Why Let old Nuns vote?

Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll, thanks to the new Indiana voter ID law a dozen nuns were turned away from voting in the primary election.

“One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, ‘I don’t want to go do that,’” Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.

They were not given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. “You have to remember that some of these ladies don’t walk well. They’re in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts.”

Obviously, this is an extreme case but it illustrates the fallacy that voter ID laws are not an unreasonable burden on the populace. "The vast majority of Americans don’t realize that there are over 20 million Americans of voting age who currently lack a valid driver’s license, including roughly 10 percent of eligible voters." Disproportionately represented among this 10 percent are:

* The legally blind or disabled to the point where it is difficult or impossible to drive
* Older Americans who no longer drive
* Teenagers who can’t afford the cost of acquiring a driver’s license
* Poor families without the means to afford the costs associated with maintaining a driver’s license
* Millions of urban Americans living in cities with public mass transit systems who do not have driver’s licenses


The supreme courts recent decision in Crawford vs Madison County left the opportunity for more onerous laws and extensive litigation even though the defendants were unable to prove 1 case of voter fraud that the law was designed to preclude.

It seems that if you can't offer hope and opportunity the plan is to stifle the opposition by limiting their ability to vote against you.

Earth day

I just had a fleeting memory of the 1st Earth Day -- Our class of 25-30 10 year olds at Woodward parkway Elementary School, were taken outside to the playground during our Social Studies class, and listened to Mrs. Velcoff explain Earth day and why it was important. I know the concept of environmental security was almost incomprehensible to me but being outside even on that chilly April afternoon sure beat whatever we should have been doing inside.

I also remember that some of the students at the local high school were very engaged in environmental activism, with my sister belonging to a club called SAVE. Students Against Violence to the Environment. SAVE had many activities but the two I remember most were newspaper drives, I would accompany my sister door to door pulling my little red wagon and collect newspapers from the neighbors. Which SAVE would sell to recyclers as a fund raiser. The other big SAVE activity was a clean-up of the woods and lake just beyond the High School fence. Sadly by the time I reached the high school 6 years later SAVE was a distant memory in the schools history.

It seems that although we have been encouraged/mandated by our townships to recycle for many years and often at a loss to the town coffers, we as a people have not truly adapted the concept of reuse, reduce, recycle. In the last few months there has been a great deal of news about townships and counties banning plastic shopping bags. The stores in my area have begun selling reusable bags for $.99 each. I carry several and use them whenever I shop, and have done so for several years. The local Pathmark gives me 2 cents off for every bag I bring. I wonder what would happen if instead of giving me a discount for bringing my own bags they charged people for taking plastic or paper? Wouldn't this be a more effective way to reduce waste than government intervention?

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Thanks to Southfloridaily blog.