] Some of you are dismayed by the emergence of a huge
] voting bloc of churchgoers. Stop viewing this as a
] threat, and start viewing it as an opportunity. Socially
] conservative blue-collar workers don't believe in the
] free market. They believe in the work ethic. Bush wins
] their votes by equating the free market with the work
] ethic. Show them where the free market betrays the work
] ethic, and they'll vote for the party of the work
] ethic -- you -- against the party of the free market.

[ Saletan weighs in with advice for Dems. -k]

Democratic Values - How to start winning the red states. By William Saletan

It appears that Bush has won. It appears that the Republicans have control of the House and Senate. This is a complete victory for the Reds.

I offer the following predictions:

On the WOT:

Iraq will slowly become an Islamic fundamentalist state. The U.S. will be largely out of there within a year and on to Pakistan. We'll get Bin Laden, but Islamic Fundamentalism will continue to fester and will rear it's head again in a decade or so. Bush will be seen as having won the WoT in the short term. You'll feel safe. You'll focus on domestic issues in the next election.

Domestic:

The economy will improve considerably as the security concerns wane. The social security nightmare looms. You will see safety valves that allow wealthy people to protect their savings from the coming cataclysm. If you are smart you will save as much as you can over the coming years.

You'll see some barking about a flat tax. I don't think it will actually happen in this session. They are setting the stage for 2008.

You'll get faster internet access, from freed RBOCs. You'll see hydrogen infrastructure appear in the odd place like electric car chargers are today.

The health care situation will continue to deteriorate. I do not take the Republican's proposals on this matter seriously. I'm not saying they won't make a serious proposal. This issue is impacting our international competitiveness. I'm saying they haven't made a serious proposal yet.

I predict that you will see an amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed within a year. I believe that several amendments will be passed within 4 years.

Early:
Gay Marriage
Flag Desecration

Later on:
Abortion Ban
Public (Read as Government) Display of Religious Iconography
Prayer in School

Maybe:
Victim's Rights (Which is a misnomer. Read as "Plaintiff Right's" in MOST contexts. FYI this is the only one on the list that is bi-partisan. I say maybe because it has logical flaws you could fly a plane through, and it doesn't have widespread grassroots support.)

You will see federal legislation passed in the next four years which contains a passage which says that its Constitutionality cannot be challenged in a Court. That law will be declared Unconstitutional by a Court. This will set the stage for what I would call the "big one." Once all of these amendments have been passed the amendment machine will be geared up to make significant changes to the way that government works. That change will entail limiting the power of the Courts as a check upon the Legislature and the Executive. I think thats where the vector points. I'm not going to say anything else about that. I don't think that anyone will propose it for several years. We'll talk about it then.

Democrats:

Its over. The Democrats have to significantly reformulate. I haven't figured out how I think they'll do it. One word I heard on CNN last night about what Blues are likely to feel in the face of this was alienation.

On a personal note, I'm not impressed with the widespread support for the Gay Marriage ban amendments. Are we really saying that America hates fags? Why is this a central goal for religious people? Why do Christians focus on homosexuals, as opposed to, say, feeding the poor, or peace, or other things that Jesus was concerned with? Why do we care about this in particular? What does it say about who we are? What does it communicate about the values that are important to us?

Bush wins

Speaking as someone who voted for Bush, I have to say this though: I don't hate Kerry. If he's elected, I will support him as President. I can't speak for everyone who's voted for Bush, but I know some who have, and I think they feel the same. We vote our conscience, but if the candidate that we choose isn't elected, that doesn't mean that we hate them or despise their decisions.

[ I wish i shared your optimism. And I hope the nation survives the next four years, regardless of who's leading it. There is some incredible shit facing this country, and no easy answers to cram into a soundbite. Real decisions, many of them zero sum, and will have effects for decades.

And no, i'm not kidding, there is a financial crisis coming down the pipe, we're running out of easy access to non-opec oil, and we're still slogging in Iraq to an increasingly undefined goal.

Anyway, if nothing else, i can be glad that the past 4 years have vastly increased my political knowledge and involvement, and i don't see that changing... this has been a transformative period for me, and hopefully for many of my peers, and I think the next four will be even more active. -k]

RE: Election Eve 2004

[ Not new, but interesting and thorough. -k]

Chaum's secure voting proposal

] His last film, Kill Bill, bravely incorporated Japanese,
] Chinese and Spanish dialogue into a mainstream Hollywood
] movie, but Quentin Tarantino's next project promises to
] dispense with the English language altogether. It will be
] shot entirely in Mandarin, he claims, and it will be
] "another kung fu that's gonna blow your asses off".

[ Sweet. -k]

Tarantino plans old-style kung fu film - in Mandarin

[ A flyer that's being distributed in FL pushing the "Kerry == more terrorism" meme. -k]

Scare Tactics (pdf)

] Many people have asked who am I, what my qualifications
] are, and why am I doing this. People have speculated that
] I am a Clinton administration official, a bored retired
] statistician and more. Welcome to the Votemaster FAQ.
]
] Who are You?
]
]
] My name is Andrew Tanenbaum.

[ The brains behind electoral-vote.com turns out to be the author of MINIX and a number of books on Operating Systems, among other things. -k]

The Votemaster FAQ

] Mr. Bond's argument - that housing built with public
] money should be used only for housing, not voter
] registration - makes no sense on its face. It is even
] more ridiculous given the universal support for voter
] registration on military bases around the world. Military
] voters tend to favor Republicans, and public housing
] residents tend to favor Democrats. It would be nice if
] everyone could agree that both groups should be
] encouraged to vote.

Editorial: G.O.P. to the Poor: Don't Vote

[ Granted this is a partisan source, but it's still a pretty telling sample of the kinds of bullshit going on across the country.

See in particular the flyer from alabama urging voters to get to those poles (sic) on the 4th. Life imitating art (cf The Onion) in the worst way possible. -k]

Daily Kos :: Voter fraud and disenfranchisement

] LWVGA is proud to partner with WSB-TV (Atlanta's
] Channel 2) and their Family2Family program to distribute
] this publication in the Metro Atlanta area.

[ Always a good resource. It's easy to forget that there are things going on besides the presidential election that are just as important. In fact, in GA and a lot of other states, more important, because your vote will make a serious difference in some of those tight local / state races. -k]

League of Women Voters of Georgia - Voter Guide