Sunday, June 21, 2020
Trump's Lonely Walk Of Shame - TULSA RALLY FAILURE ‘It’s going to be an angry mob’: Kentucky cuts number of polling stations by 95 percent ahead of primary voting
Kentucky lawmakers have warned the state was heading towards a disastrous primary election this week, as ballot problems, voter confusion and a severe shortage of polling places threatened to suppress turnout amid the coronavirus pandemic.
State officials on both sides of the political aisle released a joint statement condemning US District Court Judge Charles Simpson’s ruling against a case that argued having just one polling site in most of the state’s 120 counties would result in voter suppression.
“We believe the judge disregarded evidence from our expert witness that one location will suppress the vote, particularly among African Americans,” read the statement, co-authored by Jason Nemes, a Republican state representative, and Keisha Dorsey, a Democratic councilwoman for Louisville Metro.
The lawmakers were both behind the lawsuit, which demanded an increase in statewide polling locations.
Reports have indicated voters throughout Kentucky received inaccurate absentee ballots — which many requested in order to vote from home rather than flocking to the polls in droves amid a Covid-19 outbreak — that do not match their party affiliations.
In Kentucky, voters must be members of a party to participate in its primary elections.
In a typical election year, Kentucky has about 3,700 polling sites, according to most reports. When Election Day arrives on 23 June, there will be just 200 polling sites across the state — with some of those sites having to serve upwards of 600,000 residents. 👿👿👿👿 GOD DAMN-IT!
MOSCOW MITCH IS DOING HIS BEST TO TOTALLY MESS UP THIS ELECTION! 👿👿👿👿👿👿👿
Kentucky lawmakers have warned the state was heading towards a disastrous primary election this week, as ballot problems, voter confusion and a severe shortage of polling places threatened to suppress turnout amid the coronavirus pandemic.
State officials on both sides of the political aisle released a joint statement condemning US District Court Judge Charles Simpson’s ruling against a case that argued having just one polling site in most of the state’s 120 counties would result in voter suppression.
“We believe the judge disregarded evidence from our expert witness that one location will suppress the vote, particularly among African Americans,” read the statement, co-authored by Jason Nemes, a Republican state representative, and Keisha Dorsey, a Democratic councilwoman for Louisville Metro. The lawmakers were both behind the lawsuit, which demanded an increase in statewide polling locations.
Reports have indicated voters throughout Kentucky received inaccurate absentee ballots — which many requested in order to vote from home rather than flocking to the polls in droves amid a Covid-19 outbreak — that do not match their party affiliations. In Kentucky, voters must be members of a party to participate in its primary elections.
In a typical election year, Kentucky has about 3,700 polling sites, according to most reports. When Election Day arrives on 23 June, there will be just 200 polling sites across the state — with some of those sites having to serve upwards of 600,000 residents.
Voting rights expert Ari Berman wrote in a tweet: “There will be one polling place for 616,000 registered voters in Louisville’s Jefferson County, where half state’s black voters live.”
He added: “This is going to be a disaster.”
Local officials blamed the pandemic and a seemingly rushed effort to send out ballots, which led to some voters reportedly receiving inaccurate paperwork.
"It's possible they got the wrong ballot, when there's over 2,200 different ballot styles and there are two ballots sitting next to each other one is a Republican and the other is Democrat," Nore Ghibaudy, spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk's Office, told WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky. "You've got to remember this is a very unique situation. We have sent out over 200,000 ballots in a short period of time working 24 hours a day seven days a week."
Other officials meanwhile said a large turnout of voters in some counties would lead to an “angry mob” — with long lines, packed polling sites and further confusion about the primary process.
“It we get a massive turnout at Kroger Field, that’s just going to be an angry mob,” Don Blevins Jr, a clerk for Fayette County, told Washington Post, adding: “That does worry me a little.”
Meanwhile, closely-watched races could lead to bigger turnout than in recent years, with 937,000 voters requesting early ballots, the newspaper reported.
udge Simpson pointed to three measures the state implemented amid the coronavirus pandemic, including “making absentee ballots available for all voters, providing early in-person voting options for 15 days leading up to Election Day, and establishing a polling place for Election Day in-person voting”.
Voting rights activists said the state’s issues could cause it to have an Election Day similar to Georgia’s recent primaries, plagued by a shortage of polling sites, widespread confusion and missing absentee ballots.
Ben Jealous, president of People For The American Way, described the situation as “Our Next Electoral Nightmare.”
“Half Kentucky’s Black voters live in one county,” he wrote. “It will have one polling place... for 616,000 registered voters.”
The Trump Repercussions
When you realize you just got screwed over by a million TikTok and K-Pop teens.
Trump arrived back at the White House early this morning, tie undone, MAGA cap in hand. After a disastrous rally in Tulsa, it might just be dawning on him that his time in office is coming to an end. Appropriate music added to the video above.
Author urges gardeners to form one big 'national park'
Imagine if all the back and front yards -- and even patio container plants -- across the country were seen as one magnificent patchwork quilt, a ''Homegrown National Park." Home gardeners would join forces to bring back a variety of native plants to protect and nurture struggling birds, bees and other pollinators.
That's wildlife ecologist and entomologist Doug Tallamy's vision, as laid out in his most recent book, "Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard" (Timber Press).
Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware, is urging everyone -- in cities, suburbs and rural areas -- to pitch in.
"This enormous new national park can absolutely make a difference," he said in an interview with The Associated Press, especially east of the Mississippi River, where the vast majority of land in the U.S. is privately owned.
While one home garden can have a welcome effect, he says, it would be a game changer if lots of people pitched in on different, connected parcels of land, replacing traditional lawns, imported ornamentals and invasive species that fail to provide habitat for native birds, butterflies and other pollinators with ecologically crucial trees like oaks and other native species, he says.
And even a single person acting boldly with this goal in mind could be a crucial source of inspiration for others around them.
Despite climate change, or perhaps partly because of it, Tallamy optimistically envisions the coming decades as "The Age of Ecological Enlightenment."
"I am an ecologist who makes this claim with confidence, because it is the only option left for Homo sapiens if we want to remain viable in the future," he writes in his book.
The pivot, he says, must start at home. You can make changes slowly on your own or hire a landscaper to make changes all at once, but embracing native plants and reducing lawn is the direction gardening must take to help the environment, he says.
Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections at The New York Botanical Garden, agrees it's urgent that home gardeners focus on enhancing native biodiversity.
"Over the past few decades, advances in gardening equipment and techniques, increased access to a diversity of nursery-grown native plants, and rising environmental awareness among gardeners have made it more possible than ever before to harness all the joys of gardening to benefit the health of the planet," Forrest says.
Tallamy says it's easy to make a meaningful transition toward conservation-minded gardening.
"You can do it for free, bit by bit, as a hobby. And if you don't own property, you can help the process in local parks, in roof gardens or community gardens, and you can plant native species in containers on balconies or patios," he says.
His advice:
First, reduce the amount of lawn on your property. Tallamy suggests cutting the size of your lawn by half, retaining, for example, a narrow stretch in the front and just enough in the backyard to create a pathway. "You don't have to get rid of it, just reduce it," he says.
Second, plant an oak or hickory tree, both of which provide habitat for a huge diversity of native species. "You don't have to buy a tree, just plant an acorn. That's free," he says.
Third, put in plants that support a diverse community of pollinators, like native milkweed, pie weed or other native plants.
Fourth, get rid of invasive species. The worst are burning bush, barberry, Bradford pears, autumn olive, porcelain berries, bush honeysuckle and Kudzu, Tallamy says.
Fifth, add a bubbling water feature. "Any sort of bubbler where the water is kept clean is great for birds. It's just a magnet for them," he says.
Sixth, coordinate with your neighbors. "You don't have to do all these things on a single property, particularly if your property is small. Maybe your neighbor can plant an oak and you can put lots of native species in containers and install some kind of water feature," Tallamy explains.
As a whole, the Homegrown National Park should feature all these things on a loosely connected patchwork of land, he says.
"Admission to Homegrown National Park is free and there are no restricted seasons," he writes in his book.
"As you become familiar with the natural cycles that occur in your yard, you will start to anticipate them, subconsciously at first, but then as something you eagerly await."
ONE DAY, IT'S LIKE A MIRACLE, IT WILL DISAPPEAR
When you realize you just got screwed over by a million TikTok and K-Pop teens.
Derek Chauvin's interaction with a new mom with 2 month old in car
WASHINGTON — In August 2007, Melissa Borton was returning to her Minneapolis home to unpack groceries after a trip to Rainbow Foods with her 2-month-old child and 5-year-old German shepherd.
As the then-30-year-old turned her green minivan left into an intersection, she saw flashing blue and red lights behind her. She was confused. She didn’t think she had disobeyed any laws.
Borton stopped her van and rolled down her window in anticipation of interacting with the two approaching policemen. One was Derek Chauvin, the officer who would be charged this month with manslaughter and second-degree murder for the killing of George Floyd, which sparked national outrage and protests against systemic racism.
Chauvin and an unnamed officer “without a word” reached inside her car, unlocked the door and began pulling her out while she was still strapped in, Borton recalled in an interview with The Times.
“They fumbled with my seat belt and dragged me away,” Borton said. “They didn’t say anything to me this entire time.”
An attorney for Chauvin did not respond to a request for comment. The Minneapolis Police Department would not provide the name of the second officer.
As Borton was being pulled from her vehicle, she remembers hearing her “hysterical” crying newborn and barking dog. The officers put her in the back seat of their squad car. While there, she asked the officers why she was being detained. She recalls one saying her van “matched a description.”
As she sat there, the front of her gray T-shirt began to get soaked with breast milk.
“You probably have postpartum depression,” she recalled an officer saying. “You should get help for that.”
After about 15 minutes, they let her go without further explanation.
The next day, Borton lodged a formal complaint with the Minneapolis Police Department.
Weeks went by, but she never heard back.
More than six months later, she took it upon herself to call the department to ask about the status of the complaint. They confirmed that an officer had been disciplined but declined to provide further details, according to Borton.
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Borton, who is white, said the episode gave her a very small glimpse into how many black Americans feel about police.
“I’m not a black person,” Borton said. “But on a very minuscule level, I get that you can’t trust police.”
Borton, now 43 and still a Minneapolis resident, said she tells the story of this interaction to people whenever the topic of Minneapolis police comes up.
“There’s something wrong with the police around here,” she said. Borton said her story shows a “long history of an officer who’s unhinged and probably shouldn’t have been on the force.”
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-04/woman-recalls-minneapolis-officer-derek-chauvin-2007-traffic-stop
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