If You Take Your Ball and Go Home, They Still Win

“Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote.” - William E. Simon

The final numbers aren’t in yet for national voter turnout Tuesday as absentees are still being counted. The preliminary numbers vary depending on the area and the source. Some places were up to about 43% or more, which is pretty good for a mid-term election.

But understand one thing. You suck if you didn’t vote on Tuesday. You’re disastrously foolish if you believe your abstinence from the ballot box is teaching those darn politicians a lesson. Sending them a message by NOT voting is like taking your ball and going home. You do know we just continue to play without you, right?! And we talk about you when you leave saying things like, “What a spoil sport!” Or, “That guy is a total downer! Who invited her anyway?!” Better yet, “What a whiner!”

See, that is the point. The politicians really don’t want you to cast a vote. They don’t want to hear you whine. They hold more power when they don’t have to answer to your complaints, criticisms, opinions, or your vote. So quite honestly, the best way for them to avoid you is get you to go home or walk away.

Getting you to stay home is pure marketing genius. It is negative marketing at its core, but genius none-the-less. It is the foundation of the attack ads where the goal between both candidates is to generate so much bad will in the public that you give up altogether. You walk away from it all in order to avoid the whole uncomfortable mess.

What I don’t understand is why you haven’t figured this out yet. You are being manipulated. You are being purposefully pushed out of the system. Hell, they are giving you their own ball so that you will go home and not play. Then they can do whatever the hell they want or can habitually get away with.

So, to put a better marketing spin on this whole voting responsibility thing, let’s start with this one. Voting is completely free and there are parts of the world where a citizen has no say. So this is highly valuable, this free voting thing. Where else can you say Free = Valuable !?

Even better, given the absentee ballot you can vote at home. You can talk about the candidates and issues with a significant other or a phone call with a friend.

Voting doesn’t take a ton of time. In fact, it is approximately the length of time it takes to sit on the couch and enjoy a beer. Snacks are optional.

Voting is easy. Remember the ScanTron test. You can fill in a bubble with No. 2 pencil, yes?

The hardest part is having an opinion. And in most cases, having an opinion means you need to know the reasons and justifications to back it up. However, here is a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” for that one. Voting can be as private as you want it to be. Let your vote do the talking for you. Nobody else has a right to know how you voted. It is just between you and your ScanTron.

Ultimately, even if you are fairly disgusted about the options today, vote. Find a differentiator between the options and vote, if nothing but for the least offensive choice. But, vote. Stay in the game.

Although, when the follow-up pollsters call your house to ask how and why you voted, tell them you voted for the candidate/issue with the most positive message. If nothing else, that alone might make significant changes for the better.

HOPE

>"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations." - President Barak Obama

I Have My Dream

Today is Monday, January 19. It is a day reserved in the name of Martin Luther King. And, I am happy to see that instead of it turning into another designated shopping day slash Hallmark holiday on the yearly calendar, it has become a day dedicated in service.

I don't blog about my company as a rule, but today I think we missed an opportunity. Instead of turning this day into an extension of another three day weekend, I'd like to see the firm suggest ways we can take the day to volunteer our service. If we don't chose to do that, THEN we can come into work regularly.

Not sure the powers at be see it that way, but I have a dream (albeit an itty-bitty, small one).

In 2009 + Life's Lyrics 18 - Brand New Day

New Year’s Eve has always been a source of trepidation. For some, it feels like a night of mandatory feting. Everyone dressing up in garb they might never wear again (comfortably maybe, but, probably not). It can be an expensive night. People marinate their brains on alcohol in order to forget the previous year. Or celebrate/dread the upcoming one. It can be more of a hyped-up holiday where one must attain a socially respectable level of enjoyment.

However much I enjoy a good party, this NYE brings about much needed reflection. For the majority of the year, 2008 sucked. But with it came a ton of great and encouraging people and events. Suffice it to say, I would have soberly stared at you, blinking unbelievably if you had hinted to me that in 2008 I would teeter-totter between extreme emotions while crying/laughing along at each one:

- Surviving divorce and now a reveling in a new Love;
- Bush anger and Obama hope;
- Leaving what has been my home (living out of suitcase through all of 2008) and now starting a new home from scratch (with a permanent place to put my toothbrush);
- Fearing economic upheaval and being thankful for a job I love;
- Losing my dog of 13 years and thriving with my non-profit work for the zoo;
- Cooking for one vs. cooking for my kids/friends/Girlfriend; and,
- I will not miss the countless remote hours alone in a small condo from hell but will always cherish the memories during the multiple travels with friends/loved ones.

If nothing else, 2008 was not boring. And you know what? I have no real regrets. Well, I might have done a few things better given a chance to revisit some things, but all in all I’ve come through the year looking forward 2009. I’ll be ok.

From Joshua Radin's acoustic little ditty (sounding very Cat Stevens-esque) are these lyrics from the song Brand New Day. I hope when you wake up on Thursday, January 1 on 2009, this is the first song you hear.

Some kind of magic
Happens late at night
When the moon smiles down at me
And bathes me in its light

I fell asleep beneath you
In the tall blades of grass
When I woke the world was new
I never had to ask

It’s a brand new day
The sun is shining
It’s a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I’ll be ok

Most kind of stories
Save the best part for last
And most stories have a hero who finds
You make your past your past
Yeah you make your past your past

It’s a brand new day
The sun is shining
It’s a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I’ll be ok

This cycle never ends
You gotta fall in order to mend

It’s a brand new day
It’s a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I’ll be ok

Good Morning

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
- Maya Angelou (at the inauguration for President Bill Clinton)

Last night was a wonderful experience. I sat on the couch, my kids on either side of me, watching history. November 4th, 2008 was a day about a new chapter in American history for all the obvious reasons. But it was also about my kids. It was about us. I am proud to be a part of this change.

Granted, the days ahead are going to be challenging to say the least. The responsibility and mountains to climb are rather daunting. However, I am encouraged by the passion and shear energy from this movement. I learned last night that we can, no will, change for the better.

This morning I have hope for change for the first time in a very, very long time.

Good morning, indeed.

Reason #31

... from 30 Reasons .... Reason #31.

Ron Howard on This Election

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Me, Not My Money

I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat. - Will Rogers

I have no money to give. Of all the elections, I have no money to donate to my candidate of choice this election year. With a staggeringly slim divorce budget and these economic times, there is no money leftover.

And the countless emails I’m getting to give money are starting to rub me the wrong way because they don’t need the money. Right now, what they need, is more people.

If I ran the campaign today, I would make a huge announcement that given the economic uncertainty, my campaign was not going to ask for another dime. Instead, I’d ask for people. People with ideas. People to hold a house party just to listen to my plans on a conference call. I’d ask for more volunteers to help spread the word.

You are only asking for money because that is what campaign offices do. I’m president of a local, non-profit board. I get asking for money. We do it all the time, because that is what we do. We have all those systems in place and they kind of work on automatic. But, quite honestly, right now, what my non-profit needs is more people power. We need volunteers and people with know how. We need dedicated community leaders. If we can show a strong group of people, the money will follow ... Eventually.

So, Obama Campaign? .... Focus on your people who can get more people. You need my attention, not my money. You need my enthusiasm for your candidacy, not my last dollar. You want my time, my ideas, and my vote. Not my money. Not today.

McCain-Palin Haiku

These are precious ones.
You can vote for your favorite.
Haiku Politics!

Unless You Have Blinders On

So. The last Presidential debate was last night. And after reviewing all the debates, I’ve come to the following conclusion:

If you are a registered Republican and plan to vote party line no matter what, McCain won.

If you’re anyone else, Obama won.

California Prop 8

Prop 8, if passed, would take away the right from same sex couples to live in matrimony in California. And again, I repeat, take away the right. Removal of rights. People limiting other people’s rights because they just don’t agree.

I understand there are biblical implications and that can get sticky when we try to legislate religious and moral issues. I respect religious beliefs and differences. But let’s keep those in the church where they belong.

I heard the argument yesterday that this would protect the sanctity of marriage. But I once wrote in the previous blog, that the largest danger to marriage is not same sex marriages. It is divorce.

So, if it is allowable to get on a ballot the removal of a select few people’s rights, then maybe we could get an initiative on the ballot that “prohibits divorce”, the real enemy of marriage.

What? You think that’s crazy. Not much crazier than Prop 8.

The Play Station and the Financial Crisis

The Boy asked this morning, “Dad? What’s goin’ on in the news? What’s this crash they’re talking about?” The morning news was talking about another couple hundred point fall in the DowJones and the President just made a quick speech to the American public.

I started to explain it simply enough, but I could tell it wasn’t registering. The Boy had a glazed look in his eyes. And The Girlie looked up from her cereal bowl obviously semi-curious about the news, too.

“Ok, let me put it this way,” I started again. “Let’s say you wanted to buy yourself a new PlayStation. It cost $100 dollars. You promise to pay it back by earning it over time doing yardwork. However, I don’t just want my $100. I want $110. The extra $10 is called interest….. Does that make sense so far?”

“Sort of,” he admitted. “But, won’t charge me more than the $100, right? You’re my Dad!” he joked.

“No, I’m a bank. I make money for the bank by charging you a bit more than the money I loaned you. Banks need to make money, too. They don’t just give away money for nothin’,” I clarified with a finger in the air as emphasis.

“Fine. I get it,” he admitted, “What about this crash though?”

“I’m getting to that. Stay with me,” I continued. “Now, not only are you promising to pay me back the $100 plus the $10 interest, I want something called collateral. Collateral is something of similar value you let me hold until you can pay me back. So…. Let me think …. I give you the money to buy the PlayStation, but in the meantime I get to keep all your GameBoy games until you do.”

“So, basically,” he continued, “You get to do whatever you want with my GameBoy games if I don’t pay you back. Right?”

“Yep!” I said, “now for the crash…. One day, you and all your friends decided GameBoys were kind of old school and nobody plays them anymore. GameBoys became like Eight Track tapes.”

“What?” the Girlie scrunched her nose.

“Never mind,” I back tracked. “You all decided Gameboys had cooties. You all are into Rock Band and Guitar Hero now, anyway. Those GameBoy games are now not worth the $100 anymore. They MIGHT be worth $20 on eBay.”

“That stinks,” the Girlie chimed. The Boy chuckled.

“Exactly,” I pointed to her and she smiled. I looked at the Boy “Plus, you’ve been spending so much time playing your new PlayStation that you haven’t done any yardwork. You don’t have any money to pay me back for the PlayStation. So, since you can’t pay me back, you just let me keep the GameBoys. Make sense?”

“Yeah, I got a new PlayStation for some worthless Gameboys,” he beamed.

“That’s right,” I continued, “the bank, or me, just lost a bunch of money because we thought GameBoys and PlayStations would be popular for a long time. And, now they aren’t so much anymore.”

“You shouldn’t have loaned me the money, huh!” the Boy admitted.

“Well, yes,” I admitted. “I, as a good parent, should have asked you to raise the money on your own first. You should have been able to afford it on your own. As a good bank, I should have had you be a bit more responsible. Instead, I let you just get whatever you wanted.”

“So, now,” I continued, “Think of the PlayStation as a house. Instead of a hundred dollars, think of hundreds of thousands of dollars. What the banks did was loan a ton of money to people to buy houses, like I just did with you and the PlayStation money. Only, nobody predicted that the value of their houses, or in this case your games, would go down in price. PlayStations, as we speak are being replaced by Wii’s. Even your PlayStation isn’t worth as much anymore and you just bought it. For years, when you bought a house, it was thought that it would keep its value, that it would be worth more tomorrow. What is happening now, is that our house isn’t worth as much as when we bought it three years ago. A lot of people borrowed money based that their house would be worth more in a year or two. That isn’t happening. Houses lost a lot of value and now the banks are losing a ton of money. It started a really bad money cycle. And it has caused a lot of worry.”

“So, basically,” the Boy wanted to be done with this lesson, “I shouldn’t borrow money. I should raise it first.”

“Yes,” I answered, “With one last point … be careful what you buy. Nothing holds value very long. Not a PlayStation. Not a house. You have to be careful with your money. Americans and the banks and the government haven’t been very careful over the last ten years or so.”

“Obama will fix it,” shouted the Girlie striking a cheerleader pose.

“I hope so, Girlie. I sure hope so,” I finished.

Graphic Designers for Obama

The site is called 30 Reasons. Their goal is simple: Use design to build a logical, multi-faceted argument for Obama and make it easy to share each reason with another person. Here is the first graphic....

President Bartlett talks with Obama

How the hell did I miss this? Brilliant. Simply BRILLIANT.

VP Debate and your Palin Bingo Cards

For your enjoyment tonight: Palin Debate Bingo Cards

Download and print them from PDFs. Should be a hoot!

UPDATE 10.03.08: I so lost. Twice. Possibly three times. I had the two cards that were broken. Although, I need to see the transcripts, cause I swear she said "Gee" at least once. But I just didn't hear it.

VP Debate Questions

I'd like to ask these questions to each candidate and see if they know the answers without either of them hearing the other. Quite honestly, I know Biden can answer these. So, it is a seemingly unfair set of questions. Or is it? Shouldn't a VP of the United State know the answers and be able to talk about these intelligently?

What is the definition of stare decisis?
What is Title IX and why is it important?
Are you in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ?
Explain the importance of Lawrence v. Texas .
What is an Executive Order ?

The Language of Debate

I'm not sure my schedule allows me to watch the Presidential debate tonight. I am having it TiVo-ed just in case. And there is always YouTube, too.

However, going back to my college days I remember a professor telling me something in a speech class ...

The person that creates and masters the language, controls the debate.

Think hard about that statement.

And about tonight, as we saw in 2000 and in 2004, the candidate that wins the debates doesn't necessarily win the election. Both campaigns should keep that in mind after it is completed.

Also, it might seem vain to quote myself. Well, it is vain, but screw it. I've been thinking a lot about a post I wrote years ago at the other blog.

I believe there is a subtle difference between urgent (last minute) and important (planned). Urgent is always a cop out. It is simply too easy and justified in the minds of the lunatic people. Everyone can agree when something is urgent. Urgent trumps important every time. Everyone gets heated over a crisis. Mistakes happen. People miss things. Urgent is easy because everyone agrees about Urgent. Urgent is vital. It is pressing ... Urgent sucks.

No, I’d rather languish in Important. One can have a beer or a glass of wine and still deal with Important. One can study what is right and correct with the appropriate amount of time. Important is weighty. It is central and valuable. Nothing about Important says late and frantic.

Let's think about THAT tonight during the debates and not get too completely caught up in the Wall Street bailout as THE issue. No doubt the Bailout issue is important, indeed. But let's treat it that way and not panic in "urgent". Let's do this right.

Frodo Gives The Ring to King George and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

I so want to go back to just being a divorced, daddy blog and talk about my kids and music and self-amusing anecdotes of life. I’m trying so hard not to turn this blog into a political thing again (like Mudholer became at times).

But when the chain of events lead to the American public giving ONE MAN $700,000,000,000 with no means of oversight or accountability, I have to simply say, “No!” with a capital ‘N’. No is the only responsible word here.

Now, I don’t know much about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. He is probably a good man. (I tend to trust the good in people first, even politicians. I know, it is a fault of mine and I’m working on that issue.) And I’m sure he knows a kazillion more about the financial system than I do, but … but… But THIS wording from the Bush Administration’s proposal simply can’t be more of the ‘King George’ stuff, can it?

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

So, let me get this straight. We’re handing over $700 Billion to one man in exchange for a promise, a promise with no public or even judicial review? This guy gets our money to do as he pleases without accountability, without interference? Well, let’s just throw this whole democracy thing right out the window.

How is this not taxation without representation at its best?

I understand this is serious. This is like when Frodo offers The Ring to those in the Fellowship of the Nine to take the burden as Ring Bearer. The only ones you CAN trust are the ones that DON’T want that much sole power.

So, the reason I don’t want this nice Mr. Paulson to get all this money is precisely because he says he wants it and to trust him. And I’d rather trust a slower moving bureaucracy with oversight and accountability than anointing a king.

A Safe Place

When I get into the house every other Friday, I’m typically not prepared to cook for either me or the kids. The Girlie and I do the weekly shopping on our Saturday morning ritual. So, Fridays tend to be pizza night. Last night was no exception. I still push for the three of us to at least sit down, stare at each other, and for me anyway, try to catch up on the missed week of my children’s lives. Sometimes all I get is a “not much”. Sometimes I get last night.

Between bites of pizza at a quiet moment, The Girlie asked me “Why are we still at war in Iraq? The news showed some little kids that were lost. I don’t like that at all.”

I was briefly taken aback and over chewed my pizza, hiding behind a façade of a smile so I could think about my explanation. I needed to think of comforting fatherly words to ward off the evil world that wormed its way into my daughter’s consciousness. I fished for the words that could blur the edges of an impoverished child or tanks or soldiers or worse.

I will admit, I’ve wanted to see more of what the war is all about on tv. I don’t believe it is good to hide our actions from the American people. We already seem to be a culture of sheep to a certain extent. I believe if we actually could see all the caskets with draped American flags and more of the devastation these leadership decisions have caused, the American public (I’m talking mostly about the Republican conservative folks) might not have been as supportive.

However, in this moment with my kids I was torn and I knew with frightened clarity that events happen every day. This wasn’t just about the war. I was actually a bit relieved she didn’t ask me about the fall of the American financial world, as I’m not sure I could have really explained that to my nine year old. Not sure I could explain it to me right now. But it was immediately apparent there is a new nightmare nearly every day. Nine year olds must ponder these things all the time. Or they blindly choose to ignore it all and go naively playing with their dolls all sugar and spice with everything nice.

If given the choice to rewind those moments for her, I would have gladly hit the double arrowed left button and rerecorded a newer, nicer video over her Memorex. After all, in spite of my personal world-view, I am her father. I’m Daddy. I protect. It is my job more than any other. If a part of this life didn’t depend on the tv as baby-sitter whilst I prepare dinner (and my addiction to big screen football Sunday), the tv would be on the curb.

Yet, the news is the news. It is on tv every night, and despite the lack of a credible reality counter for the Good to balance it all out, it should be a reminder to all of us that life is not fair. There is no escaping the injustices this world forces upon us. Dark things exist around some of the most seemingly normal places looking all rainbows and ribbons.

And that clue is what The Girlie wanted to know. She is a smart girl and getting more grown up all the time. She simply wanted a version of the truth she could stomach.

So, without going into my politics I tried to explain the basics of the war in Iraq to a nine year old girl; how it started, why we are still there, and my hopes that we end it soon.

I watched her think. I was apprehensive. I’d given her too much to chew on, politically speaking. Her face scruntched up with cute, little thought lines above her eyebrows, “If Obama wins the election will he get us out of the war?”

That’s my girl, I thought as I took a swig of beer to down my bite of pizza. “I hope so,” I stated.

And that was that.

I sort of wish the conversation had turned back to the scary things. I know she sees a lot of it anyway. There are other kids that go to school with her where the parents have restraining orders. She knows kids from abuse. Hell, she knows life can go pretty quickly from an assumed happy family of four to a divorce and alternating parents every other week. She knows.

After dinner, I cuddled up with both kids for a rousing round of Rock Band on the PlayStation. And I wondered if my heart could slow down a bit and keep time with the drum beats coming at me on the screen. I think it is important for us all to laugh.

That is my counter. That is what I, as dad, do. Teach, warn, prepare, love, encourage, and provide that one and only safe place. Home.

The Wrong Side of Wrong

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. - Thomas Paine - Common Sense

Life these days seems to be more about being wrong or not being wrong (aka being right). It is front and center in politics and the looming November elections. It is prevalent in all things business (being wrong might lead to lawsuits). A state of wrongness seemed to be a constant issue playing a part in the downfall of my marriage and a current cornerstone in our post marriage conversations. Being wrong starts stuff we want to avoid, for some at all costs (lying, cover-ups, etc.).

Yet being correct or right is just normal. It goes unnoticed. Similar to good news in the media, being right or correct gets very little recognition. It doesn’t matter if one is honorable or righteous, one will still go to great lengths to get out of a situation where one has screwed up or made a mistake. And why? Why is being wrong so bad? Doesn’t it mean a decision was made? Something was acted upon?

I guess it leads me to the real point. Why do others thrive on pointing out ones errors? Why inflict heaps of discomfort on others by touting someone’s wrong? I get that it is a survival instinct. It stems as a bit of a martial art to deflect the attention off of oneself by pointing out the failings of another, no matter how much one cares or loves or likes the other person.

The world has come to a place where being right isn’t the goal. Just not being wrong, is.

Personally, I’ve observed how I deal with being in the wrong. I have an ego, too, so I don’t like being in that place any better than anyone else. But I also admit when I’ve made a mistake outright. I think most people to be fairly forgiving when I’m upfront and honest about my mistakes. I don’t deflect. I accept and move on. It is a lot less painful that way.

I guess I like to think it isn’t about proving wrongness in the world. Wrong happens. Maybe instead of feeling better by tearing one down, we should look to the other direction. One should be given the kudos for being right. Let’s forget seeking power by proving another wrong. The world would be a better place, yes?

It is just a thought. I could be wrong.