ON: LIFE RIDING ON AMERICA'S ECONOMIC ROLLER COASTER

I was thinking the other day about a 1990's weekend road trip with my former wife. We drove to a small town in northwestern Illinois.  Galena is a small tourist destination and, as such, has a number of shops in which to spend money.

One such place was a woman's discount shoe shop.  My former spouse, who grew up in a frugal Australian family, found four pairs of shoes she liked. She came to me and asked me which pair I preferred.  I told her all four were wonderful.

She then pushed me, "but which pair should I buy?"  I asked her, "Why do you have to choose?"

She looked me straight in the eye and exclaimed, "You can only buy one pair of shoes at a time!"  I said, "No, we can afford to buy as many as we like. And, since you like all four and the price for each is so good, buy all four."

I took them to the counter. Paid for them.  And, for the two-hour ride home I learned she had never bought more than one pair of shoes at a single outing in her entire life. Not only that, but she feared this was somehow going to interrupt world order.  In more than 40 years on earth her motto had always been, "One pair at a time."

I tell this story because over the past couple of weekends I stayed in her lovely downtown apartment while she was in Sydney, Australia, with her family. We are divorced now, since 2006. But, we have remained friends.

Downtown Saint Petersburg is bustling these days. Wonderful high-end restaurants and bars, as well as entertainment venues, Saturday markets, art and music festivals, Grand Prix racing, and more occur every weekend. It has now become a place for those who can afford to buy four pairs of shoes at a time.

At the height of my career I earned a couple of hundred thousand dollars per year. I lived in large, beautiful homes, traveled when it pleased me, and ate in the finest of restaurants.

Unlike my family and my wife's family, I did not defer all to the future. I had an urge to see the four corners of the world to witness its treasures, to taste its best wines and foods, and to experience life to its fullest. I never spent more than I had, but I did spend what I earned. I paid my taxes, saved a little through payroll deductions, and never complained.

As I progressed into my 50's the world changed.  Tech stocks became the place to put your savings to earn high returns.  They also became a place to lose your savings quickly, and I did.

Housing prices zoomed high and, quite literally, my bank called me at least once a week to offer me a high five-figure, low interest loan to spend on anything I deemed proper. Those same banks drove our economy into the ground by 2007, and proved my home was worth $150,000 less than what my bank told me it was worth in 2006.

BP, the company that bragged on TV how safely it drilled for oil, spilled millions of barrels of it into the Gulf of Mexico and onto its beaches. My small business, which suffered heavily after the 2007 recession, was just starting to turn around in 2010. However, since it relied heavily on coastal-based business sales, we lost 60% in gross sales within 2 months after the spill.

I tried to hold on, but was forced to close and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. Because I had taken money from both my IRA and personal savings in an attempt to keep my business afloat, I had less saved for my future than I used to earn in a single month. Social Security and a small VA disability pension became my monthly income.

Today, I am forced to give up the home I spoke of earlier through a short sale. It sells today for less than its original purchase price in 2001.

I do not write about this with regrets.  I enjoyed my life and continue to do so. But, when I visit the mall, I am on a sightseeing trip.  I am not a buyer.  When I visit a restaurant, it is usually with a Groupon in hand. I cook and eat at home.  When I shop for food at Publix, I bring coupons, buy meat on sale, and look for BOGO products.

Life has changed for me. I cannot say it is better, I can only say it is different.  I know I am far better off than many Americans who are younger than me.

It hurts me a little to see something I would have readily purchased in my heyday and have to pass it by. Maybe I did buy too many pairs of shoes at a time!

Who knew my government would so completely sell out both the poor and the middle class in favor of the ultra rich. And, no banker goes to jail for their obvious theft and fraud.

There is always light at the end of dark tunnels! My new lifestyle has forced me to find some very nice tasting, yet inexpensive, Pinot Noir's and Chardonnay's to help wash down the beans and rice. After all, one must remain civilized.

ON: HYPOCRISY, THE EIGHTH DEADLY SIN

Tia Mitchell, in a report published by the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday, April 24, 2014, quotes John Tupps, a spokesman for Florida Governor Rick Scott.

"Gov. Scott is pro-life and believes that the lives of unborn children must be protected." 

The article was in response to passage of the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," which makes it a separate crime if a fetus is harmed in the commission of a criminal act. The bill sets no boundaries on whether the fetus is viable or not.

On the very same day, in the Metro Report of the Tampa Bay Times, it was reported that Robert Hendrix was executed the day before at the Florida State Prison in Starke. The report provided details.

"The 47-year-old Hendrix was the fourth inmate executed by Florida this year and the 16th since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011."

On June 14, 2013, according to the Naples News, Governor Scott signed the Timely Justice Act of 2013, which speeds the process to execute death-row inmates. It seems that for Scott, who must sign each execution order, the process to carry out an execution was not fast enough.

Merriam-Webster defines hypocrisy as, "Behavior that does not agree with what someone claims to believe or feel." It comes from the Greek hypokrisis, the act of playing a part on the stage.

No one may harm a fetus in Florida, but the state is sanctioned to kill adult human beings. The unborn, who have yet to breathe a scintilla of fresh air, are protected in the womb by statute.

Those who breathe in the Florida-sunshine-dappled air and commit a grievous crime are fair game for extinction. If this is not the height of hypocrisy, I do not know what qualifies.

I choose Governor Scott as my example here, but he is only one of thousands of hypocrites in government. For example, John Boehner talks of the love of family then helps draft and votes for legislation cutting food stamps for America's poor.

President Obama talks about changing the dialogue in the Middle East, yet continues to kill Middle Easterners via drone warfare.

Churches are no less guilty.  The Roman Catholic Church yesterday elevated John Paul II to sainthood.

The first from Poland, this Pope did absolutely nothing to stop the rampant sexual abuse of children within the church during his reign. Instead he supported moving pedophiles around the world, as if moving chess pieces.

He also defended the serial pedophile, rapist, and thief, Marcial Maciel Degollado. This Mexican priest is perhaps the church's worst criminal in the last thousand years. John Paul II makes Clement VI look like a saint.

Ordinary people are no different.  A man goes to church professing Christian faith, then slips out Thursday night for a tryst with his extramarital lover. A woman claims to be a devout Muslim, then blows up innocent civilians in Kabul. 

None of us are perfect, especially me. But, then, most of us are not telling the rest of the world how to live. Most of us are barely able to care for ourselves and our immediate family.

I can write this without equivocation when it comes to heads of state, however: 

YOU CANNOT CLAIM TO BE PRO-LIFE WHILE YOU EXECUTE PEOPLE.

The Catholic Church is at least consistent on that point...no abortion, no birth control, and no capital punishment. If I were Pope I would add hypocrisy as the eighth deadly sin. It is at least as terrible as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. And, potentially more harmful to others.

ON: SUPREME COURT DECISION DOOMS WHITE AMERICANS TO BLEAK FUTURE AS MINORITIES

White people were dealt yet another blow by the latest race-based case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 6-2 decision in Schuette vs. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, No. 12-682, let stand a Michigan voter referendum that disallowed racial preferences in admissions to the state's universities. Recently the Supreme Court has also overturned racial preferences in voting and redistricting.

As reported by the Associated Press, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginzburg dissented, trying in vain to save the white men on the court from themselves. Justice Clarence Thomas, as usual, voted with his white male counterparts. The Washington Post reported that no reason was given for Justice Elena Kagan's recusal.

The Brookings Institution, in a report last year based on U.S. Census data, estimates that by the year 2043 white people will be in the minority in the United States.

Kenneth Johnson of the Carsey Institute told USA Today that 80% of deaths in the USA now are among whites as more and more baby boomers pass away. It is estimated that at this rate, it will not be too many years before white people will be begging for racial parity in jobs, college admissions, and housing.

When asked to comment on this turn of events, Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, told the Arlington Times & Ammo Weekly, "Why do you think we keep paying white politicians to ease up on gun restrictions while telling our members to load up on guns and ammo?"

A prescient Sarah Palin told the Nome Herald Grizzly Monthly that she, "knew this was going to happen."  The former Alaska Governor adding, "Why do you think Todd and I live in Alaska?"

Former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, now President of the Heritage Foundation, says the South will come out on top in this scenario. "We have always had a good relationship with our colored folks, which should help us in the future down here." he told FOX News.

The Tea Party Republican then went on to respond to a question regarding Hispanic-Americans, "Why do you think so many of them Mexican fellas move to the South? We treat'em real good while they's a pickin' our strawberries and peaches.  I ain't worried one bit Southern whites'll lose a place at the big table in the future."

"It will be interesting to see how crackers, I mean Caucasian-Americans, respond to this change," said Minister Reginald Muhammad of the Black Muslim Society of America, "I just hope they like fried chicken and bean pies, because they will be eating a lot of that."  Mr. Muhammad added that, "Inshallah they don't get caught up washing them down with that evil malt liquor brew." according to his interview in Muhammad Speaks.

Dallas, Texas-based Big & Juicy Steakhouse chairman, Glen Campbell, told the Texas Cowboy Roping Star Daily that they are already working on revised menus for the future, to include stir-fried rice, chicken mole, and chitterlings and greens dishes. "Our 20-year-old company cannot survive on the few rich white Americans that will be left," Campbell added.

Bank of America is not waiting according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. Redlines are already being drawn around white neighborhoods in states where the big bank has a presence.

"When they are left behind without promotions and college opportunities, white people will be unable to pay their housing and other loans," according to an unnamed Bank of America Vice President. "We need to figure out now how much extra to charge for these loans in order to be able to roll them out day one in 2043," she added.

At the Justice Department, Eric Holder has slowed the investigation into voting rights violations around the country. "After last Tuesday's decision, I think in the end this will work out fine for us," he noted for the Baltimore Afro-American.

ON: NRA WANTS LOADED GUNS EVERYWHERE IN USA, EXCEPT WHERE THEY AND THEIR FRIENDS GATHER

If you have never been to a gun store, then you probably are unaware that, typically, each shop has a large sign located somewhere near the entry. Usually, the sign is there to advise customers: 

No Loaded Weapons Allowed in Store

Every visitor to the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., not only sees signs posted stating that no weapons are allowed, but each entrant is forced to pass through a metal detector. Our Congress wants nothing to do with loaded or unloaded weapons in their building.

Visit any state Legislature, and I will bet you find the same as in Congress, signs and metal detectors banning weapons.

When the National Rifle Association head, Wayne LaPierre, held a press conference only one week after 20 babies were murdered inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, there were signs outside the room that declared that no guns were allowed inside where LaPierre spoke.

Ultra-conservative groups, like Americans For Prosperity, post large signs banning weapons at their conferences, no matter in which of the 50 states they are conducting that meeting.

This confuses a slow-witted fool like me. If people who really love and cherish guns, and who believe in their absolute Constitutional right to bear arms, why are no loaded weapons allowed anywhere near them when they gather?

Many of our states allow some form of concealed carry permit, but you cannot carry that legally-concealed weapon into a gun store if it is loaded. That valid carry permit is rendered invalid when it reaches the doors of any State Legislature or national Congress. Why?

If guns are so needed for our protection that the NRA advises arming our nation's school teachers, why do these gun advocates and retailers keep them out of their own offices and stores? 

Mr. LaPierre proclaimed at his December 2012 press conference on Sandy Hook, "The only thing that beats a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

If he truly believes that, why is no one allowed to carry a loaded weapon into his office? Does that mean the NRA's top mouthpiece is walking around without a loaded gun in his pocket when he is at work?

The rest of us poor suckers are forced to live in fear for our lives, wondering which of our crazy neighbors will crack out the weaponry and open fire on us and our children in a theatre or school, while NRA cronies are too smart to allow these gun-toting idiots anywhere near them with a loaded weapon.

I think Congress and Legislators should follow their own lead. Ban weapons anywhere in the United States except where "our" militia...otherwise known as our law enforcement and military...gather! 

ON: ARIZONA GOVERNOR WAGES WAR ON SOUTHERN PRIDE

According to Reuters News Service, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a law Tuesday allowing Arizona health authorities to conduct surprise inspections of abortion clinics without a warrant.

The surprise move was not taken well in the Southeastern section of the country. The Athens Weekly & Cornpone Monthly newspaper reported that Governor Nathan Deal was livid with rage. "We Georgians are not too thrilled with this move in Arizona. Georgia takes great pride in being number one in the nation in doing God's will. And, after all, who knows better about women's plumbin' than men."

When asked to comment on why he thought Governor Brewer made this bold move, the former Democrat turned Republican said, "I think it's jus' that time of her life. My wife's the same way when she gets those hot flashes. You good ol' boys all know what I mean. She starts thinkin' she's in charge!"

In the Gunshine State to the south, The Seminole Alligator Alley Daily reported that Governor Rick Scott telephoned his Arizona counterpart as soon as he heard the news. According to one source in the Governor's Mansion, Scott was very straightforward with Brewer, reportedly asking, "Who the hell do you think you are, a man?"

When asked what his plans are for the State of Florida, the first-term Governor said that, since the Legislature was still in session, he was drafting an emergency bill that would, "grant the state Republican Party control over all of a woman's internal girl parts."

Running for re-election this year, the Governor proclaimed that,"It'll be very hard for women to vote for any Democrat in the upcoming election if their Ovaries and Fallopian tubes belong to the Republican Party."

When asked whether all Florida women will be included in the new law, Scott stated that only those women younger than his wife, Ann, would be affected. According to both her website, Meet First Lady Ann Scott, and her Facebook page, it appears Mrs. Scott has no birth date, therefore no age limit is possible to ascertain.

The Governor admitted later that he would need to speak with his wife to see if it was okay to release her age as the bill moves forward, saying, "You know, girls are pretty finicky about that age thing."

Speaking also to the Cornpone Monthly, Atlanta Pastor Martin Luther "Bubba" Queen, Jr., said he is mortified that the Georgia Legislature has been so slow in keeping up with the latest in anti-abortion bills.

"It's up to us men to keep women on the right side of God's law.  After all, God himself tells us who is boss. 'Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord,' our Heavenly Father proclaims in Colossians 3:18!" 

The Primitive Baptist Horned Toad and Snake Handling Divinity Church of the Lord Risen Christ Pastor also proclaimed that everyone knows, "'Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die.' as written by God in Ecclesiasticus 25:33."

According to the Arizona-based Maricopa County Gila Monster Times, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, when told what Scott and Deal had said about the Arizona Governor, screamed, "You tell those two sniveling Eastern fruit tarts that if they say one more bad word about that beautiful woman I'll fly back East and squeeze their cojones so hard the Vatican Boy's Choir will be calling them."

ON: TRUTH ABOUT PUTIN'S RAMPAGE IN UKRAINE EXPOSED

According to a report released by the Chief Judge of the Moscow Civil Court, Vladimir Ilich Romanov, the Putin divorce last year was much less civil than the couple made public in June 2013. Judge Romanov is quoted as saying, "Mrs. Putin testified that not only was Mr. Putin short-tempered, he was short in other ways as well."

When Lyudmila Putin was asked by a reporter from the Moscow Times & Vodka Daily if this report was accurate, she said simply, "What can I say? The man has small hands and feet, you figure it out."

When pressed further about President Putin's reported dalliance with Russian gymnast Alina Kabayeva, his former wife said only that, " Da! It is true. She's tiny and, with her ability to do leg splits, she can move close enough to Vlad to actually feel like something is happening to her. I couldn't feel that."  When asked to clarify that statement, she said, "That is the short and long of it."

The Chief Judge, claiming he was following Russia's extensive new Sunshine Laws, also released the complete transcript of the civil hearing to end the 30-year marriage. In his testimony, Mr. Putin told the judge he was unable to meet his former wife's alimony demand to grant her large parts of the former Soviet Union, like the Baltic states.  However, he did tell the judge that given a little time he might be able to cobble together Crimea.

Mrs. Putin told the judge if he could add Ukraine and Belarus as well, this would satisfy her. The judge in the case, Peter Alexeyevich Thegreatski, ruled that Mr. Putin would have two years in which to satisfy her alimony demands. No child support was requested by Mrs. Putin for daughters Mariya (28) and Yekatarina (27).

These reports were met with a bit of skepticism from the U.S. State Department. One high-ranking State Department employee, who was not authorized to speak on the Department's behalf, said, "I find it hard to believe Mrs. Putin did not seek anything for her daughters. We've seen reports from the NSA's phone taps that show she demanded Moldova for the two girls."

The State Department employee added that it was hard to confirm anything now since, "Judges Romanov and Thegreatski both recently moved with their families to the Taymyr Peninsula region of the Siberian Federal District."

ON FLORIDA MURDERS FIVE BLACKS AFTER WHITE WOMAN ATTACKED

In a story that could only roll out of Florida, according to CBS News, a total of five poor young black bears were killed by the state. Their crime, evidently, was living near the home of a white woman who was attacked by a single black bear last week.

She reportedly went to her home's garage alone in Lake Mary because, according to her husband, he was smart enough to know not to go alone to investigate strange sounds in the garage.

In an exclusive interview with Jimmie Ray Smith, one of the killers, speaking to reporter Johnny Bobby Smith of the Okefenokee News and Mobile Home Daily, owned by Billy Jim and Betty Sue Smith of Ocala, it was reported that he is now claiming innocence based on Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

"I was in fear for my life," said Jimmie Ray. "After all the bear was black and listening to loud rap music while eating Skittles," Mr. Smith claimed.

Judge Timmy Lou "Cootie" Smith claimed his third cousin was within his rights. "We in Florida know these Skittles eatin' blackies love to eat white women," he told Fox News.

Oh, by the way, they do not know if any of these five dead black bears included the one that attacked the woman. [See scene from the movie Jaws after small boy is taken by white shark.]

Go Florida!!

ON THE CHANGES ONE MAKES TO LIVE IN A "STAND YOUR GROUND" STATE

Those who read my blog know that in 2013 I returned to Saint Petersburg, Florida, after living in Medellin, Colombia, for two years. I returned to "St. Pete" because I still owned a home I had purchased there in 2001. I rented it while I was away.

I have watched my adopted city evolve...from a sleepy pensioner's home to a vibrant youth mecca named one of The New York Times' 52 PLACES TO GO IN 2014.

During that time I have also watched the Florida legislature, in bed with the National Rifle Association, add "Stand Your Ground" and other crazy gun laws to our books. And, I have witnessed the trials related to these abominations where killers can shoot children dead for being children and be found not guilty of these brutal acts.

The other day I went to Abercrombie Park, which is a small spot on the bay near my home. It is a lovely walk through nature ending in an opening to Long Bayou, an offshoot of Boca Ciega Bay.

Next to the parking area for this small paradise is a sign noting rules about trash, pets, and more. The sign not only explains to visitors the rules, like keeping pets leashed and removing their "excreta" [the city's word, not mine], but also cites the exact number of the city's enforcement code.

But, as in every city, there are those special citizens who own special pets that must be allowed to roam and "poop" where they please. Do not expect me to pick up the essence of my dog's Blue Buffalo diet. He and it are special.

In the hour I spent there I probably saw 15 humans. Three of these homo sapiens were accompanied by dogs. Two canines were without a leash. The one on a leash, a pit bull, lunged at me as I passed, forcing me off the trail. One of the two dogs not on a leash curved his spine next to the trail while the owner watched intently. Both dog and owner sauntered off not wanting to spend another millisecond near the steaming pile of odoriferous dog excrement.

The owner walking the dog that scared me off the nature trail said nothing to me, uttering neither a "sorry" nor an "oops." The dog excrement was left in all its steaming brownness. Some unsuspecting visitor in flip flops will invariably step in this stinking pile of canine bombs. The poor nature lover will then have to spend 5 minutes feverishly sliding his or her feet to and fro through a lovely patch of grass while trying to rid themselves of the smell of dog crap.  I said nothing to any of these inconsiderate ordinance breakers.

Florida is a state that has been in drought condition for years.  We are, therefore, subject to forest and brush fires all year long. Yesterday I watched a man puff on his cigarette with that familiar last deep drag, then flip it out of his car.  He was sitting next to me. I said nothing to this potential forest-fire igniter.

I have mentioned previously that I have not been to a public movie theatre since January 13th of this year. That is the day a retired police captain, Curtis Reeves, shot and killed a man for texting while the man was sitting in the seat in front of Reeves.  In a case of murderous hypocrisy, Reeves killed Chad Oulson immediately after he himself had sent a phone text to his son while sitting in the darkened theatre.

I am a former U.S. Marine and a combat veteran. I have learned to fire accurately many types of weapons...pistols, rifles, shot guns, machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, flame throwers, and more.

Since I left the Marine Corps I have not owned a gun of any sort. I believe that in a civilized society only the police and the military should carry weapons. I do not believe the Second Amendment pertains to anything other than a militia, to create a gendarmerie or police force.

Since I have reached adulthood I have typically been the one to comment to someone when they were doing something harmful or annoying. "Please turn off your cell phone," while watching a movie, might leave my lips. "Please pick up your dog's poop," would get passed at the park. Or, "don't toss your butt out the window, it'll start a fire," could be said at a traffic light. Not anymore.

Reminders to people to be courteous will not issue from my lips. Unless someone physically attacks me they will not even hear a peep from me. I have become the proverbial clam. Only with friends and family will I dare speak up anymore.

I live in Florida. It is the land of shoot first; claim, "I was in fear for my life;" and no other defense need be established, thank you.

If the intention of wide open gun laws is to make anyone without a gun fearful, then the law has succeeded I think. As an attorney friend of mine tells me, "Don't pay a price higher than what the other person is worth." No American who believes they need to carry a gun has enough worth for me to lose my life to them. 

When I lived in Medellin, and asked someone to not talk during a film, I did not fear a bullet as an answer.  I cannot say that in sunny Florida.

Welcome home, Marine. Hoo-rah!

ON ANOTHER WAY MANY STATES KEEP BLACKS FROM VOTING

On March 26, 2014, the United Nation's Committee on Human Rights issued its report on the United States of America. It is not a very nice thing to read. SEE FULL REPORT HERE

Our country is condemned for listening to phone conversations, firing missiles at unsuspecting human beings from drones, torturing prisoners, and more. The USA has not done a very good job of living up to its self-made image of American exceptionalism...unless by exceptionalism we mean to live outside the rules of civilized society.

Sections 4 through 26 of the report cover everything from our high rate of murder due to gun violence to how we treat our indigenous people. However, Section 24, entitled simply, Voting Rights, provides the impetus for today's Martin's Musing.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union nearly six million Americans have had their Constitutional rights violated by the states in which they reside. Their voting rights have been taken away and not returned. These citizens are convicted felons who have completed their sentences. They have paid their debt to society under the law. And, whether you personally agree with it or not, according to the U.S. Constitution they should have no further barriers to the ballot box.

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the civilized world with about 754 prisoners per 100,000 of population. While African-Americans comprise only 13.1% of the population of the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; they account for more than 40% of the prison population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. I believe this imbalance has more to do with intolerance rather than some inherent criminality within our African-American citizens.

In a report entitled, Democracy Imprisoned: A Review of the Prevalence and Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States, written and presented by The Leadership Conference, the NAACP, the ACLU and others, it is estimated that 2.2 million blacks in the U.S. are currently disenfranchised. SEE FULL REPORT HERE

Forty percent of these Americans have already completed their sentences. One out of thirteen adult black Americans are unable to cast their vote. This is four times greater than that of the remaining U.S. population. In three states, Florida (23%), Kentucky (22%), and Virginia (20%), at least one in five African-American citizens is disenfranchised.

The 13th Amendment to our Constitution, which ended slavery as an institution in the United States, states in Section 1:

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." 

This Amendment to me is very clear. In addition to banning slavery, it finds that imprisonment and involuntary servitude are equal. State and Federal prisons obviously agree as many still require prisoners to perform involuntary service, such as road and construction gangs. Even the printing of state license plates is still a requirement of some prisoners while serving a sentence.

In Richardson v. Ramirez (1974) the Supreme Court cited the 14th Amendment as making valid the practice of felon disenfranchisement. It found an "affirmative sanction" based on the words, "except for participation in rebellion, or other crime," within Section 2.

However, Section 1 of the 15th Amendment, which provides additional clarity regarding barriers to voting, states:

"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."

Typically cited for recognizing the right of African-Americans to vote, this Amendment also provides that previous servitude, involuntary or not, may not bar someone from the ballot box. It sets no added restrictions regarding what type of crime or incident put you in involuntary servitude. It does not say if you were convicted of murder or rape you would be further restricted than someone convicted of armed robbery or burglary.

So, what is the problem? The problem is that certain states have decided, on their own, to place what I think are extraordinary barriers to felons even after they have served their sentences.

Some, like Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions. They allow even those imprisoned to vote along with the general population. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia allow felons to vote once they are released from prison. Twenty-four states consider probation or parole a part of their imprisonment process, allowing former prisoners to vote only after they have completed this part of their sentence as well. Thus, it seems to me, 39 states follow the U.S. Constitution.

The States of Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming do not? These states clearly do not believe in forgiveness after penance.

Alabama says no to anyone convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. Arizona allows first time felons to vote after they complete their sentence, while others must petition the state for that right. Some, like Virginia and Florida, require that you wait five to seven years before you can petition for a return of your rights. Delaware requires a pardon from the Governor depending on the crime committed.

I believe the many references equating servitude and criminal conviction in the Constitution allow for disenfranchisement of those still serving their time. However, nowhere does it allow states to set their own extraordinary rules for felons who have completed their sentences. I believe the right to vote is too precious to deny.

It makes no difference your race, your creed, your gender, your color, your sexual preference, your country of origin, or your previous condition of servitude. If you are an American citizen, you should have equal access to all Constitutional rights...especially the right to vote.

ON EARLY ESTIMATES SUGGEST MILLIONS DRANK OBAMACARE KOOL-AID

A report published in The Los Angeles Time suggests an estimated 9.5 million previously uninsured Americans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare."

Medicaid enrollment under the new law jumped by 4.5 million Americans. About 3 million young people under the age of 26 were added to their parents' insurance plans. And, approximately 2 million of the more than 7 million people signing up for new insurance plans were not previously covered.

Katherine Carman of the RAND Corporation suggested the numbers of those previously uninsured might be as high as 9.8 million people, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Commenting on this phenomenon, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who previously told FOX News he thought the White House was, "cooking the books on this," told the Cheyenne and Cowboy News Observer that he has heard only drug addicts have signed up for the insurance.

"It's my understanding that after you signed up for this socialistic program you were given a prescription for unlimited refills of both Hydrocodone and medical marijuana."  "When you think about it, other than drinking the Obamacare Kool-Aid, it is the only way someone would sign up for this cockamamie scheme," he added.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), when asked if he agreed with Senator Barrasso's assessment said, "I know for a fact that people in the Dallas suburbs were invited to a breakfast of green eggs and ham where an Obamacare Navigator was able to sign up hundreds of God-fearing Texans." "I personally think they put a brain-washing drug in the green eggs and washed it down with that Obamacare Kool-Aid," he recounted for the Dallas Morning News and Bronco Daily

Sarah Palin, not to be left out of the punditry stakes, telephoned The Nome News and Grizzly Bear Weekly after the story broke. She claimed that, "At least half [of the new enrollees] will be dead within the year after the death panel procedures begin this summer...that is if the Obamacare Kool-Aid doesn't kill them."

CNN, which had to break into its 24-hour coverage of the Malaysian Airlines disaster, said a reliable source "tweeted" Wolf Blitzer blaming the debacle on, "Zombie Navigators."  Don Lemon claiming he is younger and had a Twitter account, took over the on-air investigation asking Twitter followers to provide their opinion about whether Zombie Navigators or Obamacare Kool-Aid was the cause of Obamacare's numbers.

In Florida, where both Governor Rick Scott and the State Legislature have fought vigilantly against the evils of Obamacare, Will Weatherford, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, was quoted in the Florida Gunshine News Observer.

"I cannot believe more than 440,000 Florida residents were caught in this web of lies and deception.  We did everything we could to stop this, including turning down $51 Billion to fund the program with no strings attached."

The Koch Brothers say they are surprised and flummoxed, David said in the Wichita Koch News & Conservative Weekly, "We put billions into stopping this, including hiring Chinese and Russian hackers to destroy the healthcare.gov website. I cannot believe they were able to fix it so quickly. Damn it is frustrating."

His brother, Charles, went further, again speaking to the newspaper they own, "We have contacted the 229 members of the House that we bought and they have promised me they will bring this up again and vote it down like they have 50 times before. You can take that to the bank."

When contacted to confirm the Koch Brothers' comments, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) said, "Oh, yea, we're going to do this at least one more time."

In a telephone conversation with President Barack Obama, he told this reporter, "I told them to drink the Kool-Aid, and it worked."