Pumkin Holler Panna

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Urgent Message about Ohio Voter Registration

Folks,
Recently, it has come to light that Kenneth Blackwell, Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio, Bush backer, and current Secretary of State, has recently (October 1st), purged voters from the newly created Ohio centralized voter registration database. Rumor has it though, that the purge may have only been run against those who did not vote "Republican" in the earlier primary election. Why would Blackwell do this? Well, he's currently running somewhere around 15% behind Ted Strickland in the polls for the Governor's race in Ohio. Many other Ohio Republicans are also running behind or are currently in very heated races. If only Republicans get to vote, then maybe only Republicans will be elected. This is a lot easier and safer to do than going around hacking voting machines in traditionally Democratic precincts. So, what can you do to check to see if you've been purged? You can check the central database on the Ohio Secretary of State website. I've already entered my information and found that I'm still registered (note: I am not registered as either Democrat or Republican; I did not vote in the primary election for that very reason). Here is the information straight from the Ohio Secretary of State's website:

Can I check my voter information online?
Yes. You may check your voter information at www.sos.state.oh.us. If you perform a Voter Information search and the information you registered is returned, then your voter registration form has been processed by your county board of elections. If your information is not returned in the search, you may want to contact your county board of elections to check on the status of your registration. You may also be able to check through your county board of elections’ Web site, although not all county boards have a link to the registration files.


Here is a direct link to the "voter information" link:

Ohio Secretary of State Voter Information Search Page

If you don't see any information returned about your voting history, you have been purged. Follow the directions on the website to have your voter registration information updated immediately. It is not too late. You need to do this very quickly though, as fixing this problem on election day will be very difficult and the lines will likely be very long at your county Board of Elections office. If you don't have this problem fixed, you may cast a "provisional ballot". If you do, you must provide valid proof of identification to your board of elections within ten (10) days in order for your vote to be counted.

As you may or may not know, if you are a voter in Ohio, you will be required to provide some form of identification for the first time in the upcoming November election. This may also cause headaches. This tactic will likely be used to target students who are legal residents of Ohio, but who have moved here from out of state. It could however be used to target anyone. Rumor has it that having as much as one number in your address differing from your voter registration information to your ID could be a problem. Bring several forms of ID with you to vote just in case (otherwise you will be relegated to returning for more ID or using the provisional ballot). Here is the officially accepted forms of ID, again from the Secretary of States website:

Acceptable forms of I.D. are:
Bank statements,
Utility bills,
Paychecks and
Any government-issued document showing your current address.
You may also use your Ohio driver's license or Ohio photo I.D. -- even if it shows a previous address.


Just beware of that "even if it shows a previous address" jargon...be sure to bring additional ID if you are in this situation!

Lastly I noticed this tidbit:

Voter Information Searches - Routine Maintenance
Please note: The Polling Place Look-up and the Voter Information Look-up will be undergoing maintenance on Friday, October 20 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. At this time both of these look-up features will not be available. We apologize for any inconvenience.


I have worked for many, many years in IT (information technology) and I can assure you that any system that cost nearly six million dollars to implement probably has decent backup software and and an otherwise robust database system. Why would this matter? Because during "routine maintenance" (including backups), databases still allow information look-ups. However running something like a massive query or data purge operation would be better performed with the database "offline". So...you might just want to check your info on this site again on October 21st.
If anyone has any further information about the "routine maintenance", I would be most interested.

-HBH

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Haiku #1

In the fallow mind
grow the seeds of bigotry
fed by "us" and "them".

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Bush For President...Sam that is!

We had the immense pleasure to see Sam and his band perform live in August in Tennessee.
I'm a hack fiddle and mandolin player myself, so seeing Sam perform was like getting a glimpse of enlightenment.
Then to top it off, we got to talk to Sam quite a bit after the show. I wanted to get a copy of his new CD "Laps in Seven", but unfortunatley, Sam said they had only brought like 1500 with them and had just ran out. Sam and his wife apologized profusely and we talked for quite a while. The apology was unnecessary to me though. I'm just happy that they sold all that they brought. I bought another of Sam's CDs and he signed it instead. I've got to say, Sam and his wife were two of the nicest people I've met in quite a while. I recently bought "Laps in Seven" from his website: Sam Bush Web Page
If you're curious about the title of the album, one day Sam noticed his dog Ozzie drinking from his water bowl in 7/4 time. Sam made up a riff to play along, and pretty soon it was a song and the title for the album.
Anyways, thanks Bald Green Guy, for putting me onto Sam!
Here is Sam and Emmylou Harris doing "The River's Gonna Run",the first track from "Laps in Seven". For all you musicians, Sam is playing a 1938 National resonator mandolin (like a dobro guitar, only its a mandolin) in the video:

Monday, October 02, 2006

Why I must be a Democrat

1) I've never declared war on anybody or anything.
In fact, let me go on the record by saying that if I were to ever declare war on anything, it would be a "war on wars". I would battle valiantly to eradicate warfare. Nothing would stand in my way, as I waged all out attack to destroy and suppress any person or institution which stood in favor of war. But I won't. Killing people is despicable. Declaring war on concepts is just plain silly.
2) I've actually helped people in a time of need.
Must have been my namby-pamby upbringing which has caused me to want to help people in distress. When I hear about whole communities wiped out by tsunamis or entire areas inundated by floods or poor people being starved because someone in charge feels the need to supress them, my first instinct is to want to help them. I guess, unfortunatly for me, my second instinct isn't to try and figure out how to profit from their misery. Sure, sometimes folks need to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps". But in my book, that philosophy assumes that people have footware to start with.
3) I've never worn my religion on my sleeve like a cheap badge to curry favor from someone.
My question to the truly religious folks: what have these people ever really done for you? Sure, they kept your issues in the spotlight, but have they really gotten anything done for you? Now, why not? They have had control of the Executive branch, the House of Representatives and the Senate for five years. They've even tilted the Judicial branch in your favor. Yet, you've got zilch. Why is this? Answer: They don't want to solve those issues...they need them for the next election, so they can trot them out and get you to vote for members of their party again.
4) I'm not in favor of torturing people.
I thought this was common sense. Maybe its somehow related to number 2 above and my namby-pamby upbringing. I guess if you don't like to help people, its just a small step and you can justify hurting people to get what you want. I find it interesting how how torture is justified by dehumanizing the object of the act. I guess its easier to torture animals than people. I thought that was a marker used by criminologist to help identify serial killers, but I could be wrong.
5) I believe in the sanctity of the United States Constitution.
I know its over two hundred years old. You can hardly read the original anymore because the years have not been kind to the ink and paper used. Maybe this is why some people don't believe in it any more. Say what you will about those guys back in the days of the American Revolution, but I find their wisdom still rings true. Plus I really like the way those guys used the language. People, even really smart ones, just don't talk with the grace and elegance used back then. Maybe that's why some people don't like the Constitution also; it makes their heads hurt trying to understand all those big words.
6) I've never exploited children or facilitated someone elses exploitation of children.
I don't have much to say about this...this just repugnant. Icck.

Peace out,
HBH