I will not discuss politics. Period. (September 6, 2008)

Current mood: thoughtful

It would be so easy to talk about Prez and Veep candidates, and the dozen other political races for November 4, but I have another agenda. It's called neutrality.

One of the jobs I've picked up as a concerned citizen is that of Judge of Election. That means that I run a polling precinct. It is my job to make sure that everyone who shows up to vote indeed gets to vote, if so qualified. With close to 3,000 registered voters in that precinct, the single largest in Allegheny County, I could well have a mob on my hands that day.

While there are no guidelines telling me I have to keep my politics to myself, it just seems to me to be a wise move. By Election Day, I will have filled out and mailed in my absentee ballot, so all my decisions will be history, as far as I am concerned. On that day, my main concern will be that everyone in my jurisdiction gets to vote.

Thus, since I want to be beyond reproach in my dealings with the political process, I hereby exclude myself from discussions of candidates and the issues. The electoral process, yes, I will discuss, especially the lack of transparency in recent elections. That most certainly is my business. Just not the people being elected.