Three years after the state of Wisconsin passed its voter ID law, U.S. District Judge James Peterson blocked it, noting that 9 percent of all registered voters did not have the required forms of IDs. Black voters were about 50 percent likelier than whites to lack these required IDs. Judge Peterson found that 85 percent of those denied IDs by the Department of Motor Vehicles were black or Latino. After the November 2016 election, 11 percent of those surveyed in Milwaukee County and Dane County on why they didn't cast a ballot "cited the voter ID law and said they didn't have an acceptable ID;" of those, more than half said the law was the "main reason" they didn't vote. Hillary Clinton carried the city of Milwaukee by 77 to 18 percent; however, she was greatly hurt by the fact that almost 41,000 fewer people voted in 2016 than in 2012. [1]
An analysis by Media Matters for America found that only 8.9 percent of TV news segments on voting rights from July 2016 to June 2017 "discussed the impact voter suppression laws had on the 2016 election, while more than 70 percent were about Trump's false claims of voter fraud and noncitizen voting."
There have been a number of studies made of the effects of voter suppression actions. A post-November 2016 election study by Priorities USA found that turnout decreased by 1.3% in the three states that adopted stricter voting laws but increased by 1.3% in states where state ID laws did not change. Wisconsin's turnout dropped 3.3% -- an estimated 200,000 fewer voters. The Government Accountability Office found that stricter ID laws in Kansas and Tennessee had decreased turnout by roughly 2 to 3%, with the largest drops among black, young and new voters. According to a comprehensive study by MIT political scientist Charles Stewart, an estimated 16 million people -- 12 percent of all voters -- encountered at least one problem voting in November 2016. Researchers estimate that nationwide, there were more than one million lost votes in the November 2016 election, because of things like strict ID laws, long lines at polls, and difficulty registering. Trump won the electoral college vote by 78,000 combined votes in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. [2]
Turning again to Wisconsin: "The voter ID law was one of the 33 election changes passed in Wisconsin after [Scott] Walker took office, and it dovetailed with his signature push to dismantle unions, taking away his opponents' most effective organizing tool." [3]
Footnotes
[1] Ari Berman, "Rigged," Mother Jones, November/December 2017.
[2] Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffrey, "Less hot air, more sunlight," Mother Jones, November/December 2017.
[3] Berman.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Trump's Sexual Abuse Twists Supporters Into Pretzels
Sexual Abuse Pretzel Twisting
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said, in essence, that it is better to support a sexual abuser who denies his molestation than to support one who admits his sexual abuse, apologizes for it, and in the case of Sen. Al Franken, even welcomes a Senate ethics investigation. Franken's unwelcome sexual advance pales in comparison to the allegations made against Donald Trump and aspiring U.S. senator Roy Moore. The allegations made against Roy Moore now involve nine women and one is a claim that Moore sexually violated a 14-year-old. The allegations against Moore are buttressed by a signed yearbook -- under some dispute as to authenticity -- and the statements made by two policemen who patrolled the mall, and two workers inside the mall, that Moore was known for cruising the mall to try to pick up teenage girls.
The number of women who have accused Donald Trump of unwelcome sexual advances varying in severity, varies in media accounts; however, MSNBC has put up 15 pictures and names, and has even posted portions of their statements -- I'm not sure if that number includes the 13-year-old who has accused Trump of rape, but has withdrawn her criminal complaint due to claimed death threats. It also may not include the woman who is currently suing Trump for his behavior toward her on "The Apprentice" show. She is asking for an apology only, not money. Nonetheless, Trump has said all these women are liars, as are the five people who they told their stories to at the times of the incidents. If we include the three African American women who disputed Trump's account of the condolence call in the death of Sgt. La David Johnson, that makes 23 people who are liars and Trump the only truth-teller. During the campaign, Donald Trump promised he would shortly produce the proof that the women were lying, and later said he would also sue them. Neither promise has been fulfilled.
Sen. Franken's self-accepted improper sexual behavior consists of one woman's description of him putting his tongue in her mouth and the picture of Franken with his hands cupped over the same woman's covered breasts. Strengthening the case that this is a planned skit at a USO shoe in 2006 is the fact that Franken is smiling at the camera, and to the left of the woman is a man also sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. Nonetheless, Franken has accepted his behavior as very improper and has apologized, both publicly and in a letter.
What spokesperson Sanders is saying is that if you admit to no wrongdoing, no wrongdoing was done. President Trump has said that if the women are telling the truth about Roy Moore, he will weigh in with a further statement about his position on Moore. Another White House spokesperson has said that since Trump is not campaigning for Moore, that indicates his disapproval. Trying to read tea leaves about Trump doesn't cut the cake. What is needed is whether or not Trump believes that Roy Moore should exit the campaign.
What has been revealed in this whole Roy Moore matter is how far the Republicans have departed from Sen. John McCain's "regular order." They refused to even have a hearing on President Obama's nominee for a Supreme Court justice; they tried to ram through ACA repeal and replace with virtually no committee hearings in either the Senate or the House; they amended their repeal and replace bill in the White House with only Trump and two lawmakers present; and they are now trying to ram through a major tax cut bill with as little consideration as possible.
In regard to Roy Moore, the GOP has: 1. Tried to have the Alabama governor change the date of the special election; 2. Do a write-in campaign with either Luther Strange or Jeff Sessions; and 3. Have Sen. Luther Strange resign now and do a special election to pick a successor. Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt has even suggested just cancelling the election in Alabama. It is an open question if the U.S. governmental structure can survive the many norms for it that the GOP is trying to destroy.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said, in essence, that it is better to support a sexual abuser who denies his molestation than to support one who admits his sexual abuse, apologizes for it, and in the case of Sen. Al Franken, even welcomes a Senate ethics investigation. Franken's unwelcome sexual advance pales in comparison to the allegations made against Donald Trump and aspiring U.S. senator Roy Moore. The allegations made against Roy Moore now involve nine women and one is a claim that Moore sexually violated a 14-year-old. The allegations against Moore are buttressed by a signed yearbook -- under some dispute as to authenticity -- and the statements made by two policemen who patrolled the mall, and two workers inside the mall, that Moore was known for cruising the mall to try to pick up teenage girls.
The number of women who have accused Donald Trump of unwelcome sexual advances varying in severity, varies in media accounts; however, MSNBC has put up 15 pictures and names, and has even posted portions of their statements -- I'm not sure if that number includes the 13-year-old who has accused Trump of rape, but has withdrawn her criminal complaint due to claimed death threats. It also may not include the woman who is currently suing Trump for his behavior toward her on "The Apprentice" show. She is asking for an apology only, not money. Nonetheless, Trump has said all these women are liars, as are the five people who they told their stories to at the times of the incidents. If we include the three African American women who disputed Trump's account of the condolence call in the death of Sgt. La David Johnson, that makes 23 people who are liars and Trump the only truth-teller. During the campaign, Donald Trump promised he would shortly produce the proof that the women were lying, and later said he would also sue them. Neither promise has been fulfilled.
Sen. Franken's self-accepted improper sexual behavior consists of one woman's description of him putting his tongue in her mouth and the picture of Franken with his hands cupped over the same woman's covered breasts. Strengthening the case that this is a planned skit at a USO shoe in 2006 is the fact that Franken is smiling at the camera, and to the left of the woman is a man also sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. Nonetheless, Franken has accepted his behavior as very improper and has apologized, both publicly and in a letter.
What spokesperson Sanders is saying is that if you admit to no wrongdoing, no wrongdoing was done. President Trump has said that if the women are telling the truth about Roy Moore, he will weigh in with a further statement about his position on Moore. Another White House spokesperson has said that since Trump is not campaigning for Moore, that indicates his disapproval. Trying to read tea leaves about Trump doesn't cut the cake. What is needed is whether or not Trump believes that Roy Moore should exit the campaign.
What has been revealed in this whole Roy Moore matter is how far the Republicans have departed from Sen. John McCain's "regular order." They refused to even have a hearing on President Obama's nominee for a Supreme Court justice; they tried to ram through ACA repeal and replace with virtually no committee hearings in either the Senate or the House; they amended their repeal and replace bill in the White House with only Trump and two lawmakers present; and they are now trying to ram through a major tax cut bill with as little consideration as possible.
In regard to Roy Moore, the GOP has: 1. Tried to have the Alabama governor change the date of the special election; 2. Do a write-in campaign with either Luther Strange or Jeff Sessions; and 3. Have Sen. Luther Strange resign now and do a special election to pick a successor. Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt has even suggested just cancelling the election in Alabama. It is an open question if the U.S. governmental structure can survive the many norms for it that the GOP is trying to destroy.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
President Trump's Lonely Position on Iranian Deal
Trump's Lonely Position on Iranian Nuclear Deal
President Trump's decision to decertify the Iranian nuclear deal after certifying it twice before makes no sense, since nothing material has changed since he last certified it. He has provided no evidence as to why Iranian compliance has suddenly ended. Internationally, China, France, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- the countries that signed the deal, along with the United States -- have not found Iranian noncompliance. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the deal, over 80 nuclear policy experts, and the European Union, which had a representative in the negotiations to achieve the deal, are all agreed that Iran is in compliance. Even in the United States, opponents of decertification include Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command, and Rep. Ed Royce, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence, stated in the May 2017 Worldwide Threat Assessment, that the JCPOA has "enhanced the transparency of Iran's nuclear activities" and "extended the amount of time Iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon from a few months to about a year."
The IAEA has certified that Iran has eliminated 98 percent of its enriched uranium, 2/3s of its centrifuges -- 13,000 dismantled -- and poured concrete into the core of its Arak reactor. Iran has also shipped out more than 11 tons of low-enriched uranium. Moreover, it has kept its commitment to enrich uranium up to only 3.67 percent.
If the United States were to completely withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, it would not only encourage the worst elements in Iranian politics; it would also undermine U.S. relations with Russia, China, and European countries just when their cooperation is needed to pressure North Korea. As for Kim Jong-un, if he believes that the U.S. is rash enough to initiate a first strike, he may accelerate his missile and nuclear-bomb tests and deployments.
We should not give up on the possibility that nuclear weapons can be eliminated from the face of the earth, as not only have 122 nations signed a resolution to eliminate all nukes, but since the fall of the Berlin wall, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Kazakistan and Belarus have voluntarily given up their nuclear weapons or abandoned advanced programs.
GOP Wants Hillary Clinton's Scalp on Uranium Sale
As is almost certainly a ploy to shift attention away from the investigation of the Trump presidential campaign's collusion or conspiracy with Russia to torpedo Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, the GOP has belatedly launched a campaign to criminally implicate her in the sale by Uranium One of uranium to Rosaton, Russia's nuclear energy agency. The sale was approved by nine government agencies and signed by President Obama. Hillary had no direct role in approving the sale.
The sale is, of course, meant to convey an impression that the U.S. made a major contribution to Russia's nuclear weapons program. The uranium mine owned by Uranium One represents only 2.3 percent of all U.S. production; also, the 1,126 tons produced by the United States represents a small part of the world's 62,266 tons of uranium.
President Trump's decision to decertify the Iranian nuclear deal after certifying it twice before makes no sense, since nothing material has changed since he last certified it. He has provided no evidence as to why Iranian compliance has suddenly ended. Internationally, China, France, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- the countries that signed the deal, along with the United States -- have not found Iranian noncompliance. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the deal, over 80 nuclear policy experts, and the European Union, which had a representative in the negotiations to achieve the deal, are all agreed that Iran is in compliance. Even in the United States, opponents of decertification include Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command, and Rep. Ed Royce, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence, stated in the May 2017 Worldwide Threat Assessment, that the JCPOA has "enhanced the transparency of Iran's nuclear activities" and "extended the amount of time Iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon from a few months to about a year."
The IAEA has certified that Iran has eliminated 98 percent of its enriched uranium, 2/3s of its centrifuges -- 13,000 dismantled -- and poured concrete into the core of its Arak reactor. Iran has also shipped out more than 11 tons of low-enriched uranium. Moreover, it has kept its commitment to enrich uranium up to only 3.67 percent.
If the United States were to completely withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, it would not only encourage the worst elements in Iranian politics; it would also undermine U.S. relations with Russia, China, and European countries just when their cooperation is needed to pressure North Korea. As for Kim Jong-un, if he believes that the U.S. is rash enough to initiate a first strike, he may accelerate his missile and nuclear-bomb tests and deployments.
We should not give up on the possibility that nuclear weapons can be eliminated from the face of the earth, as not only have 122 nations signed a resolution to eliminate all nukes, but since the fall of the Berlin wall, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Kazakistan and Belarus have voluntarily given up their nuclear weapons or abandoned advanced programs.
GOP Wants Hillary Clinton's Scalp on Uranium Sale
As is almost certainly a ploy to shift attention away from the investigation of the Trump presidential campaign's collusion or conspiracy with Russia to torpedo Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, the GOP has belatedly launched a campaign to criminally implicate her in the sale by Uranium One of uranium to Rosaton, Russia's nuclear energy agency. The sale was approved by nine government agencies and signed by President Obama. Hillary had no direct role in approving the sale.
The sale is, of course, meant to convey an impression that the U.S. made a major contribution to Russia's nuclear weapons program. The uranium mine owned by Uranium One represents only 2.3 percent of all U.S. production; also, the 1,126 tons produced by the United States represents a small part of the world's 62,266 tons of uranium.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Failing Morals, Escalated Airstrikes, and a Kids Drop Dead Approach
Failing Morals
With Harvard rescinding its fellowship for whistle-blower Chelsea Manning -- and with former Trump aides Sean Spicer and Corey Lewandowski starting theirs -- here's a brief who's who of the controversial former government officials now employed by elite universities:
Harold Koh returned to his professorship at Yale in 2013 after spending nearly four years as the legal adviser to the State Department, where he provided the rationale for President Obama's use of drone strikes and for U.S. support of anti-Gadhafi forces in the Libyan civil war.
John Brennan, former CIA director, became a distinguished fellow at Fordham University in 2017 after developing the U.S. government's targeted-killing program and supporting the torture policies of the George W. Bush era.
John Yoo went back to his professorship at UC Berkley after co-authoring the so-called torture memos, which sought to justify the Bush administration's use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" techniques.
John Negroponte continues as the Brady-Johnson Distinguished Practitioner in Grand Strategy at Yale, despite the fact that, as U.S. ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, he coordinated support for the Nicaraguan death squads known as contras. (Source: The Nation, October 16, 2017.)
Air Strikes
The American airstrikes against ISIS in Libya in late December marked a milestone for Donald Trump in eight months as president: he has attacked all seven countries that Barack Obama had bombed over the previous eight years. Here's a look at how President Trump ramped up America's wars in 2017:
2,566 - Air strikes in Afghanistan are more than double the total in Obama's last two years.
7,817 - Air strikes in Syria are more than double the number in 2016.
105 - Air strikes in Yemen are two-thirds of the total from 2002 to 2016.
16 - Air strikes in Somalia are more than any previous year. (Source: The Nation, November 6, 2017.)
GOP to Poor Kids: Drop Dead
Now that Congress has missed the December 30 deadline to renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, kids across the country stand to lose coverage as states burn through their remaining money. CHIP, a 20-year-old program, currently provides health insurance to about 9 million children from low-and middle-income families.
The Senate bill to fix the problem has sailed through committee and is expected to pass. The House effort has hit a roadblock, since the Democrats want to extend CHIP but object to the GOP's attempt to fund the program by raising premiums on higher-income Medicare recipients and by siphoning money from the Affordable Care Act.
Earlier this year, a nonpartisan report estimated that unless Congress renews CHIP funding, three states and the District of Columbia will exhaust their funds by the end of 2017. Minnesota, which was projected to run out earliest, received $3.6 million in emergency funding while Congress hemmed and hawed; however, this infusion is only about 2 percent of the state's annual CHIP budget. Another 27 states will run out by March 2018, and every state but Wyoming will be dry by the end of June. The absence of federal funding will make it incumbent on individual states to figure out how to cover the needs of these children. (Source: The Nation, November 6, 2017.)
With Harvard rescinding its fellowship for whistle-blower Chelsea Manning -- and with former Trump aides Sean Spicer and Corey Lewandowski starting theirs -- here's a brief who's who of the controversial former government officials now employed by elite universities:
Harold Koh returned to his professorship at Yale in 2013 after spending nearly four years as the legal adviser to the State Department, where he provided the rationale for President Obama's use of drone strikes and for U.S. support of anti-Gadhafi forces in the Libyan civil war.
John Brennan, former CIA director, became a distinguished fellow at Fordham University in 2017 after developing the U.S. government's targeted-killing program and supporting the torture policies of the George W. Bush era.
John Yoo went back to his professorship at UC Berkley after co-authoring the so-called torture memos, which sought to justify the Bush administration's use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" techniques.
John Negroponte continues as the Brady-Johnson Distinguished Practitioner in Grand Strategy at Yale, despite the fact that, as U.S. ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, he coordinated support for the Nicaraguan death squads known as contras. (Source: The Nation, October 16, 2017.)
Air Strikes
The American airstrikes against ISIS in Libya in late December marked a milestone for Donald Trump in eight months as president: he has attacked all seven countries that Barack Obama had bombed over the previous eight years. Here's a look at how President Trump ramped up America's wars in 2017:
2,566 - Air strikes in Afghanistan are more than double the total in Obama's last two years.
7,817 - Air strikes in Syria are more than double the number in 2016.
105 - Air strikes in Yemen are two-thirds of the total from 2002 to 2016.
16 - Air strikes in Somalia are more than any previous year. (Source: The Nation, November 6, 2017.)
GOP to Poor Kids: Drop Dead
Now that Congress has missed the December 30 deadline to renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, kids across the country stand to lose coverage as states burn through their remaining money. CHIP, a 20-year-old program, currently provides health insurance to about 9 million children from low-and middle-income families.
The Senate bill to fix the problem has sailed through committee and is expected to pass. The House effort has hit a roadblock, since the Democrats want to extend CHIP but object to the GOP's attempt to fund the program by raising premiums on higher-income Medicare recipients and by siphoning money from the Affordable Care Act.
Earlier this year, a nonpartisan report estimated that unless Congress renews CHIP funding, three states and the District of Columbia will exhaust their funds by the end of 2017. Minnesota, which was projected to run out earliest, received $3.6 million in emergency funding while Congress hemmed and hawed; however, this infusion is only about 2 percent of the state's annual CHIP budget. Another 27 states will run out by March 2018, and every state but Wyoming will be dry by the end of June. The absence of federal funding will make it incumbent on individual states to figure out how to cover the needs of these children. (Source: The Nation, November 6, 2017.)
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