Early Voting - Vegas Style

How cool is this? If only we could all vote early.



I borrowed this picture from the NY Times. It was taken by Isaac Brekken (for The New York Times).

If you can't see the picture well enough, it's a bank of slot machines, voting machines, and routine groceries in a store in Henderson.


See the accompanying article.

Powell: "This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

General Colin Powell was excellent on "Meet the Press" yesterday. To both Dan and I, the most phenomenal moment was not when Powell endorsed Obama, but when he said what few have been willing to say about the whole Muslim rumor (emphasis below added):

"And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life."

Read the full transcript, from which this was taken, or watch the interview.

Hypocrisy Abounds

This message is approved only by Chrissie, not Dan, who is tired of my ranting about the Presidential election and Republican hypocrisy (Yes - both parties do it, but the R's do it worse!).

I don't have a source for this, but it is making the rounds on the internet (thank you, Court, for forwarding it to me!). Those of you reading our blog probably already know this, but maybe you can use it to point it out to others who don't. We're looking at a long four years (and then perhaps another 8 with President Palin - YIKES!).

* If you're a minority and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "token hire."
* If you're a conservative and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "game changer."

* Black teen pregnancies? A "crisis" in black America .
* White teen pregnancies? A "blessed event."

* If you grow up in Hawaii you're "exotic."
* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're the quintessential "American story."

* Similarly, if you name you kid Barack you're "unpatriotic."
* Name your kid Track, you're "colorful."

* If you're a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fully vetting the individual you're "reckless."
* A Republican who doesn't fully vet is a "maverick."

* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer growing your organization from a staff of 1 to 13 and your budget from $70,000 to $400,000, then become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new African American voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, then spend nearly 8 more years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, becoming chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, then spend nearly 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of nearly 13 million people, sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you are woefully inexperienced.
* If you spend 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, then spend 20 months as the governor of a state with 650,000 people, then you've got the most executive experience of anyone on either ticket, are the Commander in Chief of the Alaska military and are well qualified to lead the nation should you be called upon to do so because your state is the closest state to Russia.

* If you are a Democratic male candidate who is popular with millions of people you are an "arrogant celebrity."
* If you are a popular Republican female candidate you are "energizing the base."

* If you are a younger male candidate who thinks for himself and makes his own decisions you are "presumptuous."
* If you are an older male candidate who makes last minute decisions you refuse to explain, you are a "shoot from the hip" maverick.

* If you are a candidate with a Harvard law degree you are "an elitist-out of touch" with the real America .
* If you are a legacy (dad and granddad were admirals) graduate of Annapolis with multiple disciplinary infractions you are a hero.

* If you manage a multi-million dollar nationwide campaign, you are an "empty suit."
* If you are a part time mayor of a town of 7000 people, you are an "experienced executive."

* If you go to a south side Chicago church, your beliefs are "extremist."
* If you believe in creationism and don't believe global warming is man made, you are "strongly principled."

* If you have been married to the same woman with whom you've been wed to for 19 years and raising 2 beautiful daughters with, you're "risky.
*If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a
Christian.

* If you're a black single mother of 4 who waits for 22 hours after her water breaks to seek medical attention, you're an irresponsible parent, endangering the life of your unborn child.
* But if you're a white married mother who waits 22 hours, you're spunky.

* If you're a 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton, the right-wing press calls you "First dog."
* If you're a 17-year old pregnant unwed daughter of a Republican, the right-wing press calls you "beautiful" and "courageous."

* If you teach responsible age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If you teach abstinence only in sex education, you get teen parents.

Pick Your President Contest

The Washington Post is hosting a "Pick Your President" contest where you predict who will win what state, and thus, the entire election. Chrissie's picks - entitled "Who Needs Florida!?" - are below. Note that Dan does not approve this message (though the competitive side of him might have to do his own map now!).

<p><strong>><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/">2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election and enter to win a $500 prize.</p>

Poor Jeb.

(It's been an unusually busy day for the staff of Just Bloggin'. To put this post into context, see the posts below.)

Jeb speaks on school-voucher ruling.
(http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/09/jeb-speaks-on-s.html)

Former Gov. Jeb Bush has ended his long silence Wednesday over the school-voucher amendments the Florida Supreme Court struck from the November ballot.

"It is extremely disappointing the Florida Supreme Court ruled today to deny millions of Florida voters the right to make their voices heard on improving the quality of education in our state," Bush said in a statement released by his foundation.

"Florida is facing serious challenges. Our economy experienced its first quarter of negative growth in 16 years. Tax revenues are declining.

“Now, more than ever, Floridians should have a voice in determining – not just how much they are taxed – but how their tax dollars are spent."

Bush suffered one of his greatest political defeats in January 2006 when the high court ruled his Opportunity Scholarship voucher program ran afoul of the state Constitution's requirement for creating a high-quality free public school system.

Amendments 7 and 9 were designed to erode that constitutional underpinning of the court's action ,as well as striking language prohibiting state funding for "sectarian institutions" that a lower court had also used to rule against the vouhcer program.

Supporters have argued the amendments were needed to protect other specialized voucher programs for disabled children or those sponsored by the private sector.

But although the amendments were drafted by former Bush staffers, the former governor himself has kept mostly mum on the subject.

"Amendment 9 would have empowered Floridians with the ability to ensure their tax dollars were spent in the classroom on people and programs that make a difference in student achievement – a principled fiscal policy that becomes increasingly important during these tough budget years," Bush continued.

"Perhaps even more heartbreaking is the realization that Floridians will not have the opportunity to protect important programs, including the McKay Scholarship for students with developmental disabilities and Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships for students in low-income families. These programs, as well as 350 charter schools in our great state, will remain in limbo, under the real threat of litigation from individuals who want to centralize all education decisions within government bureaucracies."

Victory in Florida!

An update from Florida. (See below for an earlier posting on the subject).

This afternoon, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Ballot Initiatives Nos. 7 and 9 (which would allowed the voters to approve changes to the religion and education clauses of the Florida Constitution) were unconstitutionally proposed by Florida's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

For a copy of the order, click here.

Florida Happenings

On September 3rd, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument in Ford, et. al. v. Browning, a case which seeks to remove 2 ballot initiatives from the November 2008 ballot. The proposed initiatives would amend the Florida Constitution to allow public funds to be used for religious purposes and to allow private/religious school voucher programs. Dan has been working with the National Education Association and the Florida Education Association to try and get these ballot initiatives kicked off the ballot. For copies of the briefs -- click here.

Hopefully, we'll have a decision soon! And a video link to the oral argument should follow as well...

UPDATE: While I'm having trouble posting the video directly, click here to see the argument in windows media player, or click here to see it in real video. Don't expect to see Dan, though. He was in DC watching it online.