To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Disenfranchised my ....
OK, here's the drill... take your blood pressure meds, add a valium for good measure, then read this (hattip to the Imperial Torturer, BC, lately of the Rott )... don't worry. I'll wait...
Done? Have you calmed down yet? Let's ignore the obvious Reuter's bias- we all should be used to that by now. Let's look at what's been presented:
This entire article is an exposé on victimhood. No one in this article was willing to take responsibility for what happened. "Ex-felons" broke the law (and why are they "ex"- I thought it was once a felon, always a felon, but maybe I'm wrong). People aren't willing to take the time to confirm their registration don't really care about voting. The people I feel sorry for are the few who were genuinely denied the right to vote through no fault of their own. Those instances need to be addressed.
Not everyone who got their feelings hurt.
Done? Have you calmed down yet? Let's ignore the obvious Reuter's bias- we all should be used to that by now. Let's look at what's been presented:
The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been released.Let's see... legally prohibited from voting because THEY BROKE THE LAW. If they didn't have the decency to obey the law, then why should the government give them the priviledge of voting. According to the article, the black community feels that their political clout has been weakened by this. Maybe they should teach their young men not to pursue lives of crime.
"In elections in Baltimore in 2002 and in Georgia last year, black voters were sent fliers saying anyone who hadn't paid utility bills or had outstanding parking tickets or were behind on their rent would be arrested at polling stations. It happens in every election cycle," she said.And I suppose those flyers were sent into the FEC and a formal complaint was issued? No? Oh, well... I'm sorry, but if people don't understand election law, then maybe they shouldn't vote. (too callous? Drat.)
Minority voters may be deterred from voting simply by election officials demanding to see drivers' licenses before handing them a ballot, according to Spencer Overton, who teaches law at George Washington University. "African Americans are four to five times less likely than whites to have a photo ID," Overton said at a recent briefing on minority disenfranchisement.I'm not sure I understand this one. Even if you don't have a driver's license (not everyone wants or needs one), you can get a state photo id for next to nothing. It just makes sense in society today. Later in the article, they say that you don't need to show an id in order to vote... well, you should have to. Maybe then we'd have less voter fraud.
... black voters had been 10 times more likely than non-black voters to have their ballots rejected and were often prevented from voting because their names were erroneously purged from registration lists....registrars across the country often claimed not to have received voter registration forms or rejected them for technical reasons that could have been corrected easily before voting day if the applicant had known there was a problem.....Well... let's see... when I registered to vote, I got a voter's registration id card in the mail. AND, I called the county to make sure there were no problems. Did I want to vote? You bet. Did I make sure I was registered? Sure did. Did I have any problems? Not a one. The lesson- if you don't get confirmation of your registration... double check. It was a 5 minute phone call. Don't tell me you don't have time for a 5 minute phone call.
This entire article is an exposé on victimhood. No one in this article was willing to take responsibility for what happened. "Ex-felons" broke the law (and why are they "ex"- I thought it was once a felon, always a felon, but maybe I'm wrong). People aren't willing to take the time to confirm their registration don't really care about voting. The people I feel sorry for are the few who were genuinely denied the right to vote through no fault of their own. Those instances need to be addressed.
Not everyone who got their feelings hurt.
