I Voted

Did you?

Now I'm off to see if the line for free Election Day ice cream at Ben & Jerry's isn't unbearably long!

Vote!

Over the last few months especially, but over the last year even, there have been hundreds of thousands of political ads aired on TV. It's all about to end tomorrow. I just wanted to share a public service announcement with you. (Ignore the idiot guy.)

Friday Feature: Voter Registration

Are you registered to vote yet? Regardless of your political views, if you plan on voting in November, time is running out to register. Google Maps has a nifty little service to help you figure out what you need to do.

Google Maps Election Info

Click the above link, enter your address and zip code into the address field, and you will see something like this:


It will provide you with links to the appropriate websites to register to vote, and let you know how long you have until the deadline.

Breast is best?

On Friday morning, I got on the computer, logged into my Google Reader and another website that I frequent, and within about 30 minutes, had found this story in three different places. For those of you who haven't heard it or don't want to go read the article, I'll sum it up for you. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Ben & Jerry's, urging them to use human breast milk in their ice cream in place of cow's milk. Most of the reaction I read was along the lines of "Ew, gross!" or "That's sick!" or "Disgusting...barf!"

I was surprised and mildly amused at the reactions. After all, most of us have drunk breast milk at one point or another. I was surprised mostly at how fervent the reactions seemed to be. First of all, much of what PETA "urges" is very fanatical. Secondly, Ben & Jerry's is smart enough to not switch to breast milk because they know they'd lose a LOT of business. Third, although PETA is generally fanatical, this just seemed silly to me.

Speaking realistically, human breast milk does not contain the same nutrients as cow's milk. There is no vitamin D and not nearly as much iron. It is enough for a new and growing baby with a very immature digestive system, but not for a grown person. Human breast milk is flavored by whatever the human has eaten (this may also be true for cow's milk...I don't know). Dairy cows that have milk collected from them are bred specifically for that purpose, and are kept in a controlled environment with a controlled diet, both of which are consistent. They don't drink, they don't smoke, they don't do drugs, and they aren't out to make an extra buck. The reasons that I would be most opposed to switching to human breast milk is that it is significantly lacking in nutrients comparatively speaking (not that ice cream is hugely nutritious to begin with) and that the flavor and origin would not be consistent and could not be controlled.

That and it's just weird. Not gross, just weird. My tongue-in-cheek reaction, though, was "As long as the humans are corn-fed, I'm okay with it."

I want to be carded

In an unexpected move on my part, I am moving today into the realm of discussing politics on my blog. I have never been interested in politics until the last year, when I have started to pay more attention and have more of an opinion. I still don't understand everything (does anyone?), and I don't enjoy heated debate, but I am much more comfortable holding my own in a friendly sparring discussion than I ever have been before.

This morning I read an article in an online magazine that does a lot of political commentary and satire. This article discussed the controversy that is currently surrounding the voter-ID law in Indiana. I had some thoughts as I read the article that I wanted to share, and I am interested in hearing your thoughts as well.

Recap: There was a law passed in IN in 2005 that requires people to present government-issued photo identification when they show up to vote. The idea is to prevent voter fraud (think back to Bush v. Gore in 2000). The argument is that there are so many people still on the rolls who have either died or moved away, that any John Doe off the street could present himself as both John Doe (his own name), and four hours later also present himself as Herman Smith, who passed away 4 years ago, but is still on the records. This is not only fraud, but skews the vote. The law was passed in the the State Legislature (a Republican Congress at the time), split along party lines, and signed into effect by a Republican governor. The people who are fighting against it are state Democrats and the ACLU (I'm not surprised there -- they fight against everything). They are arguing that it infringes on the rights of poor and indigent voters (about 12% of those in the state), that it's unconstitutional, and that voter fraud isn't actually a problem. The argument is also that this law was passed by Republicans to prevent the votes from being "skewed Democrat."

So that's the background and the current arguments. I remember when I went to vote in the 2004 Presidential Election. I was shocked when I got there, they asked my name, and waved me on through after crossing it off their list. I wasn't very comfortable with it. If I go to the grocery store to buy milk and bread, I swipe my credit card, sign my name (with my unique signature), and still have to present government-issued photo ID. If I write a check (which has my full name, address, phone number, and account information printed on it, not to mention again that unique signature), I still have to present photo ID. And if it's from out of state, that opens up a whole new can of worms (because other states' governments don't count, apparently). This is to buy milk and bread. But I can vote without either signing anything or even presenting proof of identification? I wasn't comfortable with that. Something as important as voting should carry a heavier weight than the last ingredient I need to finish making dinner.

I don't understand the arguments against this law. The ironic thing is that it isn't the people who are being inconvenienced bringing the lawsuit against the state -- it's the ACLU. It seems to me that this law protects the voter. I want to be asked to present photo ID when I show up to vote. It offers a little more confidence in the all-powerful "system." It makes me feel more secure. It also makes it feel like I count for something, and that my vote does in fact make a difference. What do you think?