voting Archives - Page 9 of 12 - Ramblin' with Roger

Call the police; voter ID

I’ve been pondering this topic pretty much since I got booted from jury duty on a trial for a police officer who had allegedly been assaulted.

Yes, I DO think being part of the police is inherently much more dangerous than what I do, what most people do. And it’s not just going after the bad guys, such as when two Los Angeles cops were killed during a shooting spree. I found recent cases where they were targeted rather disturbing, such as the New York City cops assaulted by a hatchet-wielding man.

You may have heard about Eric Frein, a survivalist who is accused of shooting and killing a Pennsylvania State Police officer, Bryon Dickson, and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass in an ambush September 12 outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks in Pike County, PA. He has fortunately been captured, seven weeks later. What you may not have read about is the man who was repeatedly mistaken for Frein. His allegation of rough treatment, unfortunately, rang true with me.

I was oddly happy to see a local cop acting badly, and the citizen involved being white. That’s because it removes the racial stereotypes; you’ll still see them in the comments to the video. That cop has resigned. Saratoga County, BTW, is one of the more well-to-do counties in the state, certainly in the Albany metro area.

This will tie in, eventually: a friend sent me an article Texans Slam Voter ID Law: ‘Now That It’s Happened To Me, I’m Devastated’. An “84-year-old grandmother who lives in an assisted-living facility in Austin, Texas, has voted in every major election in her life since she became eligible. But ..she couldn’t get the right identification…” Women who have ID under different names are particularly vulnerable.

“Critics of the law estimated that up to 750,000 people in Texas wouldn’t have sufficient ID and would need to get an election certificate to vote. Yet between June 2013 and the week leading up to Tuesday’s midterms, only 371 certificates had been issued…” Since these IDs are expensive, the purchase of same would amount to a poll tax, which is in violation of the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The linkage here is that people often are oblivious to the wrongs that take place, sometimes under the presumption of legal authority, and believe it’s no big deal, until it affects them personally. My friend was really ticked about this in the voter ID case. I tend to think that it’s just human nature to think a problem is “theirs”, until it becomes “yours.”

Voting in New York

The Green Party candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins, has no chance of winning, which doesn’t prevent me from considering voting for him. I mean, he’s GREEN.

I found this article from September that explains to you folks outside of New York the crazy voting quilt: Why are so many parties allowed on the ballot in New York?

And this doesn’t even count some parties started just for this election. Governor Andrew Cuomo is also running on the Women’s Equality Party, as well as the Democratic and Working Family Party. I could explain this, but I’d infuse the commentary with too much sarcasm.

Even when I agree with him on some social issues, he comes off as an inflexible bully. And corrupt: most recently, his book publisher was given access to his campaign email lists.

My friend Dan is no fan of Andrew Cuomo, at all.

The Republican, Rob Astorio, is a rube, who said, re: the potential cut in dental benefits, almost literally, “Let them eat soup.” Does anyone REALLY want this guy, or do they pick him because he’s just the major party guy running against Cuomo?

The Green Party candidate, Howie Hawkins, has no chance of winning, which doesn’t prevent me from considering voting for him. I mean, he’s GREEN.

Then there are the ballot initiatives:

Proposal 1 revises the state’s redistricting procedure. It seems like such a great idea, and good government groups are actually split on it. But it is fake reform. Prop 1 will force future map drawers to consider the current district lines that are already flawed. Moreover, most of the participants on the group drawing lines are selected by the state legislature, AND the legislators can essentially ignore the committee’s suggestions.

Proposal 2 would allow electronic distribution of a state legislative bill to satisfy the constitutional requirement that a bill be printed and on the desks of state legislators at least three days before the Legislature votes on it, with requirements that the bill cannot be changed electronically without leaving a record of the changes. The legislature is a notorious tree-killer, and this seems to be a reasonable solution.

Proposal 3 has the attractive name, the SMART SCHOOLS BOND ACT OF 2014, which “authorizes the sale of state bonds of up to two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) to provide access to classroom technology and high-speed internet connectivity to equalize opportunities for children to learn, to add classroom space to expand high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, to replace classroom trailers with permanent instructional space, and to install high-tech smart security features in schools.” How could one oppose this? My fear is that the computer hardware and devices purchased will become obsolete long before taxpayers repaid the debt.

Here’s an explanation of the importance of midterm elections to students, because American voters are notoriously bad at participating in non-Presidential elections. And when they DO decide to cast their ballots, they run into voter suppression.

#BlogAction 2014: #inequality. Suppressing the vote? UnAmerican.

“It does seem a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it that we still have to fight against laws that seek to suppress the vote, laws that will have a disproportionate impact on those Americans who—had they been of voting age before 1965—would likely have been barred because of their race?”

When 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard A. Posner speaks, for better or for worse, lawyers, judges, and Supreme Court Justices listen. “Posner authored the Opinion in the decision of Crawford v Marion County, the 7th Circuit decision in 2008 that upheld Indiana’s “Voter ID” law.”

So it is significant that he now wants to revisit the issue:

“There is only one motivation for imposing burdens on voting that are ostensibly designed to discourage voter-impersonation fraud,” [Posner] writes, “and that is to discourage voting by persons likely to vote against the party responsible for imposing the burdens.” More specifically, he observes, photo ID laws are “highly correlated with a state’s having a Republican governor and Republican control of the legislature and appear to be aimed at limiting voting by minorities, particularly blacks.”

The non-too-liberal Supreme Court, whose first decision this fall made it harder to vote in Ohio, has blocked new voter ID law in Wisconsin.

As the Daily Kos put it:

It does seem a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it? That we still have to fight for voting rights, fight against laws that seek to suppress the vote, laws that will have a disproportionate impact on those Americans who—had they been of voting age before 1965—would likely have been barred because of their race? Ridiculous is one word for it. Infuriating is another. These tactics violate everything for which our country is supposed to stand. As President Obama put it, “The idea that you’d purposely try to prevent people from voting? un-American.”

I’m reminded that many of the post-Bill of Rights amendments to the US Constitution were designed to EXPAND the franchise, not limit it.

The Constitution is difficult to amend

Justice John Paul Stevens explains that gun control initiatives are not necessarily contrary to the Second Amendment.

Nothing is more fundamental in our democracy than our right to vote. “We are witnesses today to attacks on that hard-won right… Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP… reminded us that our votes were paid for with blood.” So, of all the Supreme Court decisions in the last couple of years, the one gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was among the most troubling. What Happened Next in These 8 States Will Not Shock You.

Therefore, I was slack-jawed when some guy wrote: “The Democrats have had a dream run in the Supreme Court over the past 6 years until now.” In response to all of the failings of the Court over decades, a writer suggested five ways to reform SCOTUS, which will NEVER happen.

Speaking of “will never happen”: From Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, by former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens. “The politics of the Second Amendment became the focal point of the gun debate. Gun supporters argued against the federal government’s claim that background checks and limitations on certain firearms should be put in place through public policy. In this excerpt, Justice Stevens explains that gun control initiatives are not necessarily contrary to the Second Amendment and that it is Congress’ responsibility to pass sensible legislation to prevent future tragedies.”

Something I hope will happen: a Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, challenge corporate power, and eliminate unlimited campaign spending. There are a number of state and local resolutions supporting it. But it’s very difficult to amend the Constitution. Even if the US Senate passes such legislation, I sincerely doubt the House will any time soon.
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xkcd explains the First Amendment (strong language). To that end, Arthur explains the difference between fascism and free speech. And, I’d say, it isn’t just progressive gays dumped on the “fascist” end of the spectrum, but the “feminazis” (pretty much anyone who owns up to being a feminist) and the “race baiters”/”race hustlers” (usually defined as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Barack Hussein Obama.)

Also, when a hospital worker is fired over remarks on her Facebook page – “urging police to ‘purge’ protesters in Ferguson, MO by ‘mowing them down with machine guns,'” This is NOT a violation of the woman’s Constitutional rights. “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech…” This applies to the states too, per the Fourteenth Amendment, but it does NOT apply to the hospital.

AND the woman doesn’t seem to be all that concerned about the Ferguson protesters’ First Amendment rights.
Or, for that matter, their Fifth Amendment right NOT to be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Or their Sixth Amendment rights to a “speedy and public trial.”

Jaquandor loves this quote from the court case section of the film Amistad; for more info re the actual 1839-1841 case, read here.

Can We Have Bipartisan Agreement To Stop Complaining About Presidential Vacations?. I’m less irritated than bored by this. Especially from Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal kvetching about Obama, when she used to work for Ronald Reagan, no vacation slouch.

August Rambling: Deep dark secrets

I wrote this blog post about my ambivalence about blogging on the Times Union website.

The Hook-Up Culture Is Getting 20-Somethings Nowhere. On the other hand, Casual Love.

How we get through life every day.

Nixon’s still the one. And What We Lost 40 Years Ago When Nixon Resigned. See Harry Shearer recreate Richard Nixon as he preps and delivers his resignation speech. Plus George Will Confirms Nixon’s Vietnam Treason.

New Zealand’s non-partisan Get Out the Vote campaign. I don’t see such things often in the US. Sure, there’s get our SUPPORTERS to vote, but that’s a different animal.

Deep Dark Fears is “a series of comics exploring those intimate, personal fears that mostly stem from your imagination getting darkly carried away.” Read more about it.

Rod Serling’s closing remarks from The Obsolete Man episode of The Twilight Zone. “It remains profoundly prescient and relevant.”

All these in a 48-hour period: How games’ lazy storytelling uses rape and violence against women as wallpaper and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has come forward with several stories of being called “chubby,” “fat,” and “porky” by her male colleagues in Congress and Fark prohibits misogyny in new addition to moderator guidelines and Snappy response to sexist harasser in the tech field.

Modern Office with Christina Hendricks.

FLOWCHART: Should You Catcall Her?

Guns and The Rule of Intended Consequences.

What our nightly views might look like if planets, instead of our moon, orbited Earth.

Cartoon: Pinocchio, Inc.

Remember when I wrote about flooding in Albany this month? Dan explains the systemic reason WHY it happened.

Arthur makes the case against “the case against time zones.” I’m not feeling the abolition of time zones either, at this point.

Nōtan: Dark and Light principles of Design.

The jungle gym as math tool.

The disaster drafts for professional sports.

The Procrastination Doom Loop—and How to Break It.

One of my favorite movie quotes, maybe because it’s so meta: “That’s part of your problem: you haven’t seen enough movies. All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” (Grand Canyon, 1991)

Seriously, Rebecca Jade, the first niece, is in about four different groups, in a variety of genres. Here’s The Soultones cover band – Promo video. Plus a link to her latest release, Galaxy, with Jaz Williams.

Tosy’s U2, ranked 40-31 and 30-21.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, 2004.

August 22, 1969: The Beatles’ Final Photo Shoot

Coverville 1043: The Elvis Costello Cover Story III, in honor of him turning 60.

4 chairs, 4 women; 4 women, no chairs.

12 billion light-years from the edge. A funny bit!

Don Pardo, R.I.P..

Lauren Bacall: always the life of the party. And cinema icon of Hollywood’s golden age, 1924-2014. A Dustbury recollection.

More Robin Williams: on ‘cowardice’ and compassion. Also, a Dan Meth drawing and Aladdin’s Broadway cast gave a him beautiful tribute. Plus, a meeting of Yarmy’s Army and Ulysses.

Jaquandor remembers little Quinn. Damn middle recording made me cry.

The Wellington Hotel Annex in Albany, N.Y. was… murdered in plain sight in front of hundreds of onlookers. “If I were a building, this is how I’d like to go.” Here’s another view.

SamuraiFrog’s Muppet jamboree: C is for Clodhoppers and D Is for Delbert (who evolved) and E is for Eric the Parrot and F is for a Fraggle and G Is for the Gogolala Jubilee Jugband.

New SCRABBLE words. Word Up has identified some of the new three-letter words.

I SO don’t care: one space or two after the period. Here’s a third choice.

The ultimate word on that “digital natives” crap.

Whatever Happened to the Metric System?

Freedom from fear.

Ever wondered what those books behind the glass doors of the cupboard might be thinking or feeling?

The New Yorker thinks Yankovic is weirdly popular.

Here’s a nice Billy Joel story.

Pop songs as sonnets.

House of Clerks, a parody of House of Cards.

Saturday Night Live Political Secrets Revealed.

This Sergio Aragonés masterpiece is included as a fold-out poster within Inside Mad. His priceless gift to all Mad fans shows over six decades of Mad contributors and ephemera within a mish-mash of Mad office walls. The only thing missing in this beautiful mess is a key. Doug Gilford will be attempting to label everything you see with brief (pop-up) descriptions and links to pertinent pages…

Hello Kitty is not a cat. You may have known that; somehow, I missed it.

You May Have Something Extremely Valuable Hiding In Your Change.

Improved names for everyday things

GOOGLE ALERTS (me)

I wrote this blog post about my ambivalence about blogging on the Times Union website. J. Eric Smith, who used to be a TU blogger, responds at length.

SamuraiFrog responds to my response to 16 Habits of Sensitive People. Also, per moi, he does his #1 songs on his birthday: 1987-1996 and 1997-2006, and 2007-2013. I’ll go back to this myself, eventually.

Dustbury on the theme song to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which a passage in Schutte’s Mass resembles more than slightly. He discovers a Singapore McDonalds product.

Jaquandor answers my questions about vices such as swearing and politics/American exceptionalism.

He also writes of buckets and the dumping of the water therein, which Gordon thinks hurts nonprofits. Snopes, BTW, debunks the claim that 73 percent of donations to the ALS Association fund executive salaries and overhead.

Do you know that ABC Wednesday meme I mention with a great amount of regularity? I think this recent introduction I wrote explains it fairly well.