Today's Ukraine rebel vote announced yesterday

Supporters of annexation by Russia rushed to the few polls that were open in eastern Ukraine to cast millions of ballots Sunday.

 Even before the votes had been cast, hard-working Stakhanovite election workers were able to report an overwhelming victory for supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 The little green men poll workers were helped by the fact that voters were able to cast multiple ballots and the voting took place in just a few places, and there was no need for secrecy.

 The voting lines were reminiscent of bread lines in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

 Twitter posted a photo taken by a foreign camera crew of a woman putting two ballots in the box simultaneously.

 Was that a voting chaos or a festival. It certainly wasn’t celebratory for at least one man, who was shot dead.

 Russian Television, whose workers were among those awarded medals last month for their heroic coverage of the takeover of Crimea, said it was told that 70 percent of the electorate had turned out.

 It was not clear how this could be determined since there was no list of those eligible to vote.

 Only five percent of those who voted were opposed to ultimately becoming part of Russia, RT said.

Later, the official news agency, RIA Novosti, said 98.5 percent voted for independence. Russia says the vote should be respected, RIA Novosti added.

 The same reliable Cossacks who horsewhipped Pussy Riot were on hand to guarantee security.

 It was hard to imagine how the Republican Party in the US would have reacted to people voting without photo IDs. The GOP has sought to make sure that Democrats don’t flood the polls with illegal immigrants.

 The Kiev government is obviously not getting the joke. The Guardian reported Ukraine jets had turned away a Russian plane that had departed the breakaway Transdniestria region of Moldava headed for Moscow.

 The plane was carrying Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

The Guardian quoted Rogozin as Tweeting: "Upon US request, Romania has closed its airspace for my plane," he tweeted. "Ukraine doesn't allow me to pass through again. Next time I'll fly on board TU-160." He was referring to a bomber jet.

 Earlier Russian television program host Dmitry Kiselev reminded America that “Russia is the only country in the world that is actually capable of turning the U.S. into radioactive dust.”

 The Russian threats were pathetic when compared to the supposedly accidental microphone slip US President Ronald Reagan began a speech in 1984 with: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."