Election day

When next you all hear from me, I shall have voted.  I shall not vote based on parties.  I shall vote based on issues, and upon candidates, their integrity, their records; what they believe in, and what they stand for.  I will not be voting for anyone who can come up with nothing better to say for themselves than "Well, my opponent sucks."

What about you?  Will you vote today?  If not, why not?

The United States is a constitutional republic, a representative democracy.  Our government is our responsibility.  If you, as a citizen, won't vote, you are failing in your duty and responsibility as a citizen.  I don't even care all that much if you vote against everything I stand for and believe in, so long as you vote, and vote honestly what you believe in, not just what someone with a sharp suit and a whole lot of money told you you should.  It doesn't matter who's wearing the suit; you're casting your vote, not theirs.  Let them vote how they want.

So go out today, and cast YOUR vote.  Because it's your country.

And now, the waiting

I have cast my votes, with reasonable confidence that they were registered.  Not one single vote that I cast was cast based upon the party affiliation of the candidate.  I voted for candidates and positions on issues, not on party affiliation, and where there was little to choose on that score, I tried to distribute my votes to maximize balance between the major parties, both at the State and Federal level.

This worked out meaning that my votes for both US Senate and US Congress happened to go to Republicans.  My Senate vote went that way because the incumbent saw the banking crisis coming and tried to avert it, and because the challenger is a damned liar.  My Congressional vote went that way because the incumbent is useless deadweight, while the challenger supports the Fair Tax.  On the other hand, it also meant my vote for Governor went to the Democratic incumbent, because he's doing a good job and I'd like him to continue doing so, and because his principal opponent intends to introduce both a sales tax and an income tax to a state that currently has neither.

This leaves the Presidential race.  I could not in good conscience vote for Obama, principally because I don't believe he's being honest about his direction.  Neither could I in good conscience vote for McCain, because he doesn't appear to even HAVE a coherent direction.  Bob Barr, the "official" Libertarian candidate on the ballot, is a Libertarian in name only, while Ralph Nader is a self-serving wingnut.

So what could I do but write in Ron Paul and Mike Gravel?  If nothing else, if enough people do it, maybe it'll send a message that we've had our fill of partisan squabbling and mudslinging.

The Other Vote Today

The Presidential election isn't the only important vote going on today.

No, I'm not talking about the 35 Senate seats that are up for election, either.  Nor the 435 seats in the House, all of which are up for grabs.

I'm talking about the vote that will take place at the FCC today, on opening up the 300-400MHz of unused "white-space" spectrum that sits as a buffer between broadcast TV channels for wireless broadband.

There's some discussion here, on C|Net.  Ironically, this might actually end up making more real-world difference to many people than which Presidential candidate is elected.