Forgive me journal for I have sinned. It has been 42 days since my last entry.

In that time I have been getting more and more frustrated with those "little things" in life. Work has me telling my boss to straighten up or I'll quit, my beloved Carolina Panthers have had a horrible start to the season (in part due to season ending injuries), and I've been completely disgusted by OBVIOUS BIASED reporting, spinning, and story concocting of the mainstream media. For these and other reasons, I have been mostly silent.

I know, I know. People don't like to hear me complain about politics but win or lose, I'll be glad when this election cycle is over. It's a dispiriting thing to be an informed, educated citizen watching so many otherwise intelligent people being brainwashed by a Democratic establishment determined to take down a good man. Scandals at CBS (which continue). Intellectually biased "setups" to stories already slanted to hurt Bush. Ream after ream of innuendo based, subjective, reactionary, calculated trash written with the solo intent to castrate our great country while punishing Bush for doing as we wanted him to do.

In this country, we tend to stick to our political affiliation (right or wrong, in good times and bad) much the same as we support our sports teams. The dogmatic belief in the superiority of our candidates and the certainty that the other guy is cheating makes this country look like a giant sports bar filled with Red Sox and Yankees fans during the last minutes of "happy hour." The drunken brawl that will be this Tuesday's election makes me fear for our country. Not because Bush could lose and Kerry could win but rather that regardless of the outcome, we as a people are losing faith in the one thing that is required to make all this mess work.

That is that win or lose, our guy got a fair shake.

Make no mistake, voter fraud has been around since before the time of Dick Tracy and Mary Poppins. The problem is now that it has been escalated to an art though the type of art that depicts a crucified Jesus surrounded by feces. Swat teams of lawyers are ready to descend on county after county in an effort to ensure "fairness." That of course means my guys votes are counted but your guys votes are not.

Let me be clear. If Republicans engage in fraud and/or voter suppression activities it's wrong just as when Democrats do it. The truth is we are now at a stage of "vote proliferation" that one side will claim moral justification for these type activities simply to counteract what they "just know" the other side is doing. This would be like the Red Sox greasing the ball and using corked bats to win the world series because they "just know" the other guys are doing it.

If that was the case, after 86 years of waiting for the taste of victory, wouldn't it leave a bad taste in your mouth? Or would you have enough self pride to admit that winning isn't everything. Winning within the rules and losing with dignity is the test of a man.

I am disgusted by what I see and read. If a pollster called me and asked if I felt the country was heading in the right direction my answer would be hell no. Too many people are just doing what it takes to win without a thought on how another battle like we had 4 years ago could further split this country. The rhetoric that has been used since that time has not allowed our wounds to heal. The legislation that has been passed since that time is being ignored by the courts. Everyone assumes malice, everyone assumes cheating, and no one trusts his neighbor.

Polls show that far more Democrats are motivated by hate and anger then Republican (by like a 45% margin). For the last 4 years you've been that baseball fan mad at the kid who innocently caught an in play ball in the 5th game of the series and you want payback...no matter what.

One report states that John Kerry's plan is to declare victory no matter what the count on election night. They claim that was Gore's fatal mistake; not doing so. Does anyone understand how much of a crisis that would create? Do you conceive the wreck that will make of our economy? Amongst our allies? I only pray that if after the votes are all in, the fraudulent ones won't matter, the one's from our troops abroad that the Democrats are suppressing won't matter, and Dick Tracy and Mary Poppin's votes won't matter. I pray that the margin of victory is such that it is outside the realm where fraud could play a factor...for both Bush AND Kerry's sake.

Bush, if you lose do it with dignity. Of this I have no doubt.

Kerry, if you lose do it with dignity. Of this I have no evidence.

Four more days till we know and boy does your vote count.

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