It’s from way back on July 1, but I just heard it for the first time. I’m not sure if I know anyone who needs this argument made to them, but maybe someone reading this does.

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka:

* Based on 7-Eleven coffee cup poll

Now, 7-Eleven claims that their coffee cup poll gave Bush just a one-point lead over Gore in 2000 and two-point lead over Kerry in 2004, so there’s no reason to give them any less credence than, say, Gallup or Zogby (other than almost all of the non-7-Eleven states being states favored to go for McCain).

That picture is from today. It’s similar to some pictures from earlier this year.

Not really. Slept much of day. Numbness gone. Pain if moving arm; ok if arm kept completely immobile. Definitely need rest of week off from work as planned. Forgetting any Halloween plans I may have had.

Snippet of lame, longer video I was going to post…

Indeed. Shep Smith, after an unbearable interview with Joe the Friggin’ Plumber, essentially says to America, “WTF?”

it’s pathetic that there are e-voting machines that are so poorly designed such that they would require constant recalibration or else produce such gross errors. or, they’re being rigged, although if the latter is true, it’s unclear whose side the riggers are on…

no fancy attempts at prose right now. limited to one hand for typing and recent dose of painkillers may knock me out shortly.

this morning, i had my second av fistula surgery. the first surgery back in march was not successful. this time, instead if the left wrist, a fistula was created by the left inner elbow.

participating in a study on anesthesia methods and was randomized into getting local instead of general like i had had last time. sedatives still ensured i slept through the 90-minute procedure. after, my left arm, shoulder to finger tips, was completely numb. experienced odd phantom feeling of having arm laying in front of me on chest even though it was really limp to my side. numbness has continued all day, expected to last perhaps 24 hrs, perhaps more. grateful to friends j&j for letting me stay at their place tonight as i have been quite helpless. with general anesthesia, i had had a little more movement of arm after but considerably more discomfort. however, any movement of the arm now, despite numbness, still results in a good deal of pain. grateful to petsitter h for caring for monsters on such short notice.

while i can feel the “thrill” indicating that the fistula is working (thrill being a medical term), there are no guarantees that it will “mature”. i do not know the details, but my friend said the doctor had said i’d need to have the vein operated on again, to be moved around so that it will make a better access.

in case it is not apparent what the purpose of this great fun in, the fistula is what is used for access for dialysis, which i am going to require soon due to my polycystic kidney disease, which has reduced have kidney function to 10% as of my most recent labs.

i forget if i’ve ever made a blatant pitch for a kidney. this won’t be one. consider it a subtle pitch. there’s still plenty of time for me to get pathetically desperate. :) that was a joke. haha.

oh, i almost forgot…i’ve also got a catheter in my neck that pumps drugs into me from this ball o’ narcotics that’s in a fanny pack. :)

“Let me just say, categorically, I’m proud of the people who come to our rallies”.
- John McCain (3rd Presidential Debate, October 15, 2008)

F*ck you, John McCain. You may have served your country with honor, but instead of a venerable hero, you’ll go down in history as a shameful loser. It was your choice.