I thought it might be easier for my Mother if she went to the early voting, rather then waiting until election day. She isn’t a fan of the ramp to the entry of the town hall, but can’t really complain about it because she was on the town council that built it, and she voted for it.

I decided to do a reconnaissance on the early voting location and set up to see how “user friendly” it would be for people using walkers or wheelchairs and … well, there are always absentee ballots.

The location is in full compliance with the ADA and there are no ramps, beyond a standard curb cutout. It is a major walk from the parking lot to the building, and then a medium length walk inside. There are two sets of doors to get through, and they aren’t automatic or easy.

Once you get to the room where the voting is taking place it is obvious that no one had walkers or wheelchairs in mind when they arranged the furniture.

I voted, but my Mother will wait until election day, because it is a lot easier for her to navigate the town hall, and they provide a person to open the doors.

When you add in a 20 mile round-trip, it isn’t very convenient, or cheap.

Note: this applies to the early voting location in South Okaloosa county, which is off Lewis Turner Boulevard.

Wouldn’t someone without a specific title be just as convincing?

MSNBC carries the AP story with the standard “conservative’ appeal for victimhood – Williams: NPR ‘looking for a reason to get rid of me’.

Unfortunately for Mr. Williams claim, NPR didn’t need to look because he provided it:

… Opinions Williams expressed on Fox News over the years had strained his relationship with NPR to the point that the public radio network asked him to stop using its name when he appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s show.

The bottom-line, NPR told him to stop identifying himself as ‘NPR news analyst Juan Williams’ when he appeared on Fox News, but he continued to do it. By doing it, he was associating his personal views with NPR.

This isn’t about free speech, nor was it a “first offense”. Juan Williams was told by an employer to stop doing something that was affecting that employer, and he continued the behavior. When you work in the media, it is not conducive to your career when you annoy the people who pay the bills.

I don’t remember all of the defenders of Mr. Williams rushing to defend school teachers who work in bars or strip clubs to make ends meet when they get fired.

A note to Senator DeMint – the government doesn’t fund NPR, you dillweed.

Position: 15.8N 82.4W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [270°] near 7 mph [11 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb.

Currently about 75 miles [125 km] Northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras Border.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the coast of Honduras from the Nicaragua-Honduras border westward to Limon; the Bay Islands; and the coast of Mexico from Punta Gruesa to Chetumal.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Honduras from the Nicaragua-Honduras border westward to the Honduras-Guatemala border and the Bay Islands.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Belize.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Kitten Sitting

Who’s that, Mom?

[Editor: The two gray and white kittens belong to this momma cat, but the kitten still sleeping is Wild Blue, last seen sleeping on the edge of door. Wild Blue’s mom is out and about.

Friday Ark