From the Way, Way Out There File
A tale of people getting paid to expose ballot fraud and what it can result in. The sickness runs deep in some people.
An air-conditioning repairman was driving his truck through Houston in late October when suddenly a black SUV slammed into his tail. When he got out, the SUV's driver leaped out and pointed a gun at his head, police said.
When police arrived, the gunman offered an incredible tale: The driver, he said, was the face of a vast election-fraud scheme and had about 750,000 fake ballots stuffed inside his truck.
That story was totally bogus, police now say. The man's truck was full of nothing but A/C parts, and the gunman - Mark Anthony Aguirre, a former Houston Police Department captain - had been paid more than $250,000 by a right-wing organization to pursue far-fetched voter-fraud conspiracy theories.
Comments
More - from your link - because it's
far more bizarre than what your excerpt indicates:
Texas? Rightwingers were concerned that Trump could lose the Lone Star state? Were the associates of the former cop supposed to plant the fake evidence in the van? (Dirty cop 101 - always plant the gun, drugs, etc.)
The October 19 seemed strange to me -- too far in advance of election day -- until I took in this section:
The plot must have been a part of the Liberty Center for God and Country ballot lawsuit filed in advance of election day. (Rightwingers never tire of using liberty, god, and country in their self-identification.) Hotze's talent appears to be milking Republican megadonors considering that he didn't even come up with a coherent plot. Much less one that would benefit Trump.
Where there's one (lame as it was), there must have been many more in the 2000 election. Personally, I suspect there was a nationwide one that could have worked (SCOTUS would have weighed in on it and more than likely in favor of Trump), but it was busted in several locations and by several persons and/or entities without being linked together.
Thanks for your excellent comment.
I use the "3 paragraph" rule in my essays to avoid copyright issues. I would have loved to do a Reader's Digest version of the entire article but didn't have reprint permission.
Republicans actually were worried Biden would win Texas. Texas is slowly turning blue, with the latest voter registrations 51% D and 49% R, I believe. The 2020 result was Trump by 5.6%. Given Texas' rampant voter disenfranchisement, one could make a strong case that Texas was stolen from Biden.
Good rule --
and sometimes, such as this instance, leaves out too many details (and paraphrasing those additional details is often a chore).
IDK that TX or anywhere else is trending blue. That appearance may be an artifact of reduced voter disenfranchisement, in registration and casting a ballot. Both likely still higher in TX than some other states. However, TX wouldn't be on my list of states that Biden actually won. Not realistic to project a 9+% swing from 2016 to 2020 even in a young population state like TX. GA is slightly younger and 2020 voter disenfranchisement appears to have been less than in TX, and the actual swing from 2016 was 5.4%. I wrestled with GA as I did my summary pre-election projections. The only way I could make sense of the polling results was to factor in a >age 59 population -- and went so far as to rank order all the potential swing states on that basis. The two 2020 odd ducks were OH and FL -- but neither seems to captured any attention.
Texas
Texas has added 700,000 residents since Trump was elected. And Trump's "Build the Wall" rhetoric has alienated Latinos. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas trends blue in the near future.
2016 to 2020 TX population
increase closer to 2 million.
Voter registration increase 1,854,432.
Trump ended up with 52% in 2016 and 2020. Worse than McCain and Romney.
2016 is not a useful baseline, any more than sometime in
the sixties of so. Hillary was a special case, widely and greatly hated by many and widely and greatly feared by many. For a great many people it was not GOP v Dem, so much as Anything that breathes or nobody at all rather than "oh good lord are they really running her???"
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
If there any such thing as a baseline election
for TX in the past forty years, I'm open to being directed to that year. Unfortunately, a Bush ran in the general election in six of those election cycles. Then an AA in two. Turnout of registered voters was in 2016 was 59.4% and in 2008 was 59.5%. In those two election years - HRC 43.2% and Obama 43.7% In 2012 turnout was 58.6% and Obama dipped to 41.4%. Lower turnout in 1996 and Bill Clinton took 43.8%. So, 43+% for the Democratic candidate looks like a rather solid baseline.
The significant increases in registration and turnout in 2020 bumped Biden up to 46.5% We have to guess where the 2016 Lib down 2% and Grn down 0.5% went in 2020.
What on earth is taught at law schools these days?
Also from the link (I really need to start reading provincial papers)
"I think it's a political prosecution. I really do," attorney Terry Yates told KTRK. "He was working and investigating voter fraud, and there was an accident. A member of the car got out and rushed at him and that's where the confrontation took place. It's very different from what you're citing in the affidavit."
A "member of the car"?? The jokes and cartoons practically write or draw themselves!
Mary Bennett
Texas Law School Curriculum
Lying 101: How to fib to the MSM and voters and your wife
Lying 102: Fibbing in court without (hopefully) getting caught
Lying 201: FUDding at the Supreme Court (Special guest lecturer Sidney Powell)
[FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt]
It's not mentioned but
when did this festering anal wart get out of jail? Or has he?
Funny, right? Texas. Check. One of the good guys. Check. A former cop captain. Check. NFW he went to jail. Just a friendly misunderstanding. No harm.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
From CNN's report...
He posted $30,000 bond on Tuesday afternoon and is out of jail, according to Harris County court records.
Shocking!
I guaran-damn-tee I'd be beating down the DA's door and screaming bloody murder to every media outlet I could think of until that putz was arrested. Assault with a vehicle from intentionally ramming the truck should require a bigger bond than than $30k. There should be more than a couple felony charges that apply. The corruption at every level in the US makes third world dick-taters look like amateurs.
Anyone willing to make a small wager that the truck driver doesn't suddenly decide it was all a misunderstanding and want to drop the charges?
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
the new face of democracy
guns, threats and bullshite
God, guns and guts
And a quarter-mil from the godly org. Where there's money, there's a way.
Ex-cop pulling a gun and confronting someone, actng like god's chosen. Compare to Ahmad Arbery's (sp?) murder.
Compare also that he kneeled on his back, not his neck.
per NPR:
Aguirre was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
He needs a few more charges:
False imprisonment, or maybe kidnapping
Vehicle theft
Stalking
Terrorism (since there was a political motive)
Impersonating an officer? Did he claim any authority under the law to hold him prisoner?
ETA: and interfering with a crime scene, by driving the truck away. Are they gonna use that to claim the "ballots" disappeared somehow enroute?
In Texas, he'll get a slap on the wrist, I bet, not 20 years.
The victim will have to pursue him for money.
What is not being reported here is
why was the victim targeted in the first place. "Honest" mistake? or, more likely, business rivalry?
Mary Bennett
Connection denied by victim
The whole thing is crazy. Of course, you've got to remember that much of the "stolen election" meme is just totally made up. We've even seen it here on C99 – wild allegations made ...then crickets when the lies are exposed.
While I live in Harris County (Houston), I'd not heard a word about this until yesterday. Searching for info found no connection between the parties involved. Frankly, I'm not surprised.
Much of the information published nationally seems to have been based on a Texas Tribune article. The Houston ABC television station did some research of their own, however. Here's a snippet from their work (my bolds):
Aguire wouldn't have to know the victim personally.
He would only need to have been told by some business competitor that this guy needs to be given a warning. Remember, it was often self employed, sober and self reliant black men whom the KKK targeted. I am not at all surprised that it would have been a self employed guy whom the Friends of T-Rump decided MUST be involved in election fraud. I will make a wild guess that this victim has in fact nothing at all to do with elections except for voting.
When you are dealing with the angry RW, it is almost ALWAYS about money. Ideology and even religion are nearly always merely the excuse.
Mary Bennett
Scammers
Certainly at upper levels, money is undoubtedly front and center. With the plebs, maybe not as much. I know plenty of RWNJs who act against their best interests financially.
The upper levels are grifters for sure. A recent example is Bannon and company, ripping off their fellow "patriots" with the bogus wall scam. Currently it's Trump himself, gathering funds to send to his German bank creditors once his address changes. Some will go to Giuliani at $20,000/day ...or so I read about a month ago or so. No honor between scammers...
I would also be very interested to know whether the
victim's possessions--tools and parts, neither of which come cheap--were left intact and in good working order. And what about the "unarmed friends" who drove the victim's truck away. That would get you an arrest for theft in most states, I do believe.
Mary Bennett
Lock 'um up!
I haven't read anything in regard to damage of the contents of Mr. Zuniga's work truck. It certainly sounded as though the thugs rifled through his stuff at the least. I seriously doubt they put things back where they found them or even were careful with Mr. Zuniga's tools, equipment, and parts.
If someone did this to me, I can assure you that I'd be after them for far more than aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and it wouldn't be against only one person. Of course, those charges may not be Mr. Zuniga's choice, but rather those of the Harris County DA (who happens to be a just re-elected Democrat, by the way).