VIEWPOINTS & OPINIONS

VIEWPOINTS & OPINIONS


 BIBLE VERSE

 "If we walk in the light, as he is in
 the light, we have fellowship with
 one another, and the blood of Je-
 sus, his Son, purifies us from all
 sin." 1 John 1:7

 umuann-ee remcrrat
 MYRA C. REGAN Members of the Suwannee
 Publisher Democrat editorial board are Myra
 C. Regan, publisher, and Susan K
 SUSAN K. LAMB Lamb, managing editor. Our
 Managing Editor View is formed by that board.


 BOYD REPORT

 Protecting our

 voting rights
 By Congressman Allen Boyd
 (D-FL)
 Recently, Congress voted
 to reauthorize the historic
 Voting Rights Act of 1965,
 L One of the most significant
 i, pieces of legislation enacted
 .':. during the 20th century, the
 Allen Boyd V oting Rights Act helped
 guarantee one of our most
 fundamental rights-the right of every citizen
 to participate in the political process.
 The right to choose one's representatives
 in the voting booth is the basis of a free, de-
 mocratic society. Without a meaningful vote,
 there can be no equality before the law, no
 equal access, and no equal opportunity. Yet,
 for a hundred years after the Civil War, mil-
 lions of African-Americans were denied this
 fundamental right, despite the 15th Amend-
 ment to the Constitution that prohibited the
 denial of the right to vote on the basis of
 race or color. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and
 even physical violence were, used to deny
 African-Am~ icans their legal right to vote.
 Signed into law by President Lyndon John-
 son on August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act
 provides extensive protection to minority
 communities by ensuring that the right to
 vote is fully protected. The success of the
 Voting Rights Act has led to significant po-
 litical achievement and greater minority rep-
 resentation at all levels of government. The
 reauthorization of this landmark bill demon-
 strates our continued determination to re-
 move all voting obstacles and safeguard'the
 rights of all Americans.
 Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has been
 extended five times, first in 1970, then in
 1975, 1982, 1992, and now 2006. Changes
 have included the requirement of bilingual
 ballots and voting assistance, thereby in-,
 creasing the act's scope to cover non-English
 speaking minorities. In 1982, the Voting
 Rights Act was amended to protect the
 rights of voters with disabilities. The most
 recent extension this year reauthorized for
 25 years key provisions of the Voting Rights
,Act that were set to expire in 2007. These
provisions prevent discriminatory voting
practices and require bilingual ballots for
those with liniited English proficiency. Our
nation's history is one of expanding rights,
and it is imperative that we adjust our laws
to reflect that.
 The Voting Rights Act was one of the na-
 tion's most crucial civil rights victories and
 memorializes those who marched, struggled,
 and died to secure the right to vote for all
 Americans. While substantial progress has
been made in the area of voting rights over
the last 40 years, we must continue to create
a more just, fair, and equal society. This
week's vote shows our commitment to this
goal. I am proud that Congress agreed to
reauthorize important provisions of the Vot-
ing Rights Act so that this act can continue
to protect the most fundamental expression


of equality in our democracy: the right to
vote.


Please address letters to:
Letters To The Editor, Suwannee Democrat,
PO Box 370, Live Oak, FL 32064.
Please include your name, full address and daytime
phone number. We ask this so we can varify your.letter
and discuss any questions about it with you.


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WANT TO .

 RANT \RAVE CALL US


 Suwannee Countians,.it's time
to speak your mind! How do you
do that? By calling the brand new
Suwannee Democrat Rant and
Rave hotline!
 Hate the way the county mows
down the beautiful .flowers along
Suwannee County roadsides in
the spring? Don't want anyone
else moving to Your county?
Think zoning changes are a bit -
off? The city charter should be
changed? Think your county gov-
ernment isn't doing its job? Are
you fed up with traffic, bad roads,
decimation of the county's trees
for development, general discour-
tesy and zoning board decisions,
both city and county? Now you
can let everyone know how you
feel if you will be respectful in
how you express yourself and
don't use profanity.
 Callers to 208-8314 may express
their thoughts, good or bad, 24/7
about issues and politics, but not
about private individuals or busi-
nesses. If you prefer, you may e-


mail your comments to
susan.lamb@gaflnews.com. You
may give your name, or not, but
please, only take 30 seconds or
less for your comments. Let us'
know what's bugging you.
 During political years, like 2006,
you may express your opinion
about candidates, using the same
rules above, but no political opin-
ions will be printed the last full
week before election, which is
Sept. 5 and Nov. 7 this year.
Those comments would need to
be on the hotline no later than
Aug. 23 for the See
 Although it won't be printed in
Rant and Rave, you can also use
the line to give the Democrat tips
on events happening in the area
that just might be "under wraps"
and you think your hometown
newspaper should know about.
Chances are we may already
know and are working on a story,
but we urge our readers to make
sure we know by telling us what
you know. We'll check it out.


RANT




RAVE
This NEW column
is your chance to
complain or praise,
but you need to do it
irn 30 seconds or less.
Call 208-8314 or e-mail
susan.lamb@ gaflnews
.com
 We moved here from
Palm Beach County, and
we're very happy to be
here in Suwannee Coun-
ty. I just hope they keep
a tight grip on develop-
ment or else this place
will be gone too, like all
the rest.

 In the picture of the
people eating corn and
sitting around on bales
of hay....bales is not
spelled b.a.i.l.s.

 Like 'to make a com-
ment on the buckle up,
particularly on truck
programs. Just today, I
see two pickups loaded
with kids in the bed of
the pickup truck. How
do they get away with
this when they have to
pbe iiiSide to buckle up? 1"

 County Commission-
ers need to start doing
their jobs and putting
county regulations on
dairy manure spray-
fields.

 I'm wondering how
long we're going to have
this train wreck on the
side of US 90. Are they
going to be cleaning that
up any time soon? It's an
eyesore for tourists go-
ing through the county.

 I believe if we would
set the example for our
children in obeying the
speed laws, our county
and our state would
have fewer accidents
and save lives. In fact,
when we speed, we
break the law, when we
break the law, we sin,
then you also sin against
God, you break God's
laws.

 I note they say Randy
 Hatch will be the first
 president of the Florida
 Association of Counties,
 (from Live Oak) but I be-
 lieve research will show
 that Lamar Hancock was
 the first president and
Sby the way, we could
use a lot more like
Lamar Hancock and
Randy Hatch on our pre-
sent board and do some
things we should do and
undo some of the things
we're trying to do.
 The number is 208-


8314. Call now! Call of-
ten! Give your name if
you like, but it's not re-
quired.


E SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAK


FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2006


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