Random notes from the press box
Pardon me for not posting anything lately. Life's been a bit rough, with some exceptions.
• Regardless of who voted for whom, President Bush has one helluva road in front of him. This country couldn't be more divided and split between those who see the country on the right track, those who see the country slipping into darkened levels of Dante's Inferno and those who don't really care, as long as it doesn't affect their lives individually. This isn't a good thing and unity is needed, somewhere in the middle. Um... nah. It won't happen for a long time. Too many emotions have been toyed with, scarred and bruised for everyone to just shake hands, hug and move on. If you look at this with a cynical eye (and I'm saying this as a middle-of-the-road Independent), the Republicans will have no one to blame for the next four years — a majority in Congress, the Senate and in the White House, with the opportunity to appoint their choices on the Supreme Court. It is their world, now. If they get it right when the 2008 elections roll around, the Democrats will have a longer road to recover from this year's campaign. If the GOP gets it wrong, ...
• One side note: Getting a majority of the popular vote should make some things easier for the GOP, but in no way is that a mandate. If the popular vote was a 60-40 or greater split, then you can call it a mandate. Better yet, Reagan got a mandate in 1984 against Walter Mondale and the Democrats — winning all but Minnesota on Election Day. A simple majority is what the GOP got this time around.
• Terrell Owens: Can someone, please, give this poor man a hug? He really needs someone to calm him and keep him company, because he's a bit paranoid right now. People like you, T.O. Just because you don't get the commercials like Ray Lewis doesn't mean people hate you. Please, calm down, have some dip... or better yet, have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up!
• Hockey update: The National Hockey League has cancelled its All-Star Weekend due to the lockout. We're 49 days into the lockout, with 139 games lost as of Wednesday night. OK, hey, you made your point. Can both sides get to the table and start talking, please? It is only Day 2 of the NBA season and I'm already tired of pro basketball. Please, help a poor sports fan and get back onto the ice.
• More nation talk: Thanks to Ann for pointing out that I forgot the biggest sports nation out there — the Raider nation. She suggested that I call them sects, instead of societies, but sects have such a bad connotation to it. You know, Jim Jones had a sect, so did the Branch Davidians and other religious doomsday organizations. So, I'll just call them societies... but the Raider sect isn't all that bad...
• Another political note: They say that all politics are local. I agree with that. The GOP and the Democratic parties broke out the big guns to get everyone in Grays Harbor to vote and there was a 75 percent turnout — the largest in decades. I smiled at that number, because that means there are more people who cared this time than in past years. The only trick is to keep those who voted this time and saw their candidates lose in the mix in future elections. As I said above, this election was an emotional battleground and future elections may or may not have the same tone. This was a good day for democracy and for this country with the voter turnout, one I hope to see repeated in the future — without the benefit of a split, contentuous campaign from both sides.
• One final note: Grays Harbor has been a baston for the Democrats since the New Deal, but this election saw an upturn for the GOP. Reasons — the continuous loss of union jobs that rob the Demos of one of their strongest bases, an influx of newer residents who come from moderate to conservative areas and bring their views with them and an increase in Evangelical followers who vote with their values on their T-shirt fronts. This country is becoming more conservative overall (look at all of the red states and where the blue states are) and Grays Harbor is beginning to follow the rest of the country's lead. Those who can cater to the greater nation's views will get the votes. The GOP has that nailed, while the Democrats are viewed as liberal yuppies who are on the fringe and out-of-touch with the common citizens of the U.S.A. Because of this trend and reasons, the fact that there's no organized GOP on the Harbor may be the only thing that is holding this county back from turning red after a history of being blue.
(c) R. Burns
• Regardless of who voted for whom, President Bush has one helluva road in front of him. This country couldn't be more divided and split between those who see the country on the right track, those who see the country slipping into darkened levels of Dante's Inferno and those who don't really care, as long as it doesn't affect their lives individually. This isn't a good thing and unity is needed, somewhere in the middle. Um... nah. It won't happen for a long time. Too many emotions have been toyed with, scarred and bruised for everyone to just shake hands, hug and move on. If you look at this with a cynical eye (and I'm saying this as a middle-of-the-road Independent), the Republicans will have no one to blame for the next four years — a majority in Congress, the Senate and in the White House, with the opportunity to appoint their choices on the Supreme Court. It is their world, now. If they get it right when the 2008 elections roll around, the Democrats will have a longer road to recover from this year's campaign. If the GOP gets it wrong, ...
• One side note: Getting a majority of the popular vote should make some things easier for the GOP, but in no way is that a mandate. If the popular vote was a 60-40 or greater split, then you can call it a mandate. Better yet, Reagan got a mandate in 1984 against Walter Mondale and the Democrats — winning all but Minnesota on Election Day. A simple majority is what the GOP got this time around.
• Terrell Owens: Can someone, please, give this poor man a hug? He really needs someone to calm him and keep him company, because he's a bit paranoid right now. People like you, T.O. Just because you don't get the commercials like Ray Lewis doesn't mean people hate you. Please, calm down, have some dip... or better yet, have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up!
• Hockey update: The National Hockey League has cancelled its All-Star Weekend due to the lockout. We're 49 days into the lockout, with 139 games lost as of Wednesday night. OK, hey, you made your point. Can both sides get to the table and start talking, please? It is only Day 2 of the NBA season and I'm already tired of pro basketball. Please, help a poor sports fan and get back onto the ice.
• More nation talk: Thanks to Ann for pointing out that I forgot the biggest sports nation out there — the Raider nation. She suggested that I call them sects, instead of societies, but sects have such a bad connotation to it. You know, Jim Jones had a sect, so did the Branch Davidians and other religious doomsday organizations. So, I'll just call them societies... but the Raider sect isn't all that bad...
• Another political note: They say that all politics are local. I agree with that. The GOP and the Democratic parties broke out the big guns to get everyone in Grays Harbor to vote and there was a 75 percent turnout — the largest in decades. I smiled at that number, because that means there are more people who cared this time than in past years. The only trick is to keep those who voted this time and saw their candidates lose in the mix in future elections. As I said above, this election was an emotional battleground and future elections may or may not have the same tone. This was a good day for democracy and for this country with the voter turnout, one I hope to see repeated in the future — without the benefit of a split, contentuous campaign from both sides.
• One final note: Grays Harbor has been a baston for the Democrats since the New Deal, but this election saw an upturn for the GOP. Reasons — the continuous loss of union jobs that rob the Demos of one of their strongest bases, an influx of newer residents who come from moderate to conservative areas and bring their views with them and an increase in Evangelical followers who vote with their values on their T-shirt fronts. This country is becoming more conservative overall (look at all of the red states and where the blue states are) and Grays Harbor is beginning to follow the rest of the country's lead. Those who can cater to the greater nation's views will get the votes. The GOP has that nailed, while the Democrats are viewed as liberal yuppies who are on the fringe and out-of-touch with the common citizens of the U.S.A. Because of this trend and reasons, the fact that there's no organized GOP on the Harbor may be the only thing that is holding this county back from turning red after a history of being blue.
(c) R. Burns
posted by R. Burns at 11/03/2004 07:11:00 PM
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