Understanding voter 'access' to the polls is counter intuitive.

Voter Suppression is cheating. The electorate isn't interested in preventing cheating? They don't care about their votes? 


What is the difference between voter suppression and voter fraud? Isn't fraud different and it would seem those that can't afford transportation for a free State issued ID doesn't really care about the country or they are afraid of being 'found out' for fraud.

What happens if GOP’s voter suppression works? (click here)

By Harold Meyerson,

Suppose Mitt Romney ekes out a victory in November by a margin smaller than the number of young and minority voters who couldn’t cast ballots because the photo-identification laws enacted by Republican governors and legislators kept them from the polls. What should Democrats do then? What would Republicans do? And how would other nations respond?

As suppositions go, this one isn’t actually far-fetched. No one in the Romney camp expects a blowout; if he does prevail, every poll suggests it will be by the skin of his teeth....

I mean we have heard so much about how the September 11th terrorists were in the USA for false reasons, educated themselves with our schools to fly the very planes they killed so many? Surely they weren't allowed in the USA legally. They had no intention of conducting themselves legally or benevolently so why is it we should trust anyone with our democracy that doesn't share the ideology of providing ID no matter the reason!


Then there is that whole Illegal Alien thing. Illegal Immigrants with no legal IDs. I mean what is the problem with State issued ID? Why is this such a dire issue for voters? Why can't the state absorb the cost of IDs to insure the security of our balloting?


Most Americans don't get it. They simply can't imagine a circumstance where obtaining an ID is impossible or a burden, especially when the state is offering free opportunities to receive one. Most Americans actually resent the idea of people balloting without a certified state ID of some kind.


Most Americans see ID as ending crime. ID Theft is a very big deal and they cannot understand people that aren't concerned about the same.


I think most Americans can relate to the elderly being challenged to carry out life's tasks. So, to help these two topics, voter suppression and voter fraud, be put into perspective I'd like to reflect on a profound reality in our society.


The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,230 at the beginning of 2012.


The most vulnerable among us have a small stipends every month to pay for their monthly expenses. I am not sure, but, if they receive Food Stamps at that income level it is a smaller amount than one might expect. They also pay for their Medicare A and B and if they can afford it a Medicare Supplement. There isn't a lot left over at the end of the month, especially considering the cost of energy these days.


It is hideous sometimes to reflect on the fact those most unable to pay for energy cannot seek wind or solar to relieve their burden. But, that is the case. The poor among us cannot purchase a Chevy Volt and it is they who go to work in cars with very poor fuel mileage that impoverishes them even further.


But, the point is there are circumstances in the USA which cause people from joining Mainstream America. Most of the time those people are resigned to that reality. They seek little more than they can afford in life. But, if one thing is true, it is they that have the most on the line when elections are conducted. It is they that need people who believe it is important to protect them from demise which is never far away. Their own reality would become far more harsh than it already is if the best people were not elected who realize their plight. 


These are people have worked hard and have earned their Social Security income. They deserve the loyalty of the American government system. They were and are the backbone of this country. They have wisdom beyond years and they take their voting rights very seriously. They take those rights as seriously as they live their lives.


They cannot afford any barriers, even simple barriers, to their lives when it comes to voting. Some are so distant emotionally from voting because of their poverty, one more barrier will keep them from having the will to vote at all. Why? Because when those problems occur they feel discarded. They feel forgotten. And if the government casts them aside by creating one more barrier to vote then they may as well quit trying to carry out their will. They give up. They resigned into their lives of poverty, they learned how to accept it and they will resign into surrendering their vote, too.


That is Voter Suppression. It happens when barriers occur to challenged voters in achieving their task of casting their ballot. It works against their will, it works against their finances, it bargains with their lives and it imposes a social understanding of being unimportant.


Voter suppression is very different from Voter Fraud. They are opposite ends of the spectrum. Voter fraud is about cheating. It has nothing to do with access to the balloting system of an election, quite the opposite. Voter Fraud is about having plenty of access to the balloting process, so much access there are wrongful votes cast.


The attitudes of Republicans regarding demands of ID in order to vote is creating a barrier. It would be a noble barrier if it were actually necessary. But, it isn't. The occurrence of voter fraud is virtually absent in the American balloting system. So, the attitudes of Republicans and Americans demanding another barrier to casting a ballot by seeking IDs when people are already registered voters is fraud all by itself. The demand of any state that every voter have an ID in order to cast a ballot to secure the ballot box is a lie. Demanding a state issued ID is fraudulent. The DEMAND of a state issue ID at the ballot box is FRAUDULENT. 


Got it?


The very demand a state legislature makes of a valid state issued ID at the ballot box is fraudulent to any danger of preventing fraud. It cannot prevent fraud that doesn't exist in the first place.


The lies of the Republicans demanding state issued ID at the ballot box is Voter Suppression. It is immoral, complicated and should never be a part of the American Landscape. The Voter Suppression by the Republicans is a crime. It victimizes Americans, calls them liars in their own reality and residency and seeks to eliminate the right to vote with ease to facilitate elections of people that care about their lives and their futures and the futures of their children.


Counter intuitive. You betcha. An ID necessary for national security? Absolutely not.

Speaking of Neocons, I found this and was astounded to realize this issue never came before Congress or the electorate.

Before Donald H. Rumsfeld (click title to entry - thank you) entered his second tenure as Secretary of Defense in 2001, the selection of senior U.S. military officers for top-ranking positions within the Department of Defense (DoD) was largely decided within the uniformed services, and the Secretary of Defense did not typically challenge the recommendations. However, to support his goal of transforming the defense establishment, Rumsfeld decided to become personally involved in the selection process....


Why is this so astonishing?


It is astonishing because for the first time our military was subject to political influence in their promotion standards. That is outrageous.


Interjecting a political standard to our military, changes career goals. It also makes an appointment to the leadership leading to the Joint Chiefs similar to nominating a Supreme Court Judge. 


This standard needs to be rescinded. 


Is there any wonder why we have seen General after General resign from the ranks of our military under Bush?


This substitutes/provides the same power as the President has to the Secretary of Defense. That is unconstitutional.

The NCAA decision regarding Penn State is a double edged sword, but, what else were they to do?

Punitive measures always carry the capacity of driving covert activities further underground, but, in the case of Penn State there is more than covert activities marring ethics, it was criminal.


The activities of a pedophile are criminal, so the idea there was more harm than good by the NCAA isn't really a question. The depth as which Sandusky was successful because of the criminal content is what concerns the community. I doubt the NCAA disciplinary procedures does much damage from the stand point of driving criminals further underground. 


What does bother the community as being over reaching by the NCAA is the fact the $60 million fine will sadly effect sports activities across the campus. That is unjust. There are athletes on the campus having nothing to do with Sandusky or the Patero legendary football program, yet they will suffer because of the loss of funding to their programs. Among those programs will be Title IX women's programs and that is unfortunate.


There is an additional paradigm of which will effect the careers of young athletes and scholars, they'll have to relocate their college careers to different schools, different scholarships. That will displace still other athletes in greater competition. The NCAA decision is harsh when all the impacts are realized. I would think the criminal charges people are facing should temper the decisions by the NCAA, however, it did cause action by the university administration to take the statue of Paterno down.


I think what bothers me more than any of the measures by the NCAA, is the fact Tom Corbett has been so inconsistent in this behaviors in this matter.


As an Attorney General in the State of Pennsylvania he was involved in the investigation of Sandusky and Penn State. The exposure of Sandusky did not happen during his AG days. But, that isn't the only problem with the current Governor's behavior.

A drawing of the Learning Center of The Center for Excellence for The Second Mile.

By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gov. Tom Corbett this summer approved a $3 million state grant (click title to entry - thank you) to The Second Mile, the charity founded by suspected child molester Jerry Sandusky, despite knowing about the sex abuse investigation that later resulted in charges against Mr. Sandusky.

The grant is now on hold, said Mr. Corbett's spokesman, Eric Shirk.

The grant would have helped pay for the first phase of the "Center for Excellence" at The Second Mile, which Mr. Sandusky, a former Penn State University assistant football coach, founded in 1977 to work with troubled children....


Governor Corbett is a prime example of what is "W"rong with these circumstances. He gave a nod to the monies that flowed into his campaign. Some say as much as $650,000 from affiliations with The Second Mile went to the Corbett campaign.


The fact the funding is on hold doesn't really matter because The Second Mile has been dissolved. So, the monies have no place to be banked. The monies need to be permanently returned to the Pennsylvania State Treasury. That was an nice exchange by the way; about 5 dollar state treasury funds to 1 exchange for campaign funds. But, besides the obvious cronyism existing, the ethical violation, the fact Corbett was so willing to promote 'the establishment' over 'the criminal that established it' is a huge part of the problem.


If people in power are willing to look the other way to benefit their own careers, such as Corbett did before and after taking the Governorship, isn't that what the problem was the entire time at Penn State? Wasn't the fear of being impacted by unpopular opinion cover the crimes of Sandusky? Wasn't The Second Mile Sandusky's private playground?


Corbett needs to be investigated for what he knew as an Attorney General and allowing those facts to dissipate in campaign donations and crony acts of funding to those donors. He is as much a part of these crimes and their perpetuation as Sandusky was and any administrator at Penn State that turned a blind eye to the victims.

Boston was never this much fun.

...And on it went for eight days as scores of Olympians, male and female, trickled into the shooters' house - and that's what everyone called it, Shooters' House - at all hours, stopping by an Oakley duffel bag overflowing with condoms procured from the village's helpful medical clinic. "I've never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life," says Lakatos.

Advertisement

It was in 1992 that the image of a celibate Games began to flicker when it was reported that the Barcelona Games' organisers had ordered in prophylactics like pizza. Then, at the 2000 Sydney Games, 70,000 condoms weren't enough, prompting a second order of 20,000 and a new standing order of 100,000 condoms per Olympics.

It's clear that, summer or winter, the games continue long after the medal ceremony. "There's a lot of sex going on," says women's football goalkeeper Hope Solo, an American gold medallist in Beijing in 2008. "I'd say it's 70% to 75% of Olympians," agrees US world record holding swimmer Ryan Lochte, who will be in London for his third Games....

It isn't easy to discern from this picture, but, from the torn branches the tree looks twisted.

A tree crashed through the roof of a home in Bridgeport this morning. No one was injured. (Chicago Fire Department photo / July 24, 2012)


It was probably a down blast similar to a brief tornado, if it wasn't actually a tornado. It was hot meeting cold. It occurred very spontaneously. It's the troposphere. It is unpredictable.


The airport was shutdown. Fine. It was a responsible decision. What happens to planes when struck with spontaneous weather events?

...The storm raced through (click title to entry - thank you) the northwest and north suburbs at around 55 mph, hitting downtown about 6:30 a.m. after hitting Kane and McHenry counties hard. Winds of 70 mph hit Naperville about 6:15 a.m. 61 mph hit Midway International Airport just after 6:30 , according to the National Weather Service.

A thunderstorm watch is in effect for Chicago-area counties until 9 a.m.

As of 7:30 a.m., about 175,000 ComEd customers had lost power, with that number likely to climb as storms continue to hit the area, a ComEd spokeswoman said....

If these are the clouds in a Chicago Sun Times report; these are heat transfer clouds. It is a familiar pattern to me.


Rippled appearance of clouds that extend in a single line for miles.


SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE 
July 24, 2012 7:08AM
The National Weather Service (click here) has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch Tuesday morning for the Chicago area.

Prayers by the US Senate is not sufficient to honor the dead. Prayers is not the method of power within in the US Senate to change the danger faced by these Americans.

...As he read the names of the victims (click title to entry - thank you) – Blunk, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, Gordon Cowden, Matthew McQuinn, Alex Sullivan, Micayla Medek, John Larimer, Jesse Childress, Alexander Boik, Rebecca Wingo, Alexander Teves and Jessica Ghawi – McConnell urged continued prayer for the community and particularly for the 58 injured in the shootings....


Perhaps Mr. McConnell needs to pray for guidance in writing legislation that actually saves the lives of Americans. I am sure the Lord will find the best inspiration, if he hasn't already.

It is no surprise Murdoch has turned 'chicken' in the face of charges to those within News Corp.

...Rupert Murdoch’s resignation (click title to entry - thank you) from the boards of several News Corp. (NWSA) newspapers may seek to reassure investors that the fallout from a U.K. phone-hacking scandal won’t follow them after the company splits into two units....




Run, Rupert, run. You can run, but, you can't hide.

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, (click here) former lead editors of the News of the World tabloid in Britain, were among eight of News Corp's ex-journalists charged with hacking into celebrities' voice mail to get stories.

The two former editors of the paper were charged with multiple hacking offenses, including accessing the voice mail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in 2002, the Crown Prosecution Service said today....

Rupert is a dishonest dealer of information through his media services. He practices tabloid journalism while trying to elevate the status as a weapon of the 'oppressed.' Give me a break.


News of the World was a century old newsprint when he took control, turned it into a propaganda rag, corrupted its practice and then closed its doors as if he had no clue. Sure, whatever you say Rupert.


Rupert Murdoch is not a saint above all other saints in the media industry elevating the oppressed. He is not and never was a friend to the poor or the Middle Class to 'fight the good fight.' He made a lot of money exploiting the fears and views of these people. He has been an ally to the wealthy the entire time, playing with news to effect markets globally and rolling the dice on the idea of pacifying those fascinated by the bizarre, the gossipy and those seeking power where none exists.


Murdoch has developed a 'code of communication' between his news media service and its audience to control the electorate as they sincerely had a fight in the first place. The montra of News Corp is one of sameness, status quo and unchanging paradigm designed to deliver profits and not freedom. News Corp seeks power brokering to place hapless politicians into office that will deliver a guaranteed outcome to Wall Street. There is nothing noble or necessary about News Corp.


He has been one of the largest brokers of the gun lobby and the NRA of any media organization today.


It didn't take News Corp for the government of the UK to publish responsibly to the public; it took legislation by RESPONSIBLE elected representatives.

24/07/2012

Statement from Alison Levitt QC, (click here) Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP):

This statement is made in the interests of transparency and accountability to explain the decisions reached in relation to Operation Weeting.

During June and July 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service received files of evidence from the Metropolitan Police Service, relating to thirteen suspects. This has followed a period of consultation and cooperation between police and prosecutors which has taken place over many months.

All the evidence has now carefully been considered. Applying the two-stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors I have concluded that in relation to eight of these thirteen suspects there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to one or more offences....