Election Day in the US

Thank go thank god thank god this day is here at long last. Now all the jerks in the bullshit promulgation industry who think their metaphorical wand-waving will change my mind can go away for a couple of years.

I must say that I was stunned in 2000 to witness (up to that point, at any rate) the single most un-American act I had ever witnessed: a candidate going to court to stop vote counting.  Until that point, I had been a fairly apathetic voter. 531 US 98 has changed that forever.

Whatever your political beliefs, please do not allow any particular party or court to appoint our leaders. Voting is sacrosanct and we must not fear voter intimidation or blatant attempts at vote tampering.

Remember, citizens:

Democracy usurped is TYRANNY!

How Libraries Count in the 2012 Election

Informative article in American Libraries. by Beverly Goldberg. But it applies to most elections, not only this year.

As icons of civic engagement in America, libraries are perfectly positioned to host voter registration drives and, as local statutes permit, be venues for early voting and Election Day polls. In this particularly spirited election year, libraries may be playing their largest role yet in such efforts. Consequently, they have also been drawn into the national debate over how best to protect voter rights and election integrity.

In Commemoration of 9-11

Just posted this in reply to @nytimes and awaiting the barrage of hate mail...

Political Limerick

In all fairness, this wasn't really my original idea. This is my cleaned and tightened up version of a commenter vendorwrites @ HuffPo. 

There once was a man named Mitt
Who really thought he was the $hit
He paid and paid
But common sense stayed
As the country said "Mitt, You Ain't It."

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

Note: this is my Goodreads review of Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot by quadriplegic Oregon cartoonist John Callahan (ISBN: 0679728244, ISBN13: 9780679728245).

I've been a fan of Callahan's cartoons for a long time and remember when he was being published in Willamette Week. This book is fascinating in its gritty realism and stark descriptions of daily life when you require help to do just about everything.

Less compelling, however, were Callahan's portrayals of the AA culture and his (justifiable) rants at the welfare system. I personally found the most touching moments in the book had to do with Callahan's search for his birth parents and coming to terms with the sense of abandonment he felt even as a small child.

Several very obvious usage errors detracted somewhat from the narrative (for example, "midrift" instead of "midriff," on one page referring to his brother as Skip and later on the same page as Kip. All in all, however, a thoughtful and eye-opening memoir.