Opinion

Nov. 6, 2012 — Ah, yes, today is Election Day, and we’re all going to cast our vote for president. Good enough. While the history of the people electing their leaders may extend all the way back to the ancient Greeks, our presidential elections have a distinctly American flavor that raises at least a few curious ponderings.

OK. Let’s get started. According to the Library of Congress, the Founding Fathers probably did not envision the development of political parties, apparently believing instead that the “obvious and unanimous” candidate for the office would rise from the people — just the way our first president George Washington had.

Nov. 6, 2012 — Today is Election Day — the moment of decision for the people of our city, our county, our state and our great land finally has arrived, the day when the people’s voice is heard and heeded, and we decide who will serve as our elected officials, and we set the course of our public policy.

Today is the day the people express their will.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney face each other in the presidential race, each offering quite different perspectives and views on the proper course to be steered by the ship of state. Despite the seemingly ever-widening gap between the two candidates and the direction in which they believe we should travel, one of them will be elected president of these United States today, based upon our votes.

Oct. 30, 2012 — After disco ruined the live music scene in the late 1970s and all the gigs dried up (hail the DJ!), I took a manager’s job at the Broken Bit — a dinner house on Highway 41 in Coarsegold about 40 minutes outside of Fresno.

I didn’t know the place was haunted when I hired on, but from almost the first evening I worked there I noticed unusual activity when I would lock the 15,000 square foot building down for the night. Even in the heat of summer, I would feel this incredible cold as I walked through the building toward the last darkened hallway that led past the pantry to the back door.

Oct. 30, 2012 — Mud slinging and politics go together like apples and apple pie. Politicians of all persuasions, parties and ideologies have been throwing the dirty stuff at each other and trying to make it stick as long as there have been candidates for office. That’s not unusual, and negative campaigning has become a hallmark of many national, state and local races this election season. And it seems to be getting worse.

As Election Day nears, the pressure to win increases, and the campaigns and political action committees that have no direct relationship with the candidates seem to shift from a message of here’s what’s good about our candidate and here’s why he or she deserves your vote to here’s what’s bad about our opponent and here’s why he or she should not get your vote.