vote for the flying monkeys

i’m loathe to post about politics because i’m loathe to talk about politics, so this will be quick:

1. this has been all over the web since saturday, and everyone’s been telling you to watch it. they’re right. you’ve got to watch this. it’s jon stewart of the daily show on cnn’s crossfire, where he goes on live and tells them that they’re nothing but party hacks, and pleads for them to actually tackle the issues and take the responsibility they have as a news program to actually inform their viewers of what’s actually going on. and yet they don’t get it, and just want to joke around. it’s sad, and he mentions this, that the standard they’re living up to is a fake news comedy show. it’s pretty amazing.
   
2. votepair.org teams up people in swing states who want to vote for third party candidates like nader with people in “safe” states who want to make their vote count. this way the swing state voter is comforted that nader gets voted for, and yet that vote is actually cast in a “safe” state, and doesn’t hurt the chances of, say, kerry getting elected due to people voting for nader in florida.
   
3. or better yet, just take matters in your own hands. operation snowbird encourages people to take advantage of the lenient requirements for registering to vote in florida and therefor do so, since otherwise they would be adding more votes to a “safe” state:
   
   Under Florida law, if you maintain a mailing address in the state of Florida and intend for Florida to be your state of legal residence, then you are in fact a Florida resident. In fact, you do not even have to be a homeowner in Florida, but could merely be a part-time renter who wishes to become a Florida resident. In addition, under Florida law, an individual can actually reside in two different states during different parts of the year, as long as they are registered to vote in only one state. It is totally up to the individual to decide which state he or she wishes to be registered to vote in. Under Florida law, to register and vote, you must merely be a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of Florida and of the county where you intend to vote, and of course, be at least 18 years of age at the time of the election in which you vote. (Florida Statutes Section 97.041)
   
   
4. there’s an article in the new yorker talking about pollster john zogby, who has the best summary of the election i’ve seen:
   
   you live in the land of oz, and the candidates are the tin man, who’s all brains and no heart, and the scarecrow, who’s all heart and no brains. who would you vote for?”

   Posted at October 18, 2004 4:23 PM