Ultramundane.com -- It's Just Not Natural.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Beer And Imagination.

As the expression goes, did you know that approximately one-half of all Americans have below-average intelligence?

I love that so many people cited "Moral Values" as the reason they voted for Bush. Funny, but "Moral Values" are the reason I voted for Kerry.

I understand why people are jokingly (or seriously) looking into leaving the country. But that feels a lot like having my country stolen away from me. Yeah, I'm not pleased with the election results either, but there they are. You don't get involved in progressive politics expecting to win all the time. In fact, if you support progressive opinions, you should provavly get used to not winning a lot of big battles. There will be plenty of small ones to be won and savored first. Remember the lessons of Molly Ivins as a Texas Liberal:

...[M]ost of us..., if we stay angry all the time, we get bitter and tired and cynical and burned out and utterly useless. And what you have to do is have fun while you're trying to do good.
That's not an easy trick, but we in Texas find that imagination and beer are really helpful.

Today, have some beer (or your personal equivalent). Tomorrow, we need to start using our imaginations.

Some other links I liked today:

06:46 PM PST (link)

Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Shaky Marks On The Ballot.

I always get cagey with phone solicitors, even when they're from the San Francisco Democratic Party asking me if I'm going to vote tomorrow. Do I know when I'm going to vote? Probably in the afternoon, but I haven't decided yet. Am I going to vote Democratic? Since I'm not sure if I'm going to vote party ticket for every candidate (and because they didn't endorse Jane Kim for School Board, I tell him I haven't decided yet. He made a small, disturbed noise, so I throw him a bone. "I can tell you who I'm not voting for, though...." He laughs and says he'll mark me down as a "yes."

Yes, you can mark me down as a yes.

I spent a lot of time looking at the ballot last night, trying to make heads or tails of the mess of propositions that we have to vote for. I have to agree with the Boyfriend here...don't we elect people to make some of these decisions for us? Why do we have to tell them how to spend our money and what to name the goddamn football stadium? (And while I'm asking questions, is it bad to cite "cameltoe" as part of your rationale against a candidate?) Anyway, I'm still not finished marking up my sample ballot. Hopefully I'll have a moment today to make an informed decision instead of leaving them blank.

However I'm getting the sense that not having voted this morning means I'll have to endure the whole day of people asking if I've voted yet. This doesn't make me any less anxious either. Living in what may well be one of the bluest spots in the nation, I find myself fearing the worst, feeling a little like the only blue spot in the nation.

Someone just stuck their head in the office and asked if I voted yet. I should close my door. I have a presentation to a client at one. I must not think about it. It's not like we'll know anything until tonight anyway. I will put it out of my mind.

After I reload the New York Times one more time.

11:21 AM PST (link)