Voter suppression as a strategy can't last forever, says a GOP commentator

I missed this post-Election Day thought piece a couple of weeks ago. Among other details in its explanation of why the massive GOP victory earlier this month wasn't as massive, or a victory, as it seems, the author notes:

Vote suppression is working remarkably well, but that won’t last. Eventually Democrats will help people get the documentation they need to meet the ridiculous and confusing new requirements. The whole “voter integrity” sham may have given Republicans a one or maybe two-election boost in low-turnout races. Meanwhile [the GOP] kissed off minority votes for the foreseeable future.

(Emphasis added.) I noticed that in July, 2013, myself; but, you know, voice-wilderness-etc.:

You can roll back the business end of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and implement anti-voting measures right away, but it can't end well. The little old ladies with no driver licenses will die off. Those of us born before all the birth records were digitized or originated on the computer will get our acts together and get the right ID. And people my daughter's age, who were in the computer from the get-go, won't have a problem getting their voter ID. Requiring state-issued ID and then making it hard to obtain is not a sustainable strategy.

Amused to see there's a voice in the GOP wilderness on this nonsense as well.

Via Noz.

Solomon Jones has chosen his hill to die on

Philly.com columnist Solomon Jones has chosen his hill to die on, and that hill is named "Those Untrustworthy Sluts Who Dare to Accuse Bill Cosby, a Great Man Who Opened a Door for Me Years Ago, Are Cowardly."

The Bill Cosby I know is a generous man who advised me as I sought to write a book of family humor, introduced me to an editor at a national magazine, and did similar things for many others.

Translation: "He never slipped me a mickey in the rec room! So if he really did drug and rape 'several' women, why haven't they gone to the police? Huh? Huh? Answer me that!"

Every day, there are women who report being victimized by men.

These women -- women who have been hurt, assaulted, damaged and traumatized -- are often looking for nothing more than justice from the system and protection from their tormenters.

And every day, such women take the brave step of reporting what happened to them; not for personal gain, or for media notoriety, but because it is right.

You see, real crime victims, people who have been truly, legitimately, and forcibly raped, get up and dust themselves off and bravely go to the cops right away to see justice done.

I've asked if Jones feels the same way about victims of pedophile priests, but he's tossed the "I gotta go back to work" answer at a couple of other commenters so I imagine I'll get that response eventually myself.

Other writers have written better about why victims of rape and other sexual assaults don't try to press charges or file civil lawsuits, whether immediately or well after the statutes of limitations have run. Victim Barbara Bowman, for example, in asking why it took a male comic's stand-up routine to bring publicity to her accusations -- the title itself of her commentary answers the damn question. Too bad Solomon Jones hasn't read those pieces as part of his work research for this item.

Friday jukebox: Genesis live in 1973

Via openculture.

Who is the Amistad Law Project on the Mumia Abu-Jamal lawsuit?

I'm pretty sure that the website for the Amistad Law Project, a "West Philadelphia-based public interest law center" founded last month, does not meet the standards of the Pennsylvania Rules for Professional Conduct.

The lawyers do not give their complete names, so you can't look them up to see if they have professional malpractice insurance or find out if there's been any disciplinary history against them. You can't even see if they're, you know, actual lawyers licensed in Pennsylvania since they give just their first names. But, hey, at least Ashley, who also goes by the name of Kris, lets you know what their preferred gender pronoun is.

Fortunately, the ALP's attorneys are co-counsel on Mumia Abu-Jamal's lawsuit to halt the anti-First Amendment "Revictimization Relief Act" that Governor Corbett signed into law in October. I say fortunately, because the lawsuit paperwork includes the ALP's attorneys' full names and Pennsylvania Bar ID numbers.

You shouldn't have to go spelunking to find out your lawyer's full name and status to practice in Pennsylvania. The Revictimization Relief Act is stupid law, and it's unconstitutional on its face; but the attorneys who are fighting it should be acting like real attorneys. Anyway, my temp gig at a local legal services nonprofit is up, so I have a little bit of time on my hands today. I did the spelunking for you! ALP's attorneys are:

Ashley Kristin Henderson, attorney ID number 313492, admitted 28 November 2012

Deneekie Kaleel Grant, attorney ID number 314220, admitted 28 November 2012

Neither of the attorneys carries professional liability insurance. To be clear, Pennsylvania licensure rules do not include a requirement that an attorney carry professional liability insurance. (A legal malpractice plaintiff's attorney I know would argue vigorously that it is unethical, though legal, to practice without such insurance.) But if you do carry insurance, then you have to carry a minimum amount. And if you don't carry insurance, then you have to disclose that fact to your client and to the licensure authority. Now, you can tell the authority one of two things. You can say, "I don't carry insurance, but I do have clients and thus possible liability issues." Or you can say, "I don't carry insurance, but that's OK because I don't take clients." The ALP lawyers have gone this second route. It doesn't look factual to me, because they're signed onto the lawsuit as counsel, not as amicus.

But in any event, I wish them all the luck in the world on this lawsuit. As I say, it's a very bad law, and the lawsuit looks competently drafted (PDF). Onward and upward!