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Segami
Segami's Journal
Segami's Journal
November 3, 2012
A last-minute directive issued by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted could invalidate legal provisional ballots. Ohio is widely viewed as the most critical state for both presidential campaigns and — with some polls showing a close race — the 11th-hour move could swing the entire election.
The directive, issued Friday, lays out the requirements for submitting a provisional ballot. The directive includes a form which puts the burden on the voter to correctly record the form of ID provided to election officials. Husted also instructed election officials that if the form is not filled out correctly by a voter, the ballot should not be counted.
According to a lawsuit filed late Friday by voting rights advocates, this is “contrary to a court decision on provisional ballots a week ago and contrary to statements made by attorneys for Husted at an Oct. 24 court hearing.”
Indeed, it also appears directly contrary to Ohio law. From the lawsuit:
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/03/1134981/last-minute-ohio-directive-could-trash-legal-votes-and-swing-the-election/
Last-Minute Ohio Directive Could Trash Legal Votes And Swing The Election
A last-minute directive issued by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted could invalidate legal provisional ballots. Ohio is widely viewed as the most critical state for both presidential campaigns and — with some polls showing a close race — the 11th-hour move could swing the entire election.
The directive, issued Friday, lays out the requirements for submitting a provisional ballot. The directive includes a form which puts the burden on the voter to correctly record the form of ID provided to election officials. Husted also instructed election officials that if the form is not filled out correctly by a voter, the ballot should not be counted.
According to a lawsuit filed late Friday by voting rights advocates, this is “contrary to a court decision on provisional ballots a week ago and contrary to statements made by attorneys for Husted at an Oct. 24 court hearing.”
Indeed, it also appears directly contrary to Ohio law. From the lawsuit:
Ohio Rev. Code § 3505.181(B)(6) provides that, once a voter casting a provisional ballot proffers identification, “the appropriate local election official shall record the type of identification provided, the social security number information, the fact that the affirmation was executed, or the fact that the individual declined to execute such an affirmation and include that information with the transmission of the ballot . . . .” (Emphasis added.)
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/03/1134981/last-minute-ohio-directive-could-trash-legal-votes-and-swing-the-election/
November 3, 2012
This weasel is sick and dangerous!!
WASHINGTON -- Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) was arrested on four more occasions in the 1980s for trespassing at medical clinics than previously disclosed, according to incident reports obtained by The Huffington Post. These arrests are in addition to the four others that Akin has already acknowledged.
Akin -- who went by his first name, William, before getting involved in politics -- participated in anti-abortion protests in the 1980s, during which he and other conservative activists were arrested for trespassing and/or resisting arrest at abortion clinics. "Don't tell anybody I'm a jail bird," Akin joked in 2011 at a "pastor's briefing," recounting an arrest. He later said he made no apologies for "stand[ing] up for the things I believe in."
But Akin was arrested more than once: March 15, 1985; March 30, 1985; April 7, 1985 and May 9, 1987. On one of those occasions, police had to physically carry Akin into an elevator when he refused to leave the premises, according to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Josh Glasstetter, the research director at People for the American Way who first broke the news of Akin's law-breaking at Right Wing Watch, received four new incident reports of Akin arrests, which he passed along to The Huffington Post. That brings Akin's total arrests to at least eight.
cont'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/todd-akin-arrest-abortion-clinic-protests_n_2069075.html
Todd Akin ARRESTED At Least Eight Times At Abortion Clinic Protests
This weasel is sick and dangerous!!
WASHINGTON -- Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) was arrested on four more occasions in the 1980s for trespassing at medical clinics than previously disclosed, according to incident reports obtained by The Huffington Post. These arrests are in addition to the four others that Akin has already acknowledged.
Akin -- who went by his first name, William, before getting involved in politics -- participated in anti-abortion protests in the 1980s, during which he and other conservative activists were arrested for trespassing and/or resisting arrest at abortion clinics. "Don't tell anybody I'm a jail bird," Akin joked in 2011 at a "pastor's briefing," recounting an arrest. He later said he made no apologies for "stand[ing] up for the things I believe in."
But Akin was arrested more than once: March 15, 1985; March 30, 1985; April 7, 1985 and May 9, 1987. On one of those occasions, police had to physically carry Akin into an elevator when he refused to leave the premises, according to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Josh Glasstetter, the research director at People for the American Way who first broke the news of Akin's law-breaking at Right Wing Watch, received four new incident reports of Akin arrests, which he passed along to The Huffington Post. That brings Akin's total arrests to at least eight.
cont'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/todd-akin-arrest-abortion-clinic-protests_n_2069075.html
November 3, 2012
C&L:
Mitt Romney Makes the Case for Obama
C&L:
Yeah, I know it's another ad, but this one really is creative and smart. Using the iPhone assistant Siri, the case is made for President Obama's re-election, by Mitt Romney himself.
I especially like how they merged Mitt's argument for Dubya's re-election with the chart of job creation from Barack Obama's first term.
In case you're curious, here's the visual of Dubya vs. Obama:
I especially like how they merged Mitt's argument for Dubya's re-election with the chart of job creation from Barack Obama's first term.
In case you're curious, here's the visual of Dubya vs. Obama:
November 3, 2012
STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Prediction: Obama 87.34% Chance of Re-Election
November 3
Prediction:
Obama 87.34% Chance of Re-Election
http://www.stanford.edu/group/predict/cgi-bin/wordpress/
November 3, 2012
Virginia state officials are expanding an investigation to probe the Republican consulting firm Strategic Allied Consulting after canceling a grand jury hearing scheduled for Tuesday for Colin Small, who faces 13 counts of voter fraud for throwing voter registration forms in the recycling bin. Two sources told the Washington Post on Friday that officials are investigating whether the firm told Small or up to 40 other employees to ask about political leanings while registering voters. This is a violation of election law.
KDVR’s Josh Bernstein confirmed on Thursday that the company’s Nathan Sproul has been interviewed by the FBI (transcript here)http://localtvkdvr.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/transcript-fbi-interview-nathan-sproul.pdf over election irregularities and confirmed that Sproul’s name did not appear on the articles of incorporation for Strategic Allied Consulting. Sproul told to Bernstein that his name didn’t appear on the firm’s documents because “if you look at what the liberal blogs write about me, it makes it very difficult to operate.”
The Virginia investigation is compounded by an additional investigation into voter registration irregularities nine counties reported in Florida, all supplied by Strategic Allied Consulting. The forms, which KDVR published here, contained false and invalid information. Democrats have urged the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the firm’s alleged voter fraud. The Republican National Committee paid the firm $2.9 million to the firm to register voters in Florida, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada. Though the RNC cut ties with the firm after allegations of voter fraud surfaced in Florida, the Virginia Republican party re-hired the firm.
Sproul’s spokesperson, David Leibowitz, told the Washington Post that Sproul will cooperate with the investigations in Virginia and Florida and “will continue to do everything within our power to uncover any unethical or illegal activity.”
WATCH KDVR VIDEO REPORT:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/03/virginia-voter-fraud-probe-into-gop-firm-may-include-up-to-40-voter-registration-employees/
.
Virginia VOTER FRAUD PROBE into GOP Firm May Include Up To 40 Voter Registration Employees
Virginia state officials are expanding an investigation to probe the Republican consulting firm Strategic Allied Consulting after canceling a grand jury hearing scheduled for Tuesday for Colin Small, who faces 13 counts of voter fraud for throwing voter registration forms in the recycling bin. Two sources told the Washington Post on Friday that officials are investigating whether the firm told Small or up to 40 other employees to ask about political leanings while registering voters. This is a violation of election law.
KDVR’s Josh Bernstein confirmed on Thursday that the company’s Nathan Sproul has been interviewed by the FBI (transcript here)http://localtvkdvr.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/transcript-fbi-interview-nathan-sproul.pdf over election irregularities and confirmed that Sproul’s name did not appear on the articles of incorporation for Strategic Allied Consulting. Sproul told to Bernstein that his name didn’t appear on the firm’s documents because “if you look at what the liberal blogs write about me, it makes it very difficult to operate.”
The Virginia investigation is compounded by an additional investigation into voter registration irregularities nine counties reported in Florida, all supplied by Strategic Allied Consulting. The forms, which KDVR published here, contained false and invalid information. Democrats have urged the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the firm’s alleged voter fraud. The Republican National Committee paid the firm $2.9 million to the firm to register voters in Florida, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada. Though the RNC cut ties with the firm after allegations of voter fraud surfaced in Florida, the Virginia Republican party re-hired the firm.
Sproul’s spokesperson, David Leibowitz, told the Washington Post that Sproul will cooperate with the investigations in Virginia and Florida and “will continue to do everything within our power to uncover any unethical or illegal activity.”
WATCH KDVR VIDEO REPORT:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/03/virginia-voter-fraud-probe-into-gop-firm-may-include-up-to-40-voter-registration-employees/
.
November 3, 2012
Filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner tells "So That Happened" host John Fugelsang why he believes we can't trust Mitt Romney because we "don't know what he stands for."
.
Rob Reiner: There's NO WAY We Can TRUST Mitt Romney
Filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner tells "So That Happened" host John Fugelsang why he believes we can't trust Mitt Romney because we "don't know what he stands for."
.
November 3, 2012
Is the once bright red state of Georgia trending blue? According to recent polling and voter registration statistics, the answer is yes.
According to a just-released 20/20 Insight survey for Better Georgia, among people who say they have already voted, the race for President is a statistical tie. The survey, conducted October 30-31, asked voters their opinions in the election for President, 12th District Congressman (Rep. John Barrow (D) vs. Lee Anderson (R)), and other key state-level races and ballot issues. According to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R), this year, for the first time in history, white voters will comprise less that 60% of active, registered voters in Georgia. A more diverse electorate tends to be more progressive, as illustrated in the results of the survey released today.
http://bettergeorgia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SurveyNovember2012.pdf
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/10/30/white-voter-registration-in-ga-dips-below-60-percent/
Here’s a snapshot of other results:
PRESIDENT
Despite a minimal investment in Georgia from either campaign, President Obama appears to be positioned to exceed expectations in the Peach State on election day. For President, 52 percent of respondents supported Mitt Romney (R), 46 percent supported Barack Obama (D) and 2 percent were either undecided or planned to vote for another candidate. Among people who say they have already voted, the race for President is a statistical tie – Barack Obama gets 49 percent and Mitt Romney gets 50 percent. (1,316 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 2.7%)
12th DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN
Among those surveyed, Rep. John Barrow, the last white Democratic Congressman in the Deep South, is leading his Republican challenger, Lee Anderson. 50 percent of respondents supported Barrow (D), while 44 percent supported Anderson (R), and 6 percent were undecided. Barrow is leading by 6 percentage points in a district that Obama is losing by 11 percentage points. (450 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 4.6 percent)
REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE
The majority of respondents, 52 percent, agreed that abortion is a choice that usually should be left to the pregnant woman to decide. Fully 90% of respondents agreed that there were some circumstances where abortion should be allowed. Only 6% believed abortion should never be permitted. Obviously, this does not bode well for the chances of getting Georgia voters to support the promised “personhood amendment” and shows that the Republican majority is out of touch with the electorate on this bellwether issue. (1,316 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 2.7%)
What does this mean going forward? While Mitt Romney will carry the state on Tuesday, the Republicans who now occupy every stateside office in Georgia should not bolt their furniture to the floor just yet. Georgia progressives are rapidly building the infrastructure needed to take advantage of Georgia’s emerging progressive electorate. There is work to do, no doubt, but in the not-too-distant future, signs point to a Georgia that is not red or purple, but instead, bright blue.
http://www.politicususa.com/georgia-poll-presidential-race-tied-early-voters.html
.
New GEORGIA POLL: Presidential Race TIED Among Early Voters
Is the once bright red state of Georgia trending blue? According to recent polling and voter registration statistics, the answer is yes.
According to a just-released 20/20 Insight survey for Better Georgia, among people who say they have already voted, the race for President is a statistical tie. The survey, conducted October 30-31, asked voters their opinions in the election for President, 12th District Congressman (Rep. John Barrow (D) vs. Lee Anderson (R)), and other key state-level races and ballot issues. According to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R), this year, for the first time in history, white voters will comprise less that 60% of active, registered voters in Georgia. A more diverse electorate tends to be more progressive, as illustrated in the results of the survey released today.
http://bettergeorgia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SurveyNovember2012.pdf
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/10/30/white-voter-registration-in-ga-dips-below-60-percent/
Here’s a snapshot of other results:
PRESIDENT
Despite a minimal investment in Georgia from either campaign, President Obama appears to be positioned to exceed expectations in the Peach State on election day. For President, 52 percent of respondents supported Mitt Romney (R), 46 percent supported Barack Obama (D) and 2 percent were either undecided or planned to vote for another candidate. Among people who say they have already voted, the race for President is a statistical tie – Barack Obama gets 49 percent and Mitt Romney gets 50 percent. (1,316 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 2.7%)
12th DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN
Among those surveyed, Rep. John Barrow, the last white Democratic Congressman in the Deep South, is leading his Republican challenger, Lee Anderson. 50 percent of respondents supported Barrow (D), while 44 percent supported Anderson (R), and 6 percent were undecided. Barrow is leading by 6 percentage points in a district that Obama is losing by 11 percentage points. (450 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 4.6 percent)
REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE
The majority of respondents, 52 percent, agreed that abortion is a choice that usually should be left to the pregnant woman to decide. Fully 90% of respondents agreed that there were some circumstances where abortion should be allowed. Only 6% believed abortion should never be permitted. Obviously, this does not bode well for the chances of getting Georgia voters to support the promised “personhood amendment” and shows that the Republican majority is out of touch with the electorate on this bellwether issue. (1,316 Likely Voters, Margin of Error 2.7%)
What does this mean going forward? While Mitt Romney will carry the state on Tuesday, the Republicans who now occupy every stateside office in Georgia should not bolt their furniture to the floor just yet. Georgia progressives are rapidly building the infrastructure needed to take advantage of Georgia’s emerging progressive electorate. There is work to do, no doubt, but in the not-too-distant future, signs point to a Georgia that is not red or purple, but instead, bright blue.
http://www.politicususa.com/georgia-poll-presidential-race-tied-early-voters.html
.
November 3, 2012
Parody entitled "Vote Doo-Wop. We Cheated, We Lied" performed by Mitt Romney and the Republicans with Mitt Romney singing lead and background chorus by Paul Ryan, Mitch McDonnell, Karl Rove, and Todd Akin. 2 minute 25 second video.
We Cheated, We Lied" performed by Mitt Romney and the Republicans
Parody entitled "Vote Doo-Wop. We Cheated, We Lied" performed by Mitt Romney and the Republicans with Mitt Romney singing lead and background chorus by Paul Ryan, Mitch McDonnell, Karl Rove, and Todd Akin. 2 minute 25 second video.
November 2, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/mia-in-voting-machine-war_b_2054411.html
As OHIO Faces Vote-Rigging Lawsuit, Are Dems, Liberals, Election Officials Ready to Safeguard Votes?
There's mounting fall-out from reports, first broken by The Free Press, that a Mitt Romney-linked company owns the Hart Intercivic voting machines used in key counties in Colorado, Ohio and other states. The stories have stoked new fears about a "stolen" election.
UPDATE: Those worries about a rigged election were given new urgency today as The Ohio-based Free Press editor-in-chief Robert Fitrakis, also a Green Party candidate for Congress, announced plans to file a lawsuit later today seeking an immediate injunction against Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and the ES&S manufacturer to halt the use of secretly installed, unauthorized "experimental" software in 39 counties' tabulators in an alleged violation of state election law. His attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, has also referred the case to the Cincinnati FBI for a criminal investigation. Arnebeck says, "It's a flagrant violation of the law. Before you add new software, you need approval of a state board. They are installing an uncertified, suspect software patch that interfaces between the a county's vote tabulation equipment and state tabulators."
He adds, "This is criminal conduct. If they're not doing something wrong, why are they covering it up?"
As of this writing, this reporter's phone and email inquiries to the Secretary of State's office about the planned lawsuit, the FBI criminal referral or allegations of election law violations have not been returned.
The Free Press originally reported:
Why did the Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's office, in an end run around Ohio election law, have "experimental" software patches installed on vote counting tabulators in up to 39 Ohio counties? Voting rights activists are concerned that these uncertified and untested software patches may alter the election results...
The Free Press has learned that Election Systems and Solutions (ES&S) installed the software patches that will affect 4,041,056 registered voters, including those in metropolitan Columbus and Cleveland (click here for spread sheet from verifiedvoting.org).
A call to the Ohio Secretary of State's office concerning the software patches was not returned by publication deadline. Previously, the Free Press requests for public records, including voting machine vendor contracts, have been stonewalled by Office Secretary of State John Husted's office through his public records officer Chris Shea. Through other channels, the Free Press has obtained and has posted the possibly illegal full contract online here (see page 17).
PDF
http://freepress.org/images/departments/4766/2013-004_ES&S.clean.pdf
The Free Press has learned that Election Systems and Solutions (ES&S) installed the software patches that will affect 4,041,056 registered voters, including those in metropolitan Columbus and Cleveland (click here for spread sheet from verifiedvoting.org).
A call to the Ohio Secretary of State's office concerning the software patches was not returned by publication deadline. Previously, the Free Press requests for public records, including voting machine vendor contracts, have been stonewalled by Office Secretary of State John Husted's office through his public records officer Chris Shea. Through other channels, the Free Press has obtained and has posted the possibly illegal full contract online here (see page 17).
http://freepress.org/images/departments/4766/2013-004_ES&S.clean.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/mia-in-voting-machine-war_b_2054411.html
November 2, 2012
Richard Mourdock thinks rape is a gift from God and he isn’t apologizing for it. His view is blind, sexist and downright offensive, but there’s good news; American voters disagree, and they’re showing it. The Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll was released today (November 2) and it shows Mourdock losing to his opponent (Democrat Joe Donnelly) with likely voters by eleven points, 36 percent to 47.
According to Yahoo! News,
In September, the same survey found Donnelly and Mourdock were virtually tied (with Donnelly 40 percent to 38 percent), but it appears women have largely abandoned Mourdock in the wake of the firestorm surrounding his comments. According to the new poll, conducted between Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, 50 percent of female voters support Donnelly, while just 32 percent favor Mourdock.
According to the Courier-Journal, Mourdock’s campaign disputed the independent poll as “Democratic,” saying their internal numbers show the race “continues to be a statistical dead heat.”According to a McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for the Mourdock campaign, he actually holds a slim lead (46 percent to 44 percent) over Donnelly.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121102/NEWS02/311020072/Poll-Joe-Donnelly-leads-Richard-Mourdock-by-double-digits-Indiana-Senate-race?odyssey=nav%7Chead&&nclick_check=1
howeypolitics.com
http://howeypolitics.com/SiteImages/FileGallery/Oct_Howey_Depauw_results_592.pdf
Mourdock thinking the race is a tie, or even better, that he’s ahead, seems to be yet another characteristic of the misogynistic and bigoted disease sweeping the once-great Republican Party — believing that candidates that say these things have a chance. Whether it’s Akin continuing to campaign, or Mourdock thinking he’s gained voters, another mark of the inane stupidity behind these hateful politicians seems to be that they are going to be widely accepted after saying these things.
cont'
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/02/gift-from-god-rape-richard-mourdock-losing-by-eleven-points/
‘Gift From God’ Rape TEABAGGER Richard Mourdock Losing By ELEVEN POINTS!
Richard Mourdock thinks rape is a gift from God and he isn’t apologizing for it. His view is blind, sexist and downright offensive, but there’s good news; American voters disagree, and they’re showing it. The Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll was released today (November 2) and it shows Mourdock losing to his opponent (Democrat Joe Donnelly) with likely voters by eleven points, 36 percent to 47.
According to Yahoo! News,
In September, the same survey found Donnelly and Mourdock were virtually tied (with Donnelly 40 percent to 38 percent), but it appears women have largely abandoned Mourdock in the wake of the firestorm surrounding his comments. According to the new poll, conducted between Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, 50 percent of female voters support Donnelly, while just 32 percent favor Mourdock.
According to the Courier-Journal, Mourdock’s campaign disputed the independent poll as “Democratic,” saying their internal numbers show the race “continues to be a statistical dead heat.”According to a McLaughlin & Associates poll conducted for the Mourdock campaign, he actually holds a slim lead (46 percent to 44 percent) over Donnelly.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121102/NEWS02/311020072/Poll-Joe-Donnelly-leads-Richard-Mourdock-by-double-digits-Indiana-Senate-race?odyssey=nav%7Chead&&nclick_check=1
howeypolitics.com
http://howeypolitics.com/SiteImages/FileGallery/Oct_Howey_Depauw_results_592.pdf
Mourdock thinking the race is a tie, or even better, that he’s ahead, seems to be yet another characteristic of the misogynistic and bigoted disease sweeping the once-great Republican Party — believing that candidates that say these things have a chance. Whether it’s Akin continuing to campaign, or Mourdock thinking he’s gained voters, another mark of the inane stupidity behind these hateful politicians seems to be that they are going to be widely accepted after saying these things.
cont'
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/02/gift-from-god-rape-richard-mourdock-losing-by-eleven-points/
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