US voters face machine problems, long lines in some states
Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and voter intimidation unproven; areas with computer malfunctions switch to paper ballots
By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY November 8, 2016, 11:30 pm 1


A voter puts his ballot into a ballot scanner as he casts his vote in a polling place on election day November 8, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. Americans across the nation make their choice for the next president of the United States today. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP)
A voter puts his ballot into a ballot scanner as he casts his vote in a polling place on election day November 8, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. Americans across the nation make their choice for the next president of the United States today. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite Donald Trump’s continued skepticism that the election was on the up and up, few voters who went to the polls Tuesday encountered problems — and even then, most issues involved the usual machine breakdowns and long lines.

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The run-up to the vote was fraught, with unsupported claims by the Republican presidential candidate of a rigged election and fears that hackers might attack voting systems. He reiterated his claims on Election Day, after his campaign announced it was seeking an investigation in the battleground state of Nevada over reports that some early voting locations had allowed people to join lines to vote after polls were scheduled to close.

Asked on Fox News if he would accept Tuesday’s results, Trump continued to demur.

“We’re going to see how things play out,” Trump said. “I want to see everything honest.”

Concerns of voter intimidation and fraud led to a flurry of lawsuits in the run-up to Election Day, and new voter regulations in more than a dozen states also held the potential to sow confusion at polling places.

But at least in the early going, most of the problems were routine — the kinds of snags that come every four years, like the lines, machines not working properly, and issues with ballots or voter rolls. One New Jersey voter reported waiting three hours because there were too few voting machines at her polling place in Jersey City.

In Texas, a computer used by election clerks malfunctioned at a polling place inside a high school in suburban Houston, forcing officials to briefly divert voters to another polling place more than two miles away. Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham said the malfunctioning console was later replaced with a backup and voting resumed.

Andrea Patience, a 50-year-old pharmacy technician, was among those standing in line when the computer malfunctioned. She said she waited an hour for it to be fixed. Patience said as many as 100 people were standing in line at the time, and about half of them left.

“There were a lot of upset people,” Patience said. “I don’t know if they will come back later or decide not to vote.”
Voters wait in line to vote early Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Voters wait in line to vote early Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Election officials in Utah said voting machine problems in the southern part of the state forced poll workers early in the day to use paper ballots. A computer problem in Durham County, North Carolina — a Democratic stronghold in a state that has been a key battleground in the presidential race — triggered long lines when election officials had to rely on a paper check-in process.

There were also sporadic reports of people in North Carolina who said they were not put on the voter rolls despite registering to vote through the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The question this year was whether problems would be widespread and indicate a pattern of fraud or voter intimidation.

Trump had suggested that Philadelphia was among those places ripe for voter fraud. The city’s district attorney, Seth Williams, said in mid-afternoon that his office had investigated 68 complaints about voter intimidation, broken machines or other problems, a number consistent with the past three presidential elections. He said all had proven unfounded.
A dog waits outside of a polling place for its owner to vote in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 8, 2016. (Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images/AFP)

A dog waits outside of a polling place for its owner to vote in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 8, 2016. (Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images/AFP)

In the last week alone, Democrats went to court in seven states seeking to halt what they claim were efforts by Republicans and the Trump campaign to deploy a network of poll watchers hunting for voter fraud. Republicans have disputed claims they are planning to intimidate voters, and judges largely found no evidence of efforts to suppress voters.

While there were concerns that the heated rhetoric of the campaign would lead to confrontations at the polls, only a few minor skirmishes were reported. In southeastern Michigan, authorities said an argument outside a polling place between a woman supporting presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and another backing Trump led a man to shove one of the women and spurred others to join in. No arrests were made.

This is the first presidential election in which a key enforcement provision of the Voting Rights Act was not in place. A 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down a portion of the law that had required certain states and jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to receive pre-approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for any election law change. This allowed a number of states, most led by Republican legislatures and governors, to enact strict voter ID laws and reduce early voting.

Legal challenges to some of those voter ID laws have led to a multitude of court rulings in recent months that blocked or struck down some provisions while upholding or reinstating others. That triggered concerns of misinformation among voters, election officials and poll workers.

The Supreme Court ruling also prompted the Justice Department to send fewer trained election observers to polling places around the country than in previous years, with the reduction likely to diminish the department’s ability to detect voter intimidation and other potential problems.

Meanwhile, state election officials were guarding against any attempt to breach their systems. Previously, some 33 states accepted an offer from the federal government to check their voter databases and reporting systems for vulnerabilities after hackers attempted to access systems in two states over the summer.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press

Senate outcome could make Schumer first Jewish majority leader
Brooklyn native can make history if the Democrats regain control of the chamber; polls have parties neck and neck
By Gabe Friedman November 8, 2016, 11:50 pm



JTA — It’s pretty safe to say that Chuck Schumer is going to be reelected to his New York Senate seat on Tuesday. He’s leading his Republican opponent Wendy Long by an average of 39 points in all of the major polls.

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But polls don’t reveal the history that Schumer may soon make: If the Democrats regain control of the Senate, the Brooklyn native is set to become the first Jewish Senate majority leader in US history.

The races for Senate seats in several states (such as Missouri and Indiana) remain very close as of Tuesday afternoon.

If Democrats can’t pull out a victory, Schumer will succeed outgoing Sen. Harry Reid as Senate minority leader. (Reid picked Schumer to succeed him when he announced his retirement in March.)

Liberal commentator Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out the Jewish history to be made on his MSNBC show “The Last Word” on Monday night.

“That no one has seemed to notice that we are about to elect the first Jewish leader of the Senate is proof of how much ground has been won in the centuries of the American war against anti-Semitism,” O’Donnell says in a segment contrasting Schumer’s upbringing to that of fellow New Yorker Donald Trump.

“The once unimaginable is now unremarkable. That’s what progress feels like. That’s what the 21st century is supposed to feel like,” O’Donnell added.

In speaking about the Schumer and Trump families, O’Donnell explained that Donald’s father Fred was once arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally. Schumer’s Jewish family would have been a target of the KKK while Chuck was growing up in Brooklyn, O’Donnell noted.

Schumer’s brash public persona — Politico calls him an “expert schmoozer” — stands in sharp contrast to Reid’s buttoned-down manner, and observers are already noting the contrast.

“Sen. Schumer has much more interest in trying to massage a message and drive a story than Sen. Reid ever cared about, [Reid] was always a backroom mechanics kind of guy who never claimed to want to be a spokesman for the party,” Jim Manley, a former senior adviser to Reid, told The Daily News of New york.

Since there has never been a Jewish Speaker of the House, Schumer will on paper become the most powerful Jewish politician in American history.

It’s another milestone in what has been a banner year for American Jews — who saw Bernie Sanders become the first Jewish politician to win a major party presidential primary.

Israel warns of ‘credible threat’ of IS attack at soccer game in Albania
Official travel alert issued hours after Balkan country arrests 4 terror suspects, relocates Saturday’s World Cup match over security fears
By Times of Israel staff November 9, 2016, 12:46 am





Hours after Albania arrested four terror suspects accused of plotting bomb attacks at an upcoming soccer game against Israel’s national team, Jerusalem on Tuesday issued an official travel warning to the Balkan state citing “credible threats” of attacks by the Islamic State jihadist group.

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The Counter Terrorism Bureau, a branch of the Prime Minister’s Office, urged Israelis not to attend Saturday’s World Cup 2018 qualifying game in Albania.

“In recent days, individuals identifying with the Islamic State group have been arrested in the Balkans. Those suspects and their associates planned to carry out several terror attacks on a range of targets in the Balkans… including the Israel-Albania game on November 12,” the statement said.

“The assessment of the situation indicates a credible threat of attacks… and accordingly have issued a travel warning to Albania over the concrete threat level, and urge Israelis not attend the game,” the Bureau said.

Earlier Tuesday, Albanian officials relocated the game from a stadium in the city of Shkoder to a venue in the city of Elbasan, citing unspecified terror threats.

Local security forces said they could guarantee the security of the Israeli team in Shkoder, prompting the relocation.

Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev said she was monitoring the situation in Albania, and the safety of the Israeli athletes was the most important consideration in making security arrangements for the team, Channel 10 reported.

“I wish the team great success in the game against Albania,” she said.

Israel’s national team on Tuesday held talks with their security detail and were given strict instructions restricting their movements during their trip.

The security team protecting the Israelis is reportedly three times the usual size for such events.

Israel won its previous qualifying game, with a 2-1 result against Liechtenstein in a match at the Kollek stadium in Jerusalem last month.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report.

Inside Trump Tower, supporters sing election serenade
Musical duo denies anti-Semitism among candidate’s backers, sings song about protecting and supporting Israel
By Eric Cortellessa November 9, 2016, 12:50 am



NEW YORK — Inside Trump Tower on Tuesday morning, things were relatively subdued, with a few supporters — and perhaps others merely curious to sample the mood there on Election Day — wandering throughout the 5th Avenue skyscraper.

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But inside the bar at Trump Grill was an unusual pair who were each donning a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, an American flag-designed robe and white underwear.

And they had guitars. Guitars ornamented with “Trump Pence” bumperstickers. They describe themselves as representing the movement that Trump has unleashed since beginning his improbable bid for the White House in June 2015.

As the hours were dwindling down before the polls close across a nation soon to choose its next leader amidst the most divisive election in modern history, this duo entertained a small crowd with their Election Day serenade.

Robert Burck, 45, who also goes by the moniker Naked Cowboy, and Robert Coffman, 51, set up by the bar, explained to this reporter not only why they support Trump but why they also think he is likely to “win in a landslide, including in the states of New Jersey and New York” before singing their routine songs that ticks off a litany of Trump policy priorities, including support for Israel.

“We’re gonna protect Israel and the Iron Dome / we don’t want those nukes flying home / that sounds like a good idea to me,” the lyrics say.

On Trump’s appeal to them, and why they think he’s appealed to so many like them, Burck said, “He’s an American exceptionalist, he’s not an apologist like Obama,” before ticking off grievances he holds with the current president and his perception of his political agenda.

“Redistribution of wealth. It’s for pussies,” he said. “America, it’s built on the concept of self-reliance. Do it your damn self. Don’t pander to the women. If women want to have a baby, have a baby, pay for it. You want childcare, pay for it. You’re black and you don’t have a job. Well, work harder and get the money. Now, I believe in tolerance and compassion, but not hyper-tolerance and so much compassion.”

On the subject of controversies that have engulfed Trump’s candidacy, Burck insisted there was nothing there. “I grab my wife by the **** every chance I can,” he said, a reference to the controversial 2005 tape that emerged last month in which Trump is heard boasting about making unwanted advances, including kissing and grabbing women.

“I mean, let’s be a man here,” Burck said.

Burck, who has apparently ran for New York City mayor and president in the past, also dismissed accusations that the Trump campaign was fostering anti-Semitism in this country.

“When people constantly tell you they’re being discriminated against, it almost makes you feel like, they end up being discriminated against because they constantly talk about being discriminated against,” he told The Times of Israel.

“It’s not just Jewish people,” he added. “I would say someone like Trump is merit-based. He’s really puts forth his own efforts every day. Don’t tell me you need something because you’re a woman or you’re black, or because you’re a latino, or because you’re an LGBT and you need a special bathroom.”
Trump Tower in Manhattan (Eric Cortellessa/Times of Israel)

Trump Tower in Manhattan (Eric Cortellessa/Times of Israel)

While they both predict a Trump victory — and blame the media for not accurately reflecting voter turnout and polling outcomes — Burck and Coffman said they were willing to accept the legitimacy of a Clinton victory, but they won’t walk away from the movement Trump has made them feel a part of.

“We don’t have a choice,” Coffman said about the election results. “But I will continue to support the philosophy of Trumpism. But if we are lucky, in just a few hours we will live in the country we have been waiting to live in our whole lives.”

I Campaigned For Kanu’s Arrest, Is Time To Release Kanu If You Release Killers Of Igbo Woman In Kano
November 8, 2016 Biafra
nnamdi-kanu

The coordinator of the Every Nigerian Do Something project and political observer, Dr. Peregrino Brimah, has broken silent on the recent release of the killers of Igbo trader in Kano, says as killers of Mrs Bridget Agbahime was released, Nnamdi Kanu must be release as well.

Brimah said, when Buhari borrowed the words of Charles De Gaulle, “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” it raised a lot of hope in skeptical Nigerians. Worse than murder is oppression, the Muslim Quran says in chapter 2 verse 191. Injustice and oppression are the root causes of terror and the gasoline that keeps it burning.

I was one who campaigned for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu of radio Biafra. I had heard him promote violence against northerners and Muslims in the East. That is bad and should not go unpunished.

But today, I campaign for his release. There is nothing more important in a society that equality and justice. If you lock up a thief of a pen, you must lock up a Senator when he uses his pen to steal. If not, then free the petty thief. Open up the jails.

If the Kano Attorney general Haruna Falali brazenly obstructs justice and frees suspected killers of Bridget Agbahime in Kano, then free all suspected killers of Nigerians across the country and by all means, free Nnamdi Kanu who has not yet been directly connected to a death.

If intolerant extremist terrorists will walk freely and be aided by the law in perpetration of their carnage in the north, then let the same be obtained in the south.

Donald Trump's Acceptance Speech

Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business, complicated. Thank you very much.
I've just received a call from secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign.
I mean she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.
I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together, to all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.
It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family.
It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.
Working together we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I've spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.
That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I've gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.

I am not congratulating Donald Trump,because our hope on getting Biafra restored is dependent on him. On the contrary, Biafrans are capable of getting Biafra restored,because we have come a long way under the Leadership of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu.
I congratulate him,for defeating the Islamic World, defending the raw Truth and supporting Self-Determination.
I prefer a bully hater of Terrorist to a Friendly supporter of Terrorist.
Ibeh Gift Amarachi 2016

BREAKING: Soros Orders Attack On Trump Tower, MASSIVE Riots In Chicago

Posted by Elliot Bougis | Nov 10, 2016 | Breaking News
chicago-trump-tower-march-2011109-cdp

Chaos In The Streets

Let’s call it “the calm between the storms.”
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I’m talking about the lull of controversy that lasts for about a day between the results of a presidential election and the next flap of outrage from the losers.

Donald Trump was declared the next President Elect at around 2 AM Tuesday night. For the next twelve hours, the news shows and editorial columns of American media were filled with soothing talk about why the pundits misread the polls, how Trump had turned into a very good candidate by the end of the race, the beauty of a “peaceful transition of power” in American democracy, and the need for unity instead of sucking on sour lemons.

But, just as any illness gets worse at night, so we are seeing an end to “the calm between the storms” as the old fever of anti-Trump rage breaks out again in numerous urban hot spots.

In Chicago, for example, thousands of angry anti-Trumpers have been marching on Trump Tower there. Why? Well, don’t ask me. Remember, until last night, it was the Republicans, led by Trump himself, who were unwilling to accept the outcome of a free and fair election. Now, though, the winning Republican camp is extending olive branches to its former opponents, while the worst of the Democratic hordes are trying to intimidate President Elect Trump and anyone publicly associated with him.

We’re seeing the same kind of immature chaos boil over in New York as well, with on-site comments that the same antidemocratic unrest is cropping up in Austin, Portland, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as some southern border towns. Since I am not able to confirm all of these reports right now, you can see for yourself what it’s like in a confirmed site like New York.

In one sense, it’s kind of inspiring to imagine that “America’s young voters” are organizing themselves to continue an open, democratic debate. Unfortunately, though, this year has taught in no uncertain terms that so-called “popular protests” like Black Lives Matter are far more than mere “coincidences.” In fact, BLM protests and virtually all anti-Trump unrest in the past year, if not longer, is driven by wealthy rootless cosmopolitans like George Soros.

In a nutshell, now that Soros and Friends have lost another shot at controlling America via the White House, the globalists are going for broke with the bird dogging and BLM unrest. The immediate goal is to tar Trump’s presidency as a kind of “neofascism” before he even takes office. Ultimately, the goal is to make America so unstable and violent that Obama would have to order martial law or permit the U.N. to squash supposedly Trump-based violence.

This is why we must take all “popular uprisings” like we’re seeing in Chicago and New York with a very large grain of salt.

Meanwhile, now that the election is over, what can we do about it?

First, keep your eyes open. Be aware of your surroundings. If you’re in an urban area, give yourself at least two escape options by foot, car, or mass transit. If you’re a more secluded area, watch out for “rogue” anti-Trumper attacks from angry youths or, believable it or not, gangs with mobile phones to document their antics for a paid bounty.

Second, try to explain to anti-Trump people you personally know why he’s not “literally Hitler,” and how many of his positions actually line up with, say, Bernie Sanders’s platform (at least on trade and immigration reform).

Third, share this article to inform and encourage your friends and family! Just as Rome was not built in a day so we can’t Make America Great Again in one night, nor even a single month. In other words, be prepared to see more of the same social unrest and liberal immaturity. Do what you can to support your family and improve your community.

President Trump is counting on us to pull our own weight.

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