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
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:
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.
Discussion (94)
Disagree, not disagreeable
It was his elbow Badger. Guess he went down in a heap after striking out. All Star game moved to Denver.
Smith bomb
Jacob deGrom now has a 2.07 ERA since 2018 and the Mets are 36-41 in his starts.
I’d prefer CT3 to be the primary LF over Pollock
There’s a DH today. I looked at who is starting and man we have depth on offense. Rios is the DH. Taylor and McKinstry are in for Pollock and Lux.
I have absolutely no worries about our offense this year. Pitching is a different story though.
Most of us cannot agree on the Dodgers, let alone our political slants. Baseball is a release. A way to tell the world to go screw itself, I am watching a ball game. Thus I do not need the powers that be injecting their politics into my entertainment. I quit watching the NFL because of all the kneeling for the anthem crap. I quit watching the NBA because it is more of a forum for BLM than sport. I will not allow my love of baseball to be ruined by a bunch of self serving millionaires who care less about what we think. Play ball and screw politics. Denver among 3 city’s trying to get MLB to award them the All Star game, which I won’t watch anyway.
I see that Joc and Kike off to a tough start. 1-20 combined
I’m on the older side of life. I have learned that politics is really only about money and power. Both parties are the same – the only thing different is the message. Whenever I took a stand or got angry about a political issue – in the end it was just me that lost out on things. I learned that the only real way to make a difference in politics is with your wallet. I’ve played that game and don’t do it anymore.
So now I totally ignore politics and my life is much better. I’m happier and nicer to people. I enjoy baseball for what it is – a game – and not for anything else. I enjoy this blog for the baseball talk. I pretty much skip everything else.
If Mark wants to end LADT that’s his right. He’s earned it. After all it will end sometime. But I hope it isn’t soon. For some reason this blog is different. The passing of DBM made that crystal clear.
We all know there isn’t going to be a winner in this fools errand we are running, can we just hand the trophy to Badger and get back to the other thing ?
Make getting IDs easy. Them make everyone have proof of ID when voting…especially mail in/absentee votes. We want ALL Eligible people to vote and a system that helps ensure integrity of the vote. When the integrity is so easily questioned, it hurts our democracy. Voting is a right and a privilege. Citizens should have to be somewhat intentional to vote. Voting laws and rules should be decided/changed by our elected legislatures as put forth in the Constitution not executive branch ideologs
Some very well presented arguments on the topic given to us today. I want to thank you all for the work you put into your words. Good reads abound today.
I don’t believe for a minute Georgia Republican legislators would have done this if they hadn’t lost in the election.Republicans don’t want to “get out the vote” and that should be obvious to everyone. I think Bum is right about sponsorships bailing. It’s happened before. No matter the question the answer is money. And on that topic my simple take on policy is it’s the people’s money, spend it on the people, don’t spend it on tax breaks for the Uber rich. There is enough wealth in this nation that nobody should be hungry or homeless. It’s shameful that so many are.
I think it’s quite possible Seager may want to win a championship in a Yankee uniform and Lux, who is already a better shortstop than Corey, could have some Trevor Story in him. The Dodgers looked sloppy at times in Colorado, but they took 3 out of 4 from a team that might lose 100 and start the season in first place. Urias is the pitcher most of us thought he was, Batt Meaty should be sent to batting school and the pen will eventually be very good.
Excuse me. I must have made a wrong turn. I was looking for LA Dodger Talk and apparently stumbled into “I’m right and you’re wrong and nothing you do or say will convince me otherwise”
Must be looking at an old map.
Dr. Cassidy: I”m with you. Urias looked absolutely filthy yesterday, and that changeup, IN COORS FIELD, was dominant.
This is going to be a fun year. It’s going to be a fun Friday. I’ll forward pics of the stadium to Mark to post here.
Back to the game. May makes his first start of 2021 in Oakland. Oakland has some pop in the lineup, but it is April and the evening air might cut down some balls that would otherwise go out. Kind of harsh to judge Beaty on 3 at bats. But that is how fickle some fans are. I dispute your assumption that most Dodger fans are liberals Eric. Makes absolutely no sense at all. I am a baseball fan over all else and no matter how I vote politically it has nothing to do with baseball. They could cancel the All Star game permanently and it would not bother me. Reason one it won’t be, it is a cash cow for MLB and the city that hosts it. Remember, the Dodgers lost the 2020 game because of the pandemic and a huge chance to show off the improvements made to the stadium. Kersh makes his second start tomorrow and it looks like Buehler will get the home opener. Throw out all of the stats from the weekend in Denver, now they get to sea level and everything will be different.
Let’s keep it civil. The lawyers in here should understand what constitutes evidence and opinion. Dispense with the opinion. You are really short on evidence and I will prove it.
You guys can’t help yourselves
You enjoy it too much
I was born in California but left in 1997 right before I turned 25. I saw California changing for the worse and so I left and it has a lot to do with the subject that is being talked about here, politics. My political beliefs DO NOT line up with California’s political beliefs and unfortunately with most Dodger fans. I have followed the Dodgers since the 1977 world series and even though most Dodger fans are liberal and Democrats I don’t want to look for another baseball team to follow because of politics and it’s because I have followed the Dodgers for so long (43 seasons). This will be my 44th season.
Sorry if this is controversial, but I think Matt Beaty might suck.
Cassidy, if I might add a little religion to your comment.
AMEN BROTHER.
I was shocked to hear of the passing of Dodger Blue Mom, she was invariably kind, elegant, and intelligent in her posts. She will be missed by very many people, even outside of her grieving family.
Here’s a word for everyone. I don’t care about your political beliefs. I’m here for Dodger baseball. Find another venue to spout off on all your other viewpoints!
I will add a few words against my better judgement. I think Manford was concerned that if the All Star game were played in Atlanta that sponsors would bail and maybe half the players might boycott the game and that could hurt baseball more than moving the game. Agree or not, it is part of the story.
The Georgia voter law vote was not timely. The majority now believe the 2020 election was as fair and accurate as any of the previous 58 Presidential elections. Perfect? Maybe not but if it were not for the loser of the 2020 election repeatedly saying the 2020 election was rigged, Georgia would not have decided to pass their voter law and we would not have had the Capital raid.
The feelings of the American people are still too raw for any state to try to change their voting laws. It won’t be a trusted process and people will be split over its fairness and objectivity. Those that think the election was rigged will probably say the Georgia voting law is a good one.
There are quite a few other states that are in the process of changing their voting laws and the reaction to the Georgia law will affect how those states go forward.
While Americans have moved from state to state, job to job, young to old; there has been a political battle for control of the direction America takes. The direction is dependent on how we incorporate into our voting these words from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth and shall have a new birth of freedom.
Does America move in the direction where we become a nation where all people are equal before the law and have unrestricted participation in self-governance? Or, does America move in the direction where only some us enjoy the full blessings of liberty; where only some of us can decide on who is granted privilege and who is capable of self-governance?
Let me also begin with my deepest condolences to the family of Dodger Blue Mom. Her death was quite a shock to us all and we will all miss her kindness, dignity and overall badly needed feminine touch.
Regarding Mark I think that many on this blog do not understand the impact that his eldest son shunning him has had on him, and would have on anyone. This is about politics, but on a deeper level it is about basic honesty. Our political world is saturated by lies at a level of viciousness never seen before in our history, and those lies have overtaken Mark’s son to the extent that he has shunned him. Mark is very well aware that this can be not only for a few years but very possibly for the rest of his life. That is a devastating thought and I am angry for him at those who brainwashed his son and are working very hard at brainwashing the rest of America.
As a History teacher of high school students with mild to moderate learning disabilities for 26 years, I have to say that I am very worried for our country and the future of my students and of my own four daughters. We recently had a Senate leader who accused the other Presidential candidate of not paying his taxes. When asked, after the election, what he had to say when released returns proved that the candidate had paid his taxes the Senator replied, “well we won didn’t we?” “They” lie about racist police shootings when statistics clearly refute their narrative, “They” lie about women being discriminated in their pay relative to men doing the same job, “They” lie about the rich paying their fair share, “They” lie as easily as they breathe. Anything to divide Americans and gain more power, and now “They” are lying about Georgias election reforms. The idea of supporting one’s assertions with evidence has gone out the window, and emotions have taken their place. It would be nice if some of their supporters took note and held them accountable, but the brainwash is too effective, their hate is too strong, and now it is involving baseball and our Dodgers.
I hope Mark keeps LA Dodger Talk open, but I understand if he does not. It is a difficult decision, when you think you might be promoting the people and causes that have torn your own family apart.
In any case, many thanks to all who have contributed over the years. Your time and talent have been very much appreciated.
The 2020 elections were free and fair, that was stated by every reputable person who had knowledge of such things, including former Attorney General William Barr, who spent his time in office doing everything he could to help Trump win a second term and escape any legal challenges.
Georgia’s vote was counted and then recounted three times. The governor of Georgia is a Republican, as is the lieutenant governor, the attorney general and secretary of state. The secretary of state, Brad Raffernsberger, said over and over that the Georgia election did not have an iota of fraud. Trump called Raffernsberger and told him to find 12, 000 votes to overturn the election. That is a crime if proven.
So why did Georgia pass this law? Not because of fraud, there was no fraud. It was in order to insure that Republicans would never lose another state election in Georgia. And they will not, if this bill is not superseded by HR1. Otherwise, Georgia will be a totalitarian state, where it is impossible for Democrats to ever win.. That would make some people happy, even though it is completely inimical to the concept of democracy.
The bill requires anyone casting an absentee ballot to send in a copy of a state-validated ID. Many do not have one, or cannot find it, or cannot copy it, because they do not have the devices. For those who do, the number of drop boxes to drop off the ballots are reduced. And these drop boxes will close four days before the election, so that people who mail in their ballots will have them come in too late. For those people who vote in person, the number of polling places in larger districts with many Black voters are so reduced, that people had to stand in line for eleven hours last election. That is horrific. And now, the bill makes it a CRIME for someone to give water to someone standing in line .
If anyone wants more, the bill actually takes the administering of elections away from Raffensberger, allows Republican legislators to appoint the boards which will administer it, and to actually revoke the results in any district where the board does not like it; i.e., Democrats won it. They can just declare the Republican the winner. How’s that for fascism?
After the Republicans agreed to pull out of the troops out of the South in exchange for enough Congressional Democrats choosing Hayes over Tilden in the election of 1876 which went to the House to be decided, this left the South open to the Jim Crow laws. The three devices they used to make sure that Blacks could not vote, were the poll tax (most Blacks, having been slaves, had no money), literacy tests (there were all sorts of Southerners who could not read or write, but there was a provision that the registrar could decide if there was sufficient passing of the test, and of course, most Whites passed, and most Blacks were deemed to fail). Ant then grandfather clauses, where you did not need to pay a tax or own property to vote, If you or your ancestors had voted before 1865. Blacks were not allowed to vote until 1870., so that took care of that.
Historians have written that by 1905, virtually no Black person could vote in the South. Only when the Supreme Court and federal laws stepped in decades later, did this change.
This bill is the modern equivalent of the Jim Crow laws. I will guarantee you that if this is not superseded or thrown out in court, Republicans will win every significant state election in Georgia for many decades, if not forever. They will keep electing Republicans because not enough Black people can vote. Those elected will pass even more draconian laws. We will have the equivalent of Russia or China. And Republicans are busily passing comparable bills in any state where they control the legislature.
There was no voter fraud, it is a myth and lie. There is no evidence of it, it is a convenient mythology. There are no dead people voting that is another lie, which is used by Republicans to change voting laws so that they cannot lose.
Now, you disagree, but for those many people who believe that the Georgia voting laws is abhorrent what do you suggest? Nothing, just put up with it and the Republicans win all the future elections? Send letters to newspapers, which do no good at all? “Eat that, libs!?” Give up? Or try to punish Georgia by boycotting companies and events which are centered there?
That latter is what the moving of the all-star game is. I am no fan of Manfred. But I do believe that something must be done if we want to save our democracy, which would have been gone if the Trump people had managed to kill Pence, Pelosi, and everyone else they wanted to kill when they stormed the Capitol with guns, knives, zip restraints, and bear spray. They didn’t manage to do that so the Republicans in suits are doing it for them, by bootstrapping onto a lie about a fraudulent election, and passing laws designed to make it as difficult as possible for poor people or Black people who live in big cities, to vote.
They have elections in Russia, too, but they are just for show. The Republican officials in the South learned from their forebears in the Jim Crow era, and they will be damned if they let Democrats win in those states. If these bills are allowed to stand, American democracy will be finished forever. Land of the Free will be as meaningful as the slogans in Orwell’s “1984.” I think that they are the biggest internal threat to American democracy in our history.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion on this. I would rather follow the baseball season, but some things are too important to let go without at least a last-ditch fight for the American republic, and free and fair voting. Most countries encourage the vote, and make it as easy as possible for eligible people to vote. Here, we have one of the major parties doing everything it can to make it exceedingly difficult to vote. All they need is to get rid of, say, 10% of the Democratic vote, and they win, forever. Jim Crow’s effects lasted for at least fifty years. MLB is not a part of this, but if good people do not stand up for the democracy, then it just crumbles away. There is a famous speech and poem by former Protestant pastor Martin Niemoller which says this better than anyone can.
Back to baseball. Julio’s change up takes him to another level. We all saw that yesterday. He will be another number one for us. Tonight we will see May’s curveball. If that improves and he continues to throw more 4 seamers then he’s another #1 in our rotation. Cmon this isn’t fair!