Caledonia Campaign Worker Assaulted

In this oped from the aptly named Uppity Wisconsin, “Mal Contends” uses exactly the right tone in how to approach this underreported, REAL event of a campaign worker, (for Obama) getting assaulted by, I’m assuming, an angry white man.

Wisconsin Obama worker allegedly assaulted; victim accused of being with "ACORN"

Posted October 19th, 2008 by mal contends

Here's an appalling story that surely is a violation of civil rights worthy of investigation by US Atty Biskupic and AG Van Hollen.

From RFDblog at Kos:

This is scary stuff! Here in Caledonia, Wisconsin (near Racine) one of our volunteers was physically assaulted by an angry man. 58 year-old Nancy Takehara of Chicago told the story:

"The next thing I know he’s telling us we’re not his people, we’re probably with ACORN, and he started screaming and raving," Takehara said. "He grabbed me by the back of the neck. I thought he was going to rip my hair out of my head. He was pounding on my head and screaming. The man terrified me."
Think about this. Where would this person have ever heard of ACORN? Why would he be so upset? Candidates like to say "elections have consequences."

Well, election rhetoric also has consequences.

"This negative stuff has to stop," said Takehara. "We’re all Americans. This is all about protecting our democracy, not about attacking each other."

Here is a link to another article by the local newspaper.

Here’s what totally freaks me out. If you read the comments on the newspaper article, you see the same hate rhetoric. And worse you see people giving energy to this hate speech by trying to argue in the comments.

And here is what gives me hope. By the time Nancy Takehara got home, there was a message waiting for her from Senator Obama. She called the number back and actually talked to Senator Obama.

"Sen. Obama understood, reassured me, he was wonderful," Takehara said. "It made me feel connected to this government again."

Elections have consequences. Let’s turn all of these right-wing hate mongers out of office and take back our country. Go vote.

http://www.uppitywis.org/wisconsin-obama-worker-allegedly-assaulted-victim-accused-being-

Write On! Here's more:
Police investigate political confrontation
October 20, 2008
CALEDONIA, Wis. -
Police in Caledonia say they’re investigating a weekend attack on a Barack Obama campaign worker.
Nancy Takehara tells WISN-TV she drove from Chicago to help canvass a neighborhood in Caledonia Saturday on behalf of the Democratic presidential nominee.
Ronald Goetsch says he had a heated verbal exchange with Takehara over allegations of voter improprieties in other states and the role of voter registration groups and asked her numerous times to leave his property.
Takehara says Goetsch grabbed her by the back of the neck and was pounding her head and screaming.
Goetsch tells The Journal Times in Racine that he did pull the woman’s hair and regrets his actions.
Police say their report on the incident will be forwarded to the Racine County District Attorney’s office when it’s complete.
——
Information from: WISN-TV, http://www.wisn.com
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/oct/20/news/chi-ap-wi-campaignattack
This wasn't the first time and most regretably, it won't be the last. The SF Chronicle reported this in August:

Man arrested in slashing of Obama campaigner

Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, August 29, 2008

(08-28) 21:51 PDT San Francisco --

A man was arrested Thursday after he verbally abused and then allegedly slashed the face of a Barack Obama campaigner in downtown San Francisco, police said.

The 6 p.m. attack on the unidentified 35-year-old male campaign activist occurred as he was working at Fifth and Market streets, police said. The campaigner had a permit, and officers nearby witnessed what happened next.

According to police, the unidentified suspect approached and began to shout slurs and insults at the campaigner, who listened, thanked the man for his views and asked him to leave.

The angry man complied, but quickly returned and pulled out a knife and slashed the victim in the face. The two officers who witnessed the attack responded, one arresting the suspect and the other driving the victim to the hospital. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 12 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/28/BAJO12KNGU.DTL&tsp=1

Trott & Trott: We Profit from Your Misery!

McCain’s Michigan headquarters rented from law firm specializing in mortgage foreclosures
By Todd A. Heywood 7/15/08 4:47 PM
The new Great Lakes Campaign Headquarters for Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid is located in a Farmington Hills building owned by Trott & Trott, a law firm that specializes in mortgage foreclosures, documents show. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, considered a possible running mate for McCain, delivered a keynote address that served as a ribbon-cutting there Monday on McCain’s behalf.
This potentially embarrassing news comes at a time when many Michigan homeowners are suffering. In January Detroit led the country with nearly 5 percent of its homes entering some phase of foreclosure. [my bold] This was 4.8 times the national foreclosure average of just over 1 percent. In addition, Foreclosure.com shows thousands of properties in foreclosure in Oakland County, where Farmington Hills is located.
When Michigan Liberal’s Eric Barren reported the new office, the Trott Financial Center, is located at 31440 Northwestern Highway, Suite 100, Farmington Hills; his post identified the owner as Trott & Trott. In fact the property is owned, according to Famington Hills city property records online, by NW13, L.L.C. The agent for contact on this company is Paul Stodulski. Crain’s Detroit Business reports Trott & Trott is a majority owner of the building, along with Stodulski.
[...] Calls to Trott & Trott, which identifies itself as a collection agency on the recorded greeting, were also not returned.
McCain campaign officials have not yet responded to a request for comment on this story.
http://www.michiganmessenger.com/1571/mccains-michigan-headquarters-rented-from-law-firm-specializing-in-mortgage-foreclosures
David A. Trott
Trott & Trott
Farmington Hills, Michigan
David A. Trott practices in the areas of mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the District of Columbia Bar, the Consumer Bankruptcy Association, the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the U.S. Foreclosure Network (USFN), the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, the Young Presidents Organization, and the Michigan Land Title Association. He has served as a faculty member and lecturer for ICLE, Professional Education Systems, Inc., and the National Business Institute. Mr. Trott has delivered seminars on matters relating to mortgage servicing to the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association and to all of the Michigan field offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has served on the advisory committee to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court responsible for reviewing and revising the Local Rules for the Eastern District of Michigan and also on a similar committee for the State District Court in Detroit. This committee made recommendations on how to simplify and streamline the eviction process. He participated on the "Free Legal Advice" panel at the National Servicing Conference in 1994, and spoke on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Lender Liability arising from Force Placed Hazard Insurance. In 1996, Mr. Trott was selected by "Crain's Business Weekly" as one of "Detroit's Best and Brightest Leaders Under the Age of 40." He has chaired several Michigan Mortgage Lender Association committees, including Loan Administration, Convention, and Affordable Housing; was elected to its board of governors; and, in 1997, completed his term as president of the association. In November of 1999, he received the James T. Barnes award recognizing his outstanding contributions to the mortgage banking industry. Mr. Trott is president and managing attorney at his firm, president of USFN (America’s Mortgage Banking Attorneys), and a fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys.
Trott & Trott is mentioned on this web site which reports real estate fraud and the "flipping frenzy, but I'm sure there's more dirt out there: http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/category/predatory-lending/

Brides of Christ Disenfranchise Their Sisters

Now that's a headline I didn't think I'd ever see, let alone WRITE! Don't cha just hate it when you're right about how wrong the repuglicans are? I mean, this dipshit photo ID was nothing but trouble from the get-go, but they couldn't resist and jumped right in, looking for the inevitable fight. With so many more important, urgent things to do, why can't they see beyond their teeny tiny little penis, er, party?
Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister
By DEBORAH HASTINGS – 4 days ago
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow sisters at Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.
[...] They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts."
[...] Elsewhere across the pivotal state, voting appeared to run smoothly, despite the fears of election experts that the Supreme Court's recent refusal to strike down Indian's controversial photo identification law could cause confusion at the polls.
[...] But a group of voting rights advocates that established a separate hot line reported receiving several calls from would-be voters who were turned away at precincts because they did not have a state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
One newly married woman said she was told she couldn't vote because her driver's license name didn't match the one on her voter registration record, said Myrna Perez of the Brennan Center Justice at New York University's law school, coordinator of the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line. Another woman said she was turned away from casting her first-ever ballot because she had only a college-issued ID card and an out-of-state driver's license, Perez said.
[...] Indiana's photo ID law is the strictest in the country. The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who also have acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted in Indiana.
The state's American Civil Liberties Union sued, calling the law a poll tax that disproportionately affected minorities and elderly voters, those most likely to lack such identification. On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the law did not violate the Constitution.
[...] Rick Rice, a precinct judge at the Charles Martin Youth Center in South Bend, said one person complained about the voter ID law when he attempted to use a federal identification that didn't have an expiration date on it.
"I didn't know who it was put out by, but we couldn't accept it," Rice said. "He had a driver's license, he was just trying to make a point. He wanted to push it and the law is very clear."
Rice said the man voted, then asked where he could write to file a complaint.[...] http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRN59j2QQCVZYwfdLSokUeN1K9hQD90GBCNO0
Word of caution: if you read this entire post you may find yourself sickened by characters who think this is such a great idea. You remember the "good Germans," so now it's good Americans, protecting their vote from thieving nuns.

Disenfranchisement Upheld by The Supremes

The Supremes have done it again. By stepping on state's rights in voting procedures, they are setting the stage for the next selection of president. Isn't it funny how the repuglicans are all so happy with activist judges when they make rulings in their favor? That's why they are repugnant. Stay tuned for the next election swindle, courtesy of John Paul Stevens, a/k/a TRAITOR!
Supreme Court upholds
photo ID voting law
Mon Apr 28, 2008
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a tough state law requiring voters to show photo identification, a decision critics say could keep some blacks, poor people and other traditional Democratic supporters from voting in the November election.
Resolving a partisan political battle, the country's high court voted 6-3 to reject a legal challenge by Democrats that Indiana's toughest-in-the-nation voter identification law would deter minorities, the elderly and others from casting ballots.
The main opinion agreed with Republican supporters that the law was necessary to prevent voter fraud and safeguard public confidence in the integrity of elections. The Bush administration supported the law.
[...] "The effect of the loss ... will begin to be felt next week when Indiana holds its presidential primary using the voter ID law the court has just upheld," said Nathaniel Persily, an election law expert at Columbia University in New York.
The decision could have broad national significance because more than 20 states have adopted voter identification laws and other states are considering similar legislation.
The law requires a government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license to vote in federal, state and local elections.
[...] Reaction to the ruling split along political lines.
[...] "Denying a fundamental right -- the right to vote -- because a person is indigent, lacks a birth certificate or has no access to a vehicle goes against America's better values," Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said.
Angela Ciccolo of the NAACP civil rights group said the law would have its greatest impact on voters who are poor, elderly, belong to racial minorities or have disabilities.
The lead opinion, written by Justice John Paul Stevens and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, held the evidence in the record did not support an attack now on the law's validity.
Three other court members -- conservative Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, concurred in the judgment and issued a separate opinion that the law should be upheld because its overall burden was minimal and justified.
Stevens wrote that states had a "valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process." He said voter fraud "could affect the outcome of a close election."
He said the law may place a small burden on a limited number of people -- the elderly born out-of-state who may have difficulty in getting the required documents, the homeless or people with a religious objection to being photographed.
Stevens said politics may have been a factor in adopting the law but that alone did not make it unconstitutional. His opinion left open the possibility of future legal challenges by specific voters.
Justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer dissented. Souter said the law threatened to impose major burdens on the voting rights of tens of thousands of Indiana residents, especially the poor and the elderly. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWAT00940020080428?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
To be fair, not all republicans are repuglicans. Please see previous post: April 16, 2008 Republican Governor Weighs in on Spending Transparency and REAL ID , REAL ID side effects, By Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina, for an op-ed from a man with courage and the ability to think beyond party lines (and the next election).

Give DC the Right to Vote!

DC residents STILL have no representation in our nation. You'd better believe if the majority were white, they'd be voting. Read this Sign the petition to support DC House Voting Rights Act (S. 1257):

No More Taxation Without Representation

Please join the other concerned citizens from around the country in flooding the Capitol with calls and e-mails to push through this critical and historic civil rights legislation!

Call your senators now - (202) 225-3121 - and then use the form to send them an email.

Emotions + Manipulation = The Next President?

A BuzzFlash Interview

Excellent interview with Drew Westen, a professor at Emory University and a specialist in behavior and psychiatry and the brain and author of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation

Dem Leaders Don't Understand the Role of Emotion in Framing the Political Debate, So Writes Drew Westen of Emory University

If you look at the 2000 and 2004 elections, I think it was not only bad judgment, from a political standpoint, because it was jamming people's emotional radar, but I think it was ethically questionable not to call attention to George W. Bush's character in those campaigns.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/075

Are We Dead Yet?

You start reading this with trepidation, and rightly so if you've read Empire Burlesque. Chris Floyd has been at the vanguard of blogging and predicting the worst for a loooong time. It is a tribute to his confidence in the human spirit that you manage to finish this feeling a bit hopeful, as he declares:

Every word or action raised against the overthrow of the Republic will find an echo somewhere, from one person to another to another to the next -- each isolated, individual voice slowly finding its way into a swelling chorus of dissent.

Post-Mortem America: Bush's Year of Triumph and the Hard Way Ahead

From Empire Burlesque, Written by Chris Floyd , Sunday, 02 September 2007

http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1272/135/