Excuse me while I send a personal birthday wish to my younger sister, who shares my natal day, along with three 1st-cousins on my mother's side of the family. Happy Birthday, Kelly. :)
Now. It's my birthday. What do I want?
I want each and every Kossack to register at least two people, between now and the deadline for registration, in your Congressional District. There's an Interactive Map there to assist you, it's so easy even a Republican could use it, and I'll bet that they do.
That's all. Nothing more.
Just get 2 people who are currently not registered, to register in time to exercise their franchise - hopefully, in favor of our candidate, President Barack Obama and hopefully, Democratic candidates down-ballot from him, this November 6th.
It's not too much to ask, is it?
Okay, I'd also really, really appreciate it if you ask those two citizens to do the same, and try to register 2 people in time to vote, if you want to, if you think they might do it. For me, and my Birthday Wish.
Besides, it's to your advantage, each of you (and them, in turn), both individually and as a citizen of These United States of America.
For if there is one single thing which, in and of itself, will guarantee that the 99% of The People will always retain the ability to fend off the avaricious 1%, when it comes to whom the elected government takes it's cues from...
it's because while
they have (and will likely always have) 99% of the wealth of the nation,
they only have 1% of the Votes.
It's our single most significant thing of value, in this complex, profit-driven, de-regulated, Capitalistic system of civilization in 21st century America.
Our political franchise, our right to vote as legal adults.
Here's the history of American Sufferage:
Voting rights in the United States
In the United States, suffrage (or the right to vote gained via the democratic process, or Legislation) is determined by the separate states, not federally (Wyoming being the first state to instill suffrage). However, the "right to vote" is expressly mentioned in five Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These five Amendments limit the basis upon which the right to vote may be abridged or denied:
14th Amendment (1868): Regarding apportionment of Representatives.
15th Amendment (1870): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
19th Amendment (1920): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
23rd Amendment (1961): provides that residents of the District of Columbia can vote for the President and Vice-President.
24th Amendment (1964): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax."
26th Amendment (1971): "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."
So please, seriously consider
granting me my Birthday Wish.
I'm over 50 and under 55, so I'm one of those Americans who have been hardest hit by the Lesser Depression and it's attendant unemployment; and whom are now being targeted by the Republican Party for particular pain via increases in age eligibility for Social Security and Medicare.
As if our bodies are going to stop getting older and sicker until we turn 67. Or if they had their way, until we turned 70, or even older.
Like the Working Class members of our Society have the physical ability to continue to work for a living at advanced ages of up to 70 years old. Yes, there are now vast numbers of older Americans who have been Middle and upper Middle Class, using their brains more than brawns to earn their daily bread, and for whom working to the age of 70 may not only possible, but desirable to some. Ask many 70+ year old US Congressmen/women if they feel able and desirous of continued election to office; into their 80s, some of them.
Now, go ask a room full of: Laborers (LIUNA Union members who build roads mostly); Carpenters; Plumbers; Steelworkers; Ironworkers; Welders and Longshoremen; go ask them if they think they should still be working actively in their profession at the age of 70.
For some of them, 50 is old. I know, my ex-husband is only 52, and he has been a member of the LIUNA Union since before our kids were born, starting in the mid-1980s. He is shot, physically. What did he do for the past 30 years? He worked traffic control on highway projects, for the most part. Designing and setting out traffic control devices for project work, mostly at night, mostly on freeways in the Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington area.
A job nearly as dangerous, in terms of deaths and injuries, as first responders. It seems crazy at first, but imagine how easy it would be to hit someone, in the dark, at an off-ramp with no lights and diversion traffic devices... because it happens, quite often.
He is worn out from three decades of hard, physical labor. Joints, back, legs, feet. Worn out. He looks 10 years older than he is. From decades of hard work.
My next door neighbor, on the other hand, retired from a career as an employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS), as a mail sorting center worker. It was physical labor, but highly regulated, and limited in scope. His yearly retirement income is about $35,000, but from his 63rd birthday year, when he was eligible for full-retirement from the USPS, to last year when he turned 70, he also worked a full-time job as a night janitor for a large, local commercial-building-cleaning service. He is in very good health for his age.
Both men have lived on the same street for more than 50 years now. Both worked physical labor jobs, but one was hard labor. The difference in their overall health status is significant at this point in time. I believe that the same is true on a macro-scale, here in this country.
To ask those who have spent three decades or more at hard, physical labor to wait longer to retire and become eligible for benefits is, to me, immoral.
Please, do your part in helping to ensure that the men and women who get elected on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 are, as much as we can help, Democratic Candidates.
The national Republican nominees for the US President, Willard Mitt Romney and Vice President, Paul Davis Ryan; these two men have already publicly said that they are interested in giving wealthy American citizens and corporations more Tax Cuts which they don't need and restricting as far as they can the Rights of American women in regards to both contraception and abortion.
Rep. Paul Ryan's Budget Plan eviscerates the Social Safety Nets, as much as possible, without just erasing them entirely. This budget plan, and the men & women behind it, and their Party, are all looking to do one thing - send more Tax Cuts up the line to their wealthy donors and their corporations.
Nothing to help hurting American Families in the Working or Middle Class, in fact, they are quite willing to forego renewing the Bush Era Tax Cuts for Middle and Working class taxpayers. Yes, they want us to pay for a new Tax Cut for the Wealthy, by letting our tax rates go back up while at the same time, once again lowering their tax rates. Immoral.
Recent news has now been leaked that they have an upcoming vote on a Plank at their Convention, to overturn Roe vs Wade in it's entirety, by dint of a so-called "Human Life Amendment", which will ban all abortions. Let me repeat that - it will ban ALL abortions, even in the case where the mother could die if the fetus is not aborted.
Enough is Enough
Re-elect President Barack Obama
Vote Democratic
For me.
It's my Birthday Wish.
3:26 PM PT: For those WA State, 3rd CD Voters:
Please consider re-Tweeting and/or endorsing the Democratic candidate for the US House from Washington's 3rd Congressional District: Jon Haugen (@HaugenVet on Twitter). He is a staunch defender/supporter of President Obama and his re-election.
Jon Haugen (D) is a 24-year Navy Veteran, with foreign service Command of a ship before he retired from the US Navy. He provided a significant amount of the time, effort and funds to change the WA State Constitution regarding funding for Public Education Levies, to ensure the Will of the People was not so hard to discern or follow, when it comes to funding our public schools.
He cares about people. So far as I'm concerned, the man is a Patriot, with a capital P.
Please consider supporting him, if you live in the WA State 3rd CD, on November 6th.
Thank you!
3:42 PM PT: For WA State Voters:
Please be sure to check your Voter Status before the Registration deadline hits on October 29, 2012.
Please support and consider volunteering for our Democratic candidate for Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee. His opponent is none other than anti-PPACA-lawsuit-joining-State-AG Rob McKenna (R).
Don't let the Tea Party do to Washington State what they've done to Wisconsin and Ohio and others.
Please do what you can to elect leaders who believe Government should run on science and reason, not religion or dogma or cockamamie theories promulgated by the ignorant and corrupt portions of our society.
Vote Democratic in 2012.