Shit.
Jumping right in...
The House of Representatives has decided to delay renewal of the Voting Rights Act, which is set to expire in 2007.
Southern representatives expressed concern that the Voting Rights Act singles out 9 specific southern states for special oversight because of their history of denying blacks the vote through unconstitutional practices. The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia…the data used to justify additional oversight was compiled from 1964 voter turnout records.
Now, a bitch is suspicious by nature and pretty sure that these representatives are anti-Voting Rights Act for reasons other than equality in oversight and fair play. However, an examination of the 2000 and 2004 elections does show that other states should be added to that list. Missouri…ummm, Ohio…oh, and Florida for sure.
Republican Representative Westmoreland said…"The pre-clearance portions of the Voting Rights Act should apply to all states, or no states," and went on to add "Singling out certain states for special scrutiny no longer makes sense."
Well, it is true that almost every state in the union is guilty of some manner of vote-denying bullshit...but y'all still need some monitoring. If you're tired of being monitored you may want to consider GETTING IT FUCKING RIGHT!
Ass.
This bitch urges my fellow concerned citizens to contact their representatives and let them know that the Voting Rights Act must be renewed...we clearly still have major problems and they might want to get down to bitness on that shit.
Sigh.
It would be nice if Congress could accomplish something this year. They have failed to address immigration reform or social security reform, but have successfully engaged in the gluttonous spending of borrowed cash on bullshit like a recent college graduate with a new MasterCard.
Well shit, a bitch stands corrected…that is something, isn’t it?
Speaking of things Congress failed to handle, this bitch was not at all surprised to see this shit in the news yesterday. As predicted, prescription drug prices have gone up under the new Medicare prescription drug plan. Failure to include the ability to negotiate drug prices with drugmakers has resulted in a 3.7% increase in just a few months of operation.
And don’t let the bullshit artists fool you on this shit. Someone is eating biscuits and gravy here but it sure as shit isn’t the hungry citizen who is footing the bill
on this shit.Flat co-pays do not equal victimless crime when prescription drug costs go up due to a curiously beneficial pro-pharmaceutical pricing system, chil'ren.
And you know what they say…if you’re looking around the table unable to figure out who the fool is then the fool is probably you.
9 comments:
Thank you, ABB. I have written my congresswoman and bitched accordingly.
They also say, at least in Washington DC, that if you're not on the table, you're probably on the menu...
Thanks for such a great blog, ABB, I really enjoy the way you cut through the bullshit.
Hey, ABB. You have noticed the latest anti-voting thing here in Missouri, right? Now all voters are required to provide a photo ID to vote. In theory, you're supposed to still be able to cast a provisional ballot, but I doubt that's the message my clients at the homeless service center will get when they try. Hell, half of the felons who are off paper (not on parole or probation anymore) had no idea that their right to vote is automatically restored in Missouri when they've gotten completely off paper unless they were convicted of a crime involving voting fraud.
Of course, "these changes aren't targeted at anyone", but who's affected? Disproportionately poor, and disproportionately Black voters. Fuck Blunt. On second thought, don't. Ewwwwwww.
Oh, and e-mail sent. Representative Cleaver shouldn't be too hard to sell on that "voting rights" thing, though :)O
At this point they all need to be monitored. The types of ballots used and what goes on during vote counting in the elections offices need particularly close scrutiny from citizen watchdogs.
BTW: I added your link in my Revolutionary Bloggers menu.
RBL here,
Thank you -- I shall draft a letter to my Congresswoman today (a Texas Republican, so it'll mostly be just a drop in the bucket, but hey, can't stop trying, right?).
Hey ABB..loved your post...If you want a laugh, check an appearance of Rep Westmoreland on the Colbert Report...its classic.
the truth is...they SHOULD extend the VRA to all 50 states...hello? OHIO?
ABB-
You forgot one thing that Congress DID acomplish recently. They managed to give themselves another raise. Since the last time the minimum wage was raised, they have increased their own salaries 8 times, for a total of $35,000 a year more! Ain't that grand?
I like your style, ABB. I'll be a regular.
Of course the Republicans aren't in a hurry to make sure the Voting Rights Act gets passed, 'cuz if we'd done it correctly in 2000, Gore would have been president, and if it had worked in 2004, we'd have Kerry in the White House.
As long as the system, screwed up as it is, continues to benefit the GOP, they're not gonna be in any hurry to change it unless an outpouring of public backlash is the only alternative.
I'd love to vote *all* the GOP bastards out, personally.
--EBH
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