Tax cheats got $1.4 billion in taxpayer stimulus loans

.
6/27/12, "Tax cheats got $1.4 billion in stimulus loans," Washington Times, Dinan

"Tax cheats were given $1.4 billion in government-backed mortgage loans under President Obama’s economic stimulus, and the government doled out at least an additional $27 million in tax credits to delinquents who took the first-time-homebuyer tax break, according to a government audit released Wednesday.

Under government rules, delinquent taxpayers are supposed to be ineligible for the mortgage insurance program unless they have reached a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service. But the Federal Housing Administration didn’t have the right controls to weed out bad applications, said the Government Accountability Office, Congress‘ chief investigative arm.

That meant FHA insured $1.4 billion in mortgages for 6,327 borrowers who collectively owed $77.6 million in unpaid taxes, or an average of more than $12,000 each....

The report was the GAO’s second study looking at tax cheats and the stimulus.

In the first report, GAO said thousands of contracts and grants were paid out under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

• to those with unpaid tax bills."...
  

.

Justice Roberts saved ObamaCare proponents from the consequence of their political decision

.
6/28/12, "Supreme judicial activism in restraint’s clothing," Legal Insurrection, William A. Jacobson

"What is most disturbing is the judicial activism which took the Chief Justice from the Commerce Clause to the taxing power in order to save the legislation.

It required, as Justice Scalia noted in the dissent, a rewriting of the legislation, and the enactment of a tax via judicial fiat where the legislature knowingly and deliberately had refused to do so.

For all these reasons, to say that the Individual Mandate merely imposes a tax is not to interpret the statute but to rewrite it. Judicial tax-writing is particularly troubling. Taxes have never been popular, see, e.g., Stamp Act of 765, and in part for that reason, the Constitution requires tax increases to originate in the House of Representatives. See Art. I, §7, cl. 1. That is to say, they must originate in the legislative body most accountable to the people, where legislators must weigh the need for the tax against the terrible price they might pay at their next election, which is never more than two years off. The Federalist No. 58 “defend[ed] the decision to give the origination power to the House on the ground that the Chamber that is more accountable to the people should have the primary role in raising revenue.” United States v. Munoz-Flores, 495 U. S. 385, 395 (1990). We have no doubt that Congress knew precisely what it was doing when it rejected an earlier version of this legislation that imposed a tax instead of a requirement-with-penalty. See Affordable Health Care for America Act, H. R. 3962, 111th Cong., 1st Sess., §501 (2009); America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, S. 1796, 111th Cong., 1st Sess., §1301. Imposing a tax through judicial legislation inverts the constitutional scheme, and places the power to tax in the branch of government least accountable to the citizenry. (pp. 24-25, emphasis added)

Rather than defer to the political process, the Court saved the proponents of the legislation from their political decisions, and rewarded a corrupted political process whereby legislation was passed only because it was not sold to the public as a tax, yet saved at the Supreme Court because it was a tax."

===================

Commenter to Legal Insurrection, notes former Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzalez predicted this outcome based in part on the view that Justice Roberts was going to avoid conflict if at all possible:

"Observer | June 28, 2012 at 3:52 pm

When I saw Alberto Gonzales last night on t.v. saying the SCOTUS might decide to punt the case (using the ripeness issue), I was concerned because I thought that might actually appeal to Roberts, who seems to want to avoid the appearance of the court being too political. Saying the case wasn’t yet ripe because no one has yet been assessed the penalty would have been a way to dodge the issue for another few years, and push it safely past the election. But I was astonished to hear this morning that Roberts had joined the libs and agreed the mandate could be upheld as a valid exercise of the tax power. That seems like a hyper-political decision, for the reasons Scalia’s dissent discussed. Roberts has now bent himself so far over backwards to avoid looking political that he has twisted himself into a pretzel, and comes off looking like a damn fool."

.

Crude oil falls on ObamaCare Supreme Court decision, market views it "as anti-growth," Bloomberg

.
6/28/12, "Oil Drops to Eight-Month Low on U.S. Jobless Claims," Bloomberg, M. Zhou

"Crude also fell as the Supreme Court upheld the core of President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul....

The ruling is being “viewed in the market as an anti- growth story, which is helping to pressure energy,” said Kilduff [a partner at Again Capital LLC].

The court, in a 5-4 decision, said Congress has the power to make Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty. That requirement is at the center of the law, which also forces insurers to cover people with pre-existing health conditions."...

.

4thQ 2011 UK GDP revised down, shrank by .4%, not .3, this was third revision, construction cited-BBC

.
6/28/12, "UK economy shrank more than thought, say official figures," BBC

"The UK economy shrank by 0.4% in the final three months of last year, compared with previous estimates of a fall of 0.3%, official figures show.

The estimate for the first quarter of this year was unchanged, showing the economy shrank by 0.3% in that period.

The estimate for the UK's gross domestic product from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was the third revision to the data.

They show the UK's recession has been deeper than previously thought.

A sharp fall in the construction sector was one of the main causes for the downward revision."

Obama grounded taxpayer funded firefighting air tankers in 2011; untended, deadly fires were then claimed to be proof of CO2 and need for $billions

.
Update, 6/29/12, "Four additional military MAFFS air tankers activated," Wildfiretoday.com

------------------------------------

Update #2, 6/29/12, "US Carbon Output Forecasts Shrink Again," American Interest, Walter Russell Mead
--------------------------------------

In the private sector this is called criminally negligent homicide. Lead ClimateGate figure Phil Jones long ago suggested politicians blame fires on CO2 even if they know such isn't the case. Most wildfires are started by humans and some deliberately. In the US many forest areas are under federal jurisdiction, local officials aren't allowed to lift a finger to fight them, must wait for federal or even congressional action. If you're interested in destroying a nation, whether you're officially a terrorist or not, make sure people have to wait a long time for federal 'help.' The GOP is of no use.

9/7/11, "Contract Dispute Grounds Firefighting Planes," Human Events, Audrey Hudson

"Nearly half of the federal government’s firefighting air tankers are siting idle at a California airport, grounded by the Obama administration in a contract dispute just weeks before wildfires swept through Texas killing a mother and her child, and destroying 100,000 acres.

The massive blazes forced Texas Gov. and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry to abruptly call off a campaign appearance in South Carolina earlier this week to respond to the crisis, and may force him to cancel his first debate appearance Wednesday night.

The U.S. Forest Service terminated the contract with Aero Union five weeks ago to operate seven P-3 Orions that are critical to the agency’s firefighting mission, leaving the federal government with 11 tankers under contract to help battle more than 50 large uncontained wildfires now burning nationwide.

That’s down from 40 tankers used by the Forest Service just a decade ago, according to Rep. Dan Lungren (R.-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Administration, who is challenging the decision to dismiss the largest provider of heavy air-tanker support to the federal government.

“We were certified to fly all season, but they just terminated us and threw 60 people out of work and left the country vulnerable to fires, as you can see right now in Texas,” said Britt Gourley, CEO for Aero Union....

Gourley said the government did not provide details on why the contract was canceled, but that they did not agree with Aero Union’s 15-year maintenance plan.

“We wanted to sit down with them and ask why it was canceled and find a quick resolution, but they didn’t want to talk about it. They just said, ‘We don’t want the airplanes, have a nice life,’ ” Gourley said. “I had to let go of my staff–60 people and their families were devastated,” Gourley said. “It’s really been tragic.”

The Forest Service says it will not use aircraft that does not meet its requirements, and in this case that included the long-term airworthiness inspection program, although the company passed its annual inspection.

“Our main priority is protecting and saving lives, and we can’t in good conscience maintain an aviation contract where we feel lives may be put at risk due to inadequate safety practices,” said Tom Harbour, director of the Forest Services fire and aviation management program.

“This contract termination notwithstanding, we possess the aircraft support needed for this year’s fire season,” Harbour said.

In a letter to the administration questioning the canceled contracts that was obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, Lungren said the aircraft “are some of the best available for fighting fires in the United States.”

“The [Federal Aviation Administration] representative stated that the disrupted contract issues which led to the grounding of Aero Union’s entire fleet do not relate to the suitability of these aircraft to perform for the remainder of this fire season,” Lungren said in the Aug. 15 letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose agency oversees the Forest Service.

“I am deeply troubled by the Forest Service’s sudden action, particularly as California enters into the fire season. Our aerial firefighting fleet is already seriously undercapitalized,” Lungren said.

In addition to the 11 tankers in the fleet still operating, two air tankers are under contract to operate on-call, and up to eight military firefighting aircraft can be called to assist if needed.

Aero Union operated six Lockheed P-3 Orions, and was preparing to add a seventh to the fleet when the contract was canceled. The four-engine turboprops were originally used as anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft that were built for the U.S. Navy.

Ultimately, those aircraft will be replaced with two-engine CV 580s from Canada, which Lungren said is “worrisome” because those aircraft will carry a smaller load of fuel-retardant and require more downtime.

Gourley told HUMAN EVENTS he has reached out to his former employees and that they could have four planes up in 48 hours to fly to Texas’ rescue, and assist in other devastating fires burning in California.

“First and foremost, we are firefighters at Aero Union, and we do not want to sit idle while the people of Texas and California suffer,” Gourley said in a letter Tuesday to Harbour.

“We feel strongly that a contract disagreement unrelated to the safety of our fleet to fight fires should not stand in the way of our mission at a time when these aircraft are most needed. The tragic scenes in Texas and California make any contract issues appear very secondary,” Gourley said.

Perry toured the devastation near Austin on Tuesday and viewed some of the homes destroyed by the flames.

“These fires are serious and widespread, and as mean as I have ever seen, burning more than 1,000 homes since this wildfire season began,” Perry said.

“Texas appreciates the resources and support we continue to receive from across the state and across the country to fight these fires, and the efforts of the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way to protect Texans' lives and property. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are impacted by these fires,” Perry said."

=========================

"The vast majority of wildfires on the refuge and in Mohave county are caused by humans."

"Causes of Wildfires," US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region2

"In an average year, Havasu National Wildlife Refuge will have several wildfires that occur on and/or near the refuge, including land managed by BLM, BIA, as well as state, county and private land. The frequency and size of these fires is dependant largely on weather conditions.

The vast majority of wildfires on the refuge and in Mohave county are caused by humans. Off the Refuge, many fires are started as a result of debris burning. Often these fires are rekindled, in some cases several days after the fire is thought to be out, when air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity come together to create conditions favorable for fires to burn and spread.

Lightning also is responsible for fires starting on the Refuge. Such fires occur at a frequency of three to five every year. Lightning here is generally associated with rain, so these fires do not usually grow to a large size.

Human caused fires that start on the Refuge are most often the result of arson or carelessness. These fires are usually suppressed before they become large, but some have reached into the hundreds of acres and threatened life and property on and off the Refuge."

-----------------------------------------

6/16/12, A fire started by lightning on June 4 but wasn't reported to feds until June 9. Part of it is on federal forest land so the federal government had to be consulted. Then the Obama official decided congress had to be consulted. All this while fires continued. "Vilsack praised Congress for allowing the government to contract additional aircraft — particularly heavy tankers — to fight wildfires across the West." Our fire fighting air fleet had dwindled to almost nothing yet Obama canceled a fleet of 6 or 7 able tankers in 2011 knowing they were badly needed. The GOP didn't stop him.

6/16/12, "Wildfire destroys most homes in Colo. history," AP via CBS News

-----------------------------------------

2011's massive Arizona fire was set by humans and had nothing to do with CO2 poisoning. An untended campfire was left in a national forest. The fire happened to come close to U.S. Army Fort Huachuca. University of Arizona climate profiteer Sagarin suggests this helped the US Dept. of Defense see the need to take action against global warming.

8/24/11, "Feds charge 2 in devastating Wallow fire," AP, East Valley Tribune

"Federal charges have been filed against two cousins accused of accidentally causing the largest forest fire in Arizona's history by leaving a campfire unattended."...

======================

Southwest droughts caused by particulate matter from Asia, not by CO2 and not even byAmericans:

5/18/12, "CO2 Not to Blame for Southwest Droughts?" World Climate Report

"According to Allen et al.:

“Our analysis strongly suggests that recent Northern Hemisphere tropical expansion is driven mainly by black carbon and tropospheric ozone, with greenhouse gases playing a smaller part.”...

The authors argue that there is a good likelihood that black carbon emissions have been underestimated—especially those Southwest US fires fed by undergrowth not 'climate change,' necessary thinning of forests has been legislated away by so-called environmentalists."...

==============================

"On the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, where thinning is practiced, the tribal lands are in far better shape."

6/5/12, "Politician should check her research," Las Vegas Sun, Letter to the Editor, Sanford Cohen, Prescott, Ariz. arising from Southeast Asia....

"The bottom line is that the primary influences on a major component of the earth’s atmospheric circulation and thus general weather patterns turns out to be, on further examination, not atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration changes, but rather black carbon (soot) and tropospheric ozone. And one impact from the forced atmospheric circulation changes is a tendency for more aridity across the Southwestern U.S."...

--------------------------------------------

Billions of US tax dollars are gambled every year on speculation of CO2 poisoning and sent to numerous bank accounts around the world in the name of "tackling" an alleged CO2 poisoning problem. Additional money is taken by regulations forced on the assumption that CO2 is poison and that even if it isn't, it's a good idea to effect changes as if it were.

------------------------------------------

The structure for global 'climate' spending by the US government was set up by the first George Bush in the "U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990." (Bush does mention CO2 near the end). At least 13 federal agencies today are charged with climate change matters via the "US Global Change Research Plan" which began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990." This doesn't even get into the official gambling casinos that are the carbon trading markets around the world. Will they create an "Asian aerosols" trading market?

-----------------------------------------

image from NJ Watchdog

------------------------------------

5/2/12, "Al Qaeda Magazine Calls for Firebomb Campaign in US," ABC News, R. Kreider

----------------------------------

July/August 2011, "Terrorists in the Woods," Wildfire Magazine, Dick Mangan

.

Communist China fakes out Obama and EU green hypocrites for demanding China mine dirty rare earth minerals so Eur. & O can have 'green' profits and PR

.
"Instead of buying from China, Obama should propose tapping the US' own (rare earths) deposits." China Daily, 3/5/12

6/27/12, "EU asks WTO to arbitrate in China 'rare earths' row," BBC

"The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to arbitrate in a row about China's export restrictions on "rare earth" minerals.

Talks between China and the EU, along with the US and Japan, failed to resolve the dispute in April.

China, which produces 97% of the world's rare earths, could now face litigation from the WTO.

Minerals such as lutetium and scandium are important in the manufacture of products such as mobile phones.

"China's restrictions on rare earths and other products are a violation of China's WTO commitments and continue to significantly distort global markets, creating a disadvantage for our companies," said EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht.

"We regret that we are left with no other choice but to solve this through litigation."

In addition to rare earths, the complaint covers tungsten and molybendum.

The EU, US and Japan complained to the WTO in earlier in the year, saying that China's increased export duties and reduced export quotas were unfairly benefiting its own companies.

Beijing says that its restrictions are needed to protect the environment, conserve supplies and meet domestic demand.

The first stage in the dispute process was to hold formal talks at the WTO in Geneva.

Since those failed, the next stage will be for the WTO to set up a dispute settlement panel."

==============================

Rare earths are essential to the manufacture of electric car batteries, wind turbine generators, and advanced solar panels. The US has opted not to mine its own supply of rare earths, instead demanding Communist China inflict environmental damage on itself for the privilege of selling rare earths to the US:

3/15/12, "Rare earth case reveals US hypocrisy," China Daily, Chen Weihua, by Deputy Editor of China Daily

"US President Barack Obama announced...that the United States, joined by Japan and the European Union, has filed complaints with the World Trade Organization over China's rare earth export quotas.

He said this as an effort to give "American workers and American businesses a fair shot in the global economy".

His words, however, imply that he does not really care about the environmental degradation caused by China's disorderly and excessive mining of rare earth materials, as long as US workers and businesses can profit from China's cheap supply.

This is shocking for a president who likes to portray himself as pro-environment when he fights Republican presidential candidates over clean energy issues, or when he tried to restore the US' leadership role at the UN Climate Change Conference, in Copenhagen, in December 2009....

According to the US Geological Survey, there are about 13 million metric tons of rare earth deposits in the US. Instead of buying from China, Obama should propose tapping the US' own deposits. Such a move would not only enable the US to share the responsibility for the supply of rare earth materials, it would also create jobs for Americans, the single most powerful weapon Obama needs to beat a Republican....

Countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, which used to produce rare earth minerals, stopped such manufacturing a decade ago due to the environmental concerns and the higher cost compared with Chinese exports....

China's new regulations on rare earth manufacturing and exports, which were introduced a few years ago, are based on the sound rationale of sustainable growth and environmental protection."...

---------------------------------------------------

"The (Chinese) government is also planning to launch a rare-earth trading platform intended as a market-oriented pricing mechanism."

6/20/12, "China to Tighten Rare-Earth Mining Rules," Dow Jones Newswires, Beijing

"China will more tightly control the mining, sorting and smelting of rare earth minerals and phase out outdated capacity while promoting industry consolidation, the government said Wednesday.

In a white paper released by the State Council, China's cabinet, the government said it will introduce stricter standards for rare-earth mining and improve the relevant legal framework to crack down on violators.

The move could further flare up tensions with key consumers who have accused the Chinese government of interfering in the market to push up prices by artificially limiting supply."...

--------------------------------------

4/8/12, "Global race for 'rare earths'," Korea Times

chart from Korea Times, 4/8/12 (scroll down)

"Rare earths will do for China what oil did for Saudi Arabia, Deng Xiaoping once said in 1992 implying the state’s determination to invest in the sector. "

-------------------------------------------------

"Rare Earth Metals," UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability

US environmental rules and wages make it too expensive to extract rare earths here. We opted out of the "race" for green jobs. Most rare earths come from Communist China now. Rare earth smelting plant in Communist China (below, reuters, 11/21/10)

12/29/10, "China will cut rare earths export quotas," BBC

==================

6/5/11, "RARE EARTHS: USA CONCERNS, US CONGRESS ETC…," simonthongwh.com

=================

Study by Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership funded by UK gov. and car industry. 'Rare earths' minerals needed to make electric car batteries are so polluting to extract that none are mined in the US. Most come from Communist China. Obama's electric car business pivots on a Communist Chinese product whose manufacture renders electric car CO2 emissions as high or higher than petrol equivalents:

6/10/11, "Electric cars may not be so green after all, says British study," The Australian, Ben Webster

"ELECTRIC cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found. An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime."...

--------------------------------------------

10/27/10, This cutback in rare earths from Communist China has been feared by the US and EU.

• The US opted out of 'rare earths' mining because our environmental and wage laws made it too expensive. Since it is needed to make wind turbines and other 'green' items, it follows the US is NOT in a 'race' for green jobs, as it claims.
  

Inside China's secret toxic unobtainium mine," DailyMailOnline, Jan. 10, 2010

-----------------------------------------

12/22/10, "US wants trade talks on China wind power 'subsidies,'" BBC

"The announcement follows a filing in September by the United Steelworkers Union (USW) which listed a number of industries it accused China of subsidising or otherwise distorting trade from non-nationals.

• It included a complaint about China's restrictions on rare earth minerals, which are used in production of wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells and energy efficient lighting.

The trade representative announced no decision on that, but spokeswoman Nefeterius McPherson said the United States was

• "very concerned about China's export restraints on rare earth materials, antimony and tungsten"
  

and could still file a case on that at the WTO."...

-------------------------------------

12/23/10, "Obama's China wind power complaint backed by companies," Bloomberg News

The U.S. trade office said that China’s Special Fund for Wind Power Manufacturing violates WTO rules by

• requiring recipients of aid to use Chinese-made parts and amounts to a subsidy, both of which violate WTO rules.
  

Aid under the program since 2008 could total several hundred million dollars, the U.S. said....

The WTO case filed yesterday was one slice of a complaint filed with the U.S. trade office on Sept. 9 by the United Steelworkers union. The union said

• export credits,
  
• preferences in bidding,
  
• forced transfers of technology and
  
• discrimination against firms outside the country
  

give Chinese producers of renewable-energy products an unfair advantage."...

----------------------------------------

• Rare earths mine in Communist China from DailyMailOnline, Jan. 10, 2010

(Above mined substance needed to make 'energy efficient' lights in 'green' US. HaHaHaHa. ed.)

.

.

Clinton-appointed Florida judge overrules Obama, allows Fla. to attend to voter rolls, says is in everyone's interest to have accurate voter rolls

.
""People need to know we are running an honest election," said Hinkle, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton."

6/27/12, "Federal judge refuses to block Florida voter purge," AP

"A judge on Wednesday rejected a request by federal authorities to block Florida's contentious move to remove potentially ineligible voters from its rolls....

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled there was nothing in federal voting laws that prevent the state from identifying ineligible voters even if it is close to the upcoming Aug. 14 election.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit earlier this month to halt the purge, saying federal voting laws barred the effort since it was within 90 days of a federal election. U.S. officials also said the list used by Florida had "critical imperfections, which lead to errors that harm and confuse voters."

Hinkle in ruling from the bench said federal laws are designed to block states from removing eligible voters close to an election. He said they are not designed to block voters who should have never been allowed to cast ballots in the first place.

Although he said "questioning someone's citizenship" is not a trivial matter, Hinkle also said that non-citizens should not be allowed to vote.

"People need to know we are running an honest election," said Hinkle, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton.

A U.S. Department of Justice official said that the department would review the written decision when it was issued and declined to say whether federal authorities planned to appeal the ruling.

Ron Labasky, the legal adviser for the association that represents county election supervisors, sent out a memo late Wednesday telling supervisors if they have "sufficient documentation" that a person is not a U.S. citizen they can now remove them from the voting rolls.

Labasky said that Hinkle's ruling resolves the conflicting legal opinions over whether counties could move ahead with the purge even though there are still multiple lawsuits associated with the state's push.

State Association of Supervisors of Elections president Vicki Davis, the supervisor in Martin County, said many counties may still not go forward because they lack enough proof on whether voters are ineligible.

"We have worked the list as much as we can," said Davis.

It was Gov. Rick Scott who last year initiated the push to find non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls. Florida compared driver's license records with voter registration records and came up with the list of 182,000 registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens. The state did not send out the list because it was trying to access a federal immigration database to double-check the names.

Instead, in April, the state sent out a list of more than 2,600 names to election supervisors. Since then, local supervisors have removed roughly 100 voters from the rolls for being non-U.S. citizens, though at the same time more than 500 voters have turned out to be citizens.

A survey of supervisors showed that counties handled the list differently. Some never even sent out letters asking voters if they were not U.S. citizens. And some never did suspend their efforts. Collier County election officials said on Wednesday that it has removed 26 out of 27 voters sent to them by the state. Some of those voters were removed because they failed to respond to mail requests for information.

Scott, who has gone on multiple radio and television programs to defend the state's purge, praised Hinkle's decision.

"The court made a common-sense decision consistent with what I've been saying all along: that irreparable harm will result if non-citizens are allowed to vote," Scott said in a statement.

But during the court hearing, an attorney representing the state said Florida has voluntarily stopped pursuing a longer list of voters it has identified as potentially ineligible.

A spokesman for Scott said the state will not distribute that longer list unless the state can check the names against a federal immigration database. Florida is suing to obtain access to that database after getting rebuffed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Hinkle's ruling does not end the legal battle over the purge. The U.S. Department of Justice can still move ahead with its lawsuit even though the judge refused to block the state at this time. Voting groups have also filed their own lawsuits against the state in federal courts in Tampa and Miami.

Hinkle during his remarks decried the "partisanship" that had surrounded the voting battle and said that state and federal authorities should be working to ensure the rolls were accurate while making sure no citizens had an undue burden or hassle to vote."

============================

10/28/2004, "People Who Vote Twice," Slate, Bill Gifford, 'A sudden crack-down on an old gimmick'

In mid 2004 newspapers found at least 1000 people voted twice in the 2000 national election, once in Florida and once in another state. 100,000+ were registered to do so. This number was the result of cross checking only 3 states v Fla. so there were likely many more. "The Constitution gives states, not the federal government, the responsibility for running elections."...

--------------------------------------------

The Daily Show thinks Florida voter rolls and people who died to protect them are a joke. 1000+ people in Florida voted twice in the 2000 national election, once in Florida and once in another state. How funny would it be to Jon Stewart if all the double voters were Republican? Ridicule by a Comedy Show cited as reason to enact certain global warming legislation in NC.

6/13/12, "The morning after getting mocked on Daily Show, Gov. Scott all smiles," Tampa Bay Times (formerly St. Petersburg Times), The Buzz

"People have died for the right to vote," Scott said. "We have fought wars for the right to vote. It's very important that your vote doesn't get diluted...I have to defend the rights of voters. I have no choice.""

==========================

6/11/12, "Florida to sue DHS in voter registration battle," The Hill, Jonathan Easley

via Mark Levin show

Sharia victory, Obama mandates mini horses accepted in same way dogs are for handicapped, allowed at jury duty, Islam says dogs unclean

.

A blind woman "rides a bus to work with her guide horse in Lincoln Park, Mich. Growing up in Detroit, Ramouni could never get a dog because her devout Muslim family considered dogs unclean." ap photo

6/26/12, "New Disability Regs Limit Slope of Mini Golf Holes, Require Businesses to Admit Mini Horses as Guide Animals," CNS News, Elizabeth Harrington

"Although the Justice Department has extended the deadline for America’s hotels to comply with regulations regarding handicap access to swimming pools, new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines are already being applied at miniature golf courses, driving ranges, amusement parks, shooting ranges and saunas.

“The new standards, for the first time, include requirements for judicial facilities, detention and correctional facilities, and recreational facilities,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez said during a conference in Baltimore on June 7.

“We expect the implementation of these accessibility standards to open up doors for full participation in both the responsibilities, such as jury duty, and the benefits, such as playing at city parks, of civic life for people with disabilities,” he said.

The 2010 ADA standards for Accessible Design require that at least 50 percent of golf holes on miniature golf courses be “accessible” – with a ground space that is “48 inches minimum by 60 inches minimum with slopes not steeper than 1:48 at the start of play.”

Among the provisions in the "Revised ADA Standards for Accessible Design," which went into effect on March 15, is one requiring businesses to allow miniature horses on their premises as guide animals for the disabled. Another limits the height of slopes on miniature golf holes.

Other regulations include:

Saunas – provision of accessible turning space and an accessible bench.

Shooting facilities – provision of accessible turning space “for each different type of firing position.”

Golf courses – “an accessible route to connect all accessible elements within the boundary.” An accessible route must also “connect golf car rental areas, bag drop areas, teeing grounds, putting greens, and weather shelters.”

Gyms – at least one of each type of exercise machine must be positioned for use by a person in a wheelchair.

Amusement parks – any new or altered ride must provide at least one seat for a person in a wheelchair.

A section of the guidelines regulating commercial facilities states that, “a public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability if the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability.”

A public accommodation is defined as “a private entity that owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”

“Miniature horses were suggested by some commenters as viable alternatives to dogs for individuals with allergies, or for those whose religious beliefs preclude the use of dogs,” the rules state. Also mentioned as a reason to include the animals is the longer life span of miniature horses – providing approximately 25 years of service as opposed to seven years for dogs.

“Some individuals with disabilities have traveled by train and have flown commercially with their miniature horses,” the Justice Department notes.

“Similar to dogs, miniature horses can be trained through behavioral reinforcement to be ‘housebroken,’” it adds.

However, “Ponies and full-size horses are not covered.”

A business owner can deny admission to a miniature horse that is not housebroken, whose handler does not have sufficient control of the animal, or if the horse’s presence compromises “legitimate safety requirements.”

The miniature horse addition has come under the scrutiny of at least one member of Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who offered an amendment that passed the House, banning funding to implement the provision. Chaffetz penned an editorial last month in opposition to the rule entitled, “Horses in the Dining Room?”

Last month the Justice Department extended the deadline for the rule requiring permanent wheelchair access to recreational pools. Citing “significant concerns and misunderstandings among a substantial number of pool owners and operators,” the department issued a notice in the Federal Register extending compliance from March 15 to May 21 this year. The date has now been pushed back further, to January 31, 2013.

The regulation requires large pools – those with over 300 linear feet of pool wall – to have two accessible means of entry, and smaller pools to have one.

For existing pools, owners making structural alterations are obliged to remove architectural barriers “to the extent such compliance is readily achievable.”

“As I consider the department’s accomplishments to date, and our plans for the future, I continue to take my inspiration from people with disabilities and their families,” Perez said in Baltimore.

“These individuals express the harm of segregation and the value of integration more eloquently than any lawyer’s brief ever could. They are the heroes of this civil rights movement.”

A person with a disability is defined by the ADA as, “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”"

via Mark Levin show