So I stopped into my town's tiny, weeny town clerk's office to inquire, a shack in the village that's maybe 300 square feet, and discovered that, God bless Vermont, there is NO party registration in this state.  For primaries, they just give you four ballots (we have two extra parties in the state, the Progressive Party and something else, maybe Greens), and you fill one out and throw the others away.

That's it.  No having to re-register as an independent after voting in a primary or anything.

I asked about write-ins, and there are no rules for that, either, as there are in so many states, except that they decline to count votes for fictional or dead characters.  If you vote for Mickey Mouse or Mickey Mantle, it's just recorded as a blank.  Write-ins are a pain for the election officials, of course, so after I brought the subject up as something I was considering, she promptly signed me up to help count.  (Given the size of the voting population in this town of 1,200, I'll probably get to count to 4 or 5, but what the heck.)

Personally, I prefer closed primaries, but it's such a good thing not to be required to hassle over your party registration, this is a good system, at least for Vermont.

I spouted off a little bit in the clerk's office about being unhappy about the choices on offer, and she said she thought there were many more people in Vermont who felt the same way than one might think from the fact that Obama won the state handily in the primary.

I've met both of these wonderful young ladies.  My daughter was a competitive gymnasts and gave up our 12K year expenditure last USAG season.  Yes, while not stressing about getting money to travel to Las Vegas to Chicago for her to compete is relieving, I was sad.  I put my heart and soul into this sport as much as my daughter did.  This isn't recreational like cheerleading.  These girls can kick majority of the boys their age in chin up and more unless they are gymnast themselves.  Just like the men who watch their favorite football team, We (hubby and I) knew all the skills, levels and their names.  We can pretty much judge a girl and guess pretty darn close on their scores.  

Alicia's routine on the Vault was awesome.  China's girl who scored higher than Alicia, had multiple deduction (massive ones).  Blocking (she didn't block on her 2nd run), flexing of the feet, and of course the dismount (she fell completely to her knees and hands).  These are important to vaulting and scoring along with start values. She should have gotten a 14.5 on her 2nd run.  Alicia without a doubt should have received a silver.  The other two girls dismounts were pathetic.  Alicia only hopped and those girls were out of bounds.  BS.

Now, with Nastia, BS!  We knew someone, someway or another they would steal that from her anyways.  LIke she said, she is the BEST gymnast in the WORLD.  She received that crown jewel and it pist of China.  

China cheated by allowing younger girls to compete.  The avg jane/joe that hasn't had a gymnast in their family like we have, doesnt know that a girl's little frame is an advantage on the beam as well as flexbility.  When a girl starts developing hormones, they start becoming a little more bulkier and are prone to more injuries and breaks.  Most gymnast that work out 40 hours a week (my child did at one time) do not start having cycles until they reach college years.  Sometimes they have to get injections to kick start it. It sucks that hormones play a role in women's balance and focus.  There are many junior elite gymnasts that compete nationally that could whip a lot of those girls asses in the olympics.

Poll #14228 taken in Minnesota for KSTP-TV (Minneapolis)
Q: If the election for President were today, would you vote for ... (choices rotated) Republican John McCain? Or, Democrat Barack Obama?
A: McCain (R) 45% Obama (D) 47% Other 4% Undecided 4%

Obama Changes Tune on Philly Street Money

I really don't understand why his advertising team sucks so much.