🚀 go-pugleaf

On Fri, 24 Nov 2000 21:45:33 GMT, Brian Stretch
<bstretch@mindspring.com> wrote:

>Read the full article here:
>http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=65000671
>
>Also see:
>http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=65000648
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55133-2000Nov23.html
>
>"There is no evidence that the absentee ballots of felons have been
>challenged. 
>
>But the absentee ballots of members of the military were challenged.
>Many were thrown out. 
>
>In the most shameful and painful act of the hand counts, the Democrats
>on the ground, and their operators from the Democratic National
>Committee and the state organization and the Gore campaign,
>deliberately and systematically scrutinized for challenge every military
>absentee ballot, and knocked out as many as they could on whatever
>technicality they could find or even invent. 
>
>Reports begin to filter out. The Democratic army of lawyers and
>operatives marches into the counting room armed with a five-page memo
>from a Democratic lawyer, instructing them on how to disfranchise
>military voters. The lawyers and operatives unspool reams of computer
>printouts bearing the names and party affiliation of military voters.
>Those who are Republicans are subject to particular and seemingly
>relentless scrutiny. Right down to signatures on ballots being compared
>with signatures on registration cards. A ballot bearing a domestic
>postmark because a soldier had voted, sent his ballot home to his
>parents and asked them to mail it in on time, is thrown out. A ballot
>that comes with a note from an officer explaining his ship was not able
>to postmark his ballot, but that he had voted on time--and indeed it had
>arrived in time--is thrown out, because it has no postmark."
>-- 
>Brian Stretch  http://www.mindspring.com/~bstretch  Cert. Technojunkie
>"Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a
>well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all,
>enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy."--John Derbyshire, NR

Every piece of mail from ships goes through FPO's which are more than
capable of applying a postmark.  If you want to blame someone for
military votes blame the FPO's who did not apply postmarks.  Also
eventhough I could mail my vote postage free I always put a stamp on
it they will postmark that.  Also several of the ballots were not
signed and/or witnessed both are throw out qualifications.  

In the previous article,  <fsalsbur@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Every piece of mail from ships goes through FPO's which are more
> than capable of applying a postmark.

Capable, yes.  But sometimes they blow it off.  If a shipment of as-
yet-unpostmarked mail is sitting there, and a plane is about to leave,
they'll load it up without bothering to postmark it.  I think that
theoretically it's supposed to get postmarked by the receiving office
stateside, but in practice this sometimes doesn't happen.

Out of the hundreds of pieces of mail I've sent to the US from ships
abroad, and out of the maybe two dozen such I've received, I'd say at
least 15% were unpostmarked.  (I used to pay close attention to stuff
like that.)

> If you want to blame someone for military votes blame the FPO's who
> did not apply postmarks.

I don't "blame" anyone, personally.  If the law says they were invalid
without postmarks, then they were invalid without postmarks.  Fine,
throw 'em out.

Of course, "the law" also says that votes need to be certified by 5
p.m. on Tuesday, November 14th.  And that the Florida Secretary of
State may ignore tallies submitted after the deadline.  And that
county officials who fail to meet the deadline must -- *must* -- be
fined.  When do we start respecting that law?

I don't have a problem with the Democrats throwing out these votes.  I
have a problem with them throwing out these votes and then turning
around and mouthing lies about how they want "every vote counted."

> Also eventhough I could mail my vote postage free I always put a
> stamp on it they will postmark that.

That makes you a very unusual individual.  I don't know too many
people who stamp postage-free mail.

> Also several of the ballots were not signed and/or witnessed both
> are throw out qualifications.

Yes, those are most certainly grounds for throwing out ballots.  And
rightly so.
-- 
  _+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\      /  baldwin@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
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