Librarian's Rant

I can't stop watching the CNN election results online. I'm like an election junkie.

And I'm supposed to be working! Well, to be fair, I'm working the ref desk on an election Tuesday night, as I've done for 11 years, which means I'm mostly looking up patrons' polling places. I can do that AND keep one eye on CNN.

On the theory that 'all politics is local', here's what I'm watching: Right now the Missouri Senate race is neck and neck. As a near neighbor (Iowa) this is of interest to me. They don't yet have info on our Iowa gubernatorial race, which is of even greater interest to me. Ohio is looking good, which pleases me (my family is in Cleveland).

Oh wait, I hit Refresh! Now...the McCaskill has pulled ahead in Missouri (yay!), but this means nothing--polls are open for another hour here in the Heartland.

Refresh again. Still nothing on the Iowa gubernatorial. Bah! And Missouri is back to neck and neck. Bah!

It looks like Santorum had his ass handed to him on a plate--CNN's calling it for Casey, even with almost no precincts reporting (based on polling, I assume). Well, that's encouraging. Santorum makes my teeth itch.

Virginia is neck and neck, but I find I don't like either candidate, so I can't get very excited there.

Of course all of this is ridiculous, as almost no precincts, even on the East coast, are fully reported. And we may have another Ohio or Florida to contend with. Come on, who's up for it? Montana? A Dakota? Guam?

Ultimately, I will wait for Jon Stewart to tell me what's what. Yes, that's right, I've decided that my late night election coverage will ultimately come from...Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

What?! I may be CNN's whore, but I'm married to Stewart's Daily Show

Cheers, everybody. Don't forget to vote.

This election cycle, MoveOn.org is trying a new voter turnout calling system, Call for Change



It's a step in the right direction, I think, to energize progressive voters. I hope it works. I get the feeling that a number of elections today will be decided by just a few votes per precinct. I did some calling this morning through my state party's GOTV project (I'm a precinct captain, so this made more sense for me), and was pleased by the response. Less apathy, more definite "yes, I have voted" or "yes, I'm on my way to vote!" than in previous years.

It really does matter, folks. I believe that. I have to. Otherwise, what are we all doing here?

My favorite DSM Register columnist wrote this great article in support of my favorite candidate this entire election cycle--Denise O'Brien, the Dem running for Iowa Secy of Agriculture. She's an organic farmer (!) and tough as nails. The Register stupidly, and rather half-assedly, endorsed her opponent, and they've been regretting it ever since. A flurry of letters to the editor plus Rekha's column have made them look foolish.

The Democrat from Atlantic isn't just the better candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary, she's one of the most exciting candidates for any office in next week's elections. Even if agriculture isn't your issue, she's talking about our identity and quality of life as a state.

Just got this from the Human Rights Campaign, and it interested me:

This afternoon, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right, under the state constitution, to receive the same state benefits, protections, and obligations as opposite-sex married couples. The legislature has 180 days to comply with this ruling by either amending the marriage statute to include same-sex couples or creating a similar law, like civil unions.

Rush Limbaugh seems to have completely lost his mind. I wonder that the vitriol doesn't eat him out from the inside. Perhaps that's what all the illegal pain killers are for.

Limbaugh mocks Michael J. Fox political ad: Conservative talk show host accuses actor of faking Parkinson's disease

10 million people listen to this guy every week. How sad.

Thanks to Mike and Julie for the link.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment last night was moving and powerful. I recommend it. My brother has copied the entire text into his blog.

Or, the text is on the MSNBC Site at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/

Amusing new cover of Time Magazine. Though I think they're fooling themselves if they think a little sex scandal will dislodge this lot. They've survived lying, cheating and gross abuses of the Constitution. One good scapegoat and their brainwashed followers will raise their banner high again. And the other side are still the jackasses.

Thanks to Chris Z. for the link.

I just ordered a free bumper sticker from MoveOn.org. Not quite as good as the "Mission (Nothing) Accomplished" ones from 2004, but it's something.

This was sent to my alumni listserv. Thanks Heather.

Florida’s fear of history: New law undermines critical thinking

One way to measure the fears of people in power is by the intensity of their quest for certainty and control over knowledge.

By that standard, the members of the Florida Legislature marked themselves as the folks most terrified of history in the United States when last month they took bold action to become the first state to outlaw historical interpretation in public schools. In other words, Florida has officially replaced the study of history with the imposition of dogma and effectively outlawed critical thinking.

And thanks to John for finding a PDF copy of the law in full text. It seems innocuous enough, but includes some inconsistencies. Like what they mean by "facts" instead of "interpretation".

So I get emails from my various government representatives, esp. the Dems. I like this service, as it keeps me informed. So today I get an email from my Congressman, the ONLY Democratic Congressman from the state, about his latest 'fight':

My fellow Iowans,

Today, I and Members of the House Transportation Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation heard from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials and other industry representatives at the subcommittee’s hearing on mishandled airline baggage...

In 2005, it is estimated that some 3 billion bags were checked worldwide and 30 million were mishandled or lost. With higher airfares and less convenience at airports today, passengers deserve better than 30 million lost bags.

On March 22, 2006, I requested a hearing on this matter...after SITA, a cooperative venture owned by the airline industry, estimated that over 30 million bags were lost or stolen from airline passengers in 2005, with over 200,000 of those bags never reunited with their owners.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Congressman Boswell, he's a nice guy and a decent public servant (not to be sneezed at). And I agree that 30 million bags lost (30 million!) is worth doing something about...but shouldn't this be handled by the airline industry, not Congress? I don't know, I guess I just feel like this is a bit far down my priority list.

Then again, I'm flying overseas in a few weeks, and I would very much like to arrive with my soap and socks intact. ::shrug::

There's been a lot of buzz about Colbert's White House Correspondent's Dinner appearance over the weekend.

Google Current has a nice roundup of what the buzz was about, on both sides. They mention the new website Thank You, Stephen Colbert.

Daily Kos has made available the entire monologue, plus the script of the Helen Thomas video. I've met Ms. Thomas, and I can imagine her being a good sport with all this.

According to a post on my brother's blog, Colbert was given Buzzflash's Wings Of Justice award for his guts in "speaking truth to power".

I just find the whole thing amusing--not least of which because clearly the folks running the dinner didn't know what they were asking for. Or maybe they did. Which would show a certain bravery which has been largely lacking in our national press.

Among other things, I'm waiting for the electorate to rise up. If they all had a primary voting day like my brother did today (link is to his blog), they just might.

A follow-up blog post.

For a moment, I thought that my NYTimes email and my Onion dispatch had gotten mixed up:

From: NYTimes.com
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:32:06 -0500
U.S. Says It Fears Detainee Abuse in Repatriation
By TIM GOLDEN
The release of suspects from Guantánamo Bay has been stymied by concerns that the prisoners may not be treated humanely by their own governments.

DeLay is giving up on his re-election bid and is resigning from Congress.

My buddy Chris Z. suggested that the headlines should have been "Without Further DeLay". I agree. I think they missed a golden opportunity for punnage.

Slate's home page has an amusing graphic relating to Cheney's hunting mishap. Also check out their roundup of related cartoons.

On the serious side, it looks like the guy he shot is not doing too well.