Unbelievable

Two things are happening today that are unbelievable. First, My sister-in-law Armida is getting married. Maria is going to be ordained with the powers to perform a marriage and will bind Armida with her love Gary up at his vineyard in west Paso. We never thought we would see the day! Congratulations to Armida and Gary!

Unfortunately, as with the birth of our son, most excellent news is followed with bad.

This is November 3rd 2004 and it seems Bush has won reelection.

I can't begin to even fathom what havoc Bush will wreak on our democracy in another 4 years. If we are to believe FOX news and MSNBC then we can look forward to Bush "presidenting" for another 4 years. It is the worst nightmare for civil liberties, the working class, the poor and frankly, the world for Bush's failures extend into Iraq and who knows where. Osama Bin Laden laid out his plan to bankrupt America and Bush seemingly walks right into that running up the largest deficits in history. That money comes from somewhere. It's not reassuring to know that foreign countries own America right now.

I can say these things based on Bush's record. With the Patriot Act in place the United States Government can invade homes and detain indefinitely US citizens and provides for warrantless records searches. They can place wire taps, seize documents, and scan computers without notification to anyone. There is definitely one and possibly 3 Supreme Court Justices who will need to be replaced. This is the worst case scenario as if Bush gets his way he will appoint right wing religious people who can't tell the difference between a totalitarian and a democratic government. We can look forward to further environmental degradation and big business getting bigger. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. All these things are the wrong direction and yet, seemingly, the majority of Americans find that is not a problem. Terrorism and fear is what drove this election. Yet all indications are that terrorism is on the rise thanks in part to a failed Iraq.

Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of America as we know it. Perhaps we will start moving in a direction towards fascism and totalitarianism. Some would argue that has already taken place. If that is the case, I’ll have no problems moving my family out and into a country that can appreciate freedom and the separations of church and state. Right now, lets just wait and see if this election was rigged. To those who would say "good riddance" to me and mine I respond, be careful who you vote for. It may not be very long before you are forced to do things you don't agree with. It is patriotic to raise questions.

OK, I just had to get that off my chest so I can go to work today and meet Armida and Gary for their wedding.