Whooping cough, the "new" epidemic--that nagging cough
Sun Dec 12, 2004 at 11:51:02 PM PDT
With all the fuss about flu and flu vaccine shortages, it seems sort of ironic that the thing that's been making our lives hell since the election is not Bush, but a disease for which I was once "fully vaccinated" and which people seem to know next to nothing practical about. So listen up, this may be critical for you or someone in your life....
What does it have to do with politics? Well, let's just say that sometimes when politics takes over the whole "spin" department in the medical world, sometimes the things that get fussed about are not the things that SHOULD get fussed about. Read on, boys and girls, you NEED this info. Pass it along.
Comprehending high turnout and a Bush victory
Thu Nov 04, 2004 at 01:05:14 AM PDT
Oregon, I believe, had the highest voter turnout of any state. I cannot guarantee we were fraudless, but what I can tell you is that no voters were challenged at the polls, ballots were cast on paper and optically scanned, and there were no huge surprises. Except, maybe, one.
We voted for Kerry--that's not a surprise. The only surprise for us is how narrow the margins were.
When you look at voter turnout, I think you find an answer.
My county, Lane, is very politically active and motivated and we hit 90% turnout. Yes, really. 90% of all registered voters voted. Our turnout was 76% the day before the election, because it's all vote by mail.
State average turnout was 84%. Great! Right?
Except that turnout in our biggest, most liberal county in the state, Multnomah, was only "average".
More below the fold:
Bush Vs. The Poor (NYT on the sabotage of Section 8)
Sat Oct 16, 2004 at 04:05:43 AM PDT
The War on Affordable Housing
Damn him.
Just damn him.
I got knocked up when I was 20. Decided to keep the baby. Went on welfare when my child's father decided that he wasn't ready for parenthood and that he'd rather I went on welfare than continue living with him. My preference was to wait a few more months, get work, then move out. He made life intolerable enough that waiting was not an option.
At that point in my life, the waiting list for Section 8 was between 1-3 years. I first rented a single room from a midwife. After about 6 months, I moved in with my parents, paying rent out of my welfare money. Food stamps helped too, as did WIC. I managed to scrape up just enough extra cash to buy a crappy old car, which ran so well that when it got swiped a couple years later, it was still running when they found it in the Goodwill parking lot.
More:
Bush Misses Link
Fri Oct 15, 2004 at 04:00:45 PM PDT
Or maybe he
is the missing link? I don't know. I just know that the following headline left me spitting mad:
Bush: Kerry misses link between education, jobs
Bush said good jobs begin with education and that Kerry "failed to recognize the changing realities of today's world and the need for reform."
Tell that to my daughter's father, who's been out of work for 2+ years. He has a degree in electrical engineering.
More:
A little hope, a little fear: Young voters in Oregon
Thu Oct 14, 2004 at 11:11:57 PM PDT
My mother's doorbell rang this evening. A couple of young college students were there--no, they weren't canvassing, they just wanted to introduce themselves as Mom's new next-door neighbors and let my parents know they'd be throwing a party Friday night. How considerate to check in with the neighbors!
The conversation turned to politics... they said they were glad to see the lawn signs my parents have out. Mom, who happened to have dozens in her car because she's going to help open a coast office for Kerry this weekend, offered them one, and they gladly accepted.
A post to a group of conservatives, synopsis of the issues
Sun Oct 10, 2004 at 02:06:44 PM PDT
On another board I frequent, a group of women were saying, "The president deserves respect because he is the president." This is my answer to them.
When Bush was appointed president, I did not get terribly upset. I thought, "You know, if he does what he said he was going to do, most of it won't be so bad." Then he went on vacation. I wasn't impressed, but figured he'd do less damage that way. Then 9-11 happened, and I thought, "He'll either shine, or he will flop..." And it seemed, for a moment, like he might shine. He said mostly the right things.
More....
Talking to my neighbor
Mon Oct 04, 2004 at 08:11:22 PM PDT
I was chatting with my neighbor about this and that, when I asked her, "Are you registered to vote?"
She said, "Yeah."
Her grandson came over and said, "Who are we voting for, Gramma?"
She looked at me, looked down, and said, almost embarrassed, "I'm a Republican". (We have lawn signs...)
More below the cut....
