Amusing and Informative, Your Lil' Sister Loves to Get the 'Scoop' on the Mainstream Media and To Present a Variety of Obscure, Under-Reported and Decidedly-More Newsworthy Items From Around The Globe; You'll Also Be Privy To Pieces of My Own Personal Paranormal Phenomena; and Frequently Hear of Things Your Parents, Clergy, Society and Uncle Sam didn't bother to tell you. But, I will...
In Other Words:
The Way This Grrrl Sees It!
They May Be Popular, But You Know Zombies Aren't Real, Right?
I (Don't) See Dead People (Voting)! What We Can All See... If We Simply Open Our Eyes To The FACTS: "The real danger to American Democracy stems from GOP efforts to make it harder to vote. New voting restrictions — like Voter-ID Laws, Cuts To Early Voting and Barriers to Voter Registration — that are in place in 14 states (!) for the first time in 2016 will make it harder for millions of eligible voters to cast a ballot. And, voters are lacking crucial protections because this is the First Presidential Election in 50 Years (!) without the full provisions of the Voting Rights Act."*
Did You Know...? Over this past year, Republican-controlled legislatures of several key/swing states passed sweeping changes to how voting/voting registration is carried out in those states and which would have stripped untold thousands of Americans of their right to vote or to have their vote counted in the 2012 Presidential election.
Pretending to be patriotic, they all claimed said changes were an absolute necessity "to prevent voter fraud" in November. Sounds noble enough, right?
Only until you learn one simple fact: Actual cases of voter fraud are extremely rare.
Renders their claims unfounded and their sweeping changes utterly unnecessary. End of story, right?
No. Not if you happen to be a sane, rational and ethical person who looks at which groups of Americans' right to vote this suddenly urgent legislation would take away...
The answer is: Hundreds of thousands of Americans. And, more specifically: A disproportionate number of whom are African-American. And, all of whom were historically known to vote Democrat.
Got Actual Voter Fraud? As I said, "No." It just doesn't happen.
Got Several Cases Of Electoral Fraud Carried Out By GOP Legislatures/Leaders/Governors? Hells, yes!
Thankfully, several non-partisan, impartial Federal courts have seen clear through the flag-waving of these Republicans to the utterly unconscionable treachery behind their sweeping changes, slamming their gavels down on the GOP-led incidents of blatant voter suppression in Texas, Florida and Ohio.
*Urgent Plea: America, Please Don't Take Your Right To Vote For Granted!
There's an organized, law-changing (GOP) attack on American voting rights (minorities, early voters, troops overseas, etc.) across the country.
Also, the various recent attacks on union-rights are no less than attacks on both the middle-class and the Democratic Party.
How do you combat these utterly Anti-U.S. Constitution/Anti-American attacks?
Be Aware: Pay attention to/Know what is going on in your State Legislature. Look for changes/new laws that affect your County Clerk's Office, especially.
Be Informed: Find out if and/or how the new laws might alter; impede; or take away your right or your neighbors' Right to Vote.
Fight Back: Thousands of Americans have rallied together to fight back against various state-wide GOP attacks on Voting Rights. They've gathered thousands of signatures and successfully made legal challenges, which have resulted in judicial-holds being placed on state measures intended to keep people from being able to vote.
Thousands of Americans have succeeded in getting Citizens' Repeal/Citizens' Recall Initiatives added to their upcoming ballots in order to remove blatantly un-American politicians from office as well as to repeal laws that had been put into effect without their input/consideration/vote in order to take away various Americans' rights.
Fighting Back is Important Because Fighting Back Works.
Because Every American Has the Right To Vote.
Even if you feel that any recent changes to voting laws/union-rights won't affect you, personally - Please understand this: If the changes affect other Americans in your state, eventually, they will affect you, too.
(*Unless, you simply don't care that other people are abusing the power of their political office to take away your rights...)
Making it Harder To Vote and/or Taking Away Any Americans' Right-To-Vote is blatant Abuse Of Power and 'utter disdain for the U.S. Constitution', two actions which - if left unchecked - will tilt the playing field in order to create an unfair advantage for those who have implemented the changes.
And to do that, my dear friends, is to attack our Democracy.
Enjoy this brief clip from The Rachel Maddow Show.
Rachel's guest is Mr. Gilbert Ortiz, County Clerk of Pueblo County, CO.
He is also, now, one of my Heroes who will, I hope, become one of yours, too.
