Dems
Move to Block Military Vote
In recent
elections less than 5% of the ballots cast by active duty military
personnel serving overseas arrived in time to be counted.
Nevertheless, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National
Committee (DNC), and the Ohio Democratic Party have jointly filed
suit in Ohio to strike down a law that gives deployed troops more
time to cast absentee ballots.
The suit
alleges that the provision allowing more time for deployed troops is
“contrary to the policy of the current Administration” and “would
improperly embroil military personnel in partisan politics.”
DNC
Chairperson Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla) declared
that “it is a long standing tradition in America that our armed
forces do not engage in partisan politics while on duty. States
should not be permitted to undermine this tradition.”
“Not
only would the Ohio law undermine this tradition, it also would
undermine national security,” she added. “Soldiers deployed
overseas should not be distracted from their primary duty of carrying
out the orders of their Commander-in-Chief. The idea that we should
be accommodating the opportunity for them to vote to depose their
Commander-in-Chief is about as wrongheaded as could be.”
Wasserman-Schultz
assured that she isn't advocating taking away their right to vote
because “a move that overt could incite a negative reaction from
too many people. Letting them cast ballots that arrive too late to be
counted is a good compromise. It's kind of a 'pressure release
valve.' We allow them to vent without subjecting the nation to an
unwarranted influence on election outcomes.”
Surveys of
military personnel indicate that they tend to favor Republicans by
about a three to one ratio.
In
related news, U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa blocked a Texas voter
registration law on the grounds that “requiring ID will tend to
discourage those without documents from voting. This
disproportionately affects those of Mexican descent.” Costa ruled
that “until everyone has documents no one can be required to show
them in order to cast a ballot.”
Senator
Takes 5th
In an
effort to rebuff demands that he cite his source for making the claim
that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes in ten
years, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) says he is invoking
his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“We all
know that Mr. Romney's request that I name my source is a trap,”
Reid complained. “Unauthorized disclosure of a person's filings
with the IRS is a felony. I'm not going to further blacken the name
of my extremely credible source just to assuage someone's out-dated
notions of integrity.”
Speculation
is that Reid's “extremely credible” unnamed source might be
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. While Geithner didn't deny that
he has had discussions with Reid “on various tax matters,” he
insisted that “I would never give out actual information about
anyone's filings with the IRS.” Geithner suggested that “perhaps
Senator Reid has mistaken some of the 'what ifs' I was discussing as
factual.”
Although
adamant that Romney must release all of his IRS filings for the last
ten years, Reid steadfastly refuses to release any of his own,
calling it “a private matter that I am well within my rights to
keep confidential.” Reid characterized suggestions that his stance
is hypocritical as “the worst sort of smear tactic” and vowed “I
will not allow myself to be intimidated by anonymous accusers.”
Unemployment
Uptick Proof President's Plan Is Working
The slight
uptick in the official unemployment rate to 8.3% for July is, strange
as it might seem to the average person, proof that the President's
plan for the economy is working says Alen Krueger, chair of the White
House Council of Economic Advisers.
“All
this focus on on the unemployment numbers is narrow and misplaced,”
Krueger maintained. “The President's vision is much broader than
most people can comprehend. He is one of the few who understands that
work is not the objective, but merely a means of obtaining the money
needed to enjoy life. If we look at some different statistics there
is no question that his long-term transformational agenda is
progressing as planned.”
One of the
“different” statistics Krueger held to be more indicative of
progress is the all time high in the number of families receiving
food stamps. “Normally, a person would have to work many hours to
earn enough to put food on the table,” Krueger pointed out. “With
food stamps, though, the work requirement has been disposed of. A
family can eat without having to toil for its bread.”
Krueger
also hailed President Obama's easing of the requirement that welfare
recipients must seek work as “a modern day equivalent of Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation. With just the stroke of a pen, President
Obama has freed millions from wage-slavery. This achievement is not
reflected in the official unemployment data.”
“In an
ideal world the unemployment rate would be 99%,” Krueger argued.
“Only the richest 1% would need to work. The vast majority would be
free to use their time for more fulfilling activities.”
In related
news, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report
saying that the Administration's expansion of eligibility for food
stamps has increased the opportunity for abuse. The incidence of food
stamps being used to purchase liquor, lottery tickets, and tattoos is
up. Representative Gwen Moore (D-Mich) denied that such uses of food
stamps is an abuse of the program and called efforts to curtail it
“racist” since it would make food stamp recipients “second
class citizens.” “Food stamps are the poor people's money,”
Moore asserted. “They should be free to spend it however they
please.”
Olympic
Medal Winners Hear from President Obama
President
Obama has been calling Olympic medal winners to congratulate them on
their victories. However, some have found the calls “somewhat
disconcerting.”
A gold
medal-winning athlete who asked that his name be withheld for fear of
retribution said he has “mixed feelings about it. On the one hand,
it's flattering to be called by the President. I mean, with all he's
got on his plate, the idea that he's got time to talk to me is
something special.”
“On the
other hand, I found his insistence that 'you didn't win that' a bit
unnerving,” the athlete admitted. “I know I've had a lot of help
along the way. I never thought I was in it all by myself. But
everyone competing has had help—even the ones that lose. I relish
the opportunity I've had, but in the end I still had to outrace my
competitors. Surely, I merit some credit for rising above that
competition.”
Press
Secretary Jay Carney defended the President's message saying “if he
had his way everyone would get medals. The victory really belongs to
all of humanity. Every champion is the product of every influence
that exists or ever existed. His own contribution is vanishingly
small in the grand scheme of things. So, basically, the President is
right. The ones getting the medals didn't really win them. Somebody
else made that happen.”
In related
news, in a campaign speech in Ohio, President Obama hammered Mitt
Romney's tax plan saying that it unfairly “leaves too large a share
of the nation's wealth in the hands of those who created it” and
contrasted it with his plan that “carves up the 'pie' more fairly
because it's based on need, not greed.”
Senate
Candidate Wishes US Were More Like China
Elizabeth
Warren, the Massachusetts Democratic candidate for the US Senate seat
currently held by Republican Scott Brown unleashed a new campaign ad
pledging to make America more like China if she's elected.
“In
America, the economy is chaotic,” the ad read. “The authority for
the government to plan and manage the economy is limited. Practically
anyone can do pretty much as he or she wants. There is no requirement
for obtaining government approval before scarce resources are put at
risk.”
“In
China, the government synchronizes investments,” the ad continued.
“No one can risk the nation's precious resources without first
securing government permission. Losses and bankruptcy have been
outlawed.”
“Your
choice this November is between Republican anarchy and Democratic
order,” the ad concluded. “Please choose wisely. The future
depends upon it.”
While some
have called the ad “creepy” and “ominous,” Warren sees it as
“a stark and honest portrayal of what's at stake in this year's
election. Look at the progress China has made. Their economy is
growing three times faster than ours. They've got a government that
isn't afraid to make tough decisions. We, on the other hand, are
bogged down in loud, contentious, and continuous debates with our
reactionary opponents.”
As an
example of China's superior decision making, Warren cited the
“one-child-per-family” rule. “Can you imagine our government
taking such a bold stroke?” Warren asked. “Telling people how
many kids they can have takes balls. Once you get over that hump
there's nothing you can't do. Telling people to pay more taxes would
be a snap. Banning privately owned cars, outlawing fossil fuels,
moving everyone into high-density housing—all the things we know
about how people should live could be implemented with minimal
hassle.”
Opinion • More about 
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