You wrote: "if Obama makes it illegal I'll lower his rating..." --- I'm assuming you meant legal.

I sense that your book didn't hold him in especially high esteem to begin with. And it's not a best-seller.

Stoners are not the only group that would like marijuana to be legal. Stoners would probably at least enjoy decriminalizing marijuana. Medicinal marijuana is a far different animal and has significant therapeutic value for cancer patients.

It might just be you. It does not logically follow that legalization of marijuana will incur a greater occurence of public intoxication by marijuana - perhaps you're expecting that marijuana will follow in alcohol's footsteps. But you might recall that public drunkenness is illegal. Why wouldn't that also include intoxication by marijuana?

Stupidity without chemical assistance is far more rampant.

I dug up something I wrote on 11/2/04:

I voted today! That’s what my sticker says. And it’s true. I voted today. For the sheer joy of it. For the righteousness, the amusement, the gala and ecstacy of the process. I voted today.

Some people choose not to vote. For so many reasons, they elect not to elect. Maybe because they don’t believe that it will count; they don’t believe that it matters - that THEY matter. That’s one way to look at it, but not mine. I shall never be told that I do not matter. I do. Whether or not I can make a difference with my single little punch (truth be told, I punched four times) is not really a meaningful question to me. I don’t know if my one little vote will matter. (Or all four of them). My vote probably won’t be enough to win an election, sure, but electing not to certainly won’t help.

It’s about the process. The awe of the process. The joy of exercising my right to vote. Unlike so many other rights: freedom of speech, freedom of religion… unlike these very personal rights we hold so dear, the right to vote IS different. It’s not an inalienable right. It is a right given to citizens by its government. It’s a statement of trust - trust me to be self-governed. Trust me to make decisions. Trust me to believe in something and to act judiciously upon it. Trust me to vote, and in doing so, wield power. Not because my vote matters. Not because of the strength of my punch, but the unadulterated fervor of my belief. Trust me to decide what is right for me, my family, my children, and trust me to be so bold as to speak it in the anonymity of a booth. Just me and my ever-lovin’ stylus.

Oh the joy of anonymity! How powerful is that! To be one of many - to be singular in your expression - to have the quietest voice, unquieted by the process. The joy of solitary voting is unsurpassed by any other kind. Because the truth that remains after all else is quiet - the truth that you speak only to yourself - the truth that becomes YOU when you are alone, it IS the naked truth. It needs not be the same as the truth you speak aloud, or the truth you wear on your shirt, paste to your car, or post on your website. It IS the truth, so faithful that it comes to you and warms you when you are alone in your booth.

Yes, I do enjoy the booth. I enjoy the whole process. I enjoy walking into my polling location. I enjoy the passing of fliers just before you enter that righteous place. And when the man asks me if I want instructions, I say yes! I do want instructions. I wish to savor the process of this moment, this opportunity. I show reverence for that process and his part in the process by listening intently to his well rehearsed speech.

And when they look up my name in the giant book of printed pages - I peer into the matrices of dots seeking my name. It is the justification that I am wanted there… and I see it. My printed name, in its entirety, just slightly longer than the other names on the page, I can see me. I am on the list, and that’s how I know that I matter. I know that they were waiting for me. And then I arrived.

I voted today.

So if McCain dies while caring for my kid for a day, does that mean Palin's going to step in to babysit? I'm all sorts of NOT in favor of that. My daughter's too young to be forced into marriage under uncomfortable circumstances.

Here are some goofy ideas:

The Miller Time gift basket: http://bloomstoday.com/Miller_Time_Snack_Basket-3933.html

(it's just funny)

Custom ties at http://www.zazzle.com -- if he grills, you can also make a custom apron and get some grilling accessories (grill light, digital thermometer, etc)

If he loves yardwork but hates the noise, noise cancelling workman's headphones are a good value.

I don't think it impairs MY driving capabilities in that I am generally a pretty poor driver. I do, however, prioritize driving OVER anythin that has to do with my phone. Further, I have observed others being far more impaired while they happen to be on the phone, but I suspect that what's really impeding driving perfection isn't the phone so much as general stupidity.

Ok - I spent all day thinking about this, because I was initially feeling quite ambivolent. Part of me was thinking, the damage is already done - the party appears fragmented and non-decisive, how will dropping out this late help? And then I realized, that every day she prolongs dropping out is another day that Obama's campaign funds are spent fighting a war against Clinton instead of McCain. So yeah ---- it's time to drop out and support a campaign to win against McCain.

Not genre-specific, but innovative, impassioned, and evocative. Take Imogen Heap, for example. It's not the genre that makes this hot, it's the emotion and spirit that drives it that makes this the best 'type' of music.

Jane's Addiction. There is nothing unloveable about Three Days.

Instead of wasting money monitoring and prosecuting offenders, let's turn that frown upside down! I'm a supporter of legalizing marijuana and allowing for regulation and taxation of the industry. You'd think Frito-lay would be all over this.