Of the 9,588 votes cast in Wise
County on election day, 3,574 were "straight ticket". Put another way,
more than 1 in 3 individuals at the election booth voted by party, an amazing
statistic.
A call to the county clerk's office,
however, revealed that even a person who checks one of the straight ticket
boxes can still override that decision in an individual race. For example,
a person voting straight Democratic would still have his vote for George
Bush as governor counted in the event he chose to vote in that race. All
races left blank, however, would be counted as a Democratic vote.
In light of Minnesota politics,
I hereby change my
name to Barry "The Body" Green and would like to announce that the WWF
represents a fine group of Americans.
I think the Republicans panicked
too quickly after the election returns. Although a change at the top of
the party might have been needed, it is ludicrous to have expected voters
to hold President Clinton's indiscretions against an incumbent or would
be Democratic Congressman. Case in point: How many people voted against
Charles Stenholm because of the Monica Lewinsky affair?
For the first time ever, the Texas
Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are composed entirely
of Republicans. So much for dissension. Some of the greatest reads are
minority dissenting opinions which oftentimes provide insight as to the
ramifications of a court's holding.
Back to criminal justice for a moment,
an interesting case on the Supreme Court's docket concerns the authority
of police officers to search
an automobile incident to the writing of a traffic ticket. Even the
most law and order proponent should have some hesitation about allowing
this expansion of police authority.
First, various states filed a lawsuit
against the tobacco companies in order to recoup health care benefits they
had expended on tobacco related illnesses. The concept has now entered
the loony stage due to the cities of Chicago and New Orleans suing
gun manufacturers for the "estimated expense of medical treatment for
gunshot victims, the cost of hiring additional police officers, and outlays
for youth programs to combat gun violence". Please.
Barry Green is the District Attorney
for the 271st Judicial District.
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my
name to Barry "The Body" Green and would like to announce that the WWF
represents a fine group of Americans.