Here's where I'm at:

The provisional ballots in Ohio need to be counted. Once. Mr. Kerry, if the results don't run 80% in your favor, you need to concede this election.

Because, in all honesty, this election wasn't lost in Ohio. It wasn't lost in Florida.

It was lost in December of 2000, when George Bush stole his first term. It was lost on September 11th, 2001, when the majority of Americans allowed a terrorist attack on this country to define a culture of fear and machismo and religious extremism as intolerant as any terrorist.

It was lost in the early days of this campaign, when the Democrats allowed the Republicans to frame the issues in whatever manner they wanted, and then played along.

It was lost when the Democratic party lost its heart, bowing to the conservatives and trying to be out-moderate the Republicans.

It was lost when the Republicans realized that the majority of this country is made up of morons. I'd like to believe like the Democracts did, when they believed that the average American could see through terms like "Death Tax."

Instead, the average american hears, "Death Tax," and says, "Hey, I don't want to be taxed for dying. I'm against a death tax. I must be a Republican."

It was lost when ignorance became cool in this country.

It was lost when we made it a de facto requirement that the President of this country declare faith in God in an established, well known Christian religion.

We Americans are, and there is no doubting this, the laughing stock of the civilized world. Europe thinks us ludicrous. The Middle East finds us satanic. Our allies--what few we have left--consider us extreme and dangerous.

We are a nation driven by an irrational belief in an invisible, all-mighty being who keeps track of all our misdeeds, and . . .AND we have the largest supply of heavy weaponry to enforce the will of prophets two-thousand years dead.

I hold on to two truisms:

If 58,392,882 people say a stupid thing, it's still a stupid thing.

-and-

At least we only have one planet to destroy.

You know, the results of this election won't affect me or my wife, really. My military commitment is over and I've been out longer than ten years, so I can't be called back up into active service. You still can't make me believe in the stupid, historical romance novel you call the Bible. I've got a decent job. I live in a nice apartment in a wonderful neighborhood in an incredible city that believes mostly as I do. I don't have to look you idiots in the eye, and that's good, because there's a lot more like me you'd be staring down as well.

So enjoy your flat, ugly plains. Enjoy your boring, dairy heartlands, and your confederate flag waving deep south states.

Those of us with a whit of intelligence left will be more than happy to live in the cities; in Seattle and Los Angeles and New York and San Fransisco . . .you know, the places with culture and class.

You and George go ahead and enjoy your sheep.

But come here; COME HERE and you've got a fight on your hands.

We're waiting and watching. Tread carefully.

Joseph Haines, signing off from The Edge of The Abyss.