Eclecticism

I was only able to watch the first few minutes of the State of the Union tonight before customers came in and I had to actually work for my paycheck (such a sorry state of affairs, really). I did, however, get one laugh out of what I saw.

I’m used to the apparently mandatory applause after every sentence (though whether they’re applauding what was said, or the fact that he managed to get through one more sentence without stumbling, I’m not sure about). I was quite pleasantly surprised tonight when after mentioning that the Patriot Act expires in the near future, the Democratic portion of Congress interrupted Bush’s speech at that point to start applauding.

Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment, but seeing Bush’s annoyance as he turned toward the applauding people and shook his head (“No, no, that’s not where you’re supposed to clap! You missed your cue!”) was priceless.

I’ll get to go over the transcript of the speech and hopefully catch an archived webcast after I get home tonight. Until then, though, I’ll just carry that moment around in my head for the rest of the evening.

Highly recommended reading: The American Prospect’s America as a One-Party State.

America has had periods of single-party dominance before. It happened under FDR’s New Deal, in the Republican 1920s and in the early 19th-century “Era of Good Feeling.” But if President Bush is re-elected, we will be close to a tipping point of fundamental change in the political system itself. The United States could become a nation in which the dominant party rules for a prolonged period, marginalizes a token opposition and is extremely difficult to dislodge because democracy itself is rigged. This would be unprecedented in U.S. history.

iTunes: “Liar (1991)” by Queen from the album Queen (1973, 6:26).

After paying no more than cursory attention to my computer and the news since the middle of last week thanks to a rather nasty little cold bug, I’m trying to skim through everything I’ve missed as quickly as possible.

All the big news right now is about yesterday’s Iowa caucus, with Kerry coming out on top, Edwards coming out of nowhere to take the number two spot, and Dean ending up in a surprisingly distant third place. As a Dean supporter, it’s a bit of a bummer, but at the same time, this is only a first step, and there’s still quite a bit of jostling to go before the final nominee is chosen. While Kerry has never really caught my interest, I should probably find out a little more about Edwards, who I don’t really know much about at all.

One thing I’m curious about, though, and have yet to find hard numbers on, is the turnout for the caucus. In the weeks preceding yesterday’s event, I got the impression that as dismal as voter turnout is for major elections, turnout for the caucuses is generally even lower, usually consisting only of the really die-hard political junkies who are paying attention to all this stuff this early in the game. Yesterday, while skimming over news reports and when I caught a little bit of a news report while on my lunch break, I got the impression that the turnout in Iowa was surprisingly large, with many more people showing up to make their voice heard than anyone expected (which probably influenced the final tallies).

If this is true, I think it’s an absolutely great thing. I’ve said for a while that the only good thing I can really attribute to the Bush administration is that it’s gotten a lot more people paying attention to and willing to participate in the political process, and if we’re getting record turnout for the caucuses, this could be a strong indication of just that. If people are tired enough of Bush’s leadership to show up in surprisingly large numbers to be a part of the process of finding the best candidate to oust Bush from office nearly a year before the general elections, it makes me even more optimistic that come November, we’ll be putting a Democrat back in office again.

It’s not often that political news makes me feel optimistic these days. I like it when it happens, though.

(The caveat being, of course, that if I’ve misinterpreted the bits of news that I’ve skimmed over and the numbers aren’t all that large, it may not be that newsworthy after all — but I’ll continue to keep my fingers crossed.)

iTunes: “Hollow Man” by Kula Shaker from the album K (1996, 19:26).

The Washington State Caucuses are coming up on February 7th. This is everyone’s chance to help choose who will run against George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential election. Only about 40,000 people are expected to participate in the caucus statewide, so if you go, your vote counts a whole lot. It should be interesting, fun, and generally take less than an hour, so you should all go!

Who: Anyone may go. Those who consider themselves Democrats may speak and vote.

When: Saturday, February 7th at 10:00 AM.

Where: Each caucus will be held somewhere near where you live. To find your caucus first find out what Legislative District you live in. This can be done using the WA State Legislature District Information site. Then call or email your Legislative District Chair, whom you can find at this list of District Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

For those political geeks who know which precinct they are in (or have a voter registration card and read their precinct number off of it) you can find exactly where your caucus is at the Precinct Caucus Locator.

What: You basically get together with a bunch of other people, talk about the candidates for a while, and then get into groups based on who you like. Then you pick someone from your group to represent all of your opinions at the County level. If you want a bit more information, you can Precinct Caucuses 101 and get a little more data. If you are interested in a lot more data the Democratic party is running training sessions all month on this subject. Ask your Legislative District chair ASAP if you are interested.

I’m excited about this upcoming time to vote, and I hope you all are too! If your Legislative District chair doesn’t get back to you after a day or two, call or write them again or try the vice-chair. If you have any questions, or need further help, feel free to contact [alexander_west].

P.S. Getting the word out about this is important. Please feel free to copy this to your journal/weblog so everyone else can see it.

(via the LiveJournal Seattle Community)

iTunes: “Come On Eileen” by Save Ferris from the album It Means Everything (1997, 4:10).

Will pointed out an article in today’s Seattle Times about Army Reserve Maj. Grant Haugen having the unenviable and difficult task of letting the families of his unit know that the unit’s tour of duty has been extended — for the third time.

Back in the United States for a short leave, Haugen had the unenviable task of telling family members of his Army Reserve unit that its stay in Iraq had been extended for a third time. The news didn’t sit well with nerve-worn relatives who were already counting the days until the unit’s homecoming.

Alpha Company, a 200-member Chinook helicopter unit based at Fort Lewis, is among the first companies to have their tours in Iraq extended beyond one year.

One thing really jumped out at me as I was reading the article, though. As the families expressed their dismay and frustration with the situation, Maj. Haugen commiserated with them, and at one point, said the following:

“It’s not up to soldiers to question our orders,” he said. “That’s up to us as voters.”

For the first part, he’s very right — as soldiers, it is their duty to do their jobs and follow the orders handed down to them by their commanding officers. It was the second part of his statement that really struck me, not because of what he said, but that he said it at all, and that it was reported.

In today’s ultra-patriotic, with us or against us atmosphere, here we have an Army Major essentially letting the families of his soldiers know that the best way they can support their husbands and protest the repeated extensions is by exercising their right as U.S. citizens to vote — and if the people in power aren’t doing what you think they out to be, you vote them out.

Something tells me Maj. Haugen won’t be casting his vote for Pres. Bush come November.

iTunes: “Keep Hope Alive (There is Hope)” by Crystal Method, The from the album Keep Hope Alive (1996, 5:42).

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the voting booths…

He’s baaaaack!

Not this year — please not this year. I’ve rambled about my reasons for feeling this way fairly recently, so I won’t beleaguer the point, but…danger, Will Robinson, danger!

I don’t have time to rant about this like I’d really like to. As far as I’m concerned, though, getting Bush out of office should be the number one priority — and Nader just isn’t the answer. He wasn’t last election, and he won’t be this election.

Anybody But Bush continues to be my battle cry.

iTunes: “I’m Afraid of Americans (v3)” by Bowie, David from the album I’m Afraid of Americans (1997, 6:06).