Monday, November 29, 2004

Back to the Grindstone

If there's anything I have learned in my adult life, it's that vacations rock. Thanks to my company's tricky pea-under-the-shell accountants, I have to hoard vacation days every year for our mandatory Thanksgiving week shutdown. (It's hoard vaca or don't get pay, period.) So since Saturday the 20th I have been jubilantly lazy and self-absorbed.

Thanksgiving was great, despite the inevitable last-minute glitches and miscommunications. My best friends' family (really, they're more like my family too) came over. I got to see my little quasi-nephew Alex, who started out cute, but who now leaves the Gerber baby and any other baby I've seen in the dust. I frankly don't understand how Steve gave him half his genes. Or how Alex's mom, Kelly, actually likes Steve for his looks and not his personality as much. Wonders will never cease. There really is someone for everyone. Whatever, I remain grateful that things are working out, that Steve and Kelly are turning out to be great parents, and that I like Kelly far and away the best out of any girl I've seen Steve with. (not too hard, but Kelly really is a sweetheart)

We also drew names for Christmas presents, and much to my dismay I got my best friend's hubby, who never wants anything and is the hardest person alive to shop for. If only I'd gotten one of the girls I could have hooked them up with a supply of my new favorite addiction, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. In any case, I went on eBay and won a new Cardinals 2004 World Series baseball jersey for Eric, so I'm hoping he will like it, and if not well then pbbbbttttttt.

Last night I tried to put up my 7.5 ft pre-lit Christmas tree but a few branches around the top are not lighting so I need to go through and find which bulb is burnt out. The kitties have so far been very good about not using the tree as a ladder, instead embracing as their duty the coating of the tree skirt with a generous layer of cat hair. I really love Christmastime - right down to cheesy Andy Williams Christmas carols. (Listen, if Andy Williams restored your faith in Christmas after seeing your dad in a red Santa suit when you were 5, you'd love his Christmas tunes too. I knew full well Santa Claus is not Korean - or my dad. Thank you Andy Williams. Thank you.)

(PLEASE NOTE: Even though I love cheesy Christmas carols, I still hate that frigging "Simply! Ha-a-aving! a Wonderful Christmas Time!" tune. I may be Backstreet Boys queer but I'm not mentally impaired. Any of you who think I'm queer for the Andy Williams thing - well, I just got my revenge by sticking "Simply! Haaaaving! A Wonderful Christmas time!" in your head. Enjoy.)

Anyway, it's Monday and I gotta put my nose back to the grindstone. If in the holiday madness I don't get to blog again (although I am hoping there will be spectacular mayhem at the office Christmas party this Saturday to relate) then I wish you all a great holiday season.

Mooches Smooches,
D

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Enough with the Hillary for President Talk

If you've read any of my earlier posts, you know I campaigned hard for John Kerry and John Edwards. I watched John Kerry give his concession speech and sobbed out of sheer disappointment and fear over what would happen to this country in the next 4 years. I looked to people like Barack Obama for hope and inspiration. The Democrats must look to 2006 and 2008 with a plan for victory, a plan that not only includes our hopes and dreams, but logic and practicality - in short, a plan that will WIN.

And that is why I am begging the Democrats to shut it with the Hillary Clinton in 2008 talk. Do I like it that this country still shits on minorities and that women are consistently paid less than men for doing the same job? HELL NO. But if you can look at the election results maps and still think that ANY woman, much less Hillary Clinton, can win the Presidency, then I hope you're just about done with the brick of hash you broke out after the election, and that there's no more where that came from.

For Hillary Clinton to be a viable, winnable Presidential candidate, we would basically have to saw off the nation at the Mason-Dixon line, and use the Men in Black neuralizer on all the red counties that are left. (Something which you may find tempting, but something which in practicality, won't be done) Her name alone evokes a negative kneejerk reaction in too many people across the country. It would be a waste of time and money for her to run, and if she did throw her hat in the ring, I would actively campaign against her. For the good of the party and the country, Hillary Clinton cannot make a run for President.

I am not suggesting we sell out our hopes and our dreams for a better country, and this is not meant to be a slam on Senator Clinton or the good things she has accomplished. But neither do I think the Democrats should throw away their 2008 hopes with both hands, and then wonder where we went wrong when we lose again.

Monday, November 08, 2004

The Need for Election Reform

I'm all for states' rights but a federal election should be uniform across the nation and be subject to federal standards.

From the NY Times: "An electronic voting machine added 3,893 votes to President Bush's tally in a suburban Columbus precinct that has only 800 voters." And who the heck knows how many voting machines could have done the same thing across the country...I'm getting to the point where I think voters should just be handed marbles to throw in the bin of their candidate of choice....

For those of you who haven't seen this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/politics/campaign/07elect.html

Voting Problems in Ohio Set Off an Alarm
By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: November 7, 2004

Voters in Ohio delivered a second term to President Bush by a decisive margin. But the way the vote was conducted there, election law specialists say, exposed a number of weak spots in the nation's election system.
"We dodged a bullet this time, but the problems remain," said Heather K. Gerken, who teaches election law at Harvard. "We have problems with the machines, problems with the patchwork of regulations covering everything from recounts to provisional ballots, and problems with self-interested party officials deciding which votes count."
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Had the electoral math been only a little different, lawyers would be examining even closer finishes in other states.
"If it was Iowa or New Mexico that held the balance," said Richard L. Hasen, who teaches election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, "we would be in litigation now." Mr. Bush won those states by one percentage point; he won Ohio by two.
As it turned out, though, Ohio was the crucible.
The state relies heavily on punch-card balloting machines of the hanging-chad variety. Voting machines in Ohio failed to register votes for president in 92,000 cases over all this year, a number that includes failure to cast a vote, disallowed double votes and possible counting errors. An electronic voting machine added 3,893 votes to President Bush's tally in a suburban Columbus precinct that has only 800 voters.
Officials in Ohio will be able to reject some of the approximately 155,000 provisional ballots cast there, offered to potential voters whose names could not be located on local election rolls, because of the ambiguity of the standards.
There were also long lines at the polls, and it is unclear how many people grew too dispirited to keep waiting and ended up not voting.
"In Ohio," said Edward B. Foley, who teaches election law at Ohio State University, "there is a cloud over the process, even though there is not a cloud over the result."
Democratic lawyers concluded that challenges based on these problems could not bridge the 135,000-vote deficit Senator John Kerry faced on Wednesday morning. A recount of the punch cards would have yielded no more than 20,000 votes, election law specialists said, and there was no reason to think that those votes or the provisional ballots would uniformly favor Mr. Kerry.
Based on the Ohio experience, election law scholars advocate two types of broad reform: more uniformity within states - in registration lists, voting technologies and the distribution of voting machines - and replacing partisans with professionals in election administration.
"Congress has got to try again," Professor Foley said. "We need more money for machines. We need uniform allocation of machines. And Congress has to develop a clearer picture of the process for evaluating provisional ballots."
All these issues might have been before the courts if the vote in Ohio had been a little tighter.
"We had cases ready to be filed," said Daniel J. Hoffheimer, state counsel to the Kerry campaign in Ohio. "If Senator Kerry had decided to really go to the mat on provisional ballots, the Kerry-Edwards legal team would have looked at all the issues out there."
Most scholars and lawyers agree the main problems in Ohio resulted from technical failures and inadequate resources rather than partisan bickering in polling places or intentional disenfranchisement. But they said poor and minority voters may have suffered disproportionately.
"There is a feeling here that the long-line problem was a problem of disparity that fell along socioeconomic lines," Professor Foley said. "There were isolated instances of long lines here in the seven- to nine-hour range, and the common lines were two to three hours. When your line gets to two or three hours, it's system failure."
Even if the waits were comparable in poorer and richer precincts, legal scholars said, they might have had a disproportionate impact. If time is money, a long wait is a sort of poll tax, and the rich may be more able to pay it.
The lines were in any case baffling, Mr. Hoffheimer said.
"Although the turnout was not as large as the secretary of state had predicted," he said, "in quite a widespread number of precincts around the state, lines were horrendously long. At one time, one of them was estimated to be 22 hours."
On Oct. 29, the Ohio secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, said he expected 72 percent turnout. His office reported that the actual turnout on Nov. 2 was about 70 percent.
Election law scholars say too many decisions about the election process are now made by people who are partisan. Professor Gerken of Harvard took exception to the actions of Mr. Blackwell, a Republican.
"He was making judgment calls that were simply implausible," she said, citing a decision, later rescinded, that registration forms on anything less than 80-pound paper stock should be rejected.
Legal scholars agreed that changes to the system must be made behind what philosophers call the veil of ignorance - without knowing how the change will affect particular outcomes.
For this reason, it is unclear whether the Colorado initiative that would have allocated the state's electoral votes proportionately was defeated on its merits or because it could have immediately changed the outcome of the election. Bush voters confident of victory in the state may have voted against the measure to ensure that their candidate received all nine of the state's electoral votes.
For similar reasons, scholars say that if litigation is needed to clarify election procedures, it should be brought before an election.
The election left many questions unanswered about its most significant innovation: provisional ballots, required by a 2002 federal law intended to restore public confidence after the grueling Florida recount. County election officials in Ohio are now determining whether those ballots should be counted.
That will take some time, and the process has critics. In Ohio, for instance, four-member county election boards, each with two Republicans and two Democrats, will decide, with the approval of three members needed to count the votes. "Party officials should not be deciding who can vote," Professor Gerken said.

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Good Things in the Shadow of the Apocalypse

In an effort to cheer myself up, I am listing all the good things to remember as something to hang onto for the next 4 years. I will update this post when I think of more.

1) I can finish the anti-Bush books I didn't have time to finish before the election, and they won't just be historical references.
2) All my anti-Bush t-shirts are still in style.
3) Candy is still tasty and delicious.
4) Barack Obama.
5) There is a woman I know who is unbelievably annoying, condescending, and manipulative. I had made a promise to God that if Kerry won, I would stop complaining about her. Now I can declare open season on the bitch.
6) John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Gwen Moore, Melissa Bean, and all the other Democrats (and the few Republicans) who will work to make a difference.
7) In some cultures, my large ass would be worshipped and revered.
8) My two kitty cats, Molly and Guinness, are warm and fuzzy and love me lots.
9) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will certainly not run out of material in the next 4 years.
10) I have my health and many friends who love me.

Cheers,
Donna

The Beginning of the End

I am unbelievably heartsore and disappointed in the voters of this country. I really underestimated the number of ignorant, selfish, short-sighted bigots that there truly are in this country. And to give credit where credit is due, the Democrats did not do a good enough job in turning out their base voters, as is evidenced by the Presidency, Senate, and House results.

As John Edwards said yesterday, the fight has just begun. We are down, but we cannot allow ourselves to be shoved out. Barack Obama is a good start for us. I expect great and inspiring things from him. And he is just the beginning, and just one person. We can expect good things from Russ Feingold, Gwen Moore, Melissa Bean, and many others. The Democrats need to work together towards the Congressional races of 2006 and do our damnedest to get some kind of balance back from the GOP-strangled government. There is no alternative. We have lost far too much and are about to lose more. If we let ourselves become cynical and discouraged, there will be no coming back from this disaster. The future is all we have left.

Cheers,
D

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Misinformation and Apathy

If the provisional ballot count in Ohio goes against Kerry, and it very well may, this country will effectively go to hell. Anything that people didn't like about Bush in his first 4 years, any mistakes he committed, any lies he told, any ridiculous and arrogant moves he made will only come back to bite us all tenfold over the next 4 years. Bush will not have to worry about re-election this time around, and we will have effectively validated him in his own eyes. In addition, he may well have the chance to replace half the Supreme Court with nutbags like Priscilla Owens.

Here is who I blame for what will happen to our country:

1) Everyone who voted for Bush. Whether you are misinformed or simply have no conscience, you have your head in the sand with respect to this President and his policies. Or maybe you are just as arrogant as he is.

2) Every Kerry supporter/Bush hater who did not get out to vote. I don't care if you live in a swing state or not. While this country is in total crisis, the attitude that you could just sit on your ass and not do the ONE CONCRETE THING you could do to secure a victory for Kerry, is bullshit and sickens me.

3) Myself. I certainly have to take a portion of the accountability. I've known what was at stake for almost 3 years here and I did not get involved early enough in the campaign to make a significant difference.

4) The Kerry campaign. Too much time was spent fending off Vietnam allegations, too much time was spent ducking for cover and not nearly enough time getting out a clear message to the American voters. And it showed. Hindsight may be 20/20, but I gotta tell you, this is what I've been thinking the entire campaign and it was why I got involved late in the process in the first place.

Please God, don't let this country destroy itself. Don't let Bush do it either.