US presidential election

The country to our immediate south has a different way of electing a federal government leader aka president for a 4-year term.

This Youtube hints at the complexity of their voting ballots.

Nonetheless, it would appear that, just as the Cons attempted to influence the voting outcome with the systematic targeting and suppression of non-CPC supporters, the RAPEublicans under the tutelage of Karl Rove are also using dirty tricks, such as giving people false information.  Robocalling is but one tactic.

Twice in the last few weeks, voters in Maricopa County, Arizona – Home of Sheriff Joe Arpaio – were sent notices by election officials telling them to vote on November 6 in English and November 8 in Spanish.

Ohio Secretary of State John Husted, who is doing everything in his power to avoid counting votes, apparently defied federal courts yet again on Friday when issued an order that could invalidate legal provisional ballots.

Steve Rosenfeld reports, “Democrats in Denver are worried that their top local election official—who is running for county commisioner as a Republican—is not planning to deploy enough voting machines to easily accommodate polling place voters on Tuesday, particularly in racially mixed areas where Democrats are expected to do well.”

Florida Governor Rick Scott has also been a leader in making it hard to vote, leading to scenes like this – described as a 9-hour wait in what is obviously not a GOP stronghold.

Some excellent overviews, here and here.

Old-school ballot-box fraud at its most egregious was localized and limited in scope. But new electronic voting systems allow insiders to rig elections on a statewide or even national scale. And whereas once you could catch the guilty parties in the act, and even dredge the ballot boxes out of the bayou, the virtual vote count can be manipulated in total secrecy. By means of proprietary, corporate-owned software, just one programmer could steal hundreds, thousands, potentially even millions of votes with the stroke of a key. It’s the electoral equivalent of a drone strike. [...]

Meanwhile, the new millennium, far from delivering a democratic promised land, presented Americans with the debacle of the 2000 presidential election, whose fate hung absurdly on “hanging chads”—the little pieces of punched-out ballot so contentiously examined during the monthlong recount. Few Americans knew (and many still do not know) that a faulty computer memory card triggered this fiasco. Late on Election Night, Al Gore’s total in Volusia County, Florida, suddenly dropped when one precinct reported 16,000 negative votes. Fox News was immediately prompted by Florida governor Jeb Bush to call the election for his brother. On his way to a 3 a.m. public concession, Gore changed course when a campaign staffer discovered that he was actually ahead in Volusia County by 13,000 votes.
 
But the damage was done. Gore was cast as a sore loser in a hostile media environment. His effort to obtain a recount was described by Sean Hannity on Fox News as an attempt to “steal the election.” Meanwhile, George W. Bush invoked his duty to get on with the business of running the country. The rest, as they say, is history.

My prediction for the outcome is predicated on the RAPEublicans' manifest bottomless proclivity to cheat, lie and steal, as well as their deep financial resources from billionaires like the Kochs who would rather fund Romney and other GOP candidates than pay taxes for the public infrastructures they use or remunerate their workers fairly.

A stale-mate.  

In poll after poll, county after county, voting results will be invalidated, then challenged by both parties as countless errors, deliberate misdirection, illegal procedures and outright fraud are exposed.

A clear *winner* will not be declared tonight. There may be days of acrimonious accusations and quite possibly, zealots like Tea Party Hatriots will lash out violently.  It will be ugly, and a perfect reflection of what US politics has become.

Contraception and the Culture War

Since Obama made his contraception rule 'adjustment' on Friday, there have been further developments.

The wannabe xian martyrs worked themselves into a righteous snit shrieking about 'war on religion', 'war on religious freedom', yadayada. Others called Obama a dictator. There were many raucous rounds of 'pregnancy isn't a disease, birth control isn't health care'. People flinging the word 'entitlement' around. Men -- presumably, some at least not 100% celibate or 100% gay -- were whining about fairness. And, of course, that old reliable saw 'Pay for your slutty sex yourselves, you slutty sluts!'

Our own Max Pointy couldn't resist. (Check the comments for a taste of the idiocy.)

In other words, the usual reaction to anything having to do with sex, women, and/or pregnancy and religion.

And then the Republicans fell into Obama's cunning trap. They doubled down in their opposition to accessible contraception.

Not only did they go there, they are now supporting an amendment that would allow women's employers to decide what kind of health care coverage they get.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is putting his weight behind Sen. Roy Blunt's amendment to the Affordable Care Act that would allow employers to deny coverage not just for contraception but for any treatment or any condition they claimed was contrary to their religious beliefs.

So, we go from a bunch of old guys in dresses, to a bunch of old guys in Washington, to one's own employer telling women what they can and can't do with their lady-parts.

Well-played, ReThugs! We now have you out in the open as anti-sex, anti-women, anti-healthcare, pro-employers' and -oldguysindresses' religious rights.

On a subject so uncontroversial even the political deadheads have woken up.

Like me, Andrew Sullivan is chortling.

As for politics, the Republican fusion with the Vatican is also, it seems to me, a terrible mistake for the party. Obama’s greatest skill is in getting his opponents to overreach and self-destruct. And this issue could not be more tailor-made to benefit the candidate with real potential pull with far-right-wing Catholics and evangelicals: Santorum. If the GOP really makes this issue central in the next month or so, Santorum (whose campaign claims to have raised $2.2 million in the two days following his victories last week) is by far the likeliest candidate to benefit. It could finally unite the Christian fundamentalist right behind him—especially since Romneycare contained exactly the same provisions on contraception that Obamacare did before last week’s compromise was announced. That’s right: Romneycare can now accurately be portrayed as falling to the left of Obamacare on the contraception issue. This could very well be the issue that finally galvanizes the religious right, especially in the South. Imagine how Santorum could use that on Super Tuesday. In fact, it could be the issue that wins him the nomination. And do you really think that would hurt Obama in the fall?

Um. I rather think not, Andrew.

And this morning, more fun stuff! Two of the five female Republican senators have broken with their party and announced that they are in favour of Obama's contraception rule.

Andrew thinks that this could be the end of the so-called culture wars. That may be waaay too much to hope for, but I think it's going to signal the end of the ReThuglican party in its current virulently misogynistic form.

WTF? Honouring the dead? Please explain

Seriously, I really don't understand 'honouring the dead'. Really. Seriously.

When I was 20, my husband of six months was killed in a workplace 'accident'. Four years later, my father died.

I think I know something about death, but I know nothing about honouring the dead.

I watched the big memorial thingy at the University of Arizona tonight. (I lived in AZ for about six months a generation ago and it was nucking futs about guns then.) Obama had a bully pulpit to speak about the national discourse. He didn't have to get political. Though some reference to 'rhetoric' might have been good.

Instead, it was all glurge.

Here is Andrew Sullivan on the glurge-fest.

Obama FAIL. US FAIL. World fucked.

If someone can explain 'honouring the dead', I'd be grateful.

Aawww, they like us, they really, really like us ...

NOT!

Too, too funny - go read Curiosity Cat, now!

You are so NOT da bomb!

Obama: Stop telling the other delegates that you are. And look at me when I'm talking to you!

Yo Stevie! Barack is just not that into you, but circumstances oblige him to invite you to gatherings such as the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, a 47-nation summit dedicated to keeping nuclear arms from terrorists.

Just lay off those KFC Double Downs, because your suit jacket looks as thought it's stretched to the point of exploding. And no, even that would still not make you "da bomb".

Go read what some other imaginative people thought that Obama could be saying to Stevie Spiteful at Canadian Cynic: Caption contest!

US Women: 'Yo! Obama! Pay-back Time!

After throwing women's rights under the clichéed bus, Obama owes Merkin women BIG TIME.

For the next spot on the Supreme Court he should appoint the most pro-abort candidate he can. And Jeffrey Toobin, legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker, is betting on Elena Kagan.

In an exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview, Jeffrey Toobin reveals his No. 1 pick for Stevens' replacement: Elena Kagan. The Supreme Court expert says of her: "She's very much an Obama type person, a moderate Democrat, a consensus builder..."

He also comments on her likely environmental leanings and the future of the Supreme Court...

"If you start to have an energized liberal group of young Justices...the wind could be at their back and if Obama gets re-elected you could see more appointments, so it's a big deal."

Well, hell, somebody has to help drag the Excited States into the 21st century as far as women's rights are concerned. And Kagan looks like the gal to do it.

Beyond all the impressive academic cred, she's got one very important advantage -- the fetus fetishists loathe her.

Senate Republicans responded to the retirement of pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens by saying one of the top potential replacements Obama may look to would cause a significant battle. GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee indicated a nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, an abortion advocate, would spark opposition.

Mr President, we humbly submit -- if you want a second term, it's time to pay back progressive women. Appoint a pro-choice justice or just sign the fucking Freedom of Choice Act.

Karma Runs Over Dogma. News at 11.

Update with linky goodness.


As many literate people in Canada know (the rightwing crackpot illiterates, not so much) Yann Martel started a generous personal project a few years ago to expand the cultural horizons of Stephen Harper. Some called it a fool's errand, given that the churlish narcissist (who will soon be a former PM) does not believe in Canadian culture.

Well today la presse francophone is abuzz with the note of admiration that Martel received from Barack Obama.

It appears the US president and one of his daughters read The Life of Pi. President Obama in his note said "It is a lovely book - an elegant proof of God and the power of storytelling. Thank you."

Correction: Martel has received occasional aknowledgement from the PMO for the numerous works of Canadian fiction, non-fiction and poetry that he has sent him over the years; they are boiler-plate form letters.

Clearly Harper's god is not Obama's god.

Obama Reacts to Healthcare Bill

ABC's exclusive interview with President Obama on the healthcare bill.

Here's the bit about abortion.

JAKE TAPPER, HOST: So, thanks so much for doing this.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.

TAPPER: Here's a question a lot of Senate Democrats want to know. You said, when you gave your joint address to Congress, that under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. This amendment passed Saturday night which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option, but also prohibits women who receive subsidies from taking out plans that -- that provide abortion coverage. Does that meet the promise that you set out or does it over reach, does it go too far?

OBAMA: You know, I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill. And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions. And I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices, because one of the pledges I made in that same speech was to say that if you're happy and satisfied with the insurance that you have, that it's not going to change. So, you know, this is going to be a complex set of negotiations. I'm confident that we can actually arrive at this place where neither side feels that it's being betrayed. But it's going to take some time.

TAPPER: Do you think that amendment is status quo or does it lean a little bit in one direction or the other?

OBAMA: I think that there are strong feelings on both sides. And what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo. And that's the goal. The goal here is to make sure that people who have health insurance have greater stability and security, people who don't have health insurance get the ability to buy it affordably and that we're driving down costs.

And, you know, I think everybody understands that there's going to be work to be done on the Senate side. It's not going to match up perfectly with the House side. But obviously, it was a historic night for the House. We've never been this far. And I'm very confident that my colleagues in the Senate are going to say to themselves that we've got to get this done.

(Lots more on other healthcare issues at the link.)

A blogger at Daily Kos says that unless the Dems fix this, it will be political suicide because they have such an advantage over Rethuglicans in women voters.

I dunno. I'm still feeling betrayed. And not at all confident that the Democrats have the guts to stand up to the shrieeeeking fetus fetishists.

Correction: It was ABC News, not CBS. Thanks, Antonia.

Obama vs The Fetus Fetishists

LieSite laments: The most babykillingest prez evah would whup the asses of every Rethugican fetus-fetishizing rival in 2012 according to a new poll.

Obama leads Mike Huckabee 47-43, Mitt Romney 48-40, Sarah Palin 52-40, and Tim Pawlenty 50-30.

This is the seventh time PPP [Public Policy Polling] has conducted this poll and the seventh time Huckabee has polled closest to Obama. Speaking to the weakness of the field of potential Republican candidates he's the only with a positive favorability rating and even then it's only 33/29.

So, is it the general and well-deserved meltdown of the Party of No? (JJ has a great clip of Keith Olbermann gloating over relishing some recent numbers on party identification in the US.)

Or, perhaps the Merkin people have actual concerns that override the panty-sniffing Christer Taliban's unrelenting SHRIEEEKING about the most babykillingest prez evah.

BONUS: This comment on Sawah's numbers:

Palin's numbers have been somewhat mystifying over the last four months. Immediately after her resignation they actually improved to a positive 47/45 favorability rating. Since then though they've plummeted even with her largely out of the public eye and only 36% of voters have a favorable view of her with 51% holding a negative one. She has by far the worst numbers with both Democrats and independents.

Let me fix that last sentence.

'She has by far the worst numbers with everyone with more than one functioning neuron.'

There.

But she'll never be off our radar here at DAMMIT JANET!. Because, gosh darn it, she's just too much fun! Also.

Paging Mother Teresa's Heirs

After JJ posted about Bill Ayers Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I had this comment:

I’m most looking forward to the frothing fetus fetishists’ reaction to the PEACE prize going to the most babykillingest prez evah. Especially those ff’s who promote the idiocy that abortion equals Holocaust/genocide.

Well, they are starting to weigh in. JJ has a link to Nurse Stanek. (I don't want to approach that level of insanity, even virtually.)

Here's LifeShite's early take on it.

All terribly predictable, including this:

If she were alive today, Mother Teresa would return her Nobel Prize in response to today's award to Barack Obama, John Smeaton, the head of the British pro-life group Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), told LifeNews.com.

Hey, that shouldn't stop anybody.

During the MASSIVE shit-fit the fetus fetishists threw over the award of the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, previous recipients threatened to return theirs and some actually did.

Or, as JJ summed up: '9 returns so far, 4 from beyond the grave.'

Wasn't one of them a religious outfit that saw fit to return the medal received by its (dead) founder?

So, easy-peasy. The fetus fetishists can organize a MASSIVE effort to get her order or whoever has possession of the thing to give it back.

And the money, too, of course.

Obama Kicked Butt Tonight

I really liked this bit.



Sawah is a big fat liar. Also.

ADDED: The text of Edward Kennedy's letter.

WTF is the matter with you people??!!?!!!

All of you.

Can you imagine another country in the world in which a speech by the democratically elected head of state is boycotted by schools???!!!???

Barack Obama staged a tactical retreat today in the face of accusations that a nationwide broadcast to schoolchildren next Tuesday amounted to an attempt at political indoctrination.

Republicans and other conservatives, such as the Fox News presenter Glenn Beck, buoyed by their success in opposing his health reform plan, opened up a new front over the schools broadcast. One Republican accused Obama of seeking to spread socialist ideology.

The education department last month asked schoolchildren, as part of activities surrounding the broadcast, to send in proposals for how they could help Obama. They were also asked to discuss "notable quotes" from Obama speeches on education.

Republicans objected that this amounted to politicisation and also condemned what they claimed would be a speech setting out Democratic policies to school children. Schools across the country are planning to boycott the broadcast and are organising alternative events.

I was never an Obamaniac. But FCS, I didn't think he and his administration would turn out to be such a bunch of PUSSIES in the face of batshit bugfuck certifiable insanity.

'Birther' Belly-Laughs

In one of the many threads discussing the 'Birther' idiocy at FreakDominion, somebody posted this link to somebody named Swindle, who I'm assuming is a rightwingnut.

Swindle starts off:

I’d vowed that I wasn’t going to do another post on the Obama birth certificate conspiracy. And then I saw conservative superstar Ann Coulter on Geraldo at Large making pretty much the same arguments I have. (Namely: this is kook stuff and the media are using it against the Right.)

Well there you have it. Not even Ann Coulter is buying -- or selling -- it.

But that's not enough for the Freaks. Many -- not all -- are still SHRIEEEEKING for the birth certificate to be produced. And that this whole affair was engineered by the Librul Media to make the rightards look, well, retarded.

One of the sane(r) ones offered this:

So the vast liberal conspiracy to have a Kenyan guy become President has now sucked in Ann Coulter?

Is that the conclusion we've come to?

That's the second laugh I've had outta the wingnuts today.

Now go over to JJ's to watch the congresscritters run from the question.

Go Bold, Obama

There's an interesting article by Dahlia Lithwick on Obama's possible thinking on his Supreme Court nominee in Newsweek. (emphasis mine)

Unconstrained by the demands of national security, with this Supreme Court pick Obama finally has the chance to be bold. He has the opportunity to name someone who will deliver a much-needed defibrillating to the intellectually exhausted left wing of the court. Everyone—including me—has been expecting Obama to name a respectable incrementalist to slide into Souter's respectable incrementalist shoes. But I am more and more apt to think he might just shock us all in the coming days with someone ready to take up the mantle of Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan.

First, he needn't fear the filibuster. Moreover, it's clear that a moderate, minimalist technocrat will face the same rump-blistering confirmation as a liberal bomb-thrower. (The Judicial Confirmation Network has launched a series of ads trashing the moderate Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the more outspoken Judge Diane Pamela Wood of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the somewhat more outspoken Sonia Sotomayor of the Second Circuit in about equal measure.) The game of destroying Obama's nominee has little to do with the nominee. Whoever he or she might be, the actual name won't matter in the race to tarnish him or her as a hysterical, abortion-loving activist.

Indeed. Whoever he nominates is going to be excoriated by rightwingnutters. Why not go bold?

Abstinence Axed!

Yay! More evidence of a return to sanity in the Excited States. President Obama will eliminate funding for that 'boondoggle of historic proportions', aka abstinence-only sex ed.

His budget for 2010 will provide at least $164 million for science- and evidence-based sex ed and will ax the $160 million wasted per year on faith-based -- as in 'cross-your-fingers and pray' -- sex ed. He had already cut abstinence-only funding by $56 million and now ALL federal funding will be kaput.

LifeShite quotes Leslee Unruh, president of Abstinence Clearinghouse, a gang of fraudsters who promote this claptrap.

"I believe there will be a political backlash for those who oppose these life saving abstinence programs. The enemies of sexual integrity programs will feel the heat from the army of youth who have seen the light through these programs as they approach voting age," she added.

Huh? Heat? Light? Army? Enemy?

What's going on here?

Oh. Right. Munnee.

There's a blog attached to the Abstinence Clearinghouse site. It SHRIEEEKS: You're Gonna Lose Your Job!!!!

And how is this stimulating the economy by putting thousands of people who work for Title V and CBAE programs out of work? Life is easy when it’s other people’s money you’re spending - and it’s fun until it’s gone. What do they call that again?

Oh yeah…socialism.

If I were an American parent, I'd be doing handsprings and cartwheels knowing these lying, ignorant fundy jerks were no longer allowed to tell my children anything, let alone how to conduct their private lives.

May 7/09 SHRIEEEEK Watch

In the US, today is National Day of Prayer. (Who knew?) President Obama is, unlike his fundy-ass-kisser predecessor, not making a big deal out of it.

The Freaks are SHRIEEEEEKING:

For those Americans among us, today is the National Day of Prayer. For the first time since it was proclaimed in 1952, the American president has declined to participate. He has announced through the Mouth of Zero that he will "pray privately as usual, alone."

Please pray publically and with others, if you can, that King Zero, a/k/a the Antichrist, will be converted and repudiate Satan, his pomps and vanities and all his empty promises, and that St. Michael will cast back into hell those satanic forces who have surrounded King Zero since he went up on the mountaintop and fist-bumped with Satan under the delusion that Satan takes partners in his business.

Pray for our country and all who stand with God and for freedom.

In other SHRIEEEEK-Watch news, the fetus fetishists again demonstrate their incredibly short attention span. Every year, Planned Parenthood uses Mothers Day as a hook for fundraising. This year, author Judy Blume wrote the message. And she's taking immense shit for it. If you're feeling like it, visit her guestbook to give her some support.

UPDATE: Via Five of Five and PZ Myers, go poop on Focus on the Family's National Day of Prayer poll.

Notre Dame Grad? Be Afraid.

Flaming nutbar Randall Terry has your mailing address.

Some University of Notre Dame alumni are angry about mailings they received from Randall Terry’s organization, demanding to know how the anti-abortion activist obtained their private addresses on file with the university.

Notre Dame officials say they have a strict privacy policy and don’t sell or give away alumni mailing lists to outside organizations.

The university plans to deliver a cease and desist order to Terry’s group, ordering him to stop sending mailings using the alumni mailing list, Charles F. Lennon, Alumni Association executive director, said Wednesday.

But Terry doesn't give a rat's ass.

Terry said his group also has received some angry e-mails and phone calls from alumni who didn’t like the mailings. He shrugged off the complaints.

“We dismiss them as having lost their way. Anyone who defends the premier promoter of child killing is not firing on all cylinders,” he said.

Lest we forget, THIS is why we can't ever let the theofascists anywhere near power. They are doing Gord's work and don't give a flying fuck for the laws of the people.

In related news, go have a look at the fetus fetishists' latest weapon -- Air Fetus!

A picture that is well worth 1000 words, squared.

A friend showed me this photo that she stored on her cell phone.

It made me laugh.

The challenge: Give us a caption for this photo. It shouldn't take anywhere near 1000 words. Don't worry, be pithy.

Well, what do you expect from people who believe in sky faeries?

From TIME: 'The Catholic Crusade against a Mythical Abortion Bill'.

The Catlicks got their tighty-whiteys all twisty-wisty. They're preaching and screeching. They're mounting postcard and letter writing campaigns. They're in a Facebooking frenzy.

Over what, you ask?

Over the Freedom of Choice Act that the 'most radically pro-abortion president evah' promised to sign.

Small problem however.

In the midst of all this activity, the fact that there was no Freedom of Choice Act before the 111th Congress went largely unnoticed and unmentioned.

A Freedom of Choice Act was first introduced in the 108th and 110th Congresses (from '03 to '05 and '07 to '09, respectively), by Rep. Jerold Nadler, a New York Democrat. It was developed at a time when the future of Roe was in doubt because it was unclear if George W. Bush would have the opportunity to appoint another justice to the Supreme Court. But FOCA had a hard time gaining traction — even under Democratic control of Congress, the bill was not only never voted on but never made it out of committee. And now abortion rights advocates are breathing easier with Obama in the White House — so much so that when a coalition of 63 organizations sent the Administration its top 15 priorities for reproductive rights and health, FOCA did not even make the list. (emphasis mine)

Ah, but a little truthiness can't stop a well-oiled propaganda machine.

James Salt, director of organizing for the progressive organization Catholics United, thinks the USCCB has been prodded into focusing on FOCA by misinformation from right-wing groups. "These right-wing organizations are deliberatively misleading people in order to stoke the culture war," says Salt. "They're using this as a fundraising tool, as a way to gin up their relevancy. And unfortunately some of these groups have the ear of certain bishops."

I like that: 'gin up their relevancy'. Relevancy is just what they're down a couple of quarts of at the moment, what with these nutters on their side.

But I digress.

The e-rumours are swirling: Catholic hospitals will be shut down or forced to perform abortions.

Some versions of the e-mail even claimed that FOCA could "result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations — and even regulate how many children women are allowed to have."

Ooh, does that remind you of anything? Oh yeah. The recently rebranded gang at Signal Hill/Pro-Life BC, who, in their own efforts to fundraise gin up their relevancy, asked people to agree or disagree with this statement, 'The government should dictate how many children a woman can have'.

SHRIEEEEEK! 93% disagreed!

So there! That proves, um, something.

Obama for Pope

Let's see if this blog-mind-meld deBeauxOs and I seem to have going continues. Trespassing on her turf (a bit) I found this:

To get right to the point, Kung in his article on February 3, wished Barack Obama were Pope. “The mood in the church is oppressive, reforms are paralyzed, and the church in crisis,” he says. “Benedict is unteachable in matters of birth control and abortion, arrogant and without transparency and restrictive of freedom and human rights.”

There's a link to the article in German there.

Who's making popcorn? :)