Monday Morning Rant 166

The following article is from the Washington Examiner and is a must read.  It constitutes a “clear and present” danger to the electoral process and the success of the republic as an entity.  All due credit is given to the Tea Party group in Texas who recognized that threat and doggedly followed up. Once the electoral process is corrupted, the nation is in dire peril.  Do not be deceived and think this is exclusive to Texas.

Every trip we make to the local polling place should include a vigilant attitude and the courage to complain about any observed irregularities.  Read On!

Local Tea Party group may have uncovered massive vote fraud in Texas

By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer

(This comes directly from the Washington Examiner and is unedited.)
09/26/10 3:35 PM EDT

The Examiner’s Mark Tapscott wrote about this story over a week ago, but now Fox News is reporting on Tea Party activists in Texas uncovering vote fraud:

When Catherine Engelbrecht and her friends sat down and started talking politics several years ago, they soon agreed that talking wasn’t enough. They wanted to do more. So when the 2008 election came around, “about 50” of her friends volunteered to work at Houston’s polling places.

“What we saw shocked us,” she said. “There was no one checking IDs, judges would vote for people that asked for help. It was fraud, and we watched like deer in the headlights.”

Their shared experience, she says, created “True the Vote,” a citizen-based grassroots organization that began collecting publicly available voting data to prove that what they saw in their day at the polls was, indeed, happening — and that it was happening everywhere.

“It was a true Tea Party moment,” she remembers.

True the Vote appears to have made some pretty significant discoveries, including one blockbuster revelation possibly connecting the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to vote fraud in Houston:

Their work paid off. Two weeks ago the Harris County voter registrar took their work and the findings of his own investigation and handed them over to both the Texas secretary of state’s office and the Harris County district attorney.

Most of the findings focused on a group called Houston Votes, a voter registration group headed by Steve Caddle, who also works for the Service Employees International Union. Among the findings were that only 1,793 of the 25,000 registrations the group submitted appeared to be valid. The other registrations included one of a woman who registered six times in the same day; registrations of non-citizens; so many applications from one Houston Voters collector in one day that it was deemed to be beyond human capability; and 1,597 registrations that named the same person multiple times, often with different signatures.

Caddle told local newspapers that there “had been mistakes made,” and he said he had fired 30 workers for filing defective voter registration applications. He could not be reached for this article.

There’s a lot more to the story at the link. It’s an inspiring example grassroots activism.

The Erik Scott Shooting by Las Vegas Metro

Lacking full information on this event, I have shown reluctance to make a report. If you haven’t heard of it, the basic nuts and bolts are as follows.

Erik Scott and his girlfriend were shopping at Costco in Las Vegas and in selecting an appropriate cooler were observed unwrapping some bottles to see how the fit in it.  In that process, an employee, when Scott bent over, noted that he was armed.  He had a legal firearm, with a legal permit for concealed carry.  Nevada also has a lawful provision for open carry.  The employee then called “Metro” to inform them of the “armed man” in the store.  Although no sign or other indication of store policy was posted, the store has an internal rule disallowing customers with firearms.

 

Las Vegas Metro responded to the call, asked the manager to clear the store, and encountered Scott and his friend as they made their requested exit.  In the process, officers—several—gave conflicting orders to Scott and apparently felt threatened in confronting Scott who had his arms raised as requested.  In the melee which followed, Scott was shot four times in the back and once under his upraised arm.  Scott died of his wounds.

The store was well equipped with internal cameras to substantiate any actions which take place within.  Metro also has a firm policy of recording all 911 calls to their dispatcher.  In both cases, we find that Costco’s tapes of the proceedings are suddenly unusable and Metro refuses to release a copy of the recording of the employee contact.  The latest on this tragedy is available on Confederate Yankee

which is following the story and the subsequent investigation very closely.

Once you become more familiar with the details, you may and will draw your own conclusions.  As a dedicated believer in the Second Amendment, as I read this ongoing story, I find much to be suspicious of in the store policy and the police reaction.  Also the absence of corroborating evidence in the unusable tape and the missing 911 call raises red flags as to the management of what should have been an encounter with little or no danger to anyone involved.  If you have even the least interest in firearms and their usage, you need to become familiar with this story.

And finally---

As mentioned previously, the hummingbirds seem to have departed for a warmer climate.  It has become seasonably cool here so it’s easy to understand their haste.  On the other hand, the gold finches, cardinals, etc. appear to be so attached to their daily input of seeds to not even be tempted to leave.  Some wintered straight thru last year.  Both categories will continue to be fed until I am absolutely convinced they have departed.  I owe it to both since they are of equal joy to observe less than 10’ over the top of my keyboard. 

We have accumulated 11.35” in the rain gauge since the first of September.  This promises a winter yard with some remaining color and perhaps an even cut before I retire the lawnmower.  The remaining question then is; how is a geezer going to get equivalent exercise to match that 20 mile plus stroll every week or so during the non-growing season?  On second thought, I’m certain Granny will figure something out.  Meanwhile, stay well and thank God for your blessings.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon