Arkansas Blog

I would like to know why the state of Arkansas does not send out sample ballots before elections. My husband and I are from California and are accustomed to receiving a sample ballot with all the initiatives (propositions) and explanations of such at least 30 days before an election. When I contacted our political party the response was that we could view a sample ballot the day of voting at our voting precinct.

We do not take a local paper, however we do read articles from more than 10 national newspapers daily.

Why isn't Arkansas trying to encourage voting by sending this information out? I'm sure someone, somewhere has this information in a format ready for voting a month before the election. This leads me to believe that Arkansas does not want to encourage voting. What are they afraid of?

Go back to California where it is so much better

Max,
I was intending to vote "no" untill you told me to.
I will now be voting "yes".

Missy Pat, I've been asking the same question for years.

Voting in AR (for the vast majority) is about like playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Has anyone got any actual statistics to show how the current and proposed policies would affect the situation for kids in foster homes? How many gay foster homes will be excluded if Act 1 is passed, or approved if Act 1 is rejected? Would passage of Act 1 increase or decrease the rate of abuse in foster homes?

Both sides should bring some objective data to the discussion. Otherwise, it's just a social experiment with an unpredictable outcome.

Should I feel bad, when my instinctive reaction, and then my reasoned and informed reaction, to Arkansas religionists' determination to pass Act 1 is, "Why do people want to HURT one another so much?"

"Why do Arkansans want to hurt children so much, when all children are looking for (they didn't ask to be born, whatever their circumstances) is love and support?"

"Why do people want to hurt gays and lesbians so much (who also didn't ask to be born), when all they want is full American equality?"

"I LIKE children and gays and lesbians. They never did anything to me!"

"Where are all the powerful Arkansas Christian voices speaking out en masse in the media against lies, hatred, intolerance and hurt in the name of Christ?"

"Where are the political leaders willing to stand up to religious bullies, in the name of Christ?"

I'm glad I got out of religion long, long ago, and found a direct connection that didn't require middlemen in dresses with their palms out.

I don't feel bad about any of that.

Here is what I feel bad about.

Over the last decades, southern-accented, pseudo-rural high-living fire-breathing religionists have hijacked the 2,000 year old image of the Prince of Peace and turned him into a clone of their ignorant, fearful, hate-filled, reactionary, petty, vindictive, bullying, backward, controlling, theocratic, money-grubbing selves.

Apparently, they've succeeded in turning Jesus into a hillbilly SOB, except in their theology God can't be a bitch because he's a "he" so they've turned the Prince of Peace into the hillbilly son of a hick father who hates "elites." A jealous and envious god, in other words, who will only help you win football games if you hate and hurt certain people and groups and vote Republican.

In other words, God as a "fuckin' redneck," in Bristol Palin's fiance's, Levi "Shotgun" Johnston's, immortal metaphor.

(And don't you wish THEIR baby were conceived by the union of a sperm and egg uncontaminated with years of teenage cocaine, Oxycontin and alcohol abuse, but was conceived in that junk, and so might be adopted by two healthy adults who actually WANTED a child and were prepared to raise it? Of course you do.)

So I feel bad that that's what Christ and God have become.

Yet, I've hope.

I'm STILL waiting to hear Arkansas' religious and political leaders forcefully speak out FOR the rights of adoptive and foster-care children and would-be loving families . . . instead of consciously HURTING people who don't follow their ugly hateful religious dogma.

I would like to know why the state of Arkansas does not send out sample ballots before elections.<<

Are you kidding. Some counties are fighting to get water run to homes.

Every year the two local newspapers print a sample ballot for as long as I remember.
Actually one prints a sample ballot for several smaller towns too.
.

Was it 'mean spirited' to destroy the American economy in order to buy the votes of blacks and hispanics?

I've thought about that one Norma.

I think everyone in a disagreement wants to win that argument so badly that they fail to notice that a party will usually be in the middle. Be it kids, gays, lesbians, family, someone will generally end up in the middle. And I hate to say it but, in our rush to be right we always overlook who is sitting in the middle of the argument who really gets hurt.

And it really seems like we have escalated that since 9/11. I'm right, you're wrong and I will be happy to get in your face for as long as it takes to prove I'm right.

I learned long ago to move away from these types of people.

Who the heck has Strange been channeling now?

The best interests of children have no place in this debate.

It's all about punishing gay people for being gay.

Jesus didn't say a word about homosexuality, but he said a lot about greed.

People are born gay, but they're not born greedy.

Creating a hierarchy of sin is best left to God, but you've got to wonder if paying taxes to the modern incarnation of the Roman Empire might be worse than being gay.

I know what you mean, Goof.

But I won't just "move away from these types of people."

As someone much older and richer than I said, not too many years ago, "I'm too old and too rich to put up with this shit any more."

Silence and avoidance of confrontation is so Southern.

All it does is perpetuate the hurt and pain of minorities -- like blacks, gays and children. And keep the South the ugly backward laughingstock it is in the rest of the country and around the world.

Don't get me wrong. There's a lot I love about being in Little Rock and in the South. And it's easy to criticize, no matter where one lives.

But THAT part about the South? The part that keeps us at the bottom of virtually every measurable barrel? The "shut up and conform" part?

"I'm too old and too rich to put up with that shit."

Here's Nirvana, Goof.

It's when you reach that stage in life, whether younger or older (or, as in my case, you're born with it), where you don't HAVE to give a damn nor do you CARE to give a damn what ANYBODY thinks about you.

You're just honest, curious, loving and don't feel threatened enough to intentionally hurt ANYBODY . . . because you're not weak.

Oh, yeah. For the somebody who's a statistic-lover earlier in this thread, here's one for ya: 40% of the homeless kids in America are gays and lesbians who've been kicked out of their homes by their Christian parents.

And don't even THINK about looking at the stats for suicides among these rejected gay and lesbian kids, compared to other kids.

Where is the Love?

I'll be willing to listen when I hear "Christians" owning up to their ugly role in all this, and giving more than lip-service to solutions.

Until then, I'd love to quote Kathy Griffen (raised Catholic) on the Catholic Church . . . but this is a family blog.

The kids are the ones caught in the middle here. One group wants complete acceptance, the other group wants to banish a group of people. The kids are the pawns. I don't know much about the foster care system, but I do know we shouldn't limit homes arbitrarily.

My understanding is this act would wrest decision-making ability from judges/DCFS on a case-by-case basis. That's all I need to hear.

These two groups can fight about it somewhere else. Let's leave the kids out of it.

Was it 'mean spirited' to destroy the American economy in order to buy the votes of blacks and hispanics?

Posted by: strangelove | September 30, 2008 07:38 PM

Who the heck has Strange been channeling now?

Jim Johnson

"Who the heck has Strange been channeling now?"

Better yet, he's imitating Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann who quoted an article in Investor's Business Daily about the economic crisis that blamed everything on Blacks and other minorities.

Today's Worst Person in the World!

To Al Fornaut. I guess you've always lived in a state where property taxes are higher, food is higher, and sales tax is higher so you have no idea what you're missing. At least in California we got something for our taxes. Here the infrastructure is falling apart, police are few and far between, people drive like they're on a country dirt road taking their lane down the middle, running red lights as though they don't exist, being so bigoted they won't vote for a democrat even though that is the party they are registered with just because of the color of their skin. As someone earlier commented some people are waiting for their water to be turned on. Arkansas is in the top 5 regarding poverty. That is a crime but I certainly don't see where anyone is trying to do anything about it. We're only here because we have ailing parents which I guess means we love our parents so much we are willing to put up with 3rd world attitudes.

MissyPat- we here in Pulaski County, Arkansas, think a better way than cutting down trees to send out sample ballots that lots of folks would just toss without reading is making such information available online. Hope that option works for you. Maybe you could suggest that Gubernator Ahnold try this in California?

First (and this is for Pulaski County; I don't know what other counties offer the same service to voters), check your voter status by going to the following (blue name also):

http://www.pulaskiclerk.com/

Click on 'Check Voter Status', enter your first and last name along with your date of birth. Click 'Search' and when your name pops up as a registered voter click on your first name and your voter details will appear. You can print that screen if you like, as it shows which races you are eligible to vote in- state house and senate districts, school district, judicial district, etc. It should also have the letter 'A' under Status to show you are an Active voter, meaning still eligible to vote and not moved into inactive status due to lack of voting in recent years.

Next, to see your actual ballot go to:

http://www.votepulaski.net/

which is the web site for the Pulaski County Election Commission. There you will find a link titled "Click here to see your election day ballot- COMING SOON". That link takes you to the same page as the first link above. It is not available yet, but in coming days/weeks you will be able to see your actual ballot online with all the ballot issues, national races, state races, etc. that matches the paper ballot you will get come election day. If you vote early (that link with early voting info is also on the votepulaski.net page), you will be using (again, here in Pulaski County) a touch screen iVotronic. The touch screen will bring up the same ballot on screen as the paper ballot you would get on election day.

Good luck.

I'm going to be working the election come November 4 and have to say I'm already losing sleep over how things will go in our voting precinct. I'm guessing we may have close to 2,000 voters try to make it through our two combined precincts in person that day, and it is likely going to be all holy hell even if every voter has updated his/her address BEFORE election day.

If you have moved and have not updated your address with the county clerk, do it NOW. Every voter who is lazy and waits until election day to update their address with the county clerk (which is legal in Arkansas) slows the voting process down for not just themselves but everyone else as well. You will be forced to sit and wait while a poll worker, when they get a chance, calls downtown to verify your address and that you are in the right place to vote. Your vote does not count in Arkansas unless you cast it in the correct polling place. That's because your address determines who you are entitled to vote for in local races, and only your correct precinct has the ballot with those local races included.

Be smart. Make sure your registration information is correct before election day. Please pass this on to all your friends in Pulaski County if you want to save them an unnecessary hassle come election day. Have mercy on us unfortunate poll workers.

To Sound Policy: Though your information is helpful, it does little for all the people that do not have computers or access to the internet. I'm certain in Arkansas there are a lot of them. Also this only addresses Pulaski County, what about all the other counties in Arkansas. I'm sure there is no data on whether mailing information would end up in the trash but one could argue that at least the voting sector could not claim ignorance. The more information is put out for voters the more educated the voter become. In my opinion we need to encourage every person of voting age to vote and I certainly don't see that happening here in Arkansas.
As far as the "waste" you claim would occur if mailings were to go out, California's mailings are 100% recycled paper which in turn gets recycled again as it has an excellent recycling program. Each household get 3 (90 gal) containers on wheels for 1) compost, 2) recycle magazines, junk mail, paper, cardboard, glass & plastic, 3) garbage (whatever doesn't fit in the first 2 categories). And this comes at a price, at least in the San Francisco Bay area, at about 1/2 of what we pay in Pulaski County and it's the same garbage company, Waste Management. So if you want to talk about cutting down trees, the city needs to start with encouraging their citizens to recycle. One little green bin isn't enough for our household of 2 adults. We actually use a second clothes basket for the paper products and the green bin for glass and plastic. These are filled every week whereas the garbage on wheels is less than 1/2 full.