Because Elections and Winning Enough Votes

[merh]

Democrats Have Edge in Early Voting
A lead among early voters could mean heightened motivation among Democrats, something the party needs this year, since the majority tends to lose seats in a midterm.

By Susan Milligan
Oct. 24, 2022

Election Day is Nov. 8, and voting has already begun, with more than 7.5 million Americans casting early ballots for the midterm elections, according to the nonpartisan United States Election Project. A cursory look at the demographics of the early vote would cheer Democrats nervous about losing control of both the House and Senate this fall, since Democrats have cast an outsized majority of early (in-person and returned mail ballot) votes.

[ READ: Fetterman’s Doctor Says Pennsylvania Senate Candidate is Fit for Office After Stroke ]
But should Democrats be encouraged? It's a high-tech, informed guessing game among early voting experts, and a closer look at individual states gives both parties reasons for worry and confidence.

Nationally, Democrats are far outpacing Republicans in the early vote so far, according to TargetSmart, a voter analysis firm. Democrats have cast 55% of early ballots so far, compared to 34.5% early ballots by GOP voters and 10.4% for unaffiliated voters.

That's a dramatic improvement for Democrats from the last midterm, when the party took back the House but failed to regain control of the Senate. In 2018, Republicans held the lead in early voting at this stage, accounting for 46.1% of early votes, compared to 44.7% for Democrats and 9.2% for unaffiliated voters, TargetSmart reported.

That could mean heightened motivation among Democratic voters, something the party desperately needs this year, since the party in power tends to lose seats in a midterm election. And it's always useful for either party to get voters out early, since bad weather or other factors could keep people away from the polls on Election Day.

But it could also reflect nothing more than voter preferences on how to vote. Early Republican voting dropped by double digits from 2018 to 2020, even as the pandemic made it less appealing to stand in line with strangers on Election Day. Former President Donald Trump that year also cast suspicion on mail-in voting, which may have discouraged fellow Republicans from voting that way.

In 2020 – when Republicans gained seats in the House and lost Senate control, after two runoff elections in Georgia the following January – GOP voters had cast 35.8% of early votes at this stage, TargetSmart found.

Does that bode well for Democrats? Not necessarily, says Tom Bonier, a Democratic strategist who is CEO of TargetSmart. "These are not projections of outcome or candidate vote totals," since no one knows how these voters actually voted, Bonier writes in an explanatory thread on Twitter. It's just a comparison with previous elections, so "please take it in context," he adds.

In battleground states, the picture is also mixed. In Georgia, for example, there has been tremendous enthusiasm among voters; Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state's office, reported Sunday afternoon that 10,336 Georgians had cast ballots on the first Sunday of early voting so far – double the number form the first Sunday of early voting in 2018. And in the first four days of early voting, the state had already broken its record for pre-Election Day, in-person voting, Sterling said.

Who are they? Mostly (52.1%) Democrats, compared to 41% Republican, TargetSmart reports. That's a big flip from 2018 at this stage of early voting, when 52.1% of early voters were Republican, and 43.1% were Democrats, TargetSmart found.

The United States election project, run by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, also reports that women are a lopsided part of the early vote, comprising 54.2% of the early vote, compared to 45.4 who are men (the rest are unknown).

On paper, that's good for Democrats, since women are more likely to vote Democratic. But it's also in line with the 2018 election, when women comprised 54% of the final vote – and the governor's seat went to a Republican, Brian Kemp, who is in a rematch this year with Democrat Stacey Abrams.

[ MORE: Election ‘22: Races With No Rules ]
In Pennsylvania, where Democrat John Fetterman barely leads GOP Senate nominee Mehmet Ox in polls, Democrats are way ahead in the early vote participation, accounting for 73.3% of the vote, compared to 23.2% who are Republicans, Target Smart's analysis found. At this stage of early voting in 2018, the GOP was ahead in early voting, casting 49.7% of the vote, compared to 42.9% who were Democrats.

But Keystone State Democrats should not get comfortable: the GOP will catch up in Pennsylvania, McDonald cautions. "Early vote Election Day will be very red, but Fetterman has fewer of his eggs in the Election Day basket in the event of a disruption like bad weather, and his campaign can focus more on turnout out those (identified) supporters who haven't voted yet," McDonald writes.

Bad for Democrats, however, is that the early vote in Pennsylvania is skewing older than it did at this point in 2018 and 2020, Bonier said. But that number too, has its caveats, he said, since young voters in the primary this year in Pennsylvania were much more likely to wait until Election Day to vote than they were on Election Day in 2020.

Young voters tend not to vote early, experts say, but that changed in 2020, when the pandemic led many Americans to vote before Election Day. So far this year, voters 18-29 have cast 4.2% of the vote, compared to their 7.9% share at this stage of the election season in 2020, Target Smart's analysis finds. A YouGuv poll this month found that young voters are split on whether they vote on Election Day or in advance.

So which party has the advantage? In early voting it appears to be Democrats, who are turning in ballots or voting in person, early, far more than Republicans,. But the GOP may have the final, trump card, polling shows.

An NBC poll released Monday finds high interest (70%) among voters nationally in the midterm elections. But the GOP had the edge, with 78% enthusiasm about the elections, compared to 69% of Democrats, the survey found. Democrats are showing up early. but the GOP may show them up on Nov. 8.

Ignore the polls & vote like Trump is on the ballot every single time. Vote!

[merh]

Here's what changed in Dinesh D'Souza's '2,000 Mules' book after it was recalled
October 25, 20224:26 PM ET
Tom Dreisbach

In August, the conservative publisher Regnery abruptly recalled Dinesh D'Souza's election denial book 2,000 Mules from stores citing an unspecified "publishing error." NPR compared the recalled version of the book with the version that Regnery published this week.
Willy Sanjuan/AP
After an abrupt recall and a two-month delay - along with the threat of possible legal action - the election denial book 2,000 Mules has reached bookstores, though with a few significant changes.

Most notably, a passage in the recalled version of the book that accused specific, named nonprofit organizations of involvement in illegal "ballot trafficking" has been rewritten, softening certain claims and outright removing the names of the groups. Separately, sections of the book that purported to link election fraud to antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement have also been deleted.

2,000 Mules is based on the film of the same name, which alleges a vast conspiracy between unnamed left-wing nonprofit groups and paid ballot "mules" to stuff vote-by-mail dropboxes and steal the 2020 election. Law enforcement officials and fact-checkers have thoroughly discredited the film's allegations, and the filmmakers have declined to make key evidence for their central claims public.

Nonetheless, 2,000 Mules has remained highly influential in the pro-Trump election denial movement.

And in response to a viewer of the film who wanted to see more evidence, filmmaker and author Dinesh D'Souza said in July that the follow-up book based on 2,000 Mules would name names

"I am going to reveal the names of several of these nonprofit stash houses in my book '2000 Mules,'" D'Souza tweeted in July.

The initial version of the book set to be published in August did just that. D'Souza accused five nonprofit groups of acting as illegal ballot "stash houses."

Copies of the book had already reached bookstores, when, just before the release date, the publisher Regnery issued a recall, though they did not catch every copy. NPR managed to find the book on the shelf at a Barnes & Noble bookstore.

D'Souza and Regnery did not give a reason for the sudden recall.

Instead, they blamed an unspecified "publishing error," and declined to answer further questions about the mistake, which was significant enough to cause Salem Media, Regnery's parent company, to lower its corporate earnings estimate.

When NPR contacted the five groups D'Souza had accused of involvement in election fraud, two went on the record to condemn the accusations as "trash," "lies," and "malarkey." One of those groups described the allegations as potentially "libelous."

Even True the Vote, the controversial election denial organization that executive produced the 2,000 Mules film, distanced themselves from the book. "True the Vote had no participation in this book, and has no knowledge of its contents," the group said in a statement to NPR back in September. "This includes any allegations of activities of any specific organizations made in the book. We made no such allegations."

Now, D'Souza and Regnery have officially released the 2,000 Mules book, and changed that section.

D'Souza had previously described left-wing nonprofits as "doing vote trafficking."

The newly-released book tones down that phrase to "potentially storing ballots."

And the names of specific nonprofits that D'Souza accused of election fraud have all been removed.

Now, in lieu of listing specific groups, D'Souza writes, "True the Vote shared their names with me and has offered to make them available as needed to the appropriate law enforcement authorities."

The New Georgia Project, a group that focuses on registering and mobilizing young voters and voters of color, was one of the groups named in the recalled book.

"We're always happy when someone who has been discredited takes our name out of their mouths," said a New Georgia Project spokesperson in a message to NPR.

Given the absence of evidence supporting the allegations, NPR is not naming the other groups cited in the recalled version of the book.

In September, when NPR obtained a copy of the recalled book, Regnery said they would "be happy to talk to you more about 2,000 Mules once it is published." But when asked about arranging an interview this week, Regnery president Thomas Spence declined.

"At this point, Regnery is not offering any comment on the book 2,000 Mules," Spence wrote in an email.

D'Souza did not respond to NPR's request for comment.

The official release of the book also completely removes a claim that True the Vote was able to determine the supposed ballot "mules" had links to antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The film and the recalled version of the book said that True the Vote used a database from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) to make this connection.

ACLED objected to that characterization, and requested a correction from D'Souza.

"This is not the type of analysis you can use ACLED data for, and it is highly unlikely that these conclusions have any basis in fact," a spokesperson for ACLED previously told NPR. The spokesperson said every reference to ACLED in the recalled version of the book was "incorrect or misleading."

Now, ACLED does not appear anywhere in the book. Several paragraphs that attempted to rebut NPR's earlier fact-check about the ACLED data have been removed. And claims that the "mules" had connections to antifa or BLM are gone, too.

"ACLED requested a correction from the publisher based on the incorrect references included in the recalled version of 2,000 Mules, and we are happy to see that these references have ultimately been removed from the final copy of the book," said Sam Jones, ACLED's head of communications. "Our data do not support any of the claims or conclusions that were previously linked to ACLED."

The changes to the book may reflect some concern by D'Souza and Regnery about possible legal trouble.

D'Souza previously said he omitted the names of the nonprofits from the film after getting into a "big fight" with lawyers, who said he could not name them. Since the 2020 election, other prominent election deniers - and the channels that hosted them - have faced lawsuits from election technology companies and election workers, who say election-related lies cost them business, led to death threats, and upended their lives.

There is some evidence that 2,000 Mules has inspired distrust and conspiracy theories around the use of ballot dropboxes, especially given former president Trump's embrace of the film.

Arizona election authorities have issued warnings to people purportedly surveilling ballot dropboxes - possibly inspired by the film's claims - and said they referred complaints of possible voter intimidation to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"There's a group of people hanging out near the ballot dropbox filming and photographing my wife and I as we approached the dropbox and accusing us of being a mule," a voter wrote in a complaint to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. "They took photographs of our license plate and of us and then followed us out the parking lot in one of their cars continuing to film."


© 2022 npr

www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131077739/heres-what-changed-in-dinesh-dsouzas-2-000-mules-book-after-it-was-recalled

Why did he have to change the book, ABBEY?

[abbey1227]

Oct 26, 2022 1:25:43 GMT merh said:

Here's what changed in Dinesh D'Souza's '2,000 Mules' book after it was recalled
October 25, 20224:26 PM ET


"There's a group of people hanging out near the ballot dropbox filming and photographing my wife and I as we approached the dropbox and accusing us of being a mule," a voter wrote in a complaint to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. "They took photographs of our license plate and of us and then followed us out the parking lot in one of their cars continuing to film."


© 2022 npr

www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131077739/heres-what-changed-in-dinesh-dsouzas-2-000-mules-book-after-it-was-recalled

Why did he have to change the book, ABBEY?

Because it's become quite clear that lawsuits and negative media coverage will ruin certain people and businesses. And it's only flowing in one direction.

Everyone from the White House on down is denying obvious truths........but as long as they all stick together, their opposition has no chance. Up is Down, Black is White

[merh]

Oct 26, 2022 2:44:04 GMT abbey1227 said:

Oct 26, 2022 1:25:43 GMT merh said:

www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131077739/heres-what-changed-in-dinesh-dsouzas-2-000-mules-book-after-it-was-recalled

Why did he have to change the book, ABBEY?

Because it's become quite clear that lawsuits and negative media coverage will ruin certain people and businesses. And it's only flowing in one direction.

Everyone from the White House on down is denying obvious truths........but as long as they all stick together, their opposition has no chance. Up is Down, Black is White

You are so wounded.

Not a chance D'Souza is lying through his teeth which is why he changed the book.

If he has proof of his claims, he wouldn't have to change the book.

Down is still down where I live.

Is this you?

Their America Is Vanishing. Like Trump, They Insist They Were Cheated.
Michael H. Keller and David D. Kirkpatrick
Mon, October 24, 2022 at 4:57 AM

When Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas voted last year to reject Donald Trump’s electoral defeat, many of his constituents back home in Fort Bend County were thrilled.

Like the former president, they have been unhappy with the changes unfolding around them. Crime and sprawl from Houston, the big city next door, have been spilling over into their once bucolic towns. (“Build a wall,” Nehls likes to say, and make Houston pay.) The county in recent years has become one of the nation’s most diverse, where the former white majority has fallen to just 30% of the population.

Don Demel, a 61-year-old salesman who turned out last month to pick up a signed copy of a book by Nehls about the supposedly stolen election, said his parents had raised him “colorblind.” But the reason for the discontent was clear: Other white people in Fort Bend “did not like certain people coming here,” he said. “It’s race. They are old-school.”

A shrinking white share of the population is a hallmark of the congressional districts held by the House Republicans who voted to challenge Trump’s defeat, a New York Times analysis found — a pattern political scientists say shows how white fear of losing status shaped the movement to keep him in power.

The portion of white residents dropped about 35% more over the past three decades in those districts than in territory represented by other Republicans, the analysis found, and constituents also lagged behind in income and education. Rates of so-called deaths of despair, such as suicide, drug overdose and alcohol-related liver failure, were notably higher as well.

Although overshadowed by the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the House vote that day was the most consequential of Trump’s ploys to overturn the election. It cast doubt on the central ritual of American democracy, galvanized the party’s grassroots around the myth of a stolen victory and set a precedent that legal experts — and some Republican lawmakers — warn could perpetually embroil Congress in choosing a president.

To understand the social forces converging in that historic vote — objecting to the Electoral College count — the Times examined the constituencies of the lawmakers who joined the effort, analyzing census and other data from congressional districts and interviewing scores of residents and local officials. The Times previously revealed the back-room maneuvers inside the House, including convincing lawmakers that they could reject the results without explicitly endorsing Trump’s outlandish fraud claims.

Many of the 139 objectors, including Nehls, said they were driven in part by the demands of their voters. “You sent me to Congress to fight for President Trump and election integrity,” Nehls wrote in a tweet on Jan. 5, 2021, “and that’s exactly what I am doing.” At a Republican caucus meeting a few days later, Rep. Bill Johnson, from an Ohio district stretching into Appalachia, told colleagues that his constituents would “go ballistic” with “raging fire” if he broke with Trump, according to a recording.

Certain districts primarily reflect either the racial or socioeconomic characteristics. But the typical objector district shows both — a fact demographers said was striking.

Because they are more vulnerable, disadvantaged or less educated white voters can feel especially endangered by the trend toward a minority majority, said Ashley Jardina, a political scientist at George Mason University who studies the attitudes of those voters.

“A lot of white Americans who are really threatened are willing to reject democratic norms,” she said, “because they see it as a way to protect their status.”

That may help explain why the dispute over Trump’s defeat has emerged at this moment in history, with economic inequality reaching new heights and the white population of the United States expected within about two decades to lose its majority.

Many of the objectors’ districts started with a significantly larger Black minority, or had a rapid increase in the Hispanic population, making the decline in the white population more pronounced.

Of the 12 Republican-held districts that swung to minority white — almost all in California and Texas — 10 were represented by objectors. The most significant drops occurred in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs and California desert towns, where the white percentage fell by more than one-third

Lawmakers who objected were also overrepresented among the 70 Republican-held districts with the lowest percentages of college graduates. In one case — the southeast Kentucky district of Hal Rogers, currently the longest-serving House member — about 14% of residents had four-year degrees, less than half the average in the districts of Republicans who accepted the election results.

While Nehls’ district exemplifies demographic change, Rep. H. Morgan Griffith’s in southwest Virginia is among the poorest in the country. Once dominated by coal, manufacturing and tobacco, the area’s economic base eroded with competition from new energy sources and foreign importers. Doctors prescribed opioids to injured laborers and an epidemic of addiction soon followed.

Residents, roughly 90% of them white, gripe that the educated elites of the Northern Virginia suburbs think that “the state stops at Roanoke.” They take umbrage at what they consider condescension from outsiders who view their communities as poverty-stricken, and they bemoan “Ph.D pollution” from the big local university, Virginia Tech. After a long history of broken government promises, many said in interviews they had lost faith in the political process and public institutions — in almost everyone but Trump, who they said championed their cause.

In a bustling clinic called the Health Wagon in Griffith’s district, Paula Hill-Collins sees low-income and uninsured patients with maladies from tooth decay to heart conditions and diabetes.

Since the last election, they have often raised another complaint: the false claim that Democrats stole Trump’s victory.

“‘Did you see that box of votes that was thrown away? Did you see they found extra ones?’ This is what we hear from our patients,” said Hill-Collins, a nurse practitioner who grew up in the town of Coeburn, population 1,600.

Residents of the area — former coal towns at the southern end of Appalachia — have felt cheated for generations, she said. “They believe it because look what’s happened to us,” she said, recalling the exploitation of her community first by mining interests and more recently by drugmakers. “That’s fed a culture of suspicion.”

Conditions like diabetes and heart disease overlap so often that health workers feel lucky when their patients can walk in the door, said Teresa Owens Tyson, a nurse practitioner at the Health Wagon. “Sometimes they collapse in the parking lot,” she said.

Although not all are so hard-pressed, the districts of the House objectors share similar disadvantages. Households there had nearly 10% less annual income in 2020 than those in other Republican areas. Not only were college degrees less common, so were high school diplomas.

The GOP’s hold on those districts reflects its shift away from its former country club image to become the party of those left behind. The residents of Democratic districts, on average, are better educated and earn significantly more.

Some residents said that their reasons for questioning the results should be obvious to anyone: the relatively small size of Biden’s rallies, the overnight disappearance of Trump’s early lead as more votes were tallied, the allegations about stuffed ballot drop boxes.

“It’s not a political thing. It’s a we-love-our-country thing,’” said Alecia Vaught, 46, a homemaker and Republican organizer in Christiansburg. “You’re either for America or you’re not.”

Griffith, 64, a lawyer and state legislator before joining Congress, built his career fighting for the lost cause of coal. In the Tea Party wave of 2010, he defeated a 14-term Democratic incumbent by slamming him for supporting carbon caps.

When Trump lost in 2020, his claims of a stolen election quickly took hold in the district. “I’d be pumping gas and people who didn’t even know me would want to know if I thought the election was stolen,” said Frank Kilgore, 70, a lawyer-lobbyist and local historian who is an independent.

“Morgan heard it more and more from his base,” Kilgore added. Local Republican leaders “said they thought it was stolen, too,” raising the specter of a primary challenge if Griffith voted to accept the results. Constituents circulated a petition demanding that he fight Trump’s loss.

Yet Griffith was not among the vocal chorus of House Republicans echoing Trump. On Jan. 6, 2021, he voted to object citing only changes to election procedures during the pandemic.

The congressman, who declined to comment for this article, wrote to constituents after Biden was inaugurated: “It is time to move forward.”

Texas is one of six states where the white population is now outnumbered by Black, Hispanic and Asian residents. Nehls’ district, which includes most of Fort Bend County, is part of the reason: It swung from nearly 70% to less than 40% white over the past three decades.

But changing demographics in many places may not yet be reflected at the polls, because of a larger white share of the voting-age population and higher turnout levels. Exit polls show that white Texans still made up 60% of the state’s voters in 2020.

The greater Houston area is the center of the state’s transformation and also a hub of the “stop the steal” movement. True the Vote, the organization behind some of the loudest accusations of voter fraud, was founded 12 years ago by a Fort Bend resident who claimed that a nonprofit was falsely registering voters in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Houston. A cluster of congressmen who actively promoted Trump’s election denial come from the area. Next month, another Republican who calls the election stolen is expected to replace an incumbent who accepted the Biden victory and did not seek reelection.

Many Fort Bend-area Republicans say their doubts about the 2020 results have nothing to do with race.

“I think it has more to do with polarization than it does with racial or demographic issues,” said Jacey Jetton, 39, a Texas state legislator and former GOP county chairman. “We are so divided now,” he added, that no one can accept that their opponents “believe what they believe.”

Some Fort Bend Democrats said they saw an obvious connection between the declining white share of the population and the refusal by Nehls and his supporters to accept Trump’s defeat.

“It is a power grab by white Republicans,” said K.P. George, a Democrat born in India who was elected in 2018 as the county’s top executive, the first nonwhite person to hold the office.

Nehls, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, served as the county sheriff for eight years before running for Congress in 2020. His seat appears safe this year because the Republican-controlled state Legislature redrew the boundaries of his district to include more predominantly white and solidly Republican terrain outside Fort Bend County. Whites now make up a majority of the eligible voters in the district.

Nehls said election fraud was the only thing that could stop “the greatest leader of my lifetime” from returning to the Oval Office in 2024.

“In a fair election, you can’t beat Donald Trump!” Nehls said, posing for photographs in front of a life-size photo of the former president.

He saw no fear of demographic change among his supporters, he said. “These people aren’t against brown or Black people. They just don’t like the way Democrats are running the country.”

© 2022 The New York Times Company

/america-vanishing-trump-insist-were

[merh]

I VOTED!!!

Dropped it off today after seeing Black Adam.

[abbey1227]

Oct 26, 2022 7:57:18 GMT merh said:

I VOTED!!!

Dropped it off today after seeing Black Adam.

There's no suspense to our votes..........what did you think of Black Adam? The reviews seem to be giving it shade

[merh]

Oct 26, 2022 9:34:42 GMT abbey1227 said:

Oct 26, 2022 7:57:18 GMT merh said:

I VOTED!!!

Dropped it off today after seeing Black Adam.

There's no suspense to our votes..........what did you think of Black Adam? The reviews seem to be giving it shade

M.H, This is a message from the California Secretary of State on behalf of San Diego Registrar of Voters. Your ballot for the November 8, 2022, General Election was received and counted. Thank you for voting!

I love superhero movies.
Mythology.

So I enjoyed it as part of the genre.
Good but not great

It felt like wrestlemania.

Like as soon as one fight ended, they were looking for the next fight. There was a lot of fighting.

They had to cut some of the deaths because it got an R rating for violence. He shoves a grenade in a guy's mouth. The guy pulls it out, realizes what it is & the scene cuts from the man. Such a death might have been shown in the original.

Character development?

It never made me care enough about any of the characters. Live? Die? Who cares?

It's sort of my complaint about DC.
DC is heroes with the secret identities being an afterthought.

Marvel makes the Secret identities real characters who are often impacted by the superhero life.

Skaather, mod of the Marvel board, commented he hated to say it but he liked Thor Love & Thunder more & the general consensus from the fanboys is there were too many jokes in L&T (Waititi  did push it). 

And I can see it. 
For all the humor in L&T it had a clear plot line. It was headed to a specific end point.

Not so Black Adam.
It lived in each moment with no direct line to an end.

[merh]

Oh.
Adam bursts through walls.
It's OK once, but then he basically destroys the apartment of the gal who woke him busti g through walls in her apartment. The kid said oh, you must not know about doors. Oh, Adam knows about doors.

[abbey1227]

Oct 26, 2022 15:16:39 GMT merh said:

Like as soon as one fight ended, they were looking for the next fight. There was a lot of fighting.

They had to cut some of the deaths because it got an R rating for violence. He shoves a grenade in a guy's mouth. The guy pulls it out, realizes what it is & the scene cuts from the man. Such a death might have been shown in the original.

Character development?

It never made me care enough about any of the characters. Live? Die? Who cares?

It's sort of my complaint about DC.
DC is heroes with the secret identities being an afterthought.

Marvel makes the Secret identities real characters who are often impacted by the superhero life.

That was always my opinion about the difference between Marvel and DC back in the 80s and 90s, too

Weird how long it's carried over

[merh]

Ultra-MAGA 'Hot Babe' who claimed Obama is an Illuminati lizard turns out to be a Chinese spy
Sarah K. Burris
November 01, 2022

Another pro-MAGA activist has been outed as a Chinese spy, according to the Washington Post.

Just as Elon Musk is taking over Twitter, the company uncovered three China-based operatives pretending to be influencers in American politics as part of an effort to polarize Americans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

In a cache of data released by the site, nearly 2,000 users were uncovered as they claimed election-rigging and attacked members of the transgender community. They also promoted pro-China narratives to their American audience.

"The disclosure by Twitter adds to what is known about China-based efforts to influence American audiences by mimicking the strategies Russia-based operatives used to stoke cultural and political tensions during the 2016 election," said the Post. "In September, Meta announced it had disrupted a China-based operation seeking to influence U.S. politics. The U.S. government also has issued warnings about Chinese influence efforts, as have a spate of reports from cybersecurity firms including Google’s Mandiant, Recorded Future and Alethea Group."

Another network in Iran was uncovered with people claiming to be based in the U.S. or Israel, data showed. An account using the same name and logo was also present on YouTube, TikTok and Reddit.

“This is equal opportunity hyper-partisanship, a tactic that’s been more embraced by Russia,” said Graham Brookie, head of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab. “It’s the same theory of the case: A weakened adversary is one that allows you to shape geopolitics more.”

One network that was removed from Twitter showed 22 users that tweeted more than 250,000 times from April to October and generally promoted Donald Trump, along with conspiracy theories about the pandemic and vaccines.

"Alethea, another recipient of the data, concluded that Chinese-linked accounts on Twitter and elsewhere were pursuing divisiveness but plugging right-wing issues more than left, sometimes with nods to conspiracy theories," the report also said.

The newly announced batch of suspensions promoted, in May, that former President Barack Obama was a “lizard person who is a member of the Illuminati.” The author went by the name Ultra MAGA BELLA Hot Babe, and had 26,000 followers with more than 400,000 likes and 180,000 retweets. The account has since been suspended.

She also pushed out memes with false 2020 election conspiracies like a photo of someone holding a paper bag near a drop box. She claimed, “MULE TAKING PICS! PROOF OF CRIME REQUIRED TO GET PAID BY THE DNC.” In June, that account also tweeted the idea that children with gender dysphoria were being abused by their parents.

Read the full report at the Washington Post.

[abbey1227]

Nov 2, 2022 5:29:38 GMT merh said:

Ultra-MAGA 'Hot Babe' who claimed Obama is an Illuminati lizard turns out to be a Chinese spy
Sarah K. Burris
November 01, 2022


"Alethea, another recipient of the data, concluded that Chinese-linked accounts on Twitter and elsewhere were pursuing divisiveness but plugging right-wing issues more than left, sometimes with nods to conspiracy theories," the report also said.

The newly announced batch of suspensions promoted, in May, that former President Barack Obama was a “lizard person who is a member of the Illuminati.” The author went by the name Ultra MAGA BELLA Hot Babe, and had 26,000 followers with more than 400,000 likes and 180,000 retweets. The account has since been suspended.

She also pushed out memes with false 2020 election conspiracies like a photo of someone holding a paper bag near a drop box. She claimed, “MULE TAKING PICS! PROOF OF CRIME REQUIRED TO GET PAID BY THE DNC.” In June, that account also tweeted the idea that children with gender dysphoria were being abused by their parents.

I'm not on that site/app.........is 26,000 followers something even noteworthy these days? I've seen half-naked women calling themselves 'influencers' who have millions of followers, though.

After seeing 2,000 Mules......... a part I found very interesting was how someone got arrested dropping multiple ballots and they claimed to have fingerprint evidence. Suddenly, all of the 'mules' were seen wearing latex gloves while dropping off ballots. Not very 'organized' looking again, huh?

[merh]

What is wrong with Wisconsin?

Kimberly Zapata, the deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, was fired, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced in a surprise press conference Thursday, according to a report by MSNBC. Zapata has been fired — and criminal charges are likely — after she was accused of fraudulently requesting absentee ballots to send to an election-denying state lawmaker.

TEXT:

The deputy director of Milwaukee’s election commission has been fired after she fraudulently requested military absentee ballots and sent them to a state Republican representative.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he fired election official Kimberly Zapata after she sent the improperly-obtained ballots to state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls. Brandtjen, the chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, has come under scrutiny at times for using her committee to amplify speakers who've sown doubt about the 2020 election.

Johnson said he was "absolutely stunned" when he heard of the allegations against Zapata.

"This has every appearance of being an egregious, blatant violation of trust," Johnson said during a press conference Thursday morning. "This matter is now in the hands of law enforcement."

Johnson said the city hasn’t learned of any other violations by Zapata as of Thursday morning.

"Even so, we’re looking into the possibility of other misdeeds," Johnson said.

According to a statement sent to WPR, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the allegations against Zapata.

"We expect charges to be filed in the coming days," the statement said.

Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of Milwaukee Election Commission, said Zapata had been with the commission for seven years. Woodall-Vogg said she’s not sure of a motive yet, but added that law enforcement will investigate.

"Up until this point we had never had any indication of any type of violation of work policies or procedures," Woodall-Vogg said about Zapata.

Woodall-Vogg said she believes Zapata used the state website MyVote Wisconsin to accomplish the task, not an internal database. Military members, who are not required to register to vote, are exempt from providing any photo identification information.

"It is my belief that she was pointing out that you can go onto the public system, make up a person and request the ballot," Woodall-Vogg said.

Attempts to reach Zapata Thursday were unsuccessful.

Brandtjen, who has not responded to a request for comment from Wisconsin Public Radio, said in a statement she received three military ballots addressed to her home last week. The ballots came from clerks in Menomonee Falls, South Milwaukee and Shorewood.

She said the ballots were all addressed to "Holly," with three different last names.

"I believe someone was trying to point out how easy it is to get military ballots in Wisconsin. Registration for military ballots is not required, so a fictitious name and birthdate is all that is required to obtain a military ballot online," Brandtjen said in the statement.

Brandtjen delivered the ballots to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, where they will be investigated.

The news comes as scrutiny around elections and election integrity is on the forefront of many voters' minds across the state and nation. 

Johnson said he wants voters to have faith in the system ahead of the Nov. 8 primary election.

"If anybody tries to interfere with elections in Milwaukee, they will be handled appropriately," Johnson said, adding that Zapata was fired immediately.

The move by Zapata mirrors a similar action taken by a Racine County man last summer.

Wisconsin's Department of Justice charged Harry Wait with multiple felonies for requesting absentee ballots in the name of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason without their permission.

Wait announced in late July that he requested the absentee ballots through the state's MyVote Wisconsin website to point out flaws with the system. Wait requested ballots for Vos and Mason by entering their personal information, including their birthdates. He said he also requested several other absentee ballots for people around the state after getting their permission first.

When Wait learned of the news Thursday, he said he appreciated what Zapata did.

"So, I'd say kudos to the person who did this," Wait said.

In response to the incident, the Republican Party of Wisconsin called out the Wisconsin Elections Commission in a statement. The WEC has not responded to a request for comment from a reporter yet.

"Election officials need to follow the law. However, the vulnerabilities that continue to be exposed in the MyVote system for requesting absentee ballots should be shocking to everyone. We remain very concerned that these vulnerabilities exist and that the Elections Commission is not taking the proper steps to mitigate the risks of potential fraud those vulnerabilities in the system create,” said RPW communications director Chad Doran.

Brandtjen also released a statement, calling out Johnson for the firing.

“Unlike Mayor Johnson, I have actually been working on providing Wisconsinites a safe and secure election process," Brandtjen said, adding that she believes her commission has "uncovered massive amounts of election disparities and a statewide Election Commission that has undeniably broken the law on numerous occasions."

The executive board of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County also responded.

"The Democratic Party of Milwaukee County wholeheartedly condemns Kimberly Zapata for filing fraudulent requests for military absentee ballots," the board said in a statement.

“This attempt to undermine confidence in our elections and abuse the system our service members use to participate in democracy is wholly disqualifying for any staff member of the commission."

In a statement, Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, condemned the action and added that he was thankful that Zapata was fired.

"She did this outside of work and there is no indication of further misdeeds. I applaud the Mayor and Director Woodall-Vogg for taking election integrity seriously as they always have," Larson stated.

www.wpr.org/milwaukee-election-official-fired-after-fraudulently-requesting-military-ballots-and-sending-them

[merh]

Nov 2, 2022 6:29:42 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 2, 2022 5:29:38 GMT merh said:

I'm not on that site/app.........is 26,000 followers something even noteworthy these days? I've seen half-naked women calling themselves 'influencers' who have millions of followers, though.

After seeing 2,000 Mules......... a part I found very interesting was how someone got arrested dropping multiple ballots and they claimed to have fingerprint evidence. Suddenly, all of the 'mules' were seen wearing latex gloves while dropping off ballots. Not very 'organized' looking again, huh?

I would say 400,000 likes & 180,000 retweets is more than 26,000 followers would do.

[abbey1227]

Nov 4, 2022 0:59:35 GMT merh said:

Nov 2, 2022 6:29:42 GMT abbey1227 said:

I'm not on that site/app.........is 26,000 followers something even noteworthy these days? I've seen half-naked women calling themselves 'influencers' who have millions of followers, though.

After seeing 2,000 Mules......... a part I found very interesting was how someone got arrested dropping multiple ballots and they claimed to have fingerprint evidence. Suddenly, all of the 'mules' were seen wearing latex gloves while dropping off ballots. Not very 'organized' looking again, huh?

I would say 400,000 likes & 180,000 retweets is more than 26,000 followers would do.

lotta bots at work these days    

[merh]

TEXT:

During a court hearing that lasted nearly nine hours, the attorney representing GOP secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo in a legal bid seeking to halt the count of tens of thousands of absentee ballots in Detroit yelled at the judge, cited a widely debunked film that has furthered conspiracies about ballot drop boxes and pressed for specific details about election security plans in Michigan's largest city ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm.

Attorney Daniel Hartman grew angry when Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny noted that the lawsuit would prevent military voters deployed overseas from having their ballots counted in the election because the complaint asks the court declare only absentee ballots requested in person can count.

"You are asking for... somebody who wants an absentee ballot has to come in to the Detroit clerk's office. That excludes the military," Kenny said, raising his voice and noting that his own son served in the military.

"To characterize me as trying to disenfranchise the military voter is offensive," Hartman yelled in response.

"I'm tired of being called a racist by Mr. Fink," he said, referring to David Fink, the lawyer representing Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey in the case, who called the lawsuit "blatant racism" reminiscent of Jim Crow era voter disenfranchisement during a hearing Monday.

"I'm tired of Mr. Fink saying I’m trying to disenfranchise the heroes in the military when I’m trying to secure this election," Hartman continued.

Karamo, one of several GOP candidates running for secretary of state in key battleground states backed by former President Donald Trump, filed the legal challenge less than two weeks before the upcoming midterm.

Kenny said the lawsuit was filed at the "eleventh hour" and asked for a "substantial and radical alteration... the eve of the general election."

Detroit voters, prominent political leaders from the city and the Detroit Branch NAACP decried Karamo's lawsuit as an attempt to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the nation's largest majority-Black city. And during the lengthy hearing held over Zoom, Kenny asked why the lawsuit targets Detroit voters.

"Is there a reason why you didn't file this in Petoskey?" Kenny asked, referring to the city where Hartman's law office is based.

"I'm an attorney. I'm not the plaintiff here," he said. Multiple times during the hearing, Hartman referred to his clients as Detroit residents who hired him to bring the lawsuit. The complaint lists only one plaintiff in the case − Patricia Farmer − as a Detroit resident.

As the hearing reached its end, Hartman cited the widely debunked 2,000 Mules film by a far-right provocateur purportedly showing illegal votes returned via drop boxes election experts say provides no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Kenny repeatedly shot down Hartman's attempts to discuss previous elections in a lawsuit seeking an extreme intervention by the court ahead of the upcoming one. At one point, Hartman accused Kenny of "hand-cuffing" him.

Ahead of the hearing Thursday, Hartman sought to disqualify Kenny and all Wayne County Circuit Court judges from presiding over the case. Hartman alleged that if a visiting judge didn't hear the case, it would create an appearance of impropriety.

Hartman withdrew the motion for disqualification during a hearing Monday when he learned that as chief judge, Kenny presides over all election-related cases and that his name does appear on the ballot for the upcoming midterm because he will retire in several weeks.

At multiple points during the hearing Thursday, Kenny prevented Hartman from asking questions related to security plans in place in Detroit such as where security personnel would be assigned in the Detroit absentee counting room. Fink suggested answers to those questions might benefit those trying to interfere with the Detroit election.

But the bulk of the evidentiary hearing held over Zoom focused on election minutia from the election equipment used in Detroit to the layout of the room where Detroit election workers process absentee ballots cast by the city's voters. For hours, Hartman grilled former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas, who came out of retirement to serve as an adviser for Winfrey ahead of the 2020 election.

Kenny took issue with some questions from Hartman, saying Hartman was inquiring about hypothetical situations regarding how election officials in Detroit might handle different election scenarios.

"This is as close to fishing as it gets," Kenny said at one point.

Early on in the hearing, Kenny issued a stern warning after Hartman interrupted Fink. Kenny said he would not tolerate any interruptions and threatened to mute those who failed to follow his instructions.

Kenny's patience seemed to wear thin at times.

He repeatedly asked Hartman to rephrase his questions. Following one question from Hartman related to how Detroit election workers review ballot images, Kenny said he was "more than a little confused." Kenny also sustained multiple objections raised by Fink, who accused Hartman of asking questions not germane to the administration of the upcoming election in Detroit.

Hartman honed in on election observers' access to a platform in the central area of the Detroit counting room where election results data is collected, according to Daniel Baxter, who oversees the absentee counting boards.

Baxter and Thomas noted that poll challengers don't have access to the platform. Thomas cited media reports about calls to unplug voting machines. Ryan Kelley, a GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost the August primary, urged party supporters to unplug voting machines if they thought they saw malfeasance during his campaign.

Kenny scheduled another hearing in the case for 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Election officials recommend voters who have requested and received their absentee ballots complete and return them as soon as possible in person at their local clerk's office or a drop box to avoid postal delays. Those eligible can register to vote and cast a ballot until 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is Nov. 8. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/03/hearing-karamo-lawsuit-targeting-detroit-voters/69616706007/

[abbey1227]

Nov 4, 2022 5:56:26 GMT merh said:

TEXT:

During a court hearing that lasted nearly nine hours, the attorney representing GOP secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo in a legal bid seeking to halt the count of tens of thousands of absentee ballots in Detroit yelled at the judge, cited a widely debunked film that has furthered conspiracies about ballot drop boxes and pressed for specific details about election security plans in Michigan's largest city ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm.

Attorney Daniel Hartman grew angry when Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny noted that the lawsuit would prevent military voters deployed overseas from having their ballots counted in the election because the complaint asks the court declare only absentee ballots requested in person can count.

"You are asking for... somebody who wants an absentee ballot has to come in to the Detroit clerk's office. That excludes the military," Kenny said, raising his voice and noting that his own son served in the military.

"To characterize me as trying to disenfranchise the military voter is offensive," Hartman yelled in response.

"I'm tired of being called a racist by Mr. Fink," he said, referring to David Fink, the lawyer representing Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey in the case, who called the lawsuit "blatant racism" reminiscent of Jim Crow era voter disenfranchisement during a hearing Monday.

"I'm tired of Mr. Fink saying I’m trying to disenfranchise the heroes in the military when I’m trying to secure this election," Hartman continued.

Karamo, one of several GOP candidates running for secretary of state in key battleground states backed by former President Donald Trump, filed the legal challenge less than two weeks before the upcoming midterm.

Kenny said the lawsuit was filed at the "eleventh hour" and asked for a "substantial and radical alteration... the eve of the general election."

Detroit voters, prominent political leaders from the city and the Detroit Branch NAACP decried Karamo's lawsuit as an attempt to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the nation's largest majority-Black city. And during the lengthy hearing held over Zoom, Kenny asked why the lawsuit targets Detroit voters.

"Is there a reason why you didn't file this in Petoskey?" Kenny asked, referring to the city where Hartman's law office is based.

"I'm an attorney. I'm not the plaintiff here," he said. Multiple times during the hearing, Hartman referred to his clients as Detroit residents who hired him to bring the lawsuit. The complaint lists only one plaintiff in the case − Patricia Farmer − as a Detroit resident.

As the hearing reached its end, Hartman cited the widely debunked 2,000 Mules film by a far-right provocateur purportedly showing illegal votes returned via drop boxes election experts say provides no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Kenny repeatedly shot down Hartman's attempts to discuss previous elections in a lawsuit seeking an extreme intervention by the court ahead of the upcoming one. At one point, Hartman accused Kenny of "hand-cuffing" him.

Ahead of the hearing Thursday, Hartman sought to disqualify Kenny and all Wayne County Circuit Court judges from presiding over the case. Hartman alleged that if a visiting judge didn't hear the case, it would create an appearance of impropriety.

Hartman withdrew the motion for disqualification during a hearing Monday when he learned that as chief judge, Kenny presides over all election-related cases and that his name does appear on the ballot for the upcoming midterm because he will retire in several weeks.

At multiple points during the hearing Thursday, Kenny prevented Hartman from asking questions related to security plans in place in Detroit such as where security personnel would be assigned in the Detroit absentee counting room. Fink suggested answers to those questions might benefit those trying to interfere with the Detroit election.

But the bulk of the evidentiary hearing held over Zoom focused on election minutia from the election equipment used in Detroit to the layout of the room where Detroit election workers process absentee ballots cast by the city's voters. For hours, Hartman grilled former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas, who came out of retirement to serve as an adviser for Winfrey ahead of the 2020 election.

Kenny took issue with some questions from Hartman, saying Hartman was inquiring about hypothetical situations regarding how election officials in Detroit might handle different election scenarios.

"This is as close to fishing as it gets," Kenny said at one point.

Early on in the hearing, Kenny issued a stern warning after Hartman interrupted Fink. Kenny said he would not tolerate any interruptions and threatened to mute those who failed to follow his instructions.

Kenny's patience seemed to wear thin at times.

He repeatedly asked Hartman to rephrase his questions. Following one question from Hartman related to how Detroit election workers review ballot images, Kenny said he was "more than a little confused." Kenny also sustained multiple objections raised by Fink, who accused Hartman of asking questions not germane to the administration of the upcoming election in Detroit.

Hartman honed in on election observers' access to a platform in the central area of the Detroit counting room where election results data is collected, according to Daniel Baxter, who oversees the absentee counting boards.

Baxter and Thomas noted that poll challengers don't have access to the platform. Thomas cited media reports about calls to unplug voting machines. Ryan Kelley, a GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost the August primary, urged party supporters to unplug voting machines if they thought they saw malfeasance during his campaign.

Kenny scheduled another hearing in the case for 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Election officials recommend voters who have requested and received their absentee ballots complete and return them as soon as possible in person at their local clerk's office or a drop box to avoid postal delays. Those eligible can register to vote and cast a ballot until 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is Nov. 8. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/03/hearing-karamo-lawsuit-targeting-detroit-voters/69616706007/

debunked, my ass

[merh]

[Prometheus]

Here we are barely a year on and most are assuming our democracy will end here at the 2022 midterms....

[merh]

Nov 4, 2022 12:49:16 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 4, 2022 5:56:26 GMT merh said:

www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/03/hearing-karamo-lawsuit-targeting-detroit-voters/69616706007/

debunked, my ass

Watch Prometheus's Last Week Tonight post on it.

Apparently some of the drop boxes are in Russia 

[abbey1227]

Nov 8, 2022 0:47:43 GMT merh said:

Nov 4, 2022 12:49:16 GMT abbey1227 said:

debunked, my ass

Watch Prometheus's Last Week Tonight post on it.

Apparently some of the drop boxes are in Russia 

I guess that totally excuses the boxes that aren't. Were the ballots in Russia counted here?

Totally covers Facebook Funding, too