I hope the County Council will act on the suggestions I made in the previous post for bipartisan cooperation on elections reform. First on the list is suspending a decision on forced mail voting. Nevertheless, the Council Democrats are still moving forward with the forced Vote-by-Mail plan, in spite of the Logan's resignation and numerous other key vacancies. There's still a good chance to postpone this decision for now, but only if enough of us express our opposition to the Council.
Please send an email opposing forced Vote-by-Mail to the Democratic Councilmembers. The Republican Councilmembers will be voting against the plan, so a thank you e-mail might be nice to send to them, as well. Here are some suggested talking points --
These are only suggestions. Best to use your own words, and highlight the specific point that is your personal greatest concern.
1. If you are a Democrat, Progressive, Liberal etc. this should be mentioned in your letter, as some Democratic councilmembers seem to be laboring under the misconception that their biggest supporters are all for forced bvote-by-mail. Not so. Many Democrats oppose this plan, and the council needs to hear that.
2. Please mention that you appreciate their work as a public servant; it is hard work. Councilmembers are much more likely to listen to a respectful letter listing concerns than to a letter full of anger an vitriol.
3. IF you are currently signed up to receive an absentee ballot, please state that you do not want your choice of an absentee ballot misconstrued as your vote to force your neighbor to vote absentee.
4. IF you are registered for an absentee and wish to go back to the polls, state that since registering for an absentee ballot you have learned more about the process and you do not trust vote by mail (if you plan to change your registration, please tell them so) [instructions for changing back to poll voting status are here]
5. Please state that you certainly do not trust the implementation of the plan when there are so many high level positions that are vacant including (but not limites to) Division Director, Elections Superintendent, two of three Assistant Superintendents, the IT Manager, and the Absentee Ballot processing Manager.
6. Elections are not a political tool and should not be used as such. Changes to election systems must be for the purposes of promoting democracy, fairness and the accurate expression of the will of the people. Any other reason is improper. The plan to move to VBM focuses on how the plan will benefit "stake holders," the media, candidates, and election administrators, but no consisderation is given to the VOTERS.
7. Remind them that "spikes" in turnout from voting by mail have been shown to be short-lived (Cal Tech/MIT study and others), and that Oregon's most recent Federal primary sported a 25% turnout, the LOWEST in Oregon's HISTORY. Moving to VBM for the purposes of a very short-lived spike in turnout is improper (undemocratic) and short-sighted.
8. Oregon voters got to vote on this issue - King County voters should too. LET THE VOTERS DECIDE!
9 You like the neighborhood poll sites and the sense of community and civic pride they create within individual neighborhoods.
As of today, Monday, June 19th's meeting to vote on the plan is still on the Council schedule. It will be 1:30 pm at the King County Courthouse.
We will be meeting at 12:45 on the 2nd floor of the Courthouse near the elevators. You can't miss us! The meeting will be held on the 10th floor. It is imperative that we have many bodies at this meeting because we have heard that there will pro-Vote by Mail counter-demonstrators at this meeting, and we need to outnumber them.
Please attend! We need to show that the citizens care about this issue, and that we do not want to be forced to vote in this manner. As it stands now, no public testimony will be accepted. At the last meeting the Council Chair stated "we have heard enough" even though some unknown amendments were added to the plan, and no testimony has been taken on them..
Here are the council and Ron Sims' email addresses. Please send your email to all the members, regardless of which member is your representative on the council:
Democrats
Larry.phillips@metrokc.gov
Larry.gossett@metrokc.gov
Julia.patterson@metrokc.gov
Dow.constantine@metrokc.gov
Bob.ferguson@metrokc.gov
Republicans:
pete.vonreichbauer@metrokc.gov
jane.hague@metrokc.gov
kathy.lambert@metrokc.gov
reagan.dunn@metrokc.gov
exec.sims@metrokc.gov
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 16, 2006 05:40 PM | Email ThisStefan mentioned that he and his new far left comrade Richard Borkowski don't agree on everything.
See the thing is Richard believes that Stefan's President, Mr. Bush orchestrated 9-11 and ordered the Twin Tower to be bombed. He believes that there was no plane that flew into the Pentagon, but yes you guessed it, Mr. Bush bombed the Pentagon so that he could take us to war. http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?ChannelID=89
I wonder in their Friday afternoon phone conversation if Stefan asked Richard if he believes the Holocaust is just a bunch of baloney too?
Honesty is So Passe
Gentry Lange
Columnist
Yesterday, upon opening my mail, I got some really terrible and frightening news: I'm graduating. How can this be? It must be some sort of terrible belated April Fools' joke. No longer can I live off of government grants, student loans or my parents. No longer will my diet of junk food, beer and ramen be socially acceptable.
As my mother tells me, I'm going to have to get a job. A job? But Mom, I thought I was going to college so I wouldn't have to get a job. In fact, I'm really quite pissed off no one ever told me that after college I was going to have to work for a living.
And unless you consider knowing the definition of "paradigm" a job skill, I think I'm screwed.
What are these professors teaching us, anyway? Of the few jobs I've ever had, not once has anyone asked me to compare or contrast. About the only marketable skill I have learned in almost five years of University life is how to write, and looking around The Daily, there's a lot of writers around. Just great.
So I've made a decision: I'm going to lie. It's not like anyone expects you to tell the truth anyway. For instance, most job applications ask questions that will undoubtedly be answered dishonestly. Like that question about the salary you "desire" ) what kind of stupid question is that? Invariably my desire far exceeds the amount of money the position pays.
If people want honest answers on job applications, the questions should be worded much differently. For example, "What's the lowest possible amount of money you are willing to work for without immediately quitting or supplementing your income by stealing company supplies?" Alternatively, "Are you flexible enough to grab your ankles for more than eight hours a day?"
I think lying should be considered a legitimate job skill. Look at Bill Clinton. Maybe he's not a great liar, but is that really his fault? The questions the media ask these days are ridiculous. John F. Kennedy never had to lie about sleeping with Marilyn Monroe because no one in the media ever asked him the question on live television. Stupid questions will always get stupid answers.
So when asked what position or salary I desire, instead of answering honestly, I will lie. When asked what I feel are my greatest weaknesses, I will not tell potential employers the truth about my history with drug use, migraines, depression, co-dependency, tardiness, illicit and dangerous sexual behavior, youthful angst or my lack of any discernible job skills. No, instead I will prepare something that sounds believable, maybe a little self-effacing, but definitely not the truth.
Yes, I know how to make french fries, sir.
Posted by: lefty righty on June 16, 2006 07:08 PMThe new anarchists
In Eugene, a youth-fueled movement breaks windows to ask the big questions.
By Geov Parrish
In the last year, a new, more militant anarchist strain asserted itself in Eugene. A movement of at least several dozen, mostly young—teenagers and people in their early 20s—activists emerged around John Zerzan, longtime local anarchist writer and theoretician. Zerzan is the author of books that are deeply controversial in anarchist circles: Elements of Refusal, Future Primitive, and others. He is a leading advocate of primitivism, which goes far beyond matters of how the state is or isn't constructed, considering technology and most of what we consider civilization to be deeply pathological and needing to be eliminated. This short-on-details passage from Elements is typical: "Upon the utter destruction of wage-labor and the commodity, a new life will be situated and redefined, by the moment, in countless, unimagined forms. Launched by the abolition of every trace of authority . . . concepts like 'economy,' 'exchange,' [and] 'production' will have no meaning. (What is worth preserving from this lunatic order?)"
How do you muster up the energy to crawl up out of your mama's basement?
Posted by: alphabet soup on June 16, 2006 08:25 PMDear Mr. Phillips,
As a Democrat, and a staunch supporter, I would like to see the council put the Vote by Mail plan on hold. My concerns are the same as many of my friends and neighbors. They are as follows:
1. The Elections Dept is running on 70% of it's employees. Many key personal are missing, including the director. I don't understand why we would put the remaining (die hard) employees in such a position in trying to run the primary & general this fall (under a micrscope) and implement a NEW system at the same time. These dedicated employees need their full attention on their current jobs. They are understaffed period. Without the Key management positions filled, the remaining have big shoes to fill.
Implementing a NEW system without a director, the second in command, and several key positions would be like starting a new company without the president, the accountant, and the general manager.
2. I watched KCTV when this issue was tabled for another two weeks. I heard the public testimony, and I hope that you take those testimonies into consideration. I didn't hear ONE citizen speak in favor of the VBM plan.
3. I know our KC Executive would like to see this plan implemented. I just don't think the Elections dept has the Top End Management in place to do so. I have concerns that the public's faith in KCE can not be restored without that full management in place.
The executive is ultimately responsible for this department, and I know if I was in his shoes, I couldn't be 100% confident that the department could be ran without a "cloud of doubt" hanging over their heads.
I hope the council takes the steps as I have, as a Citizen, to look at the big picture. The Elections dept needs to gain the public's trust again. First off the Department should be FULLY Staffed, and working like clock work. This will not happen overnight. But until it does, the Council, nor the executive should be looking at any MORE changes to the system.
Let's get it working at 100%, then make the changes when the department has the personnel resources to accomplish it.
Regards,
Chris Nichols
General Manager
Only King County government shills would think that Stefan is part of a bizarre cabal. No one has done more to expose the lies of King County than Stefan.
And from what I've heard about Richard, he was one of the main guys behind killing off the stupid monorail. So he's got my support. The whole city of Seattle should be thanking that guy.
Lefty, righty, what have you done lately? You must be one big loser since you're at home on a Friday night writing anonymous internet postings and surfing 9/11 web sites.
Posted by: Jacob on June 17, 2006 10:11 AMWhat a chicken you are. Attacking people who are trying to save this county from a stupid vote by mail scam. This county would be better off if they listened to smart people like Richard and Stefan rather than people like Patterson. The fact that these guys are being attacked so much must be they exactly right.
The Dems only want vote by mail to steal elections. You know that. We all know that.
Why don't we hear from you first? Another government shill you are obviously. How pathetic and lame you government hackers are. You think we're sooooooo stupid we don't know you work for the government?
Posted by: Jacob on June 17, 2006 10:33 AMRichard still hasn't chimed in to defend himself. I wonder why.
And I still want to know if in their Friday afternoon phone converstation Stefan asked Richard whether he believes the Holocaust never happened.
Posted by: lefty loosey on June 17, 2006 11:43 AMFind a job or something. Your rants are so off the wall,and quit insulting. You need help.
I think you should approach the President himself if you truly beleive the BS your spouting.
Better yet, go over to HA, they are your KIND of people (deftly void of rational thought and conversation)
Posted by: Chris on June 17, 2006 12:02 PMThe KC Council votes TOMMORROW on this issue...Let them know you think they should POSTPONE this vote.
It takes 5 minutes to write an email to them. Even if you think it won't do any good, at least you can say YOU tried. When the Trolls stroll in here and say "told you so", you can say "I at least tried".
Looking at the big picture, and not slinging any mud, red or blue, the best argument we have is that KC Elections DOESNT have the STAFF in place to implement this change. The remaining staff doesnt have the EXPERIENCE, nor the time to implement this. They need to be fully staffed and integrated, then this issue can be brought up again......
Don't make it political, just make your point.
Let's at least see if this council will LISTEN. If it won't listen, they are elected positions, and we can remind them of this when they want YOUR vote next time.
Posted by: Chris on June 18, 2006 09:57 AMI don't necessarily agree with my everything I wrote over 10 years ago when I was in college, but I have never hidden from these articles either. Yes, in my life I smoked pot for migraines, but today I wouldn't "thank" people involved in illegal drug trade, as I did in the article. It's a little too over-the-top for most people to find humorous, or to even see my point. However, I remain opposed to the drug war, and I continue to support medical marijuana. As for my satirical piece, Honesty is So Passe, I have typically relied on people to read it for themselves, because most people can easily comprehend my frustration concerning a liberal arts education, and the lack of job training college offers. Nowadays, at the age of 31 now, I believe I am a much different person than the college student who wrote these articles, but I admire the frank and outspoken person I was then, and still feel a passion to speak out about my beliefs.
The most interesting thing about these two articles, however, is that in the age of the Internet, the stupid stuff you wrote in college just might be around 10, 20, or 40 years later. And today, as an outspoken member of the public, it's even more interesting to me that there are people who track this stuff down in order to try and discredit the messenger. Obviously, this type of argument rarely fools anyone. Most people are more than capable of noticing when people attack the messenger and not the message.
Forced vote-by-mail schemes, Diebold Touchscreen machines, and the abject failure of King County Elections department have nothing to do with two articles I wrote in college.
But for those of you that are having problems with me, as a messenger, here's the articles:
http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1998/050198/graduation430.html
http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1997/110397/confession.html
Feel free to post them far and wide. If your only weapon against logic and reason is to attack and discredit those you speak against, well, to quote George Bush, bring it on.
Posted by: Gentry Lange on June 21, 2006 05:28 PM