Mean and Vicious

Do you know what happens when you cross Senator John Kerry when he's running to be commander-in-chief? Steve Gardner from Clover, South Carolina does. You see, Gardner was one of Senator Kerry's twelve Swift Boat crew members. He was outspoken in his opposition to Kerry's candidacy. He refuted much of what Kerry claimed to have happened in Vietnam. Free speech, right?

There's no free speech where Kerry and his followers were concerned. Gardner was threatened by John Hurley, the veterans organizer for Kerry's campaign. Hurley said, "You better watch your step. We can look into your finances." Gardner stood up to Hurley, and it cost him nearly everything.

Read the article, and you see even more clearly why Kerry had to be defeated.

Nice Long Break

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Between spending time with family, Christmas shopping, going back to GSU for Saturday's football game and spending time with my Sweetie, I haven't had one free moment to post anything here. I'll try to do better. Besides, it's not like you are paying to read this stuff...

More California Liberal Public School Bullsh....

As I think about the Thanksgiving holiday, and all the blessings in my life that I am thankful for (and SO don't deserve), I realize how fortunate I am to be a native Southerner. I am so proud to call Georgia my home. I believe I could make do just about anywhere, but I'd never be as happy as I am at home in Dixie.

Perhaps the place I would be most unhappy, the most heart-sick, the saddest of all, would be the San Francisco Bay area of California. Honestly, I do not believe I could handle the ultra-liberal, anti-religious, morally bankrupt mentality of so many of the people in that area. Here's an example, and it's an example that has me seething with anger as I type this.

A fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in Cupertino, California, has been banned from using the Declaration of Independence in his classroom because it references God. There's more. Also banned from the lesson plans are: George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."

The teacher has filed a lawsuit (read it here) in U.S. District Court. Don't expect a judgement in the teacher's favor anytime soon. This is the same part of California in which an appeals court declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it has a reference to God. The knothead principal of the school, Patricia Vidmar, should be releived of her duties for such actions.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most significant documents in this nation's history, perhaps second only to the Constitution. (If you haven't read the Declaration lately, or ever, please give yourself a refresher here.) The Declaration spells out the reasons the colonists were declaring independence from the government of Great Britain. It presents their theory of good government and individual rights. It lists grievances against King George III, and finally it asserts the sovereignty of the United States of America.

What does Patricia Vidmar find so objectionable in the Declaration? Apparently, lines like this (emphasis added by me)...

"WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation...

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies... And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

How did it come to the point where liberals hate the idea of religion so much that they will prohibit the study of such a great document?

A scary question: What's next?

Here's The Problem

President Bush nominates Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as Secretary of State. She's the first African-American female to ever be nominated for so high a position. Any reasonable person would think this nomination would go over well among the nation's women. It's another sign of female success and achievement. It should be celebrated, right?

Apparently not by the Lefties.

The staunchly liberal National Organization of Women (NOW) refuses to even acknowledge the nomination on their web site. Political cartoonists have been creating insulting, demeaning and racist cartoons aimed at Rice. Long, long, long-time reporter and columnist Helen Thomas has given, perhaps, the most vitriolic response to the Rice nomination. So much for the fairness and lack-of-bias of the mainstream media. Here's the report on that from Newsmax. (Warning: Graphic language!)

President Bush's decision to nominate Condoleezza Rice received widespread praise from both Democrats and Republicans.

But longtime White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas, now a syndicated columnist with Hearst, had nothing but contempt for Rice's nomination. The feisty 84-year-old reporter who started at the White House during the Kennedy administration had some unkind words to describe Bush and Condi.

NewsMax bumped into Thomas in the lobby of New York's Waldorf-Astoria as she waited for a lunch date.

Asked about the election result, the sharp-tongued reporter simply put her hand on her face and said, "My God, the man is a fascist -- a fascist, I tell you."

She warned that Bush's victory will mean one thing: more war. She expects Iran to be next.

But surely Thomas, a female reporter who succeeded decades ago in a "man's world," had some empathy about Condi's appointment.

As we suggested the notion, a look of horror came over Thomas' face.

"I tell you, the women is a monster, a monster, a monster," she kept saying.

Asked why she was so angry with Condi, Thomas explained that the national security adviser had lied about the Iraq war and "thousands had died."

Thomas, to her credit, has asked tough questions of both Democrat and Republican presidents during her long tenure in the White House press corps, but some of her anger seemed more personal.

For decades, Thomas held the privileged front-row seat in the pressroom and usually got to ask the first question. Now she says she is back in the last row and "Bush is afraid to take my questions."

Fair enough, but the venom for Condi?

When NewsMax referred to some of Condi's positive achievements, Thomas kept interjecting "monster" to describe her. "The lady is a g-dd--n liar," Thomas said, adding that such prevaricators were commonplace in the Bush White House.

Nor was Thomas impressed that Condi, an African-American woman, had risen from segregated Alabama to become the most powerful woman in the nation.

Thomas rejected that, too, claiming that Condi's family had opposed Dr. Martin Luther King and that she and her folks had not supported the civil rights movement. In fact, Thomas then made the bizarre claim that Condi's family wouldn't even patronize black-owned stores.

Thomas had little substantiation for any of these allegations.

Nor for some very vague allegations about the Bush family, which she said would "stop at nothing" to deal with its enemies.

This old bag is an 84-year-old has been, who does nothing but spit venom toward all things non-liberal. Yet she's a perfect example of the problem with politics in America. Instead of celebrating the advancement of a minority woman to the highest reaches of government, the Left still spews hate.

They can't see, or maybe just can't accept, that they are out of step with most Americans.

Georgia Southern In Playoffs, On National TV

My Georgia Southern Eagles play their first round game in the I-AA playoffs against New Hampshire on Saturday at 6pm. That game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 from Paulson Stadium in Statesboro. Yeah, it's okay to finish watching the Georgia - Georgia Tech game, then flip over.





Photos courtesy GeorgiaSouthernFootball.com.

Fun Drive On That!

Interesting shots of the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge & Tunnel crossing the James River near Norfolk, Virginia. Reminds me of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which does this underwater plunge twice.



Photos courtesy of Roads To The Future page for Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel.

Who's Who In Public Education

Richard Bugbee is listed in the new issue of Who's Who Among America's Teachers, honoring him "as one of the nation's most respected teachers." Problem is, Bugbee is no longer teaching. The former Essex (Vermont) High school teacher is now sitting in prison, having pled guilty in August to having sex with one of his students, starting when she was 13 years old. Oops...

Goodbye Zell

Senator Zell Miller gave a farewell address on the floor of the Senate yesterday, and he again paid tribute to the man whose death put him in the senate, Paul Coverdell. He said he hoped Coverdell would be proud of the way he stepped in and tried to fill Coverdell's shoes. Miller's praises were sung by four Republican Senators: Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama, and Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana. Showing their usual amount of class, Senate Democrats refused to even acknowledge Miller's presence.

Here are the entire comments, courtesy of Senator Miller's web site.

Mr. President. I have listened with a grateful heart the generous words of my colleagues, the Senators from Kentucky and Alabama, and earlier this morning the Senator from Georgia.

And I will remember and cherish those words as long as I am on this earth. I thank each of them for their friendship. I see my good friend from Montana on the floor. I thank him, a fellow Marine, for his friendship. This means more to me than I have words to express.

I did not come to this Senate expecting events to unfold quite like they have. I guess I'm living proof that politics is not an exact science.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, his friend Laertes is going off to college and his father Polonius is giving him some usual advice that you give when your sons go off to college.

After all the words of caution that I hope fathers still give their sons, Polonius ended with these words,

"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, thou cans't not be false with any man." I've always believed that and I've tried to live that.

I have had a most blessed life - personal and political. Since 1959 voters in Georgia have been putting me in one office or another. And I am deeply grateful to them.

God has richly blessed my personal life - my wife, Shirley, has been the perfect partner for over 50 years. She has been my companion, my critic, my crutch. We have two wonderful sons, Murphy and Matthew, and our daughters-in-law, and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren. We are very, very blessed.

If he had lived, Paul Coverdell would be ending his second six year term. As I told some of my colleagues last night, not a day has gone by since I've been here that I have not thought of this good man who left us so suddenly and so tragically.

My most fervent hope during these four and a half years has been that Paul would be pleased with the way that I have served and finished out his term.

I know that Paul is pleased - as I am - that our mutual friend Johnny Isakson, one of the finest public servants I've ever known, will soon be our successor in this great body.

I also want to say what an honor it has been to serve the last two years with my colleague from Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss.

So now, as this page turns on the final chapter of my career as a public servant, I cannot help but remember how it was in that first chapter of my life.

Growing up in a remote Appalachian valley we lived in a house made of rocks my mother gathered from a nearby creek with only an open fire place for heat, no indoor plumbing, no car, no phone, no father.

On summer nights before the TVA dammed up the Hiawassee River and brought electricity to that Appalachian valley, after the moon had come up over the mountain and the lighting bugs were blinking, while the frogs croaked down at the creek, and the katydids sang, and every once in a while a whippoorwill's lonesome cry could be heard.

I remember after my mother had finally quit working and was getting us quiet and ready to go to bed, I remember we'd play a game.

The game would start when the headlights of that rare car would penetrate the darkness, maybe once every half-hour or so, on that narrow strip of asphalt across a big ditch in front of our house.

We'd stare as the headlights of the car as it made its way around the steep curves and finally over Brasstown Mountain.

We'd count and we'd see how long it took from the time it went by our house until its taillights just disappeared through that distant gap and it was no longer a part of the one and only world I knew.

It was often at this time my mother would laugh and she'd say, "You know what's so great about this place? You can get anywhere in the world from here."

That world has turned many times since I first traveled that narrow road through that gap and out of that valley. It has been a long road with many twists and turns, ups and downs, bumps and yes a few wrecks.

A road that twice carried me to the highest office of the ninth largest state in this nation, to all the continents and famous cities of the world and finally to the United States Senate.

And so I leave this Senate knowing that once again my mother has been proved right. One could get anywhere in the world from that little mountain valley - and back again. Everywhere I've ever been really was on my way back home.

I thank all of you. I thank my family, my very, very special staff who has stayed with me through thick and thin, I thank my friends, and especially my God - it has been one heck of a ride.

Thank you Mr. President.

Again, Zell makes us proud that he comes from Georgia.

What Can I Say... I Am A Guy

Especially for James, Jeff and Jason. I link you to the G.O.P. Babe Of The Week site. Beauty and brians... hmm.

You Know You're A Liberal If...

Blogger Carol Gargaro posted this fantastic list, part of which is below. See if anyone you know fits the bill...

You Know You're A Liberal If...

• If you think the answer to ANY crime, infraction, or injustice is counseling.
• If you think burning the United States flag should be Constitutionally protected but burning a cross should be outlawed.
• If you can actually believe everyone around Bill Clinton was lying, but Bill Clinton himself was telling the truth.
• If you think that the American Dream could have only been accomplished in the '60s.
• If you believe that the "700 Club" are a group of fakes or actors but the people on "The Jerry Springer" show are real people.
• If Sean Hannity makes no sense and Alan Colmes makes perfect sense.

... and the list goes on.

Dems In Therapy Over Loss

I might have taken a couple of weeks off from the political discussion, but the nuttiness went on without me. I read today where many Democratic voters are seeking psychiatric help in the wake of their party's tremendous losses on election day. Shrinks are diagnosing these poor unfortunates as suffering from "Post Election Selection Trauma," or PEST. They still can't accept the fact that they were on the losing end again. Rush Limbaugh went so far as to offer therapy via radio for these voters. Of course that really got the libs spinning on their eyebrows.

This is so incredibly typical of the way the left sees things. Can't you just hear them? "We didn't get the results we wanted, and we're traumatized!" Next thing you know they'll be asking for government to pay for their therapy sessions. After all, it was Bush and his Bushies that caused their mental imbalance. He should have to pay to fix them. There's nothing wrong with them that a torque wrench and a little shock therapy wouldn't cure.

Democrats in post-election therapy... reminds me of a great line from M*A*S*H's Frank Burns, "Anyone who needs psychiatry is sick in the head."

It's Condi

Word has barely circulated that Colin Powell is resigning as Secretary of State and Condoleeza Rice is already named as his successor. And a fantastic choice she is. Dr. Rice is one of the mation's premier experts on international matters. She will be an outstanding successor to Powell.

Stupid Lawsuits

A Pennsylvania woman is suing Norfolk Southern Railway because of minor injuries she received when she was clipped by a freight train while walking along the tracks. Her claim is based on the fact that no signs were posted warning that walking along the tracks might be dangerous. Doh! Her injuries? A broken finger and some cuts to her hand.

A Georgia couple who paid over $16,000 for a spray-on siding product for their house were dissatisfied with the results. So they created a web site to share their disappointment and to provide a forum for other unsatisfied customers to complain about the product. Apparently the folks who make the product are none too happy, and have filed a lawsuit to challenge the homeowners' rights to complain on their web site.

Frivolous lawsuits aren't limited to the United States. The McDonald's restaurant chain is being sued in Russia after a woman... you ready for this?... spilled hot coffee on herself. I wonder if Russia has a "loser pays" legal system.

Looking For A Career Change?

The Ten Most Dangerous Jobs In The World

The following list comes from Askmen.com

10. Bodyguard
When you are paid to serve as a human shield for a president, rock star or businessman, you know you have to say "I love you" to everyone every time you walk out the door. Kevin Costner was the most recent man to glamorize the profession, but there is no "bull" (bad pun) about it, "bodyguard" makes the list.

9. Coast Guard Search & Rescue
Few men and women put their lives on the line day in and day out like the Coast Guard. Even less do so for such unselfish purposes, as these workers help others who are in desperate need of assistance, making it all the more noble and virtuous.

8. Bomb Squad
Can you say kamikaze? How many professions do you know that come close to this one in terms of facing risk and danger head-on? I always wondered what the failure rate is for bomb squad school.

7. Armored Car Guard
I was walking down the street once, enjoying a nice summer evening when I heard, "Stop, stand back!" I looked straight ahead and realized that I was staring down the barrel of gun. Puzzled (more like tipsy...), I asked "what did I do?" Lo and behold, the bank guards were loading cash into the ATM, and they had full discretion to blow my head clean off...

6. Policeman
The men in blue: policemen. Often chastised, vilified, criticized... sometimes justifiably, sometimes unfairly. Regardless, most times, a policeman is a sign of peace, calm and reassurance. These men and women have some of the most stress-packed jobs in the world.

5. Firefighter
Whether you're fighting a fire in the forest, killing the flames in a residential area or running into a burning house to save children and animals, there is a reason why women fancy firefighters; they're peaceful and help everyone despite all odds.

4. Miner
American society has shifted from industrial to more service-oriented, so "miner" is less mentioned in such lists. But this does not change anything, as this is one profession that leaves health concerns down the road and takes lives when accidents happen.
3. Truck Driver
Truck drivers are special individuals who live on the road and travel non-stop in their mission to deliver goods worldwide. They have always faced tough road conditions, reckless drivers and sleepless nights, which can all lead to tragic circumstances.

2. Logger
Logging is dangerous year-round, but seasonal danger peaks in late summer and fall as most deaths occur in July, September and October. Many would rank this profession higher, as logging has been a perennial choice in top danger lists.

1. Alaskan Crab Fisherman
Ever wonder why crab is so expensive? Yes, the fact that the meat is rare is one factor, but another important and lesser-known fact is that the men and women who risk their lives fishing the crab in ice-cold waters face the highest on-the-job mortality rate. It's true, it's true.

New Interstates Wanted For Georgia, Southeast

With all the political rhetoric the last few months, this seems to have been somewhat under-reported. Elected officials across the Southeast are pushing for the construction of new Interstate highways, and some of the biggest proposals would have huge effects of Georgia.

Interstate 14
This route might have the greatest likelihood of actually being constructed. Connecting Natchez, Mississippi with Augusta, Georgia, the route would pass through the southern parts of Alabama and Mississippi, entering Georgia at Columbus, and passing just south of Macon on it's way to Augusta. Rep. Max Burns from Georgia, supported by nearly a dozen other Representatives from the three states, introduced House Resolution 4925, authorizing the construction. Companion legislation was intorduced in the Senate by Georgia Senators Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss. The route is referred to as the "14th Amendment Highway", in honor of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which provides for equal rights to all persons in the United States. It also has strong support from Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott.

Interstate 3
Proposed in the same legislation as Interstate 14, this route would connect Savannah, Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee by way of Augusta and Toccoa, Georgia, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. It's route number, which doesn't fit into the Interstate Highway numbering scheme, is in honor of Fort Stewart's 3rd Infantry Division. The highway would connect Fort Gordon, Eisenhower Army Regional Medical Center, the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospitals, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield and the Port of Savannah. The route through the mountains of North Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee would be very contentious, and could be the main sticking point in the approval process.

There has also been talk of an extension of Interstate 16 from Macon to Columbus, as part of a National Highway System High Priority Corridor. That seems unlikely, given the construction of the Fall Line Freeway, which is nearly complete between I-75 (at Byron) and Columbus.

It'll be interesting to see if these routes ever actually get built...

Whassat?

Timing is everything... the Associated Press has a story with this headline: Pilot Ejects After Fighter Plane Crashes North of Nellis AFB in Nevada.

A Little Rational Thought... For A Change

The Harrison County, West Virginia School Board has overruled the principal of a local high school over his punishment of a student who brought a BB gun to school. The student brought the gun to school to sell it to another student. The principal and teachers at the school wanted the student expelled for possession of a "deadly weapon."

To their credit, the school board actually spent time thinking rationally about the incident before passing judgement, and ruled that the lives of the school faculty weren't in danger. The student was suspended for 10 days and also received in-school suspension.

How Did I Miss This?

A Washington state school district cancelled its annual Halloween celebration out of fear that it would be offensive to witches. I kid you not...

Wedding Stuff

I'm not sure how anyone who has a full-time job can plan an all-out, full-scale wedding in less than a year. I see what my Sweetie is going through, and it's amazing how much she and her mom and friends are doing. It seems the is always something that needs to be ordered, reserved, bought or fitted. I can't wait for June to see how it all comes together! One thing we did finalize last week was the honeymoon. We're doing Jamaica! It's a Sandals Resort getaway. Everything we've heard about them sounds awesome, and since it's all-inclusive, it seems like the perfect way to go. Of couse, now we won't be buying a house until we retire.... :)

Fun Stuff

You'll see a link on the left side of this page to something called Geocaching. This is a fantastic activity made possible by the Internet and the affordable GPS receiver (available for under $100). Basically it's like a treasure hunt, using clues from the Geocaching web site and a GPS receiver to locate a container (the cache) or location. In that container you'll find a logbook, which you can sign and leave a short note, and miscellaneous trinkets. You can add to the collection, or swap one for another if you'd like. Here's an example of what a cache and its contents could look like.



There are many caches which don't have conatiners. Instead there's a task to perform, information to gather or a picture to take to receive credit for "finding" the cache.

Unlike traditional treasure hunting, the fun with geocaching is in the hunt, not necessarily the find. There are millions of people across the country placing and hunting for caches. In fact, as of 9:30 this morning, there are 1,109 caches within 100 miles of my home, according to the web site. This seems to be an activity with worldwide appeal, with caches being placed in over 200 countries. It's really a fantastic activity for families with small children, as it provides an activity for everyone to get involved in, and it gives the children an experience of discovery. It also gives them hands-on problem solving in a truly fun way. You might not always need the GPS receiver to a cache, but it's still handy.

Sure it's a bit geeky. Who cares?

Along these same lines, Geosnapper.com is a web site where folks with digital cameras and GPS receivers can upload pictures of unique or famous places, along with their GPS coordinates.

Did you ever wonder where that dollar bill in your hand has been? Ever thought about where it might wind up after you spend it? If so, WheresGeorge.com is for you. This is the United States' only dollar bill tracker. It's quite simple. You log the serial numbers of your dollar bills on the web site, and print or stamp a small note on the bill telling other people to do the same thing. Through the web site, you can see where those bills wind up. A one dollar bill that I entered on May 15, 2001 here in Middle Georgia has been to: a Home Depot in Lilburn, Georgia; a Minute Market in Jacksonville, Florida; and was received in change by woman eating lunch with her son and husband at a Don Pablos restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May last year. Don't believe me? Check out this page.

If you decide to try any of these, let me know what you think.

Change Of Pace

I started this post intending to tear apart an Op/Ed piece in today's New York Times by Paul Krugman titled "No Surrender". It's yours to read if you'd like; it is just typical Democratic propaganda. But I'm so tired of all things political that I have no desire to get into it. That's why I didn't post a thing yesterday.

Now I want to post, but I want to avoid the political arena for a while. So look for a change of pace over for the next few days...

Give Them Space

This is obviously a tough time for the Democrats, and we have to expect that there will be some bitterness and hard-feelings from their side. After all, how could they have possibly expected these election results? They had celebrities and singers, foreign billionaires and documentary film-makers, comedians and newscasters in their corner. How do you go wrong with that crowd?

Maybe with time their anger will subside. Maybe they will even open their eyes and realize that their opinions actually don't mean anything more than ours. We can only hope. For right now, though, we must let them have time to heal.

Of course, just because they're down and depressed doesn't mean we should ignore them. Let's keep an eye on them. In fact, let's see just what they're saying here in the hours after Kerry's concession speech.

The Village Voice, in an article titled "The Dream Is Lost", has these comments:

"The dream has become a nightmare. Not only did George Bush win, but he captured the presidency by a margin of what now looks like 4 million votes. That's a clear mandate and a big green light for the right wing to push ahead with an ideological program.

"The dream of a secular, liberal democracy is lost: Christians are stronger than ever...

"Abroad, the United States can only continue to lose standing as Bush presses his military agenda. European alliances will continue to wither and more and more people around the world will start seeing America as an empire in decline."

Robert Borosage, writing at TomPaine.com, says:

"Some argue that the strength of the president’s evangelical base suggests America is headed toward a new era of prohibition and moral reaction. But John Kerry was the most secular of candidates. He championed science against the forces of moral reaction. He stood clearly for liberal social issues from civil unions to women’s right to choose. He was a liberal senator from Massachusetts, as the president delighted in repeating. Kerry’s campaign may mark the beginning of a reaction not by the right—but by the center and left against the forces of intolerance."

Techno-pop singer Moby, writing in his online journal:

"Can someone remind me why secession is not an option at this point?... one other option would be for us to all join the republican party en masse and make it socially liberal and fiscally conservative(as opposed to it's current 'socially puritanical/fiscally insane' status)."

The kind folks at DemocraticUnderground.com have restricted access to their discussion boards to registered members only. They do this every time the discussions get too heated (hate-filled?).

We'll check in with others later...

Time To Move Ahead

The election is finally over and the American people have spoken. With a loud and clear voice we have chosen President Bush as the leader we want in charge of our nation. Those of us on the Right need not and should not gloat. This race has been bitter and dirty, and in no way one sided. This nation is seriously divided along party lines. And there are some points we should keep in mind as we move ahead.






Look at the maps above. The red states in the top map are states won by the President; the blue states belong to Kerry. The second map breaks down yesterday's election results to the county level. Look at the number of counties won by the President. This map must be perticularly disturbing to the Democrats.

What is typically referred to as the "fly-over" section of the country belongs to the Republican Party. It's incredible. Except for the liberal bastions on the West Coast and in New England, and very low-income/high-minority counties in the Deep South and along the Mexican border, the vast majority of the country falls Republican. The Democratic Party, and it stands now, is looking less and less like a national party. Zell Miller pointed it out, and these maps agree: the Democrats are losing America.

As of now, President Bush has received 59,019,598 votes, which is about 3,540,000 more than Kerry. That's 8 million more than Al Gore received in 2000, and 11.6 million more than President Clinton got in 1996 (his highest total). He's also the first Presidential candidate to receive a majority of the popular vote since his father got 53% in 1988. That sounds like a mandate.

Now, we move forward.

Such A Peaceful Religion

Here we have more proof of what a peaceful, compassionate religion Islam is...

A Dutch filmmaker has been murdered by an Arab after releasing a film critical of the treatment women receive under Islamic rule. It's the second high-profile killing of a Dutch citizen critical of Islam. In 2002, a Dutch politician was shot to death just days before national elections, after making comments critical of Muslins and pushing for tighter immigration laws.

Vote Tomorrow; Other Stuff For Today

If you haven't taken advantage of early voting, go vote tomorrow. A lot of men and women have died so that we have the right to choose our own leaders. Don't let their sacrifices go to waste. Vote. 'Nuff said.

Other stuff...

Abandoned Middle Georgia Missile Bases
I have family from Twiggs County, Georgia. At one time, the Air Force had a nuclear missile base there, only about five miles from where my Mom grew up. The missiles were Nike Hercules rockets, with nuclear warheads, designed to take out entire squadrons of bombers. Here is a fantastic page about the base in Twiggs County and another in Peach County, containing pictures, maps, etc. from the bases. Many people living around these abandoned bases have no idea what actually went on there.

Georgia Haunt Hunt Team
In the spirit of Halloween (yeah, I know it was yesterday!), here's a group of science-based paranormal investigators. Lots of fun info about haunts around Georgia. Also, here are links to ghost hunters all across the country.

Leonard's Losers
Leonard and his Smart Pill Machine's powerful prognostication abilities provide a sneak preview of the weekend's biggest college and NFL games as only they can. You can even find them on your radio in some necks of the woods.

The Political Graveyard
Someone with a bit too much time on their hands has created a database of where dead politicians are buried. You know you wanna peek...