Claims And Issues

VOTING MACHINES AND THE GERRYMANDERED OLD PARTY.

(Common Ground Project)

A Satire in One Act hopefully.

Meadow Lark Oldkin knew that something was wrong with the voting machines.  For years they had registered fewer votes for the Gerrymandered Old Party in the State of Old Dominion.

          Oldkin was running for governor in Old Dominion.   So it is understandable that he was concerned by this.  He was the nominee of the Gerrymandered Old Party, which everyone who lived in the Sixties called the Party of the Gerrymandered Oh.

          Oldkin paid for a video to show the problem.  In the video, a voter voted for the Gerrymandered Oh but the voting machines did not show that the Gerrymandered Old Party had been the winner for 10 years.

          This campaign ad was filmed in a state of hints and allegations (not to be confused with Old Dominion, not that kind of state).  The video was offered as proof that the voting machines are against them.

          Oldkin did not say that the video was filmed 10 years ago.

          Oldkin did not say either that the voter filmed in the video is now a lawyer working for the Gerrymandered Old Party.

          Much of the corporate media did not say these things either.  They never asked Oldkin about the video.  Instead, they said that the video showed the problem.

          Oldkin counted on that.  He bet that the video would be the message regardless of the truth.

          Oldkin's bet may have paid off.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

CAPITULATION, NOT COMPROMISE?

Voting Booths Have Consequences.

  (Image by Common Ground Project)

To rephrase one person's commentary on the current nearly lifeless version of the Build Back Better Bill, 'No-one got anything they wanted, except Mitch McConnell, Manuchin, and Synema.  But that's what capitulation is.'

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

JOE, EVEN KYRSTEN SINEMA KNOWS YOUR GAME PLAN.

Candles at the Grotto.  (Peter Ringenberg / University of Notre Dame)

 

Reports this morning put President Joe Biden on the way to the Capitol.  He is delaying his trip to the Climate Conference in Scotland to make this trip.

          Joe Manuchin and even Kyrsten Sinema know why.  Mr. Biden needs SOMETHING.  He needs to take something with him to Glasgow.  I am betting on something being some form of the climate initiative Biden originally proposed, whatever is left of it.

          The reason I am guessing that the President is headed to the Capitol is to tell the House Democratic Progressive Caucus to vote for whatever, so that Mr. Biden has SOMETHING to take with him on his trip.  It has been the Progressives of course who have stood behind the President's Build Back Better Plan even though it means that they will have to hold their noses and vote for the corporate or so-called 'bipartisan' roads and bridges infrastructure plan arranged by corporate senators like Manuchin and Synema.

          Joe Biden has a history of turning on people who support him if it suits his purpose in the current moment.  This looks like just such a moment.

          This has all the feel of a set-up.  Mr. Biden, I predict, will tell the Progressives what corporate Democrats have told Progressives for decades:  It is better to have a corporate bill than no bill at all.  Even if the bill is not progressive.  Even if the bill does not benefit the people.  Even if the bill mostly benefits the corporations.  Otherwise, the corporate Democrats will say that the Progressives are blocking 'progress,' that Progressives cannot get things done.

          The truth of the matter is that corporate Democrats like Mr. Biden cannot get the Build Back Better Bill done.

          When Mr. Biden turns on the Progressive Caucus in the House, it will be interesting to see how they respond.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

THE CHARLOTTESVILLE ACCOUNTABILITY TRIAL.

(Gridview_imagefull/Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services)

A trial began on Monday in Federal Court in Virginia.  The purpose of the trial is to hold the neo-nazis, white supremacists, and violent bigots accountable for the damage they did at and organizing the uprising in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

          I call it the Charlottesville Accountability Trial.  The testimony and other evidence of what happened to Charlottesville in 2017 will expose many of the things that happened to the country since.  We can expect lots of headlines from the trial over the next couple of weeks. 

          If anyone has information to share from the Charlottesville Accountability Trial, the Comments are open and so is my invitation to share information.  For my part, I will follow the trial pretty closely but if two heads are better than one, so are many heads better than one and I appreciate sharing with anyone who has information, a piece of the truth, about what happened.

          The official name of the Charlottesville Accountability Trial was not easy to find.  It is the case of Sines v. Kessler (Western District of Virginia Case No. 3:17-cv-00072).

          Thanks for listening.  Thanks for sharing.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

THEY DON'T HAVE CONTROL OF THE U.S. SENATE.

(Black Hole.  Image by NASA)

           The Democrats really don't have 50 Senators.  They have 48.

          The Democrats really don't have control of the U.S. Senate.  That does not mean the Republicans do.

          (Blue Moon Over D.C.  Image by NASA)

         

          But the reality is that the Democrats don't have control of the U.S. Senate.

          (Senator Joe Manchin.  UPI)

No-one can seriously contend at this point that the Democrats control Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema.  Chuck Schumer is the only one seriously contending that he is the Majority Leader 'cause he wants the perks including the office.

          The Democrats have 48 Senators in their Party.  They do not have any realistic influence with any of the remaining 52 Senators.

          (Supermoon Eclipse Over Washington, D.C.  Image by NASA)

         And that's the reality.  To borrow a phrase that fits, "And that's the rest of the story."

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, GO" ALREADY, JOE MANUCHIN!

Reports are circulating from associates of Sen. Joe Manchin that he is thinking of switching parties.  As this story goes, Joe will leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican.

          Whether this is another political ploy designed to test drive it and see how it runs, or whether it is serious, we can only say Good-bye, Arrivederci, So long, See ya, Don't let the door hit you in the Joe on the way out.

          Bye!

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

WHEN RIGHT TO WORK REALLY MEANS RIGHT TO WORK!

The subhead on this NYT article this morning describes the situation of U.S. workers empowered:  Economic Gains Hobbled as Labor Market Shrinks / Wielding Rare Leverage to Push Demands, Workers Are in no Hurry to Return, by Ben Casselman, NEW YORK TIMES, Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at A1, published online with the headline and subhead, The Economic Rebound Is Still Waiting for Workers / Despite school reopenings and the end of some federal aid, many people are in no rush to land a job. Savings and health concerns are playing a role.

.          The pandemic has made many things clear.  One of them is that the anti-union movement a/k/a "right to work" movement has spawned so much unhappiness on the job that employers cannot deal with it.

          More to the point, their employees no longer feel the need to endure it.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

SAVED FROM HOMELAND INSECURITY. ARMY REFUSED WAGING WAR INSIDE U.S.

And not for the first time.

News is circulating today of how the Steve Miller Band, with a gig sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, went outside the chain of command to ask the Army how many troops it would need to keep people from coming into the U.S. at the Southern Border.  The answer:  250,000 or more.

The part of this story that is not getting as much attention, yet, is that the Band went outside the chain of command to see if they could use the Army.  When the Secretary of Defense at the time found out, he reportedly confronted the Band and ended the scheme.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was also left in the dark.  The Band made sure that General Mark Milley did not know what was going on.

This puts in perspective why General Milley would have instructed all of the military commanders to refuse to launch nuclear weapons unless he was included in the decision to make war.  This was not revolutionary.  This was necessary.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

JOE, DON'T STOP THINKIN' ABOUT BUILD BACK A BETTER TOMORROW!

President Biden   -- the #BuildBackBetterAct needs to honor your goal to cut climate pollution in half by 2030. Keep fighting for a bold #BuildBackBetterAct that includes a CEPP, eliminates fossil fuel subsidies and passes the Climate Test #NoClimateNoDeal.

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE MANUCHIN! YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!

President Biden: Keep fighting for a bold #BuildBackBetterAct to address the interlocking crises of mass unemployment, public health, racial injustice & climate crisis. It should honor your goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030. #NoClimateNoDeal #HoldTheLine.  Tell Joe Manuchin to Build Back Better for ALL OF US!

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

BUILD BACK BETTER AND THEY WILL COME, JOE.

THEY WILL MOST CERTAINLY COME.

President Biden: The #BuildBackBetterAct must be bold enough to meet the economic, climate, and inequality crises we face. We're counting on you @POTUS to hold strong for historic climate action, good jobs, and racial justice.

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

YOU STILL GOTTA BELIEVE, JOE: BUILD BACK BETTER!

President Biden -- the #BuildBackBetterAct needs to honor your goal to cut climate pollution in half by 2030. Keep fighting for a bold #BuildBackBetterAct that includes a CEPP, eliminates fossil fuel subsidies and passes the Climate Test #NoClimateNoDeal.

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE: BUILD BACK BETTER!

President Biden: @POTUS keep fighting for a bold #BuildBackBetterAct to address the interlocking crises of mass unemployment, public health, racial injustice, and climate crisis. #NoClimateNoDeal #HoldTheLine

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

We can hope, can't we?

As you know, the department of justice's successful efforts to bar the Texas abortion law were led by LISA NEWMAN, ESQUIRE.  See AND LISA NEWMAN SHALL LEAD TEN OF THEM ....

          The doj's success was fleeting, though.  Texas won the initial skirmish on appeal.  A motions panel, which means a panel of judges gathered together to hear motions in all the pending appeals, granted Texas' motion to lift the District Court's injunction of the Texas law in this case.  Technically, the motion panel only granted a motion to stay the injunction in this case, in other words, to keep the Texas abortion law in place, while the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took the time to decide the motion.  See Download Order 5th Circuit Emergency Stay United States v. State of Texas No. 21-50792 (5th Cir. October 8 2021).

          In reality, of course, this is the Fifth Circuit.  Things are looking grim for the doj.  The department of justice would need to maximize its chances of reaching the judges who sit on the Fifth Circuit, which covers Texas.

          So the doj replaced the successful trial lawyer, LISA NEWMAN, on the appeal.  That is not unusual, that an appellate lawyer at a big firm, or in this case at the doj, comes in to handle an appeal rather than the trial lawyer who won the case.  In this case, it should be noted that NEWMAN is from Texas, went to the University of Texas undergrad, and then went to the prestigious University of Texas Law School.  The judges on the Fifth are likely to listen to her.

          Or they would have been.  Ms. NEWMAN has been replaced on appeal with one DANIEL WINIK, ESQUIRE.  He signed the USA's Opposition to Stay already filed on October 11, 2021.

          MERRICK GARLAND, did someone tell you this is a good decision?  Just asking for the country.

          Mr. WINIK is a White male who went to Yale.  Good luck relating to the judges down in the Fifth Circuit.  Not extremely likely that they'll listen to you, Mr. WINIK, but maybe.  Not a winning strategy on appeal, in any case.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

HIPAA AND COVID VACCINATIONS: HAIRDRESSERS BETTER THAN DOCTORS UNDERSTANDING HIPAA.

Some doctors in Seminole County, Florida are refusing to tell their patients whether they are vaccinated.  Their offices tell patients it's because of HIPAA.

If this happens to you, as it did to me, refer them to the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services, September 30 Guidance on HIPAA and COVID.  It says that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to individuals asking their doctors whether they are vaccinated, https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/hipaa-covid-19-vaccination-workplace/index.html.

Hairdressers and dentists will tell you if they have been vaccinated.  They are better than doctors at understanding the law, certainly as far as HIPAA and COVID vaccinations go.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

AND LISA NEWMAN SHALL LEAD TEN OF THEM ....

You may have read or heard about the U.S. Department of Justice obtaining a preliminary injunction against the Texas abortion law.

          The United States had ten (10) lawyers listed on the docket of that case.  After a review of the Court file, one of those lawyers clearly emerges as the lead attorney in this successful lawsuit:  LISA NEWMAN, ESQUIRE.

          Ms. NEWMAN signed all the significant motions and pleadings filed by the United States, including the complaint and the emergency motion for Temporary Restraining Order/Preliminary Injunction.  She was obviously entrusted with great responsibilities by the Department of Justice, and the results show the wisdom of that decision.

          It is interesting that Ms. NEWMAN has only been a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch since October 2020.  Before that, she did many things of distinction:

• She was a law clerk at the Western District of Texas for two years before she went to the DOJ. (She may have either known, or known of, the federal judge in the Western District of Texas who decided this case.  He was on the bench when Ms. NEWMAN clerked in the Western District.)

• She got both her B.A. from the University of Texas, and her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

• To say again, the fact that ten lawyers followed Ms. NEWMAN'S lead is a testament to her legal skills.  The current department of justice would be well-advised to look to her lead again in other cases.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

SAY IT AGAIN: MERRICK, BRING THOSE GOOD LAWYERS TO D.C.

MEMO TO MERRICK GARLAND:  

          Bring those three good lawyers from the successful E.D.N.Y. prosecution of R. Kelly to D.C. doj right now.  If they will come.  Find out.  Ask them.  They may be willing to leave E.D.N.Y. for at least a time, if you do the right thing here.

          Okay, that may be too much to  hope for.  But maybe we can hope instead that you will recognize your department's need for successful prosecutors and good lawyers.  Here again are the three fine lawyers who successfully overcame the legal tactics of the best 8 defense lawyers that Mr. R. Kelly could retain before he was convicted on all 9 counts by a jury in the Eastern District of New York.

          Oh, and let's not overlook the innovative and courageous -- and successful -- charge that the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) was violated, along with 8 counts of Mann Act violations -- all successfully prosecuted -- involving sexual relations with underage victims.

          The E.D.N.Y. prosecutors were led by ELIZABETH GEDDES, ESQUIRE.  Ms. GEDDES, a member of the U.S. Attorney's Office for 15 years, heads the Civil Rights Section of the Criminal Division at E.D.N.Y.  Her specialty is the prosecution of racketeering and organized crime.

          Ms. GEDDES has a distinguished resume apart from her work at E.D.N.Y.  She is an adjunct at N.Y.U. in Clinical Law.

          NADIA SHIHATA, ESQUIRE has been with E.D.N.Y. for 10 years.  For the last nearly 2 and 1/2 years, she has been the Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  A University of Michigan Law School graduate, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious University of Michigan Law Review.  She is Order of the Coif, one of the higher honors any law student can receive.

          Ms. SHIHATA's distinguished resume does not stop there, however.    She got an L.L.M. from N.Y.U. in 2008.  She is an adjunct at Columbia Law.

          Last but by no means least is MARIA E. CRUZ MELENDEZ, ESQUIRE, the Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Section at E.D.N.Y.  A Harvard undergrad, she graduated from law school at Notre Dame. 

          These outstanding lawyers are not just accomplished.  They are successful.  They are competent.  They obtain results.  They would distinguish your department way beyond many of the line personnel you have on your roster now.  The doj could not do better than making use of the talents of these three prosecutors in every case they can handle for the United States.

          The results speak for themselves, both in D.C. and at E.D.N.Y.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

NOT "NOTRE DAME." NOW "NOTRE DOLLAR." NO!

(Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune)

If you watch the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish play the University of Cincinnati football team today, watch the game for FREE on NBC or any other free outlet that might be available to you.

              

(via Fighting Irish Wire)

The current regime in charge of the University of Notre Dame has made it into the University of Notre Dollar.  Everything and anything for a buck.  They have contracted with a pay-per-view cable television outlet for followers to pay money for the service that Notre Dollar will get a cut of.

          They have done enough already.  Don't let them get away with this; their next installment may be (likely will be) to black out the game unless you pay to watch it, with the Notre Dollar gang getting its cut of course.

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

          Watch it if it's FREE!  Don't watch it if it's not FREE!  Power to the People!

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.