Muh Sessions

[Rion]

Alright people, I figured I would share with you some facts about Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for AG. Out of all of his cabinet picks, this is the only one so far that I truly like. I'd never even heard of him, or if I had I don't recall it, prior to the AG pick. So, when I saw CNN, TIME, NYT, and others claim that he was a nasty racist, I decided to educate myself.

Now, I know this might be a shock to some of you, but what I discovered was that the mainstream media was lying.

Seriously, though, the more I read up on him, the more I actually liked the guy for AG. He's actually opposed to racism, and the two witnesses Ted Kennedy dug up for his hearing back in the day were... well, let's get into that later. First, let's get into Sessions himself:

Part 1 - Fraud Fighter

One thing Kennedy brought up and is regurgitated even now, is the Perry County Voting Fraud prosecutions. This was what prompted MLK Jr's widow to write against him during his nomination hearing.

To quote Tipsy Ted:
"In the Perry County Case, the government indicted three well-known and highly respected black civil rights activists on charges of voter fraud by assisting elderly black voters to vote by absentee ballot. Mr. Sessions role in that case alone should bar him from serving on the Federal bench."

So what was the Perry County Case?

In 1985 three black civil rights activists, among them Albert Turner, were accused of altering absentee ballots to prevent the election of various black Democrats that they were opposed to. Sessions's DA office received complaints from black incumbents and black voters alleged several irregularities and improprieties starting around 1982. Among the allegations was that Turner physically transported absentee ballots, even though he was up for election. Like in many places, that's illegal in Alabama. It's also illegal to write your own name in on absentee ballots, which is something else Turner did. Around the same time, several black residents became first confused, and then angry when they went to the polls and were told that they had already voted by absentee ballot.

Now you, being the non-racist that you are, might think there's no problem here and there's no need to investigate this. Unfortunately, the vile Perry County Grand Jury did not see it this way. Now, yes, the grand jury was made up mostly of black Americans, including the foreman, but obviously we're dealing with a case on internalized racism here.

At the time, the GJ didn't have enough evidence to indict Turner, but believed that a fair election was being denied to residents, and asked for federal monitoring of their elections. The DA (read: Sessions) then decided against a further investigation because they figured "Eh, they learned their lesson, surely."

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case and two years later they were doing it again. Several more candidates of excellent melanin count complained to the DA that large number of absentee ballots were being collected and held by Turner and some others. These race-traitors even had the audacity to claim that these ballots were being altered by these brave civil rights activists.

As we have all been reminded recently with John Lewis, once you have been a part of the Civil Rights movement, some believe you are incapable of wrong doing. Sure, they could tie several ballots being illegally changed by Turner, his wife, or his ally Hogue, including a family whose vote for their cousin was mysteriously changed for Turner's ally, but why would that do that? Perhaps LeVon Phillips, an Alabama legal assistant at the time, has the answer.

According to Phillips, the power of black Civil Rights activists had been threatened because as time went on, residents began "voting more of their convictions, their interests, rather than relying on the, per se, black civil rights leadership."

In other words, by the 80's, the group had turned into caring more for protecting their power, than actually fighting for civil rights. Now, I do respect the Civil Rights movement, or at least certain sections (non-violent) of it. However, all groups have a tendency to slide towards caring about maintaining their position, rather than what they started out as. Both political parties are examples of this, and many churches have fallen victim to it as well.

Although the trio were eventually acquitted, it took them 11 lawyers and the obstructive rules in place at the time regarding civil rights cases to do this.


I'll do part 2: Klan Kicking tomorrow or Thursday, and probably finish up Friday with part 3: Tinfoil Testimony.

 

[brinny]

Alright people, I figured I would share with you some facts about Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for AG. Out of all of his cabinet picks, this is the only one so far that I truly like. I'd never even heard of him, or if I had I don't recall it, prior to the AG pick. So, when I saw CNN, TIME, NYT, and others claim that he was a nasty racist, I decided to educate myself.

Now, I know this might be a shock to some of you, but what I discovered was that the mainstream media was lying.

Seriously, though, the more I read up on him, the more I actually liked the guy for AG. He's actually opposed to racism, and the two witnesses Ted Kennedy dug up for his hearing back in the day were... well, let's get into that later. First, let's get into Sessions himself:

Part 1 - Fraud Fighter

One thing Kennedy brought up and is regurgitated even now, is the Perry County Voting Fraud prosecutions. This was what prompted MLK Jr's widow to write against him during his nomination hearing.

To quote Tipsy Ted:
"In the Perry County Case, the government indicted three well-known and highly respected black civil rights activists on charges of voter fraud by assisting elderly black voters to vote by absentee ballot. Mr. Sessions role in that case alone should bar him from serving on the Federal bench."

So what was the Perry County Case?

In 1985 three black civil rights activists, among them Albert Turner, were accused of altering absentee ballots to prevent the election of various black Democrats that they were opposed to. Sessions's DA office received complaints from black incumbents and black voters alleged several irregularities and improprieties starting around 1982. Among the allegations was that Turner physically transported absentee ballots, even though he was up for election. Like in many places, that's illegal in Alabama. It's also illegal to write your own name in on absentee ballots, which is something else Turner did. Around the same time, several black residents became first confused, and then angry when they went to the polls and were told that they had already voted by absentee ballot.

Now you, being the non-racist that you are, might think there's no problem here and there's no need to investigate this. Unfortunately, the vile Perry County Grand Jury did not see it this way. Now, yes, the grand jury was made up mostly of black Americans, including the foreman, but obviously we're dealing with a case on internalized racism here.

At the time, the GJ didn't have enough evidence to indict Turner, but believed that a fair election was being denied to residents, and asked for federal monitoring of their elections. The DA (read: Sessions) then decided against a further investigation because they figured "Eh, they learned their lesson, surely."

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case and two years later they were doing it again. Several more candidates of excellent melanin count complained to the DA that large number of absentee ballots were being collected and held by Turner and some others. These race-traitors even had the audacity to claim that these ballots were being altered by these brave civil rights activists.

As we have all been reminded recently with John Lewis, once you have been a part of the Civil Rights movement, some believe you are incapable of wrong doing. Sure, they could tie several ballots being illegally changed by Turner, his wife, or his ally Hogue, including a family whose vote for their cousin was mysteriously changed for Turner's ally, but why would that do that? Perhaps LeVon Phillips, an Alabama legal assistant at the time, has the answer.

According to Phillips, the power of black Civil Rights activists had been threatened because as time went on, residents began "voting more of their convictions, their interests, rather than relying on the, per se, black civil rights leadership."

In other words, by the 80's, the group had turned into caring more for protecting their power, than actually fighting for civil rights. Now, I do respect the Civil Rights movement, or at least certain sections (non-violent) of it. However, all groups have a tendency to slide towards caring about maintaining their position, rather than what they started out as. Both political parties are examples of this, and many churches have fallen victim to it as well.

Although the trio were eventually acquitted, it took them 11 lawyers and the obstructive rules in place at the time regarding civil rights cases to do this.


I'll do part 2: Klan Kicking tomorrow or Thursday, and probably finish up Friday with part 3: Tinfoil Testimony.

Thank you.

 

[Vylo]

I'll prolly google a lot of this later, but do you have any links to some of this info?

 

[Rion]

I'll prolly google a lot of this later, but do you have any links to some of this info?

I'll try and remember to post them tomorrow. I only have my phone for the rest of the evening.

 

[Vylo]

I'll try and remember to post them tomorrow. I only have my phone for the rest of the evening.

I feel you, I've spent a lot of time here on phones and links are a pain.

I'm wonder if I have jumped to conclusions on Sessions, its easy to do considering many of Trump's picks. Ben Carson for HUD is actually one of the more sane decisions, despite him being completely unqualified, wrap your head around that. Mattis so far seems to be his best pick.

 

[redleghunter]

Alright people, I figured I would share with you some facts about Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for AG. Out of all of his cabinet picks, this is the only one so far that I truly like. I'd never even heard of him, or if I had I don't recall it, prior to the AG pick. So, when I saw CNN, TIME, NYT, and others claim that he was a nasty racist, I decided to educate myself.

Now, I know this might be a shock to some of you, but what I discovered was that the mainstream media was lying.

Seriously, though, the more I read up on him, the more I actually liked the guy for AG. He's actually opposed to racism, and the two witnesses Ted Kennedy dug up for his hearing back in the day were... well, let's get into that later. First, let's get into Sessions himself:

Part 1 - Fraud Fighter

One thing Kennedy brought up and is regurgitated even now, is the Perry County Voting Fraud prosecutions. This was what prompted MLK Jr's widow to write against him during his nomination hearing.

To quote Tipsy Ted:
"In the Perry County Case, the government indicted three well-known and highly respected black civil rights activists on charges of voter fraud by assisting elderly black voters to vote by absentee ballot. Mr. Sessions role in that case alone should bar him from serving on the Federal bench."

So what was the Perry County Case?

In 1985 three black civil rights activists, among them Albert Turner, were accused of altering absentee ballots to prevent the election of various black Democrats that they were opposed to. Sessions's DA office received complaints from black incumbents and black voters alleged several irregularities and improprieties starting around 1982. Among the allegations was that Turner physically transported absentee ballots, even though he was up for election. Like in many places, that's illegal in Alabama. It's also illegal to write your own name in on absentee ballots, which is something else Turner did. Around the same time, several black residents became first confused, and then angry when they went to the polls and were told that they had already voted by absentee ballot.

Now you, being the non-racist that you are, might think there's no problem here and there's no need to investigate this. Unfortunately, the vile Perry County Grand Jury did not see it this way. Now, yes, the grand jury was made up mostly of black Americans, including the foreman, but obviously we're dealing with a case on internalized racism here.

At the time, the GJ didn't have enough evidence to indict Turner, but believed that a fair election was being denied to residents, and asked for federal monitoring of their elections. The DA (read: Sessions) then decided against a further investigation because they figured "Eh, they learned their lesson, surely."

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case and two years later they were doing it again. Several more candidates of excellent melanin count complained to the DA that large number of absentee ballots were being collected and held by Turner and some others. These race-traitors even had the audacity to claim that these ballots were being altered by these brave civil rights activists.

As we have all been reminded recently with John Lewis, once you have been a part of the Civil Rights movement, some believe you are incapable of wrong doing. Sure, they could tie several ballots being illegally changed by Turner, his wife, or his ally Hogue, including a family whose vote for their cousin was mysteriously changed for Turner's ally, but why would that do that? Perhaps LeVon Phillips, an Alabama legal assistant at the time, has the answer.

According to Phillips, the power of black Civil Rights activists had been threatened because as time went on, residents began "voting more of their convictions, their interests, rather than relying on the, per se, black civil rights leadership."

In other words, by the 80's, the group had turned into caring more for protecting their power, than actually fighting for civil rights. Now, I do respect the Civil Rights movement, or at least certain sections (non-violent) of it. However, all groups have a tendency to slide towards caring about maintaining their position, rather than what they started out as. Both political parties are examples of this, and many churches have fallen victim to it as well.

Although the trio were eventually acquitted, it took them 11 lawyers and the obstructive rules in place at the time regarding civil rights cases to do this.


I'll do part 2: Klan Kicking tomorrow or Thursday, and probably finish up Friday with part 3: Tinfoil Testimony.

Excellent sleuthing.

 

[Rion]

I'll prolly google a lot of this later, but do you have any links to some of this info?

Sessions Confirmation Transcript | Jeff Sessions
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Sessions SJC Questionnaire F.pdf
The Law Professors' Scandalous Statement Against Jeff Sessions
The Myth of Jeff Sessions’s Racist Crusade against Voting Rights
Jeff Sessions was right to prosecute voter fraud case: Former DOJ lawyer
The facts about the voter fraud case that sank Jeff Sessions’s bid for a judgeship

I think that is most of them.

I feel you, I've spent a lot of time here on phones and links are a pain.

I'm wonder if I have jumped to conclusions on Sessions, its easy to do considering many of Trump's picks. Ben Carson for HUD is actually one of the more sane decisions, despite him being completely unqualified, wrap your head around that. Mattis so far seems to be his best pick.

Yeah, like I said, I actually like the guy, from what I've read. There's only one statement of his I have a problem with, which I'll get to in Tinfoil Testimony (mostly called that because one of the character witnesses against him in '86 also thought Dan Rather was talking to him through his T.V.), but even with that I find his response interesting.

 

[Rion]

Before I start, as a follow up, it seems that the county I spoke about previously still has problems to this day with voter fraud:
Officials Investigate 3 Alabama Counties in Voter Fraud Accusations
Uniontown voting raises questions

Obviously, those investigators too are racist.

Part 2: Kickin' Klan Keister.
I'm not going to spend nearly as much time on this, since it is probably the most well known aspect used to defend sessions. However, the usual attack on him is that he played little to no role in it, which simply isn't true.

There's two things which may be a bit controversial here, but keep in mind I'm not trying to argue them, they're just Sessions views: He's pro-death penalty and anti-drugs. You don't have to agree with on this, but it is important to keep in mind.

For those who don't know, a young man named Michael Donald was walking home after buying his sister a pack of smokes. A few Klan members, including the son of a high ranked member, were on the look out for a black victim for their revenge killing in response to mistrial of a black defendant who had killed a white cop during a hold up. Because the best way to protest a murder is by more murder...
(BTW, does this kind of behavior/reasoning make you think of another group that's been in the news lately?)

They took this innocent teenager, drove out to an isolated spot, beat him, strangled him via lynching before ultimately cutting his throat. I'm not sure why they did the last; perhaps he was taking too long to die, or perhaps they were afraid the noises would attract someone else after all. Regardless, the Klan members took his corpse and left it hanging from a tree in a racially mixed neighborhood.

Sessions, as AG, and the FBI worked together to solve the murder, and it ultimately lead to the conviction of three people, one of whom became the only Klan member given the death penalty for the murder of a black victim in the 20th Century. The evidence gathered during the trial was also provided to the family and the SPLC (before it lost its mind) who would later file a civil case which essentially destroyed the Klan in America as an actual power. No one denies this, but his detractors claim he had little to do with it, so I'll counter that with the testimony of three people involved in the case:

DA and original lead prosecutor Chris Galanos: "I believed then, and I believe now, that were it not for his [Sessions'] assistance, the case would have remained unsolved for an indefinite length of time."

Assistant DA and replacement lead prosecutor Thomas Harrison: "Sessions asked what we needed, and I said, in order to get capital murder conviction, we need these things, and he said that regard [SIC? I think he meant regardless] whatever the federal agents did or the FBI did he would make those things available. He did in fact do that."

Mobile District Attorney's investigator Bobby Eddy: "Without his [Sessions] cooperation, the State could not have proceeded against Henry Hays on a capital murder charge."

Donald Family Attorney Richard Cohen: "In addition to helping to develop the evidence in the criminal investigation that we used, Sessions' office was helpful in arranging for an FBI agent to testify for us at the civil trial."

Now, again, you can disagree with the principle here, but obviously those involved in the case felt that they needed a death sentence to send a message to the Klan, and Sessions helped make that happen.

Before I stop for today, I'm going to also address the most common piece of 'evidence' that is brought up about Sessions: the KKK joke.

During the committee hearing, a U.S. Attorney named Thomas Figures suggested that Sessions supported the Klan due to a joke made during the Donald investigation.

At one point during the investigation, KKK members tried to avoid giving potentially damaging revelations by claiming that they couldn't remember things because they had been smoking pot. After several of them had used this "toking" excuse, Sessions made a joke to his fellow attorneys that he had thought these guys were okay until he learned that they smoked marijuana.

I hope most of you can see that this is, indeed, a joke. The point is the sheer absurdity. It would be like an attorney prosecuting an ISIS member saying "I thought these guys were okay, until I learned that they were straight edges." The point is that no, they're horrible human beings, but you're using something minor you also object to be what put you off of them, not the really horrible thing.

The people he was with, except for one exception, took it as a joke. Albert Glenn, a civil rights attorney said he took it "wholly as a joke and humor. There was no question in my mind at the time that it was meant humorously."

Even Joe "Kind of Slow" Biden admitted that it was obviously a joke during the hearings.

However, Figures argued that this was proof that Sessions had previously supported the Klan. Why would he do this? I'll get into that next time.

 

[redleghunter]

Alright people, I figured I would share with you some facts about Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for AG. Out of all of his cabinet picks, this is the only one so far that I truly like. I'd never even heard of him, or if I had I don't recall it, prior to the AG pick. So, when I saw CNN, TIME, NYT, and others claim that he was a nasty racist, I decided to educate myself.

Now, I know this might be a shock to some of you, but what I discovered was that the mainstream media was lying.

Seriously, though, the more I read up on him, the more I actually liked the guy for AG. He's actually opposed to racism, and the two witnesses Ted Kennedy dug up for his hearing back in the day were... well, let's get into that later. First, let's get into Sessions himself:

Part 1 - Fraud Fighter

One thing Kennedy brought up and is regurgitated even now, is the Perry County Voting Fraud prosecutions. This was what prompted MLK Jr's widow to write against him during his nomination hearing.

To quote Tipsy Ted:
"In the Perry County Case, the government indicted three well-known and highly respected black civil rights activists on charges of voter fraud by assisting elderly black voters to vote by absentee ballot. Mr. Sessions role in that case alone should bar him from serving on the Federal bench."

So what was the Perry County Case?

In 1985 three black civil rights activists, among them Albert Turner, were accused of altering absentee ballots to prevent the election of various black Democrats that they were opposed to. Sessions's DA office received complaints from black incumbents and black voters alleged several irregularities and improprieties starting around 1982. Among the allegations was that Turner physically transported absentee ballots, even though he was up for election. Like in many places, that's illegal in Alabama. It's also illegal to write your own name in on absentee ballots, which is something else Turner did. Around the same time, several black residents became first confused, and then angry when they went to the polls and were told that they had already voted by absentee ballot.

Now you, being the non-racist that you are, might think there's no problem here and there's no need to investigate this. Unfortunately, the vile Perry County Grand Jury did not see it this way. Now, yes, the grand jury was made up mostly of black Americans, including the foreman, but obviously we're dealing with a case on internalized racism here.

At the time, the GJ didn't have enough evidence to indict Turner, but believed that a fair election was being denied to residents, and asked for federal monitoring of their elections. The DA (read: Sessions) then decided against a further investigation because they figured "Eh, they learned their lesson, surely."

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case and two years later they were doing it again. Several more candidates of excellent melanin count complained to the DA that large number of absentee ballots were being collected and held by Turner and some others. These race-traitors even had the audacity to claim that these ballots were being altered by these brave civil rights activists.

As we have all been reminded recently with John Lewis, once you have been a part of the Civil Rights movement, some believe you are incapable of wrong doing. Sure, they could tie several ballots being illegally changed by Turner, his wife, or his ally Hogue, including a family whose vote for their cousin was mysteriously changed for Turner's ally, but why would that do that? Perhaps LeVon Phillips, an Alabama legal assistant at the time, has the answer.

According to Phillips, the power of black Civil Rights activists had been threatened because as time went on, residents began "voting more of their convictions, their interests, rather than relying on the, per se, black civil rights leadership."

In other words, by the 80's, the group had turned into caring more for protecting their power, than actually fighting for civil rights. Now, I do respect the Civil Rights movement, or at least certain sections (non-violent) of it. However, all groups have a tendency to slide towards caring about maintaining their position, rather than what they started out as. Both political parties are examples of this, and many churches have fallen victim to it as well.

Although the trio were eventually acquitted, it took them 11 lawyers and the obstructive rules in place at the time regarding civil rights cases to do this.


I'll do part 2: Klan Kicking tomorrow or Thursday, and probably finish up Friday with part 3: Tinfoil Testimony.

With the Scott King letter circulating I think it important to revisit your summary above. Which the NR did as well:

The Myth of Jeff Sessions’s Racist Crusade against Voting Rights

Interesting that the Turner's son wrote the following (seen at link above) in support of Sessions confirmation :

​

A lot has been said about Senator Jeff Sessions and his record on issues related to race – some of it distorted and unfair. Some of these statements have included references to matters with which I have a very personal connection. My family and I have literally been on the front line of the fight for civil rights my whole life. And while I respect the deeply held positions of other civil rights advocates who oppose Senator Sessions,

I believe it is important for me to speak out with regard to Senator Sessions personally. First, let me be clear: Senator Sessions and I respectfully disagree on some issues. That won’t change when he is the Attorney General of the United States. And I expect that there will be times as it is with all politicians when we will legitimately disagree and I will be required by my conscience to speak out.

I look forward to those constructive debates if necessary. However, despite our political differences, the Senator and I share certain Alabama and American values, including a love for our State, its people and our Country. I have known Senator Sessions for many years, beginning with the voter fraud case in Perry County in which my parents were defendants.

My differences in policy and ideology with him do not translate to personal malice. He is not a racist. As I have said before, at no time then or now has Jeff Sessions said anything derogatory about my family. He was a prosecutor at the Federal level with a job to do. He was presented with evidence by a local District Attorney that he relied on, and his office presented the case.

That’s what a prosecutor does. I believe him when he says that he was simply doing his job. I believe that he is someone with whom I, and others in the civil rights community can work if given the opportunity. I believe that he will listen, as he has in the past, to the concerns of my community.

More than most I am very familiar with him. I believe he will be fair in his application of the law and the Constitution; as such I support his nomination to be the next Attorney General of the United States. I encourage the civil rights community to engage in constructive dialogue with Senator Sessions concerning the protection of voting rights for African Americans and other minorities, gun control, senseless killings and strengthening Constitutional protections for all Americans. I stand ready to work with Senator Sessions as he becomes our Country’s Attorney General, and offer to him my willingness to help him in any way I might be of service.

Read more at: Whopper Endorsement of AG Pick Jeff Sessions