Join Open Primaries' End of Year Review

 

Tomorrow, 17 December 2024 at 3 pm, Open Primaries will hold its last discussion of 2024, reviewing what was accomplished and learned this year.

Description:

 

In 2024, our movement saw 8 open primary initiatives on the 2024 ballot across the country. Millions of voters voted for open primaries, and 2 campaigns garnered enough votes to win (Washington DC & Alaska).

In poll after poll, open primaries consistently get 70%+ of the public’s support but translating that support into votes is not automatic. It takes work -- a lot of work. Both parties oppose us and they’ve become experts at sowing doubt among voters.

Our final Primary Buzz Discussion of the year will be a deep dive into where we are right now as a movement: what’s working? What’s not? How can we effectively grow in 2025 to set us up for success in 2026?

On Tuesday, December 17th at 3pm EST, Open Primaries President John Opdycke will interview Lisa Rice, Juli Lucky, Sarah Smallhouse & Chuck Coughlin. Get ready for an unfiltered conversation on how the open primaries movement fared in 2024. 

Register here: https://openprimaries.org/virtual-discussions-series/

Puberty Blocker Findings Withheld

 

Political interference with science: a paper on puberty blockers is withheld because it doesn't support the researchers' assumptions, and one of the leaders of the research lies about the baseline data in an attempt to cover this up. The link here should go to the relevant part of Dark Horse podcast #249.

https://fstube.net/w/iKubrQfxaj97WuZuQ8rf9V

 

It should come as no surprise that a scientist who would withhold her own findings for political reasons is now being sued for malpractice by Kaya Clementine Breen, a former patient who says her main aim is to “help dismantle the rumor that no one is ever fast-tracked into gender treatments": https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ucla-student-sues-california-doctors-says-was-fast-tracked-transgender-rcna183815

 

Such political interference with scientific integrity also operates on the level of policy-setting by professional organizations, as was demonstrated by sexologist Dr. James Cantor in his paper "American Academy of Pediatrics and trans- kids: Fact-checking Rafferty (2018)."

 

Actions like Breen's are exactly the right way to confront this issue. Rather than fall back on authoritarian measures like age restrictions, simply require professionals to actually conduct the careful, comprehensive evaluation they were trained to do -- and eliminate any obstacles to accountability such as liability caps and statutes of limitations.

 

 

The Interested Party Behind the Nobelists' Letter

"It should be evident that science, like everything else, has a political economy. And in the case of 'biodefense' — read: biowarfare — the corruption is off the charts." In his latest Substack post, Sam Husseini shows that concern for public health isn't the motive for this letter -- which a critically minded person should already have suspected just based on the fact that many of the signatories' prizes weren't even in medicine or physiology, the only area where their expertise would be relevant to the merits of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s appointment.

In fairness to the signatories, I should point out that their behavior is likely just the product of normal processes of social influence rather than conscious corruption.

https://husseini.substack.com/p/are-75-nobel-prize-winners-all-grifters

Born on this Day: Flamenco Singer José Monje Cruz

 

José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla, was a Spanish Romani flamenco singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations with Paco de Lucía and Tomatito, and the three of them were of major importance to the revival of flamenco in the second half of the 20th century. Many consider Camarón to be the single most popular and influential flamenco cantaor (singer) of the modern period.

The above information comes from Newgon. In the book Positive Memories we read:

"In 1976 he married a gypsy girl, Dolores Montoya, whom he nicknamed La Chispa (the Spark). He had first met the girl about a decade before and he asked for her hand in marriage when she was only fourteen. Together they had four children. [...] The Reportaje de TV del entierro de Camarón (TV Report on Camerón's funeral) consists of a video about Camerón, his funeral, and La Chispa. In it she says that he was 'a very good person and a very good husband and artist.' [...] La Chispa also used to visit (or still visits) his grave for years after his funeral."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10wxc1Fou9g

Independent Pennsylvanians' December Statewide Meeting Is Coming Up

 

The announcement:

Monday December 9th at 7 pm

2024 in review & What's next in 2025

Our monthly statewide meetings are welcoming and friendly discussions, where we explore and strategize how WE can strengthen the power of Pennsylvania's 1.2 million independents & make our election system fair, open and democratic. 
Let's change the culture of how we do and talk about politics

Register here: https://independentpa.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63f7d4230a13b61729c735a5f&id=2acf4e9d1d&e=26ba9583aa

 

 

 

Virtual Update on the Campaign to Exonerate Ethel

This important announcement from the Rosenberg Fund for Children:

 

 

This Saturday, December 7th, you're invited to join Rosenberg Fund for Children Founder, Robert Meeropol, and Executive Director, Jennifer Meeropol, for a virtual discussion about the recently relaunched campaign to Exonerate Ethel. This event is hosted by the World Fellowship Center.

Ethel Rosenberg (Robert's mother and Jennifer's grandmother) was accused of spying for the Soviet Union and, in 1953 at the height of the McCarthy era, was executed alongside her husband, Julius. Her sons have worked for decades to prove that their mother never spied, securing the release of hundreds of thousands of pages of previously secret files. The most recent includes a bombshell memo, written by a top U.S. codebreaker who decrypted secret Soviet communications, dated three years before Ethel's execution, confirming that the U.S. government knew she was not a spy; yet the government allowed her execution to go forth anyway knowing her conviction was wrongful.

History must be corrected, Ethel's good name must be cleared, and what happened to her and her family must never be allowed to happen again. This is why Ethel's sons, together with the Rosenberg Fund for Children, have relaunched this campaign to ask Biden to Exonerate Ethel before he leaves office.

 

Program Details

Date: Sat., Dec 7th at 10:30am (eastern) About: Join RFC Founder Robert Meeropol and RFC Executive Director Jenn Meeropol for a virtual program about the ongoing campaign to call on President Biden to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg. This program will have time for Q&A and will conclude with a discussion of lessons learned from intergenerational organizing. This event is free and open to the public. Please register to receive the login information.

Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology

I just acquired this book today. I'm sure it will make fascinating and timely reading.

https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=1D358EDAB831FFC5520B17AC1671B514

The Social Function of Sexual Suppression (Quote of the Day)

 

Quote from Wilhelm Reich on the social function of sexual suppression

               https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/reichwilhelm_fascistpsychology.pdf

Research Shows Scott Lilienfeld Was Right About DEI

Controlled laboratory experiments show that materials used in typical DEI programs strongly increase propensities for prejudice and authoritarianism, in direct contradiction to their stated purpose, as discussed in this recent segment of The Jimmy Dore Show: 

https://fstube.net/w/k2EQCGGmP25Ke8CgMcQziP

This is exactly what Scott Lilienfeld warned about in his paper "Microaggressions: Strong Claims, Inadequate Evidence," which, along with his earlier protests against politicians' pandering to popular prejudice in reaction to the Rind et Al. metanalysis, is what inspired me to nominate him for the Unity 2020 presidential ticket.

"Britten liked children to be in charge."

 

Benjamin Britten was born on November 22, 1913. Brittanica says, 

Benjamin Britten (born November 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England—died December 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a leading British composer of the mid-20th century, whose operas were considered the finest English operas since those of Henry Purcell in the 17th century. He was also an outstanding pianist and conductor.

As related by Titus Rivas in his book Positive Memories (p. 307):

According to a classical music blog,

"Britten liked children to be in charge. The freer they were, the better he liked it. He never talked down to children and, in sports, never lost by choice."

One of the boys with whom Britten had a close platonic friendship was the English film actor and director David Hemmings (1941-2003). At the time, Hemmings performed as a boy soprano in several of Britten's works.

Hemmings was age twelve when he came into Britten’s life as the creator of the role of Miles in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.

“He was incredibly warm to me, yes. Was he infatuated with me? Yes, he was. He was a gentleman; there was no sort of overt sexuality about it whatsoever. It was a very kind and very loving and very gentle relationship. 

"Did he kiss me? Yes, he did. But that was more my need as a young boy alone in his house than it was any threat. I slept in his bed, when I was frightened, and I still felt no sexual threat whatsoever. And I think it would have embarrassed him a damn sight more than it would have embarrassed me at the time.”

"Was I aware of his homosexuality? Yes, I was. Was I aware that he had a proclivity for young boys? Yes. I was. Did I find that threatening? No, because I learnt an awful lot through it. Did I feel that he was desperately fond of me? I suppose I did, but I must say I thought far more in a sort of fatherly fashion; and I had a a very bad father-son relationship... 

"There is no man in my entire life that has been more influential on my attitudes than Ben.” 

Denounce the 52 Democrats Who Voted to Enable Trump's Attacks on Nonprofits

From Civic Shout:

In a shocking and deeply disappointing move, 52 House Democrats just voted in support of a bill that would give Donald Trump unprecedented power to target nonprofits and strip them of their tax-exempt status. This bill would allow Trump’s Treasury Secretary to label organizations as “terrorist-affiliated” without due process—a direct threat to the charities, advocacy groups, and nonprofits that fight for justice, equality, and environmental protection.

Trump has repeatedly shown hostility toward organizations that challenge his agenda. With this new power, he could cripple nonprofits that support marginalized communities, defend civil rights, and advocate for progressive values. Voting for this bill was a betrayal of the very principles these Democratic lawmakers were elected to protect.

As Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, put it, "If you're looking for a handy list of Democrats who have no f***ing clue what is about to hit and need their spines stiffened ASAP, this is a good place to start."

The House is expected to vote on this bill again as soon as soon as today. We need to make sure these 52 Democrats join the majority of other Democrats in standing with nonprofits against this dangerous and misguided legislation.

Tell Democrats: Don’t enable Trump’s attacks on nonprofits. Reject the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act if it comes up for another vote.

Here’s the full list of House Democrats who voted in favor of this bill:

Colin Allred (TX-32), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Yadira Caraveo (CO-8), Ed Case (HI-1), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Jim Costa (CA-21), Angie Craig (MN-2), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Sharice Davids (KS-3), Don Davis (NC-1), Debbie Dingell (MI-6), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Jared Golden (ME-2), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Josh Harder (CA-9), Jahana Hayes (CT-5), Steny Hoyer (MD-5), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Greg Landsman (OH-1), Susie Lee (NV-3), Mike Levin (CA-49), Kathy Manning (NC-6), Lucy McBath (GA-7), Grace Meng (NY-6), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Frank Mrvan (IN-1), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Hillary Scholten (MI-3), Kim Schrier (WA-8), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Elissa Slotkin (MI-7), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Greg Stanton (AZ-4), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Norma Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (NM-2), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).

These Democrats have aligned themselves with Trump’s harmful agenda instead of standing up for the nonprofits that play a critical role in our democracy.

We call on these 52 Democrats to reverse course and stand up for nonprofits that serve the public good. It is unacceptable for Democrats to give Trump unchecked power to attack the organizations that protect our rights, serve our communities, and work tirelessly for a better world.

Sign this petition to denounce these Democratic lawmakers and demand that they stand with nonprofits when the bill comes up for another vote.

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/denounce-the-52-democrats-who-voted-to-enable-trumps-attacks-on-nonprofits 

Will Durant

 

Will Durant, born as William James Durant on November 5, 1885, in North Adams, Massachusetts, was an American writer, philosopher, and historian. He and his wife Ariel were among the most eminent scholars of the 20th Century. A charming video about their romance is linked below.

https://fstube.net/w/dVk6LVyxy3ooNKUWLC15xq

OTD: Gay Author Augusten Burroughs

 

Bestselling author Augusten Burroughs was born on this day in 1965. As his website states:

Augusten Burroughs is one of the most widely-read and critically-acclaimed memoirists in the world. His works are published in more than 30 countries and have sold over 10 million copies, making him one of the best-selling LGBTQ+ authors of all time.

"The #1 bestselling author has written eight memoirs, one novel, a self-help book and a children's picture book. His memoir Running with Scissors was a publishing phenomenon, spending more than 70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and exploding the memoir genre wide open. Augusten's follow-up memoir, Dry, details the story of his recovery from alcoholism and remains -- over 20 years after its publication -- a staple literature in the recovery community.

 

Bruce Rind writes about him:

 

Shortly after the Catholic Church sex scandal involving priests sexually involved with boys began, Burroughs retold his own involvement with priests to add some nuance to the invariant black-and-white presentations in the media. Burroughs noted that

 

"Catholic priests have given me some of the best blow jobs of my life."

 

The first was when he was 14 years old. Though his mother was not Catholic, nor even particularly religious, she frequented a Catholic church on Sundays for the symbolism, and young Augusten occasionally accompanied her. He would spend his time walking around the offices rather than attending the services. Often on his explorations he would pass by a priest, on whom he had a crush “because he was young and almost hunky.”

 

Eventually in the priest he could discern a hunger to match his own. At one point, Augusten passed the priest in the hallway and then walked into the men's room for the sole purpose of peeing. Then the priest walked in – Augusten thought the priest entered to scold him about some bad conduct. Instead the priest walked up to the urinal next to him and began staring at Augusten's penis in an absorbed, transfixed manner. For Burroughs, the unfolding situation was sudden and unexpected, but not unwanted.

 

As Burroughs commented, he himself felt horny, so he dropped his pants and stepped away from the urinal, facing the man – and getting what turned out to be his “first excellent blow job from a Catholic priest.”

 

The priest then began sobbing – he was fearful that his transgression would become known. Augusten, though, assured him he would never tell, and he never did tell anyone. He commented that he felt terrible – not for the sex, but for the priest's reaction. But for the sex itself, Burroughs provided the following analogy to convey his feelings:

 

“He was a hunky young guy in the wrong career who got my rocks off. For a straight guy, it would be like being 14, and having one of the centerfolds from Playboy step out of the magazine and hand you a bottle of mineral oil.”

 

Rind adds that Burroughs did realize that not all sexual encounters with Catholic priests have been positive and that he had homoerotic desires when his own encounter took place.

 

Source: Article by Bruce Rind "Blinded by Politics and Morality -- A Reply to McAnulty and Wright" in Censoring Sex Research, republished in Positive Memories by T. Rivas.

An Appeal from Political Prisoner Nelson Maatman

This was posted online yesterday: 

Dutch gay political activist Nelson Maatman has now spent 2 1/2 years in Mexican jail awaiting trial on frame-up charges, under atrocious conditions. He's recently released an update on his conditions.

Nelson was arrested as a result of a set-up by two corrupt NGOs, the Netherlands-based Free A Girl and the US-based Operation Underground Railroad run by con man Tim Ballard. Below Nelson's message, I'm appending images of an email leaked from Ballard's organization acknowledging entrapment behaviors on their part.

> 11th of October 2024, RVPO, Ciudad de México > > For the last couple of months I've been dating the most amazing guy. We have so much in common and the things we don't have in common I like even more. It's been a hard knock life for the both of us, but when I'm with him it feels like the whole world disappears including the hell hole we're in. > It's far from easy. We're both scarred by our difficult pasts, but together we're working on it. Recently however things have become impossible and it seems like absolutely nobody is helping us. > A while back my boyfriend - whom was living 3 doors down at the time - ‘accidentally’ go transfer to a new dormitory by prison administration. They moved him to the group cell in the dormitory for recidivists. Those are people whom are in jail for at least the third time in their life. Not cold-hearted sicarios, but the worst kind of street thugs live there. > It's my boyfriend's first time in prison for a relatively small crime when he was 18. He's not some tough gangster. He has learned to stand up for himself, but he's still a timid gay guy that even the prison admits is vulnerable in prison, and for that he legally has the right to protection. Protection he doesn't get. Protection we need. > > Things went to hell a few weeks ago. For some thoughts brought me my boyfriend - whom was already marked by several hits he took - the hit him several times in front of me and told me that if I didn't pay that they'd beat the shit out of him. I paid the extortionist and then I paid some more to get rid of them. > I bought my boyfriend a bunk in a relatively quiet part of the group cell so he'd be safer, more comfortable and we'd have a place to hang out. I waited to visit so he could settle, but soon things went wrong again. A guy in one of the bunks below him falsely accused my boyfriend of stealing a radio. My boyfriend has a large history of false accusation and and as a gay guy in a homophobic ‘Catholic’ country ALWAYS got screwed over. > I didn't want to risk his safety or for him to end up in punishment. From my own experience I know how bad it is down there. I've often called it “worse than Guantanamo”, that should give you an image. > I paid to replace the radio, I paid to have the accuser moved out, and I paid for protection. I decided it was time to let my presence be known since I have a lot of rep in other parts of the prison. I paid the mafia for my right to visit and to get their ‘blessing’. > Despite the roaches and smell of death rat, his bunk turned into a little slice of heaven for us to hang out, smoke, talk, kiss, but it didn't last long. Things got weird quick. > My boyfriend started talking about how I should break up with him because he was supposedly no good for me. They found the real thief, but didn't give us back our money. And I was getting sick of the amount of favors and gifts the mafioso kept demanding. That was just the first day. > The second day my boyfriend acted distant, but initially wouldn't tell me why. At the end of the day as it was getting close for me to leave he finally broke and told me they were forcing him to extort me, but that he didn't want to. They had a used condom and wanted to force him to file a rape complaint if I didn't pay. > > No, yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but do realize that I'm already being held for two and a half years for HUMAN TRAFFICKING and drug trade without trial, without evidence and without the possibility of a defense against a crime I obviously didn't commit. > With the Mexican Government against me a condom with my sperm and a forced or made up victim declaration. I could easily be looking at several extra years of pre trial detention. And what about my boyfriend his safety? > > I didn't have a choice. I paid to get the condom and faked breaking up with my boyfriend, publicly accusing him of extortion to stop the actual extortion. Obviously I didn't formally accuse him of extortion and it's with his knowledge and consent. Secretly we're still seeing each other in other parts of the prison. > > The prison and my embassy - his embassy sucks - are aware of the situation and have promised to take appropriate action. They haven't done anything at all. I communicate with them daily and they keep telling us ‘not to worry’. > We're in danger come on broke, underweight and starving. Nobody helps. > > Nobody helps mainly because apparently two guys who love each other is something horrible. More horrible than the systematic torture that goes on in this prison, or the trafficking of transforming for sex. > > Please somebody send help or at least some money so we can eat! Stop looking away. > > Nelson Maatman > > 11th of October 2024

You can click on each of the images below to view the page in full.

 

 

 

 

 

PfP's Annual Gala is Back!

From Playgrounds for Palestine:

Annual PfP Gala is back! Light refreshments & silent auction, followed by dinner, presentations, and entertainment.

It has been a long absence since covid first paused our annual gala, a constant of our community since 2001.

So much has happened in the past year, and PfP has stepped up to do our part to protect our children, especially in Gaza. This year, we finished three playground projects that carried over from previous years, but our flagship project now is a school we recently established in Gaza to serve 120 students (for now). We are hoping to expand and grow to meet the dire need of children who are facing another year without school.

These children are our future and we refuse to sit by while their futures are being stolen. We hope you will join us to learn more about this initiative and support our work.

PfP remains a labor of love, with an all volunteer administrative staff in the US. Our biggest source of income are individual donations and sales of AIDA olive oil products.

The evening will begin with light refreshments and a silent auction, followed by dinner, presentations, and music by the stunning, talented, compassionate, beautiful, soulful Farah Siraj.

Get your tickets now.

It's Kate Winslet's Birthday!

 

 

Actress Kate Winslet was born on this day in 1975. One of her best-known roles was in Titanic, whose opening she missed to attend the funeral of Stephen Tredre, her first love, after he died from bone cancer. He had urged her to break off their relationship so that she could focus on making the movie, but she subsequently expressed regret that she hadn’t been with him at the end. As related by T. Rivas in Positive Memories:

“British academy-award winning actress Kate Winslet had a relationship with her colleague Stephen Tredre that began when she was 15 and lasted for about five years, from 1991 to 1995. Tredre was almost 13 years her senior.

"Shortly after he died of cancer in 1997, Kate Winslet confessed he had been the love of her life.

“She confirmed this again for an interview in 2008 connected to her performance in The Reader:

“'He was very much the love of my life during those years.’"

https://www.vulture.com/2008/12/three_out_of_four_the_reader_s.html

The Inquirer's Confusion Reflects Why Democrats Are Losing

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an article reporting on the fact that Democrats have been losing ground to Republicans among working-class Philadelphians. The article itself is marked by a terminological conflation that precisely reflects the reason many Democrats don't understand why this is happening.

It says, "[W]orking-class voters in Philadelphia, a once reliable voting bloc for the party, have drifted right in recent years." Variations on this are repeated several times in the article. Yet not an iota of evidence is presented that working-class Philadelphians have become more conservative ideologically -- only that more are voting for the GOP, at least when its nominee is Trump.

It's not working people who've been moving to the right; it's the Democratic Party that's done so, leaving workers less reason to vote for it. In the absence of a mass workers' party, it's primarily the Republicans that benefit.

But this shift also increases the opportunities for a solution to this problem. The more workers see Trump as the lesser evil, the more can make Vote Pacts with those who still see Harris in that light -- freeing both to vote for a real pro-worker alternative like the Green Party.

FIRE: Penn takes a hammer to academic freedom

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has issued the following statement about the University of Pennsylvania's sanctioning of Professor Amy Wax:

 

Yesterday, the University of Pennsylvania completed its years-long end run around academic freedom to punish law professor Amy Wax. FIRE's working hard to ensure Penn's dubious tactics won't become the new playbook for private universities, which, unlike public universities, are not bound by the First Amendment.



Long under pressure to "do something" about the controversial Wax — who's been widely criticized for her views on race and gender — Penn finally got its woman yesterday.

After conducting a nearly two-year investigation of Wax, which extended more than a year since the last real hearing in her case, Penn announced the professor would indeed be sanctioned for "unprofessionalism." She'll keep her tenured faculty role and serve a one-year suspension at half-pay. She'll also keep her benefits, an important fact given that Wax has been fighting cancer while battling Penn administrators.

Penn is a private school that nonetheless makes First Amendment-like promises to respect its students' and faculty members' right to free expression. Whether on a contractual or moral basis, Penn should have kept those promises. Instead, it abandoned principle for the sake of expediency.

While it remains to be seen whether Wax will keep her promise to sue Penn if she's punished, I told The New York Times yesterday that the university's decision "should send a chill down the spine of every faculty member, not just at Penn but at every private institution around the country."

Penn's dubious procedural efforts — which stripped Wax of many of the due process protections tenure affords — paid off. If that's all it takes to sidestep tenure, the rights of even the most protected private college faculty are tenuous at best.

FIRE has long defended Wax, and we continue to do so for two reasons. First, because her comments are unquestionably protected by academic freedom. And second, because the same principles that protect her right to hold both her views and her job also protect faculty who represent a range of viewpoints around the country.

In our hyper-polarized political moment, faculty increasingly find themselves called "unprofessional" for their views on Israel and Gaza. Or on race. Or gender. Or abortion, or immigration, or the police, or COVID-19, or politics more broadly. Often the only thing standing between the angry college administrator — or the disgruntled donor, or the social media mob, or the local legislator coming for that professor's job — is the time-honored principle of academic freedom.

That's why, regardless of whether you care for Amy Wax's opinions, you should care what happens to her. If our colleges and universities are to achieve their missions as bastions of academic excellence, faculty like Wax must remain free to speak their minds.

— Alex Morey, Vice President of Campus Advocacy

Voting As a Communal Activity

 

Ideally, voting should a communal civic activity, with a holiday set aside and related festivities organized around it. It's also something to which people should apply their critical judgment to the greatest extent possible. For this reason, I'm not an advocate of voting by mail except when it's a practical necessity. Voting by mail means voting early, which means that if you acquire new information close to Election Day after you've already mailed in your ballot, it's too late to change your mind. I don't approve of campaigns encouraging people to vote by mail merely in the name of convenience, since careful and fully informed deliberation, not convenience, should be the priority when it comes to exercising this civic responsibility.

In the spring of 2020 I applied for a mail ballot for the primary election on account of the pandemic. As it so happened, the ballot hadn't arrived by the weekend before the election, so I contacted the office of Al Schmidt, then one of Philadelphia's City Commissioners with whom I'm acquainted, and he swung by on Sunday afternoon to hand me an emergency ballot. I took a few minutes to go to a private spot to fill it out and then seal it, then brought it back to him, whereupon he dropped it in a portable ballot box right in front of me. Now Pennsylvania's secretary of state, he's a real public servant.

Since that primary, I haven't assessed contagion concerns as being sufficiently serious to argue against in-person voting for most people. But as of last November I've become a standby poll worker, serving in a different polling place than my own, so I've resumed voting by mail rather than having to take time out from my duties to go back to my own polling place and vote. My general opposition to voting early stands, however. So, even though my mail ballot arrived yesterday, I don't intend to fill it out and return it until about ten days before the election. That should be sufficient guarantee that it will be received before the deadline.