Monday, October 22, 2012
Early Voting: Day Five
Monday, October 21, 20012. 270 voters cast their votes today. Votes to date: 1239.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Early Voting: Day Four
Pamlico County One-Stop early voting was open four hours today (Sunday). Eighty-five voters cast ballots, an average of 21 per hour. On Saturday, we were open eight hours and one-hundred thirteen voters cast ballots, an average of 14 per hour.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Voting: Third Day
Early voting in Pamlico County fell off quite a bit today - only 113 votes were cast.
That's pretty consistent with past experience. Fewer voters cast ballots on Saturday than on week days. I imagine Saturday is, for most families, the day for chores and errands.
Tomorrow will be a new experience. We have never opened for early voting on a Sunday. We will be open on the 21st and 28th of October.
That's pretty consistent with past experience. Fewer voters cast ballots on Saturday than on week days. I imagine Saturday is, for most families, the day for chores and errands.
Tomorrow will be a new experience. We have never opened for early voting on a Sunday. We will be open on the 21st and 28th of October.
Seventy Years Ago: Operation Liberate North Africa
You're right. We didn't call the invasion of North Africa anything like "Operation Liberate North Africa." That's the sort of thing we do now, when military operations and their names have been taken over by Public Relations Experts.
The real name was "Operation Torch."
Guadalcanal was "Operation Watchtower."
Such names were meant to conceal, not reveal, the purpose of the operation. And certainly not to gloat.
Allied Commander of Operation Torch was Dwight David Eisenhower, Major General, United States Army. Little over a year earlier, he had been Colonel Eisenhower, in charge of the Army's Louisiana Maneuvers. A decade in the future, he would be elected President.
Presidential Scholar Richard Neustadt describes outgoing President Truman's speculation about Eisenhower's difficulties should he win the election: "He'll sit here," Truman would remark (tapping his desk for emphasis), "and he'll say, 'Do this! Do that!' And nothing will happen. Poor Ike-it won't be a bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
Neustadt thought Truman's prediction was accurate and that Eisenhower found the presidency frustrating.
I think Truman was wrong. No one knew better than Eisenhower how to persuade reluctant and egotistic subordinates to do what he wanted done.
An example of what Eisenhower had to deal with and how he proceeded is set out in a long letter from him to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall dated October 20, 1942. It was very far from "do this!" and "do that!" The letter can be read here.
Neustadt's essay on presidential power, from the introduction to a later edition of his book, can be read here. It is well worth taking the time to read it. Better yet, read the whole book.
The real name was "Operation Torch."
Guadalcanal was "Operation Watchtower."
Such names were meant to conceal, not reveal, the purpose of the operation. And certainly not to gloat.
Allied Commander of Operation Torch was Dwight David Eisenhower, Major General, United States Army. Little over a year earlier, he had been Colonel Eisenhower, in charge of the Army's Louisiana Maneuvers. A decade in the future, he would be elected President.
Presidential Scholar Richard Neustadt describes outgoing President Truman's speculation about Eisenhower's difficulties should he win the election: "He'll sit here," Truman would remark (tapping his desk for emphasis), "and he'll say, 'Do this! Do that!' And nothing will happen. Poor Ike-it won't be a bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
Neustadt thought Truman's prediction was accurate and that Eisenhower found the presidency frustrating.
I think Truman was wrong. No one knew better than Eisenhower how to persuade reluctant and egotistic subordinates to do what he wanted done.
An example of what Eisenhower had to deal with and how he proceeded is set out in a long letter from him to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall dated October 20, 1942. It was very far from "do this!" and "do that!" The letter can be read here.
Neustadt's essay on presidential power, from the introduction to a later edition of his book, can be read here. It is well worth taking the time to read it. Better yet, read the whole book.
Reverence Or Sacrilege?
Kountze, Texas (Hardin County). A group of high school cheerleaders painted Bible verses on large paper "run-through" banners that the high school football team runs through at the beginning of every football game.
The Kountze school district prohibited use of the banners, but a state district court judge has ruled they may continue this practice for the rest of the season. Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott came to the cheerleaders’ defense. They called the efforts by the Kountze school district to prohibit the banners “a great insult” that was out of step with a state law requiring districts to treat student expression of religious views in the same manner that secular views are treated.
According to the New York Times, the case has "galvanized" Christians in East Texas and has upset some of the usual suspects such as the Anti-Defamation League.
My question: are there any genuine Christians in East Texas? Let me get this straight: young cheerleaders mark up large paper banners with Bible verses, so that football players will run through them and destroy them? This is supposed to demonstrate religious fervor and devotion? Why not encase a bible in plastic and throw it around the field in a game of ultimate frisbee?
Has anyone caught up in this madness looked up the word "sacrilege?"
I have often wondered, in a similar fashion, about taking our symbols of worldly wealth or "mammon" and imprinting on those symbols the phrase "in God we trust." Is this intentional or merely unintentional mockery of God?
What has become of our sense of the sacred?
The Kountze school district prohibited use of the banners, but a state district court judge has ruled they may continue this practice for the rest of the season. Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott came to the cheerleaders’ defense. They called the efforts by the Kountze school district to prohibit the banners “a great insult” that was out of step with a state law requiring districts to treat student expression of religious views in the same manner that secular views are treated.
According to the New York Times, the case has "galvanized" Christians in East Texas and has upset some of the usual suspects such as the Anti-Defamation League.
My question: are there any genuine Christians in East Texas? Let me get this straight: young cheerleaders mark up large paper banners with Bible verses, so that football players will run through them and destroy them? This is supposed to demonstrate religious fervor and devotion? Why not encase a bible in plastic and throw it around the field in a game of ultimate frisbee?
Has anyone caught up in this madness looked up the word "sacrilege?"
I have often wondered, in a similar fashion, about taking our symbols of worldly wealth or "mammon" and imprinting on those symbols the phrase "in God we trust." Is this intentional or merely unintentional mockery of God?
What has become of our sense of the sacred?
Friday, October 19, 2012
Voting: Second Day
Pamlico County One-Stop early voting turnout fell off a bit today - to 328.
That is, five fewer voters turned out today than yesterday.
Total in-person votes to date: 661. Early voting days left: 15.
Total Absentee By Mail Votes reviewed by Board of Elections: 110
Total Ballots cast to date: 771+ (more absentee by mail votes to be reviewed 10/23)
Total Registered Voters: 9,361
2008 Registered Voters: 9,556
2008 Ballots Cast: 6,848
2008 Voter Turnout: 71.66%
Bottom Line: After two days, Pamlico County Voters have already cast 11.26% of ballots cast in 2008 and there are 15 more days of early voting, plus election day on November 6. We could see a new record.
That is, five fewer voters turned out today than yesterday.
Total in-person votes to date: 661. Early voting days left: 15.
Total Absentee By Mail Votes reviewed by Board of Elections: 110
Total Ballots cast to date: 771+ (more absentee by mail votes to be reviewed 10/23)
Total Registered Voters: 9,361
2008 Registered Voters: 9,556
2008 Ballots Cast: 6,848
2008 Voter Turnout: 71.66%
Bottom Line: After two days, Pamlico County Voters have already cast 11.26% of ballots cast in 2008 and there are 15 more days of early voting, plus election day on November 6. We could see a new record.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Voting: First Day
Pamlico County had a good turnout for the first day of early (one-stop) voting. Today's turnout was 333 voters. That's almost 100 more voters than turned out on the first day of one-stop in 2008.
Good job.
Good job.
Seventy Years Ago: South Pacific Area
October 18, 1942, Vice Admiral Robert Lee. Ghormley, Commander, South Pacific Area, was replaced by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey.
Ghormley had been in charge of the Navy/Marine Corps operation to invade Guadalcanal in early August, commanding forces, eventually including Army units, from his headquarters at Noumea. US Navy losses had been especially heavy.
The decision was made by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was concerned about Ghormley's pessimism and sought to replace him with a more aggressive and dynamic leader.
Halsey was such a man.
Ghormley had been in charge of the Navy/Marine Corps operation to invade Guadalcanal in early August, commanding forces, eventually including Army units, from his headquarters at Noumea. US Navy losses had been especially heavy.
The decision was made by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was concerned about Ghormley's pessimism and sought to replace him with a more aggressive and dynamic leader.
Halsey was such a man.
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