LADT to Remain Open

I have always tried to keep politics and religion off this blog because it divides us, not unifies us, but this time it is different because the Dodgers, by being part of MLB got involved in something that is so polarizing that it divides this country even more. This all started when MLB moved the All-Star game from Atlanta.

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” Manfred said. “In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”

In a time when 33% to over 50% (depending upon the polls you believe) of the voter base in America have serious questions about the accuracy and validity of the voting process, we need to make sure that what Rob Manfred says happens: Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”

The only problem here is that Rob Manfred is a liar! Now, plenty of my friends on the Right and Left hate Manfred, so would it really surprise you that he has it all wrong? If he isn’t telling you the truth, he is a liar! Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? I have and I really hate it. When I was 10 or 11, I was playing with this kid at our house and our parents told us to be back at a certain time. Well, we were late (as kids are prone to be) and as we came to the house, both of our parents were scolding us for being late. Charlie said “Well, we were late because Mark hit me in the stomach.” I was incredulous (because nothing of the sort happened), and I guess my parents could tell by the look on my face. I never ever played with that kid again.

I dislike Liars and Bullies. As a gangly 6′ 4″ Freshman in High School, a Senior named Ernie Varvel caught me in the bathroom and as was customary, he tried to give me a “swirly”, which is putting someone head in the toilet and flushing it. What he didn’t count on was the years I had spent on the farm baling hay and lugging around 100 pound burlap feed bags. When we can out of the restroom, his hair was wet and his lip was bleeding. My hair was dry. I hate bullies! I still do to this day.

Some of you know this story. Some of you don’t. In 1987, I was convicted of a crime I did not commit and sentenced to 40 years in prison after turning down a plea bargain for a suspended sentence. My attorney lost an appeal 3-2 in the Indiana Supreme Court and I ran out of money, so I had to represent myself. It took me 7 years, 5 months and 5 days to have it overturned and I literally had my handcuffs and shackles taken off in the courtroom and I walked out a free man. That was August 31, 1994 and all I had left was the shirt on my back! I never looked back and still realize that life is lived through the Windshield, not the Rear-View Mirror! Oh, you should glance back at the windshield once in a while, but that is not where you live.

It has never been about making money. It has always been about helping people and doing good things, but in the process, I have been greatly blessed with more than I will ever need. I can identify with the Biblical figure Job, who lost everything and gained back ten-fold.

I was accused by my ex-wife in a divorce of molesting my 3-year-old daughter. There was never any evidence, but two psychologists told the court that my daughter told them it happened. I refused to plead guilty and was convicted in Kangaroo Court and sentenced to 40 years. It took a long time for the truth to come out, but it did and right about now, my wife and I, My Youngest son and My Daughter and her entire family are in Ft. Meyers, Florida celebrating her 40th Birthday. We have been reunited for nearly 12 years and a couple of years ago, she gave me permission to finish my book (“The Mountainmover”) which I am finally ready to finish.

When we initially got back together, she said “Are you just doing this for your book?” I said, “No, I will not write it if you don’t want me to.” So I shelved it for about 10 years. A couple of years ago, she said: “Dad, you can finish your book. I’m in a different place.” So, I am compelled to finish it this year.

I tell you all of this because I hate false accusations, having experienced in my life. I hate it when people are marginalized and this voter law in Georgia does nothing of the sort. How this all came about is very telling.

Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams spent weeks spreading misinformation about the state’s new voting reform law. She called it “a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie.” Next, the President parroted the same thing. Now that her false claims about the bill have resulted in Major League Baseball announcing that it would move its All-Star game and draft out of Atlanta, Abrams has released a statement denouncing the decision.

Here’s Abrams full statement on the MLB:

Republicans who passed and defended Senate Bill 2020 did so knowing the economic risks to our state. They prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of Georgians.

Like many Georgians, I am disappointed that the MLB is relocating the All-Star game; however, I commend the players, owners and League commissioner for speaking out. I urge others in positions of leadership to do so as well. As I have stated, I respect boycotts, although I don’t want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs. Georgians targeted by voter suppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We should not abandon the victims of GOP malice and lies – we must stand together.

Georgia Republicans must renounce the terrible damage they have caused to our voting system and the harm they have inflicted on our economy. Our corporate community must get off the sidelines as full partners in this fight, acknowledging that the provisions of SB 2020 do not expand voting rights. They restrict those rights, affecting employees and consumers alike. And leaders must publicly support the voting rights provisions in the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to mitigate the harm being done in Georgia and other states.

As other events, productions and businesses weigh whether to patronize Georgia, I urge those who can to come and speak out, and I urge those who are here to stay and fight, to stay and vote. We need you.

The Washington Post fact-checked various complaints about the Georgia bill, ultimately finding that the experts it spoke to said: “the net effect was to expand the opportunities to vote for most Georgians, not limit them.” In fact, the Post gave President Biden “Four Pinocchios” for his falsehoods.

Specifically, the Post found that while Biden and others claimed the new law “ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.” As the Post noted, the new law does no such thing.

Critics of the bill also falsely claimed the new Georgia bill would prohibit food or drink from being passed out to people waiting in line to vote. The bill does not prevent people waiting in line to vote from receiving food or water, but politicians and their staff cannot provide it in an effort to secure votes. Poll workers can pass out water or food as they see fit.

The main thing this bill does is to expand voting places, times to vote, and requires voter I.D., and therein lies the problem. I keep hearing “There was no evidence of mass voter fraud in the past election.” Well, duh! How can you prove any voter fraud if no I.D. or signatures are required? California is in the process of recalling their governor and they are painstakingly checking each and every I.D. and signature and invalidating ones that can’t be confirmed. Is that also Racist? It’s called logical and necessary, not racist.

Now, if your side won the election, you may think otherwise, but no rule of law should be forsaken. There is nothing about the Georgia voter law that is racist and Coke, Delta, and MLB all have it wrong. It’s ignorance, intellectual laziness, or deliberate lying… and I am waiting for someone to say that poor or black people don’t have access to I.D.s. Yes they do and the Bill also helps facilitate that.

Dead people should not have a right to vote. People who have moved out of State should not have a right to vote, and someone else should not vote for someone who doesn’t vote. That is exactly what voter I.D. and signatures prevent. It assures us of valid elections… something that many do not feel is happening. It restricts no one, except the fraudsters!

MLB and the Dodgers have taken this position. This is a baseball site and that is why I am going to address it. LA Dodger Talk has been in existance fir nearly 20 years and is one of the best Dodger sites on the web. That’s why I am using the platform to address injustice. In this case, we cannot separate politics and baseball. Feel free to disagree, but don’t reduce it to name-calling. This is America and we have freedom. I want to be sure that process stays fair.

More about Dodger Blue Mom

2 Demeter2 sent this to me:

This song made it on the charts in Canada. Here’s a link:

The Sock by The Valentines

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Someday soon, it will be back to Dodger Baseball

But this is important and we have to address it. I believe that when you see something that is very wrong, you have a duty or an obligation to help right it. I am just one voice, on one blog, but forest fires are sometimes started with one little spark.

One Final Thing…