November 3
...serving up your daily dish.
Go ahead. Rant. Rave. Gloat. Cry into your cappuccino. Tell it to the Barista.
Who's moving to Canada?
The election results have rendered me speechless. This article sent to my daughter by a friend from San Francisco comes close to expressing how I feel.
Wallow In Chaos, And Laugh
> A pro-Bush outcome and one enormous bitter pill and you without your
> vodka
>
> - By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
> Wednesday, November 3, 2004
>
> Oh dear God please not again.
>
Oh dear God please don't let it be all convoluted and depressing and messy
and stupid and please don't let it all embarrass us on an international
level all over again even more than it already has and even more than it
already is and even more than we've endured lo these past four debilitating and soul-crushing years. Hello? Please? Is it already too late?
>
Why yes, yes it is.
>
And lo and behold, it was apparently another completely tortuous and
entirely knotted presidential election, unfinished until the wee hours
and reeking of E-voting suspicion and exit-poll miscalculaton and it all
came down to, what? Ohio? Are you serious? What a thing.
>
And now Kerry's conceded and the white flag has been raised and we are
headed toward the utterly appalling notion of another four years of
Bush and another Republican stranglehold of Congress and repeated GOP
chants of "More War in '04!"
>
Which is, well, simply staggering. Mind-blowing. Odd. Gut-wrenching.
Colon-knotting. Eyeball-gouging. And so on.
>
You want to block it out. You want to rend your flesh and yank your hair
and say no way in hell and lean out your window and scream into the Void
and pray it will all be over soon, even though you know you're an
atheist Buddhist Taoist Rosicrucian Zen Orgasmican and you don't normally pray
to anything except maybe the gods of really exceptional sake and skin-tingling sex and maybe a few luminous transcendental deities that look remarkably like Jenna Jameson.
>
It simply boggles the mind: We've already had four years of some of the most appalling and abusive foreign and domestic policy in American history, some of the most well-documented atrocities ever wrought on the American populace and it's all combined with the biggest and most violently botched and grossly mismanaged war since Vietnam, and still much of the nation still insists in living in a giant vat of utter blind faith, still insists on believing the man in the White House couldn't possibly be treating them like a dog treats a fire hydrant.
>
Inexplicable? Not really. People want to believe. They want to trust their
leaders, even against all screaming, neon-lit evidence and stack upon
stack of flagrant, impeachment-grade lie. They simply cannot allow that
Dubya might really be an utter boob and that they are being treated like
an abused, beaten housewife who keeps coming back for more, insisting
her drunk husband didn't mean it, that she probably had it coming, that the cuts and bruises and blood and broken bones are all for her own good.
>
And this election, it might be all be very amusing, in a Mel Gibsony, blood-drenched hamburger-of-Christ sorta way, were it not so sad and dangerous. It might all be tolerable and cute, in a violence-engorged, sexist, video-gamey sorta way, were it not so lopsided and wrong.
>
This election's outcome, this heartbreaking proof of a nation split more
deeply and decisively than ever, it simply reinforces the feeling among much of the educated populace: It is a weirdly embarrassing time to be
an American. It is jarring and oddly shattering and makes you rethink
what it really means to be a part of this country. The answer: It doesn't mean
much at all. Not really. Not anymore.
>
This is the common wisdom on the progressive Left. Those first four
Toxic Bush years? A fluke. A phantasm. A stolen election. A gaff, a mugging,
A crime. But this? An election this close makes you reconsider. Maybe,
After all, we aren't nearly as far along as we think. Maybe we're not all that
sophisticated or nuanced or respectable a nation as we sometimes dare
to dream.
>
Maybe, in fact, we're regressing, back to the days of guns and sexism and
pre-emptive violence, of environmental abuse and no rights for women and an sincere hatred of gays and foreigners and minorities. Sound familiar?
It should: It's the modern GOP platform.
>
Here's the thing: For tens of millions of us, it is simply unconscionable
that we could possibly be led for another four years by a small and spoiled little man who has very little real idea what he's doing and even less of how the hell he got there. It would be funny, in a Adam Sandler, toilet-humored sort of way, were it not so poisonous and depressing. And yet it looks like we're stuck with it, like a shard of glass buried deep in the eye.
>
And the rest of the world? Well, it can only watch us and shake its collective head and wonder just what the hell is wrong with us, why so many millions of us would even consider re-electing the world's most inept and war-hungry and insanely inarticulate man to four more years of unchecked power, why our much-hyped much-coveted supposedly ultra-superior democratic system is so very deeply blotchy and knotty and spoiled.
>
So then, to much of Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Russia, the Middle East -- to all those dozens of major world nations who want Bush out almost as much as the educated people of America, to you we can only say: We are so very, very sorry. We don't know how it happened, either. For tens of millions of us, Bush is not our president and never will be. That's how divisive. That's how dangerous. That's how very sad it has become.
>
The GOP steamroller appears to be just too powerful, just too
well-oiled and blood soaked and fear inducing to be stopped just yet. After all, the Right has been working on this master plan and building their takeover strategy for about forty years. It's gonna take those of us working for
change and progress and raw spiritual juice a little more than one or
two to dissolve it away like the cancer it so obviously is.
>
Apparently, there are lessons yet to be learned. Apparently we must hit
some sort of new low between now and 2008, attain some sort of
seriously vicious status in the world before we will snap out of it. You think?
>
This much is clear: We are not, with a grim Bush victory, headed for
buoyancy and friendship and sincere hope for something new and refreshing.
We are not, with another four years of what we just endured, headed toward any sort of easing of bitter tension, a sense of levity, or sexual openness, or true education, or gender respect, or a lightness of spirit and of step.
>
Maybe the best we can hope for, at this ominous and slightly sickening
moment, is one hell of a lot more patience.
>
Posted by: Teri | Nov 3, 2004 3:26:41 PM
Excellent!
Thanks for posting this.
I wish it were just a ball game or similar event where I knew (secretly, of course) that it really didn't matter who won, matter in a very life-and-death way. And, given the Supreme Court, what it will mean for our children.
Posted by: martin | Nov 3, 2004 3:38:54 PM
I told myself I would not gloat today.
But after reading that post -- I suppose the best thing about Bush winning and by 3.5 MILLION votes! (in the popular vote) is that things like that whiny tome are, at this point just irrelevant.
No rainin' on my parade today!
P.S. If y'all keep considering "red" America stupid, you will keep loosing elections....
Posted by: Right of Center | Nov 3, 2004 4:57:00 PM
Not only that but the Republicans own claim to the House & Senate.
Contrary to popular belief, we're not all redneck, slackjawed fundies!
Posted by: Miss Martta | Nov 3, 2004 5:00:15 PM
Agreed ROC...the elitist libs are whining like no tomorrow!
Posted by: Rock Me | Nov 3, 2004 5:00:33 PM
It's funny. I had a discussion with some colleagues earlier.
Republicans are not dumb. They are incredibly smart people.
But dumb people vote Republican. And this is statistically true (the states that go for Bush are less educated than the Kerry strongholds.)
You see, Republicans have it all figured out. In order to keep their wealthy elitist interests in the best position (regardless of ethics) is to co-opt a religion and sell it to the dummies.
I wish the Dems could be so smart but, unfortunately, we have that one nasty problem: a conscience.
Posted by: Left Of Center, like Suzanne Vega | Nov 3, 2004 6:03:01 PM
i also love this perception of Democrats as elitist when most of the Democrat's policies work to the favor of poor, disadvantaged people while Republicans push policies that favor the wealthy.
Who's the elitist? I think even Republicans know the answer to that.
Posted by: Left Of Center, like Suzanne Vega | Nov 3, 2004 6:06:58 PM
I am truly not whining. I am concerned for ALL of us. The road WE are headed down is going to effect ALL of us..and unless you are one of those very very wealthy people that this government works for you are gonna be left behind, just like everyone else.
Posted by: cshel924 | Nov 3, 2004 6:08:13 PM
ROC, Miss Martta, Rock Me,
Please tell me why you think another 4 years of Bush is something to celebrate? Please leave your "morals" out of it and focus on facts. I have to figure out if there is truly a reason why someone (other than being a Christian) would choose to re-elect Bush.
Posted by: Wendy | Nov 3, 2004 6:14:15 PM
I think another 4 years is a good thing because the first 4 were good...other than 9/11 (which was in the planning LONG before Bush took office).
I have more money than I ever had and I bought a home and 2 cars. My quality of life has never been better. And, I do not make six figures but I certainly keep more of my income.
I like Bush and his principles. He takes a stand and sticks with it. He doesn't run a poll to see what he should do, he does what he believes is right and in the best interest of the country. We've liberated and brought freedom to 2 countries and off to a good start in bringing an end to terrorism.
Posted by: Rock Me | Nov 3, 2004 6:21:43 PM
I think we need to equate "quality of life" with more than our possessions.
Posted by: cshel924 | Nov 3, 2004 6:31:05 PM
"the first 4 were good"
ok, real quick - we went from a $5 trillion surplus to A $4.3 trillion deficit.
that is not good, that is horrible.
maybe you're improvements in your life have more to do with your own accomplishments. I hardly think that the coupla hundred bucks Bush through at you bought you those cars...
"liberated and brought freedom to 2 countries"
this is hyperbole. and depending on how you spin it we either did what you say or invaded two countries and attempted to replace their institutions with our own and, by the way, failed at both. both are in worse shape than they were before we came in
i fear deeply for our country. bush's crusade-driven foreign policy is going to start world war 3.
Posted by: Left Of Center, like Suzanne Vega | Nov 3, 2004 6:35:59 PM
Left,
You gotta settle down. WW III? Think of your blood pressure. You are going to have a hard 4 years that way.
Posted by: Right of Center | Nov 3, 2004 6:50:34 PM
You want my reasons?
1. I feel safer with Bush as president. John Kerry doesn't know jack about fighting terror. Who was in office on 9-11? Case closed.
2. In plain English, Kerry is big ol' phony. With Bush, what you see is what you get. You may not like what you see, but he doesn't put on airs. Kerry going duck hunting? C'mon. I bet he's never been near a duck blind in his whole life! And let's not talk about his shady war record.
3. I agree with Rock Me. Afghanistan has elections for the first time. And, ultimately, I believe Iraq will enjoy a better quality of life once everything settles down.
Change, revolution takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.
4. I know this is simplistic but Bush has served as president, Kerry has not. In fact, Kerry barely served as a Senator, what with his high absenteeism.
5. Kerry changes his mind on issues every five minutes.
By no means is Bush perfect. There are many things about him that irk me. But I think you can say that about anyone. Think of your best friends. Do you like EVERYTHING about them?
The bottom line is give the choice between Bush & Kerry, Bush is the best man for the job.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Nov 3, 2004 7:23:18 PM
I once had a brother-in-law who, 2 years after the victorious fact, expressed absolute shock that a "supposedly intelligent person" like myself could have voted for Reagan. I'm glad he's no longer my brother-in-law, and I'm reminded of his foolish, elitist reaction to my voting choices by many of the postings above. Living in Montclair does not automatically confer political wisdom, folks. Nor does leaving someplace like Tennessee or Alabama automatically nullify it. The guy who promised to fight a "more sensitive" war on terrorism, who had the nerve to claim that the heads of several foreign governments had indicated to him they'd prefer him to Bush (without identifying said governments) has lost. Now he can go back to not offering up legislation in the Senate and to goose hunting and windsurfing. And unlike the rest of us, he has his wife's many, many millions to console him through it all.
Posted by: cathar | Nov 3, 2004 8:15:00 PM
I should have written "living" rather than "leaving in my previous post. Otherwise, goody, Bush has won. Nyah, nyah, nyah!
Posted by: cathar | Nov 3, 2004 8:16:14 PM
Would the Bush supporters who are listening here have a problem with a voting system that provides a paper trail to help keep the system fair and accountable?
Posted by: Molly Monahan | Nov 3, 2004 8:59:55 PM
If this war is so fucking virtuous, why not send those two airhead Bush daughters to Baghdad?"
Not my vote
Not my president
Not my values
Not my morals
Not my war
Not my daughter.
Posted by: rhubarbd | Nov 3, 2004 9:36:31 PM
Hmmmmmmmm, could those Bush girls be the impetus for "no child left behind" ?
Posted by: cshel924 | Nov 3, 2004 9:53:51 PM
Miss Martta - You've got to be kidding - right? You "feel safer with Bush in office! Who was in office on 9-11 - case closed?????" Are you for real? Yes Miss Martta - who was in office on 9-11 - you may say Bush, but not really - he was just wrapping up a month's vacation(after 6 months on the job) where he had been alerted to a plan by Osama binLadin that included training pilots here in this country with the intention of driving them into some buildings! I don't know, somehow I think that if my 12 year old were the president, that he would at least know enough to cut the vacation short, and investigate further. And to Teri, thank you for writing everything that I, and everyone that I know is feeling. And for all of you gloaters, who are so pleased with yourselves, if you think that this war is so "right" get YOUR sons and daughters ready, because when World War III comes, YOUR children can go, not mine.
Posted by: mary | Nov 3, 2004 10:27:45 PM
cathar, yes and now Bush can go back to playing golf and playing cowboy. And also not like many of us he has his Daddy's millions and millions to console him, to buy votes, and to pay for his long vacations. To quote the Scarecrow "If you only had a brain"
Posted by: mary | Nov 3, 2004 10:38:45 PM
Rock me- yea maybe bush doesnt "run to the polls to see what to do next" but dont give him too much credit. On 9/11, at 9-something in the morning, when he was told that the SECOND plane had hit the twin towers....he SAT WAITING TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO BY WHO???? HIS SECRET SERVICE??? He sat and read a book about a goat while YOUR neighbors jumped to their deaths from the 83rd floor. HE SAT because NO ONE WAS TELLING HIM WHAT TO DO. I feel much safer now thanks alot.
Posted by: Dana | Nov 3, 2004 11:41:59 PM
oh yea and to martta??? NO i dont like EVERY little thing about any of my friends, but i also dont have ANY friends that i believe have what it takes to be the president. The leader of our country shouldnt get the BENIFIT of the doubt. HE IS SUPPOSE TO BE EXCEPTIONAL!!!! better the all of us, that is why HE is suppose to be in charge.
And all u right wingers with ur "MORALS"...Didnt BUSH SNORT COKE and get DUI's????HMMMM thats alot more valient then fighting in vietnam...
Posted by: Dana | Nov 3, 2004 11:47:29 PM
