A first for me this past Friday evening ... I visited the Whitney Museum of American Art here in Manhattan. Friday evenings are great for certain museums ... as they have a policy of "voluntary donation". Meaning you don't have to pay the regular admission fee. If you want to pay a dollar ... go right ahead. In the case of the Whitney, between 6pm and closing at 9pm, you only pay a "voluntary donation". This suits me just fine. Same with the Guggenheim on Friday evenings from 5:30pm until closing at 8:30pm. Don't think the travel books tell you this stuff, but we New Yorkers know all about it. Yeah! Anyhow ... joined my friend Debbie at 6pm to see several cool, funky exhibits at the Whitney. One was called "The American Effect" [how artist & filmmakers perceive US abroad], there was a small exhibit on Edward Hopper and also drawings by Louise Bourgeois. Afterwards we nipped over to a Starbucks for refreshment and conversation.

On Saturday I went up to Yonkers to do my volunteer work at Ferret Shelter. It has been two months since I was last up there and I missed the furkids. One bit of sad news, was that one of the regulars at shelter that I'm fond of passed away a week ago. Poor little Spats didn't recover from surgery or kemo on his Insulomia. I'll miss the little fella. On a bright note, Joanne informed me that Sweet Pea pulled thru on her Adrenal surgery and is doing just fine. She's a hardy oldster and cute little thang. Several adoptable newbies at the shelter that a young and full of energy. Did my usual duties at shelter ... brushing/grooming fur, cleaning ears, play time, giving out treats, filling up water bottles, etc. During tea break Joanne and I caught up on news and gossip, while Mushy sat on my lap.

Now on to political notes & articles et al:

A VOITNG & DEMOCRACY PRIMER
By Don Hazen, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story/html?StoryID=16472

COMPUTER VOTING IS OPEN TO EASY FRAUD, EXPERTS SAY
By John Schwartz, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/24/technology/24VOTE.html

THE VOTING RIGHTS STRUGGLE OF OUR TIME
By Kim Alexander, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=164767

JIM CROW REVIVED IN CYBERSPACE
By Greg Palast & Martin Luther King III, GregPalast.com
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15890

BALLOTS CAN KEEP BULLETS FROM FLYING
By John Moyers & Elizabeth Ready, TomPaine.com
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7605