A Cornucopia of Ennui

A light snow tonight. That could only mean one thing. No, not a White Christmas. What it means is that no matter how much snow I scrape off the car tommorow morning, when I open the door the slight vacuum created will suck snowflakes off the roof unto the drivers seat. I hate that.

As you might've guessed from the vapid paragraph above, I've been suffering from a bit of blog ennui lately. So many things to write about and so little desire to actually do the minimal amount of work to actually write about them.

Among the items stewing, which I may or may not write about further in any great detail:

I've owned about 5 or 6 palmpilot pda's over the last several years and I'm finally getting to the point where I'm going to buy, gasp, a Windows CE oriented device. (A Dell Axim to be precise.) Palm just isn't doing it for me anymore. They really need to come out with a Wi-Fi equipped PDA that's a little closer to my target price. ($250-$300)

The impending departure of Dan Rather has me thinking that conservatives still have a long way to go in the mainstream media. Hey all you rich conservatives out there, we need more than one "fair and balanced" network!

Yet another report about liberal bias on college campuses reminds me of the other area where conservatives need to make a lot more progress - the educational system.

Just because we won an election, doesn't mean there aren't more battles to wage.

Finally, I was going to point you to an article about the ongoing chaos in Ukraine over at Powerline Blog but all the ads and other crapola took so long to load on my measly dialup connection that I just decided to encourage you to visit LSPM instead.

The Spirit of America

Okay, here's the story. I get these excruciating headaches about once every three weeks. No matter what kind of pain medication I take, the headache doesn't go away for two days...really. In fact, I think taking pain medication for them actually prolongs the headache. So there I was the day before thanksgiving in excruciating pain and a co-worker suggest that I go to this place that does accupuncture and massages. I thought, hey, that sounds like something that might help my headache.

The place is "by appointment only" but I don't know when I'm going to have a headache so I figured I would just drop by. Here's the catch - it costs anywhere from $45 - $65 dollars, depending on what they do. Well, I went to the place and they were booked. I didn't get any little needles stuck in my body and I didn't get to have a complete, yet skilled, stranger rub my neck and shoulders.

So how does this have anything to do with the title of this post?

Today I visited Argghhh!, one of my favorite blogs, (except it used to be better before he started worrying about his status as a contractor with Tradoc) and saw that he was looking for donations to something called, Spirit of America.

Spirit of America has a lot of really cool projects:
Gifts for Iraqi Children
Sewing Machines for Women in Ramadi
Operation Snapshot
...and more.

If I'm willing to blow $45 - $65 dollars to get rid of a headache that I know will be gone the next day (I was already on day two) then I should be willing to kick in some money to help those who can't afford to do that sort of thing. Besides, John at Argghhh! is a good guy and a Rotarian to boot.

Go to Spirit of America yourself and pitch in.

Oh, and if you know of any good remedies for a two-day tension headache, I'm looking for ideas.

The Bear Next Door

Russia has long wanted to bring Ukraine back into it's fold. They'd like Ukraine to become the same kind of "democracy". Vladimir Putin has funneled millions of dollars to support the pro-Russian Presidential candidate. (Where's George Soros when you need him?)

Ukraine is one of those countries where they love Americans so it's kind of exciting to see the people rise up in peaceful revolt against a corrupt election. LSPM claims he's a little short on perspective since he's actually in Independence Square in Kiev, but his posts are pretty informative and worth a look:
How and Why The Election was Stolen, Part 3
Updates from The Front

Deep Target

Hugh has a source, Deep Target, who says,

HQ sent around a video two weeks ago for all employees to watch, telling them of the likely objections to the dropping of the Salvation Army, and their canned responses...

Apparently Target wants to weather the storm. Afterall, a bunch of fundamentalists aren't going to make a difference, right?
I finally received my canned response letter back from: guest.relations@target.com
It sure took them long enough...they must be quite busy. Hey get your own canned response by sending them an email yourself.

Target Practice

I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. Maybe I'm a snob but Wal-mart always seems to be filled with a lot of the hoi polloi that I typically like to avoid. In my grouchy opinion, shopping shouldn't be a cultural experience but at Wal-Mart it often feels like it.

On the other hand, I'm an avid Target shopper. I'm not really sure why the two stores seem so different. Much of their merchandise is the same. Maybe the khaki and red outfits of the staff don't seem as garish as the electric blue vests at Wal-Mart. Maybe it's because the aisles at Target aren't jammed with extra merchandise, making it much easier to navigate the crowds. I don't really know why I prefer Target but I do.

My wife prefers Wal-Mart. I think it's because the prices are a little lower or maybe it's because of that cute smiley mascot. You know, the guy that's always going around slashing prices.

Apparently, Target decided this was the year to set themselves apart from other retailers by deciding to ban the Salvation Army bell ringers. As Hugh Hewitt notes,

Harvard Business School will soon have another case on its hand of a management's failure to defend its brand in the aftermath of a serious mistake of judgment.

Target's reasoning has something to do with not wanting to choose between charities and there's also some vaguely mentioned concern for consumers. A good story explaining the situation can be found at The Boston Globe, Retailer discord rings over charity's bells.

I'm a little ambivalent about this decision. The Salvation Army is a good organization and I've even volunteered as a bell-ringer. (although not at a Target store) However, I tend to avoid the bell-ringers myself when I'm shopping. I hate feeling guilty for not throwing my change in the kettle. Instead, I avoid eye contact and just keep on walking. (Coincidentally, that's the same policy I use for street beggars in Chicago.)

But...because of Target's decision a lot of people will have a much less merry christmas this year. While I don't feel the animous of those at dontshopattarget.com I guess I'll have to re-consider my choice of stores this christmas.

For what it's worth, I wrote an email to: guest.relations@target.com to voice my displeasure of their decision:

Every year I do most of my Christmas shopping at your store. This year I might have to re-consider. I don't appreciate your decision not to allow the Salvation Army to seek donations at your store and I'm encouraging you to re-evaluate that decision. You see, there are many stores where I can get the same junk that I usually buy at Christmas and I don't need any excuses to go somewhere else.

To make matters worse, Wal-Mart is welcoming the Salvation Army bell-ringers with open arms. Perhaps I can do all my shopping online this year.

Corporate Bullies

Because I don't have any original ideas of my own right now, I thought I'd rip one off from Powerline.

I'm not sure why certain corporations find it necessary to drag out their legal big guns right away, but it gets a little ridiculous in some cases. Powerline mentions the story of "The Rocket Formerly Known as Black",

Presenting a rocket icon that can actually fly may erroneously bring to mind such negative adjectives as 'sleek', 'agile', 'spectacular', or 'lightning-fast'. As an Internet platform supplier, it is clearly in your best interest to recoil from these attributes as vehemently as you would from a child puking in a crowded elevator.

Be sure to read the whole thing at The TRFKAB Letters

Several months ago I received a hostile e-mail from someone accusing me of "endangering the troops" and giving terrorists secret information about the ability of US Forces to detect and remotely detonate IED's. In response, I posted my own hostile reaction and basically told the guy to go jump in the lake. However, a few weeks ago I received another email. In this one, the writer pointed out that all the information I posted was publicly available but would I please remove certain key facts so as not to make things easier for our enemies. I complied immediately.

You see, you really do catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. (Ending this post by using a tired cliche' is the best I can do tonight - sorry.)

Not Your Usual Suspects

Normally I don't blog in my pajamas, but today I'm off work. The reason? Well, I'm involved in politics here in my little part of the world and a big part of being successful in government is being able to be a policy wonk of sorts. So I'm staying home to write ordinances. Yes, I know, it's pretty dull stuff, but important nonetheless.

One of my theories involving organizational dynamics is this; in order to be successful you have to recognize what you "bring to the table" and capitalize on it. For example, some people are really good at forming relationships that they can then call on for favors or special deals. Others are good at dealing with the public - providing customer service. I guess my "capital" is the ability to move words around on a page and develop specialized knowledge in arcane areas. Since that's my schtick, I need to use it.

At the moment, I'm merely procrastinating instead of cranking out ordinances. If you know anything about Open Space Ordinances or forming an Economic Development Corporation feel free to send me helpful suggestions.

Otherwise, I was looking through my referers and came across some blogs that I don't usually see:
Bonfire, Drink This, and Look Both Ways aren't droning on about ordinances and have some pretty interesting stuff to check out.

Finally, there's an organization called, Strengthen The Good that is such a great idea that I wish I'd thought of it. I've been wanting to get involved with it for a long time and I would encourage you to do so too.

Okay....now back to the ordinances...

Inside The Kerry Campaign

If John Kerry had been successful in his campaign for President we might now have the opportunity to read about all the "disastrous" mistakes the President and his organization made. As it turns out, we have a similar opportunity to read about Kerry's "disastrous" campaign.

In my opinion, as an amateur watching from the sidelines, the biggest mistake Kerry made was in basing his campaign on his Vietnam service. Using this as the cornerstone opened him up to a lot of criticism that ultimately hurt the public perception of his character. Without trust in Kerry the candidate, there wasn't much he could do to escape from that lack of trust. There is no logical position on an issue that will restore that overall sense of trust.

Overall, I don't think Kerry ran such a bad campaign. Ultimately, I believe it was his positions that hurt him in the voting booth, not anything specific about the campaign itself. The Boston Globe has done an excellent job of examining the Kerry campaign. The article does this examination by simply taking a look at how the decisions made, played out in the public eye.

The Globe article is titled On The Trail of Kerry's Failed Dream

Hunting Season

I suppose if I were a real man I would enjoy killing animals. I don't. I feel sorry for them instead. I guess it's due to the fact that I'm a city boy. I've noticed that the vast majority of hunters were exposed to it at an early age. In turn, they pass it on to their children.

I'm not one of those people who refuses to wear leather or eat steak. In fact, I enjoy both of them. I don't think animals and humans are of equal worth. I'm not sure I have any moral qualms about hunting and especially not when it means that me or my family will have enough to eat.

Happily we don't have to hunt in order to have enough food. Our food comes from the grocery store. We like it that way. It helps us to have a little sense of denial about where the food really comes from.

I'm also not one of those people who has something against guns. I grew up with guns in the house. I think guns are kind of cool. I have a foid card just like every other good red-blooded american.

My real problem with hunting is this; a deer out walking in the woods minding it's own business isn't doing me any harm. Why would I want to hurt it? Living things are beautiful to behold but once they're dead they're, well, dead. They become inanimate - literally. If I had to kill something in order to eat, I would do it without hesitation. Otherwise it's not something I can consider fun.

If you like to hunt, that's great, but don't expect me to admire the deer in the back of your pickup truck. I'm trying to picture the beauty and grace that you just ended and how you can possibly enjoy it.

We Were Soldiers

One of the cable networks has been running We Were Soldiers this week. It's a great movie and I can't think of a better one to show on veteran's day. If you've never seen it, go rent it. Not only is it a great war movie but it also shows the pain and struggles of the soldiers and their families...and it's a true story. Be prepared to cry like a baby.

LZ XRay provides the historical information behind the story.

Hope for Democrats

It isn't difficult to stumble over the many examples of Democrats from the loony left who've had near-psychotic reactions to the defeat of their candidate. (Some examples are highlighted here.) A few of them have even talked about seceeding from the red-states. I think they aren't serious but sometimes it's hard to tell.

On the other hand, there are some Democrats who are taking a good hard look at this election and learning from it. Bruce Reed from the DLC is one of those Democrats,

For the first time in memory, Republicans are now the majority party from the top of the ballot to the bottom. The South, which helped elect every Democratic president in history, hasn't given us a single electoral vote in the 21st century. Bush won majorities not just of white men and evangelicals, but of white women, married people, couples with children, people over 30, voters who make above $50,000, high school and college graduates, and regular churchgoers. How can a blue party become a red-white-and-blue party once again? [Source]

Bruce then goes on to offer four major ways they can become the majority party.

1. Expand the Map - He refers to 23 uncontested red states where they need to be competitive.
   
2. Crack The Cultural Code - He cites Democrats' unwillingness to discuss moral issues and then goes on to point out that moral issues encompass more than just social activism. He cites patriotism, personal responsibility, opportunity, and a clear sense of right and wrong.
   
3. Make Ideas Matter - He essentially argues that they should spend more time crafting their ideas than worrying about image.
   
4. Surprise People - He encourages the party to come up with some ideas that are compelling to the skeptics.
   

I have to admit these ideas are a little vague and are still in need of substance, but if the Democratic Party keeps going in this direction then Republicans may have something to fear when the next election rolls around. In the meantime, Republicans can hope that the Michael Moore's, the George Soros' and other wacky celebrity types will continue to spout outlandish statements. It's their best chance for continuing the gains made in this election.

Personally, I would welcome a revived moderate Democratic Party. I hate walking into the election booth and feeling like the fate of the free world will be decided by the decisions made that day. I'd rather feel that there are some differences of opinion but regardless of who wins, things will ultimately turn out okay. If this means more real competition between the parties, then so be it.

How They See Us

Not an Evangelical? Well, go find out what they're really like by reading, How They See Us, Part 1.

Goodbye Dave

I'm not exactly an avid football fan, but I know a crappy leader when I see one. When he was coach of the Bears, I couldn't stand him. He didn't seem capable of getting his players to all play off the same playbook and it seemed like there were numerous incidents that demonstrated (to me anyway) that he wasn't leading.

Now I see in the news that Dave Wannstedt has resigned as coach of the Miami Dolphins. (story here) His boss was going to let him finish out the season but Dave wanted out now. Sometimes people just aren't cut out to be head coach. This guy's one of them.

Secret Weapons, Part 2

Drudge reports today on the activities of some marines getting ready for battle. The story is reminiscent of a previous post, Secret Weapons. Today's story is found here, but just in case the link goes stale the text is below:

Marines turn to God ahead of anticipated Fallujah battle
Sat Nov 06 2004 09:37:17 ET

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov 6 (AFP) - With US forces massing outside Fallujah, 35 marines swayed to Christian rock music and asked Jesus Christ to protect them in what could be the biggest battle since American troops invaded Iraq last year.

Men with buzzcuts and clad in their camouflage waved their hands in the air, M-16 assault rifles laying beside them, and chanted heavy metal-flavoured lyrics in praise of Christ late Friday in a yellow-brick chapel.

They counted among thousands of troops surrounding the city of Fallujah, seeking solace as they awaited Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's decision on whether or not to invade Fallujah.

"You are the sovereign. You're name is holy. You are the pure spotless lamb," a female voice cried out on the loudspeakers as the marines clapped their hands and closed their eyes, reflecting on what lay ahead for them.

The US military, with many soldiers coming from the conservative American south and midwest, has deep Christian roots.

In times that fighting looms, many soldiers draw on their evangelical or born-again heritage to help them face the battle.

"It's always comforting. Church attendance is always up before the big push," said First Sergeant Miles Thatford.

"Sometimes, all you've got is God."

Between the service's electric guitar religious tunes, marines stepped up on the chapel's small stage and recited a verse of scripture, meant to fortify them for war.

One spoke of their Old Testament hero, a shepherd who would become Israel's king, battling the Philistines some 3,000 years ago.

"Thus David prevailed over the Philistines," the marine said, reading from scripture, and the marines shouted back "Hoorah, King David," using their signature grunt of approval.

The marines drew parallels from the verse with their present situation, where they perceive themselves as warriors fighting barbaric men opposed to all that is good in the world.

"Victory belongs to the Lord," another young marine read.

Their chaplain, named Horne, told the worshippers they were stationed outside Fallujah to bring the Iraqis "freedom from oppression, rape, torture and murder ... We ask you God to bless us in that effort."

The marines then lined up and their chaplain blessed them with holy oil to protect them.

"God's people would be annointed with oil," the chaplain said, as he lightly dabbed oil on the marines' foreheads.

The crowd then followed him outside their small auditorium for a baptism of about a half-dozen marines who had just found Christ.

The young men lined up and at least three of them stripped down to their shorts.

The three laid down in a rubber dinghy filled with water and the chaplain's assistant, Navy corpsman Richard Vaughn, plunged their heads beneath the surface.

Smiling, Vaughn baptised them "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Dripping wet, Corporal Keith Arguelles beamed after his baptism.

"I just wanted to make sure I did this before I headed into the fight," he said on the military base not far from the city of Fallujah.

Nader Knows Something

There's at least one thing that Ralph Nader and I agree upon, the danger of paperless voting,

A bedrock of democracy is making sure that every vote counts. The counting of votes needs to be transparent so people can trust that their vote is counted as they cast it. Paperless electronic voting on touch screen machines does not provide confidence to ensure votes are counted the way voters intend. The software on which votes are counted is protected as a corporate trade secret and the software is so complex that if malicious code was embedded no analysis could discover it. Further, because there is no voter verified paper record, it is not possible to audit the electronic vote for accuracy, nor is it possible to conduct an independent recount. This Primary Day six million voters will be voting on paperless electronic voting machines. This is a grotesquely designed, over-complicated expensive system fraught with the potential for mistakes and undetected fraud. [Source]

A Good Democrat

This guy writing this post titled, To My Fellow Democrats knows what he's talking about. If more Democrats were like this, Republicans would lose a lot more elections.

Bending The Map

I read somewhere that one of the last things a lost hiker does before starting to panic is to "bend the map". In other words, they begin to imagine that the small hill on their left looks a lot like the mountain shown on the map and the little bend in the creek up ahead corresponds to a river that points the way home. Of course, none of this is true. It's just that in their state of bewilderment they seek to bend the map to meet the picture in their mind rather than acknowledging the reality of being lost.

Wretchard quotes one of my least favorite authors, Jane Smiley, who writes in Slate,

The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. ... Ignorance and bloodlust have a long tradition in the United States, especially in the red states. There used to be a kind of hand-to-hand fight on the frontier called a "knock-down-drag-out," where any kind of gouging, biting, or maiming was considered fair. The ancestors of today's red-state voters used to stand around cheering and betting on these fights. [Source]

There isn't a lot of soul searching going on here - just bitterness and condescension.

In the hated NYT a New Yorker laments,

"I'm saddened by what I feel is the obtuseness and shortsightedness of a good part of the country - the heartland," Dr. Joseph said. "This kind of redneck, shoot-from-the-hip mentality and a very concrete interpretation of religion is prevalent in Bush country - in the heartland." [Source]

James Taranto reports in an article titled, The Blue Cocoon about how disconsolate New Yorkers and certain establishment types are feeling about losing the election. Somehow they can't accept that it was the poverty of their ideas that had anything to do with it. No, to them it has to be some sinister conspiracy or just the sheer stupidity of those red-staters.

The Capital Times reports on the depression and hopeless of many of John Kerry's supporters at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI

"But as the hours wore on, what she saw on the TV was almost identical to Al Gore's loss, and Kuriakose began to lose hope that her fellow Americans sufficiently shared her outrage over Bush's "misleading statements, his unilateralism, his destruction of international relations." [Source]

I guess I can't blame these people. If Kerry had won I have to admit I'd be searching high and low to see if he "stole the election" and I would probably wonder if the nation had lost it's collective mind.

I suppose that "bending the map" happens to all of us at one time or another. It's the next step that counts when you have the choice of taking careful stock of yourself and your situation or lapsing into fatal panic and hysteria.

After The Dust Settles

After all the dust settles on this presidential campaign, there are a few things that need to be resolved.

Voting Procedures - The way people vote and the requisite procedures seem to be vastly different from one state to the next or even from one precinct to the next. I suspect there is a reason why the feds haven't regulated this and it has to do with Federalism. That's fine, but the states should consider joining a consortium that helps to determine recommended voting processes. Then the states themselves could legislate one standard way to collect and count votes.

Campaign Finance Reform - The campaign finance reform advocated by guys like John McCain didn't work. In fact, it made things worse with a false dichotomy between so-called hard and soft money. Campaign finance reform needs to be reformed. Instead of making things more complicated and restrictive, each campaign should be required to publicly disclose all donors and amounts prominently.

Big Media Collusion - There was the CBS News forged documents debacle and the corresponding "Fortunate Son" campaign. Then there was the missing explosives in Iraq red herring that Kerry beat to death in the closing days of the campaign. There was definitely collusion between big media outlets and the Kerry campaign. This needs to be investigated and if necessary prosecuted.
As far as the media is concerned, I'm not advocating any legal restrictions on their freedom of speech, but clearly something needs to change.

Tax Exempt Status - It's illegal for non-profits to engage in political advocacy. UNLESS - you happen to be a Democrat then it's still illegal but everyone just pretends that such advocacy doesn't occur. I'd like some enforcement of the law here. What about all of those churches that had a candidate preaching from the pulpit? How about the statements of their pastors in support of a specific candidate? And let's not forget the NAACP - also a non-profit - that explicitly supported John Kerry. Let's either enforce the law or decide that it's okay for non-profits to engage in such activities. The current double standard is ridiculous.

Election Night Follies - It seemed that all the networks, including Fox, were reticent to call some states for Bush even when it was very clear he would be the winner. Yet other states were called for Kerry with much less data. Furthermore, it seemed that no one wanted to declare Bush the winner. His projected electoral vote total remained at 269 until the next day.

Conservative Dollars - Okay, you Conservative Republicans instead of sending in all those donations to the Presidential and other campaigns, why don't you start collecting money to allow for starting a news network that, at the very least, will strive to report the facts objectively. While you're at it - make it a Broadcast network, not just available on cable. Fox is okay but it's still very little competition for the MSM.

Illinois Republicans - Will the Illinois Republican party do any soul-searching now about the wisdom of having Alan Keyes run for the Senate? The boneheads that made this decision should be replaced and someone who knows what they're doing should start working on finding and positioning a viable candidate for Governor. The next election is only two years away and Blogo is looking very vulnerable.

Democrats - They've had great success with candidates from the south. You'd think they would've known better than to nominate another Northeastern Liberal. Hopefully, they'll do a little thinking about the direction of their party. It seems that there aren't too many moderate Democrats left anymore. Instead, the party is controlled by a variety of liberal special interest groups. In this election there was such a vast difference between the worldviews of the two candidates that it felt like the future of the free world rested on making the correct choice. It would be really nice if the difference wasn't quite so stark and I think it would make the whole process less rancorous.

CNN - I spent a few minutes watching their election coverage and it was horrible. Larry King? Give me a break. The guy is a dinosaur more accustomed to doing softball celebrity interviews. They had these little microphone things attached to their heads - the kind similar to what they use at the fast food restaurants. Then their electoral college map seemed kind of primitive. When the guy standing in front of it would point to a state to change it's color ... there would be this long pause before it finally switched. I think the local news station in my area could do a better job than these guys. I suspect they're ratings will be very similar if they don't get a better producer.

Fox - Juan Williams is a weasel. I realize they need to have a liberal on their panel as part of being "fair and balanced" but can't they find someone who's a little bit less of a party hack?

Blogs - National Review had a fairly decent thing going with frequent updates and some behind the scenes revelations. I didn't see any other blogs with much in the way of good information. As much as bloggers hype themselves as being a replacement for the MSM, they were all still watching the major media for their information.

Web Info - There was an electoral map over at Newsday (www.newsday.com) that was just incredible. It was a flash animation that would automatically update itself every few minutes with the lastest counts for each state. I wasn't impressed with Fox News' web coverage or any of the other major media for that matter.

Hopefully, some things will change in this whole election process. In 2008 it should be fun to watch Hillary Clinton and John Kerry tear each apart.

My favorite picture from the campaign,

No Comment

I've turned off the comments on all posts. I was getting almost a hundred pieces of comment spam per day! I usually like getting comments but I don't have the time to de-spam everything every day. If you want to comment, send me an email at: jd[at]stillmanvalley.org

All of this leads me to wonder, has anyone ever made a purchase based on something they read in comment spam? So...why do they continue doing it?

Victory!

Yes! At 11:45 pm cst Fox News just called Ohio for Bush.
It seems pretty likely that Bush will be re-elected.

At this point in time it's difficult to explain my utter disdain for John Kerry. I'll be even more thrilled to hear his concession speech.

As far as I can tell, the vote margins look sufficient enough that we won't have to worry about lawyers gunking up the election.

Go Bush!

Election Projection

The world seems a lot different than it did back in 2000. On that election night I stayed up until 2 or 3 am hoping to find out conclusively who would be the winner. At the time, it was extremely frustrating and a little scary knowing that Al Gore might become President.

If I had seen into the future; the attacks on 9/11, the upsurge in terrorist attacks overseas and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I would've been terrified at the possibility of a President Gore. Now, the USA is engaged in what some have aptly called a World War. The prospect of a President Kerry is even more terrifying.

I've cast my vote and it was for George W. Bush. There wasn't any voter intimidation in my polling place. We're pretty much a Bush town (and we'd like to keep it that way) and everyone was on their best behavior.

It will be a late night at Army of One Central. I'll stay up until I'm reasonably sure of the results of this election. Hopefully we'll know the results and I'll be able to sleep a lot easier knowing that President Bush will be our leader for four more years. If not, then I'll still sleep okay with the knowledge that our democracy has proven to be extremely resilient. Yes, there might be tough years ahead, but this is only one battle. Besides, Kerry doesn't appear to have any core principles. It seems that all his decisions are based on polls so if he wins, I think our country will survive him - if we must.

Still, I'll be really glad when this is all over.

I'll be on a blogging hiatus for a while after election day. If I decide to continue blogging, I'll probably focus a lot less on politics. I'm sick of politics.

I'm JD Mays and I approved this message.

Go Vote!

Remember, If it isn't close they can't cheat and if it is close, then expect a long frustrating wait. Especially in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida.

The Democrats have a lot to lose in this election and they'll do anything to keep from losing.

Perhaps this time John Kerry's allies in the liberal media elite will refrain from calling the Florida election before those conservatives in the panhandle have finished voting.

Keep in mind that a victory for John Kerry means a victory for CBS News, The New York Times, George Soros, The Associated Press, France, Germany, and Michael Moore.

A Test of Faith

I thought I was all done blogging for a while until I saw something over at Ryans Head. An excerpt:

Public elections are a good time for faith. They are a good time for us to show that we really do trust God. We use whatever opportunity he gives us to choose good. We cast our vote, and pray for the good of all. Then, regardless of the outcome, we show our confidence that God is in control and that no one can frustrate His purposes.

Go to Ryan's Head and read the rest titled, It's Almost Time to Go to The Polls. It's good to keep things in perspective.