CULLMAN —
The storm-stuck Northeast is beginning to feel the frustration of life without power, water, heat and other conveniences tied to modern know-how.
Reports of tempers flaring in New York were plentiful as traffic backed up and others looked for available buses to get to work and markets. With the subway system crippled and damages in the billions of dollars, normalcy for New York and many parts of New Jersey and other areas will remain elusive for quite some time.
Coming on the heels of Superstorm Sandy’s wrath is the Nov. 6 presidential election. Many are wondering how they will be able to vote in the face of such a disaster.
While natural disasters are predictable, perhaps Sandy will give more credit to the idea of early voting.
Election officials in New York and New Jersey will face tremendous challenges in providing reliable stations for residents to vote on Tuesday. Some observers are wondering if a close presidential race will bring a round of lawsuits from the loser next week because of the storm’s impact.
In politics, anything is possible.
Whether the storm-impacted states will have any bearing on the outcome of the presidential election is a matter of speculation. Or, perhaps, it will become a matter of opportunity for the loser.
The timing of a natural disaster is never convenient, and something in life is always set out of place by such events. But even Sandy’s terrible power is no reason to delay an election or make special provisions.
Officials are pledging to make voting opportunities available on Tuesday. Americans don’t particularly vote in record numbers anymore, but those who care about this particular right will find a way to the polls.
Americans have been through many trials and tribulations, including disasters and world wars, without altering elections. There’s no need to change anything today.
Editorials
Not even a storm
- Editorials
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Taking the lead in education
The once-heralded ‘No Child Left Behind” education initiative from the federal level has just about run out of gas.
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Moving into the future
Hundreds of local high school seniors are accepting their diplomas and preparing to turn the page in the next chapter of their lives.
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
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EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
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Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
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Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
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Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
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COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
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A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
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Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
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Taking the lead in education
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