At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

In its first contest entered, the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Awards, Wicked Game has made the finals in the Paranormal category! The finalists aren't listed on the website yet, but since the awards will be given out on October 24, I figured I better mention it now before I lose.

Once again, your daily voter registration nag. Below is the list of states where voter registration is still open. And at the bottom, a new video, this time a concert video of The Clash's "Know Your Rights."

I picked this video because of a story coming out of Philadelphia yesterday on voter suppression, where once again, inner city folks are being told, falsely, that voting will result in their arrest for outstanding parking tickets. (The headline, I confess, at first made me wonder why a hockey team would be involved. Maybe because of their mom running for vice president?)

Mississippi was voted off the voter registration island, since their last day to register is today, or tomorrow at noon if the clerk's office is open on Saturdays. Go to VotersUnite! to see the deadlines and rules for your state.

The blinky states close their registration roles tomorrow, so Washingtonians and Rhode Islandianianers, get your butts in gear! After you watch a nice video.

( Who'll be next? )

Yesterday the 4,000th U.S. servicemember died in Iraq. See this site for details about any and all of them.

I mention this not because we should care more about #4,000 than #1 or #378 or #1,905, but because according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, only 28% of Americans surveyed knew how many thousands had died (most people thought it was 3,000 or fewer).

So. Now you know.

But don't worry. As Vice President Cheney pointed out today, they're all volunteers, and "the president carries the biggest burden, obviously."

Bigger, say, than the 2,200+ children who have lost a parent to this insanity. Obviously.