I hate to take anyone away from the salacious and saucy details of the recent Secret Service Scandal (hookers! Columbia!), but there are some under-reported stories out there that actually could impact our lives. Wouldn't it be nice if the media actually did that sort of thing--reporting, holding folks accountable, breaking stories, etc--instead of trying to out-Nancy Grace their competitors?
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Why isn't anyone talking about the voter suppression efforts of numerous, typically conservative states, incl my ol' Ohio? The line that gets thrown around a lot is that it's a solution in search of a problem. In fact, the last case of someone being convicted of voter fraud that I heard about was a Republican in Indiana who was in charge of that sort of thing as Secretary of State. I can track this down if you like, but I think you can count on two hands the number of voter fraud cases that actually resulted in a conviction over the last decade. For the whole country. Yeah, that's it. Not what you heard, huh . . . ?
What's the big deal, right? Well, if you happen to be elderly, poor, a minority, a college student, or a combination thereof, you are disproportionally impacted by this kind of legislation. Some of the numbers I've seen put the estimates in the hundreds of thousands (I've seen that Tennessee and South Carolina would be hit especially hard b/c of their demographics) that could be disenfranchised by new requirements (remember, not everyone has a life like yours). My grandmother always voted yet never had a drivers license. If the proposed legislation is enacted, people like my grandmother wouldn't be able to vote unless they get a state-issued ID. Again, no big deal, right? So, if you're somebody like my grandmother she has to arrange for a ride, use her walker, pay a fee, etc, etc. just to get this new requirement that again doesn't really solve any real problem (couldn't you have a fake ID? I've heard they do that sort of thing on college campuses). How many people would just say "screw it" and stay home? And that's the point of the legislation--getting people who typically vote for Democrats to stay at home.
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gerrymandering? Whether it's Democrats or Republicans, haven't we had enough of this? Take a look at the new Congressional map of Ohio--if you didn't know any better, you would think it was a drunken prank (those of you in Athens--I know I'm preaching to the choir).
http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2011/12/ohio_congressional_district_ma.html
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If you read Glenn Greenwald (and you should if you don't--he's not a comfortable read nor is he a cheerleader for either party, but he's one of the few in the media who writes on the topics we all try to ignore), you know about the use of drones by the US government in its War on Terror.
At first glance, you might like the idea of drones helping in our "fight"--no US soldiers are put at risk by flying these weapons; he or she can control the drones from the safety of distance. You should know, however, that our government (who gets flack requiring employers to provide birth control for its employees) now has a policy that allows for the drones to attack suspected terrorists--even if they can't identify the "suspects" specifically. In other words, we're just kind of guessing. Numerous reports detail the women and children who are being killed in these attacks. The number of Al Qaeda operatives in many areas leave one to wonder if the risk of inflaming anti-American sentiment is worth the cost.
Even more disturbing is the tactic of the drones making an attack, waiting 30 min. or so and returning to the scene to bomb those who are first-responders, which, of course, violates the Geneva Convention (and I didn't even mention the reports of the drones attacking funerals). Ugly stuff--yet no one is really pushing the administration on this (Jake Trapper from ABC might be the exception).
* * * * *
If you've read a bit of what I've posted, you know I don't hide my liberal perspective. But I would offer that I try to call attention to flaws w/in the system, in particular money in politics and the integrity of politicians as a group (it's not a coincidence that Congress's approval rating is 9%, below that of Fidel Castro and others); we know that most politicians do what is best for them and their wallets. And many politicians sometimes just plain and simple lie (I know, I know--water is wet).
Having established this pre-amble, pay attention to Mitt Romney as we move into the general election. Rachel Maddow has done a nice job of tracking Mitt's flips, but I haven't heard a peep from other media. I've never seen a politician so readily flip his positions or to say something that is so easily demonstrated to be false (if Rick Santorum had stayed in the race, I might not be able to say that). Use whatever source you like, but the April 18 Rachel Maddow Show <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/> has provided a time capsule of sorts for Romney's policy positions--it'll be revealing, I think, to watch Romney now try to distance himself from his hard right run in the Republican Primary. Not to get all soap-boxy and all, but shouldn't we expect our politicians to at least tell the truth and to set the record straight when they screw up--or, am I just too naive . . .
* * * * *
it's April 20, 2012 . . . has anyone gone to jail yet for the Wall Street collapse of 2008? The seeds of the Occupy Movement are here, yet the media generally hasn't pushed the current Administration on their head in the sand approach to holding anyone accountable for the thievery (same way they handled "enhanced interrogation" that went on under Pres. Bush). I guess when Timmy Geithner and Larry Summers are two of your key advisers, then it gets a little awkward holding other insiders accountable (I'm thinking of the line in Apocalypse Now--"it's like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500").
* * * * *
RIP Levon Helm and Dick Clark (my friend Mark calls "The Weight" the perfect song--I agree). & here is a killer version from Scorcese's The Last Waltz, which many consider to be the best concert film ever made (btw, Levon is the drummer).
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2024671/the_weight_the_staples_singers_the_band_the_last_waltz/
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I'll be traveling Friday and Saturday; I'll try to post when I can . . .
* * * * *
Why isn't anyone talking about the voter suppression efforts of numerous, typically conservative states, incl my ol' Ohio? The line that gets thrown around a lot is that it's a solution in search of a problem. In fact, the last case of someone being convicted of voter fraud that I heard about was a Republican in Indiana who was in charge of that sort of thing as Secretary of State. I can track this down if you like, but I think you can count on two hands the number of voter fraud cases that actually resulted in a conviction over the last decade. For the whole country. Yeah, that's it. Not what you heard, huh . . . ?
What's the big deal, right? Well, if you happen to be elderly, poor, a minority, a college student, or a combination thereof, you are disproportionally impacted by this kind of legislation. Some of the numbers I've seen put the estimates in the hundreds of thousands (I've seen that Tennessee and South Carolina would be hit especially hard b/c of their demographics) that could be disenfranchised by new requirements (remember, not everyone has a life like yours). My grandmother always voted yet never had a drivers license. If the proposed legislation is enacted, people like my grandmother wouldn't be able to vote unless they get a state-issued ID. Again, no big deal, right? So, if you're somebody like my grandmother she has to arrange for a ride, use her walker, pay a fee, etc, etc. just to get this new requirement that again doesn't really solve any real problem (couldn't you have a fake ID? I've heard they do that sort of thing on college campuses). How many people would just say "screw it" and stay home? And that's the point of the legislation--getting people who typically vote for Democrats to stay at home.
* * * * *
gerrymandering? Whether it's Democrats or Republicans, haven't we had enough of this? Take a look at the new Congressional map of Ohio--if you didn't know any better, you would think it was a drunken prank (those of you in Athens--I know I'm preaching to the choir).
http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2011/12/ohio_congressional_district_ma.html
* * * * *
If you read Glenn Greenwald (and you should if you don't--he's not a comfortable read nor is he a cheerleader for either party, but he's one of the few in the media who writes on the topics we all try to ignore), you know about the use of drones by the US government in its War on Terror.
At first glance, you might like the idea of drones helping in our "fight"--no US soldiers are put at risk by flying these weapons; he or she can control the drones from the safety of distance. You should know, however, that our government (who gets flack requiring employers to provide birth control for its employees) now has a policy that allows for the drones to attack suspected terrorists--even if they can't identify the "suspects" specifically. In other words, we're just kind of guessing. Numerous reports detail the women and children who are being killed in these attacks. The number of Al Qaeda operatives in many areas leave one to wonder if the risk of inflaming anti-American sentiment is worth the cost.
Even more disturbing is the tactic of the drones making an attack, waiting 30 min. or so and returning to the scene to bomb those who are first-responders, which, of course, violates the Geneva Convention (and I didn't even mention the reports of the drones attacking funerals). Ugly stuff--yet no one is really pushing the administration on this (Jake Trapper from ABC might be the exception).
* * * * *
If you've read a bit of what I've posted, you know I don't hide my liberal perspective. But I would offer that I try to call attention to flaws w/in the system, in particular money in politics and the integrity of politicians as a group (it's not a coincidence that Congress's approval rating is 9%, below that of Fidel Castro and others); we know that most politicians do what is best for them and their wallets. And many politicians sometimes just plain and simple lie (I know, I know--water is wet).
Having established this pre-amble, pay attention to Mitt Romney as we move into the general election. Rachel Maddow has done a nice job of tracking Mitt's flips, but I haven't heard a peep from other media. I've never seen a politician so readily flip his positions or to say something that is so easily demonstrated to be false (if Rick Santorum had stayed in the race, I might not be able to say that). Use whatever source you like, but the April 18 Rachel Maddow Show <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/> has provided a time capsule of sorts for Romney's policy positions--it'll be revealing, I think, to watch Romney now try to distance himself from his hard right run in the Republican Primary. Not to get all soap-boxy and all, but shouldn't we expect our politicians to at least tell the truth and to set the record straight when they screw up--or, am I just too naive . . .
* * * * *
it's April 20, 2012 . . . has anyone gone to jail yet for the Wall Street collapse of 2008? The seeds of the Occupy Movement are here, yet the media generally hasn't pushed the current Administration on their head in the sand approach to holding anyone accountable for the thievery (same way they handled "enhanced interrogation" that went on under Pres. Bush). I guess when Timmy Geithner and Larry Summers are two of your key advisers, then it gets a little awkward holding other insiders accountable (I'm thinking of the line in Apocalypse Now--"it's like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500").
* * * * *
RIP Levon Helm and Dick Clark (my friend Mark calls "The Weight" the perfect song--I agree). & here is a killer version from Scorcese's The Last Waltz, which many consider to be the best concert film ever made (btw, Levon is the drummer).
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2024671/the_weight_the_staples_singers_the_band_the_last_waltz/
* * * * *
I'll be traveling Friday and Saturday; I'll try to post when I can . . .
Wow, a lot going on in this post.
ReplyDeleteMy wife needed to show her ID to get ink cartridges at OfficeMax. You can be required to show ID to see certain movies. What's the big deal? A white guy went in and got Eric Holder's ballot to vote in the DC primary. There's tons of examples of people going in and getting ballots for Tim Tebow and Tom Brady. If we lose confidence in the voting system, we lose everything.
Amen on the drones. Why is it they are planning on flying 30,000 drones over the US? And while we're at it, why does the Dept of Homeland Security need 450 million rounds of hollow tip bulletts. Oh never mind, tell me more about the hookers!
I stand by my assertion that voter ID restrictions are intended to disenfranchise voters, particularly those who tend to vote democratically--folks need to make a reflexive move and look at the situation through another's perspective (I'm reminded of reactions after Hurricane Katrina--why don't those people just leave?--easy for those of us who have credit cards, a vehicle, and places to go; many of those impacted in New Orleans didn't have those luxuries.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, I agree about losing faith in the voting system--but we still have Diebold machines; and over 90% of candidates who raise more money, win that election (doesn't feel like democracy, more like plutocracy).
It's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist--let folks show some form of ID or some documentation that proves who they are (utility bill); that seems reasonable. The numbers are in the hundreds of thousands of potential disenfranchised voters--how can that be good for democracy? Fewer people voting does not enhance reality or perception of democracy in this country.
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Agreed--the stockpiling of ammo does seem ominous (bullet-proof checkpoints as well?). hmmm . . . maybe they're gonna give us less bread and circuses . . .