Instead of making it easier to vote, maybe we should be making it harder. Why not test people about the basic functions of government? Immigrants have to pass a test to vote; why not all citizens?
A voting test would point the arrow of civic engagement up, instead of down, sending the signal that becoming an informed citizen is a valued accomplishment.
The Department of Justice notes this in their Frequently Asked Questions about the legislation. Take, for example, this passage:
What does the Voting Rights Act do?
The Voting Rights Act bans all kinds of racial discrimination in voting. For years, many states had laws on their books that served only to prevent minority citizens from voting. Some of these laws required people to take a reading test or interpret some passage out of the Constitution in order to vote, or required people registering to vote to bring someone already registered who would vouch for their “good character.” The Voting Rights Act made these and other discriminatory practices illegal, and gave private citizens the right to sue in federal court to stop them. In recent times, courts have applied the Act to end race discrimination in the method of electing state and local legislative bodies and in the choosing of poll officials. [emphasis added]
Goldberg, by his own standards, may be unfit to vote. Wouldn’t that make him even less qualified to engage in political punditry?
The schedule for the convention running from Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5 is loaded with really fascinating panels, round tables, workshops and seminars. I am not only a convention attendee but also participating in a few things as well.
I am going to do my absolute best to make the most out of this trip. I plan to post pictures and video of my trip which you can follow here on the blog. The YKC07 page will include RSS updates, a Flickr slideshow and video. I just hope that all of my generous donors feel like their money was well spent. See you in Chicago!
MSNBC confirmed that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts suffered a seizure and collapsed at his summer home and is currently hospitalized in Maine.
Liberals and conservatives everywhere hope the Chief Justice makes a full recovery. Roberts’ condition, however, is a reminder to Justice John Paul Stevens to hang on.
CBS News reported on an exclusive concerning the rise of gangs within the U.S. military. It is a truly shocking and disturbing trend likely brought on by the military’s decision to reduce enlistment standards due to poor recruitment numbers — a direct result of the unpopular Iraq War. (I know this first-hand, as I have long desired to serve my country but refuse to fight in an unjust war, and I know I am not the only one.)
The danger of these growing factions within the military is quite clear. Around this time last year, the New York Times reported in the rise of the Aryan Nations, and other hate groups, within the U.S. military. With young officers and soldiers — the backbone of our military’s future — leaving the military at such high levels, the armed forces will be continuously forced out of necessity to allow these criminals in their ranks. (The tragic irony is that self-preservation will beget the destruction of the military from within.)
Evidence of gang culture and gang activity in the military is increasing so much an FBI report calls it “a threat to law enforcement and national security.” The signs are chilling: Marines in gang attire on Parris Island; paratroopers flashing gang hand signs at a nightclub near Ft. Bragg; infantrymen showing-off gang tattoos at Ft. Hood. [emphasis added]
The deterioration of the military is a result of this tragic war that was reached from many, manydifferentangles. This is just one of them. It makes you wonder just how long the military can hold before it begins to look like the cast of American History X.
