Punk & Shallow

That's what I used to call pink and yellow when I was a kid. At least one of my favorite colors. And maybe two.

innocence mission

The Icing on the Political Cake

Not only did we make history on this day last week, we elected the better team to move us forward. And we unearthed some rather ugly facts about the electorate which hails from what I call America's red vein.

Fear of the politician with the unusual name and look did not end with last Tuesday’s vote in this rural red swatch where buck heads and rifles hang on the wall. This corner of the Deep South still resonates with negative feelings about the race of President-elect Barack Obama.

The New York Times provides us with some visual imagery. No offense intended to hunters and fishermen (or is it fisherpeople?) who happen to have supported Obama I'm sure.

The idea of a "waning" South has me as excited as the outcome of the election. And it's about damn time.

The region’s absence from Mr. Obama’s winning formula means it “is becoming distinctly less important,” said Wayne Parent, a political scientist at Louisiana State University. “The South has moved from being the center of the political universe to being an outside player in presidential politics.”

[...]

Alabama, for example, experienced a heavy black turnout and voted slightly more Democratic than in 2004, but the state over all gave 60 percent of its vote to Mr. McCain. (Arkansas, however, doubled the margin of victory it gave to the Republican over 2004.)

[...]

By leaving the mainstream so decisively, the Deep South and Appalachia will no longer be able to dictate that winning Democrats have Southern accents or adhere to conservative policies on issues like welfare and tax policy, experts say.

That could spell the end of the so-called Southern strategy, the doctrine that took shape under President Richard M. Nixon in which national elections were won by co-opting Southern whites on racial issues.

All I can do is applaud and shout, "good riddance" to that negative and racist influence. I do not understand how some of these people even get through the day. What a miserable and pathetic life.

One white woman said she feared that blacks would now become more “aggressive,” while another volunteered that she was bothered by the idea of a black man “over me” in the White House.

How Sweet It Is

This just gets me all worked up. Michelle is like the tallest one of the bunch! That dress may be a tad too red though.

How Arkansas Screwed the Children

One thing we're all seeing up close and personal is just how dirty things get when religion gets mixed with politics.

It was true in California with Prop 8 and it is true in the passage of a proposition in Arkansas banning unmarried couples from adopting children or being foster parents. And gee, who are the vast majority of the unmarried couples?

A New York Times article today cites antipathy toward Obama as a major reason the amendment passed by such a majority, despite the fact that 55% of those polled were against it.

The measure, which voters overwhelmingly approved Tuesday and which prevents unmarried cohabitating couples from adopting or fostering children, won strong support from conservatives, exit polls found. The ban affects all unmarried couples but was written with the intent of preventing gay couples from raising children in Arkansas.

Unlike most states, Arkansas shifted to the right politically in this election. Senator John McCain won the state by 20 points compared with President Bush’s nine-point victory in 2004.

How in the bloody hell can a state have antipathy at such a critical moment in our history? I guess the voters were just preoccupied with other matters of importance. Whatever.

I certainly don't think Jesus would approve of the tactics nor the misuse of the church for political purposes.

A survey in October by the University of Arkansas found 55 percent of voters in the state opposed to the ban. But conservatives ratcheted up their lobbying before the election, distributing 350,000 inserts for church bulletins, and the measure passed with nearly 57 percent of the vote.

How very.. um... Taliban. And how very sad for the children.

Arkansas has three times as many children who need homes as people willing to adopt or foster them, said Brett Kincaid, campaign director for Arkansas Families First, a coalition of groups opposing the ban.

Religion and politics don't mix. When they do, somebody is gonna get fucked without any lovin' as my grandma used to say. I'm paraphrasing just a bit. Better to leave the children without homes than to have them living with the dirty godless faggots.

Crossposted at B3

America's Backwater Racists

This graphic tells a million stories. I can only imagine some of the political conversations in these homes leading up to the historic moment on Tuesday. This might just as well be labeled, "The Worst Places to Live in the United States."

The New Republican Party starts here.

Gee, Thanks California!

My fears materialized. California voters opted via Prop 2 to provide more rights to farm animals (which I support, by the way) passed by 63% to 37% while voting 52% to 48% for Prop 8 which deals a blow to same sex couples who didn't tie the knot prior to November 5.

It's interesting how the Mormon Church, and all those they influenced, can be so against the recognition of same sex relationships and yet take pleasure in screwing us in the ass. But let's look at the bright side: we can't get married in California now, but the eggs may be a hell of a lot healthier and the farm animals will be happier.

The New York Times Got It Half Right

I was taken by the headline in today's New York Times (see post below): "Racial Barrier Falls In Heavy Turnout." I suppose they meant overall. Actually, it seems to me a racial barrier was actually raised across a swath of the Bible Belt.

Let's use Arkansas as an example, since that's where I'm from and I know the political landscape pretty well. In simple terms you can draw a line from northeast to the southwest and the northwest half is more Republican, while the southeast half leans more heavily to Democrats.

In terms of congressional districts, there are four. The only one represented by a Republican is district 3 in the northwest corner which is Wal-Mart country. That area has experienced phenomenal growth in the past 15 years, and in percentage terms represents one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Apparently that influx of new residents is comprised of more Republicans!

Take a look back at this time last year when Arkansas had such deep dissatisfaction with the Bush administration that it was as blue as a northeast or west coast state.

This actually gave me hope that Arkansas, which used to be considered a swing state, would swing to the Democrats this time around. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In fact, it went heavier for the Republican ticket than I have ever seen in my lifetime. Some counties went over 70% for McCain which is on par with Utah!

By using the nifty interactive maps from the New York Times, I now present you with a demonstration of just how far Arkansas is going away from the national trend.

Start with 1992 when Bill Clinton was running against George Herbert Walker Bush. Sure, Clinton was the home state boy, but Bush managed to carry the hardcore Republican counties. And Clinton carried the state in that year by 53.2%.

Jump ahead to 1996. The cum stains on Monica's blue dress may have cost him a few more counties which swung Republican, but Clinton's overall percentage actually increased a fraction from 1992. And maybe Bob Dole was appealing to those Arkansans who are more mid-western than southern. Northwest Arkansas is only a hop, skip and a jump from the Kansas state line.

In 2000 with Bill Clinton out of the picture, we start to get a more realistic view of a typical Arkansas voting pattern. George W. Bush of neighboring Texas prevailed over Al Gore of neighboring Tennessee by 51% to 46%.

In 2004 is when things get really interesting. Four years of Bush wasn't enough to get Arkansas to vote for a damn Massachusetts Yankee, even with John Edwards on the ticket. Bush jumped to 54% to Kerry's 44%. And a bit more blue disappeared.

Here we are in 2008. While most of the rest of the nation went for change, and told the Republican Party enough already, the Bible Belt deep south and a few others went wildly in the opposite direction. What happened to that "blue" Arkansas from 2007 when the voters were so overwhelmingly disgusted with the Bush antics?

I guess having that Negro on the ticket was just too much to swallow for most. A state with two Democrats in the U.S. Senate, one being a woman, and three of four U.S. Representatives being Democrats, gives John McCain from non-neighboring Arizona and Sarah Palin from a state which doesn't even border the rest of the US, a margin of victory exceeding that of Arizona or Texas! McCain carried Arkansas by a greater percentage than he did in Phoenix, and Obama even managed to carry Tucson.

Hell, McCain's margin in Arkansas was even greater than in Mississippi! But they've got more black folk over there. So that explains that.

I don't even recognize my home state these days. The blue is steadily disappearing while racism apparently is not going anywhere.

Go play with the interactive maps and see what you find. Although I am thrilled with the overall election results, I'm still rather nauseated by what I see when scratching just beneath the surface of it all.

And see that second county up from the bottom right? That's my home county. It will always be blue.

The Big O

I went to bed last night rather early, before I was 100% certain who would win this thing. It was encouraging enough for me to know that Elizabeth Dole had lost in North Carolina, and that Pennsylvania had been called for Obama as soon as the polls closed.

I awoke this morning at 6:00 and went out to fetch my New York Times, not expecting to learn anything new since our edition of the paper has an early press time. I figured I'd have to get on the internet.

Wrong.

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What a sweet morning! Honestly, I can actually breathe again after weeks (or years) of thinking I'm suffocating. More thoughts later. Must work for a living. Life goes on.

We Voted

And I took my sweet time about it.

It was in the 2000 election in which I bypassed the presidential vote in order to vote for all the other candidates and my intention was to vote for Al Gore last so I could savor the moment before I cast my ballot. By the time I got to the end, I was so eager to cast it I completely forgot I hadn't voted for president. That will never happen again. This time I didn't even notice who else was running for leader of the free world.

One nice surprise was to see the name Lloyd Doggett on our ballot. I'm quite sure his district did not encompass our neighborhood the last time around, but it's a pleasure knowing that we are represented by him and not a Republican from San Antonio. I had been a bit annoyed knowing that Seventh Sister is represented by him and she only lives a few miles to our east.

Today I stared at the summary screen showing my votes, scrutinizing it to be sure I voted. Then before I cast my ballot I scanned it again and just stared at my vote for president for a few seconds to relish the moment. My hands were clammy and I literally had chills across my body. And then I pressed the red button and walked away.

I voted for a man named Barack Hussein Obama. Imagine that. My mother believes he is immediately going to begin destroying our nation.

It's a Bit Like Christmas

Yesterday morning I had a feeling I haven't had since Christmas Eve when I was about 10 or 12, waiting on the big day so I could open presents. Last night Chris Matthews said it felt like the day before Christmas. Maybe that's how we all feel.

But no presents until tonight.

A Bit Like Alice

When I am in the voting booth on Tuesday, it is between me and my touch-screen.

I'm Just Guessing

But I seriously doubt whether John and Cindy are having any wild sex tonight. What do you think? Or do you even want to think?

My Tuesday Expectations

Honestly, I don't know what to expect. I have been feeling pretty good lately and now I'm apprehensive again. Rachel Maddow got me a little wound up last night with her calls for ending the "poll tax" which is now an expenditure of time as opposed to money. And since time is money, it's a poll tax.

There is absolutely no excuse in the United States of America for anyone to stand in line for hours to vote. While I am fairly confident that a majority of Americans want, and plan to vote for Barack Obama, and many already have, there's absolutely no guarantee that tens of thousands of voters tomorrow won't experience a few problems.

Two-thirds of voters will mark their choice with a pencil on a paper ballot that is counted by an optical scanning machine, a method considered far more reliable and verifiable than touch screens. But paper ballots bring their own potential problems, voting experts say.

The scanners can break down, leading to delays and confusion for poll workers and voters. And the paper ballots of about a third of all voters will be counted not at the polling place but later at a central county location. That means that if a voter has made an error — not filling in an oval properly, for example, a mistake often made by the kind of novice voters who will be flocking to the polls — it will not be caught until it is too late. As a result, those ballots will be disqualified.

There are a lot of dynamics in play and any number of scenarios could unfold during the day, up to and including some last-minute decisions by voters who have been straddling the fence, or voters who planned to vote for Obama but have cold feet once in the privacy of the booth.

Aside from all this uncertainty, my greatest fear is that the results could tighten enough in battleground states to make calling the election impossible before the wee hours of the morning, or worse. It all depends on how long it takes to tally up all these paper ballots.

I've waited eight long grueling years for this moment. I would love to have an answer before I go to bed Tuesday night. That may be some extreme wishful thinking.

What's Up With These People?

The Undecideds.

Let's say the Republican nominee is Susan Collins instead of John McCain. Then I could understand this concept of being undecided.

“I do not like being an ‘undecided,’ ” said a sheepish Doug Finke, a 66-year-old executive at an international relocation service in Louisville, Ky. “Last time at this point, I definitely was decided. Not this time. I find it unnerving.”

Mr. Finke, a Republican, voted twice for George W. Bush. He describes himself as an economic conservative and said he had been “very impressed” with Senator John McCain. It sure sounds as if Mr. Finke is leaning toward Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican, right?

Not so fast.

“I’m socially more liberal,” Mr. Finke said. “I think Obama is bright and has been very steady in this campaign.” He added that it would be “very exciting for the United States to elect a black president.” Besides, he does not think Mr. McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, would be ready to step into the top job if something happened to Mr. McCain (who, Mr. Finke pointed out, “is pretty old”).

Where does this leave Mr. Finke? “I plan on doing a lot of reading this weekend,” he said.

Enjoy your weekend, Mr. Finke. I'm really glad I'm not wrestling with the big question.

Mr. Finke's wife is in the same (swift)boat.

“I’d say I’m leaning towards McCain,” she said. “For as awful as things are with this Republican administration, there’s something about the whole conservative thing that appeals to me.” Put her down as “leaning McCain” then.

“But maybe I’ll vote for Obama,” she said. “How many days are left?”

The "whole conservative thing?" Normally, that article in today's New York Times would have simply infuriated me. For some odd reason I find it humorous today. This allegiance to nebulous labels is actually quite funny.

How do I feel today? Well, I love red, but I'm feeling a little blue streak. I may vote blue, but gosh, I sure would love some more red. I'm not sure if eight years of red was enough. Blue sure looks nice though.

Holy crap. I'm now counting the hours until this is over.

Obama's Shining Half-Hour

If Barack Obama can govern the nation half as well as his infomercial was produced and delivered, we are in for one hell of a refreshing joy ride for the next four eight years.

Perhaps the Barracuda needs to recalibrate and shoot for 2016, as if she even has a chance then.

Meanwhile, see you next Tuesday, McCain.

Less of This, Please

There are just a few things I'd like to see or hear less of.

1. Ending a sentence with a preposition. (Just saving Tart the trouble of pointing my bad grammar out!)

2. Joe Lieberman standing next to McCain at a rally, or pretending he's an independent who supports McCain.

3. John McCain (or anyone else) calling Barack Obama or his policies socialist. It's been so long since this country has seen a real socialist in politics some of us have apparently lost touch. They are out there, but they won't be invited to any major televised debates with The Big Two. If Obama is a socialist, what would that have made Dennis Kucinich as a presidential nominee? Honestly, how far left can you go if Obama is a socialist? We'd have to start inventing new words for them.

4. Sarah Palin. She scores on both points. Not only would I like to see and hear less of her, I'd like to not see or hear her at all. She can just return from whence she came.

5. Barack Obama being called the "anti-Christ." Come on, people! Can you be the anti-Christ and a Socialist? It's not just coming from Mississippi, but Nebraska as well, and 48 other states, and it's just stupid.

In Bellevue, Neb., Jessie Puglisi, 22, said, “Obama is the anti-Christ,” adding: “My husband feels the same way. He won’t even buy a magazine if Obama’s face is on it.”

Yeah, it's kinda hard to learn about someone if you refuse to read anything about them that didn't come via an email smear campaign.

Maybe they are just alarmed by the fact that Obama draws huge crowds of people who are desperate for some kind of change.

Those on the far right fringe must be riveted with fear and I'm eager for all of them to have at least four years of living with it. It's called payback for the rest of us watching in horror as George W. Bush worked his own special magic on the nation.

6. Women in politics who do nothing but echo what we've been hearing from men in politics for 200 years. I've long argued that as a nation, we aren't going to progress until women are in power. While I'm happy to see the representation of women in politics increasing around the world, it doesn't give me much hope when some of them are nothing more than a clone of so many babbling idiot men I have wanted to hastily discharge from their service to our nation. What disturbs me even more is when these people like Michele Bachmann get elected from "liberal" states such as Minnesota, and begin spewing their insanity like any old ignorant rifle-totin' redneck from the backwoods of Alabama driving a beat up pickup plastered with "NObama" and "God Bless America" stickers, all manufactured in China.

Less of all this, please. I've seen enough and heard enough during this election cycle to cover me for several decades, and we've got a bit more than two weeks to go.

Michele Bachmann on homosexuality:

“If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.” — Senator Michele Bachmann, speaking at EdWatch National Education Conference, November 6, 2004.

“Two homosexuals that were holding up my picture this week at the Capitol and shouting that I want to hate people, I walked up to them and said: “I don’t hate you. I love you and the Savior who created you. He loves you, too, can I tell you why? This is not about hating them, this is about loving them into the Kingdom.”

Good grief. It's not enough that we have to listen to her blathering in this life, and for some she actually represents them in Congress, but the idea of having to spend an eternal afterlife in the "Kingdom" with the likes of her?

No thanks. You can have that Kingdom.


Crossposted at B3

Blood Boiling Item of the Day

Ohio voters might be facing chaos again.

More than 200,000 registered Ohio voters may be blocked from casting regular ballots on Election Day because of a federal appeals court decision on Tuesday requiring the disclosure of lists of voters whose names did not match those on government databases, state election officials and voting experts said.

The court decision requires Jennifer Brunner, the Ohio secretary of state, to provide the names to local election officials by Friday. Once the local officials have the names, they may require these voters to cast provisional ballots rather than regular ones, and they may ask partisan poll workers to challenge these voters on Election Day. Both possibilities could cause widespread problems when the voters show up at the polls.

This crap always takes place in a crucial swing state where poll numbers are usually tight.

Social Security data indicate that Ohio election officials found more than 200,000 names that did not match this year; state election officials say their analysis of the data indicates that most of these are individual voters, not duplicate registrations. But Ms. Brunner said that problems with the databases could very well be why the names did not match.

“Federal government red tape, misstated technical information or glitches in databases should not be the basis for voters having to cast provisional ballots,” said Ms. Brunner, adding that she plans to require that notifications are sent to all voters whose records have discrepancies.

The Ohio Republican chairman, Robert T. Bennett, called the court ruling “a victory for the integrity of Ohio’s election.”

Of course he would call it a "victory" because even 10% of those 200,000 voters having their ballots discarded would probably swing the state into the McCain/Palin column.

Somebody Lost Their Ass Today

But perhaps this will give the candidates a theme for this evening's 3rd and final debate. Something besides Ayers and the Weather Underground ideally.

I am so tired of this week already I can't even remember who is in the debate!

Ahh yes...these two. That's the maverick on the left for any others out there having trouble remembering. To the right is every racist bigot's worst nightmare.

Time to go watch the telly. "Let's play Hardball."

The time is nigh. Let's get this game on!

To Sir With Love

Sir, suspend your campaign now until you or someone gets control of it.

I'm paraphrasing only slightly because I had to run in here under a tequila fog and remember as much as I could verbatim from Keith Olbermann.

The McCain Biblical Plague

I think without the sanity of Keith Olbermann I'd go over the edge.

But tonight I caught this shot, first detected by txrad, as a possible Hank Williams Jr. sighting.... at a McCain rally????

That's Sarah Palin's empty noggin in the foreground. Christ Jesus, say it ain't so. As in, "say it ain't so, Joe."

"Do you mind if I call you Joe?"

What a setup.

I'm ready to see these people go fucking DOWN.