Posts Tagged ‘election’
Contributed by Elisabeth Hurley
Lately we have been bombarded with news regarding voter registration fraud accusations. This is what I have learned:
Federal law requires states to check newly registered citizens against data bases of the Social Security Administration or the motor vehicle bureau. Mismatches are then flagged. Now, for instance, my name could be flagged if I register as Elisabeth Hurley but my motor vehicle registration shows up with my initial “M” for my middle name Maria. If my flagged name would show up on the type of list that was demanded by the Republican Party in Ohio and which that state’s Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner refused to agree to, I could be in trouble when casting my vote. As I see it, that list (with my name included) could be used by a partisan poll worker or supervisor to challenge my vote. With many more people challenged, long lines could result at the polls and many voters might again be discouraged to participate in the election.
Continue reading...Contributed by Cary Briel / Skaneateles
The Jewish Alliance for Change, a pro-Obama group, is launching a series of three ads in swing states that use humor and celebrity narration to go after John McCain. An ad titled “Ain’t Funny — Vice President” features old-time movie and TV stars such as Carl Reiner, Danny Devito, and Jerry Stiller riffing on topics ranging from the price of gas (“it costs more than the car”) to health care and Sarah Palin. “He wants to put that girl who winks in the second position,” says Reiner, of Oceans 11, 12, and 13 fame, “Oh God, we are in trouble.”
Continue reading...
I have never understood negative campaigning and why it’s being done. I know, I know, people tell me – and commentators tell us – that voters love it and that it works. Well, what I have seen lately on the news, read in newspapers, and have seen on videos on the Internet makes me more than worried about the path this election is taking.
Today I have watched a video in which a journalist interviewed participants at a McCain/ Palin rally. Supporters were asked if they thought Senator Obama is a terrorist. Some claimed that he is, others said that he could be. One woman, being asked why she thinks Obama is a terrorist, added “it’s in his blood, can’t you see that.”
Why do some supporters of the McCain/Palin ticket believe that Senator Obama is a terrorist? Well, unfortunately they heard from Governor Palin that Obama “pals around with terrorists” while Senator McCain would ask the question “Who is the real Barack Obama?” Both, as we know, referred to Obama’s association with William Ayers who, in the 1960s when Barack Obama was eight years old, was the leader of the radical anti-Vietnam war group “Weather Underground.” The then fugitive leader of this group is now a university professor and a highly respected educational reformer. Some of his projects include Peace School, a small alternative educational program that had its curriculum center on a United Nations theme.
