Noted and disapproved

So we have this primary election coming up September 19. I don't know why they bother with a specific day, unless it's specified in the law, because we are now at mail-in ballots only in my county. Maybe they ran out of a reliable supply of sweet elderly ladies and old coots who usually man the polling stations.

Anyway, I can cope with the mail-in ballots. What has my eyebrow hairs standing up in fright is the election ads. For judges. And the judges themselves take part in these ads. Clearly, a sign of the End Times. Elections for judicial positions I can sorta-kinda understand, at least at the state and local level. I don't like it at all for any Supreme Court position (state or federal). There's a reason we have different ways of populating the three branches of government, and anyone doubting this is invited to listen to the rather sad and pathetic judicial radio ads I've encountered. I don't recall ever hearing such things before. I don't know why they are starting now. I DO know they will get better over time--more slick, less awkward, in short, more like the current political ads that give used-car salesmen a bad name. In true political style, the judges are denigrating their opponents and promoting themselves. The first time I heard one of these ads it felt like hearing about a nun promoting a topless bar.

You are supposed to respect a judge. This makes it much, much harder.