Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Election Day, 2006
Yup, I voted. It felt good; it nearly always does. As I commented to my wife on the way out: our Republic gives us an awful lot, and doesn't expect much of us in return. This is one thing that it does expect, and it's good to take it seriously.
Most of the ballot didn't interest me much, I'm sorry to say -- candidates for State Treasurer, State Auditor, that sort of thing. I did vote wherever there was a contested race, though. As a matter of principle, I don't like to vote in uncontested races; an uncontested candidate doesn't need my vote.
Except for one case. My Congressional Representative, Rep. Barney Frank, was running uncontested. I wrote in my wife's name instead. (She later sheepishly admitted to me that she'd written in my name. It's amazing how people can think alike sometimes.)
Oh, and people across the country keep asking: "Why don't the people of Massachusetts do something about Ted Kennedy? Why don't they vote him out of office for a change?" Well, all I can say is that I did the best I could.
The ballot also had some interesting open questions. Question 1 had to do with whether grocery stores in Massachusetts should be permitted to sell wine. (No, I'm not kidding. Right now the liquor stores in Massachusetts have a virtual monopoly on this.) Question 2 asked whether one candidate should be permitted to be listed on a ballot with more than one party -- e.g. candidate Daniel I. Brookline, running for town dogcatcher on the Independent ticket as well as the Free Our Dogs Party and the Over Six Feet Consortium. (The idea is that I could then get the majority of the vote, even if no single party does. I could also confuse the heck out of the voters; no, thanks. I also do not see how this increases political responsibility, as its advocates claim.)
Question 3 wanted to encourage private day-care providers to unionize. (But I thought the whole idea of using private, at-home day-care was that there was competition and variety from which to choose?) Question 4 was a proposal to increase Brookline property taxes by 3%, in order to pay for miscellaneous and unspecified projects to preserve historical landmarks and open spaces and such. (My feeling is: if they haven't been able to do so adequately up to now, why do they think that the answer is to throw more money at it? And, if more money is truly needed, is it not possible to redistribute the existing budget, instead of raising taxes? I know the answer to that one, of course.)
Question 5 was non-binding, to demand that our Representative vote in favor of a resolution to pull back all U.S. troops from Iraq immediately. You can probably guess how I voted on that one.
Get out and vote, people! Your country needs you.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Apologies for the Absence
To both of my regular readers -- sorry to have had so little to say of late. Some personal stuff has been on my mind in recent weeks; nothing vital, but it has been time-consuming. With luck I'll soon have it all behind me, and I can focus more here.
In the meantime, have some fun. I'll be back soon.
Labels: personal
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
International Kissing Day
Sometimes it seems there's a special day for everything, doesn't it? But that's okay -- as Amber points out, you don't have to buy anything special today -- just show your appreciation for the fine art of kissing. Okay, I'm with that.
She also suggests that she'll link to kissing stories today. I didn't think I had any good kissing stories -- well, not that I was willing to share, anyway -- but I just thought of one, so fine, I'll take the bait. (If such stories don't interest you, feel free to read something else instead.)
Back in 1990 or so, I was dating a woman named Sandy, and on one occasion she, I, and a friend of hers went to the movies. (I'll call the friend "Yael", because that was her name.) As we waited on line in a crowded Jerusalem cinema, Yael suddenly faces me with an anxious serious expression, and she says, "Daniel, kiss me."
Now, being the monogamous sort (then and now), I wasn't inclined to do any such thing -- and it didn't help that Sandy was standing right there! But Yael whispered briefly in her ear, causing Sandy to face me and declare, "She's right, Daniel. Kiss her now."
WELL, then! I'd never been ordered to kiss a woman before... but it seemed only reasonable to follow through, as the saying goes, with feeling. So with one hand on the back of Yael's neck and the other at the small of her back, I kissed her, dipping her nearly to the floor in the process. The result was a somewhat dazed-looking Yael... and Sandy looking at me sharply and saying, "Yes, I asked you to kiss her, but not like that!" (You can't win, can you?)
I later found out that Yael had just spotted her ex-boyfriend in the crowd, with a date... whereupon she felt an urgent need to be seen with someone, too. She assumed that her good friend Sandy wouldn't mind lending her boyfriend out for a moment or two. (What, you think I'm supposed to have a say in this??)
Anyway, there's the story, for whatever it's worth. Now back to your regularly-scheduled programming.
Oh, and go and kiss someone. It's not just a good idea; it's International Kissing Day!
