Ahhh

[shadowkat]

I voted. Got up at 6:15, voted at 7:10, was at work by 8 am. Line was about 15 minutes long. But I was early. The other district lines were much longer and by the time I left, people were standing in the hall. Was worried about it, so got it out of the way. Who did I vote for? Ahem. Have you been reading my livejournal?

Not going to watch the election returns, because I hate politics. Makes me edgy. Besides, did what I could do, ball is out of my hands. Will probably check before I go to bed and when I wake up. Also periodically throughout tomorrow. I *seriously* doubt we'll have an answer until sometime late tomorrow or maybe even Friday, if the last election is any example. These guys are in a dead heat in the polls and some of the states voting systems are, well, pretty confusing. My mother explained South Carolina's and I rolled my eyes. They have to fill out a long slip of paper, do the President separately from the other categories, if they are voting a certain party, and the issues separately, then slip the paper into a machine. Sigh. NYC's is much easier - we still do the old red lever machines. Which aren't perfect, but much better than the alternatives.

A fanfic recommendation even if you are like me and stopped reading the stuff: Check out the ATPO's Virtual S6 Angel Screenplays. Not your usual fanfic. Actually has some interesting philosophical ideas going on in it. Worth a look. Focus on how the writers explore the four characters and their inter-relationships with each other. Lots of potential here. Certainly the best "post" Not Fade Away fic I've seen. And that's saying a lot guys, since to be honest? I despise reading screenplays and had lost interest in fanfic.

Comments

Thanks, 'kat.

[cjlasky.livejournal.com]

Lot of work done there. Glad you liked it.

Don't even want to talk about the elections--but there's no choice. Bush winning the presidency was bad enough, but add to that: 1) democrats lose at least three seats in the Senate, including Daschle's; 2) 11 states pass gay marriage bans; 3) the prospect of another Supreme Court Justice in conservative hands. For the time being, America is officially balkanized. Yes, I'm pissed off about it. Yes, this will be reflected in my writing.

Re: Thanks, 'kat.

[arethusa2.livejournal.com]

What do you think this says about people's attitudes towards power and good and evil? What motivates them? How are they controlled? How can this control be undermined? Just what the heck is going on in people's minds?

"Look at you. Trying to do what's right, just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong...It's about power." "Lessons," of course, which was on this morning. The First Evil, the Senior Partners. They want control. So does Angel.

They keep sayng this Middle East war is about winning hearts and minds. Whose minds? I suspect it's ours-winning control over our minds.

What is Whedon trying to say with his shows? What does an atheist existentialist want? Speaking for myself, I want control over my own mind. Everything else flows from that.

We can't stop society from becoming Balkanized because it's not the problem. We are divided against ourselves. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." (Angel-as-a-house/hotel metaphor.) Tearing down walls, knocking down buildings, breaking down the barriers between worlds. (Buffy and Spike) And building a new world. (Serenity).

Well, that's my stream-of-consciousness post for the day!

likewise pissed off, when i'm not depressed

[anomster.livejournal.com]

Trying to use the anger to fight off the depression. I knew Kerry might not win, but I didn't think things would get even worse! And now they're gonna think they have a mandate.

As for cjl's list, at least on no. 1, I heard one more of the congressional seats went to the Dem after all (don't ask me which--I was so tired last night), so the Reps "only" picked up 2 seats net. But the bad news on 2 & 3 may be even worse than it looks: Some commentators think the results on state-level anti-gay-marriage resolutions will galvanize efforts to pass the Constitutional amdt. that failed earlier this year, & (why does nobody ever mention this?) the president doesn't just name new Supreme Court justices--he nominates candidates to fill every vacancy in the entire federal judiciary, & it'll be even harder for Dems to block any of them w/the Senate's balance shifted even further toward the other side.

There's an old saying among activists--I think it originated in the labor movement: Don't mourn, organize. There are a lot of groups doing a lot of good work out there, & they're gonna need a lot more help now. I was very impressed w/ACORN, a group I worked with in Philadelphia to do voter's rights canvassing for the 2 days before the election. I'm gonna borrow an idea from Lost, & give the depression a count of five to hold full sway. (OK, in this case it may be 5 hours, or even days.) Then I'll get back to doing what I can to hold back the tide. (Oh, wait--maybe I'm already doing that by writing this post!)

We've got our work cut out for us. Get out there & find your local Anne--whether she's running a homeless shelter, a soup kitchen, a legal aid office, an activist group on an issue that matters to you--& give her a hand.

Re: likewise pissed off, when i'm not depressed

[arethusa2.livejournal.com]

There is a ray of hope in all of this. The Democrats have been stirred up, and we don't have to clean up Bush's messes. I would have hated to see Kerry be forced solve the mess in the Middle East, and deal with the budget deficit problem and out of control government spending while fighting off constant attacks from Republicans.

you've got a point, but what worries me...

[anomster.livejournal.com]

...is how many people will be hurt in the meantime--whether economically, in the war, by discrimination (see monsieurxander's subthread on the ATPo board)--& how much damage will be done to the environment & international relations by the time we're in any position to do anything about it. We don't have to clean up Bush's messes now, but they'll be that much worse in another 4 years.

However, this was forwarded to me by someone on Howard Dean's Democracy for America email list:

"Montana, one of the reddest states, has a new Democratic governor.

First-time candidates for state legislatures from Hawaii to Connecticut beat incumbent Republicans. [so maybe if an anti-gay-marriage amendment passes, it won't be ratified]

And a record number of us voted to change course -- more Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history."

That's something. Not enough, but it's something.