Halloween: Punny Costumes

 

Ceiling Fan

Copycat

Formal Apology

                                       Cereal Killer

                                              Firearm

Iron Man

Pumpkin Pi

Social Butterfly

And my personal favorite......

Happy Halloween!!!!

Voting: A little Quality Time To Yourself

This year's election will be on November 8. Polling places will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.. You might be wondering what it's like to vote. Here you go:


First, find out where you are supposed to vote. Voting locations are based on your address. They're usually conveniently close to your house. Usually, your polling place will be a local school or possibly a church building; this is in order to accommodate a large number of people with no problem. *You need to go the polling place designated for you, you cannot just go into any polling place.


You can look up where your polling place is by entering your zip code and address here: 
http://myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us/Street.aspx?ModeType=1&ZipCode=55434


The polling place will be tended by a number of election judges. These people keep order, check registered voters in, register new voters, and make sure all ballots are kept secret and secure for the day of the election. They often work from 6:00 a.m. until after the polls are closed for the evening. If you're interested in becoming an election judge, click on this link: http://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/get-involved/become-an-election-judge/


**Did you know students ages 16-17 can be Election Judge Trainees and help out at the polling place on Election Day?** Sounds like a great way to see the process of election!!






This link tells you how to vote if you are away at college, and other special circumstances. There are links to a paper registration and where to mail it, or to register online as well:

http://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/register-to-vote/im-a-college-student/?searchTerm=college 

Graphic from 2012: Look how many people were in the 21-40 years old age group--That's voting power.

If you haven't registered to vote, you can bring with identification and register right before you vote. You will need a Drivers License or your Social Security number. You may also need to show a bill, such as a utility bill, to prove you live at your address.

 

You can vote in Minnesota if:

• You are a Citizen of the United States
• You are 18 years old by Election Day, November 8, 2016
• You have lived in Minnesota for 20 days prior to November 8. Thus, you have to have lived in this state on October 19th.
• You must not have been convicted of treason or a felony
• You are not legally incompetent

 

You only need to register one time.

This is a typical ballot from the last election.

Once you are registered, an Election Judge will hand you a ballot. These are often long sheets of paper with all the candidates listed for each position being elected, and will be in a large cardboard folder. You'll be given the right sort of pen or marker to use on the ballot, Be sure you turn it over and look at all the different offices you can vote for.

Other officials may be up for election on your ballot, and there may also be items specifically related to one city or one district. For example, this year in Minnesota, voters can cast a ballot for these people:

• President and Vice President: The ballot lists Democrate, Republican, and Independent Party choices. You have the right to write in another name of your choice and vote for that person.
• U.S. Representative, District 6
• State Senator, District 37 and 37A
• County Commissioner, District 3
• Soil and Water Superintendent
• Mayor, City of Blaine
• Council Member: Ward 1, Blaine
• Some Associate Justices
• Many Judges
• A question put to the voters of Blaine about a community center/Senior Center.

 

While it would be appreciated if you look up these folks and make an informed decision, you are not required to vote for any other officials. If you only want to vote for President, you can do that and your vote will be counted. If you see the word "incumbent" before a name, that means the person already holds the office and is running for re-election.

A ballot like the one you see above  requires you to fill in the ovals next to the candidate you want to vote for. As with any scanned type of paper, be sure you fill the oval neatly, not too small and not too sloppy; the scanner can't read those and will reject your ballot.

If you mess up your ballot, take it to an election judge to get a fresh one. Don't crumple it up, just hand it to a judge.

The next time there is an election, since you have registered, you simply go to your polling place, give an election judge your name and address, and then sign next to your name. Then you'll be given your ballot (voting paper) and directed to a booth.


Some booths have long curtains for your privacy and some have sides that would prevent anyone from seeing who you're voting for. Some places have curtains behind the voter, but either way,  keeping your vote secret is no problem.

Ballot Booths. They each have tall sides so you can't see anyone's ballot.

When you are done (and take your time, be sure you are voting for the people you want) you can put your paper ballot back into the large cardboard folder and bring it to the person who is putting the ballots into the counting machine. No need to remove it from the folder, it will hang out enough for the scanner to grab it. The machine looks like this:

No one is going to see who you voted for, including the election judge.

You'll probably be offered an "I Voted" sticker to place on your jacket.

That's it!! You just made your voice heard. Now you can keep tabs on results as they come in by watching it on TV or online.

How Much Power Does The President Have?

With the election coming up soon (Tuesday, November 8!!) we got to wondering: No matter who wins the election, how much power does the President of the United States actually have??

 

There are three branches of government in the U.S.: Executive (the President), Legislative (Congress and Senate) and Judicial (U.S. Supreme Court). In theory, at least, these three are supposed to cooperate to pass laws. In reality, there is a lot of negotiating, stalemates, and disagreements occurring between Congress, Senate, and the President. When the legislative part is run by one political party but the President belongs to another, this frequently causes problems.

President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act. The President uses several pens to sign these bills and then hands them off to people as souvenirs that they were present at the signing.

According to the United States Constitution, the President can:

 

• Suggest legislation to Congress, although Congress still has to pass it into law
• Sign or veto bills if 2/3 of the members of Congress agree
• Make treaties with other countries
• Grant reprieves or pardons
• Appoint ambassadors
• Appoint cabinet members
• Appoint Justices of the Supreme Court
• Fill vacancies in the Senate if it is in recess, without an election
• Nominate a new Vice President if that position is vacated, without an election

More in-depth explanations can be found here:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/powers-president

The President is the Commander in Chief of all the Armed Forces in our country. This means he or she, even though a civilian, is in charge of all branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. There are chief advisors for each branch that confer with the President to keep him or her informed of any military actions. The President does not have the power to declare war, only Congress can do that.

A further explanation of "Commander in Chief" is here: http://work.chron.com/duties-commander-chief-16065.html

The President can be removed from office (the procedure is called impeachment) by an Act of Congress if he or she is suspected of:

• Treason-Treason is doing something that betrays your country, such as trying to overturn a ruler or take the ruler's life
• Bribery-Bribery is paying someone for his/her silence when you have done something wrong or illegal
• Other high crimes and misdemeanors-this 'catchall' phrase would include the types of things done by Richard Nixon when he was in office: lying about things he ordered to be done, to spy on the Democratic Party, for starters.  Read about his impeachment here: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/nixon.htm
• Presidents William Clinton and Andrew Johnson were also impeached, but unsuccessfully, so they completed their terms in office. President Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

What does the Vice President do, you may ask?? One duty of the Vice President is to preside over the Senate when it meets. The Vice President does have the power to vote only in cases where the Senate is tied in their votes.


The main job of the Vice President is to be available should something happen to the president; that is, the President dies, becomes unable to fulfill the duties of that office, or is removed from office. At that point, the Vice President steps in and becomes President. This has happened 8 times in our history. On 13 occasions, a Vice President has gone on to become elected as President.

While the President of the U.S. enjoys lots of perks, he or she does not actually hold a lot of power. That was the agreement when the country's Constitution was written.

 Air Force One is the President's jet. It is specially equipped for safety and is always 'on call' for use.

 So as far as power is concerned, the President is somewhat limited. He or she does, however, represent the whole country to the rest of the world, and has the responsibility of diplomacy, tact, and wisdom in dealing with other nations. He or she will travel extensively and will receive visitors from many countries during his or her time in office. The way the President conducts himself or herself is the way the rest of the world views us.  

Traveling Nurse: Is it For You?

You may want to consider becoming a traveling nurse. These nurses register with a travel nurse agency, which then places them in jobs across the country. The positions are considered temporary, but may last anywhere from a few weeks to a year. As a traveling nurse, you would fill in for hospitals and other facilities when they have a shortage of nurses. This could be due to:

• Lack of applicants in their area
• Large numbers of nurses on vacation
• Nurses on maternity leave
• New facility that isn't fully staffed yet
• Nursing strikes
• Not enough Human Resources people to interview and hire nurses that are needed

Most agencies will want you to have a year of experience as a nurse. After that, you can register and be hired quickly.

 

Some facts about being a traveling nurse:

 

• Pay is excellent, commonly more than the average nurse's pay. This is because it is not a permanent position and requires you to move, even if temporarily, away from your home. It may be up to $48.00 an hour in some cases.
• Your housing, including furnishings, is paid for by your agency; you pay nothing for rent
• Travel to and from your temporary assignment is also paid for
• You do receive benefits from the agency who employs you, in many cases exactly like any other employer (medical, dental, 401K, etc)
• Licensure is something to be discussed with your agency; typically a nurse who has passed Boards is licensed only in the three or four states surrounding that nurse's home. Read more about licensing for traveling nurses here: https://www.travelnursing.com/news/career-development/have-license-will-travel/

 

In order to be a good traveling nurse, you must be

 

• Flexible-willing to accept a variety of assignments in a variety of locations
• Adaptable-you can tune into your temporary location's practices and get along with others
• You genuinely like traveling-you're not going to be 'homesick'
• You must have high level skills: the hospital or other facility you are sent to expects you to be excellent at what you do and not need a lot of training
• You need to be independent and able to manage your time well, and to find your way in a new location-to look at it as an adventure

And as with any position, a facility has the right to dismiss you if you don't work out for it; you are not in a union with a contract type of nursing job.

 

There are also opportunities for specialty nurses, such as an Oncology, Pediatric, Cardiac, or Neurological nurse, for examples. You can also travel as a Radiologic Technician, Occupational, Physical, or Speech therapist; Nurse Managers and Nurse Practicioners.

 

This is a site that hires traveling nurses. We are not recommending it, necessarily, but it gives descriptions of Traveling Nurse positions: https://www.travelnursing.com/what-is-travel-nursing/traveling-nurse-RN-salary-benefits-housing/


If you want to travel, make good money, get a variety of experiences and learn more about people and places, consider being a travel nurse!