Thursday, November 04, 2004
Moving on...
I woke up on November 3rd at 3 am (I drank a little too much water before going to bed). While I was up, I decided to go to my computer in my living room (it's a home theatre PC - totally awesome) and see how the election was going. It did not look good and I had a feeling Kerry was not going to pull it off. Later that morning, a co-worker told me that Kerry had conceded.
I was disappointed. I can understand how fellow bloggers like Byron L. from Burnt Orange Report were really upset. Byron put quite a bit of time and effort into the political process. His (and my) choice for President of the United States did not win. It happens.
What to do now...? I look at as losing the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, the Stanley Cup, or World Series. You have to look at how you did. Keep the things you did right. Fix the things you did wrong. Then you need to move on. Sure, it is alright to feel let down and mad. That energy needs to be turned into positive results instead of despair.
If you are thinking about running to Canada or Europe, that just means to me that you are willing to run away from problems, rather than fix them.
I see that a few of the righty blogs are gloating. I cannot see what they have to gloat about. Winning 51% of the vote is a super-slim majority. The country was divided before going into November 2nd and it is still divided. If you coloured the country, not many states would be solidly blue or solidly red. They end up looking purple.
In a way, I am kind of glad Kerry lost. Now George Bush has to deal with the messes he made during his first four years - unemployment, gigantic deficits, Iraq, estrangement of the rest of the world, etc. He cannot blame Clinton any more. He cannot blame the Senate or Congress for not working with him any more. He was a mediocre president before September 11th. I think he will be one during these next four.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens in Iraq. Will Iyad Allawi win or lose in the January elections? If Moqtada al-Sadr runs will he win or lose? If Ali Al-Sistani runs would he win? If either al-Sadr or al-Sistani would win would Irag resemble Iran?
As far as the Democrats are concerned, they need to a clear, concise, and above all, simple message. They need to start grooming candidates from city offices, then to county offices, then to state offices, then to national offices. When an opponent says something (true or not) counter it. The next set of national elections is coming up in 2006. We will see how we've moved on.
I woke up on November 3rd at 3 am (I drank a little too much water before going to bed). While I was up, I decided to go to my computer in my living room (it's a home theatre PC - totally awesome) and see how the election was going. It did not look good and I had a feeling Kerry was not going to pull it off. Later that morning, a co-worker told me that Kerry had conceded.
I was disappointed. I can understand how fellow bloggers like Byron L. from Burnt Orange Report were really upset. Byron put quite a bit of time and effort into the political process. His (and my) choice for President of the United States did not win. It happens.
What to do now...? I look at as losing the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, the Stanley Cup, or World Series. You have to look at how you did. Keep the things you did right. Fix the things you did wrong. Then you need to move on. Sure, it is alright to feel let down and mad. That energy needs to be turned into positive results instead of despair.
If you are thinking about running to Canada or Europe, that just means to me that you are willing to run away from problems, rather than fix them.
I see that a few of the righty blogs are gloating. I cannot see what they have to gloat about. Winning 51% of the vote is a super-slim majority. The country was divided before going into November 2nd and it is still divided. If you coloured the country, not many states would be solidly blue or solidly red. They end up looking purple.
In a way, I am kind of glad Kerry lost. Now George Bush has to deal with the messes he made during his first four years - unemployment, gigantic deficits, Iraq, estrangement of the rest of the world, etc. He cannot blame Clinton any more. He cannot blame the Senate or Congress for not working with him any more. He was a mediocre president before September 11th. I think he will be one during these next four.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens in Iraq. Will Iyad Allawi win or lose in the January elections? If Moqtada al-Sadr runs will he win or lose? If Ali Al-Sistani runs would he win? If either al-Sadr or al-Sistani would win would Irag resemble Iran?
As far as the Democrats are concerned, they need to a clear, concise, and above all, simple message. They need to start grooming candidates from city offices, then to county offices, then to state offices, then to national offices. When an opponent says something (true or not) counter it. The next set of national elections is coming up in 2006. We will see how we've moved on.
Monday, November 01, 2004
November 2
I voted on October 18th, the first day of voting in Bexar County, TX. Here is a breakdown of the early voting in Bexar County:
Day 1----18-Oct-04----15375
Day 2----19-Oct-04----18081
Day 3----20-Oct-04----17526
Day 4----21-Oct-04----17789
Day 5----22-Oct-04----18289
Day 6----23-Oct-04----20107
Day 7----24-Oct-04---- 8789
Day 8----25-Oct-04----23022
Day 9----26-Oct-04----26002
Day 10---27-Oct-04----27378
Day 11---28-Oct-04----29011
Day 12---29-Oct-04----35162
Total: 256531
Registered Voters: 908466
Percent Voting: 28.23782068
I find it amazing that over 28% of the population of Bexar County voted already. That leads me to believe that November 2nd will have a HUGE turnout. People do not turn out to vote for the status quo. Most people would rather stay at home at watch TV and relax if they want the status quo.
That also means that my volunteering will be interesting tomorrow. I am volunteering to be a poll watcher to make sure everyone who wants to vote, gets to vote - if they are eligible. I do not know if Bexar County will have some of the same problems that other parts of the country experienced in 2000. I certainly hope the polling location I volunteered to watch will go smoothly. I do not care who people vote for. Although I voted for John Kerry, I think every person's right to vote should be upheld - Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, etc. We'll see who wins tomorrow. I already made my choice. I hope John Kerry wins.
I voted on October 18th, the first day of voting in Bexar County, TX. Here is a breakdown of the early voting in Bexar County:
Day 1----18-Oct-04----15375
Day 2----19-Oct-04----18081
Day 3----20-Oct-04----17526
Day 4----21-Oct-04----17789
Day 5----22-Oct-04----18289
Day 6----23-Oct-04----20107
Day 7----24-Oct-04---- 8789
Day 8----25-Oct-04----23022
Day 9----26-Oct-04----26002
Day 10---27-Oct-04----27378
Day 11---28-Oct-04----29011
Day 12---29-Oct-04----35162
Total: 256531
Registered Voters: 908466
Percent Voting: 28.23782068
I find it amazing that over 28% of the population of Bexar County voted already. That leads me to believe that November 2nd will have a HUGE turnout. People do not turn out to vote for the status quo. Most people would rather stay at home at watch TV and relax if they want the status quo.
That also means that my volunteering will be interesting tomorrow. I am volunteering to be a poll watcher to make sure everyone who wants to vote, gets to vote - if they are eligible. I do not know if Bexar County will have some of the same problems that other parts of the country experienced in 2000. I certainly hope the polling location I volunteered to watch will go smoothly. I do not care who people vote for. Although I voted for John Kerry, I think every person's right to vote should be upheld - Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, etc. We'll see who wins tomorrow. I already made my choice. I hope John Kerry wins.
