Thanksgiving Goes into Overtime
I’m hoping your Thanksgiving was peaceful. I know there was a lot of anxiety about it and how the holiday season is going to go. If there was a “Thanksgiving Bingo” game I would have won after hearing the term “vaginal overreach” in a conversation. We had a lot on our plates to talk about, as well as plenty of food.
I’ve been trying to figure out where the Venn diagram overlaps are between our divided camps, and concentrate on them. Our similarities aren’t always obvious. Truth be told, the idea of the president-elect succeeding in his agenda could really hurt a lot of people in this country. I will attempt to provide you a bit of the smorgasbord of topics we covered.
There are folks in Kentucky who are suddenly putting together the complicated math problem that voting for the party who has been saying they would repeal “Obamacare” on Day One now means they are going to lose their health care. They are shocked. Did they think “Obamacare” was Obama’s personal doctor?
Meanwhile, a judge in Texas who has only donated to Republicans, has ruled against overtime wages for people making up to $47,500 — the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act was to give fair pay to employees who were making as little as $23,660 while working full-time.
See, employers only had to list employees as exempt and then they didn’t have to pay overtime. That was just too much of a hardship for employers who pay to play in our elections. You would have thought that Texas judge had found a cure for stupid the way the GOP crowed about it.
“Obama Lost!” was the common thread. Oh, you wish. See, Obama is rich. He’s really, really rich. He hasn’t lost a dime. Neither has any member of Congress. Their median net worth is over $1 million.
Here’s who lost. Over four million American men and women who work more than 40 hours a week but make between $23,660 and $47,500 a year. That’s who lost. They lost hours of their lives, away from their families and other duties, so they could be shorted compensation. Yeah! Making your bank account great again! The act was going to go into effect Dec. 1.
So here is an overlap of what we all want: access to health care and to be paid fairly for our work.
Clean water has been politicized by resource extraction companies, but for the most part we agree. While people were watching the NFL’s Cowboys vs. Redskins (an abhorrent slur), Native American water protectors were getting pounded with water cannons and rubber bullets at below freezing temperatures.
I swear, the United States has the worst record of breaking treaties with First Peoples, and seems to, no matter who is in power, just hammer their rights at every turn. If you haven’t heard, the Sioux are trying to protect their sacred lands and burial grounds from a pipeline in North Dakota. Apparently defending your own land and water is frowned upon more than say a bunch of wannabe patriots who took over a national bird refuge.
Who knew? Here’s the really rich part. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in all its great wisdom, has decided to “establish a free speech zone” out of the way. The colonel says he’s genuinely concerned for the safety and well-being of the tribe. Has he heard the phrase, “That’s mighty white of you?”
I’m kind of a fan of the First Amendment. Our right to assemble and say what we want against our government is sacred. The idea there is a zone for free speech implies there are other places which won’t allow expression of constitutional rights. Well, shucks! That just seems un-American. How would most people feel if we needed to relocate a few graves in Arlington National Cemetery for a pipeline? Offended? You think?
Can we please agree with each other that election integrity is paramount? A few elections back, I fought for Joe Miller’s campaign at the time to have his votes counted the same as his opponents. This week three states will be petitioned to have their paper ballots counted. You can imagine this makes both sides bristle up and start posturing. Can we just detach from any changed outcomes and celebrate that finally someone will be making vote-counting machines accountable? It’s about time.
Well, we’ve got one major holiday down and a few to go. In case you wondered, Herman the Ermine likes smoked turkey. I made my own Durkee french-fried onions this year. I recommend making a lemon chess pie. Good luck, stay warm, and keep paying attention.
Just quickly reaching out to Shannyn Moore, hope you had a nice holiday.
I’m the geeky weirdo from Pennsylvania who picked up the investigation of the suspected 2008 Alaska election machine hack where you left it off starting in 2012.
I have too much free time.
I’ve reached out to you before but my emails tend to die alone in spam filters owing to extreme length.
Practical upshot is that took me a while, but I solved the 2008 case. Know who did the hack (with funding from Palin), how he did it, and can prove everything with a minimum of investigation by someone actually in Alaska. This is important because the guy who did it went legit from 2009 to 2013 or 2014, and then attacked the Alaska GEMS computer again in 2014, but this time with out of state help and money. I can get evidence that I think will stand up in a court of law that proves a 2014 Alaska hack happened, and that it has to be the same guy.
Steve Aufrecht gave a limited review of my research here:
https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2016/11/john-foelsters-research-into-alaskas-av.html
Now normally, I would take my time and go through the legal system to get someone to investigate, and then hopefully get the AK 2014 election results challenged and Senator Begich reinstated (he actually won), but the scale of how the 2016 machines seem to have been hacked, and the urgent need to stop a fraudulently elected President Trump changes the game, a LOT.
I don’t know how many election machine hackers the GOP has, but I doubt they have more than one specializing in DIEBOLD/Premier models (which are the ones under suspicion ). I think getting my hacker (whose name I am deliberately not putting here) arrested on charges for his 2014 AK job and getting him to turn state’s evidence may be the fastest way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the 2016 election was hacked, and get the results thrown out and a nationwide revote held.
I had reached out to the AK Democrats this evening, but I think Greg Palast may be in a much better position to take my case and run with it.
I also commented on Greg Palast’s latest post, and to my astonishment, I think the only other commenter is also in possession of corroborating evidence that I don’t have. (Oh, yes, of course it’s not the Russians.)
I have no idea who moderates these things, Shannyn or Zach Roberts or whoever, but please, do have Shannyn and Greg reach out to me.via the email associated with thus comment.
(Also give my best to Wickersham’s Conscience and point out that his two criticisms of the 2014 incarnation of my theory were both completely correct, but that I had no way to explain myself further without exposing myself to Libel at that time.)
http://dakotafreepress.com/2016/11/28/corps-wont-forcibly-evict-nodapl-camp-veterans-deploy-to-support-standing-rock-sunday/
Good read, folks.
Unfortunately, North Dakota wingnut, fascist Guv ButtPimple has signed an executive order saying water protectors must get of federal lands (AC of E). Was not aware a mere pinhead guv could have say over federal lands.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/11/us-authorities-dakota-pipeline-protesters-can-stay/
Some good news for Standing Rock. More good news- a group of veterans headed by Wesley Clark Jr is headed for Standing Rock camp and will act as an unarmed barrier to prevent the water protectors from being abused by johnny law thugs.
The bad news-Drumpf is still a mangled apricot hellbeast with tiny hands who admitted he was more sexually attracted to 13 year old Ivanka than he was her mother, Ivana. And Bill Clinton was considered unfit to serve as Potus?
Mangled apricot hellbeast cost taxpayers over $7,000,000.00 for 150 SS agents at his Thanksgiving bash at his Palm Beach Hovel. A mere 24 items on the menu for his family while that decadent, black feller who is keeping the WH warm wasted his Turkey Day serving food to veterans.
Now Drumpf claims he won the popular vote if we erase all the millions who voted illegally. Sounds like a butthurt soul desperate for a recount. So why is he afraid of the recount? Where is the outrage that Russia interfered with our electoral process? Where is the outrage the FBI did the same?
If wingnuts were really upset at having misogynist Bill Clinton in the White House, as they claimed at one time, they sure a shit out to be working to keep the groper in chief Drumpf, with all his racist, misogynist, narcissistic baggage out.