Dear Friends,
ON THIS WEEK’S FALLON FORUM, WE DISCUSS:
— Arizona’s election audit. Some Republican officials are not happy with what’s happening.
— Kratom. I knew nothing about this plant until Groovy Good’s Argos Marinoctis shared Kratom 101.
— Party Swap. Joel Brown argues that the Dems and Repubs have switched roles. I’m not so sure.
— Media bias. Can we trust any corporate media giant?
— Garden Q&A. What’s going on with your veggies? Maybe Kathy Byrnes and I can help.
Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled Arizona legislature authorized an “audit” to count over 2 million votes in Maricopa County, aka Phoenix, aka, an area more Democratic than much of the rest of Arizona.
The effort has zero chance of overturning election results. What remains to be seen, however, is whether it will further undermine the integrity of America’s already weakened democracy — and steal away confidence in our system of voting.
That’s my concern, and one shared by a growing chorus of Republican officials and election observers:
— Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican, called the audit a “disservice to democracy.”
— Bill Gates, a Maricopa County supervisor and lifelong Republican, told NBC News, “I think that people in other parts of the country should be looking at what’s going on in Arizona as an example of what not to do.”
— Chris DeRose, a Republican election law attorney, wrote, “How could anyone expect a partisan process to yield a result more accurate and trusted than the one administered by professionals of all parties following established rules?”
— Mike Broomhead, an Arizona talk show host, said, “I am a Republican, a two-time Donald Trump voter, and … from the start of the actual audit process, there were things happening that should have concerned everyone who is concerned with restoring confidence in our system and making sure there was no tampering, manipulation, or fraud.”
— Eddie Perez, a nonpartisan voting systems expert, said, “What’s at stake and what’s being corroded here is the very idea that we can have some kind of truth-in-election outcomes.”
— From the New York Times: “The Republican leaders of Arizona’s most populous county issued a blistering rebuke on [May 17] to a review of the November election that had been ordered by Republicans in the State Senate, calling it ‘a grift disguised as an audit’ that had spun out of the legislators’ control.”
So, yeah, maybe instead of calling it an audit we should go with grift, which a google search defines as “engaging in petty or small-scale swindling.”
“Swindling” isn’t too strong a term, but perhaps “petty” and “small-scale” are too mild. The fact that Republican partisans were able abscond with 2.1 million ballots and 400 voting machines sounds like theft to me.
And check out the big gun brought in to accomplish the theft: Cyber Ninjas, whose owner, Doug Logan, has championed Trump’s stop-the-steal lie. Furthermore, Logan’s company has zero experience conducting election audits. Surprised? Me neither.
But these aren’t very good thieves. Republicans said they’d complete the audit in 20 days. We’re now at 60 days and counting.
Then there’s the fact that very few journalists have been allowed access to the process … well, would you bring a reporter with you to a bank heist?
It’s encouraging that so many key Republicans have spoken out strongly against this sham. Yet, here’s the problem, and why this is not petty or small-scale theft: If other states controlled by Republican legislators pick up on the idea, as seems entirely possible, this insanity could snowball to the point of truly threatening a key pillar of American democracy.
And if Trump’s minions succeed in stealing the public’s confidence in our electoral system, there’s not much left to democracy. See the disenfranchised people of Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea for details.
— Ed Fallon
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HERE’S THIS WEEK’S PODCAST/RADIO PROGRAM:
(05:53) Arizona election audit is off the rails
(17:48) What is Kratom? with Argos Marinoctis
(28:43) Have the Dems and Repubs flipped? with Joel Brown
(40:31) Understanding the mainstream media’s bias, with Joel Brown
(52:12) June Garden Q&A, with Kathy Byrnes
WATCH OUR SEGMENT WITH KATHY BYRNES ON FACEBOOK
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Ed Fallon