Muckraking; Origin of the term, Theodore Roosevelt, “... you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; Who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.”

In Memory of Ida Tarbell; (November 5, 1857 – January 6, 1944) was an American teacher, author and journalist. She was known as one of the leading "muckrakers" of the progressive era, work known in modern times as "investigative journalism". She wrote many notable magazine series and biographies.

.

66 DAYS

Problem; It's just 66 days until the mid-term election, and as Republicans hope to change the balance of power in Washington, there is still a serious threat to the voting rights of some of our troops in harm's way.

This issue was supposed to have been settled. The MOVE (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) Act, which was signed into law 10 months ago, was enacted to ensure that the troops serving overseas have 45 days to get in their absentee ballots. The thinking was that it would take that long to receive the proper forms in a warzone and return them to be counted. There is a loophole, however; a state can apply for a waiver if it can prove a specific "undue hardship" in enforcing it.

Before the act was in place, analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, estimated overseas and absentee military voting rates for the 2006 midterm elections was a pathetic 5.5 percent. In 2008, about 17,000 servicemen and women were denied the right to vote.

M. Eric Eversole, the executive director of the Military Voter Protection (MVP) Project and former litigation attorney in the Justice Department's Voting Section, wants to know why military voters are being involuntarily disenfranchised. He and J. Christian Adams accused the Justice Department of encouraging states to use waivers to bypass the MOVE Act.

The accusations prompted Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to write a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, demanding answers and requesting specific information about how the agency was going to enforce the MOVE Act provision.

Yet the Obama administration refuses to release the waiver requests filed by a dozen (blue) states and territories claiming an inability to meet the legal deadline. Eversole and 17 members of Congress led by Rep. Robert E. Latta (R-Ohio), sought this information through formal requests. By Eversole's count, nearly one-third of the states have failed to implement one or more of the key provisions of the MOVE Act, with at least 11 states having not yet implemented the 45-day deadline for mailing absentee ballots, and at least five states having not implemented the electronic-delivery requirement under the MOVE Act.

Blue State Response Example; Most of the states that requested waivers did so because of time pressures. For example, Rhode Island's Secretary of State A Ralph Mollis said the date of their primary prohibits The Ocean State from having mail ballots ready 45 days before an election. Maryland and Wisconsin gave similar reasons.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/15/military-voting-rights-risk#ixzz0wsh1Q0H4

Solution; A count of treason be brought on those people responsible for waiving the right to vote for our troops being put in harm’s way for our freedom. Vote their elected leaders out of office.