Mourning the future

Since the election, I've been in mourning.

I've mourned for the death of hope.

I've mourned the slow death of our democracy at the hands of corporate interests.

I've mourned for the death of reason and facts beneath the benevolent boot of evangelical fervor.

But mostly, I've mourned for the future.

Four years of G.W. Bush has been a slow nightmare of ethically challenged governmental and corporate collusion. Normally, the bright side of any nightmare is that soon you will wake up.

But it appears now that nightmare will last, possibly for as long we can imagine as Bush has a greater chance to affect judicial nominations up and down the appellate spectrum and even including the supreme court.

The only reasonable outlook is dire.

I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way, and I also know that to those that don't - this probably seems to be an overblown and extremist view.

However, to those who would dismiss the depths of frustration, pain and outright anger that this President and his re-election have created, I would kindly suggest they quietly pay attention because IMO they ain't seen nothin yet.

People are truly, deeply Pissed.

Some I think have become somewhat desperate and are throwing around wild conspiracy theories about how election was "stolen".

I don't accept that view. At least, not yet.

Clearly there are growing concerns and growing reports of voting irregularities and problems. In Florida, large percentages of Democratic Voters apparently voted in overwhelming numbers for Bush - however, it has been argued that this is not the result of vote tampering, but rather simply an example of the "dixiecrat" phenomenon which has existed for many years.

Some voting machines apparently counted backward.

Palm Beach County Logged 88,000 more votes than voters.

In Ohio's Cuyuhoga County, some reports have come out that over 97,000 extra votes (for Bush) were discovered which went over and above the actual number of voters in the County. With the counting of absentee, provisional and military votes just beginning as of yesterday, and a current margin of victory of 136,000 in Ohio this relevalation is like the "Holy Grail" for desperate democrats, but subsequent reports and investigation have shown that the numbers used to arrive at this 97,000 vote descrepancy are somewhat questionable.

All of these allegations need to be carefully and clearly investigated. We need to know the truth and we need to take proper steps to ensure that our voting is verifiable and secure - but I think we need to remain realistic, although apparently in one race the vote certification has placed a Democrat in place of a Republican in one state race (I don't recall which one at the moment), it's little more than a pipe-dream to believe that John Kerry will eventually overtake George W. Bush in either the popular vote or electoral map.

Give it up. That dream is dead.

The majority of the nation really did vote to put the man who sat and did nothing for seven minutes except read "my pet goat" when he was told the nation was under attack, back in the White House.

The nation really does want so deeply to "protect life" that they would put a man back in the White House who put over 170 people to death as Governor of Texas, and who has presided over four years while actual abortions have began to rise, reversing a near ten year decline, apparently since so many people have lost their health-care and fallen into poverty.

America really is so deeply indebted to "moral values" that they turn a blind eye to the unregulated arrest/capture, transportion, detaining and use of torture not just of foreign nations, but American Citizens who've been declared as "Enemy Combatants" in clear violation of American Law, the core tenents of the Constitution, International Law and the Geneva Convention.

This is truly what America wants.

This is truly who America is.

And so I mourn, because the America I believe in - the one where the Constitution is more than a piece of inconvenient paper, seems to be dead.

At one point I thought it was only asleep. Only stunned into unconsciousness by the shock of 9/11. But now I know - it's gone.

Since the election, I haven't been able to bear being around some of my aquintances and friends who are Republican or even Democrats who voted for Bush.

I can't talk to them.

The discussion is over.What is there to say - you're killing our country - you dumb dipshit bastard?

No.

I can't speak. It would be too painful. I understand that reasonable people can disagree on many things. That it's possible to remain civil over these issues.
But I also think there's a point were polite civility simply doesn't reflect the truth. It's a method of denying what one truly feels -- it's a lie.

The truth is - we are decending into full-on facism.

The true ideals of this nation are being murdered. Willfully. Deliberately. Brazenly. This is happening with our full knowledge and (electoral) approval. I don't buy the argument that most Bush supporters still believe that Iraq had WMD's, was connected to Al Qaeda and 9/11. I think they know better.

The truth is they don't care!

More people falling into poverty? They don't care, because it's not them, it's somebody else. People being illegally surveilled by the FBI? No Knock Warrants/Sneak and Peak entry? They don't care. That's someone elses problem, not mine or yours.

More women likely to die as the result of birth complications, and doctors legally barred from being able to save them because of the so-called "Partial Birth Abortion" ban - they don't care, none of their fine upstanding daughters would ever be in such a position. Nope. Never happen.

Frankly, I can no longer find a way to civil about this.

Fuck you people.

Hope is dead.

All we have left - is revenge.

Vyan

Should America Trust the Election

Whether the vote was Right or Wrong - America deserves to know the truth.

Should America Trust the Results of the Election
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Commentary by Shane Cory
November 5, 2004

Days after the election, 55 million Americans are still scratching their heads and wondering how it is that George W. Bush won reelection. Garnering 8 million more votes than he earned in 2000, many are raising eyebrows as to how this was accomplished.


While no one wants to cry "fraud" and lead a tinfoil hat brigade, a buzz is growing on the Internet that whispers to the amazed and confused that they should not close the books on this election just yet.


Members of the discussion forum, DemocraticUnderground.com dug in and have already found a clear error in the vote count within Ohio. In one voting precinct in Gahanna, Ohio, 4,258 voters supposedly cast an electronic ballot for George Bush while only 260 voted for John Kerry. While it is vaguely possible that over 94% of voters in the precinct supported George W. Bush, it is a hard number to believe considering that only 638 voters were counted at the polling center.


The Columbus Dispatch has investigated the matter and the director of the board of elections within the county admitted that Bush only received 365 votes. He stated that a "glitch" occurred in the electronic voting machine during the vote tally. This glitch could have given nearly 4,000 fake votes to George Bush if it had not discovered.


The Gahanna incident is just one confirmed mistake and was discovered by activists on the Internet. It was a fairly easy "glitch" to detect given the large discrepancy between the head count at the polling station and the votes for Bush. Given this voting error one must ask, how many more glitches occurred that only involved tens or hundreds of votes?


In Florida, exit polling data showed the opposite of the final results provided through the state. Even more surprising are the changes in votes per party that occurred on November 2nd. Counties using e-touch voting machines in Florida showed an average vote gain of 29% for Republicans and a 23.8% increase for Democrats. However the counties that used optical scan vote machines showed drastic differences. Republicans gained by 128.45% in counties using optical scan voting machines while Democrats had a -21% loss (yes, that is negative 21%). Some districts in Florida showed gains over 400% while one, Liberty County, gained over 700% for Republicans.


Many within the nation are left on the verge of outrage when faced with such evidence of possible fraud. Many are gearing up to investigate and determine what actually happened to the votes of millions of Americans or possibly the votes of many non-existent Americans.


One organization that is investigating the matter is BlackBoxVoting.org which is run by Bev Harris. Mrs. Harris has turned over evidence to authorities regarding vote fraud and has come to the conclusion that fraud did occur on November 2nd. However her group is uncertain as to the scope of the possible conspiracy. Unfortunately, Mrs. Harris has an uphill battle as no paper trail exists to verify the electronic voting data.


Over the past few years, Republicans have fought to prevent any type of paper trail through electronic voting. Despite printable ATM type receipts being a reasonable fail-safe, Republicans and corporations such as Diebold fought hard and eventually won the battle against a verifiable voting system.


Without question, the evidence presented thus far should raise suspicion among honest individuals. While maintaining a calm and reasonable demeanor, the results of the Novermber 2nd election should be fully investigated simply for the sake of the nation and our future confidence in the democratic process.


Shane Cory is the editor of the Washington Dispatch.

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Vyan

No Longer a christian by Karen Horst Cobb

No Longer a Christian by Karen Horst Cobb
www.commondreams.org

I was told in Sunday school the word "Christian" means to be Christ-like, but the message I hear daily on the airwaves from the "christian " media are words of war, violence, and aggression. Throughout this article I will spell christian with a small c rather than a capital, since the term (as I usually hear it thrown about) does not refer to the teachings of the one I know as the Christ. I hear church goers call in to radio programs and explain that it was a mistake not to kill every living thing in Fallujah. They quote chapter and verse from the old testament about smiting the enemies of Israel. The fear of fighting the terrorists on our soil rather than across the globe causes the voices to be raised as they justify the latest prison scandal or other accounts of the horrors of war . The words they speak are words of destruction, aggression, dominance, revenge, fear and arrogance. The host and the callers echo the belief in the righteousness of our nation's killing. There are reminders to pray for our "christian" president who is doing the work of the Lord: Right to Life, Second Amendmendment, sanctity of marriage, welfare reform, war, kill, evil liberals. . . so much to fight, so much to destroy.

Let me tell you about the Christ I know. He was conceived by an unmarried woman. He was not born into a family of privilege. He was a radical. He said, "It was said an eye for and eye and a tooth of a tooth, but now I say love your enemies and bless those who curse you." He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." (Mattew 5: 3-9) He said, "All those who are called by my name will enter the kingdom of heaven." He said, "People will know true believers if they have the fruit of the spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control."

He knew he would be led like a sheep to the slaughter. He responded with "Father forgive them." He explained that in Christ there is neither Jew nor gentile, slave or free male nor female. He explained that even to be angry is akin to murder. He said the temple of God is not a building, but is in the hearts of those are called by his name. He was called "the Prince of Peace." His final days were spent in prayer, so that he could endure what was set before him, not on how he could overpower the evil government of that day. When they came for him he was led away and didn’t resist his death sentence. This is a stark contrast to the call of the religious christian right, who vote for war and weapons, and suggest towns and villages be leveled to bring freedom and peace to the people. They proudly boast this country’s superiority, suggesting God has blessed our nation.

Today, as I listened to a popular christian news network, I was reminded that in the last days, even God’s elect will be deceived, (II Timothy 3:13). When the religious media moguls preaching prosperity spout their rhetoric, I am reminded of the difficulty Jesus described of a rich man’s ability to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19: 24) (http://www.4religious-right.info/rr_economics.htm) Some who believe they are fighting evil will cry to the Lord, and he will say "I never knew you." (Matthew 22). They will have a form or godliness but will deny the power (II Timothy 3:5) to move mountains through prayer. (Matthew 17:20). Jesus explained that he has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:17) I wonder if the innocent moms and dads, brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and grandmas and grandpas who were the victims of US military weapons (the never reported collateral damages we are protected from in the "liberal" nightly news) felt the love of Jesus along with the "shock and awe". I wonder if the surviving family members now understand His radical love and that they no longer have any need for weapons or defense.

The solutions to the social issues used to manipulate good, decent people have no resemblance to how Jesus responded to the social concerns of his time. He never once mentioned the "right to life" the year he was born King Herod ordered the execution of all babies. (Matthew 2:16). He knew that passing laws does not change the heart. As a follower of his teaching I believe in the right to life, including the children in Iraq who stumble onto land mines, cross the street at the wrong time, or who are snuggly tucked within the warm bellies of their wounded or grieving mothers as US fighter jets fly overhead. These are living, breathing children. The killing of these little ones are never even reported, and our tax dollars pay for these bombs. I believe in the right to life for those in the United States who are unwanted and impoversihed. I believe in the right to life of the naive kid who was promised by the recruiter they could choose a desk job and still get their education paid or could see the world or could accelerate their life or could play a very realistic video game from a cockpit. I've worked at a shelter, and I know first hand the reality of unwanted children. I know the reality of this right wing rhetoric when week after week I begged and pleaded with people to give up only one night every three months to sit with these unwanted living children for a few hours while the overworked house parents had a night off. Of the few I found, many changed their minds when they discovered that they would need to wear rubber gloves to change the babies diapers. These "believers" stand on the street corners holding right to life signs and then vote against medical assistance for the mothers and their unwanted children creating an impossible existence for them. The few of these abortion activists who might adopt some of these unwanted children generally want the white and the healthy. The ones with hydrocephalous, tracheotomies, emotional/ mental problems and communicable diseases along with their life long medical expenses can be someone else’s problems.

I cringe as many christians vote for policies that deny help to the poor in our own county, who vote to support the war and military strength, assuring the latest weapons are developed and that the heavens will be dominated by the military of the United States. We develop electromagnetic weapons to shatter skulls , split the earth (http://www.raven1.net/emr13.htm) and silently destroy a body as a thief in the night. Studies are even now searching for the frequencies to override the freewill. These unbelievable technologies are a reality and DNA specific weapons can or soon will target a specific nationality (http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/981116/1998111619.html ).I weep as the waters Jesus walked on become contaminated with uranium. (http://www.greendove.net/resources3.htm) I grieve as the missiles fly through the atmosphere on the continent where Jesus rose into the sky, defying death and the grave and where the Holy Sprit first descended. I cry out at the horrors of war and the indignity of the prisons so close to where He took captivity captive.

So I am no longer a christian if Christianity has become what is presented to us by our christian president and christian media. I cannot support the right of the United States and Israel to develop and use the most heinous weapons ever imagined. I want no part of a temple built on the blood of the innocent. The sheep have been lead astray by the teachings of prosperity and misinterpretation of the final battle between good and evil. Many no longer can recognize the voice of the good Shepard. Some "good christians" even work at weapons facilities. It is not a stretch to say that a woman who tightens a last rivet on a shiny new missile just off the assembly line might be the same woman who licks the gold star on the attendance chart in morning Sunday school. The missile could be launched by the kid in the youth group who reads the invocation and it will find it’s destiny at a "target of interest" which might or might not have been a result of good intelligence. The collection plate circulates children are taught to love their enemies and bless those who curse them.

The statements and lifestyle of Jesus are difficult for me to understand. What would he say to evil dictators? This God would not justify 15,000 or more deaths. Even the wrathful jealous God of the old testament spared whole cities for a few righteous souls. For christians, to support mass killings as a way to prevent future deaths is not at all like Christ. He would not say,"When I am talking about war I am really talking about peace," like the self professed christian President proudly states. Who but God has the right to determine what price a people should pay for their freedom? The religious leaders on the airwaves today respond to the voices of the few brave peacemakers who dare to speak out. They say that pacifism is insane, and that it doesn’t make sense, but what is forgotten is that logic and faith are separate entities. I believe in the example of Jesus and his admonition to love your enemies and bless those who curse you . Do I understand how this works on the global scale? Do I know what Jesus would say to all the world’s leaders? No, nor do I totally understand how the example of Christ’s life and his message of love works in the world today. That’s why I need faith. Am I always correct in my assessments and actions? No, that’s why I need grace. Am I brave and unafraid? No, that’s why I need the perfect love that casts out fear. Some put trust in Chariots and some in horses but I will remember the name of the lord our God--the Prince of Peace. Perhaps politics has no place for imitators of Christ. Who will show the face of Christ to the world? Who will speak His radical message? I hear from these so called imitators of Christ that the pacifists are a collection of kids, hippies, socialists and communists who haven’t got a clue. Some of us, however, have come to our beliefs as a result of careful and prayerful study of the scriptures and admonishment from our elders. Many are Mennonite, Amish, Quaker and other Anabaptists, whose ancestors did not resist their torturers and were drowned, burnt at the stake and flogged for their pacifist stand. They truly followed the example of Christ, and their resistance against the catastrophic effects of the merging of church and state cost them a great price. Churches today have signed onto the government plan and have agreed to look the other way in exchange for tax free privileges. The true message of Christ still exists to some degree in the quiet of the land to peacemakers, but sadly these good people have been deceived by the angry words from a righteous sounding religious media majority broadcasting in cars and trucks and tractors all over our land ironically preaching the "good news of war for peace" and convincing 24-7 "liberal" bashing.

I suspect there are many who share my sorrow at the loss of what it means to be Christ-like, but our voice is seldom heard. The blaring rhetoric drowns out the still small voice of the mighty God. Peace used be the opposite of war, Conservative used to mean the tendency to conserve resources. Liberal used to mean kind and generous, and Christian used to mean like Christ. So I am no longer a christian but just a person who continues trying to follow the example of Christ. I’ll let him call me what he wants when I see him face to face. Until then, I will pray that someday people like me will be able to reclaim the meaning of Christ’s identity, and the world will see the effects of the radical message of Christ‘s love--the perfect love that casts out fear.

School Reform: Two Steps Back

This American Life: 10/15/04 Episode 275

Listen to Report in Real Audio

Ten years ago, when he was still a reporter for NPR's All Things Considered, host Ira Glass did a year-long series on a Chicago public school where things were getting better. Test scores were rising. Students were motivated. Last year, changes at the school dismantled some of the programs that had made for the school's success. And one of the best teachers in the school is thinking about quitting. We devote the whole hour to this story, about the rise and fall of school reform.Prologue. When Ira heard that Cathy La Luz, the best public school teacher he'd met during all his years of education reporting, was considering leaving her job, he went to see her in her classroom. (6 minutes)

Act One. 1994. Washington Irving Elementary School became a model of school reform in Chicago a decade ago. The school did it without adding a ton more money. It wasn't a magnet school or charter school. Their strategy: get the kids to enjoy reading and writing; get them glasses if they need them; give teachers control of their classrooms. Scores climbed. Teachers like Cathy were happy. Students actually liked coming to school. We hear excerpts from Ira's 1994 All Things Considered series about the school. Full transcripts and audio of the series also are online. (21 minutes)

Act Two. 2004. We continue with the story of Irving Elementary, and hear what's happened to make Cathy La Luz think about quitting. In just nine months, the reforms that had made the school a model began to unravel. Well-meaning directives from the central school board undermined what the school was trying to do. And the new principal didn't quite understand why the teachers were balking at seemingly small things, like writing up lesson plans. The climate in the school changes. The principal is oblivious. The head of the Chicago schools, Arne Duncan, says he'll look into the problems. Cathy's skeptical. (28 minutes)

Vyan

Black Tuesday is over

So here I sit, two days after Black Tuesday and I try to gather all the thoughts running through my mind.

America has changed.

It's not the country I hoped it could be, it's not the country that I know that it should be.

Tuesday's election results prove this.

There are two primary conclusions that I have to this turn of events.

1) America is deeply afraid.

It's afraid of Al Qaeda and terrorism, certainly - but it seems that it's even more afraid of gays and the danger they represent to the special rights that straights have to be married. It's so afraid of criminals that in California they would - (no, already have) - condemn a man to life in prison for stealing a ham sandwich. It's afraid of trial lawyers who just might make irresponsible and negligent corporations and doctors accountable for the death and damage they inflict on the American people.

But most importantly, it's afraid of those godless intellectual heathens.

People who dare to rely on fact and truth, ignore blind faith and the so-called word of God (According to Billy Graham and Jerry Fallwell), failing to realize that every life, even life that has only just begun is precious and important and must be protected - unless of course, that life happens to be unwed mother of that potential child (partial-birth abortion ban), or the life or it happens to some scumsucking convicted criminal (doesn't matter if they actually commited the crime or not - a jury said they did, and they're never wrong, right?) or if that life happens to belong to a innocent person in a foreign land that just might - maybe - possibly - have some terrorists and weapons of mass destruction in it. It doesn't matter if that life includes innocent people whom we've bombed, tortured (at Abu Ghraib), held incommunicado and without contact or representation (Guantanemo Bay), and to be blunt - murdered - for the last two years. So far we've been very pro-life for nearly 100,000 Iraqis who no longer have a life - most of them non-combatants - and it's only going to continue.

If you want to make on omlette, you have to break some eggs, right?

Yes, we are afraid - but have no fear, GW Bush is on the job.

He'll protect us by ignoring critical intelligence briefings - like the August 6th, 2001 PDB that warned that "Bin Ladin determined to attack in the U.S.", or that joint FBI/CIA finding that Bin Ladin was reponsible for the bombing of the U.S. Cole in Feb of 2001.

He'll protect us by taking 7 minutes to read "My Pet Goat" after hearing that "America is under attack", so that he'll look Presidential instead of panicked and be sure to allow the "shoot down" order for our fighter planes that only the President can give.

Yes, he'll do a great job - because it's so obvious he's done a fantastic job so far and really done at rallying the entire world together with the righteousness and honor of his cause. Just as the ten countries - so far - who've quit the "coalition of the willing" and pulled their troops and support out of Iraq.

He'll remain firm and steadfast, except for when it relates to Gay Marrige which he used to say was "an issue for the states" but now says we need to change the Constitution to prevent, or the 9/11 Commission which he opposed until it became too politically unwieldy, or the Homeland Security Department which he refused to implement and then flip-flopped, turned around and created the largest federal agency in history.

He'll protect us, by letting 380 tons of explosives disappear.

He'll plan well for military action and follow the best advice, except for those Generals who ask too many question - obviously those guys are traitors.

In all seriousness, I have to congratulate Karl Rove and G.W. Bush for that total awesomeness of their campaign. They do indeed understand who and what America is - particularly in that wide red swath across the center of the country. Bush gets it. He knows who we are.

And that makes me, truly, deeply afraid.

2) America doesn't truly believe and buy-into all the above - and the election, well, was fixed!

This is not an possibility that I'm really desperate to put forward, like a sore loser who has to believe "we was robbed!".

I don't know if we were robbed.

But I also don't know if we weren't.

The kind of widespread election tampering that this would take is a serious charge and should be taken seriously and responsibly.

Air America's Randi Rhodes is fond of pointing out that the owner of Deibold, the company that provided voting machines for Ohio and Florida, was quoted at a Republican fund raiser as claiming that he would "Bring home the electoral votes of Ohio and Florida [for the President]".

Is that admitting to a crime in advance, or simply making a hopeful statement before a crowd of the Presidents faithful supporters?

I don't know.

Could hackers have gotten malicious and nearly undetectable code into the machines via their modem ports?

I don't know.

No one knows.

The main problem I have is that with the tone of this campaign - from the gross smears and lies about Kerry's Vietnam Service, the lies about his position on Iraq, the fake outrage at Kerry's very mild and frankly kind comments about Dick Cheney's daughter Mary ("He's not a good man"), the gross distortions of the record concerning Kerry's history in the Senate("Voted against over 80's weapons systems"), the distortions of Kerry own words ("He wants a Global Test before he uses troops"), all of which the Republicans basically got away with clean and without repurcussions - I don't find it that much of a stretch to consider the possibility that they could envision modifying the actual vote and expect to get away with it.

The Proof?

There is none - other than the exit polls during the election that showed the Kerry had a lead in both Ohio and Florida.

People used to trust exit polls, we used to use exit polls -- and exit polls only - to predict the outcome of elections.

Now, all of a sudden (after the 2000 election) people have begun to vigorously argue that polls are inaccurate. That we shouldn't get too excited about them or take them too literally because of the statistical margin of error.

I think that's demonstrably true. It's always been true. But polls are still valuable, especially for identifying when something bogus is going on.

Just imagine the perfect crime. A crime that adjusts the vote not too far, staying within the statistical margin of error but pushing it in the direction it needs to go, but far enough to be larger than what might trigger a recount (which is automatic in Ohio).

It would be the perfect crime, particular since so many of these machines have no audit trial what-so-ever, wouldn't it? Besides how stupid would it be to steal the election and get caught?

Maybe that's what happened, maybe it's not. I don't know. None of us know.

And that possibility scares me even more than first one.

It should scare you too.

So, now we have been through Black Tuesday. The vote is over. The reasons why it turned out the way it did may indeed be moot.

We must look forward now.

We must look into a future - with near complete Republican control of the Federal Government - that indicates a increasingly conservative Supreme Court which could seriously challenge not only Roe V Wade but many other civil liberty and rights issues, the Privatizing of Social Security which is likely to make the system vulnerable to the ups and down of the stock market not to mention drain much of the current funds from availability of the current seniors and cause massive, immediate cuts in services.

In this future Businesses are likely to do well, profits are likely to soar, teh stock market will rally - things will be good for them but not their employees (as they lose healthcare and benefits) - nor consumers and their customers (as federal regulations for environmental and consumers safety and employee compensation continue to be eroded or neglected).

I think we've made a grave mistake and the only way for us to change direction and realize what we've done and how damaging it's going to be to America and the world - is for it to happen! People can debate and argue all they want, but the truth won't be clear until it staring us in the face - we're like a junkie who can get off the neo-conservative hyper-evangelical neo-facist juice until we hit rock bottom. Only then will be finally begin to look up and turn around toward a truly brighter future.

Those of us who see the darkness approaching have to get our flashlights together, save all our batteries and keep illuminating the way out.

Black Tuesday may be over, and it may indeed be a long time before we see again the dawn, but for now we need to dust off our dispair, control our fear and marshall our anger and become shepards who remember which way leads back to the light - help others to find their way back -until that dawn comes and America finally begins to realize the promises of liberty, freedom and justice that it has made, and why it's needs to keep those promises.

People - get your everyready's out - it's going to be a long, long - long - night.

Vyan

Getting mad...

Getting angry and turning in our selves is not going to help.

We need to realize that in many way the Repubs have a 30-year ground game running to take control of the country. 7 months of Air America, MoveOn, Media Matters and Michael Moore is not going to change that any where near this easily.

We lost because the opposition lied and got away with it.

We lost because the opposition has a fanatical and commited base of not just christians, but right-wing evangelical zealots.

We lost because the opposition exploited fear. Fear of terror(ism). Fear of the gays. Fear of embryonic experimentation. Fear of the future. Fear of the French. Fear of the government and fear of the poor taking away the hard earneed money of multimillionaires.

In some ways, what has occured here may turn out to be a good thing for the long term health of democratic and liberal ideals, and a very bad thing for the conservative right-wing of the Republican party as the repeatedly begin to see the conceptual and factual bankrupcy of their ideas.

This is just a battle, and yes, we lost it.But the war - the War over maintaining Roe V Wade, the War over maintaining corporate ethics and accountability, the War to make sure that we have the best doctors at the best price instead of the best profits for the medical insurance and pharmacutical companies, the War to protect our seniors, our students and infirm, the War to reestablish our ties to our allies in NATO, to Europe, Asia and the Middle East - is far, very far from over.Be sad. But don't despair. Be angry, but don't walk away from the battle.

The Republican won because they took the long view in the wake of the crushing defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 60's.

Don't give up the fight, because *now* is when the true battle of ideas and ideals begins.

And we need every soldier we can get.

Vyan

Kerry Concedes

As I logged in this morning the announcement that Kerry has conceded came over the news. The President hasn't made his own speach yet, but I have to say I don't think I can possibly express my disappointment.

What I was going to post was a short unscientific mathmatic analysis of the possible effect of Ohio provisional votes. Last night I was a poll worker and my primary task all day was handling the processing of the provisional votes in our precinct. Here near the center of Los Angeles County, our pricenct took in over 500 regular votes with 51 provisional votes being cast - or 9.2% of the total vote. My precinct may or may not have been representative, but if Ohio has only half that many provisional ballets outstanding there would be over 239,000 votes with a margin of 140,000 between the two candidates.

The problem is this, after tons of legal wrangling, the Republican Party was able to install tons of legal "challengers" in the voting places in Ohio. When a challenge is presented to voter legitimacy or the process, the most likely result is that that voter will be shifted to voting provisionally. Therefore it's my opinion, taking a conservative view of things based on my own experience at the polls yesterday, that there are probably well over 200,000 provisional votes outstanding and may in fact be as many as 400,000 votes outstanding - and considering the fact that these challengers were predominantly Republican, most of those votes are probably Democratic, and probably support Kerry.

I could be wrong of course, the evening has been full of wrong estimatations, but I don't think so.
And after ten days we'll find out.

Kerry may have decided that mathematically he couldn't overcome the deficit in Ohio, and choose not to drag the country the ten days of uncertainty, but I think - this isn't over.

Not by a long shot.

Vyan

Ok, People...

...In five minutes I'm going to out to help open and run the polls in my precinct - all you guys need to do is make a decision and show the hell up!

Thank you.

Vyan