America goes to the polls

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/222470-states-ditch-electronic-voting-machines

States have abandoned electronic voting machines in droves, ensuring that most voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day.

With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, and states lacking the funding to repair or replace them, officials have opted to return to the pencil-and-paper voting that the new technology was supposed to replace.

Nearly 70 percent of voters will be casting ballots by hand on Tuesday, according to Pamela Smith, president of election watchdog Verified Voting.
"Paper, even though it sounds kind of old school, it actually has properties that serve the elections really well," Smith said.

It’s an outcome few would have predicted after the 2000 election, when the battle over “hanging chads” in the Florida recount spurred a massive, $3 billion federal investment in electronic voting machines.

Ah, who can forget the hanging chads?

I personally find the idea of electronic voting....worrying. It's far too easy to manipulate, IMO, though I suppose it did help former Community Organisers get 110% of the vote in some wards in the last presidential elections.

Maybe you could do with a few more parties in the States, Lily? Just think how annoyed the Coffee Party would get if there was a bloke standing that went round drinking pints of beer and - Shock! Horror! smoked in public! Or if there was a chance Texas was about to be won by the Lone Star Party? Or if one party wanted closer political union with Mexico, much to the horror of everyone, but especially the bloke that smoked in public?

The opportunities for political uproar are limitless when there are lots of parties in with a shout.

We could definitely do with livening things up.  Keep the suggestions coming......

On the dangers of electronic voting:

http://www.infowars.com/touch-screen-flips-votes-in-key-senate-race/

The trustworthyness of electronic voting machines has once again come under scrutiny after a touch screen in North Carolina flipped a man’s vote from Democrat to Republican in a key Senate race.

“Percy Bostick, 69, of Greensboro said he tried casting a vote for Democrat Kay Hagan at the Old Guilford County Courthouse, only to have the machine register Republican Thom Tillis as his choice,” reports the News-Record.

Bostick was forced to vote four times before the machine accurately recorded his choice.


With just over a point separating Tillis and Hagan in this crucial contest, any impropriety centered on electronic voting machines is likely to cause a dispute if the margin of victory is smaller than the amount of votes cast on touch screen systems.

This is by no means the first time that electronic touch screens have flipped votes in the run up to the mid-term elections.

A woman who voted early last week in Montgomery County, Md. saw her three votes for Republican candidates flip to Democrat right before her eyes. The error was subsequently blamed on a “calibration issue.”

Votes being cast for Republican candidates in Illinois were also changed to Democrats.

More at link.

Paper voting, under proper scrutiny, is far less vulnerable to 'calibration issues' - the only weak area is postal voting. Our own dear Labour Party has made something of a habit of manipulating postal votes. But even then, it's difficult to do on a large scale without being caught red-handed, instead of just 'widely suspected'.

First lady Michelle Obama told a television audience composed of mostly black watchers that voting Democrat was really the right thing to do — the only thing to do.

“That’s my message to voters,” she said, to “NewsOne Now” host Roland Martin on TV One. “This isn’t about Barack. It’s not about the person on the ballot — it’s about you. And for most of the people that we’re talking to, a Democratic ticket is the clear ticket that we should be voting on, regardless of who said what or did this. That shouldn’t even come into the equation.”



Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/4/michelle-obama-tells-blacks-to-vote-democrat-its-t/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS#ixzz3I8zcuW7u
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Martin Luther King must be turning in his grave, at the president's wife telling voters that it doesn't matter how much of a crook or scumbag a politician is, it's the shade of his skin that's important.

Though the pre-epiphany George Wallace would doubtless find it deeply amusing.

Looks like it's been a bad night for Obama:

http://news.sky.com/story/1366943/us-midterms-republicans-take-over-senate

The US Republicans have swept to power in both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

Results continue to trickle in across the US, but the conservatives won seven seats from Democrats, one more than they needed to take control of the 100-seat Senate.

Tha takeover will limit Mr Obama's political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.

West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa all fell to the conservatives.

The Democrats are still battling to hold on to Senate seats in Virginia and Alaska, while Louisiana's race will go to a run-off next month.

The Republicans also successfully defended Senate seats in Georgia, Kentucky and Kansas. Democrats could not win a single conservative seat.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, who cruised to re-election, will become the new leader of the Senate.

He told cheering supporters as he captured a sixth term: "It's time to go in a new direction! It's time to turn this country around!"

Outgoing Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said: "The message from voters is clear: They want us to work together."

Republicans, who already controlled the House of Representatives, were also on track to expand their majority in that chamber, too.

Overall on Tuesday, 36 of the 100 Senate seats, all 435 House districts and 36 of 50 governors' seats were up for grabs.

In state governor races, the Republicans ousted a Democrat in Mr Obama's home state of Illinois and won the liberal strongholds of Maryland and Massachusetts.

They also fended off a string of stiff challenges from Democrats.

Georgia's Nathan Deal defeated former President Jimmy Carter's grandson, potential 2016 presidential hopeful Scott Walker won a tight race in Wisconsin and Rick Scott was triumphant in Florida.

The few consolations for Democrats included wins in New Hampshire's Senate race and Pennsylvania's governorship contest.

Mr Obama, who was shunned by many Democrats on the campaign trail because of his low approval rating, called Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to the White House on Friday to discuss the new political landscape.

Exit polls showed most of the Americans voting on Tuesday were unhappy or even angry with the Obama administration. There was also criticism of Republican congressional leaders.

he conservative takeover means Mr Obama will spend his final two years as President contending with a Congress fully controlled by opponents who have been determined to block his policies.

He is also likely to face pressure to overhaul his White House team.

But even with control of the Senate, the Republicans do not have the 60-vote super-majority needed to pass major legislation.

A difficult election had been expected for Mr Obama's allies: governing parties tend to lose seats in midterm votes and many Democrats were defending seats in states that lean Republican.
Voters in Oregon and the District of Columbia approved ballot measures allowing the recreational use of marijuana by adults, and still to come were results on a similar measure in Alaska.

Congressional races alone cost almost $4bn (£2.5bn), an unprecedented sum for a non-presidential year election


I won't pretend to understand all the ins and outs.

But anything that upsets Harry Reid is fine with me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't understand what is going on.

The short answer is, I gather, that US votes have given Obama an ass-kicking.

That is the correct answer, Bonny.  Obama is now officially a Lame Duck President.  If he signs Executive Orders then it is now possible they may be overturned  and he will not be able to ramrod what he wants through the government.  

In other words, his power has been severely curtailed.

Found this website, I don't know what it's leanings are but this explains things fairly well.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/04/245686/president-obama-is-now-truly-a.html

From your link, Lily:

Obama will make one move without Congress. Aides said Tuesday that he’d sign an executive order by the end of December giving temporary legal status to help some of the 11 million immigrants who are in the country illegally stay and work in the U.S. He’d delayed the order earlier this fall, when endangered Democrats feared that a backlash would cost them their jobs

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/04/245686_president-obama-is-now-truly-a.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Or, of course, he could listen to the voters and NOT sign it?

I saw Rand Paul being interviewed earlier. Though maybe not up to his father's standards - few are - he seemed reasonable and sane. I hope he's the next Republic presidential candidate - I don't think the rest of the world could stand another Clinton - Bush contest.

Once again, I agree with you Bonny and would welcome him.

Incidentally, that 11 million figure of illegals in the country has been there for several years now.   Some border agents estimated closer to 20-30 million a few years ago.  I guess its so much more now.  Most do get good benefits too.....

CNN strikes again.....

http://rt.com/usa/203519-cnn-obama-osama-typo/

Oops, Mr President! CNN typo 'Navy SEAL killed Obama' has Twitter in stitches (VIDEO)



It'll make a nice change for Obama not to be muddled up with Ebola....

Osama. Obama. Not a lot of difference. Except Obama is probably doing more damage.

Oops!! 

As Osama's long-term strategy was to wreck American by dragging it into unwinnable wars, I'd say Obama and co are doing a first class job of carrying on the old terrorist's legacy.

http://news.sky.com/story/1369186/obama-nearly-doubles-troop-numbers-in-iraq

Obama Nearly Doubles Troop Numbers In Iraq
With 1,500 more troops, the US dramatically expands its deployment since sending several hundred military advisers this summer.

Look where the Chinese put Obama in their big photoshoot....

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-10/china-sending-america-message

Perfect!  I think he might have got the message now of how he is seen there.  

Putin must have been laughing his socks off too.

I suppose it could have been worse. He could have been in the back row of the wives' club....something tells me China doesn't have too much respect for him.

Mind you, who does?

Not too many people right now, actually.

It's an interesting contrast with:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2828301/How-Ronald-Reagan-charm-Margaret-Thatcher-furious-Grenada-invasion-Leaders-conversation-revealed-newly-declassified-White-House-tapes.html

Speaking about Reagan's conversation with the British PM, Doyle told New York Post reporter Gary Buiso: 'It is a remarkable, secret presidential call, as Reagan is in the middle of a major presidential crisis, thousands of US troops are in motion into combat and he is talking without a script.'

And he still managed to make more sense, calming down an infuriated Thatcher on the phone, than Obama ever does in his scripted speeches.

Good article, Bonny.  We need another one like him again.