Moving Forward » Politics

SOPA

larry — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:07:55 +0000

If the SOPA legislation passes I might have to consider shutting down this blog. I do not link to pirate sites, but I would guess that about 90% of the spam comments I receive do link to those sites. My comment spam filter catches most of them, but would I be legally liable if one slipped through? On the other hand, since I only get one or two legitimate comments a year I guess I could just disable comments and the world would continue to spin on its axis.

Back to Work

larry — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:01:09 +0000

I have a few minutes to post a couple of lines before I have to rouse the kids from bed. Today is our first day back at work and the end of the kids two weeks at home. I think Jack is looking forward to it, but Millie would always prefer to stay home.

I had a strange half-waking dream last night about the Iowa caucuses and open government in the age of the Web. It might germinate into a post some day, which is the only reason I am making a note of it now.

Jack Benny Predicts McCain Upset? (Update)

larry — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:58:39 +0000

Harry Truman & Jack Benny

Update: I guess not.

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One of my nightly rituals is to pour a cold brew and fire up the iPod dock as I do the dishes. Sometimes I will listen to an audio book, or a podcast, some tunes or some old time radio.

Tonight I picked out a random episode of the Jack Benny Program — I have over a 850 Benny episodes on my iPod, so it is a really random selection. The episode that I happened to pick tonight was originally broadcast on November 6, 1948 — just 4 days after Harry Truman defeated Tom Dewey in the greatest upset in American political history.

Benny’s writers put in a couple of gags about the surprising election results. Jack was visiting a psychiatrist (played by Frank Nelson — “Yeeeeeeeeessssss?”). There were two other patients in the office. One fellow thought that he was a rabbit (played by Benny regular Mel Blanc — “What’s up, Doc?”) Another patient was Mr. Gallup, the famous pollster, who was obsessively practicing his arithmetic (“1 plus 1 is 2. 2 plus 2 is 4 . . .”) Gallup, like all the other pollsters got the 1948 election dead wrong.

Is Jack channeling a hint about he 2008 race through my iPod? What are the odds that I would pull up this episode at random? Maybe I subconsciously picked it (the episodes are titled by date), since I’m wild about Harry Truman (David McCullough’s Truman biography inspired me to change my major to History).

This Week in Larry

larry — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:35:07 +0000

Laurie and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this week. I love her more than ever.
I bought my first DSLR camera this week. Keep on eye on our Flickr photo album for the new pics.
After a lot of thought — more thought than I have ever put into a presidential election — I have decided to vote for Obama. As late as July I was 90% sure I was going with McCain, but the Palin pick caused me to re-think my position. I think that Obama is a uniter, a realist and born leader.

Early Voting – Update

larry — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Update (9/20/2008): As far as I can tell my friends in Missouri who want to vote early are out of luck. There have been some recent efforts to allow early voting in Missouri, but they have not been successful.

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Thirty-six states allow voters to cast ballots prior to Election Day. This year voters in Illinois can begin casting general election ballots on October 14. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, “Illinois voters may cast a ballot prior to Election Day without having to provide a reason or an excuse for wanting to vote early.”

In McLean County, you can go to the Government Center (Room 100) in downtown Bloomington if you want to vote early — the County Clerk’s Web site promises that more early voting locations are coming soon.

Don’t let a rainy day, a flat tire or sick child on November 4 stop you from having a voice in this very important election. Vote early!