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… I knew that wouldn’t have” … if I hadn’t voted today.
James Brown could sing it better than I can, but that’s how I felt this afternoon after I sent in my absentee ballot, all the way from Hunan, China. I had this mental picture of sticking it to Bush and Cheney, McCain and Palin. I hope it hurts. Ow!
An ex-pat, I discovered a few weeks ago that I could cast my vote in Indiana (my last US place of residence) by mail, fax or e-mail. All the necessary forms and instructions are right there on the Indiana state government website.
I want to extend a public thank you to Linda Moeller, the Floyd County Clerk, who in a very friendly manner immediately responded to my emails and faxes. (Linda’s a Democrat, by the way.)
While I could have preserved the secrecy of my vote by voting by mail, I chose the fax method. I wanted to be sure my vote arrived well within the Nov. 14 deadline. If Indiana is going to be a close race, I wanted to help decide the contest on Nov. 4.
Here’s the nuts and bolts, for anyone interested. If you are an ex-pat or someone in the uniformed services and are already registered to vote in Indiana, you fill in and fax form ABS-12 to your county clerk’s office. This form requests an absentee ballot be faxed back to you.
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You could have hit me with a feather and knocked me over. The Chicago Tribune has endorsed Democrat Sen Barack Obama (D-Illinois), for the presidency, breaking a 161-year tradition.
Next, Christopher Buckley, author and commentator for the conservative National Review — the magazine his father founded, will be endorsing Obama.
Oh, wait, he did that already. Nevermind.
In both cases, paragons of conservative Republican values broke ranks and defected — if only temporarily — to the “other side.” The Trib’s editorial board and Buckley join the ranks of several other notable conservative voices who have abandoned the sinking ship of Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The Trib, in its endorsement, praised Obama for his intellectual rigor, calm, measured demeanor, and ability to mend fences and build coalitions. It said he would make a fine president.
As for McCain, the paper pulled no punches in criticizing him and especially his campaign. Recalling the reasons why the Trib has always endorsed either the conservative candidate or the reformist candidate, it says,
This is a preview of Chicago Tribune endorses its first Democrat for president . Read the full post (824 words, 1 image, estimated 3:18 mins reading time)Possibly related posts:
JISHOU, HUNAN — No-nothings are dragging Barack Hussein Obama’s name through the mud, alleging his middle name, especially, identifies him as an Arab and/or a Muslim.
So I’ve decided we all should — at least temporarily anyway — adopt the name Hussein.
One of the more inspiring stories from World War II comes from Denmark during the Nazi Occupation. The Nazis required all Jews to wear a six-pointed star. Led by the king and queen of Denmark, the Danes responded by everyone, Jew or otherwise, wearing the star. It was at once a show of solidarity, of peaceful resistance, and of rejecting prejudice.
These ignorant anti-Obama Americans (see below) act as if “Hussein” is also some kind of identification badge. Rather, it is a common name — meaning “handsome” or “good” — among Arabs and Arab-Americans, much as my given names, “John” and “James” are common (in a myriad of forms) among Christians worldwide.
But my names do not automatically confer upon me membership in the Christian faith. The fact that John Wilkes Booth and James Ruby were famous killers in US history does not imply I am one twice over. No, my parents honored my heritage by naming me after my father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Similarly, “Hussein” does not identify Obama as an Arab, or a Muslim, and certainly not as a terrorist. It was his Kenyan grandfather’s name. That’s all.
The Danes stood up to ignorance and bigotry. We should, too.
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