I live in a tiny rural town that is situated approximately 20 miles northeast of Park City, Utah. Park City is teeming with liberals; the majority of the population relocated there for the fabulous winter skiing conditions. However, that is not the situation in my little town, in fact, it couldn't possibly be farther away from it.

My town is full of Mormons and "rednecks." The majority of the people look down their nose at you if they aren't seeing you in the church pew each Sunday morning. To top this perceived oppression off, our polling place was located in the local "Stake House" of the LDS church last Tuesday. (I'm not sure why they located it there this year. I've lived in this town for 15 years and for every other election our polling place was located in City Hall.)

But I digress. When I arrived to cast my ballot I was greeted with a row of those damn Diebold machines. In previous elections we had always voted on punch cards, so I was hoping against hope that our backwards little town still had them in place for this election. No such luck. It was with some trepidation that I accepted my voter card and slid it into the slot.

I went through my selections carefully, making sure that each screen recorded my choices accurately. When I got to the final screen that displayed the summary of my selections, I turned to the poll workers and asked them if it was permissible to take a photo of my vote. They looked at one another with confusion on their faces, and one woman spoke up. "I don't know. Would you like me to find out for you?" "Yes, please" I replied.

She whipped out her cell phone and called the BOE. The person that answered the phone had no clue and went to find somebody who did. In the meantime, my screen started flashing at me that it was going to discard my vote if I did not make a selection soon. I started freaking out, worried that I might loose my vote entirely over a stupid photograph, when suddenly the poll worker called out "Sure! You can take a photo if you want to." I snapped a quick cell phone pic and cast my ballot.



As I pulled the voter card out of the slot and wheeled around to return it to the poll workers, I noticed the other voters, still at their machines, positively beaming at me. They knew damn well who I had voted for just by my insistence on having a photograph of the occasion!

I stopped by the town’s “Mom & Pop” grocery store on my way home. This particular establishment has been owned and staffed by the same Mormon family for just over 100 years. As I walked through the door I was greeted by one of the cashiers. She was wearing a great big “Yes We Can” button.

That was when my tears started to flow and I knew - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that we were gonna win this thing!



(Edited to crop vote photo)

On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith talked exclusively to two Canadian comedians, Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, who prank called Sarah Palin: "Pranksters pulled a fast one, over the weekend, on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Comedians from Canada posed as French President Nicolas Sarkozy."

Smith... later asked them: "Did you get the sense when you were on the phone with her, did she have any idea what was going on?" Trudel replied: "No...She was as gullible as Britney Spears. She -- there are only two people that we pranked that never caught on that it was a joke and that we had to explain it to them at the end. Sarah Palin and Britney Spears. And Britney Spears could not ever be President of the United States but Sarah Palin could." Audette added: "But they're both good looking...at least." Smith agreed: "That accounts -- that does account for something."

In addition to portraying Sarah Palin as stupid, the comedians and Smith also described how bad her staff was. Smith asked: "...how long did it take you and how did you start?" Trudel replied: "We started Tuesday, last Tuesday, it took four days. It's our fastest one except Britney Spears, so you can put that in the same category, her staff." Audette added: "It was pretty quick, actually. Because when we pranked Paul McCartney it took us about two months...Bill Gates, a month, Britney Spears, two days, and Sarah Palin about four or five days." Trudel later observed: "Yeah, and it's pretty disturbing to see that idiot's like us can go through to a vice presidential candidate that could be eventually the most influential and the most powerful person in the world...Too stupid comedians...with a bad French accent...and go through her staff." Smith concluded: "I think you said it all."

More at link:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/...

I just got this letter from the Obama Campaign in my email:

"Voters in key battleground states are receiving automated phone calls from John McCain's campaign that are spreading some of the most vile smears of this election.

But these "robocalls" -- and the hate-filled mailers that usually accompany them -- say more about John McCain than they do about Barack.

After all, McCain himself denounced these underhanded and cowardly tactics as "hate calls" after a rash of them sunk his primary campaign in 2000. The perpetrator behind that slimy attack: George W. Bush. Now, not only has John McCain embraced these sleazy tactics, he's hired the same firm that Bush used against him to orchestrate them.

Your voice is the most powerful tool to help fight back against this tide of lies and spread the truth.

If you or your family and friends have received one of these sleazy calls or mailings, help us keep track of them by reporting it.

It's clear John McCain would rather lose his honor than lose this election.

While there's nothing new about these scare tactics, McCain has signaled he'll stoop to any level to win.

There's too much at stake to let the politics of the past derail this campaign. And with just 17 days to go before Election Day, the need to take a stand couldn't be greater.

Reports from folks like you are the only way the full extent of these hateful calls and mailers will ever be known by voters across the country.

Expose John McCain's slimy tactics -- forward this email to everyone you know and make sure McCain's "hate call" tactics get reported:

http://www.fightthesmears.com/report

Together, we'll turn the page on McCain's low road tactics.

Keep fighting the good fight,

Obama Action Wire"

A simple choice: The nation needs Barack Obama in the White House
Tribune Editorial
Article Last Updated: 10/17/2008 08:06:04 PM MDT


The next U.S. president will lead a nation that remains embroiled in two wars and is beset by an economic meltdown more severe than any since the Great Depression.
By necessity, the country's next commander in chief must also be its mender in chief, capable of inspiring his angry and divided constituents to join together in a recovery project to restore the peace, prosperity, and self-confidence we once knew.
We fear that a lesser effort may be insufficient to reverse America's slide toward economic, political and societal chaos. The times require dramatic and comprehensive change.
The presidential candidates know it, and have made it their mantra.
Most Americans know it, and, in growing numbers, are demanding it.
The countries that have long depended upon the United States for enlightened global leadership long for it.
For the sake of all, and for those who follow us, we must have it.
The editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune believes that Barack Obama can deliver it.


More at:
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10750163

On edit: Original thread was in LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...