Comments on: ExCon and the Vote http://citizenreporter.org/2008/10/excon-and-the-vote/ Under-reported news by a Portuguese-American, activist-journalist based in Amsterdam. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:21:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: bicyclemark http://citizenreporter.org/2008/10/excon-and-the-vote/comment-page-1/#comment-164355 bicyclemark Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:36:18 +0000 http://citizenreporter.org/?p=1533#comment-164355 not doltish. not at all. not doltish. not at all.

]]> By: straightchris http://citizenreporter.org/2008/10/excon-and-the-vote/comment-page-1/#comment-164347 straightchris Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:56:09 +0000 http://citizenreporter.org/?p=1533#comment-164347 The disproportionate number of black people in prison and the circumstances that they got there is a crime in itself. The only interesting politics is the debate outside the political process, the two main candidates are a joke all this effort to get Obama in because he's less of a cunt than McCain, but not much, I bet that Bush won't go to trial for war crimes, any takers? The disproportionate number of black people in prison and the circumstances that they got there is a crime in itself.

The only interesting politics is the debate outside the political process, the two main candidates are a joke all this effort to get Obama in because he’s less of a cunt than McCain, but not much, I bet that Bush won’t go to trial for war crimes, any takers?

]]> By: Anno Nymouse http://citizenreporter.org/2008/10/excon-and-the-vote/comment-page-1/#comment-164343 Anno Nymouse Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:34:53 +0000 http://citizenreporter.org/?p=1533#comment-164343 Sorry for beeing doltish, but I see absolutly no reason why a healthy so called democracy should even consider removing ones right to vote as long as the person is of full age, alive and a legal citizen. For that reason the act of "restoring the right to vote" is somewhat embarrassing, has in my opinion nothing to do with "debt to society" and tells a story of its own about the community we are living in. In contrary to what is often seen as common sense -revoking the right to vote for "some people" permanently or temporary-, I would demand the opposite, that we shouldn't omit the votes of any stratum (especially the lower without protectionists) under any circumstances! Even sex offenders, murderers, war criminals (soldiers, politicians), economic lunatics and even christian fanatics should be given the opportunity to judge the situation they are living in from their perspective and vote for their advocates (why is there no party for prisoners you got 1%/ 2mil over there afaik). And if our overall system really starts to depend so much on the votes of a few loonies we better start looking for the real problems somewhere else. However, as we now see in the US, the current revoking/restoring pattern, besides from lacerating the morale, does not work and the defects are misused even stronger then a "free for all" voting system could ever have done. Without sounding like a total kook in implying that the government has planned this all along, the emerging, interesting and somewhat dangerous thing about the present situation is the grow rate of "non voters" and "long term non legal voters" (eg. ex-cons), which could lead to some sort of corporate oligarchy based on a upper/middle class pseudo liberal democracy. Sorry for beeing doltish, but I see absolutly no reason why a healthy so called democracy should even consider removing ones right to vote as long as the person is of full age, alive and a legal citizen. For that reason the act of “restoring the right to vote” is somewhat embarrassing, has in my opinion nothing to do with “debt to society” and tells a story of its own about the community we are living in. In contrary to what is often seen as common sense -revoking the right to vote for “some people” permanently or temporary-, I would demand the opposite, that we shouldn’t omit the votes of any stratum (especially the lower without protectionists) under any circumstances! Even sex offenders, murderers, war criminals (soldiers, politicians), economic lunatics and even christian fanatics should be given the opportunity to judge the situation they are living in from their perspective and vote for their advocates (why is there no party for prisoners you got 1%/ 2mil over there afaik). And if our overall system really starts to depend so much on the votes of a few loonies we better start looking for the real problems somewhere else.
However, as we now see in the US, the current revoking/restoring pattern, besides from lacerating the morale, does not work and the defects are misused even stronger then a “free for all” voting system could ever have done. Without sounding like a total kook in implying that the government has planned this all along, the emerging, interesting and somewhat dangerous thing about the present situation is the grow rate of “non voters” and “long term non legal voters” (eg. ex-cons), which could lead to some sort of corporate oligarchy based on a upper/middle class pseudo liberal democracy.

]]> By: Nicholas http://citizenreporter.org/2008/10/excon-and-the-vote/comment-page-1/#comment-164342 Nicholas Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:08:52 +0000 http://citizenreporter.org/?p=1533#comment-164342 I have long been an advocate of restoring the right to vote to ex-cons that have fulfilled their "debt to society". Banning them for life is outrageous, especially when many ex-cons would use their right to vote... unlike 40% of Americans now. I have long been an advocate of restoring the right to vote to ex-cons that have fulfilled their “debt to society”. Banning them for life is outrageous, especially when many ex-cons would use their right to vote… unlike 40% of Americans now.

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