Pen-Elayne on the Web

Voting for Bonfires

In remembrance of Guy Fawkes Day, this site for Robin so he doesn't get too homesick. We can't burn "Guys" in our part of the Bronx today, lest someone think we're supporting Guy Velella effigies.

I'll probably vote Green today for statewide stuff - at least they have a female candidate for Lt. Governor, and I've actually heard of the gubernatorial candidate and like his positions. Given the way my head is spinning between the stepped-up propaganda PSAs of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America versus both the NY City Council and Tom "I'm a CEO running for governor using my own corporation's money rather than a politician using other corporations' money, but let's pretend I'm free of corporate influence and only wish to serve the public!" Golisano coming out in favor of reforming the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, I was considering voting for the Marijuana Reform Party, but their website doesn't even profile their candidates. Not that it necessarily needs to, gubernatorial candidate Tom Leighton is the party's chairman and (apparently) founder, and he's been running for different offices since '97. Besides, it's not like any of these reformers deal with the real issues, like how in the world middle-aged women looking to relieve their PMS symptoms can actually procure the stuff when their only contact with the usual stoner crowd is via the Internet.

Meanwhile, this article from AlterNet notes pretty much the same thing I did here about unopposed candidates. The last line reads, "The voters of Iraq only had one candidate on the ballot because they live in a dictatorship. So what's our excuse?" Something to think about when elections not only fail to excite the voters but don't even inspire potential candidates.

Lastly, I hope everyone who gets Comedy Central is gearing up for Jon Stewart's live "Indecision 2002" coverage on tonight's Daily Show as much as we are. If you haven't seen their very funny spot-on parody of the Schoolhouse Rock cartoon shorts entitled "The Daily Show Rocks" talking about these midterm elections, you can grab it from their website while supplies, I suppose, last.