The Election is a Fiasco Yet Again
I woke up this morning worrying about the rent. Then I remembered that we were electing a new Leader of the Free World. And then I started to worry about more than the rent.
Yes, I know that I said I was politically ambivalent, but that's besides the point. I was interested to see how the voting turned out, to see what people were thinking and if any sort of ballot monkey shines occurred yet again.
I wasn't disappointed.
The Election is, once again, too close to call, with neither stuffed white shirt really winning. The whole thing, again, is boiling down to one state and to "provisional ballots". And that's pretty darned scary.
Tom Brokaw said something about the election process being "broken down." When you think about the fact that it's all boiling down to the "provisional ballots" in one state, and how we might have to wait 11 days to know who won, America, which is supposed to have this whole Election thing down pat, is starting to look like a Third World country. As Brokaw pointed out, we have all sorts of different election reporting systems in different states all across the country. Nothing is uniform. Even in Massachusetts, they're still using paper ballots out in the boonies.
But can high tech adequately replace low tech? If the problems I'm having with my computer are any indication, I'd say no. Crap like pop-up windows and spyware, all the guerilla market-ing and disaffected-loser maliciousness that happens in the high tech world makes it even more suspect than paper ballots thrust into a cardboard box somewhere out in West Jubip.
And why did it take some chick 9 hours plus to vote? If that doesn't smack of Third World-ism, I don't know what does.
This whole thing is a damned pathetic mess, and even though the TV reporters are all over it, all it's doing is giving some girl her 15 minutes of fame. It won't change anything.
And then there's the popular vote vs. The electoral vote. Do we let popularity rule, or do we maintain an elitist system that delegates a particular group of people to direct the votes (supposedly) according to the popular vote (but not necessarily)? I'm not so sure about putting the power directly in the hands of The People, but is the Electoral College still the way to go? A lot has changed since that particular system was put into place, and perhaps some of its tenants need to be revisited.
Ah, but who cares what I think? Like my vote, my opinions, no matter how learned they might be, don't really amount to much in the larger scheme of things. All that Election stuff is decided by People Who Know Better.
So, it's looking like we're stuck with a verbally dyslexic, morally questionable, Alfred E. Newman look alike yet again. Kind of scary, when you think about it.
Yes, I know that I said I was politically ambivalent, but that's besides the point. I was interested to see how the voting turned out, to see what people were thinking and if any sort of ballot monkey shines occurred yet again.
I wasn't disappointed.
The Election is, once again, too close to call, with neither stuffed white shirt really winning. The whole thing, again, is boiling down to one state and to "provisional ballots". And that's pretty darned scary.
Tom Brokaw said something about the election process being "broken down." When you think about the fact that it's all boiling down to the "provisional ballots" in one state, and how we might have to wait 11 days to know who won, America, which is supposed to have this whole Election thing down pat, is starting to look like a Third World country. As Brokaw pointed out, we have all sorts of different election reporting systems in different states all across the country. Nothing is uniform. Even in Massachusetts, they're still using paper ballots out in the boonies.
But can high tech adequately replace low tech? If the problems I'm having with my computer are any indication, I'd say no. Crap like pop-up windows and spyware, all the guerilla market-ing and disaffected-loser maliciousness that happens in the high tech world makes it even more suspect than paper ballots thrust into a cardboard box somewhere out in West Jubip.
And why did it take some chick 9 hours plus to vote? If that doesn't smack of Third World-ism, I don't know what does.
This whole thing is a damned pathetic mess, and even though the TV reporters are all over it, all it's doing is giving some girl her 15 minutes of fame. It won't change anything.
And then there's the popular vote vs. The electoral vote. Do we let popularity rule, or do we maintain an elitist system that delegates a particular group of people to direct the votes (supposedly) according to the popular vote (but not necessarily)? I'm not so sure about putting the power directly in the hands of The People, but is the Electoral College still the way to go? A lot has changed since that particular system was put into place, and perhaps some of its tenants need to be revisited.
Ah, but who cares what I think? Like my vote, my opinions, no matter how learned they might be, don't really amount to much in the larger scheme of things. All that Election stuff is decided by People Who Know Better.
So, it's looking like we're stuck with a verbally dyslexic, morally questionable, Alfred E. Newman look alike yet again. Kind of scary, when you think about it.
posted by Tish Grier at 7:57 AM
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