Random Views From A Community Activist
by John Drury

Bush speaks to the nation
Bush addressed the nation the other night in an attempt to regain the support he has lost over his war for oil. He dismissed calls to set a timeline to bring the troops home by saying that our troops will remain in Iraq for as long as we have a mission to complete. I found this particularly interesting given the fact that it was he who declared “mission accomplished” over two years ago. It’s time to bring the troops home, period.

Vilsack orders felons to vote
Governor Vilsack has signed an executive order returning the right to vote to convicted felons that have served their time and some Republicans are not happy with the move. The order automatically returns the right to vote to convicted felons who have served their time. Iowa is one of a handful of states left that require felons to appeal to the Governor in a lengthy application process to regain their voting rights. Republican House Speaker Christopher Rants has said he thinks that we should welcome felons who have served their time back into society but he draws the line on voting. What is it about Republicans and their desire to stop people from voting?

Speaking of voting …
There’s a new report out that tells the tale of the Ohio voting boondoggle. It’s a good read unless of course you’re under the impression that we live in a democracy where everyone has a voice in their government.

Here’s an excerpt from the report … half of the state’s African-American voters reported some problems at the polls on Election Day. On average, black voters waited in longer lines than white voters; they were asked to provide identification more often than white voters; they were required to vote on “provisional ballots” more often (and their provisional ballots were counted less often); and they were intimidated at the polls more often than white voters. The DNC found that 16 percent of African-American voters felt intimidated at the polls; some reported hearing that “police would be at the polls to arrest people who had outstanding child support or car payments.” Overall, the problems African-Americans saw caused them to question the integrity of the election. While 77 percent of white voters were “very confident” that their votes had been counted, only 19 percent of black voters felt the same way.

You don’t suppose this has anything to do with yet another power hungry Republican Secretary of State seeking higher office do you?

Fireworks and needy people
Like many Iowans over the weekend, my wife and I watched a fireworks display. This one happened to be in the neighboring community of Rockwell. As we sat there with a group of friends watching the night sky light up, one of our friends said that he thought it was ridiculous that we spend so much money on fireworks in this country. “Imagine if we took all the money we spend on fireworks and gave it to needy people, we wouldn’t have any more needy people,” said Mark.

I responded to Mark by saying that perhaps Americans need the fireworks displays to remind us that we are the greatest country in the world. We are so rich and powerful that we can afford to light up our skies with these explosives and not give a second thought to the cost. And what better day to do this than on the fourth of July, our nation’s birthday.

“Just imagine how many people we could feed with that kind of money, though,” he said.