Because I am so excited, I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything. I was attempting to study for my GMAT on the bus this morning, but that wasn't working out so well for me. Luckily, I have nothing sitting in my in box at work right now or I'm afraid I just wouldn't be able to get it done. So, instead, I've decided to write and provide some interesting links for you to check out.
The fight over Proposition 8 is so fucked up. I won't reiterate my standing on the issue, because frankly, I've stated it enough in this blog. I will add something to the fire, however. When I scroll through my RSS feeds and stumble upon an article referring to the fight over Proposition 8 as the Gay Gettysburg, I'm at once appalled and amused, but I find it oddly appropriate. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the forces of the North and South fight for what they believed in with all their passion, similar to the fight in California. At Gettysburg, one side was fighting for justice and the other side was fighting for oppression (oversimplification, I'm well aware, but it's the root and that's the point), in California we have people fighting to oppress us and us fighting for our freedoms. What's appalling is that this fight isn't about liberating, it's about retracting freedoms. In the Civil War, people were fighting to liberate a repressed population of people. Even the oppressors weren't fighting to oppress further (can there be worse oppression than slavery?), but to maintain the "right" to do so. Now, we're looking at a situation where people want to take away freedoms from a group of people and that group fighting to maintain their basic freedoms. Imagine fighting the Civil War to gain the right to enslave a free, honest and respectable people. Imagine the South saying "we want to enslave all Irishman" and fighting several bloody battles to do so. That seems utterly ridiculous, doesn't it? So does taking away people's rights, simply because of a capricious whim.
Rachel Maddow made some interesting comments concerning Election Poll Stations and the lines that form simply so people can vote. Her stance is that these lines are simply another form of voter discrimination. When I first read that line, I thought it was a bit extreme, but upon further thought, it may have some validity. People that work hourly jobs, who also tend to pull in a lower salary, probably cannot afford to sacrifice a few hours pay to wait in line to cast a vote. Those people are more likely to vote Democrat. Repressing the vote of an entire class of people due to their inclination to vote a certain way = voter discrimination. But here's the other side. Many (read most) places have Early Voting nowadays. If you don't have early voting, you can usually request an absentee ballet so you can vote by mail. There are options. Even those options aren't the best though, as there are far fewer early voting stations than election day stations and there are usually some restrictions on who can and cannot cast absentee ballots.I'm not sure how we could reduce lines though. More polling stations? Here in Chicago, I have a polling station in my building which is 5701. The next polling station is literally across the street at 5700. The next is around the corner, half a block West. From my perspective, that seems to be plenty of polling stations. You know what holds up polling stations? Illogically elderly people working them who either don't understand the process or are far passed the point of being able to read but are charged with verifying voter registration. Yeah, I said it. Why Election day isn't a national half-holiday or something to the effect is beyond me. Wouldn't it make sense to guarantee EVERYONE has a right to vote and ensure that people of better abilities are running the polls?
I believe that's all my ranting for the moment. I'm sure I'll have more as the day plods along and I hit refresh on the CNN homepage approximately 270,056,066.32 times today.
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