turbinetree
turbinetree's JournalBlack Voter Group Wins In Voter Registration Case In Memphis
Source: Talking Points Memo
By Tierney Sneed
October 26, 2018 10:06 am
A state court judge in Tennessee ruled Thursday that Shelby County, which contains Memphis, must let voters whose registrations were stalled due to incomplete information to vote with regular ballots on Election Day, once the deficiencies are corrected.
The ruling came in a case brought by the Tennessee Black Voter Project, which saw thousands of registrations forms it turned in deemed incomplete by the Shelby County Elections Commission.
The legal fight over the registration forms comes as Tennessee is the site of a close U.S. Senate race between former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R). Memphis is home to a concentration of Tennessee’s African American vote.
The NAACP joined the Tennessee Black Voter Project in bringing the lawsuit.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/black-voter-group-wins-in-voter-registration-case-in-memphis
Trump Official Did Undisclosed Work With Scandal-Plagued GOP Fundraiser
By Justin Elliot ProPublica
October 25, 2018 2:08 pm
Meetings arranged for Elliott Broidy, a major Trump fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official, should have triggered foreign agent registration, experts say.
A current State Department official helped a top fundraiser for Donald Trump arrange meetings with U.S. senators and Angolan officials in early 2017, according to emails obtained by ProPublica. Neither the official nor the fundraiser registered as a foreign agent.
Aryeh Lightstone helped plan the January 2017 meetings with U.S. senators, high-ranking Angolan government officials and the Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy, the emails show. Several months later, Lightstone was appointed by the Trump administration to a top position in the U.S. Embassy in Israel. The involvement of a now-sitting Trump administration official in Broidy’s work has not previously been reported.
Broidy has since been embroiled in scandal, stepping down from his Republican National Committee deputy finance chair post after the revelation that he agreed to pay $1.6 million in a settlement with a Playboy model he reportedly impregnated. (Broidy has said it was just to help her financially, and he stopped paying her after the arrangement became public.)
The Washington Post reported in August that the Justice Department is investigating whether Broidy “sought to sell his influence with the Trump administration by offering to deliver U.S. government actions for foreign officials.” Several news outlets have also reported that Broidy worked for or sought to do business with a Malaysian financier and the United Arab Emirates. (Learn more about Broidy in this “Trump, Inc.” podcast episode.)
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/aryeh-lightstone-trump-official-undisclosed-work-elliott-broidy
We really have to thank John Roberts and his court for this shit.......................Citizens United...............It really should be called Crimes are United..............Oh Yeah...................
Fact-Checking President Donald Trump's Claims On Healthcare
This is why the supreme court was stacked with Gorsuch and Kavanaugh and the other three right wing hacks from the Federalist Society .................that is a fact
Kobach Wins Effort To Keep Damaging Deposition Video Under Wraps
Source: Talking Points Memo
By Tierney Sneed
October 25, 2018 1:08 pm
The deposition video that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach feared would be used in campaign ads against him as he runs for governor will not be made available to the media, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson’s order was a win for Kobach, who had brought the issue to her attention after the challengers in the case for which the deposition was filmed indicated they intended to hand it over to media outlets that had requested the video.
A transcript from the deposition is already public; however, the transcript does not convey Kobach’s body language and tone during the deposition. In the video, which TPM viewed at the trial, he is uncomfortable, frustrated and often combative with the attorney deposing him.
The video clips from the deposition were played at a trial last March in the Kansas proof-of-citizenship voter registration case. Kobach was forced to sit for the deposition to be questioned about efforts he made to change the law that is at the heart of the case, the National Voter Registration Act — including a meeting he had with President-elect Donald Trump at which he was photographed holding a proposal recommending the law be amended.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/kobach-wins-effort-to-keep-damaging-depo-video-under-wraps
Well the judge is a Bush appointee....................solves that problem.............
Can POTUS Be Sued? Trump Foundation Lawsuit May Hinge On Ruling In Zervos Case
By Allegra Kirkland
October 25, 2018 12:14 pm
The New York judge overseeing a lawsuit alleging that the Donald J. Trump Foundation served as a “personal piggybank” for the President issued no ruling at a Thursday hearing on the Trump team’s motion to dismiss the suit. But Judge Saliann Scarpulla seemed to suggest that the allegations laid out in the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit were legally sufficient for the case to move forward.
“The allegations are what they are. Until you deny them, I accept them,” Scarpulla told Trump Foundation attorney Alan Futerfas.
Towards the end of the more than hour-long hearing, the judge signaled that she may delay her decision on the motion to dismiss until a decision is reached in a separate defamation lawsuit against Trump. Arguments were heard last week before a New York appeals court in the case of Summer Zervos, who claims Trump disparaged her after she went public with allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances towards her while she was a contestant on his reality TV show “The Apprentice.”
Scarpulla said that the Zervos case, which hinges on whether a lawsuit can be brought against a sitting president, may affect parts of the Trump Foundation case.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/judge-issues-no-ruling-in-trump-foundation-case
-snip-
So, she said, “We’ll see what happens in Trump versus Zervos.”
“If the [appeals court] says that Clinton versus Jones is still good law, then this case will continue,” Scarpulla added. The Supreme Court’s 1997 decision in Jones allowed a federal civil lawsuit to proceed against President Clinton while he was in office.
The bulk of the hearing, held in a crowded, overheated second-story courtroom in lower Manhattan, focused on the Trump Foundation lawsuit itself, with a good deal of back and forth between Scarpulla and Futerfas on whether it was premature to consider the merits of the case.
As the judge repeatedly told Trump’s attorney, at this point in the proceedings, she has to “accept the allegations” presented by the attorney general as fact.
The fDumpster team keeps forgetting about the Jones vs Clinton lawsuit.......................he only hires the best................
Judge Issues New Rules For Absentee Ballot Signature Match Issues In Georgia
Source: Talking Points Memo
By Tierney Sneed
October 25, 2018 3:42 pm
After indicating Wednesday that she intended to block election officials in Georgia from rejecting absentee ballots for allegedly mismatching signatures, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May issued her order Thursday laying out the new procedures for officials to deal with absentee ballots and ballot applications with signatures that they believe don’t match the signatures for the voter they have on record.
The protocols reflect some of the feedback she received, after handing down a proposed order, from both state and local election officials, as well as from those challenging the signature match procedures in the state.
Under her order, absentee ballots for which officials believe the signature doesn’t match what they have on file will be treated as provisional ballots, and the voter will be notified of opportunities to correct the issue. Likewise, those who apply for absentee ballots with forms with signature match issues will be sent a provisional ballot, with instructions for addressing the signature discrepancy.
Georgia’s practice of throwing out ballots for perceived signature mismatch is one of multiple voting rights issues that recently have attracted scrutiny in the state, where Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) is running for governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams, the first black female major party gubernatorial candidate in the country.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/absentee-signatures-georgia-order-kemp-abrams
-snip-
Judge May’s order included language suggested by the challengers that attorneys for the affected voters be allowed to act on their behalf in presenting identification to rectify the signature — an adjustment suggested given that many absentee voters have mobility issues. The judge’s order also addressed concerns raised by election officials about the certification process being complicated by the procedures necessary to give voters the chances to fix signature mismatch issues. May said anything not resolved by the certification deadline should not delay the certification “and shall not require recertification of the election results unless those votes would change the outcome of the election.”
The spokesperson for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, when asked earlier Thursday by TPM if there was any plans to appeal Judge Leigh Martin May’s order, said, “To be respectful of the judicial process, we will hold on commenting at length for now aside from what’s in [the public court] filings.”
Read the judge’s order below:
Greg Palast Sues Georgia's Brian Kemp for Purging 340,000 from Voter Rolls Ahead of Election
Donald Trump Careless With Phone; Chinese, Russian Spies Listen In: NYT Rachel Maddow
Is his zipper down.........................
But he is still a fucking traitor........................no secure phones...........
The 14 Characteristics of Fascism by Lawrence Britt Spring 2003
Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.
The 14 characteristics are:
1.Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2.Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3.Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4.Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5.Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6.Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7.Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8.Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9.Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10.Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
11.Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12.Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13.Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14.Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
https://ratical.org/ratville/CAH/fasci14chars.html
Know any that are like this............................that could be added to the list...................
FBI Arrests Leader, 2 Other Members of Violent California Neo-Nazi Gang
Source: Talking Points Memo
By Allegra Kirkland
October 24, 2018 5:40 pm
The FBI has arrested the leader and two other members of a California neo-Nazi gang known for carrying out brutal physical assaults on their political enemies.
Rise Above Movement (RAM) founder Robert Rundo was tracked to Central America by U.S. authorities and brought back to the U.S. Sunday, where he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, FBI spokeswoman Katherine Gulotti confirmed to TPM.
Fellow RAM members Robert Boman and Tyler Laube were both arrested Wednesday morning in southern California, Gulotti said. A fourth man, Aaron Eason, was also named in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles, but he has yet to be apprehended by law enforcement.
All four were charged with rioting and conspiracy.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/robert-rundo-rise-above-movement-neo-nazis-arrested-fbi
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