How are you coping?

Hi all---I know I keep getting very depressed about the count/recount efforts and swing wildly from thinking it's the most important thing in the world that must get done to save us all from the corrupting evil spreading across the land... to feeling like, well, gee, seems like whatever we do, we just get slapped down anyway, so, <shrug>... to just wanting to forget about the whole thing entirely for at least just a few days. I go from about 8 am to about 3 am most nights trying to find information, trying to diseminate information, analyze that information, and strategize from that analysis. I'm completely obsessed.

Last night, sleeping only a few minutes at a time, I had nightmare after nightmare about DU people getting arrested and about me getting kicked off DU and not knowing who to turn to for a shoulder to cry on.

And I'm not even, like, a big activist or anything. I've done a few things. I can only imagine what it must be like for those activists who have been trying to break down walls for *decades* even.

I know people say all the time, "it's the little victories. If I have helped out even one person, the effort is worth it." I don't know why, but that just doesn't satisfy me, personally. It seems like for every little victory there are ten defeats.

I also know that I don't want to give up, that I must not give up. So I must learn to cope. Suggestions? How are you coping?

I'm so hungry for info that I can't get my brain to shut off. Frankly, I don't think I'm coping very well and look forward to hearing what others are doing...

its a rollercoaster,I like you sleep little any tidbit of information I get raises my hopes just to have them crushed 10 times over. The only hope I have left is for Kerry to come storming out with criminals charges . Theres only a few days left and that hope will be gone.
Then comes Inauguration.........
When that happens ,my family and I will be looking to the border.

Breaks between being wired. It doesn't help that my laptop is by my bed, and when I wake-up, every couple hours, I really wake-up, and look for more and more info. Then remind myself I have to get up early to make sure my youngest son is up for school. I then fall back to sleep for another 2 hours, only to wake again.... I don't think I will ever know a full night's sleep again.

I am trying my best to get the word out about this rally-

http://caseohio.home.mindspring.com/

telleveryone you know:)

I mean seriously, I think it's time to seek the help of a person who is trained to help. We're certainly not. If you can't sleep you need help. As upset as I am about 11/2, I still go to work, cook dinner, play with my daughter, go to the movies, have some beers, etc, etc, etc... Ya know? I let it affect my life, but it will never RUN my life.

I wish you the best. Please talk to someone.

and my therapist (holy crap) is a RETHUG! I think I need a new therapist so I can be COMPLETELY honest about the depths of my disillusionment.

too! Thank my lucky stars mine is a Democrat and she understands but helps me put it in perspective too.

Although one of them thinks everything will be peachy keen when Hillary runs in 2008. :| The other counselor is buying more guns because "Bush is a fucking lunatic" and it's "getting really scary out there." He and I think alike, but I can't get a gun because I'm considered a suicide risk.

I am not coping well with * being re-coronated. I've cried every day since November 3rd. Emotional fallout created the last straw that made me disown my toxic Republican family. The town I live in is full of Bush lovers and fundy nutjobs.

I am completely alone. When the doctor's office asked for an emergency contact, I couldn't give them one. I don't know anybody I trust that much except for counselor #1 and I can't exactly give them his home phone number. It's supposed to be a professional relationship.

Has anyone else been this alone? Have you had to start over?

I have to undergo neck surgery soon and have no one to turn to. I am in terrible pain. My apartment is still in shambles and I have trouble doing household tasks like dishes and laundry. Money is so tight I lived the last week on cream of wheat. It's been a year since a second MRI was requested and Sacramento keep cutting Medi-Cal...so no MRI. I'm pretty sure I've developed a third herniated disc in my lower back. :(

Um...how are you? :shrug:

I truly feel for you, even though I don't even know you! But I do know you have a good heart, and that's enough for me.

I've been there--I've been down the rabbit hole of depression, and I know what it's like at the bottom of it. I hope your surgery and recovery go well, and don't worry about your place being a shambles. Give yourself permission to feel crappy and to be a bad housekeeper. There are bigger fish to fry, my friend. And the biggest fish's name is GWB.

I wish I had some advice about your financial struggle for you. Hell, I wish I had any advice for you! Just know that there's someone out here in the glow that cares and wishes you well. (I realize, having been there, that it's small comfort, but please try to take some comfort from it).

Please PM me or post here to let us know how you're doing. And don't buy a gun. How 'bout a bow and arrow? It'd probably be cheaper and less dangerous anyway.

at least here on DU.

I've been struggling with depression for years, and this past month has been hell. After next week my therapist is switching insurance companies and I won't be able to see her any more. What horrible timing.

Unfortunately, I'm in Maryland, and broke, so I can't help you directly.

There are some thoughts that came to mind.

Please post something on the California forum -- there should be a few DUers living in your area who might be able to lend a hand for you. Maybe someone can find you a helpful social worker for the medical and financial problems. Also, you might find some help by contacting a member of Congress. Their aides help people with all kinds of problems.

Also, go to your local Unitarian church, or whatever place of worship you feel most comfortable with. They will help you. Unitarians won't try to convert you, either. The main thing is, don't be shy about asking for help.

PM me any time if you need some additional emotional support.

Catch 22 it can't run your life. You have to keep a balance.

But you also gotta understand my personality. I'm just an extremely "happy" person. Things may be bad in this country, and they're BAAAAAD, but I'm still loving going through this adventure we call life, and that's what matters to me. If you can't have fun, you can't live.

...and Canadian whisky...

I had been in a bit of a fog... but lately I have been having serious bouts of anxiety and panic attacks. I am somewhat prone to the nervous personality, but it has been pretty bad lately. I have had to disconnect from my blog and DU for a while -- trying to figure out how to move forward. Just not so sure how to do it!

I don't feel like celebrating Christmas this year. I'd like to hang black bows on the outdoor wreaths, etc. as a sign of mourning.

My strategies have been to spend much of my free time on DU or re-reading Agatha Christie mysteries or, when it was warmer, weeding the daylights out of the garden. Being out of work for more than a month didn't help, but I just started working again part-time.

I think many, if not most of us have been through a bad emotional shock because of the election results. We need to pull back a little, rest up, try to heal and then get back in the fight. Bless those who have had the strength to keep going during the past month.

also, talking to others about it makes me feel better, whether it's telling someone who has no clue, or talking to my friend (who also posts here now) about it, trying to keep hope.

Also, the song Butterflies and Hurricanes is keeping me sane :)

As well as the John Kerry Group forum.

I'm coping to well either. Sometimes I don't think I can stand to hope again only to have it dashed. Sometimes I don't think I can stand no change for even a single second more.

Then I'm not trying to sound like a history teacher or compare myself to the great leaders of our time or overly idealistic etc,
but somehow the thoughts of history help. Martain Luther King,didn't achieve Civil Rights in an instant but he kept going none the less, most of the female activists like Stanton, Anthony, Sojurner Truth etc didn't see equal rights for women in their time, and hell we still don't have it. I guess all we can keep telling ourselves is that someday, somehow, someway it will matter that we kept our voices raised for justice, and justice will be granted even though we may not know immediate victory.

And in the end you're remaining true to yourself and showing your own courage and convictions and you should feel proud of yourself if nothing else.

Being here with you all helps. It is good to know we are not alone and to have a place to find courage and support.

Also take a break. Take long walks, long baths, read, sing, watch a comedy. It helps keep you on track and keep your voice strong.

...I wonder how those amazing leaders did it? I think a lot of them had their faith in religion, and as an agnostic, I don't got that, myself.

I play drums in a band, so when we do our once-a-week practice, I feel great. Rocking out is good. But then it's back to living on Planet Bush.

I have suffered from clinical depression in the past, and this isn't the same. I don't feel hopeless all the time, either. I don't quite know how to describe it, except to say that, um, everything changed for me on 9/11 in an existential way (didn't know anybody there, wasn't even close) and it's all gone downhill since then.

Waking up is hard to do... and sleeping is hard to do (in an intellectual sense). That's why, I guess, we need each other. I hope people who are veteran DUers see this and maybe think twice about jumping on newbies who express grief emotions or depression. They've probably come here for some form of comfort.

Oh, hell, I've got to go eat dinner. See, I don't even want to tear myself away long enough to do that!

I am also an agnostic. I guess the only things I still believe in are the Declaration of Idependence and the Constitution. I keep trying to believe that in the end they will not let us down as long as we don't let them down.

I know what you mean about the clinical depression too. That's not what I'm feeling either. It is more the anxeity and feeling of insecurity that I'm having trouble with.

I just try to keep thinking, however, of that chorus from the Garth Brooks' song, that he wrote after what happened in Oklahoma:

"They keep on saying you'll never change things,
no matter what you do it's still the same thing,
it's not the world that I am changing,
I do this so, this world we know, never changes me."

At least it helps me know that I can keep believing in myself.


Keep playing your drums though and sticking it out with us here. We will get through this together.

An incident with a snake and 9-11 made me a complete non-believer, although I was headed that way, anyway. (Yes, something involving a snake made me a non-believer...it's a weird story.)

I suffer from depression AND anxiety AND panic attacks. I've had to up my klonopin dosage. If I go off the klonopin, I dissociate, which is a bizarre feeling. I'm only "happy" when I'm asleep. As if to make up for the hard times, my dreams have been extremely interesting...Freudian wish fulfillment, I'd wager.

I can't stay away from this forum, but I think I probably should, at least for awhile.

I'm deeply angry. I'm watching no corporate news on television. I'm avoiding most commercial TV, period. I'm buying nothing new except food, and I'm buying most of that at the local co-op. I'm making Xmas presents instead of buying them. I'm heating with wood, not gas.

I've had it with the corporate culture that is hostile to the people of this country. I'm done fattening the rich. When I come up with anything new to avoid feeding the beast, I'll share it.

maybe a nation x-mas boycott will get their attention. I know it will probably hurt alot of us, but trust me in the long run it would be well worth it...

That's what I've been trying to do -- not watch any cable news, focus on the Internet, Pacifica, AAR (but it's hard to avoid catching some news) -- and to buy only necessities, and even those locally. I'm also making Christmas gifts (which will be a good creative outlet).

I could use some ideas myself.

If this somehow goes our way :

Just Think of the party there will be !!!!!!!!!!!!!

n/t

I'm starting dig back into my work, but it's on my mind a lot, too. Effexor is an anti-anxiety drug I take anyway (I'm pre-screened, lOL). My biggest concern is a draft-age child who Chimp will get over my dead body. I find myself haunting DU a lot to look for more info, but I agree that the scraps of hope are getting fewer and fewer. I think we're in the stages of mourning right now, which is natural. Other than sending emails and signing petitions, we have not been able to express our frustration. As soon as we get some good protests to attend, we will do much better.

thanks for sharing!!! You are truly not alone.

Its not so much that I am so upset and cant cope its more like I keep searching for answers and clues to the mystery of what's next.
I had trouble sleeping last night also.

I stayed online searching for the next big clue perhaps from Madsen Also the people in the group who have been posting so much terrific info. I still hold on to the possibility that Fisher is onto something....

When JJ showed up it seemed different it seemed that his appearance was
The onsite of something HUGE..... Were that’s going we shall see

This is a great group......finding you all here was like hitting the jackpot.
If so many wonderful people can be so focused on Truth I feel so much hope.
Perhaps it all starts here underground...but at some point soon this will move upstairs..it already is starting..perhaps this is lack of sleep or there will be answers & justice
soon.....I feel it in the air

I agree with SueZhope -- this is an incredible group of people here at DU. You guys are amazing! I feel very fortunate to have found this group.

I get a little bummed out thinking about four more years of Bush and all the havoc he can create. I get bummed out thinking that the people of our country re-elected this idiot -- that really gets me the most. Then, I come to the DU boards and read all of the exciting stuff that is happening and I start to believe in our country again.

who I see every two weeks, and all we talk about is this. She always tells me how much better informed she is after I leave. I usually bring some type of literature to leave in the waiting room, or for her to share with her compadres. For me, so much raw emotion is involved and encompasses everything. A few years ago I was talking to an artist and he was enlightening me to the fact that almost everything you touch,see,hear is 'political'. The most important thing for me now is to pick one thing...for me its writing letters and emailing, and accept that as my part. Educating myself is the most important contribution I feel that I can make, and while it is frustrating and overwhelming, there must be some purpose for the acknowledged addiction. These are strange times, and we're all part of them. When I feel myself to close to the edge I read a book, take a walk, step away from the computer....

Downtown Madison, WI. About 200 people--not huge, but a passionate crowd. After walking around in picket circles, yelling, speeches etc. a bunch of people stormed the Election Office!(due to their recent contract with Accenture for a statewide voting list) 2 TV cameramen followed us up. I think this helped everyone who was there to get rid of that pent up frustration and anger, and feel like they are doing something constructive. I am pumped now but before,I had been feeling as badly as you, just researching on the computer, and waiting for news,having hopes go up and down, again and again.

Until last week, I was trying to feel productive by making and distributing fliers. That helped too, and I think it helps to energize everyone else out there, to see these anti-Bush, and anti-fraud messages. Saw a stop sign today--someone had spray painted "Bush" beneath the word "stop" Gives you a good feeling to know others out there are mad as hell, and ready to do something about it.

I just don't understand why there aren't thousands protesting in Florida, and demanding recounts.:kick:

I think it will help me, and lots of other folks I'm sure, feel like we're making a difference. Like we're not a bunch of wacko conspiracy theorists (although I am that... hee hee). Nothing like a bunch of folks raising their voices and fists in the air in defiance of wrong. And waving signs and chatting with friends and listening to great speakers... just getting outdoors for a while... out in the cold, hopefully clean air...

What I secretly hope to see is thousands of people mobbing the streets and getting really, really rowdy. I wish I could've been in NYC for the war protests. The ones we had here were pretty sedate.

I will say PRAYERS that 1000s show up for you. :) Hopefully yours will get more accurate and fair coverage on TV than ours did. grrr.

Elsewhere on DU, I've seen posts that indicate people are coming in buses from as far away as San Francisco and NYC to join us on Saturday December 4 (my birthday--it's my party and I'll protest if I want to) at the Statehouse in Columbus from 1 to 3. Jesse Jackson just confirmed, Greg Palast, other heavy hitters... it'll be great! I'm pretty psyched about it.

When I first heard about the Glib recount (what was that, like a week ago?) I was in a meeting with my laptop in front of my and I surruptitiously checked my email. I saw the update and involuntarily let out whoop of victory. I was so happy about it! I volunteered for it, too.

Part of the difficulties I've been having has been due to my disenchantment with a couple of the activist organizations I've worked with for this election. It was my first experience with activism (in terms of actually volunteering for work, not in terms of protesting or writing letters, etc.), so maybe it was just these particular groups.

Anyway, y'all are invited to my party!!!

I would love to come but will be working late Friday--unless I leave after it and drive all night! Hmmm. That would be wacky :headbang:

Regardless we who can't be there in person will be sending positive protest vibes to you, and hoping for a good outcome! wow...sounds great.

Seriously, any forensic accountant can prove that Kerry won both Ohio and Florida, yet everybody keeps talking recounts. We don't need recounts! We have the proof. I've been trying to tell everyone we can prove it. But I don't know that anyone believes it.

WE HAVE THE PROOF!

You sound like a batterred wife. Grow some cajones. Let's pound these republicans. We are the righteous and have truth and dignity on our side.

You may have missed the part of my post that says that I'm not going to quit, that I can't quit the fight... I'm simply acknowledging my feelings, bonding with others who may feel the same way, and working with them to overcome these feelings for the greater good. I just want to know how people cope.

BTW, it's not like I'm sitting around crying in my beer or anything. I volunteered before the election, was a poll watcher, I have gone out to a BoE and tried to gather data, I'm volunteering with the recount, I testified at the Columbus hearing, I've written and blogged about it, and I will be at any protest I can get to.

And another thing, why don't you suck it up and spill your emotional guts for a change? Or don't you have any "soft" feelings? And, personally, I'd like to know from what well you draw your courage

That and hanging around on DU. I have sincerely struggled since the election. The hubby doesn't totally get it. But to me, the whole event was both earth-shattering and an awakening.

I am smug in the knowledge that I for one am not plugged into the Matrix.

and this Board.

n/t

And it's especially tough because others I know have come to rely on me to be their Kerry/Re-Count 'cheerleader.' And I must admit, I am a bit tired.
Just when I feel there's no hope, it's all over...then someone like Jessie Jackson steps forward, or CNN (?!!)) covers the protests against Bush in Canada, or discuss the "War Crimes" actions being brought against Bush.
So I guess I'll count to 10, sigh, and 'keep faith' for another few days.
Though I REALLY hope Kerry speaks out REAL SOON...if only to let us all know that all hope is gone, so that we can 'heal' and move on. Until he does, I can only assume he's still holding hope, as has been indicated on several occasions.

Just when you think it might be time to "throw in the towel" out of no where comes a gush of good news. I love it! Yesterday was very much so an UP day, when I heard Kerry's lawyers had actually filed the papers to join the recount in Ohio and that Bev stormed Lepore's little gloat party! I couldn't have been happier about our progress.

The only thing that could have top that is Kerry coming out fighting and ready to challenge this thing out in the open. I'm still hoping, I can't stop. :)

I also enjoy all of the TV coverage Jackson is getting, to speak up for democracy. Yes, it was a good day yesterday.


Zann, just hang in there for as long as you can, I have a feeling it will only get better. It's good that you are giving others hope. Most of the people I know (here in Atlanta) have moved on and just assume the election was won fair and square. Even the few that believe there was "some" fraud. :shrug: So, I don't have anyone to share my feelings (about this) with. They all want to talk about the holidays etc. I feel like i'm the last one standing, lol I'm very thankful for online communities like this...

--Pepper

I'd love to find a nice hole and pull the cover over.

BTW, on a more cheery note, I suspect the real shit-storm will occur post 1/20.

Gyre

in the Chinese curse...

I've been trying to talk myself out of my four-year-long freakout, but honestly, I think these are really EXTREME times and that feeling out of sorts is perfectly reasonable.

The end of democracy is a big deal!!

It's huge!

I feel like I can't relax and accept things as normal, because then they've won.

But if they ruin my life, they've also won.

I'm taking deep breaths and trying to be patient. I say to myself... Watergate.... Watergate....

I'm getting myself hooked on all these articles of hope! In the meantime I'm telling my Democrat-voting teachers at school the good news. However I am also prepared for the worst. Always be prepared for the worst, and the best.

I remember what happened to me on Nov.3rd. I was constantly worried all day during school and even had upset stomach and kept thinking to myself about the provisional ballots that back then where yet to be counted. I also knew that the election was stolen that day because of the exit poll numbers, Diebold, and some strange vote poll results that gave two candidates the exact same number of votes.

stop moping,
Do not fear
Kerry's 'near'

Remember guys-you are all awsome, you are driving history into the right direction, no matter what the outcome. Lets all inform as many non-believers as possible and never give up and never give in.......
Keep your sense of humor!

I'm new as a 'poster', but reading everything on Du and its links since the 'election' has shown me how many great people there are left in this country.
Thank You

Thanks. It is not a "misery loves company" thing - it is more a "OMG, we all have to survive this somehow, what is working for you?"

Before the election I planted a vegetable garden and started growing some cool season veggies to help distract me from the hours I was spending on the Internet because the NYT and AJC were not enough. That worked for a while. But the election definitely put me in a funk that I am still trying to climb out of. I kept hoping if I didn't acknowledge Thanksgiving somehow it wouldn't come and I wouldn't have to climb into the whole matriarch role - but it came anyway and I survived. And in some ways it helped me because I had no choice but to get back into reality because many were depending on me. Now I must face Christmas and that will be even more difficult because it requires so much more forethought and preparation - and I signed up to go to Ohio (hoping doing something constructive for the cause will help???) but the timing of that will really add stress to the whole Christmas act . . .

The strange thing is I never really thought Kerry would win anyway, because I always believed that if the votes weren't there for W, the votes would be changed. Yet when it actually happened that way, I felt outrage rather than despair. My fury became my fuel. But the farther we get from election day, that fury grows weaker and doubt creeps in - and my resolve is all that remains. I just pray in the end we actually gain something for all of our efforts.

How do you all feel about constantly reading that the fraud is there and we should be able to prove that enough for genuine vote reform but to forget overturning the election? I myself have said this - that the important thing is to change the system. But I am not sure I believe it. Why is it we resign ourselves to accepting 4 more years if in fact there was fraud and we prove it???? WHY?

I just can't see Bush picking up his toys and going home no matter what happens - and oddly enough, I don't think it will even be asked of him. What are we afraid of? Temper tantrums from the town bully?

Thanks for putting this post out here allowing people a place to vent . . .

dmac wrote: "Thanks for putting this post out here allowing people a place to vent . . ."

I say, thank you and everyone else responding with their emotional expressions and tactics for combating the grief and doubt and fear and rage and whatever other feelings we may have. I think we're all committed to the cause and want to work toward a common goal (election reform and/or overturning this particular election), and it help us clear our minds and continue that work by sharing this way.

Kumbyah, anyone?

Sorry to be so touchy-feely, but I for one kind of need it!

I'm gonna buy me a chocolate bar tomorrow and watch an MST3K. Then I'm gonna have me a partay on Saturday!

Hope this is good news about Kerry's participation...

love to you all!

I think most of us here in this thread are feeling battered. Perfectly NORMAL after pulling SO hard for an outcome that we suspect has been snatched away by foul play of the worst kind. Dunno about you, but for me the period of several months before the election was like a vigil for a sick newborn. We all wanted this baby to LIVE...

This experience can be a real shock if you havent seen what greed and corruption look like. I've seen it before a few times, so there is no surprise. Certainly the elections of 00 and 02 we knew, smelled rotten. The only thing that amazes me now in 04 is the apparent magnitude of the deception and the willingness of so many to participate. It's breathtaking in scale. We have made it just too easy for the perpetrators to do their work. And the Justice system does not have remedies at present.

I've never been what you'd call an optimist-- but actually I tell you -- I am still flying -- from the positives of the past year and signs of hope. It's going to take awhile to wake the sleeping giant, but the Big Wheel is Turning Now. I know that all sounds very mystical. But think about it--we have new voices, we have stirrings of new media outlets, we have new organizations to plug into. Yeah they're all kinda whacked too, for the moment, but they WILL be moving. Some are now, in fact.

Everyone has different ways of coping with being so rudely knocked back. Some will get right up and join the protests, which are good for re-charging. And don't let anyone tell you they don't matter. If the media isn't there, take pictures, take video, spread them on the net. They matter. I'm going on Dec 12 because I KNOW I'll find an instant support group there. Also, peaceful protests inspire others to get involved, even if they stay behind the scenes. If you can't do protests, meditate on the issues and send relevant emails that day. You can be there in spirit.

In your own world, reach out for others who DO understand. Don't ever, ever doubt your own gut feelings about something like this. Acknowledge it. Get angry. Talk about it. Talk about the Future. Devise a plan of action, what you will do, where to put your best efforts. There is much more work to be done, but pacing is key now. Brainstorm. Think creatively...HOW can we get more attention to this? How can we inspire others to put some energy into this? How to help get the message out? CREATIVE IDEAS. Remember how it was when they did the AIDS quilt. Is there a grassroots visibility project for such a thing as protecting the vote? Post ideas on DU. This is such a great networking site.

Keep the Faith--I think the baby is alive, baby is in Recovery, but the baby lives...don't throw it out with the bathwater.

---------------------
One of the best things I read from DU today was from "the Politics of Victimization" article: herehttp://mathewgross.com/blog/archives/001041.html

The author says "We have a mandate to be as radical and liberal and steadfast as we need to be..."

Get that--I repeat-- "We have a Mandate...!" I am going to memorize that line like a mantra. I advise eneryone here in this thread to read this article for inspiration and to regain a sense of balance. It worked for me.

Sorry for posting an essay?! I'm a writer, the words flowed and I got kind of carried away. Maybe I've been wanting to pour this out, some message of hope. I really am feeling VERY encouraged by what I have seen, both before and after the (s)election. We have a mandate...

OOps again--I screwed up on that link to 'The Politics of Victimization" article. Here it is again:

http://mathewgross.com/blog/archives/001041.html

But I've been that way for quite a number of years now. I hate hypocracy. And this democracy has turned to hypocracy. Since at least Reagan. That's a hell of a long time to be pissed.
And to top it off, I'm trying to buy a house. And I was supposed to have a decision on my loan, on election day. And the same thing is happening to my loan as is happening to the election. Gears turning, and nothing appears to be happening. I've been sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering about the election and my loan. I even have my belongings in a moving van in front of my house. I was so sure it was going to happen, I moved everything. Boy was I a fool. Now I sit in an empty house. Waiting. It's so weird that it parallels the election.
I spend a lot of time on DU.
Not only can I no longer listen to President Asshole, but I now cannot even look at him. It's his arrogant hypocritical school yard bully attitude. What an ass!
But, it's times like tonight when I soar. Just the slightest good news, and things look up.
I really hate getting robbed. Especially twice.
I wish I could help more. But like everyone, I have a life I'm trying to live. And I'm discovering that I've been autistic. I don't have what it takes to help out. So I watch. And donate. And sign petitions.
The things that gives me hope are hearing bright people like Chamsky, who know that things have been this way before. Someone who knows the true perspective. And the thought that Bush won't make it four years.
I'm nearly fifty. So I have a bit of perspective, myself. Unfortunately, things were much better than they are now. But we didn't have DU.
There IS hope.

In many ways Nov. 2 was more catastrophic than Nov. 4 when I was diagnosed with an incurable, fatal neurological disorder. Simply stated, my faith in the ultimate triumph of justice, rationality, et al was shattered. Facts and investigation on issues such as Iraq don't matter; forget the "shining city on the hill" verbiage, we're no different than anyone else. In fact, I'm convinced my neighborhood could readily supply a full contingent of Auschwitz-type guards to deal with the non-authentic, non-real, non-"heartland" latte sippers among us. That I was lambasted in a local metropolitan newspaper's letters section for daring to suggest that the execution of the unarmed, severely wounded Iraqi prisoner in the Fallouja mosque involved a real issue of immorality, unlike the threat of marauding bands of gay, atheistic abortionists, should have come as no surprise. But it did, and I live in a blue state.

Any bit of protest helps me cope.