voting to date , Polls close midnight May 20

[Joseph Tracy]

Ray Easton
)Invisible Man, 2)Ulysses, 3)Miss Lonelyhearts
Alex Colter
1)Against the Day 2)Miss Lonelyhearts 3)Ulysses      Alex 2nd  
ballot:.- 1)V 2)Miss Lonelyhearts 3)Mumbo Jumbo
Joseph Tracy
Farewell My Lovely, The Master and Margarita, Mumbo Jumbo
Keith
1)Nabokov- Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle   2)Wurlitzer- Nog 3) 
McCarthy- Suttree
Robin Landseadel
1) 2)and 3)Farewell My Lovely


Above are those who have posted a vote. Please post the list or  
myself , if I missed anyone's vote.  The first question is should we  
allow a reconsidered 2nd ballot as Alex did. I say yes, that that is  
the simplest solution to Laura's concern of not wanting to revisit  
ATD. I assume Alex shifted to V in response. The problem is that we  
could end with last minute tactical changes. But what the hell, if  
we  also end up with a reasonable agreement.   This voting which  
seemed to me like a way to get to an actual book choice gets tricky  
fast as we can all see. What are the rules? What are the rules about  
the rules?  If we were all sitting in a circle we could work through  
this shit pretty fast but this is cyberland.  We do need a poll  
closing date. And if we end up with complete confusion about the  
tallying, we may have to do a runoff as Henry suggests, though the  
instant runoff was trying to avoid that.  Heck, we could all walk  
away in disgust, though I think the p-list will endure this bit of  
madness, as others.

So! Poll closing: midnight,  Thursday, May 20. That is about all I  
can handle trying to guide us through this particular way of making a  
decision.  If you do a second ballot it will simply replace the  
first. If you think this whole attempt is  a flawed tyrannical  
imposition of 2 wolves and a lamb deciding to vote about what to have  
for dinner type democracy, it does at least cast  some light on the  
inherent complexities of voluntary group decision making.

And now we go to a fictional aether high above us to  the  completely  
made up radio transmitter of the Inconvenience, where we can hear the  
vast worldwide tumult of DEMOCRACY IN ACTION, where below us in the  
streets of  the word's cities and gathered in the towns , villages,  
toilets and suburban malls, millions and millions and perhaps as many  
as maybe 8 people are gathered in wild exuberance to celebrate the  
joy of mindless sloganeering as we come up to this historic book  
choice, You can  hear the ringing cries coming up to us from below:    
Miss Lonely hearts , Now; consider the alternatives!  Yes we can!   
Ada, Ada, Consider the data.  Freedom may in fact be free!  V today,  
V tomorrow, V right after U. " If it's fascism for freedom, I can dig  
it. " ,  Marchin with Augie; he's my man,  if  Augie can't do it  
nobody can. "I'll let you be in my dream, if I can be in yours."   
Mumbo, Mumbo, Mumbo Jumbo, flies like an elephant name of Dumbo.   
Mumbo, Mumbo, Mumbo, Jumbo; sips like a soup name of gumbo!

And so as we leave this election special from aboard the soaring  
freedom of limited earthly allegiance, from that  imaginary but well  
loved INCONVENIENCE. We can hear fading into the distance the joyful  
shouts and rifle shots, the threats , manifestos, improvised  
explosive devices, and general cussing and outrage  of freedom on the  
wing. May a good read be had by all.