Last year, when we prepared for Halloween, each of the kids picked out these little pumpkins to decorate with markers and small carvings. I picked out a big pumpkin and decided to carve something based upon a photo I'd seen a few years ago that kinda sums up that ol' Halloween Spirit.

I carved it a couple of days in advance, but I didn't put it out until the day, itself, because our street is somewhat conservative in it's decorating ethic, and I didn't want to overplay my hand. Here is what I carved:

I told the visitors who came to our door that the pumpkin had had too much candy.

I have some ideas for this year. We'll see if I get around to pulling any of them off....

A jury of his peers found Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska guilty of "conduct unbecoming" -- essentially, of receiving big favors and then lying about it. "I did not . . . have renovations . . . from that contractor . . . Mr. Allen."

The Senator has been found guilty in a court of law, and I very much favor the impartial rule of law. The court will, at some future date, determine a sentence. This is all as it should be.

In the meantime, the Senator is running for re-election, and his conviction certainly jeopardizes his bid to retain the seat. I know that *I* would have a difficult time voting to elect a convicted felon to represent my best interests in Washington, DC.

But the way the various Senatorial races are shaping up throughout the country, it is entirely possible that by losing Stevens' seat, the Republicans may end up not only the minority party, but in an ultra-minority. Unable to even filibuster, which itself is often the dying gasp of a last resort of a lame defense from a pack of otherwise ineffectual minority parties.

Checks and balances are good for the government; good for the country. When the same party controls the White House and Congress, it's bad enough. (Witness the last several times it has happened. See G. W. Bush, W. J. Clinton, et al.) When the same party controls both branches and doesn't even have to pretend to listen to the loyal opposition, a lot of bad juju can go down. And has. And, if circumstances allow, will again.

Senator Stevens broke the law, and it will cost him. This is good.

But don't let that tank the future of our country. That would be bad.

A vote for McCain in 2008 is a vote for healthy checks and balances that our government sorely needs.

Viva la Cheques and Balances! Viva la McCain!

No matter what your political stripe, you have to admit that the people who put this thing together are CREEPY. This is the unedited version (the original post on YouTube has since been labeled "Private", but there are many copies out that that have been edited, editorialized, etc. I had to dig around before I could find an unedited copy.):

Boo!