Between the years 2000-2010 (from reputable sources):
47,000 number of reported UFO sightings.
441 number of Americans killed by lightning
13 number of documented in-person voter impersonations.
The recent spate of Republican voter suppression laws put on the books across the country is the most serious attempt to restrict American democracy since southern Democrats used poll taxes and literacy tests. What the GOP is doing today is just the updated version of an old tale.
A GOP-appointed federal judge in DC recently struck down Alabama’s voter restriction law. Other judges will hear other cases as (hopefully) the Obama Justice Department brings lawsuits, though Republicans and their media allies will cry “politics!” at every one.
Judges, the majority of whom have been appointed by Republican presidents over the years, will have to step up and defend a democracy’s most sacred birthright. Some will and some will not; the hope is the system as a whole will do the right thing. While jingoists regularly praise the longevity and stability of our democracy, the truth it… it is fragile. Always has been and always will be.
