I have been a member of this community since the pre-Scoop days, but DailyKos has turned into an unmanageable monstruosity. The last straw was getting zero-rated for a post opposing the racism, elitism and anti-Americanism expressed in another post. It now appears that the 'trusted user' status is now awarded left and right to people who would defend such bigotry by labeling me a troll, and leaving me incapable of finding out who my accuser is because I myself am not a trusted user, despite my seniority. I am, in practice, a second class member of this community and would therefore rather quit than endure such humiliating discrimination.

I sent an e-mail to tech support a few days ago requesting that my account be deleted but have received no reply. I also tried to delete my own diaries, but Scoop wouldn't allow me to do this. I receive an error message stating "Sorry, you may only edit your own diaries." ARRGHHH!!

So if anyone with enough power out there can help to get me BANNED from DailyKos, I would appreciate it very much. I desperately want OUT of this Kafkaesque nightmare!

The fight for civil unions/domestic partnerships was almost already won. The gay-marriage debate has set this progress back by allowing our opponents to frame it in religious terms. Civil unions will eventually lead to same-sex civil marriage. Without legislation, society had already accepted and endorsed the position that long-term committed relationships are as good for us as for anyone else. Transitory phases are a necessary evil because they promote change slowly, at a pace that society is more willing to accept. Sweden is now considering doing away with its civil partnership laws and allowing same-sex partners to become full fledged married couples.

If one were to accept one of the arguments offered in Bush v. Gore, that of equal protection, wouldn't it be wise for Congress to establish voting and counting standards for all federal offices? Why not have a separate ballot for national elections?

The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit returns control of the Puerto Rico elections dispute back to the local courts, revoking the local US District Court's attempt to intervene.

The HRC has been relentless in their attempts to get the gay/lesbian vote out. The other day I received a discreet and pleasant call from them urging us to please go out and vote. Of course, our three-member household had already voted, for Kerry. Then today I kept getting calls from 111-111-1111 which I didn't answer. Finally, at 9:45 PM, a call from the same number came in and I decided to go ahead and answer. It was a recording by tennis great Martina Navratilova, again urging us to vote. I have been a Martina fan since the early 80s so it was nice to hear her voice, even if just a recording.