Category: Uncategorized

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will soon introduce a bill to require states to let individuals register to vote on-line. See this story. The U.S. Constitution will require the bill to apply only to federal elections. If the bill were to pass, though, it is likely that states would then make that procedure applicable to all elections, rather than creating a dual list of registered voters. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link. …read more

Linwood, NJ — It was just revealed that the police officer who caused a head-on collision last month had a blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit when he collided with the tractor-trailer.
As we previously reported, Officer Pedro Abad Jr. was out drinking at a strip club in Staten Island in the early hours of the morning on March 20th with two fellow officers and another friend. He ended up speeding the wrong way down an expressway when one tractor-trailer saw him and swerved out of the way. The vehicle behind him, unfortunately, did not have enough time, …read more

This week it was reported that the office manager for anti-drug Senator Thad Cochran was caught importing meth from China, to allegedly sell and trade for sexual favors.
The Senate staffer, Fred W. Pagan, was arrested this week after a raid on his home where police found 181.5 grams of meth. Pagan allegedly admitted to importing the drug. He also admitted to receiving a number of other shipments in the past, including one package that included over a kilo of GHB, the infamous “date rape drug.” These drugs are arguably among the most dangerous on the market.
Pagan has been under government …read more

On April 7, Milwaukee held non-partisan elections for School Board and other office. Wendell J. Harris, an activist in the Socialist Party for many years, was elected to the Board, defeating an incumbent. Harris was also the Socialist Party candidate for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2000. He is a vice chair of the NAACP of Milwaukee. See this story. The vote was: Harris 3,467; Jeff Spence 2,053. Thanks to Stephen Hauser for the news. …read more

On Saturday morning, former Republican Congressman Vin Weber of Minnesota appeared on CNN and argued in favor of expanding entry into the general election presidential debates. Here is the transcript, as reported by Independent Political Report.
Weber is currently an advisor to Jeb Bush. …read more

Alabama SB 221 is likely to receive a vote on the Senate floor during the week of April 27-May 1. Bills that have passed committee and are awaiting a Senate vote “stand in line”, and SB 221 is now number nine in the list. The Alabama Senate usually holds floor sessions on two days a week, and it is not possible to know which two days that will be in the coming week. SB 221 lowers the number of signatures for newly-qualifying parties and non-presidential independents from 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 1.5%. It …read more

Albuquerque, NM — One of Albuquerque’s finest was arrested Friday afternoon after he was caught turning his body camera off to beat a man during a service call.
Officer Cedric Greer, 24, was arrested by New Mexico State Police after video evidence showed him turn his lapel cam off just before beating a man, then turning it back on afterward. According to the report, the video shows his finger reaching for the camera to turn it off.
Witnesses to the assault say that Greer acted without being provoked and that the victim complied with all orders both before and after the attack.
State …read more

An unarmed black man paralyzed by a Florida sheriff’s deputy is suing the police department over the shooting. Newly released dash-cam footage of the incident appears to back up the victim’s claim that the officer lied about how events unfolded.

RT.com
Dontrell Stephens, who was 20 in September 2013, was talking on a cell phone while riding his bike through West Palm Beach, Florida. His actions were captured on the dash-cam of Deputy Adams Lin’s patrol car. Lin is a member of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.
Stephens was shot in the left hand, twice in the elbow and once in the chest, …read more

On Friday, April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether or not to hear two election law cases. One is Citizen Center v Colorado Secretary of State, 14-998, over whether the U.S. Constitution protects secrecy in voting. Citizen Center had sued the Secretary of State, and six county election officials, in 2012 because the ballot-counting equipment theoretically could have let election officials see how particular voters voted. The U.S. District Court said there is no protection for secrecy in the U.S. Constitution. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit said the election officials had mostly fixed the problem …read more