AMENDMENT XV
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.
Section 1.
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--
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XIX
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 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.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
19 comments:
Note to all your esteemed visitors betmo.
Vote! Make sure you are registered in the correct precinct. Make sure you know the characters running and show up! This may seem like obvious statements, but nothing is more dangerous than the obvious! nothing irrates me more than people who complain and didn't vote. But judging by the intelligence and passion of your friends, they will be there in droves. That is why those are such valuable amendments and remember the couragous members of the military, the inquisitive journalists and the civil rights activists who risked so much for you right.
2 excellent and important ammendments!
Yes, they are.
You rock, Betmo...thanks for keeping this informed.
Here's a shout to your mom..."Hi, Mom!"
I have some local bozos that are starting to really rub The Katrinacrat the wrong way. Someone at the local Parish level is about to get a boot to the ass. If they keep this up, I may have to step up and throw my name in the hat.
Yes, these ammendments are important, but the constitution doesn't fit our social and political reality.
The republican/democrat split is a false one.
They agree on all the issues that are vital to maintaining the power structure then proceed to create 'issues' as to distract us from things like say...a 95% depreciation in the currency in the past 100 years (not bad, but still), the democrat's abandonment of the labor unions and the materialist crusader invasion of sowthwest asia (the middle east).
Perhaps we need to be a little bit more livid when a gub'mint that raises income taxes on all tiers of the federalist pyramid tries to trick us into voting for elitist policies and whatnot.
BUt hey, America has given more people a better way of life than any government since Rome, so I'm not complaining, just looking for places to improve.
oh, betmo, you are now linked to USA#1, sorry about my delay.
Good post. Everything won came from mass struggle, and continue to need defending.
I posted more about your previous post.
Regards.
from previous post, betmo said:
"so- it is not my hatred but my distrust that drives my passion for the truth. this may not be the truth but we must explore our options. and- my belief is that we are headed towards a fascist state. we are on the brink- not there yet."
Yep, it is not hatred for a regime that led to invasion of Iraq but mistrust - the same mistrust comes back on those who used false arguments to fool everyone.
What happened to the WMP Weapons of Mass Destruction five minute warning. Five years later - NADA!
Same with N Korea & Iran.
Like Sting
used to Sing about the Cold War:
"Do the Russians not love their children too?"
I don't hate or mistrust Iran nor North Korea, however I mistrust every word that comes out of the LYING mouths of Bush & Cheney.
I have spoken!
Great post! I see you've gotten pretty involved in your blogging and truth searching. The right to vote is still being denied to some in this country. Many Americans become "disenfranchised citizen" after being convicted of a felony. Some states have passed laws the reinstate voting rights to convicted felons after they have served their time or probation, yet other states,such as the one I live in, deny the right for ever, well, only with a pardon from the governor, same thing. People who have paid their debt to society should have the right to reintegrate themselves to society afterwards. Over 600,000 FL residents will not be able to excercise their right to vote, millions more nationwide. You can most certainly believe that those votes can absolutely change any election result. We have the power to change this, these issues need to be continually presented, and put on ballots and so forth. Thanks for stopping by again. Till next time!!
Thanks again Batmo, for your Monday post and the constitution. As I've said before, you do a great service to all.
Thanks Betmo, I hope you had a good day.
hi, betmo. Thanks for the reminder that we all need to get out the vote.
People often say that we have to vote, but isn’t voting in a corrupt system that favors big business over its citizens nothing more that playing in the hands of reformism. There needs to be a massive social, political, and cultural revolution in the states, much like what happened in the sixties. I am not glorifying the pot smoking hippie movement, but the effective revolutions that brought about the end to an imperialist war, segregation and much more.
Corporate power has been doing everything it can to make sure that the 60’s never happen again. So much so that they have swallowed the Democratic (opposition! Yeah right!) Party.
I don’t agree that voting for a defunct party will bring about the kind of change we need in the US. We need to educate the population, we need to join and support unions, we need to run for office, we need to strike, we need to refuse to pay taxes, we need to storm Washington and not move until they bring home the troops, we need to revolt, rebel, and make noise.
You can go to the booths and vote for another ineffectual democrat or you could take back what is yours. But don’t think for one minute that you are making any change by only voting. Fredrick Douglas said that all change comes through struggle.
I hope I am not seen as one of the people who complain and doesn’t vote, because I try and do more than just complain. I have chosen the classroom as the place to bring about my revolution and I do vote. Nader twice. I am not naïve enough to think that Gore or Kerry are any different that what we have now. We need third party politics to take hold in the US. I don’t vote in state elections because I don’t live in the States.
In closing, I think that we have been brainwashed into thinking that are best bet for change is through a ballot, but I say it may be or should be on the street. The same place we have earned every right we now have.
Hav eyou ever been on a street with 500,000 people chanting…
This is what Democracy looks like! Beats the shit out of voting for some impotent democrat working for big business.
bz- i really think at some point there will be an american revolution. until there is- we must vote. we should vote with some intellect and know who we are voting for- we must keep in contact with our congresspeople regularly and let them know that we are keeping tabs on them. the reason that things got this bad is because people have gotten complacent. they have not taken civics seriously. without citizens' involvement- there is no people's government. it is now government by the corporations and for the corporations. yes, bz- someday there will be a revolution. americans have to hit rock bottom first.
Yes, voting is so important. Even here in way too red Texas, I always get out and vote.
Small victories can be won, even if the current battle is lost.
When a majority of Texans voted to desecrate our Constitution with a hateful same-sex marriage ban two years ago, I was proud that my county was the only county in Texas to vote overwhelmingly against it.
That was Travis County which includes Austin, TX.
This is just one example. We all make a difference. I just hope that this year, all our votes are counted.
One thing is for sure, though. If we do not vote, they will not be counted.
or... don't vote.
America isn't a democracy. It's a Republic, and you just trade one group of tyrants for another. The only political figure that accurately represents your goals and ideals is [i]you[/i]. Voting simply empowers the already-powerful to justify their own ambitious actions... and they justify it because you tell them that it's ok with your vote.
But maybe that's my cynical side rearing its head.
vote
I will vote. To vote for the person that will change, hopefully more to my tolerance of the issues, what's happening now is all we can hope for.
Others are right. The system is corrupt. The system doesn't change with the Democrats, but the general population is battered less financially, and in reference to the current administration, this oppression on our rights and their grabbing of power over all must come to an end.
I agree that revolution is the key to it all. Yes, struggle will bring change. But people aren't ready for the struggle. The struggle would be to protest constantly with hundreds and thousands, hopefully millions of others. Quitting your jobs so you could attend. Living out of a sleeping bag in a park. Giving up the hairdresser, the sports bar, your cars and trucks, your vacations, your life as you know it and give it to your country. The people will not do it until the tanks rumble up their own driveways. By then, it will probably be too late.
I don't see it in my lifetime. Start one. I'll join. I've already proven I am willing to give my life for my country in Vietnam. I'll do it again. I'm just too old and feeble to be the prime mover.
In the meantime, I'll vote.
I guess the argument could be made that when you vote, you just encourage them, either side. To vote for the Greens or the Naders is a choice. They need a lot of money to get elected. Like their votes, the people are not willing to back someone that the media tells them only has a small fraction of a percent of the vote and no chance to be elected.
All these epithets are meaningless unless they motivate into action millions of people to activate a radical change. If we all wrote in Pat Paulson for president years ago, maybe it wouldn't be like this.
That was tongue in cheek, but how can anyone ignore and rationalize this administrations policies unless you're rich beyond belief?
Living out of a sleeping bag in a park sounds strangely appealing. Of course, it wouldn't be if that was the only choice I had.
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