Happy blogger moment

Congratulations, President Obama.

I remember how it felt in 2004, when my candidate lost. I don't wish those feelings on anyone. I can't help being glad Obama won, but I'm not glad my friends who hoped Romney would win are upset. I hope that whatever negativity exists can be turned to a wholesome purpose. ♥

Tired of Florida Voting Debacles

Too many pages

In Miami-Dade the ballot was ten sides (five pages) long. There was a 851,645 person turnout in Miami-Dade. So... early voting notwithstanding, they had to scan 8,516,450 sides. Even if it scans both sides at the same time... we're talking millions of pages being scanned in one night. And the county actually has "more than 1.2 million registered voters… and as many as 829 precincts on Election Day." It's just an insane amount of scanning for one night. The Miami-Date Election Supervisor's office reports that in one of the precincts, the last vote was cast at 1:30 am. I believe this ballot debacle is the reason.

Well, get ready, because it's about to get worse. What they had in Florida last night was just the ballot summary. Starting in 2013, the entire text of the amendment may be on the ballot.

Here is the relevant text of Florida Election Law:

101.56075 Voting methods (4) "By December 31, 2013, all voting systems utilized by voters during a state election shall permit placement on the ballot of the full text of a constitutional amendment or revision containing stricken or underlined text."

101.161 Referenda; ballots (3)(a) Each joint resolution that proposes a constitutional amendment or revision shall include one or more ballot statements set forth in order of priority. Each ballot statement shall consist of a ballot title, by which the measure is commonly referred to or spoken of, not exceeding 15 words in length, and either a ballot summary that describes the chief purpose of the amendment or revision in clear and unambiguous language, or the full text of the amendment or revision. The Department of State shall furnish a designating number pursuant to subsection (2) and the appropriate ballot statement to the supervisor of elections of each county. The ballot statement shall be printed on the ballot after the list of candidates, followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no," and shall be styled in such a manner that a "yes" vote will indicate approval of the amendment or revision and a "no" vote will indicate rejection.

(b)1. Any action for a judicial determination that one or more ballot statements embodied in a joint resolution are defective must be commenced by filing a complaint or petition with the appropriate court within 30 days after the joint resolution is filed with the Secretary of State. The complaint or petition shall assert all grounds for challenge to each ballot statement. Any ground not asserted within 30 days after the joint resolution is filed with the Secretary of State is waived.

2. The court, including any appellate court, shall accord an action described in subparagraph 1. priority over other pending cases and render a decision as expeditiously as possible. If the court finds that all ballot statements embodied in a joint resolution are defective and further appeals are declined, abandoned, or exhausted, unless otherwise provided in the joint resolution, the Attorney General shall, within 10 days, prepare and submit to the Department of State a revised ballot title or ballot summary that corrects the deficiencies identified by the court, and the Department of State shall furnish a designating number and the revised ballot title or ballot summary to the supervisor of elections of each county for placement on the ballot. The court shall retain jurisdiction over challenges to a revised ballot title or ballot summary prepared by the Attorney General, and any challenge to a revised ballot title or ballot summary must be filed within 10 days after a revised ballot title or ballot summary is submitted to the Department of State.

3. A ballot statement that consists of the full text of an amendment or revision shall be presumed to be a clear and unambiguous statement of the substance and effect of the amendment or revision, providing fair notice to the electors of the content of the amendment or revision and sufficiently advising electors of the issue upon which they are to vote.

Contact for further information: Florida Division of Elections Office (850) 245-6200, press 4 for director's office

Polyglot Ballot

Voters in Miami-Dade were also treated to a three-language polyglot ballot (in English, Spanish and Creole). While I have no objection to having alternative language ballots available, was it really necessary to put all three languages on every page of the ballot? Could there not have been an alternative-language ballot? How about separating the language sections so that not ALL pages had to be scanned? According to the Florida Department of State, that decision came straight from the Miami-Dade County Chief Deputy Supervisor of Elections Penelope Townsley, appointed by the Miami city manager.

Citizen's Initiative

We should be working on reforming these issues NOW, not in 2014. As I understand it, that would have to happen by citizen's initiative petition, which looks like a pretty involved process. And are there any initiatives happening now to return the Secretary of State to an elected position? I'm tired of seeing Florida screw up elections.

Headlines I Am Not Reading Today

Even as a candidate, there are things Mr. Romney could be doing to show how his vision for disaster relief would be better than President Obama's. Why isn't he doing any of them? What is he doing instead?

• Romney Rallies Republican Governors to Relieve East Coast Suffering
  
• Romney Holds Fundraiser with Major Donors to Coordinate Donations for Storm Swept East Coast
  
• Romney Rallies Church Communities to Collect Funds for Red Cross
  
• Romney Meets with Republican Leadership to Coordinate Relief for East Coast
  
• Romney Sets Aside Partisanship, Asks How He Can Help
  
• Republican Governors Coordinate Private Relief Efforts for Sandy Sufferers
  
• Romney Suggests Infrastructure Updates for East Coast
  
• Romney and Family Donate Blood at Red Cross Centers, Encourage Everyone to Do the Same.*
  

*h/t LadyEdy

Since when is this ok?

This is a chart of six ads that Mitt Romney has unveiled since the third debate. All of them have been debunked. They are still on the Romney Campaign's YouTube channel and Romney's campaign site. No retraction has been issued for any of them, not even the Chrysler whopper. Since when is this ok?

Air Date	Title of Ad / Claim	Fact check result / site
Oct 23	Apology Tour Claims Obama went on an apology tour	"Obama's quotes have been selectively trimmed for political purposes. Or they were not much different than sentiments expressed by Bush or his secretary of state… Four Pinocchios" WashPo_Fact_Checker
Oct 23	The Clear Path Claims Romney will create 12 million new jobs	Mitt Romney's 'new math' for jobs plan doesn't add up. WashPo_Fact_Checker
Oct 23	Highest Responsibility Claims Navy is smallest since 1917	Obama's Navy has more ships than at any point in the last four years of the Bush administration. Mother_Jones
Oct 28	Who will do more Claims Chrysler is moving Jeep jobs to China.	Message From Sergio Marchionne Regarding Jeep Production: "Chrysler Group's production plans for the Jeep® brand have become the focus of public debate. I feel obliged to unambiguously restate our position: Jeep production will not be moved from the United States to China." Chrysler_Blog
Oct 30	Crushed By Your Policies Pennsylvania-only ad: Claims Romney loves coal	2/6/03: Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney attacks the Salem coal plant for killing people. Youtube
Oct 30	Can't afford another term Claims Obama "gutted the work requirement for welfare."	The Romney campaign has homed in only on the fact that the work requirement could be waived by the government; they haven't spoken to the alternatives governors might offer as a replacement. NBC_News

h/t Steve Benen, TRMS

Update

Since I last blogged, a lot has happened. My husband went to war twice. I gave birth to a beautiful drop of sunshine so now there's a little baby girl in our lives. I got my BA in English. My German has improved so that I'm fairly fluent in everyday conversation, and for things I can't name, I have learned numerous ways to say "that thingy over there," always followed by "bitte!"  

My son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome this year. So now I'm advocating for him, sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time. He's had a heck of a time adjusting to school. I love him so much, and we are so alike. My tears and smiles all have double and triple meanings.

I'v missed home so much I could hardly stand it. I devour news programs, and in reading every bit of news I can find, I've clarified my own politics and my own views. So now I know I am every bit as political as my Dad, and not nearly as libertarian as he was. I'm for women, and workers, and I'm for all the Willy Lomans who, after years of hard work, don't have a thing in the ground.  I wrote something about that and I will share it someday, maybe here.

And now I'm headed back home to the land of Big Gulps, Big Cars and Fast Everything. This is going to be interesting.

10 Things I Miss about the States

10. Seeing new releases when they come out
9. The beach. Any beach.
8. Wendy's, KFC, Taco Bell, & Wal-Mart
7. Not having to "add 30" to convert my clothing size
6. Ice in my drinks without having to ask
5. Stores that are open even on Sat. afternoon & Sunday
4. American commercials (Army propaganda doesn't thrill.)
3. Used book stores with books in English
2. Watching movies in a theater without English subtitles
1. My friends and family

Five things I don't miss about the States

This is a 2-part series about what I do and don't miss about living in the States. Let me know what you think!

5. I don't miss stopsigns on every corner. Yield signs are used more frequently here, so you don't have to come to a complete stop when there's not another car in sight.
4. I don't miss traveling for hours to see family on the holidays. I miss the family, but not the travel.
3. I don't miss all the junk food restaurants (just Wendy's!!)
2. I don't miss Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly, cause they're here. That's what they call news over here on the Armed Forces Network.
1. I don't miss pharmaceutical or feminine hygiene commercials. Not one little bit.

Holidays a-coming in Germany

The title link goes to a page about Christmas markets. I keep hearing, wherever I go, about things you can "only get at Christmastime", like special mulled wines, baked goodies, and all kinds of great crafts to give as gifts or decorate your home with. I haven't been this excited about Christmas since I was a kid.

From what I hear, winter is very cold and very long here. So far, it's not too bad. It's chilly outside, and I am having to buy heavier clothes, mittens, gloves, scarves, etc. I may be a Florida girl, but I can handle this! Maybe I'll change my tune when there's been snow on the ground for a month straight...

Lately the big news is that I am now working for the FRG - Family Readiness Group - for my husband's unit. I volunteered to do a newsletter and web site. I love projects like that. It's part do-gooding and part bully pulpit. Yes, that's right, as editor I get to scout out info that I think is beneficial to me & the families. So far, I'm scrounging up info about how to contact spouses when they are downrange via the American Red Cross, putting together a "watch your budget" kind of thing for the holidays, and assembling an enormous list of places to go for free or cheap in Europe.

Here's the Big Windy link. So far it's just design and placeholders while I figure out what-goes-where. Part of it will have to be password protected for Operational Security. I know... not my call, though. You want to hear something ironic? Eventually that page should live HERE, but nobody seems to know where the domain login/pw is. Army Dorks!@#$!@#$

Richtfest in our village

The title link today points to pictures of a Bavarian/German ceremony John and I were invited to some weeks ago. I did a little research online, and here is what I found out:

The Richtfest (topping out) is a traditional part of any building construction in Germany. As soon as the Rohbau, the shell of the house including the roof structure, is finished, it is decorated with a fir wreath or fir tree and everybody involved with the building gets together for a celebration with lots of drinking and heaps of amazing German food.

This goes back to the traveling Gesellen on the Walz. Carpenters traditionally travelled with their tools and went from site to site looking for work. They labored for months on a project with little time off, and the Richtfest was a suitable time for them to celebrate. It was also the time to move on, because their work on this building had been done and they were supposed to go and find work somewhere else. So apart from celebrating a milestone in the construction of the building, it was also a goodbye party.

The Zimmerman (master carpenter), dressed in the national costume of his trade, traditionally recites an ode to the carpenter. During this he drinks three glasses of champagne, toasting the new owners, the site supervisors, and the workers. He then tosses the empty flutes from the scaffolding, shattering them against the ground. He then places a decorated evergreen tree upon the completed roof. This German ritual is practiced to wish health and prosperity to a building’s future occupants.

If the owner of the building was less than generous and didn’t host an appropriate farewell party, then instead of kind remarks and the raising of a tree, the carpenter would place an upside down broom on top of the roof. This broom served as a statement to all that the host is essentially a pretty cheap guy. According to folklore, if you do not hold a party, it could bring some bad luck upon the facility or hardship upon the family that lives there.

The American equivalent is... well, there isn't one. The framers in the states were typically on the low income side of things, with sunbleached hair and clothes and usually a few missing teeth. They do a lot of hard work in a fairly thankless trade, and I thought it was nice to see their labors celebrated.