Letter from Deb Kleckowski

Congratulations to Matt Lesser on his win last night and thank- you to all of you who helped on my campaign and who voted for me. Though I may not have won, our voice still can be heard and must be heard. 

 I pledge to you as a member of the Common Council and an active member of this community that I will continue to work hard and bring your voices forward. It is imperative that we work together to provide solutions for the challenges which lay ahead. I encourage you all to hold the newly elected officials to their word on reinvigorating our sluggish economy and to stop the massive tax hikes and perpetual spending; it is our obligation.

 
Again, thank you to everyone who supported me in my effort and I look forward to working with you to make Middletown an even better place to live and to work. God Bless AMERICA!

Abuses of Early & Absentee Voting Are a Danger

Opinions expressed are those of the author, not necessarily the editors of the Insider

For the first time in any state virtually all voters in Ohio were this year mailed absentee ballot applications. Normally, a voter who does not expect to be physically present on Election Day applies for an absentee ballot. 

With the presidential election expected to hinge on Ohio, the state’s former secretary of state, Republican Kenneth Blackwell, is warning that a little-known change in the Buckeye State’s absentee-ballot process could lead to a “nightmare scenario.”

And that scenario could force the entire country to wait 10 days after the election to find out who will be the next president of the United States. It’s a complicated situation, to say the least, but one that could have a far-reaching impact on the Nov. 6 election process...

The concern is that thousands of Ohio voters may complete the absentee-ballot application and receive an absentee ballot, but not bother to complete and mail in the ballot. 

Anyone who is sent an absentee ballot — including those who do not complete it and mail it in — and later shows up at the polls on Election Day to cast their ballot in person will be instructed to instead complete a provisional ballot and, and under Ohio election law, provisional ballots cannot be opened until 10 days after an election. 

One estimate is that there could upwards of 250,000 of these provisional ballots to be counted 10 days after the election, not an insignificant number in a state where there is  expectation  of a very close election. Read more about the Ohio election here.

This writer believes that this will not be a close election, that Mitt Romney will be elected with a strong  majority of both the popular and electoral votes. However, we cannot risk another Florida type scenario where the results are not known for days or weeks afterward. Lax voter ID requirements, rampant in person early voting, and abuse of the absentee ballot process are some areas where changes are required if we are to remain confident in the accuracy of our electoral processes.

Continued:

Voter Registration Deadline Extended

10/30/2012 - Voter Registration Deadline postponed till November 1st at 8:00PM

In response to the dangerous weather impacting the state from Hurricane Sandy, Governor Dannel P. Malloy on Sunday evening signed an executive order extending the in-person voter registration deadline in Connecticut to Thursday, November 1, at 8 p.m. for those who intend to vote in the upcoming election.  The deadline had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, October 30, at 8 p.m.

 http://www.cityofmiddletown.com/controls/NewsFeed.aspx?FeedID=194

 

Guest Blog: Presidential Debate Round One & One Person's Story

Presidential Debate Round One --- Obama vs Romney
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 from 9–10:30pm on CT FOX Channel WTIC
Part 2 of a short series of articles by Tim D. Enchanter

What can be said about this debate which has not already been said? Perhaps the best indication of how good this debate was for the Republican Party was the published Unemployment Rate two days later. Seeing it drop below 8% for the first time in 4 years told me volumes about Mitt Romney’s debating skills.

Apparently, there are two surveys used to determine this rate as well as an estimate of how many people are still looking for work. The survey most people are familiar with is conducted with about 150,000 companies and has reported the creation of 114,000 new jobs. The other survey we are not familiar with is a phone survey of about 50,000 homes asking if anyone is working or doing anything to earn money. That survey shows 873,000 new jobs.

If someone is selling things they found in their attic on eBay to try to make ends meet then apparently that counts as someone now working or earning money. How they extrapolate 873,000 jobs from a phone poll of 50,000 homes is unknown to me but we are told that the government employees know what they are doing.

Meanwhile, the total population of people looking for work has decreased as those who have been unemployed for over two years are no longer eligible for unemployment insurance compensation. Apparently, the decrease of the estimated number of people looking for work and the increase of the estimated number of people working has resulted in a decrease in the unemployment rate, dropping that rate to 7.8%.

This good news will probably affect the expected “bounce” that Mitt Romney will receive from his debate performance, lowering that bounce by increasing President Obama’s Approval Rating.

It is certainly plausible that the poll numbers comparing President Obama to Mitt Romney will reflect the good news of the unemployment rate as well as Mitt Romney’s good debate performance. So when you see those poll numbers, you can assume that any increase in popularity Mitt Romney experiences would have been higher if the unemployment rate had not improved.

On a personal note, allow me to give some insight on how my life is affected by all this.

Politicians Leaving Their Mics On: Funny Stuff Makes Fun of GOP and Dems!

Having a bad day? Are you tired of all the stupid advertisements that both sides are shoving down our throats in the media?  Well, in the spirit of making folks laugh, The Middletown Insider presents the next chapter in our YouTube series:  Politicians Leaving Their Mics On.  Look for Biden Blunders, Reagan Gaffos, Jesse Jackson  Whispers, Bush Swears and More!