What I am about to write may be sappy. I may be accused of furthering a cult of personality. That is becoming a popular dismissal. What I am about to write is trite in some ways. It is not about issues or important ideas. It is not about policy or activism or anything else other than the fact that many of us have been losing for so long that we simply can't believe that anything good can happen. But as Barack Obama said tonite, "Cynism is a sorry kind of wisdom.", so here it goes.

There are many posting on dKos and around the blogosphere who are scared to believe that the dam is breaking. Many who aren't ready to say that the die is cast. There are many people that I speak to everyday who are certain that these (re)thugs will spin themselves out of trouble again, winning another 4 years and continuing the destruction of our democracy. It is a form of PTSD. The last seven+ years have been that painful.

I want to say to these people ...

In 2000 George Bush won West Virginia and its five electoral votes. All it would have taken to avoid the Bush Presidency was for Gore to win West Virginia.  Before you say "but West Virginia is filled with gun totin' rednecks who would obviously vote Bush" keep in mind that West Virginia is not typically a "red state".  It voted for Nixon, Reagan and Ike, but other than that it has gone Democratic in presidential elections since WWII. That means Carter, yes, not such a surprise, but that means Dukakis too! WV did not vote for Daddy Bush.  

More below ...

This guy owns http://www.worsethanwatergate.com and is offering it up to anyone who can use it to its fullest advantage.

He says:

"I am offering this web domain for free to the person or people that I determine can best promote it so that it gets due media/press attention/publicity in order to highlight the seriousness of the offense of endangering the lives of U.S. intelligence personnel.

The Game can be downloaded at http://www.sillysoft.net.

Those of you who know it are possibly addicted to it and if you care to play online with like thinking Kossacks, I will periodically be hosting games (if you download the game you will see how to join) under the moniker "impeachbush".  Enter and introduce yourself as a Kossack.

Alternatively, post here if you have played before.  We can potentially setup a private Kossack Lux room.  Fun game, good chat environment to discuss politics.

Sleep well and peace out.

I want to say to these people ...

Trust Yourself.

Starting in 1989 Canseco was a Texas Ranger and the most startling descriptions of steroid use come from that part of his career.

Well, guess who was the managing owner of the Rangers at the time.

That's right. George W. Bush

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Finally!! The Kerry/Edwards campaign has filed a brief in Delaware County Ohio in support of the Cobb/Badnarik demand for a recount.  Delaware county had issued a restraining order seeking to stop the recount in that county.

Update [2004-11-30 18:46:24 by apotropaic]: Also it has been announced by the Green Party that Requests for Recounts Have been Filed in New Mexico and Nevada

Update [2004-11-30 20:16:50 by apotropaic]: MoveOn.org is calling for volunteers to help recount Nevada.

Update [2004-11-30 21:33:30 by apotropaic]: Since posting this diary, the Greens have launched a completely new website design, including links to the press releases below. They are ramping up.

Below the fold are the Complete Press Releases from the Green Listserv.

1. They have delivered the $113,000 and overnighted the petitions for each county.  
   
2. They have recruited 600 volunteers on the ground in Ohio, but need 2000.  
   
3. They still need money. They need a quarter million for Ohio and they pledge to consider New Mexico and Florida which will take more money.
   
4. They sent a message out this morning to all who provided financial support announcing a recount listserv.  The listserv is read only and will only be breaking news.
   
5. They have gotten Kucinich to support them.

I have lurked here for over a year.  I've only been posting since the election ended.  I watched the Nader Hate, the Rise of the Deaniacs, the ABB backlash against it, and the ultimate rallying behind Kerry with pride.  The democrats were back.  This was election year politics at its best.  It was the way it should be.  We were trying to oust the worst president in history and we were going to succeed!

As the fifteenth anniversarry of the Velvet Revolution approches, perhaps we can learn something from someone who has lived through and helped to end a nightmare that we are just beginning to dream.

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When Al Gore's team requested a recount of select counties in Florida after the 2000 election they made a mistake that, in hindsight, many believe cost Gore the Presidency.  If they had asked for a recount of the entire state, it undoubtedly would have played out differently in both the media and the courts.  The Republican team would have had more ground to cover and the SCOTUS would have been disenfranchising a much larger population. If we make the same mistake again, the next four years will cause many bleeding ulcers.

More below the fold . . .