Action Alert! Stop new Republican ID laws that will disenfranchise the poor!

Republicans hate government and they don't want people to vote, especially minorities and the poor. They have consistently worked to disenfranchise minorities and the poor and they have been successful at it.

This is an important message from the Coalition on Homlessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO).

Rumors persist that the Ohio Senate will be voting on the restrictive photo-ID bill this Wednesday, 7/13. Senate President Tom Niehaus needs to hear from you today.

Please call (614-466-8082) or email (SD14@senate.state.oh.us) his office and ask him to oppose Sub HB 159.

In a recent news release, COHHIO Executive Director Bill Faith said, “It’s easy for many people – including legislators -- to sit in their comfortable chairs and say, ‘What’s the big deal about requiring a photo ID to vote?’ But they are making voting much more difficult -- if not impossible -- for nearly one million Ohioans who don’t have a photo ID today.

“The bill is unnecessary. It’s burdensome. It reduces access to voting under a flawed rationale of phantom voter fraud. And when absent of sound justification, this bill looks like voter suppression to us.”

For analysis of the bill, click on this


Thanks for your support,
Cathy

Spread the word and act now!

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"-Mahatma Gandhi

Politics 101: Everything you need to know about American Politricks in 3 minutes

Glenn Greenwald shows once again why he is without a doubt one of the best political commentators alive in this latest article. And the George Carlin “American Dream” bit he links to should be mandatory viewing for every American citizen.

If you’re too busy or lazy to read Greenwald’s column just watch the Carlin bit. He was a genius and nobody could explain our political system more concisely. Greenwald just relates his premise to Obama and the two corporate parties. Pass these along to anyone that doesn’t understand politics because it’s actually pretty simple.

Discussing a Taboo Subject; Mandatory Voting

I’ve never spent much time thinking about a taboo subject like mandatory voting. There are some people that don’t think everybody should vote because many voters are already low information voters, but there’s an interesting case that was made for it here.


There’s no doubt that a democracy or democratic republic can’t work without citizen participation. Then again if people don’t know who or what they are voting for that can be problematic as well.

So what is the answer to restoring or improving our democratic processes? Well, that’s a tough question that probably requires a multi-pronged approach. And by disconnecting from the political process people have only allowed the abuses and political corruption to get much worse.

Maybe if people were required citizens to go to the polls they would take more time to get informed. But they shouldn’t be forced to vote for candidates that they don’t support. One option is allowing people to write in whoever they want or to vote none of the above. If none of the above gets the most votes a new field with a special election would be called for.

In reality we probably need to institute campaign finance reform, media reform, reinstitute civics classes in school and the idea that with the benefits of citizenship comes a responsibility to live up to our civic duties. We should also get rid of the Electoral College and electronic voting. Mandatory voting may or may not be a part of the answer, but it certainly shouldn’t be a taboo subject.