Ok, call me a Scrooge, but it seems to me that if you cannot follow simple directions, the same directions our children follow in tests at school, then maybe you are too dumb to vote.

Take where I voted, King County, Washington.

It was a simple ballot, just find the person you want to vote for and fill in the circle next to their name. Easy as pie, right? In the case of the Governors election, it clearly said to vote for one person. Just one. One. One…..

And they even have people there at the polling place, to answer your questions.

So while watching the local video footage of the hand recount, you would not believe how many ballots were rejected for being an “over vote”, or having too many people selected. They would vote for both candidates, or vote for one and write someone elses name in the write in spot….I was also amazed how many people think a “x” makes the circle completely filled in.

No offense, but this is pure ignorance.

As the recount goes to court (again), I wonder why the Government has to try so hard to allow people’s votes to count when they clearly didn’t follow simple instructions that a 10 year old can easily understand? What happened to a sense of responsibility for the privilege of voting?

And make no mistake, voting is not a right, it is a privilege.

So why is it the Governments responsibility to protect your ballot from your own mistakes?

Darwin’s theory of natural selection suggests that the strongest survive and this strengthens the species.

Wonder if it works for the smartest?

One final quote:

Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ok, call me a Scrooge, but it seems to me that if you cannot follow simple directions, the same directions our children follow in tests at school, then maybe you are too dumb to vote.

Take where I voted, King County, Washington.

It was a simple ballot, just find the person you want to vote for and fill in the circle next to their name. Easy as pie, right? In the case of the Governors election, it clearly said to vote for one person. Just one. One. One…..

And they even have people there at the polling place, to answer your questions.

So while watching the local video footage of the hand recount, you would not believe how many ballots were rejected for being an “over vote”, or having too many people selected. They would vote for both candidates, or vote for one and write someone elses name in the write in spot….I was also amazed how many people think a “x” makes the circle completely filled in.

No offense, but this is pure ignorance.

As the recount goes to court (again), I wonder why the Government has to try so hard to allow people’s votes to count when they clearly didn’t follow simple instructions that a 10 year old can easily understand? What happened to a sense of responsibility for the privilege of voting?

And make no mistake, voting is not a right, it is a privilege.

So why is it the Governments responsibility to protect your ballot from your own mistakes?

Darwin’s theory of natural selection suggests that the strongest survive and this strengthens the species.

Wonder if it works for the smartest?

One final quote:

Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christmas is a time of surprises. From the smallest child looking with awe at a stocking filled with candy, to the adult who opens a gift from a loved one that was just right, there are all manner of surprises we experience each holiday season.

But what about when Christmas itself is a surprise?

For the last couple years my mom has been living with my sister in California, while she struggles against lung cancer. I called my mom today, to wish her a happy birthday. Something she said in casual conversation made me pause.

She was talking about adoctors visit earlier this week, her first in 3 months. She has been responding well to Chemo, and they had decided to skip it for a couple months.

The results this week were very positive, and she will apparantly be skipping Chemo for another 3 months.

So while we were dicussing this, she mentioned, as she has before, that she basicially ignores birthdays. But she also said, that this one, and Christmas itself this year, felt just a little strange.

You see, last year at this time, she was fairly convinced she would not see this birthday or this Christmas.

So for her, its not presents or visitors or food that makes her Christmas a surprise, its being here to see it at all.

Its just another reminder for me that Christmas isn’t about trees and lights or about music and pagents. Its not just food and candy, and presents and gifts.

This year, its about living, and its about love. Its about rejoicing just to be able to have the ability to rejoice.

I just wanted to pass that on.

Karl

Christmas is a time of surprises. From the smallest child looking with awe at a stocking filled with candy, to the adult who opens a gift from a loved one that was just right, there are all manner of surprises we experience each holiday season.

But what about when Christmas itself is a surprise?

For the last couple years my mom has been living with my sister in California, while she struggles against lung cancer. I called my mom today, to wish her a happy birthday. Something she said in casual conversation made me pause.

She was talking about adoctors visit earlier this week, her first in 3 months. She has been responding well to Chemo, and they had decided to skip it for a couple months.

The results this week were very positive, and she will apparantly be skipping Chemo for another 3 months.

So while we were dicussing this, she mentioned, as she has before, that she basicially ignores birthdays. But she also said, that this one, and Christmas itself this year, felt just a little strange.

You see, last year at this time, she was fairly convinced she would not see this birthday or this Christmas.

So for her, its not presents or visitors or food that makes her Christmas a surprise, its being here to see it at all.

Its just another reminder for me that Christmas isn’t about trees and lights or about music and pagents. Its not just food and candy, and presents and gifts.

This year, its about living, and its about love. Its about rejoicing just to be able to have the ability to rejoice.

I just wanted to pass that on.

Karl

So the election madness in Washington continues.

Today it was reported that the Canvassing board for King County was reviewing a bunch of ballots as a part of the hand recount for the Governor’s race.

One of the ballots, #81, was a write in candiate for Christine Rossi. For those not local, the election at contest is the Governor’s office, between Christine Gregoire (d) and Dino Rossi (r).

Apparantly one of two things happened: Either the voter was expressing his indecision by merging the names, or someone in the state named Christine Rossi just got a vote (and there are several people names that in the Puget sound area).

Happily, our canvassing board, two Democrats and one Republican, decided they needed to determine the Voter intent and after careful deliberation, they award the ballot to Christine Gregoire.

I am sure, completely confident that the fact that Gregoire is trailing in the election, and that the canvassing board has a majority of Democrats on it is pure coincidence.

Christine and the Democrats of Washington State have learned their lesson straight from the pages of Al Gore’s “win at all costs” manual: Keep counting till you get the result you want.

We need to find Christine Rossi and let her know she was just disenfranchised.

So the election madness in Washington continues.

Today it was reported that the Canvassing board for King County was reviewing a bunch of ballots as a part of the hand recount for the Governor’s race.

One of the ballots, #81, was a write in candiate for Christine Rossi. For those not local, the election at contest is the Governor’s office, between Christine Gregoire (d) and Dino Rossi (r).

Apparantly one of two things happened: Either the voter was expressing his indecision by merging the names, or someone in the state named Christine Rossi just got a vote (and there are several people names that in the Puget sound area).

Happily, our canvassing board, two Democrats and one Republican, decided they needed to determine the Voter intent and after careful deliberation, they award the ballot to Christine Gregoire.

I am sure, completely confident that the fact that Gregoire is trailing in the election, and that the canvassing board has a majority of Democrats on it is pure coincidence.

Christine and the Democrats of Washington State have learned their lesson straight from the pages of Al Gore’s “win at all costs” manual: Keep counting till you get the result you want.

We need to find Christine Rossi and let her know she was just disenfranchised.

Yesterday I posted a letter from a guy in Iraq, and the responses were
mostly what I had hoped for.

I tried to keep all editorializing out of that post, only asking for support of the people, not support necessarily for the war.

The person who wrote it wanted, I think, to paint a multi layered image: the grim harshness of war, the toll on the people, a clear picture of the people there, a clear image of the enemy and the resolution and determination they feel for their effort.

Most responses indicated people got it:

I want to thank you for sharing this with us!!! It really opened my eyes!! My husband is in Iraq right now, and now I understand while he was home on his R & R, he was a changed man. I tried to understand some of the things he talked about, tried to respect the things he didn’t want to talk about and just tried to go about a normal day while he was home. Now, after reading this, I really understand some of the things he is going through over there. He has said one thing to me, that is in this letter also…..It is worth our military being over there. He said it feels so good knowing that he is helping other human beings gain the same rights we enjoy. Again, thank you for sharing this!!!

Another said:

I will be praying for our troops this holiday season, its tough to be gone for the holidays hoping everyday your life back home hasn’t fallen apart, that you still have a wife and your kids are alive and all along someone is trying to kill you, but you gotta go on, gotta do your duty, your life as well as many others depend on it.

Another–

Good Post Karl.. It is an eye opener as I have never really talked to asoldier who has experienced this first hand except for a step son and he was only there for a short period and didnot actually participate in the war itself… He had a really safe job there thank God. God Bless Them All.