November has come as I promised it would. In its rays the world returns to calm ordered rationality.

We took our losses it is true. I may not be able to see puppies in quite the same way. But overall, you'd have to say we sailed nicely through the storm.

Like the elves leaving Middle Earth, the wounds will cause me to withdraw and visit less. The maelstrom and spumes are now grown too large for my whittled down canoe. The mizzen has been ripped off and the deck is littered with spar splinters. Oh Lord Commander, lean against the wheel and pilot us back whilst the mortal wound doth merely flow. Preserve us from raptor submariners.

Someday, man will be rational every day of the year. Until then, all of these wonders await...

ping ping ping fwooooooooosh! KABLOOOOOOOIEEEEEE!!!!!!

/images/_common/forums/emoticons/' }

November has come as I promised it would. In its rays the world returns to calm ordered rationality.

We took our losses it is true. I may not be able to see puppies in quite the same way. But overall, you'd have to say we sailed nicely through the storm.

Like the elves leaving Middle Earth, the wounds will cause me to withdraw and visit less. The maelstrom and spumes are now grown too large for my whittled down canoe. The mizzen has been ripped off and the deck is littered with spar splinters. Oh Lord Commander, lean against the wheel and pilot us back whilst the mortal wound doth merely flow. Preserve us from raptor submariners.

Someday, man will be rational every day of the year. Until then, all of these wonders await...

ping ping ping fwooooooooosh! KABLOOOOOOOIEEEEEE!!!!!!






/images/_common/forums/emoticons/' }

On an unrelated note, thought I'd record my a little unusual but positive experience getting my vote cast in our elections this year.

I live in a big city, in a blue state that is not typically closely contested in say a presidential election.

Although I received reams of election related info from the state and 3rd parties in my snail mail box, I didn't actually receive my ballot. Online I did track it and see that it was sent out but somehow it didn't make it into my possession or if it did, I somehow lost it and forgot I ever saw it.

No big deal. I voted yesterday in person. Was easy to make this course correction. The state was sending out a lot of email to me with links in broadcast fashion. So I was able to do a cool thing I haven't done before which is to make my selections on my own computer and then print out my selections in bar code form. I then quickly found a site near me using a nice tool that had the look and feel of google maps. The site was open for early voting well in advance. From something like 10 am to 7 pm daily. I could also, if i had reacted faster, asked for remail of the missing ballot and gone for vote by mail.

When I arrived at the early voting site, which was a ten minute drive for me, I went without having to wait to a volunteer who was able to find an electronic record for my registration with some correlating info I gave her. I was able to accept that it was me on that display and get a ballot sheet printout from her. She informed me as well that she was aware that a ballot had been sent by mail but that this vote in person would be the one vote associated with my name. I got a chance to explain what happened on my side which may or may not been of interest.

I then went to a slick machine that allowed me to bar code scan in the selections I had previously made in private and confirm electronically and by a following print out that my choices were as desired. When I was done looking at the printout I then fed it back into the machine where it was retained as hardcopy representing my vote.

As voter I am confident that the state has the record keeping ability and tech savvy to manage the large population and deal with sophistication with many different convenient voting options. The staff I interacted with along the way were dedicated, well trained, and believed in their task.

My state has their shit together. I am proud of them. And had a big smile on my face as I drove back after the briefest of interruptions to my day. Corruption does exist in various forms but this day only the positive was visible, and I know that it is the exception and not the rule still.

I wish Jefferson, Madison, Paine and all who worked so hard to build this government could have seen what I saw yesterday. Their hard work is being cashed out every year.

If your experience is any different from this kind of positive experience, I hope that you will demand more from your state.




/images/_common/forums/emoticons/' }

On an unrelated note, thought I'd record my a little unusual but positive experience getting my vote cast in our elections this year.

I live in a big city, in a blue state that is not typically closely contested in say a presidential election.

Although I received reams of election related info from the state and 3rd parties in my snail mail box, I didn't actually receive my ballot. Online I did track it and see that it was sent out but somehow it didn't make it into my possession or if it did, I somehow lost it and forgot I ever saw it.

No big deal. I voted yesterday in person. Was easy to make this course correction. The state was sending out a lot of email to me with links in broadcast fashion. So I was able to do a cool thing I haven't done before which is to make my selections on my own computer and then print out my selections in bar code form. I then quickly found a site near me using a nice tool that had the look and feel of google maps. The site was open for early voting well in advance. From something like 10 am to 7 pm daily. I could also, if i had reacted faster, asked for remail of the missing ballot and gone for vote by mail.

When I arrived at the early voting site, which was a ten minute drive for me, I went without having to wait to a volunteer who was able to find an electronic record for my registration with some correlating info I gave her. I was able to accept that it was me on that display and get a ballot sheet printout from her. She informed me as well that she was aware that a ballot had been sent by mail but that this vote in person would be the one vote associated with my name. I got a chance to explain what happened on my side which may or may not been of interest.

I then went to a slick machine that allowed me to bar code scan in the selections I had previously made in private and confirm electronically and by a following print out that my choices were as desired. When I was done looking at the printout I then fed it back into the machine where it was retained as hardcopy representing my vote.

As voter I am confident that the state has the record keeping ability and tech savvy to manage the large population and deal with sophistication with many different convenient voting options. The staff I interacted with along the way were dedicated, well trained, and believed in their task.

My state has their shit together. I am proud of them. And had a big smile on my face as I drove back after the briefest of interruptions to my day. Corruption does exist in various forms but this day only the positive was visible, and I know that it is the exception and not the rule still.

I wish Jefferson, Madison, Paine and all who worked so hard to build this government could have seen what I saw yesterday. Their hard work is being cashed out every year.

If your experience is any different from this kind of positive experience, I hope that you will demand more from your state.






Well said Dudley... I must say that I usually find your "ramblings", pretty much that, "ramblings". But today I also went to my local "early polling site" here ina not-always-so-Blue state, where I witnessed a stiuation very similar to what you described.The biggest obstacle I had to hurdle was parking.. I had to park in an ajacent lot and walk all of 50 yards to the entrance where I was greeted by a well mannered volunteer that directed me to a blue table where another well mannered volunteer promplt greeted me and asked me my name and address. She promptly handed me a form with my information to verify and sign and she directed me to the next blue table where the next well mannered volunteer again promptly greeted me, took the form in my hand, scanned and presented me with my ballot and instructions on where to go to fill it out, then where to deposit it for recording my vote. I filled in my little ovals according to my preferences and went to the next well mannered volunteer where she greeted me and instructed me where and how to insert my ballot, politely thanked me for doing my patriotic duty, and presented me with an "I Voted" sticker to display to all who I came in contact for the remainder of my day.. Hopefully a majority of the selections I made today will prevail and we can possibly see some form of stability return to our once great nation founded by such great and dedicated men and ladies that wished for all who came here to have "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" as set forth in our founding documents and fought and bought with the lives and bl00d of so many great patriots that have sacrficed all for 246 years, and those who now continually serve ... BTW don't let my reference to colors in this post suggest as to my preference to my voting selections.... 'Nuff said bout that...
AnyHow... Just my n-n-n-n-n 5 cents worth..
"USA-USA-USA" /images/_common/forums/emoticons/' }

Well said Dudley... I must say that I usually find your "ramblings", pretty much that, "ramblings". But today I also went to my local "early polling site" here ina not-always-so-Blue state, where I witnessed a stiuation very similar to what you described.The biggest obstacle I had to hurdle was parking.. I had to park in an ajacent lot and walk all of 50 yards to the entrance where I was greeted by a well mannered volunteer that directed me to a blue table where another well mannered volunteer promplt greeted me and asked me my name and address. She promptly handed me a form with my information to verify and sign and she directed me to the next blue table where the next well mannered volunteer again promptly greeted me, took the form in my hand, scanned and presented me with my ballot and instructions on where to go to fill it out, then where to deposit it for recording my vote. I filled in my little ovals according to my preferences and went to the next well mannered volunteer where she greeted me and instructed me where and how to insert my ballot, politely thanked me for doing my patriotic duty, and presented me with an "I Voted" sticker to display to all who I came in contact for the remainder of my day.. Hopefully a majority of the selections I made today will prevail and we can possibly see some form of stability return to our once great nation founded by such great and dedicated men and ladies that wished for all who came here to have "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" as set forth in our founding documents and fought and bought with the lives and bl00d of so many great patriots that have sacrficed all for 246 years, and those who now continually serve ... BTW don't let my reference to colors in this post suggest as to my preference to my voting selections.... 'Nuff said bout that...
AnyHow... Just my n-n-n-n-n 5 cents worth..
"USA-USA-USA"

Hey Sir, I agree, Dudley actually sounded like he's maybe back on his meds and talking halfway good sense. I also had similar experience at my early polling location today. Good to hear people getting out to voice their opinion and do due diligence to correct the course of this runaway train the county's riding on. Hopefully the people will do what's needed to slow the deterioration until we have a chance in another 2 years to correct the mistakes of the previous election.


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It is good to hear that everybody's experiences here have been good.

The Puritans get a lot of criticism for Salem of course. But they have contributed some wonderful things to the country along with other denominations.
I cannot also forget that there was an English civil war in which they, the Puritans, triumphed but were unable to rule without eventually bringing back a king. They and other nonconforming sects found it to their advantage eventually to start anew in America. We went from colonies which had problems such as the witch trials to a surprisingly stable nation in pretty quick order. In which a diverse set of groups could live safely amongst each other.

We have a long history of overcoming difficulties. Building lasting things. My bet is on us thriving in the face of adversity. We may pull in many different directions until we see the big task of the moment, but when we pull together we are formidable.

When by contrast I observe the cynical tyrant crouching in his palace, afraid even of his own advisors, having to poison his own press out of fear of their words, I know whose position is more enviable in the world. When I look at the quality of our allies and compare them to the kind of allies a tyrant can hope to muster, I know that the price we sometimes have to pay on their behalf of bl00d and treasure is well worth it.

I suppose in some quarters this may be viewed as nonsense. As foolish idealism. But learn our proud history, and confront us, if it be necessary for your narrow interests, if you despise order and tranquility. Don't be so foolish to think that you have any harbor anywhere even in our lowest citizenry. Unlike the tyrant, who can only rely on those he bribes or threatens, the leader of a republic has the support of a motivated population. They may appear at times to slumber, but oh how quickly they can wake and strike. /images/_common/forums/emoticons/' }

Hey Sir, I agree, Dudley actually sounded like he's maybe back on his meds and talking halfway good sense. I also had similar experience at my early polling location today. Good to hear people getting out to voice their opinion and do due diligence to correct the course of this runaway train the county's riding on. Hopefully the people will do what's needed to slow the deterioration until we have a chance in another 2 years to correct the mistakes of the previous election.
Hear, hear. If I may put in my two cents, early voting is one of the many ways the losing side cheated to get elected. There was also late voting that was still allowed for up to a week after Election Day itself, and that has never been legal. It ends officially after 11:59 pm. There were still Dominion vote-flipping machines used in a lot of states this time, and at least some other methods that were used last time. This caused Kelly to win when he actually lost (AZ is not a blue state), and it caused the unpopular incumbent in NV to win even though she lost. These issues still need to be addressed. Yes, I say the F word because it happened. Fraud. For the recent election, so many real, genuine voters voted in such numbers to break the algorithm and prevent the cheating to go too far out of control, at least for the House. If it weren't for the methods still being used from 2020, the GOP would have gained at least fifty seats in the House. There is evidence that a certain party used those methods in 2018 to retain the House as well. Let's all hope that this runaway train that no one ever voted for in 2020 (massive inflation, high taxes, criminals flooding into our nation illegally, and everything else the Jackal is doing) is stopped dead in its tracks by the new House of Representatives.






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Hear, hear. If I may put in my two cents, early voting is one of the many ways the losing side cheated to get elected. There was also late voting that was still allowed for up to a week after Election Day itself, and that has never been legal. It ends officially after 11:59 pm. There were still Dominion vote-flipping machines used in a lot of states this time, and at least some other methods that were used last time. This caused Kelly to win when he actually lost (AZ is not a blue state), and it caused the unpopular incumbent in NV to win even though she lost. These issues still need to be addressed. Yes, I say the F word because it happened. Fraud. For the recent election, so many real, genuine voters voted in such numbers to break the algorithm and prevent the cheating to go too far out of control, at least for the House. If it weren't for the methods still being used from 2020, the GOP would have gained at least fifty seats in the House. There is evidence that a certain party used those methods in 2018 to retain the House as well. Let's all hope that this runaway train that no one ever voted for in 2020 (massive inflation, high taxes, criminals flooding into our nation illegally, and everything else the Jackal is doing) is stopped dead in its tracks by the new House of Representatives.
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