Jack’s Winning Words 8/6/21

“A person without a vote is a person without protection.”  (Lyndon B. Johnson)  On this date in 1965 the Voting Rights Act was signed into law by Pres LBJ, allowing a large segment of Americans to vote, in spite of other laws designed to restrict the vote.  There have always been obstructionists.  The Electoral College was enacted to  permit “educated people” to make decisions.  It took over 100 yrs before women were allowed to vote.  Inequities remain.  ;-)  Jack

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ: ."inequities remain." pls explain...===JACK:  IMO, the Electoral College bas outlived its reason for being (when America was just getting started and felt that "all pioneers" would not be able to  vote intelligently.  I now think that we've come to the time when elections should be by popular vote...and it appears to me that "things" are being done" to decrease the popular vote, especially among minorities.  I choose not to argue the point...but simply to express my opinion.===LIZ:  if it were strictly popular vote, we flyover states would have no say in presidential elections. the big cities would decide it for everyone... talk abt under-represented.  the electoral college was created as a way to facilitate voting for all americans... electors would represent the votes cast by their state's citizens, by casting those votes at one central location... at least that is how i learned it. correct me if i am wrong.  the new anti-american narrative seems to make it something nefarious.===JACK:  If you really wanted your vote to count, you would be in favor of popular vote.  The Electoral College means that the states elect the President.  By your vote you simply indicate how you want your state to vote.  Personally, I want to cast my ballot FOR the President, not for an Elector who votes for me.  I formed that opinion long ago when I took Civics in high school

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  and John Roberts gutted the Voting Rights Act a few years ago.   a terrible decision.  i,e,   Maricopa County in AZ once had almost 200 voting stations.  now it has less than 60 and most are in the northern part of the County which includes wealthy Scottsdale.    in a recent election,  the poor folk who live in the southern part of the Country wait up to 5 hours to vote.   despicable. ===JACK:  The pandemic caused changes in typical voting procedures, and it resulted in higher voter participation.  To me, elections are meant to get the most people to vote (not to suppress the vote).  The Supreme Court is what it is...and judges are appointed by whatever political party has the power.  So...one side or the other is going to claim unfairness.  Ideally, the most qualified should act as judges...but idealism happens in fairyland.===SP:  so very true,  Jack.   have a good weekend and pray for the nation.===JACK:  What should that prayer be?  Does God "have time" for politics?

FROM EDUCATOR PAUL:  Thanks, Jack. I have a new guiding light.  “The tyranny of the minority must come to an end.”===JACK:  I think I first heard it on the playground...."THAT'S NOT FAIR!" 

FROM DAZ IN CO:   Vote early, vote often.  Mayor Daley===JACK: There's a difference between fraudulent voting and making it difficult (next to impossible) for people to vote...for political gain.  Fraudulent voting has occurred regardless of party.===DAZ:  WOW. I guess that's your opinion. Ok===JACK:  Fairness is all that I ask.  

FROM SR RD:  Why do not ALL humans have a right to ALL human rights?? ===JACK:  Are there basic human rights, or do they depend on the lens through which we view society?===RD:  Good question, Jack! since we are growing into a very individualistic America, my question is the same: can we agree on anything or is it the  eschewed lens of each of us that gives the lop-sided answer! ===JACK:  I find myself refusing to get into "arguments."  Actions speak louder than words.  I try to follow the words of Jesus...to love God with all of my heart and to love my neighbor as I love myself.  I have my hands full trying to do that. ===RD:  Richard Rohr wrote this: "Martin Luther King Jr. defined power simply as “the ability to achieve purpose” and insisted that it be used towards the growth of love and justice."===JACK:  Calling the recent election, "A fraud" was an attempt to gain power.  To help people to learn to vote and to vote is also at attempt to gain power.  We are challenged to  use power in a beneficent way rather than for self aggrandizement.

FROM MD IN BOCA:  What would preclude a US citizen with a valid ID from voting? Has anyone ever tried to  restrict your right to vote?   If someone can show me one example of a valid citizen in the last 20 years  being denied the right to vote, I will join the voter suppression movement.===JACK:  Scams of all kinds surround us.  There's a difference between illegal vfoting and trying to make voting difficult in order to manipulate elections.  Of course, illegalities should be rooted out, but voting should be made easier, not more difficult.===MD: Is  standing in a long line after working ten hours  and enduring the cold and rain difficulty? I sure experiened that. We have  rights and responsibilities are concurrent. We cannot coddle people who are looking for special rights over equal rights.===JACK:  Times change, and certain adjustments can (and must) be attended to.  Mail-in voting works for the infirm and elderly, and it can work for all.  Voting Deposit Boxes should be made more convenient (not less convenient) for the voter.  I am disgusted with politicians who try to disenfranchise people.  There will always be voters who are uniformed, but that's how a democracy works.  There must be a way to better educate the voter about voting.  Too much money is being spent on propaganda. ===MD:   Two smart guys like us are so opposite on this. Why?  You see voter protection. I see opportunities  for fraud. Where is the disconnect?  We have always had infirm and elderly. My adult experience  is that we have been especially helpful to them above all else. No US citizen with a valid ID can be disfranchised. Is It more important to you that a marginal voter participates or that your vote is not canceled by an ineligible voter? I believe that you know my answer. ===JACK:  It's often a matter of semantics. When push comes to shove, I believe that we're on the same page.  I'm just more liberal than you are.  HAHA ===MD:  You liberal guys keep me charged. Dull world without you. Must be tough for you to separate just causes from personal and political  agendas. ===JACK:  I'm better at the separation that are some of my liberal (and conservative) friends.  Growing up in the Great Depression under the leadership of FDR and HST helped shape my thinking.===MD:  Good to know. I am a liberal at heart  but my logic leads me away from opportunistic democrats. Perhaps it was better when the local communities and churches looked after the down trodden ===JACK:  I react negatively at being labeled.  I tend to "stick up for" the underdog, the disadvantaged.  The 'rich' can (and do) look out for themselves, for the most part.  You and I are examples of friends who can discuss and finally arrive at a common, basic truth.===MD:   You are a good friend and a great resource in helping me to understand other points of view. I can see that we feel the same compassion for others. We differ on whether our government can ethically solve the problem.===JACK:  Help for political reasons is not something I support.  When the problem is so big (like the pandemic), the govt must step in to avoid chaos.

  

 FROM RS IN TEXAS:  Inequities do indeed still exist.....and the fight against that.....along with other injustices....continues.===JACK:  "Injustice" is something that we should all be against.  Not Fair is my definition of injustice.