Well, I watched the debate this evening. This was the first one I’ve ever seen, which is not something I’m terribly proud of. Then again, having learned about the format a bit in the past few days (i.e. it’s not really a debate anyway — no direct engagement between the candidates for example), I feel just slightly less un-American.
I was considering how many people would be watching, thinking of it in terms of how many people actually vote. I assume that people who don’t vote won’t be watching, and since I assumed voting numbers were really small, the debate audience would be even smaller. The proportion turns out to be a higher than I had originally thought, according to this paper from the Brookings Institute. When you consider the number of people who go to the polls as a percentage of people who are legally eligible to vote (as opposed to those who are merely old enough), participation in the 2000 election was about 55%. In the country that is supposed to be the world’s leading democracy, I’m disappointed the percentage isn’t higher. But it’s still nowhere near as bad as what I had been led to believe before (on the order of 25%). I still hope it’s better this year.
Kerry’s the candidate I’m more interested in, so I was mostly focused on his performance. At this point, I thought he did quite well. He did say the V-word, which I was hoping he would avoid, but he only said it once. He made clear his view that international participation and cooperation is vital to our security — the Bush campaign likes to spin this as giving the rest of the world a veto on security issues. They know (I’m sure) that’s a load of bull, but they still say it.
Kerry talked nuclear proliferation as the most important security issue that faces the US and the rest of the world. His idea of securing (I don’t quite know what that means) all nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union seems like a good one. There were some disagreements between him and Bush on how to handle North Korea. Bush seems to think that speaking directly to Kim Jong Il is a recipe for disaster — he tried to make it sound like we’re being great diplomats by not engaging him directly. I’m not sure about that — it just seems weird that a president who was clearly so interested in unilateral action against Saddam Hussein is so opposed to dealing at all directly with someone as potentially dangerous. Anyway, I seriously doubt that the US getting involved in the talks would sending China running.
There was a moment where Kerry jumped on a Bush remark in a way that disappointed me. Bush was asked about unilateral action, and whether he expected we would use it again, knowing how things have gone in Iraq. He said he hoped not (good), but went on to say that the enemy attacked us, which is why we have to be preemptive. When Kerry’s turn came up, he painted it as if Bush was suggesting that Iraq was behind 9/11. I know there was a lot of confusion about that, but at this point it’s old turf run over many, many times, and I thought we were past that by now. Other than that moment, though, I thought Kerry handled himself very well.
Bush’s main message tonight was that the commmander-in-chief needs to always maintain an aggressive rhetoric, and stick firmly to his guns (or as he says, his convictions), never saying anything negative that might give comfort to the enemy or demoralize the troops. He repeated the phrases “mixed messages”, “wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time”, and bits about Kerry’s changing values or convictions over and over and over. In Bush’s world, it seems that once you make a decision, it is the right decision no matter what. Every picture must be painted rosy if it’s going to be shown publicly. I think I would rather hear nothing about a situation than hear that everything’s going great when it really isn’t. I’d prefer the truth, but if I can’t get it (or shouldn’t), I’d prefer nothing.
I slapped myself in the forehead when Bush started touting missile defense again. I can’t believe he’s still trying to get that crap going. Ugh. That really took me by surprise.
If you couldn’t see the debate, you can get a taste by reading the transcript.
If you have a U-lock on your bicycle, there’s a good chance it’s made by Kryptonite. You may also have heard that people can unlock your U-lock with a Bic pen. This turns out to be true (here’s proof).
Kryptonite has acknowledged the problem, and is asking people to fill out this form to exchange their lock for one that can’t be 0wned by a pen. You’ll need your lock, and its key, when you fill out the form.
I have suddenly become a professional photographer. A writer from géographica, a Canadian magazine, emailed me while I was on tour a couple weeks ago, asking permission to publish one of my photos. He even offered to pay me. Of course I said yes, and also asked to get a copy of the magazine when they went to print.
Today it arrived. Read on to see my first publication.
Last night I had my first (and only) show with Von outside the friendly confines of the Apartment Lounge. We played three sets at Andy’s downtown for a lot of loud, but apparently appreciative, people. For whatever reason, it went much more smoothly than the previous ones.
Here are some possibilities.
Regardless of the reasons, it was fun, and I’m looking forward to keeping it up, and trying to make Von proud, the other people in the band comfortable, and everyone else tapping their feet. We’ll see how it goes.