pull the lever
Anne and I just got back from voting.
Our polling place was well-staffed by very friendly and helpful people, and there was absolutely no line at all. We were in and out in about ten minutes. The Los Angeles Times was conducting an exit poll at our location, but I didn’t get asked to participate. Darnit.
I was a little unsure about how I’d use our new optical scan ballots, but they are actually identical to the punch-card ballots I’ve used since I was eighteen, with the only difference being we stamp the card rather than punch it.
So as of about 8:15 this morning, John Kerry has two more votes from California. 🙂
My friend Kathleen is a poll worker in Los Angeles, and she wanted me to share the following blogging.la post with Los Angeles voters:
I know, I know. You’ve been told to vote by everyone and their uncle already. However, as your friendly neighborhood election official, I feel an obligation to ask you to vote. If you don’t know where your polling place is, you can go to LA Vote, My Polling Place, or My Polling Site to find out. If you haven’t received confirmation of your registration, just locate your polling place and bring a photo ID. If we can’t find you on the rolls, we can issue you a provisional ballot. If you’ve recently moved, or you have any other reason to think your registration hasn’t been processed, you can at the very least go to your local polling place and find out. It’ll be busy there, but we’ll make sure your vote is counted.
I hear that people in Florida and Ohio are waiting for several hours to vote, and I hear that there are already massive instances of voter intimidation in Ohio and attempts in South Dakota, so I consider myself very fortunate that I cast my ballot so easily.
Today is our day, America. Get out there and make your voice heard, and be sure to thank the people who have volunteered to work the polls. They’re probably going to have a long and difficult day.
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Actually, I do think that Europe in general has learned the nasty lesson of imperialism and what poking your nose into other countries interests and business does to ones nation.
The Sun never sets on the British Empire.. Well, that might have been true when the British, French, German, Dutch and Spanish were out being imperialistic colonizers; but take a good look at them now and see how much of a pathetic shadow they are of their former selves.
Blah blah blah, whatever I or anyone else says doesn’t really make much of a difference to anyone who sees imperialism as a good thing. I can emphatically say though that anyone on the other side of the sword sees a huge problem with a foreign government imposing its will on their people. If China some day decides to force its will by might against the United States, would you sit down and just let them have their way, even if in China’s eyes, the US is a major threat to their saftey? Afterall, USA has WMDs, they depose legally elected leaders and install puppets, they have been known to support “terrorist” groups, such as the Contra’s and Cuban nationalists… Yeah, So I don’t think you’d roll over, because for some reason you don’t want someone from another country getting all up in your face about what, when, and how you should do things; yet it’s okay for Americans to do it to everyone else they want?
I have to say, really there are other issues in this election aside from American foreign policy which have affected its outcome, so I don’t hold anyone except the government accountable for the jingoistic policies they’ve forced down the throat of many independant nations for the betterment of their own…
>Feh
Cross-posted from my journal….
Pragmatism vs. Ideology
So what now? That’s the question. We have a Republican President more conservative than any President in living memory. We have a Republican controlled House and Senate. The President has no re-election worries, nothing to serve as a moderating brake on his reactionary impulses. Several Supreme Court justices teeter on the brink of retirement or even death. We are mired in a war that consumes the majority of our strategic resources. Our international relationships among both allies and declared enemies is as low as it has ever been.
I’ve heard more than one friend speak, half-jokingly, that they are going to be forced to move to Canada or somewhere in Europe or somewhere else if this thing goes the way it now looks to be going.
Side note. One of the things I read about in Singapore is the President calling Singaporeans that have left “quitters”. A harsh word, but his point was simple – stay and help make things better, don’t give up on your home.
So while I think about the virtues of Switzerland and Vancouver, BC and some other choice locales where civil liberties and pragmatic policies seem more the norm, I am reminded of this exhortation.
Earlier in the evening, I watched a fairly lengthy interview of Barack Obama, the new Democratic Senator for Illinois. One of the things that was interesting about his victory is that it extended south from Chicago and encompassed rural, conservative areas. His stated belief is that voters responded to his message of pragmatic governance in place of ideological and divisive governance.
We’ll see if these are simply words or if this will guide Obama’s behavior.
But here’s the hope. The hope is that out of the shattered remains of a Democratic party in disarray, an opening is created for something truly different.
What we used to have were two parties with different special interests fighting for supremacy. Over time, the battle has become more emotional, more extreme and ultimately a clash of ideologies.
The Democratic side has, arguably, clung to some outmoded ideologies – the use of government intervention as a first resort, rather than last. A defense of group rights over individual rights. A tendency to view askance any use of market forces to address fundamental issues.
This has let a Republican party that should have been vulnerable because of it’s right-wing extremists, take hold of the middle as well.
Democratic creed has provided a smoke-screen to mask Republican party shenanigans.
If there is a way out, it may be to chart the path blazed by Obama – let go of rigid ideology and pursue a path of pragmatism that allows the party to sacrifice some of its sacred cows in order to transform itself back into the party of the moderate as well as progressive Americans.
If Dubya pursues his current ideological policies to their full extreme on the strength of this election, it could create an opening for a new, pragamatic Democratic party. A chance to throw out old baggage and build something more relevant, more constructive and hopefully, more successful.
I’m willing to stick around for that.
I would like to encourage all the democrats and non-Bush supporters to continue their rants and anger driven crusades. Prescription drugs are cheaper in Canada. That’s another good reason for you to leave.
Isn’t it obvious that the Democratic Party has lost touch with middle America? Sure Obama won, but did you hear him shouting and being angry? The big nail in Alan Keyes’ coffin was that he made some pretty outrageous statements.
So keep it up guys! It’s great for me and my fellow Republicans.
Which past has the least resistance???
Rebuild, refocus the Democrats?
Or swell the ranks of the Libertarians with those that are moderate/centrist, socially liberal, and/or fiscally conservative??? And then forge a new, viable, option for Americans. We desparately need a third party in the U.S.
I’ve gone Libertarian after being a registered O.C. [Calif.] Republican for 18 yrs., because while I think that socialist causes/responses of the Democrats is fundamentally at odds with a free America & a free market economy, I also am appalled at the intolerance of the far right Republicans that want to tell me and everyone else how to live our lives.
Damn the Right for wanting to ban same sex marriages, stem cell research, etc. As long I and everyone else isn’t breaking any laws or hurting anyone & ourselves… mind your own lives and families. Quit worrying and trying control my life or my beliefs.
And the Left needs to open their eyes to the fact that we’re not a socialist country and that just because you hate Bush [good for you, btw] doesn’t mean you should throw your support to Mr. Bush’s Opponent. Until Dean got fired up and a bit exuberent, he was clearly the Dems front-runner. [A shame that THAT was the main reason he was no longer “ideal”. WTF, that’s absurd.]
So, all the anti-Bush voters were stuck with supporting a second choice guy like Kerry. That’s a big part of why the Dems lost. Shoulda stuck with Dean. Then we’d be saying buh-bye to Bush.
Voter intimidation? Electioneering?
http://www.zombietime.com/ny_broome_st_polling_place_11-2-4/
You be the judge.
my kerry vote helped carry maryland 🙂
what is with all you people being “scared” and being “afraid”, especially you Europeans?
Cripes, he was elected President again by gaining the electoral votes required – he didn’t declare himself ruler for liek and pull a Castro.
Get a life, grow up and be an adult.
Too may are nor “afraid for the children” – well I have news for you – if you believe Bush can be a larger influence on your child than you, the parent – you are doing a poor job of being a parent.
You influence your kid, not Bush.
The world is a rough place – Islamic Radical Militants wish to kill you simply because you are an American. Suck it up, the problem ust be dealt with.
Grow up.
We just had municipal elections in BRAZIL. I’m a poll worker here and that’s not a voluntary job – like the poll itself: everyone here is obligated to vote (you can justify your abscence or pay a small fine if you miss it).
I’m very proud of our poll system – we use automated voting machines. First, the elector hands us his elector ID and we insert its number on a micro terminal. If everything is ok, the prime terminal is liberated and the elector can vote. An special sound is made by the machine when he’s finished. All votes are saved on a sealed diskette that is delivered to the Regional Election Court (along with printed copies of the partial result – that can be provided to parties representatives also).
This year the poll results for Sao Paulo city were known only EIGHT HOURS after the end of the poll (the biggest number of electors in the country – up to 7.771.503). In my city (Osasco, just outside Sao Paulo) everything was over four hours later.
When I hear about north american elections it seems very unreliable in comparison… Or maybe I’m just too confident – being part of a society who just fell out of ditatorial hands for about 20 years now and had free elections again, with real chances of voting for those who were then persecuted for their beliefs.
Wil,
Yes, I voted too. I didn’t have a long wait but there were alot of people being heard. I don’t think I have ever seen such a crowd at the polls. That was cool.
FG
I would like to point out that going to Yale doesn’t necessarily make you smart. It just means that Georgie boy had the money to go to Yale. If I was rich, I could go to Yale. It’s all about money, rich people shouldn’t even be allowed in public office, they don’t work for the majority of the people, they only help the rich.
Haven’t you ever listened to Bush? Or looked at him for that matter. He has Duh written all over his face.
He is a puppet and his strings are pulled by the veteran White House staff, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, etc. He’s not smart, just lucky…….
One more point, then I’m done. Bill Clinton was much more educated than George W.
Bill Clinton was a rogue scholar, that my friend is smart……He may have been a bit lax in his personal decision making process, but he was, by far the best president we have had in a long time….
“If I was rich, I could go to Yale.”
You need to qualify what you say. If you had the money to go AND the right GPA you MIGHT be able to go.
Tons of prestigious schools turn away kids with 4.0’s all the time.
Blanket statements like that make you look like a JC may be more your speed.
America has spoken. What else can the Liberal media and the Liberal Celebrities do now to fill your minds with BS. People say Bush lied to the public? How about the radical Michael Moore, and his film stating that Oregon only has about a half dozen Oregon State Policemen in service. The Bush bashing that comes from that fat-ass is all fabricated nonsense. Those who actually believe him are uneducated.
Kerry would have drove retention in the military to an all time low. Being a member of the military I can tell you that 9 outa 10 troops love their president.
To all those who think our country is in trouble, just stay the course. Brighter days are ahead.
Wil, you need to just take a deep breath and expand your liberal horizons. Calm down cowboy.