If I Had Known Maureen Had Been There...

...I would have said hello, at least.

This Just In

Obama not actually black, just "suntanned." Thanks, Italy.

Daily Dose

Well Said, Onion

Here is an Onion article today that, although hilariously sarcastic in the way Onion articles always are, is poignantly (and maybe sadly) true.

It suggests that in this "current climate of everything being fucked," Americans were able to set aside their racist issues because they had real problems to think about. What? The economy/war/healthcare crisis/etc etc are more important than say, who someone marries or what color skin they have? You don't say...

Some Great Status Messages From Friends Today

hope > fear

Looks like he did some pretty good community organizing.

Ecstatic about my Pres-to-be but disappointed that my country still does not believe in equal rights for all.

best.phall.ever.

Nate Silver is About to be a Millionaire

So I've talked some about Nate Silver, who came up with the awesome algorithm that predicts both baseball and politics, and publishes all his predictions on his blog, fivethirtyeight.com.

Well, I'd like you to look at two maps. First, here we have Nate's final prediction on Monday:
Now, look at the electoral map as it was actually called last night:

Um, yeah, he pretty much nailed it. Someone needs to hire him immediately.

Last Night at the White House

A great thing about being in DC last night was the opportunity just to take all this relief and joy and pure exhileration and aim it somewhere. Once Boyfriend and I left Tonic after the acceptance speech, we heard rumblings of what sounded like a crowd, so we naturally walked to where we thought it was. We walked up 21st, then down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we quickly realized that the sound wasn't in one specific spot; it was everywhere. Every group of people we passed were smiling and laughing and cheering. We exchanged hi-fives and shouts of "Obama!" Every car and cab that passed honked and hollered out the windows. It was an amazing release of good nature and we finally just said "to the White House!" It was the only logical place to go.

Hundreds of other people had already had the idea. It was a mob. But not a mob like the one approaching Frankenstein's castle, but more like the mob we saw in Philly last week. Indeed, it felt exactly like a town who just won a major sports championship, but instead it was for the man who we just elected President. And somehow that really felt much better.

Here is a blurry photo taken on my cell phone of the scene:

People held up balloons and sign and flags. They even held up other people on their shoulders. They were of every age and color and creed. And we all just congregated like the mosh pit of a concert. It was awesome. Some people chanted "O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!" Others did "Obama! O-8!" Others did "8 More Years! 8 More Years!" Of course there was "Yes we can! Yes we can!" and its now popular variation of "Yes we did! Yes we did!" And there were more than one rendition of "Nah nah nah nah. Nah nah nah nah. Hey hey hey! Goodbye" The turned the second floor lights out in the White House while we were there. I think someone finally realized it was time to go to bed.

And a group of kids yelled at us from across the street: "What color is your president?!" And I proudly yelled back "He's black!"

It feels good to be an American today. I haven't felt this way in a long time.

Yes We Did

"And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope."

-Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America

Watching the Returns

If you have the privilege of being in the nation's capitol this Election Day (DC, today), you are welcome to join Boyfriend and me watching the returns at Tonic in Foggy Bottom on 21st and G. They have wireless and teevees up in the lounge, Magic Hat #9 on tap, and we are friends with the owners. We can all cry together, whatever the result.

THAT'S MY SCHOOL

From HuffPo: 1,000 students at Penn State line up to vote at 7am.

First Story to Make Me Cry Today

From a blogger on TPM:

I Didn't Vote For Obama Today

November 4, 2008, 9:37AM

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.

But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.

But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.

But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?

No one.

I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway.

Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.

I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

My Sticker (That today will get me free donuts, coffee, and ice cream)

The Line at My Arlington Precinct at 7:30 am

The line went about 50 yards up the sidewalk, into the building, and snaking around inside. I estimate there were about 250 people in front of me. The polls in VA opened at 6am. I was hearing from people in line that the line was worse at 6am on the dot. I waited in line for an hour and 15 minutes and when I walked out, the line was significantly shorter. Everyone was in good spirits and I heard some voting rights representatives from the ACLU and the DNC say that they were having a quiet and uneventful morning so far.

TOMORROW

Sad, If True

I'm hearing rumblings that Obama's grandmother passed away this afternoon. I can't find any stories on mainstream media about it, so I can't post anything, so please let me know if you see anything. If it's true, it's really sad, obviously not just because Obama is very close with his grandmother, but also because it's just one day before the election and she won't be able to see him potentially become the next President. Keep the Obama family in your thoughts today.

Update: It's true.

Give You One Guess...

...who said this in Ohio today:

“And there must be something about San Francisco and he because it’s like I heard on Fox News today, it’s like a truth serum where when he’s there, he seems to be more candid, and remember it was there that he talked about, there you go, the bitter clingers, the cling-ons, all of us, I guess, you know holding on to religion and guns and, um, so something about he being there in San Francisco.”

[cnn]

Breaking News

Matt Drudge jumped off the deep end and is totally irrelevant.

Am I Sick for Finding This Funny?

My great-grandmother's would-have-been 99th birthday was the same day we won the World Series. I thought that was neat, but I never thought of doing this.

But then again I am the girl who got a Phillies tattoo on her foot yesterday.

Maureen Dowd Not My Least Favorite Columnist

If you need to make yourself puke at any point today, please read Bill Kristol in the NYT.

POLLS AHHHHHH

Oh my god, it feels like the interweb has been overwhelmed with polls, since today is the last day for polls (other than exit polls). I am avoiding them because I feel like they mean nothing until tomorrow and if we don't get to tomorrow quickly, my brain just may explode.

If you like being a masochist and following them, you can get them here, here, here and here.

Worst Person in the World is Not Ben Affleck

You all have probably already watched the awesome sketch on SNL on Saturday in which John McCain appears and Tina Fey awkwardly throws Sarah Palin under the bus while standing right next to McCain.

You may not have heard as much about Ben Affleck's awesome impression of Keith Olbermann.



Ben Affleck, you may not be such a tool afterall.

The Case for Fuck's Sake

The NYT briefly explained in Week in Review yesterday a case that the Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission vs. Fox Television Stations, that will determine the televised fate of your favorite word and mine: fuck. The argument for the broadcasting of material that uses the word is that not all fucking uses of fuck refer to fucking, in the sexual sense, and is therefore not subject to regulation, fuckers.

If Fox were to succeed in this argument, they would save local Philadelphia stations lots of grief from constantly having to apologize from Chase Utley's potty-mouth. HIs latest "slip" came at the victory rally on Friday:



It's okay, Chase, I'll help fix that mouth right away.

Monday Sports Update

I guess I can't really use the "Tortured Philly Fan" logo anymore, can I? I'll have to find a new one.

In the meantime, I'm down to one sport this weekend: football. I didn't watch any of it. That's because Penn State had a bye week and the Eagles were not on tv in DC. The Eagles, I am happy to learn, won. They beat the Seahawks 26-7. They are now 5-3, which isn't nearly as bad as I thought they would be a few weeks ago. With half the season gone (already), we take on the Giants next week in a real test of our strength this year.

Although Penn State didn't play this weekend, they got screwed a little by the BCS. Texas Tech beat Texas on Saturday, who had previously been #1. That moved Alabama up to the #1 slot and knocked Texas down to #5. But then they put Texas Tech over Penn State at #2 and left the Lions at #3. WTF. I know we didn't play and Tech is also undefeated, but really? All of the sudden they are better for beating one team? Lame.

And since the Phillies won the World Series (did you hear?), there is no more baseball and therefore no more need for me to write about sports until Mondays now. Until college basketball starts. (Sorry, I don't really follow the NBA or NHL. Except in the event that the Sixers and the Flyers make the playoffs.)

I'm a Branded Woman