Let's just say I'm ready for The Day The Welfare Checks Don't Cash and leave it at that.

if this great nation of ours equipped people for real jobs we wouldn't need welfare checks--unless you were poisoned by CO, of course. Then we'd have to pay.

CAVEAT:

i'm feeling very nasty tonight. GRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Brianna, believe me, with all the imperfections of capitalism, you're still much better off without "the right to work" :yeldead:

:mad2: If so, my USA graduate school dream would be crashed.

Given the crushing nature of this defeat (never mind Ohio -- even if Kerry pulls off a miracle, he'll have to deal with a reinforced-on-both-sides Republican Congress and a strong popular-vote bitchslap)...

...how do I tell my wife that I don't think I want to have kids in this New, Improved, 78%-More-War-And-Bibles Redder-Than-Ever America?

Pop her in the mouth and say, "Bitch, we ain't havin' no babies!"

I don't know if you were being rhetorical or not...if not, just be honest. What are her feelings on the outcome?

I'm in a deep post-election depression, but I'm at least half-serious, and how the next few years fall out will either reinforce that or lessen that. I can at least wait and see before I revise my decision -- it's not like I'm going to chop off my nuts and mail them to Dubya or anything.

She's nowhere near as politically-minded as I am.

Smart woman. Is she online?

More laws are made that affect the individual at state level, than at federal level. Massachusetts, where the R party is nearly a minor party, is only 5 hours north. Canada, the Europe of North America, is only another 4 hours after that. So if you really honestly believe that it will make a difference in your life, you can have the politics you want. It'll take some effort, but there it is.

Or if you realize at the end of the day that you will wind up putting your socks on first every morning, just like you have all along, you'll stay where you are and pop out a few youngsters. After all, by the time they're teenagers, you may decide that you were wrong all along.

I know I have; the politics I cared so hard about 10 years ago are not the same as what I think today.

Nothing says "Baby? No way" like a quicky vasectomy.

She's online, but not into message boards -- SoulSeek and eBay are more her speed. Smart woman, indeed, as she understands the first law of message-board arguments (the famed Special Olympics analogy).

The Republicans have been given firm control over the nation. The Senate is all but filibuster-proof. The golden opportunity to replace Rehnquist is gone; instead, he and others will be replaced during this term by young, rubber-stamp conservatives who will redefine American law (federal, state and local) for generations.

Short of a scandal that makes Watergate look like a tea party, the Democratic Party is essentially toast. I expect more redistricting shenanigans designed to reinforce the Republican majority. Why not? DeLay's gambit worked exactly as intended. I expect Social Security, the deficit and the tax code to be a shambles by 2008, and frankly, I don't see any stars rising up out of the Democratic camp capable of rallying the troops.

It's the last definition of Catch-22: "They can do anything that we can't stop them from doing." Well, the left can't stop the right from doing whatever it wants now. Moving to Boston won't fix that.

On the other hand, all problems from here on out are 100% the Republicans' fault, and I don't see things getting better. We'll see whether things will get bad enough that even Republicans can see it by 2006.

Richlevy...time to start churning out the "Go ahead and trample on my rights...I wasn't using them anyway" bumper stickers.

1) No matter WHAT, the Republicans and talk radio will have more reasons than H&R Block why it's not their fault. It's Clinton's Fault, It's The Democrats' Fault, 9/11 Changed Everything[tm], There's A War Going On, choose your own or invent more.

2) They may see it, but they're weighing that against What Would Jeebus Do. When rational reasoning and religious faith collide, the results are not often pretty.

Pretty hard to believe. The strategy of misinformation and fear works.

Scrambling for positives: MN went for Kerry, last I heard 78% turnout. also evened up our state legislature that had tilted republican. Returned Sabo to the house. Even managed to pass about half of the levies on area ballots so kids can have music, art and phys ed back in their schools.

I hope people of all stripes will demand accountability for these past, and the next four years.

My extended family is in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so I'm relieved that they are blue.