They’re still doing it.

Looks like they had quite a shindig going on in London for Democrats Abroad where I could have cast a ballot. Didn’t make it because my dad and brother were visiting, but the news coverage made me kinda sad I missed out.

But I’m so grateful for the opportunity to cast my ballot online in the DA Global Primary. Come November, I’ll vote in my home state. Hillary won there last night without my vote and this fall she’ll win in Tennessee with my vote.

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My brother backs Obama. Tsk, tsk. But he also voted for Nader in 2000, so I think we know how politically wise he is.

Obama could still win and as a good Dem, I’ll vote for him, but I tell you I hope he cuts out the backsniping bullshit pronto. That’s not helping anyone.

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I’ve noticed the Hillary Clinton coverage is all spun negative. They’re still doing it. In one sentence it’s all “Hillary wins more delegates…” in the next it’s all “Hillary is struggling, Hillary is losing her advantage…” blah, blah, blah.

Hello, people – she’s winning. WTF?

The Tennessee Guerilla Women have a good low down on the misogyny and last night’s coverage.

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But you know the weird press coverage is not just about misogyny. John Edwards couldn’t have got 30 seconds if he were the man biting a dog. And poor old Mitt Romney had been winning until the media anointed that crazy McCain. And Huckabee? Well, he’s getting good coverage, cause he’s winning in the snake handling states. (Yeah, I know…. I’m bad.)

Keep on rockin in the free world

Yesterday I got my paper notice about the Global Primary. (If this link doesn’t work, don’t worry – more info below). Since Buddy is eating paper these days, I wanted to get it on the bulletin board and out of his way. But of course, I forgot and left it dangerously close to the changing area.

Me: Hand me that voting thingy.
Vol-in-Law: Voting thingy?
Me: Yeah, that paper there.
ViL: Oh, your voting thingy. (Extra derisive tone where you see italics).
Me: Yeah, you know the vote the directs activities in the free world.

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Living abroad? Want to vote in the primary? Check out the Democrats Abroad site.
Need to register to vote? Check out – www.votefromabroad.org

And now I will blog about the 2008 Presidential race

For so long I’ve avoided blogging about the 2008 run for the White House and sworn I wouldn’t until it was seemly. Maybe it was because I was a bit sickened by the campaigning kicking off before the 2006 Midterms even concluded. It’s like retailers putting up Christmas decorations before Halloween. It ain’t right.

I did have a post or two about Fred, but I tagged them Not the 2008 election, so I feel I kept my promise in a moral sense.

But now it’s 2008, so I’m ready.

To the Republican party:

Y’all are making me laugh. Your candidates are crazy or lazy.

To the Democrats:

Can we please avoid having a nomination until the rest of the nation freakin’ votes? We did this last time and look who we got. A loser. A guy who was so lacking in charisma and winning-ness that he couldn’t resoundly beat that no-hoper George Bush.

To the “liberals”:

Stop calling Hillary Clinton “shrill” or “close-to-tears” when she’s not. Y’all need to take a look in the mirror and think about where this attitude is coming from. From what I’ve seen Hillary Clinton has acquitted herself admirably. Yes, I am voting for her.

But here are two people who probably/certainly aren’t voting for her who’ve spotted the woman bashing, too. (Kathy Flake and the Tennessee Guerilla Women here and here and elsewhere). Heck, even my husband who subscribes to Pat Buchanan’s American Conservative magazine noticed and has been stunned by the level of woman bashing.

To the British media:

Stop pontificating on this election as if a) you have a vote or b) you deserve a vote. You are merely outside observers. You do not get to anoint your chosen candidate – Barrack Obama. Although, maybe I shouldn’t say anything since I believe that The Guardian with their stupid letter writing campaign along with the some vote tampering managed to lose Ohio.

And since I’m supporting the shrill and close-to-tears Hillary Clinton (yes, this according to the British media), go ahead, please shoot yourselves in the foot on this one, too.

French elections

So, Nicolas Sarkozy, the center-right candidate for President of France, wins. I think for the sake of France, that’s probably a good thing. France must change, it isn’t working anymore, literally. Nice as it is, though.

My random thoughts:

• I think it’s great that a woman was running as a finalist in the French presidential elections. If I voted in France, I wouldn’t have voted for her, but I’m glad she was there.
• Sarkozy will impose reforms. French unions will strike and strike and strike. I wouldn’t plan a trip to France during peak holiday times.
• Reforms to the labor market, needed as they are, will not make much difference straight away. Instead there will be uncertainty and more young, talented French people will try to get their careers started in London, because there are no jobs in France.
• Neither Sarkozy nor Royal will be able to solve the problem of Muslim integration into mainstream French culture. Too many have been living in a special, suburban immigrant angry stew for too long.

There are some nifty insights into French culture and this election over here at Anglofille. You should read it. Really.

Can I get some service?

There are some issues that I have to admit I don’t care about anymore. Issues that I felt quite strongly about at one point, but which have now – like the sands through the hour glass – passed me by.

For example:

Pre-18 voting. It burned me up that I turned 18 in a general election year (May), but was unable to vote in the primary. I really wanted to vote for Al Gore. But I didn’t get my chance, since that other fellow – who was it? – some guy from Massachusetts got the nomination instead. Boy, did that turn out good.

Policy prescription: Those eligible to vote in the November general election shall be able to vote in their respective state’s primary.

How much do I care about this policy now? Not at all.

I kinda got over my disappointment about getting to cast my ballot for Al in 1988. After all, I got another shot in 2000. Sadly, and to my eternal shame, I actually didn’t bother to return my expat ballot that year. I thought Al would be a sure thing in our mutual home state of Tennessee. Nope. And without Tennessee, Florida really mattered. Boy, did that turn out good.

But there was one age based policy that took me years to get over. The drinking age. Just about the time that I could start to imagine turning 18*, states were one by one succumbing to the threat of removal of Federal Highways Matching funds and raising their drinking age. But I thank those legislators. For without their meddling, I might have been a law abiding citizen instead of the scofflaw you know today. ‘Cause – get real – I wasn’t not gonna drink at 18. Thank you for freeing me from any sense of obligation to obeying your petty, arbitrary rules and poorly enforced misdemeanor laws.

Policy prescription: Drinking age of 18 or 19. If you’re worried about deaths on the highways, throw in tougher penalties for drunk driving, including revocation of driving license until 21 for anyone registering any blood alcohol content while in charge of a moving vehicle.

How much do I care about this policy now? Well, the threat of prosecution still stings, and I do think it’s a bit silly to wait ’til 21 – but really I don’t care that much. And I have to admit to a certain kind of schadenfreude – if I had to suffer, so should you.

But I still thought it was interesting when Bob Krumm, Tennessee blogger and political aspirant, suggested lowering the drinking age.

One of the things, that we used to say in our salad days was “Over in Europe, you can drink at 18. Over in Europe, they let children drink a little and then it’s not that big of a deal when you get older and people don’t get so drunk.”

Well, I’m over in Europe now (sadly having moved here well after I turned 21). And that all seems to be true. Well, once you get onto the Continent anyway. The legal age in the UK is 18. And for many years, British people liked to have a go at me for stupid, puritanical American drinking laws (talk about blaming the victim), usually in drunken conversations down the pub.

But kids are certainly able to obtain alcohol from a much younger age (though there has been more emphasis on proof of age lately). And sadly, alcohol is probably not handled well in the Anglo-Saxon family. These kids get stupid drunk and cause problems. They get stupid drunk at 18, too. In fact, the British are pretty well known for maintaining their ability to get stupid drunk well into their majority.

But, now – and rather ironically – folks in the UK are starting to think about raising the drinking age to 21. Well known, think tanks are suggesting a review of the minimum drinking age.

And what do I think about raising the drinking age? Well, I’ve been there done that and I don’t think it makes much difference.

David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: “What we really need to do is change the drinking culture through education rather than making drinking a social taboo by raising the legal drinking age.”

Sensible talk from the Portman Group (an alcohol manufacturers’ lobby – BTW), but the real tough thing is finding the policy prescription that achieves that aim.

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* bless the City of New Orleans, which kept their 18 limit at the time I was 18. Maybe I shoulda gone to Tulane.