An ‘up-and-up’ election?

This paper has concluded that the 6th District election outcome satisfies Georgia voters’ sanctity and the lawsuit to the contrary is unworthy. I disagree.

Georgia’s electronic voting system produces results that cannot be validated by paper documentation. While campaigning for Secretary of State, Karen Handel released a 10-page report that recommended sweeping changes to elections. She cited the voting machines as a key problem saying: “Our electronic voting machines are already outdated and will ultimately have to be replaced.” She advocated for a voter verification paper trail and audits, “to verify that the electronic vote totals are accurate.”

Once in office, Handel did not follow through with these reforms. Instead, she went on record saying, “Georgia has the most secure elections in the nation.” She ignored the recommendation of a security report she had requested and blocked the authors of that report from fully evaluating the system.

In her race against Jon Ossoff, the absentee voting on paper ballots showed Ossoff winning by a 64% to 36% margin. Early voting returns on Election Day showed Ossoff leading 51% to 49%. The end result showed that all 5% of the undecided voters broke for Handel and another 3.5% of Ossoff’s voters switched to her side.

When Carter ran for the state senate against Joe Hurst he was met with 420 votes against him in a town where only 333 votes were cast. His opponent threatened to pull ballots from the voting box and throw the dissidents into the river if they did not vote as directed. That election was overturned in Carter’s favor.

Secure elections?

Patriotic perspective

I rarely agree with your paper’s opinions on things, but your Executive Editor wrote a neat commentary about our soldiers, and I wanted to compliment him for it. Having been a soldier himself surely helped him appreciate the discipline and decision-making skills that soldiers learn so well, but he also reported to us some real-life stories in which real soldiers took charge in times of emergency.

Soldiers certainly go to war to fight when ordered to do so, but ultimately, their mere presence protects our country and helps keep our peace. I heartily agree that a soldier or two might have prevented the uncivil battle that took place at one of our local Dollar Tree stores, and I salute your patriotic editor for suggesting it.

Can’t be done

Sarah Palin sues the New York Times editorial staff for defaming her. How on Earth is it possible to defame her?

Rename L-E

Last week the Division 1 men's baseball tournament was concluded in Omaha with two SEC schools in the finals. In the final national ranking eight of the top 20 teams were members of the SEC but, alas, none of them were Auburn or Alabama. If those two schools are not in the rankings or the winner's circle, I guess in the eyes of the Ledger-Enquirer editors, those events did not take place.

Why don't you just change the name of your paper to the East Alabama Puke?

Opioid abuse

Death from opioid painkiller overdoses is a public health crisis. Such painkillers include fentanyl, percocet, heroin, morphine, and many more.

Fentanyl is a potent opioid pain reliever prescribed to treat severe pain. Normally it is injected into a muscle or vein as part of the anesthesia given by a healthcare provider for surgery. It is also prescribed for treating cancer pain.

Fentanyl is also used as a recreational drug, leading to thousands of overdose deaths. Opioid-related deaths exceeded 59,000 in 2016. Deaths from fentanyl overdose in Canada average two persons per day. Musician Prince died in 2016 from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Overdose Response Initiative was created in 2016 to address the drug crisis on Staten Island, New York, by investigating overdose deaths.

Pills disguised as the painkiller Percocet may contain fentanyl. Percocet is an opioid painkiller that is used to treat short-term severe pain.

Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid pain reliever. It is a hundred times more potent than morphine, and far deadlier than heroin. Fentanyl was first used in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic. Today, it is commonly used as an anesthetic during heart surgeries. Like other opioids, such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, and morphine, fentanyl increases dopamine in the reward center in the brain and produces an intense euphoria.

On the street market, heroin is sometimes laced with fentanyl. Both fentanyl that is sold illegally and fentanyl-laced heroin are known by such street names as China white, China girl, Jackpot, TNT, Murder 8, Goodfla, and Dance Fever. Fentanyl ends up on the streets after being stolen from pharmacies and hospitals. People who abuse fentanyl may snort, swallow, or inject it.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 2:28 PM with the headline "An ‘up-and-up’ election?."