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[scriver]

Thanks for the info, guys, both about KKK, Mormons, and flagging. Didn't know much of any of it before.

...The thing about convenience flags does explain what I heard about how the Greek had such a big merchant fleet, though, and still didn't tax it anything - it only was that big because they didn't tax it. My dad has brought up that fleet every time he's ranted about Greece for the last months, gonna feel nice to explain that one to him.

[mainiac]

Greece has had a large merchant navy since long before tax shelters were a thing.  It's not so much that greece doesn't tax the navy, it's that the overseas activities are taxed abroad and only the activity in greece is taxed in greece.  That's not unusual.

[Sheb]

Well, there is a class of armateur that's making a crapton of money and is not taxed. Greece got a shipping tradition, but they would go to panama in a heartbeat if Greece taxed them.

[mainiac]

Greece does tax them.  You need to be more specific about what kind of tax you are talking about.

[GreatJustice]

I didn't know it was KKK, but "Keep [Nation] [Nation-y]" is like the number one slogan for extreme nationalists everywhere.

Yep.  The slogan is inherently xenophobic since it implies that your country is perfect and right and the problem is those foreign people corrupting it.  The fact that groups like the KKK and the BNP use similar slogans merely demonstrates that.

Made doubly amusing when you consider Team Romney had a donor party on a yacht registered in the Grand Caymans.

Maybe they need to amend the slogan to "Keep America America, oh and that really nice spot in the Caymans or maybe Zurich."

It's amusing... but honestly... EVERYONE, with the means do so, flags their ships in countries like that, no matter where they're from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_convenience It's just simply what you do if you have a ship of a certain size... nearly a quarter of all ship tonnage is registered in Panama. Over 50% of all ship tonnage is registered in the top 11 countries, and the only major country on that list is France. It's BS, it's to get around regulations and taxes and everyone knows it... but everyone still does it, so I can't really blame him for being on a foreign flagged boat... Odds are if you've been on one that's larger than 100 tons and it's not military, you've been on a foreign flagged boat.

Registered in Liberia: your assurance of quality on the high seas

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Yeah. I mean, it's a bit like assuming there couldn't possibly be anti-Israel Jews.

*cough*

[Duuvian]

Republicans conspire to rig election... legally says the Republican prosecutor.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/07/prosecutor_roy_schmidt_tried_t.html#incart_river_default

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/08/more_roy_schmidt-jase_bolger_t.html

All copy and pastes in this post are from links provided or from links linked from those links and are credited to writer Nate Reens; if another writer is quoted it's my error and I'll re-attribute upon notification:

Spoiler: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Rep. Roy Schmidt won’t face charges tied to his last-minute attempts to throw an election in his favor as he jumped to the Republican Party from long-standing ties to Grand Rapids Democrats, Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth ruled Tuesday. (click to show/hide)

It doesn’t mean Forsyth, a Republican, agrees with the behavior.

In a strongly worded final paragraph of an eight-page decision, Forsyth said the state legislature needs to address the situation.

“As a Republican elected official, I am embarrassed and offended by what transpired,” Forsyth wrote. “At a minimum the Legislature should put a time limit on when a candidate may ‘switch’ parties prior to the filing deadline.

“Allowing a candidate to ‘recruit’ a so-called opponent and to allow last minute shenanigans that occurred in this case is a travesty and should not be permitted.”

Spoiler: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Over a cold Bud Light and chips and cheese, Rep. Roy Schmidt and House Speaker Jase Bolger hashed out the final details for the Grand Rapids lawmaker’s candidate-filing-deadline party switch, text messages reveal. (click to show/hide)

The meeting at Bolger’s home in Marshall took place about 8:30 p.m. May 14, 20 hours before Schmidt would pull a stunning move that rocked Grand Rapids political circles, according to a Michigan State Police report detailing the election-rigging scandal.

Bolger and Schmidt had been texting back and forth throughout the day as Schmidt, his son, Ryan, and nephew, A.J., worked to secure Matt Mojzak as a plant Democrat. Once that seems to be in place, the pair arrange the rendezvous and Bolger asks Schmidt what his favorite beer is. Schmidt responds Bud Light.

Spoiler: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth said today that state Rep. Roy Schmidt’s “scheme” to defect to the Republican Party, and find a non-viable Democrat opponent to run against him, was intended to “undermine the election” – but not a crime. (click to show/hide)

“Although this scheme by Rep. Schmidt and (House) Speaker (Jase) Bolger was clearly designed to undermine the election and to perpetrate a ‘fraud’ on the electorate, it was nonetheless legal,” Forsyth wrote in an eight-page opinion.

RELATED: Could attempted election rigging maneuvers still bite Roy Schmidt?

“Incredibly, while it would be illegal to pay a boxer to take a ‘dive,’ or a basketball player to ‘point-shave,’ it is not currently a crime in Michigan to recruit someone to run for public office, place them on the ballot at the ‘eleventh hour' and essentially pay them to make no effort to win.”

Shortly before the May 15 filing deadline, Schmidt changed his affiliation to the Republican Party.

The Grand Rapids lawmaker's son, Ryan, found Matthew Mojak, to run against his father as a Democrat. Mojak was not expected to run an active campaign, Forsyth said in the report.

Forsyth said that "it is clear that the only logical reason for his recruitment was to prevent the Democratic Party from mounting a viable write-in candidacy."

Forsyth said Mojak was the only one who might have violated election, but he won’t face charges.

RELATED: Bill Forsyth: Roy Schmidt election scheme is a ‘travesty’

“While Mr. Mojak ill-advisedly agreed to participate in this misadventure, it is clear that he was duped into doing so and is the least culpable of anyone involved in this fiasco.”

Forsyth said state police investigated. He reviewed reports, researched law and consulted with the state Bureau of Elections in reaching his findings.

Forsyth acted on a complaint filed after Mojak, a 22-year-old GNC worker and part-time college student, filed for state representative in the 76th House District. The complaint alleged that his Affidavit of Identity contained false information.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/07/could_attempted_election_riggi.html

From the link directly above:

Spoiler: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth cleared party-switching Grand Rapids Rep. Roy Schmidt of criminal charges, but he points out the legislator may have violated campaign finance regulations. (click to show/hide)

Forsyth ruled today that an investigation by the state police turned up at least three potential acts that the Secretary of State could probe tied to the last-minute jump to the Republican Party on May 15.

Schmidt signed his Affidavit of Identity on May 3 and had it notarized by a member of House Speaker Jase Bolger’s staff. More than a week later he held a spaghetti fundraiser that has enraged Democrats because of the timing involved.

“Consequently, on May 11, while raising funds for his re-election as a Democrat, he had already signed the paperwork necessary to withdraw as a Democrat and to file as a Republican,” Forsyth wrote of one possible violation.

A second, Forsyth said, was the original offer to pay Matt Mojzak, a family friend of Schmidt’s, $450 for being a non-viable Democratic opponent in the November election for the 76th House District. The offer later jumped to $1,000, but no money ever changed hands, Forsyth said police learned.

RELATED: Bill Forsyth: Roy Schmidt election scheme is a ‘travesty’

Mojazk withdrew under the media firestorm that surrounded Schmidt’s party change. Mojzak immediately contacted an attorney and said he wanted nothing more to do with Schmidt despite the offer of a “free” attorney.

"It's a criminal investigation by the attorney generals office," Mojzak texted Ryan Schmidt, Roy's son who recruited him to the race. "I'm not chancing anything."

The third and final possible violation was that Schmidt directed his campaign treasurer to cut a $2,000 check to his son, Ryan Schmidt, from the Friends of Roy Schmidt political action committee. Ryan Schmidt, who recruited Mojzak, was to split the money with the fake candidate.

“It appears Representative Schmidt attempted to improperly use campaign contributions,” Forsyth wrote. “I think the evidence, while circumstantial, is nonetheless compelling.”

Forsyth said he has forwarded the investigative reports to the Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office and will leave it to them to determine “what, if any, violations occurred and what, if any, sanctions should be imposed.

A spokeswoman for the office said it has not received the documentation.

“Should and when we receive it, we will review it and make a decision,” Gisgie Gendreau said.

The office has already rejected assertions made by Democrats that House Speaker Jase Bolger's staffers were involved on state time. The accusations weren't backed up by evidence.

Follow Nate Reens on Twitter at www.twitter.com/natereens

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/08/roy_schmidt_investigation_shor.html

From the directly above link:

UPDATE: Liberal group calls for independent investigator in Roy Schmidt election probe

Spoiler: GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The consultation of a lawyer in Roy Schmidt and Jase Bolger’s election rigging scheme ended a criminal investigation against the two state lawmakers, Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth said Monday. (click to show/hide)

Text messages between Bolger, the House speaker, and Schmidt, a second-term Grand Rapids legislator, show the two conspired to recruit a plant Democrat to the Aug. 7 primary while switching Schmidt to the Republican Party at the May 15 candidate filing deadline.

The exchanges - contained in a 1,000-page police report obtained by The Press and MLive.com – were largely previously disclosed by Forsyth when he released a July 17 opinion that he would not prosecute Schmidt and Bolger.

Related: Read text messages between House Speaker Bolger, Rep. Schmidt plotting party switch, fake candidate

But the records also reveal that the pair was acting, at least in part, on the legal opinion of House Republican Counsel Joseph Baumann, Forsyth said.

Related: Jase Bolger, his staffers deny working on state time during Roy Schmidt party switch

“Clearly, Speaker Bolger has been consulting with a lawyer on what is going on and how am I going to prove that Bolger and Schmidt intentionally tried to commit a crime when they are acting on the advice of a lawyer,” Forsyth said. “It would be a non-starter in my opinion.

“It’s a fairly technical and complicated law and it made trying to prosecute somebody almost an impossibility.”

In order to charge a conspiracy crime, a law has to be broken and that did not happen in the scheme, Forsyth said.

Forsyth said he called off the investigation because voters needed to know about the shenanigans before heading to the primary polls. He also believed any relevant information had been discovered in the days leading up to the switch.

The decision was criticized by Democrats, who believe by cancelling search warrants seeking Bolger’s cell phone records and other information, Forsyth limited the scope of the probe.

“He shut the investigation down before there were answers, short-circuiting the entire process of following the facts and finding justice,” said Rep. Brandon Dillon, D-Grand Rapids. “The more we see, the less savory the whole situation looks.”

Dillon suggested Forsyth could have issued an interim report that informed voters and allowed the evidence in the warrants to come back to show what else may have happened in electronic communications.

Dillon and House Minority Floor Leader Kate Segal, D-Battle Creek, renewed their call for a complete investigation of the election scandal that nearly prevented Schmidt from advancing to the Nov. 6 general election.

Related: Bing Goei: Jase Bolger passed me over for Roy Schmidt in Grand Rapids state House race

Forsyth said he has had no direct request to take a deeper look at the actions of Schmidt and Bolger.

Matt Mojzak, the fake Democratic candidate, was given limited immunity that his statements could not be used against him, and Mojzak said in a police interview that he didn’t understand what he was getting involved in.

Mojzak said Schmidt presented him with an affidavit containing an address where he planned to move and that Schmidt told him it was all right to not be living there presently, documents show. He also told investigators he didn’t realize there was incorrect information about him being a 22-year resident of Kent County on the document.

Kent County elections officials also said their review of the documents submitted pointed only to a possible perjury crime by Mojzak.

Democrats are also calling a foul for Attorney General Bill Schuette’s text to Schmidt at 7:19 a.m. on May 16, asking the representative to call him. They contend it’s a sign why his office is unwilling to look at the case, an argument that’s been dismissed by his staff.

Follow Nate Reens on Twitter at www.twitter.com/natereens

[Zrk2]

So some guy up for election jumped parties too late for his own party to come up with someone to fill his spot in the election, thus giving it away?

[Heron TSG]

Not only that, he appointed someone to run a shitty campaign in his place, while attempting and (I think) failing to pay him for it.

[tryrar]

............DAFUQ?!

[Moghjubar]

Ah, the new standard operating procedures have arrived in elections it seems. 

[RedKing]

Democrats fall prey to the "Oh shit, GOP said we're godless atheist commies" trap, insert language into their official party platform supporting a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and invoking 'God'.

Seriously? SRSLY??
A. WTF is a very narrow foreign policy statement doing as part of the platform? Especially a plank that *many* rank-and-file Democrats don't necessarily support?
B. As the Esquire article points out, "God" is mentioned zero times in the Constitution and once in the Declaration of Independence. The correct response to GOP naysaying of "ooooooh, they didn't say God in their platform! I'm telling the teacher!" would be to tell them to fuck off. This is one of the main reasons why I will never be a Democrat -- the party in general is all brain, no balls.

[mainiac]

I am shocked- shocked to hear that politicking is going on in party platforms.

Look this is Israel thing is a disappointment but it's hardly a big deal.  It wouldn't even rank in my top 100 disappointments with the democratic party regarding Israel.  The real world implications of this are approximately zero and there are far, far bigger fish to fry.

What seems likely to me is that some zionist democratic senator or representative suggested that and no one thought it would be a big deal because well, it's not.  Mr. zionist feels placated and the liberals have given away zero in real substance.  This is the sort of thing that happens fairly regularly to make that sausage and it will continue until the liberals are numerous enough for democrats to win without a big tent strategy or the democrats are no longer interested in winning elections.

Take issue with the real policy failings of the democrats, they make them all the time.  But nitpicks like this are so not important.

[sluissa]

I would hardly call this a nitpick... it is serious foreign policy and one issue that a lot of people(on both sides, mind you) feel we've been doing wrong for a long time.

[mainiac]

Yes, I disagree with this line of the platform too.  But this isn't representative of our foreign policy nor is it a high profile stance.  This is such a small incident that the guy in charge was confused why anyone would even protest.