being non-partisan

I'm finding it a bit tougher to toe this line than I thought. Not with voters out in the neighborhood--that's easy, mostly because I care far too much about voting integrity.

But with other volunteers, especially when you realize someone is on the same wavelength as yourself. But since Election Protection is a non-partisan group, you don't want your personal opinions to bleed in too much!

annoying people

I've been very surprised to discover that, so far at least, I've annoyed very few people by knocking on their door and exhorting them to vote.

Well, OK, there was the guy who'd obviously been woken from an afternoon nap in front of ESPN--but hey, without us he'd have missed that Packer's 4th quarter. Then there was the older lady, the only one who said flat out she wasn't going to vote, but that was ok because her daughter would be voting.

But most people seemed happy to announce that yes they certainly would be voting come Tuesday, while others proudly announced they'd already done the deed. Several people happily engaged in conversations and asked questions about the process.

All round, a worthwhile afternoon.

arizona bound

I don't think I've mentioned it, but I decided to through my election day lot in with the non-partisan poll watching group Election Protection. In their wisdom, they assigned me to Phoenix, which was fine with me since I'd never been there before.

So this morning I packed my bag and flew to Phoenix. I'd been a little apprehensive wondering if there'd be any level of harrassment of election volunteers at airport security. Yes, I'm paranoid. Surprise, surprise, this was the very first time since 9/11 that I haven't been singled out for some kind of random special attention. No pat down at security, no extra questions at the gate. Had to remove the shoes, but everyone was doing that.

So here I am at a nice suburban motel in Phoenix, hoping I'll have time to check out the Heard Museum and the Science Center between bouts of annoying people with GOTV drives. More of substance soon.

island bound

Salon's War Room summarizes Newsday: "Aloha! Hawaii really is a battleground state, and befitting a battleground state will get a visit from Dick Cheney before too long. (Al Gore, who won Hawaii by nearly 20 points four years ago, will be there today, and Alexandra Kerry will also fly to the islands to stump for her dad.) "

Congrats to Alexandra for winning that coin toss! Can't you just feel the entire political press corps rooting for it all to come down to Hawaii's 4 votes?

milking republican seniors

The Seattle Times: Fund-raising group milks vulnerable senior citizens

This group labels itself "Republican", but its just a straight con. Its not clear that any of the money raised went for political causes: "Of the money spent by the group this year, nearly 90 percent went to direct-mail vendors and postage expenses."

BTW--for those with the phrase "liberal media bias" foaming on their lips, the Seattle Times is considered Seattle's conservative newspaper. The Times is one of the flippers who endorsed Bush in 2000, but switched to Kerry in 2004.

simpson blues

I'm trying to figure out why I'm supposed to be shocked and outraged by Ashlee Simpson's heartburn. Aside from the fact that I don't have a clue who she is, are there really people out there who think pop singers are really belting out on a stage? And risk hitting a wrong note or two on national TV?

air america comes to seattle!

Air America Radio | Hurray!!! Now I can listen in on my way to work!

wsj covers failure to hit zarqawi

WSJ.com - Questions Mount Over Failure to Hit Zarqawi's Camp.

Mostly the same facts, with a slightly more detailed timeline, few new quotes from interested parties and a new justification from the Bush admniistration:

"Another factor, though, was fear that a strike on the camp could stir up opposition while the administration was trying to build an international coalition to launch an invasion of Iraq. Lawrence Di Rita, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in an interview that the reasons for not striking included 'the president's decision to engage the international community on Iraq.' Mr. Di Rita said the camp was of interest only because it was believed to be producing chemical weapons. He also cited several potential logistical problems in planning a strike, such as getting enough ground troops into the area, and the camp's large size."

The new timeline indicates that the original plans were drawn up in June 2002 and then sat on by the White House until about February 2003.

For those with shaky memories, during the summer of 2002, the Iraq invasion was still just a marketing plan that hadn't yet been officially rolled out. Throughout most of the fall of 2002, Bush was openly disdaining any collaboration with the United Nations, and did not seriously start coalition building until late 2002.

One weird note about the WSJ article. Not once does the article mention that Zarqawi's camp was in an area of Iraq not controlled by Saddam Hussein. As a result, a casual reader could easily assume this was proof that Hussein had a chemical weapons plant and was harboring al Qaeda.

bush staffer indicted but still employed

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: October 17, 2004 - October 23, 2004 Archives: This story concerns Larry Russell, that Bush-Cheney director in South Dakota who with several other staffers resigned amid allegations of voter fraud and was promptly rehired to run the Bush-Cheney GOTV in Ohio. South Dakota has now handed down indictments against those staffers, several of whom he brought with him to Ohio.

Are these people still employed by Bush-Cheney? Why?

liberal media

It's been enjoyable this week watching the newspaper endorsements rolling in for Kerry and Bush. Kerry is way ahead in both number of papers and in circulation. Here's a particularly fun fact:

Florida Newspapers:

KERRY:
St. Petersburg Times (G): 358,502
The Miami Herald (G): 325,032
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) (G): 268,927
The Palm Beach Post (G): 181,727
Daytona Beach News-Journal (G): 112,945
Florida Today (Melbourne) (G): 90,877
Bradenton Herald (B): 52,163

BUSH:

[crickets chirping]


That's right. According to Editor & Publisher, Bush hasn't received a single endorsement from a major Florida newspaper. One paper has refused to endorse anyone. The Tampa Tribune--described as having endorsed Republicans in every presidential election (but one) over the past 50 years--said it could not back Bush "because of his mishandling of the war in Iraq, his record deficit spending, his assault on open government and his failed promise to be a 'uniter not a divider' within the United States and the world." The paper had less than kind words for Kerry as well, saying his "Senate record stands at odds with our conservative principles".