It's election night, and I was out cold for the most of it. (I also still have 1200 words to go for NaNo today... not good.) This is the super-short version of some of what's going on locally. (Refresh every 5 minutes for updates.)
Here's what we missed-
Rand Paul won.
Christine O'Donnell didn't. Thankfully.
8:26pm - AAAARRRGGHHH. Sipprelle is beating Holt by what is looking to be a landslide, and Anna Little (a TP candidate) is beating Pallone. Excuse me while I go bawl in a corner...
8:31pm - CNN predicts that the GOP will only need 8 more wins to gain control of the Senate.
8: 45pm - It's only getting worse. So I'm watching Glee. Democrats- looks like you're screwed.
8:50pm - As much as I dislike Rachel, Jesse sucks. Oh, elections? Uh... Really hoping the Monmouth Country results aren't a reflection of the entire district...
9:00pm - Chuck Shumer in NY, Blanche Lincoln lost. (Can she take Landrieu with her? Please? Buh-bye.) Still no news on NJ House results.
9:05pm - I take that back- NJ News 12 has FINALLY started posting election results. We're waiting on Districts 3, 6, & 12 (the closest, most competitive races. 2 of which are in my own township...) Little & Sipprelle are still in the lead :-(
9:10 pm - Busy flipping through all of the news channels, & on CNN is Rand Paul babbling about something or other... [sigh] I usually somewhat like libertarians... This guy... I like his father well enough, but... just NO.
9:15pm - GRAYSON LOST?!?! NOOO!!!! Grayson, Perriello-- not a good night for progressives...
9:20pm - CNN projects that GOP will take control of the house.
9:25pm - Sestak (D) leading in PA. Holt is starting to do somewhat better... Still not enough :-(
9:30pm -You can see NJ results here. Marco Rubio is on, speaking about a "second chance." To do what? Failed Bush policy on crack, part 3?
9:35pm - Pallone (NJ-6) is tied!!! (Technically he has about 500 more votes than Little, but percentage-wise, it's a tie...) It's not over yet! I might to keep at least one of my guys! ^^" Good news indeed. (Tonight is so depressing...) More good news - Holt is gaining now that the Middlesex County votes are coming in!
9:40pm - So why does Little get better party music? Sadly, NJ News 12 has announced that Little is taking over my township. (At least, the 6th district part of it...) Just switched to CNN - looked like O'Donnell was celebrating for a sec. Good, she knows she lost... Alright then.
9:45pm - It's official. Republicans have won the House. and in NJ- PALLONE IS LEADING!!!
9:50pm - Ah! 1994 & 1996 mentioned on NJ News 12! Everyone take 2 shots!! HuffPost Drinking Game. In other news, guy who dressed up like a Nazi failed. That's good... There's too much crazy in the government already. Bring on the sanity...?
9:55pm - Yea, CNN is totally failing tonight. Anti-Tea Party tweets aren't news. In fact, that's old news. Get on with real results! ...Wisconsin - Feingold losing to Johnson, with only 10% of the vote counted. Joe Wilson ("You lie!!!" dude) tied in South Carolina. Arizona polls closing soon. Can't wait to see how that turns out... In NJ, Holt is still gaining. Pallone still in the lead.
10:00pm - This battle is over healthcare, according to CNN. Check out Mother Jones election coverage for some of the latest headlines. Polls have closed in Nevada, Arizona, Iowa Montana, Utah... Waiting on news of Reid vs. Angle.
10:05pm - Less than half of the votes are in for Middlesex County, with Sipprelle and Holt holding steady... McCain & Grassley were reelected. PA gov looks to be Dem.
10:10pm - lots of cheering at Pallone party... Win??? They'll be making an announcement soon... And it gets better - HOLT IS LEADING!!! By 1%, but as more of the votes come in... There is hope!! (Tight race, for sure...) South Dakota votes against legalizing marijuana for medical use.
10:15pm - Sharron Angle & Harry Reid, close race according to CNN. Pallone & Lautenberg prepare for speech... Acceptance speech? Yes? (Little is also preparing her speech. But numbers say it's Pallone!!) Haha, I sense TP criticism coming up... (Did he just say MANN-tra? Isn't it more like Mahn-tra? Hmm... Am I wrong here?) Yup, there it is, anti-tea party comments. Don't disagree with him though ^^" That's why I like him!
10:20pm - So... Pallone claims victory, Little isn't conceding yet. And Holt is still pulling ahead! YAY! Still waiting on numbers from Nevada & Arizona.
10:25pm - State Senate? Huh. Projected Dem win. Pallone becomes official projected win. Way to go!
10:30pm - I'm tired again. Pallone win should have national recognition? (News 12- He was directly up against high profile TP candidate & won.) Holt is officially the projected winner!!
10:35pm - Ye-a, I'm gonna call Runyan. But YES!!! Both Holt & Pallone have been (unofficially) announced as winners! Greenstein wins State Senate.
10:40pm - NJ has overwhelmingly (81%) voted YES on the state question - state amendment to ensure that all benefits money goes to benefits. Sadly, Old Bridge voted NO on tiny tax levy for land conservation :-( Also, in PA, DADT repeal leader Patrick Murphy lost to Michael Fitzpatrick (R)
10:45pm - PA race is insanely close. Still waiting... Nikki Haley won in South Carolina.
10:50pm - Holt & Pallone have officially won! YES! Congrats!! (And this 22 yr old Independent opposes the Tea Party & can't stand the GOP. So take THAT, CNN!) I will sleep well tonight. Until I remember that the GOP took over the house [facepalm]
10:55pm - Anna Little is giving her concession speech. (Just waiting for her to announce a Stewart... No?) CNN is babbling on about the Tea Party & Rand Paul. [yawn] Oh dear. Anna Little is ooh-ing and aww-ing over a signed card. Isn't this all so thrilling... Oh! District 3- Runyan defeated Adler.
11:00pm - Time for the Daily Show - Live!!. So... Yea, I'm done tonight XD. Polls closing on the west coast. GOP needs 6 more wins to be majority in the Senate. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Obama's going to have to be pretty badass (in the words of STK) to put up with this & get anything done.
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
NJ Sample Ballot Arrived!
Haven't had a post in a while, huh. Anyway, so my sample ballot came in the mail today. (Though I wasn't home. I was in NYC being harassed by PETA members in Union Square to [re]join them, go vegan cold-tofurky, or stop wearing the cute plaid "cashmere" scarf my mother bought me for $5 at the street fair on Bleeker... I'm pretty sure it's a cheap scrap of polyester/cotton blend with a "Made in Scotland-- Dry Clean" tag stuck on it, but it's cute!) I was reading the "Public Questions to be voted upon" section, and I have to admit, at first glance I was a bit thrown by the state question:
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO DEDICATE ASSESSMENTS ON
WAGES BY THE STATE TO THE PAYMENT OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Shall the amendment to Article VIII, Section II of the State Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, which: prohibits collection by the State of assessments based solely on employee wages and salaries for any purpose other than providing employee benefits; dedicates all employer and employee contributions collected for any employee benefit fund, and all returns on investments of those contributions, to the purpose of that fund; and prohibits any transferring, borrowing, appropriating or using of those contributions or returns for any other purpose, be approved?
A) Assessments? Assessment of what? What exactly do they do with that information currently? Are they compiling a report for some reason? B) How much should I even care? Because right now, I really don't. Unless I'm supposed to, in which case, I still don't. In fact, I care less. Is that chocolate macaroon still in my purse? I should take it out... C) Wait, what's going on here? What'd I miss?
Yea, I think I just read way too much into that "interpretive statement." Something so simple, but all I see is blah blah blah. All it's asking is if the money we pay towards unemployment/disability/etc benefits should only strictly be for those benefits, or if we think the State should be able to tap into that money if it needs to borrow for other programs. Duh. Stupid me... (Haha, I feel like an idiot today. Is ok, there was chocolate. And kitties in front of Whole Foods, as much as I despise Whole Foods and their greenwashing hypocrisy. I bought a loaf of bread off a sidewalk, for $4 less than what they initially wanted. My day is complete, brain shut down the minute I started watching When in Rome with my little sister. Which, if you've ever seen that piece of crap, you know is a good thing.) If you need/want further clarification, I did a bit of a google search, & found this statement & analysis presented by The League of Women Voters. (Yay for smart, non-partisan ladies! Who, in policy, are rather left-leaning if I do say so... See, reality does have a liberal bias!)
So, from that analysis, I feel like I'm kind of on the fence with this one. (This is one of those reasons I say I'm socially liberal & fiscally moderate. I often see a point to both sides of the argument, and both are certainly important...) But thinking about it, it's not even a question-- I believe that worker benefit funds should be used for the workers, especially since they're the ones paying into it... however, I also believe in prioritizing funds as needed. (And I just answered my own non-existent question. Guess I'm voting for it. Yea... there's no way I could vote no on that. I think my mind is still trying to make more out of it than there is... I do that sometimes. Over-analyze. Because it just can't be that simple.) "Research" also says that this was unanimously approved by both our state Senate & the Assembly. (Sketchy source, sorry, feeling too lazy to find something decent. Long day.) So I'm going to go out on a limb here & say it's probably worthwhile/a good thing, and I'm exhausted and probably won't remember this in the morning, but let's just go with it.
And I while I'm rambling around the topic, I think the municipal question is a good thing too. Maybe it's just the eco-geek in me saying "zomg land preservation yay ftw!!!" but how can I say no to that? Awesomeness > money. Hell, everything is > money. The "tea party patriots" insist that we vote no. [yawn] What else is new? Really, guys, where's your "pride" in your municipality? Don't you want pretty trees to hide behind while you shamelessly massacre deer after deer, and maybe a "illegal" while you're at it? Ugh. Don't mind me, stumbled upon a rather disgusting blog just now... Immigrants are people too, you jerks! Human beings!!! Stop treating people like they're dirt.
This country has gone insane, and I'm trying to find a safe corner. Apparently it's not in NJ anymore... Is it just me, or are people actually making a big deal out of the midterm elections for once in my lifetime?? I've NEVER seen this much crazy before.
Well, that was productive. I'm off to... well, I don't even know. Do research-- last week before NaNo starts, exactly 1 week til the Rally to Restore Sanity, & I have so much to do! T-shirts, read 2 books on gender studies, one on writing (need to improve on descriptions! Hate hate hate describing things. Feels so damn contrived and banal... And I'm totally impressed that I just spontaneously chose those words, because it means my waning vocabulary hasn't completely failed me yet. Yay! Ok, will shut up now. Really.)
WAGES BY THE STATE TO THE PAYMENT OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
A) Assessments? Assessment of what? What exactly do they do with that information currently? Are they compiling a report for some reason? B) How much should I even care? Because right now, I really don't. Unless I'm supposed to, in which case, I still don't. In fact, I care less. Is that chocolate macaroon still in my purse? I should take it out... C) Wait, what's going on here? What'd I miss?
Yea, I think I just read way too much into that "interpretive statement." Something so simple, but all I see is blah blah blah. All it's asking is if the money we pay towards unemployment/disability/etc benefits should only strictly be for those benefits, or if we think the State should be able to tap into that money if it needs to borrow for other programs. Duh. Stupid me... (Haha, I feel like an idiot today. Is ok, there was chocolate. And kitties in front of Whole Foods, as much as I despise Whole Foods and their greenwashing hypocrisy. I bought a loaf of bread off a sidewalk, for $4 less than what they initially wanted. My day is complete, brain shut down the minute I started watching When in Rome with my little sister. Which, if you've ever seen that piece of crap, you know is a good thing.) If you need/want further clarification, I did a bit of a google search, & found this statement & analysis presented by The League of Women Voters. (Yay for smart, non-partisan ladies! Who, in policy, are rather left-leaning if I do say so... See, reality does have a liberal bias!)
So, from that analysis, I feel like I'm kind of on the fence with this one. (This is one of those reasons I say I'm socially liberal & fiscally moderate. I often see a point to both sides of the argument, and both are certainly important...) But thinking about it, it's not even a question-- I believe that worker benefit funds should be used for the workers, especially since they're the ones paying into it... however, I also believe in prioritizing funds as needed. (And I just answered my own non-existent question. Guess I'm voting for it. Yea... there's no way I could vote no on that. I think my mind is still trying to make more out of it than there is... I do that sometimes. Over-analyze. Because it just can't be that simple.) "Research" also says that this was unanimously approved by both our state Senate & the Assembly. (Sketchy source, sorry, feeling too lazy to find something decent. Long day.) So I'm going to go out on a limb here & say it's probably worthwhile/a good thing, and I'm exhausted and probably won't remember this in the morning, but let's just go with it.
And I while I'm rambling around the topic, I think the municipal question is a good thing too. Maybe it's just the eco-geek in me saying "zomg land preservation yay ftw!!!" but how can I say no to that? Awesomeness > money. Hell, everything is > money. The "tea party patriots" insist that we vote no. [yawn] What else is new? Really, guys, where's your "pride" in your municipality? Don't you want pretty trees to hide behind while you shamelessly massacre deer after deer, and maybe a "illegal" while you're at it? Ugh. Don't mind me, stumbled upon a rather disgusting blog just now... Immigrants are people too, you jerks! Human beings!!! Stop treating people like they're dirt.
This country has gone insane, and I'm trying to find a safe corner. Apparently it's not in NJ anymore... Is it just me, or are people actually making a big deal out of the midterm elections for once in my lifetime?? I've NEVER seen this much crazy before.
Well, that was productive. I'm off to... well, I don't even know. Do research-- last week before NaNo starts, exactly 1 week til the Rally to Restore Sanity, & I have so much to do! T-shirts, read 2 books on gender studies, one on writing (need to improve on descriptions! Hate hate hate describing things. Feels so damn contrived and banal... And I'm totally impressed that I just spontaneously chose those words, because it means my waning vocabulary hasn't completely failed me yet. Yay! Ok, will shut up now. Really.)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Prepping for Elections... New candidate?
This will be pretty short.
I'm finally getting around to doing some research for the upcoming general elections... well, at least those in my own state ^^". It's time to elect our House Reps... I was planning on voting for the incumbent, Rush Holt, but I'm starting to like this independent candidate Kenneth Cody too.
Now, there are a few pretty big problems with this... Well, 1 big one really. Independents never stand a chance. (Plus he went to community college, which may or may not sit well with some people... He'll be up against Ivy Leaguers. His writing tends to be a bit simplistic, & his spelling could use some improvement
but enough nitpicking...) He sounds like a great guy overall... Rep material? Can't say just yet. He may be new to the scene, but he has heart, and for me, compassion & brains are the most important traits any candidate can have. He's a Democrat-turned-Independent (as I will be, once I remember to fill out my form & unaffiliate!), believes in bipartisanship & finding common ground to get things done for the betterment of all Americans; finding a path to universal health care; supporting small businesses; environmental responsibility & protection; limited campaign contribution & spending (something I was actually thinking about just this morning-- why there's such a need for insane amounts of money. I was thinking of issuing a challenge-- run a complete, legit campaign on a $50 budget. It's possible, just takes a little creativity... I know how I'd do it. This guy has a tally of how much he's spent: $234.40, of his own money, no contributions whatsoever. His website is a tripod.com site! :-D Frugal and fiscally responsible are very good.); his platform/slogan is Truth, Vision, Hope. It's a good place to start. Why not try something different? That being said, I do think he needs to be a bit stronger... especially because he's an indie. My advice? Take a stronger stand on positions, give more detailed answers... I get where you're leaning, & that you're open to compromise, but we like to know that you have ideas of your own to contribute too.
Though really, I still like Holt too... [<--click link over there for his positions on issues]. He's a Quaker (a religious group for which I actually have a great deal of respect), he supports everything I've ever asked him about, including environmental issues; opposes all the things I oppose, works well with our senators & OB's other rep Pallone, & other nice things... (The 4 of them got together to write a letter to Obama opposing offshore drilling... couldn't ask for a better team!) I'd say he's pretty progressive, especially compared to our other options... (Too many NJ tea party candidates -_-") He's tied for 1st place for most liberal Dem in the House (with 6 others, as of right now... someone needs to update the list!). And he has a PhD. in physics (not that it's really relevant to politics, but physics gets impossibly hard at that level, so he must be quite intelligent...Plus he was a 5-time winner on Jeopardy. Useless knowledge sometimes does come in handy...) Another plus, we pretty much match up exactly on the political compass tests (Hardcore Liberal! W00T!). Very rare find indeed...
Anyway, my Reps & Senators are awesome :-) and I'll be very interested to see how this plays out...
As for Mr. Cody... I'll be keeping an eye on him... (By the way, the Republican guy for my district is basically a cookie-cutter poster child for Wall St. In fact, he even wrote a mystery novel about Wall St...)
Links:
His opinion piece on MyCentralJersey.com
Kenneth Cody for Congress (his campaign website)
Views on Healthcare
I'm finally getting around to doing some research for the upcoming general elections... well, at least those in my own state ^^". It's time to elect our House Reps... I was planning on voting for the incumbent, Rush Holt, but I'm starting to like this independent candidate Kenneth Cody too.
Now, there are a few pretty big problems with this... Well, 1 big one really. Independents never stand a chance. (Plus he went to community college, which may or may not sit well with some people... He'll be up against Ivy Leaguers. His writing tends to be a bit simplistic, & his spelling could use some improvement
but enough nitpicking...) He sounds like a great guy overall... Rep material? Can't say just yet. He may be new to the scene, but he has heart, and for me, compassion & brains are the most important traits any candidate can have. He's a Democrat-turned-Independent (as I will be, once I remember to fill out my form & unaffiliate!), believes in bipartisanship & finding common ground to get things done for the betterment of all Americans; finding a path to universal health care; supporting small businesses; environmental responsibility & protection; limited campaign contribution & spending (something I was actually thinking about just this morning-- why there's such a need for insane amounts of money. I was thinking of issuing a challenge-- run a complete, legit campaign on a $50 budget. It's possible, just takes a little creativity... I know how I'd do it. This guy has a tally of how much he's spent: $234.40, of his own money, no contributions whatsoever. His website is a tripod.com site! :-D Frugal and fiscally responsible are very good.); his platform/slogan is Truth, Vision, Hope. It's a good place to start. Why not try something different? That being said, I do think he needs to be a bit stronger... especially because he's an indie. My advice? Take a stronger stand on positions, give more detailed answers... I get where you're leaning, & that you're open to compromise, but we like to know that you have ideas of your own to contribute too.Though really, I still like Holt too... [<--click link over there for his positions on issues]. He's a Quaker (a religious group for which I actually have a great deal of respect), he supports everything I've ever asked him about, including environmental issues; opposes all the things I oppose, works well with our senators & OB's other rep Pallone, & other nice things... (The 4 of them got together to write a letter to Obama opposing offshore drilling... couldn't ask for a better team!) I'd say he's pretty progressive, especially compared to our other options... (Too many NJ tea party candidates -_-") He's tied for 1st place for most liberal Dem in the House (with 6 others, as of right now... someone needs to update the list!). And he has a PhD. in physics (not that it's really relevant to politics, but physics gets impossibly hard at that level, so he must be quite intelligent...Plus he was a 5-time winner on Jeopardy. Useless knowledge sometimes does come in handy...) Another plus, we pretty much match up exactly on the political compass tests (Hardcore Liberal! W00T!). Very rare find indeed...
Anyway, my Reps & Senators are awesome :-) and I'll be very interested to see how this plays out...
As for Mr. Cody... I'll be keeping an eye on him... (By the way, the Republican guy for my district is basically a cookie-cutter poster child for Wall St. In fact, he even wrote a mystery novel about Wall St...)
Links:
His opinion piece on MyCentralJersey.com
Kenneth Cody for Congress (his campaign website)
Views on Healthcare
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