Fascinating

Okay, call me geeky, I don't care.  I had the chance to attend an election recount yesterday and found the whole process fascinating.  This year, there were several very close races and two of the three races that ended in a tie were no better off after the official tabulation that is always done on the Friday after the Tuesday's election.

Even though the process was a little tedious, it was very interesting to me.  The room was filled with supporters of the two candidates; Democrats on the left of the room and Republicans on the right (I am not sure that was intended, but it ended up that way). Each precinct was taken individually and the chair of the election board read the tapes and then looked at each absentee ballot, made a judgement, and then passed it to the other commissioner to agree or disagree.  Finally the third commissioner had a chance to weigh in. Four times during the review, the commissioners broke off into executive session to argue any differences there were on the ballots they had looked at and then came back with a report of their decision. One of the two races still ended in a tie and lots will be drawn, as per the process, this Friday.

Maybe it was because it was my first time to attend a recount, or maybe it was just another way of witnessing Democracy in action, but I was enthralled with being able to witness thee process. The more I learn about this operation the more I am intrigued with it.  It may not be perfect, but there is much that is in the works to make it as fair as possible.  It has been working for over 200 years, so we must be doing something right.

Public Apathy?

Last night I attended a budget workshop held by the municipal administrator.  This is the first step in the budget process where the administrator makes a proposed budget to the council and lays out all the things he would like the next year's budget to cover.  From here, the budget is poked and prodded and possible changes are made and then the council votes on it at the end of the year. 

I was rather surprised at the lack of attendance both from council and the public. Granted, this is the first step and there is not really much that happens here, but only two council people showed up, along with one director and one person from the public.  Not only was the meeting not mentioned on their website, but I did not see any advertisement in the paper even though someone told me it was there.  The only reason I knew about it was an email from a friend, who incidentally was not there himself.

Something like this is important for the public to weigh in on.  This proposed budget recommends a $32 average tax increase, which for me and other working folks is doable, but for many others is not.  I understand the need for the various things they mentioned, and I was pleasantly surprised that the administrator talked about a 5 year capital plan, something that has not been presented in a long time.  The presentation given last night will be on the website and there is a public input period that has to happen.  I will be watching closely to see if there will be more notice given.  I am anxious to see what happens from here out and if the public apathy continues or they suddenly wake up and scream because a tax increase is pending.  Perhaps it was just poor notification that the meeting was ill attended, or perhaps the public just doesn't care anymore.

Appalling

I just read an article that really riled me.  State Representative Sims (D), the first openly gay legislator for Pennsylvania, was not allowed to comment after the Supreme Court made their ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The person who silenced him, and the other legislators who rose to defend his ability to speak, was State Representative. Daryl Metcalfe (R) citing that Sims was speaking against God's law.  Honestly?Rachel Maddow, the author of the article correctly states that there is a separation of Church and State, and regardless of that, anyone should be able to speak on the floor. But, apparently there is no freedom of speech in the state house. I find hard to believe as well.  

I greatly applaud the Supreme Court's decision on DOMA. I strongly believe that this is a civil rights issue more than anything else.  Civil unions are not the same thing as marriage and therefore are lacking in the ability for each couple to inherit, attend to medical issue, or cover each other's property. This is the major crux of the situation

If you want to bring God into this discussion consider this point; we are all God's children are we not?  So why don't we reward the children of God to have the same rights?  This goes for everyone, which we have all heard are equal in our Constitution.  This business about some being more equal than others flies in the face of what I have been taught as a Quaker.  I just hope that we get over ourselves and begin to realize that we should all be given the same rights as an American citizen and move on to other issues.

Update

I have not blogged in quite a while I know.  I have a new job which has kept me very busy during the day, even during my lunch time when I previously blogged before.  Today I decided to do it and realize that it is not as easy to do from my work computer as it was before at my other job.  The  I decided to do it on my tablet and the keyboard was dead.  Not too discouraged, I am using the virtual keyboard on the tablet, which really isn't the easiest thing to do, at least to me.  Maybe more practice is needed, but that is not here or there.

As I hinted above, I have a new job. I basically took retirement from the financial firm I was working at for 30 years and am working full time in politics. I absolutely love it. I know many of the people I work with and have for many years from being involved in local politics, so there wasn't the same awkward feeling on the day that I started as I have experienced with past jobs. It was a little strange working in this office because in the past I have worked here just for a few hours at a time so being here full time was a little strange. But now I am fully integrated and it is a wonderful experience.

The other new thing in my life that is keeping me really busy is running for Municipal Council. There is one seat open, because the Council person currently there is term limited and can't run again. The other At-Large member is able to run again and is doing so. There are four others vying for this one open seat so I need to get my candinancy out there! Since I was a district Council member before and this is for the whole town, I have to introduce myself to a whole lot of new people. But I am very excited to work to get on Council again and work on issues that I feel are important to the town. There will be more on this topic but for now, just know that I am very busy around the clock. It is gratifying though. Thanks to those who can help me in this journey.

Sour Grapes

In what can be called a big sour grapes situation, Mitt Romney is now claiming that there were too many minorities how voted for him. A recent article points out that Romney’s campaign was probably one of the least diverse campaign offices around and that seeing a person of a color other than white was a rare sight during his campaign stops.  I noted this myself and was not shocked when I heard his “47% speech”. 

I am sorry to say I just cannot grasp why any minorities would registered as a Republican when that party has become one associated with elitism and privilege.  Being a woman and half Mexican, I don’t believe I could ever register in the GOP.  But being a different color wasn’t all he was complaining about when lamenting about his loss.  He pointed to “gifts” given by the Obama administration.  These so called presents are things like student loans, Social Security and Medicare. I hardly call them “gifts”, but I suppose anyone in the entitled class would consider any help outside of their trust funds and daddy’s wallets is just that.  I just look at all of this as a case of sour grapes and more of a reason why it was a good thing Mr. Romney was not elected.

Entitlements

My husband said to me the other day that he was having a hard time being a Democrat.  It’s not like he was going to register as a Republican or anything, but he was tired of being in a party that was associated with giving handouts.  He and a neighbor were talking about it the other day and both of them were fed up with working hard and getting nothing and seeing others doing nothing and getting so much.  To some extent I agree, but I agree to the point that something needs to be done with the abuses going on.  I believe that if these abuses were taken care of, that a measure of the budget would be taken care of too.

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article about this issue and made some very interesting points.  Their main premise was that entitlements are corrupting this country and have grown significantly over the last twenty five years.  In addition, even though Democrats have been the party associated with entitlements in actuality, according to the WSJ article, it is Republicans who have really jacked up the amount distributed.

What is monumentally new about the American state today is the vast empire of entitlement payments that it protects, manages and finances. Within living memory, the federal government has become an entitlements machine. As a day-to-day operation, it devotes more attention and resources to the public transfer of money, goods and services to individual citizens than to any other objective, spending more than for all other ends combined.

The argument can be made that with today’s economy more and more are deserving of things like food stamps.  It is true that there are more people on food stamps primarily because they have been unable to find a job.  However, entitlements are not just programs for the poor.  Medicare and Social Security are also part of that pot of money, and to me seniors are deserving of it because they have put into the system all those years and should be permitted to take from it.  My issues, like my husband’s issue is the one where generations have lived on handouts and are a leach on society rather than a contributor. 

I personally don’t have issue with paying taxes to help invest in our schools, provide needed infrastructure, and help those who are less fortunate.  But I do have issues with handing over my hard earned dollars to give to someone who is abusing the system and who are making a living off me. In my opinion the abuses to the program is what is in serious need of work rather than the actual amount of money going out.

Hank the Cat

Hank is a 10 year old cat who is running to be a US Senator.  No, really.  And even stranger, he appears to be coming in third for this race. Hank received enough write-in votes in the state of Virginia to even be considered and now they are petitioning the White House to request he receive an honorary status on the Senate floor.

A friend of mine and I had this little fantasy that our cats would battle for State Rep a few years back.  She and I live in neighboring districts and thought this would be fun project to do to see how many signatures we could obtain to get them there.  Both of our cats have human sounding names but we decided that we would probably get caught for fraudulent activity and didn’t pursue it.  We actually never thought of doing a write-in campaign. 

This is actually the funniest election news I have heard in a long time.  Hank is a Maine Coon, and my cat, Simon is one too.  He is quite the handsome cat too but I wonder how he will govern if he wins.  Would he create “Hankcare” to allow universal access to vets?  Would he promise a fish in every bowl?  Would he legalize catnip?  What exactly are the issues that Hank would work on?  It’s a fun little fantasy and takes the stress out of all this Election Day related news of suppressed voting and voting irregularities that are going on in Philadelphia. 

Year of the Woman

According to an article I read recently, 2012 was the Year of the Woman, with women making large gains in getting elected.  Women still represent a meager 12% representation on all governmental levels in this country where they are over 50% of the population.  In the United States, as you know, we have never had a women president while in other countries they have had several women leaders.  The USA does not have any quotas to fill to get more women in office and therefore leave it to chance, while other countries such as Ecuador actually mandate that a certain percentage of women should hold elected office.  Even with those countries taking a progressive lead, overall, women represent only 20% for holding elected office worldwide.

Many factors decide these numbers, mostly it is the expectation that woman are to raise the family and simply do not have the time to dedicate to running for office.  In this country the time both for running and for governing is considerable, not to mention obscenely expensive.  Additionally, the acceptance for a woman to hold an elected office is low even considering a recent study showing that women actually govern better than men.  Since women have gotten the right to vote only in 1920, they have done it in record numbers.  It is a proven fact that when women do vote, their participating numbers are higher.  No wonder every candidate has catered to women to get their vote.

Whether this year is the year for women in office, to me it is not going to THE YEAR until we actually represent the total percentage of total population.  Unfortunately I believe that will be a long, long time coming and I will be worm food when it happens if at all.  Unlike past generations, there is a growing enthusiasm for women have to be taken seriously, both in the boardroom and in the legislative chambers.  Regardless of our uterus, we must be accepted as equal partners who are just as capable as men.  Until that time, the thought of a woman as the leader of the free world will be a small voice yet to be heard.

Disturbing

I read recently that several states have petitioned the White House to secede and create their own governments.  This is following the election and predictably came from states that supported Mitt Romney.  However, it appears that some blue states have also sent petitions.  This is highly disturbing to me.

President Lincoln went through the same thing when he was elected in 1860.  Seven southern states petitioned the White House to secede, and four more followed in quick succession. While they have this right under the constitution, Lincoln refused saying that secession would destroy Democracy:

The distinct issue, "Immediate dissolution or blood"...embraces more than the fate of these United States. It presents to the whole family of man the question of whether a constitutional republic or democracy -- a government of the people, by the same people -- can or cannot maintain its territorial integrity against its own domestic foes.

However rather than politics this time, I believe the reason these states’ actions is purely racial.  Will Bunch, author of The Backlash suggests that the Tea Party movement has largely risen because many of the older, white Americans are scared to death their culture is going away.  After reflecting on that premise, I wholeheartedly agree.  We all have to get used to the idea that we are a widely diverse country, and our idea of the leader of these UNITED States is not always going to be an older white male, and frankly I am glad for that. 

Different Perspectives

As you may know, one of my team members at work recently became an American citizen.  He and I have engaged in various political discussions for the short time I have known him, and I suppose he uses these talks to learn more about the political process.  I am flattered that he would think my experience in the field is worth listening to, but I sometimes wonder what his take on all of this is.  I tend to go a bit off at times standing on my soapbox, as my husband is so fond of saying, but is rather refreshing to be able to talk about this stuff to someone who is so eager to learn.

He is not able to vote quite yet basically because of timing.  He gained his citizenship after the deadline for registering for this election.  It is a pity, because I think it would probably be really cool that his first voting experience is in a big, high profile, Presidential election that we had.  But I am so impressed that he wants to vote while so many don’t.  So many don’t care about the direction this country moves in, and so many don’t think about where their local municipalities are going.  If you look at the numbers of citizens versus the number of registered voters, it is quite alarming to think that basically a third of this country actually takes the time to have their voices heard, and that’s just in a Presidential election.  Despite the fact there are two Election Days in a year, far less vote in what they call “off-cycle” elections - but I digress.

This week we had Election Day, and I hope you exercised your civic duty and voted.  Whether you stood in a long line to do so, you took your time and did your duty.  But don’t stop there.  Exercise your civic duty as often as you can and pay attention to those people who are your public servants. Make sure they are doing what you think they should.  After all, you are living in a country where you can.

Shaky Prediction

Although not scientific, Spirit Halloween, the country's largest seasonal Halloween retailer has predicted that Obama will win the Presidential race.  They say that the Obama masks are outselling the Romney masks by 20% and the charting of such sales has correctly predicted the election since 1996. 

"A lot of people are going out and supporting their candidate by wearing their masks," said Lisa Barr, senior director of marketing for Spirit Halloween.

While I don’t believe that is necessarily the case, I find it fascinating that such a prediction exists.  But then again it’s the same mindset as betting on the horses using the logic that the horse looked at you when it passed by.

People are going to have crazy ways of making predictions on who is going to win this race, but the real caveat here is if they go out and vote.  Presidential elections do pull out more voters than other years, but still the majority of voter turnout in my area at least is still only 45%.  It is still a dismal showing for such an important event.

Whether the mask sales are correct this time around is anyone’s guess. I only hope that such predictions do not keep people home thinking that their candidate doesn’t need their vote. We will find out after the fat lady has sung on November 7^th. Go Vote!

Sick

The shiny new hospital has opened up in a neighboring town and is in the process of closing Montgomery Hospital built in 1933 in Norristown.  An article appeared today about the rememberances of the employees.  For decades Montgomery Hospital took care of the sick and injured, delivered babies, and pronounced the dead, and now it is closing.  For me, even as a relative newcomer to Norristown, I am sick that this is happening.

The new Einstein Hospital built on Germantown Pike in East Norriton is a LEED certified building with state of the art medical technology; something they say would not be able to be done at the old building.  The new hospital is attracting some of the best talent in the medical field to treat patients so the area has the potential of being a leading star in the industry and offer our residents, as well as people from outside the area, new treatments and possibly save more lives.  Of all the bragging they did with how "green" their building is, the real “green” technology would have been to recyle the old building.

While it's great to the best and brightest of everything, it’s not the need for new machinery and cutting edge techniques that caused the new operators of Montgomery Hospital to build anew.  It was the people.  Yes, they now have a new facility – and everyone loves new stuff – and it is their silent hope that the people they were used to treating at the Norristown place won’t go to their new one.  While they claim that is not the case, I strongly suspect differently.  During the discussions about the eventual closing of the hospital I attended many meetings where they presented data showing who they treated and the reason they were losing money because of it.  By presenting the data they did, they were slowly building the case for the move.  So now it is a totally done deal and Norristown will be left with a large unwanted building.  It will now be up to Norristown officials to deal with.  It is my hope that since they knew of this closing for several years they are prepared to act on it swiftly.

Offended

Okay, so I know this was incredibly immature and unnecessary, but I just felt like doing it.  I drove past the protesters in front of the mall yesterday and they were holding up those ridiculous signs saying how bad Obama is and how we should vote him out of office and I got so offended I gave them the finger as I drove by.  I don't know why I was so offended, I guess I was just outraged at their ignorance and the ignorance of the other Tea Party people in this world.  Yes, I know they have just as much right to be out there as I do but if they would listen to the facts and not the trash spewed on Fox News maybe they might have another opinion.

We are better off than we were 4 years ago; housing starts are up, the employment figures are up (albeit not as much as they should be).  Heck even the market is up.  Obama did a good job with the mess he was left with and a congress which was the most divisive in history.  Furthermore, I don't want a president in office who only cares about half of this country.  I don't one who flips on all the issues that are important to me.  I just can't vote for someone like that.

Maybe that's what really offends me. That these people are really willing to have a person in office who would totally turn things upside down and remove the things that we have fought so hard to implement.  But then again that's what makes this country great.  The mere fact we can have a person like that run for office in the first place.  I just hope he doesn't win.

The Tax Man

Candidate Romney stepped in it this time, I believe with is comments said at a fund raiser in May that were release by Mother Jones. During those taped conversations, he shows his true distain for people that are not like him – basically most of America.  Those statements show that his presidency will be for the few, for the privileged, and for the minority.  In the words of Jennifer Granholm “where the cars get the elevators and the workers get the shaft.”  It really convinced me that Romney is out of touch with this country and what this country needs.

The one good thing that has come out of all of this is that the American public finally understands that yes, only 47% actually pay federal taxes and there are reasons for that.  It is somewhat easier to understand why we are in the situation we are in when you know where the revenue is coming from and why those who do pay federal taxes are stretched so thin.  But many of those people aren’t irresponsible and living off welfare and playing the system.  Many of those people are struggling to make ends meet, and many of them are our friends and neighbors. 

I ran across a list of things that our taxes pay for and the list is very extensive.  Furthermore, taxes are not all bad and are not totally there to pay for programs for the poor.  I found a great essay on what taxes pay for, and a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt who once remarked that “Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.”  But the best example of what taxes do for us, in my opinion is found here.  After reading that, I felt so much better about why we really need to contribute our fair share to society. 

Voter ID

I caught a glance at the new TV commercial telling people to bring their "acceptable" forms of ID when they go to vote. Today I saw an article saying that some say it is offensive.  I am not convinced it is offensive exactly, but seeing it again I do question the real message behind it.  The overall message was that if you can about this country you will bring your id with you when you go to vote.  I think the real message is that if you care about this issue, you will write, scream, and rally against this law.

I think the law itself is offensive, not the commercial.  It is offensive that a law which causes the taxpayers over $10 million to fix a problem that doesn't exists.  It should really be called what it is; voter suppression.  There has been no case of voter fraud in this state ever.  There have only been about 4 cases of voter fraud in the entire country.  This is only to make sure that the people who voted for Obama last year will not be able to vote this year.  Look at the numbers.  The amount of people affected is about 760,000 which is about the same as the number McCain lost PA.  Coincidence?  I think not.

So you be the judge, is the commercial offensive, or it just the law.

Incredible Experience

The last night of the convention is over. The excitment in the arena last night after Obama spoke was at an all time high after he finished speaking, and we were all "fired up and ready to go". The evening's activities were really special with the Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Mary J Blige, along with a host of celebrities and famous people.  The greatest quote was from Jennifer Granholm who said "in Mitt Romney's world, the cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft!"  The place went wild and the rest of what she was saying was lost in the shouting.

As usual, I got in at almost 3am.  During this week, I generally averaged three or four hours of sleep due to all the activites thay were going on. One of the other women I met said that we really only got naps instead of a restful sleep.  I suppose that is generally how a convention goes, but these old bones aren't used to it.  It will probably take a few days for my body to get back to normal.  All in all it was a most incredible experience.

Clinton Nominates the President

Last night, President Clinton laid out a clear case for re-nominating and reelecting President Obama and Vice President Biden. He spelled out very plainly that President Obama has plans for moving America forward.  The excitement in the arena was palpable, and you could hear a pin drop while he was speaking.  What a speech!  Throughout the evening Democratic leader after Democratic leader spoke about the contrasts in how the other side had no new ideas or policies to help the middle class.  If you had an opportunity to watch the speech, or any of the coverage you may have heard that Clinton won it.  The bus driver for the Delegates this morning was quite emphatic that the speech laid it out in plain English and if no one understood that, they were a fool.

The house went crazy when President Obama came out to thank Clinton for his words.  I had left my seat to go to the ladies room and to quickly put a few more bars on my phone charge and I was not allowed to get back to my seat when I came in.  I was not able to see Clinton from my regular vantage point, but it didn't matter.  One could feel the vibe even at the top of the section where I was standing. It was electrifying and certainly set the stage for tonight's proceedings.

Wining and Dining

Part of being at a convention is attending lots of parties.  The Democratic National Convention is no different.  On the fist night of our stay in Charlotte they held a Welcome Event at a really cool place called the Uptown Mint Musuem.  When I first saw the information about it, I thought it was a museum about money, which would have been really interesting. But it was mostly modern art, most of what I saw was really beautiful stuff.  The building is very modern, as is most of downtown Charlotte. And the party was held in the main exhibit hall, for lack of a better word.  The picture is from the second level, of four, that looks over that hall. On the fifth floor is an outdoor deck which provided a great view of downtown.

Convention

I am headed off to the Democratic National Convention.  Yes, I am a delegate and I am very excited about it.  I have never been to one of these coventions before so this is a new experience for me.  This morning I headed out quite early because even though we are not due to be there until tomorrow, we are going down by car because I need to save a little money, and we are seeing some things on the way down to kind of break up the 10 hour drive.

Also new for me is the use of technology on the road.  I am using my Samsung 10.1 tablet as I am going down the road blogging this.  Don't worry I am not driving! I have a new, mobile hotspot which allows me to have Internet access away from my home network.  I decided to go this route because the laptop can be used with it too.  I made some changes to my Verizon plan adding the hotspot and ended up saving about $30 a month in the process.  It is kind of weired for me going down the road being connected like this.  Of course I can blog on my phone too, but it is easier for me to type on the tablet. So bear with me while I get used to this new way of doing things.

The one new technology that didn't work was my old GPS unit.  I had thought of using that instaed of my phone because if the long drive, but when I plugged it in when we got in the car it wouldn't boot.  Fortunately I had thought enough ahead to print out the directions.  So sometimes the old ways work. I can always use my phone if we get lost for the short run.  I also got an inverter so that I can charge up my laptop in the car.  The guy at the store said it could not really take a hesvy load but that the laptop would be okay.  We'll see how all this stuff works.

So keep reading as I blog from this event.  I hope you enjoy it too.

Bumper Sticker

I was coming back from doing an errand at lunch one day recently and nearly ran off the road laughing when I saw a “Republicans for Voldemort” bumper sticker on a car.  The driver’s window was open and I desperately wanted to congratulate him for this wonderful sense of humor, but I was not able to catch up to him before I got near the entrance to my workplace.

For those of you who don’t know who Voldemort is, or understand the humor, let me try to enlighten you. Voldmort was the evil wizard from the Harry Potter series.  In the movies they often referred to him as “he-who-should-not-be-named” because he was so evil that even mentioning his name would cause terror for the wizards just hearing the name.  Now, I am not saying that Republicans are evil, but anymore when I hear some of the things that are uttered by their high profile people, I wonder if maybe they are heading in that direction. 

Like what, you say?  Well, take for example one of the GOP congressmen who is running for re-election now. Congressman Akin.  William Todd Akin is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 2nd congressional district. He is the person who declared that women have special defenses that prevent pregnancy if it is a “legitimate rape.”  Really?  Where does one even get these ideas?  It is a similar vein of misinformation that many of the Tea Party people claim.  God help us if these people get into power.  If that isn’t an evil power, I don’t know what is.