"Let us to it pell-mell, if not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell" - Shakepeare's Richard III

And so the beginning of the end arrives, this political cycle winds to its climax. My lovely wife and I spent the morning standing in line at a local church to cast our ballots. Not surprisingly (given election board incompetence) our names weren't in the book, so we thought we might not get to vote. They got it straightened out with a phone call, but I was about ready to scream "Voter suppression!!! Get me Jesse Jackson!!!" Thankfully I didn't have to resort to that. On a side issue, there is a somewhat funny, somewhat poignant comparison to be made...our names were blotted out and not found in the Book of Voting, and we were nearly cast out into outer darkness. Alright, not quite appropriate analogy.

But this is it, my friends, the final poll, the one that counts. My stomach sinks with that eager feeling of anxiety before the start of an important contest. Oh well, my ballot is cast, my voice was heard. Let the people (no, not the lawyers) make their decision. Want a UN lapdog whose campaign talking points are parroted by the number one terrorist in the world? Well, it's your choice, America. I hope you make the right one.

Rush had an interesting point. Osama Bin Laden once attacked us with jetliners, and now, all he can do is attack us with a tape. This is what he has been reduced to. I'm by no means saying he is no longer a threat or that we can breathe easier, but look at it...we've been promised over the past three years countless attacks on our soil by the terrorists, and we've kept them so much on the run that in three years they haven't pulled off even one. All he can do is issue threats via Al-Jazeera. He is on the run, an insipid coward fleeing for his life into dirty little mudpits just like Uncle Saddam. Stand and fight, you worthless worm. We'll get him, and his dishonoured corpse will be welcomed into eternity where the 72 virgins he is expecting will be nowhere to be found.

This is a side issue, but I've been thinking about AIDS. We are spending more on AIDS research than on research of heart disease, which kills vastly larger amounts of people. It is an easily preventable disease. We could eradicate it permanently if people would modify their behavior. Sure, there are innocent victims of AIDS, the children who contract it from their parents, and the odd blood transfusion victim, but those are far less common. Most people get it from promiscuity. So here's my solution. Take the billions upon billions we are spending on AIDS research, and use it to have mandatory screenings of all adults every year or two. Then, criminalize the knowing transmission of AIDS. You'll have mandatory screenings for AIDS, so ignorance will be no excuse. You could have a contract to fill out and sign for a partner to give consent if you have AIDS, but if you have been tested positive for HIV, and you sleep with someone without them having signed a release form of some kind, you should be guilty of a felony, in my opinion. We need to stop the SPREAD of AIDS. Get at the source. The problem is, the Left doesn't want to give up a promiscuous lifestyle, so it insists we spend billions upon billions in search of a cure, so we can all get back to the business of "free love" and whatnot. You think AIDS is a problem? Well, then, keep your pants on and most likely you won't be at risk. They used to require STD screenings as a prerequisite for a marriage license. It isn't a bad idea...it would promote the public health. It's admittedly not sensitive and could be very cruel, but certainly less cruel than the transmission of such an STD to an innocent person without their knowledge.

What a tangent. Anyway, vote for Bush today. If you are registered to vote and support Bush, and you don't get out and vote today, then I jes' might haffa come open up a can a' whoop-ass on you. Get out the vote! Man, sloganeering is fun, I should become a Democrat...