It's Free Election Day

One fun part about living in a house with so many people in it is that I get to see the variety of political mailings being sent. So what have the campaigns been sending out to folks in my neighborhood this year?

For registered Republicans: Democrats kill unborn babies! Oh, and some of them voted against tax relief. Did we mention that Democrats are baby-murderers? Save the Babies! Vote Republican!

For registered independents: The Republican candidates support the failed policies of the Bush Administration! You hate George W. Bush! In case you've forgotten, here's why you hate George W. Bush [Insert issue here. There have been rather a lot of these mailings, with a different issue each day]! You really, really hate George W. Bush! Save America! Vote against the Republicans!

For registered Democrats: Here are all the Democratic candidates running in your district. See our pretty smiles? Take this brochure into the voting booth with you so you know who to vote for. Don't Forget to Vote November 7!


As the household independent, I'm rather disappointed nobody's tried to get me to vote for them this year, just--"You Hate Bush! Vote Against His Party!" And as someone raised by Republicans, I'm rather disappointed the Republicans didn't bother mailing me anything at all. Sure, they really don't have a chance of winning me over this year, but couldn't they at least try a little? Sheesh.

People complain about Berke Breathed recycling his old Bloom County gags, but this sums things up pretty well.

Time to go fix lunch, put on my voting socks, and do my civic duty!

Yo Voté (Those wacky Republicans!)

Many people this election season have been up in arms about the electronic voting machines and how easy it is to manipulate results while escaping detection. Most of the angst seemed to come from the liberals, but here in Maryland even our Republican governor Bob Ehrlich urged people to vote by absentee ballot so as to avoid using the dread machines. While rather a lot of voters answered the call, rather a lot of the rest of us did not, which is why I was standing in line today along with oodles of friendly neighbors.

As we stood in line, the election judge called for our attention, holding up a piece of paper and shouting, "Listen! This is a LIE!" All day she'd been noticing people going to the voting booths carrying these sheets of paper with candidates' names and smiling faces [Edit: I'm not sure about the smiling faces, since I didn't see the thing close up. Now I wish I'd collected some of that literature when it was offered to me], but in the afternoon someone called her attention to what the literature actually had on it. Now, these fliers were made up to look like official Democratic party literature, telling folks in this largely Democratic district who the Democratic party wants them to vote for. And this handy little list of Democratic politicians included such people as... our Republican governor, Bob Ehrlich. Nice!

It's reassuring to know that in a world of hackable, digital voting machines, a bit of low-tech deception still has its place.

So anyway, after standing around chuckling about the antics of those wacky Republicans (the judges said something about busloads of folks from Philadelphia hanging out at various of our polling places today), I touched lots of pretty buttons on the Diebold screen, carefully reviewed the summary at the end to make sure the machine had accurately noted my preferences, then consigned my ballot to its electronic doom. Affixing my "Yo Voté/I Voted" sticker to my jacket, I went outside and immediately signed a petition to keep the Green Party on the ballot because, as I said to the signature collector, "The more, the merrier!" Then I went shopping for shampoo and toilet paper because that's just the kind of glamorous life I lead.


[Edit: Washington Post story about those fliers. No, I did not vote for Ehrlich or Steele (unless Diebold says I did).]

they howled out for goblins who munch on your account.

My thoughts tonight are rather scattered. I loved tonight's House episode, even Cameron! Ooh, FOX says Ehrlich and Steele are losing! And then some perverse part of my brain decides to try imagining Gregory House as an election judge and I just lose whatever bits of sanity I might otherwise have clung to tonight.

As usual, your stellar review is violently upstaged by the path that
won my allegiance most,
what a marvel to be able to sleep.
the houses all
wait for it, wait for it, give it some chipmunk's chatter, or weasel
under the sunny dike's top and
the mimic soldiers strut and stride,
sometimes with sturdy leaves for company,
come warriors willing, should war draw nigh,
liegemen loyal: by lauded deeds
shall make blow for us one flower,
including his or her
i leave my health behind. I leave someone
sexually aggressive and sexually skilled.

--MegaHAL

Mmm... sleep sounds good, and it is a marvel. Unfortunately, I am now thinking of sexually aggressive chipmunks. And what's up with those mimic soldiers strutting with leaves for company? Warriors and flowers? Sound suspiciously hippie-ish to me. Maybe it's the drugs that make you leave your health behind, eh? I am perfectly sober, but my mind now is filled with chattering chipmunks, which does suggest that I should follow the path that's mostly likely to lead to a good night's sleep.