Thursday, November 8, 2012

Friday, November 2, 2012

Ballot Preview

It is a bit of the eleventh hour to be studying up on the election, but better late than never.  If you live in Missouri, particularly Kansas City, it is good to take time to read a sample of the ballot you will see in the polling place.  The place for all info election related is the website for the Kansas City Board of Elections.  There you will find all you need to prepare to vote November 6th.

Home page of the election board

Pdf of a sample ballot for November 6th.  A note: when you get the ballot on Tuesday, read the instructions.  It will be especially important to read instructions if you intend to vote a straight ticket of one party's candidates.  Even if you don't do this, take a quick scan of the top of the ballot.  That way you don't inadvertently invalidate your ballot.  For example, if an election reads vote for "one" or "no more then ____."  note that voting for more then the prescribed number of candidates will invalidate your vote for that office.  You can always vote for fewer.  You cannot vote for more.

The website can help you find your polling place too, if you've lost your notice to vote postcard.

Finally, do vote, if you are properly registered.  Vote only once, and vote in the polling place that serves the district/ward/area  you live in.  Do not vote where you do not live, and do not vote under someone else's name...

Keep it clean folks.

4 Days Away

Well, here we are a mere 4 days away from the election.
I've written a million posts in my head, about how divided we've gotten, about how candidates should have just kept their mouths shut, about how it appears that presidential politics influenced decision making in current foreign policy...and so on.  But as you can plainly see, none of my thoughts made it onto the blog.
No I haven't opined on the horribleness of our MLB and NFL franchises, or what sports life has been like in Kansas City.  I haven't burbled happily about the winning ways of our MLS franchise.
I haven't offered an opinion on the two mile train route, or the downtown hotel, or the east patrol station mess.   I was trying to figure out why I had  not blogged about any of these things and I have come to a couple of conclusions.
One, is that sometimes I have little time anymore.  I realize that I write horribly, incredibly slowly. It isn't that i    am even trying to be perfect, it's is more like  a slow thinking process.  Thoughts that seemed so brilliant need fleshing out and structure to be ready for the written form.  Every so often lightening will strike, but it's pretty rare. Most times, writing is pretty labor intense.
I realized another thing just the other day. Some commentator was talking about polls and whether or not they were accurate; I think it was Limbaugh but what he said next could apply to any voter.  The so-called undecideds may not be so undecided; they may be waiting until they can cast that secret ballot before declaring their choices.  It could be that 10-15% of eventual voters for either party are not talking to pollsters, candidates' offices or even their friends about their choices.  They are not posting political matter on Facebook, nor are they responding to political posts on the social media site from their friends or pages.  Speaking strictly for myself, I am tired of the fight.  I am tired of the endless challenges to positions, the spin that makes the truth elusive, the personal attacks that question my worth at its very core.  People question my loyalty to my gender, my intelligence, even my right to live and have an opinion.  I am so sick of that.
The last is this;  Both polls of politics, left and right, are convinced that their plans will work.  I am not convinced and I suspect I am not alone.  I am not convinced that using money to generate a bunch of government projects will help our economy.  However, nor am I convinced that tax breaks will create an environment that will spur on job creation.  I think that the polarization has closed minds such that an honest evaluation of ideas is not possible.  Now it is all perceived as attack when an idea is given a bad grade.

So, hey, that is a few thoughts and if I have time, I might write a few more posts over the next few days as election day draws near.  Then I will vote, and watch the results come in along with everyone else.
As for the Chiefs, they just really really stink.  Really. Stink.