Secretary of State Ross Miller said Tuesday the cost of his proposal to
include photos of voters in election poll books used at polling places
to prevent fraud is $787,200, far less than originally estimated.

Link

Surprise headline of the day.

A number of stories here and here out of Virginia describing how a number of black legislators would benefit from newly redistricted lines and may vote for the legislation. 

Dels. Onzlee Ware (Roanoke) and Rosalyn R. Dance (Petersburg) told The
Washington Post on Wednesday that they are considering the plan, which
would create a new majority-black district in Southside but also
disperse black voting power in at least eight other districts.

The likely outcome would be to elect a sixth black senator but also
to diminish the overall power of Democrats in the now evenly split
Senate.

“Here’s an opportunity where I can actually have a great
impact on African Americans, yet at the same time, it doesn’t help the
entire Democratic Party,” Ware said. “Should I always have to forgo the
interests of black people for the good of the party? . . . I have a real dilemma on my hands right now.”

and Delegate Rosalyn Dance:

“I don’t like the process,” Dance said. “But the irony of ironies is,
it’s going to be hard for us [to vote against the plan] as African
Americans because they create a minority seat.”

Indexed to inflation and effective for the 2014 cycle.

Individual donors can now contribute up to $2,600 to a candidate in both
the primary and general elections — $5,200 total — and $32,400 per
calendar year to national party committees. The total amount of federal
contributions that an individual can give during a two-year cycle also
increased to $123,200, including $48,600 to candidates and $74,600 to
parties and political action committees.

Link

The Judicial Watch FOIA’s today of communications between Morris Dees and DOJ reveal something rather tacky – the SPLC forwarding a note sent privately from former DOJ Assistant Attorney General (during the Reagan administration) Brad Reynolds.

Judy Bruno at SPLC writes DOJ attorney Barry Kowalski “thought you would want to see the attached note from Brad Reynolds.”  The subject line reads “From Morris” so either Morris wanted Kowalski to see the private note, or SPLC staffer Bruno did.  Because Morris possessed the note, odds are it was the former. 

The question is … why?  Why would someone turn over to a rabid left-wing DOJ lawyer a note from Reagan era AAG Reynolds?  Kowalski was notorious for loudly vocalizing left wing philosophy at the DOJ workplace to such an extreme that it became disruptive.  At best, Dees giving DOJ the note is tacky, to turn over a private note to the DOJ, and ultimately thanks to Judicial Watch, to the world.  At worst, it shows a duplicitous side to Dees that other friends and acquaintances should consider.

 PJ Media Rule of Law.

 Pulled.

Judicial Watch has FOIA’ed the Justice Department to find that the notorious race baiting, donor devouring and mansion dwelling Morris Dees was wined and dined by the Civil Rights Division in Washington D.C.  The emails are revealing.

Attorney Barry Kowalski at DOJ seems downright giddy in the emails that he gets to pick up Dees at National Airport in a car “in which [Dees] has ridden before [!!]”.  He calls Dees the “Master of Inspiration” and jabbers on about an “African-American” who may run for Congress (yes, from DOJ mail servers.)   Kowalski also notes to another DOJ lawyer “years ago I had breakfast with him at the Four Seasons!”  Kowalski is very eager “to plan an evening for us if he stays over.”

The Civil Rights Division used your tax dollars to fly Dees to Washington to provide “diversity training” to Justice Department staff.  This is the same Dees who seems decidedly disinterested in diversity, particularly the Constitutional right of diversity of thought.  The Southern Poverty Law Center has notoriously attacked some mainstream conservative groups as hate groups though they are no such thing.  Which of course qualifies Dees as the perfect candidate to speak to staff at Eric Holder’s Justice Department.

From Maison D’Dees:

Counting illegal aliens and non-citizens for redistricting purposes moves toward the Supreme Court.  The practice has partisan consequences.  Democrat political power is subsidized by counting illegal aliens and non-citizens for redistricting purposes because of where those populations are concentrated.  It is a perverse return to the pre-Reynolds v. Sims days of unfair representation.