It's Election Day in the USA Tuesday, MKF!!! 11/08/05

[masterjendu]

It's really an outrage to me that so many people don't vote

I'm with ya Holley. I've never been too political but I've always been a voter. The significance of this simple freedom we take for granted was really hammered home for me when, in 2000, I was in Amsterdam at an exhibit of the winners of the World Press Photo contest. I came across a series of photos from Indonesia in 1999 that depicted a man in a rural setting running along a road towards three men with machine guns. The series culminated in a photo of the man lying dead on the road in a pool of his own blood, shot for attempting to vote in what was to be Indonesia's first election in four decades. That image has stayed with me.

So, get out and vote, Kittens; not just because there are people being killed to do so, but also because as Americans, your vote can actually make a difference (to the world).

Jen

[Foomatic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07kO9TtHYzQ

Seriously. Watch it to the end.

[kisstheviolets]

http://www.alcatraz.us/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=342

Seriously. Watch it to the end.

uhm... fooy... that's a link to new year's eve cruises to alcatraz. are you inviting us along if we vote?

topic: i keep forgetting to finish my ballot. we vote strictly by mail here in oregon and i started filling out my ballot last week and totally lost interest when it came to the candidates for "east multnomah soil water and conservaton". yawn. i need to get it finished today though so i can get my chick off my back. she works in politics and is on wacked-out overdrive about the election.

i'm going to go do some phonebanking for "defend oregon" today (if you live in OR make sure you vote NO on 64). the chick's ex-girlfriend/best friend works for them and i promised to help. should be fun!

i just can't wait for tuesday to be over with already.

[Foomatic]

Wait, what? Dah. Edited the link. LOL.

[Willowtree252]

I will vote for the lesser of two evils Obama is not right for president in my opinion he needs a lot more experience it is wild that you cant get a regular job with on the job training but you can if your president but on the other hand we will go to hell in a hand basket if McCain Palin is elected so lets pray this proves me wrong.

[love_2003]

I voted today!!!
I had to wait in line for 3 1/2 hours and it only took me all of 2minutes to actually cast my vote. It was fun though waiting, the people that were working the polls brought us water, donuts, and pizza.



p.s.
I was able to attend the rally when Obama came to Wicker park in Highland, IN on Friday Oct 31st. I was standing next to the stage and there was only one person in front of me. I was able to get some good pictures and also shake his hand when he came by me. I thought it was exciting.

[Millerchip77]

the people that were working the polls brought us water, donuts, and pizza.

Wow - we don't even get a glass of water!

Okay so I'm English and realise that thought the outcome of the election effects what happens here, particularly our foreign policy, it doesn't have the same impact as it will for a lot of you fellow Kittens. I have though become completely obsessed with the election and am planning to stay up all night Tuesday to watch the drama unfold (we're having 'American treats' to keep us going - Bud, hotdogs, fries and popcorn). I REALLY hope that Obama wins, not only because, I feel, that it is potentially world-changing for a black man to be elected president of a country where little over 50 years ago Rosa Parks stood up on the bus. One of our Sunday papers stated that this could be America's 'Mandela moment'. I also think that he will do a good job - Tony Blair was little known when elected - I know he screwed everything up with Iraq then refusing to resign but he did also do a lot of good - for example my beautiful Kiki and I were able to have a Civil Partnership this year because of the law change he made. I think Obama will do good things for the LGBT community in America. My fear is that if McCain gets elected he'll peg it after five minutes and then Bealzibub, sorry, Sarah Palin will take over and start nuking...

[Dorothy]

Sarah should go back to looking good and shutting up IMO violence never solves anything, maybe temporairily, but in the end the other party will just get more angry and before you know you'll have a nuke-a-palooza. Greed never solves anything either, everyone should have enough to live decently and any additional money is just bonus, not worth hurting others over.

does the happy dance I can get married for pretty much as long as I can remember

I've voted every time I had the right to, 1 time I couldn't go myself but I was able to transfer my vote, the other 2 times I took a girl in a wheelchair with me. Though she had people taking care of her, no one would bring her to the voting office and she couldn't roll herself because it was 2 miles away and there was roadwork on the way over there so if she went alone she would be in for a hell of a detour.

Everyone should vote, because if everyone doesn't, the freaky people (on both sides of politics) get more votes, because they are obsessed, and not always with the nicest things.

Many countries are effected by America, we should all get voting rights

[maudmac]

I have though become completely obsessed with the election and am planning to stay up all night Tuesday to watch the drama unfold (we're having 'American treats' to keep us going - Bud, hotdogs, fries and popcorn).

Really?!? That's hilarious. I love it! My apologies for the sorry state of our "beer." What are you putting on your hotdogs? We fight over here a lot about which part of the country has the best hotdogs, so I'm curious. I only eat veggie dogs these days, but I am still hardcore about what makes a proper hot dog.

I REALLY hope that Obama wins, not only because, I feel, that it is potentially world-changing for a black man to be elected president of a country where little over 50 years ago Rosa Parks stood up on the bus.

What Rosa Parks did that day was refuse to stand up, that is, she refused to surrender her seat to a white person.

I'm in total agreement, though - it's nice to see race go from something that could get you arrested, assaulted, or killed to something that's no barrier to you being elected President.

I was very sorry to read today about his grandmother dying.

We don't have any kind of early voting here in Alabama, so we're all going to be standing in line at the polls tomorrow. Yay for record turnout!

[Millerchip77]

Of course Rosa Parks refused to stand up - my mate named her daughter after her and everything...It's the excitement.

What are you putting on your hotdogs? We fight over here a lot about which part of the country has the best hotdogs, so I'm curious. I only eat veggie dogs these days, but I am still hardcore about what makes a proper hot dog.

I think the link you sent me is the most exciting thing I have ever seen and has blown my hot-dog toppings options wide open. It was gonna be just onions, tomato relish, corn relish and sliced olives but wow! The Arizona bacon-wrapped style sound amazing, the LA selection was, frankly, pornographic and the Conneticut sauerkraut and bacon topped dog in a toasted bun had me salivating...What's your position in the debate?

As for your 'beer' - it is only my commitment to hosting an 'authentic' election sit in that allows me to drink it

Anyway - Go Obama! it looks already like a foregone conclusion and I only hope that if elected he comes good on all the promises he's made.

I wish that I could get so excited over the next UK election but the choice of Gordon Brown (backs down on every issue) or David Cameron (so posh his face must hurt) though not quite Hobson's choice is close enough to...

[Dorothy]

Tomorrow is my birthday, I'd like a president that's no older than my father and a whole lotta lesbian mariages in California prettyplease...

oh, and a pony and a nice woman and a big cake with pink frosting and a WII fit and a new digital camera that's even bigger than mine and a set of lenses and a new house and a...

well, just the first two wishes will do

[maudmac]

I think the link you sent me is the most exciting thing I have ever seen and has blown my hot-dog toppings options wide open. It was gonna be just onions, tomato relish, corn relish and sliced olives but wow!

Tomato relish? Corn relish? Olives?!? For real?

I am kidding. As you can see from that hot dog link, there's really very little that no one would put on a hot dog here. You're only limited by your imagination.

But I do have some personal rules about condiments and toppings. These rules apply to me and no one else, so I'm not judging other hot dog people. For me, only these are acceptable: mayo, ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, onions, chili, and relish (pickle only). Not all together, though! Only in these combinations: mayo/ketchup, mayo/mustard, mayo/onion, chili/onion, chili/onion/mustard, sauerkraut only, relish only. It is not acceptable to combine relish or sauerkraut with anything else. Also, it is never acceptable to put any kind of cheese on a hot dog! Things like tomatoes, peppers...no, no, no. Never. About those slaw dogs, I am Southern and they aren't lying that Southerners love cole slaw on hot dogs, but this is abominable to me. I loooooove cole slaw, but not on hot dogs. Cole slaw requires biscuits. Perhaps if someone makes hot-dog-bun-shaped biscuits...

Not technically a hot dog, probably, but the best hot dog thing to me has always been and will always be the corndog.

On topic: It's almost 6 am and I've been up writing all night for NaNoWriMo, so I think I'm just going to stay up, get ready, and head to the polls. They open at 7. I'm so excited!

[kisstheviolets]

i finally finished filling out my ballot and am dropping it off to the elections office this morning on my way to work! woohoo! i'm watching the returns and playing trivia tonight at a gay bar/restaurant in portland called "crush". can't wait!

get out there and vote, people!

[ophelia11]

On topic: It's almost 6 am and I've been up writing all night for NaNoWriMo, so I think I'm just going to stay up, get ready, and head to the polls. They open at 7. I'm so excited!

Okay, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. I had similar feelings when I was 6 on Christmas Eve and wanted a My Little Pony. I'm hoping today has better and more lasting results.

Even my cat was all enthused for election day and started squawking at 7:15 at the top of his lungs. I voted early, so his encouragement was less than appreciated.

[dlline]

I was also up and out the door reasonably early. Got to the firehouse where I vote at about 8:20 and there were only a couple of people ahead of me. We were in and out in about 10 minutes.

I'm really excited about sitting down and watching the results tonight. Since Virginia is a swing state, I'm dying to see what happens. Hey, by the end of the day, I might actually live in a blue state. How cool is that?

[LesbianJedi87]

I voted! First time ever! I'm well excited!

[ophelia11]

I'm pumped too! This whole work thing is drastically interfering with my need for election news (not that there's much to report right now).

Ohio is a swing state too and has gone red ever since I've been voting. My fingers are crossed that we'll be blue at the end of the night for the first time in a very long while. I hope my Ohio buddies don't let me down.

Congrats to all the newbie voters too!!!

[maudmac]

Yay for voting! I don't think I will live long enough to ever see Alabama go blue, but I was still really excited by all the voting drama this morning. I had to wait in line over an hour! I have been voting at that polling place for a good ten years now and I have never seen a line there. It went out the building, around the side, and way into the parking lot. It was really awesome.

And then I had some errands to run and some shopping to do and it seemed like EVERYONE was wearing their "I Voted" stickers. I had the best conversation with the cashier at Walgreens. We talked about the economy and gas prices and history and it was a great bonding thing. All because of our "I Voted" stickers.

I also learned today that Election Day = Free Coffee Day! I am sooooo caffeinated because everywhere is offering free coffee to people who voted. When did this start? I swear, I did not know about this phenomenon!

Weather's super-nice here, too.

I have a good feeling. Maybe I'm just loopy from not sleeping, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Vote, Kittens, vote!

[Millerchip77]

It's 11:45pm, I have a cold beer in my hand and I just ate my first hot-dog (with Sauerkraut and mustard - thanks for the tip Maudmac it was delicious! 15 mins to first result...

[Feena]

I'm in the UK and watching the results on Sky News. No hotdogs and Bud though - chocolate and wine

[Millerchip77]

I'm in the UK and watching the results on Sky News. No hotdogs and Bud though - chocolate and wine

Cheers fellow Brit! I'm watching Dimbleby et al on BBC - Obama rocks. Why aren't our elections this exciting?

[ophelia11]

Okay I'm freakishly impatient today. Our polls just closed 5 minutes ago and I NEED results.

I do like the map with the scrolling updates on Yahoo. I keep watching it like it's a football game and am disappointed the results haven't changed in the last 35 minutes.

Cheers to the other addicts!

[Millerchip77]

[quote="ophelia11"]Okay I'm freakishly impatient today. Our polls just closed 5 minutes ago and I NEED results. quote]

Where are you ophelia? I'll watch with interest. My girl has flaked already - I am wired though - I drank about 60 cups of coffee and feel like I've taken speed!

[The_Marinaford_report]

i think i will be wasted before this is all over this waiting is killing me, but i am glued to the tv switching back and forth between CNN and the fox news channel and of course the internet trying to keep up with it.

[ophelia11]

Millerchip77 - I'm in Ohio. Obama is squeaking by right now but there's less than 5% reported in.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Feena]

They say on Sky thta he's won Ohio. Do you reckon CNN or Fox is better? I can watch them on satellite.

[ophelia11]

I'm a blue state, I'm a blue state, I'm a blue state!!!!

I tend to go with CNN over FOX on most things. We checked CNN awhile ago and they were behind in reporting to our regular network channels which is crazy.

It's nights like these I miss Tim Russert.

[dlline]

Yeah, Ohio!

I'm proud of my native state... now if my adopted state of Virginia would get called, I'd feel a lot better.

[ophelia11]

Hey lady!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya! Sending warm, fuzzy, blue thoughts your way!

[onyxsundrops]

Sweet! I am so glad I voted absentee for Ohio. It's about time we're blue!