Republican officials in the Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, New York are insisting that a typographical error led to absentee ballots being sent to at least 300 voters giving them the choice of either voting for John McCain or “Barack Osama.” Worse yet, if a voter corrected the spelling, the vote is nullified.
For many months, the confusion with Obama’s name and Osama Bin Laden’s name has been a favorite political play — though clearly some uses are innocent mistakes or gaffes given how close the names are. It is just the fact that these ballots came out as Osama not Olama or Ofama that led to great suspicion.
Now, officials are promising to send out new ballots.
It could indeed be another innocent mistake. Though this is Troy which has a certain reputation for appearances being deceiving.
For the full story, click here.
And I don’t think those who lack budgeting skills are lazy moochers. Those who lack budgeting skills have not be taught those proper skills.
Lazy mooochers are those that don’t work and then complain about not having any money.
Gyes…yes that is what I am saying. But I’m not saying those bad at budgeting should not vote. You got my point, thanks
That Should be Tony not Joe, I was listening to a Vocalese version of “Killer Joe.”
Joe,
First, thanks for helping people to vote.
Jill and I got the impression that you think “they shouldn’t vote” from you saying “…then maybe they shouldn’t be voting anyways.” As far as who “they” are, it seems pretty obvious from the context of the conversation that “they” are the “lazy moochers” and those who lack budgeting skills. It’s not clear if you think all those who lack budgeting skills are lazy moochers or not, but that doesn’t really matter. It could be a misunderstanding on our part, but it’d be an understandable one.
I happen to agree with you that a lot of people don’t budget well, including people in all income levels. I also agree that people have some odd priorities (I for instance spend $10 on a single beer, The Beast from the Avery Brewery being my favorite). I don’t think that those facts makes them bad people, just bad at budgeting. I also think that there’s no way that they should be eliminated from voting on those counts either. The law happens to agree with me on this one, if you feel differently I suggest trying to change the laws in question as the most effective way to change the situation.
Life style choices is what it’s all about. You can choose to spend $15 bucks on a case of beer or you can choose to save that money for a necessity. People tend to spend more on wants than needs. You don’t need soda, ipods, video game players, fast food, the newest and greatest phone or the best clothes. If you learn to live within your means, you’d be surprised at how much ahead you can actually get in life. (And no, I’m not saying that only poor people spend $15 dollars on beer, so don’t even jump on that one)
The little bit of money that you spend here and there on little things really add up.
Jill this has nothing to do with AIG. These are two totally different topics. Do I think what AIG did is wrong? Yes I do. I also think it’s outrageous that they recieved an additional $85 million as well.
Not to mention, I never said moochers shouldn’t vote. I said I don’t like moochers. Where did you get that I said they shouldn’t vote?
A moocher is someone who is too lazy to work for the things that they want or need in life. They feel that the Government should support them. This applies to people who are perfectly capable of working a job, but chose not to because they are lazy. You know very well that there are people out there like that.
And I do drive low income people to voting polls. So please, just stop bringing up AIG and telling me what you think I’m saying. You seem to enjoy twisting other people’s words!
Tony, I just can’t buy that you weren’t attacking poor people in your statement quoted below. 1. Is it really your opinion that a wealthy person would not be able to afford the $10.00 unless they give up soda, fast food, etc.? That statement seems clearly aimed at the poor.
2. You now contend: “It’s the lazy moochers I do not like.” Do you believe lazy moochers may be rich and poor alike and further, do you believe they should be denied the ability to vote? How would you test for the level of lazy moochering that would dissallow the right to vote? Would you say AIG executives might fall under the category of lazy moochers who not only expect but recieve handouts? Should they be barred from voting?
“Indiana was giving people FREE rides to the BMV if they needed to get one. And just a regular photo ID is like $10.
If someone complains about a price like that, then maybe they shouldn’t be voting anyways.
People would be surprised at what they can afford if they just quit spending money on unnecessary items such as soda, fast food, video games and players, cds, ipods, nail salons….the list could go on.”
Tony,
You say that perhaps people who say they can’t afford the ten dollars shouldn’t vote. Do you make that determination based on income (like Jill assumes), or based on lifestyle choices?
If it’s the former, what’s the cut off point? Owning land has a nice historic ring to my ears. For the later, I think the best method of determining who got to vote would be to create a model of the “average” citizen using hard data (how many cars\kids\pets, how often the attend church, age, etc.) and then allowing only people with under a certain amount of deviation from that model to vote. Anything else would just be too arbitrary.
Jill I’m not talking about poor people. You are way off base.
I’m talking about lazy people who refuse to work and expect handouts. I don’t mind helping those who help themselves by working or putting some type of effort into society. It’s the lazy moochers I do not like.
I actually volunteer to drive people to voting stations who cannot afford the gas or have no way of getting there. After I cast my vote the moment the polls open, I am out and about picking up people from all over my county.
Get off your high horse and quit twisting my words.
Tony D,
Hatred of the poor runs quite deep in this society as your entry attests. Your statements are all the more ironic given the AIG post of today and prior posts showing wealthy executives on the dole spending on THEIR NAILS, all of your above attributed to the poor and much, much more. Where is your condemnation of these welfare king/queens?
Unfortuneately, everyone has the right to vote, even the rich!
rafflaw..are you talking about how some Republicans want people to have an ID to vote? I see nothing wrong with that, everyone should have a photo ID and be able to verify their home address and who they are.
Indiana was giving people FREE rides to the BMV if they needed to get one. And just a regular photo ID is like $10.
If someone complains about a price like that, then maybe they shouldn’t be voting anyways.
People would be surprised at what they can afford if they just quit spending money on unnecessary items such as soda, fast food, video games and players, cds, ipods, nail salons….the list could go on.
This is an obvious political ploy to deny voters the right to vote for Obama. We will probably see more evidence of the Republicans attempting to deny legal voters the right to vote. The vote caging and their lies about ACORN will increase as we get closer to election day. The good news is that Obama is beginning to build such a large plurality that will not be able to be stolen by the Rovian tactics now being employed by the RNC.
I wonder if they’re sending out letters along with this explaining this.
This probably what happened….those poll workers from Flordia all those years ago got dismissed from their duties and have gotten jobs in New York!!
They need to be reprinted, there is not a Barack Osama running for president.
Although, to be fair, MS Word automatically changes “Obama” to “Osama”, giving more credibility to the idea that the Republicans AND Democrats who approved the ballot are lazy morons rather than malicious connivers.
I like how they add insult to injury (or vice-versa) by nullifying the ballot if someone had the good taste to correct the spelling. Classy.
And yes, JT, it is odd that of all the possible misspellings it was ‘Osama’ considering how far the ‘b’ is from the ‘s’ on the keyboard.