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TexasTowelie's JournalFlorida Invalidates More Absentee Ballots From Black, Young Voters
Just before the November 2016 election, a federal judge forced the Florida Division of Elections to allow rejected absentee-ballot voters to correct mistakes on their mailed-in forms. Yet somehow even more ballots ended up being rejected in that election than in 2012 — and younger voters and voters of color, who overwhelmingly lean to the left, had their ballots invalidated at a far higher rate.
That's the conclusion of a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which says the results suggest a troubling trend of the state tossing out ballots from young and minority residents for reasons the group can't explain.
"All voters — regardless of race and ethnicity or age — face considerable hurdles when casting a mail ballot," the report reads. "But in Florida, younger voters, as well as racial and ethnic minorities, are disproportionately more likely not to have their VBM ballot counted as valid."
During the 2016 election, voters aged 18 to 21 were eight times likelier to have their mail-in ballots rejected by local election boards compared to voters aged 65 or older. Even though voters under 30 made up less than 10 percent of all absentee voters, those in that age bracket made up 30 percent of all rejected ballots. The ACLU noted that ballot rejections were particularly acute in counties with large college populations.
Read more: https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/aclu-florida-invalidates-more-votes-from-black-young-voters-9885711
"Blacks for Trump" Founder Banned From Bankruptcy Court for Abusing System
Maurice Symonette has become a political celebrity thanks to Donald Trump's staff, which has repeatedly given the ex-member of Miami's deadly Yahweh ben Yahweh cult prime seats behind the president at nationally televised rallies to show off his "Blacks for Trump" signs. But Symonette recently told a bankruptcy court that he's dead broke, raising the question of who's been paying for his recent trips to rallies from Arizona to Tampa.
Now a federal judge has banned one of Trump's most visible black supporters from bankruptcy court for five years and accused him of repeatedly abusing the system.
In an order issued Monday, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff dismissed Symonette's latest bankruptcy case and ordered him not to file anything else with the court for the next five years. Isicoff found that Symonette had repeatedly filed bankruptcies simply to obtain temporary protection from foreclosures — but then never bothered to follow the court's orders in any of the cases.
"[Symonette] has clearly abused the privilege of filing bankruptcy by using the bankruptcy courts only as part of his efforts to thwart the exercise by secured creditors, landlords, and homeowner associations," Isicoff writes in the order. "Bankruptcy is a privilege, not a right."
Read more: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/blacks-for-trump-founder-maurice-symonette-banned-from-bankruptcy-court-for-abusing-system-10764071
Ron DeSantis' wobbly campaign is running out of time to show he's ready for big leagues
Ron DeSantis took a few friendly questions from Republican business owners in Oldsmar Tuesday during an event organized by the conservative National Federation of Independent Business.
His answers were heavy on attacks on “radical” Andrew Gillum, who “when he sees taxes he wants to raise them” and also “doesn’t understand how to keep communities safe.” They were much lighter on his own agenda for Florida.
One businessman lamented that traffic jams have become a big problem in Tampa Bay and asked what DeSantis plans to do about it.
“We’ll be rolling out a transportation policy soon,” said the Republican nominee for governor.
Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/09/25/ron-desantis-wobbly-campaign-is-running-out-of-time-to-show-hes-ready-for-big-leagues/
Florida man throws bicycle, then other man off bridge
Police say a man and a woman whose bike had a flat tire were attacked as they tried to walk across the Main Street Bridge in Daytona Beach , Florida.
Police say 21-year-old Derrick Goodin began yelling about money at Stephanie Ellis and threw her bicycle off the bridge. They say Anthony Mascaro tried to intervene, but Goodin threw him "face-first" into the water, 30 feet below.
Goodin told an officer that Mascaro jumped.
But the officer, who happened to be driving across the bridge, said he witnessed what happened and recorded it on camera.
Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sns-bc-fl--thrown-from-bridge-20180925-story.html
'South Park' takes on school shootings in 22nd season debut titled 'Dead Kids'
A school shooting at South Park Elementary?
The 22nd season debut of Comedy Central’s “South Park” is titled “Dead Kids” and includes a dinner discussion of a school shooting.
It’s not known whether the episode, which airs at 10 p.m. Wednesday, directly references the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland or other school-related shootings that followed. But a teaser to the episode seems to address the normalcy of school shootings. A publicist for the Comedy Central series did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sometimes controversial animated series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone is known for poking fun of weighty topical issues. So we wouldn’t be surprised if cartoon versions of Parkland gun control advocates David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez or Cameron Kasky show up somewhere in the episode. The show has also been sarcastically promoting the hashtag #CancelSouthPark on Twitter for the new season.
Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-ne-comedy-central-south-park-school-shooting-episode-20180925-story.html
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Sharon is overreacting to everything these days and Randy can’t cope in the season premiere titled “Dead Kids” on Wednesday, September 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on @ComedyCentral. #cancelsouthpark
Ex-billionaire Sam Wyly's huge Colorado ranch sells for pennies on the dollar to N. Texas developer
A sprawling 244-acre Colorado ranch, widely reported as being under the control of former Dallas billionaire Sam Wyly, has been auctioned off for nearly $13 million, a fraction of its original asking price.
The ranch, which was listed for sale beginning in 2014 at $59.5 million, figured into a dispute between Wyly and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That agency feared in 2015 that cash from a potential property sale might be moved offshore.
Sam Wyly and the estate of his late brother, Charles, were hit with a $300 million judgment resulting from an SEC fraud lawsuit.
Wyly, who helped build arts-and-crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc., previously said he owned about 1 percent of the ranch near Aspen and Snowmass, with the rest owned by a trust on the Isle of Man.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2018/09/25/huge-colorado-ranch-ex-billionaire-sam-wyly-sells-pennies-dollar-dallas-developer
Pete Sessions, Colin Allred in dead heat for Dallas' 32nd District as Dallas mayor backs Allred
Incumbent Republican Pete Sessions and Democratic challenger Colin Allred are in a dead heat in the hotly contested race for Dallas County's 32nd Congressional District.
According to a New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll completed Monday night, Sessions leads Allred 48 percent to 47 percent, with the remaining 5 percent of those surveyed undecided. Pollsters talked to only 500 potential voters, with the margin of error at plus or minus 4.8 percentage points. The Dallas Morning News is part of the New York Times' effort to make the political polling process more transparent.
"Our poll result is about what was expected. But remember: It's just one poll, and we talked to only 500 people," an introduction to the results state. "Each candidate's total could easily be five points different if we polled everyone in the district."
Allred, a Dallas lawyer and former NFL player, had been watching the live poll evolve for days, and late Monday night his campaign team dropped a news release using the poll and another survey as evidence that "Allred is surging."
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018-elections/2018/09/25/pete-sessions-colin-allred-dead-heat-32nd-district-dallas-mayor-endorses-allred
Sonora flooding damaged more than 200 homes and some will be demolished, officials say
The first numbers are starting to roll in about the extent of damage Sonora sustained during flooding last weekend.
City Manager Edward Carrasco said Tuesday at least 200 homes were damaged. No dollar estimates were available yet.
The number of people affected is still fluctuating, said Sutton County Judge Steve Smith.
Smith requested a disaster declaration from Gov. Greg Abbott, but it had not been declared by Tuesday afternoon.
Read more: https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/local/2018/09/25/sonora-flooding-damaged-more-than-200-homes-officials-say/1422232002/
Seattle-based Dope Magazine sold for $11M to High Times
Dope, a Seattle-based magazine that has become the face of a newer, more polished — and legal — cannabis industry, has been purchased by High Times, a venerable outlet long associated with the industry’s early, illicit years.
The cash and stock deal, valued at $11.2 million dollars, is slated to close Wednesday. It’s the latest in a recent series of acquisitions by High Times, a 44-year-old monthly magazine originally published in New York City that has chronicled the rise of cannabis culture in the United States and internationally.
“I always looked up to [High Times], when we first started Dope Magazine, as a leader and as someone who really pioneered in this industry,” said David Tran, Dope Magazine’s co-founder and chief brand officer, who will continue in his role in the new organization.
Wednesday’s deal reflects the larger trend toward consolidation in the legal cannabis industry as producers, processors, retailers and other players grapple with a rapidly expanding marketplace that increasingly favors large-scale operations with low cost structures and mass customer bases.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/seattle-based-dope-magazine-sold-for-11m-to-high-times/
Sen. Maria Cantwell, challenger Susan Hutchison at odds over when to debate
Will she? Won’t she? When might she?
A debate over debates has broken out in the race for Washington’s U.S. Senate seat this fall, with the Republican challenger to Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell questioning whether the incumbent is ducking her.
“The bottom line is that there’s no way Maria Cantwell isn’t available to debate on October 6th — a Saturday night — when she’s had two months’ warning,” said Susan Hutchison, Cantwell’s opponent. “We set aside those dates several weeks ago, and we’ve still not gotten agreement from her.”
Cantwell previously has blamed Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for a scheduling conflict with a first debate set for Oct. 6 in Tacoma.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sen-maria-cantwell-challenger-susan-hutchison-at-odds-over-when-to-debate/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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