Realizing Weird Shit About Myself

Also continue to check that your voting information is up to date as the time for ballots approaches.

Make sure you know where your voting place is or if you are absentee voting where your ballot will be sent and by when you must return it.

Know what identification you must have to vote.

Be aware that people will try to prevent you from voting, that you must vote within your district, and the specific rules for your state.

Because I remember disinformation being spread around the last election and I’m sure Russia will bring it back:

YOU CAN’T VOTE ONLINE.

YOU CAN’T VOTE FROM YOUR PHONE.

IN MANY STATES THERE ARE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR BALLOT.

DO NOT WEAR CAMPAIGN GEAR TO THE POLLS.

DO NOT TRY TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE AT THE POLLS.

DO NOT ENGAGE IN ANY KIND OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE AT THE POLLS.

NO ELECTION IS EVER A SURE THING, EVEN IF YOU’RE IN THE BLUEST OR REDDEST OF STATES.  IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN SIT THIS ONE OUT, THEY ARE EITHER IGNORANT OR MALICIOUS.

VOTE.

Ahaha I as a ravenclaw can admit that this is true. I may be blessed with the skill of analysis the program file crashes when it comes to emotions.

Hufflepuff: Are you sure you aren't dating Slytherin?

Ravenclaw: If I am I certainly wasn't informed of it.

Hufflepuff: To be fair if any of us were dating someone without realizing it, it would be you.

The Met Gala

I have such mixed feelings about the met gala theme this year. I feel like all the same people who were saying "my culture is not your prom dress" are A-ok with celebrities using religious culture in a way that goes against it's beliefs. There are some like Zendaya's that seemed to really celebrate and make beautiful catholic religion. But I feel like making religious wear promiscuous is crossing some type of line. I'm not very religious so personally it doesn't bother me, but I do think more concern should be shown about respecting the religion. Just food for thought.

This is the cutest thing in the whole wide world

alysontabbitha on IG

Gotta get that Jesus Tea when you're sick

JESUS TEA

So it’s Flu Season again, and this recipe for Tea To Fix What Ails You was given to me by a Christian friend, and I’ve taken to calling it JESUS TEA due to it’s miraculous properties.  Even though it, technically, contains no tea.  This tea is as caffinie-free as anything processed in a US plant can get, but be sure to check the provenance and all ingredients in case of allergies.

You will Need:

A Bigass Pot, becuase this is something you make in large quantities

working stovetop

those lil cloth sachets you use for wassail/empty teabags/those lil reuseable loose-leaf tea steepers.

Recipe:

about a quart of water

1 cup apple cider

about half a lemon’s worth of juice

a shitwhack of honey- try to get as local as possible and generally the less-processed the better if you want to build a resistance to local allergens. If you have allergy concerns or don’t like the taste of honey, go ahead and use more processed stuff/another sweetener instead.

three tablespoons/three bags chamomile tea

three tablespoons/three bags rooibos tea

teaspoon crushed cloves

1 cinnamon stick (more if you like it spicier)

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne or white pepper

Bring water to a simmer in the pot.  Add the chamomile, rooibos and spices to steep about 4-5 minutes or longer if you like tea-flavored tar which given you have the flu you probably do.  Add Cider, Lemon Juice and Honey until dissolved.  Drink all of this in the course of an hour to stay hydrated, make more pots as needed or until you pass out. 

FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS: gargle warm salt water first for as long as you can, it’ll break up the mucus in your throat and soothe the soreness.

I love runoff voting because it combats many of the problems that lead to a less responsive two party system that doesn't meet the needs of the people it is meant to serve. I think this would be a step in the correct direction if we were willing to implement it and work towards higher voter turnout and fair boundaries for voter districts.

Something fascinating is happening in Maine.

This year, Republican Bruce Poliquin sought reelection, having served in the House of Representatives for two terms.  He ran against the Democrats’ candidate, Jared Golden. 

Poliquin got 46.2% of the votes.  Golden got 45.7% of the votes.

So Poliquin got more votes… right?

What if I told you that Golden is expected to be the new Representative?

You’ll notice that 46.2% + 45.7% = 91.9%, not 100%.  

See, Poliquin and Golden weren’t the only candidates, there were also Independent candidates like like Tiffany Bond and Will Hoar.   

Normally in America, if you vote for someone that’s “kinda like a Democrat, but not a Democrat” you run the risk of having a Republican win (and if you vote for someone “kinda like a Republican” it can be seen as helping the Democrats).

For example, over in Arizona it looks like the Democratic candidate for the Senate might have won… except some people voted for a liberal “Green Party” candidate.  More than twice as many people than were needed for the Democrat to win.  So the Republican candidate goes to the Senate.

The election was won by the candidate that less voters liked.

Back to Maine.

In 2016, Maine became the first state in America to vote in favor of having their federal elections be decided by ranked choice/instant runoff voting.  

Under this type of voting, people fill out a ballot to say which candidate they like the most… and which candidate would be their second choice, their third choice, and so on.

If no candidate gets a majority of the votes, then officials look at the ballots again and say “okay which candidates got the fewest votes? Who did their supporters say was their second choice?”

The votes for the candidates that got nowhere near a majority are given to whichever candidate was the “Second choice” of those voters.  The goal is to ensure that the winning candidate is someone that a majority of the population is at least okay with.

And that’s why Poliquin, with his 46.2% is expected to lose to Golden and his 45.7%.  Because the people that ended up voting for an Independent mostly said “well, Golden wouldn’t be my favorite… but he’s better than Poliquin!”

The end result still isn’t perfect, but it’s a vastly more democratic process, that has the potential to elect officials far more representative of the population. 

People can vote for an Independent freely instead of holding their nose and voting for the “lesser evil.”  Independent parties can have a chance to grow instead of being demonized as taking away votes. 

And candidates can look at the results and say “huh, a lot of the people that got me elected really liked that Independent.  Maybe I should see what were the policies that made the Independent popular?

Americans need to look to Maine and ask “why aren’t we doing it like that?” (and maybe head over to https://www.fairvote.org/ to try and get the ball rolling in their State)

I respect this so much. Nasa astronauts and the astronauts of other nations work together and and rise above the political issues that their countries may have with one another for the sake of science and the benefit of the world as a whole.

Hey! I was wondering how everyone on the ISS adjusts to each other’s culture and language. It seems like it might be hard with language barriers and other factors, to live in a confined space with people from another country. Do others try to teach you their language? Does everyone mostly speak English, or do some people speak Russian?

happy 4/20 there’s still black men in jail serving unnecessary jail sentences for marijuana possession