I must have the same mailman, even though I live in Salem. My ballot is already back in the mail. Now when those phone calls come every night, I can tell them to Piss Off.

sorry, mp, but that's silly. why not just ignore the calls? just because the phone rings, doesn't mean it's for you. screen 'em and leave 'em.

We enjoy replying to the "polls", even when they are obviously designed to influence the response.

And we're always happy to answer the "if the election were held today, would you vote for...." but we don't always tell them the truth.

I've already voted 72 times HAHA

I tend to agree with Mister Tee: you can learn something by answering the "poll" calls - even if the pollsters learn nothing from you.

In previous years, the Parties culled the list of registered voters for the ones who returned their ballot.

Then they are scratched from the call lists.

I reverse register, (opposite from how I vote), and then hold my ballot 'til election day. Just to make my 'enemy' Party waste its effort trying to reach me.

Funny Tenskwatawa I do the same thing!

My mailman has no sense of humor. Once I got a pay check, a magazine or two, some other happy mail, on the same day. I was in a good mood and thanked him for a particularly good batch of mail.

He yelled at me for implying that he had any control over what mail I got and when. Sore subject? Stupid joke he'd heard too many times before? Bad day? Didn't like the cut of my jib (whatever that means)? I really couldn't ask a followup question.

Also, he's always listening to loud right wing radio. I must be naive, it always strikes me as odd, given his job. Like most things in Salem, it defies almost all logic.

Why no Burgerville in Salem?

The main switchboard at our business received numerous recorded Republican Presidential messages yesterday (attack messages). When we get recorded messages of ANY kind the operator simply hangs up.

Did anyone else notice that the Democratic Party was the only party with candidates on the Oregon Ballot that neglected to provide a statement for Part 2 (Candidates) of the Voter's Pamphlet? What's with that?

Jack, re: ballots and balloting; you mentioned on the radio that you were yet skeptical of Vote-by-Mail, and your qualm being 'that human nature scheming a way to cheat is epidemic' ... but then, perhaps Winter-born folks are lifelong suspecting skeptics, to whom Spring's progressive revival is but a storied rumor -- per Raygun, Feb.6 Aquarius: "Trust, but verify."

You are struck by the arrival of your mail-in Oregon ballot, but, I swear on oath of human nature, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone. And right now, what we got here, is a success to advocate: Vote-by-Mail, the Best of Show in balloting.

Here's who's jealous of us:
More W.Va. voters say machines are switching votes - In six cases, Democratic votes flipped to GOP, By Paul J. Nyden, Staff writer, October 18, 2008

WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week. This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".

In both counties, Republicans are responsible for overseeing elections. Both county clerks said the problem is isolated.

They also blamed voters for not being more ...

"I pushed buttons and they all came up Republican," she said. "I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. If McCain wins, there was something wrong with the machines.

"I asked them for a printout of my votes," Ketchum said. "But they said it was in the machine and I could not get it. I did not feel right when I left the courthouse. ..."

Putnam County Clerk Brian Wood said on Saturday that he is upset there are "so many negative stories out there .... We try to explain to voters how the machines work then they come in."

That's odd, here in Oregon nobody had to explain to me how the U.S.Mail 'machine' works.

We got our Deschutes county tax statement and ballot on the same day, too -- which actually made it easier for me to vote "No" on some of the local property tax measures.

Jack when do you get to the analysis of the property tax changes? How much has everything gone up? (I haven't gotten mine yet, but I did get my ballot.)

In due time, grasshopper. We're getting there. Ours went up only ever-so-slightly.