Wednesday, September 24, 2014

I.D.

Yesterday I had to stop at the Walgreen's liquor store and get some good dry Sherry wine for my green chile Gypsy Stew recipe.  I needed to prove I wasn't under 21 at the age of 69 with my drivers license.  The day before I had to show my drivers license to the TSA gropers to prove I  wouldn't be a danger to the flying public.  Just about every time I make a purchase with a check or debit card I have to show a picture I.D.  I am used to it and it isn't that big a deal.  I don't think a picture I.D. to vote is such a violation of my rights nor would it suppress the vote.  A tempest in a Tea Pot.  A silly culture war that is meaningless.  So I kind of go against the grain of my favorite democratic candidate, Maggie Tolouse Oliver who is running for Secretary of State.  However, I certainly support her efforts to get voter registration legal up to and including election day.  It shows she is a reformer and thinker.

At the same time the mantra of her opponent Diana Duran is sickening. She keeps saying voter fraud is rampant when any sane person would realize it is really non existent.  She wants to suppress the vote.  And, she is carrying the message for the far right that democrats are evil and steal elections.  When in fact the GOP is the one who has gerrymandered the congressional districts to deny true democratic elections for the House of Representatives.  And the GOP has loaded the Supreme Court to give corporations unfettered control of our elections by allowing huge amounts of money to be invested in their right wing candidates.  What does Duran have to say about that?

I wonder how long the sleeping American citizen will put up with corporate control of their lives.  Sooner or later they will wake up and go looking for some guillotines.  I wonder if the one per centers ever think of that.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been harassed by a TSA agent who viewed my drivers license and then offered commentary on my height and weight. My address is right on there too, something that makes me insecure. Let's not confuse privacy and anonymity. We have the right to one but not the other when voting. Perhaps biometrics could help?

Ok, then said...

Getting a photo ID isn't as easy for everybody as it may be for you or me. Just the time waiting in line is an expense some people who work those minimum-wage, no-paid-leave, no-absences-excused jobs can't afford. And getting the necessary documentation isn't always easy either, especially if you don't have a local utility bill or previous driver's license. The demographic that doesn't vote because of these things is more Democratic than Republican, hence the drive to make people get ID cards to vote.

Jim Baca said...

I just don't buy that argument. I think that anybody can get a picture ID of some sort if they want to take the time to do it and if they think that's important enough for them to vote.

Anonymous said...

ID's aside, protests don't seem to be working. One of the founding fathers said a revolution was good once in awhile.

Anonymous said...

The scary thing is that with people like Jay McCleskey controlling the show dissenters may end up finding the guillotine chopping their heads off. The one percenters control everything and they got guys like McCleskey doing their bidding.

Ok, then said...

A follow-up to my previous comment:
NY Times editorial, 12 Oct 2014:

Voter ID laws, as their supporters know, do only one thing very well: They keep otherwise eligible voters away from the polls. In most cases, this means voters who are poor, often minorities, and who don’t have the necessary documents or the money or time to get photo IDs.