IT'S ELECTION DAY! GO VOTE!

Go vote for the candidate of your choice.  Go exercise your right and responsibility as a citizen of this great nation.  (And for goodness sake, if you're in a swing state, you better go vote!  Do it with this in mind too.)

Can I say too: I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY THAT THE CAMPAIGN SEASON IS OVER.  I voted early to avoid the crowds at the polling place, so I intend today to do some work and then tonight to make a lot of popcorn and watch election returns.  I think we might even win this thing ("Ride right through them -they're demoralized as hell "?), but that doesn't mean I won't be on pins and needles all day long.  I'll leave you with one last bit of fun if you're also voting for members of Congress, one of the most reviled political organs ever:

Hope. Change. Whatever.

And It Begins! New Hampshire's Midnight Vote

It's the presidential election equivalent of midnight movie premieres!  New Hampshire has a charming long-standing tradition: two tiny spots in the little Granite State will vote at midnight and cast the first votes in the presidential election.  OK, citizens of Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, GO!  

(And as jaded and weary as I am, I still have to say that it's kind of exciting to see the voting actually and finally begin!)

UPDATE: Oh, boy:

The first presidential election results are in - and it's a tie.  

President Barack Obama and  his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, each received five votes in Dixville Notch,  New Hampshire. 

The people in the town in the state's northeast corner has opened its polls shortly after midnight each election day since 1968 - but today's tie was the first in its history.

Google Reports 7 Million Signatures on Anti-SOPA Petition

GOOD.  (Correction/Update: Now 7 million signatures.  An earlier report noted 4.5 million) Meanwhile, SOPA and PIPA are losing sponsors in Congress amid the rage of millions of nerds and geeks ... nerds and geeks who vote.  Ah, digital grassroots.


UPDATE: See this cool breakdown of who in Congress publicly supports or opposes SOPA/PIPA before and after the January protests.  Oh, I hope it's so.  I'm especially glad to see that Marco Rubio (R-Florida) has disavowed PIPA.  Meanwhile, other senators are running from PIPA like rats  Francesco Schettino from a sinking ship.  In current politics, all the GOP presidential candidates in the latest debate came out opposing SOPA/PIPA.  These bills have now become political Kryptonite.

Quote of the Day: The Wisconsin Budget Protests

From Powerline via the Insta-Prof:

A common theme of the union demonstrators in Madison today was that Governor Walker is a “dictator.” This showed up on sign after sign. It sheds light, I think, on how public union members in particular, and liberals in general, think. What is going on here is that the voters of Wisconsin have elected a Republican Governor and–overwhelmingly–a Republican legislature, precisely so that they can get the state’s budget under control. 

What the Democrats don’t like isn’t dictatorship, it is democracy. That is why the Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled the state en masse–they prevented a quorum, so that a vote they were going to lose couldn’t take place. Once again, it is democracy they are trying to frustrate, not dictatorship. 

One could make the point more broadly about the organized labor movement. The unions’ top priority is to eliminate the secret ballot in union certification elections. Why?

Hmmmm.   

Egypt: A Revolution in Photos

It took a little less than 3 weeks to topple a regime that had lasted for 3 decades.  Is it Egypt's Berlin Wall moment?  I could write about it, but a picture says a thousand words.  Check out these great image galleries from Foreign Policy:

• Protest art (nice shout-outs to Facebook and Twitter)
• Tahrir Square
• Jubilant post-Mubarak Egyptians 

See too this massive image gallery from the Boston Globe, along with one from the Telegraph.

Now all this is great, but it's also not over.  We're moving into another phase of the Egyptian revolution -- and one that is arguably even more important with the stakes higher than ever.  Still, watching the Internet and Google and social media play their role in connecting the protesters ... More, seeing the fear broken off an atomize populace so it felt the confidence to take to the streets in the cause of freedom ... What a sight it was.  

By the way, here's a great website: 

http://www.ismubarakstillpresident.com/   The answer is finally NO.

OK, I'm a nerd.  I can't help it.  I think of Mubarak now and the verses of Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" scroll through my head.

Life Imitates Monty Python: Government-o-crats In Denial

You can read this, this, or this, or you can simply acknowledge the pithy wit of Dignified Rant, who captures the entire scenario perfectly with a blog post delightfully entitled "'Tis But A Scratch."

Girls and Big Government: Do Women Prefer Safety or Freedom?

Never mind that the question is far too reductionist.  Take a look at this thought that this election, plenty of ladies went to the polls and defied conventional wisdom.  (I do find that conventional wisdom to be utterly stupid, by the way.)  May I also remind you of this and this and also this and especially recently this?  Is it SUCH a surprise that some believers in rugged individualism, American exceptionalism, that good old-fashioned can-do attitude, and self-reliance are women?   Need I remind you that from the beginning there have been tough, resourceful, intelligent American ladies who have made a difference?  

Best Post-Election Headline/Commentary

Of course it's by a Brit.  Indeed we will NOT go gentle into that good night -- because the night isn't good, people.  It's MORNING in America.  And now I'm late for class.

Nerd Journal: Post-Election Morning

Oh, man.  I stayed up waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late last night watching election returns.  Still, what an exciting night!  As the Insta-Prof posted, it's morning in America.  Yes indeed -- and what a GORGEOUS morning it is for all of us tired but happy Bible-thumping, gun-clinging, bitter, angry, old, racist, sexist, small-minded, stupid haters who need our betters to run our lives because we can't do it ourselves, heehee!  It's a morning that sees Nancy Pelosi ousted as Speaker of the House.  So, yes!  GOOD MORNING!  

Nerd Journal: Miss Independent Goes to the Polls

It's a tale of 3 sassy, self-sufficient babes who went out today and voted as they bloody well pleased.  I'm talking about my peeps Alessandra and California Dreamer and me. So here are some of our Election Day stories, as we in 3 different states went to vote with a vengeance.  We frustrated folks have been waiting for today, people.  I know I have been.  Sure, I live in a blue state, but that's no reason not to get out there and give the smug leftists a piece of my mind via ballot.  Election Day?  It's really Accountability Day.  Ain't democracy grand?

It's Election Day

Once more the oldest modern democracy goes to the polls.  Go do your civic duty, citizen!  Here is a nice thought for the day:

Voters don't want to be governed from the left, right or center. They want Washington to recognize that Americans want to govern themselves.

Oh, yes, indeed.

Amusing Photo: the Disgruntled Citizenry

Quote of the Day: The BBC and the British Election

Well, journalists and analysts and talking heads on both sides of the pond have been making a shambles of their attempts to explain the UK elections results. I rather like this caustic comment about the BBC:

Oh bloody hell ... Generations yet unborn will injure themselves laughing at the Beeb's presentation tonight.

*giggle*

Cowboy Up: 40% of Tea Partiers Are Democrats and Independents

I'd already noted the presence of disaffected Dems among the tea parties, and now a fresh survey has more numbers: some estimated 40% of the tea partiers are Democrats and independents.

Don't hold your breath waiting for the miserable MSM to acknowledge the diversity of the grassroots tea parties. As far as they're concerned, the tea partiers are all evil Republican operatives.

Cowboy Up: Vote Like You Mean It in November

PREACH IT:

We are challenged to answer again the momentous questions our Founders raised when they launched mankind's noblest experiment in human freedom. They made a fundamental choice and changed history for the better. Now it's our high calling to make that choice: between managed scarcity, or solid growth ... between living in dependency on government handouts, or taking responsibility for our lives ... between confiscating the earnings of some and spreading them around, or securing everyone's right to the rewards of their work ... between bureaucratic central government, or self-government ... between the European social welfare state or the American idea of free market democracy.

What kind of nation do we wish to be? What kind of society will we hand down to our children and future generations? In the coming watershed election, the nature of this unique and exceptional land is at stake. We will choose one of two different paths. And once we make that choice, there's no going back.

This is not the kind of election I would prefer. But it was forced on us by the leaders of our government.

Read the whole thing.

As I've said before, I don't LIKE politics. I would prefer to be left alone to live my life in peace (to bake cookies, watch movies, and search for the perfect pair of cute spring sandals). But the current political class won't leave me alone. So who's going to be surprised when I -- and plenty of other angry voters -- push back? Calling me all kinds of nasty names is not going to stop me from thinking, speaking, and voting as I please.

Read this too.

Well, At Least He's Honest: Eco-Fascism on Display!

Oh, for goodness sake.

The New Iranian Protests Are Being Blogged

Right here and now.

Becoming a Free Marketeer in a Communist State: Vaclav Klaus Remembers

Here is an interesting interview with Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic (and holder of a doctorate in economics). Do see.

Bonus: it's an example of grad school and higher education actually having a great result!

Also see Klaus' comment on the current state of things in the relationship between Brussels and the Czech Republic: "We are importing socialism from the EU." Uh-oh. He doesn't sound at all happy with this, as well he shouldn't.

Voting With Their Feet: the UK and Gordon Brown's Tax Hike

This idea should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody.

Quote of the Day: Capitalist Coffee on the 9/12 Rally in DC

The humorous title of his blog post is my pick for quote of the day:

"History's largest gathering of fiscal conservatives bitterly clings to wallets, founding principles."

That about sums it up! (I wish I had been there. And, oh yes, I am clinging most bitterly indeed.)

RELATED POST: Citizens rally against crazy government spending.