Every year for a while now, my father has sent a case of wine to Tiffany at the end of the year/for Christmas. He picks the twelve bottles himself, though sometimes some of them are multiples (if he really likes the wine, I suppose). This year's case arrived today, and here is the haul:

Year | Wine | Grape | Region, Country

1996 Château Labégorce Lédé - Bordeaux - Margaux, France
1997 La Bastide Dauzac - Bordeaux - Margaux, France
1997 Chateau Langoa Barton - Bordeaux - St. Julien, France
1998 Les Bruliéres de Beychevelle - Bordeaux - Haut-Médoc, France (2 bottles)
2000 Jean-Luc Colombo Les Bartavelles - Rhône - Châteuneuf du Pape, France
2000 Château Gloria St. Julien - Bordeaux - St. Julien, France
2001 Castello Banfi Cum Laude - blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Syrah - Montalcino, Italia
2002 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo - Cabernet Sauvignon - Chile
2002 Navarro Correas Colección Privada - Malbec - Mendoza, Argentina
2003 Trapiche - Cabernet Sauvignon - Mendoza, Argentina
2004 Crios de Susana Balbo - Rose of Malbec - Mendoza, Argentina

I think Tiffany would be happier if I drank wine, because then we could enjoy it together. As it is, she has to take it to parties, or wait until someone visits. I shall have to consider it.

Last week, when I was sick, I came to discover something I had not before had the chance to test, empirically. When you delete the last show off of the Now Playing section of your TiVo, it does not implode.

There was so much I wanted to do while I was home sick for two and a half days, and so little I actually got done. Funny that, about illness. TiVo did spend a lot of time trying to keep up with me by taping _Quantum Leap_ as often as it could. But it could not contend with my Scott Bakula fascination. There's something very watchable about him (Dean Stockwell has never been a good reason to watch the show).

Just thought I'd share.

Yes, according to a county-by-county red-vs-blue map I have seen, there were three states where no single county voted for Kerry. Those states? Utah. Oklahoma. And yes, Nebraska.

Of all the people I voted for on Tuesday, only one actually won the race she was in. My choice for Register of Deeds, Diane Battiato, will be processing paperwork for us here in Douglas County.

Below, links to maps of interest. Updated with a new purple map by county.

See: [Map of counties colored red or blue](http://www.electoral-vote.com/images/counties-2004.gif "See Utah, Ohlahoma, Nebraska")
and: [Map of states colored by blue-red percentage - the purple map](http://www.boingboing.net/images/Purple-USA.jpg "The reddest stae of all is Utah")
and: [Map of counties colored by blue-red percentage](http://www.princeton.edu/~rvdb/JAVA/election2004/ "A litte more granular")
and: [Canada 2.0 - a _Pulp Fiction_ Reference](http://mena.typepad.com/dollarshort/2004/11/canada_20.html "I like Mini Willinois")

And so it begins. In his comments today, George W. Bush said:

>"We've worked hard and gained many new friends, and the result is now clear -- a record voter turnout and a broad, nationwide victory."

With 51% of the vote, GWB sees a "broad victory" handing him a mandate to tackle all the planks of the GOP platform. Worse, that sentiment is echoed by his supporters. The rest of us? The other _55 million_ citizens who voted against him? Well gosh, folks, you lost. With the House of Representatives comfortably held by the GOP, with the Senate headed for a 55/45 split in their favor, with about 30 of the governorships in the country, and with the impending death/retiring of more than one Supreme Court Justice... I don't know that there is anyone to stop them.

See: [White House: Debt Ceiling Must Be Raised](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=223596 "Boy, I didn't see that coming, did you?")

See: [Bush declares 'broad victory'](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/election.main/index.html "I feel... disenfranchised")
and: [Bill Bennett, moralist](http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/bennett200411031109.asp "'President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law.'")
and: [Adam Yoshida, ultra conservative](http://www.adamyoshida.com/2004/11/four-more-years-aka-take-that-you-sons.html "'They lost, now they can sit in the back of the bus.'")

Here's something we can all support. One of the barriers to people voting has always been the amount of time it takes to go, wait, vote, and come back to work. While your employer must give you three hours in which to do so, yesterday there were people waiting upwards of five hours in lines across the country. A national--Federal--holiday on Election Day would go a long way towards solving this problem, while increasing the voter turnout, and also increasing the number of polling volunteers needed to keep up.

Downsides? Not many, unless you are part of the political machine that tries hard to target specific demographics (e.g., Cuban-Americans living in Miami) and roots against massive voter turnout (though the CW that turnout helps Democrats seems to have been turned on its head this year). Some people argue that a new Federal Holiday would hurt business, but the solution would be to move another Federal Holiday to Election Day... say President's Day (third Monday in February), or Veteran's Day (Nov. 11).

As it turns out, there is a bill in the Senate to do this. [S.726](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SN00726:), sponsored by Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and cosponsored by Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Calr Levin (D-MI).

Please consider writing to your Congressional delegation in support of this bill, which appears to have stalled. (See reason above: political machine) You can find their addresses below.

See: [Full text of S.726](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.726: "Really short, essentially asks for a Federal holiday on Election Day in even numbered years")
and: [How to write Letters to Congress](http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa020199.htm "For tips on getting your letter noticed")
and: [This link to find and send e-mail to your Congress persons](http://www.mrsmith.com/index2.html "It's called Mr. Smith eMails Washington... cute")

Now, I wouldn't be an American if I didn't enjoy another's misfortune, and in the wake of this election, I need a little enjoyment. Especially at the expense of the President Elect.

Several people have been pointing out that a Kerry administration would have been a largly frustrated and hopeless cause. The war in Iraq isn't going to get any better. The economy will continue to limp along. Social Security and Medicare will continue to rack up huge debts. The deficit will continue to skyrocket. In four years, a Democratic administration would hardly have made any headway against these legacies of George W. Bush, all the while enduring the vitriolic barbs of the conservatives saying, "We had a better plan, we would be out of Iraq by now!"

Better that Bush deal with his own damn legacy.