The U.S. Supreme Court Said "Gerrymander" is NOT O.K., Now What?

You Must Act To Stop Gerrymandering Now!

The U.S. Supreme Court Has Decided Gerrymandering is Wrong - Now You Must Take Advantage

John A. Smith, August 25, 2015

     On July 29, 2015, four days after the U.S. Supreme Court voted in favor of gay marriage and upheld "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (aka "Obamacare") for the 2nd time, they ruled in favor of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.  They were being sued by the Republican controlled Arizona State Legislature over who had the right to draw the "Voting District" boundary lines in  Arizona State Legislature v Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission . But if people don't take action to take the advantages of that decision it won't mean anything.

     The reason how the lines are drawn is so important is because the Republicans are in control of a majority of states. As a result of the 2012 elections, the Republicans were in control of a majority of states with 30 gubernatorial offices and 27 state legislatures. The Democrats held 19 governorships and have the majority in 18 legislatures. Now, in 2015 there are 31 Republican Governors, 35 Republican controlled State Senates, and 34 State Houses of Representatives. The Republicans have full control in 27 states. "Click" or "Tap" here to see who controls YOUR state. They found another way to cheat in the election process. If you look at the next section, "Gerrymandering" is explained, with an example given. Basically, knowing how certain neighborhoods, minorities, and other groups, are going to vote, the Republican controlled  Legislatures draw the voting district lines so that even though everyone is still going to vote the way they are going to vote, the Republicans would actually "pick-up" districts that they wouldn't have without cheating with gerrymandering. See the example below.

An example of Gerrymandering: On the left district lines are drawn geographically, each party has equal chance for the vote. The "Pink Party" wins all 4 districts (or Counties). On the right, lines have been redrawn, "gerrymandered" and the pink dot party will win only 3 out of 4 districts, the "Green Party" wins a district (or County) that it wouldn't have otherwise won.  When enough districts are won through gerrymandering it sometimes causes that party to win all the electoral votes for that state!

Gerrymandering:

 An example of Gerrymandering: In the above illustration you have an example of let's say a county. the county has 4 voting districts. The lines show how voting district lines may appear before and after gerrymandering, Before gerrymandering each of the 4 voting districts in the county on the left have 8 "Pink" neighborhoods, and 7 "Green" neighborhoods. Therefore the pink party would win all voting districts. On the right we have the same county, only the 4 voting district's lines have been "Redrawn" or "Gerrymandered." If you notice the "Green Party" will now win one of the districts, heavily in fact (14-2), and the "Pink" party would only win 3 voting districts. Therefore the "Green" party just stole a district, heavily, by gerrymandering, or, "redrawing" the lines. In this example none of the neighborhoods (or expected voters) changed, just how the district lines were drawn changed. Now, if you had a where you have an equal number of voting districts for Republicans, and for Democrats, and you redrew the lines to gerrymander even one district, you would cause all of the electoral votes to go to the party that did the gerrymandering. That would give any national politician a win by cheating! That's right, The President, and 2 U.S. Senators for each state could be decided by gerrymandering, even though the number of people voting, and their votes didn't change at all. Right now there are 38 States that have Republican Governors and almost as many Republican State Legislatures. The State Legislatures are drawing the "Voting District" lines in many of those states, and that is where the gerrymandering is being done. The U.S. Supreme Court decided on July 29th of this year in favor of the "Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission" the defendant, in a case where the "Arizona State Legislature" the plaintiff, sued to have the right to have the State Legislature draw the lines and do away with the Independent Redistricting Commission. The U.S. Supreme Court said that having an Independent Commission drawing the voting district lines is constitutional and fair. 

     Now it's up to the states that don't have an Independent Redistricting Commission, or one that has the authority to draw the voting district lines, to get a commission in place, with the authority it needs to draw those all important lines. So, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for gerrymandering to end, but it's up to the voters in each of those states to do their part. Do you live in a state where a Republican State Legislature is drawing the voting district lines? Here is a complete list of states showing who is controlling YOUR State Legislature "Tap" or "Click" here for the 2015 State Governors and Legislatures. The State Legislatures are made up of State Senators, and the State House of Representatives (or Assemblymen). The "House" (or Assembly) and "Senate" IS the State Legislature. When you click the link above, if your state is shaded in gray on that list, you live in a state where the Republicans are controlling your State Legislature. You should contact your State Senators office, and your State Legislators (Assemblymen), and ask them if there is an "Independent Commission" in charge of drawing district voting lines. If not, tell them you want an independent commission in charge of drawing the voting district lines. Look for, or start, a petition to get an independent commission to draw the district voting lines in your state. Here is how you can find out who YOUR State Senators and Legislators are, AND how to contact them. Please do this NOW if you are in one of the gray shaded states on the list.  Click HERE to Find YOUR State Assemblyman and State Senator by typing in your address HERE .

This is Where You Come In

     "Tap" or "Click" on this link 2015 Governors and Legislatures  to see who your Governor is as well as how many Republicans (Red) and Democrats (Blue) are in your State Senate and your State House of Representatives (or Assembly). If you live in one of the 32 states that are controlled by Republicans chances are you may have gerrymandering happening in your state. You probably also have Voter ID (disenfranchising) Laws being signed into law, but that's the next post, followed by "Money in Politics." 

     If you live in a state where gerrymandering is taking place, to take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court decision you must do the following:

1)   See who draws the lines for the voting districts in your State.

2)   If your State Legislature is drawing the lines you must CONTACT your State Senators, and Representatives (whether it's State House of Representatives or State Assembly) and tell them you are in favor of an "Independent Redistricting Commission" to draw "Voting District" lines as approved by the U.S. Supreme Court on July 29, 2015. At the end of this post there are links for you to FIND and CONTACT your Representatives by entering your Zip Code, or for State and Local politicians you enter your Zip Code and Address. These links give you everyone that represents you in Government. Also you may want to start a petition (look for an activist group in your area, you'll probably find one that is already fighting gerrymandering and can tell you how you can help) to demand that an Independent Redistricting Commission be formed to draw redistricting lines.

3)   If you find that there is an Independent Redistricting Commission make sure they have the permanent authority to draw the voting district lines. If they don't start a petition, and contact your Representatives to tell them you want that commission to have the permanent authority to draw the voting district lines.

THAT'S IT! YOU CAN STOP THE ELECTION PROCESS FROM BEING CHEATED!

       

Let YOUR Representatives Know What YOU Think

To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR State

​ and Local Legislators enter your

​Address and ​

Zip Code at:

Open States: http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/


To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR U.S. Congressmen/women enter your Zip Code at:

​Congress.gov: https://www.congress.gov/

To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR U.S. Senators enter your Zip Code at:

​Senate.gov:  http://senate.gov/

     I have provided the links above to assist you in finding and contacting YOUR Representatives simply by typing in your zip code

​ (or address and Zip Code for your local and State politicians)​

at those sites. By contacting them by phone or e-mail you will let them know that you ARE paying attention to what they are doing, and what YOU want them to do.

We Can Block Fox News Affiliates From Renewing Their Broadcast Licenses - Part 2

Tuesday, August 4, 2015, John A. Smith, Author/Editor

Now Is The Time For You To Take Action To Stop Fox From Spreading Lies

If you haven't already please see "Part 1" of this article from Monday, July 15, 2015 by clicking or tapping this link:

We Can Block Fox News Affiliates From Renewing Their Broadcast Licenses - Part 1

Fox News Misleads, Lies, and Fabricates Information and Totally Takes Away Voters Ability To Make An "Informed Decision" At The Voting Booths

 

      Americans have a "Right" to vote in our democracy. But, as pointed out in part 1, in the Brave New Films 2004 Documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, that right is being taken away in many ways:

Citizens United has put our ELECTIONS and POLITICIANS up FOR SALE!

Money in Politics

The Koch Brothers, other 1%er's, corporation's lobbyists, are spending hugh amounts of their money to lie to you. And maybe most importantly, the lies, misinformation, and flat out fabrications, that are aired on TV, in print media, and radio, (sometimes in the disguise as "news") are confusing potential voters and taking away their ability to make "informed decisions." In addition to owning and controlling news media, networks, and cable stations, are inundated with ads bought with the sole intention of pushing the agenda of the wealthy and greedy. Ads paid for by the super rich, and corporations, are also the people buying our politicians and elections, which is why we need to get money out of politics.  These are all factors causing voters to be so confused when they get to the voting booth, IF they get to the voting booth. Many people are so fed up with voting in general because they hear such diabolically opposed statements they don't know what to believe. Then, once the politicians do get elected and get into office they have to pay back the people and corporations that bought them. Nothing changes for the people struggling and working to try to better their lives.  An example of people voting someone into office that promised he would do right by the people was Scott Walker (R-WI). Almost immediately after he took office he took away unions rights to engage in "collective bargaining." The residents of the state were shocked and angry. That motivated people to gather over 1,000,000 signatures (not an easy task) on a petition to "Recall" him and force a recall election. But when the recall election was held so much "Outside Money" (money contributed to him from people and corporations that don't even reside in the state!) was given to Walker's campaign in that recall election and he won! That is insane. It shows how people are mislead on what the truth is when a lot of money in spent in the media. Somehow because Walker's campaign was able to outspend his opponents (with that money that came in from OUT OF STATE) on TV ads that people believed what they kept seeing on TV over and over and voted for him! Let's not forget the most important thing that money in politics is doing, that is that it is buying our politicians, and, buying our elections. Fox News and Rupert Murdoch is a big player in the destruction of our democracy. Politicians and elections are being bought. One thing that has to happen to slow down money in politics is that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in "Citizen's United" has to be overturned. To do this a Constitutional Amendment has to be passed. So far 16 states have passed resolutions toward that end and in the meantime limit the damage from Citizen's United as much as they can. Does your state have a resolution to overturn Citizen's United? Contact your Representatives, look for groups in your area fighting for a state resolution to overturn Citizens United. We can also do something about the damage money in politics is doing. I will explain exactly what we can do later in this article. I hope you take part in taking back our democracy.

Gerrymandering:

 An example of Gerrymandering: In the above illustration you have an example of let's say a county, the county has 4 voting districts. The lines show how voting district lines may appear before and after gerrymandering, Before gerrymandering each of the 4 voting districts in the county on the left have 8 "Pink" neighborhoods, and 7 "Green" neighborhoods. Therefore the pink party would win all voting districts all of the electoral votes for the entire county would go to the pink party. On the right we have the same county, only the 4 voting district's lines have been "Redrawn" or "Gerrymandered." If you notice the "Green Party" will now win one of the districts, heavily in fact (14-2), and the "Pink" party would only win 3 voting districts. Therefore the "Green" party just stole a district, heavily, by gerrymandering, or, "redrawing" the lines. In this example none of the neighborhoods changed, just how the district lines were drawn changed. If you continued this process in hundreds of counties the green party would win a number of districts by gerrymandering, cheating. Right now there are 38 States that have Republican Governors and almost as many Republican State Legislatures. The State Legislatures are drawing the "Voting District" lines in many of those states, and that is where the gerrymandering is being done. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided in favor of the "Arizona Independent Redistricting Committee" the defendant, in a case where the "Arizona State Legislature" the plaintiff, sued to have the right to have the State Legislature draw the lines and do away with the independent commission. The U.S. Supreme court said that having an independent commission drawing the voting district lines is constitutional. Now it's up to the states that don't have independent commissions drawing those lines to form one, and to vote on having an independent commission draw the voting district lines. So, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for gerrymandering to end, but it's up to the voters in each of those states to do their jobs. Do you live in a state where a Republican State Legislature is drawing the voting district lines? Here is a complete list of states showing who is controlling YOUR State Legislature 2015 State Governors and Legislatures. The State Legislatures are made up of State Senators, and the State House of Representatives (Assemblymen). The "House" and "Senate" IS the State Legislature, who could be drawing the voting district lines. Click on the link above for the list of State Legislatures, if your state is shaded in gray on that list, you live in a state where the Republicans are controlling your State Legislature. You should contact your State Senators office, and your State Legislators (Assemblymen), and ask them if there is an "Independent Commission" in charge of drawing district voting lines. If not, tell them you want an independent commission in charge of drawing the voting district lines. Look for, or start, a petition to get an independent commission to draw the district voting lines in your state. Here is how you can find out who YOUR State Senators and Legislators are, AND how to contact them. Please do this NOW if you are in one of the gray shaded states on the list. Find YOUR State Assemblyman and State Senator by typing in your address HERE

Voter ID (Suppression) Laws

     In a March 2015 Huffington Post article "Colin Powell Has A Pretty Good Suggestion For Fixing Voter ID Laws" Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that "black voters should vote for lawmakers who support voter ID restrictions out of office."

     Powell, who served as Secretary of State under George W. Bush, said that he was troubled by the voter ID laws, but that they were "hurdles that we can get over." "What I say to my friends in the African-American community, is whatever those states do, you meet the standards and then you make sure you register," Powell said during an interview on ABC's "This Week." "You make sure you vote. You make sure you vote for the people who tried to put these barriers, these hurdles in your way and then you vote them out."
     
Excerpt from an article in 2014, The American Prospect,
"Voter Suppression: How Bad? (Pretty Bad)

     "For the first time in decades, voters in nearly half the country will find it harder to cast a ballot in the upcoming elections. Voters in 22 states will face tougher rules than in the last midterms. In 15 states, 2014 is slated to be the first major election with new voting restrictions in place.
These changes are the product of a concerted push to restrict voting by legislative majorities that swept into office in 2010. They represent a sharp reversal for a country whose historical trajectory has been to expand voting rights and make the process more convenient and accessible."

     In fact, how bad is "Voter Impersonation at the Ballot Box" needing all these "Voter ID" laws? Well, when you take into account that the Republicans, who have actually pushed these laws through have spent a significant amount of money to investigate it, and only found thirty-one (31) cases out of over one billion 1,000,000,000 votes, I would say "Voter ID" laws are not needed at all, so they must be making the laws for another reason. Turns out they are, if you look at the actual laws and who they target, it is quite easy to see that they are "disenfranchising" certain voters. That is, making it harder for certain people to vote. How you ask? By demanding a State ID of which you need a birth certificate to get, it can be a problem, especially if you no longer live in the state you were born in. On average it costs about $30.00 to obtain that certificate, if you can find everything they require to get it in the first place. Some have said to me "States give you a free picture State ID." Nah, not true. In the last election cycle Pennsylvania was supposed to give out free State ID's at the DMV. But the State Legislature literally changed the rules needed on a daily basis for a 2 week period. It was so confusing that the employees at the DMV had no idea what do so they just told people they weren't giving out State ID's. This was shown in an investigative piece on 60 Minutes. When the legislator was interviewed about why the rules were changed so frequently, he said, that's the way it is.

     The ACLU says in an article "Fighting Voter ID Requirements" Since 2008, states across the country have passed measures to make it harder for Americans—particularly black people, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities—to exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot. Over 30 states have considered laws that would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Studies suggest that up to 11 percent of American citizens lack such an ID and would be required to navigate the administrative burdens to obtain one or forego the right to vote entirely.

     It was the  Washington Post in an August, 2014 article "A comprehensive investigation of voter impersonation finds 31 credible incidents out of one billion ballots cast" that actually investigated the number of actual cases that had been reported. Let's face it, the Republican Governors and Republican-controlled State Legislatures have created numerous laws for a non-problem so they could disenfranchise voters that they feel would not vote for them.

Finally, How Media Influences Voters

     So, if you read Part 1 of this article, and/or watch the Brave New Films documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism (link above)you already see how over 300 million Americans get the misinformation and lies that Fox News shows and prints in their empire. Other media outlets owned and controlled by people with an agenda, such as that of Rupert Murdoch add to the confusion to voters. This is why I decided to try to do something. That something, I found out was to Petition the FCC to not renew the licenses of Fox affiliates. I researched this possibility and found this:

     Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) has already started this process in the Washington and Maryland areas. The process is spelled out in their Fox FCC Petition FAQ.   In their petition to the FCC CREW asked the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) not to renew the broadcast licenses of three Fox television stations, two in D.C. and one in Maryland. They asked for this based on this: "Under the law and FCC regulations, all broadcast licensees must be of good character. Two separate British inquiries have concluded both Rupert and James Murdoch turned a blind eye to the illicit activities at News Corp and one found Rupert Murdoch is not fit to run an international company. If the Murdoch's lack good character in Britain, they must lack it in the U.S. as well. Character doesn’t change on the other side of the Atlantic.You can read the evidence they produced in the link above (FAQ) which includes evidence of "Bad Character" in the United States "Conduct in the U.S. includes allegations of hacking phones of 9/11 victims and illegally gaining access to the password-protected system of a company News Corp. was trying to acquire."

     The next steps were: " In response to CREW’s petition, the FCC must determine (1) if facts alleged are true, could a reasonable fact finder conclude Fox lacks the requisite good character; and (2) does CREW’s petition present substantial and material questions? If the answer to both is yes, the FCC is required to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether Fox possesses the requisite character to continue to hold broadcast licenses. At that hearing, Fox will have the burden of proving it is entitled to renewal of its licenses, and CREW will have the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses to rebut that proof."

     If the FCC grant's CREW's petition in that case, Fox would lose three licenses in D.C. and Baltimore: WTTG, WDCA, and WUTB. In addition, CREW would have grounds to argue the licenses of all of Fox News Corp. subsidiaries in the U.S. should be revoked. If the FCC denied their petition in that case, CREW could file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

     This is the actual "License Renewal Process for Television Broadcast Stations" from the FCC. To actually petition the FCC to deny the license of an affiliate, which is different than petitioning to deny a broadcast license, requires you to have legal standing. To have legal standing you have to say you are "a regular watcher" of the station.

     What I'm suggesting is that each of you start a petition online for the denial of the Fox affiliate's license for the area you are in. The basis will be that you have been damaged due to the Fox affiliate in your area has misrepresented and lied to you, the public, while calling their material "News." Rupert Murdoch admitted that what Fox produces is "entertainment", not news, when he called the watchers of Fox "Morons" and "White Trash," (see part 1 of this article.)

Fox News is "Entertainment" Says Rupert Murdoch- Problem? Many Fox News Watchers That He Called "Morons" and "White Trash" Take It As "Fair and Balanced" News

      Start today! Start a petition. Contact your Representatives and tell them you want the Fox affiliate's license in your area denied in it's renewal process! We especially need to reach the people in areas where all they hear is Bulls**t from Fox under the supervision of the Koch Brothers, the other 1%er's, and the corporations. Remember that in many areas the only "news" people see is produced by Fox and other conservative based media. Remember that 14 year old boy from New York that was kept in a coffin by his parents until someone found out and the reporter said to him "why didn't you tell anyone what your parents were doing to you? His answer, "I thought everyone's parents kept their kids in a coffin." 


To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR State Legislators enter your

​Address and ​

Zip Code at:

Open States: http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR U.S. Congressmen/women enter your Zip Code at:

https://www.congress.gov/

To FIND, and CONTACT, YOUR U.S. Senators enter your Zip Code at:

http://senate.gov/

     I have provided the links above to assist you in finding and contacting YOUR Representatives simply by typing in your zip code at those sites. By contacting them by phone or e-mail you will let them know that you ARE paying attention to what they are doing, and what YOU want them to do.