Prague Politics

---

This is not just an election year in the US. It is also an election year in the Czech Republic and there are political posters everywhere. We do not know who the incumbents are ... you know who are the rascals that should be thrown out and who are the rascals are that want to take office.

One day while riding a city bus I saw workmen putting a pipe frame together. I wondered then why they were building it. The next time I rode the bus very large posters had been attached on all four sides. Then I knew, this surely meant these were politicians and there was an upcoming election. There are posters everywhere anyone can rent a space in the subways, on the outside of buses and trams. Amazingly large ones are on street corners and next to large buildings outside on those temporary pipe frames.

We do not have a TV in our room and thus are saved from political ads and so far no calls have come to our apartment phone by a random dialing machine. Maybe such calls are not allowed in the Czech Republic. On second thought I do not believe

politicians in any country would limit themselves with a law that prohibited them from calling people during a campaign.

I have to wonder how people will vote here. Some of the people running for office are very lovely and others simply are plain ordinary folk. If I were voting here, knowing almost nothing about politics, I would vote for the attractive women and leave those old guys out of it altogether. Then at least the evening news would have some good looking folks talking about why they passed the laws.

Remember our Czech is practically non-existent so this is just my best guess about one I hope we can get a picture of to put up here later. There are a number of folks in one poster (which I have seen only on the side of the escalators making it impossible to snap a photo). It seems to say "We are for Prague and Prague is for us". If that is the motto, then I will probably 'vote' for them. At least it seems quite clever as far as a campaign slogan goes.

We'll print off our absentee ballots for the home elections this week and carry them to the American Embassy to be sent home by courier. Let's hope our REAL vote brings about the results we need in Maryland. Get out and vote!!!

---

Comments

[Stephen]

If We're Lucky
I wish I shared your hopefulness regarding the upcoming election. But it seems that exstremism is the rule of the day here in the U.S. I've been reading a wonderful book by Volf titled "Exclusion an Embrace" and keep finding myself wonderiing what would happen if we practiced reconciliation and embrace as a political stance rather than exclusion and hate speech

[Susan]

too funny
These pictures are too funny. Meanwhile back at home, you would not believe all the mail (maybe junk mail depending on your point of view) I am getting from the local candidates. One sent 3 glossy fliers in 5 days, and his opponent sent 2 in the same time period.