Posted 5:58 AM by Creditwrench

Court Finds Felon Disenfranchisement Law Discriminatory
Miami Daily Business Review

In an opinion that reviews the history of the Florida Constitution, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a trial for convicts seeking to restore their civil rights. The class action could affect more than a half million people who are currently denied the right to vote. A Washington, D.C., think tank estimates that 13 percent of black men are unable to vote nationally because of such felon disenfranchisement laws.

If it ends up being ruled that one cannot be deprived of his right to vote because of such disenfranchisement laws then might it not also be illegal to deprive ex felons of their right to keep and bear arms as well as other discriminitory laws now in place depriving ex felons of their rights? Where in our constitution does it allow for the deprivation of any right of a free man? Throughout most of our history it has been a time honored tradition that if a person had paid his debt to society then that was the end of it.

Just to show how much our viewpoints on such matters have changed, a few years back an ex felon sued the state of Oklahoma because the state still had an old law on the books that said that upon his release from prison the state had to give the felon a horse and a gun and $20.

He won the case and got his horse and his gun but the law didn't say what kind of a horse nor what kind of a gun they had to give him. Needless to say the horse he got didn't eat anything and the gun didn't fire any bullets either. (LOL)

And of course they immediately repealed the law. But the story does tell us how much our society has changed in regard to felons.

Sooner Gun Shows will have a show at the State Fairgrounds in OKC on Jan. 3rd & 4th. Tables were $60 last year. They can be reached at:
Sooner Gun Shows

R K Shows will have a show at the Tulsa Fairgrounds on
Jan. 17th & 18th. Tables are $55. They are online at:
RK Gun Shows

R K Shows will also have a show at the State Fairgrounds in OKC on Jan. 24th & 25th.

Posted 6:56 AM by Creditwrench

While I am well aware that some folks including myself are not in total agreement with all of the Libertarian Party concepts, here is an interesting event in Tulsa that some of our Tulsa or even OKC people might want to attend. It should present some opportunities to mingle and help present the J'accuse message as well.

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All going well EXCEPT:

I have not managed to get one single organization signed up for Dec.
21st, even though I am offering free passes, a table to sell
merchandise
and solicit contributions & distribute literature.

I sent messages to NORML, OBAC, BACA, ABATE and the Tattoo folk, but
have not got any replies.

The deadline for commitment is tomorrow evening. If you can help me get
on the phone with any of these people, please let me know.

-Rock

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As near as I can determine, this is going to be a dance event so should be a good opportunity to meet people and present our ideas and thoughts to as many people as possible. It should be obvious that many Libertarians will be open to the J'accuse message and if at all possible it would probably be a good idea to get some printed material up and set up a table so that we might also take in a few donations as well as get the word out.

As I an in contact with the Libertarian organization here in Oklahoma I can provide the contact information for anyone interested in getting in on this event.
Bill Bauer
405-616-7901

Posted 6:46 AM by Creditwrench

'Priceless gift' coming to city

2003-11-30
By Norman Lear

Months before the events of Sept. 11, 2001, I learned that an original copy of the Declaration of Independence was for sale. Since I was only a few blocks away from the auction house where the document was on display, I decided to go see it. It was an impulsive decision that changed my life. As I stared at the Declaration -- a poster-size broadside printed by
Philadelphia printer John Dunlap on the evening of July 4, 1776 -- two staggering thoughts came to mind.

First, I thought, I'm staring at our nation's birth certificate and one of the most eloquent statements about human aspirations for freedom and self-governance in history. I could not hold back a tear.

My second thought was that this birth certificate belongs to Americans everywhere, people from all walks of life, from every generation. If I could possibly obtain the Declaration, I would not hang it on some wall. It would travel across our nation, to big cities and small towns, to capitol rotundas, public libraries and local museums.

I was confident that every American would welcome the opportunity to view the document. How could I not try to acquire it? So I did.

With Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford as the honorary co-chairs, we launched the Declaration of Independence (DOI) Road Trip, with the help of many partners, including The Home Depot, the U.S. Postal Service, AXA Financial, Inc., the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Annenberg Foundation. The idea was to bring the Declaration of Independence directly to the people so that they could experience the same magic I did when I first encountered it, so they'd be moved to think deeply about the values on which our great nation was founded.

The DOI Road Trip is about showing the connections between our past, present and future. It's about inspiring and educating all Americans, especially young people, to reinvigorate our democracy by getting involved and, above all, by voting.

Perhaps more than any other, this generation has seen firsthand that our remarkable system of self-governance is not an inevitable condition that will somehow take care of itself. As a fragile creation of humans just like you and me, it requires our constant care and participation. I hope this exhibition of the Declaration will inspire all Americans -- especially today's young people -- to care, to participate and to make a difference.

The DOI Road Trip's next stop is the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, where the Declaration will be displayed in a special multimedia exhibit, beginning Friday through Dec. 14. I hope the people of Oklahoma City will come and personally experience this magnificent document.

One visitor said it best, after viewing the exhibit: "The Declaration is awe-inspiring, and a wonderful way to teach our children about the priceless gift of freedom that they have inherited and must prepare to carry on."

Lear, an award-winning television producer and creator of "All in the Family," is the founder of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way. He and his wife, Lyn Lear, are sole owners of the Declaration copy that will be on display in Oklahoma City.

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