Or is it all the prayers that have been sent forth for you by people who love you and want to see the healthy harmonious truth of you revealed?

Give some credence to the Unseen, old friend, for as physics advances, you will realize how much of it was only unseen because our sight and understanding was so bad.

I'm pretty depressed about the whole thing. I'm glad I had already decided to leave, because if I hadn't I probably would now, and what's for sure is, I'm probably not coming back anytime soon. Every Californian I've talked to has spoken of secession, and I believe that might be the wisest, sanest course of action. There's also a map circulating with the West Coast as part of a United States of Canada set apart from Jesusland, or the red states and the east coast. That looks right to me. Let the East Coast have the Midwest and the South.

The thing that was holding me back about California going our own way would be that we'd have to do it under an Austrian, but if we join up with Canada I think that adds just the right amount of insult to injury. Think of the healthcare, hockey, and quaint signs in French! Plus we could finally get on the metric system.

Otherwise I just find it hard to think about. Four more years. Who are these people? I know exactly no one who voted for Bush. Even the Republicans I know swear they did not vote for Bush, at least not this year. That is kind of scary. That is a divided America. And all this stuff about moral issues and a new mandate make my stomach queasy. Europeans look at us like we are maybe a little mentally slower than they originally suspected. I am worried for the future of the Supreme Court. I am worried about Iraq and Afghanistan. I am worried about Iran and North Korea. I'd like to hear something reassuring about the Middle East Peace Process from someone other than Tony Blair. I'd like to see Bush rock the same pink shirt, silver tie combination that Blair recently sported. I've been watching a lot of CNN International, even though it is basically on a loop, because I am still having trouble absorbing everything. The dollar is weaker than ever. On the upside, I'm hoping to see many of my friends coming to Europe and Asia in the next four years.

Bush is going to make the gap between rich and poor even larger, ruin the economy for generations to come, install judges in the Supreme Court who, in our opinion would best belong in a medieval setting, and he will do it with a smile.

I am sitting, as you probably are, trying to figure out why the majority of the voters in this country prefer an administration that is dishonest, manipulative, and self-righteous. A good friend sent me this quote today that helped me a lot.

Thought based on the Talmud:

"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."

One point about the election that sticks out for me is that the country is divided by ideologies, not by geography. It happens that there are more people of one ideology than the other in particular locations. However, the ideology that supported Bush/Cheney exists throughout the country and is in the majority across the country as a whole. Troublesome, but true

Montana, one of the reddest states, has a new Democratic governor. First-time candidates for state legislatures from Hawaii to Connecticut beat incumbent Republicans. And a record number of us voted to change course -- more Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history.

Today is not an ending. Regardless of the outcome yesterday, we have begun to revive our democracy. While we did not get the result we wanted in the presidential race, we laid the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leaders.

Democracy for America trained thousands of organizers and brought new leadership into the political process. And down the ballot, in state after state, we elected Dean Dozen candidates who will be the rising stars of the Democratic Party in years ahead. Tens of millions of us are disappointed today because we put so much of ourselves into this election. We donated money, we talked to friends, we knocked on doors. We invested ourselves in the political process.

That process does not end today. These are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting change if that sense of obligation and responsibility becomes a permanent part of our lives. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." We will not be silent.

Thank you for everything you did for our cause in this election. But we are not stopping here.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

A post-election-ennui shortened Technobriefs this week:

October 29, 2004

15> Out: Photo ops of president on jogging path. In: Photo ops of president on exercise wheel.

14> Tea in the Rose Garden replaced with grazing in the Alfalfa Patch.

13> His Secret Service code name: "Who's a Good Boy?"

12> Halting uncertainty during spontaneous unscripted discourse spun as yakking up a hairball.

11> President Polly's library refuses to display the "Cagebottom Papers."

10> Everything would be exactly the same, only 15 percent cuddlier.

9> "Four More Rears!"

8> Secret Service agents would be distinguished by their dark glasses, ear pieces and holstered pooper scoopers.

7> To avenge his father, President Rex declares war on speeding Ford Econoline vans.

6> Pup-Peroni-stained dress not so incriminating.

5> North Korean peace talks break down when Kim Jong Il pulls the old fake stick toss.

4> Find the weapons of mass destruction? Nope./Find the cheese in the maze? Every time!

3> By order of the Tabby Administration, the lower third of the Washington Monument is covered with carpet.

2> Big contributors would get to spend a night in the Lincoln Cage.

and Topfive.com's Number 1 Difference If the President Were an Animal...

1> Second-term scandal involves forfeiture of White House cleaning deposit.

November 1, 2004

15> "A vote for Bush is a vote for at least four more years before a Bush twins Playboy pictorial."

14> "I understand why the senator is running for president. If I had his wife, I'd run, too."

13> "Say, have you seen the ads from the 'Alabama Guardsmen for Bush' group? Neither have I."

12> "Of course he's in favor of gay marriage -- for Ralph, it doubles his pool of potential mates."

11> "My opponent likes to compare himself to President Reagan, but actually, he's more like Hoover. Not the president -- the vacuum."

10> "Well *his* daughter couldn't get a lesbian lover with a six-pack of Coors and tickets to the WNBA finals."

9> "Do the math: Both tall, both skinny -- and Senator Kerry has never been seen in public with Osama bin Laden."

8> "Only someone who hates America could vote for a French- looking peace protester married to an African-American woman whose children were fathered by another man!"

7> "John is Theresa's *58th* variety, if you know what I mean."

6> "Do not be fooled by John Edwards' famous smile. One time, in Tennessee, he used it to grin down a bear."

5> "I can't say for certain if the bulge was a transmitter, but when we shook hands my fillings started playing Bachman-Turner Overdrive."

4> "Hola, Hispanic citizens. I warn you that if elected, Mr. Kerry's wife will require him to change the name of your biggest holiday to Cinco de Ketchup."

3> "How can we trust this man to defeat Osama bin Laden? He can't even take on Mr. Salty without getting knocked unconscious!"

2> "My flip-flopping opponent has assumed more positions in the last two weeks than Martha Stewart."

and Topfive.com's Number 1 Shot Fired During the Presidential Race...

1> "Nearly 400 tons of explosives are missing from an Iraqi ammunition dump that this administration failed to secure. We can't even trust our president to take a dump!"

===================================
Selected from 91 submissions from 34 contributors.
Today's Top 5 List authors are:
-------------------------------
Larry Hollister, Concord, CA -- 1 (61st #1/Hall of Famer)
Paul Schindler, Orinda, CA -- 5

November 4, 2004

NOTE FROM CHRIS:

Hmmm... I wonder what's in the news these days...

Surprise! It's the election!

12> Our Long National Nightmare Is Over: "Will & Grace" Now Banned in 11 States

11> Bill O'Reilly Holds Public Hearing in Pants

10> Ann Coulter Sprains Gloat Muscle

9> Doctors Alarmed as Kerry's Face Droops More Than Usual

8> W to Bush Sr.: "In Your Face, Old Man!"

7> Mary Cheney Marries Her Lesbian Partner in Massachusetts

6> Bush: Victory "Supercauliflatulistic!"

5> Democrats Lose Bid to Control White House, Congress, Bladders

4> Newspapers Across Country Suddenly 35% Thinner

3> Bush Restrung for Second Term

2> States Now Look to Ban Same-Sex Massages

and Topfive.com's Number 1 Election-Related Headline...

1> Bush Reaches Out to Dems, Extends Middle Finger

===========================

Selected from 81 submissions from 31 contributors.
Today's Top 5 List authors are:

-----------------------------------------------

Tom Stoudt, Fort Washington, PA -- 1, 9 (20th #1)
Paul Schindler, Orinda, CA -- 3

--Neal Vitale

--Neal Vitale

--Neal Vitale