I voted today. I don't remember the last time I voted on the actual election day, since early voting is more convenient. I had a simple formula for choosing candidates in all the non-gubernatorial races. I voted for Libertarians when there were candidates, otherwise Democrat. I always voted against the Republican. I'm not against Republicans as a matter of policy, but I'm certainly against these Republicans. As long as the party is dominated by the fundamentalist warmongers, there's just no way they'll ever get my vote.
Other parts of a potential Democratic agenda receive less support, especially calls to impeach Bush: 47 percent of Democrats say that should be a "top priority," but only 28 percent of all Americans say it should be, 23 percent say it should be a lower priority and nearly half, 44 percent, say it should not be done.
Hmmm. Did they just say that 51% of Americans are in favor of impeaching Bush? They make it sound like less by creating a group of those who think it's a "top priority" and those who think it should not be a "top priority," but should still happen. Remember, this is from the general population, not just Democrats.
When Bank of America bought Works, we got laid off by Works and then re-hired by Bank of America. One of the stipulations of the employee agreement is that they have the right to ask me to take a drug test. I'm betting they won't ask, because when they do, I'm going start looking for a new job because it's none of their business. As long as I'm not high at work, and my job performance is acceptable, then it's irrelevant. And if I am high at work, is it ok to be drunk? If my job performance is bad, does it matter what the reason is? I don't blame the Bank; I'm sure it's some federal regulation. The government shouldn't be able to commandeer private business to effect social policy.
I am nowhere near the front of the line on this moral issue. This is usually where I'm supposed to say, "it's not your business, but I'd pass the test anyway." I won't, though, because that's trying to have it both ways, to take the moral high ground while not risking your job. The issue isn't whether they can ask you to pee in a cup; the issue is whether they ought to be entitled to that information about you. Even if you could avoid the actual test itself, you've still given them the information. The only responses with integrity are a simple "no" or obedience without protest.
I just finished watching "Firefly" last night. Only 14 episodes were ever produced, so it was pretty easy. I liked it. It's not the best show in the world, but it's pretty good, easily in the top 10%. They did some interesting things, things that were new to me. It was a well-balanced show, which is a hard thing to explain. It's too bad Fox fumbled it, because it's way better than what's on television most of the time.
Every now and then, I wonder about the possibility of getting some company to pay me big bucks to write software in India. I'm not sure why they would, besides that there will apparently be a shortage, but it'd be pretty cool to live there for a few years.
I put little stock in Rumsfeld's resignation. For one thing, it was inevitable. For another, its timing was clearly chosen to blunt the media attention given the Democrats. It also makes it easier for them to shift strategies on Iraq and buy more time, as a lot of baggage goes with Rumsfeld. As incompetent as Rumsfeld was, though, let's remember who his boss is who supported him for almost 6 years. An interesting tidbit from Bush's press conference yesterday:
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Last week you told us that Secretary Rumsfeld will be staying on. Why is the timing right now for this, and how much does it have to do with the election results?
THE PRESIDENT: Right. No, you and Hunt and Keil came in the Oval Office, and Hunt asked me the question one week before the campaign, and basically it was, are you going to do something about Rumsfeld and the Vice President? And my answer was, they're going to stay on. And the reason why is I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign. And so the only way to answer that question and to get you on to another question was to give you that answer.
Translation: I lied to you for political gain. What's surprising is how frank he was about the lie, and how the reporters just accepted it.
An austin man was recovering at home today after suffering a vicious branching attack earlier in the day. The man claimed to have been "just standing there, minding my own business" when assaulted. He described the assailant as tall, brown-skinned, and leafy. The only other witness to the attack was a 19-month old girl, allegedly the victim's daughter, who testified "Uh oh." Austin Police stated that there had been similar attempts in the area recently, though this was the only attack known to have succeeded. Arboreal gang activity has been on the rise in recent months as police have been distracted by the epidemic of fern rage. The perpetrator remains unidentified and is still at large.
Ahem. Long story short, I was dumb and tried to pull down a loose tree branch by dangling from it. It worked, but the branch clocked me in the head. Stupid gravity, always trying to get at me. I got 7 staples at the ER (getting a lidocaine injection into the skull is NOT pleasant). I think I'm fine otherwise, though.
It does not appear as though Hallmark sells a "Thank you for taking me to the ER" card. That's an unmet market need right there. They could do a joint venture with MTV's "Jackass" and sell them near college campuses.
I've been watching the new NBC show "Heroes." It's pretty good. I didn't see the pilot, but I have seen all the remaining 8 episodes. It's in some ways too early to judge, though, since it's a serial, and the first major story arc has yet to crest. It's not enough to start out well, though they've certainly done that. Assuming NBC runs the first n episodes again during the inter-sweeps doldrums, I suggest you give it a try. Or you could watch it online. Note: link contains episode descriptions which will be spoilers for previous episodes.
