Things Other People Are Saying

Inspirational:

Dear Ella,

You may not know me, but today I vote for you.

Because you could not.

I'm voting for you because you had no say over your body. I'm voting for you because your mother, also named Ella picked cotton and raised children in fear. I'm voing for you because as a poor sharecropper in the deep south voting was dangerous for you even if you had gained the right to. I'm voting for you because your daughter Elon had to drop out of highschool in order to take care of your children when you died of exhaustion. I am voting for you because your sons went off to wars to fight for freedoms not accorded to you. I'm voting for you because your granddaughter integrated her middle school with her head held high.

—ojouchan, "Dear Ella."

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Exasperated:

I don't have time for this. Just vote. . . . When we achieve condorcet voting or communism or the hivemind or whatever magic system you want, I'll personally pin the "you were right all along" medal to your Mao suit or your solid-state buffer or whatever.

—springheeljack, "voot."

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Commercial:

Write one paragraph in the comments, here, detailing your fictional or real election-day adventures (whether you're choosing to vote or not!) in the style of a pulp adventure and I'll work it so you get a special code to either:

- Buy Spirit of the Century in PDF for only $5 (normally $15)

—drivingblind"Spirit of the Election."

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Cautionary:

"Under the best of circumstances, simple voter mistakes can make the difference in a close election, so it's up to individuals to go into the booth prepared and aware of the pitfalls," says Paul S. Herrnson, the University of Maryland political scientist who led a multi-year, multi-state study comparing voter use of electronic and paper/optical scan systems.

. . . .

Most voter errors involve choosing a candidate whose name is listed immediately before or after the one the voter intended to select.

—Science Daily, "Protect Your Vote: Avoid Election Machine Errors." (This has been something I've been keeping track of since George B. Schwartzman managed to land ninth place in the California Recall because he was on the ballot next to (and had a name that looked like) Schwarzenegger.)

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Locked:

A person on my friends list questions the concept of "If you don't vote, you don't get to complain," reminding us that there is a history of disenfranchsing citizens and residents of the United States of America that continues today, and that the belief silences these people by denying them their right to protest and by implying that the only people who truly matter are the ones who are enfranchised.

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Memetic:

1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.

2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.

From Calabasas Peak

Sleep: The Solution and the Problem

This happens a lot, really. I stay home because I'm getting sick and need to dedicate time to sleeping. So I sleep and sleep and sleep. At the end of the sleep, I feel much better—ready for work even. But at that point, I've slept so much, I can't get myself into bed at the time I need to be in bed, so I need to take another sick day.

That's why I'm awake now and not going into work tonight.

I think I'm going to spend some time cleaning while election results come in. Tonight, when I fall asleep, I'll set the alarm to enforce a nap. I'll be groggy tomorrow morning, but that'll just mean that I'll be all set for a normal day of sleep before work tomorrow.

Now, back to dishes and NPR.

Change.

Barack Obama will be president, my family is crying with joy.