voting Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

The Ten Commandments

make no law respecting an establishment of religion

A random dude on Facebook – I didn’t know him – wrote that he read on Facebook that the state of Louisiana is mandating that The Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms. But he didn’t necessarily believe it because it was on Facebook.

Back in my working librarian days, I would fairly often have conversations about media literacy. I’d ask someone for the source of information. They’d say Facebook or Twitter. My follow-up would be, “But what was the source, the reference?”

In any case, when I read the information on Facebook, I already knew about it in newsfeeds from the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, and Newsmax, among others.

The general conversation on that Facebook stream then turned to: “Well, with all of the problems in our schools, this isn’t really that much of a big deal.”

I developed a low-grade headache.

Then I was reminded about something that a couple of people I know IRL have been bugging me about. They believe that civics is not being taught in our schools. What IS civics anyway? It is “a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens.”

Amendment 1

So, citizens, there’s a thing called the Constitution of the United States! It replaced something called the Articles of Confederation, the nation’s first framework, effective March 4, 1789.

But the critics of the Constitution wanted more guardrails. Constitutional supporters agreed to create a Bill of Rights “which consists of 10 amendments that were added to the Constitution in 1791.”

The First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Ah, but you note that it was a Louisiana STATE law that imposed the Ten Commandments. However, the Supreme Court has “interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments.”

Requiring classrooms to display the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments reeks of the state of Louisiana establishing religion, this old poli sci major and Christian will tell you. Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) makes this clear. “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses.”

Of course

So naturally, the presumptive Republican nominee for President supports it. Per Newsmax: “‘Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal’? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible,’ Trump said at the gathering of the Faith & Freedom Coalition [on June 22]. ‘They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.'”’

Conversely, Austin, TX pastor Zach Lambert notes: “If your version of Christianity wants to put the Ten Commandments in schools but take free lunch out of them, you are worshipping something other than Jesus.”

Read the fuzzy argument that Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public education, Ryan Walters, makes in requiring all public schools to teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments.

Getting back to civics

I worry about how the “rights and duties of citizens” are being abridged. In recent years, being able to serve on a jury, serving as an election poll watcher, and even the very right to vote, have been threatened. When I wrote that I would have served on a particular jury, it wasn’t because I would have wanted to; it’s because a citizen has an obligation, so the external threats are unAmerican. Poll watcher intimidation is unAmerican. Wholesale purging of voter rolls: unAmerican.

As we celebrate the 4th of July, let us remember the preamble of the Constitution, a direct result of the Revolutionary War fervor. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Then we need to act as though it were true.

Primary day voting 2024

closed primary

Yikes! Primary Day Voting 2024 is coming up. In fact, early voting started on June 15 and runs through Sunday, June 23 at limited designated locations such as the county Board of Elections. Then, the polls will be open in New York State from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the usual locations.

I’m a registered Democrat, and unlike some states, in New York, only registered members of a political party may vote in that party’s selection process.

Albany Family Court Judge

One can vote for up to three candidates out of the five people running: attorneys Jaime Czajka, Jillian Faison, Jeffrey Jamison, and Jasper Mills as well as Judge Ricja Rice. It’s a bit humorous that a recent Times Union article about the candidates gave basic biographical information about the three women running but excoriated the two men.

In an endorsement article: “Mr. Mills, who in recent years — and as recently as last week — has found himself mired in significant controversy connected to his judgment and job performance.

“Last week, Mr. Mills found himself in the awkward position of being told by a judge in open court that he should probably stop talking as he tried to explain how the identity of a witness in a murder case in which he is a member of the defense team might have been revealed by his staggeringly bad decision to leave a discovery document in open view in a conference room.” The earlier blunder was equally stupid.

“As for Mr. Jamison, who serves as counsel to the office of Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, he recently made news for advising a co-worker arrested for DUI to turn down a sobriety test and then stayed silent as Mr. McCoy lied to the Times Union’s Brendan Lyons about the events of that evening. ” His “faulty” memory in a 2009 situation was arguably worse.

I’m voting for the women.

Albany County District Attorney

David Soares was a fresh and energetic face in 2004 when he first ran for DA and won. Lee Kindlon is a well-known defense attorney. I watched their debate on Spectrum News and enjoyed the interplay, in part because Kindlon genuinely seems to like Soares, noting that Lee shoveled David’sd sidewalks a few years ago when Soares was having some medical issues.

Soares disliked everything the state legislature passed regarding law enforcement, notably the Raise The Age provision passed in 2018. Kindlon was more likely to work with whatever the parameters of the legal system were. I received a mailing in which he noted that he was a Judge Advocate in the Marines.

The Times Union endorsed Kindlon, noting, “The David Soares running in 2024 is not the David Soares we endorsed in 2012 [against Kindlon], much less the bold reformer who in 2004 ran on his opposition to New York’s draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws. While some people grow in their jobs, others stagnate. In Mr. Soares’ case, we’ve seen his views harden into arrogance, and his management of the office has over the course of his fourth term descended into scandal with disturbing frequency.”

I’m inclined to vote for Kindlon, who has the Working Families Party endorsement, but I could be persuaded otherwise.

109th Assembly District, NY State Legislature

Pat Fahy, the incumbent in the 109th A.D., is running for the NY State Senate. Incidentally, I saw her at the Juneteenth celebration at the Underground Railroad Education Center on Saturday, June 15.

This means that SIX candidates are vying for the seat. In the order in which they appear on the ballot:

Gabriella A. Romero, member of the Albany Common Council for the 6th Ward, around Lark Street. I received more mailings from her campaign than any other. Hers are also the most creative, with one with a color-by-number wildflowers of New York. She’s endorsed by the Working Families Party and supports a “people-first policy,” including affordable housing, “great-paying union jobs, climate resistance & lower utility bills.” She was at the UREC event but I never had a chance to speak with her.

Owusu B. Anane, Common Council for the 10th Ward, leans into his personal bio. His family couldn’t afford housing in New York and had to move back to Ghana. They made it back, he was an all-state running back, then became a coach and special needs teacher. One mailing features one of his former students and his mom, with her quote, “He believed in him as much as I do, and that made all the difference.”

Ginny Farrell. Common Council for the 13th wArd, my ward, and the body’s majority leader. The Times Union endorsement notes her 12 years of work in the Assembly, and her service on the Albany Board of Education, as president, vice president, and secretary, advocating for “the contentious $180 million renovation and modernization of Albany High School. It was work that required making dozens of presentations across the city and talking to hundreds of people to sell them on a costly but essential project that required two citywide votes to win approval.”

Also

Dustin M. Reidy, Albany County Legislator for District 30 is also the campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko. Someone from the SEIU union came to my door touting Reidy’s labor bona fides. He favored choice, seniors, gun control, and diversity in the four mailings he sent.

Andrew C. Joyce is the 9th District representative in the Albany County Legislature, a body he chaired until the beginning of the year. He’s also an intelligence analyst for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and a major in the New York Army National Guard. Public safety is a major priority.

Jack Flynn, the 8th Ward Albany Common Council member is a former Albany County Democratic chairman and a state Senate employee. He declined to meet with the Times Union editorial board, and I did not receive any literature from him. From someone’s Facebook page, I’ve seen a mailing noting that he’s the only person refusing public funding for his campaign.

I’m considering four of the candidates. What sayeth thou, 109th A.D.?

I voted in the Presidential primary

vote with your heart

**This is for Jefferson County in upstate NYS, but the format is the same as what I saw.**

On Tuesday, April 2, I voted in the Presidential primary. In New York State, we have a closed system. Democrats and Republicans can only participate in their respective party primaries. Those in other parties or not enrolled in a party, often called independents, cannot vote in either of those parties’ primaries.

In many other states, it’s advantageous to be independent, but in my state, one wants to be a Democrat or Republican because there are more chances to vote. And I ALWAYS vote, in large part because people have long denied the franchise. I feel an obligation to my ancestors.

I am a registered Democrat. My ballot had three choices: incumbent Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson, and Rep. Dean Phillips (MN). I voted for Phillips, whose “adoptive paternal grandmother Pauline Phillips was the author of the advice column ‘Dear Abby,’ under the pen name Abigail Van Buren.” After Super Tuesday, he dropped out of the race on March 6, though his site was still up as of April 3. Biden became the presumptive nominee by March 13..

Phillips’ fundamental pitch was that Biden was acceptable, but we needed a younger guy – Philips was born in 1969 – and he unsuccessfully urged others to get into the fray. I agreed with him about this. Neither Phillips nor Williamson had delegates to vote for; I voted for one of Bden’s.

Strategic voting

Much has been made of Democrats voting with blank ballots. In New York, it’s much the same as what happened in Michigan, Minnesota, and elsewhere over the administration’s policies in the Israel/Gaza war.

Is this a new thing?

For decades, I’ve believed you should vote with your heart in the primary and with your head in the general election. In the 1972 primary, the first time I could vote in the Presidential race, I cast a blank ballot because Shirley Chisholm was not on the roster in my Congressional district. Then, I voted for George McGovern in the general election.

In 2020, I voted for Elizabeth Warren, although Biden was the presumptive nominee by then. Then, I voted for Biden in the general election.

Polling

I don’t make political predictions; I’m not good at them. (I had Arthur attempt some back in December 2023.) The pundits muse about what the protest vote in the spring will mean in November. I have no idea.

Increasingly, I don’t think “they” know either. James Rosen, a former political reporter for McClatchy, wrote in the Boston Globe about why polling is so often wrong.

“The problems with political polls are multiple:

The dominance of cell phones and caller ID programs on landlines has made what statisticians call the “response rate” plummet.
There are too many political pollsters conducting too many polls.
The internet, with its voracious appetite and greatly expanded space for new information, no matter how incremental, has made some political journalists less discriminating and fueled more questionable polling.”

Pick and choose

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., said in an interview on CBS News’ Face The Nation that Biden is a “cafeteria Catholic” who “picks and chooses” which parts of Catholicism he will adhere to. Gregory was speaking specifically about abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, which Biden has championed.

I’ve read that for decades, the vast majority of U.S. Catholics believe using artificial birth control is moral, despite church teaching to the contrary. My old denomination, the United Methodist Church, has ruptured “over issues of sexuality and authority.” In my experience, many people of faith create their own theology, to quote an old Unitarian friend.

Meanwhile, the Great Trumpkin – a term used by the Boston Globe -claims that Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, will be “Christian Visibility Day.” Apparently, he believes selling a $59.95 Bible is a qualifying event.

Or, as many Christians believe, “It is a bankrupt Christianity that sees a demagogue co-opting our faith and even our holy scriptures for the sake of his own pursuit of power and praise him for it rather than insist that we refuse to allow our sacred faith and scriptures to become a mouthpiece for an empire,” said Rev. Benjamin Cremer on X.

There’s a column in the Los Angeles Times, probably behind a paywall: I spent 24 hours on Trump’s Truth Social. No wonder it’s tanking. “The Truth Social feed I experienced was a mix of swaggering gun talk, typo-filled Bible scripture, violent Biden bashing, nonsensical conspiracy theories, and more misguided memes about Jan. 6 ‘hostages,’ trans satanists, and murderous migrants than anyone should be subjected to in one day. Or ever.”

Dec. rambling: Happiness Campaign

FFAPL book reviews now two hours later

Thoughts and prayers

A Viral Dance and ‘Happiness Campaign’ Frustrates Iran’s Clerics:

It all started when a 70-year-old fish market stall owner nicknamed “Booghy” was grooving in public in violation of Iranian law.

Elon Musk and Freight Trains: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Those University Presidents

COVID isn’t over: “Globally, the number of new cases increased by 52% during the 28-day period of 20 November to 17 December 2023 as compared to the previous 28-day period.” In the US, “SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has continued to mutate and spread. The latest strain to attract attention is called JN.1, and so far, it appears to be highly transmissible.” I’ve known several IRL people who’ve gotten COVID this fall. My sister in SoCal told of one of her choirs in which almost 50% had to bail from a concert because of various respiratory ailments. BTW, I got my most recent shot in October 2023.

Kindness Doesn’t Have a Billable Code— But it’s a key part of patient care.

My questions to Ask Arthur 2023: Get here from there; measuring and measured.

The loneliest miser

Just how rich were the McCallisters in ‘Home Alone’? Fans have been debating the family’s wealth for years. We asked the Federal Reserve for answers.

Mais non?

France did not always speak French.

8 Demonyms That’ll Leave You Shaking Your Head

Opinion: The simple explanation for the changes at ‘Jeopardy!’ and Ken Jennings on Mayim Bialik’s Exit and His Own ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ Host Approach

Tom Smothers, Half of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Duo, Dies at 86. I watched the Smothers Brothers show on CBS religiously.

Mbongeni Ngema, Renowned South African Playwright and Creator of ‘Sarafina!,’ Dies at 68

Lee Sun-Kyun, ‘Parasite’ Actor, Dies at 48

‘The Gilded Age’ Stars Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon on Their On- and Off-Screen Relationship. My wife is currently bingeing on Season 1 of this program. BTW, the building in the background of the photo is my church!

Now I Know: The Smutty History of the Pixar Logo’s Older Cousin and The Town That Raged Against Rage Against the Machine and There Weren’t Skeletons In His Closet and The Silent, Stickless Award Show Protest

Tuesday, Dec 26, 2023. I’ve got five more since.

Voting in even years

On September 20, I complained in this blog about a bill passed by the New York State legislature that would mandate many local elections to be held in even years. There was bipartisan opposition from the Albany County Board Of Elections on the bill (Times Union, Nov 27): “Republicans and the New York State Association of Counties have generally mounted the main pushback against the legislation, raising concerns that traditional attention on local races will be drowned out by races for president, Congress or governor…”

The TU editorialized against it (Dec 3): “More people may cast a local vote as long as they’re in the voting booth, but those local races may just as likely get lost in the information overload of a considerably more crowded ballot. And the bread-and-butter local issues behind those races may get drowned out in the hyperpartisan, hot-button din of state or federal elections.”

To my great disappointment, Governor Kathy Hochul signed it (TU. Dec 23). “Hochul described the controversial measure as a ‘significant step towards expanding access to the ballot box and promoting a more inclusive democracy,’ but she also chose to sign it on a Friday evening, three days before Christmas. “

Friends and Foundation Book Talks move to Tuesdays at Two!

The FFAPL book talks at the Washington Avenue branch of the APL are moving from noon to 2 pm starting in 2024. The speakers in January:

January 2 | Book Review | The Democrat Party Hates America by Mark R. Levin. Reviewer: Frank S. Robinson, JD, philosopher, author, & blogger.

January 9 | Book Review | Prequel: An American Fight against Fascism by Rachel Maddow. Reviewer: Roger O. Green, MLS, retired librarian, NY Small Business Development Center, & current board member, FFAPL.

January 16 | Book Review | Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant. Reviewer: Jonathan Skinner, PhD, retired statistician & amateur classicist.

January 23 | Author Talk | Paul T. Murray, professor emeritus at Siena College, discusses & reads from his book, Seeing Jesus in the Eyes of the Oppressed: A History of Franciscans Working for Peace and Justice.

January 30 | Book Review | Best Remembered Poems by Martin Gardner. Reviewers: Joe Krausman, poet; Gene Damm, former journalist; & Jonathan Skinner, amateur classicist & retired statistician.

Chicken

Newsmax writes: “Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is poised to declare “war” over proposed legislation in New York that would force some Chick-fil-A restaurants to open on Sundays, a move that would run afoul of the company’s policy since it opened in 1946.” Except that the story is grossly misleading.

VerifyThis notes: No, a New York bill wouldn’t force current Chick-fil-A rest stop locations to open on Sunday. “The bill requires all restaurants at certain rest stops to remain open seven days a week, including Chick-fil-A. But it only applies to future restaurant contracts.”

Frankly, I never understood why the Thruway authority offered contracts to an entity they knew would be closed on part of the weekend.

MUSIC

Kodachrome – Joshua Lee Turner

Coverville 1470 and 1471: The 2023 Coverville Countdown

THR’s The 10 Best Songs of 2023

J. Eric Smith’s Best Albums of 2023

Laura Lynch, Founding Member of The Dixie Chicks, Dies at 65

The eighth class of artists was announced for the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame.

News stories I’m not commenting on (much)

Disenfranchisement in Virginia

There are lots of news stories I’m following. But some I’m not commenting on (much) because I don’t know what to say that others haven’t said. Or that I haven’t said before.

ITEM: The shooting of three children and three adults at a Presbyterian church school in Nashville, TN. What can I say that I didn’t write about Sandy Hook or Parkland – undoubtedly more than once?

Friend Chuck noted regarding his weekly musical playlist, “This is an edited – and sadly, updated – broadcast from May 2022.” Because, as I saw in a Boston Globe headline, these repeated, repeated, repeated headlines – only the names and places change -risk making us numb to the madness.

I will note that “solving the mental health crisis” is an objectively good thing but a damn difficult thing to achieve. When a Denver, CO, high school student was searched for weapons, he shot two administrators. He fled the scene and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Interesting fact: “From 1980 to 2021, the US automobile fatality rate declined by 64%. From 2000 to 2021, American gun deaths increased by 56%.” We CAN do something. Bring back the 1994-2004 assault weapons ban. It’s not THE answer, but it is AN answer.

I won’t even get into the obviously bogus transphobia that spinners of the Nashville story have tried to insert.

Orange crush

ITEM: djt was indicted. I’m not jumping up and down for joy. For one thing, it’s merely an indictment. For another, I’m more interested in other possible indictments, which on the surface, appear to be more substantial cases about more significant wrongdoing, such as the attempt to manipulate the 2020 Presidential election in Georgia or fomenting insurrection on January 6.

SO many people pointed out that the government got mobster Al Capone for tax fraud.

Maybe I’ll do a happy dance if djt is CONVICTED of something. Still, I don’t mind if the New York Post calls him Bat Hit Crazy.

ITEM: Virginia now has the harshest felony disenfranchisement voting regime in America. Thanks to Gov. Glenn Younkin, a Republican as though you couldn’t guess, Jim Crow is back! Depressing but unsurprising.

ITEM: “They banned Dolly Parton: Republicans want the dumbest parent at the school to control the curriculum.” The conventional wisdom is that people my age should become more conservative. But as the stories – some of which are linked in the story, such as banning a banning a movie about Ruby Bridges – get more inane…

ITEM: I LOVE how the Disney folks outmaneuvered the board that Governor Ron DeSatan, oops, I mean Desantis (R-FL) imposed on the company’s special district. “The agreement restricting the new board’s rights is ‘in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England living as of the date of this Declaration.'” And it is such an arcane maneuver that I laughed out loud when I read about it.

ITEM: Baseball season is here. As someone who still dislikes the designated hitter (instituted in 1973) and DESPISES the rule putting a runner on second base in extra-inning games(instituted in 2020), I find that I LIKE the pitcher/batter clock that was instituted in MLB spring training.