-Caveat Lector- ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 12, 1999 4:18 PM Subject: End Arbitrary Access to the Voting Booth! : Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced a bill that would take the first : step toward abolishing one of the last remaining restrictions enacted : nearly 100 years ago to deny African Americans the right to vote: criminal : disenfranchisement laws. : : Although the other tools of voter discrimination enacted after the Civil : War -- poll taxes, grandfather clauses and literacy tests -- have long : since been abolished, criminal disenfranchisement laws continue to be used : as a means of denying African Americans access to the voting booth. : Statistics show that blacks are five times as likely as whites to be : disenfranchised under felony voter laws. : : In fact, a recent report by The Sentencing Project and Human Rights Watch : estimated that "in states that disenfranchise ex-felons, 40 percent of the : next generation of black men is likely to lose permanently the right to : vote." : : Only one reason could account for this disproportionate impact and that's : bias in the law enforcement system. According to the National Household : Survey on Drug Abuse, twice as many whites as blacks use crack. Yet even : "drug czar" Barry McCaffrey recently acknowledged that nearly 90 percent of : the people locked up for crack under federal drug laws are black. : : Currently 3.9 million Americans are disqualified from voting because of an : inconsistent patchwork of state laws that disenfranchise citizens who have : been convicted of a felony. Experts believe that in seven states one in : four black men has permanently lost the right to vote. No other democratic : nation indefinitely disenfranchises as many people because of felony : convictions. : : The Conyers bill, HR 906, would guarantee that all citizens who have paid : their debt to society and are no longer incarcerated regain the right to : vote in federal elections, even if they are barred from voting in state : elections. : : End arbitrary access to the voting booth! Send a FREE FAX to your : Representative urging him or her to support HR 906 from the ACLU web site : at: : : http://www.aclu.org/action/vote106.html : : --- : : * Some email programs allow you to click on a web address and : automatically go to the site. Others, like AOL, do not. If you use an email program that : does not provide for clickable web addresses, copy the URL and paste it : into your web browser. : : DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
