I don't know about you, but my phones were ringing off the hook during the weekend. Luckily, I have Caller ID, and I was able to filter most of the last-minute political calls for area races as well as the presidential bonanza.
I find it rather humorous that we were getting calls from both parties. Surely with today’s technology and access to information everywhere, you wouldn’t think that the opposing party would call and waste their time. Maybe they’re looking for voters from one party to cast their ballots for candidates in the other party. It hardly seems worth their efforts.
But one can expect such frenzy on the brink of our country’s most historic presidential election. I’m betting that turnout will be heavy in Mercer County, following the patterns of the enlightened states around the country that offer early voting.
Unfortunately, we don’t live in one of the enlightened states, and the only way you can vote ahead of time in the Keystone State is by absentee ballot. You can only get one of them if you can prove that you won’t be here on Election Day or are unable to vote because of some physical limitations.
Lines have been much longer than usual in states such as Florida and Virginia, leading experts to predict a large turnout on Tuesday. The craziness of it all has been reports of people waiting in line for up to eight hours to vote. That leads to two questions: How can it take so long to vote, and how can early voting expect to be a continued success with such horror stories?
We hear a lot about First Amendment rights, controversy about gun control, the right of men and women to be pro-choice or pro-life, but little about one of our most sacred rights, the ability to vote. It is the cornerstone of democracy, but I’m both amazed and disgusted by the numerous residents who stay at home on Election Day.
The hypocritical thing about it is most of the people who don’t vote will be the ones to use their freedom of expression rights to complain the loudest. Polls open in Ohio at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Pennsylvania polls open at 7 a.m. and close and 8 p.m. Don’t miss out.
The editor's e-mail bag
The part of last week’s column about how ridiculously performers sing the national anthem before high-profile athletic contests stirred a lot of e-mails and phone calls. It is such a passionate issue with so many people, especially our veterans, that a man whom I didn’t know stopped me on the street in downtown Sharon to shake my hand one afternoon last week.
I got this e-mail from Steve Williams of Greenville first thing last Monday morning. “I was reading your editorial this morning and was glad to see the ending piece about the national anthem. One of the biggest pet peeves in our household is the ‘butchering’ of the national anthem at sporting events. My wife and I consider it unpatriotic when it’s not sung the proper way and it really irritates us.
“You mentioned Game 1 of the World Series. Did you happen to see last night’s horrible rendition? Patti LaBelle delivered, perhaps, the worst national anthem I have ever heard, and she screwed up the words.” (For the record, she sang “skylight’s last gleaming” instead of “twilight’s,” and “through the perilous flight” instead of “fight”).
“On another note, the best national anthem I have witnessed was at the one and only NASCAR race my wife and I ever went to. About five or six years ago, we went to the race at Michigan. LeAnn Rimes sang a beautiful anthem, with a very powerful fly-over during the last few notes, followed by the roaring ‘starting of the engines.’ Just writing about it makes my hair stand on end!”
I got the following e-mail from Shirley Bigley of Lakeland, Fla., reacting to part of my column last week about Tuesday’s election. She is a former Pennsylvanian and an online reader of The Herald. “Sorry to be one of the e-mails to clutter up your inbox this morning, but I want to thank you for your timely editorial piece. It is a sorry state of affairs when, considering all the important issues facing the country, what happens on SNL and the ad nausea talk shows (cable soap operas) takes precedence. What happened to the ‘ ... angels of our better nature?’ Thanks for trying to bring a clearer perspective to this most historic, significant election and trying times.”
Jim Raykie is the editor of The Herald and writes this column on Mondays. His e-mail is jraykie@sharonherald.com
Opinion
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Don’t squander your right to have a say in election
An Editor's Notes
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Juicy tips will be far fewer without ‘Scoop’ on the phone
I enjoyed calling him Scoop. I was the newspaper guy, but for more years than I can remember, Gary Douglas was at the other end of phone calls on a regular basis.
“Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? Did you hear about so-and-so? Better check this out. I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this.”
That usually was the flow of the conversation. Most of the time he was right. Some of the tips turned into stories that were fit to print, and others not so much.
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The only thing we have to fear is fear-mongering
To hear some folks tell it, it’s no longer morning in America, it’s five minutes to midnight. They say the United States, once the greatest nation on Earth, is today on a glide path to the ash heap of history.
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Super Bowl Sunday brings a super boost for the local economy
The game is more than a glitzy international event. It serves as a one-day boon to local economies like ours here at home.
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Punxsutawney Phil, Mitt and a litany of bad GOP hopefuls
Here are some thoughts from a guy who doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in rascally rodents that make weather forecasts.
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In Ed Likovich’s yard, apples don’t fall very far from the tree
Adage tells us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It really applies to the Likovich family of Hermitage, specifically Ed the father and teacher and Ed the son and student.
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A smaller state legislature? Don’t hold your breath
Don't tell me that our state General Assembly is finally going to do what should have been done many years ago – cut the size of the Legislature.
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A sad end to life: History will determine JoePa’s legacy
I had the privilege, yes privilege and honor, of meeting Joe Paterno several times in my life, both as a student at Penn State and in my role as editor of The Herald. It was with a heavy heart when I learned that he was near death during the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual dinner at the Park Inn by Radisson Saturday, and that he had died Sunday.
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OUR VIEW: Dearth of candidate interest defies worth of legislative races
In case you hadn’t noticed, this is an election year. Actually every year is, but this is one of the big ones. Sure, there’s some sort of presidential race going on, but that’s just a sideshow to where the real action in this year’s election is – or at least should be.
Voters across the country will be electing every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and here in Mercer County voters will help decide who represents three state House districts. -
Hall of Fame weekend stirs memories of ‘good old days’
Is there anything better than reminiscing about the “good old days”? That’s why I love the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend.
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We couldn’t fool anyone - the neighborhood always snitched
An old African proverb tells us that it takes a village to raise a child. At least two books drawing lessons from the proverb have been written, including the most famous in 1996 by Hilary Clinton, “It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.”
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