U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

'She's a crook': GOP voters line up against indicted Colorado election denier running for secretary of state



According to a report from CNN, Republican voters in Colorado have become increasingly alarmed at the prospect that indicted 2020 presidential election denier and former county clerk Tina Peters could be their party's nominee for Secretary of State.

Peters, who was hit with 10 counts related to election equipment tampering by a grand jury -- and is affiliated with fellow election denier Mike Lindell -- is currently the GOP frontrunner for the job, and that has conservatives very worried.

As CNN's Eric Bradner reports, ".... in the county on Colorado's Western Slope where she is barred by a district judge from performing her election-oversight duties, many voters -- including some unaffiliated voters who typically back Democrats but had voted in this year's Republican primary because of Peters' presence on the ballot -- said they want to stop her."

According to one voter, Daria Kent of Grand Junction, "Yes, there was voter fraud. She caused it."

As Colorado Newsline previously reported, "Peters had been under investigation over allegedly enabling a security breach in the Mesa County elections system during a “trusted build” process, which involves a secure software update. She routinely spreads baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that Colorado’s entire election system is insecure."

One Republican voter, 65-year-old Tammy Reece, cut right to the chase, telling CNN, "She's a crook and should not be running for secretary of state."

Her husband, Bob Reece, 75, concurred, saying, "The system did have a flaw. And that is, the very person who was supposed to protect it had the passwords to it, and opened it up."

He added, "I mean, it's been well-documented in the local paper about all the things that Peters has been accused of. And as the allegations go through court, it's going to be a continuum of decisions. ... I was shocked that she was running for any public office. You lose your job here, and you want the one above it?"

The CNN report adds, "Peters and her top deputy were indicted in March after an investigation by local authorities into a security breach that resulted in confidential voting machine logins, and forensic images of their hard drives, being published in a QAnon-affiliated Telegram channel in early August 2021. In May, after a lawsuit brought by Griswold, a district judge stripped Peters of her duties overseeing this year's elections in Mesa County."

You can read more here:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/politics/colorado-republican-secretary-of-state-primary-tina-peters/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Colorado clerk charged with 10 voting crimes: Lauren Boebert “encouraged me” to breach voting system

Indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters says Boebert “encouraged me to go forward" with breach attempt



A Colorado election clerk who was indicted on 10 criminal counts has said that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) "encouraged" her to commit the alleged crimes.

In a report on Sunday, The New York Times recounted the "strange tale" of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who has fueled right-wing conspiracy theories claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

"Ms. Peters was indicted on 10 criminal counts related to the effort to copy voting equipment software, including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft and first-degree official misconduct," the report explained.

On Friday, Peters deflected blame to Boebert, according to the report.

She said Boebert “encouraged me to go forward with the imaging” of voting machines.

But the lawmaker's spokesperson insisted that Peters' claim was false.

Boebert has previously released a statement in support of Peters.

"Many of the constituents I represent have expressed concern about the ongoing investigation into Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters," Boebert said in 2021. "As many of you know, I have been a vocal opponent of the overreach and targeted nature of the FBI’s activities on a national level."

https://www.salon.com/2022/06/27/colorado-clerk-charged-with-10-voting-lauren-boebert-encouraged-me-to-breach-voting-system_partner/

[Rick Plant]

As I've said a couple of days ago, we no longer have a separation of church and state in the United States because of the far wing radicals on the Extreme Court.   

The Extreme Court just ruled 6-3 that public school teachers and other staff can now lead students in prayer, significantly undermining the separation of church and state and overturning decades of established precedence.

So, now teachers in public schools, and even the janitors, can openly assemble to pray in public schools.

Students in the classroom all follow different religions and some don't practice any religion at all. That's the reason why we don't have prayers in public schools because of all the different faiths or non religious students.   

What if the teacher is of a different religion than the rest of the class forcing their prayers on students? Why should students be forced to pray along to a religion they don't belong to?

What if a teacher worships Satan? Students will be forced to hear Satanic prayers in the classroom because of this asinine ruling by the Extreme Court.

You can't pick and choose which religious prayers can be in the school. So, now this opens a can of worms with any prayers being spoken out loud at school. And if the students in the class all have different religions and want to say prayers out loud, then students will be praying all day instead of learning.

Nobody should be forcing their religious beliefs on to other people  Even if you belong to the same religion, you wouldn't want to force your beliefs at school or on the football field. But this disastrous ruling by the radical Republican Extreme Court is forcing religion upon Americans.

What's even more outrageous is that African American NFL football players were crucified for taking a knee on the football field trying to bring awareness to police brutality against the African American community by Donald Trump, right wing politicians, the right wing media, and his cult followers  But these same hypocrites feel it's ok for players to take a knee in prayer. The radicsl right only believes the Constitution grants them their own rights to do what they want. When radical right has a problem when other people express their First Amendment rights, they will do everything to attack, censor, and silence their free speech.                 
         
The Constitution and separation of church and state no longer exists in the United States as the radical right has given a middle finger to our Founding Fathers ruling against our own Constitution.

Supreme Court says public school officials can pray openly
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/27/religion-prayer-public-school-supreme-court-ruling

[Rick Plant]

Legal expert speculates whether Supreme Court will destroy Congress' new gun safety bill next



The House and Senate both passed a new bipartisan gun safety law, and while it was signed by the president and supported by two branches of government, there's a fear that the Supreme Court will attempt to overrule the law.

A Slate report expressed the concern on Monday after President Joe Biden signed the bill ahead of a G7 meeting. The question becomes whether one branch of government will attempt to go up against the other two.

Slate cited the majority opinion in Bruen saying that "[t]he constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.’”

"A primary example of a right the majority says has received appropriate respect is the right to free speech," the Slate report explained. "Throughout the opinion, Thomas says that the Second Amendment must receive the same due as the First. Thomas knows that the First Amendment does not provide unlimited protection to speech, that the state may regulate speech in all sorts of ways. So, he is not referencing First Amendment law to suggest that there are no limits on the right to keep and carry arms.

Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice, explained to MSNBC that the Supreme Court saying that states rights apply to an abortion but not to guns is a major issue for the Court.

"The two cases together say that some states can ban abortion but other states and they usually are other states, can't regulate guns and gun violence within their states," said Waldman. "It's a very different approach. The ruling struck down New York's law. A law that goes back to 1911. Saying that you can't carry a concealed handgun in New York City, in a crowded place like that. And it is the first time in a dozen years that the Supreme Court has made a major ruling on the Second Amendment since it first said, and it was only back then in 2008, in 2010, that you had an individual right at all to have a weapon."

"But what's really significant about this case is not just what it will do in New York where there will be more guns and more violence and more crime as is expected in New York. But what it does nationwide, what the Supreme Court said is effectively you can't actually take public safety into account when you're making these gun laws. You can only look at 'history and tradition.' And Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, used the history very selectively, but what it means is that hundreds of gun laws that have been upheld by the courts, Republican and Democratic judges, federal and state judges over the last 12 years, hundreds of those laws now will get challenged by the NRA and others saying you can't read the history right."

Just last week, the bill that Congress signed was Constitutional, but the question is whether it is now.

"I think it's still constitutional now. obviously, they're going to have to take a look," said Waldman. "Much of that law involved spending money on things like mental health and other things that would not really I think by any sense fall afoul of the Second Amendment right, but there are some aspects to it such as red flag laws saying you can take people's guns away if they're a threat or have a violent mental health issue, and all also the things related to background checks that will be challenged."

"Again, I think it is quite clear that these laws respect individual rights and benefit public safety but it's a lot harder to know how courts and judges are supposed to scratch their heads and figure out this vague new standard. How do you find out what the history and tradition was way back in some imagined past time for these modern laws? It's not a way to run a railroad. It's not a way any other country that you know of makes decisions about protecting public safety."

See his full interview in link below:

https://www.rawstory.com/gun-safety-law-supreme-court/

[Rick Plant]

A new NPR/Marist Poll has been conducted after the insane Extreme Court decision to overturn Roe. New polling shows Democrats have gained 2 points after Roe was overturned. Democrats lead by 5 points in May after the leaked draft of the Roe v. Wade decision and now it has increased 2 more points to 7 points after Roe was overturned. 

Democrats (48%) currently have the advantage over the Republicans (41%) among registered voters.

Here's more on what the polling found:

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll also shows that 51 percent of voters nationally say the ruling will make them more likely to vote for a congressional candidate who would back a law that would restore the protections of Roe versus 36% that would vote against a candidate with that intent.

56% of Americans are concerned that the Supreme Court’s decision could also jeopardize the rights to contraception, same-sex marriage, or same-sex relationships.

A majority of Americans (57%) think the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was politically motivated and not motivated by the law of the land (36%).

[Rick Plant]

Watch live: Jan. 6 committee to question 'surprise witness' Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump-Meadows efforts to overturn election

https://www.rawstory.com/jan-6-hearing-watch-live/

[Rick Plant]

Pennsylvania Attorney General holds rally in Philadelphia to 'protect abortion rights'

The Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade Friday, which had granted birth-givers the right to abortion since its passing in 1973.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- More than a hundred people rallied at the National Constitution Center SaPersonay to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

"We are not OK with government-mandated pregnancy," congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon told the crowd.

Protestors carried signs like "Get your laws off my body" and "Women will die" as they cheered on speakers, many of whom were Democratic politicians.

"My granddaughter is not going to have the same freedom I had and that my daughter had, and it's so upsetting to me," said Diana Becerra from Roxborough.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade Friday, which had granted birth-givers the right to abortion since its passing in 1973.

"It gutted me. I am scared for my children. I'm scared for my children's children," said Ronna Dewey, who works with the mom activist group Red, Wine, and Blue.

The crowd heard from local, state, and federal representatives, including Joanna McClinton, a democrat representing the 191st house district in Pennsylvania.

"In the midst of a very dark Friday, I'm thrilled to know there is a glimmer of hope," she said as she stumped for Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's current attorney general. He is running on the Democratic ticket for governor.

"I trust the women of Pennsylvania to make decisions over their own bodies," Shapiro told the crowd.

Shapiro said he'll protect abortion rights in Pennsylvania, while his Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, has said he'll make abortions illegal with no exceptions.

"It is clear that more and more issues will likely be coming to the states in future years," said Shapiro.

Action News reached out to state senator Mastriano and his campaign for a response but have not heard back.

The rally at City Hall was part of an even bigger movement across the country, "Bans Off Our Bodies," part of a nationwide day of action.

Similar abortion rights events were planned in more than 200 cities.

"I hope we're able to do this for like a week and keep going, because it's going to keep being an issue people shouldn't forget about it," said Deirdre French of Bristol, Pa.

https://6abc.com/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-national-constitution-center-protect-abortion-rights/11995271/

[Rick Plant]

A brand new Quinnipiac poll was just released today showing Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock with a huge 10 point lead over Trump stooge Herschel Walker. 

Georgia Senate:

Raphael Warnock 54%
Herschel Walker 44%