Biggest election year pet peeves!

Goofy,

We've had Letters to the Editor, too, blaming the other side for yard sign theft. Recently, a bunch of Kerry/Edwards signs were stolen from our town. A guy actually wrote in blaming Democrats for stealing their own signs because they "just want the attention". He said that Democrats are hoarding them somewhere and will soon be found out because they'll eventually run out of places to hide them. At first I thought his letter was a joke, but as I kept reading, I cam to realize he was dead serious!

Another woman set up a hidden camera to catch the thief who was stealing her signs every night. Well, the video was played on the news the next day and now there is a warrant out for his arrest. It's pathetic, really.

Erica

[Sheherezade]

We've had that too. Hidden cameras 2 or three times--and people charged with vandalism and theft. I'm just waiting for someone to get hurt. It is crazy already.

Honestly, I'm getting seriously worried about the affect this is having on the local kids. My son was telling me about he and his friends drawing weird faces on the pictures of "the other guy" in the election stuff they were handing out at school. I had to give him a lecture on voicing his opinion in appropriate ways and showing respect for our countries' leaders--even when you don't agree with the things they are doing. I was blown away by the animosity these 3rd graders had towards the different sides of the election. We do need to get along as a country. I think this has turned into Us vs. Them as opposed to one country. We need to get it together.

Angie

[Auspicious]

From AP. Bolding is mine.

Man accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Associated Press

Oct. 27, 2004 | SARASOTA, Fla -- A man was arrested Wednesday after he was accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris and a group of supporters with his car.

Witnesses said a silver Cadillac sped through an intersection and swerved onto the sidewalk. The car headed straight toward Harris before swerving at the last minute and driving off, according to police.

Harris told police she feared for her life and could not move as the vehicle sped toward her, police records show.

Witnesses gave the car's license plate number to police, and they tracked it to Barry M. Seltzer, 46. He came to the police station early Wednesday and complained to officers that Harris' supporters had impeded traffic.

"I intimidated them with my car," Seltzer told police. "I was exercising my political expression."

He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and held without bond. He was scheduled for his first court appearance Thursday.

Calls to Seltzer's home and to Harris' campaign secretary were not immediately returned.

Harris, a Sarasota Republican, is seeking a second congressional term after serving as Florida's secretary of state during the controversial 2000 presidential recount.

She has been a rising star in the GOP and the bane of Democrats since overseeing the recount that gave Florida and the presidency to George W. Bush by 537 votes.

She used momentum from the recount to win the congressional seat in 2002 and is seeking re-election against Sarasota lawyer Jan Schneider, who lost to Harris two years ago.

[mommax3]

I have had it with this kind of crap, as well. I definitely do not live in a battleground state, but there is plenty of ugliness here anyway. I am starting a mini-election unit with my third graders on Monday and we are going to have a discussion about the freedoms that we have in this country and that we can disagree without being ugly......but I am afraid they are learning it at home, either from parents or from the tv, so it may not do any good.

Sally

[Sheherezade]

Sally-

I am not sure where they are learning it either. We are certainly not a family that talks "angry politics" and I have always tried to be respectful of other opinions. That's why I was shocked by my son's attitude. He knows I am voting for Kerry, but I haven't done any Bush bashing. He doesn't watch TV (too busy with video games!). Where did he get it? One of the kids in the playground came up to me when I was volunteering and asked me if I liked JibJab. Clearly I do but how does a third grader get to watch that stuff? I don't think the language is appropriate and the sentiment is complex, really.

I do have a friend that had a child in a play about the election process. At the play's dress rehearsal, it turned out that the play was basically a Bush bashing pro-Democratic thing. My friend is for Kerry, but she was offended. She talked to the group leader. She apologized, but apparently thought what she had done was good. I really don't understand some people. I think we are walking a very thin line these days on both sides of the aisle. I am happy your are doing a useful unit on government for the kids. We really do have avenues in this country that can bring about change without resorting to this kind of behavior.

Angie

[PrincessFiona]

Isn't that AWFUL? And has anyone else hear heard about the voter for the electoral college who has said that he may vote for Kerry even if the voters pick BUSH??? What kind of BS is that? We all know I would rather see Kerry win....but if the votes go to Bush, the electoral college voter should have to vote for Bush.

We should get rid of the electoral college anyway...

kris

[PrincessFiona]

Regarding Kids..

I found out that the reason my son has been supporting Bush is because his teacher told him that Bush is the only one who will protect our country from danger.... I don't think political opinions should be presented to children in this way.

When I sat down and talked to Andrew about it I told him that I was obviously biased because I had chosen a candidate. I told him why I was voting for the candidate that I am voting for and why other people are voting for the alternative candidate. I also said that politics are things that people take personally and can be very emotional about. For this reason, I said that he should read everything he can about any issues (not just politics) and make his own decisions. People will try everything to get you to see their point of view (me included) and finding the truth can be difficult.

He told me he has learned in school that Iraq attacked America and that is why we went to war with them....He also thought that Saddam and Osama were friends and that they planned the 9/11 attack together. When I told my son that this was not true, he told me "well, Mr. X said so and so I believe him"

Teachers shouldn't be teaching their political opinions either.

Kids watching JibJab???

kris

[spotty_dog]

Isn't that AWFUL? And has anyone else hear heard about the voter for the electoral college who has said that he may vote for Kerry even if the voters pick BUSH??? What kind of BS is that? We all know I would rather see Kerry win....but if the votes go to Bush, the electoral college voter should have to vote for Bush.

We should get rid of the electoral college anyway...

kris

Maybe I don't understand the Electoral College as I think I do, but when you vote you are voting for an Elector from that candidate's party. If the Republican party was duped into nominating anti-Republican electors, that's pretty damned screwy indeed.

[mommax3]

My 4th graders' classmates have watched the JibJab thing and he knows that DH and I have watched it. I will not let him view it and he thinks we are hiding some colossally funny thing from him. I have told him that the language is not appropriate for children. However, some of his more intense classmates (and he would be one of them, had he watched the thing) have of course memorized it and sing parts of it around school, so he might as well have watched it.

All of the stuff favoring one candidate over another that is being taught in schools or encouraged by "responsible" adults is completely inappropriate. I don't care what side you are on. You all know my views, but there is NO WAY I would express them to children who are not my own, and even when they are my own, I would tell them why I thought they way I did, but that when they were adults it would be their RIGHT to learn about the issues and decide for themselves.

Here is what I am doing with my students. I am going to remind them of the story of the 3 Little Pigs. Then I am going to read them a story called "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs", which is told from the wolf's perspective. We are going to discuss the differences in viewpoint shown by the stories, and then we are going to vote on who we believe, and we will discuss, after the vote, why we believed the candidate we chose. That is really it in a nutshell, right?

Why can't everyone just think for themselves and be done with it instead of getting so inflammatory over every freaking thing?

Sally

[PrincessFiona]

Sally, that's an awesome idea! Where could I get a copy of the three little pigs/the true story of the three little pigs.

What a great way to teach children about different views of the world.

kris

[mommax3]

Kris, I am just hoping they all remember the "original" 3 Little Pigs ("he huffed and he puffed.......") but I got the other book at the library.....I will try to remember to write down the name of the author for you -- the book is at school right now.

BTW, I didn't come up with this on my own -- I got it off an internet lesson plan site.

Sally

[Rapunzel]

My biggest petpeeve is that news organizations far and wide have just completely given up on actual reporting and have just decided everything is an editorial.

Seriously, I read several papers regularly and it just boggles my mind that the writers ever actually graduated with journalism degrees. Their pieces are rampant with personal judgements of various persons and actions without any attempt at restraint. I feel like we've landed back in the days of "yellow journalism".

I would like the facts please - ALL of the facts (not just the carefully selected few that support the authors' - oh, I'm sorry - the "journalists'" opinions) and LEAVE OUT the emotional adjectives.

I used to think the editor for the paper in the Spiderman story was just funny. Now, the reality of that character is driving me batty. The really sad thing is that I have a friend who is a journalist and she has now worked for several papers in more than one state. She related to me that the main editors for these papers (all of them that she was familiar with) were pretty much like that guy - what got published was what they felt was their view of the world.

Along the same lines, why, oh why, do newspapers feel it is a good or necessary thing to "endorse" a candidate? I have heard the argument that the editorial boards of a paper are seperate from the rest of the editors. But, seriously, I find it easy to predict which paper will endorse which candidate based on the adjectives they choose for the candidates in their stories and the slant of the headlines over the course of weeks.

The fact is that knowledge is power and whoever controls that knowledge wields incredible sway over events. It appears that media outlets have ceased to be observers and have decided to enter the world as manipulators of those events (or rather the information about those events). At that point, they cease to become purely "news" organizations and, instead, qualify themselves as propagandists.

That is my pet peeve - and it began to develop long before this presidential debate and, I fear, will have reason to continue long after this debate. We only tend to see state-controlled media as dangerous. Unfortunately, we don't see political media disguised as impartial journalism as similarly dangerous.... There is a misconception that I encounter that we should not hold large media outlets accountable for their information distributing. On the contrary, if a media outlet is shown to be spreading false information - especially deliberately - that media outlet deserves absolutely no respect by the American public, and it might be wise to impose legal sanctions on the more egregious examples.

Jennifer

[BonBon]

Along the same lines, why, oh why, do newspapers feel it is a good or necessary thing to "endorse" a candidate?

This has gotten my knickers in a twist. I have not been able to figure it out myself. Hardly impartial.

On an interesting note however, our local paper had endorsed Kerry for pres. and a Republican for the local US Rep seat. I was surprised to see that, I thought they would endorse down the party line.