OT - update from florida

[Ebony]

No: HPFGUIDX 5435

Hello from an American classroom--  :)

Had a VERY tense morning here... all of us teachers are 
watching Florida... the kids are on edge... many, many Michigan 
folks have winter homes/family ties/connections to FL.  My 
maternal family is all from Florida...  If this was any other state, I 
could go on with life, the universe, and Harry Potter discussions 
in that order.

Anyone who says this election is not relevant to Harry Potter is 
out of their minds.  It is not inconceivable that the result of this 
election will determine or influence whether or not I can teach 
Harry Potter in my classroom.

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "heidi tandy" 
<heidi.h.tandy.c92 at a...> wrote:
> 
> ALSO, they said on teh radio this morning that a WHOLE BOX 
of ballots 
> was "accidentally" left behind in a polling station in Northwest 
> Miami Dade County - just so you know, the split in Miami Dade 
(my 
> county) was 53% gore, 46% Bush, so depending on how many 
ballots were 
> in there...well, you can guess!

The missing box was announced on PBS in the "wee sma's" 
here, Heidi.  None of my colleagues knew anything about this.  
The major national networks are ignoring (wisely?) this story.  

(BTW, although I contemplated the "what ifs" re: voting in FL, with 
the recount I'm rather glad I didn't do anything so unethical.  I 
already fought a good fight in MI, where Gore's win was not 
guaranteed.  My constituency in FL turned out in record 
numbers--I just got off the phone with some of the folks down 
there.  If my harshness 2 years ago affected at least one new 
voter, I'm glad to have done my part.)

Another story that may or may not be true is voter harassment 
and poll blocking amongst certain minority groups.  The phone 
lines of national black radio stations this morning were *lit* up 
with horror stories from all over the country--racial profiling, 
inadequate polling facilities, etc.  

Here, hundreds of registered voters DID NOT VOTE after 
standing in line for hours due to inept polling facilities.  Federal 
judges were appealed to on behalf of these voters here and in a 
few other places nationwide (largely urban, poor, and 
minority)--unanimously, these were struck down.  For the first 
time since the seventies, more than 85% of African  Americans 
nationwide voted (yes!).  According to the morning show I 
commute listening to, the Miami Herald reported 86% of blacks 
and Hispanics in Dade County voting--is that true, Heidi?

The interesting factor in all this is that the history of  late 
twentieth-century elections shows that high overall turnout favors 
Dems; low turnout favors Republicans.   So a scenario of Gore 
winning the popular vote and Bush winning the electorate is 
quite plausible.

I do know one thing.  From what I know of Florida politics and 
demographics, it *might* be a good idea to prepare the National 
Guard.  Either way this goes, with tension running that high, the 
potential for civil unrest is high.  I have a very, very bad feeling 
about all this that I cannot shake...

Got to go now... journal time in my classroom of 32 is coming to 
an end and I have a lesson on propaganda to teach.  :)  The kids 
are getting antsy again... they're done with journals on the 
election and are chomping at the bit to discuss.

Presidents may come and presidents may go.  But long live 
Harry Potter--the Boy Who Lived!!!

--Ebony