|
|
|
December 21st, 2009
02:07 pm - ADF elections fun. . .
I just did some of the numbers on the nomination process for Archdruid for the Clergy Council's nomination. It's been awesome to see us talk about the process and who we'd like to see, and I've enjoyed seeing all the names that have come up in all the places I've seen them, too.
The thing is, three bodies can nominate an AD: the Mother Grove (our Board of Directors), the Clergy Council, and the Council of Senior Druids (elected SD's from Groves). What's gotten complicated is trying to figure out who has voted on which nomination so that duplicates don't happen. I think that my recent count is pretty accurate, with 11 clergy not on one of the other two bodies, or not voting on them both (like myself).
To make things more complicated, clergy who are among the nominating group who voted on the CoSD to nominate a candidate are allowed to vote for a CC candidate, and vice versa. The clergy, however, seem to be sticking to a notion that it's not proper to vote in both nominations, which is pleasant to see, even if it's not required, so no duplicate nomination voting is taking place.
Add to this that I can't see the Mother Grove's voting record until it gets posted, and it's been a wonderful maze of guessing. I suppose I could ask, but what's the fun in that?
Elections in ADF can be alternately stressful and wonderful, I tend to think. I enjoy watching them go by with very little participation from myself other than casting my votes. I've gotten pretty deft at avoiding elections over the past 10 years I've been in ADF (as have a few other people, I'm noticing), though I admit that my nomination as "Site of the Annual Membership Meeting" a few years ago was pretty tempting.
I am very pleased to see that James "Seamus" Dillard (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) seamus_mcnasty) has accepted his nomination for Vice Archdruid. After watching what he has managed to do with one tiny local Grove (not so tiny anymore, are we, Three Cranes?), I know that, if he wins, he will have an even greater positive impact on ADF as a whole. His work as Senior Druid of this Grove led us to surpassing even my most ambitious dreams of what a Grove could be like. I cannot wait to see what ADF could be like with him as VAD.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) cheerful
Current Music: "Such a Long Haul, Such a Short Fall", -JB
|
August 4th, 2009
09:23 am - Dawn, Voting, and the Dublin Irish Festival
I watched the sun rise this morning through the clouds, and the blush of dawn was so powerful that the grey-clouded sky turned a burnt orange and filled the heavens with a soft glow. The world reflects the beauty of Usas, as a waters reflect the sky: there is but a shadow of the beauty of her glow, but it is all-enveloping and joyfully warm.
I also went to vote today, seeing as today we have a special election to add .5% to our income tax in the city of Columbus. There is something about dawn on days when we vote that always strikes me: it is ever the last of the dawns that went before, and the first of the dawns yet to come. . . a perfect description of the changes that take place with each passing election day. Dawn and democracy are one and the same in my mind.
Our presentation at the Dublin Irish Festival went smashingly well: I estimate that we had over 100 people attend the talk, and they packed into the tent. There are pictures up on our site that show how large the crowd was. You can see them actually overflowing the tent in one of the pictures. The Dublin Irish Festival draws about 100,000 people each year. I'm glad I didn't know that in advance.
We hope to do a ritual next year, since they already have a Catholic Mass and a Protestant service. . . It just seems natural that they'd want Druids, too. Right?
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: "Turnabout", -JB
|
November 5th, 2008
10:07 am - A new dawn for our country
Listening to two speeches last night was the highlight of this presidential race: two men, one conceeding his hopes and dreams to the other, speaking only of unity and and the power of the American people.
While I may wish that the entire race was run just like that, I am thankful that it ended with the words each spoke. There will be no legal challenges, no decisions by the Supreme Court, and few (if any) recounts necessary or asked for.
I suspect we'll see more "not my president" stickers showing up on various bumpers, and the stage was set for Palin to run in 2012 (thereby, perhaps, signifying the end of the Mayan Long Count?), but what I heard last night was a move by both parties toward unity and cooperation.
I also heard the John McCain I wanted to vote for in 2000 for the first time since that election.
If you have not had a chance to hear these two great speeches, go listen to them: John McCain (text) | Barak Obama (text).
Particularly, watch McCain's reaction to the crowd when they boo Obama.
I mentioned last night in romandruid's journal that, "There's much hope left: some of us are voting with it, pure and radiant." Indeed, the dawn I watched yesterday presaged the new dawn in America: last of the dawns that came before, first of the dawns to come, and ever young.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: "Good Guys Win", -JB
|
November 4th, 2008
12:34 pm - "I Voted" stickers = Sexy!
Many of you know, it is my opinion that the sexiest accessory that anyone might wear is an "I Voted" sticker. I have mine on today, and I hope that you have yours.
This election cycle has had a pleasant build-up, as sexy stickers go: no fault absentee voting (a.k.a. "early voting") has shown a pleasant lead-in to today's frenzy of stickers.
Get a picture of yourself with your sticker today. . . Maybe tomorrow we'll have a post for sexy "I Voted" stickers (and yes, your sticker counts, even if it says something other than "I Voted," so long as it's what you wear to show you voted)?
This morning, I braved the lines as I have in the past. I arrived at my polling place at 6:15 AM, and was greeted with a line longer than the one I encountered in 2004. Settling in for a long wait, I had my brand new copy of the Rgveda (Griffith's complete translation, finally!) with me, and as I watched dawn prepare to break over the gymnasium I was to vote in, I read two hymns: RV IV.51 and RV IV.52, both about Usas, the dawn. I wasn't really planning to read them (they're hymns I have not often read), but they were wonderfully appropriate for this election and this time of year, and my book sort of fell open to these two hymns this morning.
The first hymn states that "the far-refulgent Mornings, Daughters of Heaven, bring welfare to the people."
And the second, "thou layest bare the gloom with light."
No matter who is elected, change will come. I'm positive of that. I'm not so sure whether the change will be good or bad, or even if I can be certain that one candidate will manage better than the other, should he be elected. Today is the first blush of that changing dawn, though, and I felt blessed to be part of it.
I waited in line for an hour and a half total. As there was four years ago, there was confusion about which school to vote in. This year, they started telling people about the other polling place at 6:30 AM, however, instead of waiting until 8 AM.
The key difference between this year and 2004, however, was that in 2004 there were four voting machines, and in 2008 there were ten. Franklin County has nearly doubled the number of voting machines this year, which is what we ought to have done in 2004, when voter turnout was projected by the then-Secretary of State at 73% (instead, he moved machines from Democratic areas to Republican areas with a net increase of 13 machines). In addition, paper ballots were also offered to anyone wishing to use those instead, which decreased wait time.
While there was some normal confusion at the polls (no matter what, things can't go smoothly), the lines moved reasonably fast and I didn't notice any of those dreaded "irregularities" that I noted last time. The law against campaigning at the polls was enforced somewhat erratically, but probably most appropriately: even sample ballots from political parties were banned from being shown in the voting area, but we were informed we could take them out once we were in the booth. Perhaps the most annoying part of the whole thing was the fact that they weren't registering people fast enough (they had little old ladies at the registration desk, squinting at the small-print books), and so there were times when voting booths were actually vacant for a short time while the line was still about an hour long.
People came out in droves, though, and most people were good-humoured about it. A number even brought their kids to participate.
Today, I'm rather proud of our system. I'm happy with the turnout. While the time it took to cast my ballot was not much improved (I actually waited longer than my 1 hour 20 minute wait from 2004), I feel far more confident in this election that my voice will be heard than I was in the last election. I've been singing the Jimmy Buffett song in my "current music" field all morning. Here's hoping that tomorrow's song isn't "Send Lawyers, Guns and Money."
It was a beautiful morning to watch the refulgent dawn and know that tomorrow will be the first of many brighter dawns to come.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: "Good Guys Win", -JB
|
October 19th, 2008
10:34 am - The world has changed. . . And we are forced to change with it.
Most people who know me well know my own political leanings. I'm one of those idealistic Republicans of the old guard: less spending, laissez-faire attitudes toward business, strong military, and government that stays as far away from my personal life as possible.
I know I'm not the only one who can't seem to find a Grand Old Party to carry my standard.
The Chicago Trib's endorsement explains my own excitement for Obama rather well, I noticed today:
Chicago Tribune endorses their first Democrat ever.
The old GOP just isn't very grand anymore, is it? It's less that Obama is great, and more that he's an animal that some of us who have a fond remembrance of loyalty to the Republican machine can understand.
The government in recent years has started to strip my civil rights away from me, allowing more invasive searches, wire-tapping, and even torture. After inheriting a huge government surplus, the Republicans, of all people, were the ones who squandered it.
When the government entered my bedroom (despite the fact that I wasn't doing anything they found . . . untoward. . .), that was the last straw. By entering my bedroom, they entered my religion: any attempt to legally define a religious institution is strictly prohibited by the constitution.
How can we understand any of that? I'm not sure. But at least I understand a big-spendin' liberal. And, to be honest, I don't really care if his optimistic talk of change is empty or full. . . In the end, it is change. myrch made the point this morning that the GOP has become two parties, and he's right: they have.
I simply no longer identify with what the Grand Ol' Party has become, and there's no way I can continue to support what it is now.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sad.gif) lonely
Current Music: "The Captain and the Kid", -JB
|
July 9th, 2008
11:32 am - Jimmy's around more than usual, it seems
*snickers* Good interview with Jimmy, which has a wonderful quote:
Buffett, describing himself as "an old hippie" and "Southern radical," says now, "I'm an Obama person."
"Everybody knows my politics [he campaigned for Jimmy Carter and Al Gore and has played twice at Bill Clinton birthday parties]. But half my audience is Republicans — and that's OK. People should be communicating, which is the biggest factor to me."
He has been opposed to the war in Iraq since the beginning. "Anybody who makes policy in this country oughta have to walk by the Vietnam memorial on the way to work," Buffett says.
So why not vote for Vietnam vet John McCain? "I respect John McCain, but it's old stuff. John McCain is older than I am!"
"People should be communicating." Yep, that says it all, right there.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "A Pirate Looks at Forty", -JB
|
December 13th, 2006
01:44 pm - MJD - CC officer?
Apparently, someone cast a vote for me to become an officer on ADF's Clergy Council. I got a vote for Clergy Council Registrar.
I don't know who wrote me in, though I'd like to take a moment to thank them for their confidence in me.
Now, I'd like to take a moment and look at the amusement that I, ADF's newest Dedicant Priest, currently feel at having gotten a write-in vote for CC Registrar.
For those un-aware, the CC has a set of officers who decide on clergy credentials. They don't do much else.
The registrar basically just keeps the roster of Clergy Council members up to date, something I imagine I could probably manage.
But the real source of my amusement comes not from being the newest Dedicant Priest on the block, or the fact that it's a write-in vote, or that I have no idea who wrote me in. It comes from the fact that the last time I was written in for a Registrar position, I won.
Yes, I once won the election for the Magician's Guild Registrar because I was the only person anyone voted for, apparently, and I was a write in. The funny thing was, I didn't notice for over a week, because I wasn't even reading mail on that list, and no one bothered to tell me I'd won with a personal email. Then, once I found out that I'd won (via an archive search for a post I'd made years ago), I had to tell the Guild Chief that I wasn't eligible to run (or win) because I wasn't a member of the Magician's Guild.
I suppose that at least this time I was at least eligible to run for the position, but I'm still amused at the situation.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Music: "Train to Dixieland", -JB
|
November 28th, 2006
10:43 am - Religious hate speech is. . . amusing?
One should not laugh at hate speech, but OMFGROFLMAO:
Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress.
Wow. I just. . .
Only gasps of laughter can define exactly how I feel about that statement.
I suggest that we all vote on exactly which book we want every rep to swear on when we vote in each election. They could put a little box next to the race, so you can say that the Secretary of State needs to swear on the Tao Te Ching, the Governor should swear on the Torah, your congressman should swear on the Koran, and the president should swear in the Principia Discorida.
At least if the current president had sworn on the Principia, he'd have been telling the truth.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me", -JB
|
November 6th, 2006
11:29 am - Tomorrow, get thee to the polls. . .
I received a flier in my mail the other day.
The cover was simple, efficient, and stirred up emotions.
The words printed there were simple, clear, and left no doubt about the intention:
September 11, 2001
November 7, 2006
Two important days for America's future.
Now, I've seen some low ads. The one that calls Mary Jo Kilroy a supporter of the KKK because she allowed the KKK to have their First Amendment rights is particularly standing out in my head. I also like Sherod Brown being all about the druggies in his campaign. And who could forget my favourite, that Strickland should have stood up, but sat down, while NAMBLA stood up and cheered. Yes, it's clear that we should vote for Blackwell, mostly on his amazing knowledge of the North American Man-Boy Love Association's practices.
But this one. . . well, it's good to know that the RNC is making good on its promise not to campaign using images of Sept. 11th. Not that they ever managed to keep that promise in previous races: Bush used it after specifically stating that he had "no ambition whatsoever to use this as a political issue" in 2003.
I'm glad that casting a vote for a Democrat has somehow become casting a vote for a terrorist regime to take over the US. I was all breathless worrying about how to vote. Now that I've seen that a vote that goes the DNC way is like saying we might have made mistakes in Iraq, that the Patriot Act and suspension of habeus corpus is possibly in danger of being overturned, or that we might, say, sell our ports to foreign governments (oh, wait: that already happened), I think I have an idea of how to vote.
How is it that the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, the good guys who know how to run a government so cleanly and efficently. . . how is it that they can make me, a voter who thinks on his feet, kinda leans Republican, works to know and understand the issues, and is generally all about having less government in their lives. . .
How is it that I now look like a crazy, left-wing Democratic liberal?
I miss the GOP. Someone, anyone: can you tell me where it is?
Go out and vote your conscience tomorrow, kids.
Washington doesn't seem to have one: we have to be their conscience for them.
(And remember, I find people who vote to be amazingly sexy. . .)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Fins", -JB
|
May 2nd, 2006
08:16 am - Get out and vote!
Anyone know a good spell for cleansing?
I had to declare a political party when I went in to vote. I'd like to banish the bad mojo that I can feel hanging around me.
I feel all. . . dirty now.
*shivers*
Please provide any banishing spells in the comments. . . Tongues that rest firmly in a cheek are more than welcome :)
Remember, people with "I Voted" stickers are officially sexy, in my book.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: dirty
Current Music: "Today's Message", -JB
|
November 8th, 2005
01:21 pm - I voted sexy. . . did you?
Today, I have decided that I find one thing incredibly sexy:
"I Voted" stickers.
It doesn't matter where you've placed it, or what kind of sticker it is, so long as it indicates that you voted in today's elections.
But today (or last Tuesday, if your date was different), I wanna see your sticker, baby.
If you can, post a picture of you with your sticker in my comments or on your LJ.
I'll appreciate it. :)
( Mine's below the cut, baby. Open up and see. )
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Mexico", -JB
|
07:35 am - Get out and vote, you bastards.
May the gods of my people hear my prayers;
as we go to the polls to choose our leaders,
may it be with wisdom.
-Ceisiwr Serith, A Book of Pagan Prayer
It is always very nice to know that there's a book of Pagan prayer out there that's got some useful stuff in it. I took mine to the polls this morning, and prayed before I began voting. I prayed aloud, but in the confines of my booth, where no one else needed to hear me. It's interesting: I was praying for all of us, but didn't want to disturb my fellow voters. Not that more than five people would have heard me. . . turnout is shockingly low this year.
( Who are the 'gods of my people'? )
After that short prayer I pulled out my candidate cheat sheet (giving political parties and other fun facts) and went to town.
I voted on the things that were important to me, and I'm happy with my choices. I also voted against my least favourite candidate on the ballot, Eddie Pauline, who quite literally stole my email address and keeps sending me crap.
As for issues? Well, I made my decision in the booth, as I always do. I voted for some things I didn't expect to and against things I expected to vote for. The funny thing is, I have a tendancy to forget what I voted for which issue when I leave.
Hell, I have trouble remembering which presidential candidate I voted for in 2000, and if I didn't know the precise issue that changed my mind while I was in the booth, I probably wouldn't even know who got my vote that year.
But I'm sure that I made the right choices for me. It's probably the longest I ever spent in the voting booth, reading through issues. But the thing about going to cast your vote? It feels empowering. It feels right. It feels good. (Even if, like me, you're unsure if your vote was counted in the last election.)
Yes, I expect my friends to have voted today. At least, if your voting day is today, as it is if you live in Ohio.
You cannot complain if you did not vote. And I really do feel that it is your civic duty. Some days, I figure regular trips to the polls should be a requirement for citizenship.
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: "Trouble on the Horizon", -JB
|
November 7th, 2005
November 1st, 2005
05:02 am - Just when you start to see light, the wall of the hole you're in collapses
T: In the years we dated, you destroyed any sort of self-worth that I had.
M: How?
T: Just know that you did.
Yes, the time-stamp is right. It's just after five AM, and I'm in my office.
Sleep, well. . . It wasn't much of an option.
I'm headed back toward home around 6AM to vote. Then coming straight back here. Maybe, just maybe I'll stop and get some breakfast on the way.
Edit: Yeah. No voting today. Apparently, the concept of "First Tuesday in November" is null and void if the "first Tues." is the first of November, too. Two firsts don't make a voting day.
Personally, I think it's a Communist plot.
Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes", -JB
|
November 9th, 2004
08:56 am - Passing some info on, if you're interested. . .
For those of you not yet tired of election stuff, or for those of you who just want an excuse to get mad, I present ( a little bit o' voter fraud )
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season", -JB
|
November 3rd, 2004
12:01 pm - I start to wonder, am I the only person happy that people actually voted?
I've seen some frustration. You know, just a little. But me, I'm an eternal optimist, and so I have something to share.
Warning, you might not like what I say, because I'm not feeling defeated today. I'm feeling that, for better or worse, a bunch of people voted, and said what they wanted.
Now, that brings me to something else:
( The Paradoxical Commandments )
Look, there's a lot left to do. Let's start today, alright? Not in three years.
Besides, you can't go to Canada, anyway.
Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: "Stars on the Water", -JB
|
08:15 am - A vote uncast is your own damn fault
The general consensus on my friends list is "What's wrong with Ohio?"
A quote heard this morning on the way to work was, "What the fuck's wrong with this state?"
The last actual vote was cast in Ohio at 4:51 AM today, Wed., Nov. 3, 2004. There were not enough voting machines in the poorer precincts, and I suspect that had a real effect on the voting. I would like to point out, though, that it's their own damn fault for leaving, if they did.
Issue 1, which bans anything that might "approximate" marriage, has passed. Fine, whatever. If the people want to destroy our reeling economy and break the bank, and endanger their own rights to boot, the people have the right to do so.
If Ohioans really want Bush that bad, they can have him. Honestly, there's nothing more that we can do at this point. The people, like it or not, have chosen their next president.
Those people outside the US, wish us luck. We have just given the popular mandate to Bush. If he didn't win last time, he did this time.
The Columbus Zoo has replaced their levy, which rocks. The Smoking Ban passed, which I'm still divided on. And I need a raise now to pay for the frickin' school levy, because my taxes just priced themselves out of my budget.
In all, I'm happy with the end result. The people have spoken. And damn, did they ever speak loudly!
Would I change some of the outcome if I could? Sure. But I'm incredibly happy that the people decided to get out and vote. And that, my friends, is all that matters.
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: "Cowboy in the Jungle", -JB
|
November 2nd, 2004
01:10 pm - Get out and vote, if you're old enough to die for your country.
I woke up this morning feeling quite good. I knew exactly what today was: my own chance to change the world. Voting is better magic than any number of stupid spells or sloppy marketing. Voting proves you love your country, and it proves that you have control over your reality.
My polling place is the gymnasium of the local elementary school. Most election days (actually, every election day that I've been there for), I shuffle up to the little old ladies behind the table, smile, show my ID, and sign the paper. I vote, and I'm out in 5 minutes.
This morning, with a desire to be on time to work and expecting a short line, I woke up and got to the polling place at 6:40 AM. What I saw was shocking.
( Read more... )
Get out and vote.
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: "Who's That Blonde Stranger", -JB
|
November 1st, 2004
09:56 am - Your mission, should you choose to accept it. . .
Please fire the following sigil:
( Sigil )
( If you don't know how to fire a sigil, click here )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/devious.gif) experimental
Current Music: "Back to the Island", -JB
|
October 11th, 2004
07:55 am - This morning I woke up, and the world was short one more hero
As others on my friends list have posted, Christopher Reeve is dead. Heart failure.
So, the world is now short one hero, and at a time when we really need one.
I admit, though, that my first thought was, "Damn, what's Smallville going to do now?"
I have a question for discussion, later today. But that can wait. On a side note, I think Friday's debate was a draw, honestly. I see most people here thought Kerry won, but I suspect that these debates are subject to your desires, too. If you want Kerry to win, you're going to hear things that says he does. Of course, I was amused that NBC pointed out scads of flaws with Bush's numbers. . . And damnitall! Kerry forgot Poland again! How can you lead a nation if you forget our vital ally Poland!
I've been awake since 3:30 this morning, and at work since 6:30. I was feeling productive. I have a lot to get done before I head out to Walking With Fire. More importantly, I have to email a couple of people to set my schedule to get out there.
Though everyone else and their mother seems to have received their copy of Oak Leaves, mine has still not arrived. I hope it does before the conference, because I'd really like to show beautycorrosion what her handiwork looks like in its final form.
Comments from everyone I've spoken to are extremely positive, though. I even saw that one of my articles already started a debate on ADF-Druidry, which is amusing.
I've never seen an OL article get discussed before.
Bright futures :)
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "Beyond the End", -JB
|
|
|
