Limited offerings , but we have choice – lets USE it

Guess I’ll have to vote for “her” too

You all know how conflicted I am.  Said I’de hold my nose and do it;  then I couldn’t,  . . felt hypocritical.  But is that the most efficacious decision when our country and the way we feel about our way of life garnered by all our hard-won battles over a couple of hundred years not far more important than my wounded sense of right and wrong?  And all this happening when obviously some huge forces are at work globally, rattling, shifting stuff around.

 Our planet may be experiencing major problems of its own,  no doubt brought on by the  human machinations of the myopic orientation of too many leaders in most of the advanced countries which have allowed the Corporate structure to dictate priorities which are profit based rather than what is best “FOR ALL CONCERNED,” which includes the generous planet and ALL the inhabitants within and upon it.  We have befouled the planet and it struggles to maintain balance.  It would seem drastic measures are indeed needed, so I can’t blame ‘Mother earth’.  If we must pay further and deeper costs — so be it!  The planet suffers. Our legislative priorities MUST CHANGE – QUICKLY if we are to protect Earth, and of course- all of us.  All people are stressed and seeking what works, as it should be.  

But, in the end, we must  – MUST strive for  the higher thought.  Thoughts which bring a release of struggle so that clarity has a chance to shine through and allow us to see our way.  In the midst of storms and struggles and other frightful stuff. .   . we can come to acceptance;  release our predilections if they imprison us. . .we can reach for higher thoughts which bring calm and harmony.   From that, we can work.  . . work together, find our way.   Jan

 POLL:  Clinton,  Trump tied in Ohio

by Darrel Rowland,   the Columbus Dispatch

AP FILE PHOTO  Hillary Clinton, left and Donald Trump

You can look two ways at a new poll showing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied in Ohio, Peter Brown acknowledges.One is that it’s good news for Trump. That’s because he’s been severely out-staffed and outgunned on the airwaves by pro-Clinton forces, but still has forged a tie in the nation’s top bellwether state.The other is that it’s good news for Clinton. That’s because she’s just come off a rough period in which her truthfulness was questioned by the FBI director, although she avoided criminal charges relating to her private email server.The deadlock at 41 percent in the Quinnipiac University Poll unveiled Wednesday comes on the eve of the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland. The two presumptive party nominees were tied at 40 percent in the Connecticut university’s poll released June 21.At the same time, Trump has moved to narrow leads in Florida and Pennsylvania, states Clinton had led last month in Quinnipiac’s polls of swing states.“Ohio’s close. I know that’s a big surprise to all of us,” said Brown, the poll’s assistant director.He found the most intriguing Ohio numbers in party loyalty.

Among Democrats, 90 percent are backing Clinton. But 77 percent of Republicans say they’re voting for Trump.

The reason the race is a tie is that Trump currently is prevailing among independent voters by 12 points, Brown said.

Both are highly unpopular. Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 60 percent in the Buckeye State, Trump by 59 percent.

Ohio voters say by 47 percent to 37 percent that Trump is more “honest and trustworthy” than Clinton. But the former secretary of state narrowly has “higher moral standards” than the New York developer, 43 percent to 42 percent.

Clinton wins big on who is better qualified for office, but Brown noted “qualifications may not be as big a deal this (election) cycle.”

The Buckeye State is a hotbed of dissent:

• 73 percent to 24 percent say the old ways don’t work and it’s time for radical change.
• 59 percent to 39 percent say they are falling further and further behind economically.
• 59 percent to 37 percent say foreign trade agreements have hurt them personally.
• 79 percent to 20 percent say public officials “don’t care much what people like me think.”

The poll using cell phones and landlines from June 30 through Monday of 955 Ohio voters has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

drowland@dispatch.com

@DarrelDRowland