The Christian Science Monitor has published an article on a report by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board which is highly critical of the Bush Administration's efforts in the war on terrorism, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense released the report after last Wednesday's New York Times had an article about it.

Excerpt:

'Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies [the report says]. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.'

Can someone tell this to the president? I'm sure it can be spoonfed to him just how he likes it in the form of a one page memo.

You can view the report in Adobe PDF format here.

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Ties Record

"From the viewpoint of the United States and Iraqis who are striving to restore stability, the casualty trend since the interim Iraqi government was put in power June 28 has been troubling. Each month's death toll has been higher than the last, with the single exception of October, when it was 63."

UPDATE: As Atrios has pointed out, the AP story says "the Pentagon has not provided a casualty count for Fallujah for more than a week." Could it be they're holding back the numbers to keep the official casualty rate from exceeding the number from last April?

In other court news, for the second time, the Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal on last year's decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizing gay marriages.

Any minute now, I'm sure we'll see President Bush lash out at the activist Rehnquist Supreme Court. Brewtown Politico will bring you details of that press conference if and when it occurs.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Ashcroft v. Raich case regarding the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in states that have approved it.

Today, Wisconsin State Rep. Gregg Underheim (R-Oshkosh) said he will re-introduce his bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal use when the state legislature reconvenes in January. Ten Democrats and two Republicans signed on to the bill, and Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) co-sponsored it when Underheim introduced it in the last legislative session.

If the Supreme Court decides states have the right to approve such use of the drug, the bill could see new life. However, since it's still the kind of touchy issue that sends politicians into hiding, state legislatures in the past have opted for referendums to let the voting public decide if they want to see medical use of marijuana in their state.

Our leader makes his first official visit to Canada this week.

During his trip to the great white north, Mr. Bush won't be addressing the Canadian Parliament for fear of being heckled. This follows an ongoing theme the president has struck in not addressing the British Parliament, and forcing campaign rally attendees to sign loyalty oaths.

U.S. PRESIDENTS WHO HAVE VISITED OTTAWA, AND ADDRESSED PARLIAMENT:

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: August 25, 1943
2. Harry S. Truman: June 11, 1947
3. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Nov. 14, 1953
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower: July 9, 1958
5. John F. Kennedy: May 17, 1961
6. Richard M. Nixon: April 14, 1972
7. Ronald Wilson Reagan: March 11, 1981
8. Ronald Wilson Reagan: April 6, 1987
9. Bill Clinton: Feb. 23, 1995

U.S. PRESIDENTS WHO DID NOT ADDRESS PARLIAMENT, BUT CAME TO OTTAWA:

1. Lyndon B. Johnson
2. George H.W. Bush
3. George W. Bush

Last year, Bush did address the Australian Parliament, and was heckled by two Green Party senators. Bush's absence at the Canadian Parliament plays into suspicions many of us have that he is quite insecure, and unable to handle criticism even as he tries to project confidence. It has led this Toronto Star columnist to ask if the president is in fact a weenie.

Clear Channel's Bush "Our Leader" Billboard

The billboard is located on I-4 North of downtown Orlando, and was paid for by Clear Channel Communications. Doesn't it give you confidence that a company that promotes such blind allegiance to the president owns such a large share of the media in the country?

"Bush Won. Get Over It."

A video about the continuing tragedy unfolding in Iraq, and the American households directly affected by it.

Thanks to the Vast Dairy State Conspiracy for this one.

Senate GOP Set to Go 'Nuclear' Over Judges

"The nuclear option would begin with Frist taking the Senate floor to seek a ruling from the presiding officer, likely to be Vice President Dick Cheney in his role as Senate president, to determine whether judicial filibusters violate the Constitution.

Cheney's affirmative response would initiate a vote on changing the filibuster rule which also would be subject to a filibuster unless Cheney over- rules the Senate parliamentarian on whether normal debate rules apply. Then, only 51 votes would be needed for approval."

Bush Backs $388 Bln Bill But Wants New Veto Powers

Congress passed the line item veto back in 1996, but the Supreme Court struck it down a year later. Perhaps President Bush should start by vetoing at least one bill, something he hasn't done once since taking office.

It's the day after Thanksgiving. Happy Buy Nothing Day.

Falwell's Thanksgiving message: 'I thank God' for Hannity, Limbaugh, FOX, NewsMax, WorldNetDaily, and The Drudge Report.

Media Matters for America examines those so-called truth tellers that Rev. Jerry Falwell is thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks to Atrios for the link.

"May it not suffice for me to say . . . that, of course, like every other man of intelligence and education, I do believe in organic evolution. It surprises me that at this late date such questions should be raised." -former president Woodrow Wilson in 1922.

This page has a sampling of textbook disclaimer stickers for books instructing school children about evolution.

It seems the country still hasn't gotten over the nearly 80 year-old Scopes trial judging from the recent effort to roll back the teaching of evolution and infuse creationism into our schools. This is an issue affecting some Wisconsin schools and many school districts around the country.

I firmly believe teaching religion in public schools violates the establishment clause in the First Amendment. However, for the sake of argument, I'll consider agreeing to stickers on science textbooks warning that evolution is just a theory the day that folks on the other side agree to do the same for Bibles.

Textbook disclaimer link via MeFi.

Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, has forecast a grim future for the American economy. At private meetings with fund managers last week, Roach reportedly said the country has only about a 10 percent chance of avoiding an "economic armageddon."

His reasons? The record trade deficit will result in the continuing decline of the dollar, interest rates will continue to rise to keep treasury bills attractive to buyers, and debt is growing at record levels in America's households.

A Moral Indictment. Travis County, Texas district attorney Ronnie Earle has an op-ed in today's Times responding to attacks on him by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his surrogates.

"Last week Congressional Republicans voted to change their rule that required an indicted leader to relinquish his post. They were responding to an investigation by the Travis County grand jury into political contributions by corporations that has already resulted in the indictments of three associates of Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader.

Yet no member of Congress has been indicted in the investigation, and none is a target unless he or she has committed a crime. The grand jury will continue its work, abiding by the rule of law. That law requires a grand jury of citizens, not the prosecutor, to determine whether probable cause exists to hold an accused person to answer for the accusation against him or her.

Politicians in Congress are responsible for the leaders they choose. Their choices reflect their moral values."

State's Highest Court Puts End To South Milwaukee Mayoral Race

Over seven months since the April election, the suburb of South Milwaukee finally has their mayor, incumbent David Kieck.

Brand Democrat

Fun new marketing concept for the Dems by Oliver Willis.

Tax-return measure aimed at IRS oversight

CNN reports on the tax provision inserted into the FY2005 omnibus Appropriations bill on the House side. The focus is on Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) who in turn is saying the IRS was responsible for the language.

Here's the language of the provision in question:

"Hereinafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law governing the disclosure of income tax returns or return information, upon written request of the Chairman of the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall allow agents designated by such Chairman access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and any tax returns or return information contained therein."

Five dead in US deer hunter fight

Wisconsin makes the international news wires after a dispute over hunting turf turned deadly over the weekend.

Tax Disclosure Buried in Spending Bill

Today, Congress wrapped up work on a $388 billion omnibus appropriations bill, but not without controversy. At the last minute, staffers for ranking member of the Budget Committee Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) found a provision in the bill that allows Appropriations Committee chairmen and their staff access to income tax returns without any privacy restrictions.

I turned on C-SPAN2 this afternoon to watch the goings on, and when this came up, it obviously took many Republican and Democratic Senators by surprise. Democrats balked at the idea of voting for the bill, and attempted to amend it by striking the offending language. Republicans objected, because that would mean the House of Representatives would have to approve the modified bill. Since the House has already passed the appropriations bill and recessed with their members heading home, there was pressure on the majority's side to avoid bringing them back.

Eventually, a procedural solution was developed whereby the House will fix the problem in accordance with a resolution passed by the Senate along with the appropriations bill. The question now becomes how did this big brother provision get into the bill in the first place? Since the bill came from the House side, there are probably a lot of questions being asked by Senators right now about this.

Both Wisconsin senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl voted no on the omnibus appropriations bill.

The Senate voted Friday to raise the debt ceiling once again. All the Democrats except Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) and Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) voted against the bill. The only Republican to vote against it was Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

This means more US Treasury bonds go up for sale, and more of our country will be in the hands of foreign investors. Democrats need to continue to be very vocal on the fact that tomorrow's taxpayers are going to be paying for the disastrous Republican policy of tax cuts and excessive government spending.

At the time of this post, the U.S. National Debt Clock is:

$7,450,665,279,595.22

Judiciary Republicans pledge unanimous support for Specter

It looks like Arlen is going to get his Senate Judiciary Committee chairmanship after all, although I'm sure the Republicans who voiced support for him had some angry phonecalls to deal with today.

Madison DJ John "Sly" Sylvester has defended comments made on his radio show about Bush cabinet members Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell.

I don't live in Madison though, and I've only heard Sly's show once or twice and didn't hear the show in question. I post the story in the interest of fairness since I gave space to the remarks made by right-wing Milwaukee talk show host Mark Belling recently.

By the way, Belling's show returned Monday after a week long vacation from the airwaves.

Fallujah in Pictures

Warning: Graphic images at above link. This one's not for the faint of heart, but the site shows the reality of what's going on in Iraq right now.

If you're interested in how House members from around the country voted on the House rule change, check out Josh Marshall's site. He's collecting information from all over to figure out how various members came down on the issue.

There's a lot of focus on Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) who is a member of the House Ethics Committee. That's the body responsible for admonishing Majority Leader Tom DeLay on three occasions.

Here's an update to the House rule change story. To recap, the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives voted this week to change a rule which previously barred members charged with a felony from serving in a leadership role or as a committee chairman.

The change was made on a voice vote in a private session so there is no record of who voted how. After some initial contact with Wisconsin's Republican delegation, I've gotten the positions of a couple of members.

The staff member I spoke with from Rep. Petri's office stated he supported the rule change. While Petri sometimes bucks the party on various issues, he didn't see fit to do so in this case.

Rep. Paul Ryan opposed the rule change according to his staff. While I don't agree with Ryan on most issues, I'm impressed that he questioned the direction of the GOP caucus in this case.

So far, no word from Rep. Sensenbrenner or Rep. Green on how they voted. If anyone finds anything out about their respective positions, please contact me or leave a comment.

UPDATE: Rep. Green's staff should be sending a letter with his position. Sensenbrenner's staff wasn't much interested in sending anything to me, because I don't live in his district.

The Republicans in the House of Representatives have officially become what they claimed to have despised prior to taking control in the 1994 elections.

This after the GOP caucus voted to change a House rule which barred a member who has been charged with a felony from serving in a leadership role. It's timely, because House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) is facing indictment by a Texas Grand Jury regarding alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee.

As the Hill points out, the Republicans adopted the rule in 1993 to make a distinction between themselves and what they saw as a corrupt Democratic caucus. Now the party's need to hold on to and consolidate power is taking precedence over ethical concerns.

Reportedly, there were a handful of Republicans who voiced opposition to the new rule. Four of Wisconsin's eight Congressional districts are represented by Republicans. So far, I haven't seen anyone in the local media report on how those four voted. That leaves it up to us to find out for ourselves. Feel free to lend me a hand in contacting the folks below.

• Rep. Mark Green
• Rep. Tom Petri
• Rep. Paul Ryan
• Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner

Kmart purchased Sears in an $11 billion deal Wednesday. Looks like we should have been buying Kmart stock back when they were closing stores all over the country.

Best bumper sticker sighted today:

"God is NOT a Republican
...or a Democrat."

No word yet on whether or not God has considered joining the Green or Libertarian parties.

Pacman breaks out of the arcade

A research team led by Dr. Adrian Cheok of the Mixed Reality Lab at the National University of Singapore has developed a virtual reality version of Pacman.

"The Human Pacman is basically a wearable computer with a head mounted display and various sensors which is sensing my body's position and as well as the head orientation so I know exactly where I am and what I'm looking at," explains Cheok.

"So when we do this we can augment the real world with the virtual world, so the Pacman world becomes part of the real world. I can see cookies in front of me and I can collect them by walking through them."

Faces of the Fallen

From the Washington Post website.

Rumsfeld says he has not discussed his future with Bush

With the White House looking to dump cabinet members who have become "lightning rods for controversy" in the administration, it's easy to speculate that Rummy could be one of those to go. Ever since the Abu Ghraib prison abuse story broke, there have been many calling for his resignation. This would be as good a time as any for there to be a change at the top over at the Pentagon.

Then again, since they didn't get rid of him then, you could just as easily question why they would do so now.

Colin Powell submits resignation

Condoleeza Rice is reportedly the front runner to replace Powell at the State Department. There had been rumors in the past that Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in line to take the job at State. Back in the days of the Mission Accomplished banner, this may have been a possibility. Now with the reputation of the neoconservatives in decline, he's probably not on the short list.

CIA plans to purge its agency

Sources say White House has ordered new chief to eliminate officers who were disloyal to Bush

Ashcroft Warns of Judicial Meddling in Terror War

Speaking to the Federalist Society today, outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft had this to say:

"The danger I see here is that intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations in these critical areas can put at risk the very security of our nation in a time of war," Ashcroft said.

I love the use of the subjective term "intrusive" here. In other words, when a court rules against the AG and the administration, it's an intrusive abuse of judicial power. When they uphold Justice Department and White House decisions, I suppose they're exercising "restraint."

The very notion that the courts don't have jurisdiction to restrain abuses of presidential power in this area is ridiculous. That this administration takes that stand should be alarming to more people in this country.

Democrats Vie for Party Chair

Among those reported to be in the running to replace three time loser Terry McAuliffe are Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, strategist Simon L. Rosenberg, and former Vermont governor Howard Dean. The party is expected to hold an election to fill the job in February.

It will be interesting to see how Democratic Party insiders react if Dean decides to pursue the job. I suspect that he'll have a lot of support from the grass roots of the party, even from those of us that didn't support his candidacy during the primaries. Dean has a proven ability to raise money and expand the party's base, two things Democrats will have to do well in order to be successful in future elections.

Sorry Everybody

A site dedicated to lamenting the election of one of the worst presidents in our country's history.

Via Blah3.

Palestinian Leader Arafat Dies at 75

One of Arafat's biggest mistakes was not signing on to the peace agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak brokered at Camp David during the final days of the Clinton Administration.

In light of his death, perhaps new Palestinian leadership can help bring new hope to the peace process.

Alabama vote shows some Old South sympathies

Last week, voters in Alabama were given the chance to strike segregationist language from the state Constitution via the "Amendment Two" ballot initiative. Barring the results of a recount, it looks like the amendment will fail.

If you're an optimist, you could say that at least half the voters in Alabama are living in the 21st century, and not the 19th. The purple map, developed by folks at Princeton using 2004 election results, provides a better perspective than the standard red vs. blue map the media love to use.

However, the election results have raised the tension between the states to some degree. Some, like this guy, are fed up with the failure of red states to join the modern age.

Others, like conservative columnist Mike Thompson, are openly calling for the expulsion of blue states from the union. I suspect his vision doesn't differ that much from this map which has been making the rounds via email.

Google Search: bush mandate

Fun with Google. See the first result in the search. Warning: NSFW.

Here's an update to this story from last week. Local conservative talk show host Mark Belling was suspended today as a result of the ongoing controversy over remarks made on his show a couple weeks ago.

Over the weekend, Belling apologized again for his comments. It seems the folks at Clear Channel, which owns WISN-AM where Belling's show airs, had enough of the negative publicity and sought to remedy it by taking the host off the air.

WISN and Clear Channel are probably hoping Belling's absence from the air makes the matter go away so the show can resume after a few weeks. For today, however, the sudden absence was what gave the story nationwide play on the news wires.

WisPolitics has an audio clip of the segment for those who want to hear it.

Study: Arctic warming at twice the global rate

Species, including polar bears, may go extinct as Arctic ice melts.

Moving to Canada, Eh?

Slate's resource to help you decide if it's really for you.

Looking for a break from politics and election day analysis this weekend? Brewtown Politico recommends the following:

Basketball season is here. Go Bucks and Panthers.

Brian Wilson's Smile, completed after he abandoned it 37 years ago, is a work of genius.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is always good for laughs as is Family Guy.

There's always whiskey.

The new Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith trailer is fun to watch.

Feel free to add your own forms of escapism in the comments below for the sake of our readers still recovering from an election night hangover.

300 protest at station over Belling

The fallout from Mark Belling's idiotic remarks continues. For those unaware, Belling is a Milwaukee right-wing radio talk show host. He's one of many since this city is saturated with them, but he tends to be more of a loudmouth than others. He said the following leading up to Tuesday's election:

“You watch the voter turnout on the near south side, heavily Hispanic, and compare it to the voter turnout in any other election, and you’re going to see every wetback and every other non-citizen out there voting.”

Perhaps Belling's impulsive, ranting ways are just a ruse to get him ratings on the radio. Unfortunately for him, it's this inability to restrain himself that has gotten him into trouble.

The son of Congresswoman-elect Gwen Moore was arrested on Friday in connection with an election day incident where the tires of 20 vans rented by the by the state GOP were slashed.

When I heard about this, it angered me, and it only lends ammunition to conspiracies about shady election tactics by Democrats. This is a shameful act, and Republicans are right to be upset about it. If vans rented by Democrats had been sabotaged, they'd have just as much right to be upset.

More e-voting glitches surface

From CNet.com:

"A transmission error in the battleground state of Ohio gave President George W. Bush almost 4,000 phantom votes in the preliminary results posted online, the Secretary of State's office in Ohio acknowledged on Friday."

This one precinct wouldn't have swung the election, but it certainly raises more questions about these electronic voting machines. Hopefully, decent audits are done in the coming weeks to see how the rest of them performed in Ohio and around the country.

We're living in a purple America. There are Democrats, Republicans, and independents everywhere, and the degree to which there is a red country and a blue country has been greatly exaggerated. The political divisions in this country aren't rooted in geography. They are between friends, family and neighbors.

U.S.-led multinational force could see some desertions after Iraqi elections

"In a blow to U.S. efforts to keep countries from deserting the multinational force, Hungary said this week it won't keep troops there beyond March 31. The Czechs plan to pull out by the end of February, the Dutch soon afterward. And Japan is feeling pressure to withdraw."

The coalition of the willing is shrinking while the number of unwilling grows.

Here's a little morale booster from MyDD:

1. This is the largest number of people who have ever voted AGAINST a president
2. 1% more than 50% is not a mandate but a bare, thin, majority.
3. At 80% approval after 9-11 and guaranteed a landslide election by prognosticators 2 years ago, only half the country supports him
4. A president who leads a divided country owes it to all Americans to lead fairly or have his party face the consequences begining in 2006. No one else is here to blame.
   

Specter urges caution for Bush, discourages nominating anti-abortion judges.

Let the GOP infighting begin. Arlen Specter (R-PA) is in line to become the next Senate Judiciary Committee chairman which has jurisdiction over judicial nominations. With the Senate still closely divided and a lame duck president, moderate Republican Senators like Specter, Lincoln Chafee, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Chuck Hagel and John McCain may be using their clout more than ever to hold back an extreme right wing agenda.

Chafee (R-RI), who cast a symbolic vote for George H.W. Bush in Tuesday's election, said he would consider leaving the Republican Party if George W. Bush was re-elected.

UPDATE: Specter clarified his comments in a press release today. He may have gotten an earful from colleagues, or become afraid the media attention would jeopardize his chairmanship.

Dem strategist James Carville sees growing division between Democrats and Republicans.

Excerpt:

"Bush never told you he would bring the country together," Carville said during a speech at Massey Hall on the campus of Robert Morris University in Moon.

With Bush heading to a second and final term, he has no reason to concern himself with Democrats or their causes, Carville said. Rather, Bush will feel emboldened to implement or continue policies that matter to Republicans.

"You knew what kind of judges he's going to appoint. You knew he was going to fight a war and make the tax cuts permanent ... You knew what he was going to do about health care costs -- nothing," Carville said.

Jane Bryant Quinn has a good column in Newsweek about the need for health care reform in the United States.

Millions in this country, many of them children, do not have health insurance, and more of the middle class is being priced out of the current system. This president and the Republican controlled Congress have given us no reason to believe things will change under their leadership any time soon.

It's issues like this that Democrats and progressives need to continue to promote to win the hearts and minds of American voters.

Now that Blogger seems to be fully operational again, and I've had time to digest the events of the day, I'll lay my thoughts out for those interested.

There is no doubt that it was a disappointing day for many who wished the presidential election had gone another way. Early last evening, the first states to report in were no surprise. We waited for returns to come in from the midwest, and it took quite some time for that to happen.

We were able to cheer when Pete Coors lost to Ken Salazar in Colorado, and when Russ Feingold and Barack Obama won solid victories for the Senate. The rest of the evening, we waited anxiously for the map to turn blue. New Hampshire flipped blue, but then Nevada flipped red. All eyes remained on Ohio, but our hopes were not realized there. For whatever reason, the exit polls showing Kerry ahead broke with reality.

I'm proud to say Wisconsin went for Kerry. It was by 13,000 votes, but Al Gore won it by only 5708 four years ago. The get out the vote efforts by Democrats were successful in getting the voters to the polls. In the afternoon, I was at the Milwaukee Labor Council headquarters where the GOTV operations were, and it was more packed with volunteers than I'd ever seen it on an election day.

So here we are. There's much work to be done to make the case to Americans that our side has a better way to approach issues like health care, tax policy, energy, environmental protection, and of course foreign policy and national security.

To be clear, President Bush's election today provides plenty of reasons to be concerned. Social conservatives are sure to remind the president how important they were to securing him a second term. That means more conservative judicial appointments, and more fights over issues like abortion, school prayer, and gay marriage. It's going to take a loud opposition to the make the case about why their approach is so wrong for a country that prides itself on its constitutional guarantees of civil liberties.

The fact that Republicans still control both the House and the Senate by slightly larger margins means more of the same agenda and tactics we've seen in recent years. The upside to that is there will be an election day in 2006 when the president's party will not be able to blame the Democrats for their failures. For better or worse, they control the government and will have to answer to the American people again.

Today's defeat is by no means permanent, and those citizens who voted for the first time yesterday need not be disheartened. It's a time to reflect on both the positive and negative, critically assess what needs to be done, and move forward. I love my country, and believe deeply that we can do much better than this.

Election day may have come and gone, but our research team anxiously awaits that fateful day when the Electoral College meets.

Only then will we know if Richie Robb, Republican elector from West Virginia, goes through with his plan to not vote Bush.

Thoughts from around the sphere

Andrew Sullivan: Bill Bennett considers election a mandate for culture war.

Josh Marshall: "I fear that this result will set in motion dangerous dynamics that even the relatively young among us will be wrestling with and contending with for the rest of our lives."

Kos: Bush may have steamrollered his way back into the White House, but his re-election will further galvanise the resurgence of progressive opposition.

Atrios: "What matters isn't what was done wrong, but what needs to be done right for the '06 elections."

Donkey Rising: Exit polls missed the mark badly.

Tom Tomorrow: "Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck."

Folkbum: "I've been wrong before, of course, but I was trying to give Americans the benefit of the doubt."

Wonkette: NY Sun is taking bloggers to task for posting early exit returns and internal polling.

Congratulations to Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold who won an easy victory over challenger Tim Michels tonight.

Feingold has been an important and reasonable voice in the US Senate since being elected in 1992. He has been a budget hawk, and was the lone vote against the USA Patriot Act which passed 99-1 in 2001.

Gwen Moore defeated Gerald Boyle to take over Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District formerly represented by Jerry Kleczka. Moore is the first African-American elected to Congress from Wisconsin. Hats off and good luck to her on her move to Washington politics.

Also, congratulations to Barack Obama who won by a huge margin over Alan Keyes to be the next US Senator representing Illinois.

John Edwards: 'We Can Wait'

Many Democrats thought Al Gore conceded too soon in 2000. With Iowa and Ohio definitely not coming in tonight, the Kerry/Edwards campaign acted correctly tonight. There are hundreds of thousands of ballots yet to be counted, and the outcome is too important to jump to conclusions.

CNN.com has a cool results page where you can zoom in on the map to the county to see results.

Turnout's going to be high in Wisconsin. Friends reported waiting in line over a half hour this morning. I voted around 2pm this afternoon and I was #530 in my ward.

Despite all the hype about how close this election is going to be, I'm hopeful we will know the results tonight.

It's time.

• Where to vote in the city of Milwaukee.
• Where to vote everywhere else.

In Wisconsin, you can register at your polling place today. The polls are open until 8pm. Here are the procedures from the Wisconsin State Elections Board:

How to Register and Vote on Election Day

If you wish to register to vote at your polling place, you must complete a voter registration application and have proof that you have lived at your present location for 10 days preceding the election.

If your name does not appear on the voter list at your polling place, you must complete a voter registration application before you will be allowed to vote.

If you are unable to provide the date of birth, driver’s license number or the last 4 digits of your social security number, you are still eligible to receive a ballot if you have the required proof of residence or a corroborator with the required proof of residence.

For purposes of voter registration, a form of identification constitutes acceptable proof of residence if it includes:

1. A current and complete name, including both the given and family name; and
2. A current and complete residential address, including a numbered street address, if any, and the name of a municipality.

Forms of identification which constitute acceptable Proof-of-Residence, when they contain the information specified above, include the following:
1. A Wisconsin motor vehicle operator's license.
2. A Wisconsin identification card.
3. Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit or by an employer in the normal course of business, but not including a business card.
4. A credit card or plate.
5. A library card.
6. A check-cashing or courtesy card issued by a merchant in the normal course of business.
7. A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election.
8. A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes election day.
9. A university, college or technical institute fee card.
10. A university, college or technical institute identification card.
11. An airplane pilot's license.
12. A gas, electric or telephone service statement for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before election day.

Proof of residence does not include a piece of mail addressed to the voter.

At this time, Proof-of-Residence is all that is required of a voter in order to register at the polling place on Election Day. Although the Registration Form may ask for either the Driver’s License number or the last 4 digits of the Social Security Number a voter should not be turned away if they lack that information. If you cannot supply acceptable Proof-of-Residence, your registration form can be substantiated and signed by one other elector who resides in your municipality, corroborating your residency information. The corroborator must then provide acceptable Proof-of-Residence.

There's an article in the Times of London about the dueling rallies in downtown Milwaukee today.

It also goes into the nature of the presidential race in Wisconsin, and how the state has become the battleground it is today.

John Kerry and George W. Bush are both holding events in downtown Milwaukee this afternoon. Their stops here are part of the final day of campaigning.

Bush also visits Wilmington, OH, Burgettstown, PN. After Milwaukee, he goes to Des Moines, IA, Albuquerque, NM, and ends the day in Dallas, TX.

Kerry begins the day in Orlando, FL before heading to Milwaukee. He then goes to Detroit, MI, and Cleveland, OH, and stays overnight in La Crosse, WI for events there Tuesday morning.

Just think, one more day and and you won't be bombarded with political ads. We can all get back to watching commercials for important things like all the new toys and bad movies to be released for the holiday season.