Suppressing the Vote

Ohio is once again at the center of election controversy. People haven't even had a chance to vote, but some Republicans, quickly seeing the writing on the wall, are trying to get hundreds of thousands of voters tossed from the rolls:

More than 200,000 registered Ohio voters may be blocked from casting regular ballots on Election Day because of a federal appeals court decision on Tuesday requiring the disclosure of lists of voters whose names did not match those on government databases, state election officials and voting experts said.

On the one hand, I'm kind of psyched that the Republicans have pushed the panic button so early - the internal numbers they are seeing in their polling have clearly shown them they need to do something drastic to get out of the hole they dug themselves. It's too bad that they are disenfranchising people to do it, especially in Ohio. If there is any state that has felt the hurt of the Bush Administration's policies, it's Ohio. Talk about salt in the wounds - with this kind of behavior, Republicans are basically saying "we've helped eliminate the businesses and jobs that you depend on for your modest living, we refuse to provide any kind of job training or incentives to business to replace those jobs, and now we want to make sure you have no say in changing things". This is your Republican America.

Obama and Race: Union Style

One of the best persuasion discussions of Obama and race that you'll see this cycle (thank goodness). There is a sizable chunk of working-class whites who can't wrap their heads around a black president. They have to. Their futures depend on it.

Building a Better DC

For a (very) brief moment, I considered going to Cornell to study Urban Planning. I'm still a bit of geek about development and how cities and towns can be built in better ways. The environmental strains and logistical difficulties of building and maintaining a successful city are particularly obvious in Washington, DC. There are limits on building heights, historical preservation concerns, and a generally stable economy that lends itself to ongoing development, and all contribute to the difficulties. Oh, and all the people, too. DC is unique in the number of people who converge on the city on daily basis for work and then hightail it back to their suburban sprawl - and they all apparently MUST drive. Ugh. I have a car that I use to visit my family (my brother's family is nearby, as is my mother, but neither is convenient by public transportation). My car is, no lie, 17 years old, and I keep it safe and running, but prefer to walk or use public transportation whenever possible.

I wasn't always into the bus or Metro - I was one of the suburban idiots who turned my nose up at the bus, and found the train inconvenient. Once I moved into the city, it was really dumb to continue to be that stupid, so I changed my ways.

DC is one of the most walkable cities in the country - in college, I would come out to visit my brother, and would spend the day exploring the city on foot, occasionally hopping the train when it was convenient and made sense. $20 would get me anywhere I wanted all day, cover any fees for getting into special exhibits, and still leave me some dough for a half-smoke and coke. I'm pondering getting a new(er) car, and I'm struggling. I think I'll do it, but part of me feels like it is kind of dumb. We'll see.

Anyway, one of the best sites to read about issues w/r/t development, traffic, sprawl, and "people movement" is Greater Greater Washington. It's smart, very current, topical, and on the nose about the importance of changing our mindsets on how we get around and make the city better overall.

No Embedding? Ha!

Since all of the real versons of "I Want I That Way" are disbled for embedding, I am using a different (some might say better) version. I kind of hope the NKOTB reunion gives them the chance to have this kind of hit - it's sublime. Great, memorable pop songs are tough to come by, and this one definitely goes in the canon.

Bangin'

I love them both for different reasons (okay, I sometimes get annoyed by Beyonce, but only because she has taken over the universe - she's still totally bangin'). Love the fall music season - great stuff, and they both look amazing:

Making Rape Victims Pay

Sarah Palin had a policy as mayor of Wasilla to charge rape victims to process the evidence in their assaults.

Just To Balance Things Out

To demonstrate that I also like music that isn't questionable in quality, a couple of other treats.

VH1's Greatest Hip-Hop song of all time:

Madonna, at her most sublime (there are many options):

Some newer loveliness, the Veronicas:

and my new personal theme song, "The Whole World Should Revolve Around Me":