Before I launch, I have to say that I'm a nervous wreck because I've discovered that a lot of my former teachers read this blather weekly. I'm FREAKING over possible grammatical felonies. Please forgive me in advance. I'm speaking of you Mr. K, Mrs. P and Mrs. “Cheerleader Adviser,” among others like Mr. M as well. OMZ (Oh My Zeus) do I put a period after the Mr. and Mrs. jazz? I cannot go on like this. Hold me.
Something feels different in the air as of late but I cannot ascertain the reason for such. Could it be that the weather is unusually warm? Perhaps it has something to do with Perpetual fussing over Todd the Cat 24/7 as compared to 23/6? Could it have something to do with Mother giving me a lecture about my messy baseboards more so than usual? I just don't know what it is but there has been a change in atmospheric pressure and I must investigate.
(5 hours later) It just hit me like a plethora of peas, (I tire of the ton of bricks scenario) that the reason for this feeling of uncertainty and “bizarrity” (new word alert) is because Agent Orange is our new leader. Oh Orange One has taken the oath and will “make America great again,” as the simplistic saying goes.
Actually, as I type this we still have the old boss as our deadline is the day before the inauguration. I am over the moon excited—not due to OOO but because I actually spelled “inauguration” right for the first time in my life! I'm not sure if it should be capitalized or not though so I shall leave it stand. I mean since it is the name of an event, perhaps I should have used the larger of the two I letters. Well if nothing else, this has led to a huge digression which is part of the working order of this weekly blather. Therefore, I have fulfilled my duties thus far.
Moving along to something, I must gently, yet effectively say a few words in a demure manner and without screaming at the top of my lungs, as is my nature. Here is the situation: Evidently, the other week a gent by the name of Mr. Lewis told one of the talking heads on the corporate media that Mr. Trump (showing some respect here for once for fear of being droned) was not a legitimate president.
I do not think that Lewis was referring to OOO (sorry I can only be respectful for short spurts) being born out of wedlock or anything as scandalous as that. He meant because of the election being broached, hacked, whatever, by Russia.
Might I very casually, whilst whistling—remember I always whistle during casual times—mention that every time I hear the word Russia I want to climb atop the water tower in Conneautville and scream? I promised to reel it in for the purposes of my blood pressure but I generally don't keep my promises and by now you should be aware of that.
What words would I use as I teeter on said water tower, you might ask? The answer is, “INTERSTATE CROSSCHECK” with this thrown in for good measure: *&%$#@!!
Before I define this for you, allow me to back up a tad and ask a few questions that might get you to thinkin' as they say in Houston Texas. They also say, “Don't get me to lyin'” again I digress.
Do you ever ponder as to why the conversations surrounding Russia, Russia, Russia (said in the manner of Marcia, Marcia, Marcia of Brady Bunch fame) take the focus off the now infamous content of the Wiki-leaks information? Have we heard from any of the millionaires who read scripts to us on cable news about anything pertaining to WHAT was in the *&%$# letters in question? Has anyone come forward to say that the emails were filled with false information and total bunk? Hmm, I wonder why this is happening.
Those of us who have decided to turn the telly to the off position and take in news that is not brought to you by defense contractors, pharmaceutical companies, Exxon Mobile and other delightful big spenders, were actually TOLD about said content. Amazing isn't it?
Before I continue, I feel as though I should point out that I do give credit to Mr. Lewis due to his activism during the civil rights period. Hats off, way to go and all that jazz. I certainly respect him for that. However, I would give him total credit and respect simultaneously if he would have talked about Crosscheck. The Black Caucus is aware of this.
Not to mention, but I must, Lewis also kind of smeared HRC's opponent in the primary season by claiming he had no knowledge that he had marched with MLK. Mind you at that time HRC was a Goldwater Girl but, I digress. Oh, wait, at that same time OOO was getting out of Vietnam due to having some kind of foot problem. I believe he got 5 deferments but that's OK because he is an R, after all.
Call me crazy (and I know you have) but I tend to give credit when it's due and see things in a more gray manner than in a total black and white fashion. For example, I'm not a fan of corporate Democrats or Republicans but if one does or says something with which I agree and then says something with which I disagree, it doesn't lead to my throwing him/her out with the bathwater in baby fashion. It means that most things are nuanced in life. You see, due to my non loyalty to any party kind of mindset, I can do this. It's so freeing and I recommend it for everyone.
OK moving back to the Crosscheck insanity at long last, this whole deal with a certain segment of society blatantly lying about “millions and millions of people voting more than once or 'illegals' voting” is nothing short of sheer madness. Are you aware of the fact that voter fraud of any kind results in a prison sentence at a federal level? How many of these multiple voters have been arrested, tried and imprisoned? I will allow you to search for that on your own but the answer is a handful in the past decade, give or take.
In fact, one person tried this in Ohio, if memory serves, and was busted. He was found to have attempted to vote for the R candidate twice. Food for thought, huh?
Now for the main thrust of this column FINALLY, which is to give you information about this hideous Crosscheck program. You see, an actual INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, yes Virginia, there is such a thing, has been “on it” since the Bush v Gore scandal. There are “many many” (trying out my OOO impersonation) other investigative types who have also brought this to light but you won't see them on your telly, unless you get Free Speech TV or the now demonized RT. (OMZ RUSSIA TELEVISION—Hold me.)
The person from whom I have gathered most of my information is a gent by the name of Greg Palast. Since the mainstream media here in the USA wouldn't ever publish any of his findings, he was more or less forced to work for foreign publications. His documentary about the above mentioned B v G situation was shown in England and other countries around the globe.
The rest of this blather is going to be courtesy of an organization called, “The Voting News,” and the link is: thevotingnews.com/tag/interstate-crosscheck/ just in case you don't believe me. This particular information is from September of 2016. The documentary called, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy” came out in August, if memory serves, so many of us were aware of this jazz months before the election—or years since this has been ongoing for quite some time now.
Again I have to remind you that this has NADA to do with being in love with one party over another party—I LOATHE party identities just in case you've missed my saying it in EVERY recent column. This has to do with voter integrity and a concerted effort to remove citizens from the voting rolls for the benefit of billionaires and not the people.
Hold on to something as here it is:
Back in 2005, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach — who as chair of his state’s Republican Party championed an illegal voter suppression technique called “caging” — launched a program called Interstate Crosscheck to compare voter registration data across states and ferret out evidence of double voting. The program has since expanded to 30 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), but it’s been controversial from the start. For one thing, it’s resulted in very few actual cases of fraud being referred for prosecution, as alleged cases of double voting in multiple states turned out to be clerical and other errors. One tally found that while the program has flagged 7.2 million possible double registrants, no more than four have actually been charged with deliberate double registration or double voting. Meanwhile, some states including Florida dropped out of the program due to doubts about the reliability of its data — though others, including the swing state of North Carolina, joined despite those issues.
Now a new investigation from Rolling Stone raises fresh concerns about Interstate Crosscheck, finding that its methodology has a built-in racial bias that puts people with African-American, Latino and Asian names at greater risk of being wrongly accused of double voting.
Investigative reporter Greg Palast obtained lists compiled by Crosscheck in 2014 of alleged double registrants from several states. The program is supposed to match first, middle and last name, plus birth date; it also provides the last four digits of a Social Security number for additional verification. But Palast found that a quarter of the listed names lacked a middle-name match, that the system ignored designations of Jr. and Sr., and that Social Security numbers weren’t included on any of the lists he obtained.
I'm back at this point. Mind you, this “program” purged MILLIONS of voters off the rolls due to said voters having last names that sound just a bit too black, for lack of a better description. Not only blacks but other minorities were stripped from the records as well. I encourage you to do what I did months before the election and watch the above mentioned documentary. In this particular general election 75,000 were purged from the Detroit area. If this does not make you SICK what the *&^%$ kind of human are you? Sorry, I got out of control again for a brief moment.
I think I shall end every column with “Crosscheck” rather than “THE END” hence forth. Also, why aren't the Democrats yelling this from the rooftops? WHY are they insisting on yelling Marcia, Marcia, Marcia—oops I mean Russia, Russia, Russia? Just one more reminder if you would indulge me: DROP those political identities and focus on ISSUES. It's super liberating and I live for it, to put it mildly.
THE END - Crosscheck (A bit of both might work better, upon further reflection.)