#all politics is personal

[tigergingicat]

I, an elections official, used this on Tuesday when a young White police officer challenged a Black voter who appeared to be photographing his ballot. I walked over and said, "hey, no need for this, let's have this man and his dad vote and then they can go out into the hall and take a selfie with the sample ballots."

I then walked over to the police officer while I was waiting for the two men and pointed out in a stage whisper that he was supposed to be backing up the election officials, not accusing voters.

I walked out of the room with the man and his dad after they voted and made sure they were okay and offered to take the photo.

And then I called City Hall on Friday and said "I can't tell you the officer's name because *I* wouldn't be anonymous, but perhaps some retraining is in order."

This was in a blue precinct in a blue city in a blue state.

Let's take care of each other.

Take this with you

[tigergingicat]

I am an elections clerk.

I give up two days of the year to be paid less than MA minimum wage (more than US minimum wage) to keep a polling place open for 15 hours. I watch my warden set up the ballot box. I make sure that observers have a place to sit and don't invade the privacy of voters. I make sure the AutoMark is functional. I tell little kids that they can watch their parents vote but can't tell them how to vote. I make sure that I can hear the inspectors repeat back the information proving that they're checking off the correct person on the ballot-received list. I give people "I Voted" stickers and tell them to remind their neighbors to vote.

At the end of the night, the warden and I print out the unofficial results, sign them, and post them for observers. I fill in the tally sheets and hand-count ballots that the machine couldn't read.

And, above all, I make sure no-one in my polling place is trying to coerce another person's vote.

And I am always sad each election because people don't think their vote matters and I might get 10-30% of registered voters turning up.

Your vote matters. If it weren't important for you to vote, I wouldn't be making my little corner of my little purple city safe for you to vote in.

And if the guy who wants to take away your voting rights becomes President, your only hope is that the people in Congress will stop him - and they're on the ballot too.

(There are a bunch of important downballot things in MA this year, BTW. Primaries for those are in September.)

[tigergingicat]

The Electoral College

I'd like to remind all of you that in almost every one of the 50 states, all of the electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state.

Here's a map based on polling showing how electoral votes would most likely be divided if the election were held today (September 21):

If your state is beige, pink, or light blue, your vote is even more essential than if you live in a dark blue state like mine. If you live in a red state, you can change that to pink if there's a large enough turnout for Harris.

Here's a URL to keep checking the predictions:

[tigergingicat]

A New National Anthem

BY ADA LIMÓN

The truth is, I’ve never cared for the National

Anthem. If you think about it, it’s not a good

song. Too high for most of us with “the rockets

red glare” and then there are the bombs.

(Always, always, there is war and bombs.)

Once, I sang it at homecoming and threw

even the tenacious high school band off key.

But the song didn’t mean anything, just a call

to the field, something to get through before

the pummeling of youth. And what of the stanzas

we never sing, the third that mentions “no refuge

could save the hireling and the slave”? Perhaps,

the truth is, every song of this country

has an unsung third stanza, something brutal

snaking underneath us as we blindly sing

the high notes with a beer sloshing in the stands

hoping our team wins. Don’t get me wrong, I do

like the flag, how it undulates in the wind

like water, elemental, and best when it’s humbled,

brought to its knees, clung to by someone who

has lost everything, when it’s not a weapon,

when it flickers, when it folds up so perfectly

you can keep it until it’s needed, until you can

love it again, until the song in your mouth feels

like sustenance, a song where the notes are sung

by even the ageless woods, the short-grass plains,

the Red River Gorge, the fistful of land left

unpoisoned, that song that’s our birthright,

that’s sung in silence when it’s too hard to go on,

that sounds like someone’s rough fingers weaving

into another’s, that sounds like a match being lit

in an endless cave, the song that says my bones

are your bones, and your bones are my bones,

and isn’t that enough?

Ada Limón, "A New National Anthem" from The Carrying. Copyright © 2018 by Ada Limón.

[tigergingicat]

I reduced my hours below 30 in 2013 to make sure I could be home with my kids after school (thank goodness for being able to get health insurance through the MA Health Connector) and found my sanity slowly returning. I've taken on special projects here and there, and I haven't managed to get above 28.5 hours a week even though I only drive in on two days (sometimes one, sometimes three) per week. (Sadly there is no good public transportation between home and there.)

So, yeah, a full-time job is not possible for me. And even with reduced hours, chores are hard.

[tigergingicat]

(This is all for Massachusetts - vote.gov should lead you to information for your own state.)

Today I went to warden and clerk training for the November 7 general election. I asked them to add the URL for checking one's own registration to the polling place signage, and they will, with a QR code!

We will also have extra copies of the Massachusetts Attorney General advisory on the regulations on observing to hand out.

And don't forget to read the ballot questions beforehand, please!

In case you're curious: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 54: ELECTIONS

[tigergingicat]

Biden's speech - see for yourself

Full gift link to the NYT transcript below.

He closed with:

Now the choice is up to you, the American people. When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office, alongside the busts of Dr. King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.

When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the founders have given America a monarchy or a republic, Franklin’s response was: “A republic, if you can keep it.” A republic, if you can keep it. Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands. My fellow Americans, it’s been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years.

Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pa., and in Claymont, Del., one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as the president of the United States, but here I am.

That’s what’s so special about America. We are a nation of promise and possibilities. Of dreamers and doers. Of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. I’ve given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. And I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.

The great thing about America is, here kings and dictators do not rule — the people do. History is in your hands. The power’s in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith — keep the faith — and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there are simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. So let’s act together, preserve our democracy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/us/politics/biden-speech-transcript.html?unlocked_article_code=1.900.Q673.0Px_jexqkpB7&smid=url-share

[tigergingicat]

CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION!

If you arrive and discover you've been marked inactive, and they don't offer to reactivate you, DEMAND to be re-activated on the spot.

I clerked for my city's primary elections yesterday and had a turnout of 111 plus early voters (those were processed at City Hall). My inspectors promptly sent inactive voters over to me for re-activation. I reactivated about a dozen inactive voters who had been deactivated May 7th of this year for not returning their city census - about half of them never remembered receiving it and the other half swore they had sent it back. I also had two wrong addresses and five or so people who had requested a mail-in ballot and not sent it back.

Vote.org is a reasonable place to check but do NOT let them keep your personal information as apparently scammers can then get it.

I invited the sign-holders (all politely standing at the 150-foot line) to leave their signs behind and come observe us close the polls, and they all did.

Massachusetts results if anyone is interested:

[tigergingicat]

Happy election day to my friends and mutuals in the UK! May many of you vote and turn the tide away from fascism.

[i-eat-mass-blog]

people are mad at chappell roan because she pointed that the "lesser than too evils" party and still in fact very evil and we shouldn't let them continue to be evil just because of the other party is more evil

[octarineblues]

supporting communities & people impacted by the Southport attack and the far-right riots in the UK

here is a list of community fundraisers I found, starting with those aiming to support the Southport community after the appalling attack at a children dance party, to the fundraisers helping those affected by the subsequent racist and Islamophobic far-right/nazi riots

Edited on 5 August to include Middlesbrough fundraisers. Edited on 6 August to correct the link on the Books for Spellow Lane fundraiser, to adjust the name change for the Belfast fundraiser, and to adjust the wording in the second last paragraph.

Southport:

Southport Strong Together Appeal - organised by the community foundation for Merseyside, for those affected by the Southport knife attack

United for Southport families - the funds will be distributed among the nine families of the children who were at the party

Swifties for Southport - a fundraiser for the Alder Hey Children's charity, which supports the victims and the affected families, as well as first responders and clinicians. Extra funds will also support the wider Southport community

Fundraiser for the Southport Mosque - a fundraiser to aid rebuilding or possibly re-locating the Southport Mosque after the damages it suffered during the riots

Rebuilding Windsor Mini Mart - fundraiser to rebuild the locally-owned grocery store that was targeted during the attacks, broken into, and looted

Liverpool:

Fundraiser for the Spellow Hub - the Spellow Hub was broken into, looted and set on fire at night during the riots. The Spellow Hub is a newly created one-of-a-kind (in the UK) institution, which consists of a library as well as a community centre with a mission to help people get education and pathways to work

Books for Spellow Lane - another fundraiser for the library in the Spellow Hub, to replace the books and rebuild the library there edit: included the correct link

Hartlepool:

Fundraiser for the Nasir Mosque - the Nasir Mosque was attacked following Southport riots; this fundraiser is organised by Hartlepool citizens to help the mosque deal with the damages as well as to show appreciation for the role of the mosque in the community. edit: the funds will be also distributed to the local community!

Rebuilding the Farm Shop - the shop was targeted during the riots, and when the owner and his son tried to protect it, they were also violently attacked. The fundraiser is to help fix the damages to the store.

Sunderland:

help rebuild Citizens Advice Sunderland offices after arson - two of the Citizens Advice Sunderland offices were set on fire during the riots, and one of them is completely destroyed.

Hull:

Hull Help for Refugees - a local fundraiser to support the Hull Help for Refugees charity, the donated money will be re-distributed to community members affected by the riots

Fundraiser for Hull Help for Refugees and Welcome House in Hull - collected money will be donated to the two charities

Belfast:

help fix racially motivated damages - originally the fundraiser for the Sahara Shisha Cafe which was targeted by the far right in Belfast during the riots, now a fundraiser for all affected businesses in the area. edited to reflect the change of the name of the fundraiser to avoid any confusion

Middlesbrough:

Supporting residents after the riots - Middlesbrough has suffered so much during the riots, lots of businesses as well as just regular family homes were vandalised, had their windows smashed or even were broken into. This fundraiser wants to distribute the funds between affected people to help them fix the damages, and to generally support the local community. the newest fundraiser, imo potentially the most urgent one

Fundraiser for a Care worker's car which was set on fire - a car belonging to an employee of a care agency was set on fire during the riots while he was on shift at a care home.

If you want to donate locally but there is no fundraiser to support where you live, consider donating to your local charities oriented towards Muslim or PoC communities, or towards anti-racist and refugee organizations! And go support your local Muslim/Arab/Black/Asian/Refugee owned businesses!

If you have any information about other local fundraisers, feel free to add to the post or don't hesitate to let me know and I will add them here! We have seen so much hate in the past few days, we have to stay strong and keep supporting each other!

Stay safe everyone 💛

[tigergingicat]

If you vote for Harris, you will prove the New York Times is wrong!

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/podcasts/the-daily/kamala-harris-honeymoon-over.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Jk4.Nnvv.nBhoZwl_Cgk7&smid=url-share

Headline:

The Harris Honeymoon Is Over

Almost 30 percent of voters said they needed to learn more about her.

[tigergingicat]

You can drop your mail-in ballot off at your municipality registrar of voters office any time before 8PM on election day!

[prolibytherium]

I will say I get the vibe that a lot of peoples interest and support for strikers is a bit too much for a vicarious ‘burn it down’ thrill, rather than for the actual goals of a strike.

Like UPS has agreed to come back to the table and it is very possible they will concede to Union demands and avert a strike. And if that happens (so long as the union does not make concessions on its key demands) it’s a good thing. It’s a victory for the laborers. It is the same ultimate conclusion that a strike would intend to produce except without the workers having to go on (not so great) strike pay for a week or two.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

At your side [End of Season 2]

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[tigergingicat]

State of the Union address to Congress, 7th of March 2024:

I think that all of you progressives will find that Biden agrees with you. Get your Congress members to pass the legislation he suggests.

And read the whole thing.