Blue On Blue

I subbed at the library today and since the library was closed on Friday and Saturday I was very busy. This will be a short post. I had a great time with my sisters this weekend but the minute they left I sunk into a big pool of depression that is still clinging to me today.

Some days living in this town is like being in a foreign country. I just don't understand the mentality of the people here. I was checking the election returns for the country I live in and the results that bummed me out the most was the race for Attorney General. The Attorney General before the election was Republican Phil Kline who ran against Democrat Paul Morrison.

After a two year legal fight Kline has seized the medical records of women who had abortions at two Wichita clinics. One is a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park. The other is the clinic of Dr. George Tiller, who is known for doing late-term abortions. Kline said he wanted the records to see if there was evidence of unreported rape, child rape, incest, illegal late-term abortions or child sex abuse. If this is true then why hasn't he gone after the medical records of all hospitals, medical clinics, and private doctors in the state of Kansas? Talk about invasion of privacy issues.

Anyway, Kline was defeated with 58% of Kansas voters choosing Paul Morrison and 42% voting for Kline. This in a state, as the Kansas City Star pointed out,” where Republicans account for nearly 46 percent of all registered voters."

In my little corner of the world 37% of the people who voted chose Paul Morrison while 63% chose Kline. Almost three-thirds of my neighbors voted for a man who was abusing his position as Attorney General to advance his own religious views. Screw the fourth amendment. Screw Roe V. Wade.

I really don't understand these people.

A couple of articles about Kline's crusade here (from 2005) and here.

A Woman's Work Is Never Done

I still have not caught up on everything I need to do since I got back from Denver. My sisters are coming this weekend so today I am cleaning my house. It turns out to be a good day to work inside since outside a cold, blustery wind is blowing from the North. You spend more than thirty seconds out in that wind today and you end up chewing on gritty dirt. See you Monday.

Post Election Letdown

I woke up this morning feeling blue because I am not really sure that things are going to change that much in this country. The Republicans may not be in control of Congress any more but that fact may not have any influence on what is happening in Iraq. The President is still the one with the power when it comes to the war.

So, I was moping around most of the day until I saw this:



It made me feel so much better.

Bush and Rumsfeld

Listened to Bush's press conference this afternoon. My favorite part of the president's speech was this:

The election has changed many things in Washington, but it has not changed my fundamental responsibility, and that is to protect the American people from attack.

As the commander in chief, I take these responsibilities seriously. And so does the man who served this nation honorably for almost six years as our Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

Now, after a series of thoughtful conversations, Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon.

Our military has experienced an enormous amount of change and reform during the last five years while fighting the war on terror; one of the most consequential wars in our nation's history.

Don Rumsfeld has been a superb leader during a time of change. Yet he also appreciates the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war.

Don Rumsfeld's a patriot who's served our country with honor and distinction. He is a trusted adviser and a friend, and I'm deeply grateful to his service to our country.

As I heard these words I thought, "Did Rumsfeld jump or was he pushed?"
I also thought it was a strange way to announce that Rumsfeld was no longer Secretary of Defense. Bush sounded just like a murderer describing how he had killed his victim, "The next thing I knew, the gun fired and "Don" was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his chest."

Nope, Bush had nothing at all to do with Rumfeld's resignation, it just happened.

No Rest For The Weary

Election Day

I just got back home after voting. This election is going to be a mess. There are major problems with the electronic voting system being used this year. In Colorado, instead of precinct polling places, they set up voting centers around the state with officials having access to computerized voter lists. Voters are able to vote at any one of the voting centers they wanted to, which meant they could vote near where the worked instead of driving all the way home. Good plan except that the computerized voter lists were unavailable to the officials at most of the voting centers. The Colorado Democratic Party has filed a court appeal asking that voting hours be extended two hours beyond the usual 7:00PM closing. These kinds of problems are not limited to Denver but are happening all over the country. This is going to be a long night.

Oh, and this:



is the political party I voted for today. Instant Karma's gonna to get you.
(YouTube video via Changing Places)

Election Do-do

One of the "perks" of television watching here in Denver during an election is the many, many, many negative campaign ads. No one wants to speak about the issues; they all just want to tell you what slime buckets their opponents are this year. There are so many running on televisions all over the country that MSNBC and NBC's The Today Show are running a contest. You can go to the MSNBC website and vote for "the meanest, the dumbest, and the funniest ones."

Still Here

In Denver. Which means I get to watch the latest episodes of CSI and ER tonight. God, I am so shallow.

Where I Live

Population

2,407 souls

50.6% are female
49.4% are male
25.8% are over the age of 65
4.6% are under the age of 5

Median age of population 44

Birth Place

97.1% were born in town or in the county

Ethnicity

98.0% White

Ancestry

46.5% said they were of German descent
13.4% said they were of English descent
7.3% said they were just American

Social Characteristics

15.7% have never married
64.9% are married
11.4% are widowed
7.0% are divorced

61.2% are high school graduates
12.3% have a Bachelor degree or higher

Housing

97.7% of the population live in individual households
2.3% live in some kind of group home

43.5% of the houses were built before 1939
20.5% of the houses were built between 1940 and 1959

Median value of homes $50,200

Economics

52.4% of the population works

Median income $35,731

Families below poverty level 1.7%
Individuals below poverty level 7.67%

Work

Top three fields:
1. Agriculture
2. Retail Trade
3. Education, health and social services

Commuting to Work
71.1% drive alone
11.9% car pool
5.3% walk
No one used Public Transportation- we don't have any

Mean travel time 14 minutes

Religion

There are 12 churches, all Christian

(Via ZipCodeStats by way of Reading & Writing)