Four Years After…

It’s November.  How’d that happen?  Everyone seems to be getting their NaBloWriMo groove on, or are working through the reasons they’re thankful.

i’m sitting in a chair, wondering what i could possibly have done last night to make my feet hurt this badly, scratching my bits, and considering options that could possibly make this day at least fractionally productive.

Decided to look back at my posts from four years ago.  November, 2008.

Some scores and highlights:

– Returning from my trip to South America, i sumarized my equatorial experiments.  Putting the myth of the toilet swirl to rest.

– The Girl was studying in Beirut, and The Boy was studying about an hour away.  She’s still living abroad, and he’s learning all sorts of things working through the post-hurricane mess on the east coast.

– A lovely Halloween opportunity to embarass one of my children!

– Having recently moved into my new home, i was still attempting to decorate.  At that point, i didn’t have furniture in the living room.  But i’d already purchased my whole-house integrated audio/video system, and a billiards table.

But then i found the post below.  Four years after, it’s still just as relevant.  We remain a polarized, divided and angry nation.  Fear-mongering is now an acceptable leadership tool. As we make our way through the final days of a gruelling and stinky presidential election cycle, we’re pretty much in the same situation as we were then.

Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday?  We’re screwed….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grieving on Election Eve

Posted on November 4, 2008 by daisyfae

No matter what happens tomorrow, i’ll be sad…

We will remain horrifically divided as a nation.  There will be cries of election fraud regardless of the outcome.  There will be outbursts of intolerance – potentially from either side of the argument.

What brought me down?  Two separate conversations over the past week tell me that i need to get working on my “Find Me a Husband” profile on a Canadian dating website.

The first?  In the office.  After a strategic planning meeting with the working troops, a few of us were doing the post-meeting analysis.  One mentioned that he was encouraged to learn that a mutual friend – an outspoken lifelong democrat – had “seen the light” and plans to vote for McCain.  i expressed surprise, as this individual had been so far left of center in his positions, he made me feel downright uptight in my own.  But he was apparently appalled by the “scam” that is Mr. Obama.

colleague A:  well, you know, they’ll riot no matter what happens.

daisyfae:  Huh?  Who?

colleague B:  you know, they riot no matter what’s going on…

daisyfae:  Seriously, who “they”?

colleague B: Remember Rodney King?  C’mon… you know there’ll be trouble no matter who gets elected!

i was stunned.  But rather than express an opinion, i did the best i could – and played dumb.  Keeping with the “who are the ‘they’ you guys are talking about?” to see if they would eventually say it…

colleague A:  They riot when their sports teams win or lose, so a presidential election with this much at stake is bound to get them in the streets!

daisyfae: What? Ohio State football fans? Not tracking here, guys…

and so it went…  and by the end of the conversation, i was just very sad.

And then there was this little bit from Mom over the weekend.  Mom has made her choice, is disturbed by the direction the country has taken under 8 years of Republican leadership, and voted for Mr. Obama.  She shared that my sister, S, is worried about the outcome of the election.  S works in downtown Cincinnati, at a large law firm.

Mom:  S is thinking about taking the day off Tuesday in case there’s trouble.

daisyfae:  What?  What sort of trouble?

Mom:  She said she’s seen so many foreign people downtown for the past few weeks.  They’re taking pictures of the buildings.  Wearing backpacks.  All the people she works with are worried that there will be bombings or riots.

daisyfae:  You’re shitting me, right?  She’s serious?

Mom:  It’s not just her, but it’s everybody she works with… there was talk of letting everyone work from home because people are so nervous.

What do i grieve for?  The loss of critical thinking skills, rational thought and intelligent debate…  We’re fucked, people… And i’m off to learn the words to the Canadian National Anthem.

Color blind?

i have a dream – that someday i shall live in a country where the media will NOT reduce a man’s character to the color of his skin.

Early morning news coverage of the inauguration events is leaving me gently ill.  i’m a HUGE fan of Mr. Obama.  NOT because of the color of his skin, but precisely because of his intellect, vision and character.

Hello?  Did we forget that this man was president of Harvard Law Review?  He is a constitutional law scholar?  Is deeply intelligent, much more moderate than many realize, and holds the potential to gently close the great divide between right and left in the US of A?  Oh, let’s not forget the fact that he speaks in full sentences and doesn’t make up words….

Granted, the elderly blacks who grew up with the blatant racism, restrictions on voter registration and the ugliness that accompanied the civil rights movement have more than enough justification for a little extra celebration.  It was only about 40 years ago that we still had “whites only” drinking fountains in this country.  Bring it.  You deserve this moment…

Idiot comment from the current news girl:  “It occurs to many Americans that they’ve never seen a first couple who looks like that.  Young, black and in a Presidential limo…”.  Jeebus McGee.  This bimbo went to an overpriced private university and bought got a degree in communications to bring us this kind of deep insight?  Her parents deserve a refund…

Is it just me, or does the media emphasis on his race detract from his achievement?  Let’s get on with the business of fixing what’s broken…

[end rant.  off for coffee…]

Grieving on Election Eve

No matter what happens tomorrow, i’ll be sad…

We will remain horrifically divided as a nation.  There will be cries of election fraud regardless of the outcome.  There will be outbursts of intolerance – potentially from either side of the argument. 

What brought me down?  Two separate conversations over the past week tell me that i need to get working on my “Find Me a Husband” profile on a Canadian dating website. 

The first?  In the office.  After a strategic planning meeting with the working troops, a few of us were doing the post-meeting analysis.  One mentioned that he was encouraged to learn that a mutual friend – an outspoken lifelong democrat – had “seen the light” and plans to vote for McCain.  i expressed surprise, as this individual had been so far left of center in his positions, he made me feel downright uptight in my own.  But he was apparently appalled by the “scam” that is Mr. Obama. 

colleague A:  well, you know, they’ll riot no matter what happens.

daisyfae:  Huh?  Who?

colleague B:  you know, they riot no matter what’s going on…

daisyfae:  Seriously, who “they”?

colleague B: Remember Rodney King?  C’mon… you know there’ll be trouble no matter who gets elected!

i was stunned.  But rather than express an opinion, i did the best i could – and played dumb.  Keeping with the “who are the ‘they’ you guys are talking about?” to see if they would eventually say it…

colleague A:  They riot when their sports teams win or lose, so a presidential election with this much at stake is bound to get them in the streets!

daisyfae: What? Ohio State football fans? Not tracking here, guys…

and so it went…  and by the end of the conversation, i was just very sad. 

And then there was this little bit from Mom over the weekend.  Mom has made her choice, is disturbed by the direction the country has taken under 8 years of Republican leadership, and voted for Mr. Obama.  She shared that my sister, S, is worried about the outcome of the election.  S works in downtown Cincinnati, at a large law firm.

Mom:  S is thinking about taking the day off Tuesday in case there’s trouble.

daisyfae:  What?  What sort of trouble?

Mom:  She said she’s seen so many foreign people downtown for the past few weeks.  They’re taking pictures of the buildings.  Wearing backpacks.  All the people she works with are worried that there will be bombings or riots.

daisyfae:  You’re shitting me, right?  She’s serious?

Mom:  It’s not just her, but it’s everybody she works with… there was talk of letting everyone work from home because people are so nervous.

What do i grieve for?  The loss of critical thinking skills, rational thought and intelligent debate…  We’re fucked, people… And i’m off to learn the words to the Canadian National Anthem.

The Dude does his civic duty

Yesterday was a “down day” at daisyfae’s dream condo.  Home theater/audio installation day*.  The Boy and one of his friends were sleeping in, after being up late the night before playing billiards and drinking cheap beer…

With the installation noise, The Boy was up earlier than expected.  Sitting with me at the table, he mentioned that he might want to vote absentee.  Asking me about issues and candidates, we went through a League of Women Voters summary of the five state-level constitutional amendment issues on the ballot.

The Boy:  Issue 1 is stupid.  Who cares how many days there should be for filing petitions.  i’m not voting on that… Issue 2 is about green space? Parks?  Acquiring green space?  Does that mean they’ll exercise eminent domain over homeowners and take property?  Fuck that!

daisyfae:  No, it’s about issuing bonds to raise funds to purchase land.  Very different.

The Boy:  OK.  Issue 3 is about the rights of people who are living on the shoreline?  Isn’t that the issue Dad was involved in?

daisyfae:  Yep.  Another “property owners rights” issue.  Allows people who live on the shoreline to have access to the water without paying taxes to the state. Seems reasonable to me since they pay a premium to buy the land.

The Boy:  Where the fuck is Issue 4?  Why does it go right to Issue 5?

daisyfae:  i have no idea… What’s issue 5?

The Boy:  Payday lenders?  Those fuckers can charge more than 28%?  That’s robbery!  Shut ’em down… bastards.

daisyfae:  Another case where people who are desperate aren’t always doing the math… May be good to have legislation regulating interest rates.

The Boy:  Issue 6 is the casino thing?  Hell yeah!  I don’t care who’s backing the damn casino.  How am i ever going to get a job as a poker dealer if we don’t have casinos in the state?

And so it went… We talked about candidates, issues, and taxes, too…

The Boy:  Is there a police levy? 

daisyfae:  Nope.  Just schools and mental health…

The Boy:  Fuck the po-lice.  i’m looking forward to voting against police levies. i’ll vote for schools, fire levies and anything else, but fuck the po-lice.

The Boy Dude

Off to a halloween party...

The Boy woke up his friend, and they reviewed issues and candidates. They went to vote.  i’ve seen so much energy from the “young ‘uns” regarding this election.  They are – across the board – engaged, and paying attention.  As my friend ctyri writes “I can’t express how great it feels to be witnessing a new direction for our country”.  And he and i are both hard core cynics… It’s their country.  They need to take charge.  i’ll cheer wildly from the sidelines.  There’s a future… fingers crossed…

Last night, as friends and i drank our way through my liquor cabinet celebrated the new home theater/audio system, The Boy headed out for a halloween party as The Dude, from The Big Lebowski**.  And despite the bathrobe, shades and dirty t-shirt?  i was kinda proud…

 

* And the Geek Gods sang “Ahhhhhhhh!”.  And daisyfae was in a state of perpetual electronica delirium as she tested each sound zone, humped the new HDTV/Blueray system and flitted about like a school girl in heat…

** renal failure offers brilliance for halloween costume cool-if-ication.  Zombie up, bitches… My suggestion was to go as The Zombie Dude…

When A Candidate Says “Change”…

Take a drink…

Yep.  That’s about the best way to get through a Presidential Debate.  Last night, had a couple friends over to watch John McCain and his jowls debate issues with Barack Obama.  Expecting not much more than “talking points” and practiced oratory, it seemed appropriate to turn the debate into a drinking game*.

Starting rules:

    – Drink whenever a candidate uses that “knuckle point thingie”

    – Drink when John McCain says “Maverick” or “POW”

    – Drink when either candidate says “synergy”

    – Triple tequila shots if either candidate says “Moosehunter”, “Caribou Barbie” or “Bullwinkle Must Die”

We managed to stay reasonably sober, but have some new “drinking triggers” for the next round (Note:  Suggestions Welcome!).  The rules shall be refined.  Seems the ol’ “knuckle point thing” is out of favor.  Mr. Obama uses an odd “finger pinch”, while Mr. McCain gesticulates with open hands.  If we’d done shots for every use of the word “change” or “economy”, we’d still be passed out… 

Bonus points to Mr. Obama for working the word “orgy” into the debate.  In addition to being a very smart man, he is incredibly sexy – not that my vote will be influenced by that in the least.  As my friend said “Yes We Would!”**  Very glad Mr. McCain didn’t use that word – the visual would have left me clawing my eyes out…

Thursday night, we’ll get together again to watch Ms. Palin take stupidity to a new low debate the infinitely blow-hardy Mr. Biden.  We’ll have to work on the game rules for that – but i will be doing shots everytime she says “I’ll get back to ya on that one” and “I can see Russia from my house!”

Regarding content – Star of the evening:  Jim Lehrer was a great moderator.  Dragged them back to the original questions, attempted to pin them down.  Nice.  There was good clarity on differences in foreign policy.  Unfortunately, however, i realized that i am already horribly biased.  Mr. McCain came across to me as a doddering, rambling and bitter man***.  Attacking, smirking and failing on nearly every occasion to answer the questions at hand Spewing prepared factoids, rehashing old infomation and worst of all – misrepresenting the stinky realities of the legislative process – implying that Mr. Obama voted “against our troops” when he’d voted against an unchecked war. 

Mr. Obama?  i heard this crazy thing that sounded a bit like “vision”.  Not an inexperienced rookie, but a deeply intelligent man.  Much more articulate, less bitter, and not prone to the pandering, emotional appeal (McCain’s “Look at this bracelet given to me by the mother of a dead soldier” bit was just pathetic…).

Made the mistake of listening to the “Post Game Wrap Up”.  To hear the “spinners” jabber about “who won” afterwards, i wasn’t sure i’d watched the same event.  Mr. McCain “held his own”?  Huh?  Did i go pee during that part?  Were these people watching a different debate in a parallel universe? 

Only about a month to go.  Thankfully.  i just want to fast forward to see how it turns out… Drinking my way through the debates is just a symptom…

_________

* When i found my son and his friends turning an awful game of video golf into a drinking game, i then realized ANYTHING can be turned into a drinking game… An acoholic epiphany! 

** The Obama Campaign has embraced the phrase “Yes We Can!”….  Oh, we totally would… right there.  on the floor.  with everyone else watching!

*** NOTHING CLOSE to the man who campaigned a few years back and had my attention as a better-than-average candidate.  He choked early in the primary process, but seemed a different man before he sold out to the religious right…

Electrons and Voteons

The big day in Ohio… It is rare when Presidential candidates are not already selected by the time our primary election occurs.  This year, all eyes are watching to see whether Mr. Obama will continue his 11-state streak and knock Mrs. Clinton out of the race, or whether she’ll be the comeback kid, and hang on to fight another day.  

I’m very proud of The Girl, driving home late last night (with a ton of pre-final exam academic pain hanging over her head) so she could get up early and vote.  The Boy will be able to vote in the general election in November – and is jazzed about the opportunity.  i can relax, knowing that my offspring have internalized that ‘civic duty’ thing*….

For those who blame remember Ohio as the state that determined the outcome of the 2004 Presidential election, we went another round today with electronic touchscreen voting.  Although there are ridiculous, overblown conspiracy theories regarding what really happened in Ohio during the 2004 election, credible investigative journalists (most notably Greg Palast) provided a reasonable case to call into question the outcome of that election…

In short, it’s likely that the votes not counted in 2004 – “spoilage” ballots** – would have made the race much closer, if not given the win to Mr. Kerry. 

Being an uber-geek, i’ve been tracking this issue pretty closely – not just from a procedural, but from a technological point of view.  The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – one of the largest, independent professional technical societies in the world – felt this issue was of sufficient concern to stimulate research interest in the area, with papers from several symposia captured and published in a book.  The intent was to pre-emptively tackle the standards and security issues and assure that the ‘chad backlash’ against paper ballots from the 2000 election did not lead to an equally flawed electronic approach.

In any case,  i think i voted today…

______________

* perhaps it’s been the past 7 years of me screaming at the television every time my Commander-In-Chief appears on the tube that has inspired their civic interests?  To keep me from stroking out?

** “spoilage” includes provisional ballots cast under the cloud of new identification requirements, and ballots cast in urban precincts, which encountered more cases of “irregularities” with the new voting contraptions than other precincts.

 

Tis the season…

Politics.  With the Ohio primary election lurking, the home phone has been ringing off the hook with state, local and national pleas for support.  Thank god for caller ID – although i’ve let calls* from Hillary and Barack go right to voicemail because i didn’t recognize the numbers…

Things are also interesting at the local level.  i spent about 4 hours yesterday afternoon preparing a 10,000 piece mailing for a local candidate, Bob.  This gentleman is running for county office, after serving as a city and township official for over a decade…

Most amusing to me?  He is a member of that party.  The one that bought our white house in the last two elections.  Yet there i sat for 4 hours, sticking labels on envelopes at breakneck speed – so fast that a junior team member had to supply water-cooling for my fingers.  i was that dedicated.   I’ve also ghost-written his campaign literature, and sent him draft ‘letters to the editor’ for others to send to local newspapers.

As a libertarian** at heart, this may seem strange.   All i know is that if it weren’t for the assistance of Bob a few years ago, there wouldn’t be a sk8park in our small city. 

Leading a rag-tag bunch of sk8r punks into the city council chambers on numerous occasions, i was getting nowhere.  Until Bob showed up at one of our planning meetings.  He was impressed with the tenacity of the group, and the fact that we came to the city planning to raise as much of our own money as possible.

With his support, lots of press releases, car washes, benefit concerts and generous donors, we did it.  Raised $25,000 on our own, and got the city to hack up the $100,000 to do it right…   So, to quote a wise and scraped-up eldersk8sman, “it’s very important that the youth of today has a controlled environment to hurt itself in”.

Couldn’t agree more.  And if Bob needs me to stuff his envelopes, then i shall continue to stuff his envelopes.  Guess that’s how politics works…

_______

* those damned recorded messages…  please, please, please don’t insult me and waste my bandwidth…

** key challenge with libertarians?  they disdain organizational structure.  hard to get their shit together, it is… so lately, i’m just an avowed “anti-wingnut”, and will generally vote in such a manner to maximize the chances we’ll get an administration in place that will stop with the egregious disregard for the constitution… oh, and stop invading other countries… 

Will the real terrorist please stand up?

A few years back, as the ‘terror level’ of the people of the U.S. started to subside, Attorney General Ashcroft apparently decided that it had to be kicked back up a notch.  Bam!  Threat Level Orange!

In a now famous attempt to kick-start the fear factor going into a mid-term election, Mr. Ashcroft encouraged all Americans to be prepared for a chemical attack, by keeping duct tape and sheets of plastic on hand.

My Mom, knowing that i dabble in technology and stay current on such things, asked me if it would be a good idea for her to keep supplies on hand, ‘just in case’…

“Mom.  First i want you to do three things.  If you do these three things, then we can talk about the need for duct tape and plastic.”

    “Stop smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day.  I know you’ve done it for almost 65 years, and other than the congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and persistent cough, it hasn’t hurt you a bit… and yes, we think the tar is holding some of your internal organs in place.  Still, it’s a significant risk factor in your life.

     “Wear your seatbelt every time you ride in a car.  Especially when you are driving.  While smoking…

      “Stop eating a bacon sandwich, with a side of sausage and gravy shots, for breakfast.  Oh, and try to get out and walk just a little bit every day.

      “These are the three things that are most likely to kill you.  You are also more likely to die at the hands of an axe-wielding mime than to suffer the effects of a chemical attack, so the fourth item on the list might be mime-repellant.”

<sigh>