I have been watching the debate over the renewal of the Voting Rights Act on C-SPAN and to say it is a friggin’ bigot parade is an understatement. One white GOP cracker after another coming up and trying to parse attempts to gut the bill as common-sense measures of "restraint." Really, it is Jim Crow all over again
Everyone who goes nuts any time the word Diebold is mentioned should be screaming loud and long over this. The attempt to disenfranchise voters, particularly African American voters (consistently reliable Democrats) has had a long and ugly history within the Republican party and there are four really nasty wingnut amendments being debated. Steve Gilliard has more on Rep. Steve King (who is trying to disenfranchise non-English speaking voters like American Indians) and Tracy Russo covers the topic well at the DNC website. And here is Maxine Waters’ speech from the floor (on YouTube above):
Mr. Speaker and members, I rise today to stand tall for the re-authorization of the voting rights act. Mr. Speaker and members, as an African American woman, member of congress i consider it my profound and welcome duty to use my voice and my vote to continue the struggle of the civil rights movement to guarantee the right to vote to African Americans and all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I have a difficult time explaining to African Americans all over this country why the congress of the United States has to continue to re-authorize the Voting Rights Act. the answer to that question is sad but simple and true true — discrimination. America, we stand before you today re-authorizing the voting rights act because we have to continue to have safeguards in law to prevent cities, counties, states, and other jurisdictions from devising laws, practices, tricks, and procedures that impede the right to vote by minorities in this country.
One may ask, "what laws and tricks are you alluding to?" Mr. Speaker, in the past the tricks were poll taxes, literacy tests and voter intimidation. Today and throughout the years the laws and tricks have changed but the game is the same. Deny and prevent minorities from exercising the power of selection of candidates and laws by any means necessary.
What are some of these tactics being used today in some jurisdictions in America?
Oh there are tactics like in Georgia, create the need for an identification card that you have to pay for, that is only issued by the state. In Florida, create data bases identifying people as felons, people who have never ever been arrested before. Change voting rights laws so that you create at-large districts rather than districts where minorities can be elected from. Minority candidates get elected by districts and when you create these at-large districts you eliminate the possibility of getting elected.
Place uniform guards at polling places to intimidate voters. The list goes on and on. The voting rights act will guarantee pre-clearance of these attempted discriminatory acts and hopefully deny these kinds of actions. I ask my colleagues — don’t disrespect the civil rights movement. Don’t dishonor us. Pass this voting rights re-authorization bill and show the world that America is sincere about democracy.
Not surprisingly this is a big issue for the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and it should be to all Democrats (who have, BTW, threatened to vote down the bill if any of the four regressive amendments are passed). The fact that we should even be debating this matter is ridiculous and shows how much pull the rabid and the wingy have over the GOP. It shows how far you can drag the dialog just by standing on the extremeties and screaming. It isn’t even subtle.
(FWIW, the CBC is the only group willing to buck the DC incumbency protection racket and show up in Connecticut to campaign for Ned Lamont, and the Georgia ID card law noted above by Maxine Waters was drafted by Eric Ericskson of Red State. Just so everyone knows where the lines are drawn.)
Related posts:
- House Voting on Iran Resolution; Human Rights Activist Not Against It, But…
- House Voting Now On The Rule For Health Care Debate
- Von Spakovsky Accuses Obama Civil Rights Team of “Nakedly Political” Acts; NYT Fails to Note HvS’s Own Partisan Work
- Are Blue Dogs Just “Voting Their Districts” — Or Their Donors?
- Republicans Still Dubious About Voting For Senate Health Reform Bill
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Fitz!
Fitz!
Heh…well, I was closer than I’ve ever been.
Something in me is saying, “Do It! Don’t renew the Voting Rights Act.” Then I can sit back and watch ALL of the minorities rise up in anger. But I know that isn’t plausible.
november 2006 scares the bejesus out of them
Reauthorized?
Good frickin’ god, just make it permanent.
Should’a been made permanent the first time they passed it
OT
on CNN talking about how Condi is trying to calm down the folks in the ME. Yeah, she has shown us all how talented and capable a diplomat she is. God helps us all.
Fitz, Joe, Val, St. Maxine!
EPU’d: yeah, RevDeb acc to MSNBC reporter:
Israel responds to Rice’s late call for restraint: stuff it.
She also tells Syria to pressure Lebanon.
all this from Germany where i guess she joined w.
Attack on Beirut imminent
Voter turnout in this country is so low as to be shamefully embarrassing, and why anyone would want even fewer pople to exercise their right to vote is beyond me. Well, I know there’s that whole power thing, but that’s no excuse.
How we can parade ourselves around the world as this flagship of democracy, while at the same time elected representatives on the local, state and national level are working their fingers to the bone to deny people the right to vote is another irony I am just not equipped to process.
Bizarro World, for sure.
Everyone should also go over to our good friend Brad Friedman’s place, Brad Blog. He is really all over voting related issues.
Lamont on Ed Schultz right now. HoJo coming up.
Indiana has a more restrictive ID law than Georgia — in May they almost turned away an incumbent Congresswoman when she tried to use her official Congressional ID Card !
As one who believes the Diebold issue is a massive election fraud scheme, I do agree with Jane that disenfranchisement is serious. It seems to be the GOP strategy to do it by every means possible. It happened with voter roll purges in Florida, it happened with Native Americans in South Dakota, it happened in Ohio with the allocation of machines by precinct and they’re trying to be make to happen in Georgia with mandated ID cards. Any day now we’ll start to hear about literacy tests or some other well-worn tool of voter suppression.
It’s shameful how the GOP under the Bush government is rolling back all hard-fought civil liberties, but the voting rights act interference is beyond brazen. Only because our lapdog media aren’t covering this the way they should can the GOP racists get away with it. People died in our country to earn the right to vote. Nobody should take this lightly.
Looks like the King ammendment (English-only ballots, not so good for American Indians) is going down but most Rethuglicans are voting for it. That is both ugly and shameful.
On CSPAN now.
This is 2006, not 1956. Or does the entire Civil Rights Era have to be re-lived so that we can get it permanently right this time?
Unbelievable.
zedaker @ 5:
I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t imagine the pigs are polling so well with minority military families these days.
Thanks for a great post, Jane.
puppethead 14 — Only because our lapdog media aren’t covering this the way they should can the GOP racists get away with it. People died in our country to earn the right to vote. Nobody should take this lightly.
Abso-fucking-lutely.
It should be noted that a Federal judge ruled this week that Georgia’s poll taxing ID card is illegal.
al-Scooter says
July 13th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Probably. After all, we already have Viet Nam and Watergate. Back to the past!
And yeah, the Voting Rights Act should be made permanent, along with just about every other civil-rights and environmental-protection law passed before Shrub moved into DC.
Westmoreland of Georgia is the asshole who wanted all those 10-Commandments laws but could only name 3 when challenged …
It takes something special for Kotex Sensenbrenner to look like a voice of reason on the right. Today was that special day. The bigot parade of good-ol-boys from Georgia, including Lynn ‘3 Commandments’ Westmoreland, was something fucking shocking. It was good to see the Georgia Dems tear into them, including Cynthia McKinney.
Ridiculous is not the word I would have chosen. How about dreadful or horrendous, appalling, unspeakably vile, monstrous, loathsome and execrable. Many more come to mind, as well.
Here’s part of post I wrote at my place few days go:
We can parade in the streets, donate to our favorites, call, whine, bitch, protest, canvas, and at the end of the day, if your vote doesn’t count, then YOU don’t count.
It’s that simple, and that cruel.
Jane, this is the same King that’s floating the electric shock border fencing used for herding cattle, right?
Isn’t this one of those things where “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about” like they say about reading our phone records and emails, bank accounts and listening to our phone calls? Really, I don’t see what the goopers are all excited about, if they’re such law-abiding citizens.
meta: Same guy, yes. From Iowa, that bastion of multi-ethnic America.
OT-
zen – I have some pictures that might cheer you up a little w/ re: Barbaro.
Wonder what the best way is to get them to you.
Looks like the Votiing Rights Act extension passes! All amendments go down.
King of Iowa was the loving husband who opined that his wifey would be safer in Iraq than downtown DC, considering the death rates …
WOW…OT…but NED just was GREAT on Ed Shultz…I am not a “big Eddie” fan, but I must say Ed asked very important questions and EXCELLENT questions. Ned is a class act … Ned Lamont is wonderful.
angie:
She also tells Syria to pressure Lebanon.
Rather reminiscent of when Wolfowitz suggested that the Turkish military should pressure the civilian government to help with the war in Iraq, isn’t it? They cheered when Syria was forced out of Lebanon, but when things in Lebanon don’t go the way they want, they call on Syria to “pressure” them.
No damn principles at all. The neocons want to spread “democracy,” so everyone around the world will be free to do what they tell them is the right thing.
after knocking down the 4 amendments, it’s finally voted on and will be passing …
I have to take this moment to celebrate the very first time, since I’ve been a resident of Wisconsin, that I’ve actually not been mortified to have Senslessbrenner as a Representative. Apparently even he has limits to how much of Satan’s work he’s willing to do.
By the way, we in Wisconsin still apologize for McCarthy. Sorry about that one. We give you Feingold by way of restitution.
OT: Latest from Reuters
[snip]
Israel has rejected Hizbollah demands that it release Arab prisoners in exchange for the captive soldiers, named by the Israeli army as Ehud Goldwasser, 31, and Eldad Regev, 26, but says it fears the soldiers could be spirited to Iran.
Uh-huh.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Israel was “talking absurdities”.
~
So far 29 Goopers voting against. Can’t wait to see the names.
pseudonymous: Lynn ‘3 Commandments’ Westmoreland
Oooh, that’s good!
al-Scooter:
It’s like a time warp special. Didn’t we go though this when I was a kid? Weren’t the people who stood in the way of voting rights considered the worst kind of anti-democratic racist scum? And now, 50 years later, they’re upright conservatives? I’m not sure if it makes me want to barf, or get a gun. Or both.
OT and EPU’d from a couple of days ago:
Jane, maybe because I’m a slow learner, but I noticed only a few days ago by idly clicking on your HuffPo bio that you were the producer of Natural Born Killers. I guess that means you knew my dear old friend Richard Rutowski. Heard from him recently?
So far 29 Goopers voting against. Can’t wait to see the names.
I’m betting they all speak with a particular regional accent…
OT:
Three days worth of spending in Iraq. Which one do you think makes us safer?
The political calculus gets ugly here for the bigots. They must have felt they could defeat/destroy the act, but it seems now they’ve lost. I already hear the campaign commercials:
“Representative X wanted to keep people from voting. Do you really want him in office?”
Ned just finished on Ed Schultz and I was really impressed. Ed hit him with some fairly pointed questions regarding tax cuts, Iraq, the primary, etc and Ned was very succinct, clear and provided fairly straight answers. It was clear to me that he is way more than a 1 issue guy. Ed seemed to be impressed as well.
He did ask Ned about the blogosphere and was it using this primary to “get back” at Lieberman because they didn’t like him. Ned did a great job talking about the broad range of support he has been receiving, netroots included thought the state and the country. Not news to anyone here, but this dude is very sharp. Holy Joe coming up in a little, should be good for laughs.
Wounded Knee
Lakota
December 29, 1890
As long as we’re discussinng naked white supremacy in the twenty-first century, I thought I would link to an article about Wounded Knee. AFAIK, this is the final “shooting” battle of the Indian Wars. It was “payback” for the Little Big Horn 14 years earlier.
It was the slaughter of the Buffalo, however, that really doomed the Native Americans. Those tribes were as dependent on the Buffalo as we are on oil.
Samurai Sam #35 – too funny about McCarthy!
And FWIW, even though I’m not a Wisconsinite, I’ll sure take Russ Feingold ANYTIME!
mk ultramaroon,
I did a little perusal of the bigotsphere for a post about Israel earlier and they are united in their belief that Iran is behind the conflict and that war with Iran (and maybe Syria) is a great idea. As I said in my post: These people never, ever tire of war, especially when they’re not doing the fighting.
Thank you so much Jane for posting on this, I am sincerely grateful and secretly in love with you. I semi-hijacked the thread a couple days ago about on this topic and asked for someone to do a post. You have found a compelling and righteous video to open the conversation and you are a HERO. I have been posting at my site about the diebold machines and am willing, open and able to be part of the battle to FIX THIS NOW. If you need anything of me Jane or have any suggestions beyond what is here, PLEASE let me know.
-HopeSpringsATurtle
Franco 32 -
Ed Schultz is a weird one. He’s mostly horrible but then there are days (like the interview a few weeks ago with Seymour Hersh when he let him talk without interruption, slamming the administration) that he’s pretty good. He seems okay in the role of others being ‘bad cop’. At least that’s something.
I only listen to him if I happen to be in the car, though, which is pretty much never. Use my bicycle for most everything…
OT again
Hubby just got a call from the Sierra club. Anyone remember if they endorsed HoJo? Mr. Rev. wasn’t home so they will call again and I want to be ready.
Morris #39:
I’m not at all pleased that my lifetime would see so much progress sli-slidin’ away. Sadly (profoundly), there seems to be too much political advantage in not putting racial issues behind us. There are so many other challenges!
*ilson46201 @ 2:23 pm (#30) – King appears to be bad at both math and dealing with people who aren’t like him.
more youtube gold!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En_-Iwyypx
Lynn ‘3 Commandments’ Westmoreland, as seen interviewed by Colbert, is dumber than a sack of fence-posts.
Good wikipedia on white supremacy
I’m betting they all speak with a particular regional accent…
‘Cracker.’
Sensenbrenner was pretty reasonable during the Bolton hearing in committee, if I recall. But that faded fast.
Lieberman is up now…LOSER
This is OT, but I soooo hate to see Novakula being allowed to skulk all over the place, lying his *ss off, scott-free – can’t Joe and Valerie sue him too – for defamation or something?
Oh, was it John Barrow (D-Athens) who said ‘I was raised with the Ten Commandments’ to Westmoreland? I should have picked up on it. Kudos if that was done with Colbert in mind.
Hey Jenny
Hiya SteveAudio!
RevDeb:
Sadly, yes.
not the The See Error Club
Redshift @ 2:26 pm (#37) – I used to think that these guys who wanted the Ten Commandments displayed everywhere just wanted to shove their religion down our throats. I’m starting to wonder if it’s because they just forget what the commandments are and need constant reminding.
Breaking news from MSNBC: House of Representatives votes to renew 1965 Voting Rights Act.
John C. Again, as always, thanks. “The endless shame and blood that this country is built on could not be washed away by an ocean of time.”
At times, I think that the Bush administration is truly a return, as Cheney and Scalia imagine it, to this country’s roots.
It is a long story, but voting rights was one of my passions in law school. I applied to the DOJ Honors program, but because I was off in Alabama doing, well, civil rights and voting rights work, I couldn’t have a first-round interview. As it was, I am not so certain it went that well as I asked my interviewer (a hooty hoo who happened to be in Alabama for a case) to explain the DOJ’s reversal of position in the Louisiana Fireman’s case (this was teh Reagan administration). I didn’t get the job (drops to knees and thanks GOD or whatever) but one of my closest friends has been an attorney at the DOJ votings division for years. This attorney tells me that things in the division are worse than anyone can imagine. Bush has politicized the whole of DOJ, including voting. My friend says that decisions are in the hands of guys with names like Biff and Happy whose only involvement in voting rights was storming Florida in 2000. Things, someplaces, are much worse than most imagine.
LieberLOSER is spewing Rovian talking points on Iraq and sounds arrogant!
I think the Voting Rights Act is another great reminder that no issue is ever dead for conservatives. Unfortunately, as progressives, we will always be forced to keep fighting this zombie conservatism, as it never dies. Fortunately, progressives always win in the end, which is important to remember as well.
OT & apologies if this has been posted – saw it over at C&L – Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust
http://www.wilsonsupport.org/
33 Nays. All Goopers. Will post the names when they’re published.
Lieberman – “I’m not Bush.”
Just pimped his PP and NARAL endorsements. Ed calling him on things getting better in Iraq.
Steve King looks just like Tom Tancredo — have they ever been seen in the same room together? Were they seperated at birth? Or does race hatred make all stupid white GOoPers look alike?
RE: Big Ed
Sad man, Lieberman. I can’t get the image of a droopy-earred cartoon dog out of my mind. Bad dog.
I’m glad he and Lamont were on so close together. Great compare and contrast opportunity: Ned was brilliant, Lieberman pathetic. Big Ed’s buddy buddy tone with Lieberman, his cool distance with Lamont.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s because they just forget what the commandments are and need constant reminding.
Good one! Of course, they really only want The Nine Commandments. Coveting your neighbor’s possessions is the basis of our economy…
Did the House vote down the 6 Commandments and 4 Amendments?
Breaking news from MSNBC: House of Representatives votes to renew 1965 Voting Rights Act.,
Hey, that’s encouraging. Maybe now they’ll get on integrating public restrooms and addressing coat-hanger abortions. Oh, wait…
Lieberman – “I’m not Bush.”
The fact that he needs to make that distinction really says it all.
Thanks Mommy, I was curious as to how Ed reacted to both. I think he was surprised by Lamont, didn’t get to listen to Holy Joe. Don’t need to, know that song by heart…
Thanks for the reminder about the Voting Rights Act, Jane. You’re right, any government action that disenfranchises citizens needs to be examined and fixed. In fact, while I don’t believe the “Ohio was stolen” meme, many of the instances of voting fraud folks have mentioned there have nothing to do with voting machines.
Someone at one of the blogs I read linked to an article about one Ohio county that’s dominated by Republicans even though Democrats have far more registered voters. They’ve been doing that long before Diebold started making electronic voting systems. There are plenty of ways to rob people of their votes.
Noes:
Baker, Barrett (SC), Bartlett (MD), Barton (TX), Bonner, Burton (IN), Campbell (CA), Conaway, Deal (GA), Doolittle, Duncan, Everett, Foxx, Franks (AZ), Garrett (NJ), Gingrey, Hefley, Hensarling, Herger, Johnson, Sam, King (IA), Linder, McHenry, Miller, Gary, Norwood, Paul, Price (GA), Rohrabacher, Royce, Shadegg, Tancredo, Thornberry, Westmoreland
Ed asked LieberLOSER why he goes on Hannity…of course LieberLOSER didn’t answer he changed the subject.
blasted italicans.
The fact that we should even be debating this matter is ridiculous and shows how much pull the rabid and the wingy have over the GOP. It shows how far you can drag the dialog just by standing on the extremeties and screaming.
Worth repeating, Jane. So how do we overcome the built-in advantage that screaminess seems to give?
To the moderators: You’ll note that in comment #74, Jenny from the Blog had a momentary problem with a shift key while closing the italics tag.
Speaking of Bolton, wonder what kind of splash the monster mustache made at the UN today.
Holy Crap! Lieberman is repeating the Bush talking point that the problems w/ Israel and Lebanon are because Iran is “flexing its muscles” over the nuclear issue!
9-11/Saddam, Lebanon/Iran!
Sorry about the tag snafu, folks.
Is everything in italics now to indicate that we’re talking in snooty liberalese?
I’m reading Greg Palast’s new book Armed Madhouse, where he does some digging in New Mexico, Florida, Ohio, and a few other states. The shit that was pulled in 2004—and for that matter since 2000—to disenfranchise minority voters in many states is just too much to be believed. You’ve got to read it to grasp the broad level the GOP is working to kill a large percentage of reliably Democratic votes.
Spoiled ballets using old and corrupted optical scanners, where the vote doesn’t register and so isn’t “technically” stolen, and purging/challenging of voter lists (caging) seem to be the actions of choice. These dirty tricks leave all the action at the local level, where it’s likely to be ignored for the most part. Power machine politics at it’s best/worst.
I’d like to see a ten year project to replace every Republican secretary of state and whoever is in charge of voting at the county level with a Democrat or trusted independent. Otherwise we are living in a one-party controlled state (dictatorship).
“Well”, I can hear you muttering, “Duh!”
Samurai Sam – “I’m not Bush” was one of the first things out of his mouth.
I hope that Doolittle vote helps Charlie Brown… how can a Representative deny voting rights in the 21st century?
His evil mustache accompanied his vocal chords in sustaining yet another veto.
I don’t do italics….. It’s too much like “nuance”. That word even sounds subversive.
OT The Huffington Post called to my attention this article from the WaPoo, which describes at length the reasons people may be unwilling or reluctant to support Sen. Hillary Clinton for president.
I hope this is just the first in a series of articles that will highlight reasons why people don’t like John McCain, reasons why people don’t like Rudy Guliani, reasons why people don’t like Cat-Killer Bill Frist, and so on.
OldCoastie @ 2:48 pm (#85) – That Iran and Hezbollah (sp?) are linked is an old story, but this latest uproar seems to have far more to do with local politics in the Levant than it does with Iran.
IOW, if you’re going to tell a lie, cloak it in the truth.
al-Scooter @ 48
Not at all pleased is hardly the half of it.
Liberman on Schultz’s show sounded, well, like Joe. That is to say whiny, sanctimonious and condescending. Ugh! Plus he misrepresented himeself on both Social Security and women’s rights. He called himself a strong defender of SS. Heh! Then he cited his endorsements from NARAL and PP. Who would have guessed that those quisling special interest groups would give him cover. Naturally Big Ed didn’t bring up the whole rape gurney issue.
oh neuro don’t hold your breath!
i think we may be treated to WasPost articles about the reasons folks don’t like gore, kerry, edwards, clark, richardson, warner, et al., before they deal with your suggestions.
*g*
Jenny from the Blog @ 2:48 pm (#86) – S’OK, Jenny. You tried.
This is the one thing I liked about HaloScan relative to this comment software – it would close out all those tags at the end of each comment. Is this comment thing part of Wordpress? If it is, I can suggest that they add that feature.
Lieberman is repeating the Bush talking point that the problems w/ Israel and Lebanon are because Iran is “flexing its muscles” over the nuclear issue!
That odious troll John Gibson was pushing nothing but Iran, Iran, Iran in Fox “News’” coverage of the fighting today. Conservatives are just itching for a reason for open warfare with Iran. Diplomacy is just too wimpy for the wingnuts, you know (as is living a long, healthy life as a Middle Eastern civilian, apparently).
Rohrabacher
That prick used to be my Rep. when I lived in Huntington Beach.
Remember the pic of him with the Taliban wearing their garb? Seems somehow fitting, don’t you think?
neo, the problem with that article about Hillary is it just talks about people objecting to her personality. Nothing about how some people might not agree with her positions or voting record. Maybe we can look forward to another round-up retropective analysis of her hairdos.
mark 87
This is why we should insist on a handcount of ballots at the precinct level – - done in full view of bi-partisan witnesses – - and the results posted at the voting place.
This is better than exit polling and can be used to verify the central tabulators.
Somebody here said the other day that we’d never finish counting the paper ballots. Not so. Other countries do it all the time and their results come in that night or early the next morning.
Cujo, thanks.
Using italics is an old habit and I actually prefer the blockquotes. But sometimes I forget.
Thanks Jenny.
Want to be ready for the next call from the “see errors” Hubby said I can act as his proxy on this.
One by one, they will get our message.
marksb @ 2:49 pm (#88) – I think a good start would be to figure out how to make the election commissioners jobs, or whoever it is who runs voting in a state, non-partisan. They shouldn’t be allowed to participate in political parties or run for office while they’re in that role. Of course, abuse will still happen, but at least it might stop some of the more blatant abuses, and give people more confidence that their votes are being counted fairly.
So who’s going to call in to Big Eddie’s show tomorrow and point out the “inconsistencies” in J-Lie’s comments? Or email via his website?
Small stones, move those small stones…
revdeb 103 -
I just threw out my Sierra Club knapsack. Not that I actually hike but just on principle. :)
I’m pretty sure Eddie is owned by the DLC and is well paid for that… I don’t really think any stones will much get moved, but ya might shut ‘im up a bit…
Whiny, Sanctimonious and Condescending.
Sounds like the name of a DC lobbying firm that Lieberman might join after he loses “his” Senate seat.
“I’m not Bush.”
There appears to be more than a passing resemblance…Perhaps some moisturizer would help?
;>)
Samurai Sam @ 98– everybody’s doin’ it– Frist, Noron, Wolf. The memo is out.
Jenny,
We’re all trying to do everything we can “on principle.” It’s what we’re about.
If any of you have not yet gotten a copy of 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Fight the Right, PLEASE DO.
It’s got great stuff in it that all of us can do.
Why is it that everytime the preznut is out of the country the world spins on its delicate axis…Indeed, while the soldiers he sent to fight in his war on terror must be quite a bit nervous tonight, I wonder how he is supporting the troops by barbeqing in Germany. So far, our Bleader is the only one I have seen on Tv tonite who is in a partying scenario.
Darkblack #109:
So the Chimp’s devolving?
ccmask – I was just thinking how Bush looks so tanned and relaxed – not the visage of someone worried about the ME
darkblack LOL
That looks like a picture of Lie-berman taken at the 2000 Democratic Convention.
Why couldn’t Gore see Joe as clearly then as we do now?
I guess we have Iraq, Alito, and “short ride,” among other things, to help us, which Gore did not at the time.
Just wanted to get this in here, I just sent an email and called Rep.Nancy Pelosi. Here’s my email:
Dear Rep. Pelosi,
I am a native San Franciscan who votes absentee from Texas. I have voted for you in every election you’ve run in and am proud to call you MY representative.
I’m writing to thank you for your YouTube postings and your strong voice in this debate about the Voting Rights Act renewal. In this same vein, I would also like to strongly encourage you to take a stand and demand that the DNC and the DCCC make the neccesary changes in their policies and duly ensure that the voting machines used in the upcoming elections are secure and tamper-proof. I am so very upset that the upcoming elections will be stolen yet again (I am not the only person with this opinion), by the extreme right-wing that I am literally making these machines being ’secure’ a personal mission.
If you would like some of the information I am relying on, I’ve included a link to my blog homepage which has a number of links to the information sources.
http://deepconfusion.blogspot.com/
The best source I’ve found has been BradBlog.com which is linked at my site.
I have staked out an extreme but popular position on the state of the USA today, and I don’t expect you to agree with me about everything but I do expect along with virtually ALL AMERICANS that our ELECTIONS SHOULD BE SAFE, SECURE, AND VERIFYABLE.
I thank you for your time and your service to our state and nation and look forward to voting for you again, in your next re-election bid.
Sincerely,
OT
Oh no you di’int…Rev.Bill Lawson comparing Ken Lay to JFK on that “Bow-tied bastard’s” show on MSMBC
Barney’s up in the House, appears to be going right @ Bush.
al-Scooter @ 113:
‘Same shit, different mad scientist’
;>)
I just opened an e-mail from Barbara Boxer asking me to contribute to her PAC so she can pass the money on to Democratic Congressional candidates.
She’s having a contest to see who to send money to next, and currently Claire McCaskill of MO is leading.
Sorry, Barbara, I can’t trust you not to spend any of that money contributing to Lie-berman.
Does anybody know much about McCaskill? Maybe I will send her some money directly.
I know other’s have already mentioned the “Key Lay compared to James Byrd” comment but this is truly beyond the pale. Does it get ANYMORE ‘Uncle Tom’ than this?
neurophius 107
Hah. I think it was formed by former associates of Dewey, Cheatham and Howe.
Dark Black at 120
“Inspired…brilliant”
HopeSpringsATurtle @ 3:17 pm (#118) – Other than that they were both mammals, what do they have in common?
Lol at Morris Sheppard at 123
Sorry – Barney’s going after Bush and his acquiescent Congress… Hard!
darkblack hits the tab’s.
Darkblack #120:
At least I knew enough to put down my non-designer water before I looked.
ROFL…and pounding the floor over that little item at the bottom of the page.
Cujo…I especially like the bottom of the page
“I will kill again…”
darkblack
LOL again. I really enjoy your ongoing visual punctuation of FDL threads.
darkblack @ 3:19 pm (#120) – Can’t stop … laughing. One of the few regrets I have about the proliferation of self-checkout lanes at grocery stores is that I don’t get to read the Weekly World News as much as I used to.
We LOVE Barney! watching him now lambasting the dufus in chief.
Neuro #107:
No matter how friendly Fatheadie was, Joey comes across the way he comes across.
“He can run, but he can’t Hide.”
Joe Louis
So the more exposure either candidate gets, the better Ned looks.
Speaking of framing (all right, we weren’t), since when are PROFESSIONAL soldiers “kidnapped” rather that “captured”? They’re toying with our emotions again.
op99 @ 3:26 pm (#134) – Especially since when the Israelis go into other countries and bring back prisoners, those people are “captured”.
I hope that Think Progress posts the entirety of Barney’s rant. It is a think of beauty.
neuro, as a longtime Missourian, I can attest that you’d be on the side of the angels in helping Claire McCaskill — that’s one we need to win bad. It’s been a conservative state but could purple-up rather nicely this year, and Claire is a major reason — stem-cells one of the main reasons.
Howie can tell you more . . .
Meant to add “too” after “one of the main reasons,” neuro.
Barney: “they don’t want congress to agree because it implies that some day down the road congress might disagree and then what . . .”
He makes so much sense.
Just FYI
There are two important parts of the Voting Rights Act, The first is Section 5 which is where all the governmental intrusion occurs. Section 5 involves “covered district” which includes most of the south and rocky mountain west and a number of counties in the North and West (big places like NY and Chicago and Boston, etc.). The big power of the Feds in section five is “preclearance” which means covered jurisdictions must submit voting changes to the DOJ to pass on before they can come into effect. The real tragedy of the Bush administration (like in the Georgia ID situation) is that career DOJ voting rights people are writing internal briefs that recommend non-preclearance, but then the political people (Ashcroft and Gonzalez and their umpa lumpas) overturn those well-reasoned objections. This is what also happened in th eDelay redistricting in Texas.
Section 2 allows individuals anywhere to sue for violations of the constitutional right to vote. Much of this stuff centers around race and the “one person, one vote” standard of whether a state action dillutes voting power. This, recently has been the better way for agrieved people to go. But, sadly, this is expensive, expert-intensive litigation that very few people fund.
So the Act was renewed and all amendments were rejected. Does anyone have vote counts on all amendments?
I wanna have Barny Frank’s baby – invitro, of course.
the “English-language” amendment got something like 189 GOP votes but in the end only 33 GOPers voted against the Bill
Why can’t the politicians whom we like keep their websites up to date.
http://www.congressionalblackcaucus.net/
HSAT @ 122:
Maybe
;>)
“Not only morally flawed but factually wrong”
-Barney frank on the “Decider’s” view of the Congress and a free media interferring with the “War on terra”
I want to personally apologize to everyone for my representative’s vote on the Voting Rights Act. Yes, John Doolittle represents me in congress, and he voted no. This means that I voted no. I am sick to my stomach.
Everyone in CA-04 — please! please support and vote for Charlie Brown this November!!
Dark Black you are so naughty yet fabulous…
Prof: because of the power of the CBC, one of the first things Newt Gingrich did after 94 was to yank all funding and staff from ’specialty caucuses’ so whatever webwork at the CBC gets done by volunteer labor or donated staff.
Now this is interesting.
The WaPo lists votes by the astrological sign of the members of Congress voting.
You have gotta be kidding me.
LindaR
I sent him money last week…Check out:
http://voteforvets.org
Thought I posted this. Can’t find it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..369_2.html
hopesprings:
That’s how I feel about Rufus Wainwright. In vitro, out of vitro… whatever.
*ilson at 143 — english only. Clearly unconstitutional — even the GA Supreme Court understood that.
*ilson46201 at 149.
Thanks.
So where are the volunteers with web skills and time to help our friends?
for wingers an English-only vote is attractive to their voters — the Constitution be damned!
Barney:
“Our electoral process is in shambles”
I don’t know how people like Barney Frank fight the good fight everyday. Everytime I get frustrated with our Dems I think about how sick and disgusted they must feel most days…
*ilson 156 too true. :~(
HSAT — I tried the linky to the vets, but it didn’t work. (thanks for the charlie brown contribution)
This looks like the final tally:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll374.xml
a volunteer to Congress gets into tricky ‘gift’ stuff so Congresscritters may not use volunteer labor. A local or state govt entity could legitimately donate the webwork though …
[full disclosure: I did Congressional webwork for several years as a token minimum-hour part-time but official employee. I produced the first totally bi-lingual Congressional website in 1998. ]
Argh, too much to get caught up on. I’m thrilled that the Voting Rights Act got renewed, and pleasantly surprised that there were only 33 nays – I was expecting more like… two or three hundred.
And I agree entirely with puppethead @41 that these racists’ opponents run aggressively with this. Don’t worry about pissing off racist voters, they’re not voting for us anyway.
Now, can the Dems expand this to electoral reform in general? I believe they can make it a high-profile issue and finesse the question of whether 2004 was stolen by pointing out the importance of electoral legitimacy in what is supposed to be the world’s model democracy.
I’m thinking there should be a narrative along the lines of: No-one *wants* there to be whispers about electoral fraud in a presidential election, right? Not even Republicans, right? It’s Bad For Democracy. (Subtext: If the Republicans are *really* winning elections fair and square, then they have nothing to lose and everything to gain)
In essence, the strategy is to force the Republicans to either go along or else explain why they hate Democracy and American voters.
OT, but pertinent and important to the Middle East mess.
Former CIA officer Ray Close has an important post on Larry Johnson’s blog, No Quarter, about the damage being done to US national interests by Israel’s kneejerk disproportionate responses to provocations.
http://noquarter.typepad.com/m…..in_le.html
Fairly long, but worth the time.
OfT: Game On
by emptywheel
“I’m going to make some comments about the Wilsons’ complaint below (meanwhile, check out their fancy new site, The Joe and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust). But before I do that, let me say, the most intriguing bit about it will be the way that the named parties–Cheney, Libby, and Rove–attempt to counter this without ruining the story they’ve been telling in the criminal complaint….”
LindaR…so sorry, my bad. Here’s a new linkie:
http://www.votevets.org/
YAYES!!! It took — somebody here (RevDeb) suggested I start a http://www.ThankYouValerieWilson.com website. Considering the ambiguity of her last name I went ahead and bought the domain: http://www.ThankYouValerie.com but am forwarding it to http://www.WilsonSupport.org . You can contribute there to her Legal Offense Fund …
hey lotus, are you in Missouri? My grandparents on my dad’s side were from there.
HSAT — that one worked. Thanks!
LindaR..anytime Doll.
Hey LindaR,
Did you see this from last March …
Doolittle Gets Ride From Opponent’s Son; Ignores Him
Here’s where it gets interesting …
And Dumblittle finally agreed to debate Charlie
:she called me doll:
IMHO, Valerie’s civil suit opens up a whole new drain on neocon deep pockets. Every dollar that goes to
Scooter’sIrving’s defense fund, Bugman’s, DeadEye’s, Rove’s … is one less dollar that works to get a Republican elected in November.John in Sac @ 171 — that’s great he agreed to a debate!
About Jeff Brown flying Doolittle: Charlie’s wife Jan told me that on that flight all the other congresspeople asked if there was anyone there from their districts, but not Doolittle. Jeff had to make himself known to the congressman at the end of the flight. What a wanker Doolittle is.
I am so, so sorry about Steve King. He’s not even in my district, but he’s a goddamn embarassment to the state of Iowa. Western Iowa is traditionally conservative, but they were never crazy before King. The guy is a blight on an otherwise pretty good state.
I’ve heard a rumor that something is going on in the Mideast.
somewhat of a brouhaha, almost a kerfuffle …
*ilson, you are da’ bomb, man, you have this preemptive domain thing down pat. It’s probably the one thing for which we can thank Bush Co.; we actually have a game and we’ve got it on.
Yeah, bay-bee.
Noper, Leslie, I been a Floridian since ‘82, but I grew up in MO and keep track on my hometown on the internets to this day. Where were your g’rents from? I’m from Springfield (in the SW corner of the state — “Queen City of the Ozarks,” according to the CofC). Good place to be FROM because of the wingnuts & fundies there (though thank goo’ness that’s not all).
I am so, so sorry about Steve King.
I have some neighbours who are suspicious-seeming.
King’s wall-building lesson could be handy.
And it would be silver!
.
Rayne, thank you for that excellent WSJ article you linked to this morning – I’m sending that around to some people!
lotus, I can’t remember right now where they were from – I’ll have to find out. I know one of my great-uncles was a doctor in Missouri for decades, but in a town small enough that he delivered all the babies. My grandfather was one of eight brothers, so I’ve got all sorts of cousins all over the South that I’ve never met.
actually Rayne : I have you to thank for the preemptive domain thing. It was you the night of the Ned/Joe debate when you asked about how to get the http://www.WhoIsNedLamont.com address before Lieber-Webbers did. It turns out that other Ned-friendly folk snatched it first but you gave me the general idea.
I now own: http://www.ConnecticutForLamont.com
http://www.WhoIsJoeLieberman.com
http://www.ThankYouValerie.com
A kerfuffle. Ah… good. No problimo. I can go back to sleep now. I feel much better.
*ilson
Thanks for the props, but it wasn’t me that suggested the thank you site. Wish I had. But good on you for getting it and redirecting it.
Anything we can do to help the Wilson-Plame effort brings good karma.
new thread — daily Ned
Word’s uptown…..I’m all alone over there.
Great Job *ilson!
Ditto Rayne.
*ilson, media mogul
At four in the morning when I was groggy but couldn’t sleep, it looked like Novakula’s non-story might have been driven by ulterior motives related to propping up Bush…but now? Not so much, I go with option two, the Friday story that they wanted to suffocate. I think it was a preemptive move by OVP/WHIG et al in advance of the Wilson’s suit (emptywheel’s got it covered as usual!).
This could get very interesting if the OVP goes on full defense against the Wilsons, to the point where it goes nuclear winter on the White House in the process. Cheney is expendable in terms of his drag on the White House and the Party, after all; 18% and falling means Rover will have every reason to fry OVP while trying to save his ass and his meal ticket in WH.
Or do you FirePups think they circle up the wagons? What’s your take? And do you suspect that the OVP or WH has been surveilling the Wilsons, or is it just the convenience of serendipity that Rover, I mean, Novak published his story yesterday?
BTW: contact your rep now and thank them for supporting the Voting Rights amendment, assuming they did; they need the carrots as much as they need sticks.
Or do you FirePups think they circle up the wagons? What’s your take?
It’s an interesting question. On the one hand, I think they would like to get rid of Cheney. On the other hand, they *hate* to lose or to look bad.
Leslie in CA — no problem at all, been watching for all kinds of related stories pre- and post-Summer’s exit. I spend a lot of time counseling girls to pursue so-called non-traditional careers through non-traditional education. Having pursued engineering during and right out of high school, my experience is that Summer was dead-f*cking-wrong, clueless, but it’s the same acculturation that screws women that led him to his blindness on the matter. God help his female children.
*ilson — be sure to give a shout-out to CTBlogger and let them know you are the owner of the two “friendly” websites; they may have a use for them. I turned over the Blogger site to them, although I should do something about posting content.
Eli — what if ditching Cheney meant doing both, preventing the White House from looking worse AND losing the baggage…?
It begins to look more like win-win for Rover to fry Cheney.
I smell new thread…I guess I better go up top and look before EPU’ing myself any further.
Eli — what if ditching Cheney meant doing both, preventing the White House from looking worse AND losing the baggage…?
It begins to look more like win-win for Rover to fry Cheney.
I think a Cheney indictment hits a little too close to home for their comfort. But they would certainly scapegoat and firewall like crazy so he wouldn’t take any of them with him.
Mike @ 4:26 pm (#175) – It looks like if you want an electrified fence designed, Steve King’s your guy:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/13/king-fence/
Who says there are no more Renaissance men?
Do people notice the facia in the background on each side of the podium? My question is how long have we been displaying fascia in our offial buildings?
This is the symbol of fascists governments.
Beck…totally interesting detail to notice.
I’m keeping it in mind.
I have heard comparisons between the current attempts to limit the vote of people of color, to the era after the end of reconstruction in the south when Blacks had the rights they recieved during reconstruction taken away from them.
Is history trying to teach us a lesson here? Well there is one that we may already know: If Americans of good will are not constantly vigilent and continue to demand our rights, no one will do it.
I am becoming an admirer of Maxine Waters. I really hope she comes to CT to camp for Ned. I think she’s got a lot of good energy.
Coincidence : I just got sent a DVD from PBS, called Home of the Brave, about the death of Viola Liuzzo during the Civil Rights Era. It was a pretty unsettling story.
However, It does remind you that a lot of people died for the right to vote. & it seems people need to be reminded, often.
I signed a petition yesterday to tell the Congress to renew the voting rights act. Here is exactly what I said in my own words:
“The fact that we are having to sign a petititon for the renewal of the Voting Rights Act, after all these years, is a disgrace to Democracy and this nation.
Just pass the damn thing now, or pay the price. We are getting sick to death of you people.”
I am becoming less and less concerned with civility these days. The angrier I get, the less I care. These crackers do not deserve politeness. They are bigots on parade and I, for one, would not spit on any of them if they were on fire; a condition devoutly to be wished.
They can’t fry Cheney, that leaves the king exposed to impeachment.