I saw on ABC a few hrs ago....At the "official" celebration of takeover of the House, they were playing Beautiful Day. LOL. No lie! I laughed.....this reminded me: Nancy Pelosi is a huge U2 fan....And Bono has referred to her a few times in interviews. They're big fans of each other, I guess. Heck, Bono has probably been on the phone with her already, from Oz...LOL. How many new Democrats will he press the flesh with for DATA now?
I share in your joy, U2Dem. Since you are still unable to talk in coherent syllables, how about another language? To wit, in Armenian (which I have been jumping around the house the past few hrs yelling) :
"ASDVADZ IM!!!!!!!!!!!!(OH MY GOD)!!!!!!!!"
I've spent the past 5 hrs reading blogs and articles from papers around the globe. Incredible.
It seems Empress Teta's Rule Of Thumb For Guarunteeing Good Headlines has worked--again!
The Rule is: if you know a vote is coming up for an issue you are interested in, enforce an embargo on all media for the 2 weeks prior to the vote. No TV, no papers, no magazines, and no Internet. Not for the front pages anyway. Read only entertainment blogs and the "Life" sections of USA and the NY Times. Close your eyes when you pick up the paper, and open them only when you have flipped past Section A. I've been doing this for a decade or more, the first time it really worked was when the US Supreme Court voted to uphold Affirmative Action.
All other things, including the past 2 elections, I couldn't resist sneaking looks at the paper, and it was a
nightmare....
Well, I managed to get by since October 15 by tracking the Box Officeof my current favorite movie, Martin Scorcese's The Departed.
Well, now that tile has a double meaning...LOL.
I was more discouraged by the results of 2000 and 2004 than a lot of people. For me, yesterday was nothing less than areferendum on Democracy itself, for the US and the world. The voting outrages and flagrant abuses that Bush and Rove et al so ably--and tragically-- exported (I suspect) or attempted to export to places like Russia, the Ukraine and Mexico could not in justice and fairness be repeated. It was a time when "whatever happens in America, happnen in the world" took on a tragic meaning. To see illegal practices and voting methods adopted by dictators and would-be dictators everywhere....
I have been going arounf telling everyone I know all week that a Republican victory was assured, no matter how bad things were, because of a lack of oversight of Diebold voting machines that could be "taken home for safekeeping" or hacked, that there could be another Great Depression in this country and the Reps would cling to power not only b/c of this, but because THE MEDIA was just as crusty and dug in, knowing where its bread was buttered, and would not examine fishy resuls, like it didn't in 2004. If the polls had showed the Reps headed for victory, and Dems winning, I'd be sad too, if I suspected they'd stooped to same methods.
But, miracle of miracles, maybe that newfound post-Katrina mood of empowerment and scrutiny ennerved them (the media) as well.
Maybe I should have a new Rule: go around the week before the election predicitng doom and saying it's all "fixed." I've been doing that the past week!
The people I most rejoice for are African-Americans. They may feel a measure of hope now, not because the Dems won, but because the Reps apparently aren't able to "rig" elections anymore. Again, results can come out as polls predict they will. They were the ones who were going to stay home and perhaps, may of them did. I can't wait to find out.
I was so discouraged and heartbroken after the ultimate scandal for democracy that was 2004 that I deciced 2006 would be the referendum on democracy for me. Much as you all will lambaste me, for the first time in my 37 yrs, I did not vote. I was putting democracy on probation. It's a scandal, I know, but 1) I live in NY State, and thank God Spitzer won, and 2) my sister had turned 20 and her vote would temporarily make up for mine.
Now, I can hope again. Not becuase I am a Democrat, but because I am a Patriot.
As Bono sang so memorably, 25 yrs ago, in "Scarlet":
"REJOIIII--OIIIII-OIIIICE!"
PS: Najeena, if you are reading this, I guess our recent phone conversation was was (happily) WAAAY off the mark! Who would have knew!