Category Archives: Bored Housewife

Memphis does it again

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Is it possible to have a clean election in Memphis? After last year’s mess that resulted in the ousting of Ophelia Ford from the State Senate due to more illegal (dead people and felons, mostly) ballots being cast than her margin of victory and the indictment of a couple of election workers, it seems they’d try — just once — to get it right.

Here’s a tune to keep you in the spirit of the season: Voting in Memphis.

The Commercial Appeal reports this morning that they’ve had problems with the old “vote early and often” mentality:

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing reports by the Shelby County Election Commission that two people voted twice during early voting in Memphis.

Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons said Thursday he’s referred the cases to the TBI for investigation along with other matters he declined to discuss.

“I can confirm that is one issue the TBI is investigating,” Gibbons said. He and Election Commission Chairman Greg Duckett declined to release a letter sent to prosecutors detailing the suspected double voting.

Officials declined to say where the votes were cast; Shelby County had 19 early voting locations. Nor would they describe how the individuals were able to skirt computer safeguards.

However, Election Commissioner O.C. Pleasant said staff at the sites should have immediately detected the efforts to double vote and promptly notified election headquarters, yet failed to do so.

“What really surprises me and angers me is the officers made no efforts to contact the Election Commission,” he said.

Ballots at early voting sites are cast on electronic touch-screen machines, and the double voting was detected through end-of-the day reconciliation, Pleasant said.

The good news is that the cheating was discovered; the bad news, obviously, is that there are still problems and the poll workers don’t appear to be exercising due diligence. They have to know that with a Ford in a race drawing national and international attention, Memphis is going to be closely watched.

The Last Long Day

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It’s the last “long” day for a while, as the time changes tonight and darkness will arrive before suppertime.

Alpha is home for the weekend, and reports that her English teacher has been all over the racism in the notorious “call me” ad. Alpha had to ask if I thought it racist (I don’t), and why some people think it is.

This morning, I ran across a quote by AC Kleinheider at Volunteer Voters that sums it up perfectly:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Racial appeals do not work on white voters anymore. Whites will respond racially to oversensitivity, however.

Whether there is racism in this ad is almost besides the point politically. White voters by and large will not see racism in this ad and they will view all the talk as such as an overreaction. They will ascribe this oversensitivity to the Ford campaign whether it is Ford or his direct acolytes who say it or not.

The ad was, of course, juvenile and perhaps in poor taste, but it garnered national exposure and hit several issues that resonate with Tennessee voters (death tax, marriage tax, gun control) in a way that got the point across. The only thing the bunny achieved was to make the ad famous, and pick up numerous free airings on national news media.

* * *

The Vols take on South Carolina tonight at 7:45 in Columbia; one can’t help but wonder whether the matchup is more about the teams, or their coaches. In any case, if Tennessee can best the Gamecocks and if Florida loses to anyone (playing Georgia tonight, Vandy next week, and South Carolina on the 11th), Tennessee can still go to the SEC championship.

That’s always fun.

More Tricks, no Treats

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Something is seriously wrong here — all posts from this week (except today’s) have just disappeared. I know it was still up last night, because I modified Monday’s to add a file, and LissaKay commented on yesterday’s post last night. I don’t know where they went.

another pumpkin

I guess it’s just the scary season.

The Commercial Appeal reports this morning that the Homeland Security office was bugged:

Officials became suspicious and had the FBI sweep the office for bugs after a local television station said it possessed “damaging and embarrassing” audiotapes that were secretly recorded and given to the station.

Now that makes you feel safe and secure, doesn’t it?

* * *

The CA also indicates where politicians can buy positive media coverage.

Gone too far?

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One should expect security to be tighter in the nation’s capitol than the average small town (even one like Oak Ridge), but this week has been enlightening — in a bad way, in addition to the good fun that I admit I’ve had taking pictures.

It’s no longer possible to tour the White House, unless you submit all your information three months in advance. Touring the capitol requires at least a week’s notice, although you can get a gallery pass (which wouldn’t be worth much this week, since Congress is in recess so there’s nothing going on to watch) on short notice through your congressional office.

The National Aquarium, in the basement of the Commerce building, hasn’t been publicly funded since 1981. Still though, patrons are expected to go through a metal detector and have all purses, backpacks, etc. searched before entry. I’ve gotten used to metal detectors and having my purse rummaged through this week… to the point that I now don’t carry my purse most places. I just put my drivers license and a debit card in my pocket and go on. Every single public building has metal detectors and guards who rummage through purses all day.

To actually look at any books in the Library of Congress — the nation’s most public of public libraries — one must go to a separate building, wait in line to show a drivers license, wait in another line to fill out a form electronically (asking for all the same information as was on the aforementioned drivers license), then wait in yet a third line to have one’s picture taken. Then, you cross the street again to the building with actual books, wait in line for about 20 minutes to be allowed into the line for the metal detectors and searching again.

Posession of the photo library card does not entitle one to check out books from the Library of Congress, just to look at them under the watchful eyes of guards, librarians, and video surveillance.

For all my complaining, I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon in the local history & genealogy room at the Library of Congress today, and enjoyed it very much. There were a couple of things I would have liked to make copies of, but to do so, one had to purchase a “copier card” and put money on it. Having left my purse at home, the 75 cents in my pocket wouldn’t work — there’s a paper-money minimum for the card.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours in the DAR library, and found some more interesting things. At least two relatives on my dad’s side served in the Revolutionary War.

I wonder what they’d think about where we are now, when the people’s government is no longer open (at least in a practical sense) to the people. Is this the end for which they left home in England or Northern Ireland, fought in the cold, and staked out claims to government-lottery land for veterans in the wild indian country of what is now the East Coast (from Pennsylvania to Georgia) of America?

It’s easy to see where all the homeland security funding has gone, but not so easy to equate it to our being secure. Planes still fly into buildings, school shootings still occur, and crazy little men are still rattling their sabers.

But the US Government is seemingly safe from tourists for the moment.

All Well at Home?

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PunkHP noted in a comment to the Sightseeing in DC post that he had a monument in his yard worth “explorering.” Explorer1
It seems that my newest licensed driver (Beta) had a little difficulty backing out of her godfather’s driveway as she headed for school yesterday. It was dark outside when this innovative parking job occurred, and there were one or more younger siblings in the car.

And, in a classic display of teenage angst, Beta managed to be quite unapologetic and worse, began demanding that someone fix the problem.

I selected their godparents wisely: the “fix” was that she was taken to school, and the monument remained in the yard for the day. It was clearly the greater punishment for her godmother, who then had to take her to school, pick her up, take her to work, etc., but it gave her a bit of time to (I hope) reflect on how one should behave when one is in dire need of assistance.

Explorer2 PunkHP, LilPunk, and Delta obviously had a little fun with the monument before PHP and his older son managed to rescue the vehicle (I’m glad I wasn’t there to see it) later in the day.

Hopefully, Beta has acquired a little humility through this incident and will be a little more careful, and a little more respectful, in the future.

I owe PunkHP and Miss Dixie big time for taking on three of the girls for me (and taking care of the house and the menagerie therein) for the week. I’m not sure how to repay them, but I’ll have to think of something.

Frivolous Friday

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Full MoonTonight’s full moon will appear large and in charge according to Space.com, being the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox. It’s set to rise at 6:36 p.m. here in the beautiful Atomic City.

LiveScience claims that there’s no proof that full moons make people crazy… but they obviously haven’t met the people I know. Or worked the third shift at the Krystal on Cumberland Avenue, as I did for a little while as a college student.

My obstetrician swore that there were more babies born during a full moon, but I haven’t seen any statistics on it. He was right about everything else, so why not?

Still though, it’s pretty. It will be especially pretty tonight, since last night’s thunderstorms thoroughly cleansed the air and the colors and shadows are so sharp and crisp, it feels as though I’m wearing my glasses even when I’m not. It’s a good night to take the kids out for a moonlight picnic, and explain the great mysteries of physics like why the moon appears larger on the horizon — even though it isn’t.

Also check out these 10 cool moon facts to impress them — starting with the fact that the moon is actually escaping. How’s that for the start of a Halloween tale?

One at a time

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Reuters has the news that Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaeda un Iraq, has been killed by US Forces. This is the same guy that put out an audio message last week for

…experts in the fields of “chemistry, physics, electronics, media and all other sciences — especially nuclear scientists and explosives experts” to join the terror group’s holy war against the West.

and, in the same message

…called on insurgents in Iraq to capture Westerners so they could be traded for the imprisoned Egyptian [blind] sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.

I have to admit that that one worried me — not for what it said on the surface, but a perhaps irrational linking of the two: might it be a call to kidnap American scientists and nuclear experts? Too Tom Clancy, perhaps… but it was one of the first possibilities that crossed by mind when I heard the report. That thought hits too close to home.
CentCom is reporting that

Coalition forces detained a former driver and personal assistant of Abu Ayyub al-Masri along with 31 others during a series of 11 raids targeting al-Qaida in Iraq activities in the Baghdad area Sept. 28.

Both of these appear to be good news.

“-isms:” the real enemy

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Racism, classism, fanaticism. elitism — they’re all words that divide us. More often than not, they divide us unfairly and inaccurately.

AT’s response to County vs. City contains some thoughts worth pondering.

A lot of the problem we had with Oak Ridge stems from the fact that while attending Glenwood, the PTO and other parents were Farragut style “soccer moms”, who didn’t necessarily work, had plenty of disposable income, were a decade or two older than us (with kids the same age) and lived a lifestyle that GAC and I don’t.

I can understand that. Like AT and GAC, I married and started a family fairly young. I chose to stay home with my children, the interest rate on our mortgage was about 12% (down from 18% when he bought the house in 1982 as a bachelor), and it seemed like all the disposable income we had went to diapers, car seats, and kid stuff. My wardrobe consisted mostly of jeans and t-shirts or maternity clothes I’d made for myself on a $64 secondhand sewing machine.

I was incredibly shy growing up, and quite short on self confidence until I hit 30 or so. Overcoming that is another story for another day.
While we were far from poor, I do remember occasions where I felt “looked down upon.” In retrospect, most of those instances were likely more my interpretation than an outright snubbing.

Like the victims of any of the various -isms, I don’t like being labeled as something I’m not — no one does. Prejudice is pre-judging someone, absent the evidence to support the assumption. I guess that’s why I respond as I do to the assertion that “Oak Ridgers think they’re better than other folks,” or that “elected officials are all hiding something.”

Prejudice cuts both ways. AT closed by saying,

Like racism, tho, the people on the happy side of the class divide often don’t realize it.

It’s unfortunate that the race card is so frequently played when it’s unwarranted. Yes, racism exists, but it’s been so overplayed that now, the real instances may well be overlooked because the charge has been so diluted by false claims. To say that I am racist because of my race, is, in fact, a racist response.

The same is true, perhaps, of the views between rural Anderson County to Oak Ridge. When one says “they look down on us” and the other is offended as the object of prejudice, starting any positive conversation becomes more difficult.

Yes, snobs exist. Racists exist. Fanatics exist. However, making assumptions puts up a barrier, which inhibits finding common ground that might otherwise lead to productive and rewarding interactions with other human beings — people who might be much more like ourselves than we realize.

Labor Day

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Labor Day is supposed to be a recognition of the efforts of Samuel Gompers and those who followed in struggling for workplace reforms, but to me, it’s always been more of a last-blowout of Summer. Most years, it’s a celebration of the fruits of my own labor (of the childbearing kind) — enjoying a day off with the kids.

I’ve given some thought to the traditional meaning today, as I passed the striking workers at Boeing. For weeks, I’ve actually waved as I passed, thinking that the reason for their strike was that the company has passed along greater responsibility for rising health insurance premiums to the workers, while their salary increases failed to keep pace with insurance costs. For that, I was sympathetic.

Later, I learned that the chief sticking point was that the union wants non-union subcontractors barred from delivering materials directly to work areas: they want supplies stopped at the gate, with union workers being the only ones allowed to take materials from there to the work area. That’s where my sympathy stops: Tennessee is a right-to-work state, and I hope it stays that way.

Unions can contribute positively, but when their focus shifts from safety, fair working conditions and compensation to dictating whom can and cannot work or perform certain jobs, they’re overstepping the bounds of my support.

So, my efforts quickly returned to our own traditional celebration, which, given the weather, is going to be meat loaf, mashed potatoes, peas, green beans, and apple crisp for dessert. I picked up Alpha, her boyfriend, and her roommate this afternoon to feed them well and enjoy their company for a few hours. Beta saw a movie, Gamma went to the lake with a friend, and Delta is off playing with her friend across the street. We’ll have a big family dinner, and I’ll be thankful for the fact that I have so many kids to enjoy.