Here’s this week’s news for the weird.

My reasons for loving Oregon continue to pile up, despite the sagging job market and influx of hipsters.

While the rest of the country was debating whether or not they were ready for a black president, the small town of Silverton City, OR was busy electing the nation’s first openly transgender mayor.

In related news, a judge has ruled that biking without clothes in Oregon is not only totally within the realm of the law but ‘a well-established tradition.’

But enough about Portland, let’s turn our attention to the affluent suburb of Evanston, Illinois. Evanston is a beautiful lake suburb just north of Chicago where I also happened to work from 2006 to June of this year. The city is clean, overwhelmingly white, affluent, home to Northwestern University, and home to Daniel Valera. Who is Daniel Valera? Well, I’m glad you asked! Daniel Valera is a 94 year old woman who has been taken into state care after police found the bodies of her three siblings in the upstairs of her house. The first sibling died in the 1970s, followed by another in 2003, and the last sister died this May . All of the siblings died of natural causes, and it’s clear they were a close-knit family. I just wonder if they were also fans of William Faulkner .

Finally, a more light-hearted story that may only be of interest to my fellow writers out there. Controversy ‘rocked’ the literary world this week when it was announced that author Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country is a finalist for the National Book Award. Okay, there’s nothing strange about that I hear you say, except that Shadow Country isn’t technically a ‘new book.’ The book is composed of three early novels that Matthiessen combined, edited, rewrote, and published in this one volume. Matthiessen states that he was never happy with the second and third volumes of his trilogy and that he set out to rewrite the books for himself without knowing if a publisher would touch the new volume. Proof, once again, that when it comes to creative work sometimes you just have to trust your instinct.

Have strange news to share? Feel free to leave me a hyperlink in the “comments” below.

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We are now a week removed from the historic presidential election of 2008. So far I have refrained from discussing the election results here because I am waiting for the dust to settle before I speculate about what this change movement actually means.

But, I would be remiss not to point out that on the eve of the election I called the election results more accurately than evil mastermind/overlord Karl Rove. First the predictions and results.


Karl Rove’s Prediction: Obama 338 vs. McCain 200



My Prediction:Obama 367, McCain 171



Actual Results: Obama 364 vs. McCain 173



How Rove Got it Wrong: Rove’s predictions were generous by a conservative’s standards, but he still managed to miss the final tally in Obama’s favor by 27 electoral points. His mistakes, calling Indiana and North Carolina for McCain while also overlooking the 1 electoral vote picked up by Obama in Nebraska (a state that awards its electoral votes by congressional district rather than all-or-nothing).

How I Got it Wrong: I overestimated Obama’s final win by 3 electoral points, even though I called three states incorrectly. I predicted that Obama would pick up North Dakota and Missouri, while doubting a victory in Indiana.

My North Dakota prediction was fueled by wishful thinking. A Democrat has not significantly won in the center of our nation (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas) since 1964 (In fact the only Democratic win in that section since 1964 was Carter’s Texas win in 1976). Polling in North Dakota in the last two weeks of the campaign showed a surge of Obama support and I wrongly hoped that support would be enough to flip the state.

Missouri was always a toss-up, and the state is still technically uncalled (with both Obama and McCain garnering 49% of the popular vote). The result of this state came down to well under 1% of the vote.

The true surprise in this election is the ultra-white, conservative state of Indiana which awarded 11 electoral points to Obama. This is the first Democratic win in Indiana since 1964. I am proud of this change, and certainly never imagined that a black Democrat with progressive roots would be the man to finally flip that state.

I also overlooked the 1 electoral point awarded to Obama in Nebraska, so I guess, technically, Obama did make some progress in that “red core” of the heartland.

So, Now What? The game of political polling is over—at least for two more years. I have greatly enjoyed this election and I’m optimistic about the voter turnout and enthusiasm that Obama’s campaign has fostered, but now the time has come to lay down the campaign cards and get to work.

The change that Obama wants to bring about will be countered by a crumbling economy, three wars (why does everyone forget the global ‘War on Terror’?), the falling dollar, America’s lost prestige on the world stage, crumbling infrastructure, and many more unfavorable parting gifts of the Bush regime.

I only hope that ‘we the people’ remain engaged in the political process the way that we have been throughout this campaign. Afterall, it isn’t seeing your team to the playoffs that’s most gratifying. It’s seeing your team win the game. With his election Obama is now in the championship game, and he has 4-8 years to win this for us all.

Final thought: When you look at the election results by county rather than state, it becomes clear that Democrats made significant gains in almost every state of the union this year. And THAT is truly worth celebrating.

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Greetings virtual friends! As you look around I’m sure you’ll see some updates to the website (I know, I know, when am I finally going to be finished with my website design!). Well, I finally believe that, aside from the occasional cosmetic tweak, this will be the look of JHW.com for a while to come (at least 6 months!). Looking over past incarnations of the site, I believe this one is the cleanest and most easy to navigate. There are still some bugs (such as the search bar not working) but I am working those out.

In other news, my secret project is nearing a point where I can actually talk about it. I’ve been hard at work on a book for the last several months and it looks like I will meet my goal of having a workable draft together by the end of the year. I am quite excited and can’t wait to share some pages with you in the coming months.

Anyone who has seen how I write knows that I use a literal “cut and paste” method, splicing sections of manuscript apart, juxtaposing those with other sections, and creating something new from the fractured parts. While this process is fun, it’s also painfully slow, kills more trees than I deserve, and makes a mess out of my workspace. Hopefully when I get around to writing the next book I’ll have the process more under control. For now, though, I just have to wade through a few more piles of paper to put this manuscript together.

The book has taken over most of my free time, which is why the blog posts here have become shorter and why I haven’t posted a DJ set for quite some time. Well, I have 5 mixes that are put together and ready to go—I just need to mix them, upload them, and post them. Hopefully you’ll start seeing those appear here in the coming weeks.

Most importantly, though, in order to get any of this done I have to prioritize how I spend my time, and one of the ways I plan to do that is to continue the “media diet” that I started last week.

The husband and I pride ourselves on not watching television , which has made us both more creative, open, and productive. But, for the last few months I have allowed the internet to stand-in for television. Leading up to the presidential elections I monitored multiple news outlets on a daily basis: Truthdig, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, Politicstv, The Real News Network. When you add to this the podcasts that I regularly follow: Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill Moyer’s Journal, The Rachel Maddow Show, The New Yorker, the list goes on and on, you get a sad picture of an internet junkie.

So, for the month of November I am on a low-calorie internet diet. Only the essentials, only at designated points in the day. To counter this impulse I’m considering renewing a subscription to a good critical magazine—perhaps Harpers or The Atlantic? I want to go back to the day where you could sit down on the weekend and read through the important things that happened that week. I don’t need to hear about John Edward’s haircuts, Sarah Palin’s clothes, or Cindy McCain’s prescription drug woes. I want real news that matters, not the glossy fluff of the Huffington Post.

The “tagline” for this website (since every website apparently needs one) is “do what’s important.” Well, I think it’s time I heed my own advice. Hopefully I’ll have some results to share with you very soon.

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Lots of birds are migrating this time of year…


…and my buddy Sarah is intrigued.

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It seems that Obama’s talk of ‘unity’ and ‘ending our partisan differences’ isn’t connecting with all segments of the population.

MSNC has a fascinating article about record gun sales following Obama’s election on Tuesday night.

Even though guns were never a major part of Obama’s campaign, and his support of 2nd Amendment rights are clearly outlined on his new website, years of Rove’ian redneck batting seems to be deeply ingrained.

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The Signing of the Civil Rights Act, 1964


Obama on the stump in Iowa, 2008

Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie fame posted this video on Rolling Stone’s political blog today.

For all the amber waves of grain and swelling strings that have surrounded this election cycle, this video may be the best testament to why voting, and political engagement, is so important.

I’m putting my ‘country first’ by voting for Barack Obama, because I believe in his message and I believe that his leadership is exactly the antidote we need in these troubled times.

The expectations are high, higher than any one man can meet. Barack will let us down in some ways, that’s inevitable, but the genuine movement that he has created will better this nation for years to come. For that alone, I am so proud to support him.

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If Obama loses tomorrow, I say it’s time we resurrect the old Cascadia Independence Movement.)

We can have biodiesel cars, health care for all, education reform, and cannabis will be our number one cash crop. We will have multiple political parties. The Democrats will be a slim majority over the Pacific Green Party. The GOP will be virtually nonexistent, but the crazies will join the Constitution Party and the Libertarians will finally have a stage.

Seattle will be our capital. Vancouver will be our Paris. Portland will be where all the crazy misfits and rebels go. Eugene will be the old South. Bend and Spokane will become the new old west.

I’ll start a commune, and my friends and I will read stories to one another by fire light, dancing when the work is through and the wine is consumed…

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Just days before the general election all eyes seem to be locked on Barack Obama and John McCain. Every move by the candidates, their VP nominees, and their staff is scrutinized.

I believe it’s critical that we elect the best candidate for President (surprise—I’m for Obama), but the media blitz surrounding the presidential election has overshadowed some critical congressional races that are also underway.

I truly believe that in order for Obama to enact his ambitious energy, education, economic, and military agendas he will need a filibuster-proof Senate.

The magic number is 60 (or a 3/5ths majority). Currently, there are 37 Democratic seats which are not up for re-election, 15 seats that are considered “safe,” three seats which are leaning Democratic, and five toss-up seats.

The focus of this post is those five toss-up seats. Here are the candidates that need to win in their respective states in order for the Democratic party to have a firm Senate majority:

1. Mark Begich, Democrat, Alaska
Begich is the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. He believes in energy independence, ending a failed policy in Iraq, and providing a middle class tax cut to working families. Running against disgraced Senator Ted Stevens, who was convicted on seven felony counts earlier this week, one would think that this election would be a no-brainer, but the closeness of this race illustrates just how unique the political climate in Alaska really is and just how deep the special interests in the state are entrenched.


2. Bruce Lunsford, Democrat, Kentucky
If Democrat Bruce Lunsford manages to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday it will truly be one for the history books. Before the economic crash, McConnell’s seat was not considered even remotely in danger. But now, four days from the election, polls show Lunsford and McConnell in a dead heat. Let’s be clear about this, no Republican Senator has benefited from the special interests more than Mitch McConnell. His record on the economy, the war, and social issues is deplorable. This is the senate race that the rest of the nation should be watching.


3. Al Franken, Democrat, Minnesota
Al Franken is currently locked in a nasty up-hill race with incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman (who served as St. Paul’s mayor back when he was a Democrat). Franken is one of the most progressive candidates running for office on Tuesday. The former SNL alum and Air America host is progressive on social issues, energy independence, universal healthcare, middle-class tax breaks, and ending the war in Iraq. Frankly, I’m just looking forward to “Live from D.C., IT’S THE SENATE FLOOR!!!”

4. Ronnie Musgrove, Democrat, Mississippi
Watching Ronnie Musgrove’s campaign ads reminds me of some of the ads we are seeing from the other side of the isle—particularly Gordon Smith’s ads in Oregon which show the Republican Senator with leaders of the Democratic Party. Musgrove’s attack is gentle, and points to just how deeply entrenched the GOP is in the South. Still, the race between Musgrove and Roger Wicker (who replaced Trent Lott in 2007) is a dead heat. The battle seems to be taking shape mostly over the economy and gas prices.


5. Jim Martin, Democrat, Georgia
Democrat Jim Martin is running a tough campaign again incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Martin’s campaign is focused on cutting government spending, restoring the economy, and providing middle class tax breaks. He is currently polling just behind Chambliss, but an increase in the state’s African-American vote (brought on by Obama’s unexpected popularity in Georgia) is working to Martin’s favor. This is a tight one, but could be the key to the Magic 60.


Also to watch:

Democratic Candidate Kay Hagan of North Carolina is running a very tight race against incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole. Dole’s response to this formidable candidate has been to release some of the most vitriolic and deceitful ads in recent political memory. Still, the tide is turning in the Democrat’s favor and those Republicans who will survive this sea-change are the ones will be able to divorce themselves from the Republican leadership of the last eight years. Unfortunately for former presidential and first-lady candidate Elizabeth Dole, she is simply too entrenched to shed that image this late in the game.

Democratic candidate Jeff Merkley of Oregon also seems to have benefited the recent economic downturn. When we moved to Oregon in July, Merkley was facing an uphill battle against popular incumbent Gordon Smith. Unfortunately for Smith, recent events and Obama’s strong support in the Portland/Salem/Eugene areas are working against his re-election. Merkley is a progressive’s democrat, so I am excited to have him represent me. But Gordon Smith is also a model Republican, progressive on social issues and a moderate Republican on economic issues. He’s the type of middle-of-the-road candidate that the GOP will need to emulate in the next election cycle if the tide turns as sharply against them as it is projected to in this election. Unfortunately for Smith, history is just not on his side this go-around.

REMEMBER, ALL OF THE PUNDITRY AND PREDICTIONS ARE MERELY THAT. IF YOU WANT TO SEE A TRUE CHANGE IN THE DIRECTION OF THIS COUNTRY YOU MUST GET OUT THE VOTE NEXT TUESDAY. FROM CITY COUNCIL TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENCY, VOTING IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A CITIZEN AND THERE’S SIMPLY NO EXCUSE FOR NOT PARTICIPATING

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We’re one week out from the presidential election and it’s time for an update on my predictions. I made my last round of prediction three weeks ago and a lot has changed since then.

Luckily, the tide seems to have turned in Obama’s favor after the presidential debates. Based on recent polling, primarily from Pollster but also from other sources online, I am now predicting an Obama victory of 367 to 171 in the electoral college.

Moving into the Obama category since my predictions three weeks ago: North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, and North Dakota. Three weeks ago North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri were toss-up states with a slight lean toward McCain, but since those predictions Obama has widened his lead. His most significant gains have been in Ohio and Nevada where he now has a solid lead over McCain. His lead in Missouri and North Carolina are very close and could still tilt either way.

The surprise in these additions to the Obama map is the addition of North Dakota, a state that was solidly red three weeks ago but is now showing a three point lead toward Obama. Polls in North Dakota show a sharp and rapid decline of support for McCain following the debates. If Obama wins North Dakota, it will be the first time the state has gone blue since 1964.

Following this trend there are three more states which are now considered “toss-up” states that were solidly red just three weeks ago: Georgia, South Dakota, and Montana. Obama’s gain in these three states is most impressive. Recent polls show him gaining sharply in these states, but in my unprofessional opinion I can’t see him closing the remaining gap in the next week. If he stands a chance with one of these states, I would predict he ‘might’ flip Montana—which is on the verge of having two democratic senators and a democratic governor.

So where does this leave McCain? The McCain camp is focusing most heavily on Pennsylvania and Virgina, both former toss-up states that are leaning toward Obama. For McCain to survive, he must win three out of four of these states: Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and Florida.

So, should you vote in this election given where the polls are? YES! Of course you should! The only way Obama will lose this election is if his supporters become overly confident and just stay home next Tuesday. Though he is currently leading McCain in states by a ration of 3:2, many of these states are holding by just a couple of percentage points. Obama supporters must turn out the vote in order to make this election a reality.

And now, a brief history lesson:

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