v| J o r t b t u b (O b s e rv e r
Page A4
September 10, 2008
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O pinion
Put Voting Rights in the Constitution
Federal safeguards are missing
other words, the C ourt said
that we (the people) have only
the voting privileges our states
choose to grant us.
sets o f rules and regulations
D. H \IR
Rarely, if ever, has an elec­ across the country about who
tion captured global attention can vote and how they do so.
The voting process is differ­
like this one. The race for the
W hite House is a topic o f con­ ent state to state and county to
versation at dinner tables, in county.
This year, millions o f A m eri­
marketplaces and halls o f wor­
ship and on news broadcasts cans will once again go to the
around the world. Democracy polls believing that their legal
is on full display and the m es­ right to vote is protected, but
sage is hopeful, forw ard-look­ what you may find surprising is
that it's not.
ing and bright.
One o f the most significant
Registration and turnout are
expected to reach historic highs. things we learned about our
But behind this encouraging democracy in the Bush v. Gore
Yes, ourConstitution explic­
- and even inspiring - display, contest of 2(XX) was the Su­
there is a more troubling reality. preme Court's insistence that itly prohibits discrim ination in
Instead o f one dem ocracy, we Americans have "no federal con­ granting the franchise based on
have closer to 13,(XX) separate stitutional right to vote." In a person's race, sex, or (adult)
age in the 15th, 19th, and 26th
Amendments, but those pro­
tections are incomplete. States
and other governm ents can and
BY P E N D A
trying to v o te-ev en though city
laws didn't require voters to
have an ID.
In Florida, in 2004, election
officials rejected thousands of
voter registration applications
because potential voters failed
to check a box on the applica­
tion that duplicated inform a­
tion that had already been asked.
It is time to engage in seri­
ous constitutional politics on
behalf o f the right to vote. This
is the only way to redeem the
chaos of the 20(X) presidential
election and to begin to ensure
that such an assault on dem oc­
Photo identification require­ racy will never be repeated.
The vote is the bedrock of our
ments in Indiana kept 12 nuns
dem
ocracy. No w onder the
in their 80s and 90s without
driver’s licenses from voting in struggle to attain it has caused
the primary there this May. In men and women to risk their
New York City, in 2004, Asian lives - here and around the world.
We must be clear about the
American voters were routinely
asked for identification when implications ofliving in a nation
do disenfranchise individuals
and groups o f citizens, legally,
as long they do it without prov-
able bias.
We must be clear about
the implications of living in
a nation where federal law
doesn't guarantee the right
to vote to anyone.
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Hypocrisies in the sex-ed debate
J udge G reg M atiiis
W hen R e p u b lic a n
Senator and presidential
nominee John M cCain
named Alaska Gov. Sa­
rah Palin as his running
mate, he not only made
history by selecting ju st the
second woman to run on a
major party ticket and the first
Republican to do so, he also
exposed the deep hypocrisies
of the Republican Party.
Palin recently admitted that
her unm arried daughter was,
five months pregnant The self-
professed party o f family val­
ues. Republicans rushed to sup­
port Palin, her daughter and her
decision to not only keep the
child but to marry the teen­
aged father.
W hile the high schooler’s
choice was a difficult one to
make, the decision, along with
her privacy, should be respected.
The Republican Party, however,
does not get off so easily.
Now that one o f its own has
fallen victim to the abstinence-
only education it supports, the
G OP should finally admit that
its sex-education curriculum is
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The GOP should finally
admit that its sex-education
curriculum is not only
limited but harmful.
they are emotionally ready to
handle the consequences, be­
fore having sex while also learn­
ing about birth control and dis­
ease prevention.
In a Republican world, stu­
dents learn about abstinence but
don't receive information about
or access to condoms or birth
control. Govemi ir Pal i n ' s daugh­
ter lives in a Republican world.
Now, at 17, when she should be
We 've Moved!
study com paring dealer repair
tags with those of an indepen­
dent service center.
Without Right to Repair legis­
lation, many motorists may forgo
important vehicle repairs due to
higher dealer repair costs.
To ensure that your neigh­
borhood repair shop has the
same access to safety alerts and
repair inform ation as the new
car dealer network, Congress
introduced the M otor Vehicle
O w ners' Right to Repair Ac,
(H R. 2694). They understand
that if m otorists are forced back
to the dealer for service and
repairs, convenient and afford­
able auto repair will become a
thing of the past.
Right to Repair merely seeks
to restore a system that has
been in place since the inven­
tion of the automobile. Clearly,
using advances in technology
to deny consum ers their right
to choose where they have their
car repaired is a misuse of these
com puters and certainly not in
the consum er’s best interest.
Please visit righttorcpair.org
to send a letter to your congres­
sional representatives, urging
them to support the Right to
Repair Act.
200 N.E. 20th Ave., Ste 100
Portland, OR 97232
Free parking
Kathleen Schmatz is presi­
dent and chief executive officer
of the Automotive Aftermarket
Industry A ssociation.
We need a right-to-repair law
by K athleen S< iimatz
Skyrocketing fuel prices have
impacted the cos, of owning
and operating a vehicle, and as
the cost of vehicle ownership
soars, the need for Right to
Repair legislation has become
more critical in order to
protect consum ers from
the ad d e d c o s ts th a t
would be created by a ve­
hicle repair monopoly.
Vehicles technology is be­
coming increasingly complex
with virtually every system e i­
ther monitored or controlled by
com puters. W ithout full ac­
cess to com plete and accurate
repair information from the car
c o m p a n ie s , n e ig h b o rh o o d
shops will not be able
to com pete, creating
a re p a ir m onopoly
where the affordable
and con v en ien t re ­
pairs currently avail­
able to car ow ners are
sacrificed to increase profits for
the car companies.
The cost to consum ers when
they can only have their car
repaired at the dealership is es­
timated to be as much as 25
p e rc e n t h ig h e r w ith la b o r
charges alone, according to a
Dentures
Worth Smiling
About!
Guest: Pastor Johnasen Pack
Bridge Builders International
Church
When: September 17th-, 18th, A 19th 2008
Time: 7:00pm
location: Man Dishman Community Center
77 NE Knott St.
Portland, OR 97211
not only lim ited but
harmful.
For years, Republi­
cans have fought the
inclusion o f a compre­
hensive sex education
program in schools. In
an ideal world, a child would be
taught to wait a few years, until
Children born to teen m oth­
thinking about prom and gradu­
ation, she is on the verge of ers are more likely to live in
poverty, less likely to graduate
marriage and motherhood.
Is her life ruined? Not by a from high school and apt to be
long shot. Many teen mothers teen parents themselves. If a
go on to do great things. But class that touches on the im ­
portance o f condom s could
her life is forever changed.
A parent can instill good val­ prevent an unplanned preg­
ues in a child and give them all nancy, why not add it to cur­
the love and attention they de­ riculum ? Elim inating itdoesn’t
sire. From up high, the Repub- deter young people from hav­
ing sex. It does, how ever,
enable them to have unpro­
tected sex.
W hen co njuring up the im ­
age o f an unw ed teen m other,
m an y c o n s e r v a tiv e s h a v e
painted the picture o f som e­
one living in the inner city,
som eone black or brow n, liv ­
ing o ff the governm ent w ith
no am bition and no fam ily
su p p o rt.
It’s interesting to see how
licans fail to realize that, at
some point, these children ma­ quickly the party has rallied in
ture and begin to make their support now that the face of
teen pregnancy is one o f their
own decisions.
Indeed, good parenting goes own. Politics as usual? Per­
a long way but it needs to be haps. But it’s hypocritical just
supplemented with information the same.
Judge Greg Mathis is na­
and access. The Republican
platform o f abstinence-only tional vice president o f Rain­
education leaves too much to bow PUSH and a national board
chance and sets up many young member o f the Southern Chris­
tian Leadership Conference.
people for failure.
Protect Consumers on Auto Repairs
3 Day Revival!
Theme: Effective for The Kingdom
Penda Hair is co-director o f
Advancement Project, a na­
tional civil rights organization
«WilflMMBMIM
got obama?
N ame :
where federal law doesn't guar­
antee the right to vote to any­
one. Millions o f eligible voters
who cast votes this November
may not get their vote counted
because o f the unnecessary
rules in states throughout the
country that impede the voting
process.
It is time to rectify this patch-
work o f bizarre and erratic state
customs. W e need to put the
right to vote in the Constitution.
This would establish full voting
rights so all Americans can help
decide all laws that govern them.
The right to vote must become
a right guaranteed to all A m eri­
can citizens and not a privilege
controlled by a few. It is time
for a 28th Amendm ent to the
Constitution.
I«
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