Jamaican Elections, U.S. Elections

Wouldn't you just hate to have purchased an iPhone a week or two ago and open the paper this morning to see that the prices have dropped $200? Just $399 now for the 8GB phone.

"We want to put the iPhone in a lot of stockings this holiday season" Steve Jobs said.

I think he's feeling the heat from HP which also announced yesterday two new cell phones, the iPAQ 600 and iPAQ 900. The phones look great, but as of now, no carriers have been announced, so what good are they?

Fred Thompson, the newest official presidential candidate, lived the first 10 weeks of his life in Alabama, but nobody in the town of his birth (Sheffield) seems to know...or care. On Jay Leno last night Jay held up a bumper sticker that read "Fred Thompson: Cause Giuliani is too hard to spell."

Add to that "Cause Romney is too hard to believe." "Cause McCain is too hard to comprehend." "Cause (insert republican name here) is too hard to trust."

The Jamaican elections are over, and with little violence (any violence surrounding elections is too much, and I think several people were killed, but it was nothing like what could have been).

There has been a change in leadership with Bruce Golding assuming power as the new prime minister and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which also captured a slim majority of seats in the legislative body. Portia Simpson Miller, the People's National Party (PNP) leader and current prime minister, will step down.

60.4% of eligible voters cast ballots, and only about 3,000 separated the winning party from the losing party. The JLP depended on young people to carry them to victory. One would suppose this would mean a more progressive government, but hold on. The number one problem, by far that the government will have to deal with is crime. Social progress is probably way down on the list of priorities.

News reports in our country indicate that young people here are becoming more active politically than in the past few years, and I suspect this will bode well for the democrats. 77% of 18-29 year olds think their generation will make a difference in the 2008 election, but does that mean 77% of them will vote? No...that would be unprecedented. The previous high was in 1972 when 55.4 % of that age group voted (the first year that I voted, by the way).

I hope that each "progressive" who reads this will make an effort to engage young people as the election nears, encouraging them to become involved and to vote. There are many opportunities (Over the Mountain Democrats , Alabama College Democrats , Alabama Stonewall Democrats (no web site, but email me and I will put you in touch) , Alabama Democratic Party (from here you can link to various county Democratic groups) and more for young people (and us more seasoned people as well).

Speaking of Stonewall Democrats, I just received this notice:

Just a reminder that we'll be meeting again next Thursday (September 13th) at Los Amigos, 3324 Clairmont Avenue (next door to the Piggly Wiggly) in the back dining room at 5:30. Joe Turnham, Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party will be our guest speaker. Please feel free to invite friends who would like to join our group or learn more about Stonewall Democrats.