THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Turning back the tide of information overload with a digest of the latest developments in news conservatives need to pay attention to:

 

† Does the U.S. need an election monitor?: The Justice Department continues the Obama administration’s war on the Tenth Amendment, this time over laws meant to discourage voter fraud (related article, third item on the page). The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division making the absurd claim that a SC law passed in May requiring a state-issued photo ID to vote is discriminatory because minority voters are nearly 20 percent more likely than whites to lack one. The Washington Post notes that this is “the first time the government has rejected a voter-identification law in nearly 20 years.”

 

To John Hayward of Human Events, the DOJ’s rationale fails the laugh test:

 

South Carolina’s law, duly passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Nikki Haley, was extremely lenient – even more so than voter-ID laws already on the books in some other states. A driver’s license, passport, military ID, or photographic voter registration card was good enough to pass muster. According to the South Carolina Election Commission’s filing with the Justice Department, voters could “obtain an Identification Card from DMV, or may obtain a Voter Registration Card with a photo from his county voter registration office, both free of charge.” Nothing more than a trip to the county voter registration and elections office was necessary to obtain the photo ID. …

 

This was, nonetheless, deemed unacceptable because “minority registered voters were nearly 20% more likely to lack DMV-issued ID than white registered voters, and thus to be effectively disenfranchised,” according to Perez. In other words, 20% more non-whites lack driver’s licenses, so the minimal imposition of asking for them to obtain free photo ID cards to validate their identities on Election Day was tantamount to barricading them from the polls.

 

With 30 requiring some form of ID before someone can vote, The Wall Street Journal sees this as a blatant attempt to play the race card because the DOJ is specifically targeting the SC and TX statutes “to intimidate other states that want to toughen their laws” – but more importantly, to “not-so-subtly [invent] a threat of Republican racism to drive minority turnout in 2012.” In a follow-up editorial, The Journal adds: “As African-American men at the most exalted reaches of government, Messrs. Obama and Holder are a testament to how much racial progress the country has made. It's a shame to see them pretending little has changed so they can scare up some votes.”

 

But Washington Times columnist Jeffrey Kuhner fears something even more sinister is going on:

 

Mr. Holder is a shameless demagogue. He has become the Democratic Party's new Al Sharpton: Everything is seen through the lens of race. He has refused to prosecute members of the New Black Panther Party, who in the 2008 election stood at a polling booth wielding clubs in a blatant attempt at voter intimidation. Career Justice Department lawyers admitted that Mr. Holder's policy is not to go after black perpetrators whose victims are white. …

 

Mr. Holder says his department's aim is to "expand the franchise." This begs the question: Expand it for whom? Jim Crow is long dead; not one single eligible voter has been turned away because of an ID requirement. In other words, minorities are not being disenfranchised. What Mr. Holder really means is to expand the vote to groups that will help ensure a Democratic victory in 2012 - ACORN and its nefarious allies.

 

Stealing an election is not beyond this administration. After all, it's the Chicago Way.

 

† AZ becomes the epicenter of civility: OK, it's been a year since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) near-fatal shooting, and the worthies running the University of Arizona's National Institute for Civil Discourse have accomplished little or nothing. The Arizona Republic, reports:

 

Public-opinion surveys show that the public recognizes incivility and wants something better, but research also suggests that not everyone is clear about the cause of the rancor.

 

Eighty percent of Americans surveyed believe that political campaigns are uncivil and many believe they will worsen, according to a June 2011 poll conducted for Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, two Washington-based public-affairs and research firms. The poll found that 85 percent believe politics in general has become uncivil. Nearly nine in 10 said that their decisions in upcoming elections would be affected by a candidate's behavior and the way he treats those with opposing opinions. …

 

Yet experts say one of the reasons for the rise in incivility is that people no longer want to disagree respectfully. The idea of "agree to disagree" has been squashed by the array of partisan media that allows people to filter out opposing viewpoints. …

 

Any movement toward more civil politics will likely originate at the grass-roots level and move through the system slowly, experts say. Media outlets promote and profit from debates that invite hard-line opinions. Politicians often believe they can win only if they go negative. No one will change overnight.

 

† What Sarah Palin can teach Occupy Wall Street: It’s been a mild winter so far and the mayors of several cash-strapped IL cities couldn’t be happier, The Associated Press reports:

 

Despite some dire predictions about frigid temperatures and record snowfall similar to last winter's storm that dumped more than 20 inches in Chicago, it's been about 6 degrees warmer on average for much of Illinois so far. The light snow is hardly worth mentioning, meteorologists and municipal officials say.

 

Across the state, public works directors and streets and sanitation officials are positively giddy when talking about the mild weather, reveling in sunny skies and budget surpluses.

 

"It's been great," Bloomington public works director Jim Karch said with a laugh. "My kids hate it, our budgets love it."

 

Bloomington has spent just $8,000 out of its $325,000 winter labor budget, Karch said.

 

"Many municipalities, including Bloomington, have really seen a lot of dollars of savings," he said. "We're hoping it stays savings over the course of the winter."

 

Unfortunately, Los Angeles – which does not need to allocate funds for snow removal – cannot benefit from a similar boon and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking for budget cuts to offset the millions of dollars of unplanned expenses caused by Occupy LA riffraff, CBSLosAngeles.com reports:

 

Repairs to City Hall’s lawn where the Occupy group set up camp on Oct. 1 will require an estimated $400,000. The police action to clear out the encampment on Nov. 30 cost more than $700,000.

 

Additional expenses are attributed to hauling away debris from the camp, and cleaning up graffiti that defaced City Hall marble walls and trees.

 

† Obama creating green jobs that Americans won’t do: Fisker Automotive manufactured 239 Karma luxury plug-in hybrids, and is now recalling every one of the $103,000 vehicles because of improperly positioned hose clamps that allow coolant to enter the battery compartment, causing an electrical short that could start a fire. Fisker said the problem was discovered when workers at the Valmet Automotive assembly plant in Finland noticed coolant dripping (related article, fourth item on the page). 

 

BTW, The Washington Post notes that as 2011 expired, so did a tax credit that awarded plug-in electric car owners up to $1,000 to defray the cost of installing a 220-volt charging device in their homes – business owners got up to $30,000 to install a charger at a commercial location: . The WaPo would also like to see the $7,500 tax credit for consumers who buy these vehicles to expire as well:   

 

[O]nly upper-income consumers can afford to buy an electric vehicle (EV); so the charger subsidy is a giveaway to the well-to-do.

 

The same goes for the $7,500 tax credit that the government offers purchasers of electric vehicles, a subsidy that, alas, did not expire at year’s end. The Obama administration says that the credit helps build a market for EVs, which helps create jobs. Given the price of eligible models, like the $100,000 Fisker Karma, that rationale sounds an awful lot like trickle-down economics.

 

Backers of the charger tax credit may lobby Congress to renew it when lawmakers tackle the payroll tax extension issue again in the new year. We hope that Congress says no. Not only is it a case study in upward income redistribution, it also would represent a deepening of the taxpayers’ commitment to what looks increasingly like an industry not ready for prime time. …

 

The ethanol credit was on the books for 30 years before it finally died. Let’s hope Congress can start unwinding the federal government’s bad investment in electric vehicles faster than that.

 

† The right to bear arms belongs to us all: Part II: Santa is a jolly, gun-toting old elf, judging from the number of guns he left under Christmas trees this year, reports The Telegraph of London:

 

According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December. Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas.

 

It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set [on the day after Thanksgiving, when 129,166 background searches were carried out on customers buying weapons].

 

On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history.

 

The actual number of guns bought may have been even higher if individual customers took home more than one each.

 

Explanations for America's surge in gun buying include that it is a response to the stalled economy with people fearing crime waves. Another theory is that buyers are rushing to gun shops because they believe tighter firearms laws will be introduced in the future.

 

† How did we get from a knowledge economy to an unskilled and illiterate economy?: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has posted an advisory letter on its Website warning employers that requiring a high school diploma from a job applicant might violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Washington Times reports:

 

Employers could run afoul of the ADA if their requirement of a high school diploma “ 'screens out' an individual who is unable to graduate because of a learning disability that meets the ADA's definition of 'disability,' " the EEOC explained. …

 

Maria Greco Danaher, a lawyer with the labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins, said the EEOC letter means that employers must determine whether job applicants whose learning disabilities kept them from obtaining diplomas can perform the essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation. She said the development is "worthy of notice" for employers. …

 

Mary Theresa Metzler, a lawyer with Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia, said there may be an "unintended and unfortunate" repercussion of the EEOC's discussion: "There will be less incentive for the general public to obtain a high school diploma if many employers eliminate that requirement for job applicants in their workplace."

 

Some corporate counsels are advising clients to adjust the way they approach the hiring process.

 

"Employers are wise to evaluate whether a high school diploma really is necessary to perform the essential functions of any job for which it is being required," the Employer Law Report advised in a blog post by Lisa Whittaker, a lawyer with the Porter Wright firm, which has represented business clients for more than 150 years.

 

† When environmental values collide: In response to a judge’s ruling in lawsuit filed by Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, the U.S. Forest Service will no longer dump fire retardant to contain wildfires burning in areas that include waterways – meaning, that “[n]early 47 million acres of American forests are now off-limits” to this firefighting tool, reports Human Events:

 

When fire managers determine retardant is the right tool to use on a wildfire, they will direct pilots to avoid applying fire retardant in the newly mapped areas. All other firefighting tactics will be available in the avoidance areas, the Forest Service says. …

 

The new rules allow only one exception, when human life or public safety is threatened.

 

Robert Gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach at the Heritage Foundation, questioned the decision in light of prolonged fights by environmentalists to ban logging in many forests to protect species like the “endangered” Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet.

 

“Now that they are preserved, the new plan is to let them burn?” Gordon asked.

 

† All the news that’s fart to print: After several farmers in Lynn Township, PA, began using “granulite” pellets –made from sewage sludge, 30 percent of which is human poop – local residents became concerned about the “biosolid” fertilizer seeping into the ground water, NBCPhiladelphia reports:

 

Township officials tell NBC Philadelphia that they have no control over the situation. According to the township, because the Department of Environmental Protection issued the permits, the township cannot override the permits. …

 

The DEP gave NBC Philadelphia this statement:

 

"The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in conjunction with Lehigh County Conservation District monitors all farms in that county where land use approval has been obtained to utilize biosolids. The DEP does not issue permits to private land owners for use of this material.

 

The DEP issues permits to anyone who generates biosolids, including wastewater treatment plants and septage haulers. Those entities must get a permit from DEP before biosolids can be applied to the land."

 

Residents can file a formal complaint about biosolid use by area farmers with the DEP Northeast Regional Office (570-826-2511) or visiting the agency’s Website.

 

† New York Times runs catty article about Siri: Oh no, Siri didn't! Charlie Le Quesne, 12, asked iPhone 4S digital assistant Siri, "How many people are there in the world?" Much to his and his mother’s surprise and consternation the answer he got back was, “Shut the f*ck up, you ugly t*at," reports The Sun (London):

 

Charlie's horrified mum Kim said: "The phone was a demo version and was low enough on the shelf for Charlie to have a go with it. He asked it a simple question and we couldn't believe the filth it came out with. …

 

Apologetic staff at Tesco in Coventry told Kim pranksters had tampered with the phone's set-up instructions.

 

The Siri system refers to the phone's user by name – using information stored in its contacts system. The jokers had entered the rude seven-word phrase as the user's name – so the phone blurted it out when it answered a question.

 

Reader NJohn2012 explains how the prank was carried out:

 

Step One: Add a contact with an expletive name.

Step Two: tap Settings>General>Siri>My Info.

Step Three: scroll through Address book and choose contact.

Step Four: press and hold Home button until Siri appears and ask 'What's my name?'

Step Five: Siri will answer with your 'rude' name.

 

Deleting the offending contact(s) in the address book will make Siri behave herself.

 

† 10 reasons Michelle Obama should be proud – really proud – of America: This latest installment in The Stiletto Blog’s ongoing series (previous article, last item on the page)) meant to help instill the necessary pride of country in Michelle Obama’s consciousness to enable her to serve as an unofficial ambassador focuses on Allie Carr, who has been Facebook friends with Dan Garrett for just five months, but immediately got tested when his wife posted that he needed a new kidney and none of his relatives were good matches, KCPQ-TV (Channel 13, Seattle) reports:

 

Carr and Dan Garrett were a match.

 

And last Wednesday, Carr gave the Garretts one of her kidneys.

 

Dan Garrett is doing well, and the kidney is healthy and working.

 

"She's (Carr’s) really amazing, to go to a stranger to give someone a piece of yourself literally and she's given me and Dan a chance to have a normal life, a honeymoon, having children," Megin Garrett said.