obligatory election post

I'm disappointed by Bush's win, but I don't think it's the end of the world just yet. I'm more frightened by the strangle-hold that the Republican party now has on the federal government. I don't want any party to control all three branches. With a Republican congress, a Republican white house, and several Supremes likely being appointed during the next term, this is a far cry from the balance of power that was designed into the system. Supremes are for a long, long time, compared to presidents. We need to work hard in the mid-term elections, and we need to make sure our so-called representatives hear from us, frequently and numerously.

I'm not about to flee the country like some people are discussing; that just makes things worse for those left behind. And it lets the Bush camp win. While it's tempting to say to the south and heartland "you made this mess; you deserve the results", I'm not ready to let them destroy my country without opposition. The 51% don't have more rights to be here, and to be heard, than the 49%.

By the way, I've heard people saying that the Democrats didn't do enough to get the vote out. I don't know about elsewhere, but I have been bombarded with phone calls, flyers on my car, and flyers stuck in my front door reminding me to vote, and almost all of them have been identifiably from Democrats or affiliated organizations. A couple were anonymous. No obvious Bushites (though I did get some calls supporting the Republican senate candidate). Just a data point.

election-night party (light stuff)

Dani brought a game called "Ideology" to the election-night party. It's for five players, playing Communisiom, Capitalism, Fascism, Imperialism, and Islamic Fundamentalism. There are three factors -- culture, economics, and military -- and you use these to try to gain influence in the world. (Each ideology has different strengths and weaknesses, and they mostly make sense.) It looks like a fun game, though we'll need to try it with an all-adult group to really evaluate. There was one child playing with us and that both slowed things down and (occasionally) added frustration.

Other games present were Nuclear War (a classic for these parties), Chrononauts (looked like the new edition), and a politically-customized Fluxx deck. There were probably others.

A lot of people there had not yet seen Marry an American. It went over well.

Most appropriate food at the party: a confection depicting a US flag with a bush trampling across it, shedding. The artist explained that the bush was leaving a mess for others to clean up. There were also the obligatory pork rinds, baked beans (both Heinz and Bush's), meringues (cookies made from hot air), nuts, and random snack food. Oh, and Johan managed to find blue wine [1] to accompany the red and white wines. The beer selection included Blithering Idiot and Arrogant Bastard.

[1] The label actually said "apple flavored wine product" and did not include an ingredients list, though it did include a government warning about alcohol. "Wine product"? Maybe I don't want to know.