Editorial

More thinking about things

Saturday, February 16, 2008

A couple of hundred folks attended the Democratic caucus for President, held at the Red Willow County Courthouse, last Saturday. The turn-out was such that the caucus room had to be changed from the County Commission room to the District Courtroom. Since it was everybody's first caucus, there was some confusion about what was supposed to be done and how it was supposed to be done but everyone was pretty good-natured about everything until the votes were tallied. We were told by the caucus chair that they weren't allowed to tell us how many votes each candidate had. Their instructions were to send the results to party headquarters in Lincoln and the party would release the results.

This was the only part of the process that really upset people and a lot of people were upset. Since it was an open caucus and the Obama people were on one side of the courtroom and the Clinton people on the other, few people on either side of the aisle understood why the results should be a secret since we were all in open view of each other. In other words, we weren't casting secret ballots and anyone in the room could have counted the number of people on each side, so no one understood the need for secrecy. I have e-mailed Democratic headquarters trying to get a clarification on this but did not receive a response before this column had to be submitted. If the rule was interpreted correctly by the officials at the caucus, it's a bad rule and needs to be changed before we caucus the next time.

*****

Many of you saw the front-page photo of me and other caucus goers standing in line to register that was published in the McCook Gazette on Monday. Some kind soul mailed the photo to me. Whoever it was took the time to write the following words on the bottom of the photo: "Looks like the food-stamp line at the welfare office." I'm not sure how he would know what the food-stamp line at the welfare office looks like unless he's been there himself. I assume it was a "he" instead of a "she" since, of course, it was sent anonymously with nothing on the photo or the envelope that would reveal their identity. Since my name appears on everything I write, it would be nice if others would show me the same courtesy when they write to me. There are few things more distasteful than people hiding in the darkness of anonymity.

*****

I received a call a couple of weeks ago from the same young man who is considering a run for the City Council that a fellow Gazette columnist mentioned in his column last week. I failed to ask the caller during our conversation whether or not he wanted his inquiry made public at the time so I didn't take the liberty of mentioning it in my own column. I agree with Dick that the young man will make an excellent addition to the council, should he decide to run and I told him that. I think it shows his foresight and his knowledge of the political process that he is seeking the advice of people from a wide range of political persuasions before he makes a decision. That kind of objective decision-making is exactly what we need on the Council and I wish him well if he decides to throw his hat in the ring.

*****

Hats off to Dr. Richard Tubbs, the Vice-President of McCook Community College, for coming up with the idea of a special Valentine's Day program that was held at the Weeth Theater on the campus of MCC Thursday night. The idea was implemented and brought to life by English, Speech, and Drama instructors Sue Watts and Doug Joyce, along with excellent student assistance, and the program went off without a hitch. There was music, dramatic readings, demonstrations, and essays all centered around the concept of romantic love and it appeared that everyone, both participants and attendees, had a good time. Here's hoping this becomes an annual tradition at MCC.

*****

Finally, I've never been much of a fan of Valentine's Day because I think when you're in a loving relationship, EVERY day should be Valentine's Day. We should never take a day off when it comes to demonstrating our love to the person who chose us over everyone else.

"You'll risk it all, no matter what may come, when you love someone." (Bryan Adams)

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  • I agree with you on the anonymity of the the internet. That is why I disclose. At least you know who has the other opinion.

    -- Posted by wallismarsh on Sat, Feb 16, 2008, at 7:01 AM
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