Boardman writes: "Scapegoating minorities is useful in building a police
state."
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. (photo: AP)
<http://readersupportednews.org/>
Republican Cruelty - Just for Immigrants, Disabled, and Gays?
By William Boardman, Reader Supported News
15 February 17
Scapegoating minorities is useful in building a police state
Rosa Maria Ortega, 37, came to the United States as an infant. She has a
sixth grade education
<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/us/illegal-voting-gets-texas-woman-8-yea
rs-in-prison-and-certain-deportation.html?_r=0> . When she was about eleven,
her mother was arrested and deported. Her two younger brothers, born in the
US, became citizens. She became a permanent resident, with a green card. She
is a mother of four children, ages 12-16, who are all citizens, and engaged
to marry Oscar Sherman, a citizen.
When she lived in Dallas County, she registered to vote
<https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/largepamp.shtml> on forms
that had no box to check for "permanent resident," only "citizen." She
registered in 2012, as a Republican. She voted for Mitt Romney. She voted
again in May 2014. When she moved to Tarrant County, she again registered to
vote in October, on a different form, with a box for "non-citizen," which
she checked. That registration was rejected. She explained to election
officials that she had voted in Dallas County without difficulty, they said
she had to be a citizen. In March 2015 she filed another form claiming to be
a citizen. Apparently no one thought to sort the situation out humanely
<https://latterly.org/never-forget-this-name-rosa-maria-ortega-21e6a4e50ba0#
.ula43sp0r> , with someone who didn't know the difference legally between
permanent residency and citizenship.
Instead, in October 2015, she was arrested and charged with "Illegal
Voting," a second degree felony under a Texas law that took effect January
1, 2012
<http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/02/09/mexican-national-found-guilty-ill
egal-voting/> . She was indicted in November 2015. According to Rosa Maria
Ortega's attorney, Clark Birdsall, the Texas Attorney General's office
agreed to dismiss all charges
<http://politics.blog.mystatesman.com/2017/02/13/bagging-a-unicorn-texas-mom
-gets-8-years-for-illegally-voting-for-ken-paxton/> if she would agree to
testify on voting procedures before the Texas Legislature, but Tarrant
County district attorney Sharen Wilson vetoed any deal and demanded a trial
to showcase how tough she could be on "election fraud." The state and county
officials refused to comment on this to The New York Times, but a spokesman
for Wilson offered a non-denial denial saying any negotiations had been only
"discussions."
On February 8, 2017, after about two hours of deliberation, a jury found
Rosa Maria Ortega guilty on two counts, thereby rejecting her testimony
<http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/02/09/grand-prairie-woman-sentenced-to-8-years
-in-prison-for-voter-fraud/> that she was confused by and didn't understand
the law. Each count carried a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. The
statute requires that the court determine that a person cast an illegal
ballot "knowingly." The following day, the Texas county judge sentenced Rosa
Maria Ortega to an eight-year sentence on each count (to run concurrently)
and fined her $5000.
The Attorney General, Ken Paxton, was elected in 2014 after years of
crusading against "voter fraud." (He has his own legal issues these days,
Texas criminal securities fraud charges
<https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/12/tracker-attorney-general-ken-paxton
-coverage/> and a federal lawsuit, but he denies any wrongdoing, with a
trial coming up May 1.) After Rosa Maria Ortega's sentencing, Ken Paxton was
all over the news boasting in an email
<http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article132508949.html> :
This case shows how serious Texas is about keeping its elections secure, and
the outcome sends a message that violators of the state's election law will
be prosecuted to the fullest. Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is
essential to preserving our democracy.
Republican governor Greg Abbott, a longtime promoter of fantasy voter fraud,
pushed his way into the Rosa Maria Ortega spotlight with a tweet of absurd
intensity <https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/830267079500632065> for
a fellow party member:
In Texas you will pay a price for Voter Fraud: Noncitizen Sentenced to 8
Years in prison for Illegal Voting. #txlege
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash>
The judge who sentenced Rosa Maria Ortega is also Republican. So is the
Attorney General. In 2014, Rosa Maria Ortega voted for him.
Rosa Maria Ortega's ordeal is a Republican zeitgeist story
Since 2002, some 72 million Texas votes have led to voter fraud prosecution
in - wait for it - fewer than 100 cases (in which convictions led to light
sentences or probation). But politicians pursuing an imaginary monster
<https://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2017/02/11/illegal-alien-voter-convicte
d-in-texas-is-tip-of-the-iceberg/> tend to inflate any evidence
<http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/02/11/texas-woman-sentenced-8-years-jail-v
oting-knowing-shes-not-us-citizen-447103> they can find of their particular
Big Foot
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/25/here-are-nine-major-
investigations-on-voter-fraud-that-found-virtually-nothing/?utm_term=.25f986
305c8f> . That's just Rosa Maria Ortega's bad luck, that and Republicans'
savage indifference to inflicting needless pain and cruelty.
Texas voter laws have for years illustrated Republican cruelty in pursuit of
hobgoblins. Last year the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, by a
9-6 vote, struck down part of the Texas Voter ID law. Considered the
country's most conservative appeals court, it held that the Texas law
discriminates against black and Latino <javascript:void(0);> citizens. For
now, the US Supreme Court has rejected a Texas appeal
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/23/supreme-court-rejects-texas-appe
al-over-voter-id-law.html> of the lower court's ruling. The law would have
eliminated 16,400 legal voters
<http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/texas-voter-
law-would-have-prevented-400-from-voting-november/sjlovqT3KlHKpUVb9sLC9N/>
from the election. Texas governor Greg Abbott
<http://gov.texas.gov/news/press-release/22522> issued a statement at the
time:
The 5th Circuit rightly reversed the lower court's finding of discriminatory
purpose, but wrongly concluded the law had a discriminatory effect. Voter
fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process. As
Attorney General I prosecuted cases against voter fraud across the State,
and Texas will continue to make sure there is no illegal voting at the
ballot box.
At about the same time, Abbott also claimed: "The fact is voter fraud is
rampant
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/elections-official-asks-trump-eviden
ce-voter-fraud.html> -and in Texas, unlike some other states and unlike some
other leaders, we are committed to cracking down on voter fraud." Politifact
called Abbott's claim a "Pants on Fire
<http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/mar/17/greg-abbott/light-ma
tch-greg-abbotts-claim-about-rampant-voter/> " lie. In Texas it's a
crackdown on rampant voter fraud when they judicially lynch an
under-educated woman who voted Republican. (In Iowa, the woman charged with
voting twice for Trump
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/27/a-trump-suppo
rter-was-charged-with-voting-twice-her-lawyer-says-she-shouldnt-stand-trial-
2/?utm_term=.d003993c7fe3> is, according to her attorney, mentally
incompetent to stand trial.)
Rosa Maria Ortega's attorney Clark Birdsall
<http://politics.blog.mystatesman.com/2017/02/13/bagging-a-unicorn-texas-mom
-gets-8-years-for-illegally-voting-for-ken-paxton/> is outspoken about the
injustice of this Texas prosecution and the fatuous Republican
self-grandiosity that goes with it:
These people are beating their chests and wrapping themselves up in the flag
and trying to impress our current occupier of the White House, and they're
like a big-game hunter, one foot on the carcass, with their gun in their
hand and with a big smile on their face.
This is such a miscarriage.
And the taxpayers are going to pay a minimum of $300,000 or $400,000 to
house this woman, just so a local politicians can curry favor with Trump, or
with Abbott, who is just as out of control.
With mindless immigrant persecution
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/10/ice_raids_speed_into_overdrive_advoc
ates> continuing across the country
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/13/headlines> in the current ICE
rampage
<http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41917-immigrant-communi
ty-on-high-alert-fearing-trumps-deportation-force> , Rosa Maria Ortega's
story is emblematic of the inhumanity Republicans bring to governing.
Whether it's cruelty to the sick
<http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41927-republicans-are-still-
lying-about-obamacare-and-americans-arent-having-it> , or cruelty to
immigrants
<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/28/1626504/-Cowardly-Republicans-go-ut
terly-silent-in-the-face-of-Trump-s-cruelty-to-refugees-and-immigrants> , or
cruelty to disabled people
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/trump-attacks-disabled-children-remo
ving-disability-education-rights-website.html> , or cruelty to the LGBTQ
community
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/justice-department-takes-shot-lgbtq-
rights-days-sessions-confirmation.html> , it's always cruelty at the heart
of the approach.
_____
William M. Boardman has over 40 years experience in theatre, radio, TV,
print journalism, and non-fiction, including 20 years in the Vermont
judiciary. He has received honors from Writers Guild of America, Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, Vermont Life magazine, and an Emmy Award nomination
from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
<http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize>
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. (photo: AP)
http://readersupportednews.org/http://readersupportednews.org/
Republican Cruelty - Just for Immigrants, Disabled, and Gays?
By William Boardman, Reader Supported News
15 February 17
Scapegoating minorities is useful in building a police state
osa Maria Ortega, 37, came to the United States as an infant. She has a
sixth grade education
<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/us/illegal-voting-gets-texas-woman-8-yea
rs-in-prison-and-certain-deportation.html?_r=0> . When she was about eleven,
her mother was arrested and deported. Her two younger brothers, born in the
US, became citizens. She became a permanent resident, with a green card. She
is a mother of four children, ages 12-16, who are all citizens, and engaged
to marry Oscar Sherman, a citizen.
When she lived in Dallas County, she registered to vote
<https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/largepamp.shtml> on forms
that had no box to check for "permanent resident," only "citizen." She
registered in 2012, as a Republican. She voted for Mitt Romney. She voted
again in May 2014. When she moved to Tarrant County, she again registered to
vote in October, on a different form, with a box for "non-citizen," which
she checked. That registration was rejected. She explained to election
officials that she had voted in Dallas County without difficulty, they said
she had to be a citizen. In March 2015 she filed another form claiming to be
a citizen. Apparently no one thought to sort the situation out humanely
<https://latterly.org/never-forget-this-name-rosa-maria-ortega-21e6a4e50ba0#
.ula43sp0r> , with someone who didn't know the difference legally between
permanent residency and citizenship.
Instead, in October 2015, she was arrested and charged with "Illegal
Voting," a second degree felony under a Texas law that took effect January
1, 2012
<http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/02/09/mexican-national-found-guilty-ill
egal-voting/> . She was indicted in November 2015. According to Rosa Maria
Ortega's attorney, Clark Birdsall, the Texas Attorney General's office
agreed to dismiss all charges
<http://politics.blog.mystatesman.com/2017/02/13/bagging-a-unicorn-texas-mom
-gets-8-years-for-illegally-voting-for-ken-paxton/> if she would agree to
testify on voting procedures before the Texas Legislature, but Tarrant
County district attorney Sharen Wilson vetoed any deal and demanded a trial
to showcase how tough she could be on "election fraud." The state and county
officials refused to comment on this to The New York Times, but a spokesman
for Wilson offered a non-denial denial saying any negotiations had been only
"discussions."
On February 8, 2017, after about two hours of deliberation, a jury found
Rosa Maria Ortega guilty on two counts, thereby rejecting her testimony
<http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/02/09/grand-prairie-woman-sentenced-to-8-years
-in-prison-for-voter-fraud/> that she was confused by and didn't understand
the law. Each count carried a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. The
statute requires that the court determine that a person cast an illegal
ballot "knowingly." The following day, the Texas county judge sentenced Rosa
Maria Ortega to an eight-year sentence on each count (to run concurrently)
and fined her $5000.
The Attorney General, Ken Paxton, was elected in 2014 after years of
crusading against "voter fraud." (He has his own legal issues these days,
Texas criminal securities fraud charges
<https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/12/tracker-attorney-general-ken-paxton
-coverage/> and a federal lawsuit, but he denies any wrongdoing, with a
trial coming up May 1.) After Rosa Maria Ortega's sentencing, Ken Paxton was
all over the news boasting in an email
<http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article132508949.html> :
This case shows how serious Texas is about keeping its elections secure, and
the outcome sends a message that violators of the state's election law will
be prosecuted to the fullest. Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is
essential to preserving our democracy.
Republican governor Greg Abbott, a longtime promoter of fantasy voter fraud,
pushed his way into the Rosa Maria Ortega spotlight with a tweet of absurd
intensity <https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/830267079500632065> for
a fellow party member:
In Texas you will pay a price for Voter Fraud: Noncitizen Sentenced to 8
Years in prison for Illegal Voting. #txlege
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash>
The judge who sentenced Rosa Maria Ortega is also Republican. So is the
Attorney General. In 2014, Rosa Maria Ortega voted for him.
Rosa Maria Ortega's ordeal is a Republican zeitgeist story
Since 2002, some 72 million Texas votes have led to voter fraud prosecution
in - wait for it - fewer than 100 cases (in which convictions led to light
sentences or probation). But politicians pursuing an imaginary monster
<https://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2017/02/11/illegal-alien-voter-convicte
d-in-texas-is-tip-of-the-iceberg/> tend to inflate any evidence
<http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/02/11/texas-woman-sentenced-8-years-jail-v
oting-knowing-shes-not-us-citizen-447103> they can find of their particular
Big Foot
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/25/here-are-nine-major-
investigations-on-voter-fraud-that-found-virtually-nothing/?utm_term=.25f986
305c8f> . That's just Rosa Maria Ortega's bad luck, that and Republicans'
savage indifference to inflicting needless pain and cruelty.
Texas voter laws have for years illustrated Republican cruelty in pursuit of
hobgoblins. Last year the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, by a
9-6 vote, struck down part of the Texas Voter ID law. Considered the
country's most conservative appeals court, it held that the Texas law
discriminates against black and Latino <javascript:void(0);> citizens. For
now, the US Supreme Court has rejected a Texas appeal
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/23/supreme-court-rejects-texas-appe
al-over-voter-id-law.html> of the lower court's ruling. The law would have
eliminated 16,400 legal voters
<http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/texas-voter-
law-would-have-prevented-400-from-voting-november/sjlovqT3KlHKpUVb9sLC9N/>
from the election. Texas governor Greg Abbott
<http://gov.texas.gov/news/press-release/22522> issued a statement at the
time:
The 5th Circuit rightly reversed the lower court's finding of discriminatory
purpose, but wrongly concluded the law had a discriminatory effect. Voter
fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process. As
Attorney General I prosecuted cases against voter fraud across the State,
and Texas will continue to make sure there is no illegal voting at the
ballot box.
At about the same time, Abbott also claimed: "The fact is voter fraud is
rampant
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/elections-official-asks-trump-eviden
ce-voter-fraud.html> -and in Texas, unlike some other states and unlike some
other leaders, we are committed to cracking down on voter fraud." Politifact
called Abbott's claim a "Pants on Fire
<http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/mar/17/greg-abbott/light-ma
tch-greg-abbotts-claim-about-rampant-voter/> " lie. In Texas it's a
crackdown on rampant voter fraud when they judicially lynch an
under-educated woman who voted Republican. (In Iowa, the woman charged with
voting twice for Trump
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/27/a-trump-suppo
rter-was-charged-with-voting-twice-her-lawyer-says-she-shouldnt-stand-trial-
2/?utm_term=.d003993c7fe3> is, according to her attorney, mentally
incompetent to stand trial.)
Rosa Maria Ortega's attorney Clark Birdsall
<http://politics.blog.mystatesman.com/2017/02/13/bagging-a-unicorn-texas-mom
-gets-8-years-for-illegally-voting-for-ken-paxton/> is outspoken about the
injustice of this Texas prosecution and the fatuous Republican
self-grandiosity that goes with it:
These people are beating their chests and wrapping themselves up in the flag
and trying to impress our current occupier of the White House, and they're
like a big-game hunter, one foot on the carcass, with their gun in their
hand and with a big smile on their face.
This is such a miscarriage.
And the taxpayers are going to pay a minimum of $300,000 or $400,000 to
house this woman, just so a local politicians can curry favor with Trump, or
with Abbott, who is just as out of control.
With mindless immigrant persecution
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/10/ice_raids_speed_into_overdrive_advoc
ates> continuing across the country
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/13/headlines> in the current ICE
rampage
<http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41917-immigrant-communi
ty-on-high-alert-fearing-trumps-deportation-force> , Rosa Maria Ortega's
story is emblematic of the inhumanity Republicans bring to governing.
Whether it's cruelty to the sick
<http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41927-republicans-are-still-
lying-about-obamacare-and-americans-arent-having-it> , or cruelty to
immigrants
<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/28/1626504/-Cowardly-Republicans-go-ut
terly-silent-in-the-face-of-Trump-s-cruelty-to-refugees-and-immigrants> , or
cruelty to disabled people
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/trump-attacks-disabled-children-remo
ving-disability-education-rights-website.html> , or cruelty to the LGBTQ
community
<http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/justice-department-takes-shot-lgbtq-
rights-days-sessions-confirmation.html> , it's always cruelty at the heart
of the approach.
William M. Boardman has over 40 years experience in theatre, radio, TV,
print journalism, and non-fiction, including 20 years in the Vermont
judiciary. He has received honors from Writers Guild of America, Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, Vermont Life magazine, and an Emmy Award nomination
from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socializehttp://e-max.it/posizioname
nto-siti-web/socialize
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