that was equitable, reasonable, fair, and also the pipe dream of an idiot
with regard to a certain sporting event that happened this weekend, i -- oh, fuck it, i can't even. i was going to try and say something about boston sports fans, and how i know we look like assholes to the rest of the country, but you've gotta understand, every day most of us leave our rent-gouged apartments to slog through weather that's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer and utilize a public transportation system that's doing its best to make sure we all die in a fire, and besides the virtual democratic stranglehold on the state government, our sports teams are all we've got, you know? but nobody gives a shit about that, so: i'm heartbroken, but i don't wanna talk about it.
here is the story of how i voted:
(previously: my inaccessibly located polling place, let me show you it.)
after an entirely unhelpful conversation with the city elections department (*) i figured out that i could vote via in-person absentee ballot at city hall (also located in one of the least public transportation accessible parts of the city, but i digress). so, great, i'll just go down there after work any day before tuesday, and-- wait, what's that you say? city hall closes at 4pm every day but thursday? of course it does.
so last thursday night, i'm getting off the green line at lechmere so i can wait for the 88 bus and i realize that i have absolutely no flippin' idea who i want to vote for. i know it sounds i'm exaggerating for dramatic effect, but i'd spent so much time with the hassle figuring out how to vote, i'd forgotten that i hadn't really figured out how to, y'know, vote.
i said before, both hillary clinton and barack obama have disappointed me terribly when it comes to gay issues. (and even though i think that gavin newsom made a politically irresponsible decision four years ago, ugh, thanks a lot obama, i'm not crazy about this either.) but all gay stomach punches being equal, the more i learn about each of them, the more it's a toss-up. i like hillary's domestic health plan better. obama voted to ban cluster bombs. hillary voted for the war. maybe the only reason obama didn't vote for the war was that he wasn't in office at the time, but it still counts for something, right?
what i know for certain about hillary clinton and barack obama is that, when they were my age, she was a vietnam war protester and he was a community organizer. at one point in each of their lives, they were probably both as liberal as i am right now. and politicians get more conservative with age probably for lots of reasons: cynicism, fear of electability, whatever. (unless, of course, they are bernie sanders, allah bless him.) and so when it comes down it, i've got to believe obama, at age 46, is a lot closer to being his best political self just because he's had less time to forget how. maybe that's a dumb reason, but it's the only one i could come up with. so that's what i did.
(* disenfranchisement theater theme song, contd:
elections department: you can only vote by absentee ballot if you're going to be outside the city of somerville for the entire day.
me: i'm going to be outside the city of ... somerville for the entire day.
elections department: are you SURE?
me: ... yes?
elections department: because if someone sees you--
me: how is someone going to SEE me?
elections department: i just get the feeling that you're trying to pull one over on me.
me: just so we're clear, i'm trying to pull one over on you so i can vote. i'm not exactly trying to get out of a parking ticket here.)
david rees, the author of get your war on, wrote this in an editorial for the huffington post:
I'm 35 years old, and over the years, I've had two experiences in the voting booth: I've voted for politicians I really respected, who I knew could never win. And I've voted for politicians I didn't really respect, because I knew they could win. Tomorrow, I'm going to vote for a politician I really respect, who I know can win.
american friends, no matter who you vote for, i hope that when you vote, the same is true for you.
here is the story of how i voted:
(previously: my inaccessibly located polling place, let me show you it.)
after an entirely unhelpful conversation with the city elections department (*) i figured out that i could vote via in-person absentee ballot at city hall (also located in one of the least public transportation accessible parts of the city, but i digress). so, great, i'll just go down there after work any day before tuesday, and-- wait, what's that you say? city hall closes at 4pm every day but thursday? of course it does.
so last thursday night, i'm getting off the green line at lechmere so i can wait for the 88 bus and i realize that i have absolutely no flippin' idea who i want to vote for. i know it sounds i'm exaggerating for dramatic effect, but i'd spent so much time with the hassle figuring out how to vote, i'd forgotten that i hadn't really figured out how to, y'know, vote.
i said before, both hillary clinton and barack obama have disappointed me terribly when it comes to gay issues. (and even though i think that gavin newsom made a politically irresponsible decision four years ago, ugh, thanks a lot obama, i'm not crazy about this either.) but all gay stomach punches being equal, the more i learn about each of them, the more it's a toss-up. i like hillary's domestic health plan better. obama voted to ban cluster bombs. hillary voted for the war. maybe the only reason obama didn't vote for the war was that he wasn't in office at the time, but it still counts for something, right?
what i know for certain about hillary clinton and barack obama is that, when they were my age, she was a vietnam war protester and he was a community organizer. at one point in each of their lives, they were probably both as liberal as i am right now. and politicians get more conservative with age probably for lots of reasons: cynicism, fear of electability, whatever. (unless, of course, they are bernie sanders, allah bless him.) and so when it comes down it, i've got to believe obama, at age 46, is a lot closer to being his best political self just because he's had less time to forget how. maybe that's a dumb reason, but it's the only one i could come up with. so that's what i did.
(* disenfranchisement theater theme song, contd:
elections department: you can only vote by absentee ballot if you're going to be outside the city of somerville for the entire day.
me: i'm going to be outside the city of ... somerville for the entire day.
elections department: are you SURE?
me: ... yes?
elections department: because if someone sees you--
me: how is someone going to SEE me?
elections department: i just get the feeling that you're trying to pull one over on me.
me: just so we're clear, i'm trying to pull one over on you so i can vote. i'm not exactly trying to get out of a parking ticket here.)
david rees, the author of get your war on, wrote this in an editorial for the huffington post:
I'm 35 years old, and over the years, I've had two experiences in the voting booth: I've voted for politicians I really respected, who I knew could never win. And I've voted for politicians I didn't really respect, because I knew they could win. Tomorrow, I'm going to vote for a politician I really respect, who I know can win.
american friends, no matter who you vote for, i hope that when you vote, the same is true for you.