It Just Gets Worse

Some time ago, I noted that there were a large number of questionable votes cast in the 2008 race for Senator in Minnesota.  Norm Coleman lost the race by 312 votes.  At the time, GOP election monitors had found 341 convicted felons that had voted illegally in that election in violation of that state's laws.

I was wrong.  The actual number of felons that had voted in that election was 1,099.  Of that number, 177 people have been convicted of vote fraud.

Not registration.  Casting a fraudulent ballot.

Now that election really mattered.  Al Franken was the 60th Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate.  No Al Franken, no PPACA/Obamacare.

At least, there would have been some real negotiations over the issue instead of having it rammed down our throats.

We must secure the ballot box against fraudulent/illegal ballots.  It is the most important [issue] facing America today.  Without confidence in the elections process, there can be no "consent of the governed".

Follow That Money

It is interesting to note that our Congresscritters are frequently more wealthy than the rest of us. On average.  And the margin isn't what I would call small.

Despite some small discussion of limiting investments made by Congresscritters to prevent a sort of insider trading, there are not significant rules against such things.  While we know how some of them acquired their wealth, others are a bit confounding.

For example, consider Sen. Harry Reid.  His most recent report indicates that his net worth is north of $10 million.  Yet he has never held a private sector job.  His employment history is entirely with the government either as a hired employee, appointed official, or elected official.  None of those jobs pays enough for someone to accrue that kind of money.

So where did it come from?  Given the interest in trolling through Mitt Romney's tax returns for legal methods used to reduce his tax bill, shouldn't we be more interested in how all of our Congresscritters may be using their positions to inform their investing choices?

Conflicting Volleyball

I have been more than a little conflicted lately about the opportunity to watch women's beach volleyball at the Olympics.

I used to be a middle-of-the-road amateur volleyball player.  The skill and strategy that goes into the sport is fantastic.  So now I really enjoy watching the sport.  The Olympics are a fantastic opportunity to watch some of the world's premier volleyball players on both sand and wood courts.

The problem comes in when you consider the uniform requirements for the young women playing beach volleyball. They don't leave a lot to the imagination.

The women wear a "tankini"-style top, which is part tank top, part bikini top, with briefs, or a one-piece uniform. The two-piece women's top must be designed with deep, cutaway armholes on the stomach, back and upper chest. The briefs should be cut toward the leg on an upward angle. The maximum side width allowed is 7 cm. The one-piece must consist of an open back and upper chest. Players from the same team must wear uniforms that are identical.

...

Upper body wear for both men and women in Olympic beach volleyball must fit closely to the body. The men's shorts should not be a baggy fit and have to be a minimum of 15 cm higher than the kneecap.

I don't mind the view.  It is the lack of choice that bothers me.  It is almost as if they are telling the great athletes that they can only compete if they are willing to show off a little skin.

That perspective seems to be supported when you consider how news reports might look different if the accompanying photos were similar to those shot for women's beach volleyball.

Covers

Rather than just rip off the whole post, I'll point you towards Scott Stantis' entry with covers of the song "Somebody I used to know."  The first and third videos are great.

For different reasons, but still great.

Occupation

Many apologies to my 2.3 regular readers for the lack of activity hereabouts.  We've had a few issues to deal with around the ranch lately.  My queue of links to discuss continues to fill, but it never quite seems to make it here.

Perhaps instead of an apology, I ought to say "you're welcome"?

We hope to have more for you soon.