Hermie says, "I'm In-de-pen-dent"

One of the great things about living in NH is how we treat party affiliations. If you are registered as an Independent, on Primary day you walk in and tell them which party's ballot you'd like to vote with. Today, as in most Primary elections, I requested a Democratic party ballot. After I turned my ballot in, I walked over to a table specifically set up for people like me. There, someone guided me to my name in the voter registration lists. I wrote down that I had voted Democrat today and then signed that I would like to go back to being an Independent. So, I was a registered Democrat for all of the two minutes it took me to vote and walk over to that table.

Of course, as a registered Independent I get calls from both Republican and Democratic candidates trying to garner my vote. It is a small price to pay for the liberty of switching parties during the Primaries. I have yet to do it since living in NH, but there were times before living here that I'd wished that I could (I really wanted to see John Anderson as the Republican nominee in 1980, but I got to vote for him anyway when he ran as an Independent.)

If I would have voted Republican this time, I would have gone for Guiliani. As it was, I had a tough call to make today on the Democratic ticket. Vote with my heart, or vote with my mind? Vote for someone who inspires the people but probably not the politicians they'd have to work with, or vote for someone who annoys people but knows how to work within the system? I'm unhappy with what I ended up doing, but it seemed the most logical thing to do. Hopefully, both my candidates will be forced to work together in the end and will create a strong ticket with true vision and power to turn this country around.

Yes, I voted for HER.

Odd combinations of things

A while back I noted the enjoyment I get from seeing the odd combinations of things that people are buying in the express checkout in the grocery store. Odd combinations really rev up my imagination. (A stand-up comedian got me interested in the concept with her observation of someone's imminent purchase of kitty litter and Vaseline.)

I recently started subscribing to the Nashua area's Freecycle mailing list. Today, someone posted with the following subject heading:

WANTED: Girls training bras size 30AA, Dog collar and leash

The imagination just runs wild with this, no?

Anxious citizen

Living in NH, I am REALLY looking forward to tomorrow. It is a privilege to be the first state to hold an actual, voting, Presidential primary every four years. The outcome of our primary often determines the course of the primary season overall.

That said, the REAL reason I am looking forward to tomorrow: PEACE!

This weekend, we had at least seven calls each day on Saturday and Sunday, and four this evening. In addition, we have actually had campaign workers knock on our door three times in the last three days.

GO AWAY! LEAVE US ALONE!

Geesh.

Participatory democracy is a privilege. I KNOW! But, I really can't wait until Wednesday morning.

Death of a heroine

I missed posting a heroine last Sunday. And, since it's kind of late, this posting will be much shorter than I would like it to be.

I long admired Benazir Bhutto for her leadership of Pakistan during troubled times. She unsuccessfully attempted to improve the status of women in Pakistan. During her reign as Prime Minister of Pakistan, she and her husband were accused of corruption and were forced into exile. Perhaps the charges had some merit. However, I'm certain that Musharraf's government would fail similar scrutiny. Finally, she bravely returned to Pakistan several months ago to campaign for reform and a return to democracy, though her life was threatened. She escaped an assassination attempt in October, only to be killed by a suicidal extremist in late December.

Politicians are not saints. However, some do try to bring positive change to their countries regardless of who it angers.

In the Muslim world, such an outspoken woman is a hero in my book.

The unoffical end of the holidays

My sister-in-law and her family drove up today for a post-holiday visit. The kids got presents. Everyone snacked. We watched a couple of videos (mind-numbing background for the chaos of small children). It was relaxing.

We left our holiday tree up especially for their visit. Tomorrow, it comes down, which will unofficially mark the end of our holiday season.

On the other hand, I am still making holiday cards (in preparation for next year). And, I get my best gift of the season on the 16th: my boss's last day with our organization.

This past week was a bit stressful at work, so I already broke several New Year's resolutions. However, since the holidays 'unofficially' stretched through this weekend, I plan to re-commit myself to the resolutions tomorrow. After all, each day offers us another chance to start our lives anew, right???