FACTS about your voting rights

From Kary Moss of the ACLU of Michigan: Fact: You have the right to vote without photo ID in Michigan Just ask to sign the affidavit form at the polls. Michigan's new photo ID law allows registered voters who don't have photo identification, or those who have forgotten to bring photo ID, to vote by signing a form at the polls stating they are not in possession of photo ID. Voters without ID need to know their right to vote because Michigan cities are getting this wrong. Shortly before the August 2008 primary election, both the cities of Allen Park and Grand Blanc sent newsletters to city residents stating the need for photo ID with no mention of the affidavit form for those without ID. The Secretary of State estimates that approximately 370,000 Michigan residents have no form of photo identification. Fact: You have the right to vote in Michigan if you are an ex-felon. Even those still on probation or parole can register and cast their vote on Election Day. Michigan law only prohibits those serving a sentence on election day from voting. People in jail awaiting trial or sentencing may vote by absentee ballot, and those who have been released but who are on probation or parole may vote after registering. Fact: You have the right to vote if your home is in foreclosure The Michigan State Department of Elections is informing poll workers statewide that voters with homes in foreclosure may not lose their right to vote nor be challenged on their right to vote. Those who have moved from their homes may vote in the same precinct up to 60 days after they have left that address. Fact: You have the right to vote if you wear campaign gear to the polls You cannot lose your right to vote if you wear a t-shirt, hat, button or other garb endorsing a candidate or an issue into the polling place. You will, however, be asked to remove these items by a poll worker or risk misdemeanor charges. Any and all campaign materials, including apparel, must be a minimum of 100 ft. outside of the polling place at all times. Fact: You have the right to be free of intimidation or harassment at the polls Voters should not be intimidated or discouraged from voting by questions like, "Have you paid your rent?" or "Have you paid your child support?" During the last presidential election, ACLU heard stories of voter intimidation like these occurring in precincts with low-income and African American voters. If voters are harassed or intimidated by anyone at the polling place, they should tell a poll worker immediately and call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, a joint project of state and national civil rights organizations, including the ACLU of Michigan. For more on your right to vote, click here. To download the ACLU's voter information card, click here.

Wireless Ypsi Soon to Reach the East Side

Wireless Ypsi is branching out. Dave Strenski (of the Ypsilanti City Hall Solar Power Project) and I have been trying to get a signal over here in the Historic East Side Neighborhood, but it has been a challenge, even with all the nodes in Depot Town. We are just a tad too far away. So today, Steve and Brian came over, and we borrowed Dave's ladder to string up a high powered antenna. We got it working, but even the high powered antenna won't reach Depot Town through all the trees, so an intermediate location will have to be tapped. I'm also looking into getting a DSL line put in by a provider who will allow Internet sharing. If I can get that accomplished, then I'll have a node, which would connect much of Maple and, if it reaches Dave's house, much of Oak. Here's a shot of me stringing the cable: Hopefully we can get this all up and running in the coming weeks.

When will Palin explain why rape victims in Wasilla had to pay for their own forensic exams?

While Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, her police chief made victims of rape pay for their own rape kits and forensic exams.  Palin has not commented on why she approved of this policy while mayor, or why she did nothing to stop it.  The New York Times is calling her out on her silence. Nor has she explained why it took unanimous legislative action against the policy used in Wasilla to put a stop to it: 'We would never bill the victim of a burglary for fingerprinting and photographing the crime scene, or for the cost of gathering other evidence,' said Alaska’s then-governor, Tony Knowles. 'Nor should we bill rape victims just because the crime scene happens to be their bodies.' Interestingly, Joe Biden, the Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate, has demonstrated some capable leadership on this issue: . . . when Senator Joseph Biden . . . drafted the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, he included provisions to make states ineligible for federal grant money if they charged rape victims for exams and the kits containing the medical supplies needed to conduct them. (Senator John McCain, Ms. Palin’s running mate, voted against Mr. Biden’s initiative, and his name has not been among the long list of co-sponsors each time the act has been renewed.) Palin's record isn't very long, so it isn't taking all that long for reporters to go over it and scrutinize it in an effort to discover what kind of governance she might provide if afforded the opportunity.  If the way she chose as mayor to treat victims of rape is any indication, then she is likely to be an uncaring, callous, and insensitive leader. Is this the kind of person we want to be one 73 year old's heartbeat away from the Presidency?

McCain chickens out

McCain doesn't want to debate Barack Obama this Friday. He says it's because of the financial crisis. You know, the one that his lobbyist campaign manager, Wall Street buddies and contributors and his Republican deregulation fanatics have foisted upon us. No doubt he's telling the truth, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that just last week McCain made a fool of himself touting that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong." And I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that his polling shows his campaign tanking over the last several days. The "Straight Talk Express" has left the tracks and catapulted over the side of a cliff. What a freak. UPDATE: Ole Miss may be out $5.5 Million if McCain bolts from this debate. UPDATE: Artwork from This Modern World:

Quote of the day

From Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: Republicans, who have won so many elections painting Democrats as socialists and pinkos, have now done so much irresponsible deregulating and deficit spending that they have to avoid fiscal Armageddon by turning America into a socialist, pinko society with nationalized financial institutions and a financial czar accountable to no one and no law. She may be onto something . . . .

Let me get this straight . . .

If you’re a minority and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a token hire.  But if you’re a conservative and you’re selected for a job over more qualified candidates you’re a game changer. If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're exotic and different.  But if you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you portray a quintessential American story. If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. But if you name your kids Willow, Trig, and Track, you're a maverick. Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.  But attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded. If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience. However, if your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive. If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.  But if you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian. If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. But if, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible. If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.  But if you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable. -Compiled from anonymous emails and various sources on the Internet, none of which fessed up to who actually wrote it.  If you know, let me know, so I can attribute it.  Video from Talking Points Memo.

Storm damage - thank goodness nobody was hurt

Last evening, while I was picking up the girls from their mom's, and while Meredith was at the grocery store, we apparently had a storm. A pretty bad storm, it appears, spawned by the remnant of Hurricane Ike, despite that we are thousands of miles away from where it made landfall. The tree right out in front of our house fell over, on top of the neighbor's beautiful Prius (which was not very old), and into their yard. What was so strange is that the wind normally blows in a different direction, up the hill. There must have been some exceptionally strange and strong winds to blow a tree that size in that direction. Turns out when they started cutting it up, it was hollow in the middle. Regular readers may recall when a large portion of the tree on the side of our house fell on our roof. I had that one taken down shortly thereafter to ensure that the whole thing didn't fall on the house (or on something else). At least nobody was hurt, and I hope the damage to my neighbor's car looks worse than it actually is.

Lies? Or just dishonesty? You decide.

From TPM: When you're done with that, feel free to read MSNBC's roundup of white lies, falsehoods and half-truths that Mr. Straight Talk seems comfortable foisting on the American public. And from the Atlantic, much, much more. From TruthOut, on Palin's Speech to Nowhere.

Matt Damon weighs in on Palin

And the best quote I've heard so far: I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. That's important. I want to know. I really do. Because she's going to have the nuclear codes. Another zinger: It's like a really bad Disney movie.  You know, the hockey mom . . .  'Oh, I'm just a hockey mom from Alaska,' and she's the President, and it's like, she's facing down Vladimir Putin using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink.   It's absurd.  It's totally absurd, and I don't understand why more people aren't talking about how absurd it is. I think it's fair to say he's not f***ing Sarah Palin.

Renaissance Festival '08

This year's Renaissance Festival, out in the Holly area, was a blast. The kids had a fun time, the parents had a fun time, everyone had a fun time! There was bouncing, fencing, jousting, rides, puppet shows, animals, axe-throwing for the children, archery, and rock climbing. Here's a photo album of the fun, first, the children playing with swords: Yep, that's our very own Rob of the Ypsilanti Youth Theatre, who puts on fantastic puppet shows: And that really is Bob Doyle with a cape on standing next to a biker with coconuts for knockers: The Queen was kind enough to knight all the children: And the children prepared for battle by first learning to bounce: And next learning how to throw an axe properly: How to shoot arrows: And how to climb to astounding heights! What a fun time. I can't wait until next year!

Get the latest McCain bumper sticker here

And you can get your bumper sticker here:

Hey, at least the bikini photo was fake

But the duplicity and hypocrisy within the Republican Party is real. In this video, McCain's spokesperson can't answer a single straight question about Governor Palin's foreign policy experience, after making foreign policy experience a major issue in this campaign: And here we have a slice of Americana: Republican delegates trying to justify abstinence-only sex-ed in our public schools: Finally, a link to pundit and former Republican speech writer Peggy Noonan caught on tape referring to the selection of Governor Palin for VP as "political bullshit." I, for one, couldn't agree more. But, admittedly, the most entertaining comment I've heard so far came from a friend (who shall remain anonymous) via email: "I've never seen such a large collection of angry, mocking, and scary white people." There is much time between now and the election. I, for one, look forward to hearing why being a mayor of a town 1/3 the size of Ypsi with a budget 1/3 the size of Ypsi's qualifies someone to be Vice President. I look forward to hearing how Palin explains her own Troopergate scandal she is facing. I look forward to hearing her "record" as Governor of Alaska. And, since I personally know someone who is a member of the Alaska National Guard, and since it is painfully obvious that she has never really "led" them in any significant military capacity -- most certainly not when they've deployed to Iraq -- I look forward to her explanation of how being commander in chief of the ANG qualifies her to be one heartbeat away from Commander-In-Chief of the largest and most powerful military in the world. UPDATE: An email opinion apparently from someone who actually claims to know Palin. It appears to have been verified as authentic. UPDATE: Another good quote via email: I just watched 3 hours of angry, old, rich white people on the Republican Convention and all I can say is I wish I had the last three hours of my life back. What a bunch of vapid windbags - they actually chanted "Drill Baby Drill" during Rudy Guilliani's speech. UPDATE: Comedy Central's John Stewart has the best expose on these lying liars that I've seen yet:

After the Dems blow us away, Gustav blows away the GOP's hopes

As the winds of change blew a welcome, refreshing breeze over America last week, nobody could have predicted that the hurricane-force winds battering the Gulf Coast would spare much of New Orleans, instead focusing their wrath on the disintegrating Republican Party platform and whatever remains of it's rotten, hollow and rickety foundation. Just days ago, Barack Obama stood within sight of a mountaintop, out in the fresh air, watched by more live and on television than any candidate in the past. In a mile-high town with a booming economy, Obama delivered on the mile-high dreams of his Democratic compatriots with a can-do attitude and a message of hope. Less than a week later, in a very different town, just a hop, skip and jump from a highway bridge collapse that has come to symbolize America's crumbling infrastructure, John McCain and his campaign have spent more time responding to the inquiries of the press than talking up their points. On the very first day of what was supposed to be the Grand Ole' Party's grand ole' party, Republicans exemplified the very indecision and lack of coordination that contributed so conspicuously to the 3-year-old national disaster we now refer to simply as "Katrina." First came the announcement that the convention might be delayed. Then we learned it might be abbreviated. Then the schedule was altered -- speakers juggled. Next we learned that there would be no attempt to "politicize" the hurricane, yet by the end of the day McCain's spokesman indicated that he might make his acceptance speech from the Gulf Coast. Bush and Cheney begged off to "monitor" hurricane response efforts, albeit from a safe distance, though it now seems more likely that they will end up as "surprise" guests via satellite in an attempt to pump up the energy among the party faithful. Which, of course, looks like a lame parroting of Obama's own initial satellite appearance at his party's convention. But who can blame them? Better to parrot Obama's image of success than draw more attention to Bush's own disgraceful response to Katrina. While all this indecision ran rampant over the best laid of convention plans, Obama quietly indicated to his supporters that with a hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, this was no time for political speeches. Instead of seeking photo-ops, Obama called Governor Jindal and asked if there was anything he could do to help. While the Republican leadership asked those present at the convention to use their cell phones to contribute to the Red Cross, Obama's campaign quietly shot out a text message to his entire base of support asking everyone to contribute while making the donation as simple as pushing a few buttons on the phone. With the memory still fresh of a Democratic National Convention that blew past every milestone it set for itself, with images of re-energized Dems dancing in the aisles and crying tears of joy in their seats, the Republican Party appears to be merely blowing in the wind, re-tooling the message, keeping the cameras away from reveling conventioneers, and bantering about better "branding." All the while they drift from any coherence in their message by spending far too much time trying to explain precisely who VP pick Sarah Palin is, and why she was selected. They struggle to keep a straight face while explaining how being in charge of the Alaska National Guard for a couple of years somehow might prepare her to command the largest and most powerful military in the known universe. And they wonder, wasn't that our best argument against the other guy? If lowering expectations has become an art, the Republicans have painted a picture that far surpasses the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.