Protect Your Vote

If you are a woman or minority, your right to vote was purchased with bloodshed.  Whatever your party or preference, you should exercise your voting rights to honor those who sacrificed.  Now the Republicans are attempting to roll back your rights with underhanded legislation that effectively ensures you cannot vote in the elections.

Some states have eliminated voting on the Sunday prior to the election, 34 states have implemented photo ID requirements, 15 states are demanding proof of citizenship – birth certificate.  Nine states have implemented no early voting and no late voter registration.  These laws actually violate the Voter Registration Act, Section five.

The target demographics for these anti-American laws are African-Americans, Latinos, Women, Seniors and college students.  Most seniors do not have their birth certificates on hand, many minorities and women work hours which make it difficult to vote on a Tuesday and eliminating Sunday voting will effectively eliminate their votes.  Student IDs have been ruled as not sufficient for voting.

Arm yourself with information.  Brennan Center for Justice has a site that describes all of the new changes and how you can challenge them or keep your voting rights intact.  Alternatively, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) to find out all the new changes and how you can protect your rights.

Questions for the President; Intelligent Only Please

Tech-A-Break would like to post a disclaimer and apology.  WARNING; this post is not happy! If I sound angry and disgusted in this post, it is because I am.  Many decisions and people are culpable for the current global economic mess, but fixing it will require commitment, intelligence and moral balance from everyone.  I see none of these attributes in the public from current postings on the Internet.

After reading some of the questions for the President posed on http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/, I am convinced that many Americans walk around with their heads in a paper bag (or perhaps up their rectum).  Why would you spend valuable time asking the President if he is planning to run for office again when his re-election campaign has been in effect for over a year?  Why would you ask him why he won’t tax the top 10% of the population when he has been in the press for weeks being blasted for his “Buffett Tax” proposal?  Yes, these and other ignorant questions are being proposed to the President today.  It is clear that many responded to the opportunity to question our highest official with bigitory, ignorance and hatred.  Others were just stupid.

If you consider yourself qualified to question elected officials check first to see if you
1)voted and 2)bothered to educate yourself on the issues being discussed.

Clearly a large group does neither of these things, they simply log on to the Internet and spout out garbage from their personal bias with no real concern for the actual problems facing Americans.  Fair paying jobs to raise families.  Access to health care, affordable mortgages and cars.  Food and education for children.

No one should give a rat’s tush why the President has not visited Kenya.  If he wants to visit his father’s birthplace, fine.  If not fine.  It has no bearing on the American people’s ability to eat everyday.

WAKE UP America.  If you don’t stop playing victim and become part of the solution, you deserve to be a resident of a third-world country.

A New Fairy Tale

Once upon a time in a magical place called America, I worked the corporate treadmill and had a good middle-class life and lifestyle.  I had good neighbors who also lived the good middle-class life.  Then came revelations that all was not as wonderful as believed in the kingdom.  The kings had sold much of the land and resources to outsiders and made backroom deals with them to keep the populace ignorant.

When leaks began to happen and the people were restless, they were distracted with games, movies, scandals and other treats.  This kept the people focused on nonsense and prevented them from seeing the trouble coming.

Difficult times began and jobs were few and far between even for the highly skilled and educated.  People began to shout for “change” and were rewarded with the coming of the prince.  The prince promised change but cautioned it would be difficult and that all would need to sacrifice together to make the kingdom great again.

The people cheered the prince and promised their support until the first cuts began.  There was no magic wand to make everything as it was so they started to grumble.  The people put in advisors who would force the prince’s hand.  But the advisors turned on the people and made it worse, they wanted only to protect the high lords of the land and wanted the workers and peasants to drop dead.

I wish I could say this story had a happy ending, but it is filled with heartache, homelessness, poverty, helplessness and despair.  Many families struggle even now in the face of rampant consumerism, and entertainers with exorbitant salaries.  Many of the high lords shifted their wealth into other countries to evade taxes and avoid the people.  This only increased the poverty and lack of jobs.

Only the unity of a nation’s people, rich and poor can make us great again.  Small business owners need capital to hire workers.  Workers need re-training for new industries and families need intermediate support to survive.  Children raised in poverty have their futures stunted and do not contribute to the fullest of their potential.

Join me in changing the end of this tale, commit to making America the great land it once was.  It will take hard work, entrepreneurship and cooperation across ages, cultures, races and economic status but it can happen.  If you agree, comment or like this post and I will send it to our high lord politicians of both sides, because if we don’t drop sides and work together, the end of this story will be bleak.