Life is a State of Mind

The New Yorker has endorsed, and it is worth the read.

New Yorker Endorses Obama

They explain, in good detail why this election is so important, and why Obama is the man for the job.

It is very important that we replace the current congress with some fresh ideas, new attitudes, and a willingness to work with President Obama in the new government in order to get the change we need for our country and our world. That means targeting elected congress-critters who have been voting with the Bush administration, who are stopping the constructive process of government, and who are opposed by strong, progressive candidates who will serve the public well.

In most congressional elections, Virginia has very few choices to vote for by the general election. In years past many neanderthals have run unopposed for re-election or only been challenged by fringe candidates without a prayer of winning. This year (2008) is very, very different. There are Democrats running for every congressional seat (which is a first I think, for many years). Some are facing very difficult challenges; but several have a real shot this year because Americans are finally waking up to the lies of the modern Republican party.

I have already contributed a small donation to the Glenn Nye campaign to unseat Thelma Drake in the 2nd district. If you have not, and you are tired of Virginia being embarrassed by her antics; please contribute to Glenn Nye yourself.

I just now finally contributed to the Judy Feder campaign to unseat Frank Wolf (who is no friend of veterans) in my own district (10th). Please help unseat Wolf and get someone who will actually work for better health care into office. I also just contributed to the Anita Hartke campaign to unseat the horribly offensive and childish Eric Cantor in the 7th district. The 7th and the 10th are normally overwhelmingly conservative districts, but Wolf’s big spending habits and Cantor’s cry-baby antics have even die hard Republicans annoyed. We have a real shot at getting responsible public servants in office in both districts.

Perhaps the best shot we have of doing this in the state is the inspiring campaign of Tom Perriello to unseat Virgil Goode in the 5th district. Sadly when I went to contribute today, the Perriello campaign website could not SSL encrypt my transaction, so I did not contribute yet. It appears to be a small technical flaw that can be easily fixed so I hope it will be fixed and we can contribute soon. Please volunteer, donate, consider, and vote for these fine candidates I’ve linked to and watch Virginia become a moderate state again.

Senator John McCain is telling lies for personal gain. That shows a lack of integrity. Integrity is the most crucial moral characteristic that every holder of high office must have. Clearly demonstrating a lack of integrity means that not only should McCain be disqualified from running for President, he should also be forced to resign his position as Senator. McCain is no longer acceptable in national service now, no matter what services he rendered in the past.

Add to the blatant lies, the demonstrated lack of good judgement, the willingness to exploit loopholes in the very campaign finance reform laws he helped create, and his penchant for being reactionary rather than careful about our nations security; and we have a recipe for disaster should he become the next President of the United States.

John McCain is unacceptable to veterans; he has voted against veterans and campaigned against veterans benefits until it became politically untenable. He is no friend of veterans.

John McCain will make the United States and it’s citizens less secure. His temper, his knee-jerk reactions, his inability to grasp basic nuances of foreign affairs will lead him into blunder after blunder and risk war, offending our allies, and violating our trade deals. He will be, and this is difficult to imagine, even worse than George W. Bush (who is the worst President so far).

Wake up American voters. Think for a few minutes and take the time to understand the issues and the urgent need for change. Understand how horribly unbalanced the United States Supreme Court already is.

If you don’t like the way I express this, try Andrew Sullivan, Josh Marshall, Stephen Retherford, or Juan Cole:

talkingpointsmemo.com

andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish

hoosierinva.blogspot.com

juancole.com

All four of these gentlemen brilliant analysts of politics and civics; we have to do something fast.

Toyota to add Solar Panels, how cool is that. I notice my mileage slips a little whenever the heater or air conditioning has to be run, so this will offset at least the air conditioner loss and keep the mileage high.

In other news, my Prius broke a new personal record this morning, it reached 506 miles on the tank of gas when the alarm sounded telling me to go get some more gas. Previous record was 499 on a single tank. I also plugged all the fuel records from my car into a spreadsheet and came up with 48.35 miles per gallon average over the two years I’ve had the car (35,790 miles/740.153 gallons).

I typically put ~9 gallons in the tank every time I fill up; and that is the cheapest gas at the pump. It was a bit of a shock filling up Erci’s Porsche with high octane gas this weekend, and putting in over 17 gallons (ouch).

Turns out the AppleTV burns 21 watts when in screen-saver mode and 22 watts when in use, only 18 watts when sitting at a menu. It’s not huge, but it’s annoyingly high for something that has no on/off nor sleep mode switches.

Grrr.

Apple needs to fix this.

Update: As Brian kindly pointed out and per this Apple technical document, if you hold the Play/Pause button for 5 seconds, the Apple TV goes into standby mode, which does use a little less power. Mine settled to 18 watts, which is better, but still kind of high. Keep in mind the DishPVR 508 we have “powers off” to 29 watts (32 watts when powered up and playing shows). I also wish the Apple TV could be configured to drop into standby mode automatically to save power.

Waldo has been encouraging us to eat locally for some time, for both health and reduced carbon footprint, and liberalrage has shared an incredibly useful link for making that easier, no matter where you live.

http://www.localharvest.org

We’ve found that many local foods taste better, because rather than being selected for ease of transportation, they can be selected for flavor; and rather than being picked way too soon and allowed to ripen in the truck or on the shelf, they can be picked when ripe.

An unexpected benefit, many local growers have excellent weather sense, as growers do the world over… but enthusiastic local growers also blog about conditions as a way of communicating with their buyers and/or share owners. Those weather blogs are the keenest sense of what is happening locally that I’ve been able to fine. Support your local growers. You’ll meet new people, and you may even be invited to a local pumpkin fest or harvest party.

The Monarch Butterfly Migration this year is supposed to be one of the most dramatic in living memory. I am not sure what factors go into making more Monarchs, but it is lovely to behold. I can’t get out to Cape May, NJ this weekend, but if you can you should try to. The sight is supposed to be spectacular and awe-inspiring.

This brief moment of nature appreciation brought to you by the letter S and the number 4; but mostly by WAMU’s (88.5) story about Monarch Butterfly Migrations that I heard yesterday on the radio.

Update: Mr. Webb has a personal scheduling conflict that I don’t want to talk about here. I am still very happily supporting him in his campaign, but we are not having the fundraiser on Sunday.

Please consider trying to meet him at another event on his schedule (posted on his campaign website (http://www.webbforsenate.com/). Contributions are still very much needed.

If Jim Webb wins the June 13th primary election, Erci and I will be hosting a fundraiser event at our house on June 18th from 2pm through 4pm. It is vital that we back the challenger in this November’s general election and we throw Senator George Allen out of office.

Please mark your calendar and consider coming out to our place to meet Mr. Webb and donate to his campaign. Your contribution of $100, $500, or $1000 will be very welcome, and you’ll get to help take back our goverment.

If Harris Miller wins the June 13th primary, Erci and I will be trying to get on his calendar to do the same thing later in the Summer.

Election 2006 details are online.

Well, fate popped in and the Toyota dealer I pass every morning on the way to work called me back after this morning’s visit. They had a 2006 Prius, White with Tan interior, option package #6 available today!

I considered it a sign, and grapped that machine. I drove the Prius off the lot after accepting $7000 for my old Saab. Not what I wanted for the Saab, nor what it should be worth after only ~5 years, but I see the writing on the wall. It was becoming very unreliable and very expensive in repairs. The portents were reinforced; as I was pulling my junk from the Saab and putting it in the Prius, the Saab stalled again and was unable to start without a jump. At least the folks at the Toyota dealership know what they are getting.

Anyone need 4 winter tires (16×7.5) 5-110 lug pattern? I also have one mounted and new wheel and tire (225/45-17 with the same 5-110 lug pattern, wheel is fancy alloy, and tire is a Sumitomo HTR+ 90W I think).

I’ll add a picture of the Prius when I get one. I am thinking of custom stickers to make it look outrageous - perhaps tiger stripes or zebra stripes… perhaps giant sunflowers? Tropical fish? Suggestions?

Last night my lovely wife and I visited the Sunday Supper Club to hear Harris Miller (who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against George Allen this fall for U.S. Senate). As many of you know Harris Miller will have to face off against James Webb (former Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration) for that Democratic Party nomination on June 13th (Primary Election Day!).

Until last night I was strongly favoring Webb because I felt, like many over at Raising Kaine, that James Webb had a better chance of defeating the evil scoundrel we have in office now (Allen). I also like some of Webb’s positions as a veteran (I am a veteran too), and his position on getting us out of the so called war in Iraq is very brutally forthright (something I value a lot in this age of spin and double-speak). Webb commands a lot of respect and that is a good thing, and his whole combat boots versus George Allen’s cowboy boots thing rocks.

Last night Harris Miller was able to completely change my mind. He has positions on many issues that align exactly with my own and I am no longer concerned at all that he will be a corrupt politician representing only corporate interests. He plainly stated that we have two types of corruption in our congress today, personal corruption like Duke Cunningham (now in jail), and corruption of interests due to campaign finance money raising, the constant hammering of too many lobbyists, and lack of access to the public’s airwaves during elections.
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