I thought this was very interesting. A bit scary, actually.

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - Plain Dealer Reporter -
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has launched an investigation that could lead to criminal charges against voters who maliciously switched parties for the March 4 presidential primary.

Elections workers will look for evidence that voters lied when they signed affidavits pledging allegiance to their new party. And at least one board member, Sandy McNair, a Democrat, wants the county prosecutor to review the findings.

Are we living in a place where once you’ve picked a political party you’d better stick with it or fear being investigated/prosecuted?

Let’s examine the facts as we know them. There was a primary in Ohio. There were people who voted in that primary. There were people who switched parties to vote in that primary and were forced into signing “affidavits of allegiance,” something that I don’t believe is in the realm of freedom. The vote is supposed to be secret, yes?

For the State to come down on people who voted is wrong. I can decide to vote either Democrat or Republican at ANY point, and am not willing to pledge absolute “allegiance” to either. Meaning, I agree and disagree with a variety of the current tenets of both parties at any given moment. So if I switch parties, the Government is going to come along and “determine my allegiance”? The Government is going to tell me what I believe? Thank you, but no thank you, Mr. McCarthy.

The opposing argument might be the question of why should the vote be secret? This isn’t the general election we’re talking about, it’s a primary. Why shouldn’t they be forced to sign something? If you want to participate in a party’s program, you follow their rules. My answer to that would be that the vote should be secret because I don’t need my neighbors to know who I voted for. I have a right to participate without having to think about anything except who I want to vote for. As long as this is a free-for-all program that involves the State, I have the right for my voice to be heard and have the right to have my voice to be as anonymous as it is in the general election.

If parties want to take this process away and hold the elections themselves because they don’t agree with the results - fine. As long as my neighbor can’t go vote, either. Draw a name out of a hat to determine your nominee. If you want to leave one voter out of the process because you don’t like their politics, you’d better leave everyone out.

Prosecution of Americans for committing the act of voting is ludicrous. I hope the story I linked to above outrages all Americans, no matter what party has your “allegiance.”

I’ve watched all the debates for both Democrat and Republican. Seen a lot of the speeches and ads. Finally I took the time to look through a few of the candidates’ websites and actually read more into what it is they’re bickering about.

After taking all of that in I still just don’t know what really is best for me, my family, my city, my state, my country and even for the rest of the world. When I look at it from a global perspective, I really think Obama would send a great message to the rest of the world. Right now, we’re looked at as more arrogant than the French. Yikes, that’s harsh. Obama would tell the world we really are the open-minded, diverse and progressive nation we claim to be. I think he’d do a well-enough job of inspiring a lot of people right here at home, as well. On the other hand, does he really know what he’s doing? Seems I trust the other guys a little more when it comes to competencies.

With all of our guys over in Iraq, Afghanistan & elsewhere fighting, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with someone who just has charisma and is a great speaker. I think someone with a long record to stand up to and a well thought plan is what we need right now. This is why I really hope it comes down to Clinton vs. McCain. The election will be about the pretty much just the war. Clinton will be the one who has a timeline to pull out (everyone will label her a flip-flopper about 10 million times, you know it will happen) and McCain will be the guy who has stood by the decision all along and wants to finish the job.

It will be an easy decision for everyone, a clear difference. There will be no immigration debates because they don’t really differ on that much. No Global Warming debates because Clinton & McCain have worked together on the stuff. It will be a straight-forward election about the most important thing we have going on right now. If it’s Obama vs McCain it will be inexperience vs experience, but ultimately anti-war vs pro-war. Still not too bad of an election, still a clear difference, it will get ugly but not as bad as last time.

I think part of my uneasiness about Obama and my more openness toward Clinton has to do with the media’s love affair with the guy. They paint him as a saint, comparing his speeches to JFK & MLK, etc. I really hate seeing the media sway how people see candidates because the media happens to like someone better.

As much as I’ve always liked McCain’s moderate voice in Washington, someone who always votes on principle and not on what the party says, I don’t think he can win. I don’t think any Republican, Independent, Libertarian, Green party candidate or anyone else can win against Obama. The media is going to paint him as the savior of all our problems, and they’ll show McCain as the greedy old partisan-politician that he really isn’t. Meanwhile, people in his own party will vote against him because he isn’t loyal enough to the party.

I’m honestly personally considering voting for Obama. I do currently like what he could do for us. I never rule anyone out based on what party they’re in or how they stand on a single issue (unless it’s extremely important, of course). But we have a long way to go & there are other people to be thinking about too. I’ve said time and again that I respect McCain, but I think the Clinton years did some good for us and I actually think Hillary has some coherent, reasonable plans on certain issues.

The recent Super Tuesday turnout shows that it’s going to be a big election, and a lot of people are getting involved. My early prediction is that it will be an Obama blowout, he’ll sweep most of the nation. I’m just worried that it won’t be for the right reasons. I hope everyone will ask themselves if he really is what’s best. Please don’t let the media make that decision for us.

I’ve been hit with insomnia the past couple of weeks. I get myself all tucked in at the normal bedtime, and just as I start to drift off - BAM! I’M WIDE AWAKE! Then I’ll have trouble getting to sleep for most of the evening, and as a result I’ll hardly be able to keep my eyes open all day at work. I’ve been requiring a lot more coffee than normal lately, I’ve went from making one thermos to two in the morning.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing if I got up in the middle of the night and did something productive. Instead, I flop around and toss and turn and whine and whimper and generally annoy the hell out of Lizzie. Eventually, I get up and read or look around on the internet for a while.

I used to get by on very little sleep when I was going to school. There were many nights I just didn’t sleep at all, and the day after was always unbearable and I always regretted not getting any sleep the night before. Catching up on sleep on a bench in the IDS tower’s Crystal Court downtown was no picnic, what with all the homeless people wandering around. I couldn’t sleep in the school’s student lounge, because all the benches were always taken by other students sleeping. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone. Those were the good old days.

Fall is beyond being here, it just kind of came out of nowhere this year. I had to pull the ice scraper out of my trunk a couple mornings ago, I scraped in my short sleeves for a few minutes and then ran in to pull the winter coat out of the closet. The heat kicked on in the office while it got below 40 degrees outside. Christmas decorations are on sale at Target. The sun is at that awful angle where it hurts the eyes to be facing it and sunglasses don’t help. Either that or I spend too much time indoors - the jury is still out on that.

The other day at work, I was sitting in the lunch room reading. I rested my head on my left arm, and suddenly I found myself waking up and the sunbeam was no longer on my back. I fell asleep in the lunch room. Don’t worry, I wasn’t late getting back to work or anything.

I’ve been going into work early Wednesdays through Friday, I’m just more productive in the mornings, especially in the latter part of the week. It’s harder getting up at 4:45 in the morning though, especially when it’s pitch black out and it’s getting to be below 30 degrees in the mornings. At least I beat the traffic, that’s the best part and will be really nice once we start getting snow. Traffic in the winter is really brutal around here, especially in the morning. I don’t think I was hardly ever to work at a consistent time last winter.

In case you were wondering, I’m still pretty torn over the elections. I can’t come to any conclusions, even after listening to the debates on the radio and spending all of those sleepless nights reading about the political agendas online. My best bet right now seems to be that I should cast my vote for all the independent candidates to help them meet their 5% quota so that their parties get automatic inclusion in the next elections. Otherwise they have to get a lot of signatures to get on the ballot and into the debates next time. See, voting independent isn’t pointless. They get the 5%, and it makes it easier next time when there is an amazing independent candidate that actually has a chance against the DFL and GOP. For those who think Independents never have a chance, remember that Minnesota elected an Independent Governor a few years back, and he was a former pro-wrestler, remember him now? The sad part of it is, that pro wrestler probably did more for this state than our current Governor has in his four years.

Well I think I might go out for a walk this afternoon. It’s actually pretty nice out today, in the upper 50’s and sunny. All the geese are hanging out in the parks this time of the year, and they’re usually pretty fun to check out. Maybe I can catch up on some sleep on a park bench… haha. Maybe I was homeless in a previous life… Seems odd that I fall asleep so easily on benches, doesn’t it? See-ya later…

Election time is nearing it’s meridian and the elections here in Minnesota have been getting pretty ugly. They’re too ugly for me, really. Ugly enough that I’ve been reading up on the independent candidates a lot. The only problem with the Independents here in Minnesota is their vast inexperience in certain areas worry me. I’ve found one independent candidate I’m definitely voting for - Peter Idsusogie - his focus on Education would be good for this state I believe. I think Education should be one of Minnesota’s biggest concerns, yet so few candidates seem to want to talk about it. Here’s a good poll that shows just how important education is to Minnesotans this year. Not surprisingly, the budget defecit and taxes round out the top three.

The major candidates have been talking a lot about foreign policy, taxes, gas prices, and immigration. You know, the sensational ones that everyone gets all riled up over. I’m certainly not trying to suggest that these issues aren’t important, but like usual none of the candidates are really offering any coherent solutions to them. They’re just saying “so-and-so supported what-have-you, and I think that’s wrong!!!” So what’s the right way, smarty pants? Apparently we only have two kinds of politicians, those who have no ideas and love to complain, and those who have bad ideas and love to defend them.

Frankly, Minnesota’s current Governor, Tim Pawlenty (R), needs to go. While he was running around spending so much time trying to get the Twins a new stadium, college tuition rose by over 50% (link). Minnesota’s economy and public education systems are a mess. I’ve considered voting for him, but I just can’t make any real sense of doing so. The DFL candidate for Governor, Mike Hatch, seems pretty respectable on the issues. Plus, I’m sick of thanking Pawlenty every time my car gets an unwanted alignment from all the pot-holes all over the interstate highways.

In the U.S. Senate campaign - probably the ugliest campaign of them all in Minnesota - I can’t bring myself to vote for either Mark Kennedy (R) or Amy Klobuchar (D). They’re both sleazy candidates taking constant cheap shots at each-other on the airwaves, making empty promises about taxes, gas prices, and foreign policies. That kind of talk really turns off the middle-of-the-road people like myself.

In Minnesota’s 6th district for House, we have Patty Wetterling (D) vs Michele Bachmann (R). I don’t live in the 6th district, but I work in the 6th district so I’ve been watching that race a little closely. Wetterling is the candidate who made national headlines for using the Foley scandal in one of her political ads. Here’s a link to the TV ad hosted on Wetterling’s web site. And then here’s a good article about it that ran in the StarTribune. This is sleazy politics at it’s finest, people. Why is it relevant for Mark Foley (R-FL) to become part of Minnesota’s elections? He’s not running in Minnesota! If you didn’t hear about it, Foley was outed as a pedophile weeks ago when transcripts of disturbing online chats between him and a teenage boy surfaced. [ Here's an article about it. ] What it seems like Wetterling is trying to pull on us here is leading people to believe that if one Republican is a pedophile, they must all be. People aren’t that stupid, are they? Now I believe Foley deserves all he gets, what he did is disgusting, but the entire Republican party doesn’t deserve to be chastised because of him. Cover ups by his colleagues should be addressed, but it doesn’t belong in Minnesota’s political ads.

Is it always going to be like this? Am I ever going to find a party or candidates that I can wholeheartedly agree with or am I going to continue to feel so undecided and always have the feeling that I’m voting for the lesser of two evils? It gets awfully frustrating, no wonder so many people don’t vote. But I hope people will vote. Please go to polls and use your brains, hearts, and common sense rather than picking based on the D or R next to each name.

Aside from the politics, for me personally the busy season continues. It’s been an exhausting month, and there’s much more work ahead. My allergies are still keeping me miserable, but fall in Minnesota is just so beautiful. More so than North Dakota ever was, for some reason. The leaves are turning to their beautiful bright colors and the temperatures are perfect. If it weren’t for the allergies I have this time of year, this would be my favorite season.

Talk to you again soon!

Well, another month has gone by and I haven’t written squat on here. I’ve intended to, honestly. It’s been an uneventful month outside of work, a very hectic month inside of work. The last thing I want to do is come home and write about work.

I’ve also been in one of those ruts lately where I just kind of prefer to be alone and keeping to myself. Haven’t been talkative, haven’t been keeping in touch. I don’t know why I get this way, I guess sometimes I just need a little down time to refresh my brain from all the confusing and stressful things that seem to always go on.

Plus, I’ve been spending some time exploring possibilities for a second job and/or contract/freelance gigs. Nothing has come up that will work. But I’ve faced the fact that not only are the holidays coming up, but I also need to start earning a little extra money so I can start making some moves here pretty soon. Lizzie and I would like to get out of this apartment we’ve been in for four years now, and eventually we’d like to get out of Minnesota. Of course there are other moves that need to be made that have been put off far too long.

But like I said, work has been busy. I have some really big projects in progress and on the horizon, I’ll be sticking around there a while longer to take those things on. There’s still some work to be done before I feel like I can move on to the next level and leave Minnesota. We’ll be here to endure at least another winter or two. I really hope it won’t be much more than that.

Speaking of winter, I don’t think it’s too far away. What a cold and miserable week it’s been, and it’s starting to look pretty dark outside when I leave for work in the morning. The cold snap gave me my annual cold. It was pretty bad this year, I felt pretty miserable for a few days there. I had to go to a new cold medicine this year because the usual Tylenol Sinus just wasn’t strong enough. I went to a new kind of Tylenol Cold Day/Night, the nighttime version really knocked me out. But it worked well. Tylenol Sinus has worked for me the past few years, it kind of worries me that it wasn’t quite potent enough this year. Am I getting sicker every year or was it just really bad this year? So I’m just getting over the cold, still not quite 100% better. Well, with my year-long allergies that I deal with, I’m never really 100% better. Not much else to report about me.

A tornado went through the suburb I work in last week, doing quite a bit of damage in some of the residential areas but leaving my workplace untouched. Sadly, a 10 year old girl was killed in the tornado when the home she was in collapsed from the Tornado. Seems like everyone is looking to point the finger and make someone accountable for it. Every day there has been an article in the Star Tribune about the National Weather Service’s reaction time. What is up with people these days? Why does someone always have to answer for it? It’s mother nature, people have been warned about these things their whole lives. Even if the national weather service would have gotten the warnings out a little sooner, what different could it have really made? The little girl was in her basement, doing everything she has been told to do. It’s a tragedy and there’s nothing we can do to change it. Why is everyone looking for someone to blame?

Also in the news, Rodriguez’s death sentence in the Dru Sjodin trial has been a strong subject of debate. Driving home listening to WCCO the other day, a caller raised the point that “People think the death penalty will be a deturrent to crime, if this were true then why is Texas one of the highest-crime states in the nation but also one of the most active at putting ciminals to death?”

I guess I’ve never really thought of capital punishment as a crime deturrent, and I see the caller’s point. I, too, am a little uneasy about the death penalty, because it’s a real tragedy that there will always be people who are put to death that are actually innocent. But with today’s technology, I think that there is such a thing as a slam dunk case. In these extreme cases where a really awful crime has been committed, and all of the evidence against the person makes them so unquestionably guilty, I feel the dealth penalty should be considered. In this case, his guilt is unquestionable due to the evidence. In another case, I may feel a different way. This kind of violence toward women or anyone is just unforgivable in my opinion, and people who commit this are beyond insane, they are beyond human and belong in neither our society nor our prison systems.

The fact he was ever let back into society is a real tragedy in itself. Something really needs to be changed about that.

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