The Democratic Party made a strategic mistake to ignore the problems of Republican owned “faith-based” voting machines. Canada uses paper ballots, counted by hand, not by computers with proprietary software. Their system is far from perfect, but at least they get the politicians they vote for.
The 2000, 2004 and 2016 presidential elections had “red shifts” between exit polls and the alleged results provided by voting machines in swing states. Georgia and Pennsylvania, among other states, have used touch screen voting machines that likely flipped recent state and federal elections.
Voter suppression in these and other states also shifted results enough to alter some outcomes. We need a new Voting Rights Act to guarantee the right to vote and to have votes counted correctly.
I am not a fan of Biden, but the Obama-Biden administration was competent regarding the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the 2014 Ebola outbreak in west Africa. If Biden gets the job in January it is reasonable to assume the CDC and other public health agencies will be allowed to do their jobs regarding COVID containment.
It is ironic that the last ballots to be counted, which flipped several swing states, were mail-in votes cast by citizens concerned about contracting coronavirus due to Trump’s incompetent mismanagement.
The Trump campaign spread virus denial disinformation to immunize him from accountability for this avoidable outcome. Sadly, it’s not only Republicans who embraced this — there are also “new age” science deniers who inadvertently helped Trump. Painful lessons ahead.
Mark Robinowitz
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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