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It's time for another change. While I tear stuff up around here, WOIFM will be on hiatus. When it comes back, it might suck. Might not. Whatever the result, it will be somewhat different than now.

Any questions?

Nice.

Two Three feature requests:

1. Provide for password encryption if it isn't already there
2. Allow the user to save default options
3. Show actual server responses instead of a generic message during the posting process

With those features, MarsEdit might be a must-buy.

Rumor on the infamous internets is that the states with the most discrepancy between exit polls and results are those with diebold machines

It can't be that the exit polls were wrong. It can't be that the "conservative media" (who favored Kerry in record numbers) were wrong.

It must have been the voters. Three and a half million of 'em. All fraud.

I was a bit surprised at how good a night the Republicans has across the board. But for the last four years, the "selected not elected" crowd has been hammering the mantra that unless their guy wins, it must have been rigged. Nothing could be more damaging to our democracy than to embrace that view. Reasonable people can differ on the proper outcome of the 2000 election, but if this pattern continues, no election will be valid in the eyes of liberals unless conservatives lose.

Ultimately, democracy isn't about the ends. It's about the means. Whatever government we pick, whether left, right, or other, we get because it's an extension of the people's will. Our policies may differ, but that principle never varies. In this election, especially, liberals have been so focused on the ends - "anybody but Bush" - that they are willing now to taint the means by which we govern ourselves. Sure, there have been flaws in this election, just like any human endeavor the size and complexity of a national election. And we should work to eliminate those flaws. But to cast doubt on the whole process is irresponsible and it demeans everyone who cast a vote for someone other than John Kerry.

I'm going to go out on a limb. At this point, 54% of Florida precincts have reported. Ohio polls are still open. I think that Bush will win re-election if he keeps both of those states in his column. If he loses either, I can't see how he wins.

Really bold, I know. But that's my guess.

UPDATE: The McCain train picks up more steam!

I voted.

It took me over an hour, since I arrived at the polling place just after 9:00 am, but by the time I got to the voting booth the line had dwindled significantly.

Virginia has two constitutional amendments on the ballot, which I did not realize before today. I asked a poll worker for the text of the two amendments; he handed me a summary. I repeated my request; he went and found a summary of the two bond proposals. I shrugged and figured I would vote against any amendments I hadn't read verbatim.

Fortunately, the actual text was posted inside, and I saw that they were both reasonable and proper subjects for constitutional amendments (providing for succession of the governor, and clarifying that decennial redistricting would take effect after the completion of the then-current terms of the officeholders). I politely flagged down the poll worker and showed him what I had been looking for, and he seemed a bit sheepish.

My write-in vote went more smoothly than I expected. I just tapped the "write-in" button on the screen, typed the name "JOHN MCCAIN" (Virginia apparently figures all write-in voters are shouters) and hit enter.

I voted. Did you?

So that left me with the prospect of a write-in vote. Libertarians (case insensitive) are out, because they almost uniformly advocate a quasi-isolationist foreign policy (the LP's position statement doesn't even mention national security) which I cannot support. I honestly haven't even considered any Democrats, because I can't think of one that comes anywhere close to my policy views. As for Republicans, I knew they would be few and far between.

Three months ago I had a conversation with my son's godfather. We toyed with the idea of who might replace Bush on the GOP ticket if he had to drop out for some reason. One of two possibilities we came up with was John McCain. Now I realize that he is someone I could support with a positive vote, rather than voting against some other candidate.

Why McCain? First off, he's a reliably small-government conservative. He fights corporate welfare and pork-barrel spending as a matter of principle, and generally believes in market-based solutions. In one instance, he combined these two ideals with his proposal to fund a national school choice initiative using funds saved by cutting gas, oil, sugar, and ethanol subsidies.

McCain also is beyond reproach on the one issue at the top of America's issue list: national security. No one could question his commitment to his country or his qualifications to be our commander in chief. If our enemies think Bush is tough, imagine what they would think of a President McCain.

Finally in the plus column, McCain is a leader who would have broad-based support among the electorate, a very useful quality in a President if he is to truly make a difference. Like California's new governor, he could use that support to change the way things are done in Washington.

McCain is not perfect. He's praised the President for imposing steel tariffs, so his free trade credentials are a bit suspect. He's also notoriously weak on free speech, given his support for ever more stringent restrictions on political fundraising activities. But the threat of any real harm to freedom of speech is probably behind us. Even if more restrictive laws passed, they'd probably cross the lines already drawn clearly by the courts. His lack of commitment to free speech is a matter of principle, but would have little practical effect. So I have no qualms about endorsing Sen. McCain for President in 2004.

As I was researching the Senator, I found that I am not the first to embrace McCain for this election cycle:

He's strong on defense and is a war veteran. McCain is a fiscal conservative and has been amongst the first to criticize the GOP for spending money like a drunken sailor.

Of course, that was long before the primaries had begun. Now that Bush is, and has been, the official nominee of his party, there's no way John McCain could become President. Right?

Not quite.

It's extremely unlikely, but possible. Mickey Kaus explained how, based on this Tech Central Station column.

And if enough people write in John McCain tomorrow, instead of voting for the lesser evil, it just might happen.

(And some people think McCain could run next time.)

• Eve Tushnet (Bush)
• Father Jim (Bush)
• Jim Henley (Kerry)
• Megan McArdle (Bush)

Of these, McCardle's postion seems to be the most deeply thought out. At least the most deeply explained. But even she goes with the general trend. Each one is voting for the lesser evil.

I was chatting with a friend the other day about this same thing. If you vote for a lesser evil, you're still voting for evil. And the parties will continue to give us what we vote for, rather than avoid what we vote against. That's an integral feature of the primary system.

Stop voting for evil and the parties will stop delivering it to us on the ballot.

I'm not adovcating that you don't vote. I'm advocating that you vote for someone you can support and truly want to lead the country. In many cases, this means third-party or write-in votes.

As a thought exercise, imagine what would happen if every voter picked someone positive and voted, write-in or otherwise, for that person. How many electoral votes would Howard Dean get? How many for McCain, Giuliani, Nader, or even Badnarik?

Answer: enough to make the party etablishment have to change their shorts.

It's no great stretch to imagine Vermont, Arizona, New York, and even California going for someone other than the major party nominees. Florida? Your guess is as good as mine. And even small states could no longer be considered safe for eith party. They would have to work to generate a broad-based, postitive appeal rahter than focus their efforts on a "better than THAT guy" message.

Presidents might actually have to lead.

The aternative is the status quo - every four years we have to pick the lesser evil, and every four years the choices get marginally worse. Those who are holding their noses to vote for Bush or Kerry to prevent a win by the other - that's a vote for the status quo. (Don't misunderstand - if you actually think either of these guys would make a good President for the next four years, punch that chad!)

If we all stop voting for evil, sooner or later, evil will stop showing up on the ballot.

This certainly suggests that the actions we have taken so far have been highly effective against Al Quaida and its ilk. It further suggests that we cannot now let up on them, while our boots are on their throats. They started this fight, and there's only one way to end it.

What To Do When the Missus Dumps a Load of Squash Parts Where They Don't Belong

Because I was too damned dumb to write this down last time this happened.

1. Cut power to disposal (breaker no. 16 downstairs)^*
2. Place bucket under disposal to catch drainage^**
3. Use flathead screwdriver to remove flexible white dishwasher hose
4. Drain dishwasher hose into bucket -- lower and extend for max drainage^***
5. Hand-loosen connections to black PVC pipe at back of disposal⁺
6. Hand-loosen connections to white PVC pipe including trap
7. Remove pipes, catching drainage in bucket⁺⁺
8. Unmount disposal by loosening metal collar⁺⁺⁺
9. Use spoon or scoop to remove any blockage inside disposal^!
10. Remount disposal
11. Reconnect PVC pipes
12. Reconnect flexible hose
13. Restore power^!!
14. Check drainage in all connections^!!!

*. And write it down this time, instead of darkening every room in the house because the breakers have been mislabeled since the electricians rewired the house two years ago

**. Instead of letting it run all over the inside of the cabinet, all over the floor, and down the stairs to the basement. Do NOT let the dog eat food remnants.

***. If you drop it on the floor instead of in the bucket, the resulting siphon effect will once again irrigate the stairs because the dishwasher is completely flooded due to the clog.

+. Instead of "loosening" it by trying to remove the disposal with the pipes still attached.

++. And clear out all the squash from that little bottleneck in the pipe. Because this is where the problem is. It's not inside the disposal itself, and for god's sake, why are you messing with the electrical connection again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?

+++. Don't twist it from the base, especially if you forgot to disconnect the pipes. That will seriously mess shit up.

!. Don't use your fingers. Those are blades, dummy.

!!. You DID remember to cut it off in step 1, right? Water and electricity mix like NASCAR and rap music.

!!!. Don't open the dishwasher. Really. Just turn on the rinse cycle and it will eventually drain without getting the basement stairs involved.