The election selection

As one of them pesky foreigners, I don't think I should say any more than I already have about the US election.

Instead I'm going to link to a bunch of excellent posts from around the blogosphere*. (Edit: OK, and apparently I'm going to comment on them too - couldn't resist. Please pretend you didn't read the first sentence of this post).

Good luck to my American friends - I think I'm hoping for the same result as almost all of you! I'll be at the Canucks-Predators game, but with my ear close to the iPhone ground for updates. If anyone would care to leave comments here as the evening progresses, I'd be very grateful - I'll see more of the hockey if I just wait for the beep that means a comment has been emailed to me than if I'm constantly refreshing cnn.com manually!

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First up is Ruchi with a wonderful post that literally brought tears to my eyes. "It doesn't matter if your parents came from Kenya, or India, or North Dakota; you CAN still become president. [...] I may not want to be president anymore, but somewhere out there, I know a young child of immigrants is now free to dream big".

(Although, as Digital Cuttlefish points out, young American atheists are obviously gonna have to wait a bit longer for their chance to be treated as equals president: "No need to watch your language, Or to treat us with respect—Because demonizing us is still politically correct").

Microbiologist XX also posts about the importance of voting, regardless of where you live. It's not just about the Presidential ballot! Oh, and also, "If you don't vote, then you forfeit your right to complain about the government until the next election". Too right.

Dr Jekyll and Mrs Hyde shares her experiences as she volunteers for the Obama-Biden campaign in a swing state. "We had lots of pro-Obama responses, with the only exception being some people complaining they had been called TOO MUCH by the Obama campaign. If this is our biggest problem, we are doing ok." Good luck Dr J!

Todd Oakley injects some evolutionary theory (and a much-needed chuckle) into the proceedings. "A common theme of this blog is to share cases of "linear evolutionary thinking". These are instances, usually graphics, that illustrate the common conception of evolution as a line of progress, from worst to best". Click through for this particular example - you don't need to be a biologist to appreciate it!

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Bonus posts for my Californian reader(s), who are voting on Proposition 8:

DrugMonkey neatly eviscerates the alleged logic of the pro-(H)8 side: "I'm sure there are other classes of arguments and I'd like to hear something that sounds halfway rational. Have any of you Californians heard anything that makes any kind of sense? Because from where I sit, all I hear that makes any consistent sense in any of this is the following: "I just don't like gay people, in fact I fear and hate them.""

Meanwhile Digital Cuttlefish skewers the proposition in rhyme. "It’s a simple little proposition, Proposition Eight: All we ask is that you join us, as we all discriminate!"

And here's Ruchi again with "A Heart-felt Speech From The Republican Mayor of San Diego".

I am very proud that gay couples in both my native and adopted country can marry. I'm therefore wishing for an extra dose of good luck for my anti-prop 8 buddies and blog buddies down the coast...

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Finally, Bob is looking for new topics to keep the blogosphere busy after the election: "We have to save the poor slavering dears by giving them a topic to get excited about", he says. My suggestion of "football" seems to be working - for now.

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*posts featured here are rendered ineligible for "post of the week" bragging rights. Why? Because I said so...