What's on YOUR Ballot?

My son attends college in Maine. Recently he said that he plans to vote in Maine this November instead of sending in an absentee ballot for NJ (where we live and where he is currently registered), because "my vote is more important in Maine." We talked about this and, yes, his vote probably is more important in Maine; there are issues on the Maine ballot that we don't have on the NJ ballot, such as gay marriage.

What's on your local ballot? What do the propositions mean? This is a great research question for your students. Most of us are focusing just on electing a president—but there's a lot more at stake!

Discussion Question #10: Who's the Winner?

It would be really awful if people woke up on Wednesday, November 7th, looked at the news, and said, "What happened? I thought my candidate was way ahead. I guess I should've gone to vote!"

Here's something to talk about (from the Voter's Journal and Discussion Guide in Declaration of Interdependence):

Predict the winner of the next presidential election. Will you be happy if you're right? If so, how can you help make it happen? If not, what can you do? 

Win a Book!

My good friend, blogger Elaine Magliaro, is a very political person--politically aware and also not shy about voicing her political concerns--so I was very relieved when she said she likes my election poems. (Elaine is one of those brutally-honest friends that you can trust to tell you that your outfit (or poem) is terrible.) Leave a comment about at Elaine's blog and you'll have a chance to win a free book!

The First Obama-Romney Debate

What do you remember from last night's first Obama-Romney debate? Do you remember WHAT they said, or just HOW they said it?

Mainly I remember thinking: "Would someone give Obama a cup of coffee, please?" (Wake up, Mr. President!)

And: "How about some chamomile tea to calm Romney down a bit?"

As far as substance, I'm sorry to say I didn't remember a whole lot--much of what was said seemed like infomercial talking rather than genuine communication. And I'm not sure that I trusted what was said. It would be really neat to have little frowning faces (or question marks) pop up over their heads every time they stretch the truth, wouldn't it?

Here's a poem that I wrote after one of the Republican debates earlier this election season. Use it as a start and revise it to reflect your own views about these debates!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
by Janet Wong

#1 says: 

That’s a lie.

#2 says: 

You can’t hide.

#3: 

Don’t beat up on me.

The truth is just so . . .

complicated . . .

when you’re trying to get 

nominated.

My mind is fogged up

kind of hazy . . .

I know you think

it sounds plain crazy

but I simply don’t remember.

Ask me again—

in December.

Hello, Grandma?

Today is National Voter Registration Day!

All over the country, the League of Women Voters is hosting events to help people register to vote. Type in your zip code to find an event where you are—and register yourself or help people sign up! I finally got around to registering my mother to vote last week; I did it online and it took only 3 minutes. She's the least political person I know, but she's watched enough TV to conclude for herself that she wanted to vote because "Romney is not sincere." When she gets her absentee ballot, I'm going to go over it with her candidate by candidate and issue by issue and help her fill in her ballot.

Do you know people who might like to vote but need help voting? The first step is to get them registered. Do it today!

http://events.nationalvoterregistrationday.org/events

Discussion Question #9: The Tree Governor?

In my last post I asked you to imagine yourself as a dog wanting good promises from your local politicians. What if you were a tree? What would you want your governor to believe?

I googled "interesting laws about trees" and found all kinds of laws about trees: no climbing, no planting too close to a street, no cutting without a permit, plant one if you cut one, etc. I had hoped to find something a little more creative and inspiring. Maybe: get a property tax credit if you plant native trees that bats like (such as hickory). Or: public schools whose students spend one day a month pulling destructive vines down from trees in parks get . . . one more day of vacation each year!

Discussion Question #8: Woof!

If you were a dog, what kinds of promises would you want to hear from your mayor?

Yesterday I saw that public swimming pools in D.C. are open to dogs on the last day of swim season for the annual Doggy Day Swim. That's creative!

I wonder how it happened? Did someone just wake up one morning with this great idea and call city hall?

How can "regular people" like us make small things like this happen all over the country?

How about writing letters or emails to your candidates for city council and mayor and asking what they'll do to improve the lives of dogs in your town?