Archive for November, 2011

The war on voting drudges on, but this time there is some good news. From Maine voting to keep same-day registration to students in Tennessee feeling targeted by the laws, here is a quick survey of some of the states currently on the front line (click on the states to read the full articles):

MAINE: At Tuesday’s election, Maine residents voted to keep same-day voter registration. “Maine voters sent a clear message: No one will be denied a right to vote,” said Shenna Bellows, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. “Voters in small towns and big cities voted to protect our constitutional right.” Before being overturned, the law was passed by a Republican majority legislation to preserve the integrity of voter registration, and it required that voters be registered at least two days before election day.

MISSISSIPPI: Maine had a victory in the war on voting front in the election, however, Mississippi took a step backwards. Mississippians approved a ballot measure requiring people to show photo identification at the polls, with 62 percent of voters in favor of the initiative and 38 percent against.

SOUTH CAROLINA: ‘There are roughly 217,000 active voters in the state who do not have a driver’s license or state ID card, election officials said. Of those, almost a third are 65 or older, and nearly 1,600 of them live in precincts in Beaufort County’s Sun City retirement community or affluent neighborhoods nearby,’

TENNESSEE: Tennessee’s new voter identification law allows most state and federally issued IDs to be used to vote, including work IDs issued to the faculty of state-run colleges. But the student IDs issued at those same schools are specifically prohibited. This has caused Tennessee students to feel like they have been targeted by the law. “I think this is intended to keep in check the main people who voted our current president in,” Christopher Martin, vice president of Tennessee Federation of College Democrats and a junior at Tennessee State University, stated.

Here are other articles that feature frustrated politicians and state photo ID statistics:

House Democrats Tell States to Fight ‘Disturbing Trend’ Of Voting Laws, http://huff.to/tveLH7
House Democrats have written a letter to the Secretaries of State asking them to forget partisan politics and stop the trend of voter ID laws in the states. On Thursday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) presented the letter at a press conference. The letter called the new laws a “form of voter profiling that makes it difficult for people of certain groups to participate” in the democratic system.

States With Strict Voter Photo ID Laws More Than Tripled In 2011, http://abcn.ws/uD9No0
New voter ID laws will go into effect for Kansas, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas before the 2012 elections. Democrats are already fighting the new laws. “I lose sleep over voter suppression,” said the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Steve Israel of New York. “I lose sleep over the fact that Republicans have…embarked on a strategy that could deny millions of voters their right to go to the polls and actually vote for a candidate.”

Holder: Voting Restriction Efforts ‘Inconsistent’ With American Values (Talking Points Memo) – “Efforts to make it more difficult for voters to cast a ballot are inconsistent with American values and will be thoroughly investigated by DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday. “This Department of Justice will be aggressive at looking at this jurisdictions that have attempted for whatever reason to restrict the ability of people to get to the polls,” Holder said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — who chaired a hearing on attempts to place restrictions on voting rights through measures like voter ID, shortening early voting periods and limiting the capabilities of groups trying to run voter registration drives — asked Holder what DOJ was doing to ensure voters weren’t disenfranchised.”

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In today’s news, Jerry Sandusky denies allegations in his first interview; a judge rules that the Occupy protestors can stay in Zuccotti Park; a pet hippo in Africa has killed its owner; Gingrich now leads in the GOP polls; and Warren Buffett invests more than $10 billion in IBM. In entertainment news, NBC will cancel Community, and Taylor Lautner thinks the ‘Twilight’ trio should get into comedy.

Coral + Caitlin

CRUCIAL

Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas in exclusive ‘Rock Center’ interview: ‘I shouldn’t have showered with those kids.’ http://bit.ly/ttzhkn
In an interview with NBC’s Rock Center former Penn State defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, admitted to showering and horsing around with young boys; however, he denied being a pedophile. “I say that I am innocent of those charges,” Sandusky said. Earlier this month, Sandusky was charged with 40 criminal counts accusing him of sexual abuse of a minor. “I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact,” said Sandusky.

Updates on the Clearing of Zuccotti Park, http://nyti.ms/t4kJgb
Tuesday morning, a judge ruled that the Occupy Wall Street protestors could stay in Zuccotti Park. The decision came just hours after the police raided the park, and dozens were arrested. Justice Lucy Billings issued a temporary restraining order allowing the protesters to return Tuesday morning, saying the park’s owners, Brookfield Properties, would now be prohibited from “enforcing ‘rules’ published after the occupation began.”

Syria’s ‘bloodiest day’ leaves scores dead, http://bit.ly/w0x1VX
Over the past 24 hours, at least 70 people have been killed in Syria in one of the most violent days since the uprising began eight months ago. Of the dead, 27 were civilians while 34 were soldiers and 12 were suspected army deserters. Most of the killings took place in the southern province of Deraa, which has been the sight of most of the violence since the movement began.

Giffords: Won’t return to Congress until ‘better’ http://bo.st/uRRpiR
Representative Gabrielle Giffords said in her first interview since her horrific shooting earlier this year that she will not return to Congress until she is “better.” In the interview with Diane Sawyer, which aired on 20/20 last night, Giffords seemed to have trouble forming sentences. When asked if she would return, her response was, “No … better.” After she struggled to say more, her husband confirmed her response.

Leveson inquiry uncovers 28 NI staff linked to phone hacking, http://bit.ly/usq15r
British investigators have uncovered new evidence in the News of the World phone hacking scandal. 28 names from the newspaper’s staff appear in the notes of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator originally accused of being a sole “rogue” agent. “This fact alone suggests wide-ranging, illegal activity within the organization at the relevant time,” said Robert Jay, a counsel for the inquiry.

Humphrey the pet hippo kills owner in South Africa, http://bit.ly/vBDaeZ
A farmer in South Africa has been killed by his pet hippopotamus after repeated warnings that it was a wild animal that could never be tamed. Marius Els, 40, an army major, was bitten to death by the 1.2 ton hippo he christened Humphrey and tried to domesticate on a farm in Free State province. Els had spoken in the past about his relationship with Humphrey, whom he had found as a 5-month-old orphan. “Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’s just like a human,” Els said. “There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand.”

Sending a Harsh Message, U.S. Issues First Fine for Tarmac Delays, http://nyti.ms/rHqbNE
The Department of Transportation is not letting airlines get away with tarmac delays anymore. On Monday, the DOT fined a branch of American Airlines, American Eagle, $900,000 for keeping 608 passengers on 15 different flights for more than three hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in May. Treasury Secretary Ray LaHood said he wanted to send a message to other airlines, although the fine was much less than the $16.7 million—or $27,500 for each of the 608 passengers—that could have been charged.

Gingrich takes the lead, http://bit.ly/vr5RYB
In a poll taken by Public Policy Polling, Newt Gingrich is leading in the GOP primary race. Gingrich is at 28% to 25% for Herman Cain and 18% for Mitt Romney. The rest of the Republican field is not doing as well: Rick Perry is at 6%, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul at 5%, Jon Huntsman at 3%, and Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum each at 1%. Cain has dropped 5 points and Gingrich is up 13 in the past month.

Warren Buffett buys $10bn IBM stake, http://bit.ly/uWjF5r
Billionaire Warren Buffett ended his moratorium on investing in technology by putting more than $10 billion into IBM or a 5.4 percent stake in the company. Buffett went ahead with the acquisition even though IBM’s shares are trading near an all-time high; he says he’s not worried about a drop-off.

CULTURAL

Harry Siegel believes “OWS’s Refusal to Endorse an Agenda or Candidates Could Hurt Democrats,” http://bit.ly/rE23MX

Charles M. Blow asks “Why Is the U.S. on the ‘Wrong Track’?,” http://nyti.ms/tlUlmf

Charles Lane thinks “The time is not right for Supreme Court to review health-care law,” http://wapo.st/ujkTrM

Dennis Bryne debates “Faith versus public service,” http://trib.in/tOJvb5

Community Benched in NBC Mid-Season Shuffle, http://bit.ly/u8Xhs3

Kristen Stewart’s Breaking Dawn Wedding Dress Took How Long to Design?, http://eonli.ne/upIyFN

Teen Mom 2 Stars Face Big Trouble in Second Season, http://bit.ly/sDMgh4

‘Twilight’ Trio Should Do A Comedy, Taylor Lautner Says, http://on.mtv.com/vUAYaL

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