So. Here we go. Are we going to dump the Emperor and his fascist extremist agenda? Is sanity returning to the White House?

Officially, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Georgia have been called for Bush; Vermont for Kerry.

But exit polling looks good.

‘Cautiously optimistic.’

Yeah, baby. I just voted an hour ago. It totally rocked.

Our precinct is at Temple Beth Emreth on Packard. I arrived at 16:00 and got a great parking spot up front; I left at 16:15. 15 minutes from start to finish.

There was no one in the ‘M to Z’ line and I filled out my ‘application to vote’ slip and went to pick up my ballot. My voter card was checked, a bar code was applied to the book and the longest part was waiting behind five people for an open voting table.

The precinct worker told me it had been steady all day and none of them had been able to take a break.

I quickly marked my ballot, making sure that not a single mark was placed next to the name of any fascist party member. There was no wait to put my ballot in the optical reading machine.

The machine counter said my ballot was #869.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I was prepared for there to be no parking and to stand in line for an hour or two. While it was nice, it did make it appear that tales of long lines and delays weren’t true.

Still, it was a lovely voting experience in all.

On my way out of the polling place, a young lady asked me if I was a Kerry voter. I asked, ‘And who are you who wants to know?’

She said she was with Move-On.org. I said yeah baby. Apparently, they were checking off a list of Kerry voters who had promised to show up at the polls. There were a bunch of people on her list who had already shown up.

Cool.

Rock the vote. If you haven’t voted, get out there and do it. And if you’re in Michigan, VOTE NO on Prop. 2, the Kill-The-Fag-Families Amendment.

If you did vote no on Prop. 2, Frank and I and others like us thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Hopefully, the long, four-year national nightmare will end later tonight.

A victory speech from President-Elect Kerry would almost be enough to send me to my knees thanking Jeebus and God and all the angels. First exit polls seem to be surprisingly good news.

‘Cautiously optimistic.’ That’s the mood around the AirBeagle household this evening.

Peace, y’all.

Election day is here …

It’s amazing to me, more than anything else, just to hear the conversations around me today. The media likes to portray the American populace as thoughtless, partisan, and angry. I saw just the opposite today. There were thoughtful, reasoned, sober discussions on the bus, at the polling site, everywhere I went. People have been thinking, they’ve been pondering, they’ve been deliberating. It’s impressive.

There were jokes, too, of course. But this ritual is probably the last remnant of what it means to be an American that can’t be spun or marketed or discounted. It’s awe-inspiring and amazing.

Well, I guess there’s one nice benefit to all of this argument over gay marriage: better scripts from Hollywood.

Riiiiight.

I was listening to some “undecided voters” whine about their conflictedness on the radio. If you’re still undecided on November 2 about who should be in the White House for the next four years, after over a year of relentless news coverage, attack ads, vituperation, vitriol, controversy, and fury, all I can say is, “Huh?”

The 40+-mph gusts this weekend have put an abrupt end to fall color, at least in my neighborhood. Almost all the trees were bare and stark this afternoon when I walked to the bus stop. The trees on campus seem to have weathered it a little better, but they’re starting to fade, too. Autumn is short this year.

There’s supposed to be snow showers later in the week …..

All this crazy Scandinavian can say is, it’s about time …..

I found this info at the excellent site Electoral-Vote.com this afternoon that is worth distributing as widely as possible.

• Find out today where your polling place is by calling your county clerk or checking www.mypollingplace.com.

• Alternatively, call 1-866-MYVOTE1 to find your polling place.

• Check the hours the polls are open with your city or county clerk.

• Print the League of Women Voters’ card in English or Spanish and put it in your wallet or purse.

• Bring a government-issued picture ID like a driver’s license or passport when you vote. Some states require it but if there are problems, you will certainly need it. If you have a cell phone, take it to call for help if need be.

• As you enter the polls, note if there is an Election Protection person outside the polling place.

• If you are not listed as a registered voter, try to register on the spot. Some states allow that. Otherwise, talk to the Election Protection person if there is one or call 1-866-OUR–VOTE for instructions. If neither of these helps, ask for a provisional ballot, but you will need a picture ID to get one.

Washtenaw County Clerk: 200 North Main, Ann Arbor. 734-222-6700.

Ann Arbor City Clerk: 100 North Fifth, 2nd Floor, Ann Arbor. 734-994-2725.

Ypsilanti City Clerk: One South Huron Street, First Floor, Ypsilanti. 734-483-1100.

Saline City Clerk: 100 N. Harris St., Saline. 734-429-4907.

Chelsea City Clerk: 305 S. Main St., Suite 100, Chelsea. 734-475-1771.

Ann Arbor Township Clerk: 3792 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor. 734-663-3418.

Dexter Township Clerk: 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Rd., Dexter. 734-426-3762.

Pittsfield Township Clerk: 6201 W. Michigan Avenue, Ann Arbor. 734-822-3120.

Scio Township Clerk: 827 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor. 734-665-2123.

Please vote.