LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's JournalIn federal fraud trial, jury finds former Rep. Steve Stockman guilty on 23 counts
This makes me smile http://quorumreport.com/quorum_report_daily_buzz_2018/in_federal_fraud_trial_jury_finds_former_rep_steve_buzziid27929.html
Only "not guilty" from the Houston jury was for a count of wire fraud
Mike Luckovich: Spineless.
https://twitter.com/mluckovichajc/status/984192658229878789Former US Attorney Preet Bharara: "The likelihood that Michael Cohen is going to be charged is high
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/984042578340450305George Will-Theres no good reason to stop felons from voting
I was happy to see that Texas is somewhat liberal on ex-felon's voting. Florida is horrible and there is a lawsuit and a ballot measure to change this. I was please to see this piece by George Will https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-no-good-reason-to-stop-felons-from-voting/2018/04/06/88484076-3905-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.6a5dc4f5f7cb
Recidivism among Floridas released felons has been approximately 30 percent for the five years 2011-2015. Of the 1,952 people whose civil rights were restored, five committed new offenses, an average recidivism rate of 0.4 percent. This sample is skewed by self-selection overrepresentation of those who had the financial resources and tenacity to navigate the complex restoration process that each year serves a few hundred of the 1.6 million. Still, the recidivism numbers are suggestive.
What compelling government interest is served by felon disenfranchisement? Enhanced public safety? How? Is it to fine-tune the quality of the electorate? This is not a legitimate government objective for elected officials to pursue. A felony conviction is an indelible stain: What intelligent purpose is served by reminding felons who really do not require reminding of their past, and by advertising it to their community? The rule of law requires punishments, but it is not served by punishments that never end and that perpetuate a social stigma and a sense of never fully reentering the community.
Meade, like one-third of the 4.7 million current citizens nationwide who have reentered society from prison but cannot vote, is an African American. More than 1 in 13 African Americans nationally are similarly disenfranchised, as are 1 in 5 of Floridas African American adults. Because African Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic, ending the disenfranchisement of felons could become yet another debate swamped by partisanship, particularly in Florida, the largest swing state, where close elections are common: Republican Gov. Rick Scotts margins of victory in 2010 and 2014 were 1.2 and 1.1 percent, respectively. And remember the 537 Florida votes that made George W. Bush president.
Last week, Scotts administration challenged a federal judges order that the state adopt a rights-restoration procedure that is less arbitrary and dilatory. A Quinnipiac poll shows that 67 percent of Floridians favor and only 27 percent oppose enfranchisement of felons. These numbers might provoke Republicans, who control both houses of the legislature, to try to siphon away support for the restoration referendum by passing a law that somewhat mitigates the severity of the current policy. Such a law would be presented for the signature of the governor, who is trying to unseat three-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
Ding dong, the recall's dead: GOP effort to undo Democratic election wins in Nevada has failed
The GOP has been trying to undo the results of the election by staging bogus recalls of Democratic Nevada state senators. Recall petitions were designed to be misleading. The DNC and Marc Elias (Hillary Clinton's election law attorney) got involved and it appears that these efforts have been defeated https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/9/1755644/-Ding-dong-the-recall-s-dead-GOP-effort-to-undo-Democratic-election-wins-in-Nevada-has-failed
News broke on Monday that the petitions circulated by Republicans to recall these Democratic lawmakers had insufficient valid signatures to trigger special elections to unseat and replace them. Notwithstanding a potential appeal of a related court ruling, the GOPs long-running campaign to recall these women senators is over.
This news comes as little surprise after a court decision last month upheld the constitutionality of a state law allowing voters who signed recall petitions to change their minds and remove their names after the petitions are submitted to the state. Democrats had been running aggressive campaigns to urge petition signers, many of whom claim they were misinformed of the real purpose of the petitions, to ask to have their names removed.
Since the petition to recall Cannizzaro exceeded the required number of signatures by a margin of just 43, the ruling rendered that recall effort effectively dead. Similarly, the petition to recall Woodhouse exceeded the number of signatures required by about 200, so the signature removal requestsreportedly in the thousandsseemed certain to doom that effort, too. The news of Republicans failure to recall these Democrats is a satisfying ending to the state GOPs desperate effort to undermine election results that might have rendered them the minority part in the state Senate until at least 2020.
Mike Luckovich: Weaponized
https://twitter.com/mluckovichajc/status/983793507973378050BREAKING: Allstate Just Dropped Laura Ingraham in Internal Memo to Employees
https://twitter.com/funder/status/983459527680028674Happiest attorney in the country right now:
https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/983477561790554113Profile Information
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