Obama Supporters - Stay On Target

Stay on target - go vote on (or before) Nov 4. Don't let this happen to us!

Who Is American?

There’s quite a lot that Colin Powell said during his endorsement of Barack Obama that spoke to me, but in particular his mention of the current attempt on the Republican side of things to equate being Muslim with not being American got my attention. On the attempt to suggest Obama is a Muslim — or the tacit acceptance on the GOP side when such a suggestion occurs — Powell said that the right answer was that the suggestion is wrong, and that Obama is a Christian. But then he said: “The really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being Muslim in America? No, that’s not America.” And then he talked about Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, Muslim, born in New Jersey, who was killed serving in Iraq, and how he saw a photo of Khan’s mother at her son’s grave, feeling the grief mothers feel when their children are lost at war, and how the grave of Spec. Khan showed not a cross or a star of David but the crescent and star of Islam. Spec. Khan, who had received a bronze star, is buried with full honors at Arlington. “He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life,” Powell said. “Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way.” Yes. Reprinted from John Scalzi's Whatever.

YouTube and PBS Want You to Video Your Vote

Online-video site YouTube and PBS have teamed up to create Video Your Vote, an election day project that asks you to record and submit your experience at the polls on election day. Want to participate? Better make sure polling place photography is legal in your state.

Don't Mess With Scientists

If there's one rule in election-year politics, it's this: Don't mess with the science crowd. OK, labor unions and the NRA matter too, but John McCain may want to brush up on his stars and planets after Tuesday night's debate.

In the debate, McCain portrayed Barack Obama as an excessive spender, and he punctuated his attack (twice) with this example:

"[Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"

Turns out, a lot of people think we do. This is no ordinary overhead projector from your 5th grade classroom. The blog Cosmic Variance sums it up:

"If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting the Adler Planetarium, you'd probably guess that the 'overhead projector' he's talking about is the spectacular 'Sky Theater' -- one of the most engrossing, gorgeous venues for displaying visuals about space."

The science community is notoriously tight-knit, especially when rallying to a cause, and boy are they are rallying to this one. Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log has a great summary of the uproar:

-"For McCain to use this as a political zinger is insulting..." (Bad Astronomy)

-"Planetariums are Bridges to the Future, and America would be a much better place if all the congressional earmarks went to projects like them." (The Perfect Silence)

-"The logo for Senator John McCain's campaign has a star in the middle. I wonder what his guide star is? It can't be the same one that ten million children have seen at the Adler Planetarium.

Why should anyone want their star to dim?" (Discovery Space)

The Adler Planetarium even issued a statement, noting that the request, ironically, was not even funded:

"To clarify, the Adler Planetarium requested federal support -- which was not funded -- to replace the projector in its historic Sky Theater, the first planetarium theater in the Western Hemisphere.... To remain competitive and ensure national security, it is vital that we educate and inspire the next generation of explorers to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math."

Linking a planetarium to national security may be a bit of a stretch, but the point is clear: McCain probably shouldn't count on the "science vote" this year.

The Advantages of Absentee Voting

In a previous post, I discussed how absentee voting can save you time. I have now found a new benefit of absentee voting - the internet. I received my absentee ballot a few days ago. Over the weekend, I opened the packet, went through all the contents, and prepared to vote. There were several elections for judges which I had no information about. I had never heard of some of the judges on the ballot, so I decided to do some research. Googling each judge's name (for example - judge sandra day o'connor) took me to political and non-political pages on wikipedia, the elections board, and other websites with detailed information about the judges' voting histories, interests, and stances on issues that are important to me. For several elections, this made a huge difference in my decision of who to vote for. If I had been in a voting booth, I would not have been able to do this research. I would have been forced to either abstain from voting for that particular election, or potentially vote for a judge with whom I disagree. One more reason to vote absentee.

Sequoia's Optical Scan Vote Counting Machines Giving Different Results Every Time

Wired is running a long, and somewhat scary, report about the ongoing situation in Palm Beach, where every time the votes are counted, a different vote count comes out. A test was set up by the local newspaper to scan a sampling of ballots, and every time the results of those tests were different -- sometimes in extreme ways. Quite often, the machines seemed to count perfectly marked ballots as invalid, while at other times it accepted votes from invalid ballots. In other words, the machines basically don't work. And we're relying on them in many areas for the election coming up in a month. Isn't that comforting?

Sarah Palin - Working With Her Daughter

Things Sarah Palin Can Name

That's right, there are a few things Sarah Palin can actually name, such as her favorite characters from "Top Gun" - Maverick. My favorite list: VP Candidates I Could Beat in a Debate

• Carrot Top
• Trig
• Ms. Teen South Carolina
• Stephen Hawking in a power outage
• Dan Quayle
• Joe Biden

Find these lists and more at Things Sarah Palin Can Name

I'm Confused...

Ah, now I'm not confused :D

Vote Early - Vote Absentee

Already know who you're voting for in the upcoming U.S. election, and you don't want to spend Election Day standing in line at the polls? In many states you can send in an absentee ballot by mail, without having an official excuse for being absent. It's called "no excuse absentee voting," and it's allowed in 28 states. Laws around absentee voting vary from state to state—in some you need a notary or witness when you sign your ballot, for instance, and deadlines vary—but it can save you time come November if you want to get the deed done pre-Election Day. See the Early Voting Information Center's state-by-state reference chart to get the details of your home state. Florida makes it easy to register for absentee voting. You need to send an email (or snail mail) with some personally identifying information (such as driver license number and voter id number).