Post by MarkPost by Anthony MarshPost by bigdogPost by Anthony MarshPost by bigdogPost by Piotr ManciniPost by clavigerPost by Piotr ManciniPost by Anthony MarshI didn't have the money to pursue my FOIA requests that were denied and
there may be something there. I have several shooting tests in mind, but I
can't do them in my state.
Being a Boston (actually, Cambridge) Liberal expatriated to Texas
I wonder whether those tests can be made in the Lone Star state?
-RFH
Good move. Now you can learn how a functional economy is supposed to work
while you're down there, and how to speak Spanglish too. Tejano culture,
music, and food is fun. A lot of them wear cowboy hats and boots to work
in South Texas. They are productive hard working people who have fun
doing what they do. Very loyal Texans and proud of their heritage so be
careful what you say about the Lone Star State.
Functional economy? Such as the one in California, which recently became
the 5th. largest economy in the world, dear Claviger?
https://goo.gl/GHuUHE
The following facts are more related to the Kennedy Assassination -and its
continuing coverup, to this day- than casual observers realize.
(don't believe me? Just watch the reactions of Mark [last name unknown],
Steve Galbraith, Jason, Big Dog, etc.)
In addition to the above cited economic breakthrough, California recently
- DC: Blacks
- Hawaii: Pacific Islanders
- California: Latinos
That's right, there are more Latinos/Hispanics (same thing) in the Golden
State than the rest of groups combined. Such state will be solid blue for
the foreseeable future. A pivotal factor was the failed attempt by the
anti-immigrant (anti-Latino, same thing really) crowd who tried to deny
education to the children of Indocumentados. Huge mistake. The Supreme
Court clipped their wings.
http://www.dealey-plaza.org/~ramon/politics/Swing-Vote.jpg
In Texas, the same happened last year... except that it was the kids in
Texas schools (under 18) who are now more abundant than the rest of groups
combined. The most common name in Tejas is "Jose". Soon those kids will
begin voting and guess *against* which party?
After CA and TX, the most populated states are FL and NY (lands of
immigrants)... The news could not be worse for the Party of Trump.
The news was much worse for "the Party of Trump" right before they started
counting the votes in 2016. How did that work out?
Not well for Trump. He lost the popular vote. Luckily he had some help
from corrupt Republicans who rigged the system for him.
Good old Marsh. He thinks the Republicans rigged the system for Trump even
though the system which elected Trump (electoral college) predated the
Republican party by almost 70 years and predated Trump's election by 228
years.
But why let facts get in the way of a mindless rant.
They hijacked the existing system and rigged in to their advantage, They
just did it again. And you approve of crime.
I'm gonna have to guess here. By "just did it again" are you referring
to the special congressional election in Ohio? Balderson won after
recounts and his opponent is not crying foul, but you are?
Mark
I said nothing about Ohio. That is not the only state where they are
Grerrymandering.
Courts & Law
North Carolina???s gerrymandered map is unconstitutional, judges rule, and
may have to be redrawn before midterms
By Robert Barnes
August 27 at 9:50 PM
A panel of three federal judges held Monday that North Carolina???s
congressional districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor
Republicans over Democrats and said it may require new districts before
the November elections, possibly affecting control of the House.
The judges acknowledged that primary elections have already produced
candidates for the 2018 elections but said they were reluctant to let
voting take place in congressional districts that courts twice have
found violate constitutional standards.
North Carolina legislators are likely to ask the Supreme Court to step
in. The court traditionally does not approve of judicial actions that
can affect an election so close to the day voters go to the polls.
But the Supreme Court has just eight members since Justice Anthony M.
Kennedy???s retirement last month; a tie vote would leave the lower
court???s decision in place. Senate hearings on President Trump???s nominee
to fill the open seat, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, commence Sept. 4.
The North Carolina case is a long-running saga, with a federal court in
2016 striking down the legislature???s 2011 map as a racial gerrymander.
The legislature then passed a plan that left essentially the same
districts in place but said lawmakers were motivated by politics, not race.
The Supreme Court told the three-judge panel to take another look at the
North Carolina case in light of the high court???s June decision in a
Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering case, in which the justices said those
who brought that case did not have legal standing.
But Judge James A. Wynn Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th
Circuit, writing Monday for a special three-judge district court panel,
said plaintiffs did have standing under the decision in Wisconsin???s Gill
v. Whitford, which he said reinforced the judges??? earlier views that the
congressional districts were drawn with improper partisan goals.
He said the court was leaning against giving the North Carolina
legislature another chance to draw the congressional districts.
???We continue to lament that North Carolina voters now have been deprived
of a constitutional congressional districting plan ??? and, therefore,
constitutional representation in Congress ??? for six years and three
election cycles,??? Wynn wrote. ???To the extent allowing the General
Assembly another opportunity to draw a remedial plan would further delay
electing representatives under a constitutional districting plan, that
delay weighs heavily against giving the General Assembly another such
opportunity.???
He proposed several unusual ideas: appointing a special master to draw
new districts, holding general elections without party primaries or even
turning the November elections into a primary and holding the general
election sometime before the new Congress convenes in January.
Wynn and his fellow judges called for immediate briefing from the
parties about which remedy to pursue.
The Supreme Court has never found that a state???s redistricting was so
infected with politics that it was unconstitutional. This past term, it
passed up the chance to do so with the case from Wisconsin and one in
Maryland, disposing of them without deciding the merits.
The North Carolina case presented a stark example of partisan intent,
with legislators making clear that the map was drawn to help one party
over another.
???I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats,??? said
Rep. David Lewis, a Republican member of the North Carolina General
Assembly, addressing fellow legislators when they passed the plan in
2016. ???So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the
country.???
He added: ???I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage
to 10 Republicans and three Democrats because I do not believe it???s
possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.???
When voters went to the polls that fall, the 10-3 outcome was exactly as
Lewis had predicted, even though Republican candidates won just 53
percent of the statewide vote.
Wynn said it should be clear that such partisan gerrymandering is
unconstitutional.
???A common thread runs through the restrictions on state election
regulations imposed by Article I, the First Amendment, and the Equal
Protection Clause: the Constitution does not allow elected officials to
enact laws that distort the marketplace of political ideas so as to
intentionally favor certain political beliefs, parties, or candidates
and disfavor others,??? he wrote.
???Although North Carolina???s loud and proud admission that legislators
drew districts for partisan advantage is unusual, the practice is
universal when politicians are in charge,??? said Kathay Feng, Common
Cause national redistricting director. ???Until we prohibit partisan
gerrymandering, a true representative democracy will remain out of
reach, and the voices of all Americans will continue to be silent.???
Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California at
Irvine, said the case has national implications.
???If the lower court orders new districts for 2018, and the Supreme Court
deadlocks 4-4 on an emergency request to overturn that order, we could
have new districts for 2018 only, and that could help Democrats retake
control of the U.S. House,??? he wrote on his blog.
The combined cases are Common Cause v. Rucho and League of Women Voters
of North Carolina v. Rucho.
So, are you going to cry if a Democrat wins in Ohio? I bet Steve will.
If the GOP were to lose this race, who would they blame or what
would they blame? Herb Asher, The Ohio State University
O???Connor, a 31-year-old attorney with a boyish grin, began his career in
politics in 2016, when he won a race for Franklin County recorder.
Now, less than two years after occupying an office for which the primary
role is processing real estate documents, O???Connor is quietly on the
brink of flipping a House seat the GOP has held since 1982.
O???Connor faces state Sen. Troy Balderson, 56, in a special election on
Tuesday to fill a seat that Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) vacated in January.
Tiberi, a popular nine-term moderate, had endorsed Balderson in a
contentious May primary that Balderson narrowly won.
The primary results are binding for both the special election and the
general election. So regardless of the outcome on Tuesday, O???Connor and
Balderson are due to face off again in November.
That makes the concrete stakes of Tuesday???s race relatively low. But as
with the special election in Pennsylvania???s 18th in March, partisans on
both sides are watching the outcome closely for still more evidence of a
Democratic midterm wave.
By all rights, Ohio???s 12th, a vast C-shaped district gerrymandered to
include well-off parts of Columbus, its affluent northern suburbs and
parts of the industrial towns Mansfield and Zanesville, should be safe
GOP territory.
Tiberi was re-elected there by 37 percentage points in 2016; Trump won
the district by a more modest 11-point margin.
As a result, the surprising tightness of the race is all the more
disquieting for Republicans, who have been forced to spend millions on
Balderson???s behalf and deploy their top surrogates to stump for him.
The latest public poll has Balderson up by a single point, a decline
from a 10-point lead he held a month ago in the same survey. In the
hopes of changing that dynamic, Trump announced Wednesday that he???ll
hold a rally in the district for Balderson on Saturday night.
???If the GOP were to lose this race, who would they blame or what would
they blame? It would have to be a reflection on the Republican brand,???
said Herb Asher, a political science professor at the Ohio State University.
Asher, who has donated to O???Connor???s campaign, argued that even a narrow
Republican win would be ???another indication that Democrats are more
competitive in districts that have not been hospitable to them.???
Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Republican candidate Troy Balderson
wave to the crowd after a Pence rally for Balderson
Troy Balderson for Congress
Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Republican candidate Troy Balderson
wave to the crowd after a Pence rally for Balderson on Monday.
