Today is Memorial Day.
Today is the day we honor and acknowledge those who died in military service on behalf of this country.
Today is the day we honor and acknowledge that sacrifice in defense of our nation, our form of government, our Constitution.
The core premise of our government, what is established by our Constitution, what was so beautifully articulated by Abraham Lincoln, president during the Civil War which inspired this holiday, is "government of the people, by the people, and for the people".
That is what those men and women, all of them back to the American revolution died to protect and defend and to ensure continues.
That government of the people, by the people, takes place through the function of one man (or woman), and one vote.
That is NOT one vote ONLY for a few, special, privileged people who have the 'right' color, ethnicity or origins, the 'right' religion, or the 'right' economic status, or the 'right' political ideology.
That is the opposite of one person/one vote. That is the opposite of legitimate representative government - the form of government that defines our nation.
That was what those wars where those people died we honor today were fought to oppose - to prevent control of government by the few, to prevent human beings from treatment as second class citizens.
I think about that every time I see an effort by conservatives to suppress or limit or restrict or in some way impair or make more difficult the right of people - American citizens - legally to exercise their right to vote.
The National Report recently ran this headline, reflecting an ugly moment of honsety and candor:
Secret McConnell Recording: Tea Party Lost Primaries Because It “hasn’t learned to conceal its racism”
“They have their strong base, their core. But, they don’t have success courting the middle. You know why? It’s their overt racism. The Tea Party hasn’t learned to conceal its racism. That’s where they fail. The Republican party knows better. Want to keep minority voters from the polls? Fine, set up hindrances to “prevent voter fraud”. Want to cut social services? Fine, but do it for “fiscal conservatism”. These Tea Party idiots and their supporters are out hollering the N word, calling Obama an ape, suggest Michelle is a transvestite. That alienates the middle. That’s what costs them. You want to think those things? Think them to yourselves. You want to legislate against that them? Come up with an excuse. The Tea Party will remain an also ran unless they work on their poker face a bit more”.
It should be obvious to Mitch McConnell and to all conservatives that keeping minority voters from the polls, or keeping anyone from voting as easily as others vote that he is dishonoring what those veterans fought and died to protect by voter suppression.
By voter suppression I mean
- creating long lines by reducing polling places or making them inaccessible,
- reducing early voter days,
- not providing bathrooms to people who come to a location to vote,
- purging legitimate voters from voting rolls,
- voter ID when there is not a problem with voter fraud that would be solved by that solution-in-search-of-a-problem,
- laws which disenfranchise criminals who have paid their debt to society so as to disproportionately disenfranchise minority ethnicities
- laws which make it more difficult or expensive for people to register to vote
- laws which privatize voting, and which require voting machines that result in 'hanging chads' or dubious electronic results vulnerable to tampering
Think of that today. Think about what people died to preserve, think about the ideal, think about Lincoln's words (a liberal), think about Jefferson's words (another liberal) in the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
All men (and women) are created equal, have equal rights, all men - and women - are NOT second class citizens. Men and women have bled and died for that.
Hey, thanks for making the holiday political.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
There is nothing more political than war and how we treat our Veterans. Both are government responsibilities. We have seen how lies start wars and how lies deny medical services and kill our Veterans.
ReplyDeleteWhen a Vice President's (Cheney) ex firm gets government contracts to supply the armed services and that company kills soldiers with their bad food and water, or showers that electrocute our soldiers, and worse, that's politics at its worse corruption.
Maybe today is not the day to get into how the founders poisoned their own words by being slave owners and not including women in the "all are created equal" idea, but it just shows how the fight must go on to make those ideals real.
I don't like war and have specifically disagreed with the wars America has gotten involved with since 1950, but that is not a soldiers fault. It is our collective fault that soldiers are treated so badly. And if you think that bad treatment started with the current scandal at the Veterans department, then you are wrong. Bad treatment of our Veterans goes back to the Revolutionary War days, and it should stop. The anti tax movement (not something new) is responsible for America not being able to meet many of its responsibilities, and American seem to be OK with that. Shame.
I notice, Orlon, that you do not dispute that the foundational premise of our country is representative government, one person / one vote.
ReplyDeleteI notice, Orlon, that you do not dispute that racism is fundamental to the radical right - the Tea Party as well as so-called 'establishment' Conservatives - attempt to deny legal citizens of the United States their Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, which is completely contrary to our National identity.
Instead, if I might make an analogy, you are more upset that I pointed out the conservative turd in the proverbial Constitutional punch bowl than you are that the conservatives took a dump in it, desecrating the Constitution and effectively shitting on all those who gave their lives defending the Constitution and the right to vote.
That only serves to underline your persistently faulty thinking and poor conservative values.
Dear twatwaffle,
ReplyDeleteIf voting changed anything, it would be illegal. It is hideous that you need to vote for someone to tell you how to run your own life. Not very independent of you.
In regards to everything else, I don't see any use in responding to fecalpheliacs, race-baiters, or morons who think the Constitution allows spying on citizens, assassinating citizens, covering up coverups, and committing multitudinous war crimes against humanity.
Can we expect more of your bird-brainery on Independence Day?
your friend,
orlin sellers
Dear Orlon Sellout,
DeleteAs has been wisely noted before, representative government is terrible - but still better than all the other forms of government.
I don't vote for someone to 'run my life', and I don't vote for someone to run yours, however much you are in need of an adult supervising your remedial education.
There are appropriate roles and functions for government; only an imbecile would think otherwise. I believe you were trying to make up a word using the suffix feliacs you meant to use philia - just one more indication of your lack of education. Not very smart of you.
Once again, you try to tap dance around the issue under discussion - voter suppression.
I hope no one denies your right to vote, but I assume that with your disenchantment with the government you don't. Given your staggering lack of intellect and education, that's a good thing.
You can expect regular posts from me, although I doubt you will grasp the content, given you sad limitations and deficiencies.
" I believe you were trying to make up a word using the suffix feliacs you meant to use philia - just one more indication of your lack of education. Not very smart of you."
DeleteNot very smart of whom?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fecalpheliac
"Once again, you try to tap dance around the issue under discussion - voter suppression."
It must be your government indoctrination center miseducation that caused you to title a post on voter suppression, "TODAY IS MEMORIAL DAY
Dog would you consider it voter suppression if the government under direct order from the President murdered a citizen by targeted drone strike prior to their 18th birthday?
ReplyDeleteDog please explain why you believe it is reasonable and common sense to be forced to show ID to exercise some rights and not all rights?
Are we not disenfranchising criminals also by denying them the ability to exercise their 2nd amendment rights.
Is it not suppression of minority's and the economically challenged 2nd amendment rights by making it difficult and expensive to express said rights
Exercising ones right to the 2nd amendment is the only right that has direct effect on killing. To bad you don't understand the power to kill must be treated differently than any other right, that does not kill.
ReplyDeleteNice try Anonymous. I am sure you would agree that we all have the right to have hands and feet, correct? And yet most adult males can use that right to kill just about anyone. Where are your calls to treat our right to have hands and feet differently from other rights?
Delete-- TruthBeTold
A gun is made to kill, that is its function.
DeleteYou CAN kill with many things, but only a gun is made to kill.
Besides, the 2A right that guys like TbT cling to so desperately is non-existent. As we've shown over and over again, it's been bastardized by the NRA in a fairly successful attempt to turn it into something that would be totally unrecognizable to those who conceived it. The truth is it's obsolete and meaningless.
DeleteNo Anon whats to bad is your lack of understanding when it comes to freedom and PERSONAL responsibility. Please elaborate on how me shooting cans in the desert has a direct effect on killing and please be specific. And remember the 2nd Amendment is an individual right so attempting to lump all gun owners into the same mold will not be accepted as logical or reasonable
ReplyDeleteBS, if that's all gun owners did with their guns there would not be a problem. But we have 30,000 gun shot deaths and even more serious gun shot injuries. Most of that caused by the idiot behavior of idiot gun loons. This isn't just about YOU.
DeleteYes it is about me and my personal freedom and rights and yours and every other person in this country."Exercising ones right to the 2nd amendment is the only right that has direct effect on killing" by your own statement you concede that the 2nd amendment is an individual right however you and others continue to illogically lump all gun owners together and it is completely immoral to attempt to deny future generations of their rights based on your current fears or the actions of others. And for these reasons it is you and those of the same mindset that are completely lacking any reason and common sense. So me and those like me completely reject the assertion that we should be willing to submit to your definition freedom for the benefit of the collective.
DeleteAlright, have it your way, this is all about you. Now tell me how you have been denied your right to buy, own, or use a gun.
DeleteInteresting how our side is concerned about your sides rights and freedoms being infringed upon as well as ours and all you can do is come up with ways to ask for the government to infringe upon them..And to answer your question while living in the state of Illinois our rights were infringed upon in the following ways we are forced to obtain a FOID prior to being able to own any firearm also we were denied our right to carry a firearm concealed or open .thankfully that state has sense changed somewhat but not without the leftist extremist kicking and screaming. While living in the state of Nevada our rights have been infringed upon by forcing all handgun owners within the county to register all hand guns with the sheriff and requiring the payment of $125 to the sheriffs office to obtain a permit to carry our firearms concealed further infringement on our rights.Failure to comply with any of the above infringements results in being denied our rights And of course you will say these are minor inconveniences that are necessary to keep up the illusion of safety.
DeleteNow you switch from being about YOU to being about other people. You never once said YOU had been denied anything. If you were truly protecting others rights, you would be concerned about the right of those to live who have been killed by your side with guns.
DeleteMemorial day was recognized on Monday.
ReplyDeleteToday, 5/30/2014 is Memorial day. Today.
I am heading to the Veterans Memorial today to give thanks and prayers to our fallen soldiers and their families. I hope you remember them too.