It is finished…

My ballot is filled out and will soon by on it’s way to the dropbox. And I voted for Hilary. Both Clinton and Trump have their flaws. While nobody is perfect, Donald Trump has neither the qualifications nor the temperment to be President. A Trump White house just plain scares me. He has openly called for the exclusion of refugees just because of their religious beliefs. He has openly glorified sexual assault. I don’t care if those comments were made over 10 years ago, and he has refuted them as locker-room talk. Most sports teams (especially in high school/college) also have emphasis on character, and this kind of talk wouldn’t be tolerated. Grabbing a woman by her (slang word for femal anatomy) is sexual assault, plain and simple. And then there has been the fat-shaming on Twitter. Respect for women (and all people, for that matter) is a very good thing. And then there’s been the multiple instances of adultery (of his three wives, he’s cheated on at least two). Yes, there was Monica Lewinsky. And Paula Jones (possibly). But they’re still married. To each other. Some have claimed that he is qualified to be president based on his success as a businessman. But he’s not that good of a businessman. Too many bankruptcies. Too many investors and employess shortchanged. As a worker who has had paychecks bounce, that really matters to me. In my first presidential election, I voted third party. But this election, the stakes were too high. If it were up to me I would’ve voted for Bernie Sanders. But even he has endorsed Hilary. Mike Pence was a viable alternative, but the risk of voting for Donald Trump is too great.

Irregardless of the outcome of November 8th, America is the only nation where the government and swing from one extreme to another every four years peacefully. Actually, as of the next inaguration, both parties will have had equal time in the White House since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When I was growing up, and throughout high school, I found my political views to be skewed to the right. Then I start moving to the left. Now, I find my views to be skewed to the left. But I don’t vote along party lines. Trust me. If Trump wasn’t running, I would’ve most likely voted Republican.

But there is something that has got to stop. The polarization. This is America, people. And we need to work together. Just because somebody doesn’t have the exact same views as you doesn’t mean that they’re pure evil incarnate. It is possible to be morally conservative and socailly liberal at the same time….

Yes, I’ve voted. I’ve done my duty. If you don’t agree with my views, then you’re free to vote according to your conscience as well.

Final debate was last night.

And I didn’t watch it. I know who I’m voting for this year, and I don’t need to to watch the soundbites, smear campaigns, and out and out lies that pass for this year’s election. I’m not revealing who I’m voting for yet. Until I cast my ballot, I will be non-partisan.

Though I will say that respect for women is a very good thing.

Watching the debate

The debate was last night.  I recorded it. And now I'm watching it. This is a circus. The debate should be promoted by Don King. We need the weigh-in, the hype, and possibly Mills Lane.

Donald Trump is doing cocaine. That's how can I only explain the sniffles....

Why not just give them a pair of boxing gloves, abd let them go at it?

Know what? I think I've decided who I'm voting for. But I'm keeping my choice in pectore until I've cast my ballot.

I think I'm going to just watch football instead...

And in this corner....

According to the news, Donald Trump has been nominated by the Republican party. I'm not saying that as an implied endorsement. As of right now,I have not endorsed any candidate for President. But I am a registered voter. I take my civic responsibility very seriously. I have voted in every presidential election since 1992. My candidates of choice have not always been elected. It's never about vote for who you'll think will when. It's vote for who's the best qualified for the office. For who you think the country needs the most.

Speaking of being a registered voter, I was registered before I was 18. The loophole here is that while I was 17 when I registered, the election took place after I was 18. My senior year in high school, we took a class called government and society (basically civics), and a lot of it dealt with current events (the cold war ended when I was in high school). And I was the only registered voter in class (if I recall correctly).

Many things have changed since those 24 years ago. My civic responsibility has not. Yes, this fall,I will vote. And I will vote my conscience. And you should, too.

Beware the idiots of March

Today is the Ides of March. Those of use who spent high school English reading Julius Ceaser know that today was when he was assassinated. But before that, a soothsayer warned him Beware the Ides of March.

So, today is the Ides of March. It is also Super Tuesday. With all the stupidity going on, I have to warn: Beware the Idiots of March….

It no longer matters…

(I’m writing this from the laptop as the tower is still in the midst of a system rebuild)…

This has been weighing on my mind for a while. The Supreme Court made it’s ruling on the case while I was in the middle of my aforementioned 15 day stretch of working….

I’m talking about gay marriage. After the ruling, it should now be called just marriage. But all kidding aside, this is a rather controversial subject. I have kept my opinions on this and on homosexuality to myself, and aside from this post (if at that) I will continue to do so. Needless to say is gay marriage is now legal. Not just in Washington, but in all 50 states. Praise it, or condemn it, it is now the law of the land.

It no longer matters whether or not you know the difference between teal and fuschia. You may now marry the partner of your choice, for the most part….

The other matter I want to touch on is the Confederate Flag. Once it may have been the symbol of the Confederacy in the Civil War (which it lost). In the Civil Rights era, some states (like Georgia) added it to their state flags as a show of defiance to ‘The North’. In that sense, the Confederate Flag is racist. It ought not to be shown. However, it is also free speech to show it. As much as I condemn it, it is still one’s right to display it and use it. I may not ever agree with it, or the principles it stood for, but I will defend your right to display it. It’s just like Westboro Baptist Church. Everybody condemns them, but they still have the right to say their message of hate and intolerance.

Now according to my Facebook feed of late, the government is going to take away our guns, make us give up our jobs to illegal aliens, and force us all to get gay married. Come to think of it, it’s time to adjust my feed settings.

It's all about the integrity people....

So I went to 7-11 Monday night. I switched my items and put them on the counter to check out. Clerk rang me up, I paid and I took my reciept. When I looked at the reciept,  I noticed that I want charged for a couple of items. I could've walked out of there and enjoyed my free items. But ill-gotten gains are in reality losses and not gains. So I spoke up and had the clerk ring me in for them. Yes, the owner of this 7-11 is a complete and total asshole, but my character is who I am. Besides, it's not good integrity that's on the line, it's mine. Honesty never was the best only. It's the only policy. Lie to me, and I will never have anything to do with you.

With that in mind I also voted that night. And aside from the Congressional race abd the initiatives, I abstained most of the races. My respect and my vote must be earned. And if you've did nothing but spout partisan politics, then you dint have enough character for public office, let alone my vote.

It's all about the integrity...

So the shutdown is over...

The government shutdown is over. The US won't default on it's debt. I'm not going to bother posting links, just go to your favorite news site, it should be all over the headlines...

Obamacare is still in force, despite all attempts to stop it (in fact, this shutdown was a result of trying to tie the defunding of it to a spending bill which would've kept the government running).

Basically, the losers of this shutdown were the same people who lost the last one: Republicans. The biggest threat the Republicans have come from the Tea Party. Abd the Democrats know it...

Ok, so I’m not getting rid of my tower

Apparently, only Flight Simulator 2004 and Flight Simulator X will play well in WIndows 7 64-bit (what my laptop runs). My tower normally runs Windows XP 32-bit, and everything runs fine in it, so I had to put it back together today. Which means I need to buy another SATA hard drive for my usb hard drive enclosure (which is really good for sneaker-netting backups)….'

In a moment of wrath late last night, I also wiped my laptop, so today, I was ‘moving in” into two different systems today (this post is being written from the laptop). This is a serious pain in the arse right now, but in the end printing will be easier, since I keep the printer on the tower, and I can network it (it’s a lot easier for me to turn the tower on and print through the lan than to fight the printer cable and plug it in…).

On a more political note, I noticed the address was off on my absentee ballot (to be precise, my apartment number was one letter off). Since last Monday was the last to register to vote in person at the county auditor’s office, I called to make sure, and I was told not to worry, my vote would still count. She even made a specific note about the address, and confirmed my correct address (which surprisingly was correctly listed on my voter registration card). So, I dropped my ballot off (there’s a drop box at the library), and they picked up my ballot last Wednesday. So you can stop campaigning now….

That time of the year (or my positions on the issues)

Absentee ballot came in the mail today. Some of the issues involve a lot of controversy. Here’s my positions:

• Initiative 1185: Voted against it on principal for being a Tim Eyman initiative. He’s put similar measures on the ballot before, and they’ve all been defeated by the court. Tim Eyman is a dumbass. You can’t change the state constitution via the initiative process….
• Referendum 74: Voted for it. Mainly the opposition to this comes from the religious right. Religious doctrine ought not to have the force of law. And besides, from what I’ve seen same-sex couples are more faithful to their spouses than their foes are (think Newt Gingrich, anyone?)
• Initiative 502: Voted against  it. Marijuana reform should first take place on the federal level, where it’s still a crime. Once that takes place, then we can revisit it….
• Joint resolution 8223: Rejected. Public funds don’t belong in the stock market. I pay my taxes to fund them, and I don’t really feel like paying them again to recoup somebody’s losses on the the market. Aren’t we in the middle of a recession now because of somebodys’ irresponsibility in the market?
• Advisory votes 1 and 2: Voted for them. Neither of these would change the law either way. We voted the legislators in to office, with the implication of trust that they would know how to pass laws for the state. I prefer to let the do their job, and if I’m not satisfied with them, then that’s why we vote for their opponents in the next election….
• Pierce Transit Proposition 1: I voted against it. People would think that I would vote for it, beings as how I take the bus everywhere, but I’ve had my issues with Pierce Transit. And Pierce Transit has explicitly told me to go pound salt. If you’re going to cop an attitude with me then you don’t need a tax increase….

And now some of the candidates:

• President: I voted for Barack Obama. He is the best qualified to lead the nation. Most of the economic problems he’s had to deal with he inherited from Dubya…. Mitt Romney just isn’t qualified to be president (and I’m concerned because he isn’t releasing his tax returns….).
• Senator: Maria Cantwell. She’s been senator since 2000, and she’s pretty good. No major scandals. Let’s keep it that way.
• Congress: Denny Heck. As a result of the last census, the state gained another congressman, and I’m in the new district that was created.
• Governor: Jay Inslee. I’m not thrilled with Rob McKenna as AG, and I don’t want him as governor…
• State Attorney General: Abstain. All I’ve seen from the candidates is them smearing each other, and negative advertising. I will not condone a negative campaign with my vote.
• Superintendent of Public Instruction: It’s Randy Dorn Time! Yes, he did a DUI, but he also admitted his responsibility.
• Insurance Commissioner: Mike Kreidler. An elected official who had deomstrated that he has a pair.

These aren’t all the issues I voted on this year, and they may not even be the most important. But my voice will be heard…..

This time of year, it doesn’t really matter how you lean pollitcally. What matters is that you vote….

Hello World, Again….

OK, it’s been over a month. But I’m back for now…

Yesterday was my birthday. My brother celebrated with pizza. And then the Mariners, the Seahawks, and the Sounders FC won there respective games. All in all, a good day despite the fact that I had to work.

Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game. Those who follow The New World Order (Mind-Control Division) would know that the Mariners had a perfect game thrown against them earlier this year. And if you can take it, then by all means dish it out. Felix Hernandez is awesome. He told Chuck Norris, Red Foreman, and Sergeant Hartley to go fuck themselves, and thus homosexuality was invented….

I voted in the primary this year (usually I just abstain the primary election, and concern myself with the general election). To be honest, I don’t know who I’ll vote for this year for President. JP Patches passed away, and that was my usual write in candidate… I’m looking for a candiate who will promise to have the Tea Party deported to France, and (most importantly) have Arnold Schwarzenegger tarred and feathered… Although I am going to declare my endorsement for the state Superintendent of Public Instruction: Randy Dorn. Yes, I make fun of him on Facebook. A lot. Mainly because of his DUI. But he was responsible enough to own up to his actions. But as an elected official, he makes the bed, he has to sleep in it, and the ridicule is my right, my privilege, and my duty… Besides whenever I crack open an ice cold ‘Adult Beverage’, part of the experience is posting that it’s Randy Dorn time on Facebook.

Speaking of JP Patches, here’s what he did to Harry Wappler:

Newscasts are always better with a clown.

Kathi Goertzen also passed away. With her anchoring, Wayne Cody on sports, and Harry Wappler on weather, the afterlife now has a full news team.

A political post:

First, the first political ad officially posted on my blog:

I really try to stay out of political issues. Yes, I have my opinions, and you have yours. Just because they’re not the same doesn’t mean that either of us are equal. I grew up conservative, but gradually turned towards the liberal side of the spectrum. But not all the answers are going to come from either the left or the right. They’re going to come from both sides. But neither the democrats or republicans can seem to work together. And we’re going to lose because of it. The government almost went into default last summer because they couldn’t work together, and that would’ve royally fucked the country. Maybe the politicos should put aside the Party Dogma, and start talking to the person across the aisle. A house divided against itself  cannot stand. And partison politics in DC is in essence dividing the house against itself…

I voted today….

I filled out the absentee ballot today. This is an ‘off-year’ election, where the main issues are the initiatives. There were also a couple of miscellaneous candidates, most of whom were running unopposed. I had some fun with those. I wrote in JP Patches, Gertrude, and Brakeman Bill. On the initiatives, I voted this:

• I-1183, I voted no. Both sides have been running misleading ads. I don’t think we need to change the current system of state liquor stores, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I also voted against this on the principle that the initiative process is there for people to change the law directly, not for Costco to try and buy it.
• I-1125, I voted no, just on principle. It is a Tim Eyeman initiative, and he has admitted to doing this as a profession, and most, if not all of his initiatives are pure crap. the first one he did that actually passed was promptly thrown out by the supreme court for being poorly written. <rhetoric>Maybe somebody should propose an initiative to have him tarred and feathered. Or deported to France.</rhetoric>.
• Prop 1. I voted no. This would authorize a tax increase to improve 911 service. If the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department has enough funds to accost me when I’m walking home at night, because I’m on some sort of double-secret probation or because Parkland residents are beneath the protection of the law, then they don’t need any more funding. Hint: not everybody you encounter is a criminal, and treating everyone like suspects and criminals is not really fostering trust in the community. Maybe it was a stop and frisk initiated under false circumstance, but the end results are the same….
• There were a few other issues, but I voted for them, namely one that would require background checks for senior caregivers. The vunerable need to be protected…

Sic semper tyrannis

Hello, it’s been a while. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t forgotten to write. I’ve just had other things that, in hindisight, probably don’t mean much, but they had to be taken care of…

• They got Gadaffi. We will probably never know how he died (aside from the gunshot to the head), be it he was shot by a rebel intentionally, or caught in the crossfire between the rebels on the loyalists, we may never know. But he was a tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. And eventually, his own people got the point where they weren’t going to take in anymore. He almost immediately threw out the country's constitution (and the rights that went along with it) while seizing power. And then there was the theft. If perhaps he’d put the profits from the Libya’s oil revenues back into his country (instead of keeping it to himself and his cronies), perhaps… Well, I’m not going to speculate on that.

Gadaffi is dead. I’m not rejoicing in and of itself over his death, like I didn’t rejoice over Osama Bin Laden’s death. We should remember that violence only begets violence. But at the very least, he is out of power, and there is hope for the nation….

One of the many reasons I’m grateful for being an American is the opportunity to change regime every four years peacefully.

The end of an era…

If you’re willing to serve your country, and possibly die for your country, it shouldn’t make a difference whether or not you know the difference between teal and fuscia…Don’t ask, don’t tell has been repealed.

In less than 4 hours…

The last space shuttle will come in for its final landing. Ever. I remember the first launch, when I was in the first grade at school in Goergia (this was sufficiently important stuff that we watched it in class, even in the first grade…). A few days later, we saw the landing. Live. After the first few missions, they became sufficiently commonplace that the news no longer preempted the regular programming to show the launches. The exception was one day in 1986 when they broadcast the live launch in school (for some reason or another, my teacher at the time didn’t turn the tv on, but it was on in the adjoining classroom). But it was turned on right away when it was realized what had just happened. May Christa McAuliffe frolic in the Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory.

A lot more of the technological innovations we enjoy have come from the space program than you really know. Not being able to put people into space on a regular basis will eventually have an adverse effect on the economy, and I’m afraid people don’t realize that. Yes, it takes our tax dollars, but the innovations that we can derive from them will in the long run bring an even greater return on the investment.

This says it best…

I am abstaining from voting this year. I like to vote on issues, and a candidate’s position on them, not on what said candidate says about his/her opponents. This year especially, there has been nothing but attack ads, special interest money, and smoke & mirrors from all the candidates. I can see your bull-shitting me. And so is your opponent. Hey, guess what. I’m not voting for either of you.

So, this year, my absentee ballot will go unmarked and unvoted. I will vote my conscience when I feel compelled to do so, but in this election, my conscience tells me that neither Patty Murray nor Dino Rossi deserve my vote.

If you can’t say anything nice about your opponent, then please shut your fucking pie-hole.

Some things have never changed….

Rob McKenna

Does not represent my wishes, my interest, or my will. As an elected official, he needs to comprehend that he needs to out his constituents before his party's ideology. Unfortunately, this is not to be. He's joined the lawsuit against health care reform...

Why can't republicans just understand that there is a reason that they're the minority party now?

A step…

Sometimes a step in the wrong direction is better than no step at all. The House Of Representatives has passed the health care reform bill. A lot of people are up in arms over this, and  I may even disagree with the bill as it is passed….

But the status quo is unacceptable. Take my case. I have type I diabetes. When I first suspected it and went to the doctor to get tested for it, I had health insurance through my employer. Within 24 hours (literally) of my boss finding out I most likely had diabetes, I was fired and out of health insurance. Tad bit on the unethical and possibly illegal side, but that’s what happens. Now this is normally considered a ‘pre-existing’ condition, which means that under the current system, I will never be able to get good health insurance again (let’s think realistically here). The system needs to be reformed.

You can step to the left, or you can step to the right. But you have to step. Just standing there doing nothing and filibustering isn’t going to get things done. Regardless of your respective views, something has to be done.

And it looks like President Obama has finally done it…

OK….

I think we may see the Nobel Committee may Jump The Shark. Last year, President Obama won it, IMO more for his campaign (he was nominated less than a month into office). Al Gore has also won it (I think it was for his quest to protect us from ManBearPig)…

And now this, year, one of Al Gore’s creations is being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. If it happens, then I hear next year Ted McGinley and cousin Oliver will get it, too…