Well, I am still home because the numbers for the Covid-19 virus are going up and more and more citizens are being assaulted by it. The higher numbers seem to coincide with the opening of more businesses that previously were shut down due to the virus. So, since I am home and going through some old files, I found this article which was published in the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper on September 8, 2012. I was the Guest Commentator. So much that was written then is relevant today; be it protesting or voter suppression,
I love my country…. but feel that the Romney/Ryan ticket is not only trying to buy this election, they are trying to steal it. The Republican party knows the only way it can win this election is to prevent millions of people from voting by inserting abominable new “Voter Protection” laws in the swing states.
I don’t know about you but I feel the same way as Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) who spoke the famous line from the movie “Network”, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
The new voter identification push is unfair to the disenfranchised, the poor and handicapped. We shouldn’t have allowed the laws we’ve seen jammed through this year that could essentially allow elections to be stolen. We went through that 12 years ago in Florida when Al Gore, whom I respect for his stand on global warming, lost the election.
So, here is what I propose; we are going to support voters in all the swing states, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and Colorado. Every voter who needs to have a photo ID in these states should immediately find a copy of any photo they have of themselves and simply drop it into an envelope and mail it to their local branch of the Justice department. All it would take would be a .45 cent stamp. And everyone else throughout the country could do the same thing and mail it to Judge Robert E. Simpson, Jr. at the Justice Building, 115 S. Broad Street, Nazareth, Pa. 18064. Pennsylvania has one of the most egregious ID laws in the country.
Remember the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart? Or the movie “Miracle on 34th Street”? Can you imagine millions of envelopes dumped on Judge Simpson’s desk? Our roaring disapproval of this law could be heard and seen around the world!
I finally understand John F. Kennedy’s quote “Do not ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. Each of us must take responsibility to turn this law around.
| Women, our rights to make decisions about our own bodies are threatened. | Get mad and stand up. |
| Men, our rights to use contraceptives are threatened. | Get mad and stand up. |
| Seniors, our rights to Medicare and Medicaid are threatened. | Get mad and stand up. |
| College students, our rights to education are threatened | Get mad and stand up. |
| Gays and Lesbians, our rights to choose our partners are threatened | Get mad and stand up. |
We are going to start a national movement called “I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it anymore”. Join us, let your voices be heard.
