WHY OBAMA WILL WIN

If you want to understand the process of electoral college votes vs. popular votes or just get a good grasp on the projections, go to: Yahoo. It has great description and breakdown of what states may go to whom and the likelihood of a candidate winning a given state that is up for grabs like my home state, Nevada.
More than just the numbers, Obama is going to win the presidency because of the the complete dissatisfaction that people feel about George W. Bush and the last 4 years. People may point to the last 8 years and feel that it has been a wasted 4 years. If that is the case how come he was not voted out on the last election? You may argue that indeed he was voted out because Kerry received the majority of the popular vote. Nonetheless, Bush still got sworn in and look where we are now.
I have spoken to a few Republican "friends" and the agreement is that even they want to see change.
Obama represents change.
There are people that are not voting for him just because of his skin color but it is a minority that will not have any effect on the election. I originally wanted Hillary to get the nomination, not so much because she was a woman but rather because of the experience that she would have brought to the presidency. Obama may not have that much experience but the belief is that he will surround himself with the right cabinet and he showed that by selecting Biden as his V.P. Contrary to what McCain did, which was just to pander to a certain segment of the electorate and look at the shape that they are in now.
The race may still be close to the end despite; voter fraud, malfunctioning machines, voter suppression, rules that make it hard for certain people to vote and many more scenarios, Obama should and will win.
Have you seen so many people vote ahead of the election? Have you seen how long the lines are and that they go for the entire day? I did yesterday when I voted. Luckily the process was quick and painless. I can only imagine how long the lines are going to be next Tuesday.

The last 2 elections were not won by Bush, they were lost by the Democrats, they fumbled the ball and threw too many interceptions to a team that was less qualified than them. This time it will be different. The election will be won with a clear mandate for change. And the score will be 60 to 40.

Vote and vote with your conscience.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Elections, the economy, personal issues, work. What does it all mean? What does it all mean in my life?
Sometimes I feel as though I am living someone else's life. I should not be here, why am I here?.
I was born in a small village in Mexico that still stands with plenty of people in it. People that wake up, go about their daily chores,and feed themselves somehow. They die, they laugh, they cry the same as everyone else. Since I left that village, plenty of US presidential elections have come and gone, the market has dipped or gone down plenty as well; and that village still stands with the same people going through the same motions as they were 20, 30 years ago and perhaps even longer.
They did not have a housing bubble or worry about the price of gas. Maybe they worried about rain and or the lack of it which is more damaging for their crops. I do not think that they expect a bail out from their state government or federal government. Maybe a hand out from their relative living in "El Norte", but never from the government. If there is not food, they just do not eat, or maybe a neighbor or family member will help.
That could have been my life.
I could have also stayed in Mexico City where it would not have been as simple as in the village. It wasn't. I lived there plenty and was happy as well, not without some minor heartache. As Stitch (From Lilo and Stitch) said,"We were a broken family." I did not have a happy childhood according to most therapists or psychologists. According to them, I should have died at about my mid twenties; and did have friends that fit the profile and did not make it past 20 or 25. I considered myself happy regardless and made the best of it.
That is perhaps why I find myself where I am right now. I always sought a better way. A better something.
Somehow I landed in L.A. Another metropolis just like Mexico City, perhaps not as corrupt but still sinfull.
So much has happened that determined where I am today. many things that I did not have control over. Some of them I did. I have made some bad choices and decisions. I have also been lucky with the people I have met.
So I guess when you add app all the steps in my life, they have all led to where I am now.
I have very few regrets, but I am very happy where I am.

7 DEGREES OF SEPARATION - CHARLES KEATING

I had a chance to meet Charles Keating while his trial was going on in L.A. it seems like a long time ago. Now he is back in the news because of the current election. At the time I was working at Checkers a restaurant in a hotel by the same name, now owned by Hilton.
Charles Keating was a quiet and personable man. He never seemed mean and liked to eat well and drink wine along with his lawyers. Our restaurant was small and private so they always sat in the back of the room and go over the day's business; This also kept them away from the media. Their bill was always high by the time they were done, though Keating never paid; It was always his lawyer or family member who handled the bill. In previous posts I have written about this restaurant because it was here where Marcia Clark would sometimes come in and unwind after a rough day during the O.J. Simpson trial and also where Thomas Keller - Chef of the century - moved to after leaving N.Y.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Yesterday may not have been Friday the 13th but for OJ Simpson it must have felt like it. 13 years after being acquitted in L.A. he is found guilty here in Las Vegas, of all places.
His lawyer summed it up by saying that it was "Stupid" to go into a room and attempt to recover personal belongings on your own without getting either cops or lawyers involved.
Perhaps he is right and O.J is simply stupid and somehow because of his money and bad police shenanigans in L.A, he got away with murder 13 years ago. Maybe he thought because of who he was, he could get away with it.
But does anyone really get away with anything?..
To me, clearly he was guilty of the murders in L.A. How he got away with it is still beyond me. Watching the proceedings here in Las vegas, the similarities were everywhere. the testimony from both sides clearly pointed to a crime being committed with his lawyers arguing that perhaps OJ did not see the gun in the room, thus not knowing that, he was not guilty, even though the law here in Nevada says the opposite.
In L.A. the knife still has not been found, had it been found then, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
Now, I do not think there is any satisfaction at all for anyone, maybe not even the Goldmans and Nicole's family including the kids, who are now of college age.
There is still an appeal to come and a lot could change at that point but I think finally, Karma has caught up with OJ for whatever bad things (very bad things) he did in the past.