Every vote counts, and you have to watch those who count the votes like a hawk. Those are the two take-away lessons for tea party patriots who are newly involved in the political process and coming up against the party machines for the first time.

First let’s consider the tight race in Virginia’s House District 11 because of the notable irregularities. The local tea party endorsed Republican candidate Keith Fimian, who was trying to unseat big spender (of our money) Democratic incumbent Gerry Connolly. After the initial vote count was announced, Connolly claimed victory with a slim margin of 968 votes. However, we’ve just gotten these details from the non-partisan Northern Virginia Tea Party, whose co-chairmen are one Republican and one Democrat:

Current count:

Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly (D)
111,695 or 49.22%

Keith S. Fimian (R)
110,727 or 48.79%

There are several developments in the Fimian – Connolly race that may call into question the accuracy of the current vote totals. Here are the issues that are being looked at:

In Fairfax County, the voting machines failed to register votes from over 800 ballots, including 106 in the Sideburn precinct alone. (Keith Fimian won that precinct 58% – 40%.) In Prince William County, the machines failed to register votes on more than 200 additional ballots.

In several precincts, there were actually more votes than voters. That is, voting machines reported a higher number of votes than the number of voters marked on the pollbooks as having voted in the election.

As of Election Day, there were over 1,150 absentee ballots that had been mailed out to military and other overseas voters but had yet to be received back in the 11th Congressional District.

We also understand that officials in Prince William County rejected over 280 absentee ballots, with another 200-300 absentee ballots being rejected in Fairfax County.

…these are some of the questions that are being considered at this time.

In Arizona’s House District 8, incumbent Democrat Gabrielle Giffords has claimed victory over Republican challenger and Iraq veteran Jesse Kelly, with a lead of 3,641 votes in precinct totals. But there are an unknown number of absentee ballots and possibly a large number of provisional ballots which have not yet been reported by the media.

In California’s House District 11, Republican challenger David Harmer had the support of the Pleasanton/NorCal TEA Party against incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney. Votes are still being counted, and the counting process could continue until Thanksgiving, after which there may be a recount.

In California’s House District 20, incumbent Democrat Jim Costa is trailing slightly behind newcomer and Republican candidate Andy Vidak, a member of the Bakersfield Tea Party Patriots. Votes are still coming in.

In Illinois’ House District 8, Republican challenger Joe Walsh holds a lead of 553 votes in precinct totals over incumbent Democratic Melissa Bean. Bean is hoping to erase the Republican’s lead with absentee ballot counting from the infamous Cook County.

In Kentucky House District 6, incumbent Democrat Ben Chandler holds a 600 vote lead in precinct totals over Republican challenger Andy Barr, who has asked for a recanvass.

Another undecided race is playing out in New York’s House District 1. Republican challenger Randy Altschuler, a self-funded local businessman, ran against Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop. On election night, Tim Bishop claimed victory:

(Nov. 3, 2010) United States Representative Tim Bishop appeared last night at the Islandia Marriot to claim victory in his race against Randy Altschuler, a millionaire businessman. However, with absentee ballots left to be counted, Mr. Altschuler declined to concede.

According to the Suffolk Board of Elections, only 3,461 votes separated the two candidates in the hard-fought and expensive race. Mr. Bishop had 50.96 percent of the vote to Mr. Altschuler’s 49.04 percent, with a total of 181,043 votes cast….

But after more serious ballot scrutiny, that 3,461 vote lead evaporated, and became a slim margin of 392 in favor of Altschuler. Absentee ballots remain to be counted.

In New York’s House District 25, Republican challenger and tea party favorite Ann Marie Buerkle is holding a slim lead in precinct totals over Democratic incumbent Daniel Maffei, with a margin of 659 votes. An estimated 9,500 absentee ballots remain uncounted.

In North Carolina’s House District 2, Republican challenger Renee Ellmers received 1,646 votes more than seven-term incumbent Democrat Bob Etheridge. Etheridge is expected to request a recount.

In Texas House District 27, Republican challenger Blake Farenthold holds a lead of just 792 votes over 28-year incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz:

Ortiz has not conceded, however. On Friday, based on what he termed “numerous irregularities,” he said he would request a manual recount of the 101,116 votes cast in the race. He has said that the irregularities include the “misplaced” ballots in Nueces County, a power outage at an early voting site, and a polling site that opened almost an hour late on Election Day, “depriving many from casting their vote.”

In Washington House District 2, incumbent Democrat Rick Larsen appears to be holding on to his lead over tea party favorite and Republican challenger John Koster, with a 3,841 vote margin as of Saturday night.

Related:

The Right Point of View — Congressional Race Still Up in the Air- Randy Altschuler Ahead

Does merely being born in the United States entitle you to US citizenship? What if you are born to parents who are in the US illegally? One southern California congressman doesn’t think so and has introduced a bill which would end birthright citizenship. From The Press-Enterprise — Bill would end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants:

As the national immigration debate rages on, one Southern California congressman is challenging the basic notion that anyone born in the United States should be granted citizenship.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, is pushing legislation that would end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants.

Miller also is taking aim at the so-called “birth tourism” industry, which arranges the travel and hospitalization of non-Americans who wish to have their babies on U.S. soil for the purpose of acquiring citizenship for them….

Also, from The Examiner comes a very thoughtful article on this issue. Apparently there was one case which ended up in the courts around the turn of the century involving a man of Chinese background who was born in the US to parents who were in the US from China on diplomatic business. The court pointed out that the man’s parents were in the country LEGALLY, that he had no criminal record, was gainfully employed, etc. thereby implying that there were some conditions attached to US citizenship other than mere birth in the US. Read Illegal Aliens and US Citizenship:

There has been only one case where the United States Supreme Court looked at the question at length. United States v. Wong Kim Ark was an 1898 decision by the court….

The decision did not automatically confer citizenship on the children of persons who were here illegally. Nor are those children automatically granted citizenship.

There’s never a shortage of irresponsible male politicians who can’t keep their pants on to entertain us.

Usually we only cover national and international news. But we do include state and local stories when the events are prototypical of the American scene. And in this case, the story is soooo steamy and soooo funny, it is irresistible.

You will recall that a bit earlier we poked fun at Sleazy California Politicians. There must be something in the water in Sacramento.

One day while Michael D. Duvall, Orange County’s 72nd Assembly District representative was sitting in a hearing, he regaled a colleague with details of an extramarital affair he was having. (I’m laughing out loud as I write this.) Unbeknownst to him, his microphone was on, and the lurid details were shared with the cable-televised committee hearing. The Orange County Weekly tells the story:

In July–two days after Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Republican leader Sam Blakeslee put Duvall on the Rules Committee that oversees member ethics–the second-term, conservative, Republican assemblyman sat in a public hearing and vividly described lewd details about his trysts with a female lobbyist whose clients had business before another committee on which Duvall sits.

Duvall, speaking to a relatively mum Republican colleague seated to his left, apparently had no idea his dais microphone became live beginning about a minute before the start of a cable-televised committee hearing. He was captured in the middle of recounting portions of an affair.

“She wears little eye-patch underwear,” said Duvall, who is married with two children. “So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And so, we had made love Wednesday–a lot! And so she’ll, she’s all, ‘I am going up and down the stairs, and you’re dripping out of me!’ So messy!”

That line may quickly become part of colorful Sacramento political lore….

Duvall–who was twice a president of the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce, served two terms as mayor of Yorba Linda before entering the assembly in 2006, and is the owner of an insurance agency–continues his tale: “So, I am getting into spanking her. Yeah, I like it. I like spanking her. She goes, ‘I know you like spanking me.’ I said, ‘Yeah! Because you’re such a bad girl!’”

The paunchy Duvall, vice chairman of the Assembly’s powerful Committee on Utilities & Commerce, is 54 years old. His sex partner, about 20 years younger, is a blonde bombshell who is a lobbyist with business before that committee.

The woman, Heidi DeJong Barsuglia, is “one of the top lobbyists” for privately owned California utility giant Sempra Energy. Said a capitol staffer:

“Their relationship is the worst-kept secret in Sacramento. He’s old and fat. She’s hot, blonde and about 20 years younger. He could have never gotten a woman like that before he got this job.”

No kidding. And we complain when our Washington DC politicians appear to be “in bed with lobbyists.”

---

UPDATE, 5AM: According to new reports, this guy sleeps with multiple lobbyists. And BTW all you libs who complain that I only dis Democrats, take note — this guy is a conservative, family-values-spouting Republican. (I dis all hypocrites, not just the Dem ones.)

Television coverage from KCAL/9 is now online. Enjoy!

 

UPDATE, 3PM: California legislative leaders stripped Michael Duvall of his committee posts this morning and launched an ethics probe of his actions. This afternoon, after assessing the public reaction to his shenanigans, he resigned from office. (Source.) He did not face the media directly, nor did he address the issue on his official state website. He posted a brief statement on his old campaign website:

“I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state. I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fair to my family, my constituents or to my friends on both sides of the aisle to remain in office. Therefore, I have decided to resign my office, effective immediately, so that the Assembly can get back to work.”

You cast a vote that will outrage your constituents? No problemo. Just expunge it.

California was dripping with red ink. The current budget deficit was projected at $26.3 billion and the state was handing out IOUs instead of paychecks. After around-the-clock travail in the legislature, politicians from both parties agreed on a package of spending cuts, fancy accounting scams, and shortfalls to local governments to pass a budget for the coming fiscal year.

Not just a neat budget, mind you, but a package of 31 painfully crafted bills, which all together would do the job for the moment. It is not a sustainable plan — the state is desperate for revenue. There are all those illegal immigrants to support:

A study done by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found the cost of illegal immigrants in California to amount to $10.5 billion annually. This figure includes the cost of incarceration, health care, and education of illegal immigrants.

Ten and a half billion? Whoa, that’s almost 40% of the deficit. I have a suggestion…

One proposal on the table was to allow offshore drilling for oil, as California is sitting next to untapped lucrative natural resources, with the potential for bringing in over $100 million per year. But there is a lot of opposition for fear of an oil spill on the famous beaches, and the legislators voted it down 43 to 28 on July 24. That’s all well and good — there are two sides to every issue.

But what happened next was outrageous in a nominally still free country. Not wanting their constituents to know how they voted, the sleazy California politicians decided to let the results of the vote stand, but to expunge the recorded tally. And so they did. The record was destroyed.

Unfortunately for them, one member kept notes on paper, and sent them to Glen Beck. Now not just California, but the whole world can enjoy their discomfiture. Here’s the roll call. What might have been a mini-teapot-tempest in one state is now a national scandal. And just in case someone hacks Glenn’s servers, here’s the list — Assembly vote on opening new oil drilling:

YES (28)

Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia

Joel Anderson, R-Alpine

Juan Arambula, independent-Fresno

Bill Berryhill, R-Modesto

Tom Berryhill, R-Ceres

Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo

Charles Calderon, D-Whittier

Connie Conway, R-Tulare

Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley

Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine

Mike Duvall, R-Yorba Linda

Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands

Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield

Ted Gaines, R-Roseville

Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad

Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford

Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills

Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore

Stephen Knight, R-Palmdale

Dan Logue, R-Linda

Jeff Miller, R-Corona

Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert

Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks

Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber

Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach

Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita

Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa

Mike Villines, R-Clovis

NO (43)

Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco

Jim Beall, D-San Jose

Robert Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills

Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica

Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo

Anna Marie Caballero, D-Salinas

Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto

Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata

Joe Coto, D-San Jose

Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate

Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles

Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park

Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa

Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles

Paul Fong, D-Sunnyvale

Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar

Warren Furutani, D-Gardena

Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston

Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley

Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo

Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills

Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael

Dave Jones, D-Sacramento

Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank

Ted Lieu, D-Torrance

Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach

Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco

Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia

William Monning, D-Santa Cruz

Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara

John Perez, D-Los Angeles

Manuel Perez, D-Coachella

Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena

Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City

Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista

Lori Saldana, D-San Diego

Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley

Audra Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks

Sandré Swanson, D-Alameda

Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch

Norma Torres, D-Pomona

Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont

Mariko Yamana, D-Davis

NOT VOTING (8)

Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista

Marty Block, D-San Diego

Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles

Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego

Isadore Hall, D-Compton

Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point

Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina

Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim

Dear readers, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed posting that list.

For months, the mainstream media have totally stonewalled the controversy raging in the Blogosphere over Obama’s eligibility to run for president. Today, the first crack in the MSM appeared, as Greta van Susteren wrote a blog post about it on GretaWire.

October 24th, 2008 9:20 AM Eastern
OK … the internet rumors about the birth certificate: let’s end the rumors and the viral nature of them!
by Greta Van Susteren

Of course I know about all the internet gossip about Senator Obama’s birth. Many of you (thousands?) have written me saying he was not born in the USA (a Constitutional requirement for President) …. the rumors are flying around the internet and overloading my inbox and is viral. It doesn’t stop! I have thought the emails a waste of keyboard time and have ignored them.

However, since the emails just won’t stop…and since it really is a topic that should be put to rest and can be done with such ease, I now think Senator Obama should release his birth certificate but I also think, to be fair, so should the other 3 …. yes, all 4.

So, let’s have it! All 4 need to release their birth certificates to prove each was born in the USA and thus constitutionally able to serve as President. Let’s insist that all 4 release birth certificates and put the matter to rest! (and yes, stop the emails to me!)

Until this is done, the rumors simply will not stop and rumors are not fair … it is not fair to Senator Obama and he also should not be blackmailed into producing the records … so, if all 4 must produce, that seems fair.

Let’s see them …. and then let’s move on.

Greta recently moved her hour-long cable television show from CNN to Fox News, where she seems to feel freer to pursue balanced coverage. A couple of points here. First, John McCain voluntarily produced his birth certificate, to allay concerns about his birth in a US military hospital outside the continental US.

Second, and VERY TELLING, Greta is not covering this subject as a diligent journalist. By her own admission, she is simply trying to relieve immense pressure on her inbox. Which proves two things — there is still no real honest journalist in the MSM and intense pressure from all of us can make a difference.

---

As of this past Wednesday Friday, lawsuits are being pursued in eight nine ten states regarding Obama’s birth status:

1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Plaintiff, Philip Berg
   

   Philip J. Berg, Esquire
   555 Andorra Glen Court, Suite 12
   Lafayette Hill, PA 19444-2531
   Cell (610) 662-3005
   (610) 825-3134
   (800) 993-PHIL [7445]
   Fax (610) 834-7659
   Email: philjberg@obamacrimes.com
   Web site: Obama Crimes

   UPDATE, Saturday, October 25  4AM EST — Philadelphia Daily News reports:

   Judge rejects Montco lawyer’s bid to have Obama removed from ballot

   A federal judge in Philadelphia last night threw out a complaint by a Montgomery County lawyer who claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was not qualified to be president and that his name should be removed from the Nov. 4 ballot.

   Philip J. Berg alleged in a complaint filed in federal district court on Aug. 21 against Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission, that Obama was born in Mombasa, Kenya.

   Berg claimed that the Democratic presidential standardbearer is not even an American citizen but a citizen of Indonesia and therefore ineligible to be president….

   In a 34-page memorandum and opinion, the judge said Berg’s allegations of harm were “too vague and too attenuated” to confer standing on him or any other voters….

   Berg plans to file an appeal.
    

2. Seattle, Washington — Plaintiff, Steve Marquis
   

   Steve Marquis
   Fall City, WA
   (425) 698-7084
   Email: peoplesvoice@peoplespassions.org
   Web site: People’s Voice

3. Honolulu, Hawaii — Plaintiff, Andy Martin
   

   Email: AndyMart20@aol.com

4. California — David Archbold
   

   Email: darchbo1@gmail.com

5. Florida
   

   Email:

6. Georgia — Tom Terry
   

   Email: kingdommatters@gmail.com

7. New York — Dan Smith
   

   Email: Dansmith1954@aol.com

8. Connecticut — Cort Wrotnowski
   

   Email: Metaqubit@aol.com

9. Richmond, Virginia — A Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed in Richmond, Virginia on Wednesday, October 22 before the Honorable Walter W. Stout III. We’ll try to find out more and keep our readers posted.
    
10. Ohio — From the Cincinnati Enquirer
    

    Suit challenges Obama’s birth place
    By Janice Morse

    TURTLECREEK TWP. – A Warren County man is taking the long-simmering dispute over Barack Obama’s birthplace – Hawaii or Kenya? – to court.

    David M. Neal of Turtlecreek Township plunked down a $200 fee to file a lawsuit Friday in Warren Common Pleas Court in Lebanon.

    The suit seeks to force state and federal officials to take more steps to settle, once and for all, the question of Obama’s legitimacy as a potential president.

    The U.S. Constitution requires presidents to be natural-born citizens who are at least 35 years old. “Mr. Obama has failed to demonstrate that he is a ‘natural-born’ citizen,” Neal declares.

    He asserts that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein all ought to be held responsible for verifying that Obama meets the constitutional requirements for president….

---

On the evening of October 23, Philip Berg was interviewed on the Michael Savage talk radio show. Berg stated that he had in his possession an audiotape of Obama’s Kenyan grandmother insisting that she was present at Obama’s birth in the hospital in Mombassa, Kenya, as well as sworn affidavits. Here’s the recording:

Philip J. Berg/Michael Savage Interview (Part 1 of 2)

 

Philip J. Berg/Michael Savage Interview (Part 2 of 2)

 

References:

America’s Right — Jeff Schreiber, legal writer by day and exhausted law student by night, is providing continuing coverage.

Citizen Wells is also providing continuing coverage.

October 24, 2008 — Finally we have coverage of the Philip J Berg lawsuit by major media players. Rush Limbaugh has mentioned the lawsuit and now Greta Van Sustern has a proposal to address the birth certificate issue….

Steve Marquis Press Release — from the plaintiff in the Washington state filing.

One of today’s hot news themes is covered in heart-wrenching detail by CNN:

Mom forced to live in car with dogs
By Thelma Gutierrez and Wayne Drash

SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) — Barbara Harvey climbs into the back of her small Honda sport utility vehicle and snuggles with her two golden retrievers, her head nestled on a pillow propped against the driver’s seat.

A former loan processor, the 67-year-old mother of three grown children said she never thought she’d spend her golden years sleeping in her car in a parking lot….

Harvey was forced into homelessness earlier this year after being laid off. She said that three-quarters of her income went to paying rent in Santa Barbara, where the median house in the scenic, oceanfront city costs more than $1 million….

Harvey now works part time for $8 an hour, and she draws Social Security to help make ends meet. But she still cannot afford an apartment, and so every night she pulls into a gated parking lot to sleep in her car, along with other women who find themselves in a similar predicament.

There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization….

Meanwhile, the heavy taxes that this woman undoubtedly paid to the Internal Revenue Service when she was more affluently employed are being used to undergird the authority of an repressive totalitarian government. The United States is spending big bucks to rush aid to the victims of the Myanmar Cyclone. But that aid is not being deivered by our troops to the victims.

A U.S. plane ferried relief to Myanmar for the first time Monday to help nearly 2 million cyclone victims facing disease and starvation, but both President Bush and the U.N. chief strongly criticized the military junta over its response to the deepening crisis.

more stories like thisEven as the death toll climbed, Myanmar’s authoritarian regime continued to bar nearly all foreigners experienced in managing humanitarian crises from reaching survivors of Cyclone Nargis….

Myanmar’s hermetic authoritarian regime made a huge concession Monday by letting the United States — the fiercest critic of its human rights record — bring in relief following prolonged negotiations.

The U.S. military C-130 cargo plane filled with 14 tons of water, mosquito nets and blankets was unloaded in Yangon, providing what officials said was help for some 30,000 victims of the May 3 disaster.

It was immediately transferred to Myanmar army trucks….

A few courageous in-country reporters have suggested that the ruling military junta is using the aid packages to give to its own supporters, and withholding aid from the ethnic minorities and those who do not support the regime. The New York Times reports:

To date, Myanmar has allowed 11 airborne deliveries of aid, which experts say is a fraction of the relief needed if the scale of the disaster is even close to what the Burmese government has claimed. Much of that has come from the United Nations World Food Program, which said Friday that the aid it had delivered — and intended to distribute to hard-hit regions along the coast — had been seized.

“All the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated,” said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program in Bangkok.

More generally, The Cato Institute estimates the actual cost of US foreign aid at $50 billion. Their take on foreign aid is the same as mine:

Foreign Aid: End It, Don’t Mend It

….Last month, Congress approved more than $100 million of funding for … a host of liberal activist groups.

This is just a sign of the times in Washington: Republicans ignoring their friends and making nice with their adversaries. But the re-funding of failed foreign aid programs is particularly puzzling, because no area of the budget is more unpopular with voters.

Poll after poll reveals that, by two-to-one margins, Americans want foreign aid cut. The public has an intuitive understanding that the people who truly prosper from these programs tend to live in Washington, Geneva, and Brussels—not the Third World….

There is something wrong with this picture! Of course, Americans are a caring and generous people. But charity should begin at home! We need to remain strong and survivable ourselves, so that we can stay on our collective feet and help the rest of the world. There is no reason why our tax money, forcibly extracted from our pockets, should be going to bolster the power of an inimical government while our own folk are in trouble.

If the government had an ounce of common sense, the foreign aid program and its attendant bureaucracies would be completely eliminated, and the money would be used to assist hard-working Americans. Barbara Harvey is not on welfare! She is working to the best of her ability to find and keep a job under trying circumstances. Our elected officials’ misplaced loyalties contradict the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the electorate. This is just one more sorry tale in the ongoing saga of our government’s war on the middle class.