Stream of Consciousness

I’m still reeling from the un-reality of it all.

I think my sister summed it up well when she said:

i think they’ll get a few surprises pretty fast : the economy will tank, the taxes will go up, their jobs will go to calcutta and their kids will be drafted to iraq. but of course, hetero marriage has been protected so maybe they’ll figure it’s a fair trade

Not to dwell to long on what’s happened, but part of me wonders if her absentee ballot even got counted, given that it was mailed from France and was for Kerry…

But we can’t get stuck in our outrage or disappointment. Let us not forget that, despite Bush now proclaiming that he has a “strong mandate” from the people, Kerry got more votes (55.5 million) than any other president in history — the previous leader being Reagan in ‘84 with 54 million.

As usual, Joshua Marshall sees both the bad:

Before today, the course that America had charted in the world over the last three years could be seen as the result of a traumatic event (9/11) and the choice of a president who was actually put in office by a minority of the electorate. This was a referendum on what’s happened in the last three years. And it’s been validated.

with the good:

[An article by Simon Rosenberg, the head of the New Dem Network] was about create a Democratic-leaning counter-establishment along the lines of what Republicans did two generations ago — with an alternative media, activist groups, organized political giving, in short a political infrastructure.

…

Leave today for disappointment. Tomorrow, think over which of these various groups and organizations you think has made the best start toward what I’ve described above, go to their website, and give money or volunteer. … Tomorrow’s the day to start.

I’m done licking my wounds. I’m re-doubling my efforts to create trusted identities as they are the basis for trusted communities — just one of many efforts needed to foster a better informed and more compassionate world.

I’m trying to get work done (ok, I am getting work done) but I’m also nervous as all get out regarding the results of the election. Who are these people who can vote for Bush when it’s been proven that he’s lied to the American public about WMDs, the link between Iraq and al Quaeda not to mention his domestic promises for better health care, schools and jobs?

If Bush wins again, I think that any slack that the rest of the world has given U.S. citizens will dry up, as we can be fooled once, but if we vote for the guy a second time we’re obviously just not aware of what’s really going on. And since our media is corporate controlled, the sad thing is that most of the American public is not aware of what’s going on.

To that end, here’s a plug for Joshua Marshall’s Talking Points Memo blog - one of the better sources of information I have found. A pointer from his site led me to these bios on the two judges who brought back the poll challengers in Ohio among other things.

Well, I sit here, work and - though I am not one for religion, especiallly these days as W tells us he can “feel your prayers” - pray that sanity will come from this election. And once Kerry wins, I expect I’ll continue to be mad as the changes that need to be made - such as corporate accountability, environmental protection, campaign finance reform, and a safe and sane foreign policy - will not be implemented fast enough and in a comprehensive enough manner that is needed by the U.S. - and the world - today.

From: http://solidarity.indymedia.org.uk/ :

Indymedia is a global media network that provides open space to publish challenging, independent reporting, with emphasis on political and social justice issues. The Indymedia network is based upon principled mutual aid and voluntary participation, maintaining openly accessible newswires with the capacity for anyone to publish texts, images, audio, and video.

On 7 October, 2004, hard drives from two Indymedia servers were seized from the London office of a US-owned web hosting company, Rackspace, at the request of the US Justice Department, apparently in collaboration with Italian and Swiss authorities.

The seizure of the hard drives in London shut down an Indymedia radio station and around 20 different Indymedia websites including those serving Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen, Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and parts of Germany Indymedia.

Although the hard drives were returned on October 13, the particular legal framework under which the seizures took place is unknown. One week after the seizures there is still an almost total information blackout from the authorities in the UK, US, Switzerland and Italy. Indymedia still has no confirmation of who ordered the seizures, who took the hard drives, why the seizures took place, or whether it will happen again.

We fought for freedom and we live with laws to help protect that freedom. If those that enforce the laws are not bound by them, an unacceptable police state ensues.

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