Texas AG Greg Abbott to UN: 'Come and take it'

The United Nations affiliate OSCE has targeted Texas as one of the states most likely to impose voter restrictions on minority races.

Voters are required to show a picture ID issued by state or federal government in order to cast a ballot, no matter what kind of DNA determines one's racial makeup.(please click here)

Granted observer status in 1993, the “Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe” declared its objectives in this way.

After 11 September 2001, co-operation has been further enhanced to include active OSCE support for the work of the United Nations and its specialized bodies in the global efforts against terrorism. The shared UN-OSCE agenda includes:

Ratification and implementation of the 12 Universal Anti-terrorism Instruments and other initiatives to combat terrorism 

Conflict settlement and peace-building 

Early warning and conflict prevention 

Small arms and light weapons 

Border management 

Environmental and economic aspects of security 

Anti-trafficking 

Democratization and human rights 

Freedom of the media

What in the world does all that mean? Who in the world knows, exactly? Besides, Texas is a sovereign state of the United States of America, not the United Nations. No one in Austin invited these folks over here to check us out on such short notice.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has thrown down the gauntlet, drawn the line in the sand.

He told the international outfit that if their observers come within 100 feet of a Texas polling place, they can expect to be booked into the local casa de calaboose for an opportunity to sing for their supper in a concert appearance - in court.

Any opinions of the observers, he added, are “legally irrelevant” to the voting laws of the State of Texas.

According to the on-line publication TPM Muckraker, the internationalist's response was not long in coming.

The letter provoked a swift response on Wednesday from Janez Lenarcic, the head of the international group’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, who wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing his concern that the threat of prosecution was contrary to the U.S.’s obligations as an OSCE participant.(click highlighted areas for a peek at the letters)

“The threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is unacceptable,” Lenarcic said in a news release about the letter. “The United States, like all countries in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections.”

Unacceptable?

Compared to what?