Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Poetic Justice
In 2003, the head of state of the United States, George Bush illegally deposed the head of state of Iraq. His name was Hussein. Tonight, the United States elected as its next President a man named Hussein. That is truly poetic justice.
Finally Over
Barack Obama is the President Elect of the United States. John McCain just conceded. People are still voting in Hawai'i. This has to be a record for the fastest concession ever in a Presidential election.
I thought it was impossible for a Dark Horse candidate to win the Presidency in modern times. At the beginning of the campaign two years ago, (a record time span for a Presidential race) most people had never heard of him. Now, starting January 20, 2009, Barack Obama is the President.
I voted for Bob Barr. Obama is probably who we need right now, but after 2000, I have to vote for the best man. In 2000, I thought Bush would be better than Gore, so I didn't vote for Browne, even though I thought he was the better man. I made up for that blunder by voting for Badnarik in 2004. I refused to repeat 2000 this time. Even though Barr was my choice, I am cautiously happy about Obama's victory.
Edit: McCain's concession speech seemed a bit racist. He seemed impressed with the progress of the negro. I use the word negro because the McCain speech reminds me of a speech William Howard Taft gave 100 years ago on the progress the former slaves had made since they were freed and what his party was doing for civil rights.
Republicans prayed for god's will to be done. The book of Romans says that national leaders are chosen by god. Only cognitive dissonance could even suggest to Christian Dominionists that they are right. If Jesus is real, he likes Obama. Suck it, Palin. No, really. Suck it, Palin. MILF, or rather MILP (Mom I'd like to punch).
By February, I'll be pissed off at Obama and ready for 2012. Tonight, I'm happy.
I thought it was impossible for a Dark Horse candidate to win the Presidency in modern times. At the beginning of the campaign two years ago, (a record time span for a Presidential race) most people had never heard of him. Now, starting January 20, 2009, Barack Obama is the President.
I voted for Bob Barr. Obama is probably who we need right now, but after 2000, I have to vote for the best man. In 2000, I thought Bush would be better than Gore, so I didn't vote for Browne, even though I thought he was the better man. I made up for that blunder by voting for Badnarik in 2004. I refused to repeat 2000 this time. Even though Barr was my choice, I am cautiously happy about Obama's victory.
Edit: McCain's concession speech seemed a bit racist. He seemed impressed with the progress of the negro. I use the word negro because the McCain speech reminds me of a speech William Howard Taft gave 100 years ago on the progress the former slaves had made since they were freed and what his party was doing for civil rights.
Republicans prayed for god's will to be done. The book of Romans says that national leaders are chosen by god. Only cognitive dissonance could even suggest to Christian Dominionists that they are right. If Jesus is real, he likes Obama. Suck it, Palin. No, really. Suck it, Palin. MILF, or rather MILP (Mom I'd like to punch).
By February, I'll be pissed off at Obama and ready for 2012. Tonight, I'm happy.
Voting Problems
I got to the polling place at about about 11:30. There was no line. I walked right in and met an old lady who had no business running voter check-in. My first problem came when she didn't recognize that the spelled out middle name in the book could match the initial on my drivers license. After that, she noticed that my address didn't match the book. I moved this year, so that makes sense. The state does not require the address to match but she did not know that. An election judge was called over so she could ask him if I was allowed to vote. He said that I was. He walked away while she began filling out the necessary paper work for me to get a ballot.
At that point, the next problem occurred. I asked for a paper ballot. She was unaware that you can request this, even though it has been allowed for several years and poll worker training must be re-taken every Presidential election. She asked if I wanted a provisional ballot. I told her that I want the real ballot that the state says I can have. Again, she called the judge over. He pointed to the slip that tells why I am using a paper ballot. The first option is, "Voter requested a paper ballot."
I went to the person who passed out the ballots. She handed me the three pages and an envelope. You are supposed to put the ballot in the envelope and seal it. The problem here is that the ballot is about an inch too long to fit. It has to be folded to fit inside. It will be counted on an optical scan machine, so the fold worries me. All those ballots have to be unfolded to be counted, adding to the counting time.
Before I sat down to fill out my ballot, I noticed that the poll judge who said I could vote was talking on his cell phone while sitting at a voting booth. Maybe the rules are different for poll workers, but phone use is prohibited inside a polling place. Sure, they weren't busy, but it seems wrong to be using a voting booth as a phone booth.
Is it too much to ask for a smooth, properly functioning election? Can't we disqualify poll workers who can't remember the rules they learned last week on training day? We've been voting for over 200 years in Ohio. Some states have been doing it for almost 400 years. Why can't we get it right?
At that point, the next problem occurred. I asked for a paper ballot. She was unaware that you can request this, even though it has been allowed for several years and poll worker training must be re-taken every Presidential election. She asked if I wanted a provisional ballot. I told her that I want the real ballot that the state says I can have. Again, she called the judge over. He pointed to the slip that tells why I am using a paper ballot. The first option is, "Voter requested a paper ballot."
I went to the person who passed out the ballots. She handed me the three pages and an envelope. You are supposed to put the ballot in the envelope and seal it. The problem here is that the ballot is about an inch too long to fit. It has to be folded to fit inside. It will be counted on an optical scan machine, so the fold worries me. All those ballots have to be unfolded to be counted, adding to the counting time.
Before I sat down to fill out my ballot, I noticed that the poll judge who said I could vote was talking on his cell phone while sitting at a voting booth. Maybe the rules are different for poll workers, but phone use is prohibited inside a polling place. Sure, they weren't busy, but it seems wrong to be using a voting booth as a phone booth.
Is it too much to ask for a smooth, properly functioning election? Can't we disqualify poll workers who can't remember the rules they learned last week on training day? We've been voting for over 200 years in Ohio. Some states have been doing it for almost 400 years. Why can't we get it right?
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