Freedom's on the march. In New Orleans. Sort of.

[Rose Siding]

Elections will be held but something will be missing

Feds clear April 22 election
Friday, March 17, 2006
Despite objections by some prominent black leaders that much of New Orleans' displaced black population will be unable to participate in the city's April 22 election, the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday approved state and city leaders' plans for the election.

.....the Legislature rejected calls to set up satellite sites in cities such as Houston, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., where tens of thousands of displaced voters are living.
....
Without opportunities for in-person voting outside the state...a disproportionate share of poor black citizens will not get to vote because most white evacuees are living elsewhere in Louisiana, while most black evacuees are in other states.

"Their transportation back to New Orleans would amount to a poll tax," Jackson said. "Those who are least mobile remain in exile and disenfranchisement."

Too bad for them, huh?

January 27, 2005
Iraqi expats begin voting
(CNN) -- As insurgent attacks continue at home, Iraqi expatriates in countries around the globe began voting Friday morning in the first democratic elections in almost 50 years.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/27/iraq.main/

January 29, 2005
Iraqi expatriates voting locally say no to any pullout
.....The voting in New Carrollton took place amid tight security, with uniformed and plain-clothes officers from Prince George's County Police Department and Maryland State Police stationed around the hotel.
Police set up a check point on the street adjacent to the hotel and vehicles entering the parking lot were screened by explosives-sniffing police dogs. Voters were subject to a pat down and sweep with a metal-detection wand before entering the polling place inside an unheated parking garage behind the hotel.
Although the voting in Iraq doesn't start until Sunday, more than 280,000 expatriates in 14 countries -- many of whom fled during Saddam Hussein's regime -- are eligible to vote over a three-day period beginning Friday.
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20050128-100246-5401r.htm

Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Iraqi Expatriates Cast Ballots
Strong voter turnout was seen in polling stations around the world....
Some 1.5 million Iraqis living abroad are eligible to vote at polling centers in 15 countries, including the United States and Canada. Tuesday was the first of three days of expatriate voting, while Iraqis at home will go to the polls on Thursday.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178578,00.html

Raheel Mariam, right, raises her finger as her husband Gorgees looks on
at the Iraqi national elections voting center in Michigan.


That's Michigan, USA - and bless their hearts for voting.

No purple fingers here
http://www.wwltv.com.nyud.net:8090/sharedcontent/nationworld/katrina/dailyimages/090105argue.jpg

or here
http://public.amc.af.mil.nyud.net:8090/news/2005/September/09-06/050906-F-0000S-001_sml.jpg

or here
http://www.ifrc.org.nyud.net:8090/photo/Katrina0805/p13224.jpg

[EFerrari]

1. This is a disgrace and can't be allowed to go unchallenged.

:nuke:

[Trevelyan]

2. K&R Is there anything we can do about it? The Justice Dept!!!!

Orwell foresaw the Bush Regime, but he probably knew about Prescott Bush.

"much of New Orleans' displaced black population will be unable to participate in the city's April 22 election, the :thumbsdown: U.S. Justice Department:thumbsdown: :+ on Thursday approved state and city leaders' plans for the election.

.....the Legislature rejected calls to set up satellite sites in cities such as Houston, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., where tens of thousands of displaced voters are living."

[Rose Siding]

3. International Organization for Migration ran the ex-pat voting effort

But I'm having trouble nailing down who pays for their work. The site says-

Who supports our work?
IOM is an inter-governmental organization with 116 member states and 22 observer states. Funding for its Iraq Programmes comes from The European Commission and European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and the governments of Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, The State of Kuwait, The Netherlands, Portugal and The United States of America.

[Rose Siding]

4. LAT: "barely 40% of New Orleans' population has returned"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mentalhealth17mar17,1,6576977.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[Swamp Rat]

11. ... much of whom are university students and out-of-state contractors.

I am surrounded by foreigners. :hide:

[Rose Siding]

5. kick

[EFerrari]

6. And another

:kick:

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. This just makes me ill

Even Nightline last night did a segment on displaced Katrina victims.

Gotta love the irony. Iraqis get to vote when they are halfway around the world from their home precincts. But citizens from New Orleans are deprived of their right to vote.

I want my country back. :cry:

[babylonsister]

8. (Katrina) Evacuees Face Confusion In Louisiana Elections

I posted this this a.m. and it sunk like a stone w/nary a comment - sigh.

(Katrina) Evacuees Face Confusion In Louisiana Elections

http://www.click2houston.com/politics/8067595/detail.ht...

Evacuees Face Confusion In Louisiana Elections
Voters Can Only Register In 1 State

POSTED: 3:43 pm CST March 16, 2006
UPDATED: 9:59 pm CST March 16, 2006

HOUSTON -- New Orleans elections will be held next month and with the mayor's office up for grabs and the possibility of millions of federal dollars flowing into the city, it's an election that could shape the future of the Crescent City. Some evacuees trying to cast a ballot have been caught in a web of voter confusion, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.

The first step is to register. But that is also where confusion can begin.

"You are going to go in and get your driver's license and you are going to be asked if you want to vote and you'll say, 'Sure,'" said Beverly Kaufman, Harris County Clerk.

But saying yes to voter registration in Texas means having to give up Louisiana voting rights.

"Take care that you are not breaking any laws by registering twice. You need to be either here or there, but not both," Kaufman said.

It is just one of the hurdles facing Louisiana residents now living in Houston.

"If they are living here but want to vote back in Louisiana, they must comply with Louisiana law," Kaufman said.

That's easier said than done, according to Acorn's Katrina Survivor's Association.

lots more...

[Canuckistanian]

9. This is how they do things in 3rd world countries

America has officially become one of those places.

There is no more prestige.

[intheflow]

10. Freedom's on the march

everywhere except in the US where's it seems to be beating a quick retreat under the guise of protecting our fredoms. :crazy: This is all such absolute and utter 1984 bullshit. :grr: