Carry Smith wrote her PhD thesis on the Voting Rights Act and challenges to the right to vote in Georgia.

Now dig this: Smith, the expert on challenges to voting rights, lost her vote because a Republican vigilante challenged her registration—along with 900 other Savannah voters—until she was forced to make an appearance proving her right to vote at a meeting of the Chatham County (Savannah) elections board. 

Half of the others challenged still lost their vote in this do-or-die battleground.

Adrian Consonery Jr. was also challenged, in this case, by officials in Cobb County, Georgia. The elections officers claimed that the signature on his drivers license “didn’t match” the signature on his ballot. Were these local pols forgery specialists?  No, they were Republicans. No problem, they told Consonery, a student in the middle of his finals; all he had to do was drive to their offices, eight hours away, and re-sign his ballot.

Fridays, November 1, 8 @ 11pm
on WGRN 91.9FM
streaming on wgrn.org
Mondays, November 4, 11 @ 2pm
on WCRS 92.7 and 98.3FM
streaming on wcrsfm.org

Dr. Bob and Dan-o Dougan talk about war and play anti-war songs on this week's Everybody Knows show. An eclectic mix of songs about peace, war, the horrors of war and protesting the war. 

Shows are archived at: https://www.mixcloud.com/wcrs/everybody-knows-anti-war-songs-110124/

Democrat and City of Columbus councilmember Shayla Favor is on the precipice of making history. Favor is about to become the first African American and woman to lead the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, and the first Black woman in the state to hold this position.

And not a moment too soon. In a recent interview with WOSU, she said she will hire more people of color. No doubt the lack of diversity in the Prosecutor’s Office, which is being vacated by Democrat Gary Tyack, is confounding. Out of 130 attorneys, only 11 are minorities.

Favor as many know is aligned with Columbus’s “establishment Dems.” Former Mayor Michael Coleman was on stage with her when she announced her candidacy.

She should win handedly against her Republican opponent, John Rutan, who is candid about his own past criminal behavior, as he served time in jail for assault when he was in college. He also told WOSU: “God gave us the death penalty to utilize for evil spirits…And so I’d use them all day long.”

This year, there’s an organized way ( www.swapyourvote.org ) to use the Electoral College to serve real democracy while dodging the forever angst of the “lesser evil” nightmare.  

Especially during Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, Wisconsin-Michigan-Pennsylvania 2016, and America 2020, progressive voters have faced the inevitable circular firing squad.

With regular Democrats facing the likes of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, John McCain and Mitt Romney, the idea of “throwing away” a vote on a third party candidate has roused bitter anger.

This year has been no exception.

Without suffering through the polarizing details, I’ve managed to avoid this dilemma by exploiting the insane Electoral College, which should have been abolished a long time ago.

From 2000 to 2016, when I voted in swing state Ohio, I’ve tracked down fellow progressive activists to vote for third party candidates.   

In a gripping, real-life moment, the world watched as a man stood alone, his fatigues worn, his face covered with a keffiyeh, his arm severed. Armed only with a wooden stick, he raised it against a drone hovering above, defiant even in his vulnerability. It wasn’t long before a tank responded, firing a shell to silence him. This was not a Hollywood scene; it was a raw, viral image that exposed the brutal reality of Gaza.

Watching this scene unfold, I thought of the ancient story of David and Goliath, a tale passed down through centuries. In the biblical story, David, a young shepherd, faces a Philistine giant who terrorizes his people. Armed with nothing but a sling and a few stones, David steps forward alone, facing a foe who had crossed battle lines unchallenged for 40 days. But in one brave strike, he overcomes the seemingly invincible Goliath.