I Can't Wait...

[lls_mutant]

Can the election be OVER already? PLEASE?

See, I don't really feel like I have a ton invested in the election. I don't despise McCain and I don't despise Obama, and either of them are better than Bush. Palin's too fundamental for my tastes, but hey- there's a Democratic Congress right now. She's not going to manage to single-handedly overturn Roe vs. Wade or something. And while I'm voting for Bob Barr and actually agree with a lot that the Libertarian Party stands for, I know he's not going to win because come on- raise your hands if you have heard of him. Right.

But the calls! Oh, the calls! I'm registered Republican (something I need to change soon and get registered Libertarian), so the Republican party called me the other day to ask if they could rely on my support. I told them no. They asked what they could do to get my vote. If I'd been thinking faster, a great answer would have been, "Well, I'm not convinced yet, but a few more fliers and automated phone calls ought to do the trick!" (Instead I had a nice little rant about how I don't like the two party system and I think that more options should be available to the American people, because four years ago was totally a case of Dumb and Dumber and damn it, I should be able to vote for someone I WANT for President (and have a chance of him winning) instead of voting against someone.) And what kills me is how often they call during naptime.

You just don't do that.

But really. Who thinks automated phone calls actually influence people? Honestly? Have we as a populace sunk that low that they do? All they do is drive me bonkers. And that goes for BOTH the Democrats and the Republicans, although the Republicans have been the worse offenders in this state.

Idiots.

In honor of the time of year, we've been re-watching The West Wing. I'd forgotten just how much I love that show. Well, not really, since that's where Toby got his name from, but still. Howard's gone for the next few days so I won't watch anymore, but maybe tomorrow night I'll re-watch Lay Down Your Burdens, because fictional election drama is much more attractive and interesting than real life election drama. (Sorry- I just can't get into the CNN stuff. I care who wins, but I don't feel like watching the up-to-the-minute updates. I just want the results.)

NaNoWriMo is off to a good start- I'm up to 3,678 words. Need to clear 5,000 today, but I'd like to get a bit further than that. We'll see how the muse does at naptime, I guess. It IS a Heroes night, and I have a baby blanket to work on, too. And I want to review City of Ember, which was actually quite good. And there's a tiny silly ficlet that needs to be written, but that has lowest priority.

And I think the boys are up, or at least one of them. Have a good Monday!

Comments

[cujoy.livejournal.com]

Palin couldn't get Roe v. Wade overturned, that is true. But McCain can. Just one Supreme Court appointee would probably do it. And Justice Stephens is in his eighties. So forgive me for worrying. ;)

And yes, about the calls. Since I'm in a safely Democratic state so I'm sheltered from most of the advertising, for which I am eternally grateful. (And that is probably also true for people in safely Republican states as well.) But I was talking to my Dad in Indiana yesterday, who told me he'd been called 3 times over the weekend. Same with my brother in Ohio. Ah, the perils of swingstate hoood, I guess. (Especially Indiana where this whole swing state thing is new to them... They're very enthusiastic!)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Just one Supreme Court appointee would probably do it. And Justice Stephens is in his eighties. So forgive me for worrying. ;)

True enough, and McCain's age (thus leaving the door open for Palin) is one of the reasons I don't like that particular ticket. I don't mind McCain. I'd be singing a very different song if the ticket was Palin/McCain. (Gods, I've been in fandom too long that I giggled at that.)

Yeah, I live in PA, so we're being pretty blanketed. I keep thinking "I'll believe either party's commitment to the environment when they stop sending me junk mail." What really amused me is when the Obama campaign called and asked me to work for them. I actually prefer Obama to McCain, but I just thought it was funny they'd call a Republican :)

[millari.livejournal.com]

Heh, I was thinking about watching Lay Down Your Burdens today too when I get home from work, just to remind myself, it could be a lot worse. We could be faced with electing Baltar, right????

Since I'm in Massachusetts (a pretty safely Democratic state), we don't get so many of those calls, and I guess I am not so jaded, because I'd be curious to talk to a Republican cold caller and just ask them why they are so committed to McCain/Palin. Because I am quite anti-McCain/Palin, and I admit that I have trouble seeing the appeal. It would be refreshing to have a conversation with a stranger about why they support that ticket, because those conversations don't really happen with my friends, since they are either Democrats (preaching to the choir) or not interested in having that debate, because I dunno, I guess people seem to think it'll all end in tears....

So, if you don't mind me asking, are you voting enthusiastically for the Libertarian candidate, or just voting against McCain? Or are you voting for him because he's the Libertarian offering? What makes you want to vote Libertarian in the first place?

No pressure to answer. Just curious.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Lucky about the calls! (And your icon cracks me up. Honestly, it amazes me that Baltar ever got elected, even if he was just a face and name as opposed to any sort of force. Interesting thought- I wonder if people voting for Baltar were really voting against Roslin? (Okay, so I know that that's not really true, they were voting for settling. But still. It could be a fun election day fic.))

ANYWAY. I don't mind you asking, and I don't mind answering.

I'm not enthusiastically Bob Barr. I am definitely voting for him because he's the Libertarian offering. I am actually very Libertarian- mainly because the slogan "keep your laws off my liberties" sums up everything I pretty much believe in. The thing is though, I find the Libertarian philosophy to be very idealistic. It relies on people actually having a sense of responsibility, and we all know how accurate THAT is. :P But at the same time, I am an idealist, and very much a lassaiz-faire capitalist. I think that as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others, people should be able to do whatever the heck they want. But that first part of the sentence is vitally important.

It's funny- I'm totally pro-gay rights, but that's not actually my main objection to the Family Marriage Amendment or whatever that crap is called. My principle objection is that you cannot amend the Constitution- the very document that protects our rights and freedoms as Americans- to take away rights and freedoms of Americans. We tried it once, and it was a very bad idea. (Prohibition, anyone?) Amending the Constitution to restrict the rights of a group of citizens makes a mockery of everything this country is supposed to stand for.

Ahem :)

Of course, I know the Libertarian candidate isn't going to win. But this year, when I don't care so much, I actually wanted to make a statement with my vote. I really despise the two party system, precisely because of what happened four years ago. I didn't vote for John Kerry- I couldn't stand the man. But I voted against George Bush. The Dumb and Dumber situation drives me bonkers, and I would like to see third parties have more political say and be taken more seriously. I mean, yes, I'm registered Republican, but that was an act of rebellion in college that's only held over so I could vote in primaries.

I'm just not a political girl for the most part, unless we're talking things like pure social issues or energy policy, which is the one thing I feel like I know something about. I guess a lot of times I feel like I don't have the first clue, especially about things like the economy or illegal immigration. (I am having very strong feelings on nuclear power right this second as the plant near us tests its alarm system during naptime, however. ARGH!) So I often tend to steer clear of debates because I feel like I'm totally outclassed. I don't mind discussions, though, if that makes sense! :)

[millari.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the interesting reply. There are a lot of things you say that I agree with, although I must admit that having seen first-hand things like socialized medicine work well in places like Portugal and France, I do think that there is room for government to be in charge of some things - when there is a culture that supports it.
Sadly, I don't know how much our country's culture could ever really support that. We're so much more individualist. We really prize our individualism here, thanks to our heritage as the British colony that was repopulated with dissenters, criminals and fortune hunters, not a colony made of an already existing, subjugated people.

I agree that Prohibition was a bad idea, but really, it I think Prohibition was a failed experiment that wasn't a case of Big Government imposing its will on the people. It was a grassroots movement that happened to get traction politically because of a really smart public relations campaign by mostly women (where many Suffragettes cut their teeth politically, actually), and because a recent corn production glut had made booze so cheap and accessible it *was* causing a lot more drinking to happen among all classes. Average people began to worry about the consequences of all those people walking around drunk. At the time, a lot of goodhearted, Average Joes were interviewed in bars drinking and at the same time saying they thought Prohibition would be a good thing for the country, even though they'd miss their drinks. Prohibition failed because people were lying to themselves about how much they'd be willing to give up their booze.

You know, though, I still probably would be a libertarian if I thought the U.S. had the collective moral character to uphold a libertarian system, and if I didn't think that a certain segment of the population like to think they're libertarian simply because of a single issue like access to guns or abolition of taxes (which I'm totally not saying about you. You sound pretty thoughtful in your choice), but then want to make other people's children pray in schools, or they want to prevent gay marriage and abortion, with no sense of irony about that.

Well, regarding not knowing as much about political stuff, I understand that, but that's the nice thing about this country - for better or for worse, no one can prevent you from having an opinion or voting, even if you aren't as educated on the issues as the next person. But yeah, debates are hard, especially when the other person is being really strident and acting like they really know what they're talking about. (I hate it when I can't really tell...) Overall, I really hate the way our country has become so polarized where Republicans and Democrats and liberals and conservatives can't talk to each other without vitriol, and with no interest in thinking of the other person as a human being who happens to have different but just as valid opinions.

And yes, I really, really wish we had a more-than-two-party system in place that a voter could take seriously. I voted for Nader in the last two elections, knowing it didn't matter. But this year, I'm actually interested in voting for Obama. I'm pretty sure he'll end up being nothing too flashy - a moderate, centrist president, but I do think that his heart is in the right place, and that he does have definite ideas about how to make the country better that will work better than the ones John McCain has been throwing out, and that are moderate enough that he could actually possibly accomplish them.

Whew! I'll get off my soapbox now. :)

Finally, in the hopes of making you laugh, I give you another silly Baltar candidate icon.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

You succeeded in making me laugh :) Baltar in politics usually does, until it suddenly turned around and became totally not funny any more.

Socialized medicine is one of those incredibly tricky areas that I really don't know what I think, interestingly enough. On the one hand, I hate the idea of anyone being told what to do, and that they must treat people regardless of payment. Being a doctor isn't easy, and people do expect you to be a miracle worker. On the other hand, my dad passed away from cancer back in '91 after an 8 month battle. I was only 16 so I didn't understand insurance, and I peeked at the bills. There were bills there for single procedures that were in the six figures, and that was back in '91. Heck, when I had Trevor last year the insurance company had to shell out $40,000 for the hospital, plus another $4,000 for the birth. And aside from the fact it was a planned C-section, it was totally without complications. Even if you're rich, affording health care if something goes wrong is IMPOSSIBLE.

So yeah, funny you bring that one up :)

and because a recent corn production glut had made booze so cheap and accessible it *was* causing a lot more drinking to happen among all classes.

An argument for agriculturally based fuels! Ethanol production, yay! :) (I was doing biodiesel research before I left the world, so I am easily amused.)

I agree there were other problems with Prohibition, but I still think that amending the Constitution to take away rights is a bad idea. Not that I think we're disagreeing on this one, but I think my point is that there are reasons it's a bad idea. Forbidding people to do something that does not increase the risk of harm to others... I know there's a point in here and I'm not articulating it well. Blah. Maybe NaNoWriMo ate my brain cells.

And I agree about certain segments of the population, who give Libertarians a bad name. :P (Plus the collective morality statement.) It definitely burns me, because one of the things I find fundamental to Libertarianism is that you have to be willing to accept that people will do and say things you don't like. People want the freedom to do what they want to do, and then want that same freedom denied to others. Sometimes I can understand (wanting to ban assault weapons, for example), and other times, it makes me want to tear my hair out (like what you mentioned).

verall, I really hate the way our country has become so polarized where Republicans and Democrats and liberals and conservatives can't talk to each other without vitriol, and with no interest in thinking of the other person as a human being who happens to have different but just as valid opinions.

I could not agree more with this. As I mentioned, I actually registered Republican as an act of rebellion. Yeah, I know. But I went to a very liberal college (Bates, if you've ever heard of it), and my sophomore year there they had some issues. Seems that some of the people- including my current boyfriend- wanted to increase the minority quota. Which, hey, while I have an issue with quotas in general anymore, I can understand because Bates wasn't really a huge diverse campus. But instead of proposing things like changing recruitment strategies and offering more scholarships, they picketed the admissions office and called them racist. At a private school that has a student body of about 1500, it's not a big admissions staff, and one of them (who coached the track team, which is how I knew him) was black. Um... But when I mentioned these things to my current boyfriend at the time, he had some incredibly strong names for me and some extremely rude words.

Note that he is NOT the father of my children ;)

I actually like Obama, to be honest. And I don't have huge issues with McCain, although I don't like Palin. I agree with your assessment of him, and the biggest reason I'm more for Obama than McCain is Iraq. I figure he's leading in the polls though, and it's not such a small gap that one vote is going to make that difference.

But I still hate the automated phone calls!

[millari.livejournal.com]

I have heard of Bates, actually! Better that you found that out about the boyfriend back then, I guess. Sheesh!

Well, I should say that yeah, I do agree with you that I'm never in favor of amending the Constitution to take away people's rights. I'm generally for expanding the Constitution in order to take into account the obvious spirit of the Constitution that the Founding Fathers couldn't have conceived of. So therefore, I believe in changing the Constitution if it's going to make sure that African Americans or homosexuals have the same rights as I enjoy. That's why I'm against all these so-called pro-marriage amendment movements that want to define marriage as a heterosexual union.

I guess for me there's also the issue of what is a Constitutional right exactly? The right to bear arms is one of those, yes, and so I get really muddled on that one, because I do feel that complete and open access to guns of all kinds is probably a recipe for disaster, but I do believe in the Constitution being something I don't want to diminish if I can help it. I suppose I think access to guns is one thing, but I do think I want the government to regulate gun ownership to some extent, because I don't see any good reason to own machine guns, for example.

I know the reason we have the right to bear arms in the Constitution is to prevent the government from having all the weapons and thereby oppressing the people, but I'm not convinced that we have the danger of a government that would do that anymore in this country, or if they would, they'd just do it, Constitution or not. I'm not sure having Constitutionally-guaranteed access to any kind of gun that people invent really will prevent a government that's just decided to do whatever the hell it wants. So given that, why not have gun regulation that will likely prevent irresponsible people from having child-sized Uzis in their home that their young children can use to accidentally kill themselves (as happened here just last week)?

Wow, I said I was going to get off my soapbox, and keep finding myself lured up there again. Really stopping now. :)

[plynn78.livejournal.com]

Hee...I've been rewatching all of the West Wing as well.

Bartlett for President!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I want a Bartlett/Roslin ticket. That would make my day!