Sorry about the mess. For some reason WordPress won’t let me make line breaks. I’ll fix that when I can. The administration has been in office now for just over sixty days, making this the perfect time to share my memories o the event.\nThe trip in to DC was great. Many thanks to Joe and Kelly, and especially Kayla for hosting us. They were gracious enough to put us up for the duration of our stay.Thanks also to Enterprise Rent-A-Car for excellent service, and a nice upgrade. We reserved a pickup truck, as it was the cheapest option. Apparently someone else needed it, so Enterprise upgraded us to a Pontiac G6, which was a pretty sweet ride.We had a great time leading up to the trip, with the exception that my ebook reader conked out, (Still no resolution on that, stay tuned for the possibility of an invective-laced rant if the manufacturer doesn’t rectify the situation soon.), and that Carin spent about a day feeling pretty crappy.We got to hang out with friends, and friends of friends, had great food both out and about and cooked “ourselves”. The quotes are because all I did was chop up some olives. Both Joe and Carin are great cooks, and one night we had a spaghetti feed with homemade sauce and homemade bread. Soooo yummy.The morning of the inauguration was indescribably cold, in addition to which, I completely overestimated my cold tolerance. It had been pretty nice most of the time we were there, and I didn’t wear nearly enough layers. We got up and got to the metro some time around four in the morning, so we were stepping into a whole new level of cold.We were out and about in the frozen, darkness for a good two to three hours before things started to light up and look like daytime.I mixed up our metro stations pretty badly, assuming Federal Triangle and Federal Center must refer to the same stop, simply because I could only find one on our little metro map. So admittedly a fair bit of our extra walking was my fault. However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that the inauguration itself was a complete and total snafu. Not one single uniformed person could so much as point us even vaguely in the direction we needed to go. Keep in mind, there were only three or four points of entry for ticket holders. Such a lack of communication was inexcusable.The pandemonium expressed itself in many ways. The metro closings were not as announced, the cops seemed to be completely without instruction mostly wandering at random, security was a joke, and crowd control was nonexistent. You may have seen the story of the “tunnel of death”. I assure you, attendee reports of the complete failure of inaugural logistics were not exaggerated. There may have been vast numbers of plain clothes law enforcement, but whatever they may have done was completely overshadowed by the utter uselessness, and often the counterproductivity of the uniformed cops and military personnel.It was apparent by the time we got to our assigned area that security was an illusion.It was assumed that security would be airtight, so apparently nobody got any big ideas.In hindsight, if I’d known what I was walking into, I could have snuck an M-72 Light Anti-tank Weapon in to the inauguration of an American President. (I had to google the correct name of that weapon. A kid I knew growing up had an empty tube from one, and that’s been the image in my head since inauguration day.) We were told to bring no bags, no tripods, nothing extra. As it turns out, camera bags, purses, tripods, collapsible chairs, blankets, and all manner of bric-a-brac were allowed in. When we got to the security checkpoint, there were no metal detectors. I was asked to open my coat, and I was half-assedly frisked. They patted down my sides, but not my front or back. If I had been dressed in an appropriate coat, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say I could have snuck an M-72, or even two, into the inauguration.After being herded like cattle through the security illusion, we were cordoned off by plastic hurricane fencing and expected to wait quietly for several hours. Carin and I had just picked out a likely spot of ground and sat down to wait out the cold when the crowd announced its opinion of the waiting game by stampeding through the hurricane fencing and pushing their way forward by roughly five hundred feet.After catching up with the crowd, and finding them to be about as comfortable as sardines, Carin and I decided to push our luck and see how close we could get.The little x marks about where the  ”fence” was supposed to hold back the crowd. The straight line was just so I could measure my overall progress. Turns out I got right around 850 ft. closer to the incoming President, by being allowed to flagrantly ignore the rules. Our route along the little reflecting pool took us across three different fences, and the only admonishment we received was to get down off the wall of the pool itself, lest we fall through the ice. It was pretty awesome for us, but I can’t overstate the complete lack of security.The final act of I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening was when the cops blocking the section of Capitol Circle in front of us, opened up the area they’d kept clear and let what appeared to be completely random people in. I saw at least three kids jump the fence into the Capitol Grounds. Could have been anybody. And they didn’t get kicked out so far as I could see.All that said, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place with such an overpowering sense of goodwill. Grouchy bastard that I am, even I couldn’t get upset or annoyed with the millions of people that showed up to witness that morning.I can’t recall my feet ever hurting as bad as they did that day, and after the swearing in and about half of the President’s speech, I sat down on a frozen stone bench closed my eyes and listened. And damned if he didn’t infect me with hope. I know most of my feelings were of relief at the end of the last administration, and that relief brought me to tears. President Obama’s speech finished the job. Even now, even though I think his administration is making a lot of bad choices, I’m hopeful that we can get our country back on track. And I’m trying to figure out what I can do to contribute.On the way out of the inauguration, we could not find transportation to save our lives. Nearly every single barricade remained in place, forcing the crowd to funnel out the same ways we funneled in. Metro stations that were supposed to open up to get people out of downtown stayed closed, and those that were open had tens of thousands of people trying to choke through every entrance. We ended up walking what strangely enough looks like 1.00 miles as the crow flies from where I stood to where Google Earth puts the icon for the Navy Yard Metro station. Best I can figure it it was about 3.3 miles through the lost and wandering route we stumbled through. Makes me feel like kind of a puss to remember it so harshly, but it was so cold my sweat felt like ice water under my jacket, and so windy I couldn’t take the jacket off. Top that off with the fact that I weight 350 pounds and had been on my feet largely on frozen concrete and asphalt for something like seven hours. Perhaps worse was the repeated defeat of finding every entrance to every metro station completely blocked by a mass of people so tight you’d think we evolved directly from coral.Despite all of that I’m glad we went. It was the biggest event I’ve ever witnessed, and one way or the other, it will turn out to have been a pivotal moment in American history.On a side note, I’d like to hand out a world class FUCK YOU to United Airlines for the worst day of air travel I’ve ever had, and the completely callous, dismissive, and downright rude treatment we received throughout our trip home.The plane leaving Dulles had problems with its “air start” which forced the smell of burnt plastic into the plane requiring an evacuation. After about an hour, they claimed to have cycled the air in the plane and that it was ready for us to return. They lied. The smell of burnt plastic ass was still there. We, the cattle passengers were expected to filter the cabin air through our lungs.The plane from Chicago had problems with the luggage loading machinery. I’m not sure if it was internal or external to the plane, but either way, they never did get it repaired. They just kept us on the plane for three and a half hours while they fiddled with it, announcing about every 18 minutes that it should just be another 20 minutes. This whole time, the alternate power supply hadn’t been in operation, so they couldn’t run the air conditioning. I think I now know what the inside of a speculum feels like. It was only at the end of our ordeal that we discovered they’d kept the jetway attached to the plane the whole time. They could have let us out any time within that three and a half hours, but they chose not to. How did we find out about this? Because the brakes on the jetway froze, preventing them from disconnecting it. Another forty minutes wasted.After that, you’d think they’d have set us up with some sort of courtesy in Los Angeles, since we’d utterly missed our connecting flight. No such luck. No meal voucher, no apology, not even basic courtesy. Not only did we miss the next flight too, but they dragged us out to the plane home, let us look at it longingly for a few minutes, and then sent us back into the airport, telling us we were too fat. Being that we were the delayed passengers the ubiquitous United announcement that “We’d like to offer a free round-trip ticket anywhere in the contiguous United States to anyone willing to give up their seats.” was actually on our behalf. So get this. They tell us we’re too fat to get on the 2nd to last plane, still won’t give us any kind of consideration, but when we turn in our worthless “you have a ticket, but you don’t have a seat” tickets for real tickets on a later flight, (which was already our only option), they give us free tickets to somewhere else.I hope other folks can manage to swing this “deal” so here’s how it goes.This was a puddle jumper connection from LA to San Luis Obispo.1. We missed flight A.2. We get “tickets” on flight B which aren’t actually linked to seats on the plane.3. Nobody else was about to give up a seat for us, so we gave up our fake tickets.4. They give us our consolation tickets, then haul us out to plane B anyway but don’t let us on the plane.5. We get on flight C miserable and angry, and toting two free tickets on what should be called “Go Fuck Yourself Air”.I’m still glad we went, and I’ll post more pictures eventually. This thing is way too long anyway, and may be split into separate entries at some point.

So on or around election day, Carin had the idea of both of us trying to get tickets to the 56th (remember that number, it’s important later) Presidential Inauguration Swearing In Ceremony. I figured the odds were astronomical, but it was worth a shot. So between us, we sent a total of six emails to our Senators and our respective Representatives. Then we pretty much forgot about it.

Then today, I get a message saying she got an email saying that she’d won two tickets in the California 22nd district lottery. The email reads as follows.

We are pleased to let you know that after conducting a lottery, your name was selected to receive inaugural tickets for the 53rd Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009.

In order to accommodate as many ticket requests for this historic inauguration, a lottery was conducted of ticket requesters. While your name was selected,:

· If you requested 1 ticket, 1 ticket has been reserved for you.

· If you requested more than 1 ticket, 2 tickets have been reserved for you.

The number of tickets that have been reserved for you and your party is: 2

Based on procedures issued by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, we will be given all of the inaugural tickets allotted to the 22nd Congressional District the week prior to the Inauguration. And in order to ensure that ticket recipients are constituents of the 22nd Congressional District, tickets must be picked up by yourself from my Washington D.C. office on Friday January 16. We will send more information regarding ticket distribution.

Please respond to this email, no later than Friday, December 12, indicating that you are still planning on attending the inauguration and would still like tickets so you and your party can attend. If you are no longer attending the inauguration, we would appreciate knowing so that the tickets can be returned to the lottery system so another neighbor of ours might be able to attend.

Thank you for your patience.

Notice anything fishy? That’s right, the email mentions the 53rd inauguration. We’re both really, really hoping this is just a typo, and not some really scummy scam or prank or hoax. This is history, and we’d both be honored to witness it. The email address certainly looks legit from the forward, but I haven’t been able to look at the full headers yet, so that’s no help. We’ve both called all over the place to try and find somebody who might be able to get ahold of someone in Representative Kevin McCarthy’s office to confirm the status of the email. Nobody’s picking up the phone on a Sunday. Grrrrrrrr . . . Luckily we’ve got our plane tickets price saved until tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll be able to clear this up in time to not get ripped off any further on plane fare. The next hurdle will be accommodations, but for that I have a cunning plan . . .

So, if you’re reading this, please send us good mojo. I promise to share the most awesome possible pictures from whatever vantage we get.

Stop Big Media is a campain to get congress to step up and protect us from the onslaught of the media behemoths. Here’s what I had to say about it before having to edit it down to 4000 characters:

The United States of America has a rich intellectual and artistic heritage, and that heritage should belong to us all. Increased use of copyright and intellectual property law as nothing more than a shield to protect corporate profits is unamerican, and must be curbed if we are to retain the intellectual, cultural, and creative dynamism that has so profoundly shaped our history.

The desire of companies like Disney and Time Warner to subjugate their place in history to the quest for a few percentage points on their next quarterly profit statement should not be enough to rewrite the law of the land. I can not believe that men like Walt Disney, Friz Freeling, Mel Blanc, John Wayne, John Ford, Orson Welles, Bob Hope, Cecille B. DeMille, or any of the countles other American legends who dedicated their lives to entertaining, educating, and enlightening their fellow human beings, would be happier to see their creations under lock and key in a studio vault than to see them available for appreciation and study as part of American culture.

They all understood, as to those who take up the modern debate surrounding intellectual property that commerce has a place in art, but they all worked with the understanding that copyright law would serve its original intent, which was to protect the rights and livelihoods of the artists and their patrons (the media companies). I do not deny the vital role played by the corporations which produce American art and media, but they can not be allowed, like spoiled children to hoard their treasures for all time. Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Beaver Cleaver, the residents of Mayberry and countless other media creations have been woven deeply into our cultural fabric, and because of this, the companies by which they were commissioned are faced with the artist’s double-edged blessing. There is a terrific honor in having one’s creation accepted and consumed by the masses, and there is pain in letting it go. An artist must understand that in giving her work to the people she sets it free to grow and change, and take on any number of forms, interpretations, meanings, and evolutions never envisioned by the artist. True artists have suffered and thrived on this process for hundreds of years, but it has only been in the modern age that the corporations which serve as the modern patron have felt as though they attained some absolute ownership of an artwork simply by providing money to have it created.

The true role of a patron is not to own or control art, but to set it free. Lorenzo de Medici never believed that he would possess the works of Michaelangelo for all time. Nor did he believe it was his right to milk the work of one of history’s greatest artists for unending profit. He understood that there are some artists whose talent demands release, and he was honored to be in a position to supply Michaelangelo with the tools and the materials required to bring form to his vision. Modern media companies may appear far more complex, but at their very best, they are simply the modern expression of the artist’s patron, supplying materials and resources to bring an artist’s vision to life.

If they could be made to understand and act on this simple truth, the state of American arts would more closely resemble art than the current bastardized amalgam of manufacturing and distribution. Imagine the place our nation would take in the pantheon of creative endeavor if our media companies understood the honor inherent in the absorption of an idea or a work of art into the public identity. And imagine what they could create if that was their aim.

Please do not misunderstand me. I do not deny either the need or the right of media companies to earn profits from their investments, but these profits must be reasonable, and must be balanced with the needs of our society. It is foolishness to think that company should be profiting from the work of artists who have been dead for longer than they lived. It is nonsensical to think that a company in which not a single current employee, associate, or contractor was alive during the creation of an artwork, should still exercise ironclad control over that art work.

The artists understand this, and the audience understands it intrinsically. Our elected representatives must understand it, and must act for the good of the people and the nation, not for the grasping interests of the petulant children that our once daring and passionate media corporations have become.

In reading the Ars Technica interview about the manifesto, I was very impressed to come across the words “…our users’ choice is not for sale.” I commend this stance in the strongest possible terms, and the Mozilla Corporation’s willingness to take that hit for us, the users is exactly what makes me want to support you all.

To that end, I would happily use a pimpware version of a Mozilla product given a few simple guidelines.

You can pimp my download as much as you want with bookmarks, start pages, and anything else you see fit. I’ll even sit through an unskippable intro so long as:

1) It is completely my choice. The download icon must make clear that I am choosing to download the pimpware version, and to view a certain amount of marketing material as a form of support for the Mozilla projects. The pimped and unpimped versions must be presented equivalently. No hiding the clean version in a corner or on another page.

2) No adware/spyware. This sort of content must not install additional applications(I’m undecided about plugins at this time.) and must not collect or distribute a user’s information.

3) It is completely removable, preferably in an automated fashion, but manual removal of unwanted material is acceptable.

4) Any forced content is only forced after an install or upgrade and doesn’t last more than one minute.

5) Any content added at time of upgrade should be added in a consolidated fashion, making it easy for the user to identify, and remove if desired.

Given these conditions, I’ll happily make the choice to support Mozilla by enduring a certain amount of marketing.

This article discussing the Mozilla Manifesto is definitely worth a read. The Mozilla Manifesto is important, because it hopes to become a driving philosphy for the internet, and as such, it may develop the power to unite the internet culture in a way helpful to resisting the kinds of corporate and governmental controls that really could threaten the internet as we know it. We like to think of the internet as a great big free wilderness, but it’s really not. Rather than a great big distributed net, think of the Internet as a series of interlocking trees. (Think of a family tree, if this helps.)

This map shows the main trunks or backbones of the Internet. I’m using it for illustrative purposes only, and I don’t care how current it is. Each of the lines on this map represents one of the tree trunks, and from each of these trunks spreads thousands of branches until the whole think looks like what you’ll see if you do a Google search for “internet map”. As we’ve seen in the special deals cut by Yahoo and Google in their dealings with China, censorship is alive and well. And as we’ve seen in the US, there are corporations which would gladly wrap a stranglehold around our own infrastructure and force us to pay for every gasp of information.

So add your input to the development of the Mozilla Manifesto and help spread the ideals that make the internet what it is. Also, go sign the petition to Save the Internet!

1) A boatful of British sailors is captured by Iran.
2) Britain is confident their boat was in Iraqi waters because the GPS measurements confirm this.
2) The Iranians are confident the British vessel was in their waters because their crew says so.
3) The GPS network is owned and operated by the United States.
4) Everybody is well aware the Bush administration is dying for an excuse to invade Iran.
a) If the United States gets in to any kind of conflict, they will have zero support even from the American people.
b) If, however, the US were “coming to the rescue” of a still mostly respected ally, things might be different.
5) The bush administration has a demonstrable history of lying, deceit, and dirty tricks.

So who else comes to the conclusion it’s more than 50% likely the Bush Administration cooked up a little GPS hiccup in order to jump-start its goals in Iran?

United States of America, known in all but the most formal circles as simply “America” has finally checked itself into the prestigious Conressional Democratic Hospital for observation. Friends and colleagues are hopeful that America is finally seeking the care it has so obviously needed for several years. Like so many other tragicomic celebrity stories, America’s crack-up began with a string of resounding successes.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, America was reclusive and valued its privacy, content to stay mostly home, and only emerging for professional reasons. Though America was visibly active in business and related social circles, it remained aloof, and seemingly a little shy. A young nation, America was unusually dedicated to its education and fitness, and had surprisingly little interest in bravado.

It wasn’t until 1917, when America stepped into the first Brawl that the fruits of its industrious youth were first put on display. It is worth noting that America took pains not to get involved in the Brawl. Only after repeated instances of property damage, and compelling evidence that Germany and its friends planned to attack America did it take aggressive action. That action. however, was decisive, demonstrating America’s intelligence, ingenuity, strength and resourcefulness. Soon after America stepped into the fight, Germany was thoroughly beaten down. This was hardly a surprising outcome at the time, but what was surprising was America’s good faith attempt to acheive the most positive outcome for all parties. America was patient, and worked hard to settle things between the various nations in and around Atlantic Avenue. It was this straightforward and unselfish approach that gained America the reputation for fairness and honesty that it wore so proudly for most of the 20th century.

Through a second and more destructive go-round with Germany and its new friends, America continued to earn that reputation for fairness. There was a lot of unease at America’s handling of its fight with Japan, but it was generally accepted that the physically imposing America made the right choice in cold-cocking Japan, given that Japan seemed to have been irrational, and perhaps even willing to fight to the death. It was also telling that when all was said and done, America took pains to pay for some of Japan’s medical expenses, and to assist with repairing much of the property damage done in the fight.

It wasn’t long after America went nuclear that it jumped into a fight over at the Korea home. North Korea and South Korea were having a pretty serious argument, and soon most of the neighborhood was involved. It was at this time that major tension between America and Russia (United Soviet Socialist Republic if you’re not the sort who enjoys brevity) began to play out. Ever since the second Brawl, these tensions had been escalating, and the Korea divorce would not be the last time these two influential nations would use the conflicts of others as symbolic expressions of their own violent urges.

Both physically imposing, both highly intelligent and ambitious, it couldn’t have come as a surprise when these two nations went head to head in a battle of wills to see who would be the de Facto mayor of Earth. Though they spent forty-some years threatening to beat each other into oblivion, it is telling that both nations kept their wits sufficiently to avoid such foolish actions. However, the strain of this antagonism on America is telling, and signs of paranoia began to appear in the 1950s.

By the 70′s, America seemed addicted to conflict, and appeared willing to justify a great many questionable actions as being necessary to combat Russian aggression. Throughout the 80s, that paranoia fed into an avarice and desire for financial power and influence that left America with a crushing debt. Things seemed to improve briefly in the 1990s, but by the early 2000s, America was in bad shape.

On November 11th, America was mugged by a drifter named Al Quaeda, and all of the other nations were quick to extend their sympathy and support. America just as quickly demonstrated its addiction to aggression and apparent feelings of superiority by ignoring the advice of it’s neighbors and friends, and commencing a bullying and slander cmapaign against Iraq, convinced beyond reason that Iraq must have been involved in the mugging. America deluded itself and lied to the other nations with falsified evidence, and utterly disrespected them by ignoring even the most basic rules of civility. After a year of bullying and accusation, America forcefully invaded the Iraq home and has been running the show there ever since.

After several years of obvious self-serving lies and incoherent ramblings about “mission” and “duty” and making Iraq “free”, during which time America’s kids were living in the Iraq home and carrying guns, America’s close neighbor Canada was heard to say “That America’s gone batshit gosh-darn crazy, eh?”

Batshit crazy indeed.

Shortly after that comment, made in mid 2004, America was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer dubbed simply Bush II. The tumor is highly aggressive, and has spread in tendrils and nodes throughout America’s body. Throughout 2005 and 2006, America was seen rambling and mumbling incoherently, scratching and hitting itself, and even hitting itself in the head with a large stick. Psychologists have theorized that this self-abuse could in fact be the sentient behaviour of the tumor activly trying to harm its host. Evidence also suggests that reported bouts of bulimia may be a desperate attempt by America’s tortured brain to purge its body of the invading tumor.

In between bouts of demonstrable insanity, America has picked fights, spent shocking amounts of money (including, rumor has it, burning small piles of money throughout the Iraq home), and taken it’s children out of school on the pretense of religiously based home schooling. In recent months, what can be heard of America’s constand mumbled ranting indicates possible multiple personality disorder, as there appear to be two distinct voices arguing back and forth. This self-opposition seems constant, except when America would occasionally stop to lean out a window, or even climb onto a roof and shout “I am the greatest!” to the entire city.

Though the situation is dire, and the outcome uncertain, America’s many admirers (and this reporter counts himself among them), wish America a swift and compete recovery. It is doubtful that America will ever regain the respect and trust which led it to its former leadership role, but there is still a sliver of hope. The staff at Democratic Congressional has never been known for their quick results, but we know them to be dedicated and professional, and absolutely the last hope for a significant recovery.

Let’s jump past the uncertainty for just a moment, and imagine America’s life two years from now. Even assuming the complete removal of the Bush II tumor, there will be many years of work to do, starting with intensive phsychological therapy. America will have to come to grips with what kind of nation it wants to be, because the damage to it’s sense of identity and purpose has obviously been severe. It will have to rededicate itself to its education, as it has lost much of its focus in many of the areas where it was once an acknowledged leader. Perhaps most importantly, America will have to get back into the business of business. Whereas America built its reputation and wealth on the strength of a renowned series of family-run businesses. Throughout it’s recent instabilities, America has farmed out many of the key jobs to other nations, and it’s economic position is consequently fractured and unstable. Many observers wonder if America still has the ability to to provide the products and services necessary to reverse its cashflow. America has been spending money all over town, and we simply don’t know how it can repay its debts and rebuild its savings.

We know where America has been, we know what it has done, but no one has any idea where it’s going. Good luck and Godspeed, America. You’ve been a collossal prick lately, but we can still remember, if dimly, the wisdom and kindness which once guided your brute strength. We’re still pulling for you.

Dear elected official,

There are already far too many ways for large companies to hide their misbehaviour and malfeasance. Allowing these network infrastructure companies to charge a bounty on more access would almost certainly allow them to charge an even larger bounty for the silencing of other information. Imagine the favors such companies could offer the higher paying political party, giant corporation, or even individual. Throttling accessibility on the internet is tantamount to selling the first ammendment to AT&T. This can not be allowed.

Regards,

Mr/Ms Citizen

(Please feel free to copy and paste the above paragraph when writing to your own elected officials. More info Here.)

‘m reprinting this one in its entirety even before it goes up on Lockergnome because I think it’s an important point. So here goes.

This is a big issue. The trust of the American people in their “democratic” process fundamentally depends on the transparency of that process. We have to believe that our vote counts, because without that belief, the system will grind to a halt. After the 2000 Presidential Election, the public is rightfully concerned about the validity of their vote. There are those who feel the Supreme Court severely overstepped their constitutional bounds and virtually appointed a President. There are others who simply don’t believe in the integrity of the process as it stands. With these concerns weighing so heavily on our collective conscious, we should already have seen a universal outcry against the fatally flawed electronic voting machines which have time and again demonstrated their lack of fitness for their intended purpose. Not only do the manufacturers of the machines operate in secrecy, but so do the companies entrusted with their oversight. This can not be allowed to go on.

These fine folks are among several groups loudly campaigning for the open-sourcing and transparency of the electronic voting process. The common thread among such groups, to which we should all tie ourselves, is the need for a permanent election record. Under no circumstances should any voter allow herself to be trapped into using a machine with no printed record. As we all saw four years ago, the paper record of a vote is an invaluable tool for ensuring the fairness and accuracy of an election, even when that tool is not fully utilized. Toward this end, legislation is being sought to require a tangible trail of electoral paperwork. I’d like to join my voice to the chorus urging every conscientious voter to seek out their representatives and pin them down on this issue. This is too important to leave to Congress.

Lastly, a piece of practical advice for anyone who won’t trust their vote to current e-voting technology. The absentee ballot: Here is a list of general guidelines by state. You should be able to register for an absentee ballot at your local post office, though for most states, online registration is available here. I encourage those of you who will be registering for an absentee ballot to very clearly state your refusal to use unproven e-voting machines.

For anybody who’s never voted absentee before, here’s the general rundown from a guy who lives in the middle of nowhere, California, and has no other option. You’ll receive a paper ballot card by mail shortly before the election. You punch out the little holes with a pencil or some such implement. Make sure the holes are completely punched out and there is no debris clogging the hole. No that wasn’t a joke. Then you can either mail in your ballot with the enclosed envelope, or you can take it in to the poling place on election day and drop it in the hopper. It’s a satisfying feeling, so that’s how I do it every year. This method will ensure that your vote is indeed counted, though it will be counted a little later. As any election watcher knows, the absentee ballots are the last to be counted, since they roll in later than those from the polling places. Keep your little stub, as well. It’s a reassuring piece of evidence that you did, in fact, vote. Many voters will be given no such assurance come November. Wouldn’t it be nice if the majority of the country voted absentee this year? That would certainly put the kibosh on the obnoxious network news channels’ insistence upon calling a winner before the official count is in.

This is a disturbing comment on the crumbling foundation of American justice. We were never meant to be a nation of secrecy or of darkness. America was born as a nation whose deepest heart thrives in the light of day. What happened to that nation? How can we claim to so dearly cherish freedom, yet be willing under any circumstances to rob it from others? How can we deny them the basic human rights of due process?

Once we held self-evident the truth that all men are “created equal”, meaning deserving of the same basic rights. Now, when it is most important for us to cling to our core beliefs and to defend the rights of all human beings, we abandon them, proving we have learned nothing.

Once again, I am ashamed.