Finally! It's here!
Election Day! Am i looking forward to voting? Oh, yes, absolutely. Unless you are conscientiously
objecting, i believe everyone eligible should vote. Too many people on this planet would love to be able to do so for us to waste the opportunity. Also, it is a hard won privilege for us, as you know if you've studied your history.
But that's not the main reason i'm looking forward to it. After all, this is Louisiana where our wimpy legislature won't take a stand on anything and so puts any item that might be controversial on the ballot as a constitutional amendment instead of just voting on it themselves. That way, they get to weasel out of the blame if things go wrong. Also they make us spend a lot of time trying to figure out just what they are trying to pull in each of those amendments, and it can take a while to make sure you got it all right once you are in that booth. Because of this, the actual moments you spend in that booth can be a bit of a pill, but one i'm willing to swallow.
No, the main reason i'm looking forward to it is that i am so tired of the ads and name calling and the constant calls on our home phone, at least 3-5 per night. "Don't vote for the convict who is running for Congress!" "I am not a liar!" "Yes, you are!" "No, I'm not!" The misinformation and lies and foolishness has gotten on my last nerve.
It will be a blessing to have it all over and done with. At least until the run-offs, of which we are sure to have at least one. Gads.
Okay, i'm diving in early today, and then i don't want to hear any more until i read my paper tomorrow morning. If the run-off comes up the way i think it will, the break will be short, but i need every minute.
Today is:
Ashura -- Islam (optional day of fasting that begins at sundown, local observances and national holidays may vary)
Chicken Lady Day -- Miami, FL, US (in honor of The Chicken Lady, whose nonprofit organization helps people get over being "chicken" about public speaking)
Citizenship Day -- Northern Mariana Islands
Community Service Day -- Dominica
Constitution Day/National Day -- Tonga
Election Day -- US (finally! No more ads for a while!)
Feast of Qudrat (Power) -- Baha'i
Flag Day -- Panama
Giorno dell'Unita Nazionale e Festa delle Forze Armate and Victory Day -- Italy (National Unity and Armed Forces Day; celebration of the 1918 Treaty with Austria)
Guy Fawkes Eve -- sometimes called Mischief Night in some parts of Australia, UK, and New Zealand, although that is more appropriate to April 30/October 30
Honeymoon Day -- reminisce about your own special trip, on the birth anniversary of Art Carney
King Tut Day -- his tomb was opened this day in 1922
Ludi Plebeii -- Ancient Roman Calendar (public games, through the 17th)
Melbourne Cup Day -- Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia (153rd running)
National Candy Day -- guess they're thinking you still have some left over from Hallowe'en
St. Charles Borromeo's Day (Patron of apple orchards, bishops, catechists, seminarians, spiritual directors/leaders, starch makers; Joliette, Quebec; Lombardy, Italy; Monterey, CA; Rocca di Papa, Italy; against abdominal pain, colic, intestinal disorders, stomach diseases, ulcers)
a Bank Holiday in Andorra
Unity Day -- Russia
Will Roger's Day -- especially in OK, US; related observance
Use Your Common Sense Day -- because "Common sense ain't all that common."
Waiting for the Barbarians Day -- internet generated, and i thought they came and took over a long time ago!
Anniversaries Today:
Taking of the US Embassy in Teheran, Iran -- 1979
Discovery of King Tut's Tomb -- 1922
Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd, 1842
Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange, 1677 (ruled jointly as William and Mary)
Birthdays Today:
Sean "Diddy" Combs, 1970
Matthew McConaughey, 1969
Andrea McArdle, 1963
Ralph Macchio, 1962
Jeff Probst, 1962
Kathy Griffin, 1960
Markie Post, 1950
Laura W. Bush, 1946
Robert Mapplethorpe, 1946
Loretta Swit, 1937
Doris Roberts, 1930
Martin Balsam, 1919
Art Carney, 1918
Walter Cronkite, 1916
Will Rogers, 1879
Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740 (wrote the hymn "Rock of Ages")
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Crimes of the Heart"(Henley play), 1981
"One Man's Family"(TV), 1949
"Prince Igor"(Borodin opera), 1890
Symphony No. 1 in C minor(Brahms Op. 68), 1876
Today in History:
The Flood of the Arno River causes massive damage in Florence, Italy, 1333
Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier, 1429
Thomas Wolsey, English cardinal, arrested, 1529
Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria, 1783
The Erie Canal is completed with Governor DeWitt Clinton performing the Wedding of The Waters ceremony in New York Harbour, 1825
Benjamin Palmer patents an artificial leg, 1846
Dentist John Beers of San Francisco patents the gold crown, 1873
Tonga adopts a constitution, 1875
James Ritty patents the cash register, to combat the pilfering of the till by the bartenders in his Ohio saloon, 1879
London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell, 1890
The Italian unknown soldier is buried in the Altare della Patria (Fatherland Altar) in Rome, 1921
Nellie Tayloe Ross is elected the first female US State governor, in Wyoming, 1924
The rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, 1955
Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the River Arno floods; together with the contemporaneous flood of the Po River in northern Italy, this leads to 113 deaths, 30,000 made homeless, and the destruction of numerous Renaissance artworks and books, 1966
Genie, a 13-year-old feral child is found in Los Angeles, California having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life, 1970
The Netherlands experiences the first Car Free Sunday caused by the oil crisis, as the highways are deserted and are used only by cyclists and roller skaters, 1973
First conference that focuses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web, in San Francisco, 1994
Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an extremist Orthodox Israeli, 1995
Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing a pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress, 2002
Barak Obama is elected President of the United States, 2008
In Australia's Northern Territory in the lands of the Jawoyn people, archaeologists discover what is believed to be the world's oldest example of a stone ax, estimated at 35,500 years old, 2010
Friendly Fill-Ins Week 443
3 hours ago
As long as we allow money in politics and money that is not transparent we will get an abundance of ads and phone calls and mailings and other negative stuff. Politicians rarely tell you what they will do...other than stop what the other did.
ReplyDeleteI was supposed to type 'Happy Election!' and then laugh at myself. Anyway, Happy Election Day! Haha! ;o)
ReplyDeletei absolutely detest those ads, too! the negativity is pervasive to our entire society!
ReplyDeleteWe'll be voting today too. I'm sick of all the ads too. Sick to death of the constant campaigning. That's all these folks do. Oh wait, there is the raise money part.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Like you, I'm glad it's nearly over, not that the results of our voting are likely to change anything. Still. I mailed in my ballot last week.
ReplyDeleteI agree, pre election time is painful. We've had it recently and I was thankful I was out of the country for most of it.
ReplyDeleteit's so important to vote -- so so important. Our ancestors fought and died for us to have the chance to do so. Here in Canada, we vote for parties - as opposed to the person. I mean, they have a leader obviously, but since you are voting for the party, you don't have to necessarily like the Leader - you just want to get your party to win.
ReplyDeleteAnd when did these Public Officials.. Servant really, forget that character and integrity were Everything! Shameful how they carry on during elections.