Author Topic: The Library (Read 2326201 times)

ginny · « **Reply #9760 on:** November 05, 2012, 03:19:09 PM »

The Library

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ginny · « **Reply #9761 on:** November 05, 2012, 03:22:18 PM »

Watching CNN I am so glad I voted absentee. 7 hour lines, 300- 400 feet lines.

People say why on earth do people vote early? This is the reason. In our little precinct you can stay a long long LONG time in lines. I don't know why. Supposedly (I used to be a poll manager) we have enough machines for everybody. What happens? I don't know but it sure is nice to have it over with.

I heard on CNN as they were pretending to be an absentee ballot in Florida, that they are just now opening the envelopes and feeding the ballots into the automatic machines, that these votes will not be tabulated or added to the count until 7 pm tomorrow night, that people who came to the early voting process who did NOT bring with them their identification and who, in effect, voted what we used to call a Challenge Ballot (this was in Florida today) will have their ballots held until if it is close , which of course it was in Florida in the past.

Better to take your ID if you go to vote.

JoanK · « **Reply #9762 on:** November 05, 2012, 04:30:51 PM »

I've never had to wait more than a few minutes, but tomorrow will be the first time I voted in this precinct.

Steph · « **Reply #9763 on:** November 06, 2012, 06:22:53 AM »

Jean, yes yes, that is the one I read and loved. I have read somewhere that there is a huge collection of that sort of diaries, etc at one of the womens colleges in New
England..
I will look up Molly Gloss.The other one I read.. Another wonderful one is Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Wall.. She wrote several of her life and I have read all of them.

Babi · « **Reply #9764 on:** November 06, 2012, 08:49:16 AM »

Only a few minutes! JOAN, how very lucky you were. I hope you don't find your new precint
too great a shock.
I wonder, GINNY, if that voting procedure in Florida might be exactly the reason they
have had such problems there. It sounds as though the whole thing might be easier for
the unscrupulous to manipulate.

Frybabe · « **Reply #9765 on:** November 06, 2012, 09:40:42 AM »

JoanK isn't the only one that doesn't have to wait. It could be timing since I usually go mid morning. Only once did I have to wait a minute or two. I suspect I will have to wait a little today too.

PatH · « **Reply #9766 on:** November 06, 2012, 11:12:30 AM »

I went mid-morning, and did have to wait. It could have been large turnout, but also we had 9 questions on the ballot, (don't sneer, JoanK) some of them complicated or hotly contested. These are the only votes of mine that might make a difference; everything else is not close here.

MaryPage · « **Reply #9767 on:** November 06, 2012, 12:12:19 PM »

The truth is, our population is now so large that they are, in many places, going to have to put in more polling places so that everyone can vote in one day OR they will have to increase the number of voting days OR both of the above. I believe both are necessary, and ASAP.

I do not much care for spreading out the voting over weeks, so I say: more places to go to vote (though everyone assigned still to just one place, not to a choice of places) and we should vote on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Period.

We should not have to perform this most sacred of duties as citizens by spending more than an hour in line. Think of the elderly, the sick, the handicapped, the young mothers with children, the working poor, and so on and on. Just not fair. It should be a privilege to vote, but not a ghastly chore requiring much discomfort.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #9768 on:** November 06, 2012, 12:36:37 PM »

I got my votes in, but not without getting a bit steamed. Got there at 7:15 AM, only about 6 folks in front of me. Went to the sign up desk, they did their thing, told me to take a ballot numbered ____, I asked the gentleman who appeared to be the election judge if I could use the one automatic machine, and he said he thought so, but he didn't know how it worked. He tried to put in my Precinct number, but it wouldn't accept it. He finally got the actual precinct judge to come over, who told me I was at the wrong precinct. I said "No, I'm not, here's my Voter's Registration Card, and a post card verifying my Precinct and the location of the Precinct". He then immediately asked me for my I.D., matched it to my Certificate. Then he got on his computer, and checked me again, finally said okay you need the ballot numbered #____. I had that in my hand. While I was waiting for all this hoo-hah going on, I noticed a tag on the computerized machine, which told me that it was for another Precinct (what it was doing there I don't know) and I pointed that out to the gentleman who tried to enter my number into it. I hope the ballots for this precinct come out good as the Precinct Judge looked like he was about 18, and admitted he had not done this before. The sign up team was a young lady and young guy, neither of which looked like they were 18 years old.
I told the Pct Judge that this was too important an Election for the precinct to be run by folks who didn't know what the hell they were doing.
All in all it took me about 20 minutes, when I could have been out in five minutes if they had been cognizant of how things worked.

Frybabe · « **Reply #9769 on:** November 06, 2012, 12:44:05 PM »

I got in right away, but I there were only three machines. I am sure there were at least four before. Also, there were more people sitting around the polling official's table including a state cop, doing what I don't know.

pedln · « **Reply #9770 on:** November 06, 2012, 01:26:32 PM »

My polling place was in a church. Its large parking lot was filled, but I didn't have to wait at all and was even able to use a "sit-down" booth -- they had three of them. I don't know how many regular booths they had or why the parking lot was so full.

I keep telling myself I'm going to watch a movie tonight and not worry about who or what won until tomorrow. We shall see.

PatH · « **Reply #9771 on:** November 06, 2012, 02:11:27 PM »

I'm going out to dinner tonight with 2 of my buddies who also don't want to spend the whole evening chewing their nails, but I'll probably be home by 9, and I doubt I'll have the self-control to ignore the election.

JeanneP · « **Reply #9772 on:** November 06, 2012, 05:36:14 PM »

The Presidential vote won't be known tonight. Only one I am waiting to hear on is it. Will wait until tomorrow to turn on the TV. Doubt even then we will know for sure. Recount, Recount, will be all we will hear.

ANNIE · « **Reply #9773 on:** November 06, 2012, 05:45:00 PM »

OH JeanneP,

No more hanging chads! PLease! please!

nlhome · « **Reply #9774 on:** November 06, 2012, 10:20:16 PM »

Walked down after work and voted - no wait, although there was a steady line in our ward. Now watching the results with great interest. We have a school referendum, a U.S. Senate race and, of course, the Presidential election.

Steph · « **Reply #9775 on:** November 07, 2012, 08:20:35 AM »

Sigh.. It seems I live in the one undecided state. Bah Humbug. But Obama did win and just as important,, so did Elizabeth Warren.. A woman to watch.. I am convinced we are seeing a woman who can go for the top..

Babi · « **Reply #9776 on:** November 07, 2012, 09:16:08 AM »

i'm happy for those who got in and out in a reasonable length of time. I'm even happier that I did my voting in
the comfort of my chair and mailed it in. I'm definitely in that class of voters that MaryPage listed as not being up
to long lines. Valerie went about 5:30 to the very small little voting place in our neighborhood and had a very short
wait. Normally, she is simply not interested in politics, but this year she decided she definitely wanted to vote for
our President.
Such a relief to find that Romney has acknowledged defeat.

maryz · « **Reply #9777 on:** November 07, 2012, 10:15:49 AM »

I'm glad this election is finally over, and I'm so glad that Obama was re-elected.

Mostly, I wish the rigid ideologues (on whichever side) in Congress and elsewhere in the country would ease up and acknowledge that "compromise" is NOT a dirty word. Each of us has to give a little in order for anybody to get anywhere.

PatH · « **Reply #9778 on:** November 07, 2012, 11:04:46 AM »

Amen, maryz.

marjifay · « **Reply #9779 on:** November 07, 2012, 01:12:57 PM »

Hear, hear, MaryZ!

And Babi, I'm also a mail-in voter. Sent mine in weeks ago. Can't understand why some states had such awful long lines. Are they too cheap to buy a few more voting machines?
And what's the matter with Florida? It's all over and they still haven't declared a winner.

Also glad Obama won, and hope the Congress can work together to get things done.

Marj

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #9780 on:** November 07, 2012, 04:49:47 PM »

Seems to me I am remembering the last debacle with the Florida election and legally the count does not have to be to the Attorney General's office till sometime in early December. What ever the deal is with their temporary staff they may not pay them past a certain time and then the regular staff has to pickup the work which is a small office of folks as compared to the hundreds hired for an election.

As to more voting machines it is difficult to justify that expense for a week of use essentially every 4 years since other elections do not bring out the vote in those numbers. When a budget is tight and there are other more pressing day in to day out expenses to running a county every expense has to make sense.

I am thinking with the effort to get the storm ravaged area of NJ and NY to vote using computers maybe there will be a way to assure the person voting is really the correct person and turn this process over to computers that most of us have one and those who do not are the ones who would line up at a voting station. And then of course how are the votes not manipulated and every computer entered vote counted. I bet though they can figure it out if they want to...

Frankly I am fed up listening to all the opinions on TV about what is wrong - what is wrong with those elected - what is wrong with those who did not get elected - what is wrong with the economy - what is wrong with the education system - what is wrong with America.

I found this Nietzsche quote - "Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster;
and if you gaze into the abyss - the abyss gazes into you."

And so a quote I found that is going to be my new mantra is, "Face what could go right!" I want to start looking around at what is "right" about my life and what is "right" with those elected and those who were not elected and what is going "right" with the economy and what is "right" with the education system and what is "right" about America.

Maybe if we start building on what is right we will have energy and good cheer sending what is wrong into the garbage heap.

MaryPage · « **Reply #9781 on:** November 07, 2012, 04:52:11 PM »

OK, mostly I try my rather desperate, not always successful, best not to mention politics in these forums because I want to keep ALL of my friends, but I will admit to being an Obama voter. A life-long Republican and a Precinct Chairman and District Chairman and many other things for the GOP of old, I switched when they inserted abortion in the 1980 platform. The Party platform, for crying out loud! They never used to have that as a political issue. And me a feminist, a proud one. all of my life. Being a woman trumped being a Republican, and there you are.

I will always vote FIRST and foremost for my gender. Always. But I do approve of this president and his record. And, thank the powers that be, the Supreme Court and women's rights are safe for another generation.

I, too, was more excited about Elizabeth Warren than any other single race. Have watched her for years on Bill Moyers on PBS and she is the most plain spoken genius I have EVER heard, male or female. She can explain the whole mess that brought down this economy so that a fourth grader could easily understand it! What a role model for the young women and girls of this nation!

JoanK · « **Reply #9782 on:** November 07, 2012, 04:57:56 PM »

Double ame. I'm glad that both Obama and Romnet acknowledged in there speeches that now is the time to work together..

No lines in my polling place, and everything worked well. The long lines are always after work: something must be done. People still standing in line at midnight in swing states makes no sense. Someone isn't willing to spend the money to get adaquate places or equipment!!! If not, then there shoul;d be local "blue laws forcing non-essential places to close early or open late to give workers time to vote.

MaryPage · « **Reply #9783 on:** November 07, 2012, 06:12:20 PM »

Well I say again, we have a doubled population trying to all vote in the same old, same old polling places with the same old hours and on the same old day.

Call upon your party leadership, your congressmen and women, and your senators. Also your state legislature. Demand longer hours, more days, and more voting places.

I am for Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday voting, all in a row. Four days of work for the poll workers (I used to be one, and they get paid well, though the hours are long.) Four choices of days for the voters, and hopefully less voters assigned to each polling place so there will not be those long lines going on for blocks and blocks and the voters out in the cold or heat or rain or wind or snow or what have you. They SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE OUT THERE AT ALL! We can do this better. Each state, county, district and precinct CAN DO IT BETTER. We need more precincts. A better division of present precincts. We are entitled to our vote, and do not deserve to be exposed to enormous discomforts and inconveniences, not to mention impairment of our health and well-being, because we want to be good citizens and have our say recorded.

Of course, precincts that have no problem now will not need to be divided.

Steph · « **Reply #9784 on:** November 08, 2012, 05:45:31 AM »

Florida has rules concerning how much you win or lose by. It triggers an automatic vote recount if it is too close.We have several state elections this year to be recounted..They also dont count early votes or absentee or that dreaded Provisional until the regular votes are done.. All in all they overcomplicate it.
I am donating my genealogical library to our local library for the special collections room, which is almost entirely genealogy and history. Whew.. I need to know what it is worth and am busy researching on the web.. I am truly surprised at the high prices on Biblio for the limited editions that I have.

marjifay · « **Reply #9785 on:** November 08, 2012, 08:10:48 AM »

Re the long voting lines. The Democrats say it is due to shortening the number of early voting days in precincts where there are large black and hispanic voters, thus discouraging them from voting. (I don't understand how, in the same state, there could be different times for Democratic and Republican areas.)

Rachel Maddow (MSNBC) this morning had a guest, a professor at U.C.Irvine Univ., who has written a book I want to read: THE VOTING WARS by Richard Hasen. If you heard Obama's acceptance speech, he said, as an aside, "by the way, we've got to do something about those long lines." Hasen in his book says Congress can over-rule states on voting rules when the election is for federal offices.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #9786 on:** November 08, 2012, 08:25:35 AM »

Interesting. I did not know that. Sounds hopeful.

Florida is one state that REALLY needs to get its act together, and, as everyone in the U.S. knows this, including all Floridians, I am truly surprised they have not fixed their problems yet.

If nothing else, I would think they would feel a deep shame over their reputation for conducting elections badly, and would get together in a non-partisan way and committee this thing up until they have the best, smoothest running Election Day and voting system in the country

Have they no pride? Or are they dyed in the wool got to try to steal the election people?

I listen to MCNBC all the time. Chris Matthews is my favorite, and then Rachel Maddow. Wow, is she ever smart!

maryz · « **Reply #9787 on:** November 08, 2012, 09:10:02 AM »

In Tennessee, early voting starting and ending dates are set by the state. Times, locations, open on Saturday or not, etc., are determined by the counties. On Election Day, the hours the polls will be open are set by the individual counties. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that the Eastern/Central time zone line cuts through our state. But while our county polls are open from 8-8, a neighboring one, also in EST, is open 9-8.

I like the idea of a 24-hour period for voting -adjusting the hours so the whole country was voting the SAME 24 hours.

Babi · « **Reply #9788 on:** November 08, 2012, 09:15:31 AM »

Well, that seems to be typical of Florida, MARJ. Obviously, their voting procedures need
a make-over. Some of the more idiotic remarks of stone-age Republicans cost them a few
Senate seats, so I am hopeful that we'll have a more co-operative association with the
White House the next four years.

Quote

Congress can over-rule states on voting rules when the election is for federal offices

.
I'm glad to know that. I hope they will do something about those 'long lines'.

I wish I could believe it, JOANK, but as best I remember it is standard practice for two
opponents to pull out the 'work together' speech after the election. I wish I could believe
it.

jeriron · « **Reply #9789 on:** November 08, 2012, 09:49:28 AM »

With what happened in Florida the last time you would think everything would be straightened out by know but it wasn't. I read in the Miami Herald that people were still voting at 12 midnight. With all the ways you can vote now I don't see why that should happen. Like MaryPaige I vote by mail weeks ago and next election the ballot will automatically be mailed to me.Also why were they still counting absentee ballots instead of them being counted before. I read they only count them if the count is close.
Also surprising is that a very large number of Miami Cubans voted for Obama.a real shocker because they always go Republican.
All I can say is I am very happy he won and all of those MEN got voted out. Just listening to their views on rape was sickening. I think the shocking part is that there are people that still feel that way.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #9790 on:** November 08, 2012, 11:31:36 AM »

I must say it was refreshing to see the re-runs of Fox News willing to hang out its laundry for all the world to see - the bit with Karl Rove followed by the gal who marches over to those who put together the Stats over a reaction that was difficult to process that Romney became a looser because of Ohio was an astounding bit of American free speech - Can you imagine any other nation letting the world in on the inner workings of a disagreement this important - I am not a fan of Fox News and do not plan to switch to Fox News however, I do think this was a wonderful example of freedom where not only things that go well but, things that cause controversy were laid out as an exposé for public consumption.

kiwilady · « **Reply #9791 on:** November 08, 2012, 01:41:40 PM »

Just have to pop in and say that coming from a nation of navel gazers we hang our laundry out every day. Its a very good thing.

Also lovely to see sanity in these posts here. I have been appalled at the comments on particularly the Obama site where he posted their latest family photo. So very very sad to see so much real hatred for the person not the Party.

CNN did a very good coverage of the results and explanation probably mainly for their huge International audience.

For us its going to be much easier to work with Obama than it would have been with Romney. In our mock polls Obama won by a landslide. It was the same in every other allied nation on the Globe.

Carolyn

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #9792 on:** November 08, 2012, 02:11:47 PM »

Interesting - from my grandson, a Senior at the Savannah School of Art and Design

http://lifehacker.com/5956035/how-to-meet-anyone-from-steve-wozniak-to-the-president

MaryPage · « **Reply #9793 on:** November 08, 2012, 06:59:11 PM »

The deep in the gut hatred of President Obama was a sickening thing to see. I always dislike this or that candidate running for office because of his or her record or the stance they take on an issue.

But never in my entire lifetime have I previously seen perfectly ordinary Americans spewing out such spite towards our elected leader. That "he's an Arab" comment that Senator McCain so honorably denied and that woman who kept saying, with her face all screwed up hatefully: "he's a communist!" Asked over and over for an example of this, or one single thing upon which she based that claim, she could only repeat that he is a communist. Something is making these people have a terrible fear of him which leads to a terrible anger, and when you go over and over and over his impeccable record, you just flat out have to think the only thing left it can be is that he is black. I saw one man full of bile declaring on TV that we had just elected a man with no knowledge whatsoever of our Constitution. Of course, this completely ignores the fact that President Obama TAUGHT Constitutional Law and was Editor of the Harvard Law Review, the very highest honor any law student can receive. I don't get it. I just don't get it.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #9794 on:** November 08, 2012, 08:30:14 PM »

MaryPage we can all have our opinion but my thought is that it is not that he is Black per se but the fact he is black represents the change they see and feel - that they do not feel comfortable with and are in fear that the way of life in this country is irrevocably changed - All they knew and depended upon for their view of what we are as a nation, as a society is going fast and now it has even hit the White House -

Women being open with their sexuality and no longer feeling it is valuable to be a doormat as teachers or any other service position especially, as mothers and wives - Shop keepers from all over the East with different skin color, language, religion, traditions and culture - A large percentage of Mexican immigrants speaking a different language, again with a different culture. In fact so many Mexican immigrants both legal and illegal they are a greater population than blacks -

And then President Obama is not just a black, his father is from Africa where we see all sorts of strange customs with people living in earthen houses where we are asked for years and years to help the starving in Africa. The idea anyone from that continent could be intelligent and educated in the best schools challenges the concept of the Africa shown to us over and over on TV. Plus, the photos of President Obama's extended family are not showing a handsome family on top of which, his father has several wives. - All too different to be acceptable much less admire the man who is the child of all this - This is all so upsetting to anyone who has not developed their spirituality but only their religiosity.

And so I see this hatred as their only way to spit out rage they feel at the change they are having a difficult time dealing with much less accepting. The White House is supposed to only house pure white men born from pure white parents of European decent.

kiwilady · « **Reply #9795 on:** November 09, 2012, 12:47:20 AM »

We have had two Women Prime Ministers and in one administration we have had women hold all of the Highest Positions in the Land but we have not yet had a Maori Prime Minister. We have had Maori Ministers in Cabinet but neither party has fielded a Maori Candidate for Leadership. That is yet to come.

I think people are drawn to Obama because his body language shows us he really does love his family and they are REAL people. He also relates very well to foreign leaders. He is a good Diplomat. He is not a push over but he does enter into dialogue.

Steph · « **Reply #9796 on:** November 09, 2012, 05:58:16 AM »

I ag ree with Barbara. I note that in Florida, we have a government that rules on only one principal......no new taxes and get rid of the old ones.We elected a governor who had a company that disobeyed all the laws and is still in trouble.. We elect republicans, who only care that we dont tax anyone. My state is falling to pieces. OUr libraries are cutting hourse ( county commissions are cutting their funding) Our schools are suffering.. Bu the reason for the slow vote count really is because of the mess way back.. They passed laws that if votes are withing a certain percentage, it automatically triggers a recount..
But I dont like to vote by mail, because I was a poll worker and the number of write ins that get tossed because of teeny picky things. No, I want to be sure my vote is counted, so I early vote.
I love early voting and we should have stayed with our original 14 days..

marjifay · « **Reply #9797 on:** November 09, 2012, 08:03:16 AM »

You are so right, MaryPage. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC is one smart gal, and is really Dr. Maddow. She received a degree from Stanford Univ. in public policy, and with a Rhodes Scholarship she received a PhD in politics from Oxford Univ.

I was also surprised that so many Cubans in Florida voted Democratic. I see they now have a bunch of Puerto Ricans there, and they vote Democratic. I've heard Republicans talking about their being against Puerto Ricans becoming a U.S. state because they are mostly Democrats.

Had to laugh listening to Barney Frank today. He said the first time he enjoyed listening to FOX TV was the night of the election, watching all their shock and disbelief at Obama's huge early win.

Marj

Babi · « **Reply #9798 on:** November 09, 2012, 09:34:33 AM »

JERIRON, I have the impression that Romney's stance on dealing with immigrants alienated
much of the Hispanic community. That one came back to bite him.

That's good to hear, KIWILADY. I'm pleased that this President is rated highly by most of
our allies. Hopefully, it will make foreign policy at least a bit easier. Heaven knows the
presidency is a tough job. I do note that we must except Netanyahu from that group, tho'.
He wanted Obama out because he wouldn't go along with Netanyahu's hardnose ideas about
what America should do about Iran.

MaryPage · « **Reply #9799 on:** November 09, 2012, 11:31:56 AM »

Actually, I heard several weeks prior to the election that a poll was taken of foreign nations, as many as possible, through reporters on the ground in said nations, and the vast majority (nearly all of them!) came back as hoping President Obama would win reelection. He is extremely popular abroad, and on the other hand, Romney's few feints at foreign policy in other countries were quite a bit less than successful. Romney seems to have what we used to call two left feet.

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 2326201 times)