:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Saturday, November 30, 2002 ::

Hello from Virginia – just off the DC Beltway, to be more precise. I have spent the Thanksgiving holiday here with Raúl and Carolyn and Tom and Kay, Carolyn's folks. It has been a pleasant trip, pleasantly uneventful. We ate turkey and sushi and four kinds of pie, watched movies, unloaded a public storage locker, dumped a sofa at the town dump, chilled on the sofa with the Washington Post, played Scrabble, raked leaves, and saw a fox in the back yard. Tomorrow we drive home...14 hours with three of us and Didi, the dog, in Bam Bam, the Bronco. Did you know they have Starbucks at the rest stops on the Ohio Turnpike?
:: Ray 10:24 PM [+] ::
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Just in time for the holiday, I have finished the technical project I mentioned on 11/15/02, a restoration of Mary's original Technicolorlife.com web page. This is the page she created to show off Betty, along with a 1974 Airstream brochure. See here!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
:: Ray 10:38 PM [+] ::
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God bless Robert Bryd.

On Tuesday, during the conclusion of the Homeland Security debate, the good Senator expressed in his wonderful, articulate, statesmanlike yet no-bullshit style what I believe to be the truth about the Homeland Security Bill. "An irresponsible exercise in political chicanery," he labeled it, then went on to nail just who it benefits, who it screws, and the disservice it does to all of us. Read his remarks on Salon. Enjoy!
:: Ray 1:12 PM [+] ::
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Today I find myself getting quite incensed at the Homeland Security Bill that is being rammed through the Senate. If anything resembling the version that passed the House last week is approved, we will have surrendered quite a few rights to the powers that be, and handed the corporate friends of Prez Bush and the Republicans a nice, big, juicy plum.

Among other things, the House version contains the language of the CSEA, the Computer Security Enhancement Act. This act expands wiretap and surveillance permissions for law enforcement without a court order, and calls for a life sentence for malicious computer hacking.

The House version also negates a measure that the late Senator Paul Wellstone pushed for, which would prohibit Homeland Security Department contracts being awarded to corporations with offshore tax havens. Why are the Republicans so eager to reward corporations with offshore tax havens? How patriotic is that?

There is plenty more objectionable content to be found in this bill. If you are curious about it, ask me.

I called my senators to let them know what I think. If you read this, I encourage you to do the same. Find them here.
:: Ray 3:13 PM [+] ::
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Sometimes a day of vegging in front of the TV can be quite therapeutic. Yesterday I worked a short day (9-1), then came home, intending to continue packing Mary's things. Instead I turned on the TV and ended up watching sci-fi and westerns until midnight.

Today I am glad I did. I feel much less forlorn about things in general. This morning I even had the energy to start work on a small technical project that I will herald here when it is completed, something I have procrastinated about for almost a year.
:: Ray 1:16 PM [+] ::
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Last night I began packing some of Mary's things for her family to come and pick up this weekend. It was difficult, but I did OK until I stumbled across her last journal, which I hadn't seen before. It starts before we met, and contains periodic entries from throughout our relationship. The last entry is from August, just after the wedding, and talks about how happy she was to be married to me.

It is approaching a year since since Mary died. While I still love her and miss her, she has begun to seem increasingly distant as time has passed. I haven't cried when thinking about her for several months. But last night I did. I cried myself to sleep.
:: Ray 2:01 PM [+] ::
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Nearly a week and narry a post. Tsk tsk. I have no excuse, but the news has been mostly sad and uninspiring. I awoke last Wednesday morning to learn that Mondale had lost in Minnesota and that the Democrats had lost control of the Senate for the next two years. Ack. A lot of damage to the economy, basic government services, and personal and reproductive rights is going to done. My hope now is that once people see what is going on, they will come to their senses in 2004. The sad thing is that it could all take decades to undo. What am I talking about, specifically? Ask me. I would be happy to talk about it.

On the plus side, I finally talked with my sister, who gave birth again in late October. My new niece, Carlie Rae, is happy and healthy. Cute, too.
:: Ray 12:53 PM [+] ::
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I am exhausted. My alarm went off this morning at 4:30am. I arrived at a polling place in Niles, the next town over, to open as a pollwatcher at 5:45am. From then until 7:00pm I was on my feet, passing out palm cards, reporting numbers to the campaign, and running votes. After that there was was an excruciating wait for the final numbers so I could take them back to the campaign, and finally a chance to relax at the victory party. Campaigning is fun!

I am still watching the national results come in, and holding my breath, hoping the Democrats retain control of the Senate. But I am happy to be able to say that in Illinois and in my district, we kicked Republican ass! Most importantly to me, my candidate for state representative, Elaine Nekritz, won, as did Susan Garrett, the candidate for state senator that I was rooting for. Woohoo!

OK, time for bed. I wasn't kidding...I am wiped out.
:: Ray 10:20 PM [+] ::
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Tomorrow is election day. I will be pollwatching and campaigning for Elaine Nekritz, a Democratic candidate for state representative in my area (I would be happy to tell you about her if you are interested). It will be a long day, but I look forward to it. I enjoy helping a candidate I believe in and participating the mechanics of democracy in action up close. If you have never done it before, I highly recommend it.

More importantly than volunteering, however, I urge you to get out and vote. If you are reading this, you are most likely part of a demographic (mine) that is underrepresented, because we don't vote. Make your voice heard!

See results of my candidate's race here on Wednesday.
:: Ray 4:57 PM [+] ::
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