KEEPING OUR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Be forewarned that I am feeling compelled to express what weighs most heavily on my mind right now with thoughts on the future of our nation.   Of special interest presently, as I cast my ballot and others vote across the U.S.A.,  is my concern our current nation's leader seems to be continuing to betray our constitutional capitalistic democratic republic.  We would be wise to remember his words and actions the past four years have gradually, chaotically bit by bit seemed to be systematically designed to destroy our trust in our government.

His goal appears to have been to alter our governmental system into what could be described as a capitalistic theocratic autocracy.

Capitalistic because of his strong emphasis on money, but largely for the benefit of himself and an oligarchy of a select number of the most wealthy supporting him, but not the majority of our citizens.

Theocratic because he panders to a religious extremist minority-in-number dedicated to forcing their protestant social beliefs on everybody rather than living in a society tolerant of others that also permits them to practice their own views.

Autocracy because he chooses to dictate everything to everybody, diminishing or eliminating the power of our other branches of government -- legislative, judicial and condemning anyone questioning him including in the fourth estate -- our free press.

Our government system will cease to exist as will freedom for anyone who might think or speak differently from him given his intolerance.

We would be wise to ask ourselves if our President is betraying or violating his oath of office to defend the intent of the country's founders and our constitutional democratic republic.

Is he placing our nation's citizens at risk of losing our democratic republic as one of the founders, Benjamin Franklin cautioned -- "if we could keep it"?  When asked "And why not keep it?"  Franklin responded, "Because the people, on tasting the dish, are always disposed to eat more of it than does them good."  So it is we could lose the freedoms our founders gave us.

While our current leader claims to care about all of the people, quite obviously that is just one more of his documented thousands of lies.   What is really alarming to me is how many people supporting him apparently do not realize what he is doing or don't care.  

Our leader is aided by this backing of the political party he hijacked whose members have failed to learn any of the twenty lessons from the twentieth century Timothy Snyder describes in a few hours of easy-read layman's language in his small paperback book "On Tyranny":

"Timothy Snyder reasons with unparalleled clarity, throwing the past and future into sharp relief.  He has written the rare kind of book that can be read in one sitting but will keep you coming back to help regain your bearings."

This book description is by Masha Gessen who eloquently predicted four years ago what to expect from our new leader then -- it has and is occurring.   Gessen also described how to survive based on experience as a citizen reporter in Russia ultimately perilously dissenting with leadership there before needing to come here and having dual citizenship with the U.S. now.  

A recent Guardian interview includes this statement from Gessen, "I never thought I'd say it, but Trump is worse than Putin".   Gessen went on to say,  "in order to actually survive Trump's attempt at autocracy we have to give up the idea of some imaginary pre-Trumpian normalcy and commit to reinvention.  And that is really what these protests are about."

Trump defies a basic democratic tenet by refusing to state he may not relinquish the office of the President if he is determined not to have been reelected.  This from a person who is in office now having received less than the majority of popular votes in 2016.  He suggests resolution of the 2020 election winner may end up being decided by our Supreme Court, apparently in expectation they will decide in his favor.

I can't help wondering if an earlier election in 2000 with Florida's hanging chads was erroneously given to a Presidential candidate that actually lost the election when our Supreme Court was injected into that process, then chose to decide who would be our President.  The consequences of that decision in subsequent years have been profound in our country and the world.

Preventing a stolen election in 2020 is critical but may not be easy since the Republican Party with the U.S. Senate leader seem complicit in allowing the loss of our democracy as does the Attorney General.  They think they control their President who has seduced them by establishing several of their ideological goals, but when unable to prevent potential takeover if he is reelected, they will find in the following years they've given away our and their democracy and freedoms.

The Republicans have been taken over by a minority-in-number faction of their once proud political party backed by private ultra-wealthy forces but fronted by those claiming to be representative of ordinary people under the guise of the Tea Party nomenclature intended to misleadingly imply a connection to a historical American event.  Reference: Dark Money.

The Supreme Court may be a wild card presently but there is ample reason to be concerned their allegiance for constitutional interpretation will fall on the side of big money, just as it did when they basically concluded corporations were people, unleashing corrupting monies into political campaigns.  The pending appointment replacement for Associate Justice Ginsburg is another factor.   Reference: 'Corporations Are People' Is Built on an Incredible 19th-Century Lie -- "How a farcical series of events in the 1880s produced an enduring and controversial legal precedent."

We citizens must be ever vigilant in order to preserve our freedoms and rights best achieved with our current system of government, not an autocracy led by a dictator.  We must educate ourselves and vote at every election level.  We do need to continue progress toward healthcare as a human right, equality for all, and a more equitable distribution of wealth.  Along the way, we better take action to preserve this planet on which we live or eventually for future generations nothing else will matter.

MOTHER, EDUCATION, VOTING

Periodically I've been writing personal memories for my family so thought I’d share one commemorating my mother.  

Mother was born in nineteenth century United States to educated conservative but progressive farm parents as our agrarian society was becoming industrialized.   We had entered the twentieth century by the time Mother completed the 8^th grade of school.   The Great Lakes State where she lived required those students wanting to attend high school must first pass a specially designed competency test referred to as “the Boxwell exam.”    

  

Mother’s parents encouraged their children who were so inclined to attend high school.   She passed the Boxwell, went off to a town the long-horse-and-buggy days-distance-away from her home to live weekdays with a family in the town where the high school was located.  In return for that family providing her board and room where she stayed while attending classes, she performed housekeeping duties in their home, plus her father paid them a small sum.    

Interestingly, I was able to locate the Boxwell exam's questions in the Ohio State University Library archives.     Here are a few questions with one I chose from each discipline an eighth grader was expected to have mastered.   The student was offered ten question choices in each discipline from which they had to select nine to answer.  

There were no yes/no or multiple choice questions as in many of today’s tests, often recorded on Scantron forms. 

Grammar and Composition:     

Analyze or diagram the following:  Captain Nathan Hale, a brilliant and handsome young man came forward and said, “I wiLL undertake it.”  His Last words were, “I regret that I have but one Life to Lose for my country.”

Orthography: 

7,8,9,10. Spell as the examiner pronounces: Aviator, vigil, Brazil, courtesy, tapestry, grieve, candor, reverie, Japanese, merino, sterile, dissent, refrigerate, justice, suffrage, peppermint.

Geography:

Write a short composition upon any of the following topics: "Raising Corn," "The Amazon Valley," "The Reciprocity Trade of the United States With Canada," “The Panama Canal" or "Our National Congress and Its Work of the Last Year."

Writing:

Write a short selection of poetry or prose from memory as a sample of your penmanship.

Reading:

Read for the examiners. (65%)

Arithmetic:

If ten men can dig a ditch 3.6 rods long, 2 feet deep in 8 days of 9 hours each, in how many days can twelve men dig a ditch 49 rods long and 3 feet deep if the days are only 8 hours long?

United States History including Civil Government:

What is a protective tariff? What is a tariff for revenue? What do you understand by the conservation of our natural resources?

Physiology:

Name the three divisions of the brain, and state the work of each division.                                                                                                                       

Click Boxwell's for a link to more details and questions if you're interested.    

 

Mother spoke of having to memorize all 88 Ohio counties; learning Latin to better understand the roots or relationships to some of our English words, especially scientific and legal ones, but these may have been high school studies.       

Following high school graduation Mother attended Kent Normal School (Kent State University now).  She became a teacher after completing the then required two year program for certification.  Subsequently she taught in a one room school house in her northern Ohio home community.   The experience of teaching all age students through eighth grade together in one room was the practice of the day.

1920 was the first year in which women could vote in the United States following passage of the 19^th Amendment to our Constitution.   My mother became 21 that year, enthusiastically voting in that Presidential election.   She continued to proudly vote in all elections at every level throughout her life.    She cherished educated voting as a hard won right and a citizen's responsibility for living in this free nation.  

After meeting and ultimately marrying my father, they moved to a different area of the State where their family began.   Consequently, her life took quite a different path from that in education due to a variety of reasons, including the later development of unexpected health issues. 

 

Each year that I become older and closer to her age when she departed this earth, I increasingly think of matters I would so enjoy discussing with her now.   This year’s election is one such topic, especially when I read this description of issues in that first 1920’s election in which she voted.  

American Leaders Speak…    “…politicians were arguing…Overseas there were wars and revolutions; at home there were strikes, riots and a growing fear of radicals and terrorists. Disillusionment was in the air…The debate between the nationalistic activism…and the global idealism…”. 

My mother had a very positive outlook on life as she adapted to changing times and circumstances.     She was loving and supportive of our family throughout my life as only a mother can be. 

CALIFORNIA COURTIN'

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Well, it has started – last Friday afternoon (4/22) I received my first 2016 Presidential Primary political phone call – a recorded message from The Donald asking me to vote for him to make America great again.  Isn't that the same day he had a new delegate guru describing how his candidate is evolving to be more presidential?  

I expect many prospective California voters are being called and  many others not formally committed are being contacted, too. That's also why I'll probably hear from all the rest of the candidates -- Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, any others left by June, or newcomers (this crazy year anything is possible).  I can handle this vote-seeking attention just this one year since California likely won't garner such attraction again.  

 

I’ll be interested to see what other candidates I hear from and when, before May 23^rd  -- that’s the date by which California voters must register (if they haven't already), or re-register their political affiliation ((if they want to change), to vote in this Presidential Primary election.  

We will have six party ballots from which to select one, depending on our registration status for this Presidential Primary election June 7, 2016:                      

         

• 3 will be closed to all California voters but those registered members of each respective party                 Republican, Green, Peace and Freedom.

• 3 will be open to all California voters in addition to registered members:  Democratic,  American     Independent, Libertarian 

There’s been some confusion in California with some voters believing they were registering as Independents learning recently they’re actually registered as members of the American Independent party – likely quite opposite political philosophies.   So, state government election officials have hastened to change registration forms to rectify that situation.  Meanwhile, those whose intent was to register as Independents are double-checking their voting status. 

This is a portion of the now corrected California voter registration form:   

                     Political Party                    (Item 14)   

                    ·  The person registering to vote may indicate which (if any) political    

                             party they prefer                
                    · Currently, there are six qualified parties:

                          · American Independent (not to be confused with “independent”

                             voters who do not wish to affiliate with any party); Democratic;

                            Green; Libertarian; Peace and Freedom; Republican

                    ·A person may choose not to state a party preference by marking “No Party

                         Preference”.

                    ·Under current State law, “No Party Preference” voters

                              ·may vote for any candidate for statewide or congressional office.

                              ·may not be able to vote for some candidates in a primary election

                              for President of the United States or party committees

                    

This confusion in California’s registration ballot was not designed to make voter registration more difficult for citizens.   That is unlike some other states where efforts have been made to deliberately complicate the voter registration process -- make it more difficult for some voters to register instead of easier --  under the guise of making it more secure from abuse which has not been documented as even being a problem.  We do need to be able to vote.

(Sorry about any small print as Blogger doesn't seem to be following the regular size print I selected then later tried to correct after finding it had been arbitrarily reduced by the print size troll.)

          

General Election 2010

D i d Y o u V O T E ? ? ?

Don't allow news predictions of election outcomes to deter you from voting, thus making them self-filling prophecies.

Be informed!

One vote can make a difference in an election's outcome.

Votes add up. One voter plus another voter each casting a vote = two votes, plus one more voter casts a third vote, etc.

Typically only 30% to 40% of qualified voters cast a ballot, especially in a Presidential mid-term election year such as this one.

Desired legislative changes affecting each voter's life and this nation's future have a greater potential of being achieved if more people vote.

Not liking the ballot choices is a weak excuse for not voting which betrays a patriot citizen's basic responsibility for the privilege of living in the United States of America.

Every vote is important.

SCROLL DOWN TO CALIFORNIA'S 2010 PRE-ELECTION NOTES.

Will Your Vote Count?

These are exciting times with the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election only a few days away. Many voters have been able to take advantage of early voting and others have already mailed an absentee ballot. Each state seems to have different rules, guidelines or provisions for early voting. For example, here in Los Angeles County where I live there are a very limited number of early voting sites and none very close to my city. When I've listened to news accounts of those voting early in the city to which I would have to go, the lines have been described as long, sometimes requiring standing in line for two or more hours.

Recently I learned the absentee ballots mailed in before the election here in L.A. County California are counted first as I had been concerned about that process. In fact, as someone commented on that matter on another blog in response to my raising that question, their experience working in an election precinct in their home state (unnamed) had been like the concern I described. Absentee ballots were counted last or not at all if the election wasn't close. I just wanted to know my vote got counted if I voted absentee as my husband did for many years.

Especially this year I didn't want my ballot left in a box somewhere that might conveniently "get lost." That former election volunteer writer suggested we each needed to check our own state and county election rules also. We might want to familiarize ourselves with the voting processes and ballot counting where each of us lives since there can be such a variance. Ask your election officials or call the election office just for your own edification, to let them know you are keeping track of what happens to ballots, however and whenever the vote is cast. Also, this information can help us determine exactly how we might want to vote in all future elections, not just important Presidential ones.

Actually, I decided to follow my usual pattern and vote at my designated voting place on the traditional election day, the first Tuesday of November which falls on the 4th this year. I'm curious to see who the election staff is, how efficient the operation is, what the turn out is like when I'm there and what sort of wait I have, if any, before I can enter a voting booth. Rarely ever have I had to wait, and then only five minutes or less at the most.

In L. A. County we use the Ink-a-vote system. We adopted this system after considerable concerns with the reliability of various computer systems. I've been feeling pretty confident this was a wise move until the touch screen computer voting system is determined to be more trust worthy. I'd not read about any major problems with our current temporary Ink-a-vote system, but I just thought I'd look this up on the Internet. This is the informative web site I located which provides information about most states for the purpose of educating the public. VerifiedVotingFoundation.org's mission statement follows:

"The Verified Voting Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization championing reliable and publicly verifiable elections. Founded by Stanford University Computer Science Professor David Dill, the organization supports a requirement for voter-verified paper ballots (VVPBs) on electronic voting machines allowing voters to verify individual permanent records of their ballots and election officials to conduct meaningful recounts. The Verified Voting Foundation is the recognized leader of the nationwide grassroots movement for VVPBs and verifiable elections..."

They have a section about a voting system company "Election Systems and Software" (ES&S) you may be interested to learn states "The company's products can be found in more than 1,700 voting jurisdictions in 47 US states and Canada." Also of interest are some reported malfunctions of their machines in France and New Jersey.

On the VVF site was this section titled "ElectionAudit.org -- The nation's clearinghouse for election audit information."

They revealed the ES&S company is the manufacturer of L.A. County's Ink-a-vote system "...as well as the iVotronic systems that made news in Sarasota, Florida in 2006..." Also of note is the company has submitted a new system for California's approval. VVF's ElectionAudit page notes: "ES&S systems were also considered by Ohio’s study last year, which found a variety of security problems."

I'm not suggesting we will experience voting problems with this 2008 Presidential Election. But I must admit I believe a better part of wisdom is for all voters to make themselves aware of the system in which they cast their votes, how they're tabulated and how any needed recount could accurately be conducted. This may be one source we can access to be informed so our votes in any election do not become disenfranchised by default.