List on the 3s: Top 6 Issues Shiny Will Be Following Tomorrow

“List on the 3s” is a meme where Shiny produces a list of some sort on any calendar date with a 3 in it.  These often get quite tight and repetitive when he has to do a list on the 30th, 31st and 3rd. But hey — this is what he signed up for, right?

Hey — election day is tomorrow! (At least for those of us in the grand ol’ U. S. of A.) It’s the culmination of a long, long, long election campaign season which has spanned nearly 24 months. Tomorrow — America decides! Unless, of course, it’s close enough and contested to the extent where it takes days, weeks or months to determine who our new president will be.

So everyone should get out there and vote! Because the office of the president blah blah blah blah blah representation blah blah blah blah Obama blah blah blah healthcare blah blah blah blah taxes blah blah foreign policy blah blah blah McCain blah blah Hussein blah blah blah on the Supreme Court, and blah blah blah blah hunting out of a helicopter.

Look — we all know there’s a presidential election tomorrow. Sure. Whatever. But there’s a lot of other stuff on the table tomorrow — issues and races which I find far more interesting than who will be our next Commander in Chief.  They might not all affect me directly as much, but they have a potential for the near future.

Top 6 Issues/Races I’ll Be Following on Election Day 2008

6. North Carolina Senate Race – Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) vs. Kay Hagan (D)

Remember the good old days of the presidential election? You know — the ones when It was reported that one of the presidential candidates, although a member of his church, was actually Muslim? Ah, good times…  Well — North Carolina is going through something a bit similar:  Incumbent Elizabeth Dole is being challenged this time around by Kay Hagan, a ten-year state senator who has achieved a lot of popularity across the state.  The race has made the news lately because of this attack ad expressing that Kay Hagan is being supported by “Godless Americans.”*

Direct YouTube Link

I used to like Liddy Dole. In fact, I could have seen her as a viable vice presidential nominee for John McCain if he wanted to have a woman on the ticket. She certainly has the experience and name recognition.  But this kind of campaigning? No thanks.

Here is Hagan’s rebuttal:

Direct YouTube Link

The main criticism I have of it is that it, in a way, throws atheism under the bus. But it’s quite a strong stance.




5. Washington Initiative 1000 – Allow Doctor Assisted Suicide

This proposed law is modeled on Oregon’s Death With Dignity law and would allow a terminal adult (less than six months to live) with full mental capacity to self-administer a lethal drug prescribed by a physician.  It’s an issue which most people simply don’t want to think about — but it’s an issue that could touch the lives of many people who may consider this as the best option.

Here’s an ad in favor of I-1000:

Direct YouTube Link

… and here’s one against featuring Martin “I’m not a president, but I played one on TV” Sheen:

Direct YouTube Link




4. Minnesota Senate Race – Sen. Norm Coleman (R) vs. Al Franken (D)

I’ll be honest: I love Al Franken. Loved him as a writer and sometimes performer on Saturday Night Live. I was dazzled by his first book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, finding it downright witty and informative for a memoir.  He did a great job with his follow-up political works as well.  And when he anchored a new progressive radio network called Air America, I tried to listen as much as I could. However, my car’s radio couldn’t get AM reception very well, so I was screwed.

I was mesmerized by Franken’s written coverage of the tragic 2002 death of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), someone who appeared to be a true role model for Franken.  He had served in the Senate for two terms and was running for his third when a plane crash took his life and the lives of six others, including his wife and daughter.  Wellstone was running against Norm Coleman, a former Democrat who actually ran Wellstone’s campaign six years earlier.  Wellstone was quickly replaced on the ticket with former Vice President Walter Mondale and Coleman won — but Wellstone, posthumously, received over 11,000 votes.

In some ways, I see Franken’s run as a vendetta against Coleman. But he’s been very clear about his politics since day one, and I think he has the charisma and know-how to be effective.

The campaign has been pretty vicious. Here’s an ad featuring some Hollywood types bashing Franken.  I don’t anticipate more than a few gutteral murmurs from people like Victoria Jackson and Stephen Baldwin — but Johhn Ratzenberger? I expected more from you, Cliffy…

Direct YouTube Link

Here’s an interesting one from Al Franken responding to an ad from the Coleman camp showing Franken as an out-of-control, insensitive madman:

Direct YouTube Link

This will certainly be interesting to watch…




3. Colorado Amendment 48: Human Life from Moment of Conception

There are a few ballot measures up for referrendum tomorrow including:

• California Proposition 4 — which proposes that physicians must notify parents of minors at least 48 hours before an abortion is performed;
• South Dakota Initiative 11 — which would prohibit all abortions except for those cases where the mother’s life or health is in jeopardy or in the cases of rape and/or incest before the 20th week of pregnancy.

Amendment 48, however, could possibly ban all abortion by clearly defining an embryo to be a human life with all of the life and liberties it entails. It’s become quite controversial in Colorado as well as the rest of the country.

Ads supporting Amendment 48 poke fun at pro-choice groups for not having a good definition of what life actually is:

Direct YouTube Link

… while opponents have brought our star-power to focus on the reporductive and health rights of women:

Direct YouTube Link

I’m not going to go into great detail about where I stand on this one; suffice it to say there’s a lot of passion on both sides.




2. New Jersey House Race – District 5:  Rep. Scott Garrett (R) vs. Dennis Shulman (D)

This is more of a personal interest I have in one of the candidates. If Shulman unseats the incumbent Garrett, he will be the first legally blind representative in Congress since 1935.  He would also be yet another punchline of those cheesy “Is there a doctor in the House?” jokes — as he is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

Oh — and he’s also an ordained rabbi.  He would be the first one of those in Congress as well.

But the race has become vicious. Here’s an attack ad on Shulman by Garrett linking him to terrorism…

Direct YouTube Link

… and here’s one from Shulman criticizing Garrett invoking the name “Countrywide:”

Direct YouTube Link




1. California Proposition 8 – Ban on Gay Marriage

(as well as:

• Arizona Proposition 102 – Ban on Gay Marriage
• Florida Amendment 2 – Ban on Gay Marriage
• Arkansas Initivative 1 – Ban on “Unmarried Couples” Adopting Children

Let’s just put it this way: I’m glad there are so few issues abound in the United States of America that people have to worry about gay marriage. The Arkansas initiative  doesn’t discriminate between heterosexual and homosexual unmarried couples with one big exception: heterosexual couples can be recognized as married in that state.  I live in a state which recently passed a similar ridiculous referendum into law two years back apparently in order to protect the sanctity of my heterosexual marriage. Thanks.

I do have to say, however — the “No on Prop 8″ ads on YouTube are extremely well done.  They’re funny, witty and to the point. Great production value! It’s probably because the people in Hollywood are… well, you know.

The following isn’t endorsed politically by either side, but I found it entertaining. It’s called “The Most Logical Argument Against Same Sex Marriage.” CAUTION: Potentially NSFW:

Direct YouTube Link

I hope that cleared things up a bit.

Wherever you are in this county — I hope you all exercise your rights to vote and heighten your awareness to the decisions which will be made tomorrow.  They might just affect you sometime soon.

___

* So what?