Journal Nov 2004
There's a lot going on in the government now, like the intelligence bill and the Ohio recount (after certification), which finally made mainstream news. Bev Harris from blackboxvoting.org was on CNN with Aaron Brown last night at 10 pm ET, but I didn't catch it. Of course, there's nothing about it on CNN.com. At least not until it becomes too important to ignore. Voting reform must be a nonpartisan issue, and a moral issue.
We're gonna have the usual complement over for Thanksgiving, this time at our own house. It's pretty exciting. We have a lot to be thankful for, including our family, friends, and our house, but there's one thing I hoped I would be thankful for that hasn't manifested itself. Yet. Hopefully we will know the truth about this election, whatever it may be.
Regardless, it looks as if the Republican Party is reforming itself, just as the Democratic Party is. Hopefully moderate Republicans will reexamine what they really stand for and revolt against the right-wing that has taken over the party. Always a good reference: Daily Kos.
Lastly, you may want to be aware of exploding cell phones, which are extremely rare, but should have manufacturers tightening their quality standards. My advice: use headsets!
Next entry after the weekend.
-res
A quick reference, and I'm outta here: a NYTimes.com editorial on the GOP Congress (needs free registration). Yup, these are the "moral" people in power now. I can give more examples as I see them.
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I've gathered some articles form the online press:
On CNN.com: a warning to "disloyal" CIA officials, and a disturbing Microsoft statement about Linux.
For those of you with (free) NYTimes.com accounts, here are articles on: the CIA purging and the censorship of Saving Private Ryan.
I saved the best for last:
More progress for Bev Harris and the Black Box Voting.org group! We can fix elections for the future (and maybe the present)!
Also, some humor from Moby.
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It looks like Black Box Voting.org is conducting a fraud audit in Florida, and is also investigating other states. The election still isn't over, and technically it won't be over until January 6, when Cheney certifies the electoral votes. Again, even if the audits, recounts, and investigations don't turn over the media's election results, we need to validate our election process. It's as if the last four years haven't shown any progress at all in ensuring fair elections.
I still can't get over this whole talk about "morals" and "values." Jesus was a liberal, remember? He was concerned with poverty, hypocrisy, and corruption of power. He promoted peace. His primary concern was that we all love each other and be inclusive in that love. Nowhere does he mention guns or gays. You'll find homosexuality in the outdated Leviticus, a book for which Moby has a good list of outdated ideas in his journal, a good answer to those who use the Bible to promote hate. (For more liberal Christian information, check out this Green voter's page (lots of links), the Liberal Catholic Church, and this interesting 20-question quiz on what kind of Christian you are.)
I'll get into it later how it's really the Democratic Party, yes, even Clinton, that has demonstrated more values to the nation since the civil rights movement when the Dixiecrats left the party. What are our values? Real compassion and inclusion over hate and exclusion, caring for the environment instead of compromising it, telling the truth and staying open in matters of government over vicious smear campaigns and lying or misleading to get a war started, speaking truth to power over "loyalty," and hope over fear. This list isn't even complete. It's all I could summarize in a few minutes.
More to come soon. I'm still collecting my thoughts and research.
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Some interesting stories from news on the web:
- A CNN review of Lost for Words by John Humphrys, about how the English language is mangled by both Bush and Blair,
- Some important resignations, including that of Colin Powell,
- A series of changes at the CIA (with a more partisan explanation at Newsday), and
- A welcome for Americans into Canada (note the wise words at the end of using Canada as "Plan B", where "Plan A" is to "stay and fight").
We should all make sure that anyone who speaks truth (at least bits of truth that the Administration doesn't want to hear) to power in this Administration has their voice heard and is not marginalized or terminated by this Administration.
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Timmy had his first soccer lesson yesterday. It's really a joy to watch him learn from the coaches and develop his abilities. Hopefully I can post pictures (when I get around to posting the rest of them) next time, since I forgot my camera last time.
Today Timmy went to a birthday party and had fun, though mostly playing with toys at the house than with the celebrant. They did play together a little bit, and that went fine, of course. I kept myself occupied with "Bop It Extreme," which is almost like DDR, or Simon to a beat. Highly addictive.
Lastly (tech note!), I'm starting to experiment with WINE (a virtual machine for Windows apps) on Linux, and I'll report my findings soon. Of particular interest is trying to run Firefox with Flash (which is available on Linux) and Shockwave (which is not).
-res
Another welcome break from politics -- word links to become permanent fixtures on this site:
- Dictionary.com
- Dictionary.com's Word of the Day
- wordreference.com
- WordSmith.org
- WordSmith.org Internet Anagram Server
- Jumble
I'll post my political rant soon, and I'll try to be nonpartisan. Maybe.
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I got the new version of the Focus Last Selected Tab (0.8.1) extension yesterday, but I didn't post it yet. This extension makes tabs behave like the Windows taskbar buttons, i.e., when closing a tab, the next most recently viewed tab gets focus. Also, it turns out that User Agent Switcher 0.6 still works with Firefox 1.0, but you have to uninstall it if it was installed with 1.0PR or earlier, then reinstall it with 1.0 final.
For those of you concerned with the recent election, chech out this entry from Moby's journal, BlackBoxVoting.ORG, and, of course, Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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A few more tech notes here (temporary relief from politics!): Mozilla Firefox 1.0 final release is here!!! Currently, the only (officially 1.0-final-compatible) extension I use is Tabbrowser Preferences (0.9.95), so you may want to wait until your favorite extensions are available for 1.0 final. This version (0.9.95) actually works with Gmail links now; previously it still made new windows for links in emails. As always, be sure to uninstall previous versions of Firefox and extensions.
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I need some time to regroup, but I'm feeling better now. I will never lose hope for the future. There are too many issues to list now, but give me some time.
In the meantime, check out the rant site Daily Kos, our purple electoral map, and Moby's journal.
Normality will be restored soon. At least up to what counted for normal in the last two years.
-res
I'm not giving up.
Is anyone else bothered by the fact that the maker of the troublesome voting machines has a CEO that committed to helping Ohio deliver their electoral votes to Bush?
I'm not sure yet if all the absentee and provisional ballots will be counted. Even if Bush is declared winner by January, the work for progressive-minded individuals is not finished. It's only begun.
I'm still proud to be an American.
I'm not giving up.
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I'm especially proud to be an American today. I voted, and I walked to the polling place and back. The line wasn't too long. There have already been reports of long lines today, which I think is a good sign, but inconvenient for the voters, huh?
I guess somehow the Supreme Court is allowing GOP vote challengers. Big surprise, I guess, but there are still Democratic vote protectors to counter them. I think of vote protection as counter-terrorism, something Clinton was good at, unless you believe the right-wing noise machine.
I did my part, did you? All I can do is wait, hope, and pray. I should probably work, though. I'm at work now.
-res
There's a ray of hope for true democracy: an Ohio judge barring of partisan "vote challengers". Hopefully you've already voted absentee or in early voting polls available in some states, but if not, please vote early tomorrow, doing your homework beforehand (like tonight).
There are a lot of superstitions and correlations about like who wins the last home Redskins game before Election Day (incumbent wins if Redskins win (lost this time)), who has more royal blood wins the presidency (Bush over Gore; this time Kerry has more), no incumbent wins after losing all three debates, etc. Some favor Kerry, some favor Bush. Therefore (assuming there is a clear winner), some of these streaks will be broken. But, as the press and the campaigns like to say, the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day.
Get the real facts (read: avoid FOX "News"), ignore the mere slogans from any campaign, and vote. And don't forget your local candidates and measures! Speaking of measures, be sure you know what is given and what is conditional in the measures. Furthermore, when candidates support or oppose measures, be sure you know why they do and what their endorsement or opposition means (i.e. Kerry opposes the partial birth abortion ban because it doesn't consider the life of the mother, or he voted for the $87 billion bill that repeals tax cuts on only the wealthy but voted against the version that passed as a protest vote, not because the Bush campaign claims he is "against troops" or against their having body armor (that they should have had in the first place).
If you don't have time to read it all, and like to trust friends, be sure to listen to both sides, but consider this: a higher percentage of polled Kerry supporters are more knowledgeable about the facts than Bush supporters. Yes, in case you haven't guessed, this website endorses John Kerry for president! But, no matter who you vote for, please vote! If Bush wins, but there is nearly 100% voter turnout, I have nothing (regarding the voting process) to complain about, because democracy only works when every voter votes. It works even better when all voters are educated about the issues and candidates. If you vote for Bush, be sure you know the facts, and if you still vote for him, then fine. Same goes if you vote for Kerry. If you're still undecided by now, I highly recommend a Kerry vote, with my being a mostly progressive, sometimes conservative, educated person of faith. God gave us brains, right? We should use them! (Keep in mind these abortion statistics.) But I decided to get seriously informed this election so hopefully I could educate myself and others about the candidates, and if I've helped someone make a decision, either way, I've done my job.
Like former president Clinton said, if one campaign encourages Americans to think and hope instead of accept blindly and have fear, choose hope. Good luck to both candidates tomorrow (or at least hopefully luck will not be a factor in the election).
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Past Journal Entries: 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
2010 Journal Entries: Nov
Common and favorite references and their acronyms:
- Washington Post (WaPo): http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (requires free login)
- Moby's journal: http://www.moby.com/journal/
- Sojourners (Sojo): http://www.sojo.net/ (requires free login)
- Tom's Hardware Guide (THG): http://www.tomshardware.com/
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): http://www.eff.org/
- SourceForge.net (SF): http://www.sourceforge.net/
- My referral link for a free Mac Mini (legit): http://www.freemacmini.com/?r=160454 (why this is here)
