Back At The Ranch
I'm not clear what the justification is for the Florida legislature to assemble a slate of their own Bush electors. Legally I believe they can, for whatever reason, but what will be the reaction in Florida and the nation? The Republican majority voting yes and the Democrat minority voting no? This is a sign of dispassion and justice? The rationale, as I understand it, is to be sure that a set of Bush electors is sent to Congress in case the judiciary allows a recount and Gore pulls ahead in the vote. Not illegally pulls ahead in the vote, but legally pulls ahead in the vote. They are assuming that the courts are wrong or partisan or taking money on the side, I assume, and that the recount will be conducted by Democrat party zealots in a Republican controlled state. I am impressed.
The U.S. Supreme Court, on the other hand, has voted to stop the count of the machine rejected ballots and hear the case with the court splitting in their decision along political lines. The problem is that the Justices who are conservative and have always espoused States Rights, are the Justices who are intervening in the Florida Supreme Court decision. I am similarly impressed.
Just now they've announced their decision, reversing and remanding the Florida Supreme Court decision, which means, well, who knows? Maybe they can find a way to count those machine rejected ballots: no hanging chads, no dimpled chads, just one hole punched clean through for one candidate in order to qualify to be counted. Bush or Gore, I would it hard to argue with the justice of those results. I'm wrong, of course, but it's fascinating to watch.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been playing with the new scanning software, which seems to be
pretty nice, and making prints. I also read two chapters from a much recommended PhotoShop book last night and learned that I've been a total klutz. Which I knew, but which, oddly, is OK. There are no rules written that you can't screw around forever in life, let alone photography, but it's nice to see how much easier and better scanning and manipulation can be when you know how to use the tools. When you're lucky enough to have the tools. I'm looking forward to making black and white prints when the new printer and special ink cartridges arrive. I'm actually excited. Three going on four years shooting photographs and only now, since I've never searched out a darkroom, am I able to make my own prints.
Later, after listening to more television news on the court decision, it is evidently over for Gore. Junior said he was a leader and a consensus builder. I hope he's right.
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