Voter Suppression: Don't Let It Happen to You!

Okay, I'm getting serious about this topic of voter suppression. Frankly, it's scary as hell and YOU ought to be worried.

Why?

Because across the country, dozens of political appointees have the power to purge names from the voter rolls because they feel like it. They've learned from the infamous and despicable Katherine Harris (that miserable failure of a pol in Florida) who quashed the Gore recount, after managing to get an unknown but not-insignificant number of voters disqualified from voting.

This is election rigging. This is criminal behavior, folks, a violation of our bedrock principles.

Look for "Steal Back Your Vote," a comic book about voter suppression and how you can fight it. Also, visit my friend Martin Bosworth's excellent blog post about this very issue.

We like to think it can't happen here, but it can and it has. The most ruthless people at the top of the political pyramid do NOT want to lose their gold-plated positions, and they will hold onto power at your expense. They will lie and cheat and betray you... so don't be blind, don't think it can't happen to you.

Be smart, be prepared, and be ready to fight for your rights as a voter.
And remember this number: 1-866-OUR-VOTE. That is the number to call if you see fraud at your polling place or if you are a victim of fraud yourself.

Key points:
1- Don't mail in your ballot (they can be "missed")
2- Vote early as possible, in person
3- Register, then register, then register (verify you're registered here)
4- Do not fill out a provisional ballot; they will NOT be counted, no matter what that sweet little old lady at the polling place tells you
5- Get involved and volunteer
6- Vote with friends (it's harder to turn away a group than a single isolated person)
7- It's not over till it's over; challenge fraud, abuse of process and violations wherever they occur and DO NOT GIVE UP

Don't be a victim. Don't let our political system be a victim. Fight the crime, expose the criminals.
Okay, post's over.

See also:
electoral fraud
caging
booth capturing

One Goodbye and One Hello

Saying Goodbye is Never Fun but Sometimes There's No Choice

A friend of mine was fired from his job in November. Considering how hard he worked at making the business a success, this was little short of stunning. I won't go into the identities and causes of this situation--some of you reading the blog already know them, and to be extremely fair this is only one side of the story--but it leads me to talk about departures and fresh beginnings.

I've cut ties with a local store where I did a lot of business. That's the outcome, and it's been in the works for about a month. I did this because 1) I owe my friend loyalty; 2) I don't want to support business practices that I am led to believe are not honorable; 3) I can do business elsewhere much more easily than I can replace good friends. Number 3 is sort of a subset of number 1, but you see where I'm going.

That's the departure side. The fresh beginning side? A bunch of us are going to a new place. We look forward to socializing just as we always have, realizing that we may have lost a few of our gang along the way, but figure it's a chance to ring in 2008 with something new and different and exciting.

This was written in early December but represents my hopes for a happy 2008. Here's hoping!