Can We Survive '05?

Today a few members of our Congress (far too few) made a courageous gesture by raising an objection to the state of Ohio's certified tally of votes for President. Where was Robert Byrd? Teddy Kennedy? I saw Hillary's and Barak's name in some alternative news item, but they were not mentioned by the PBS news.

They will be marginalized, of course, and their objections brushed under the rug that now bulges obscenely with the ashes from the other burning issues that the administration (and to be fair, many fellow 'Mericans) simply don't want to look at:

• The Missing WMDs (or Failure to Make the Case for Creaming Iraq)


• The Burgeoning Fiscal Problem (or Screw the Elderly, the Poor, and Dismantle the Middle Class)


• The "There Is No Global Warming" Blindspot


• The Case for Torture (or Let's Make Torture Be in the Eye of the Beholder, Not the Victim)

There are more, of course.

Gosh, how unproud of America I am today. Worse than Ukraine when it comes to elections. Worse than most of the rest of the world now in so many things. Ethics in government is a meaningless concept.

And actually, what I wanted to write about today was a very brief encounter I had when I was making my way to work this morning. I stopped at the local Sheetz to pick up some coffee and a bagel. I drive a 10-yr old Acura that sports a couple of bumper stickers, to wit: Kerry/Edwards 2004 (pasted on top of my Gore 2000 one) and WVPEACE.ORG. I make the assumption that the encounter has to do with these obvious signs of my objections to the current administration policies.

After I finished in the store and was getting back in my car a Toyota 4x pickup with toolboxes and bedcover pulled up in the slot alongside me. It was occupied by two young men with Marine-like buzzcuts. Before I closed the car door I heard the driver fairly shout toward me, "The hell with ragheads, burn them all!"

As I pulled out, his words rung in my head while I figured out what he'd said and probably why.

I see too much hostility in some faces. What happened to religion? Wasn't Jesus called the Prince of Peace? Didn't he come to show us the way to humility and generosity and forgiveness? But it is the Old Testament God that has reared His head these days, the God of Vengeance. Except people forget .. "Vengeance is mine," saith the Lord. We are all vengeful mini-gods now I guess, with our guns and our attitudes.

Damn GW Bush. Damn him to hell for setting the example that you can do what you want without repercussion as long as you are on his side.

I pray there is a hell.