2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

[unofan]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

Oh, and the Federal sequestration removed 1 job from the federal payroll.

Quotes from the actual report:

SBA completed an early retirement offering, through which nearly 200 employees retired.
SBA also achieved $9.5 million in savings by implementing a partial hiring
freeze

DOE officials also estimated that
contractors reduced or left vacant approximately 1,000 positions in fiscal
year 2013, including laying off or voluntarily separating more than 300 of
their employees. These figures do not include subcontractor employees,
university researchers, and others who do not have a direct contractual
relationship with DOE.

however, as of March 2013, the hiring freeze no
longer allowed for the automatic backfilling of such personnel. DOJ
reported that it lost over 3,500 employees between January 2011, when
the hiring freeze was implemented, and September 21, 2013, the last pay
period in fiscal year 2013. This loss equals almost 3 percent of DOJ's
workforce, including almost 400 agents, almost 200 intelligence analysts,
and over 400 attorneys. DOJ stated that the largest losses-of over 2,000
employees-were among support staff, such as paralegals, chemists,
accountants, and contract specialists.

Implemented a hiring freeze, with only minimal hiring in critical frontline
areas. SSA reported that this action resulted in the loss of about
11,000 employees since 2011, including about 1,875 federal and state
employees from March 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013.83

Offering early retirements and not filling open positions sound a lot like a lowered employment. It doesn't matter that only one person was officially laid off.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

Of course Rover would prefer that they act like "competent Representatives," keeping in mind that he believes that only someone who votes the Dem party line could possibly be considered a "competent Representative."

There are no opposing views in the US, so why should they have a voice in Congress?

You do realize I've voted for Republicans for federal and state offices, right? Granted Massachusetts Republicans aren't exactly Tea Partiers but there was a time when they weren't all completely insane (Bill Weld comes to mind for example).

 

[Rover]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

One liberal group? One? One. Even assuming your analysis is correct (which I don't) that hardly balances a clear Obama administration effort to chill and harass Tea Party groups. Like the man said: "One loaf of bread doesn't make a bakery."

Opie we've already had 5,000 hearings and a zillion other investigations. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So, you are now officially insane! IF this isn't an attempt to prop up a dying ideology and a bankrupt political party trying not to get crushed in the next Presidential election, why not just offer Lerner immunity in exchange for her full testimony, something she's already offered to do??? I mean, if Obama himself ordered this, don't you want to do whatever it takes to get that testimony on the record????

In short, gotcha Opie. I look forward to reading you trying to weasel out of this one....

 

[unofan]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...tate-voter-fraud-report-matt-schultz/8858595/

2 years and $250,000 later, Iowa's Secretary of State found 117 improper votes, with 27 prosecutions and a whopping six convictions. In a state that casts more than a million votes in general elections.

That's a .01% error rate, and a .0006% conviction rate per vote cast.

Clearly a rampant problem that is casting doubts on the legitimacy of elections.

Oh, and the study found 20 former felons who were improperly denied ballots because they should have had their voting rights restored.

 

[joecct]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...tate-voter-fraud-report-matt-schultz/8858595/

2 years and $250,000 later, Iowa's Secretary of State found 117 improper votes, with 27 prosecutions and a whopping six convictions. In a state that casts more than a million votes in general elections.

That's a .01% error rate, and a .0006% conviction rate per vote cast.

Clearly a rampant problem that is casting doubts on the legitimacy of elections.

What about local elections?

 

[unofan]

What about local elections?

What about them?

 

[joecct]

What about them?

Given small town USA, and small voter turnout, a fraudulent vote may turn an election.

Plus what happens in the town is a lot more important than what happens in Des Moines or Washington.

 

[unofan]

Given small town USA, and small voter turnout, a fraudulent vote may turn an election.

Plus what happens in the town is a lot more important than what happens in Des Moines or Washington.

There's a 1/10,000 chance that a given vote is improper based on the Secretary of state's own report. If the town is small enough that a single vote matters, it is extremely unlikely any of those votes are improper.

 

[geezer]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

You do realize I've voted for Republicans for federal and state offices, right?

And I have a lot of good friends who are gay Islamic abortionists.

 

[SJHovey]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...tate-voter-fraud-report-matt-schultz/8858595/

2 years and $250,000 later, Iowa's Secretary of State found 117 improper votes, with 27 prosecutions and a whopping six convictions. In a state that casts more than a million votes in general elections.

That's a .01% error rate, and a .0006% conviction rate per vote cast.

Clearly a rampant problem that is casting doubts on the legitimacy of elections.

Oh, and the study found 20 former felons who were improperly denied ballots because they should have had their voting rights restored.

Wasn't there a presidential election a few years ago in which the margin of victory in the deciding state was just a few hundred votes out of something like 6 million?

 

[Rover]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

And I have a lot of good friends who are gay Islamic abortionists.

Voices in your head don't count as friends geezer.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

Given small town USA, and small voter turnout, a fraudulent vote may turn an election.

Plus what happens in the town is a lot more important than what happens in Des Moines or Washington.

This would be less likely to happen in a small town. Heck in some precincts everybody probably knows each other by first name when they walk into the booth. Kinda hard to fly somebody in from NY with a heavy Brooklyn accent to vote in a city council election in East Podunk, Iowa and not stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Handyman]

His point was about wasting money. Big deficit = lots of wasted money. Thought the connection there was pretty obvious.

****... why do I get involved in these?

No it is obvious you wanted to steer the conversation away from the point...sorry man it is nothing personal but that is what you did. Just because the government is in the stupid habit of wasting money doesnt mean it is ok to waste more money on an investigation into something that has no value whatsoever.

Also, just because the Dems couldnt balance a checkbook doesnt make it ok for the "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" who screwed people over (not themselves of course) by shutting down the government to waste time and money with repeated hearings when there is no "there" there.

 

[Handyman]

Deficits? Apparently they are a problem.

Oh, and the Federal sequestration removed 1 job from the federal payroll.

Who said the deficit isnt a problem? No one? Sweet, you and your straw man have fun spooning tonight.

Deficits only matter when your party isnt spending the money huh...

 

[unofan]

Wasn't there a presidential election a few years ago in which the margin of victory in the deciding state was just a few hundred votes out of something like 6 million?

Which was caused by incompetence at many levels (from individual voters all the way up), not fraud.

 

[joecct]

Who said the deficit isnt a problem? No one? Sweet, you and your straw man have fun spooning tonight.

Deficits only matter when your party isnt spending the money huh...

Unsustainable <> a problem? When the Chair of the Fed utters the unsustainable word, I think we have an authoritative source.

If a new GOP Congress repeats the errors of the their last attempt at leadership, then they deserve to be tossed out on their butts again. Repeat as necessary until the Congre$$ gets the hint.

 

[Tiggsy]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

No it is obvious you wanted to steer the conversation away from the point...sorry man it is nothing personal but that is what you did. Just because the government is in the stupid habit of wasting money doesnt mean it is ok to waste more money on an investigation into something that has no value whatsoever.

Also, just because the Dems couldnt balance a checkbook doesnt make it ok for the "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" who screwed people over (not themselves of course) by shutting down the government to waste time and money with repeated hearings when there is no "there" there.

Hardly... it was simply a comparison to illustrate this is a classic "do as we say, not what we do" type of situation. Dems do it so why is there so much outrage when Reps do it in a scaled down version? Of course there should be some and rightfully so, but not to this degree and that's my issue here. The massive outrage about this. To me it looks like people are worried about something actually being exposed. I'm a little surprised the character assassination attempts on the Reps involved haven't dialed up just yet, but I'm sure they will soon as it is par for the course in situations like these where Dems are trying to take the high ground and quiet opposition.

The question of value of this is also being contested. Not by me personally but obviously someone thinks there is value, so you can't 100% factually say there is no value. It is the take of one side. Like it or not, it is true no matter what source is cited to try to prove that statement wrong. If there is nothing to fear, just humor everyone and go along with it and get it over with as quickly as possible. Govt. wastes money every day so what makes this time any different?

Opie we've already had 5,000 hearings and a zillion other investigations. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So, you are now officially insane! IF this isn't an attempt to prop up a dying ideology and a bankrupt political party trying not to get crushed in the next Presidential election, why not just offer Lerner immunity in exchange for her full testimony, something she's already offered to do??? I mean, if Obama himself ordered this, don't you want to do whatever it takes to get that testimony on the record????

Got to admit, this one has puzzled me a bit too. Stonewalling is getting nowhere so why focus on one person when you can move up the ladder with her testimony.

 

[burd]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

Given small town USA, and small voter turnout, a fraudulent vote may turn an election.

Plus what happens in the town is a lot more important than what happens in Des Moines or Washington.

In my small town USA, if I told the lady at the polling station I put two loads of laundry on the line last Tuesday, she would know if I was lying. There's nothing they don't know.

 

[SJHovey]

Re: 2nd Term Part VIII - The Thin Red Line

Which was caused by incompetence at many levels (from individual voters all the way up), not fraud.

My point wasn't that there was fraud. My point was that while it's easy to minimize 117 votes out of a million+, and it certainly is a minute fraction of ballots cast, it is not out of the question that a few hundred votes could matter in an election as big as a Presidential election.

 

[unofan]

My point wasn't that there was fraud. My point was that while it's easy to minimize 117 votes out of a million+, and it certainly is a minute fraction of ballots cast, it is not out of the question that a few hundred votes could matter in an election as big as a Presidential election.

Looking purely at the felony votes investigated in this study, the SoS accidentally (i say accidentally because the investigation was solely to find fraudulent votes, not improperly denied votes) found 20 felons who should've been allowed to vote and only 16 improper votes by felons.

Put another way, an investigation to root out fraud found more wrongfully denied ballots than fraudulent votes, at least with respect to one segment. And that's without even trying to find the former.

Voter fraud is next to non existent in this country. It's a red herring designed to be political cover to discourage voter turnout to sway elections for political reasons.

With a .01 percent fraud rate (presuming fir the sake of argument that all 117 are fraudulent despite only 6 convictions) a close election will be swayed far more by voter error than fraud.