<br />
<h3 class="entry-header entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD665Ogs2iDeHg1DNqo-wd7y8ZIjPCiEtoytEiLu3OI0c7tzUcicOc7nUqmBb9T90GLqe_vSnF0VvHYm-YhwyKil8P0MJKsbraw1WOurEcvVwuXyntARN6AbZrPN15xTPQ6KpiTRSJ4eF-/s1600/Michele+Bachman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD665Ogs2iDeHg1DNqo-wd7y8ZIjPCiEtoytEiLu3OI0c7tzUcicOc7nUqmBb9T90GLqe_vSnF0VvHYm-YhwyKil8P0MJKsbraw1WOurEcvVwuXyntARN6AbZrPN15xTPQ6KpiTRSJ4eF-/s1600/Michele+Bachman.jpg" /></a></div>
<h3 class="entry-header entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3 class="entry-header entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">In an appearance on a radio show with Jan Markell, Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN), referring to President Barack Obama's decision to provide small arms and anti-chemical weapons gear to vetted Syrian rebels, claimed he supports Al-Quida (a strange, assertion since it was Obama who brought down Usama Bin Laden) and went on to say it was proof the "end times" are here.</span></span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>This happened and as of today the United States is willingly, knowingly, intentionally sending arms to terrorists, now what this says to me, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, as I look at the End Times scripture, this says to me that the leaf is on the fig tree and we are to understand the signs of the times, which is your ministry, we are to understand where we are in God’s end times history.</i></blockquote>
<b>Source</b><br />
<br />
Isquith, Elias. (2013, 7 October).<a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/07/michele_bachmann_obama_supports_al_qaeda_and_end_times_are_near/" target="_blank"> Bachman: Obama supports al-Quida and "end times" are near</a>. Salon.<br />
<br />
<br />
I could go on and on an on-- but let's just wind up with this one:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwSJH6xmdSUid1mPeZLNuLXpQ4JOS5G3cDOPlEC3UVR5wqhZGH7CwargTdZmHU8NdZzrO364QeDlfggfaOww6UsT4Wsew90J8lj4texD98_mL_lVp_jol_Fp2Pz9YnEF8KJb3MwxVqBfq/s1600/Rep.+Randy+Neugebauer,+R-Texas+Confronts+Park+Ranger+During+Government+Shutdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwSJH6xmdSUid1mPeZLNuLXpQ4JOS5G3cDOPlEC3UVR5wqhZGH7CwargTdZmHU8NdZzrO364QeDlfggfaOww6UsT4Wsew90J8lj4texD98_mL_lVp_jol_Fp2Pz9YnEF8KJb3MwxVqBfq/s320/Rep.+Randy+Neugebauer,+R-Texas+Confronts+Park+Ranger+During+Government+Shutdown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) voted to shut down the government last month. On Wednesday, 2 October, he confronted a park ranger at The National World War II Memorial (which was closed due to the shutdown):</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/P5K7wVb6y_U" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Texas Republican Congressman Randy Neugebauer grabbed <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/randy-neugebauer-slams-memorial-ranger-97804.html?hp=r6">some viral attention</a> Thursday after confronting a park ranger at the World War II Memorial in Washington, asking her how she could deny veterans access to the memorial and telling her that the National Park Service “should be ashamed” of its actions this week. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Surrounded by media, Rep. Neugebauer confronted the ranger: “How do you look at at [veterans] and say— how do you deny them access? I don’t get that,” he <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/randy-neugebauer-slams-memorial-ranger-97804.html?hp=r6">said</a>. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“It’s difficult,” the ranger responded. “It is difficult. I’m sorry, sir.” </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“It should be difficult,” Neugebauer shot back. “The Park Service ought to be ashamed of themselves.” When the ranger responded that she wasn’t ashamed of doing her job, the congressman added, “Well, you should be.” </i>(Jessup, 2013).</blockquote>
<br />
<b>Source:</b> Jessup, Meredith. (2013, 4 October). <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2013/10/04/rep-randy-neugebauer-should-be-ashamed/" target="_blank">Rep. Randy Neugebauer "should be ashamed."</a> The Blaze.<br />
<br />
<br />
These are but three examples of hundreds of crazy talk I could have cited. Who elects these people? Oh, that's right... asshats.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-15055245736574207502013-10-02T13:42:00.001-07:002013-10-02T13:47:00.363-07:00Voter Suppression: The Real Problem: I. Purging Voter Rolls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now we come to the REAL problem with voting fraud-- voter suppression.<br />
<br />
Voter suppression is an attempt to influence an election (or many elections!) by discouraging or preventing people from voting. It differs from political campaigning, which is an attempt to influence voters' choices.<br />
<br />
Why disenfranchise voters? Well, obviously you target the voters you think most likely to vote against you!<br />
<br />
God only knows how long voter suppression has gone on-- almost certainly as long as there has been a vote, but such barriers certainly harken back to the days of Jim Crow, when Black voters weren't allowed to vote. In the early days of the Civil Rights struggle, when Southern states were required by the Federal government to allow Blacks to register, they were often prevented by arbitrary measures; for instance, they might be required to show they could read and write and, if they could, pass a test before being allowed to register-- when, that is, their attempts to register weren't met with violence.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>From 1868 to 1888, the principal techniques the states used to suppress the African American vote were violence and massive election fraud.From 1888 to 1908, Southern states legalized disenfranchisement by enacting Jim Crow laws; several states amended their state constitutions and passed legislation to impose literacy tests, poll taxes, property ownership qualifications, "good character" tests, requirements that voter registration applicants "interpret" a particular document, and grandfather clauses that allowed otherwise disqualified voters to vote if their grandfathers voted (excluding many African Americans whose grandfathers had been slaves). Many of these provisions initially were upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in early litigation from 1875 (United States v. Cruikshank) through 1904. During the early 20th century, the Supreme Court began to find such provisions unconstitutional in litigation of cases brought by African Americans and poor whites. States reacted rapidly in devising new legislation to continue disfranchisement of most blacks and many poor whites. Although there were numerous court cases brought to the Supreme Court, through the 1960s, Southern states effectively disfranchised most African Americans.(Wikipedia, Voting Rights Act of 1965).</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In these postmodern times voter suppression is less likely to be about physical intimidation and more about organized efforts to disenfranchise large numbers of voters-- and it takes many forms.</blockquote>
<b>Purging of Voter Records</b><br />
<br />
People die or relocate, so there's a legitimate reason for governments to periodically review voting rolls and remove those no longer present or who have lost their right to vote-- but such purges have proved to be a potent political tool in the hands of Republicans. We most likely would have have had a second-term George W. Bush Presidency had Florida not aggressively purged thousands of voters (the list contained 173,000 names!) judged likely to vote Democratic in the Presidential election.<br />
<br />
Florida, whose governor at the time was Jed Bush, W.'s brother, contracted with a company called ChoicePoint, which marked law-abiding citizens without criminal records as felons and took great liberties with names-- if your name was even remotely similar to a felon, you were toast. No surprise, ChoicePoint was run by an assortment of high-donating Republican stars.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But if some counties refused to use the list altogether, others seemed to embrace it all too enthusiastically. Etta Rosado, spokeswoman for the Volusia County Department of Elections, said the county essentially accepted the file at face value, did nothing to confirm the accuracy of it and doesn’t inform citizens ahead of time that they have been dropped from the voter rolls.<br /><br />“When we get the con felon list, we automatically start going through our rolls on the computer. If there’s a name that says John Smith was convicted of a felony, then we enter a notation on our computer that says convicted felon — we mark an “f” for felon — and the date that we received it,” Rosado said. “They’re still on our computer, but they’re on purge status,” meaning they have been marked ineligible to vote.<br /><br />“I don’t think that it’s up to us to tell them they’re a convicted felon,” Rosado said. “If he’s on our rolls, we make a notation on there. If they show up at a polling place, we’ll say, ‘Wait a minute, you’re a convicted felon, you can’t vote. Nine out of 10 times when we repeat that to the person, they say ‘Thank you’ and walk away. They don’t put up arguments.” Rosado doesn’t know how many people in Volusia were dropped from the list as a result of being identified as felons. (Palast, 2000).</i></blockquote>
Officials in the various draw upon a wide latitude of methods, with no oversight:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Wendy Weiser, an elections expert with New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, said, "What most people don't know is that every year, elections officials strike millions of names from the voter rolls using processes that are secret, prone to error and vulnerable to manipulation. (Wikipedia: Voter Suppression).</i></blockquote>
Democrats, minorities, and especially Black Americans were disproportionally affected by Florida's voter suppression. A report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has this to say:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Disenfranchised voters are individuals who are entitled to vote, want to vote, or attempt to vote, but who are deprived from either voting or having their votes counted. The most dramatic undercount in the Florida election was the uncast ballots of countless eligible voters who were wrongfully turned away from the polls. Statistical data, reinforced by credible anecdotal evidence, point to the widespread denial of voting rights. It is impossible to determine the extent of the disenfranchisement or to provide an adequate remedy to the persons whose voices were silenced by injustice, ineptitude, and inefficiency. However, careful analysis and some reasonable projections illustrate what happened in Florida.</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>The disenfranchisement of Florida’s voters fell most harshly on the shoulders of black voters. The magnitude of the impact can be seen from any of several perspectives:</i></span></blockquote>
<ul>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Statewide, based upon county-level statistical estimates, black voters were nearly 10 times more likely than nonblack voters to have their ballots rejected.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Estimates indicate that approximately 14.4 percent of Florida’s black voters cast ballots that were rejected. This compares with approximately 1.6 percent of nonblack Florida voters who did not have their presidential votes counted.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Statistical analysis shows that the disparity in ballot spoilage rates—i.e., ballots cast but not counted—between black and nonblack voters is not the result of education or literacy differences. This conclusion is supported by Governor Jeb Bush’s Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology, which found that error rates stemming from uneducated, uninformed, or disinterested voters account for less than 1 percent of the problems.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Approximately 11 percent of Florida voters were African American; however, African Americans cast about 54 percent of the 180,000 spoiled ballots in Florida during the November 2000 election based on estimates derived from county-level data. These statewide estimates were corroborated by the results in several counties based on actual precinct data.</i></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>Poor counties, particularly those with large minority populations, were more likely to possess voting systems with higher spoilage rates than the more affluent counties with significant white populations. There is a high correlation <span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">between counties and precincts with a high </span>percentage of African American voters and the percentage of spoiled ballots.</i></span></blockquote>
Here are some illustrations from the same report:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>One potential voter waited hours at the polls because of a registration mix-up as poll workers attempted to call the office of the supervisor of elections. The call never got through and the individual was not allowed to vote. A former poll worker herself, she testified that she never saw anything like it during her 18 years as a poll worker.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>A poll worker in Miami-Dade County with 15 years of experience testified, “By far this was the worst election I have ever experienced. After that election, I decided I didn’t want to work as a clerk anymore.”</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>A poll worker in Palm Beach County testified that she had to use her personal cell phone to attempt to contact the election supervisor’s office. Despite trying all day, she only got through two or three times over the course of 12 hours.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>A Broward County poll worker testified that in past elections it took about 10 minutes to get through to the elections supervisor. During the course of the November 2000 election, she turned away approximately 40–50 potential voters because she could not access the supervisor of elections.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="html">
<span style="font-family: default; font-size: small;"><i>A Boynton Beach poll worker explained how his precinct workers turned away about 30–50 potential voters because they could not get through to the supervisor of elections. He was successful only once during an eight-hour period.</i></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
Sadly, voter suppression continues in Florida-- and surprisingly, Republicans have admitted its purpose is to disenfranchise Democratic voters!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Floridians endured election chaos and marathon voting lines this year, largely thanks to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/04/1135571/after-republicans-restrict-early-voting-hours-floridians-wait-more-than-6-hours-to-vote/">reduced early voting hours</a>, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/13/842661/florida-supervisors-of-elections-speak-out-against-new-voter-purge/">voter purges</a>, and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/29/769031/rick-scott-voter-registration-suppression-law-dead/">voter registration restrictions</a> pushed by Republican legislators. In an <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/early-voting-curbs-called-power-play/nTFDy/">exclusive report</a> by the Palm Beach Post, several prominent Florida Republicans are now admitting that these election law changes were geared toward suppressing minority and Democratic votes.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Former governor Charlie Crist (R-FL) and former GOP chairman Jim Greer (R-FL), as well as several current GOP members, told the Post that Republican consultants pushed the new measures as a way to suppress Democratic voters. Crist expanded early voting hours in 2008 despite party pressure, but Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) targeted early voting almost immediately when he took office in 2011. Scott’s administration claimed the new laws were meant to curb in-person voter fraud, despite the fact that an individual in Florida is more likely to be <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/06/495769/voter-fraud-extremely-rare-in-florida-state-data-reveals/">struck by lightning</a> than commit voter fraud. (Shen, 2012, citing The Palm Beach Post).</i></blockquote>
Florida isn't the only state in which this type of voter suppression is occurring:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>In 2008, more than 98,000 registered Georgia voters were removed from the roll of eligible voters because of a computer mismatch in their personal identification information, leading registrars to conclude that they were no longer eligible Georgia voters at their registered addresses. At least 4,500 of those people must prove their citizenship to regain their right to vote, but opponents say that could be an impossible burden to meet. For example, the state of Georgia gave college senior Kyla Berry one week to prove her citizenship in a letter dated October 2, 2008. Unfortunately, the letter was postmarked October 9, 2008</i><i>. However, Berry is a U.S. citizen, born in Boston, Massachusetts with a passport and a birth certificate to prove it. (WIkipedia: Voter Suppression).</i></blockquote>
When one party is eager to register voters and other other does its best to stop people from voting, what does that say about the second party?<br />
<br />
Exactly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<br />
<b>Kam, Dara, & Lantigua, John. </b>(2012, 25 November).<a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/early-voting-curbs-called-power-play/nTFDy/" target="_blank"> Former Florida GOP leaders say voter suppression was reason they pushed new election law.</a> <i>The Palm Beach Post.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Palast, Gregory.</b> (2000, 4 December). <a href="http://www.salon.com/2000/12/04/voter_file/" target="_blank">Florida's flawed "voter-cleansing program".</a> <i>Salon. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Shen, Aviva. </b>(2012, 26 November).<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/11/26/1234171/florida-republicans-admit-voter-suppression-was-the-goal-of-new-election-laws/" target="_blank"> Florida Republicans admit voter-suppression was the goal of new election laws</a>. ThinkProgress.<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.</b> (2000)<a href="http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/exesum.htm" target="_blank">. Voting irregularities in Florida during the 2000 Presidential Election.</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-89933704720047791832013-10-01T21:31:00.000-07:002013-10-02T19:47:15.765-07:00Voter Registration Fraud Is Not a Big Problem and Doesn't Affect the Vote<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've shown voter fraud is rare in the United States. There simply aren't hordes of ineligible voters registering and voting. It's just not happening-- although right-wing news sources would have you believe it is.<br />
<br />
Before we leave voter fraud, we'll talk about organizations that register voters and laws that allow same-day registration of voters.<br />
<br />
Voter registration drives, and especially same-day registration results in a higher turnout of voters. Now you might think this a good thing-- unless you're Republican. Then you might not, for minorities and urban voters are the ones most impacted by registration drives and same-day registration. Since these voters tender to vote Democratic, Republicans do everything they can to not only do away with same-day voter registration, but to erect barriers that make it more difficult for voters to pre-register. We'll talk about that in the next post. For now, let's look at the flip side of this effort to disenfranchise voters.<br />
<br />
One way to stop voters from registering is to attack those who try to make it easier for them to sign up. This is exactly what happened with the ACORN scandal.<br />
<br />
And what was the ACORN scandal?<br />
<br />
The nonprofit <a href="http://www.acorn.org/" target="_blank">ACORN </a>was a nonprofit that worked on behalf of low- and moderate-income families (the acronym stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Between 1970 and 2010 ACORN engaged in community building at grassroots levels across the nation; this included helping citizens register to vote, but also campaigns for better housing, schools, neighborhood safety, health care, and job conditions. <br />
<br />
In 2009 conservative activists Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe released a series of videos which were edited to "prove" ACORN workers advised their clients to avoid paying taxes and hid criminal activities.<br />
<br />
That wasn't true:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Independent investigations were made by state attorneys general of Massachusetts and California, and the U.S. Attorney of Brooklyn, New York; their reports were released beginning in December 2009 and extending through April 2010. The attorney general's office in Massachusetts and the U.S. Attorney for Brooklyn concluded that the ACORN workers had committed no criminal activity and that the videos were "heavily edited" to present material out of context and create a misleading impression of activities.<br />The California Attorney General granted immunity to O'Keefe and Giles in exchange for their raw videos shot at three California ACORN offices. Its comparison of the raw videos with the released versions found that the published videos had been heavily edited to misrepresent the workers and the situations so as to suggest criminal intent and activity. The California report was followed by one by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which reported t</i><i>here was no evidence that ACORN workers had misused government funds or participated in the criminal activities represented in the videos.But, ACORN was effectively destroyed by then. (Wikipedia: ACORN 2009 Videos Controversy).</i></blockquote>
The ruse worked, however, ACORN was destroyed and can no longer register voters who might vote Republican.<br />
<br />
Organizations on both the left and the right which register voters can find themselves with overenthusiastic workers who manipulate the process. This is rare, however, and it's in the interests of the organizations to show such abuses down quickly-- and they do. In some cases-- on both sides-- workers are motivated to forget forms in order to get paid. This isn't supposed to happen, but it does. The numbers of people doing this are small, and the numbers of cards they forge tend to be small. But in some cases politically motivated people forge considerable numbers of cards. More often than not, they're caught.<br />
<br />
Outside of often unbelievable allegations about ACORN I found more instances of Republicans being taken to justice for fraudulent voter registration than Democrats. So yes, it's a problem-- but it's not coming from voters.<br />
<br />
And here's the rub. It's not as if people are voting those registrations. In some cases they might, but it's exceedingly rare. It doesn't affect the vote.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>What about widely publicized stories of registration fraud?</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Those cases are always very easily caught, very frequently by the very organization that's overseeing the work. And there's absolutely zero evidence that anyone who has put any false information on a voter registration form has actually voted using that information. Problems with voter registration [are] different than fraud at the polls that ends up impacting the election. (Zalan, 2012, quoting Tova Wang)</i></blockquote>
The problem, Wang says, isn't about voter registration fraud, but about voter suppression. And she's right.<br />
<br />
If you see statistics that seem to prove there is widespread voter fraud or widespread voter registration fraud, know they're false. Check out <a href="http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/2012fraud.asp" target="_blank">this entry</a> at Snopes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<br />
<b>Wang, Tova. </b>(2012).<i> The politics of voter suppression: Defending and expanding Americans' right to vote. </i>Cornell University Press.<br />
<br />
<b>Zalan, Kira. </b>(2012, 24 April). <i>The myth of voter fraud. </i><a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/04/24/the-myth-of-voter-fraud" target="_blank">U.S. News & World Report.</a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-1791334605218956862013-07-18T00:17:00.002-07:002013-07-18T00:17:28.265-07:00Reality Check: Voter FraudLet's take a pause in this series about voter fraud to see how Republicans and Fox News have been misleading the American public, persuading many Americans there are huge numbers of people voting illegally. We've already shown that to be untrue.<br />
<br />
<b>Voter Fraud Watch: Illegal Voting Reports in Ohio</b>. (2012, 6 November). Fox News. Read it <a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/06/voter-fraud-watch-illegal-voting-reports-in-ohio" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Voter Fraud Watch: Group Claims Unions in Nevada Registering Illegal Immigrants to Vote.</b> (2012, 6 November). Fox News. Read it <a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/06/voter-fraud-watch-group-claims-unions-in-nevada-registering-illegal-immigrants-to-vote" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Barnes, Ed.</b> (2010, 12 July). Felons voting illegally may have put Franken over the top in Minnesota, study finds. Fox News. Read it <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/12/felons-voting-illegally-franken-minnesota-study-finds/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The articles, which are clearly meant to drive white voters to hysteria, sometimes have a kernel of truth, but the claims made are overstated, deliberately misdirecting, and often simply untrue. Let's look at the Barnes article as an example of all three: overstatement, misdirection, and downright lying.<br />
<br />
Study finds... Whose study? Minnesota Majority, a conservative group. They claimed to have matched voting records to lists of felons.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The final recount vote in the race, determined six months after Election Day, showed Franken beat Coleman by 312 votes -- fewer votes than the number of felons whose illegal ballots were counted, according to Minnesota Majority's newly released study, which matched publicly available conviction lists with voting records. </i></blockquote>
But check this out:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The problem with this assertion—from a new book by The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund and George W. Bush Justice Department attorney Hans von Spakovsky—is that it is not just factually wrong, according to Minnesota Supreme Court records, the Minnesota prosecutor who investigated most of the cases, and some of the country’s top election scholars, but it is intended to rile a segment of the Right that thinks it is patriotic to demonize voting by non-whites and disrupt voting for everyone else.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“There is no basis in fact, whatsoever, in these inaccuracies propagated by the Minnesota Majority here, none,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Wednesday. “After the most closely scrutinized election in Minnesota history in 2008, there were zero cases of fraud. Even the Republicans lawyers acknowledged that there was no systematic effort to defraud the election, none.” -- Rosenfeld.</i></blockquote>
Twenty-six ineligible felons registered to vote in Minnesota. Of those, one-third didn't vote. That's hardly a surprising number, since most felons don't realize they can't legally vote while on parole or probation.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> [Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota's] November 2010 report found only 26 voter fraud convictions across the state at that time. They were all ex-felons who registered to vote but never voted (32 percent) or who voted (68 percent) before restoring their voting rights. This distinction is very important because it further debunks the GOP’s voter ID case.</i></blockquote>
Yes,voter fraud exists. No, it's not widespread. No, its not frequent. When it does happen, it's generally due to a misake. There is no fraudulent intent. There are no hordes of voting illegal immigrants, felonious voters, or dead people voting. There just aren't.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<br />
<b>Rosenfeld, Stephen.</b> (2012, 8 August). GOP Voter Fraud Hucksters Latest Lie: Felons Made Franken U.S. Senator. AlterNet. Read it <a href="http://www.alternet.org/gop-voter-fraud-hucksters-latest-lie-felons-made-franken-us-senator" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-77244158831364348812013-07-17T23:31:00.003-07:002013-07-18T00:18:41.335-07:00Gerrymander BluesBoth Republicans and Democrats gerrymander, and in hopes of either getting all their voters into one district or carving out a district that will disenfranchise a large number of voters of the other party by making them a minority, both have made their share of ridiculously-shaped districts. You can see a bunch of them in the previous post.<br />
<br />
How well does gerrymandering work? Check this out.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>...since the GOP not only flipped the House in 2010 but totally controlled 21 state governments, including Pennsylvania's, it allowed the party to master post-census congressional redistricting around the country. On Nov. 6, Democrats won the popular vote by 500,000 votes nationally but took just 201 of the 435 U.S. House seats. In Pennsylvania, Republicans took hold of 13 of 18 congressional seats while being outpaced by 75,000 total votes. Mr. Obama won 53 percent of the state's vote, but Democratic candidates won 28 percent of the seats. -- McNulty, 2012</i></blockquote>
McNulty also wrote:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Tasked with resetting congressional lines after the 2010 census, Republican mapmakers in Harrisburg took that reality and ran with it. They made the five seats Democrats eventually would win on Nov. 6 solidly Democratic, going by voting performance statistics kept by Cook Political Report. They wrangled the district lines of three GOP seats near Philadelphia -- most notably District 7, which stretched across parts of five counties -- to make them more Republican. Finally, forced by population losses to cut one seat, they combined two outside of Pittsburgh to make Democratic incumbents Jason Altmire and Mark Critz run against each other in the new District 12.</i></blockquote>
That's how it recently worked on the national level. It works that way at state and local levels as well.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>This process has worked so well for so many politicians that the New York Public Interest Research Group reports that in 2008 more than half of the state’s 212 legislators were re-elected with more than 80 percent of their districts’ votes. In 57 districts, the incumbents ran unopposed.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Gerrymandering is a huge threat to the idea of one man (or woman), one vote. It's both legal and effective, and it disempowers millions of voters, removing their ability to choose their political leaders. It's institutionalized corruption, perpetrated politicians who, as the New York Times editorial states, have a clear conflict of interest. -- Editorial, New York Times</i></blockquote>
Those interested in voting reform should remember: a very real problem with the voting process begins and ends with gerrymandering.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<br />
<b>Gerrymandering, pure and corrupt.</b> (2009, 11 November). Editorial, <i>New York Times.</i> Read it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/opinion/12thu1.html?_r=0" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>McNulty, Timothy.</b> (2012, 26 November). How gerrymandering helped GOP keep control of House. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Read it <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/how-gerrymandering-helped-gop-keep-control-of-house-663716/" target="_blank">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-73451461818852451792013-07-17T23:07:00.001-07:002013-07-17T23:07:29.942-07:00What Gerrymandering Looks LikeTo see how some preposterously gerrymandered districts, click <a href="http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2010/11/11/the-top-ten-most-gerrymandered-congressional-districts-in-the-united-states/?singlepage=true" target="_blank">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-51568741679619445162012-11-11T15:57:00.000-08:002013-07-17T23:02:07.546-07:00Gerrymandering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXOPLS3O1OuwtAD4wkGU2qcnnVAAQIV4QyoVfM70GWFHFXNzhalZqOVY7M9Co4ARfketripXsHAwkl85TlaneID0mgOk_2lnK6IjFLnw0ioPlKHFIMiuRbwzEPvWm8QP8_f-SMWuAnuvg/s1600/Congressional+District+38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXOPLS3O1OuwtAD4wkGU2qcnnVAAQIV4QyoVfM70GWFHFXNzhalZqOVY7M9Co4ARfketripXsHAwkl85TlaneID0mgOk_2lnK6IjFLnw0ioPlKHFIMiuRbwzEPvWm8QP8_f-SMWuAnuvg/s640/Congressional+District+38.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Every decade, following the decennial census, the state legislatures of the United States are told how many representatives their state will send to the United States House of Representatives. Representation in the House is based on state population and there are a total of 435 representatives, so some states may gain representatives while others lose them. It is the responsibility of each state legislature to redistrict their state into the appropriate numbers of congressional districts.</i><br />
<br />
-- Rosenberg</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The epidemic of gerrymandering poses a growing threat to our democracy. The completion of the 2010 Census and start of the 2011 redistricting cycle makes this an especially important time for the Brennan Center's advocacy and public education efforts on redistricting and reapportionment.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It's an open secret: more and more legislative districts reflect calculations by those in power about how they can best preserve that power, while fewer and fewer give meaningful representation to communities of voters. Incumbents carve the citizens of their state into districts for maximum personal and partisan advantage, and democracy suffers: neighborhoods are split, competing candidates are drawn out of contention, groups of voters are ‘cracked' or ‘packed' to manipulate their voting power. We like to think that voters choose their politicians-but in the redistricting process, politicians choose their voters.<br /> <br />Well-designed redistricting systems, in contrast, can help ensure that elected public servants actually serve their public. Moreover, they can inspire public confidence in both a process and an outcome recognized as fair.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Brennan Center for Justice</blockquote>
Gerrymandering, or redistricting, is the movement of political boundaries for the advantage of a political party. District borders are redrawn to maximize the chances of incumbents or the party's showing in future elections; sometimes it has been used to disempower particular population demographics based on race, religion, or other characteristics.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVGbvx0lNJk0stOMgepoAVa7nMVZZf7h8BGinBeWHr3eeSD-OPtW_5UQ8mGM4QeGlYLqhh-DknZJoLe2xW2y1ePIkuftBsyW28QX3H7QJjt9xm5z5OCWBGgAROqmgSiEMa6Jmjzaby0tu/s1600/1812+Gerrymandering+Cartoon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVGbvx0lNJk0stOMgepoAVa7nMVZZf7h8BGinBeWHr3eeSD-OPtW_5UQ8mGM4QeGlYLqhh-DknZJoLe2xW2y1ePIkuftBsyW28QX3H7QJjt9xm5z5OCWBGgAROqmgSiEMa6Jmjzaby0tu/s400/1812+Gerrymandering+Cartoon.png" width="381" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">First printed in March 1812, this political cartoon was drawn in reaction to the state senate electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favour the Democratic-Republican Party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists. The caricature satirizes the bizarre shape of a district in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_County,_Massachusetts">Essex County, Massachusetts</a> as a dragon-like "monster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Gazette">Boston Gazette</a> on March 26, 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a> state senate election districts under the then-governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry">Elbridge Gerry</a> (pronounced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English">/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key">ˈ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key">ɡ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key">ɛr</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key">i</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English">/</a>; 1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party">Democratic-Republican Party</a>. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander_(legendary_creature)">salamander</a>. The term was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau">portmanteau</a> of the governor's last name and the word salamander.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Wikipedia, Gerrymander </blockquote>
Gerrymandering can be designed to carve more voters into a district that is assured of a win-- just rending their votes moot-- a process known as packing. Voters who would tend to vote for the opposition are packed into far fewer districts, meaning more districts will go to the gerrymandering party.<br />
<br />
Gerrymandering can also carve out districts that follow demographics favorable to the gerrymandering party; this is known as cracking. Both types can lead to bizarre shapes on the map, as in both illustrations above-- or they can split districts, as with the map of Congressional District 4, below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghj2lmSX5x-N4tMS-VbtmhRmq58JS5acIksIFEZlsjq2alkP5Aof5a23btcpDIwQIpxjMLObYkBQczx1I88LyhsyXK53ewZG6CCJmNbCRS8OJM8TBariAZgknACOD75On6hdrdbXD6VGEu/s1600/Congressional+District+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghj2lmSX5x-N4tMS-VbtmhRmq58JS5acIksIFEZlsjq2alkP5Aof5a23btcpDIwQIpxjMLObYkBQczx1I88LyhsyXK53ewZG6CCJmNbCRS8OJM8TBariAZgknACOD75On6hdrdbXD6VGEu/s640/Congressional+District+4.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
In 1985 the U.S. Supreme court ruled that manipulation of political borders to give advantage to one political party was unconstitutional. Earlier, in 1962, the Court ruled districts <br />
<br />
In 1842 Congress passed the Reapportionment Act: districts must be contiguous, unlike Congressional District 4, above.<br />
<br />
Nope, I take it back. Upon closer inspection, there's a tiny line at the left, connecting the two otherwise separate land masses. It's the median strip of an interstate highway.<br />
<br />
Unlike in-person voter fraud, gerrymandering is a systematic way of affecting elections-- and an effective one, at that, which explains its long history. For more than 200 years, gerrymandering has been an assault on American voters by rendering their votes ineffective. The Supreme Court has declared it illegal-- wouldn't it be nice if those who do it were punished?<br />
<br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<br />
<b>Redistricting.</b> Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Read it <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/redistricting/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Rosenberg, Mark.</b> Gerrymandering: How states create congressional districts based on census data. About.com. Read it <a href="http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/gerrymandering.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-27731575382723491282012-11-11T04:27:00.000-08:002012-11-11T15:58:26.136-08:00Systematic Election FraudTwo posts back I wrote about in-person voter fraud-- how it exists, and how it is rare, how suspected cases turn out in most cases to be untrue, and how those that aren't are often due to confusion on the part of ages voters.<br />
<br />
In an extreme case an election in a small town could be swayed by this type of election fraud, but it in no way has much of an impact on the outcomes of elections. It's not as if a number of voters independently wake up one day and decide hey, let's throw an election. It's just not happening.<br />
<br />
This means the purported panic on the part of the Republican party about voter fraud is a red herring. It's meant to distract while they engage in massive election fraud on a grand scale-- something that has changed and is changing the outcomes of levels at every election.<br />
<br />
In future posts I'll be talking about systematic election fraud. Hang on to your hats.<br />
<br />Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-42812513352264359172012-11-08T20:52:00.000-08:002012-11-08T20:52:04.119-08:00Karl Rove's Unique Take on Voter Suppression<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FEiV6EMbvgM" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I'd hoped I'd have are rest before some political type somewhere opened his big mouth, making me feel the need to write. Come on, guys, can't you give a girl some rest?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Karl Rove isn't a politician; he's one up on that. He's a kingmaker. And while Speaker of the House John Boehner was saying, "Uh, maybe Obamacare isn't as bad as we made it out to be," Rove was accusing Obama of suppressing the vote.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Say what?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So how is Obama suppressing the vote? According to Rove, by talking stuff about Mitt Romney during the election campaign. It was all true, of course, but in the Rovian mind, Obama was suppressing the vote by persuading the people to vote for him. True story!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm in the middle of an arc about election fraud and voter suppression, and believe me, Barack Obama is not one of the players. Rove, on the other hand, is. He's one of the cynical masterminds of the Republican Party, and amazing things come out of his mouth. Not long ago his group<a href="http://www.crossroadsgps.org/" target="_blank"> Crossroads GPS</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdAtU6dsdDg" target="_blank">declared President Obama had declared a war on women</a> ("Watch the left hand, don't watch the right!"). Of course we know which party has passed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Women" target="_blank">hundreds of bills to deprive women of the right to health care, reproductive choice, and equal employment,</a> right?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmQXjGBsskDSsQjVC0N1CYzOpQgRbWLQk-VN_JWBIfOFv8E7ytye_KcviRGnoVWSy43o7MEfDpBSgKa7bXAN6wjBU5szosPVlQaRSbHXJ34FDOJaTVbCTDWGTmjoW75q1zt9JC8MHqd34/s1600/War+on+Women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmQXjGBsskDSsQjVC0N1CYzOpQgRbWLQk-VN_JWBIfOFv8E7ytye_KcviRGnoVWSy43o7MEfDpBSgKa7bXAN6wjBU5szosPVlQaRSbHXJ34FDOJaTVbCTDWGTmjoW75q1zt9JC8MHqd34/s640/War+on+Women.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What's particularly reprehensible about Rove's remark about Obama is he makes it at a time when state-controlled Republican legislaturs have taken extraordinary measures to remove peoples' right to vote.<br />
<br />
You should be scared, and as soon as everyone stops misbehaving I'll resume my series on electron fraud and tell you why.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Sources</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Parkinson, John.</b> (2012, 8 November). Boehner exclusive: Raising taxes "unacceptable," but will put new revenue on table. ABC News. Read and watch video <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/boehner-exclusive-raising-tax-rates-unacceptable-revenue-table/story?id=17672947#.UJyGV8WHKSp" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Siddiqui, Sabrina, & Stein, Sam.</b> (2012, 8 November). Boehner says Obamacare is the law of the land, but still favors repealing legislation. <i>Huffington Post</i>. Read it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/john-boehner-obamacare_n_2095172.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Terkel, Amanda. </b>(2012, 8 November. Obama won "by suppressing the vote." <i>Huffington Post.</i> Read and watch video <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/karl-rove-obama-suppressing-vote_n_2094459.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-91135182768034241252012-11-06T13:26:00.000-08:002012-11-06T13:26:08.497-08:00Election Fraud is Rampant, and It's Not What You Think<div class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLQip-jiURn_jEInhd9pc4vH5erKh35ICCz8juzX0IjiN5Q2X4d0FZHA1dKbPEtEPPh9By-yVWCfOwgnMYtZOQ04JgPab11Jak0z-Epx4wCxuJZcb20l3heiibb_pK75vzT4RmA3teAuO/s1600/Voter+Fraud.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLQip-jiURn_jEInhd9pc4vH5erKh35ICCz8juzX0IjiN5Q2X4d0FZHA1dKbPEtEPPh9By-yVWCfOwgnMYtZOQ04JgPab11Jak0z-Epx4wCxuJZcb20l3heiibb_pK75vzT4RmA3teAuO/s1600/Voter+Fraud.png" /></a></div>
<br />
Republicans have been screaming about voter fraud and have been using this almost-nonexistent crime to systematically disenfranchise millions of registered voters </div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
They'd like you to think (and many people do think) in-person voter fraud is rampant. And yet fraud by voters is not only rare, it's exceedingly rare.</div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
In this and following posts, I'll talk about four types of election fraud: in-person voter fraud, petition fraud, irregularities at the polling place, and voter repression; that is, systematic attempts to disenfranchise legitimate voters and prevent registered voters from voting.</div>
<br />
<b>In-Person Voter Fraud</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
In-person voter fraud occurs when a voter intentionally casts a fraudulent vote in an election-- by voting twice, by voting in more than one location, or by impersonation another voter, alive or dead.<br />
<br />
I'll hit you with some numbers in a moment, but first, when voter fraud does occur, it's typically something like this:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Last year, the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office received a report of voter fraud from the local board of elections. A man had voted twice: once with an absentee ballot and again on Election Day.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Further investigation revealed the man was elderly and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and he simply forgot about his first vote. Richland County First Assistant Prosecutor Brent Robinson said it would have been illogical and nearly impossible to prosecute the man for violating Ohio’s law against voting twice.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Most allegations of double voting in Ohio end in a similar way. Local prosecutors said they rarely convict offenders of trying to rig elections.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>“It’s not that it never happens, but proven instances are quite rare,” said Daniel Tokaji, an election law professor at Ohio State University.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Balmert, 2012</blockquote>
There are lots of reports like this one-- just Google "voter fraud."<br />
<br />
So, is in-person voter fraud a problem?<br />
<br />
Here's what the Brennan Center for Justice has to say:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>* Fraud by individual voters is both irrational and extremely rare.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> * Many vivid anecdotes of purported voter fraud have been proven false or do not demonstrate fraud.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> * Voter fraud is often conflated with other forms of election misconduct.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> * Raising the unsubstantiated specter of mass voter fraud suits a particular policy agenda.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> * Claims of voter fraud should be carefully tested before they become the basis for action.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Efforts to <a href="http://brennan.3cdn.net/45b89e6d14859b0f8e_i2m6bhcv9.pdf">measure</a> the extent of voter fraud by compiling criminal cases have indicated that the problem isn’t particularly widespread. One <a href="http://votingrights.news21.com/interactive/election-fraud-database/">study</a> last month, conducted by a group of journalism students through a project called News21, found 2,068 cases of alleged voter fraud in the U.S. since 2000, including 10 cases of voter impersonation</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Blalik, 2012</blockquote>
The most extensive study of in-person voter fraud in the United States was conducted by News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>To get the data, News21 reporters sent records requests to elections officers in all 50 states seeking every case of fraudulent elections activity, including registration fraud, absentee ballot fraud, voter impersonation fraud and casting an ineligible vote. News21 said it received no useful responses from several states. With some states, including Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota, the cases included in the database came from a survey of alleged election fraud conducted by the Republican National Lawyers Association. And in some states, some but not all local jurisdictions responded, and some responses were missing important details about each case. Despite those issues, News21 defends its work as "substantially complete" as the largest collection of election fraud cases gathered by anyone in the country.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Carson, 2012</blockquote>
<br />
News21 found 2068 cases of alleged election fraud in the United States between 2000 and 2112. That's <i>election </i>fraud, now, not voter fraud. Just under 31% of reported cases were suspected voter fraud-- that's 67 cases in 13 years or five cases per year. Most of those 67 cases were due to confusion, as with the Ohio man with Alzheimer's Syndrome described above.<br />
<br />
In short, in-person voter fraud, while certain wrong, and while it should certainly be prosecuted when it occurs, is not much worth worrying about.<br />
<br />
The right-wing nonprofit <a href="http://www.truethevote.org/" target="_blank">True the Vote</a> is scrambling to find cases of voter fraud, but their case is built primarily on the twin pillars on voters registered in more than one state and deceased voters who remain on the rolls. They act as if every American who has moved to another state and registered to vote without deactivating their registration in their former state is a felon, or at least likely to become one.<br />
<br />
Citing the federal requirement that citizens must cast ballots at their permanent residences, True the vote has alerted authorities about several hundred cases of what they consider interstate voting fraud and almost certainly isn't.<br />
<br />
Certainly states are lax about removing the names of deceased voters from their records and certainly there's no bureaucratic mechanism for tracking people who move from state to state, but that doesn't correspond to widespread voter fraud. Conservative group Election Integrity Maryland, after an review of % of Maryland records, found (unsurprisingly) some 1500 deceased people still on the rolls and just under 700 duplicate registrations-- most of people who had moved out of state. They discovered two people who became registered after they died-- probably because their paperwork was processed after their deaths; neither of them voted. Two dead voters showed up to cast ballots (unless the zombie apocalypse is upon us, this was certainly fraudulent), and one elderly woman had voted twice.<br />
<br />
So yes, in-person voter fraud happens, and yes, it should be dealt with, but it's no cause for hysteria and it's certainly no cause for disenfranchizing legitimate voters-- both of which have occurred and are occurring.<br />
<br />
Bottom Line-- in person voter fraud is not the widespread menace Republican fearmongers would have the populace believe.<br />
<br />
<b><i>S</i>ources</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Balmert, Jessie.</b> (2012, 4 November). Voter fraud: Prosecution of double voting rare. <i>Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune. </i>Read it <a href="http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20121104/NEWS03/311040010/Voter-fraud-Prosecution-double-voting-rare?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Blalik, Carl. </b>(2012, 1 September). Counting voter fraud. <i>Wall Street Journal. </i>Read it <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/counting-voter-fraud-1165/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Carson, Corbit.</b> (2012, 12 August). Exhaustive database of voter fraud cases turns up scant evidence that it happens. News21. Read it <a href="http://votingrights.news21.com/article/election-fraud-explainer/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Gazanijan, Glynis. </b>(2012, 30 September). Dead people voted and registered to vote, watchdog group finds; hundreds of deceased still on rolls. MarylandReporter.com. Read it<a href="http://marylandreporter.com/2012/09/30/dead-people-voted-and-registered-to-vote-watchdog-group-finds-hundreds-of-deceased-still-on-the-rolls/" target="_blank"> here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Policy brief on the truth about voter fraud.</b> Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Read it <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/policy_brief_on_the_truth_about_voter_fraud/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>PolitFact Georgia.</b> In-person voter fraud "a very rare phenomenon." Read it <a href="http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2012/sep/19/naacp/-person-voter-fraud-very-rare-phenomenon/" target="_blank">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-38332904342826565352012-11-05T03:36:00.000-08:002012-11-05T03:36:51.390-08:00Your Rights as a Voter are Rapidly DisappearingOn this eve of a national Presidential election, I'd like to say please vote. Vote your conscience, but please vote.<br />
<br />
Our rights as American voters is under attack. Many of us have been threatened, intimidated, removed without cause from registration rolls, forced to show identification despite our already having done so when we registered, and the hours during which we vote have come under attack. If we work for certain right-wing-managed companies, we are told how to vote. And if we do manage to vote, we are surrounded at the polls by "observers" who do far more than observe. We vote on electronic voting machines that don't provide paper records and were made by companies with extreme partisan leanings and which may well be selectively counting ballots. Ballot workers are often unabashedly partisan.<br />
<br />
A number of states have been taking and will continue to take extreme measures to prevent you from voting. The purported cause is widespread voter fraud-- which absolutely is not happening. In-person voter fraud is almost nonexistent.<br />
<br />
I'll be writing about all this over the next couple of weeks.<br />
<br />Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-5032612263442197332012-11-04T13:03:00.001-08:002012-11-04T13:03:02.116-08:00Why Are There No Democrats in This Blog?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmE0J4UaE5SSbgDynmZE_DLFyKG5JUkcd0_Uz_w2YM4e8ZLIfMm1NOq22CFTsMw1miufInbIvm22ZYpiiFb5fkxAbvIr4TCTe7FBV9PPPOelhUyyyk68jw1kl_PtP5BRyRtLw5knq3_oek/s1600/Lies+and+Truth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmE0J4UaE5SSbgDynmZE_DLFyKG5JUkcd0_Uz_w2YM4e8ZLIfMm1NOq22CFTsMw1miufInbIvm22ZYpiiFb5fkxAbvIr4TCTe7FBV9PPPOelhUyyyk68jw1kl_PtP5BRyRtLw5knq3_oek/s640/Lies+and+Truth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The reason so many Republicans are featured in this blog has nothing to do with my politics. While my politics might color what I have to say about them, inclusion here has everything to do with how badly a politicians behaves-- and for a long time now Republicans have been trying to outcompete one another in bad behavior.<br />
<br />
Be it ridiculous, racist, sexist, anti-science, anti-intellectual, anti-immigrant, anti-government, or just anti to be anti, this blog has been a parade of Republicans-- and deservedly so. And yet I've been able to cover so very little of this bad behavior!<br />
<br />
I'm aware of some misbehavior on the part of Democrats, but it's just not been bad enough to see here-- not with we're in the midst of such a circus of buffoonery (although if Anthony Weiner's private part flashing had occurred during my watch I would have taken a poke at him if only because of his last name).<br />
<br />
I recently had some correspondence with an old acquaintance. He was on about how bad a president Obama had been, accusing him of selling out Israel (big for him because of his Christian fate), ass-kissing and apologizing to other nations, not having fixed the economy, running up the national bedt, and being soft on terrorism, and being a deceitful liar.<br />
<br />
I asked him to provide examples about the lying, and the best he could come up was that Obama was running again despite promising not to unless he brought the unemployment rate below 7%.<br />
<br />
What??<br />
<br />
Just because Romney Romney says something doesn't mean it's true. In fact, if Romney says it, it's assuredly not true!<br />
<br />
And Romney didn't say it. What he said in his 47% speech was that Obama had promised unemployment wouldn't exceed 8%-- which it certainly.<br />
<br />
And Obama said no such thing.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Romney told donors he would win over waving voters by reminding them that Obama said "he'd keep employment below 8 percent."</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Obama didn't say that. Rather, his Council of Economic Adversers predicted that the stimulus would hold it to that level. Their report included heavy disclaimers that the projections had "significant margins of errors" and a high degree of uncertainty due to a recession that is "unusual both in its fundamental causes and its severity."</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Politifact, 2012</blockquote>
And what if he had? How could that possibly make him duplicitious compared to the constellation of falsehoods that has come out of Mitt Romney's mouth during this campaign (and probably throughout his entire life)?<br />
<br />
The reason it's impolitic to talk about religion and politics is that people tend to operate on the basis of their beliefs and to ignore facts. My friend will undoubtedly vote for Romney, but he should admit to himself it's on the basis of unfounded allegations about Obama and untested testimonials to Romney's character, history, and performance.<br />
<br />
Me, I'll continue to trust, but verify.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<br />
<b>Romney Says President Obama promised "he'd keep unemployment below 8%" if the stimulus passed. <i>PolitiFact</i>. </b>Read it <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/sep/18/mitt-romney/romney-repeats-claim-obama-promised-unemployment-w/" target="_blank">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-51413146312697599042012-11-03T07:58:00.003-07:002012-11-03T08:04:26.836-07:00Major Newspapers, Politicians, Endorse Obama<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sy-ZVFCztqI" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>General Colin Powell Endorses Obama for President, Uncomfortable with Romney</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_QQScdE1-WI" width="560"></iframe></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Obama for President</b></div>
<br />
Read Bloomberg's endorsement <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/a-vote-for-a-president-to-lead-on-climate-change.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Colin Powell. Michael Bloomberg. The editors at The Economist magazine. What do all these three have in common? They are all harbour Republican sympathies, yet they are all endorsing Barack Obama for a second term.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>For Mitt Romney these are dangerously sensible people to be throwing their lot in with Mr Obama, and he doesn’t have anyone on the other side to match them with. The Economist endorsement (courageous, given their readership) is also a terrible sign for Mitt. If the magazine of free-markets and the ‘one per cent’ can’t bring themselves to hold their noses and endorse Mr Romney, who can?</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Stuttaford, 2012 </blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
<i>New York Times</i> endorses Obama for second term: Read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/opinion/24fri1.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>Washington Post</i> endorses Obama for second term: Read<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/25/washington-post-editorial-board-endorses-obama/" target="_blank"> here</a>.<br />
<br />
Other key newspaper endorsements for Obama include the <i>Tampa Bay Times</i>, the <i>Denver Post</i>, the <i>Cleveland Plain Dealer</i> and the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i>. See <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/2012_newspaper_endorsements.php" target="_blank">here </a>for a<i> </i>list of newspaper endorsements for both candidates.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b> Source</b><br />
<br />
<b> Stuttaford, Andrew.</b> (2012, 2 November). Powell, Bloomberg, & <i>The Economist</i> (endorse Obama). <i>National Review Online</i>. Read <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/332356/powell-bloombedrg-economist-andrew-stuttaford#">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-60529221211483705582012-11-02T11:12:00.002-07:002012-11-02T11:12:32.702-07:00Mitt Makes Millions In Detroit Bailout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZApfXT4-iJsOMwEZf6SW9FAhv6Xoml7nVqMe558MgnbC6XNAuB-8iq1FlIOTUzWQ4utHy_KBDBLOIRKfeOt7TCPOm6ABn8jNo8uuAC95CYBybcQn99EZmYbWxq7rDCPvzGy_lA40aJy6/s1600/I+Would+Do+Nothing+to+Hurt+the+US+Auto+Industry.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZApfXT4-iJsOMwEZf6SW9FAhv6Xoml7nVqMe558MgnbC6XNAuB-8iq1FlIOTUzWQ4utHy_KBDBLOIRKfeOt7TCPOm6ABn8jNo8uuAC95CYBybcQn99EZmYbWxq7rDCPvzGy_lA40aJy6/s640/I+Would+Do+Nothing+to+Hurt+the+US+Auto+Industry.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The November 5th issue of <i>The Nation</i> features an article by Greg Palast titled "Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza."<br />
<br />
Palast points out that Romney has to date successfully concealed the fact that he and his wife Ann made at least $15.3 million on the offshoring of GM parts manufacturer Delphi Automotive-- and more than four billion dollars for his friends and fellow investors.<br />
<br />
Delphi, an American operation, was closed by hedge funds which had gained control and shipped entirely offseas. There is no more Delphi Automotive in the United States of America.<br />
<br />
Delphi Automotive was once part of General Motors. It was spun off in 1999 as a separate entity and continued to provide GM with critical parts. Without Delphi, General Motors could build no cars.<br />
<br />
Delphi did not do well on its own, and in 2005 declared bankruptcy. Vulture hedge funds, led by Silver Point Capital, began buying Delphi's debt for pennies on the dollar. Paul Singer of Elliott Management was one of the flock. Another was John Paulson & Co.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It all starts with Delphi Automotive, a former General Motors subsidiary whose auto parts remain essential to GM’s production lines. No bailout of GM—or Chrysler, for that matter—could have been successful without saving Delphi. So, in addition to making massive loans to automakers in 2009, the federal government sent, directly or indirectly, more than $12.9 billion to Delphi—and to the hedge funds that had gained control over it.<br />One of the hedge funds profiting from that bailout— $1.28 billion so far—is Elliott Management, directed by Paul Singer. According to The Wall Street Journal, Singer has given more to support GOP candidates—$2.3 million—than anyone else on Wall Street this election season. His personal giving is matched by that of his colleagues at Elliott; collectively, they have donated $3.4 million to help elect Republicans this season, while giving only $1,650 to Democrats. And Singer is influential with the GOP presidential candidate; he’s not only an informal adviser but, according to the Journal, his support was critical in helping push Representative Paul Ryan onto the ticket.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Singer, whom Fortune magazine calls a “passionate defender of the 1%,” has carved out a specialty investing in distressed firms and distressed nations, which he does by buying up their debt for pennies on the dollar and then demanding payment in full. This so-called “vulture investor” received $58 million on Peruvian debt that he snapped up for $11.4 million, and $90 million on Congolese debt that he bought for a mere $20 million. In the process, he’s built one of the largest private equity firms in the nation, and over decades he’s racked up an unusually high average return on investments of 14 percent.</i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i>Other GOP presidential hopefuls chased Singer’s endorsement, but Mitt chased Singer with his own checkbook, investing at least $1 million with Elliott through Ann Romney’s blind trust (it could be far more, but the Romneys have declined to disclose exactly how much). Along the way, Singer gained a reputation, according to Fortune, “for strong-arming his way to profit.” That is certainly what happened at Delphi.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Palast</blockquote>
Knowing the importance of keeping Delphi operational, General Motors and the U.S. Treasury proposed a bailout deal they had hammered out with the help of the United Auto Workers union. Knowing this, the hedge funds accelerated their purchases of Delphi debt, deliberately torpedoing the GM/government deal.<br />
<br />
In June 2009 the hedge funds used their combined bonds to buy enough Delphi stock to control the company. Two years later they took Delphi public, with stock opening at $22 per share, a profit of 3000%-- and that was before the stock began to rise in price. Thanks to U.S. taxpayers ( for the U.S. had loaned the troubled Delphi $12.9 billion), Elliott Management's investors made $904 million, Third Point $390 million, and Silver Point $890 million. and Paulson (which has sold only half it's stock) $2.6 <i>billion. </i>And the Romneys? They made millions.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Altogether, in direct and indirect payouts, the government padded these investors’ profits handsomely. The Treasury allowed GM to give Delphi at least $2.8 billion of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to keep Delphi in business. GM also forgave $2.5 billion in debt owed to it by Delphi, and $2 billion due from Singer and company upon Delphi’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The money GM forgave was effectively owed to the Treasury, which had by then become the majority owner of GM as a result of the bailout. Then there was the big one: the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation took over paying all of Delphi’s retiree pensions. The cost to the taxpayer: $5.6 billion. The bottom line: the hedge funds’ paydays were made possible by a generous donation of $12.9 billion from US taxpayers.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Palast</blockquote>
The hedge fund controllers of Dephi then held GM and Chrysler hostage, threatening to withhold critical components unless they were paid $350 million immediate ("Or we'll shut you down").<br />
<br />
Without the Delphi parts, the auto bailout would have utterly failed. GM and Chrysler had no choice but to comply.<br />
<br />
Now in control, the hedge funds slashed benefits for workers, stripping them of their pensions. Retirees were stripped of their health fund, saving the hedge funds only $70 million, but devastating millions of retired workers; the latter happened in February, 2009, before the hedge funds gained control, but apparently upon their assistance).<br />
<br />
Then the hedge funds fired 25,000 American workers and shipped the entire Delphi operation overseas to China. Today they brag:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Third Point’s Daniel Loeb, whose net worth of $1.3 billion owes much to his share in the Delphi windfall, told his fund’s backers this past July that Delphi remains an excellent investment because it has “virtually no North American unionized labor” and, thanks to US taxpayers, “significantly smaller pension liabilities than almost all of its peers.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
-- Palast</blockquote>
Having made billions of dollars by conniving against American business and the American people, there was only one thing left to do beside count their money-- blame Barack Obama. And that's just what they did.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But there was still a bit of unfinished business: President Obama needed to be blamed for the pension disaster. In a television ad airing in swing states since September, one retired Delphi manager says, “The Obama administration decided to terminate my pension, and I took a 40 percent reduction in my pension.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Another retiree, Mary Miller, says, “I really struggle to pay for the basics…. I would ask President Obama why I had no rights, and he had all the rights to take my pension away—and never ever look back and say, ‘Not only did I take it from Mary Miller, I took it from 20,000 other people.’”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>These people are real. But it’s clear that these former workers, now struggling to scrape by, were hardly in the position to put together $7 million in ad buys to publicize their plight. The ads were paid for by Let Freedom Ring, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization partially funded by Jack Templeton Jr., a billionaire evangelical whose foundation has sponsored lectures at the Manhattan Institute (the anti-union think tank whose board of directors includes not only Singer but Loeb). The ads also conveniently leave out the fact that the law sets specific ceilings on what the PBGC is allowed to pay retirees—regardless of what they were originally owed.</i></blockquote>
-- Palast<br />
<br />
I'm infuriated by that those bastards have done-- they should be in prison, in my book-- and aghast that this has until now gone unreported by the media. As Palast says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>So, where is the New York "Paper of Record?" Or, for that matter, MSNBC?<br />Bill Press explained it to me when I was on his show this morning: "Sorry, Greg. There's no more investigative reporting in America. No reporters, just repeaters."<br />That's why I fear Jimmy Carter's statement that, "The American people deserve a president as good as they are." Now I'm afraid that's exactly what we'll get.</i></blockquote>
I'll soon talk more about Mitt and Ann Romney's involvement in all this.<br />
<br />
Greg Palast's book <i>Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Step</i>s is free with a donation of $35 to the nonprofit <a href="https://members.truth-out.org/bgift98-gift/choose-type-donation" target="_blank">Truthout</a> and at booksellers.<br /><br />
<b>Sources</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Palast, Greg.</b> (2012, 23 October). Romney & Co. shopped every single Delphi UAW job to China. Huffington Post. Read it <a href="http://truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/12273-romney-company-shipped-every-single-delphi-uaw-job-to-china" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Palast, Greg.</b> (2012, 5 November. Mitt Romney's bailout bonanza. <i>The Nation. </i>Read it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/bain-capital-tony-soprano_n_1542249.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-80344579790407896732012-11-02T09:48:00.000-07:002012-11-02T09:48:55.356-07:00US Unemployment Rate Under Clinton, Bush, Obama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2J1Vim1ihM_P8vOIabnIsq_jh2xWEz0KWjTXr_lZghAV8mIE5BKp0TVIHXlmLVvn3XZ-3SdTtToc9r3MlH1dhaceLgI9Cdk6RC5v4gbHE5sYfVEX6K4Zmoo2_LmxBgWC2xjXGnCjwilE/s1600/US+Unemployment+Rate+Under+Clinton,+Bush,+Obama.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2J1Vim1ihM_P8vOIabnIsq_jh2xWEz0KWjTXr_lZghAV8mIE5BKp0TVIHXlmLVvn3XZ-3SdTtToc9r3MlH1dhaceLgI9Cdk6RC5v4gbHE5sYfVEX6K4Zmoo2_LmxBgWC2xjXGnCjwilE/s640/US+Unemployment+Rate+Under+Clinton,+Bush,+Obama.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's an interesting chart of the country's unemploymenet rate since 1993. Notice any trends?<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #bec3c6; font-family: Verdana, 'BitStream vera Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Barack Obama or Mitt Romney: Who Will Win The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election?</span><span style="background-color: #bec3c6; font-family: Verdana, 'BitStream vera Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Read more at <a href="http://marketdailynews.com/2012/11/01/barack-obama-or-mitt-romney-who-will-win-the-2012-u-s-presidential-election/#Zlll8hOriuVUekVv.99" style="color: #003399; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://marketdailynews.com/2012/11/01/barack-obama-or-mitt-romney-who-will-win-the-2012-u-s-presidential-election/#Zlll8hOriuVUekVv.99</a> </span>Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-18570774678667368532012-11-02T09:42:00.002-07:002012-11-02T09:47:37.419-07:00Bust-Out!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/reiq4lEvnEw" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Bust-out. Here's how it works if you're Tony Soprano.<br />
<br />
One of your friends owns a sporting goods store. He's done well with the business but has had a lot of expenses lately-- sending kids to college, this and that. And he has a gambling problem-- a bad one. He gets in deeper and deeper and finally he comes to you for help. He needs $50,000 to pay the bookie so his legs won't get broken.<br />
<br />
Before you hand him the money you put him on notice-- he is a friend after all-- telling him if he takes the money whatever ensues will be business. He of course takes the money.<br />
<br />
You put Paulie in charge. Before your friend knows it Paulie is ordering expensive sporting goods you can't hope to sell-- who can get rid of so many Igloo Coolers?-- and things not even remotely related to sporting goods, like Cutty Sark.<br />
<br />
The bills pile up and pile up-- as Tony and his pals sell off everything, including the shelves, until finally the utility companies turn off the lights and the bank seizes your building. You're left with no business and a huge debt which only you are responsible for. Meanwhile, Tony and his crew are casting about, looking for a new victim.<br />
<br />
That's <i>exactly </i>what Bain Capital did-- bust-outs-- but on a much higher level and with no armed goons.<br />
<br />
And that's why Mitt isn't a businessman-- he's an anti-businessman. He dismantled American companies, sent American jobs overseas, and left American workers without jobs, without pensions, and without hope.<br />
<br />
Mitt should have gone to prison for that. Unfortunately, it's not illegal (merely immoral), and now he gets to run for President.<br />
<br />
Read more <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/bain-capital-tony-soprano_n_1542249.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997051850781059840.post-23419718249192604232012-11-01T20:24:00.001-07:002012-11-01T20:24:08.660-07:00Romney's SecrecyClick <a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/109464/romneys-secrecy-did-he-get-away-it#" target="_blank">here </a>for Alex MacGilli's <i>New Republic</i> well-documented and thought-provoking discussion of Mitt Romney's secrecy in regard to his personal and campaign finances.Dallas Dennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13668484079168778973noreply@blogger.com0