SAT 11 NOV 2000

Thought for the Day
"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved."
-- William Jennings Bryant

Thought for the Day
"Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders has been discontinued."
-- (unattributed)

Feet First

The Dirty Sole Society is an organization dedicated to promoting the barefoot lifestyle. These aren't foot fetishists, just a bunch of people who prefer not to wear shoes and who want to dispel the myth that going barefoot in public is illegal and against health regulations (it's not). As part of this effort, they've started the "Bare Feet OK!" Campaign, which includes a search engine to help you find barefoot-friendly businesses in your area. While they may not be well-heeled, this group has a lot of "sole".

Vengeance Is Mine!
I wrote in my last explosition that my local ISP had been consumed by Earthlink, leaving me without local dial-up access. But last night, I became aware of another option -- cable modem. The local cable company is offering 500Kbps internet access for $29.95 a month, just eight dollars more a month than I'm currently paying for glacial 28.8Kbps access over our rural county's antiquated phone lines. Fuck Earthlink. I'm there.
There is one tiny detail, though -- I'll have to replace my four-year-old dinosaur of a computer with a newer model. But hey, I've been looking for a good excuse to upgrade, anyway.

The Un-Election Continues
For the first time in over a century, one party has won the popular vote in a general Presidential election, while the other party will probably win the all-important electoral vote. But it's not over yet. The recount in Florida has already halved Bush's lead there, and there are challenges waiting in the wings regarding confusing ballots and 19,000 "disqualified" votes from a primarily African-American district. If Bush wins, he'll be dogged by suspicions about vote tampering in the state where his brother happens to be Governor, casting serious dispersions on the legitimacy of his Presidency. If Gore wins, he'll be vilified as a poor sport who retracted his concession and called in his lawyers rather than accept defeat. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day either way. And neither candidate will be able to govern effectively because he'll have to deal with a large segment of the population -- and the Congress -- that vehemently opposes his policy initiatives. It's not going to be a good time for anybody. Maybe we should just declare the election a tie and let Gush and Bore take turns being President on alternate days.

Thought for the Day
"Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give the signal."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

And Get Ready for a Spanking!

Post-Election Limbo
I was up until maybe 1:30 or 2:00 this morning watching inconclusive election returns. It's all come down to the slippery state of Florida, where George W currently holds a lead of maybe a few hundred measly votes. (Nader grabbed over 96,000 votes in Florida. Fuck you, Ralph.) It's far and away the most razor-close Presidential election I can remember. There's even a possibility that Gore could win the popular vote while losing the Electoral College -- and the Presidency -- to Bush, revealing the "one person, one vote" system that most people think we have in this country as the sham it really is. Wouldn't that be interesting?
So neither candidate will have a clear mandate, whoever finally wins when the Florida votes are recounted. Meanwhile, the House and Senate are nearly evenly split between the two major parties, although the Republicans hold a very slim majority. My prediction: four more years of gridlock and a one-term President.

Turn or Burn
A Florida woman recently attempted to burn her 7-year-old son to death because he refused to attend Sunday School. Details here.

Thought for the Day
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it, good and hard."
-- H.L. Mencken

Bush Steals Florida
It's a little after 10:00 pm here on Election Night, and all of a sudden, Florida's votes have moved from the Gore column back into the Undecided column, flipping the lead to Bush. Now, how much pressure do you think there was on Governor Jeb to "deliver" Florida's crucial 25 electoral votes to his dear brother's campaign?
So the media are saying that votes from certain Florida districts are "suspect", but they aren't giving any further details -- such as, for instance, what exactly they mean by "suspect". I'm looking forward to a little more elaboration on that point. They're also making assurances that they're trying to be as up-front as possible about the matter, which makes me pretty damn sure they're not. And Florida's votes could tip the election.
If this is the first taste of what we can expect under the Shrubya, look out.

I Love Bacon
Since Doyce introduced me to ilovebacon.com a couple of weeks ago, it's rapidly become one of my favorite sites. It features weird photos, dubious food, gratuitous nudity, and much more. ILoveBacon -- more fun than a barrel full of ebola-infested, feces-hurling monkeys!

Update: My ISP Has Been Eaten!
My local internet service provider, Interpath, has been "acquired" by mega-provider Earthlink. This situation has inspired a new explosition.

Standing Up for Imagination
An organization called Muggles for Harry Potter has been formed to counter the censorship efforts of the religious right. Ironically, I found this URL through a fundamentalist who called it "a hellish site". Apparently the fundies' definition of "hell" includes a literate populace with First Amendment rights.

To the Polls, Ye Sons of Liberty!
On this very important election day, Creative Dynamix urges all Americans to perform their civic duty by voting early and often. May the best pre-selected, corporate-controlled drone win.

Thought for the Day
"If the people are given the power to vote themselves bread and circuses, then they will."
-- Cicero

Wildlife
The leaves have turned and fallen quickly this year, rustling on the floor of the woods inches deep in some places. They crunch underfoot. So when I heard crunching leaves nearby, in a part of the woods where there are seldom people, it caught my attention. Just a few yards away, three wild turkeys were walking calmly up the hill to the pasture. They were big, maybe three feet tall, with dark feathers and gray heads. One of them was a little smaller than the other two, with a slightly darker head -- maybe a younger bird, I'm not sure. They passed very close, taking no notice of me. If I'd had my .22 with me, we could have eaten wild turkey tonight, but the big birds moved with a calm dignity that I'm not used to seeing in their species, so I'm not sure I could have brought myself to shoot them anyway.

Safe Sex for Teens
Sexually active teenagers who wish to avoid pregnancy can find lots of helpful tips here.

Thought for the Day
"A witty saying proves nothing."
-- Voltaire