I need you my witness - To dress this up so bloodless - To numb me and purge me now - Of thoughts of blaming you

A few minutes ago Carter hit me with an IM apologizing for "all of us on the site are prolly pissing you off." So I guess it's been a while since I posted about politics. I've mostly walked away from those posts because they're not fun. Fun is why I post. So hopefully I'll sludge through this political post and let it be my last (If there's some crazy reount scandal I reserve the right to indulge in some righteous indignation). A year ago I argued that we needed to trust the president when he told us that a war on Iraq was necessary. I still believe that this was (mostly) a good decision, despite the fact that it's now abundantly clear that my trust was grossly misplaced.

Now that it's clear that the justification was an elaborate house of cards, things have changed. Once a trust has been betrayed it doesn't easily get earned again and never from a man who encourages me not to read newspapers, but to get my "unfiltered" news exclusively from him.

Ultimately though, the war was just one last disaster in a horrifying record. I'm not by nature much of an environmentalist (I think they often traffic in fear), but the steady rollback of thirty years of environmental law has amazed even me for it's flat disregard of the public welfare. The administration's stance on stem cell research in particular and science in general is, to put it charitably, archaic. A record government surplus has been squandered and transformed with mystifying speed into record deficits in service of an economy that by all accounts (except the administration's) is growing far too slowly. I could go on but the churning feeling in my stomach is reminding me why I don't write political posts anymore.

Anyway if anyone other that Carter is under the impression that I voted for Bush today, I hope this little screed has disabused you of the notion. Not only did I vote for Kerry, I contributed to his campaign since my vote does precious little in our electoral system.

My political rennaisance has made me something of a curiosity (or outcast depending upon how you look at it) in my family, which with the exception of my Uncle Anthony (a union guy) is staunchly Republican. So if you're a Bush supporter and reading this and feeling dissapointed in me somehow, rest assured your still in good company. All I can encourage is that you look at the world as it is and hold those who are most responsible for the custodianship of our nation to a high standard. You deserve it.

If you can do that and still vote for Bush then, I'll end with a quote from one of my favorite songs:

For it's the end of history
It's caged and frozen still
There is no other pill to take
So swallow the one

That makes you ill