The Election Without End
11/27/00

This page is on probation!
Cast your vote letting me know whether you prefer to resume the discussion, resume but with even tighter editing, to do away with the topic altogether, or to kill the topic and stay away from contentious subjects in the future.
(Actually, I can't promise to be very good about the latter; I enjoy contentious topics).

  • 12/08  2:26pm   I say dump the political page. It is obvious that the posts aren't exactly from political scientists, and they aren't too deep. - AC

  • 12/07  8:37pm   I think if the populace is going to post, they should be allowed to post free and clear of any editing or censorship. - AH
    [ As I've elaborated below, we edit the form, not the content. We remove personal insults, crass language, and inappropriate phrasing. Clean, courteous messages do not get edited. - Wm. ]

  • 12/05  9:51pm  
    Hi,
    I agree with the folks who've said that Norfolknet is a great resource for local info. Let's keep it local. I can't help but add that PC's idea of entertainment is quite different from mine. Perhaps we could solve this by setting some community standards for posting on the site? I would suggest at a minimum:
    • Messages should be on topics of local interest to the community of Norfolk.
    • Messages should not contain personal attacks against other members of our community. We encourage spirited debate but remember that disagreeing with an idea is different from attacking an individual.
    • Keep your comments consistent with the subject and purpose of the conversation. Deliberate disruption -- such as consistent off-topic commentary -- will not be tolerated.
    • Emails that are judged by the Wm to violate these rules will not be posted.
    Cheers,
    DAF

  • 12/05  8:30am   I think you should keep the political page up, however, in the interests of Freedom Of Speech, please don't edit posts anymore. - PA
    [ We tend to fix typos and spelling mistakes, but yes, we do reword or remove comments likely to offend. We try to stay with the original meaning, but posts that rely on cleverly-worded insults for content will probably get altered and lose their ``zing''. Given how broad they are, it should be simple enough to stay within the guidelines. Messages that meet the criteria tend to be posted unaltered.
    As to Freedom of Speech, well, that cuts both ways - and rebuttal is the publisher's prerogative. - Wm ]

  • 12/05  8:18am   This is entertainment . . . nothing more or less. This isn't a news forum therefore do not treat it as same. If you are looking for truly hard hitting information here or on any cyber-forum have I got some great stocks for you. - PC
    [ We're sorry you feel that way, though that might explain some of your posts to this page. We made the page available so that residents could voice their concerns and discuss issues, not have fun at each others' expense - Wm. ]

  • 12/05  8:13am   Let's keep the site to local politics. There's enough partisanship here without looking to the national level. - PJ

  • 12/04  1:34pm   Ironically (and with a few exceptions), the posts have evolved into the same tragic avoidance of genuine issues practiced by the two candidates. This site remains a superior one and an asset to the town of Norfolk and should concentrate on local issues and concerns. My vote is for a mercy-killing. - TM

  • 12/04  1:33pm   [ We received a couple more replies that I would like to respond to, but I won't have time to get to them until late tonight - Wm. ]

  • 12/03  12:56pm   If people want to post something it has to have some social redeeming value . . . with a solution. I continue to chuckle at the short sighted comments on both sides, since this whole thing is bigger than any one individual. The discussion is good therapy at least. - AB

  • 12/03  10:13am   I suggest allowing them [political/contentious issues] as long as they relate to local issues. There exist many other forums for the Gush v. Bore controversy. - AL

  • 12/02  11:45am  
    [ Good morning, this is your webmaster with an announcement.
    This is a moderated forum, which means the Editor and I read, edit, and post all messages by hand. We're proud of the web page, and like to maintain a certain level of civility and substance, something recent posts have been lacking. The objective of this forum is to allow town residents to voice their opinions, comment on events of concern, and ultimately build a closer-knit community as a result. Posts that degenerate to jeering and name-calling are not ``opinions'' and do not add to the public discourse.
    In light of the above, it seems the time has come to ask: is there a reason to continue this sub-page?
    Until this question is resolved to my satisfaction, I'll hold off on posting further election notes. I look forward to receiving your comments; and, unless requested otherwise, I will post the arguments, for and against, to this same page.
    And now back to our regular programming - Wm. ]

  • 12/02  10:56pm   YSA & GSA ----- Loserman's an opportunist! He never would have run in a year his Senate seat was at risk. This election was something to do while the Beltway was in gridlock.
    Too many of us of "ethnic background" (whatever [...] that means) who grew up, worked hard, just to pay taxes to support failed liberal programs while compromising our own children's education and future "for the greater good", by the weasel du jour [...] are sick of some Beltway [official] like Albie equating a vote for him as a vote for Democracy. [Those of you who] want to feel good about yourselves, [...] want to save the world . . . . knock yourselves out . . . just don't send us working people the bill. - PC

  • 11/30  8:46pm   I am loath to inject any note of sobriety into this post-victory tailgate party, but here goes anyway - no-one has yet raised any of the points that bother me about this election.
    Such as, when I cast my ballot, I have an implicit understanding of what does and does not constitute a vote, and that it applies impartially to all others that are voting with and against me. When I leave a question blank I act in light of that understanding. Even though it may be legal, I would feel very uncomfortable if my vote were subsequently ``interpreted'' using a different set of criteria and without my input.
    Such as, it is interesting how far the election process has come from the original intent of the ``Founding Fathers''. They did not plan on popular vote, they did not envision political parties, and they did not intend for the President and Vice President to run together on a single ticket. (If the top two vote-getters both get into office, they both can keep an eye against any unilateral partisan action by the other.) The procedures established were also to act as safeguards, to protect the public from any power-hungry political aspirants. It's rather instructive to see how as the process has become streamlined, the two parties have obtained an unbreakable lock on the process.
    Such as, it now seems the outcome will ultimately be determined by lawyers, and not by the voters. Lawyers are advocates, lobbyists to courts of law, and their job is to persuade and win, not to compromise or seek out a ``right answer'' - lawyers enter the courtroom knowing the answer.
    And finally, that none of this hoopla would be occurring were all states to apportion electors proportionally to the popular vote. Winner-take-all politics may be convenient for the parties to know where to focus their attention during the campaign, but it leaves half the voters' viewpoints un-represented.
    - Wm.

  • 11/30  8:17pm   I've been reading this page with some regularity since it's been on. I love the stuff I'm reading from my fellow Republicans. It seems to me as though the algore supporters are starting to get as desperate as he is. I used to like Leiberman, especially when he railed out against Clinton for the immoral conduct he so often exhibited. I hope I can keep liking Joe, and that he doesn't follow in Gore's shoes. - YSA

  • 11/30  8:15pm   To PC and PA: I love your views!! When are the [ . . . ] Dems going to give it up? They've lost, and lost, and lost again. This is a national disgrace, and soon will be making a mockery out of the system. - GSA

  • 11/30  3:12pm   PA -- That one is so easy its almost a trick question . . . . . . since all the carpetbag senatorial positions are taken in NY . . . and the Buddhist Monastery has no need for him . . . . . Albie has lined up a fine position working for the Palm Beach Canvassing board until a seat opens up on the Florida Supreme Democratic Court . . . - PC

  • 11/30  2:14pm   Mega-dittos to PC. Your wit and knowledge of politics runs deep. Keem 'em coming, I laugh out loud at some of your quips. Maybe you can even answer a question for me: when Al Gore stops trying to steal the presidency from W, where will he go? It's obvious he's not really wanted in Tenn., otherwise they'd have voted for him. - PA

  • 11/30  11:33am   To PC - I will continue voting for the Kennedys and any other Democrat that comes along. I find your sarcasm quite rude. Everyone has their right to their opinion. Whether it be a Died in the Wool Republican or a Yellow Dog Democrat. I believe in choices, not big business or the upper crust of society making decisions for me. Personally, I like what Jesse Ventura has done. Love that accent and the feather boa! - DN

  • 11/29  4:59pm   Hey DN --- Right On! You keep voting in those White Rich Kennedy clowns and you get the government you just portrayed. . . . . . you know all those voting precincts in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts must be run by Republicans . . . (lol) . . . . . [ . . . ] - PC

  • 11/29  4:59pm   To DN: I'm sure that's exactly what you heard. You do have freedom, such as the freedom to move to Canada or Mexico if you don't like this country the way it is, or they way it'll be when President-elect (49 states, plus 3X in Florida) Bush takes over. - PA
    [Hmm, I would have thought that freedom means rights, and rights require compulsory observance. When the only way I have to protect my rights is to exercise them elsewhere, then they are, to use a buzzword I learned from this election, ``illusory rights''. - Wm.]

  • 11/29  3:42pm   For all you Voters out there - I was listening to NPR today, and they were talking about what happened in Roxbury and Dorchester to their voters. Some volunteers from took some citizens around to vote - one man who had always voted in the same place (he was in a wheel chair) and he was sent to 4 other sites because his name was not on the list - It ended up that the original voting place was the right on for this man - his name was on another list and no one bothered to look at it or to tell this man that he might be on the other list! The man was almost in tears.
    Another woman, who was 90 years old, was so excited that someone was taking her to vote that she got all of her neighbors to go with her. It took her 15 minutes to vote, and she only voted for one candidate because her eyesight was not good enough to read the ballot questions. It was her legal/constitutional right to have anyone that she wanted to - to come in the voting booth with her, but no one told her!
    Another woman was told that she had one minute to vote. While in the voting booth, someone came up to her and told her that her minute was up.
    All of this because these people were African Americans. My almost 9 year old daughter and I heard this on the way to school this morning. I turned to her with tears in my eyes, and told her that even though we are going into the year 2001 - it is still the white, rich, not ethnic man that runs the show!
    This is why I am a yellow dog Democrat. Because to me, voting Democrat means a vote for freedom and a vote for choice. - DN

  • 11/29  12:06pm   Sore / Loserman . . . . . well folks what else do you think would be spawned by the Clintons. - PC

  • 11/29  10:33am   Here's something for [the] liberals to think about: The only thing to be gained by contesting the Florida balloting, as Gore/ Lieberman vowed to do, is to put the nation through a divisive ordeal that could provoke a constitutional crisis unprecedented in modern times. Also, what they don't tell you is that every ballot in Miami-Dade was counted at least twice - once on election night and again during the automatic recount. GO HOME, BOYS. - SM

  • 11/29  10:31am   Memo to PA: You didn't mention that Gore looks like a desperate man. Also, shouldn't he have worried about the 10,000 missing votes on November 8th, or maybe even after recount #1. Why is this coming to light now? He and Joe are frauds. Give it up. - TM

  • 11/28  9:30pm   While checking one of the computer bulletin boards that I occasionally read, I came across this link to the Fox News web site to a page with Florida election humor. It's partisan, as it pokes fun mostly at the recount and the Florida voters, but some of it is funny. My favorites were some of the one-liners:
    FLORIDA: We count more than you do.
    FLORIDA: If you don't like the way we count, then take I-95 and visit one of the other 56 states.
    FLORIDA: Relax, Retire, ReVote.
    FLORIDA: Where your vote counts and counts and counts.
    Palm Beach County: We put the "duh" in Florida.
    Sign on I-95 : Florida this way, no that way, 5 miles, wait 10 miles.
    FLORIDA: We're number one! Wait! Recount!
    The Fox News articles covering the election have been archived here.

  • 11/28  3:07pm   TM: I've been reading this site for a couple of months, and I agree with PA. This debacle has become a national disgrace. (When Fidel Castro offers his help, you know we're in a sad state of affairs.) If Gore couldn't carry Tennessee, he should realize after two, count 'em, two recounts that it is all over in Florida. It's laughable how you are all casting blame on Ralph Nader, also. - TP
    [To be fair, I didn't read TM's post as blaming Nader, rather as supporting him, but what do I know, and I should probably stay out of it :-) - Wm.]

  • 11/28  3:06pm   To TM: Thank you for your eloquent thoughts. I'm sure you stayed awake last night during Gore's soliloquy about how every vote has to count, blah, blah blah. And do you really think 10,000 votes were omitted? One last thing, where has Clinton been during all of this? (On second thought, I don't want to know!) - PA.

  • 11/28  3:02pm   2004 for little Albie Gore . . . . . that's Hillaryous . . . . sorry but stick a fork in him he's finished. He can't even go home . . . . Tennessee didn't even vote for him. To DN . . . to answer your question . . . Jack Kennedy ! He was the greatest creation by the media ever . . . . bought and paid for by DaddyJoe . . . gee ***does that make him a rich incompetent brat too. Horrors call out Doris Kearns Goodwin we need some spin quick. - PC (an overburdened taxpayer)

  • 11/28  8:53am   I am a proud yellow dog democrat and have always voted Democrat and always will. With that said - PUT Georgie in office for the next 4 years, he will not be able to get anything done, and he will not be re-elected next time. Gore should let it go and just wait till next time.
    This is not the first time in history that something like this has happened. When it has happened before, the President that is elected gets nothing done, and doesn't get re-elected. - DN

  • 11/27  11:30pm   To PA: If you are going to use this excellent community-based site in order to lobby for the rich, incompetent brat from Texas as opposed to the rich, incompetent brat from Tennessee, then I will also add my partisan comments and observations: The national embarrassment is not [as you described]. In fact, the national embarrassment is that TWO DEADLOCKED LOSERS ran for President and the same two losers will be running again in 2004. Perhaps, then, after this country regresses back to the delusions of American Pie and Pleasantville for four more painful years, you will then do what you and this country should have done in the year 2000, that is, seriously examine precisely what Ralph Nader and a growing number of his supporters are trying to tell you - TM.

  • 11/27  2:51pm   Why doesn't Al Gore just give up? George W. Bush won Florida on November 7th, he won the first recount, and he won the re-count of the recount. He is becoming a national embarrassment and has to realize IT IS OVER!!!! - PA


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