Fun And Fraud April 1, 2021March 31, 2021 FUN. Someday we may have to explain what “boredom” meant, because if you have decent wifi, how can boredom even be a thing anymore? The word will be archaic, like “collogue,” “trig,” or “howbeit,” used only in Words With Friends. This was brought to mind by a short clip that a friend sent me. I had never heard of Russ Tamblyn, but those three minutes from 1956 — move over over Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly — led YouTube to feed me this David Letterman interview from 1990 (don’t miss Russ Tamblyn’s story about Peter Sellers and Queen Elizabeth). And now, according to Wikipedia, Russ is 86. A remarkable lifetime in 15 minutes — plus cause to add Twin Peaks to my “to be binged” list should I ever again be bored. FRAUD. The real voter fraud is not an illegal alien risking deportation to vote — seriously? who would DO that? let alone in any significant numbers? Nor is it citizens risking jail to vote fraudulently. In reality, it’s a struggle to get citizens — especially those who are young people or poor — to vote at all. And to the extent there are isolated cases of deliberate individual fraud, why would it skew toward church-going black folks, say, rather than passionate white supremacists? Why not assume that, nationwide, there are 5,000 deliberate illegal votes cast out of 150 million; half red, half blue. They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law; but it’s ridiculous to think that they threaten the integrity of our elections. And even 5,000 a year — as trivial as that would be even if the red half didn’t cancel out the blue — is really a stretch. . . . A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. Even this tiny number is likely inflated, as the study’s author counted not just prosecutions or convictions, but any and all credible claims. . . . The real election fraud . . . the kind that can change the results of an election . . . is stuff like this: Latinas for Trump founder unseated Florida Democrat after ‘shadow candidate’ with his surname entered the race. (“Alex Rodriguez did not live in Miami and had never been involved in politics. But he did share a last name with the Democratic incumbent in a heated race for state Senate. . . . “) Or this: North Carolina Republican operative charged in election fraud scheme. These examples — let alone Russia’s massive disinformation campaign — are the real election frauds. The kind that can determine elections. And they will not be deterred by requiring voter ID (a university-issued photo ID does not suffice but an NRA card does? really?) . . . or cutting back on absentee ballots . . . or making it illegal to offer water to voters standing in line.