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"...these men of hubris" 
Understanding the 2004 Presidential Election: Beyond the Polarized Electorate, And The Republicans' Superior Voter Turnout by John W. Dean
(...)
In his victory speech, after thanking supporters, Bush said, "I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust." Yet the next day, in his first post-election press conference, he described working with his opponents as their agreeing with his goals and aims.
With four years of evidence, Kerry supporters - realists that they are, who have learned to watch what Bush and Cheney do, rather than what they say - will hardly be persuaded that this administration seeks a new era of bipartisanship. That is particularly true given that the President suggested at his recent press conference that the divisiveness will end when everyone agrees with his positions. Little wonder there is widespread depression.
The sensible take on the next four years will not be found in the President's faux offers of thorny olive branches with very short stems. Bush and Cheney are not going to trim their sails, and with the ship of state listing dangerously starboard, no one should expect smooth sailing for the next four years. Humility does not come easily to these men of hubris. Rancor should be expected. Indeed, it may be necessary to keep them from sinking us all. [more]
Through the looking glass
Christian Conservatives Must Not Compromise: Voters reject liberalism, an evil ideology by Frank Pastore
Read this commentary and feel the wrath of America's equivalent to Osama bin Laden. This is why seperation of church and state is vital. And, according to Karl Rove's stategy, these are the people that won the election for George Bush.
(link via Political Animal)
We desparately need election reform
Black Box Voting: Consumer Protection for Elections
THURSDAY Nov. 4 2004: If you are concerned about what happened Tuesday, Nov. 2, you have found a home with our organization. Help America Audit.
Black Box Voting has taken the position that fraud took place in the 2004 election through electronic voting machines. We base this on hard evidence, documents obtained in public records requests, inside information, and other data indicative of manipulation of electronic voting systems. What we do not know is the specific scope of the fraud. We are working now to compile the proof, based not on soft evidence -- red flags, exit polls -- but core documents obtained by Black Box Voting in the most massive Freedom of Information action in history.
We need: Lawyers to enforce public records laws. Some counties have already notified us that they plan to stonewall by delaying delivery of the records. We need citizen volunteers for a number of specific actions. We need computer security professionals willing to GO PUBLIC with formal opinions on the evidence we provide, whether or not it involves DMCA complications. We need funds to pay for copies of the evidence. [more]
BLACK BOX VOTING is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit 501c(3) organization funded solely by citizen donations.
NOTE: We are ".ORG." BlackBoxVoting".COM" is a deceptively designed site, not affiliated with Bev Harris, nor with Black Box Voting Inc.
N.C. Computer Loses More Than 4,500 Votes
More than 4,500 votes have been lost in one North Carolina county because officials believed a computer that stored ballots electronically could hold more data than it did. Scattered other problems may change results in races around the state.
Local officials said UniLect Corp., the maker of the county's electronic voting system, told them that each storage unit could handle 10,500 votes, but the limit was actually 3,005 votes.
Expecting the greater capacity, the county used only one unit during the early voting period. "If we had known, we would have had the units to handle the votes," said Sue Verdon, secretary of the county election board.
Officials said 3,005 early votes were stored, but 4,530 were lost.
Jack Gerbel, president and owner of Dublin, Calif.-based UniLect, said Thursday that the county's elections board was given incorrect information. There is no way to retrieve the missing data, he said. [more]
Error plague voting process in Ohio, Pa. Vindicator staff
So much for advanced computer voting technology.
Mahoning and Mercer -- the only counties in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys to use electronic voting machines and among only a handful in Ohio and Pennsylvania with the technology -- encountered a series of problems that delayed results for hours Tuesday.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections will begin an investigation immediately to find out the sources of the problems, said Mark Munroe, the agency's chairman.
(...)
The human error specifically was precinct officials getting nervous or overwhelmed by the number of people voting, and then failing to properly follow protocol to count the ballots in the machine, he said.
That led to some races showing votes of negative 25 million, Munroe said.
"The numbers were nonsensical so we knew there were problems," he said. [more]
A battle lost, a war to win. Fight on.
Stand and Fight The Nation editorial
The fight is over.
Let the fight begin.
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What might the Democratic Party learn from this election? First, that a posture of meekness, resignation and accommodation leads to failure. At no time during the campaign did the Democratic candidate discuss in an honest way the single most important issue facing the country: how to disengage from the war in Iraq. Second, that money, while it can indeed make a major difference, is not the party's problem; the familiar excuse that Republicans raise more campaign funds was extinguished this year. Nor was the country at large indifferent to Bush's alliance with industrial plunderers and his shameful schemes to dismantle social, economic and environmental protections; almost half the electorate voted against these things.
(...)
The Democratic Party is not the only vehicle for change. Historically, that party's finest moments have come when it was pushed into action from outside by popular movements, from the labor movement to the civil rights movement to the women's movement to the gay-rights movement. Such movements--independent of the Democratic Party but powerfully influencing it--must foster and increase their strength. The Nation will support these movements. [more]
No Surrender by Paul Krugman
President Bush isn't a conservative. He's a radical - the leader of a coalition that deeply dislikes America as it is. Part of that coalition wants to tear down the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt, eviscerating Social Security and, eventually, Medicare. Another part wants to break down the barriers between church and state. And thanks to a heavy turnout by evangelical Christians, Mr. Bush has four more years to advance that radical agenda.
Democrats are now, understandably, engaged in self-examination. But while it's O.K. to think things over, those who abhor the direction Mr. Bush is taking the country must maintain their intensity; they must not succumb to defeatism.
(...)
Yes, Democrats need to make it clear that they support personal virtue, that they value fidelity, responsibility, honesty and faith. This shouldn't be a hard case to make: Democrats are as likely as Republicans to be faithful spouses and good parents, and Republicans are as likely as Democrats to be adulterers, gamblers or drug abusers. Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country; blue states, on average, have lower rates of out-of-wedlock births than red states.
But Democrats are not going to get the support of people whose votes are motivated, above all, by their opposition to abortion and gay rights (and, in the background, opposition to minority rights). All they will do if they try to cater to intolerance is alienate their own base.
(...)
Rather than catering to voters who will never support them, the Democrats - who are doing pretty well at getting the votes of moderates and independents - need to become equally effective at mobilizing their own base.
In fact, they have made good strides, showing much more unity and intensity than anyone thought possible a year ago. But for the lingering aura of 9/11, they would have won. [more]
The election is over, back to war
Military hospital preparing for Fallujah battle: Marines say the toll is expected to rival those seen in Vietnam War by Tom Lasseter
The number of dead and wounded from the expected battle to retake insurgent-controlled Fallujah probably will reach levels not seen since Vietnam, a senior surgeon at the Marine camp outside Fallujah said Thursday.
Navy Cmdr. Lach Noyes said the camp's hospital is preparing to handle 25 severely injured soldiers a day, not counting walking wounded and the dead.
The hospital has added two operating rooms, doubled its supplies, added a mortuary and stocked up on blood reserves. Doctors have set up a system of ambulance vehicles that will rush to the camp's gate to receive the dead and wounded so units can return to battle quickly.
The plans underscore the ferocity of the fight the U.S. military expects in Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim city about 35 miles west of Baghdad, which has been under insurgent control since April.
(...)
The toll in human suffering has already been grave.
Staff Sgt. Jason Benedict was on a convoy heading to the Fallujah camp Saturday when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into the truck Benedict and his platoon mates were traveling in.
A few minutes later, mortars and rifle fire rained down on the survivors.
As he rolled toward the safety of a ditch, Benedict saw one of his friends crawling on all fours, with blood pouring from his face.
"You've got to expect casualties," said Benedict, 28. The fight for Fallujah, he said, "is overdue." [more]
My heart goes out to the men and women fighting in Iraq. They should not be there. Their mission is to protect our country, not to be cannon fodder for the impulsive and myopic president. This should never have happened. Every drop of blood will be the hands of George Bush and his supporters.
The incredible shrinking coalition
Hungary to pull troops from Iraq within 5 months by Tom Squitlieri
Hungary will withdraw its 300 troops from Iraq by the end of March, the country's new prime minister said Wednesday.
The announcement is a blow to President Bush's efforts to hold the coalition together despite increasing violence in Iraq. Hungarian officials said they delayed the announcement until after the U.S. presidential elections.
The Hungarian force, a transportation contingent, is based at Hillah, 65 miles south of Baghdad, and is under Polish command.
(...)
There are 21,304 non-U.S. troops from 28 nations in Iraq, augmenting the U.S. force of 138,000.
Other nations that have recently announced withdrawals include: Poland, with 2,350 troops; Italy, 3,000; the Netherlands, 1,300; Ukraine, 1,450, Norway, 300; New Zealand, 61; and Thailand, 880.
Previously, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and El Salvador withdrew forces. New contributors to the force are South Korea and Tonga. [more]
Hmm, I wonder if Bush knew or had anything to do with Hungary wating until after the election to announce their withdrawal.
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