Topic: Curious radio commercial with even more curious sponsor

[benb61]

Anyone else hear a commercial that goes something like this??

       Woman:  Just got back from the store, a guy had the most interesting petition.

       Man:  You didn't sign it, did you?

       Woman:  Yeah I did, why?

       Man: Haven't you heard?  Studies show that people that sign petitions are 70% more likely to have their identities stolen.  They further show that your personal information can travel around the world into the hands of identity thieves in countries like China, Somalia and even India.
       
       Woman: What?

       Man:  In the state of California anyone can be a petitioner,  There is no requirement for them to be registered or bonded. It doesn't matter if they're a granny or an ex-convict.  One of those studies showed that identity theft rings target and hire ex-cons to do the dirty work of collecting the information for them.

       Woman:  Oh no, I better contact the bank and find a service to watch our accounts and credit ratings.

       Announcer:  This message was brought to you by your local unions.

When I heard this my first reaction was "oh my God, have I signed any petitions lately".  After calming down and realizing that I probably haven't signed an actual petition in probably 8 years, the second thought crossed my mind.  Brought to me by my local "UNIONS",  what issue do the unions not want to cross the legislatures hands?

[charlesoakwood]

Anti-trust legislation.

[IronDioPriest]

Interesting. May I ask what state you live in Ben?

[Pandora]

Man:  In the state of California anyone can be a petitioner,  There is no requirement for them to be registered or bonded. It doesn't matter if they're a granny or an ex-convict.  One of those studies showed that identity theft rings target and hire ex-cons to do the dirty work of collecting the information for them.

The timing of the ad launch raised questions about whether the campaign is a veiled attempt to derail various local ballot measures or one of several controversial proposals currently circulating petitions to qualify for the 2012 statewide ballot. Those include an Amazon-backed effort to overturn a new law requiring some Internet retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Californians.

The president of the state building trades union, one funder of Californians Against Identity Theft, said the campaign was not meant to intimidate voters or target a specific measure but rather to address concerns over a lack of regulation of the paid signature-gathering industry.

"They're all paid bounty hunters who go out and just gather a signature for a fee," State Building and Construction Trades Council of California President Bob Balgenorth said. "For me, the goal would be that there's some accountability for stuff like that. … I think the whole initiative process needs to be looked at."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/30/3804918/california-labor-unions-fight.html#ixzz1UHpymDml

IOW, petitioners are paid signature-gatherers; volunteers are less successful and the decent folks who would volunteer need to go earn a living.

The unions hate the petitions - in CA, a successful petition will get a ballot-referendum that passes or fails depending on the people, not the legislature and not the courts.

[IronDioPriest]

And yet these commie pukes want to eliminate the secret ballot in their organizing efforts.

Shameless hypocrites.

[Alphabet Soup]

Brought to me by my local "UNIONS",  what issue do the unions not want to cross the legislatures hands?

Initiatives are direct citizen participation in government. They come uncomfortably close to democracy in action (spoken as a true adherent to the concept of Republicanism). They are a way of saying, "My legislature doesn't have the balls to do what is required so we are going to sidestep them and go straight to the people".

In my state (Washington) there is a cottage industry of sorts revolving around the Initiative process. Our state is ruled by the residents of a single county (King) - the rest of us effectively have no say. And the Seattlunatics completely overrule every other part of King County. As a consequence on several issues we have gone to Initiative route - with substantial success. Not too many years ago our yearly auto license tabs cost a minimum of $100, and rose into the thousands of dollars. We passed the $30 car tab Initiative. Of course the leftists have found ways to frustrate and circumvent the tax but I still only pay about $50.

We capped property taxes and required super-majority to raise other taxes. There's been a lot that we have done, all at the anguish of the commies. As a result they have taken aim at the process itself. They keep trying to require licenses, fees, and other restrictions on who collects signatures - even though it it provable that the only fraud involved in any Initiative process was perpetrated by leftist organizations (notably ACORN).

I hate that we have to resort to the Initiative process, but without it we would have zero say in our government.

[John Florida]

And yet these commie pukes want to eliminate the secret ballot in their organizing efforts.

Shameless hypocrites.

 If they had any shame they could not do what they do.So you're right on the money.

[BigAlSouth]

Memo to "Administrator"
Sometimes a member's bio includes residence info.

You are welcome.

[ToddF]

The thing is, there really are Californians that really will think their identity can be stolen, by just knowing a name.

You know, without a steady supply of absolute morons, leftism would wither away on the vine...

[benb61]

The petitions that I have seen in Ca. require name, address and signature.  3 of the things that a ID thief needs.