Along with most other news & political sources, online and off. Sick at heart. Couldn't tolerate it. Thought I'd be okay if it went the way it was foredoomed to go, but I was wrong.

So I'm tentatively poking my head up now. Things look like shit, and they're going to get worse. I don't think the vote-fraud issue is going to go anywhere. Weird statistics, sure, but without something utterly irrefutable and massive--whistle blower, the hackers' scripts, whatever--it'll just be the usual leftwing nattering around the margins. If anything has a remote hope of taking these guys down, now, it's not that issue, or Plame, or even an Iraq meltdown--they've proven they can ride out just about anything, as long as the press is feeble and both houses of congress are in their hands. Nothing ever lasts more than a week before it's on to the next outrage.

The only one I think might do it--and it's an ugly, horrible thing if it happens--is the Euro at $1.50 and the wider world deciding it just doesn't pay that well to keep financing the US debt. I don't see how the nitwits are going to keep all their promises about tax relief and warwarwarwar and the rest without hitting this particular cement wall, and I don't see how they're going to avoid confronting how badly they've fucked things up if they renege on all that despite having control of the entire government. At best it'll be slash-and-burn "austerity measures" that even the FAUX-besotted won't be able to avoid noticing. At worst, well, I'm not ready to contemplate that. But even if it happens and our economy collapses, God only knows whether it will do the Dems any good either.

But all of that said...

As a rational human being, and clutching what last shreds of patriotism and idealism remain to me...

I'd still rather be on our side than theirs.

I've tried to talk to conservatives. I have seen where they're coming from to a point. They're resentful because of what liberal extremists have done (ex. spit on troops and accuse them all of baby killing). They fear that we're out to destroy their society as they know it. They appear to be afraid of change because they think change involves making them leave their traditional ideas and persecuting them. I don't know how to convince them that it's not like that. If they want to keep living their traditional lifesytle, then I'm for their living it. I just think they should stop forcing traditional ideas on us.

It's like when I watch Pleasantville. Ever seen that movie? It shows what I often think about them perfectly. Some conservatives are not like that movie, but many of them are.

As far as Bush himself goes, I've been doing a lot of talking with others about it. I could be wrong, but I don't think we're going to take the beating that we've been fearing.

I think that Bush might try to stay out of a war with Iran and Syria now that he's promised not to reinstate the draft. We have troops in Europe that we could use for a war, but I'd like to hope that he'll think twice before using up the last of our military resources.

Between his kids being for gay rights and Chaney's daughter being gay, I get a feeling that gay marriage amendment won't be pushed by him so much anymore.

And one or two days after the election, a Republican politician already came out and warned Bush against not appointing anti-abortion judges to the courts. A Republican. I'm thinking that even the Republican Congress will decide not to tick off the pro-choice majority of Americans by appointing a judge that has every intention of overturning Roe vs. Wade.

I think the biggest problems we have to worry about our these constant tax cuts and our deficit. It's been explained to me how tax cuts can help the deficit, but I still don't see them as being enough money in the end. If the US keeps it up, they might one day undo their superpower status. That would be a good thing unless a country like China takes over. But hey, us liberals told them not to be adding to the deficit like this, so it's not like this would be our fault.

the election. One economist said our debt was endangering the whole world's economy. Care to learn to speak Chinese?

...that the major creditors who were lending us the money for her tax cut include the People's Republic of China. How's that for 'conservative,' I said.

She voted for Kerry.