Today is primary election day, so if you have not already voted, please, please do so today. But if you are an absentee voter who does not plan to mail in your ballot, or if you are a polling place voter with no intention of going to the polls, well then… fuck you. People who choose not to exercise their right to vote have absolutely no right to complain about the shitty government elected by those of us who do.
I have decided not to make any primary endorsements or predictions, mostly out of laziness. But I’ll make an exception for the one statewide election today for which the primary is the general — the race between state Supreme Court Justice Gerry Alexander and handpicked BIAW candidate John Groen.
I cannot urge you strongly enough to cast your ballot for Justice Alexander. But quite frankly, I fear it is hopeless. In fact, I fear for the independence of our entire judiciary.
Here’s what it comes down to: if you are perfectly comfortable having our courts sold to the highest bidder (ie wealthy corporate interests) then by all means vote for Groen, or don’t vote at all. Because whatever you think of his ideology (and it’s awful,) that’s what Groen’s victory will represent.
There is a reason why the BIAW and other right-wing groups have spent $2 million electing Groen — that’s the only way an extremist like him could ever get elected. If he was a well qualified centrist candidate, a couple hundred thousand dollars might have done the trick. But if you want a justice who is absolutely guaranteed to rule in your favor no matter what the issue or case, well, it costs a lot of money.
In fact it costs so much money that unless we reform campaign finance, or change the way we select judges, pretty soon our entire court system will be dominated by judges beholden to or ideologically aligned with wealthy corporate interests. What the BIAW cannot achieve via the legislature or the initiative process they will soon achieve through the courts… you know, like totally dismantling our state’s growth management laws.
And there is absolutely nothing we can do about it, because quite frankly we will never be able to come close to matching the right, dollar for dollar. There simply are no special interests who stand to make huge sums of money electing liberal or centrists judges, and so organizations like the BIAW will continue to outspend us four, five… ten to one. Whatever it takes, as long as they can be guaranteed a return on their investment, they can come up with the money. If it’s worth two million dollars it’s worth three, and if it’s worth three it’s worth four or five. That’s where we’re headed.
And once they’ve bought a comfortable majority on the state Supreme Court they’ll move on to the Appeals and Superior Courts. How can I be so sure? Because that’s what has happened in Texas and other states.
But if that’s okay with you, then don’t bother voting.
The election of judges is the quickest way to insure that justice is never served. The combination of buying seats and promoting people to high courts who have no judicial experience is a travesty. We would never even know John Groen’s name if appointments to the bench were still the hallmark of our sytem. Yes, appointments have their downsides as well : corruption and cronyism are part of our history. But when corporations can buy the courts, we have, indeed, become fascist to the bone.
I still hold out hope that Washingtonians will use their brains at the ballot box today and re-elect Alexander, who has more reason and judicial experience in his little finger than Groen will ever have inside his over-sized empty suit.
Many generations of Americans have fought to protect your freedoms and your right to vote.
If you are one of those people, and aren’t we all, who say we support our troops, the best way you can honor their service is to vote.
Whatever your conscience dictates in the way of politics, get off your asses and vote. This is how WE THE PEOPLE (possibly the most powerful words ever strung together) shape OUR government. You know, the BY THE PEOPLE part?
But if you don’t vote, then as Goldy says, FUCK YOU and shut the hell up.
Vote early, Vote Democratic!!!
Republicans think we are weak, lets show them how strong we really are. Lets take our damn country back!
Goldy- most Republicans are supporting Alexander. Even though it has been decades since he was a partisan- since he first went on the bench- he is well-respected by most of the Republican leaders of the past three decades- Mainstream and Reaganite. He is well respected by most in the business community- and most recognize Groen for the hack that he is.
We are going to part ways in the general election on Owens-Johnson, but here is to hoping that the voters see through the mud today. The best way to beat back the tide of big money is to show it doesn’t work.
It’s an interesting circumstance that causes me to agreee with JK.
Something has to be done about the ability to buy judicial offices.
I don’t know the people concerned but as a mere observing Brit., I can’t believe how we can allow buying elections anywhere in a democratic society, but then I’m naive.
There should be a ceiling on the amount of money that can be spent on a given race, but the Supreme Court decision in the 1976 case, Buckley v. Vallejo, said that such limitations are unconstitutional, because money is speech. It’s an issue that still divides the Supreme Court, and even the late Chief Justice Rehnquist dismissed as completely ridiculous the idea that money is speech. So, it’s possible that Buckley will be overturned. If not, then the answer is to stigmatize people who come in and spend tens of millions on Senate seats, or groups that buy judges at the ballot box.
As I remember Goldie, it was the Republicans who screamed McCain-Feingold entrenches the special interests and were against it. It was the Donk who supported it in 2002. If you remember Goldie, it was Rush Limbaugh, Left Turn’s hero who went on the air denouncing it as freedom of speech abrogation. George Will decried it. William Krystol decried it. Sean Hannity Decried it. Don’t remember anyone on your side saying boo!
Fast forward to 2004. Billionaire George Soros sees loopholes in McC-F. It was your side who created the 527s of George Soros and Harold Ickies and their friends of 2004. Tom Daschle’s support of it is used by John Methune and see ya Tom Daschle. Careful what you wish for Goldie. Now when the Republicans play catch up in 2006 and Goldie cries out, “Oh Shit The Sky Is Falling! In the words of your great friend Left Turd – Go Piss in a Cup!
Interesting that the Lefty’s continue to portray BIAW as some monsterous “Corporation”.
In reality, their membership consists of over 10,000 overwhelmingly small & medium sized LOCALLY-OWNED businesses.
Men & women willing to risk capital(usually everything they have) and create living wage jobs.
Why is that so evil?
I don’t think it is.
I would prefer following the lead of BIAW and support Justices that respect Constitutional Property Rights than the Marxist/Socialist Agenda which consistently tries to erode them.
If the Left is going to demonize a Trade Association of small- and medium-sized locally-owned businesses…who do they propose replacing the with? All government jobs?
The Building Industry has fueled the State coffers, particularly the boom of the past 6 years.
Now things are rapidly slowin down.
Inventory of buildable lots in King County is at an all-time low.
What are the financial impacts to State & Local government of negatively impacting the construction industry?
Think about it honestly.
The Construction Industry has had the single biggest locally generated positive impact on our local economy.
Boeing has received many, many tax breaks.
Builders pay full boat and then some.
While you are voting consider ow your moonbatty friends in the UN always criticizes Israel but never Hamas or Hezbollah:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/S.....7913657154
Human Rights Watch on Monday criticized the new UN Human Rights Council for its one-sided attacks on Israel and disproportionate attention to the Middle East.
The New York-based human rights organization issued a statement urging the council to “expand its focus beyond the Middle East” and address other crises, such as those in Darfur and Sri Lanka.
The statement also pointed out that in the meetings that have occurred since the council was created in March, it has adopted three resolutions on “human rights abuses and violations of humanitarian law” by Israel. But, the organization noted, it “has ignored the responsibilities and roles of other parties in the Middle East, including Hizbullah and Palestinian armed groups, who have committed violations.”
It continued, “In taking a one-sided approach, the council failed in its duty to act to protect the rights of all citizens in the region.”
Goldie knows if he links Haaretz or Jerusalem Post (see link above) his Furballettes will see truth and their cranial holes will begin throbbing.
It’s day 14 and no links. Goldie is afraid of the truth!
And while you are voting remember UNIONS vote lock step with donk priorities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09.....38;emc=rss
The switch by the union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is the biggest labor boost Mr. Lamont has received since winning the Democratic primary last month.
The support of the union, which represents about 35,000 members, shows that Mr. Lamont has chipped away at enough of Mr. Lieberman’s union support to make it most likely that the state A.F.L.-C.I.O., the umbrella group of state labor organizations, will stay neutral in the Senate general election.
Both Mr. Lieberman and Mr. Lamont had lobbied the municipal union for its endorsement, speaking to the union delegates personally on Friday. News of the endorsement was reported Monday in The Hartford Courant.
Now tell that to the Ford, Chrysler, and GM UNION hacks who follow the kool-aid trail from their UNION leadership every November for what good? Northwest based moonbats have more donk supporting stickers on FOREIGN cars than domestic cars. Just sit on I-5 or 405 as you sit at the county line and view the bumper and window stickers. It’s very telling to watch a donk mouth move but see where donk spend their money. Just remember the made in America union label means NOTHING to northwest donk.
So all you good Furballette donko, please continue to vote moonbat donko.
Didn’t someone mention Goldie drives a foreign car when see at a drinking liberally event?
Didn’t someone mention Goldie drives a foreign car when seen at a drinking liberally event?
While voting remember who wants to keep you safe. It’s not the moonbats in Congress.
http://www.volpac.org/index.cf.....log_id=463
One of the most important and most effective ways that we can stop illegal immigration is through the construction and proper maintenance of physical fences along the highest trafficked, most commonly violated sections of our border with Mexico.
Take the case of San Diego. According to the FBI Crime Index, crime in San Diego County dropped 56.3% between 1989 and 2000, after a fence stretching from the Ocean to the mountains near San Diego was substantially completed. And, according to numbers provided by the San Diego Sector Border Patrol in February 2004, apprehensions decreased from 531,689 in 1993 to 111,515 in 2003.
That’s why I strongly support the Secure Fence Act of 2006 … and that’s why I’m bringing this crucial legislation to the floor of the Senate this week for an up-or-down vote. By authorizing the construction of over 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing along our southwest border and by mandating the use of cameras, ground sensors, UAVs and other forms of hi-tech surveillance, this legislation would help us gain control over every inch of our borders – once and for all.
Will Harry Let Thm In Reid call for a filibuster? How will the moonbats go home and say they are against safety and security of this nation? How will the moonbats say they are “strong on crime”?
Remember Moonbats you can vote against WalMart and they’ll vote against you.
http://www.hillnews.com/thehil.....lmart.html
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is planning to launch a voter registration and education campaign this fall targeted at its 1.3 million employees in an effort to combat growing criticism from Democrats and labor unions.
By doing so, the world’s largest retailer is striding into the national political arena, which until this election cycle it has taken pains to avoid.
Wal-Mart’s voter registration and education programs could be among the biggest in the country, though not as big as those of its labor union opponents. The AFL-CIO, for example, has nearly 13 million members.
The company’s decision appears to be a response to several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls, who participated in a labor-organized anti-Wal-Mart campaign this summer.
Good for them. This is a free country. I bet the Seattle Times, the GoldieLock Times or the New York Times WILL NOT carry this story.
If the Left is going to demonize a Trade Association of small- and medium-sized locally-owned businesses…who do they propose replacing the with? All government jobs?
The Building Industry has fueled the State coffers, particularly the boom of the past 6 years.
Now things are rapidly slowin down.
Inventory of buildable lots in King County is at an all-time low.
What are the financial impacts to State & Local government of negatively impacting the construction industry?
Think about it honestly.
The Construction Industry has had the single biggest locally generated positive impact on our local economy.
Boeing has received many, many tax breaks.
Builders pay full boat and then some.
Yes, go vote and remember how the MSM treats conseravtives. Remember how they dissect you if you make a perceived “racial” comment but it’s A-OK for them to make one at you!:
“A Virginia Senate campaign fought largely in Youtube got its newest Youtube moment today — courtesy the unlikeliest of sources, a reporter.
9News Now reporter Peggy Fox probably wouldn’t have been booed at Nuremberg. But that’s the treatment she got inside the Hilton McLean Ballroom this afternoon when she asked Sen. George Allen — onstage with Jim Webb in front of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce — whether his veins coursed with Jewish blood because his mother’s father Felix was reportedly Jewish. Allen’s middle name is – as Fox noted in her prosecution – Felix. J’accuse!
The crowd hissed and booed the question. Jews (full disclosure: I’ve been Jewish since birth. Both sets of parents? Yup, Jews) might liken the reaction to Purim, when every time Haman is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah he is given a vigorous vocal thumbs-down.
”I’d like to ask you, why is that relevant,” Allen said as the merchants continued to boo. “Why do you think they’re booing?” He did allow, “My mother’s French-Italian.””
Yes, vote for Maria Moonbat! who supports her good friend Carl Levin who allowed US monies to travel to support Hamas:
http://www.nypost.com/postopin.....lussel.htm
Ironically, LRD was among the first groups to win U.S. Agency for International Development approval to receive and dole out U.S. tax dollars to the Iraqi people. A press release thanked Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) for getting the USAID seal of approval. My sources fear that some of that USAID money – which cannot all be traced – may have gone to fund insurgents.
Where will this be printed in the Seattle Times or te New York Times?
It’s also important to note that no businesses are forced to join BIAW. They do so of their own free will. There are also about 8 other Construction Groups besides BIAW for contractors to join as well.
Clearly this blog is all abu promoting LEFTIST political agendas and has absolutely nothing to do with understanding economic realties like the health of the Building Industry is critical our tax base and creating real jobs.
It would be interesting to see what would happen to our State and Local government budgets if the Building Industry were to shut down or rachet back say 50%.
A whole lot of government workers would lose their jobs.
Tax dollars actually come from somewhere folks.
They do not magically appear.
If I were a government worker, I would be voting for Groen and Stephen Johnson out of my own self-interest and self-preservation.
Yes vote for Maria Moonbat! who didn’t conceive of any oil or gas legislation on her own (did you watch her commercials) but she piggybacked on other’s hard work!
Now that oil prices are falling it had to be due to Maria Moonbat!
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/15554435.htm
Crude-oil prices have fallen about $14, or roughly 17 percent, from their July 14 record high close of $78.03 a barrel. Contracts for October delivery of oil settled Monday at $63.80, up 47 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices are expected to keep falling in the weeks and months ahead, just as natural gas prices have over the past year. Here’s why.
For two years, oil prices rose because the world’s oil producers have struggled to keep pace with growing demand, particularly from China and India. Spare oil-production capacity grew so tight that market players feared that any production disruption could create shortages. Fear of disruption focused on fighting in Nigeria, tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, the Israel-Lebanon conflict that might engulf oil-producing neighbors, and the prospect of more hurricane destruction in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil traders bet that such worrisome developments would drive up the future price of oil. Oil is traded in contracts for future delivery, and companies that take physical delivery of oil are just a small part of total trading. Financial players, such as large pension and commodities funds, are the big traders, and they’re seeking profits. They’ve sunk $105 billion or more into oil futures in recent years, according to Verleger. Their bets that oil prices would rise bid up the price.
That led users of oil to create stockpiles as cushions against supply disruptions and higher prices. Now inventories of oil are approaching bloated 1990 levels.
With fear of supply disruptions ebbing, oil prices began sliding. There’s already anecdotal evidence of oil companies chartering tankers to store excess oil.
I voted republican so I could pick all the weakest candidates. It was fun.
Lefty special interests:
*Washington Education Association
*SEIU
*Government (REMEMBER THE MONORAIL!?!)
There you go. If Groen wins, I will be happy. If he loses, I will be unsurprised for your fear mongering campaign sinks/rises to new lows/highs (depends on your perspective).
Also http://svcalumnus.blogspot.com.....eform.html is a trackback to this post.
Commentby Mike Webb SUCKS— 9/19/06@ 7:39 am
“YEs, vote for Maria Moonbat! who endorses abortion on demand eventhough her Bostonian based counterpart is now saying they should be done in moderation.”
One of the things that most (not all, but the vast majority) of the pro-choice movement has been saying for years is that abortions should be “save, legal and rare”.
The most pro-choice among us would rather see contraception than abortion, and in the case of children, would rather see abstinance than contraception. There is no joy among us when some fifteen year old girl shows up at the clinic, pregnant by her boyfriend, scared and trying to decide what to do, and even less joy when it is not her first time.
Those on the right call for laws to make this tragedy illegal. Unfortunately, laws are not what is needed. If somehow, a law could be written that would eliminate the need for abortions, most pro-choice people would jump right on it.
Can’t be done. Laws will not stop that fifteen year old girl from having sex, nor will they stop her from having unprotected sex.
I know that the pro-life advocates have a picture of pro-choice people somehow rejoicing at every abortion. At best, it’s a sad smile that the woman had a choice. It may be the best of the bad solutions available to her.
Being part of that half of the population that will never be in need of such services, I had to do some soul-searching to come to a position on this topic. It boiled down to “do I have the right to force another person to risk her life, carrying a child to term?” Since my answer to that question was “no”, I have not needed to decide exactly when a fetus becomes a person, or any of the other philosophical questions surrounding the issue. Those decisions are not mine to make.
I do not have the right to force another person to risk her life for another.
Most pro-choice people are strongly in favor of sex education in schools and readily available birth control, not because we think children should be out having sex, but because we know that it is going to happen whether we approve or not.
Oddly enough, many of the folks on the pro-life side are also strongly opposed to available birth control and sex education. They are somehow convinced that if they do not look at the problem, it will go away. They are also convinced that their daughters are “good girls” and only the evil influence of others drive them astray.
Perhaps, but that “evil influence” is more likely to be hormones and a boyfriend than society.
I went to high school before Roe v. Wade. I can’t say what percentage of the girls were active sexually, but I can say that it was not uncommon.
Is today’s society obsessed with sex? Yes. Ten minutes watching television will show anyone that. The commercials on the Hallmark channel would not have been permitted years ago.
But passing a law and hoping the whole situation goes away will not reduce unwanted pregnancy, and forcing young girls to risk their lives becoming mothers is not the answer.
Sorry. Comment should be “safe, legal and rare”. I was working late last night.
Colwell
Chan
Oddly enough, many of the folks on the pro-life side are also strongly opposed to available birth control and sex education. They are somehow convinced that if they do not look at the problem, it will go away. They are also convinced that their daughters are “good girls” and only the evil influence of others drive them astray. -Commentby John Barelli— 9/19/06@ 8:13 am
You know John, that ugly stereotype is offensive. While I expect offense as the norm from some liberal terrorists here, you were never one of them.
We don’t oppose birth control, we oppose it being distributed like M7M’s to our children without our permission.
We absolutely do not oppose sex education, we oppose it being one sided on the side OF sex instead of including the alternative of choosing to not have sex. We oppose a curriculum that does not include our values, forced on our kids without our permission at an age far too young to grasp the meanings. We oppose being presumed too stupid to give our kids accurate information.
of us
Building lots yee haw, getcher building lots!!! Lets chop down all them damn trees, and pave, and pour every inch of this country. Make America a parking lot from sea to slimy sea!!! All for a couple bucks!!! Theree ain’t no global warming, and you have the right to live 75 miles from work, and spend 3 hours a day “rolling” just to get your own “space” right?
Just remember, the word America makes most people on this planet want to puke. Hey, but that don’t bother you none does it?
We don’t need no stinkin’ trees!
As far as money being free speech, explain why Bill gates should have 50,000,000,000 times as much say in our government as a disabled vet in a wheelchair?
Making campaign contributions should be a felony.
That would end 90% of the corruption, and we could then concentrate on the other 10%
Whorring yourself out to corporate sleazebags to get enough money to finance a campaign is not the way our founders envisioned this experiment called America/Democracy.
New reading material for those who know everything about Human Intelligence Collection.
The Army announced recently the publication of Field Manual 2-22.3, “Human Intelligence Collector Operations,” which replaces Field Manual 34-52. The new manual clarifies military intelligence and military police roles and responsibilities, specifies requirements for non-DoD access to detainees under DoD control, and notes that all military personnel are responsible and accountable for immediately reporting suspected detainee abuse. In accordance with Geneva Conventions, the new manual explicitly prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The new manual is available online in .pdf format at
http://www.army.mil/references/FM2-22.3.pdf
I see the Wingnuts are shitting all over themselves this morning. I wonder what they are concerned about? Rassmussen polls show the WingNut bounce is gone. Yet any little poll that comes out they trumpet as if it is God’s word himself. I am continually amazed at the “head in the sand” approach. By this time in November, the issue will be settled. Look at it this way, one more screw up by Bush and you can stick a fork in the rump of the Wingnuts
Goldy what about this Nader watchdog group beats up on the DLC!!!!
IRS Yanks Democratic Leadership Council Tax Status
The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of the Democratic Leadership Council on the grounds it mainly benefited a private group – Democrats running for office – rather than the community at large.
The DLC has countered with a lawsuit in federal court, and the outcome could affect the increasing use of tax-exempt organizations by politicians and lobbyists, according to a Forbes magazine article headlined “The Democrats’ Little Tax Secret.”
The conflict is not without its ironic twists. For one, the DLC’s chairman during the years the IRS claims it wasn’t bipartisan enough was Sen. Joe Lieberman, recently rejected by primary voters in Connecticut as being too pro-Bush.
To help make its case against the DLC, the Justice Department has hired a researcher from Public Citizen, the watchdog organization founded by Ralph Nader.
And the DLC has hired an aide to former President George H.W. Bush to help make its case.
http://www.tboblogs.com/index......_sex_case/
Another right wing appointee gets outed as a child perv. I guess this is probably the guy who posts here as Klake.
Facts spews the following:
“Building lots yee haw, getcher building lots!!! Lets chop down all them damn trees, and pave, and pour every inch of this country. Make America a parking lot from sea to slimy sea!!! All for a couple bucks!!! Theree ain’t no global warming, and you have the right to live 75 miles from work, and spend 3 hours a day “rolling” just to get your own “space” right?
We don’t need no stinkin’ trees!
Commentby Facts Support My Positions— 9/19/06@ 8:43 am”
Do I take your diatribe to mean YOU live in a tree or a hole in the ground???
Typical of the Left to equate a basic need….a home…with paving over the entire country.
I’ll bet Facts lives in a single family home with a nice yard….just like almost everyone desires.
Rights – get your facts straight – the guy is a life long democrat.
http://wizbangblog.com/2006/04.....mocrat.php
The Wall Street Journal has a very interesting story today about the AFL-CIO and NEA. The unions are now being forced to fill out Dept of Labor forms that detail how their dues are spent, something that they have evaded quite well in their IRS filings.
Guess what percentage of the mandatory dues are spent on collective bargaining? Less than 40%! Where does the rest go? To politics. Probably to support causes that at least half their union members are in disagreement with.
But I know that the union supporters around here will come up with some way to rationalize this. The BIAW is evil for pouring money into a judge contest, but the unions can spend whatever they want on whatever they want.
Those damned Bush tax cuts… such a drain on the treasury!
US Treasury Sets New 1-Day Tax Receipt Record Of $85.8 Billion
I also read that the IRS Yanked Democratic Leadership Council Tax Status… but since it’s from OMG! A RIGHT WING NEWS SOURCE, we’ll just consider it unverified.
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006 10:04 a.m. EDT
“ The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of the Democratic Leadership Council on the grounds it mainly benefited a private group – Democrats running for office – rather than the community at large. “
“ The DLC has countered with a lawsuit in federal court, and the outcome could affect the increasing use of tax-exempt organizations by politicians and lobbyists, according to a Forbes magazine article headlined “The Democrats’ Little Tax Secret.” “
“ The conflict is not without its ironic twists. For one, the DLC’s chairman during the years the IRS claims it wasn’t bipartisan enough was Sen. Joe Lieberman, recently rejected by primary voters in Connecticut as being too pro-Bush. “
“ To help make its case against the DLC, the Justice Department has hired a researcher from Public Citizen, the watchdog organization founded by Ralph Nader. “
“ And the DLC has hired an aide to former President George H.W. Bush to help make its case. “
“ The DLC was founded by 1985 by then Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and others with a view toward supporting moderate and conservative Democrats. The IRS began auditing in 2002, and in a previously unreported action, revoked its exemption for 1997, 1998 and 1999, saying the group owes $20,083 in back taxes. “
“ The DLC insists it is not strictly partisan and argues that some of the causes it has lobbied for, including welfare reform, received more Republican than Democratic votes in Congress, Forbes reports. “
Commentby Anonymous— 9/19/06@ 8:31 am
You know John, that ugly stereotype is offensive. While I expect offense as the norm from some liberal terrorists here, you were never one of them.
We don’t oppose birth control, we oppose it being distributed like M7M’s to our children without our permission.
Understood, but please read my statement again. I try to be reasonably precise in my choice of words (with varying degrees of success) and I deliberately chose the word “many” instead of the word “most”. I am aware of a wide range of opinions in the pro-life camp.
“Oddly enough, many of the folks on the pro-life side are also strongly opposed to available birth control and sex education.
There is also a question as to whether the choice you mention, having parents giving access to birth control, is a real option. Certainly in some cases, it is.
But I will presume you actually converse with more pro-life people regarding this subject than I do. How many of them would be open to the idea of giving their fifteen year old daughters birth control?
This topic deserves more time than I can give it at the moment, and really doesn’t belong here. I would be happy to continue it off-line. jbarelli at barelli dot org.
Agreed John, most folks I know with 15 yr old daughters would advocate abstinence and the REASONS for it, rather than provide an opportunity to experiment by providing birth control.
I find that reasonable.
You gotta love the “pro-life” crowd. They’re so concerned about protecting human life that they support killing people in Iraq. They’re so concerned about protecting human life that they support the death penalty. They’re so concerned about protecting human life that they want taxpayer support of adoptions shut down – thereby reducing options for women who don’t want to have an abortion. They’re so concerned about protecting human life that they’ve shortstopped every attempt by Democrats to offer affordable health care in this country.
Just how devoid of actual intellecual honesty to you have to be to be a republican?
Researchers in the US and Mexico have documented numerous reports worldwide of health hazards associated with eating turtle, including food poisoning with Salmonella. Sea turtles also pick up marine toxins, possibly from algae, which are not removed by washing or cooking and can kill up to a fifth of people affected [[…………..Dear Grossmans, When you come to visit, I would love to prepare my recipe “Sea Turtle Grossmanstein” that I know you would enjoy! Best regards, JCH Kennedy]
MWS @ 20
Do you think maybe some of the $8 billion that the CPA lost went to “the insurgents?”
Bloody likely.
MWS @ 22
Yes, they should be legal and rare. No conflict.
MWS @ 23
Sure, we’ve got such huge surpluses of oil that it’s still over $60 a barrel, as opposed to $11 a barrel in the mid-90s. Yup, that’s just the same. Exactly.
MWS
What’s the point of your Maria Cantwell rants? Mike! is toast. Haven’t you figured that out?
Anonymous @ 30
You’re definitely too stupid to give your kids accurate information.
I was looking at the PDC Last Minute Contributions list this morning. Gerry Alexander is getting some support from moderate Republican stalwarts. Most notably, John Stanton donated Alexander the maximum primary contribution of $1,400 on 09/14/2006. Same amount of $1,400 from Theresa Gillespie at the same mailing address — maybe Stanton’s wife, or perhaps a business associate? Stanton was Dino Rossi’s campaign finance chairman — i.e. he was the one raising money for Rossi in the 2004 Governor’s election.
I still hadn’t decided whether it was worth voting in the primary. Your ‘fuck you’ decided me. Fine; fuck you, too, I won’t waste my time. One party is the plutocratic party, the other says ‘fuck you’ to anyone who’s disgusted with the whole system. If my options are plutocrats and ‘fuck you’, plus fringe parties with loopy notions, I see no movement deserving my support.
Y’all go ahead and begin the whole ridicule and insult cycle, which seems to be the only way the left knows to persuade and influence the deeply disaffected. That way, I won’t vote in November either, or for that matter in 2008, and maybe a number of those reading also won’t bother.
I still hadn’t decided whether it was worth voting in the primary. Your ‘fuck you’ decided me. Fine; fuck you, too, I won’t waste my time. One party is the plutocratic party, the other says ‘fuck you’ to anyone who’s disgusted with the whole system. If my options are plutocrats and ‘fuck you’, plus fringe parties with loopy notions, I see no movement deserving my support.
Commentby jkk— 9/19/06@ 11:02 am
Your choice, but don’t you think it a bit immature to make an important decision based on an offensive statement on a blog?
I spent most of my adult life on active duty, supporting and defending the Constitution. That’s what it said in my oath, and I took it seriously. The most precious right we have is the right to vote. All of the other rights either stem from or support that one. We get to pick our government, and it derives its power from us.
You have the right to throw away your rights. Your choice. Frankly, I have mixed feelings about encouraging you to vote, as apparently there is no issue or candidate that you have a strong preference for or against.
One thing I do believe, however. If you choose not to vote, then you are saying that you are just thrilled with any government the rest of us vote in. Whatever we do is just ducky with you.
If you don’t vote, don’t complain. You got the government that you asked for.
14 I, too, drive a foreign car. The doorpost nameplate on my Grand Marquis proudly proclaims it a “Product of Canada”, having been assembled at the now-being-closed Ford plant in Winsor, Ontario.
Meanwhile my wife drives a Subaru that has a sticker saying it was assembled in Indiana, we used to have a Toyota that was built in California, and almost all new Hyundais sold in the US come from Alabama.
Oh yeah…Ford also owns Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar. It’s pretty difficult to tell the players, even with a scorecard.
I agree with Artfart. This is a red herring. Are you going to tell somebody who works in a Toyota plant in South Carolina that he is a traitor?
http://www.homesteadbook.com/blog
I feel plenty strongly about the issues. I also feel plenty strongly that none of the people on the ballot that was mailed to me offer the slightest potential to solve them. I doubt they can be solved. I don’t see a way out of America’s social and political paralysis. We slide gradually toward fascism; we can choose corporate fascism or government fascism. I do not think any vote can stop it.
But ‘what I am saying’ is determined not by others, but rather by me, the person doing the saying. It’s not just one statement; it goes back to the whole freakout about people who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000. ‘Fuck you,’ from a prominent commentator, tells me that those attitudes haven’t changed.
What I really wanted to see was whether people would take me to task, or would they take to task the person fool enough to say ‘fuck you’ as a pitch for votes. I have my answer. So my vote this time is a vote of no confidence in any party. If you still believe, knock yourself out. I don’t.
The majority Of voters will pick Alexander because it is a more “American” sounding name than, “Groen”. HOWEVER: The surname Groen is the same as that of the creator of the SIMPSONS, thus possibly giving that surname the edge. But most SIMPSON fans are capable of understanding satire (which denotes intelligence ) and they will therefore vote for Alexander.
I call it for Alexander.
More success from the Bush Administration:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of violent crimes in the United States jumped 2.3 percent in 2005 and a senior Justice Department official said on Monday it may keep rising this year.
In its final report on 2005 crime data, the FBI said there were nearly 1.4 million violent crimes reported last year, led by robbery, murder and aggravated assault.
It said the number of robberies increased 3.9 percent while murders rose 3.4 percent and aggravated assault rose 1.8 percent from the 2004. The only violent crime category to drop in volume was rape, which fell 1.2 percent.
http://today.reuters.com/news/.....ived=False
September 19, 2006
Today, 40% of American adults approve of the way that President Bush is performing his job and 58% disapprove. That’s slightly below where the numbers were before the President’s 9/11 speech, and at the same level as the August monthly average.
http://www.rasmussenreports.co.....proval.htm
The big questions facing the AMerican People this election year areL
“Are you going to vote for the team who crafted the huge pharmaceutical company giveaway created the huge so-called “donut hole” in benefits with no reduction in premiums your parents are in now, or for the team who will provide health care for all Americans?
“A you going to vote for the team who took their eye off the ball to bog down our military, waste our children’s lives, andspend our nation’s treasure in a fight against the wrong country while Osama bin Laden laughs at us from Pakistan, or for the team who will build up America’s defenses and go after the killers of 9/11?”
“Are you going to vote for the team who wants to shred the safety net of Social Security, or the team who will preserve it?”
The President said that getting the guy who masterminded 9/11 is not a top priority! If you elect a Democratic Congress, we will make it a top priority. That is what is riding on this election. If you want Bin Laden captured or killed, you have to vote for a change!
Left Foot Sez: “Republicans think we are weak, lets show them how strong we really are. Lets take our damn country back!”
You guyz crack me up! So now it’s YOUR country?
You libs have been making personal attacks and stacking the judicary for years. Let a conservative use the same tactic and they get called a nazi.
Puleeez………
According to that ultra left wing, friends-of-the-terr’ists organization the League of Women Voters, the GOP just popped a bill out of committee that will probably be up for a floor vote in the House tomorrow, and which is also no doubt being fast-tracked in the Senate for attempted passage prior to the fall recess. HR 4844 would require anyone voting in a Federal election to produce photo ID and proof of citizenship. There’s no citizenship indication on your Washington driver’s license, so if this thing passes and you don’t have a passport, you’d better dig up your birth certificate or naturalization papers to take to the polls, and be ready to stand in line waiting to have your “papers” checked. I checked the text ot the bill, and it specifically states that if passed it would apply to the November election this year. If you had any doubt why JCH and the other trollfucks have been screaming about supposed non-citizen voters, this is it.
63 – Great! Federal vote supression. All those lazy wingers at the local level get a break.
What about absentee voting?
Moonbat Alert!
Bush did not blow up the Twin Towers and invade Iraq for the oil companies; he did it so that the BIAW could get rid of Iraqi lib judges. The proof:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s genocide trial was replaced Tuesday amid complaints from Shiite and Kurdish officials that he was too soft on the former Iraqi leader, a move that could raise accusations of government interference in the highly sensitive case.
Source:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14888291/
More BIAW dirty tricks. The Conspiracy is even bigger than you thought.
I have a friend who narrowly escaped buying it on 9/11, who tells me that the reason there’s still nothing at “Ground Zero” but a big hole is that the effort to build something else there has become a circus of boondoggling and cronyism. It seems the architect who was hired first to design the “new building” had never worked on anything more than five stories tall.
With that in mind, is it any surprise what happened after Katrina?
I just voted and there was a gd Diebold machine at the polling place! Very similar to the machine that was in that video from Princeton University.
I had a choice between that machine and the old fill in the dots ballot and of course I chose the paper ballot.
Those things are vile. Have we talked about this before?
Commentby ArtFart— 9/19/06@ 12:58 pm
I looked this up, and was appalled.
H.R.4844
Title: To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require any individual who desires to register or re-register to vote in an election for Federal office to provide the appropriate State election official with proof that the individual is a citizen of the United States to prevent fraud in Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Seems reasonable on the surface, doesn’t it? Show proof of citizenship. No problem, here’s my Washington Drivers License or state ID.
Oh, that won’t work. It isn’t proof of citizenship.
Well, I shouldn’t have any problem at least. I’m retired military, and carry a U.S. Military Identification Card (DD form 2) at all times. No worries.
WHAT!?! That won’t do either? What do you mean my U.S. Military ID is not sufficient proof of citizenship?
Social Security Card?
“Not valid as identification”. That won’t work.
Birth certificate? I think I can find a copy somewhere.
Still no? It has to be certified? Hey, there isn’t enough time between now and the election to get California to dig through the fifty-year-old files and get me a certified copy!
Do I have a passport? No, I’ve never needed one, and can’t get one in time for the election. They’re expensive, and I haven’t left the country in about ten years. Before that, my out-of-country travel was always with the Navy, and my ID card was sufficient.
The information above is all pertinent to me, personally. If this goes through, I don’t get to vote. I was born in this country, served it for over twenty years, voted in every election I have been legally allowed to over the last thirty years.
I won’t be allowed to vote.
How many others will this disenfranchise? How many posting here will be able to exercise our right to vote?
This is not a right/left argument. Unless she has a passport, Janet S doesn’t get to vote. If he doesn’t have a certified copy of his birth certificate, Jim King is out of luck. AmericaFirst cannot vote if he/she cannot prove citizenship. I am as outraged at that as I am about the fact that they are taking away my right to vote.
Ref: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/.....9:H.R.4844:
One correction. I read over the proposed law carefully. The provision is for registration, with a separate requirement for photo ID in order to vote. Looks like I get to vote this time.
Unless I move.
Unless someone challenges my registration.
Unless…
Of course, even then I must have a photo ID, which costs money. Ok for me, as I’ve got some. Some people don’t, and most of those people are poor. Let’s see. Eat or vote, which do I choose?
Even for me, I will probably move eventually. I’d better send off for a certified copy of my birth certificate. My wife’s, too. There’s sixty bucks that I will spend in order to protect my right to vote, but I had other uses for it.
Even then, we’d better get passports. I’m not sure that a certified birth certificate would be accepted. After all, there is no picture on it, and even if there was, I look a bit different these days. (Must be the beard.)
This is an outrage.
9
If you want judges who will support property rights, then you will vote for judges who will JAIL property owners who pollute taxpayer-owned salmon streams by allowing their cows to piss in them. The property we all own in common is entitled to no less respect than the property we own individually.
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is planning to launch a voter registration and education campaign this fall targeted at its 1.3 million employees in an effort to combat growing criticism from Democrats and labor unions. [There are more HAPPY Wal-Mart shoppers than there are Democrat voters! [even with the 25% Democrat voter fraud!]
Why are Republicans so afraid of American citizens voting in their own country? Why do they work so hard to put up as many obstacles to voting as possible? Photo ID … literacy tests … poll taxes … challenging the registrations of voters deployed to Iraq … the list of GOP efforts to keep us from choosing our own government is endless. Why? Because they want to appoint themselves as the government without a vote of ALL the people. That’s called
DICTATORSHIP
Of course, even then I must have a photo ID, which costs money. Ok for me, as I’ve got some. Some people don’t, and most of those people are poor. Let’s see. Eat or vote, which do I choose?
Commentby John Barelli [….IDs for food stamps, welfare, WIC, every “guvment” service you can think of, by NOT for voting? Riiiiiiiiiight! ID will help stop Democrat voter fraud, and you libs would hate that!!!]
No ID: Democrat voter fraud by the millions
Hey, they don’t want anyone here to vote, that’s why they are trying to fasttrack hr4844 through. Here is a list of people it will disenfranchise:
1. Many elderly voters. Record keeping was fairly spotty during the Depression in some states.
My mother’s new husband is in his late 70’s. He was born on a kitchen table during the depression, and although the family did notify the county seat, his birth was never recorded because there was no doctor involved. He did two military tours, then worked for the US government until his retirement. Up until now, his citizenship would never be questioned.
What’s really sad is that he is a lifelong Republican, and would vote the straight party ticket.
2. People whose original records were destroyed due to accident or fire in the county seats where the records were kept. This has happened to many people over the years. It just recently happened during Hurricane Katrina.
3. People whose birth certificates have the incorrect gender, weren’t stamped correctly at filing and so on due to clerical error.
Birth certificate errors of incorrect gender are so common that many states offer a 1 dollar service to get that corrected by mail. Usually, this service is no longer available a year or two afterwards. Just a few years ago was the story of a young man from California who went to get his drivers license when he turned 16, only to find out that the state had him listed as female and the only way he could get it changed to male was if he filled out a form stating that he had received a sex change.
Unfortunately, such clerical errors or misfilings don’t show up until such a time as people need to get a copy of their birth certificate, and by then, it’s too late.
Truth is though, they don’t want you to vote. If the current administration can stay in power by disenfrachising citizens, then they will do so.
10
If you read the Seattle Times yesterday, you probably saw the article that says many builders are breaking the law by not paying L & I taxes. If you check with consumer groups, you’ll also likely find out that builders are a major source of consumer complaints. Letting the BIAW and its members choose our judges is like letting the Mafia pick New Jersey’s judges.
When the cost of buying a right-wing judge rises from $2 million of L & I tax refunds to $4 million of L & I tax refunds, we’ll hear builders bitching twice as loudly about “high L & I taxes.”
H.R. 4844 is just hitting the House floor. It is expected that Republican’s will vote strictly on party lines for this one, disenfranchising many of their older constituents. Good Job!
Requiring an ID to vote fixes a problem that lawmakers have failed to show exists.
Guess how many verified cases of identification fraud lawmakers cited in advocating a new rule that residents show a Wisconsin driver’s license or a state ID card each time they vote? Answer: Zero.
That’s right. Backers of the measure noted not a single instance anywhere in Wisconsin in which it was shown that a voter lied about who he or she was in casting a ballot.
Show us that some sort of widespread fraud of the sort that this bill would address exists.
68 “WHAT!?! That won’t do either? What do you mean my U.S. Military ID is not sufficient proof of citizenship?”
Non-citizens are more than welcome to serve in This Chimp’s Army.
The rule could keep from the polls: newcomers with out-of-state driver’s licenses; poor people too consumed with day-to-day existence to take the time to get the proper ID; elderly or disabled people lacking the mobility to conveniently get the required cards; and residents who have misplaced their ID cards or have simply forgotten to bring them to the voting sites.
National studies confirm the United States does not have the “voting fraud” problem the Republicans are braying about. What we do have is a pattern of exclusion of lawful voters. This is the ugly picture that emerged in Florida where thousands of black voters were wrongfully denied the vote. It does not take a vivid imagination to imagine the kind of chaos would reign at the polls if a last-minute “voter ID” requirement were imposed on thousands of new voters when there is no agreement on what constitutes a valid ID.
Add to that the fact that ID requirements historically disrupt voting by students, minorities (particularly Native Americans in remote areas), the institutionalized elderly and the poor. These groups (surprise!) tend to vote Democratic. If you think the Republicans would be demanding voter ID if new-voter numbers were reversed, I have a bridge to sell you.
The percentages being what they are, a voter ID requirement would likely shave a couple of points off the Democrats’ margin in swing states. Republicans are about as concerned with “voter fraud” as they are with protecting the spotted owl.
68.Do I have a passport? No, I’ve never needed one, and can’t get one in time for the election. They’’re expensive, and I haven’’t left the country in about ten years. Before that, my out-of-country travel was always with the Navy, and my ID card was sufficient.
The information above is all pertinent to me, personally. If this goes through, I don’t get to vote. I was born in this country, served it for over twenty years, voted in every election I have been legally allowed to over the last thirty years.
I won’t be allowed to vote.
========================================================
You are usually a pretty straight shooter for a liberal, but your post on HR 4844 is highly misleading. The proposed legislation would not become effective until the November 2008 election, and government-issued photo ID, not proof of citizenship, is all that is required until the November 2010 election.
While it doesn’t now provide proof of citizenship, military photo ID alone is enough until November 2010, and if HR 4844 ever becomes law the military will undoubtedly begin issuing cards with proof of citizenship prior to the November 2010 election, which will then comply. Furthermore, military overseas voters are exempt.
BTW, States are required to make compliant photo ID’s available for those who do not already have them and indigents must be provided them at no charge.
I suggest that you look at the official version of the proposed legislation to find out what it actually says:
http://cha.house.gov/legislation/default.aspx
69 “Unless someone challenges my registration.”
We’ve already seen what that means in places like Ohio and Florida.
Better be wearing your iron pants…
I just got off the phone with Cantwell’s office. I asked whether they knew when the Senate equivalent of HR4844 was going to come up in the Senate, and was told they have no idea. The majority party controls the agenda, and Frist could toss this thing out on the floor at any time.
I can’t help but wonder if the Republicans are busy issuing their registered members photo ID’s with verbage carefully tailored to meet some quirk in the wording of the bill to pass as “proof” of citizenship.
Talk about stupid! The Act forces States to provide a photo ID issued only upon proof of citizenship, but forbids the State from allowig its people to use that ID for any other purpose but elections. It’s the mother of all unfunded mandates!
All the Act pays for is the provision of ID to the “indigent,” not for the provision of millions of ther IDs that can be used only for elections. So we’ll have to pay for the vast State bureaucracy that will have to be built to administer this abomination of a law? Get ready for more taxes and fees.
Regarding HR 4844. This isn’t a Republican thing. I know a number of Republicans, and they are, for the most part, good folks.
This is a power grab.
The folks running it are, for the most part, Republican leaders.
If this were about preventing fraud, there would be a provision for a no-cost photo id.
If this were about verifying citizenship, there would simply be an automatic check of state records. After all, even though I present a certified birth certificate, it will still need to be verified. I have an excellent color printer, and can print “certified birth certificates” that will prove that I’m the King of Sweden, so long as nobody is bothering to check them.
Since they must be verified anyway, why not simply do the verification?
Also, what do we do for people that have never had a birth certificate, or where there is some other problem, such as an error or lost files?
When I fill out my voter registration, I sign a statement under penalty of perjury that what I am saying is true. If the government wants to call me a liar, then it must prove it. The government of the United States of America derives its power from the people, and is answerable to the people. Not the other way around.
I have no problem with stiff penalties for fraudulent voter registration. I agree that it is important to prevent vote fraud. but that isn’t the purpose here. There are too many ways that this could be handled that would avoid the obvious problems in this law.
I don’t usually try to determine the motives of the people sponsoring something, as I really cannot see into their hearts and minds, but in this case, it’s pretty obvious. Unless I assume that the people sponsoring this are complete idiots, with no clue as to the problems it would cause, I must assume it is deliberate.
And while I can understand someone supporting the idea of photo IDs and verification of citizenship, any honest person looking at the language of the proposed law, and considering the ramifications of it, must conclude that it is just an attempt of the extreme right wing to stay in power.
Statements claiming that it is to prevent fraud are just so many deliberate lies, from people terrified that they will lose power.
I wonder what is in those government files that has these folks so scared to lose power. Perhaps the folks talking about impeachments and jail time really do know what they’re talking about.
John
There IS a provision in this bill for no-cost photo ID, upon “attestation” of one’s inability to pay. ALthough the indigent would still have to come up with proof of citizenship, which is where some of the problems lie.
I totally agree with you about what this bill does to the standing of the people viv-a-is their government.
Oh, and in my reading of the bill, it speaks of “providing photo identification” in several spots.
It does not speak of the state providing that photo ID. The citizen is required to provide it.
I would be really happy to have someone show me where my understanding of that provision is wrong. I do not like to think that any elected official would support what I have just read, and if it isn’t as bad as I think it is, I will be very happy.
But I’m not betting on it.
Heck! That’s “Vis-a-vis”
It’s in Section 3 (A)(4)(b)(ii)
Dang those are tricky! It’s in Section 3 (a)(4)(B)(ii)
Daddy Love:
I think we hit the “Say it!” button at the same time.
I’ve just gone back and re-read the bill. I do not see anything about the no-cost ID. Is it in another section of the law?
Well, I read the version of the bill linked to above, which is dated last Thursday, and it says it’s supposed to be in effect for the 2010 elections. The one the LWV email alert pointed at was from April, and did state that it was to apply this November. So apparently the minority members of the committee did manage to make enough noise to get the Republican leadership to back off on attempting a slam dunk for this year.
This is still very consistent with the GOP’s continuous accusations of massive Democratic voter fraud, and if it passes they’ll use it as justification for increasingly blatant voter harassment and ballot challenges against anyone who doesn’t look like Ralph Reed in closely-fought districts all over the country.
Requiring an ID to vote fixes a problem that lawmakers have failed to show exists.
Guess how many verified cases of identification fraud lawmakers cited in advocating a new rule that residents show a Wisconsin driver’’s license or a state ID card each time they vote? Answer: Zero.
That’’s right. Backers of the measure noted not a single instance anywhere in Wisconsin in which it was shown that a voter lied about who he or she was in casting a ballot.
Show us that some sort of widespread fraud of the sort that this bill would address exists.
Commentby Daddy Love—— 9/19/06@ 3:12 pm
================================================================
Just how do you propose that “widespread fraud” could be shown so long as proof of citizenship is not required for voting, you smartass phoney? Guess we should just ask people if they lied and voted illegally and they’ll admit it. Like the pompous coward that you are, I predict that you won’t answer the question.
Ok, I see where there is a disconnect here.
I’m going by the version on the Library of Congress website, which is considerably different from the version on the Committee on House Administration website.
I’m really not sure which is now the official version, as the LOC site does not show the new one, but will consider the CHA site to be more current until I find something to the contrary. It is also far less draconian, and does have a provision for a no-cost id.
Library of Congress version: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/......R.4844.IH:
Committee on House Administration version: http://cha.house.gov/media/pdfs/HR4844.pdf
I should be more up on House procedures, but my understanding was that the LOC documents were supposed to be the definitive ones. The LOC site does not show the “Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute”.
Is the new one actually the bill, or is it just a proposal to amend the bill?
Requiring an ID to vote fixes a problem that lawmakers have failed to show exists.
Guess how many verified cases of identification fraud lawmakers cited in advocating a new rule that residents show a Wisconsin driver’’s license or a state ID card each time they vote? Answer: Zero.
That’’s right. Backers of the measure noted not a single instance anywhere in Wisconsin in which it was shown that a voter lied about who he or she was in casting a ballot.
Show us that some sort of widespread fraud of the sort that this bill would address exists.
Commentby Daddy Love [……….Black districts in Milwaukee vote Democrat at 115% of registration, and ANY questions about this are considered “hateful” and “racist”. In addition, lots of black Democrats “gets ta slash da MOfo tires from da white MoFos vans!!!”
In reading over the newer version (assuming for the moment that this is the current bill) I still notice some problems.
Once again, there is the issue of verification of citizenship. As I noted earlier, I cannot immediately do it. I’ll have to send off to California for some fifty-year-old records, and hope they can find them. For my wife and I, that’s about sixty bucks.
Of course, if my intent was fraudulent, I could just print one off on my computer, so someone will have to verify the copy I provide. Without that verification, anything I submit is no better than my word. Since that check must be made anyway, why do they need me to provide a copy?
Next, I have a problem with the idea that my sworn statement is not sufficient, barring evidence to the contrary. Essentially, if the state thinks I’m falsifying my registration, they are welcome to do the checks. The government here answers to the citizens, not the other way around.
The people crying “fraud” here seem determined to make this as difficult as possible, without showing any evidence that there is significant fraud in the current system. In essence, it seems that it is acceptable to prevent 100 legitimate citizens from voting if they can stop one fraudulent vote.
The substitute is better than the original, but still has serious problems.
bottom line: No ID, No Vote!!!! [Dems would lose 25% of their votes]
14 I, too, drive a foreign car. The doorpost nameplate on my Grand Marquis proudly proclaims it a “Product of Canada”, having been assembled at the now-being-closed Ford plant in Winsor, Ontario.
Meanwhile my wife drives a Subaru that has a sticker saying it was assembled in Indiana, we used to have a Toyota that was built in California, and almost all new Hyundais sold in the US come from Alabama. Oh yeah…Ford also owns Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar. It’s pretty difficult to tell the players, even with a scorecard. Commentby ArtFart— 9/19/06@ 11:24 am
FartinArt: Nice try at deflection. You know exactly what I mean regarding who drives what car type, and I don’t mean your car made in Canada!
WhAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IS THE MOONBATS WHO SAY gO uNION AND THEN SCREW THEM IN THE ASS AND BUY FOREIGN! – I had a YO moment!
The basic idea of a photo ID for voting, as proposed in the second version of the law, is not necessarily bad.
I do wonder a bit at the requirement that the voting ID cannot be used for anything else, as that seems to be not only something of a waste, but leaves anyone that actually needs one with a document that is only used on rare occasions. I only need my blood donor card every eight weeks, and sometimes I have a difficult time finding it. Still, that is a very minor issue.
We (and every other state I know of) have a photo ID system available already, and rather than “re-invent the wheel”, it would make more sense to use our existing ID. This would have the added advantage of providing a legal ID for people to use in getting a job, something I am very much in favor of. We are, after all, talking about folks that do not otherwise have photo ID.
Additionally, if something beyond a sworn statement of citizenship is going to be required, then it is up to the state to provide it. Again, if they want to call me a liar, they can prove it. Otherwise my sworn statement should be sufficient.
Now, when we talk about penalties for fraudulent voting, I think they should be high. Felony jail time seems appropriate. They should be every bit as high as the penalties for deliberately interfering with a legitimate voter.
You know, like filling out a sworn statement that a person is not a legitimate voter just a few days before an election, in order to keep them from voting?
99 Ya don’t have to shout, Sucky.
I realize that after Limbaugh’s famous comment I ought to be driving a Volvo with a cup holder.
Hey, I just loooooooved the new Ford commercial I saw last night. It’s got some guy who buys a new 500 horsepower Mustang and has it shipped to Germany so he can drive it fast in the Autobahn.
If this is still Ford’s target demographic, Mullaly ain’t going to be able to save them no matter how many more people he lays off.
Pontiac Grand Prix. American made, and still is!
Moonbat Poll I drive:
[ ] American made Big 3 – Includes Canada
[ ] American made Foreign Owned
[ ] Foreign Made
Be honest moonbats Furball can’t answer; he’s a “rabbit”
I expect #102 to be a rhetorical question since the leader of the moonbat furballettes drives a foreign car!
Just think moonbats, your brothers and sisters are being laid off in record numbers because moonbats like y’all buy foreign!
Commentby Mike Webb SUCKS— 9/19/06@ 5:09 pm
Ok, normally I wouldn’t rise to this bait, but why not? It’s in good fun.
I drive – A Mercury Mystique (it’s a snazzy Ford Contour).
my wife drives (drum roll, please)
A Ford Aerostar mini-van.
Oh, and out of that “American made Big 3”, you might want to check with the Germans about Chrysler. They are of the impression that they own it lock, stock and barrel. (I never did like Dodge cars anyway.)
Oh, and aren’t Pontiac Grand Prix made at the GM plant in Oshawa? Its a little town in the state of Ontario. Wait, that’s the province of Ontario. As in Canada. Yes, Canada is on the North American continent. So is Mexico.
This CONSERVATIVE family buys foreign: A 2000 E 320 (MB#4) bought to replace the 1997 E320 totalled by a moron on a cell phone, we’ve got a 740IL (BMW#3 on the market, kid #2 drives an Isuzu, and for fun, a 1984 arrest-me-red Carrera (911 #5) in the garage.
We also have a big bad Ford F150, but to be fair, the company bought that one!
Hi, Mike. As you’re such a patriot, I thought I’d post this for you. Perhaps you could sing it while driving.
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
So far, we have the “moonbat” family driving Fords and the “wingnut” family driving foreign.
Come on, folks. This is fun. Join in. Carl and Goldy seem like Saturn drivers, but let them speak for themselves.
It just occurred to me that if Al Mullaly tries to make Ford work the way Boeing does, they’ll be building engines in San Diego, axles in Georgia and wheels in Peru, and having bodies fabricated in China and transported to final assembly in Dearborn in a “super guppy” conversion of a Ford Trimotor.
John @ 107
The wife drives a Mazda 6, best I can tell made in Canada from part imported from the US.
I drive a Honda Accord, 21 years old. 85,000 (that is not a typo) no dents, dings, has perfect paint, tires, interior, runs like a champ. Just never drove it. I can’t seem to part with it. And there is also the Toyota Tacoma (new). Not sure where it was manufactured.
89 Chevy Van [surf mobile]. 2000 GMC Jimmy, and 04 Vette [350/350]……….All GM [no reason]
Puddy drives a Ford Expedition. Remember big bad SUV? Sucking gas like water. Haven’t stopped driving it either.
So the read moobats in the Goldy NorthWest Division of Lunatic Moonbats have not checked in. I wonder why. Shut up and blog. Where are the regulars like Left Turdball, TreeFaggot, Dribble, etc. I guess the truth hurts.
John. I think MWS suggested this:
[ ] American made Big 3 – Includes Canada
[ ] American made Foreign Owned
[ ] Foreign Made
Many GM cars are made in Wayne Gretzky land. Can you read?
What does Roger Pelletizing Rabbit drive? I gotsza know.
I don’t own a car. My vehicle is a Metro bus. I think they’re made in Europe somewhere, but I’m not sure.
115 Metro’s newer acquisitions are built by New Flyer AKA Gillig in Canada. The old “tunnel slugs” were from Breda in someplace like Yugoslavia.
What does Roger Pelletizing Rabbit drive? I gotsza know.
Commentby Puddybud Mo Money Ray Nagin— 9/19/06@ 10:15 pm
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Mayor Nagin,
My guess would be a Subaru Forester, with lots of “granola” political stickers on it. Roger Rabbit is very predictable. He’s stuck firmly in the sixties, you see.
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