That's Thinking Forward

Planning. At the place where I work, planning occurs everyday. Planning is a good thing. But sometimes, those who do the planning (obviously not yours truly) are just plain stupid. They plan for the obvious, and leave craters of holes everywhere. But let's not talk about work. Let's talk about Arizona.

Back in 2004's general election, Proposition 200 was approved by a majority of voters. Proposition 200 basically is law that spells out that when someone is registering to vote for the first time or in a different county, or merely casting a vote (if registered), he or she is required to provide specific documents of identification along with proof of citizenship. Seems harmless, doesn't it? Sounds like a good law for the voting system, doesn't it?

But what the hell do you do for those people who were born before birth certificates were issued? And those people who never left the country in their lifetime, which meant not having a passport? Well, that's exactly what happened to Shirley Preiss, of Surprise, AZ.

Shirley Preiss had been voting in every presidential election since 1932, and has never missed a single election. But this time around, she was stripped of her right to vote!!! The reasons? She was born in 1910, before birth certificates were issued as standard document. She never had a passport because she never left the country in her life. She no longer have a driver's license because of her inability to drive due to age. And to make matters worse, the school she attended as a young child no longer exist, so she couldn't get any kind of academic records.

Shirley Preiss is screwed!!!

Now, although this is a pretty freaking sad thing, consider what State Representative Russell Pearce (Republican), who was responsible for Proposition 200, had to say: "To get a movie, you have to prove who you are. To go rent a car, you have to prove who you are. That's part of life."

What the... Sure, leave it to the f*cking Republicans who hate the very idea of minority rights to enact laws so stringent that it leaves certain legit people out in the cold. If the Arizona governor cannot intervene in this matter, I wonder what will US Senator John McCain (Republican) has to say about this, considering he is the presumptive Republican nominee for this year's presidential election, representing the very Arizona state.

Have I told you how much I hate stupid people for planning without forethought? Yeah, I hate that very, very much.

GDMFSOB!!!

Well, as happy and excited as I was with my first ever participation in a national vote in February 5, I am now just as pissed in the polar opposite! You see, the privilege of being a registered voter includes the privilege of getting summoned for jury duty.

The summons indicated for me to call today after 16:30 to check and see if I really do need to go tomorrow for my summons, and wouldn't you know it? Those who are fortunate enough to have their last names begin with "the letter B as in Bravo through M as in Mike" indeed are summoned to appear tomorrow morning.

Son of a...!!!

At first, I thought maybe I can not show up and just say that in Chinese cultures, my American middle name is technically my last name in Mandarin, but I suspect that if I follow through with that plan, I might end up with a pretty warrant out in my name.

Then I thought about showing up in court with one of those Halloween props where I would have this butcher knife lodged squarely in my head with fake blood dripping down either sides of my temples, but I was warned that the court police officers or whoever they are do not take kindly (or gently, for that matter) to such acts of bravado.

In the end, I just realized that perhaps the best thing to do is simply grumble and mumble in disgust and speak some French as fluently as possible while I come to terms of my fate tomorrow.

Although I have never been summoned for jury duty before, I suspect that my day will be filled with boredom that perhaps I ought to bring with me a copy of the USA Today, Chicago Tribune, a novel, and some trashy celebrity gossip magazines. Somehow I suspect that the possession of porn magazines or my Internet-enabled cellular phone is highly discouraged, if not frowned upon.

God, tomorrow is going to suck so bad! Never has civic duty sound and feel as exciting as watching paint dry...

If you don't hear from me by the end of the day tomorrow, send help. Look for an Asian man in the Richard J Daley Center courthouse with an overgrown moustache and mold/mushroom growing out of his ass.