Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Don't Have a Miscarriage in Texas

Oy.

So a couple years ago Texas passed laws to make legal pregnancy termination almost impossible to obtain. These draconian laws were overturned by the District Court and the Supreme Court.

So now the Texas lawmen (yes - I know they are legislators, but they think of themselves as "lawmen" partner) have decided to make termination super expensive and shaming to the families. (link: Texas style)

Since this is Texas and they ain't big on details, legal termination and, say, a miscarriage are treated, you know, exactly the same.

Now a woman who suffers a miscarriage or legally terminates her pregnancy will have to give a burial or cremation to the medical remains. This includes spontaneous miscarriages - which are relatively common, and it is why people don't say their pregnant until usually 2-3 months into the pregnancy.

Now the law doesn't cover miscarriages or legal terminations at home - so if you decide to terminate your pregnancy with over the counter meds at home, you don't have to do anything different.

But if you are at home and get sick, start to rupture, bleed or miscarry at home AND you go to the doctor - well then you have to have a burial or cremation for the non-viable bunch of cells that you dreamed and prayed might one day be your child.

And if your raped. Well, it is your own fault and you need to pay for the funeral or burial. (No mention of the husband, father, rapist in the bill.)

Because, Texas.  Not God - you don't need to have a service. Not tradition - millions of woman go through the pain of miscarrying and hate it without a burial every year. Not safety - termination of a pregnancy doesn't require burial or cremation. Not public good - you can no longer donate stem cells, organs or anything else.

Just because a bunch of old white fucks in Texas say so.  And then they will say "Shame on you!!!"

Rain Rain Go Away

Trevor and I are dealing with Rain now. It's that less than lovely time when the leaves have finished turning colors and those still left are brown.

Now the rain comes and Trevor hates it and I hate it.

I don't love snow either, but it's easier on the pup.

Stop It!

Stop. Just Stop.
This was on a NEWS site.

During the election, the "coverage" of issues turned into a discussion of Trump's Tweets.

Now our "news" is a discussion of the President Elect's Tweets.

Hell not even a discussion, just a summary of what they were, then a reprint of the tweets.

Just stop it! 

His random musings on whatever crosses his mind is not "news". He will be President and what he does will be news. But monitoring every little tweet is asinine.

And I don't need a "News" organization to repost the tweets. If I was interested in each of his random mental thoughts I would subscribe.

Simply reprinting his tweets is embarrassing.

And (although it might be obvious) a little infuriating.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

If you missed Lucifer last night, you missed a hilarious line.

Fine, I'll admit it, even if you won't.

I watch Lucifer. And it is hilarious quite often. It is less Fox TV and more USA oddball TV.  And LA looks great on it.

And if you missed it last night you missed a great throwaway line, which they have a lot.
Chloe, Mom and Lucifer (Lucy per his brother)
Lucifer was sitting with Chloe's mother at a trail and he turns to her and says, "I really admire the way you're holding up through this."

She says, "Well, this isn't the first trial. It's always easier the second time around."

And Lucifer says, "Like butt stuff?"

Okay - it was a throw away and I had to back up my DVR but it was very very funny. And that is why I love the show. In the middle of nothing, they deliver lines that I cannot believe.

Sure, there are Fallen Angels and God's Ex-wife, but if you get past the heresy (or view it as total fiction) - it is great! And, if God was going to have a vengeful ex-wife, it would be Tricia Helfer.

The Pond in the Rain

There is a lovely little pond in Morningside Park. This morning, after dropping the dog off for his play day,I wandered by it and took a picture of our house from the pond.


It was tranquil and pretty and even had ducks. And the rain, well, like water off a duck's ass.

Then I walked up the steps to our house. And these Canada Geese silently followed me. Now I know that they are just looking for a hand out. But it was very Night Off The Living Dead and it creeped me out a little.

Nervous laughter follows.
 

Example of the problem with our government: US Forest Service (NOT an Anti-Turmp or Anti-Hillary post)


I have been reading up on why our government is dysfunctional, outside of the candidates. Francis Fukuyama (who wrote the extremely wrong essay, "the end of history") has done some amazing work in this area.

He gives a fantastic example that is devoid of our traditional left/right dynamic.

He says that rise of lobbyists has negatively impacted our government severely.

For example, in 1970 there were something like (from memory) 175 registered lobbyists. By 1985, the number had reached 2,500. Now there are over12,000 registered and a total of over 100,000 lobbyists *. And not just traditional "bad guys" like big oil, NRA or the Gay Rights Groups (depending on who you consider bad guys). But towns and smaller groups of people have joined together to lobby.

This is okay in general, but if you have a government that responds to lobbying, not their function you have a problem.  Let's take the example of the Forest Service.

The Forest Service was established by Roosevelt (Teddy not Franklin) to protect America's Forests. And for a long time that was their primary job. And you would think that would be okay. But excessive lobbying has been a problem. In specific:
  • Home ownership in and adjacent to US Forests has lead to a request to immediately put down fires
  • Scientists have discovered that  fire is a part of clearing out unhealthy fires, so say to let them burn.
  • Loggers want to log in National Forests
  • Hunters want to hunt in National Forests
  • Some Recreational Users want a natural experience in the National Forest free of distractions and roads
  • Other Recreational Users often want opportunities to play in the National Forests with ATVs, bicycles, snowmobiles, ski facilities, roads
So through the best of intentions and ideas, the Forest Service is torn in different directions by lobbyists for these groups. And each of the groups has multiple lobbying organizations. So the Forest Service personnel, originally all Forestry Experts, is now comprised of mainly bureaucrats fighting for (and often wasting) money. And, as the bureaucracy has grown, the work getting done has fallen.

In many ways, I understand desire to blow it all up. And I understand the draw of someone who says, "Ill fix it". I mean I can't tell you the number of times that I have said, I could fix the country if I was a dictator.

A major problem then is a government that responds to the loudest voice, particularly if that voice isn't the "voice of the people" but the loudest and richest voice.
What "I" think the Forest Service should be doing.



*(per Wikipedia) While the number of lobbyists in Washington is estimated to be over twelve thousand, those with real clout number in the dozens, and a small group of firms handles much of lobbying in terms of expenditures.[3] A report in The Nation in 2014 suggested that while the number of 12,281 registered lobbyists was a decrease since 2002, lobbying activity was increasing and "going underground" as lobbyists use "increasingly sophisticated strategies" to obscure their activity.[4] Analyst James A. Thurber estimated that the actual number of working lobbyists was close to 100,000 and that the industry brings in $9 billion annually.[4]

How Does One Become the "New Architectural Capital" of America with Old Buildings?

Apparently Horacio Silva of CNN has just discovered the Architecture of Miami. Which is too bad, as much of Miami is gorgeous.

But his rather striking headline America's new architecture capital? Well, that is a bit odd.


Not because Miami doesn't have wonderful buildings - it does. And the author labels many of them. Including: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (built in 1910), The Villa Casa Casuarina (built in the 1910s, updated by Gianni Versace in 1993), Adrienne Arsht Center (built a decade ago), The Biltmore (completed in 1926), The Delano (built in the 1930s), The Raleigh Hotel (also built in the 1930s), Old Miami News (built 1917), and the Fontainebleau Miami Beach (built in 1954).

The problem is that  fully half of "New Architecture Capital" buildings mentioned are more than 75 years old. Another one is 60 years old.

Miami architects have done a fantastic job of working within their milieu and keeping old buildings alive, but I am pretty sure "New Architectural Capital" is a bit of hype.

Or maybe Horacio just had a deadline.

Monday, November 28, 2016

One of the first times I have self-censored my actions because of Age

So it is no surprise I am old. I look fine (I think), but let's face it 57 3/4s is walking the wrong side of middle age. I don't usually let it effect me.

And for the first time, I totally let it run what I wanted to do.

I like a young singer named Troye Sivan. He is Australian and has an amazing voice - I fell in love with him before I knew his age. Before I knew what he looked like, they announced a tour and he had a stop in New York. Now, I know his fan base was underage, since the concert started at 6PM. But I got some tickets, it would be a kick.

And, since he isn't US famous yet, it was in a relatively small venue and would be cool. Since he isn't well known in the states, no one wanted to go with me.

So now, BEFORE you watch the clip below. Turn away from the screen and listen to the voice. He doesn't sound like a child. He's got a beautiful voice.


Since then I have seen some of his stuff from Jimmy Fallon and the Ellen show and he is very young. I think he's 18 now. And I totally couldn't go because I was afraid I would look like the creepy old guy. And, even though I don't find him attractive (I really do prefer men, not boys), the fact that he was gay made the whole thing creepier.

So I didn't go.

Since then he released an album of remixes, with 3 live songs on it and I feel sad I missed it. I really love his voice. But I still wouldn't go, because it would be creepy.

I old and that makes me sad.

Thanksgiving Week-end and the Feinbergs

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Eddie and I had Randy and his son over for Thanksgiving and Ed made a delightful bird. It was quite yummy.

Unfortunately, I took no pictures.

On the other hand, pictures were taken with the Feinbergs. Every Thanksgiving Gavin and Mickey, as well as his sister Mel(issa) and Lynette come out to have Thanksgiving with their sister, Leslie and her family. Most years a big brood shows up at Leslie and Dean's house and the spread is laid for a (large) family dinner on Thursday and an even larger friends and all open house on Friday.
Table 1

Kid's Table.

But this year, Leslie's new home wasn't ready (despite a promise date of September). So events were held in the city. These pictures are from the upstairs room in the restaurant before 5 more people showed up!

Sunday we had brunch with the four of them, plus Sean and his daughter Engala from Connecticut - and Fred, who they had meet on vacation.
Sean, Engala, Eddie and I


Then Eddie and I went with to Colombia with Lynnette, Mel, Gavin and Mickey. Turns out both Gavin / Mel and Lynnette's fathers had all attended. So it was fun.
Under the Gate (a pretty lousy gift for the roaring 20's IMHO).


How We Normalize Lies

This headline in the New York Times speaks volumes as to how we normalize the lies of Donald Trump in particular and the right in general.

Take a look at the headline. The word 'millions' is in scare quotes. Like the problem with his tweet IS NOT that there was no illegal voting, but there were "millions" of illegal votes.

So then it would be rational to assume that there were thousands of illegal votes, right?

BUT THERE WEREN'T. If you can prove a dozen illegal votes plus 1, then you would have "proved" more illegal votes that ever before.

But what does this do?

Well, it does make the claims on thousands of illegal votes seem reasonable.

And 7,000 (ish) votes is what separates the Governor-Elect  (Democratic)  of North Carolina from the sitting (and not moving) Republican Governor.

The Sitting Governor is claiming voter fraud on a grand scale. In a state where other races went wildly Republican - Trump won and the Republican Senator won.

So why is the sitting Governor - who pushed through the gay bashing laws - fighting the losing fight.

Well, if he can drum up enough baseless support for "widespread illegal voting", the state legislature (Republican) can say the voting was inconclusive and install whoever they want. Really.  So Donald Trump's tweets - in context - make it seem reasonable that thousands of votes might be wrong. (link)

You may think that this type of banana republican shenaigans wouldn't happen in the United States -where government is serious and fair. But let's take a quick look at North Carolina in this election cycle.

Pre-election, their new voter laws were ruled illegal as they were designed with (quoting the Republican Judges) "to reduce the black vote with surgical precision").  The laws were overturned, but it as too late for the people that were removed from the voting rolls illegally.

The Day before the election, the Republican Party sent out a press release congratulating the party on the reduced percent of black residents voting early, siting this as proof that their methods were successful.

Now, the Republican Governor was defeated when most Republicans won - almost surely due to the effects of HB2, the bathroom law, that has cost NC billions of dollars, but more importantly lost them sports championships games. He is trying to prove that fraud happened to him alone.

And in the bonus round for the Tarheel State.

After the election, it turned out that the State Supreme Court flipped one Republican Jurist to Democratic (by a margin on 9 points) making the State Supreme Court Democratic Majority. The legislature is now trying to pass a law to add 2 seats to the State Supreme Court, and have them appointed by the end of the year when the current Republican Governor (Mr. Sore Loser) can appoint them. (link)  And that, ladies and germs, is truly a undemocratic move.

Now THAT is how to destroy a democracy, by undermining the faith in it.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Nothing Wrong that a little Brad Pitt Won't Fix (at least for two hours)

Brad Pitt ....



Anyway, Eddie and I saw Allied in which Brad Pitt is beautiful and Marion Cotillard acts rings around him yesterday. It is a nice big old fashioned movie. Beautiful, sweeping, exciting, a little plodding, obvious and overwrought in places.

A solid B- .

But still, fun. I think Robert Zemeckis gave Brad the "direction" to be stoic a little too often, but what can you do.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

LA Party and Fundraiser

So, Eddie and I just got back from a party / fundraiser with friends in Los Angeles. We spent time with Gavin and Mickey both in LA and out in San Francisco.

It was great fun, but I forgot to take pictures.  Do'h!
Flying into LA. The Smog, the weather, the Hollywood sign ... sigh!

The view from Rich and Steve's house

Me & Jen (Dr. Jenifer White) the founder of Project1948.ngo

Casey!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Scooter's Twlight Zone Trip

Well, THAT happened.

Yesterday I was supposed to train a class in CISM (Computer Information Security Management) for a test pre-work. I have given this class one-on-one before, and it is about how to pass the test. I am okay with you.

I start out going from our house to "One Madison". It is torrential rain, so everything is slippery. I'm not in jeans (I'm training) so I am in nice pants and good shoes. Not "good for the rain" shoes, but black dress shoes.

And I start my morning by slipping on the last step down to the 110th Ave subway station, landing on my ass in a puddle in my grey slacks - with Colombia students rushing over to say "Sir, Sir are you okay?" as you do when you are pretty sure some old man broke a hip.

I also found that the old men don't answer right away, not because they can't hear you (despite the fact you just repeated the question louder), but because they are shocked at the note of concern in the youngster's tone.

I finally get off my ass, through the turnstyle on the 1 train when it arrives (seemingly years later).

I go down to 42nd street to switch to the N or R train. I follow the crowd, my ego bruised, my pants wet, bumping into other sodden umbrellas and generally annoyed. The train comes, we get on it and I look at the screen to see how far my stop is.

It is the W.  The W?

I feel a bit twilight zone-y as the W stopped running a few years ago.

But it stops at 23rd, and out I get. Into the pouring rain to work the week at Credit Suisse.

I am home today. It went horribly wrong. HORRIBLY. I can easily teach how to pass this test to 1 or 2 people. But they put me in a room of 10 Security experts (CISOs for you financey types), and they hammered me. Really, they wanted to talk detailed security, not how to pass the test and I folded like a UCLA quarterback.

After some discussions with my employer, we all agreed it was best if I don't return. I did get a nice note from my employer this morning however, blaming themselves and asking me not to worry. (I might have sent a freaked out note or two yesterday to them.)

So I am home in the sunlight today and feeling better.

Monday, November 14, 2016

The Problem with Expectations

So this week-end was fun and we saw some "big things".

Today we watched "The Arrival", which is supposed to be a smart sci-fi movie. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are in it, and I love them both. And it got amazing reviews.

Perhaps I would have liked it better if it got okay reviews.

It was long.  And slow. True, few people can give sad narration like Amy Adams, but is that really enough. Amy and her sad narration and Jeremy and his stoic jawline.  Come on - move along. I mean it was great and all, but seemed to be based on Kurt Vonnegut's idea from Sirens of Titan from 4 decades ago.

Saturday we saw Falsettos. Okay, this was my bad. Ed and I both read the review of Falsettos. Apparently this was done the first time in the late 1970s and early 1980s (2 one acts, March of the Falsettos, the Falsetto Land) and the new show is just about perfectly done.

Which doesn't mean perfect, but as perfect as this show can be. The stars (Andrew Reynolds, Christian Borle, Stephanie Block) are block buster amazing. AMAZING. Yet the show is about a self-obsessed gay man who wants to "have it all" at the cost of everyone around him. Perhaps this was a positive development in 1979. Now it is a self-obsessed white guy being a dick to his ex-wife and new boyfriend.

Don't get me wrong, Stephanie Block made me fall off my chair laughing. Christian Borle can carry a scene or a tune with the best of them. And I wept buckets (and laughed) during Andrew Reynolds performance. Seriously, I cried like a fucking baby.
Going for money after the show.

But I still didn't love it. I was well manipulated, but that doesn't mean it was a good show.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Ah.. memories of My Father

So Saturday I got a letter that reminded me of good old dad.  "How so," say you?

Well, let me explain.

It was a letter from someone's family who is suing Kaiser Steel in Fontana. The letter stated that I worked there sometime between 1975 and 1981. And, because of asbestos, the family of another man is suing the company. They wanted input from me on this.

It was not working there then. IN 1975 - 1981 I was in High School, then USC, then UCLA.

But this WAS when my dad, in an effort to avoid taxes, used my name and social security number.  In fact, in 1980 I had to replace my SSN because it was corrupted by my dad. Try explaining that to grad school when you have one SSN associated with USC and a different one with Orange Coast College and UCLA.

So know I have to let this poor family, who probably has damn few options left, that I did not, in fact, ever work at the Steel Mill in Fontana.

And they can't ask others, that mill is long gone.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Latest Review: Don't You F**king Say A Word

New post on What's On Off Broadway

Trying to Understand the Opposite Sex in Don’t You F**king Say a Word

by scott9m@gmail.com
When you walk into 59E59 Theater B, for Don’t You F**king Say a Word, it’s obvious we are entering a stage of battle. Sure, it’s a tennis court, but it is also a pit – more like an ancient Roman Arena that the city park. So it is a little disconcerting that the first entrants aren’t the tennis players, but the women in their lives, dressed in distinctly non-athletic ware. And thus Don’t You F**king Say a Word starts off with the audience a little off balance.
The amazingly talented actresses Jennifer Lim and Jeanine Serralles are a marvel as the female life partners of the tennis players. They start by  laying out the organization of the play for us. These two women are reminiscing, with each other and the audience, about an incident that occurred between their tennis-obsessed men. They are trying to understand what happened that humid day that set off a chain of events that ended a friendship. In doing this, they are trying to “understand men”, what drives them –particularly what drives the impulses that make them crazy. Of course (and a little too obviously), their “investigation” tells us more about their interactions and insecurities than their spouses. But that is a pretty minor problem overall.
L-R: Jennifer Lim, Jeanine Serralles, Bhavesh Patel, and Michael Braun in DON’T YOU F**KING SAY A WORD at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Hunter Canning
L-R: Jennifer Lim, Jeanine Serralles, Bhavesh Patel, and Michael Braun in DON’T YOU F**KING SAY A WORD at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Hunter Canning
They women are coyly polite and gracious, but underneath there is a competitive edge they can’t quite shake. They try to openly discuss “the incident”, but they also are protective of their partners, viewing the history through the lens of love and life choices.
The tennis players are Bhavesh Patel and Michael Braun; men who are approaching their forties having accomplished almost none of their goals. Both are highly competent actors, but don't get a chance to move beyond caricature until very late in the show. They are a type most men know. Growing up, they were probably  intimidated in school and so they have overcompensated via sports after high school.
And just when the show gets to be too much, too pat and too expository - the action moves towards a more traditional setting, a dinner party. With this change,  Don’t You F**king Say A Word shines anew. It is avery enjoyable evening of theater.
Writer Andy Bragen and Director Lee Sunday Evans have done a great job wringing out the most from their characters and situations before moving on and changing up the pace of the piece. Because of their excellent work, it really does play like a tennis match, a long give and take capped by a quick and eventful tie-breaker.
Don't You F**king Say a Word | Playwright: Andy Bragen | Director:  Lee SundayEvans Cast: Michael Braun, Jennifer Lim, Bhavesh Patel, Jeanine Serralles

Mr. Leonard Cohen Passed Away

He wrote, what I think, is one of the most beautiful songs every. My favorite version was the live one during the Vancouver Olympics sung by K D Lang (also a Canadian - as Mr. Cohen was).


Thank You on Veteran's Day

(Back Scott? Yes - see here)

Over a hundred years ago, on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour "The Great War" ended.

It was demoted, not too many years later, to be only the "1st" World War - there was a 2nd. Then a Cold. Then any number of smaller wars, albeit few deadlier than The Great War. Very few that accomplished much more than destruction.

And yet we honor our Veterans on Nov 11th, why?

Because our Veteran's go to protect us in a world full of dangers and uncertainty. Us. The people that are too young, too sick, too old, too busy, too privileged or too lucky to have to serve themselves.

In retrospect, we tend to see the Vietnam War as loss and maybe a waste. And yet, if brave men (mainly men) hadn't gone, who knows what might have happened. The Vietnam War might have turned into the "1st" Great Asian War. Destruction, war, massive civilian deaths in  countries from Japan to Myanmar to Singapore to Hawaii and beyond might have followed.

We honor our Veteran's not just for what they did, but for why they did it and for what they prevented from happening.  The older I get, the more I realize that. And the more grateful I am.

Luckily I have Nic, my Mom's husband to thank very directly. And others I won't name (although we just went to the West Point game with one).
Nic (with Eddie) in Montana



Wednesday, November 09, 2016

So Long Nincompoopery (Updated)

Well, it was fun while it lasted. In 1999 I had to start a blog for work (I was an Internet Product Manager) and I have kept it since then. True, I had a mishap in 2004, so the previous entries are gone, but a long history of my life since 2004 is in the archives.

But it is time to end it. Our new President Elect campaigned on a platform of closing a free press and his voters have harassed anyone who disagrees with him.  Now, with the full weight of the US government and security apparatus behind President Elect Trump, I don't feel comfortable expressing my opinions.

No blame, just honest.

So I think it is time for me to exit blogging now. Nincompoopery was a word my dearly departed friend Lauren loved. It was from Auntie Mame when the banker (Mr. Babcock), in a moment of frustration, couldn't find the perfect word to describe what shenanigans were going on around him. We loved that word since it pulled so much humor, zest, confusion and frustration into one non-curse word. It described the world as I wanted to see it. Not hateful, not evil but wild, confusing, funny and challenging.

I don't find that word describes how I feel right now.

I leave you with Kurt Vonnegut from Piano Player as a scientist shows his totally disorganized lab to a colleague. The visitor looks around the room in disgust and the scientist says, "You think the office is a mess," and points to his brain, "..you should see up here".

[Nov 11th, 2016]
Lynn and Ed asked that I continue. Lynn because it is how she (and she assumes others) keep up to date on Ed and I. That is fair. Ed because he thinks it is important for my mental state for me to have an outlet (which is a nice way of saying it helps me not be too crazy).  That is also fair.

Since I will do this anyway - probably in a few weeks, I wanted to start today.  To understand read above.

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Some Other Birds of the Galapagos

In the galapagos we saw much more than just Boobies and Albatross - we saw some other very cool birds.  Here is a partial list from the pictures Ed and I took.

That's right, we saw greater Flamingos


This is a "Hood" Mockingbird. These guys are from the island of Espanola, which is very dry. So they have learned to puncture humans water bottles and drink from them. Therefore, they came very very close to us.

These are swallow tailed gulls.  They were super cute and cool looking I thought.
This is a yellow crowned Heron. Eddie thought he looked like the evil genius from any number of bad stories.

This is a yellow warbler. He look particularly bright on the lava flows.
This is an American Oystercatcher. He was cool

These are frigates grabbing fish. The were odd because they normally steal food from other birds.
You usually see frigates in flight.  They spend most of their time over the water.

Monday, November 07, 2016

Army Football

Eddie and I went to West Point to watch the Army /  Air Force Football game last Saturday. Our friend Neil went to West Point and we went with him and his wife. 
 
It turned out to be a beautiful fall day. The game was fun, but could have ended better. The leaves could not have been much better. 

 

The chapel...
 
 
The leaves and a statue ...
 
 

Sunday, November 06, 2016

"Certain People"

No, anyone can vote early....

What The Nevada Republican Chairman and then Donald Trump were complaining about were people actually voting. You see in many areas turnout for voting is very high for early voting because low wage workers don't get to take election day off.

The 3 hour line to vote in a Hispanic neighborhood.
So Republicans (and yes in this election ONLY Republicans) have limited early voted where it used to be okay, closed multiple locations in traditionally Democratic neighborhoods (often saying "they can't get staffing" without asking people) and generally tried to limit voting.  Enough so that 4 states have had their voting changes rescinded by court order (half from Republican appointed judges), with North Carolina being called out for making changes that "surgically targeted minority voters".

So in Nevada, another state where state government is controlled by Republicans, this lead to lines
over 3 hours to early vote.  They agreed to keep the station open until everyone who got in line by 7PM had finished voting. It stated to finish those that arrived on time. This didn't happen in Republican areas because they had plenty of different locations.

You changed the rules, don't complain now.