The hour grows closer

I was up early this morning after four and one half hours of sleep. I had worked an eight hour shift last night at my seasonal call center job and didn't get in until after midnight.

My book proposal has occupied my day, from about 5:30am, until now. I did manage to get out for a brief walk with my trusty companion, Bernie. Other than that, it's been edit, edit, edit, trying to get my sample chapters up to a standard that an editor will sit up and say, "damn, this some good writing."

I should be ready at some point tomorrow to get my first mailing out to a publisher and thus begins the waiting game.

As I wrote the other night, it's somewhat frustrating to see non-writers touting books that anyone knows damn well, they didn't write. Writing is a grind, whether you are writing poetry, fiction, sci-fi, or nonfiction.

At this point, I'm running on fumes and not able to focus enough to write anything coherent on some of the topics I intended to touch on earlier in the day.

The simplest of pleasures

Sometimes in the midst of a world that appears crazy and off the track, you have to seize simple pleasures to get through another day. There's only so much political posturing, pain, death and distruction that one can keep abreast of.

For me, music is one of those simple pleasures. Whether I’m listening to a new artist, a groove-worn favorite, or even banging out some rudimentary chords on my trusty Yamaha acoustic, it’s hard for me not to feel better with a song in my head and hopefully in my heart.

I’ve discovered a new way to enjoy more music in my life. While I’ve become a fan of internet radio through WMFU, I just stumbled upon 3wk.com. I had heard my friend Jose of Spouse make mention of the station in the past, but while reading through his tour diary from Spouse’s just completed tour, I learned that they recorded some tracks while in St. Louis for 3wk.

Thanks to my newfound internet radio companion, I’ve been able to listen to a slew of indie music ranging from new artists (for me) like the wanteds, Tegan and Sara, The Fiery Furnaces and Bright Eyes, as well as old faves like Guided by Voices, Wilco, PJ Harvey and The Mountain Goats.

Speaking of simple pleasures, there is nothing more relaxing than curling up on the couch with that someone special, both of you reading your books, while the snow falls quietly on the deck outside the window.

A quiet dinner with the one you love (and haven't seen all week), conversation, a glass or two of wine and all seems right in this little corner of civilization.

The world may be going to hell in a handbasket, but for today, I’m choosing to enjoy pleasure and tune out the pain and exploitation for a few hours.

Wanted: An opposition party

Yesterday’s events in the well of the Congress provided a glimpse of how a democracy is supposed to operate. While I certainly wish more in the Congress had been more courageous and voted against certification of the electoral vote, the 32 who did have the courage to vote their convictions have provided a blueprint for the rest of their colleagues. While it’s disappointing to me that others in the Senate didn’t follow the principled leadership of two women, one Jewish and the other an African-American, I'm not surprised that fellow senators like privileged white males Ted Kennedy, Frank Lautenberg and others, didn't think it important enough to make a real statement and push this into the mainstream media and ultimately, faces of the apathetic masses. While there was actually some debate and discussion on the subject, the fact that the vote, particularly in the Senate, indicates that the heartbeat of democracy is barely beating.

To deny that there were widespread irregularities and examples of fraud during November's vote, is to deny the evidence that is available for anyone willing to take a few minutes to review it. Organizations like Black Box Voting, No Stolen Elections, as well as the investigative journalism on the subject being done by Greg Palast has shown light into the dark corners of our failed voting processes. What galls me the most is that ordinary citizens and others, linked by technology, are more educated on the scope of the issue than our paid representatives in Washington, save for a few. Possibly, it’s less an issue of education with some and more of an issue of outright corruption. When I think of not one Republican coming forward to show support for Boxer and her Democratic colleagues in the House, I am inclined to attribute it more to the latter than the former. The handful of Republicans that should have taken a stand like McCain, Ron Paul and even my own senator from Maine, Olympia Snowe, toed the party line like the obedient sheep that they truly are.

Regardless whether their candidate won or not, when voters can no longer be assured that their votes will count, honor and rectitude would dictate the issue receiving bipartisan support. How can we continue to justify the tragic deaths of our young men and women in Iraq in the name of democracy, if we aren’t vigilant on our own shores to preserve its integrity? Unfortunately, it was obvious to me yesterday that Republicans care little about democracy now that they have control of the three branches of government, as well as the complicit support of the mainstream media.

As Palast so aptly illustrated in his book, the voting irregularities in Florida during the 2000 election disenfranchised large numbers of African-Americans and other minority voters. During the past election in November, minorities were once again subject to having to deal with lack of voting machines, long lines and waits to vote, archaic procedures, to even having their votes thrown out. Interestingly, Republicans don’t seem to have the will to address the issue because minorities, particularly African-Americans and those who live in the poorest areas of the U.S., predominantly vote Democratic. This is a form of racism that shouldn’t be present in 2005, yet it appears that the Republican Party has now become the advocates of Jim Crow in our country.

During the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960’s, the Dixiecrats in the south were the ones perpetuating racist policy, segregation and Jim Crow laws. Now, 50 years later, the roles have flipped and the Republican Party is now the proponent of racism, bigotry and Jim Crow in our country.

Last night I watched the Congressional proceedings on C-Span. Sitting in my living room, I witnessed Republican after Republican speaker get up and condemn the machinations of democracy and speak in favor of African-American disenfranchisement. As I listened to Republican pieces-of-shit like Tom Delay, the most obvious charlatan in the chamber talk about the Democrats’ "spite, obstructionism and conspiracy theories," I thought it would be more appropriate for he and his fellow Republicans like Trent Lott and Bill Frist, as well as George Voinovich (who sold out his African-American constituents) to come to the podium wearing their white hoods. Delay, who is the poster boy for the right-wing, Jeebus-loving, "left behind" fundamentalists who voted en masse for the Fuhrer Bush, permeates the chamber of the Congress with the stench of hell and death whenever he rises to speak.

While the gauntlet was being thrown down by 32 courageous champions of truth and integrity, other members of Congress continued the business as usual approach to validating the agenda of plutocracy. Given the opportunity to act like an opposition party, the Democrats, including newly elected Senator Barack Obama, tucked their tails between their legs and ran. Democracy for all intents and purposes is finished, at least in the short term and we are in for one hell of a rocky road the next four years.

I want to end my monologue by saying how disgusted I was with both John Kerry and John Edwards. Both of these men were absent in voting on yesterday’s certification. Both of them invalidated the toil and commitment of time that tens of thousands of ordinary citizens put in trying to get them elected. To not be a part of the debate on one of the primary issues of our electoral system yesterday proved to me how unsuited both of them are to lead.

32 out of 530

For only the second time since 1877, a challenge was issued to the counting of the electoral votes for president. The last time it occurred was in January 1969 when the two chambers were forced to interrupt their joint vote-counting session and meet separately due to a North Carolina elector designated for Richard Nixon, deciding instead to cast his vote for Independent challenger George Wallace. Both chambers agreed to allow the vote for Wallace.

A handful of members from the House and a lone Senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer (D-California) showed courage and integrity in trying to bring the voting irregularities to the floor for debate. When Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) and Boxer formally protested the Ohio votes, it forced the House and Senate to convene seperately and debate the irregularities.

While the final votes on certification were not close at all, with the House voting 267-31 to uphold the Ohio votes (John Edwards was absent) and the Senate voting 74-1 in favor of the Ohio electoral votes, with Boxer being the lone Senator showing any courage and willingness to dissent. Democratic challenger for president John Kerry also was absent from the voting.

I've posted a link to the roll call votes for the House and the Senate.

While the Democrats didn't show themselves to be much of an opposition party today, the Republicans were absolutely lacking in any integrity, with not one GOP representative or senator breaking ranks and challenging the massive irregularities endemic during the the November vote for president.

Stolen election?

Here's an interesting website that keeps the door open concerning November's election results. There is also plenty of information on the site that might give you fodder, should you care to involve yourself in the process, to reform our elections.

What? Elections need reforming? In America??

Ah, just leave me alone!