Feelings

It is hard to deal with feelings when I still feel gut-punched, but it is time I got started.

Mostly right now I'm sorry. Every single one of us could have done a little more, opened our eyes a little wider, taken it a little more seriously. So for whatever small thing I failed to do, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry because so damn many caring, patriotic, well-meaning, hard-working people will spend the next four years being treated as if they don't matter.

The word of the day is 'mandate.' Mr. Bush talks about unity while Mr. Cheney and his henchcritters talk about a mandate, about the largest number of voters ever voting for Mr. Bush, more than Ronald Reagan. Well news !! The second largest, more than voted for Ronald Reagan, voted for John Kerry.

I'm wandering.

Anyway this manufactured mandate will be the excuse for turning everyone who isn't a Rove loyalist into a non-person. Get used to it now so you aren't shocked later.

I'm also sorry for all of the people who won't get educated or fed or receive medical care because some cowboy mentality is struggling to pull us back 75 years and erase the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt. And I'm sorry for all of the folks who will die in silly wars and the other folks who will die in preventable terrorist attacks.

So we have to fix it. Don't forget that while you're mourning.

Blogger Is Back!

I've had nothing but Blogger lockups for 24 hours. Sigh.

By Now You Must Have Seen Video
of Ann Coulter ducking a pieing attempt. James Wolcott has an absolutely spot on description of her reaction. Better yet is his description of someone I thought was beyond description:

"Ann Coulter may be a travesty of humanity, as unacceptable a hank of flesh draped on a hanger ever to be foisted upon an ignorant populace hungry for more ignorance. Her racism, her character slurs, her whirlwind talent for rewriting history, her ability to leave a glossy coat of slime on any issue she discusses (when she licks a stamp, it curls up and dies), these are condemnable.

But credit where credit is due. The skank can shift ass on a dime."

The "Debate"

As has been noted elsewhere, it is really disturbing the Our President doesn't know when he's "got wood". I think one more debate is all that I can stand.

It really troubles me that so many folks are willing to overlook his temper and general poor impulse control. Surely self-control is something most folks want in a President.

What She Said!

is trying to be a comprehensive blog about and linking to leftish women bloggers. They are pretty new. Drop by and wish them the best.

Earn $4,000 Fast -- Find Seniors Who Support Medicare Drug Cards

According to a piece in The Hill yesterday "A Republican lobbying firm is offering healthcare consultants almost $4,000 each to find senior citizens who are willing to speak out in favor of the Medicare drug discount card and write letters to Congress thanking members for saving them money on pharmaceuticals."

"The DCI Group, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying shop that advertises to potential clients that it can treat “corporate issues like campaigns,” is offering healthcare consultants $3,750 plus expenses over six weeks to generate positive news stories about the drug card and offer support to Congress for voting for the Medicare drug law. "They want "seniors, families of seniors and healthcare community leaders “to send letters to their congressman and senators thanking them for supporting the Medicare benefit, or asking for that support in the future.
We have help available to write letters if the signer is not comfortable drafting the letter entirely on their own.”

And I'm sure it will come as a great surprise to you that "Tony Feather, who helped found the DCI Group, reportedly has close ties to President Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove."

The Threat Level

has been raised to sort of yellow and sort of orange. What color is that? Kind of pumpkin?

As I type Mr. Ridge is on my television saying that the threat level has been raised to orange in My Home Town (Washington, DC), and in the financial sections of northern New Jersey, and New York City. Oh, swell. I get strip searched when I try to go to work.

I'm sure that there is absolutely no connection between this announcement and John Kerry's rising poll numbers. None at all.

"We ARE safer than we ever have been before." -- Tom Ridge, today

How on earth are they going to convince us that we are both in greater danger than we have ever been before and, simultaneously, that we are safer than we have ever been with Mr. Bush in charge? Every time they say this my head starts to spin around. Doesn't this happen to everybody else?

"Mission Accomplished"
Richard M. Nixon, April 30, 1971

Electronic Votes Lost in Florida

I've been trying to stay out of this -- I mean everybody and their second cousin is blogging these days -- but I just can't any more. But, y'know, that perfect electronic voting system? Well it seems that there was a little computer crash and some of those useless old records went bye-bye.

<>Detailed electronic records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines were lost in computer crashes last year, erasing information from the September 2002 gubernatorial primaries and deleting some records of other elections, elections officials said Tuesday.


I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

Oops
I meant to point to the "Cost of the Iraq War" counter on the lower left.