December 01, 2020, 11:41 AM
sigmonkeyquote:
Originally posted by triggertreat:
Watched about 15 minutes of Michigan testimony.What a dog and pony show. A lot of aggression by the Committee.
I have watched 45 minutes, and will continue. (bear with my explanation)
To their (senate's) credit, I would rather hard questions be asked than to simply patronize someone testifying for the sake of expediency.
Some of it may well be "ass covering posturing" by a few senators, as well as "hostile witness", where they ask things in a manner to allow or bring forth a good response that strengthens the testimony.
The other thing is that laymen almost always are "on the defensive" about lack of understanding things "computer".
Many are intimidated by the knowledge that they rely on and are at the mercy of "magic", and that uneasiness is often presented as "hostile and demanding", by using one's aggressiveness to "win back" the ground they perceive to be "held" by IT and technology in general.
This is proven many areas as well, Medicine, mechanics, and other things one does not have education and understanding of processes. (over 50 years professional experience in both mechanical and technology fields).
Ask people in the fields mentioned above about that POV. They have seen it, and it is likely the most difficult part of the job, dealing with people's lack of understanding, and the emotional barriers it presents to effective communication.
And the efforts one must go to bring those people into a "trusting" relationship.
Observing Rabbis or lawyers argue and litigate is most interesting and enlightening, and you start realizing what you thought you knew about a thing, can be very different after the fact.
A good salesman can present such a case as to separate a person from their hard earned money for a pile of crap, but no matter the complete convincing pitch which makes you eager to shout; "TAKE MY MONEY!!!", does not make the crap any less so.
So, let them ask the hard questions. And as the cases make their way to court, then and only then, does the rule of disclosure become a requirement.
Until it is time to show one's hand, it is prudent to not do so.
Remember, the "other side" has shown a willingness, motive, means and opportunity to lie, cheat and steal, as well as proof if historical occurrences. Why give them anything to catch a fingernail on?
But to your point, I do see some direct hostility and dismissive behavior towards the former senator that is presenting testimony.
December 01, 2020, 12:14 PM
sdythis really made me angry
watch this POS offer chances to win money for voting
https://www.facebook.com/rsict...os/3765919986760257/https://www.theepochtimes.com/...lection_3598915.htmlThe Nevada Native Vote Project posted photos on Facebook on Election Day of smiling voters holding $25 gift cards after handing over their ballots.
The posts have since been deleted but not before they were archived. The removal may have had something to do with the U.S. criminal code, two distinct sections of which impose fines and prison sentences for “whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote.”
Offering gift cards for ballots was not the only way the Nevada Native Vote Project enticed people to vote. In a video that still appeared on Facebook on Nov. 24, Bethany Sam, the public relations officer for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, urged people to come out and vote by offering “some extra swag that we can give out.”
“We have twenty-five $25 dollar gift cards to raffle off so that’s a lot of money in cash here. We have also four $100 gift cards to give away, so again you want to make sure to get out here and vote. And then, we have four $250 gift cards to raffle. And our grand prize is going to be a $500 Visa gift card to the person or native voters who came out early this week early voting,” Sam said, adding that voters need only send a photo of themselves at the polling place to enter.
Sam stood beside two elderly people who were holding free T-shirts they received for coming out to vote. She added that more shirts were still available, in addition to keychains, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and stickers.
Nevada was not the only state offering a chance to win cash and expensive prizes on or before Election Day. The Epoch Times has reviewed photos and videos documenting the same scheme in eight other states, including the perennial battlegrounds of Arizona, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
“Vote buying is a federal crime. Whether FBI agents and the DOJ Election Crimes office is willing to involve itself is a separate matter altogether,” Logan Churchwell, communications director with the Public Interest Legal Foundation, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Another scrubbed video shows Sam promoting a swag giveaway in front of a Biden-Harris bus sometime before the end of Nevada’s early voting period on Oct. 30.
“If you can, get down here and get yourself some swag, see the Biden-Harris campaign bus and then you can go in person or drop your ballot off at our Reno polling location here,” Sam said.
“We have a lot of our community members here waiting to get their swag,” she added, speaking through a Biden-Harris mask. “Get down here and get your swag and vote.”
Sam noted that the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket. She then turned the camera to Arlan Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony that describes itself as a “sovereign Indian nation” with a Tribal Council that “carries the same unique powers and duties as any city council, county commission, or legislative government across the United States.”
“I think the Biden-Harris campaign is supporting tribal sovereignty,” Melendez said before urging people to come out to vote.
There are an estimated 60,000 registered Native Indian voters in Nevada. In a video filmed on Election Day, Sam encouraged natives to vote because Nevada is a swing state.
“I also want you to know that we do have a raffle going on whether you’re early voting or you vote today during the Election Day,” Sam said, instructing people to enter the draw by sending her a screenshot of their cast ballot from a ballot-tracking website or a photo of themselves with an “I Voted” sticker.
The prizes included cash gift cards valued at $250, $100, and $25 as well as T-shirts and beaded items, Sam said. At the end of the video, Sam told viewers to visit the tribe’s voting recommendations page, which advises people to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden.
The voting recommendations page features a photo of a poster for the Native Vote non-profit—a national get-out-the-vote initiative. Native Vote describes itself as non-partisan, as is required by the IRS for organizations seeking tax-exempt status.
Sam listed Native Vote as the first of several organizations that supported the cash raffles and swag giveaway. The other organizations she named were the Native Organizers Alliance, the Native American Rights Fund, Four Directions, and Washoe County. The donation pages for Four Directions and the Native Organizers Alliance are hosted by Act Blue, a fundraising behemoth for Democrats and left-wing causes. The organizations did not return emailed requests for comment.
In a video filmed later on Election Day in Hungry Valley, Sam was seen standing roughly 50 feet from the entrance to the local polling place while holding a stack of gift cards and promoting the raffle.
In another video, Sam said the colony received the T-shirts from the Nevada Native Vote project. “Everyone who submits in for the raffle can get one of these T-shirts,” she said.
“Our goal was to inspire Washoe County native voters to vote and all native voters to vote wherever they reside to achieve the highest native voter turnout in Nevada history along with the highest voter turnout in U.S. history,” Sam said.
In a video announcing the winners of the raffle, Sam said the prizes came from the Native Vote project.
“This is exciting guys. We’ll give out over $2,000 in gift cards, so this is pretty cool,” Sam said, while pulling paper slips with names of the winners from a pot and clipping names to the gift cards.
“Congratulations to all the winners,” Sam said after drawing the name for the winner of the $500 gift card. “Thank you for using your voice, which was your vote. Obviously, it had a tremendous impact on the way Nevada ended up as far as the electoral votes and helped get Biden into office. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Sam and her boss, Melendez, did not respond to emailed questions. The office of the Nevada secretary of state, which is charged with supervising state and local elections, did not respond to emailed questions.
Sam was not the only person to run the money-for-votes raffles for Native Vote. In a video posted on Facebook, LaCarrie McCloud displayed swag to get people to come out and vote.
“We’re just here to give you some goodies and some incentives for you to vote today,” McCloud said, showing a T-shirt, a bag of coffee, masks, hot dogs, chips, soda “for those who vote and want to come down and grab a dog.”
In another deleted video, McCloud drew the names of five winners of a $50 raffle “that the Nevada Native Vote Project did today for all those voters who walked in and voted today.” Her daughter, who drew the slips from a plastic tub, won one of the gift cards.
McCloud did not respond to a request for comment sent to her Facebook account.
The Nevada Native Vote Project promoted Sam’s raffle on its Facebook page. The post states that the raffle was sponsored by the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Nevada Native Vote Project. The message instructs people to email a photo of themselves with the “I Voted” sticker or a screenshot of their ballot completion from the Nevada Ballottrax website.
Teresa Melendez, who is listed as the native vote coordinator for the Nevada Native Vote Project, did not respond to emailed questions.
Posts on the Nevada Native Vote Project Facebook page show that similar raffles were conducted in 15 Nevada native communities, with 116 voters receiving $6,650 in cash prizes. The raffle rules state that contestants “must show proof of voting to qualify.” The project’s social media posts consistently promoted free food, coffee, cookies, T-shirts, and other benefits to early voters. The total amount includes $25 gas cards, which were offered to voters without the need to enter into a raffle on a first-come-first-serve basis.
In the Walker River community, the raffle prizes included an HP laptop and a Bose speaker, as seen in a Facebook post by Elveda Martinez. Martinez promoted a number of money-for-votes and expensive item raffles. A photo she posted on Election Day shows a voter holding an unopened Apple iPad.
“Thanks for voting. If we all vote, we can make a difference and be heard. Here’s some of our tribal voters with their incentives thanks to NCAI,” Martinez wrote.
Martinez did not respond to a request for comment sent to her Facebook account.
NCAI stands for the National Congress of American Indians. NCAI counts Native Vote as one of its initiatives. According to its website, NCAI is funded in part by taxpayer dollars from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Small Business Administration. The NCAI’s list of supporters also includes the Open Society Foundations, which is headed by George Soros, a liberal power donor.
NCAI did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Matt Johnson, who is listed as the NCAI contact for Native Vote, did not respond to a request for comment.
A review of social media posts shows similar cash-raffle-for-vote activity in at least seven other states.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment. The Federal Elections Commission declined to comment. The Election Assistance Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
