Released on: September 9, 2008, 8:17 pm

Press Release Author: Swinging the Burning Broom

Industry: Education

Press Release Summary:
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
ATTENTION:

Effective IMMEDIATELY: In the United States of America, individuals guilty of having
African American heritage are to be completely stripped of their civil and voting
rights, regardless of any previous mandates, acts or constitutional amendments. No,
African American citizen may protest this new and orderly law. Loss of civil rights
takes away not only the right to vote, but also the right to hold public office,
serve on a jury, and qualify for certain types of state licenses necessary for many
jobs, such as those in the construction and medical fields. Any African American
citizen found attempting to vote will be arrested, jailed, fined, taken out back ...


Yes, this means YOU!

###

Press Release Body: If the above \"bulletin\" was in fact true, millions upon millions
of Blacks would be all up in arms, marching and chanting through the streets. There
would be riots, boycotts and protests en masse (I guess). It often seems that people
only care about their rights when someone denies them their rights.


What is sad today is that no one has to deny Black people their right to vote. 32%
of African Americans are willingly denying themselves the right to vote. They feel
powerless, but the only reason that they are powerless is because they believe that
they are. In this historic time when we have an African American man running for
President of the United States and a white woman running for Vice President, every
American woman and man of every race in this country must vote. It\'s time to wake
up!


In 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. Black people
saw it as a major win in the fight to be recognized as full citizens of this
country. The next challenge was to get folks registered and voting. Back in the day
Blacks were righteously defensive and proud to have gained the right to vote. They
knew that many of us had sacrificed our lives for that right and we would be
literally damned if we were not going to exercise that right. Countless Black men,
women and even people of other races fought and died for us to win the right to
vote. Black churches in the south and across America spearheaded major voter
registration drives on a regular basis. They recognized the power of the vote. Can
we say that this is true today?




\"In 2004, African Americans made up approximately 11 percent of the overall vote
nationwide. If the percentage of African Americans was a mere two-and-a-half percent
higher at 13-and-a-half percent, Democrats would currently be running for
re-election at this time,\" he said. \"For example in the state of Ohio in 2004, we
lost by two percent or 100,000 votes. There were 270,000 unregistered African
Americans. I use that as an illustration to show how the African American vote can
make the difference in a state and across this country. So the African American vote
can absolutely make the difference in this election.\'\'


All right, so anyone conscious enough to be reading this blog hopefully has enough
sense to where (s)he does not need to be convinced of the imperative significance of
exercising her or his right and RESPONSIBILITY to vote. That\'s right! Voting is your
responsibility---as much as many of us grimace and whine at the mere sound of that
word.

Again, brave people died so that you and I could participate in our own political
system. The very least we can all do is get up off of our entitled (yeah!) asses and
vote. Surely the past 7 years of war have taught our generation that we can afford
no apathy in regards to the United States presidency. Almost 4,000 Americans and
tens of thousands of Iraqi\'s--including children have died--SCRATCH!--have been
KILLED since \'he\' was selected--not elected as President of the United States of
America.


Amazingly 8 million Blacks are still not registered to vote! What\'s even more
shocking and not well known among the masses is that quite a few people who \'think\'
they are registered to vote, are not. Do you think that you are registered? You may
be surprised to find out that you are not. It would be better for you to check and
make sure that you are registered now than to wait until election day and be turned
away.
You see, the elections of 2000, 2002, and 2004 were STOLEN through dozens of dirty
tricks - before, during, and after Election Day - to make sure that our votes did
not count. MyDem.org was created to give voters the tools we need to make sure our
votes count - so \'they\' never steal another election! In 2000, Florida illegally
purged 57,000 voters - mostly Democrats and Blacks. Please visit the site to find
out if you are REALLY registered to vote and have not been canceled, purged or
otherwise robbed of your right to vote in the next election.

It is also a good idea to make a copy of your completed, filed registration--just in
case you need it a the polls. Over cautious? Maybe, but if you speak to individuals
who were denied their right to vote in the Bush - Gore fiasco you will view our
\"democratic\" process a bit more closely and guard your right to vote with a bit more
diligence. Dirty tricks and strategies were used before and with the stakes as high
as they are this time, you can be sure the snakes are slithering under foot and
under every poll.



We must vote if there is to be any hope for the future. I am not telling anyone who
or what to vote for. I\'m just urging you to take the time to familiarize yourself
with the process and your place in it. I am asking you to weight the issues and
realize that neither candidate is all right or all wrong. It is a complex,
multi-faceted decision you are being called to make, but that\'s why only grown ups
get to vote. Everyone must participate including Native Americans, African
Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Italian Americans,
Irish Americans, and Jewish Americans--ALL AMERICANS.




Did you know that one of the first things they strip from an American citizen when
(s)he is imprisoned for a felony is his/her right to vote? In order to restore those
rights, a person with a past felony conviction must apply for Restoration of Civil
Rights (RCR). If your rights have been stripped, take them back NOW! (Unless you
live in Florida where nearly one in three African-American men cannot vote because
of a racist ban that Floridians placed within their state constitution to restrict
the voting rights of newly freed slaves.). Can you believe that? Talk about the
disempowerment and disenfranchisement of our people! Maybe we should be out
protesting after all, huh?



Your right to vote is precious. It is POWERFUL! In fact, \"they\" did not want to give
it to women and Blacks in the first place and they cannot wait for an excuse to take
it back. They know what we could do if we fully exercised that power. And \'they\'
love it that so many minorities and women fail to vote during so many elections.
When everyone gets up, get out and starts voting as eagerly as they get out to see
the next box office draw, new video game or gadget, that is when things in this
country will begin to change. Am I just spittin in the damned wind here?



If you refuse to register to vote and then get up and vote, shut up when the new
president takes office, steals your hard earned money to fund bogus wars while
shoveling your children into the war machine like oily meat for blood-burger. Shut
up about abortion and life. Shut up about gay marriage. Shut up about the ERA and
women being paid equal pay for equal work. Shut up about stem cell research. Shut up
about Affirmative Action. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!



And you know who you are, sitting there reading this blog with that smug look on
your sorry unregistered face as if this is not directed at you. I am talking to YOU!
Now go and get registered--then VOTE!
Are you still here reading while unregistered?!

What are you afraid of? It is easier than you imagine registering to vote and the
feeling that you get from within yourself when you register and ultimately vote is
so flippin hott--sexy even. Here are some other resources that might help if you
have any questions about how you can register to vote:
Registering to Vote and Voting: USA.gov
Rock the Vote
Declare Yourself!


Unfortunately, far too many African Americans do not seem to realize the power of
voting rights in a democracy. As a result, millions of African Americans still do
not participate in the political process. And we wonder why we are met with such
apathy and maltreatment after something such as Hurricane Katrina. The powers that
be ignore us because so many of us ignore and neglect to use one of the greatest
powers granted to members of a democracy.


Voting is an essential right of humanity that our fathers and mothers laid down
their lives to win for us. You see, they realized that voting is about having a
voice in the society in which one lives. It\'s about having the power to effect
change. It\'s about respecting yourself and gaining the respect of those who are or
aspire to be public servants. It says, \"Serve me...Serve me and I\'ll vote for you.
Desert me and I\'ll cut you loose.\"


Voting is the first very vital step in gaining equal opportunity to have life,
liberty and to pursue happiness in these Unites States. It empowers us to have the
best schools for our children. It brings jobs and justice to our communities. It
brings swift aid to our communities in a disaster. It delivers unto us law
enforcement and judges who will treat us with respect, dignity and fairness. Voting
makes a man or woman stand tall. If you want to really get in touch with your sense
of personal and global importance, register and vote in the next election. That’s
power--more POWER to the people!


--Hallelujah Harris!

Posted by Swinging the Burning Broom at 2:39 PM

http://burningbroom.blogspot.com/



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