Obama administration blocks Texas voter ID law

(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday blocked a new Texas law requiring voters to show photo identification before they can cast a ballot out of concerns it could harm some Hispanic voters who lack such identification.

The state law approved in May 2011 required voters to show government-issued photo identification, which could include a driver's license, a military identification card, a birth certificate with a photo, a current U.S. passport, or a concealed handgun permit.

The Justice Department said that data from Texas showed that almost 11 percent of Hispanic voters, just over 300,000, did not have a driver's license or state issued identification card, and that plans to mitigate those concerns were incomplete.

"Hispanic registered voters are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic registered voters to lack such identification," Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a letter to the Texas director of elections outlining the objection.

This is the second state voter identification law blocked by the Obama administration, which earlier objected to a strict new law in South Carolina that it prevented from taking effect. South Carolina then sued in federal court seeking approval of its law.

Under the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, certain states like Texas must seek approval from the Justice Department or the federal courts for changes made to state voting laws and boundaries for voting districts.

The Obama administration has already challenged the state's attempt to re-draw congressional districts and that fight is now before the courts. Texas has also sued to get approval for its voter identification law.

Several other states, including Kansas and Wisconsin, have adopted stricter new voter identification laws, arguing that they were necessary to prevent fraud at the ballot box. However some civil rights groups have said that the laws threatened to suppress minority voters.

In Texas, the Justice Department said that potential voters would have to have two other identification documents to get a certificate allowing them to vote, which could require paying expensive fees for copies of legal documents such as birth certificates.

Additionally, nearly one third of the counties in the state do not have offices where potential voters can obtain a driver's license or state identification card and some residents live more than 100 miles away, the Justice Department said.

Efforts to educate voters about the new identification requirements were also incomplete and the state did not submit any evidence of voter impersonation not already addressed under existing state laws, the administration said.

"The state has failed to demonstrate why it could not meet its stated goals of ensuring electoral integrity and deterring ineligible voters from voting in a manner that would have voided this retrogressive effect," Perez said.

The Texas lawsuit for approval of the voter identification law is: State of Texas v. Holder in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 12-cv-128.


*What a crying shame!

This is very unfair what Texas is trying to do.  They know that most of the illegals don't have proper ID and will not vote for fear of getting found out.  So what do they do...they come up with some stupid ass law to show two forms of ID to cast your vote. 

What a shame!

The Obama Administration is doing the right thing.  They are at least, trying to give folks a fair shake.  Of course we all know that there is a price to be paid with that.

At some point instead of trying to get rid of the illegals, they have to try to work with them on making their communities a much better place to live. 

At the end of the day, this is another way to weed out more an more voters to keep them from voting in this years election. For the convervatives to do just that, then, they have no right to talk smack about President Obama.



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Ahmadinejad: Iran doesn't fear bombs and warships

(Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a fresh tirade against the West, saying the Islamic Republic does not fear military action, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

"The Iranian nation doesn't fear your bombs and warships and planes. Such weapons are worth nothing," the Fars News Agency quoted him as saying on a visit to the town of Karaj, to the west of Tehran.

"You say to Iran all options are on the table. Leave them there until they rot. The time of arrogance and colonialism has passed, and the era of your unreasonableness passes too."

On Tuesday, the P5+1 group of countries comprising the United States, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany accepted an offer from Tehran for fresh talks on its nuclear programme.

The West has imposed tough sanctions to try to force Iran to open up its nuclear activities to international scrutiny amid suspicions it is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied any military development work but has not given international inspectors access to suspicious sites.

With little diplomatic progress despite numerous rounds of talks, Washington has refused to rule out military action and senior Israeli politicians have spoken of the possibility of air strikes.

President Barack Obama played down talk of war last week, however, saying there was a diplomatic "window of opportunity" and it was in everyone's interest for a peaceful solution to be found.

His words were met with rare praise from Iran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad is set to appear before parliament, the Majlis, on Thursday, Fars News reported on Sunday, after being summoned last month to face questions about his handling of the economy.

He has been severely criticised for implementing reforms towards the end of 2010 that withdrew generous subsidies for food and energy.

The reforms, combined with tightening sanctions, have fuelled rampant inflation - officially around 21 percent but believed to be nearer 50 percent - and a collapse in the value of the Iranian currency, the Rial.


*What a mess!
Iran's President is so ridiculous even his own people don't take him serious.  He touts and mocks the west as if he's the most powerful man in the world. 

Yeah Right!

If he only knew how crazy he sounds to the rest of the world.  You would think he would have a better strategy than spilling lots of ridiculous rhetoric about how he doesn't fear military action.  Clearly his intellect is very limited. 

As I read this article and think about those people that have to live with him being their President, it's very sad.  This so-called human being has done nothing but cause his people harm and then some. 

He's only the President for his own benefit. 

I think what needs to happen is to throw his ass out of power just like they did Egypt's and Syria's President. 

That's the million dollar question of the day: "Why don't they overthrow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?"


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'Go to hell Barack': Row over Washington Metro ad

(AFP) In the heat of a US presidential election year, with Americans immune to the polarized and bitter nature of political discourse, it takes a lot to shock them, especially in Washington.

But one ad at a DC Metro station -- which starts off criticizing Obama's health care reforms and ends up telling the president to "go to hell" -- goes beyond the pale, says Jim Moran, a Democratic congressman from Virginia.

The advertisement is for "Sick and Sicker: When the Government Becomes Your Doctor," a documentary that interviews Canadian doctors and patients in the hope of showing how dangerous "Obamacare" is for the American people.

"Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America’s entire medical system. Go to hell Barack," the ad says.

Moran wrote a letter to Metro general manager Richard Sarles calling for the removal of the advertisement.

"The ad is deeply disrespectful of the President of the United States and does not belong in the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) network," he wrote.

It turns out that such language is within the accepted limits of American law and such advertisements are protected under the First Amendment of the US constitution, guaranteeing free speech.

"WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not decline ads based on their political content," the Metro authority said in a written statement.

"WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not reflect the position of the Authority."

Democrats have accused Republicans of lowering the tone of the political discourse in the United States during this election season, in particular with highly personal attacks on the president.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, was widely condemned recently by Democrats for poking her finger at the president during an angry exchange on the tarmac after she greeted his arrival in Phoenix.

But conservatives argue that the treatment Obama gets is no worse than what liberals dished out to former president George W. Bush, especially in his second term after the US-led invasion of Iraq.


*This is a hot ass mess!

Disrespecting the President doesn't help this country.  It only adds fuel to the fire and makes it bigger. 

As most of you know, this is a huge election year.  The candidates including our President is doing whatever they can do to get "your" attention, that includes place ads like this one in metro stations to get your attention. 

Is it right?

I guess it's the American way to be down right disrespectful and nasty to our commander in chief.  You would think people would have better manners than that, but I guess most aren't raised with manners in these times. 

We know that there's alot of people who don't like President Obama for obvious reasons.  That's ok.  However, to be down right rude, and disrepectful is just RIDICULOUS!

Even in an election year there's a way to get your point across without being nasty about it. 

Maybe the President and his people should counter with "SHUT THE HELL UP DUMB BITCHES."

Or not say anything.


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WE ARE BACK!

Diva's Nation is back!

This year we will dive into politics and as well as keeping up with the Jone's, but also telling the Jone's where to go.

We are doing big things and we want you to be apart of it.

So join us as we come back with more antics, rhetoric and common sense thinking!

As always thanks for your support!


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