Check out this amazing post over at Democratic Underground. Most people there use pseudonyms, but this man gave his name:
My name is Steven Joseph Vincent and I refuse to be afraid to speak my mind in my own country.
I
served my country in the military for 5 years. I wore the uniform. I
was willing to sacrifice my life for the ideals this country was
founded on. I will not be cowed by the bullies who run this country or
the partisan cowards who support them.
As I write this, tears
stream down my cheeks. Tears for the men and women who are dying in our
name. Tears for poor and hard working Americans who may never get out
of poverty. Tears for the hateful racist, mysogynistic, homophobic
nation we appear to be. Tears for my daughter and the children of this
country. Tears of anger.
Take my name. Write it down. Do with it what you will, you fucking freepers* and government agents.
I
will not hide behind an alias. I will not be ashamed of my party
affilliation or my political beliefs. I will not quietly stand by as my
country is diminished.
I AM NOT AFRAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And neither should my 55 million compatriots who proudly stood up and said, "Enough."
This is my country and I will fight for her.
I will fight, goddammit.
The really cool thing? Everyone posted their own name in response, and so far, there are dozens.
When
I started this blog, I thought about not using my name. I mean, it made
sense; I was looking for a job and I didn't want to make myself
unemployable. But I'm not a coward, and damn it, this is still America.
So I used my name.
It seems to me that the truth has a ripple effect. So many people are afraid to speak out - until they hear someone else do it.
Now
more than ever, we need to continue speaking the truth as we see it.
God bless Steven Joseph Vincent, and everyone like him. They're the real Americans.
(Note: *Freepers - rabid rightwingers who post at www.freerepublic.com.)
The "VALUES" Debate A Victory for "Values', but whose? Gary Bauer would like the election to be seen as a mandate on his. We need to keep the focus on "Reality-Based' values. Evangelical Pastor Jim Wallis – editor of Sojourners – writes that the 2004 election has begun "a real debate in this country over what the most important 'religious issues' are in politics." The religious right "fought to keep the focus on gay marriage and abortion…But many moderate and progressive Christians disagreed. We insisted that poverty is also a religious issue, pointing to thousands of verses in the Bible on the poor. The environment – protection of God's creation – is also one of our religious concerns." The Rev. Jeff Schutz, until recently a pastor at "a fast-growing evangelical congregation," urged Americans to think past personal moral issues like abortion and gay marriage. "How about talking about adoption, special-needs children, reforming the insurance industry, [and] the homeless?" Schutz said.
For those who cried at previous Republican elections, this if far worse! Those elections were deemed legitimate; neither of the Bush elections were.
He's won by fraud and voter disenfranchisement in both his elections, but in this election, he also no paper trail electronic voting machines aiding his voter counts.
Note that in every district in Florida and Ohio where electronic touch screen voting machines were used, the voter exit polls showed John Kerry the winner, while the electronic machine results showed Bush the winner. And THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN VERIFY THE VOTE ON THE ELECTRONIC MACHINES. What about the 'Value' of a fraud-free election in a 200+ year old democracy?
I cried when Nixon won, when Reagan won, when Bobby & Martin & John were murdered...
I'm too numb to cry now. It feels like it's 1954 or 1964 and we have to start all over again.
I simply don't understand why 56 million white people voted to drink the Bush's FEAR Coolaid and ignore the failures of this "worst president in American history".
Bush will be working in the next four years on making more poor white folks.I only feel sorry for the poor white folks (and the black folks, and brown folks, and red and yellow folks) who voted for Kerry.
The ones who voted for Bush have brought this on themselves. And why? Because they wanted a president who would protect them against the queers.
This is what we are held hostage by, people. 56 million people who have decided that it doesn't matter if more Americans die in Iraq, if more children slide into poverty, if more Americans lose their health insurance, if more seniors have to choose between paying for food or medications.It only matters that Gary and Steve can't exchange wedding vows. It only matters that abortions be made illegal.
The Hell with them and the right wing elephant they rode in on.
