Call from the Voting Booth

 My younger son just called to ask for help deciding how to vote on three amendments to the state constitution.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"In the voting booth", he replied, rather nonchalantly.

"I don't think you're allowed to do this!"  I suddenly felt uneasy.

His response, "I don't care."

He proceeded to read each amendment to me twice. Why?  Because these friggin amendments, propositions etc are written and meant to be hard to understand.  I realized, while straining as he read sotto voce, how ridiculous it is to deal with this crap.  For years, voters have struggled to understand the purposely convoluted amendments and propositions that are barely understandable, let alone clearly defined.  Hell, I voted on them 3 weeks ago and did not recognize two out of the three.  

My sons drove their 85 year old grandma to the polls so she could vote.  They voted.  They took an interest, albeit at their father's and my strong influence.  But, so what?  My manicurist is in her mid thirties and she says she never votes because it "won't make any difference" and neither party cares about her.  How sad is that?

Former Governor Howard Dean is on MSNBC talking about voter harassment and suppression at certain polls in PA.  His cousin was pressured to show his I.D. to people acting as part of the polling process who had been previously legally enjoined by the court from doing this very thing.   I can't imagine what I'd say or do if someone were to confront me about my identification.

Then there's the 6,000,000 electronic voting machines in use around the country, some of which are owned by Tagg Romney.  No conflict of interest there!

Scary stuff.

Things to Consider This Election and Beyond

The stakes are high.  So high, former NY Times columnist Frank Rich gave a startling interview to salon.com.  Should be mandatory reading for those on the Left and the Right.  

Mad Magazine: The More Things Change...

Click to enlarge.

I "borrowed" this from Coffee Messiah.

At first I thought it was a spirochete trying to penetrate an amoeba (if that's even possible IDK).  

On closer inspection, I see what it really is.  

Coffee says he's had this since...wait for it...1972.  

SSDD

Interesting headline from Robert Reich's blog today.

The Super Rich Get Richer, Everyone Else Gets Poorer, and the Democrats Punt

The super-rich got even wealthier this year, and yet most of them are paying even fewer taxes to support the eduction, job training, and job creation of the rest of us...Only twice before in American history has so much been held by so few, and the gap between them and the great majority been a chasm — the late 1920s, and the era of the robber barons in the 1880s...And yet the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, which conferred almost all their benefits on the rich, continue...Democrats have decided to delay voting on whether to extend them for the top 2 percent of Americans or for the bottom 98 percent until after the mid-term elections.

Sure hope this doesn't hurt the Dems in races where the Huff Post reports this morning:

Are the Democrats experiencing a rebound on the Pacific Coast? Three new surveys, two in California and one in Washington State, indicate small gains for Democratic since mid-August. More specifically, two new California polls confirm that Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer is maintaining a narrow lead over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina...The two new California polls also suggest a reversal of the previous trend favoring Republican Meg Whitman. The Field poll results released yesterday show Whitman tied with Democrat Jerry Brown (at 41% each), while SurveyUSA gives Brown a small but statistically insignificant advantage (46% to 43%). So while six surveys had shown Brown with nominal leads in August and early September, the five most recent polls show either a tie or a slight Brown edge...SurveyUSA also released new data this week in Washington confirming a similar rebound by Democratic Senator Patty Murray over Republican challenger Dino Rossi. The new automated poll gives Murray a two-point edge (50% to 48%)...Democrats also received encouraging news in Florida, where a new Mason-Dixon poll shows Democrat Alex Sink holding a six percentage point lead (47% to 40%) over Republican Rick Scott.

And then, there's The Daily Show POV. His take last night on the Republicans and their "brand new"(sic) Pledge to America.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Postcards From the Pledge
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Back from Obscurity

photo credit: AP/Rex Features

After eight years of relative silence while acting as the presidential puppet master, Dick Cheney is suddenly front and center in attacks on the new administration. His topic is national security, using the closing of Guantanamo Bay as the focal point. Why?

For once I think the talking heads have it right: he's rallying the GOP. The GOP is a failed party...for now. They have lost the Executive and Legislative branches of the government. They'll probably lose dominance in the Judicial branch once new Supreme Court justices are chosen. They are fighting for their lives and nobody does it better or meaner than Dick Cheney. Who better to represent the arch conservative core? But don't let it fool you.

This is the guy who refused interviews for years. This is the guy who, when he did grant interviews, gave short answers that were typically in-your-face. He refuses to debate his actions. He is always right. His administration made the tough choices. They didn't break any laws. They didn't torture people. They only water boarded when it was absolutely necessary.

Well, you know the old saying:

"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself." James A. Froude

The public needs to separate fact from fiction and take this for what it is, the first leg of a long road back from obscurity for the Republican party, led by the conservative right. Let's make sure it's a dead end.

The First 100 Days

Interesting set of events to mark the first 100 days of the Obama administration. This Arlen Specter defection to the Democratic party is something else. The pundits are all over it. I mean, when conservative talk show host, Joe Scarborough says he can't credit his party with much of anything for the past eight years except out of control spending and the deficit etc.,(Morning Joe 4/29/09) where are the Republicans going to turn?

Recent surveys show President Obama's likability quotient at 81%; his approval rating at 61%. This means whether or not people agree with his policies, they like the guy. Pundits say they haven't seen this kind of swing since Reagan. This gives President Obama an incredible leg up when it comes to making policy. Even more dramatic is the announcement by Republican Senator Arlen Specter that he is switching parties. He's gonna be a Democrat because the Republican party can no longer help him win in Pennsylvania. As former statistician turned political commentator Chuck Todd ruminated, the Republican party is about to become sequestered in the southeastern states. They have lost the Northeast, the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic states. They would have lost Arizona during the presidential election except McCain is still standing. Once Al Franken is confirmed as the official winner of the Minnesota senate race, the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate.

It's impossible to judge anyone the first 100 days. As for the Democratic party, now is when the real work begins. No more excuses about the Republicans holding them back. Dems have the obligation to make things happen. We need health care reform, financial reform, you name it, we need it.

Time to roll up our sleeves and "git 'er done" before the donkey party figures out a way to come back.