For the new Democratic majority

These next two years are a test, not a mandate. We are not giving you a car, we’re letting you borrow it for your date. If you bring it home before curfew and there aren’t any scratches or dents on it, we might let you start driving it to school daily. You are not in charge here, you work for us. Do not forget that.

And suddenly, the government starts to look a little bit more like the people it is supposed to represent. The biggest gain is the new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. For the first time ever, we have a woman third in line to the presidency. This is the closest we have come to the presidency so far. Previously, Secretary of State Madeline Allbright was fourth in line, but because she was born outside the country she was not eligible to take the president’s spot.

The future Madam Speaker shows us her scary side. This will come in handy during investigations into Republican wrong doing.

It’s nice to see women getting ahead in the Senate too. We now have 16 Senate seats, which is not nearly the 50 we would need to be truly represented, but it keep increasing.

Claire McCaskill from Missouri thanked Rush Limbaugh after Limbaugh’s vitriol on the Michael J. Fox ads drove stem cell supporters to donate mass cash to her campaign. Yay- a win for Dems, women, and science!

Deval Patrick, first African American Governor of Massachusetts who won after his opponent ran a really disgusting commercial to scare women out of voting for Patrick. Huhm, black man running for governor and his opponent tries to swing women voters by scaring them with the idea that Duval supports rapists.

Keith Ellison, the first ever Muslim representative elected to Minnesota’s fifth district. I’m sure the right wing nutbags are declaring this a win for “islamofacists” while completely ignoring the fact that the right wing nutbags have more in common with the Taliban than with the rest of America.

Gabrielle Giffords, the new Rep from Arizona’s 8th district

For more Women in the Senate, House, and Governorships check out Emily’s List.

For more on African American gains in the House check out this.

If I’ve missed someone (and I am sure I’ve missed plenty) let me know in comments.

In honor of our sweep of the House and our soon-to-be control of the Senate (Virginia rule requires a 10 day wait for election certification and then a mandatory recount if the difference is less than one half of one percent) I give you the happiest dance ever.

It’s no mistake that there is a massive Frank Herbert influence in this video either.

So I am an election geek. Here’s my prediction so far:

Montana: It’s a wrap for Tester. He’s been over 50% all night and exit polls give him a substantial lead.

Virginia: Maybe it’s optimism, but I’m giving this one to Webb. There are 6 counties that still have votes to report and Webb is trending ahead in 5 of them.

Missouri: Oh how I wish I could call this one for the Dems. This is the race that used the Michael J Fox stem cell add. But it’s an absolute toss up. Of the counties left to report, McCaskill is leading in 5, talent in 4 and 7 have no results in at all.

In other news- First Female Speaker EVER! And we haven’t even had the vote for 100 years yet.

Vermont elected a socialist to the Sentate to replace Jim Jeffords. I love Vermont. Gimme some maple syrup!

Voter intimidation has long been a practice of conservative parties. From the beginning of this democracy there has always been a divide between those who believe that everyone should be able to vote and those that believe that only certain people are responsible enough to be allowed to vote.

In the beginning, the divide was over whether a free, white male had to be a landowner in order to vote. The idea behind this is that men who didn’t own land had less of a stake in the country, but in reality it was meant to keep the poor and uneducated from voting. Fortunately, all that was required to vote was that you were a free, white male citizen with no property restrictions.

Then with the end of slavery and the establishment of blacks as citizens came the right for all men, regardless of color, to vote. That was 1870, but it wasn’t until the Voting Rights act of the 60’s that there was any teeth in the law to back it up. Still, the black men had the right to vote way before us girls did. At least they could get to the polling station to fight for the right.

We girls were kept in the kitchen lest the big ideas behind democracy confuse out little girly bird-brains or tarnish our pure spirits. Seriously, the arguments against women voting were that we weren’t capable of rational thought, or that the dirtiness involved in politics would injure us in some way.

It wasn’t until the 19 mother-fricken 20’s that us American women were allowed to vote, less than 100 years ago. In Switzerland, women were only given full voting rights in 1990! (Yes, one more reason to hate the Swiss other than the stupidity of the International Red Cross, and that when I traveled there I felt like I’d been dumped into the land fascism aspires to). In Lebanon, women have to prove they have been educated in order to vote, but men don’t.

But I digress..

So in the history of the world and more specifically, our country, those who think that suffrage should be universal and treat voting as something so fundamental to our continued democracy that anyone should be allowed to vote without restrictions have fought for those rights even for people with diametrically opposed political views. I told a couple of students to go vote a few minutes ago and one cheekily responded by saying he’d “go vote straight republican”. I said fine as long as he votes. And I mean that.

Then there are those who treat the right to vote like it is some delicate object that would be fractured if everyone were allowed to use it. These are the people who are now requiring ID from voters where none has been required before. While this sounds like a good idea, the only people who this presents a problem for are poor and often minority folks who don’t have the $35 it might take to get a state ID card. Guess who they aren’t likely to be voting for?

The same people who would disallow felons who have served their time from voting. Why? Hasn’t the person in question paid their debt to society with prison time? Hasn’t the person in question resumed the obligation of being a contributing member of society? And once again, the people who will be kept from voting in this case are most likely poor and minority.

There is no history of the rich being subjected to voter intimidation. There is no history of the powerful being subject to voter intimidation. But today, the Bushies are crying that “Boo hoo hoo” there’s not enough ballots in Republican districts or “Wah wah wah” Democrats are trying to intimidate us at the polls. All while scary men with fake badges are doing actual voter intimidation of Latino voters in Arizona and in Pennsylvania (home of the closely watched Rick “anal leakage” Santorum senate race) black voters are being shut out because of voting machine issues.

So you don’t want to vote. Fine. You don’t think the 2 party system is working and you don’t want to contribute to it. Ok. But don’t, for one minute think that I am going to respect you for your choice. Besides voting for politicians there are numerous initiatives and referendums concerning how our local government works that have nothing to do with parties in particular but have everything to do with running a functional democracy. You, Mr. Non-voter won’t be voting on those issues, but your children will go to school because of the bond measures that are passed and you will drive your car on the roads that are built because other people did the responsible thing and voted.

People have been fighting for and dying for the right to vote for centuries. That you would so callously throw away something like that means that those rich white guys with all the power have one less sucker to intimidate. You are doing their job for them.

Tomorrow is election day. If you can’t manage to get off your ass and go vote while our country is in a shambles you are a waste of space.

I know, it’s been pouring rain to near flood levels and you have all sorts of work to do and the stupid paperless ballot machines are all rigged anyway. So why should you go vote?

You are part of this society, so it is your responsibility. If you are part of a family you have responsibilities like making sure the rent is paid or the trash is taken out. Voting is the only effective way we citizens have of taking the trash out of government. Those of you who don’t vote remind me of the girl in the Shell Silverstien poem who lets the trash overtake everything out of laziness.

Look, I have to spend tomorrow morning with my feet up in stirrups getting my annual exam. Then I have the thankless task of putting together the student newsletter and to top it all off the Kiddo is grounded because he decided that being in 6th grade meant not doing homework. So I have been playing prison guard, making sure that the only thing he does is homework. No tv, no video games, no computer, no hanging out with friends, and no extra-curricualr reading. (I know- I may be the only parent on earth who has to ground their child from books). All I want to do is curl up with a big gulp sized vodka tonic and watch gay porn. But I will be slogging my way through our local monsoon to go vote.

If I am giving up booze and porn, the least you could do is get off your ass and vote. Or I will hunt you down and bludgeon you with a hanging chad. Seriously.

And since we’re on the gay porn/ voting topic- here’s a little video to remind you of all the trash that needs to be taken out.

Dare I say more?

Some of you know I am an astrologer. I know some think astrology is bunk, but I submit a partial chart of Mark Foley, a punchline of this election cycle, to reveal al little more.

I don’t expect you to know too much about how to read a chart, but the highlights are interesting. Look at the three planets at the bottom of the chart. Venus, goddess of Love is surrounded is flanked on both sides by Neptune and Saturn. Neptune is the planet of illusion. It is about art, image and fantasy. On the positive side it is about universal love and selflessness. Used negatively it leads to nefariousness and confusion. Saturn on the other is the planet of discipline and reality. Venus and Saturn don’t really get along well. Think of how Cinderella’s stepsisters treated Cinderella and you have an image of the Venus, Saturn relationship. Both of these planets are in Scorpio, the sign that covers sexual lust. Add nebulous, confusing Neptune and you get an individual with severly mixed and conflicted feelings. BTW, all three planets are in the 3rd house of communication (text messages come to mind).

Look at the two planets just above the middle left of the chart. These are the planets Jupiter and Uranus. Jupiter is the glutton, opportunistic and expansive; too much is never enough. Uranus on the other hand is the bohemian, a bit different than the norm and proudly so. Both planets are in the 12th house of secretive behavior. You do the math.

These two are opposed by the Moon, the planet of emotion, in Capricorn, the least emotional of the signs. The Moon is also in the sixth house of organization. Oppositions show challenges from the outside. My guess, without knowing his parental history is that he was dominated by his mother in a less than loving way (can you say nitpicky). Throw in a molesting priest and you have a very confused person, especially in the area of attracting partners, dying to express himselves in big unique ways (Jupiter combined with Uranus), but who must do them secretly (12th house) and against the wishes of family image (Moon in Capricorn).

My hope is that this reveals a little more insight into the demons that plagued this man. As much as we laugh, we must realize that this is a story involving many. Perhaps now we know a little bit more about why Mark Foley acted how he did.

White Power? Coming from me? Whad up wit dat?

No, I am not advocating for the KKK or neo-Nazis. But ask yourself this question? What does it mean to be white? Do white people talk about what makes them white (other than their skin)? I think not. Which is part of the problem. White people don’t talk about the things that put them in the position they are. They need to talk about their history, what they should demand of themselves. What their boundaries are. Should you be a white person like George Bush? Marilyn Monroe? Marilyn Manson? Martha Stewart? Stalin? What does it mean to be white? Who should white heroes be?

Yes, I rant about racism and how ridiculous to think it has ended. But one of the problems I see is total self-denial. That is because white people don’t discuss, with anyone, what being white is about. To so many whites, race doesn’t exist because they don’t see themselves as white people, just as people. I think of myself that way sometimes, but don’t have the luxury of self-erasing my color.

To the same extent, the same goes for men. RQ spoke in “They’re made of Meat” of the how confused men are about how to treat women. Feminism as post-modern construct is a little less than forty years old. Men don’t know how to treat women because in so many ways (and I am not faulting women in this) the dialog about men and women has been a negative. Plus. not every woman is a feminist and capable of fighting the good fight. After all, who is going to teach men to learn new ways and forget the old ones? For whatever reason (most of them physical), men dominated the world for centuries. Unlearning bad behavior will not disappear in a little over a generation, especially since the argument still rages (and also because the US is still the most advanced as far as feminism relative to other nations).

So, yes, like White Power, I would like to see Man Power (I know, lousy title). Man power that talks about feelings.

And just to give add perspective. Remember that Black Power was based on an image issue; Blacks had for at least a century been told that the best way to gain in society was to act white. Pick up an old copy of Ebony and you will see it littered with skin lighteners (laced with mercury) and hair straighteners (laced with lye). Obviously, the color issue has not gone away in the black community, but remember Black Power too (or what’s left of it is also only barely a generation old.

OK, so we need better names than White Power and Man Power, but change must come from within.