Luck of the Draw -

Luck of the Draw - There's going to be a very important drawing in California today, and it's not the Powerball:

The California Secretary of State's office will draw 26 letters out of a drum next week to decide the order of as many as 400 candidates on the Oct. 7 recall election ballot on whether to fire Governor Gray Davis.

With a ballot that long, name placement is crucial:

"During the 2000 election, George W. Bush received an average of 9 percent more votes in California districts where his name appeared first on the ballot, said Ohio State's Krosnick. And position on the ballot matters most, he said, in contests where voters know less about the contenders.

And the Cali ballot is truly shaping up to be a zoo:

Comedy writer Bill Prady may run for fun. Budding filmmaker Art Brown may campaign for the publicity. And Thomas Laughlin, the karate-kicking star of the ``Billy Jack'' films from the 1970s, said he would run just to pick a fight with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the action hero 16 years his junior who will announce today whether he is running. Columnist Arianna Huffington said yesterday she will run. Her ex-husband, the former Congressman Michael Huffington, may run too."

And on, and on.

Worth a read.

Your Tax Dollars In Action - Racism has held back African-Americans throughout history.

According to Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), the naming of Hurricanes is a vital part of this shameful legacy:

The congressional newspaper the Hill reported this week that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, feels that the current names are too "lily white," and is seeking to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups.

"All racial groups should be represented," Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials "would try to be inclusive of African-American names."

A sampling of popular names that could be used include Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, according to the paper.

While we're at it, we'll wait for Hurricanes Na Xoua, Rajiv, Achmad and Nguyen.

Posted by Mitch at August 6, 2003 09:40 AM