Update

The Kid (aka my son, Nicholas) and I were in Washington, D.C. for a few days. We got back late last night. He is a potential bone marrow doner and was given a physical yesterday. Please, Blogolanders, keep your fingers crossed that this donation takes. Yes, there is discomfort involved, but having a baby is bloody uncomfortable, yet women keep having babies so a little discomfort to save life ...what the hell. As to Tuesday's council show, I did leave early. My good friend, Dion Clark, stayed and heard the unpleasant exchange between Mr. Bethea and Mr. Mucshal. I'm not sure what George has done to deserve impeachment; he does his job and well. The Three Graces avoided the microphone. It's almost impossible to hear what they say; I suspect I haven't missed anything. One man, I didn't catch his name, spoke about the issue of voting where black citizens are concerned. He mentioned that prisoners, parolees, and probationers are not allowed to vote. This is true. ANYONE under supervision of the courts loses certain civil rights. That includes the right to vote. Prisoners are counted in the census. That's probably the most accurate count given since it comes from the warden. Now a war story. When I was working as a probation officer, one of my tasks was to explain the, "joys," of probation. Along with losing the right to vote, one also lost the right to own fire arms and the right to leave the jurisdication of the court without a travel permit. You know what really caused moaning and groaning? Not the loss of voting priviledges. The loss of the weapons and the right to travel about the country whenever. The loss of the right to vote was generally met with, "I don't care nothin about that; whadda you mean I can't leave Mercer County?" As someone who feel very strongly about the right to vote, that attitude hurt. Maybe it's time to remind citizens how important this right is. Forty years people were being beaten, chased by dogs, and sprayed with fire hoses just because they wanted to reigister to vote. When owning a gun or taking a trip is more important than voting, folks, we got troube right here in River City. I'll be back with more.