Desolate in Broward County

November 8, 2004

Greetings from south Florida,

I just came from a birthday dinner celebrating my mother's 88th birthday.  Much of the discussion around the table was about last week's election. 

 

My mother was too distrustful of the system in Florida to vote by absentee ballot.  She stood on line a total of 5 1/2 hours over 2 days to finally cast her vote.  She was sure to press the review button to make sure all her votes were correct before she pressed the vote button.  Everyone she spoke to on line for those many hours was voting for Kerry.  My mom lives in Broward County. 

 

Aunt Rita said that her friend pressed the review button and found a straight Republican ticket.  Her friend called the election monitor who cancelled the ballot and allowed her to vote again.  The second time, the review was correct.  And then she pressed the vote button.  My mom's friend Henny didn't review her ballot.  My nieces were volunteer lawyers at the polls.  They reported that the Republicans at their polls were very calm and courteous.  They suspected the calmness of the Republicans in face of the fact that all the people on line were talking about voting for Kerry was due to the pre-arranged victory of Bush in Florida.  The Republicans were acting like they had nothing to worry about. 

 

We discussed the investigations currently being mounted by various organizations like BlackBoxVoting.org

.  My mother, who is often wise and has seen much in her 88 years, said there's no use in investigating it.  She said the investigations will go on for a while, and then they will disappear, and no one will mention it anymore.  Like when Senator Kerry was investigating the elder Bush's involvement with illegal drug trade during the Iran-Contra Affair, and suddenly it disappeared inconclusive.  My mom said she is so sick with the results of the election and the outright rampant corruption of the Republicans and the impotency of the Democrats, that she can't even watch the news anymore.  She is totally burnt out on the one party system our government has evolved into.  She just wants to live out her remaining years. 

I feel utterly desolate in Broward County

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
"The world desires to be deceived; therefore it is deceived. "
(Attributed to Petronius)