Where Everybody Knows You're Numb

Psych Lit · Guru

RE: on pins and needles and waiting for the smoke plume

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

I don't know ... maybe it was the election. Maybe it was something else, or maybe it was a combination of a bunch of things, but ...

I caught the last five minutes of Oprah today, and when this:

Click here: BeBe Winans and Friends Sing We Need Each Other Right Now

happened, the tears just started flowing, and I confess, for the first time in months and months, I just cried like a baby. smile

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 16:23, 2008-11-05

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Incidentally, I thought both candidates gave perhaps the best speeches of their careers last night -- McCain returned to sounding like an elder statesman, and reminded us that the last two months have not revealed the sum of his person, and I thought Obama's speech was great because at last we have a leader telling us we, as a citizenry are facing a difficult road ahead, and that we're going to have to make sacrifices.

See, really, I think that's where Bush failed us so ... he told us "Hey, don't mind what I'm doing over here, you just go out and shop, and leave the "deciding" to me. Especially in times of war, I believe Americans still can and will rise to the occasion, but when you set the bar so low, and ask nothing of us, that's what we'll give. I personally believe we're grown up enough as a people under one flag to not have all the medicine so buried in sugar we hardly know it's there. I believe we as a country just as we as individuals are willing to do what is asked of us, and are, and have long been wanting someone to ask something of us, beyond buying duct tape and frivilous toys. It's my hope that Obama begins right away talking about things like global warming, and what we must now begin to do in concrete terms.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

My Turn wrote:

i too wish hillary had been up there tonight....but all i can say is thank the gods that mccain lost...and uh, pass the PIG bacon!!!

lol, in honor of the upcoming turkey day, lets make it turkey bacon!

-- Edited by My Turn at 23:55, 2008-11-04

On behalf of the turkey caucus, I object.

The bad news last night was largely local: It appears McCain did take Arizona (although we're seeing something like 54% - 45%) The anti-gay marriage proposal did pass, (56-44% -- the tried and true "get the republicans to the polls on election day" measure seemed to work, and when you look at the McCain victory, you can see how they voted) and Sheriff Joe was re-elected.

The good news, though: first and foremost on my mind -- the Supreme Court and all her rulings for the next several decades is probably "saved." And there are now a historic 17 women in the U.S. Senate! Yay! Seems odd to cheer about 17 out of 100, but I think it's the most women ever in the US senate.

But the best news of all? It's over.

MyCat8it · Senior Member

Psych Lit wrote:

MyCat8it wrote:

Okay, it's almost 11pm. The last of the polls will be closing soon. Which brings me to ask, why is Hawaii closing so early? Do they always close early?
lol if youd only stayed up a feewwww more min! we wont be hearing you scream! at least not about waking up to moose bacon or something
i wont be moving to canada
the northeast will not be forming its own nation.
life is nearly as good as it woulda been if hillary had been on the stage tonight:)

Just as soon as I turned off my laptop and climbed into bed, they announced Obama as the winner.

YAY!

I fell asleep watching that huge crowd of people in Chicago with a content smile on my face.

While I can appreciate people wanting to be present during the celebration, there is NO WAY I would ever get in the middle of a crowd that large. Holy smoke, I started hyperventilating just watching them all.

Oh well, it's a great day today.

Psych Lit · Guru

My Turn wrote:

was that crowd at the park in chicago not amazing or what...i dont recall ever seeing a crowd that large....wow. can you imagine how long its gonna take to get everyone outta there???)

lol, days i suspect. i hope the subway runs all night or people are going to get to spend the night in a chilly park.
yes the crowd size was amazing, that location made me very nervous tho. i was thinking how difficult it would be to protect him in such a public place and how dangerous the night might be for him given the gravity and historical value of the result. i didnt relax until he walked off the stage and i was really nervoud when the kiddos were out there with him. near as i could see all that stood between them and the audience was a thin sheet of plexi glass.

after the announcement we turned the coverage over to BET because we wanted to see how the black press was covering it.
there were several really moving moments. a woman who dropped to her knees and sobbed the moment the declaration was made, jesse jackson crying in the audience( tho i did wonder what he was crying about, that it wasnt him or the weight of the history making moment) and just the all around joy. that alone was moneys worth.

i am glad youre not moving to canada..

me too! tho i still have to pay taxes tho apparently we are a responsible bunch and we all voted to continue paying. (lol how weird is that?) and we did manage to vote to decriminalize weed. well up to an oz anyway and barney kept his seat! my lil blue state heaven is far warmer than canada!

and in nearby ct the really sort of conservative voters (who reelected leiberman as an ind. in the last election, fer crying out loud, turned down question 1 by a 3 to 1 margin. i was surprised and pleased to hear that. cali on the other hand appears to have passed prop 8 or thats whats being reported now tho all votes are not counted and it seems close.

i too wish hillary had been up there tonight....but all i can say is thank the gods that mccain lost...and uh, pass the PIG bacon!!!

lol, in honor of the upcoming turkey day, lets make it turkey bacon!

-- Edited by My Turn at 23:55, 2008-11-04

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

and I'm thinkin' "What the heck is goin' on??" And then I see the longest silver limo I've ever seen in my life (and this is from someone whose brother once owned a limo service) and then, I'm seein' all these people walking around with McNugget/Palin signs on sticks, wavin' them perilously close to my car, and I look over to my right, and there it is: the entrance to The Arizona Biltomre.

D'oh!!!

I'm in the McCain motorcade.

LOL. i wish id read this earlier i woulda looked for your car but i dont remember them showing any street scenes on the news leading up to the concession speech. mostly they focused on the stage and the audience. im surprised that mom didnt have you pull over and go into the biltmore so you could all watch the concession speech!

what did you think of mccains speech? I thought it was ok. there was more than a trace of grr in it but he covered it well enough. SP looked as tho she was going to cry and the first dude looked pissed.
i stopped at the y for a quick circuit and swim on my way home from work and really was a bit worried. seemed as tho nearly everyone in the gym and in the pool voted for mccain and that worried me but these were all men. i did have an amusing experience in the locker room. i was talking to this older really radical woman about the election and a younger woman who was changing nearby volunteered that she was a registered repubican who had changed her mind over the last month because of the negativity expressed by mccain and palin. she was the second republican to say that to me this week and both were female. it appears that the tough negative stuff sold for old white males but, according to my very small sample anyway, white women really disliked it. he may blame palin for his loss but i think it really has to do with the change of tone toward the end.

And now? Now, I'm home, and am NOT going back down that street again tonight. If I hadn't had Mom AND the dog, I would have taken some photos, dangit.

yes! at least for the historical value. anything from this election will prolly be worth a fortune shortly including photos! mebbe you can get palin and the brood on the way out of town. i wonder tho, if theyll stay for a bit. that warmth must feel good to them as they are about to head back to a long winter.

I tried to through the moving car window, but they came out all blurred. Mostly because I was just holding the camera up and watching the road. Probably not a good place to be rear-ending someone you know?

uh huh. i can see it now. you rear end mccain or palin taking pix, the dog jumps out and goes berserk, possibly chewing up pipers stuffed animal or something, the secret service comes and mom and joan go on the attack and somewhere in there lots of bail money is needed.

LOL.

The deed is done. Ahhhhhhhh.

My Turn · Senior Member

Psych Lit wrote:

lol if youd only stayed up a feewwww more min! we wont be hearing you scream! at least not about waking up to moose bacon or something
i wont be moving to canada
the northeast will not be forming its own nation.
life is nearly as good as it woulda been if hillary had been on the stage tonight:)

yep..just a little longer and you woulda seen history made...it was called at 1141 pm...and obamas victory speech came around 1230 am or so....(was that crowd at the park in chicago not amazing or what...i dont recall ever seeing a crowd that large....wow. can you imagine how long its gonna take to get everyone outta there???)

i am glad youre not moving to canada.. wink

i too wish hillary had been up there tonight....but all i can say is thank the gods that mccain lost...and uh, pass the PIG bacon!!! aww

-- Edited by My Turn at 23:55, 2008-11-04

Psych Lit · Guru

MyCat8it wrote:

Okay, it's almost 11pm. The last of the polls will be closing soon. Which brings me to ask, why is Hawaii closing so early? Do they always close early?

lol if youd only stayed up a feewwww more min! we wont be hearing you scream! at least not about waking up to moose bacon or something

i wont be moving to canada

the northeast will not be forming its own nation.

life is nearly as good as it woulda been if hillary had been on the stage tonight:)

MyCat8it · Senior Member

Okay, it's almost 11pm. The last of the polls will be closing soon. Which brings me to ask, why is Hawaii closing so early? Do they always close early?

Obama is sitting at 207 while McCain is slowly creeping up, currently at 142. Still an impressive lead, but easily lost if McCain keeps taking states.

I fear I won't be able to stay awake for the remainder. If you hear a blood curdling scream at 5am EST tomorrow morning, you'll know the republicans pulled it off once again.

Remaining positive and hopeful, I am

Yours Sincerely,
Cat

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:
msnbc has just called kentucky for mccain and vermont for obama, indiana one of the few other states with polls closing at 7 is apparently too close to call.
i was surprised to see these called so early on. id always remembered the news organizations as waiting till the west coast voted before calling states? maybe im remembering wrong?

Heck, they just called Pennsylvania for Obama (and the polls are still open here.)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

OK ... I just turned on the news.

If you see a white liberal-looking vehicle in the news coverage of Sarah Palin arriving at the Arizona Biltmore? On the right side of the pictue? That's me.

Too danged funny. All the people who would actually CHOSE to be there, and me? I just wanted to get the dog and the Mom home. LOL.

I'm dyin' here. ROFL.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:
msnbc has just called kentucky for mccain and vermont for obama, indiana one of the few other states with polls closing at 7 is apparently too close to call.
i was surprised to see these called so early on. id always remembered the news organizations as waiting till the west coast voted before calling states? maybe im remembering wrong?

No, I don't think you're remembering wrong -- if you are, then I am too, 'cause that's how I remember it. Maybe it's just "based on exit polls, we're GUESSING" stuff. Maybe we should ask former president Gore about that ....

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Soooooo... I'm drivin' home with Mom and the dog from takin' Mom and her crazy pal Joan to vote, and I'm headin' up 24th street, in 5:00 traffic, and I'm noticing that there are motorcycle cops on every corner. Not just the major intersections, but EVERY intersection, and I'm thinkin' "What the heck is goin' on??" And then I see the longest silver limo I've ever seen in my life (and this is from someone whose brother once owned a limo service) and then, I'm seein' all these people walking around with McNugget/Palin signs on sticks, wavin' them perilously close to my car, and I look over to my right, and there it is: the entrance to The Arizona Biltomre.

D'oh!!!

I'm in the McCain motorcade.

So, I'm thinkin' it's probably not the McCAIN McCain motorcade, but we're talkin' some high rollers, and I'm thinkin' I should turn my headlights on and start weeping visibly or something, 'cause I'm right in the middle of a whole slew of black cars all goin' one way, and I'm goin' the same way. Only I'm not, of course.

And then, when I got to the last "you REALLY need to turn right here, if you're a stinkin' rich republican, and want to get in here tonight" corner, and drove PAST it, I saw standing on the corner about six college aged kids, holding their OWN signs:

"McCain Deserted Veterans!"

"Arizona Divorces McCain!"

:) I honked, and waved ... I don't usually do that ... as a matter of fact I've never done that before in my LIFE, come to think of it, but I was really feeling the need for a littler liberal mojo or something, I guess. They probably thought I was the enemy, or something. Lord knows I felt like it for a long time.

And now? Now, I'm home, and am NOT going back down that street again tonight. If I hadn't had Mom AND the dog, I would have taken some photos, dangit. I tried to through the moving car window, but they came out all blurred. Mostly because I was just holding the camera up and watching the road. Probably not a good place to be rear-ending someone you know?

ashamed

LOL.

The deed is done. Ahhhhhhhh.

Psych Lit · Guru

oh wait, thats for the pope isnt it?

its been an odd day here in the northland. people seem anxious in a not so good way and excited in a good way. its rather contradictory and yet thats the vibe here. people seem cautious to accept that we might actually get away from the horror of the last 8 years.

no lines at my voting place. i was in and out in minutes and had a chance to vote on whether or not the state should keep the income tax. seeing as how the alternative would lead to some rather nasty cutbacks that wasnt something that seemed appropriate.

on my lunch i stopped to bring beverages and lunch to friends in ct who were standing outside of their polling places with signs asking people to vote no on ct's question 1. cts court recently recently ruled for same sex marriage and a yes vote on question 1 would open up the state constitution for debate on issues like same sex marriage, among others. like most of these questions on ballots, the wording on this question is confusing, and hopefully this wont pass.

im expecting some buddies here to watch the returns in an hour or so and ive got the munchies in the oven, the beer in the fridge and the wine breathing on the counter and hopefully it will be a night that ends in celebration, optimism and hope for the future. hopefully everyone had an uneventful voting experience?

msnbc has just called kentucky for mccain and vermont for obama, indiana one of the few other states with polls closing at 7 is apparently too close to call.
i was surprised to see these called so early on. id always remembered the news organizations as waiting till the west coast voted before calling states? maybe im remembering wrong?