Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.


Friday, November 11, 2011

Stop Voter Suppression

Take action!
A message from CREDO Action:

The Department of Justice has the opportunity to take a stand against the newest front of Republican voter suppression — legislation that is meant to disenfranchise thousands of largely Democratic voters in Texas and South Carolina.
Both states have passed voter identification laws that would require voters to show a valid form of photo identification when they head to the polls, and the information on the ID must match their voter registration information.
The Republicans who spearheaded this legislation did so under the guise of combating voter fraud — but there have been very few, if any, documented cases of the kind of voter fraud these bills were supposedly designed to combat.1
So why do the Republicans in states like Texas and South Carolina support a law that doesn't serve any purpose other than making it much harder for communities of color, student voters, seniors, and lower-income citizens to vote?
Because Republicans believe that suppressing these votes will give Republican candidates an edge at the polls.
Both Texas and South Carolina have a history of voter suppression, and are therefore required to have any voting-related legislation approved by the Department of Justice or the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Legislators across the country should be trying to help more eligible voters participate in the democratic process, not disenfranchising communities of color, seniors, students and the poor.
And the Department of Justice has the ability to strike down these laws and send a message to state legislators in other states that attempts to suppress the vote will not be tolerated.
Voter ID laws would make harder for members of the electorate who move a lot, like students and lower-income voters, to be able to vote. Seniors would also be affected because they may not be able to drive or might not be physically able to travel to obtain new photo identification. Under these laws, they would be unable to vote at their polling place.
It's not okay for Republicans in the U.S. to pick and choose which Americans are able to vote based on partisan preferences. U.S. citizens have a right to vote, and Republican legislators shouldn't be able to take that away with these voter ID laws.
Attorney General Holder and the Department of Justice can strike down these voter ID laws that disenfranchise Texas and South Carolina citizens. We must demand that the Department of Justice do the right thing and protect the right to vote across the country.
Thank you for speaking out against Republican attempts at voter suppression.
Ali Rozell, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. "S.C. Election Commission has no confirmed cases of voter fraud," Brie Jackson, SCnow.com, 10-29-2011.
2. "The Truth About Voter Fraud," The Brennan Center for justice, 11-9-2007.
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