The Ramblings of Rev. Karl

To the Fairfax County peeps on my friends list - don't forget to vote tomorrow.

Today I feel like we have our country back.

Yeah I teared up a little.

Thanks to tchwrtr for pointing out this most excellent post explaining what the heck is going on in Canada.

Map goodness, the nicest one I've found so far - http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html - especially with the county options.

The report from Brunswick - our election went very smoothly, we had an initial rush and the a fairly steady trickle though the rest of the day. Very rarely did we have any line, but our total turnout was an impressive 67%. (average voter turnout). Even in our news-blackout seclusion we could tell the difference - we had an amazing number of first time voters, people excited to be there. When the day was done I checked and Obama did indeed win our Republican-majority precinct. When I finally got home I was treated to the news that he has won.

It's hard to express how I feel - in the past few weeks I've tried to keep myself from getting my hopes up. I'm amazed, my faith in America has been renewed - and a huge sigh of relief that we will be free of government by fundamentalists.

During the election one of my coworkers was asking some of our older voters if they remembered the first president they voted for...one remembered Calvin Coolidge...and now watching Obama give his victory speech I'm struck by how far our country has come.

Goddess Bless America!

I'm going to be working the election tomorrow so you're getting your reminder to go vote today. Also I've seen the video your vote and twitter your vote memes going around - please don't. At least in Maryland using electronic devices in the polling place is illegal^*. Be kind to your election judges, we're going to be busy enough as it is without having to harass you about turning your cell phone off.

^{* excepting the voting machines themselves or if you a member of the media with a board of elections seal of approval.}

Richard Weldon, the Maryland state delegate from Brunswick, is leaving the Republicans and going independent.

http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/news.aspx?articleid=13605&zoneid=3
http://www.gazette.net/stories/10022008/brunnew163316_32472.shtml

As evidenced by Katie Couric, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court Case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.

I'm going to go with one I haven't seen posted yet:

Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill (1978)

In 1973 an idealistic Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, probably the broadest and most powerful piece of environmental legislation ever passed in this country. This was the first serious challenge to the law and the court stated that Congress meant what it said, that some tiny fish really was more important than building a dam. In the words of the Supreme Court:

"Congress has spoken in the plainest words, making it clear that endangered species are to be accorded the highest priorities. Since that legislative power has been exercised, it is up to the Executive Branch to administer the law, and for the Judiciary to enforce it when, as here, enforcement has been sought."

Edit: I can't go with just one - Worcester_v._Georgia (1832) was the case in which the Supreme Court established that Native American tribes and their sovereignty are protected under U.S. law.

As the election nears I just want to remind folks of the existence of http://www.factcheck.org/ - both campaigns play pretty loosely with the truth and this is a great site for checking them.

madamruppy made a comment about wanting competence from my politicians. Now I won't go that far, if they were at all competent they'd know better than to become politicians in the first place, but I do hope that they will surround themselves with competent people.

I think Obama does that. Sure I'd like someone with more experience, but he at least strikes me as the kind of guy that when he encounters something he doesn't know he'll find someone that does and listen to them. He likes being informed. He'll accept advice. If he makes a mistake he'll admit it and apologize. I see that as a good thing.

Bush is notorious for prizing loyalty over any semblance of competence, and as in many things McCain appears to be following in his footsteps. His staff seems to be made up of complete idiots that regularly make blunders on his behalf. McCain seems to take a certain pride in being ill-informed and his staff will defend anything he says even when he contradicts himself or makes obvious mistakes. I don’t know why people think he’ll be an effective president when he can’t effectively run a political campaign.

I’ll add that part of my faith in Obama is his association with David Axelrod. I got to meet Axelrod while I was in high school and he came to lecture for our political science class, he struck then as a remarkably intelligent, competent, and trustworthy person. That he thinks Obama is the real deal was a big part of what convinced me.

Just for the record - I'd like our next president to be someone that knows what continent Spain is located on. Bonus points if you also know that Spain is a member of NATO and is currently one of our allies in the war in Afghanistan.

Thanks to boztopia for the link, his take on it here.

Sarah Palin says witch hunting pastor is "awesome".

This chart will hopefully help combat the McCain camps lies about Obama wanting to raise taxes on the middle class. Original from the Washington Post, I resized it.

It has become clearer why McCain choose Palin - it's because she's a Dominionist, that sect of fundamentalist Christianity that openly advocates turning the U.S. into a theocratic state. McCain isn't hoping to woo Clinton voters so much as to activate the Dominionist political machine which had been wary of him, into supporting him. A flurry of recent posts to dark_christian document Palin's Dominionist ties if you want to read up on it - pretty scary stuff. Definitely not someone I want a heartbeat away from the presidency, her inexperience is the least of it.

GIP

Ted Stevens indicted

Excuse me while I do a little happy dance.

Thanks to arashinomoui for the link:

Guantánamo Bay Interrogation Techniques Taken from 1957 Air Force Study on Communist Interrogation Techniques to Elicit False Confessions

22 candidates, but only one real choice!

John fuzzface00 McMahon for LiveJournal Advisory Board

The polling begins 22 May 2008 in lj_election_en


Go vote!

This one's for thatliardiego:

Constitution Party rejects Alan Keyes

*points and laughs*

Vanity Fair article examining how the use of torture at Guantánamo was approved by Bush administration lawyers, excellent reading for anyone that wants to know how the U.S. became a country that sanctions torture. Thanks to pope_guilty for the link.