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Thursday, September 30, 2004

For this I delayed lunch? 

I listened to the presedential debates tonight, despite the fact that it ran into my usual lunch time. (This wasn't a great sacrifice--my appetite is lacking this evening--but I do enjoy my reading time.) It was kind of weird--it seemed like the whole shop was tuned in. There were at least 4 radios on this side of the shop tuned in to at least 3 different stations, and then I heard a loud laugh from down the hall when Bush said that they weren't expecting to win so quickly. The multiple radio situation was odd in itself. One of the stations was a few seconds behind mine in the broadcast. (I was listening to Pacifica Network's broadcast via KBCS, for the record.) They must have had the cuss delay turned on. Why, I don't know. Dick Cheney wasn't speaking tonight. But I digress. It all really illustrated the liberal nature of this workplace. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I would have expected at least a couple of conservatives to be lurking about. (We used to have an outspoken conservative on staff, but he was sacked a while back. He was also brave enough to voice his criticisms of management, don't ya know.) Anyway, I'm not really sure why I listened, other than radio dial lethargy. President Bush lost my vote when the bombs started falling on Iraq and subsequent events have only strengthened my stance. As for Kerry, I heard the expected political-speak. I doubt if he will be half as effective as he's promising. I'm just grateful that KBCS switched back to music immediately after the candidates finished. (They essentially said, if you want commentary on the debates, tune into Democracy Now in the morning.) I don't need pundits telling me what I just heard. Besides, one of my coworkers, Taya, came out of her back room throughout the night to tell us what folks were saying. She was quite pleased by the after-debate chatter, but then, she was listening to a left of center talk show. I wish I could be as optimistic, but I'm a wee bit too cynical. In part, I don't trust a big chunk of the electorate to think beyond the TV commercials (something I've been guilty of myself), and in part, I realize that not everybody shares my values. Too many people are willing to sacrifice the Iraqui people to support the American way of life. ... Sheesh, that sounds so condescending. I really should have taken the log out of my eye before I wrote that.