Okay, now i'm angry.

Note:  If Suldog sent you, you are probably looking for Thanksgiving Comes First.  You are also more than welcome to read today's meanderings while you are here.


Yes, mama is really angry now.

On Saturday, October 19, the people of our parish were granted the opportunity, longed for in many societies by generations of women and slaves and others who were considered non-citizens, and still coveted by many people in some societies on this earth, to cast a secret ballot in a free election.

Some parts of the parish were electing a justice of the peace.  A few were voting on propositions to renew property taxes to fund our sheriff's department and EMS.

The early voting turnout was so low that the registrar of voters predicted turnout as low as 20%.

Then i went and actually checked the results (instead of just listening to the report on the radio).

Actual voter turnout was less than 10% across the parish.   In fact, the highest was 7.2% of voters even bothered.

And i am very, very angry.

This isn't people refusing to vote because they are making a statement.  This is sheer apathy, and i find it appalling.

It makes me want to grab people by the throat and yell at them, "Don't you flipping care!"

Obviously, they don't.  So i'm left angry, and sad.

While in the Finger Lakes region of New York last month, we went to Seneca Falls, where the Women's Rights Convention was held in 1848.  The women and men who met there knew that, without the right to vote, women were not full citizens.  They set out to change society, and they did.

Only one of the women, Charlotte Woodward, who was 19 when she attended the convention, lived long enough to cast a legal vote, in 1920.

It makes me wonder what she would think.  The women who fought and worked and went through a lot of crap to get the right to vote, what would they think?  Especially those who died before they ever saw the work completed.  They understood how important it is to take a role in governing ourselves through the electoral process.

Now, we have so much apathy that the polls are almost deserted.

If you don't vote because you are making a social statement, because you are protesting, i may disagree with you, but i will gladly support your right to do that.

If you don't (or didn't) vote because you just didn't bother, shame on you.



Today is:

Angam Day -- Nauru ("Day of Fulfillment"; a celebration of overcoming hardships)

Armed Forces Day -- Benin

Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival -- Banff, AB, Canada (38th annual; through next Sunday)

Blue Ridge Folklife Festival -- Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, Ferrum, VA, US (a large celebration of authentic folkways)

Children's Day -- Australia; Malaysia

Day of the Ancients -- Asatru/Pagan Slavic Calendar

Day of Mourning -- Libya

Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race -- Manitou Springs, CO, US (spooky fun for the whole family)

Exaltation of the Shellfish -- Pontevedra, Spain (can confirm they celebrate this each year, cannot find confirmation on this specific date)

Forgiveness Day -- a day to reconcile or forgive, for your own peace of mind; sponsored by Positive Peaceful Partners and the Center of Unconditional Love

Gormanudr -- Old Icelandic Calendar (beginning of "Innards Month," after all the animals have been butchered and fresh innards figure predominantly in the menu, as the rest of the meat has been preserved for winter)

Hogeye Festival -- Elgin, TX, US (Road Hog Car Show, crowning of King Hog and Queen Sowpreme, Cow Patty Bingo, and more!)

Lhabab Duechen -- Bhutan (Descending Day of Lord Buddha)22nd day 9th month lunar calendar

London Bridge Days -- Lake Havasu City, AZ, US (come celebrate London Bridge, which was disassembled and moved here and put back together, with a parade and festivities; through tomorrow)

Ludi Victoriae Sullanae -- Roman Empire (celebration of the victories of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, through Nov. 1)

Make A Difference Day -- US (Whoopie Goldberg once said that if every American would donate 5 volunteer hours a week, it would be the equivalent of several million full time jobs; whether or not it's strictly accurate, volunteering is a great thing to do no matter where you live)

Mule Day -- anniversary of the first importation of donkeys to the US, which George Washington used to breed the first mules in the Americas

National Day -- Austria

National Gospel Day -- Cook Islands

National Mincemeat Pie Day

Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Festival -- Washington County Fairgrounds, Washington, PA, US (over two hundred exhibits, plus food and entertainment; through tomorrow)

Pretzel Day

Pumpkin Day -- time to get one for the 31st, if you haven't already

Scared Silly: Halloween in Prospect Park -- Brooklyn, NY, US (hauntingly good fun all weekend)

St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki's Day (Patron of soldiers; Thessaloniki, Greece)
     Greek day to broach the wine barrels and taste the new season's wine in honor of this saint

Sts. Lucian and Marcian's Day (Patrons of converts, possessed people)

Texas Book Festival -- Austin, TX, US (one of the nation's most prestigious literary festivals, especially celebrating renowned Texas authors; through tomorrow)

Toping Wagglegammon -- Fairy Calendar (no human knows what this means, but it sounds intriguing)

Workaholic Stop and Smell Something Day -- internet generated day to encourage workaholics to stop and consider what they might be missing

Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night -- some organizers even have howling parties

Xterra Kapalua Trail Run -- Kapalua, Maui, HI, US (extreme trail runs of 6k and 10k; through tomorrow)


Anniversary Today:

Grand opening of the Erie Canal, 1825


Birthdays Today:

Cary Elwes, 1962
Lauren Tewes, 1954
Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1947
Pat Sajak, 1947
Jaclyn Smith, 1947
Bob Hoskins, 1942
Jackie Coogan, 1914
Mahalia Jackson, 1911


Debuting/Premiering Today:

St. Elsewhere, 1982


Today in History:

Comet 55P/1366 U1 (Tempel-Tuttle) approaches 0.0229 AUs of Earth (2.1 million miles and 3.4 million kilometers)--marking the third closest approach of any comet to our planet in recorded history, 1366
First use of lead pencils, 1492
William Penn accepts the area around the the Delaware River from the Duke of York, 1682
The first Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia, and the Minute Men begin to organize in the colonies, 1774
King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution, 1775
Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution, 1776
The first of the "Federalist Papers" are published, calling for ratification of the US Constitution, 1787
The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created, 1795
Hamilton Smith patents a rotary washing machine, 1858
Soccer football rules are standardized and rugby starts as a separate game, 1863
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona, 1881
First use of a "getaway car" after a robbery in Paris, 1901
The first Soviet (worker's council) formed, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1905
Margaret Sanger arrested for the obscenity of advocating birth control, 1916
The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India, 1947
Mother Teresa founds her Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, 1950
Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France, 1958
The world sees the far side of the Moon for the first time, in pictures taken earlier in the month by the Soviet Luna 3, 1959
The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia, 1977
"Baby Fae," born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, receives a controversial heart transplant from a baboon, dies of kidney infection 21 days later, 1984
The Charlottetown Accord fails to win majority support in a Canada wide referendum, 1992
Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty, 1994
Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament, 1999