Please vote. I don't care if you're going to vote for Obama or McCain. Yes, your vote counts. Please vote.

If you live here in North Carolina, you have until October 11 to register.

For those of you who favor Obama but aren't 100% sure you'll make it to the polls, watch this:

Yes, this person gets to vote.

This made my stomach turn. I hope she answers in similar fashion tonight, though I'd wager she's been practicing non-stop with people who know what the hell they're doing.

I figured with all the videos already here, I might as well throw on another.

Happy birthday to my wife, who shares the day with animals everywherer: it's World Animal Day.

Started in Florence Italy in 1931 at a convention of ecologists, World Animal Day has since expanded its focus from its original intent, which was to bring attention to endangered or threatened species. The day is now set aside as a time to reflect on all of the animals we share this world with, and our involvement with them - and to spur action to commemorate that respectful relationship. Half the world's mammals are declining in population and more than a third are probably threatened with extinction, according to an update of of the Red List (an inventory of biodiversity issued by the IUCN), released on October 6, 2008

There are some amazing photos over at The Big Picture.

I still watch Saturday Night Live sometimes. Usually on Saturdays. Mainly for the nostalgic feeling, guest appearances by Tina Fey, and rare gems like this one from last night's episode. Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals:

I've liked Mark Wahlberg since Three Kings. Lindsey secretly makes fun of me for it.

My earlier and similarly titled post was a joke intended to show that there is nothing good about Sarah Palin politically other than her appearance. I think I was right about that.

There are all sorts of things I could say at this point.

I could say that McCain and Palin are fucked. They are. They have fucked themselves with their lies, hyperbole, and stupid fucking ideas. I don't know if I should say that—they aren't really ideas. More like stratagems of looming disaster.

Questions: Why are liberals so pissed off about McCain and especially Palin? Even as Obama is winning? Answer: The race should not even be close. That shows that a large portion of Americans still believe in the aggressive atrophic lifestyle and political institution of those candidates. For whatever reason. It feels like entropy to us.

The association of Barack Obama and Bill Ayers that Palin is smacking and smirking about on stage to thousands of her supporters is ludicrous. As is emphasizing Obama's middle name. As is Cindy McCain condemning Obama for voting against more military funding—John McCain voted against the funding, also. So, another reason liberals are pissed off: the McCain/Palin campaign is manipulating Republicans with mutilated facts and direct lies. I know that's one reason I'm angry. They are playing off of some people's lack of knowledge. They are playing off of their fear.

Another is the boiling hatred of many of the Republicans' most ardent supporters, which is exacerbated by their leaders' strategies mentioned above. Hate might be a natural emotion, but we can't tolerate public hate with illegal and unethical foundations. Implying that Obama is a terrorist, or even associates with terrorists is ridiculous and insulting to Republicans with a moral spine. Assholes like Sean Hannity live for piles of feces like this. Where is the dignity and honesty that the public deserves?

So, there we have several reasons why we are so attracted to Sarah Palin. It is an unhealthy attraction. Yes, she makes us crazy, makes us red. But it's because we care so much about humanity.

Just check out these videos, which show just how narrow-minded some people can be. It is surprising and sad.

And very scary.

Sometimes I wonder what the heck is going on. Then I remember all the people throughout history who have tried very hard to get a bead on things. When they thought they had ironed it all out, they went nuts and people usually died or were mistreated for stupid reasons. Pigments and orifices. Prayers and flags. Bombs and bullets.

So now, at least, this very day, I tell myself this: you're just going to die—be miserable while you can.

This will be one of my last "why so serious" posts about the imminent election. If you've read any of my previous entries, you understand why I'm fired up. We cannot endorse ignorance, fear, corruption and centralization of power, moral control, and so forth. If you are going to vote, which I hope you do, please think hard about it and vote for the best candidate—Barack Hussein Obama: the intelligent, hopeful, non-terrorist, non-socialist candidate.

First, here's a primer on how the election works: How the U.S.A. elects its president. Before I go any further, I want to point out something about the election that's very important but not well-known. We need to elect Democrats into the Senate. If we obtain a 60 seat majority, Republicans cannot block progressive proposals by the Democrats. This is important for you, fellow North Carolinians—we are a swing state right now. Here's a short, informative video about the Senate race.

It's time to speak once again about Sarah Palin. I know, I know. I'm as sick of hearing about her as you are. But here's the dealio.

Apparently, Palin still doesn't know what the vice president does. She said yesterday that the VP is in charge of the Senate. Incorrect. I don't want this person as my vice president.

Why did McCain choose her? It's still a mystery. Even hardcore Republican politicians are baffled, such as this prominent consultant. And I probably don't have to tell you that Christopher Hitchens endorses Obama.

Palin either misunderstands or ignores the Constitution. As governor of Alaska, she blurred the line between church and state, as this article points out. You can't do that. Ever.

Apparently, she did abuse her power as governor during the stupid "Troopergate" incident.

"But even though she won't likely face any legal repercussions, the amateurism and cronyism of her brief administration hardly leaves Palin sitting pretty. Troopergate's final verdict may be even more damaging than a rebuke: her administration was, at least this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat."

So much for bringing a change to Washington. Nucular.

Palin is a liar, just like McCain.

McCain and Palin continue to say we need to ask who Barack Obama REALLY is! The point of statements like this—and the accompanying rhetoric about Bill Ayers, socialism, etc.—is simply to nourish people's doubts and misguided fears. It's just empty rhetoric made for smearing. It's the same thing with ACORN. And it's all working, as evidenced by the video below.

Even the guy who prosecuted the Weathermen says that Bill Ayers has become a responsible citizen, and that Obama really had nothing to do with him. McCain has made many false statements about Obama and his relationship with Ayers. In fact, a lot of people think the people Sarah Palin associated with during her political career are much worse. Oh, and she tried to hire Gordon Liddy, a convicted terrorist. And she quotes American fascist writer Westbrook Pegler. ETC.

Palin insidiously continues to foster division and incite hateful sentiments with lies, repeatedly calling Obama an inexperienced socialist. Her words do nothing to correct the infectious ignorance of many zealous Republicans.

Both McCain and Palin have allowed totally idiotic, ignorant people to shout ridiculous claims about Obama being a terrorist, communist (like Charles Manson, whose prosecutor, incidentally, thinks we should impeach George W. Bush for murder), baby-killer, and so forth. True, McCain and Palin have not said these things themselves—well, except for the socialist part—but as these chants and yells continue, I have to wonder why they aren't being stopped. Kudos to McCain for correcting this lady in front of a crowd of his supporters. But that one instance, when the cameras were on and the woman brought the subject to McCain's face, doesn't make up for all the other times. McCain and Palin are responsible for creating this aggressive atmosphere.

Questions: Why are liberals so pissed off about McCain and especially Palin? Even as Obama is winning? Answer: The race should not even be close. That shows that a large portion of Americans still believe in the aggressive atrophic lifestyle and political institution of those candidates. For whatever reason. It feels like entropy to us.

The association of Barack Obama and Bill Ayers that Palin is smacking and smirking about on stage to thousands of her supporters is ludicrous. As is emphasizing Obama's middle name. As is Cindy McCain condemning Obama for voting against more military funding—John McCain voted against the funding, also. So, another reason liberals are pissed off: the McCain/Palin campaign is manipulating Republicans with mutilated facts and direct lies. I know that's one reason I'm angry. They are playing off of some people's lack of knowledge. They are playing off of their fear.

Another is the boiling hatred of many of the Republicans' most ardent supporters, which is exacerbated by their leaders' strategies mentioned above. Hate might be a natural emotion, but we can't tolerate public hate with illegal and unethical foundations. Implying that Obama is a terrorist, or even associates with terrorists is ridiculous and insulting to Republicans with a moral spine. Assholes like Sean Hannity live for piles of feces like this. Where is the dignity and honesty that the public deserves?

The League of Conservation Voters gave McCain a zero percent (0%) environmental rating.

There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of reasons why women should not vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

He has employed the same robocall firm which smeared his campaign in 2000, at which time he viciously condemned the use of such tactics. Presidential elections have always been nasty in this country. But we should hope to be moving past such obnoxious and immature campaigns. The problem is that the nature of any campaign is based exclusively on the voters they target. So these terrible tactics are born of the people the Republicans are targeting. So:

Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree.
         — Thomas Jefferson to Littleton Waller Tazewell, 1805.

So, since some people tend to focus on why they should not vote for Obama, let me provide a quick list of reasons not to vote for McCain. He:

• Says that the economy is strong and fundamentally sound
• Voted for an Amendment to prohibit flag burning
• Carries a mixed bag when it comes to the environment and animal protection
• Favors war
• Wants to overturn Roe v. Wade
• Voted against funding an effort to educate and provide contraceptives to teens
• Wants the Patriot Act to be permanent
• Wishy-washy public stance on creation vs. evolution
• The Military Commissions Act gives the president unlawful power and kills habeus corpus
• Seems confused on gay rights and marriage: indicates personal bias that interferes with political choices. He voted against including sexual orientation in the definition of a hate crime; however, he has stated many times that the gay marriage decision should be left to the states and not be a federal issue.
• Supported the outdated California Proposition 8, which would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. One among many other votes during his political career in favor of making gay marriage illegal.
• Voted for easier invasions of privacy, including cell phone tapping
• Supports the death penalty as an acceptable punishment
• He said no to environmental provisions in trade agreements

And, of course, there are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of reasons to vote against McCain, or for Obama, however you'd like to view it. Many Republicans support Obama, as do rednecks.

A lot of people are trapped in their way of thinking, which is reinforced by McCain, Palin, and other vocal conservatives. Here's just one example.

So, since they cannot prepare an adequate plan for the economy or the war, and they have backwards positions on social issues like gay marriage, the McCain-Palin campaign, as you know, have resorted to slinging lies and political innuendos. Obama even predicted this.

It's also the reason why many Obama supporters tend to point out the Republicans' many flaws rather than praising the Democrats' strengths—people will listen more to attacks. Obama has a sound financial plan (info here, here, and here). He is not a socialist. He is not a terrorist. He is not even "a Muslim." Not that it would matter, anyway, just as his skin color or sexual orientation.

I personally know a lot of old voters who are scared. They have been conditioned to respond to fear by way of a tumultuous 20th century and zealous Christianity. For example, here are some e-mails that circulate among older Americans. These stinky things fly all across the Internet.

REVELATIONS CHAPTER 13 VERSE 5

How long is the beast allowed to have authority in Revelations? Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months, and you know what that is. Almost a four-year term of a Presidency. All I can say is 'Lord, Have mercy on us!'

According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is: The anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything..

Do we recognize this description??

I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to post this as many times as you can! Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet..do it! I refuse to take a chance on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere.

From: Dr. John Tisdale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Friends,

As I was listening to a news program last night, I watched in horror as Barack Obama made the statement with pride. . .'we are no longer a Christian nation; we are now a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, . . .' As with so many other statements I've heard him (and his wife) make, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hear something like that from a presidential candidate in this nation. To think our forefathers fought and died for the right for our nation to be a Christian nation--and to have this man say with pride that we are n o longer that. How far this nation has come from what our founding fathers intended it to be. (Whoever wrote this has edited history to fit his agenda.)

I hope that each of you will do what I'm doing now--send your concerns, written simply and sincerely, to the Christians on your email list. With God's help, and He is still in control of this nation and all else, we can show this man and the world in November that we are, indeed, still a Christian nation!

And another:

PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THIS E-MAIL!! FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN, TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THIS LETTER!!!

Today, my precious 14-year-old daughter asked me who I was going to vote for in the Presidential election & why. I told her that I was voting for McCain/Palin because I have very strong Christian convictions on what they believe & that I feel that they will take a strong stand for Christian principles for our country. I also admitted to her that I have an uneasy feeling about Obama. She asked me if I thought that Obama could be the anti-Christ. [I hope that's a lie, but it probably isn't. Submission Complete.] I swallowed hard -- stunned that my 14-year-old would be thinking about this. Then, she asked "what would we do if Obama is voted in as our next president"? I was stunned again. I told her that we would certainly be doing a lot of praying. And of course, as most Moms, I became busy w/after-school duties, etc. & dismissed this conversation ..... until I read this e-mail. WOW! The Lord immediately convicted me of how complacent I had become --- allowing Satan to use the constant bombardment of political ads, news, etc. to "numb" me through this election to where I don't even think about praying for God to intervene. Why haven't I prayed w/her & claimed God's promise to us in 2 Chronicles 7? Why do we put God in a box & think that He cannot do anything about this election. For the sake of our children's future, we all need to wake up & fall on our knees & cry out to Him. I do not know Father Meaux, but this letter should WAKE ALL OF US UP !!!

I was very dismayed when, recently, a family member of mine said to me with great resignation that Obama will take the presidency. These words came from someone who in the past has been a great prayer warrior. 'What is happening?' was my question. Why are we Christians settling and not issuing a battle cry and falling to our knees and taking our country back? We allowed ourselves to be stripped of the right to pray at school functions and in school, we have the 10 commandments removed from government places and are told we cannot pray in school, all the while providing public prayer places for Muslims. What in the world is going on and why are we being apathetic? Why aren't we praying? Our God is a mighty God who is waiting patiently for us to raise our voices to heaven to stop the tide of the anti-Christ actions in our world today. Now we find we have a charismatic candidate for president who does not respect our flag and refuses to wear one on his lapel except when it becomes politically expedient and whose own wife and pastor that he loves profess to have strong anti-white feelings, and we sit back and say 'it is a given, we can do nothing.' There has never been a time in 2000 years that we can do nothing, never a time that we must sit back and allow the evil in men's and women's hearts to take over our world. We should be very afraid because our apathy is leading us to perdition. It is time for all Christian Americans to raise the battle cry and take our nation back. Maybe McCain on his own cannot defeat Obama, but our God can and He will if we take to our knees in prayer and raise a mighty cry to the heavens to 'Save us O Lord.' We have the power to change the course of this election and to keep a man as suspect as Barak Obama from leading our country to who knows where with his message of 'change' - a change which I fear will be away from our Christian ideals and away from Christ and further away from one nation under God to one nation under Allah. We are great at passing stories and pictures around the Internet, but where are our prayers and the prayer warriors praying to stop this tide of Obama?

God parted the Red Sea, Jesus rose from the dead, and we can bring our country back to its Christian roots and stop the move to the rise of Muslims in our country. We can stop our country from being 'under Allah,' but we must begin to pray, to pray as if our country and our lives depended on it, because they do. We can stop all these atrocities against God's commands that have taken root in our country through something as simple as sincere prayer, a call to God to deliver us, to forgive us our sins of apathy, and to protect us from the evil that is upon us. Okay prayer warriors, here is your challenge - start those prayer chains. Get the spiritual power working on our behalf and stop Obama the proper way, by calling on our God to save us from the deception that charismatic preaching is using to lead us on the wrong path. Stop those who would take God out of our country and our government. Rise up good men to lead us and protect us. George Bush is being buffeted because he has fought a holy war against the evils that attack us and we should not be surprised because a prophet is not honored in his own country. But we should not rest on our laurels and allow ourselves to be taken further off the path of Christianity and to have God removed from our presence in our schools, courts, government, and businesses. Invite God into the fray. Ask that His power rest upon us and give us the victory. Ask him to rise up a might army to defend us and to protect our country as he did in days of old; Let us be victorious beginning NOW. The battle is His but we must call on Him without ceasing and unite our voices and hearts in prayer.

Please pass this around to all people of prayer that you know and maybe, just maybe, a more eloquent person of prayer will write something better and more inspiring and even the rocks will shout that Jesus is Lord and our Mighty God is with us, bringing the victory for us and ultimately for Him.

So, McCain and Palin's strategy—win millions of votes by using rhetoric based on fear—is working with people like these. Are you outraged? I am. If my grandmother were alive, she might be swayed by crap like this. We need to talk to our grandparents and even parents. Simply ask them to think rationally about their religion; do not bend to sensationalism and emotional e-mails.

The sad thing is that no matter the quantity and kind, respectful quality of our words against such pitiful manipulation of older voters, hardly any are going change their minds or even consider what we say. Their religious beliefs are more important than anything else, even humanity.

For instance, this short video:

Obama advocates the separation of church and state. He quotes such controversial portions of the Bible to emphasize the fact that no religion—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and so so so on—should have a hand in the control of a nation. Why? Because there will be people in every religion who will interpret lots of things in lots of different ways. His point was that some would take those biblical quotes literally, some not. And as for the Sermon on the Mount? Obama was saying that it was radical because it was. In a good way. He went on to say that it's doubtful that our government would be able to apply it. He is advocating Jesus' teachings while supporting a separation of church and state! Obama is not ridiculing or mocking the Bible or Christianity.

STOP LYING, RED MEAT REPUBLICANS! STOP SCARING OLD PEOPLE INTO VOTING FOR YOU!

There are so many e-mails, videos, and Web sites like the ones above that I could go on for pages.

Have you heard the song "The Times They Are A-Changin'"? If you search the landscape with a fine eye, you might see how things are changing ever so slowly. We are sick of war. Believe it or not, everything can be fixed without any war at all. It's true! We don't need God's violence anymore.

If you are thinking of voting Republican in this election primarily because of your religious faith, I kindly but strongly ask you to think about it, please. If you know someone who is going to vote a certain way because of their religious beliefs, like the woman in this short and telling video, maybe you can talk to them. Whether you are a religious voter or know someone who is, let's remember to remain kind and truthful in our words and actions—be better than those you think behave badly; be the change you wish to see in the world.

We have more mommies attempting to ban books. Only this time, the lady has kept the book and refuses to return it.

"It is a comic book, but that's not funny. Not at all," Anderson told the Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper. "I don't care if your kid is 16, 17, 18. It's wrong."

Anderson contacted Principal Julie Knoedler, who told her about the district's book-challenge policy.

Anderson plans to fill out the forms, but she's not taking any chances. Once the review is over, regardless of the outcome, she plans to burn it.

"They're not getting this book back," she said, adding that if the library replaces it: "I'll have somebody else check it out and I'll keep that one. I'm just disgusted by the whole ordeal."

When will these people learn? You can't do that.

Here's a short article about the evil and futility of banning books.

Opie, Andy, and the Fonz hope you'll vote for Obama.