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Invasive mussel confirmed in Utahs Electric Lake
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Microsoft lets Zune music subscribers keep tunes
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Astronauts end spacewalk to repair gummed-up joint
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Dubai parties at hotel gala despite economic gloom
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Warsaw marks borders of former ghetto
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Pakistan protests to US over deep missile strike
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Afghanistan markets its brand of pomegranates
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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China says 19,000 students died in May earthquake
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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Dems delay auto bailout vote, seek plan from Big 3
Southern Ledger - November 21, 2008
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CONGRESS NEEDS TO STEP UP FOR MILITARY VOTERS NOW!
July 31, 2008 -
August 6, 2008
When Election Day arrives in November hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines will be serving far from home on the “Frontlines of Freedom.” Many of those serving our nation in uniform will have gone through the complicated process of registering to vote from overseas, navigated the confusing and time consuming twists and turns necessary to obtain an absentee ballot, and then gone the extra mile to mail that ballot back to their home state. Unfortunately, the time process for those absentee ballots making it from where our soldiers are serving to where the ballots get counted will result in the vast majority of those military ballots being disqualified.
A recent survey by the Election Assistance Commission revealed that of almost 1 million ballots requested in the last election by overseas and military voters, only about one third were successfully cast and counted. Most of the votes that were disqualified were stricken because the requested ballots sent to prospective military voters were returned as "undeliverable" or because the marked ballots were received by the local election commissions too late for them to be counted. In some states, the time period during which absentee ballots may be mailed and the deadline for their return is too short for military personnel serving overseas to have any chance for their votes to count as long as they have to rely upon the U.S. Postal Service.
Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has introduced the Military Voting Protection Act, HR 5673, which would require the Pentagon to collect absentee ballots overseas and deliver them stateside by express air transport. This could shorten the delivery time for overseas ballots from three weeks to only four days. More importantly, it would mean that thousands of military ballots rejected in 2004 would be able to count in 2008.
The National Association of Secretaries of State, composed of both Democrat and Republican Secretaries of State from across the United States, has endorsed the Military Voting Protection Act. Nevertheless, House and Senate Democratic Party leaders are blocking the Act from moving to a vote. Although Democrats regularly claim to “support the troops” that support obviously does not include allowing our troops to actually participate in a full and fair way in our elections!
In fact, Democrat leaders have sometimes gone to rather extraordinary lengths to disenfranchise military voters. In 2004 Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell was the architect of extensive get out the vote efforts in Pennsylvania prisons while refusing to intercede on behalf of soldiers serving in Iraq who could not get their ballots in a timely manner. In his book “At Any Cost” reporter Bill Sammon detailed the tactics that Al Gore’s team of lawyers used in 2000 to prevent the votes of U.S. military personnel being counted in Florida.
There are currently 41 co-sponsors of the Military Voting Protection Act. Only one Democrat, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, has signed on. Only one Tennessee member of Congress has joined the effort as a co-sponsor, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. The rest of the Tennessee congressional delegation has some explaining to do, starting with why they would possibly oppose this legislation?
If action is not taken immediately to guarantee that the voices of those serving us in uniform will be heard in November, then those of us who do have the right and the ability to cast votes that will actually be counted in November should step up and remove those from Congress who only talk the talk when it comes to supporting our troops!
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IT IS BODY DOUBLE TIME ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. -
July 24, 2008 -
July 31, 2008
As the primary election day looms in Tennessee it is important to remember that politicians really will say, or do, anything to get elected. Some use nuance or half-truths to hide who they really are. Others go with the full-on lie, recognizing that the more outrageous the statement the more likely it is that a significant number of people will fall for it.
During a press conference in Jordan earlier this week Presidential candidate Barack Obama touted the passage of a bill out of the S... |
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WILL BREDESEN ALTER THE TENNESSEE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN 2009? -
July 15, 2008 -
July 22, 2008
Despite the looming Presidential free-for-all in November, 2008 is not shaping up to be a particularly explosive political year for Tennessee. John McCain seems to have a comfortable lead in Tennessee and Barack Obama is not expected to spend significant time or money pursuing the state’s eleven electoral votes. Lamar Alexander is a safe bet for re-election to the U.S. Senate despite what may be a dismal election season for Republicans nationally. Although Congressional approval ratings have s... |
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IS RUSH WORTH $400 MILLION? -
July 7, 2008 -
July 14, 2008
News reports that talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh had inked a new eight year contract with his syndicator, Premier Radio Networks, for a reported $400 million payout immediately produced breathless outrage from some in the media ranks. “Is he worth that,” they asked with derision dripping from their lips. “Is ANYBODY worth that amount of money?” The short answer is “yes.”
Rush (who is among a tiny group of super celebrities who have achieved one name status) is not stealing this money, n... |
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THE VEEPSTAKES BEGINS. -
July 2, 2008 -
July 9, 2008
Barack Obama and John McCain will soon intensify the process of selecting their Vice Presidential nominees. Pundits will earnestly debate the merits of each prospective candidate in exhaustive detail. But ultimately the test that will determine each man’s choice is relatively simple: “Who best helps me win the White House?”
The most important factor in picking a Vice Presidential nominee should be whether or not the person is ready and able to serve as President. In reality the selectio... |
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THE BATTLE OVER GUNS WILL CONTINUE. -
June 26, 2008 -
July 3, 2008
The ink was barely dry on the historic Supreme Court decision in Heller when the anti-gun crowd started a new assault on gun rights. In Heller the Court struck down a 32 year old gun ban in Washington, D.C. and specifically recognized the Second Amendment as an individual right rather than a collective right.
The Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia, also found a Constitutional right to possess a handgun as a matter of personal self defense: “There are many reason... |
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