Shake a Snow Globe December 17, 2004February 28, 2017 MORE ON OHIO If you love America, click here. Because one of two things happened. Either the election was stolen, which would be very, very bad. Or, with the current voting system, it could have been, which is not so good either. It means we can’t trust the outcome of elections in America. Few things could worse threaten our democracy. And all we need to do to fix it is – fix it. Why are Republicans not joining Democrats in demanding reforms that will assure fair, trustworthy elections? Josh: ‘Ohio election fraud conspiracy theories. You have gone nuts, Andy. Soon it will be allegations of missing strawberries. Careful – you have your credibility as an author to protect, and it is at risk in the eyes of objective viewers.’ ☞ Josh, if there is no paper trail from machines, are you OK with that? Is someone nuts to object? If there is systematic voter suppression, are you OK with that? Is somewhat nuts to object? By mocking these concerns and attempting to stifle consideration of them, you do no one any favors. HOW DUMB IS THIS? From Nathaniel Frank’s New York Times op-ed yesterday, in part (emphasis added): Two lawsuits were filed last week against the United States military. In one, eight soldiers are challenging an Army policy that extended their tours of duty in the Middle East. They are suing to get out of military service. In the other suit, 12 gay and lesbian veterans are challenging the decade-old “don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that bars known gays from serving in the armed forces. They are suing to get back into the military. [T]he Pentagon has recalled thousands of former troops from civilian life to fill these gaps. Many of these recalls would have been unnecessary if the military had not fired so many gay service members. This year the Pentagon approved the recall of 72 veterans in communication and navigation, but it has expelled 115 gay troops in that category since 1998; it recalled 33 in operational intelligence but has expelled 50 gays; recalled 33 in combat operations control but expelled 106. Overall, the military has announced the recall of 5,674 veterans since June, but has discharged 6,416 soldiers under its ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy since 1998 . . . including linguists; intelligence personnel; nuclear, biological and chemical warfare experts; artillery specialists; and missile guidance and control operators. The gay plaintiffs are suing on constitutional grounds. Yet the evidence suggests that the current policy should also be challenged on grounds of national security. . . . Seventy-nine percent of the public now favors letting gays serve openly. For the first time, a majority of junior enlisted personnel support open gays in the military. WELL, IT’S FRIDAY David Bruce: Shake some people in a snow globe. But when you get tired of that, read the link about Ohio.