BACK TO EVERYDAY LIFE

Sunday, November 9. 2008

The election’s over, and I’ll just say that I’m happy.

The gazelle triumphed over the porcupine, which was historic. It’s the first time a species of an African habitat has been elected President. (It should be noted that while his father was an African gazelle, his mother was a North American whitetail deer. He’d have fit nicely into our diverse circle!)
For me, the main impact is that the executive restriction on stem cell research will be immediately overturned upon his Inauguration. This will make life at the lab immeasurably easier for me and for my whole team.
I’ll admit that I cried on Election Night. From growing up as a quilled species in the rabbit warren, to switching from a herbivore to an insectivore diet as a teen, to becoming a member of a terrifically diverse family, to be engaged to a member of another species...and not the least the discovery of my human origins...It was amazingly gratifying to see that significant differences could be overcome in such spectacular fashion. A member of an outsider group was not only embraced, but given the responsibility of leadership. It still takes my breath away.
Now the hard work starts.
Meanwhile, life goes on. This week Rudy is set to take his driving test for the first time. (I realize that the preceding statement doesn’t show a lot of confidence.)

Posted by Lindesfarne at 11:52 | Comments (29) | Trackbacks (0)

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Well, now I know what animal Obama is in your world. If you don't mind my asking, what species are McCain, Barr and Nader?

#1 Jim on 2008-11-09 12:33 (Reply)

Being one who voted for the gazelle myself, I didn't really pay too much attention to the others. Lindesfarne did mention (here and elsewhere) that the other candidate was a porcupine so that answers what species McCain is (still kind of chuckle when I think all of them, even Obama, are human on the other side. Not much variety, eh? I wonder how long it will be before a lion is elected over there ... )

I am barely aware of Barr and Nader, never mind their parties or what species they are. I recall that the Greens didn't break with tradition and nominated a herbivore (as always) for their representative.

#1.1 Ken D. Lion on 2008-11-09 19:44 (Reply)

I am interested in numismatics, so I wonder what species appears on your money. Here is what we have:
Denomination Name Species
penny Abraham Lincoln elk
nickle Thomas Jefferson ???
dime Franklin Roosevelt ???
quarter George Washington fox
new half dollar John Kennedy ???
old half dollar Benjamin Franklin ???
new dollar coin Sacagawea ???
old dollar coin Susan Anthony ???
older dollar coin Dwight Eisenhower ???
dollar bill George Washington fox
two dollar bill Thomas Jefferson ???
five dollar bill Abraham Lincoln elk
ten dollar bill Alexander Hamilton ???
twenty dollar bill Andrew Jackson ???
fifty dollar bill Ulysses Grant ???
hundred dollar bill Benjamin Franklin ???

#2 Thomas Mazanec (Link) on 2008-11-09 12:36 (Reply)

I think I goofed with the dime. It is Franklin Roosevelt, not Theodore Roosevlt. Sorry.

#3 Tom Mazanec (Link) on 2008-11-09 12:43 (Reply)

Hey, I'm the first poster...WHEE!

Hey, Lindesfarne, glad to hear your candidate won. On our side of the portal a lot of folks feel the same way about our new President Elect, Barack Obama, an African-American. The turnout at the polls was the largest in history, I believe. The news also says there may be record number of people attending the inauguration ceremonies as most of the hotels in the area are already booked solid.

What worries me is that whenever someone who the people really gets behind comes along, that person tends to get assassinated; Lincoln, King, Kennedy for example. Granted, a lot has changed in terms of people's mindset since then, but as history has shown, it only takes one.

#4 Mortar on 2008-11-09 12:48 (Reply)

I, too, was happy with the results of the election. I love election nights, I always stay up for the results, but when I found out that Colorado (my home state) voted straight down the democratic line for all the elections that mattered, I fell down sobbing because I was so very happy. I don't know about the new first lady, but this is the first time in a long time that I've been proud of living in the United States. I always felt this was a great country, but I always thought something was wrong with the people here anyway. Now, I've been proven wrong, and by a real majority, and I'm very proud.

#5 Selina Grace on 2008-11-09 12:49 (Reply)

Does the driver's exam for predators involve making roadkill? I seem to recall seeing a comic where Rudy was practicing...

The road test here in Japan is incredibly difficult, and the examiners are very very strict. I had to take it four times, and I was taking the much easier version for foreigners. One other gentleman taking it the same time that I finally passed was on his 14th go, and he failed yet again that day.

#6 Rob in Japan on 2008-11-09 12:52 (Reply)

I wouldn't quite know on that one. The driver's test dedicated to a select number of species, including mine, was all about defensive driving. Avoid contact. Be prepared for quick actions. Drive up to the speed limit, at all times, when possible. (And, always use detectors.) Learning to avoid traffic jams and "bad areas". Seek out local police in case of danger. The test for my breed even avoided discussion of parallel parking, on issues of it being too "confrontational". (A vehicle in front. Another behind. Both blockades, in case of need to escape and all that.)

I have heard of the occasional predator trying to disguise themselves as herbivore, just to get an easier driver's test. The DMV puts those whom are caught trying through some seriously humiliating situations before denying them the license, though.

#6.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-11-17 14:55 (Reply)

The human of African descent won over here as well. (Staying as apolitical as possible.) I hope you're correct on stem cell research, though. Right now, IIRC, your side of the portal is also undergoing a financial crisis. Fixing that could take priority over everything including stem cell.

Your final statement about Rudy's driving test would show a lot less confidence if you said that life didn't go on!

#7 CharlieG on 2008-11-09 12:53 (Reply)

The Founding Fathers of the US were all foxes who escaped their native England to avoid persecution. (i.e., fox hunting) Their genius was to adopt democracy, which insured that while carnivores would be outnumbered at the ballot box, it would give herbivores a stake in governing for the first time in history. Every President since has been a herbivore, although until now they've all been from European habitats.

#8 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-09 13:05 (Reply)

Does make one wonder how we still have the right to bare arms.

#8.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-11-12 01:37 (Reply)

I guess you can tell the difference, though all foxes would look alike to me. I suppose you would have trouble telling humans apart.
Lindisfarne, I know you want to keep this apolitical, but you opened the door. I am a strict pro-lifer, and Obama has the worst record in the Senate in that regard. I believe that we are murdering our own babies by the millions.
Refuse to post this if you wish, but you opened that can of worms.

#9 Tom Mazanec (Link) on 2008-11-09 13:15 (Reply)

Perhaps, if you're so worried about killing babies, you might try to direct the political effort towards making effective birth control (and education enough to use it effectively) easier to get. It seems like most of the folk on your side, haven't figured out that if there were fewer unwanted babies conceived, fewer would be "killed" at any stage of existance.

(And you're male. I am not, and have a good idea how many barriers there REALLY are in such matters.)

#9.1 Robin on 2008-11-09 16:15 (Reply)

Part of the problem is that birth control sometimes results in an accidental abortion, depending on the method. Beyond that, opposition is mainly religio-ethical, the idea being that you're obstructing the reproductive act's intended function for the sake of enjoying an incidental function.

I am religious, but I do not speak out against condoms and some other methods. They're not perfect, but if they dissuade people from a greater sin, then I accept their integration into society.

#9.1.1 Classic Steve (Link) on 2008-11-10 09:24 (Reply)

Of course, all worms here have the freedom to vote.

Sorry that I don't have the time to list all the Presidents on the money denominations. Perhaps other posters on this side of the portal can do so.

#10 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-09 13:38 (Reply)

The driving test here is very difficult. I'm sorry if I didn't show much faith in Rudy, but it is very uncommon to pass it on the first try.
Okay...I did, but I'm the type who over-prepares for such things.

#11 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-09 14:00 (Reply)

Actually, on this end, some states' laws are lax enough that you can skip the thing all together. Kansas is a decent example of this; if you take driver's ed over there, no driving test. It... um... also applies if you move to another state and neglect to get your license changed over until you turn 16.

Then again, in a world where hitting a being from the wild doesn't incur a penalty much greater than an insurance premium -- or at most a fine, as far as I've heard -- I guess the laws wouldn't be as strict. On the other hand, I almost wonder if that doesn't make the roads safer in your world.

#11.1 Koronak on 2008-11-09 15:40 (Reply)

I still have yet to pass my driver's test. But the fact that I'm a lazy lion has a fair bit to do with it. (But I have failed everytime I've taken it (about 10 times) in the last 20 years) Being lazy and since Domain has decent enough public transport doesn't give me much incentive, and my wife doesn't mind driving me (considering we're a species where the females do all the hunting work (remember Edgar?) it doesn't bother her too much.)

#11.2 Ken D. Lion on 2008-11-12 18:14 (Reply)

while i passed it on my only try i understand what you mean about difficulty in taking the test. the parallel parking was the worst espillsy that the pick the spot for you.

#11.3 e_voyager on 2008-11-16 11:05 (Reply)

In the human U.S., there seems to have been a great deal of ethnic bias in the voting, as citizens of (near) African descent voted in unusually high numbers, disproportionately for Obama. Citizens of mostly European descent were less likely to do so.

With that in mind, I imagine that you would have had more bias toward the porcupine. I'm glad it wasn't your driving factor. But I don't know about your country as a whole.

#12 Classic Steve (Link) on 2008-11-09 14:42 (Reply)

I was also very happy about the results of the election, though very very sad about how some of the election propositions turned out in the 3 states they were held.

Hope your side of the portal went better there.

#13 Jennifer on 2008-11-09 16:42 (Reply)

I'm not sure if you read any comments from last week, but it seems that either your brother or Fiona has (have?) a rather annoying flea that seems set on sharing things that don't need to be shared.

You might want to let them know so that they can take appropriate action.

#14 Nifar on 2008-11-09 19:13 (Reply)

Lindesfarne, the President-elect over here has a real political problem to solve already. He promised his daughters a puppy, regardless of the outcome of the election. (If any readers don't think this is a dangerous family politics situation, you were probably an only child!)

I'm certain he'll solve that quickly, but it brought something else to mind. On our side, people who cannot see often have guide animals (AFAIK, always canines) to assist them in their daily activities. This apparently happens in your world as well, since Kevin used it as a method to rescue Rudy from a cult a long time ago. How does that work on your side? Are the guides salaried employees? Volunteers? How does a guide carnivore cope with a guided herbivore?

#15 CharlieG on 2008-11-09 19:36 (Reply)

WOO HOO! Were celebrating up here in New York, We may have wanted Clinton but we are just as fine with Obama.

I also saw that disturbing message from "La Flea"... Can flea's even use computers in your world?

#16 Simon Cortez on 2008-11-09 20:48 (Reply)

Hm. So, I was curious about your country's political runnings (as was everyone else, it appears), and now I know. It does make me wonder, though, just how many people actually knew their candidate's platform. Almost every African-American where I work voted for our African-American president elect, but I doubt 5% of them actually know anything about him beyond his race. Which kind of makes a mockery of the whole legal system, doesn't it?

Anyway, the driving test here is always made out to be harder than it is. I passed it my first go. Of course, I'm like you... somewhat of an overachiever. One final question, just how exactly is your name prounounced? I've been puzzling over that ever since I found out about you.

#17 S c y t h e on 2008-11-09 21:20 (Reply)

Lindsfarne, congratulations on having such a terrific outcome to your election as we humans had on this side of the portal. It is truly major milestone in both our countries.

I was quite intrigued to learn that the founders of your U.S. were all foxes. Something about that species just always seems to attract my attention.

Good luck to Rudy on his driving test. I hope he'll do well on his driving test. I'm sure he's learned well, and just needs to be careful not to get distracted.

Best wishes, Lindsfarne, and have a good week.

DaveW

#18 DaveW on 2008-11-09 21:54 (Reply)

My candidate didn't win. Oh well, another time. Very seldom does the same party win the Presidency three times in a row.

From my point of view, it seemed there was less thought and more emotion in this election than others in recent history.

There does seem to be a number of people whom either think this guy can solve everything, and another number who feel his election means disaster. I've been trying to calm down a few freinds and family on the latter.

As for Rudy's driving lessons, I'm sure he'll do okay, Lindesfarne.

#19 Bixyl Shuftan (Link) on 2008-11-09 22:06 (Reply)

The less said about fleas, the better! Everyone has them, and we've all learned to ignore them.

Canines often hire themselves out as assistance for the sight-impaired. It's an employer-employee relationship. What makes canines so suited to the task in their sense of loyalty. It is a job, after all, that demands absolute trust.

And finally, my name is pronounced LIN dus farn. Accent on the first syllable.

See you next Sunday, everybody!

#20 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-10 00:29 (Reply)

> Canines often hire themselves out as assistance for the
> sight-impaired. It's an employer-employee relationship.

So why do they need to walk on all fours?

> What makes canines so suited to the task in their sense of
> loyalty. It is a job, after all, that demands absolute trust.

Which means those with Domestication are best suited as loyalty is one of the symptoms, correct?

#20.1 Mortar on 2008-11-16 13:48 (Reply)

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