April 9, 2008
OMG! hayden panettiere luvs voting rights!!1! <3
OK, so her rendition of the national anthem last July may not have been great, but Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has a special place in our collective heart -- turns out she's a supporter of D.C. voting rights. Courtesy of Shadow Representative Mike Panetta and Shadow Senator Paul Strauss, we're happy to see Hayden doing her part for our cause.
The PSA above also serves as a welcome reminder to donate to the Statehood Delegation Fund on your 2007 tax return. The money goes to Panetta, Strauss and Shadow Senator Mike Brown to fund their noble efforts at promoting voting rights and statedhood for the District -- and is the only money the volunteer reps get.
|
Advertisement: DCist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
I love hayden....for all the wrong reasons..
Oh Claire, you gave about as much emotion and excitement to this PSA as you do on that show you're in (with the terrible second season) which I hope returns soon.
Cute, though the $1 donation at the end makes it seem as though they're selling themselves short.
Exactly...so let's pretend it says $51 everyone! But if everyone in the city gave a dollar, we'd be able to do really ramp up our work on this issue. So, if you haven't filed your DC taxes yet, please give what you can. Thanks!
Good lord! Strauss has spent quite some time working on his Wiki entry!
How short is this guy. Hayden isn't exactly an Amazon and I'm sure she is wearing heels, but she's almost taller than he is!
i like how there's a slight pause before his part kicks in, like he was distracted by the blonde hair or something...
Martin, it's the Statehood Fund, not the Voting Rights fund.
According to the DCBOEE:
The offices of US Senator and US Representative were created by an Initiative approved by voters in 1980. These local offices have the same titles as the federal offices which will exist if the District becomes a state.
The concept of electing senators and representatives in an effort to achieve statehood originated in Tennessee in 1796; seven states have used this procedure in gaining admission to the union. Under DC law, the duties of the senators and representatives are to inform Congress that DC residents meet the traditional standards for achieving statehood; to monitor the progress of DC's petition to gain statehood; and to advise the District on matters regarding statehood.
The Senators and Representative are not paid with funds from the DC budget, but may raise funds from private sources to cover expenses.
Notice that Voting Rights is not mentioned in the description of the shadow delegation. Full equality only comes through statehood, not merely voting rights. American colonists had voting rights in the British Parliament, but they were still forced to suffer taxation without elected representation. Statehood provides the equality, autonomy, and sovereignty that voting rights only partially gives. Each time you advocate voting rights in favor of statehood you are advocating less than what we deserve.
Just give me Puerto Rico's deal (no fed. taxes) and I'll live with not having a star. As it is we are third class citizens.
Can we please stop with the "I wish I had Puerto Rico's deal BS."
While residents of Puerto Rico do not pay any federal income tax, their total income tax burden is HIGHER than that of nearly every American. In addition, Puerto Rico is either ineligible for, or has their allotments capped for, many social service programs like SSI, Food Stamps, Medicaid, etc that are a lifeline for DC residents. Imagine if DC hospitals, like those in Puerto Rico, were ineligible for Medicaid Disproportionate Share Payments, like those in Puerto Rico are.
Finally, like DC, Puerto Rico has 1 non-voting representative.
However, DC's population is just under 600,000, meaning that, given the average population of a Congressional district (which is currently 650,000), DC should have 1 member of the House.
Puerto Rico's population is just under 4,000,000,, which means that Puerto Rico should, based on population, have 6 House members.
So let's recap, shall we...
Puerto Rico residents pay higher total taxes...
Puerto Rico residents get fewer social services...
Puerto Rico should have 6 members of the House and only has 1 non-voting member...
So if you want the "deal" that the US gives Puerto Rico, then you can have it.
Thanks for the info and I did not know about the SSI and other services caps, that is a good point. However, the total taxation is a function of the local government, so I don't think your point is very strong there.