Ohio Election 2006: Get Ready for More Shenanigans

I couldn't wait to post this until tomorrow, so I'm taking my lunch break to post this NOW. Apparently, Ken Blackwell is at it again in Ohio. This time, he's purged voter rolls. On October 1st, letters went out to places like apartments, universities, etc. with high turnover, stating that if you did not respond or take action, you'd be removed from the voter rolls. So, thousands of people could show up to their assigned polling place, only to be told they weren't registered, thereby forcing them to use provisional ballots...which aren't counted accurately (if at all, if you ask me).

There are some people trying to take legal action, but it's not looking good. An injunction from a federal court judge would be needed to reinstate all of the voters who have been purged from the system. We are running out of time! And I swear, if I get told I'm not registered to vote at my location, Blackwell will be getting some serious complaints from me. If there are going to be any protests, sign me up, because he has taken away one of our most sacred rights as citizens of the United States, the right to vote and have it be counted fairly.

Tags: politics, election, mid-term election, Ohio, voting, voters

Republicans to Lose Power? I'll Believe It When I See It.

The latest poll from MSNBC and The Wall Street Journal shows that people are generally pissed off with the Republican party. Bush's approval rating is 38%, and the disapproval rating for Congress is 84% (only 16% approval). That spells bad news for the current majority party, methinks...heh heh heh. :) Not that Democrats are highly favored either, but people just want a change. It's about damn time!

Why am I not more excited? Well, with the 2004 elections being fixed in Ohio, I am wondering what Karl Rove has up his sleeve to protect his precious president from being impeached. Because you know he will be if the Democrats get control of both the House and Senate. But then, that'd leave us with Cheney as our president...and I don't know which is worse, him or Bush. Could we just impeach both of them? Then we'd get the Speaker of the House, who will more than likely be a Democrat (the House has a better chance of changing power than the Senate). Woo hoo! I can dream, can't I? :)

Tags: election, mid-term election, republican, democrat, Bush, Cheney, approval ratings, congress, house, senate

The Blame Game and North Korea

Yesterday morning as I was watching the Today Show, getting ready to go to work, I watched Senator John McCain officially go over to the Dark Side. It was really all I could do not to jump through the TV set and slap him upside the head. I mean, here we are presented with the ginormous problem of North Korea detonating a nuclear bomb underground, and this man has the gaul to blame the Clinton administration for the "failed" North Korea diplomacy? While I'm sure that there is at least some blame to be laid on the Clinton administration, there's enough of it to go around for both the past administration and this current one.

And really, the problem isn't who to blame. It's the fact that, oh, I don't know...North Korea has the capability to produce a nuclear bomb, and that they are threatening to use force! What?!? How did it get to this? Oh yeah, we never really paid much attention until now. So maybe, we should be pointing fingers, because perhaps if we hadn't marched into Iraq thinking we'd be greeted with flowers 4 years ago, we might have paid more attention to this. Then again, we probably wouldn't have paid any attention to them, simply because they're not sitting on an oil reserve we want so desperately to control.

For us to refuse negotiations is simply outrageous. China and Japan do have more at stake, but so do we if they ever develop that missile that could reach the western shores of the United States. But wait, it's like all potential problems with this government. We don't really worry about them until it's too late (Katrina, 9/11 - and yes, I do blame this administration for basically letting it happen). What will it take, a nuclear missile headed in our direction for anyone to do anything? I certainly hope not, because nuclear armageddon is not something anyone should ever have to face, not even the worst of the human race.

Okay, so maybe I'm being melodramatic. I can't help it. I feel like the world is falling apart, and my own little world is starting to crumble as well. My job is getting worse everyday, my relationship is for all intents and purposes over, my grandfather passed away not too long ago, and winter (my most dreaded season) is on its way. Granted, my house hasn't burned down (my cousin's wife's brother's house did...total loss), so maybe I should just keep that thought in my mind when it feels like nothing's going right. Something else could go wrong, but I certainly hope not.

Tags: North Korea, politics, Bush, Clinton, nuclear, democrat, republican

I Hate Political Ads

I know hate is a strong word, but I really do hate political ads. We are bombarded with them from now until Nov. 7. You can't get away from them, unless you have Tivo, which I do (hooray for me!). I live in Ohio, and I don't think I have to tell anyone how bitter the fight between Mike Dewine (Republican) and Sherrod Brown (Democrat) is for the Senate seat. For the first time in a long time, we might actually have a Democrat in the Senate. That would be sweet, from my point of view.

And then there's the governor's race between Ken Blackwell (Republican), who I would never vote for in a million years, and Ted Strickland (Democrat). Right now, it looks like Strickland might win (hooray again!). But with the mud slinging that's going on, who knows?

All I know is that my Tivo remote might get worn out from fast forwarding through as many political ads as I can, and not just the ones attacking the candidates I favor. There's only so much negative ad campaigning I can take, and this year is going to be one of the worst in recent history, according to many commentators. It's going to be a long 8 weeks, I think. Heaven help us all.