We still have the senate and the presidency, so let's focus on the future.

Back in the 1960s British Cosmologist Fred Hoyle, who coined the term 'Big Bang', wrote a series of papers theorizing that life on Earth (and perhaps elsewhere) began out in the seeming void of deep space. His peers thought he was delusional.

Until along came Lew Snyder, then of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. He asserted that Hoyle had the right idea and that prebiotic molecules (molecules believed to be involved in the processes leading to the origin of life) could not only evolve in deep space, but could also be distributed throughout the universe enduring the unimaginable torment of interstellar travel.

Furthermore, he could prove it.

Seems that many compounds have a unique and identifiable radio-wave signature - something that can be detected with the use of radio telescopes.

With this method, they theorized, you could point radio telescopes at the cosmos and by measuring the radio-wave signatures you could determine the molecular compounds that exist in the targeted region. This would tell us if complex, organic and prebiotic compounds are created and endure in deep space.

Sure enough, in 1969 they discovered interstellar formaldehyde - a complex, prebioitc compound. Since then, astronomers have discovered more than 150 molecules in deep space. Most interesting of these found is acetonitrile, a molecule structurally similar to glycine - one of the building blocks of biological proteins.

All this is profoundly important as it sets the stage for validating a once-absurd theory - that life on Earth (and perhaps throughout the universe) may have been seeded from deep-space chemical reactions.

This cold-sounding theory of our origins clearly runs counter to cherished beliefs that we are God's children or that we have a special place in this universe. Such a possibility could prove profoundly unsettling to many to say the least.

But there is no worry here. Not because the possibility doesn't exist. It does. The reason not to worry is that people en masse tend to see only what is in front of them and only that which is most emotionally comfortable.

For most people, such things are far too arcane and intangible to seriously consider. What they see before them and what they've been taught growing up is all that they know and all that they care to know.

And that is the way it is with most things - with evolution, with global warming -- and so it is with ideology and politics.

Whatever is before us is all that there is. The economy is a disaster.  There's a war in Iraq. The jobless situation is devastating. The housing market is in shambles. Obama is the president. And the Democrats are in charge.

That leads to an obvious conclusion for most - that Obama and the Democrats have brought this upon us - that they are the ones who must pay the price for our pain.

The young are supposed to not care enough to vote...and even if they do, they are supposed to be more conservative than when I was young. And we are always being told that the Jewish vote is going Republican because of Israel, under the insane assumption that killing Muslims helps Israel.

These are myths. They are myths put out by a conservative media and they were proven wrong in this election. This year not only did the youth vote and Jewish vote go overwhelmingly Democratic, but Democrats can now welcome 16 new Native American politicians into its ranks. The Democrats, with all their faults, remain the party of diversity. UPDATED: Asian-Americans as well are bucking the myth!

Keep an eye on  H D T V [Hold down the Vote] efforts by the GOP. The tactics for Election Day have depended on intimidation, fear, lies, discrimination and – adding a modern twist – technology.

In the NJ race for governor in 1981 between Tom Kean (Sr.) and James Florio, intimidation earned the GOP a Justice Dept admonition and consent decree following Kean, Sr. taking a lead of 1,797 votes out of 2.2 million cast –the narrowest win in NJ history– only after the GOP's "ballot security task force" (BSTF) posted illegal signs and hired off-duty policemen to walk the polls, exclusively in the minority areas of Newark and Trenton. The off-duty officers wore revolvers and BSTF armbands.

The signs offered a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone violating New Jersey election laws. The RNC posted the signs in violation of state law . . . . hired an "army of workers," including off-duty county deputy sheriffs and local policemen to patrol the targeted black and Hispanic polling places. The off-duty law enforcement workers prominently displayed revolvers, two-way radios, and BSTF armbands. They challenged voters at the polls, stopping and questioning prospective voters, and refusing to allow prospective voters to enter polling places.

Though "Kean trailed consistently in the polls," (NJ Newark Star-Ledger) he eked out a 1/10 of a percent margin.

Since the DoJ order, the RNC has switched methods. To deny a voter the ballot relies now on (1) VoterID, and (2) central databases –sold by contractors to the states– that mechanically lose and purge voters.

The databases are built by vendors Covansys, Accenture, ES&S, Diebold/DIMS, Unisys, PCC Tech and Saber Consulting. Below, the campaign gifts(+party leanings) of the companies that build the voter databases.

We knew this time would come. And though there will inevitably be those of you who cringe at the thought of a Democrat actually EXPECTING to win an election AND doing it in a BIG way AND being outspoken about it BEFORE the election takes place, I stand my ground.

And to those people, I say take a deep look inside. You know I'm right. Sure, your fear of loss will disallow you from admitting it -- perhaps even to yourself, but you know deep down inside that the GOP has seen its final days.

You know.

It's time to let the anachronistic pile of dung that is neoconservatism die a rapid but excruciatingly painful death.

It's time to abolish the anti-American, slime-sucking, low-balling, shrill-shrieking troglodytes from making critical life and death decisions for our families.

Yes, it's time to say riddance (and not even 'good' riddance) to the Republican Party.

You know the only thing that matters now is turnout, and if you think that's going to favor the Republicans, think again.

In a cycle like this, Rove's 72 hour plan  will be a TOTAL WASHOUT..

The fact is that Democrats are FIRED UP!!!

While conservatives are totally demoralized.

Let's take a look...

The diary below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

My spare time is consumed by phone banking after work and weekends. Blogging has taken a back seat - true of many progressive bloggers as the campaign winds down. I live in Brooklyn, New York and almost every office I can vote for is not in doubt. In the `90s I earned a living largely by telemarketing. Hence, phone banking to help get out the vote in other states is the most sensible use of my time and skills prior to Election Day.

A conversation I had with a woman from Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Friday evening especially illustrates the challenges we face in getting out the vote this Tuesday. As with numerous others I've spoken to in recent days she was cynical and resistant to the idea of voting at all. We'll call her Jane.

This is less strategic and more tactical than Tom Ball's diaries. Consider his diaries for the generals and this diary for the foot soldiers.

How do we reach those willing to blind their own eyes to avoid seeing the truth?

I have found that educating people and informing them about what Democrats are doing and have stood for and who supports them are powerful ways to reach them.

So that means getting out of our comfortable zone here on the blogs and getting out on the streets this summer and taking it face-to-face.

So my plan for a Democratic victory:

1. Be informed about your candidate's positions.
2. Buy comfortable shoes to canvass in.
3. If you are not physically capable of walking, volunteer to work the phone bank.
4. Listen. Listen. Listen. By listening, I found people worried candidate John Kerry being weak on national defense. By being informed I was able to tell them more retired generals and admirals were supporting Kerry's candidacy than George Bush's. By canvassing, I found those people to persuade.

Did we win my county in 2004? No. But we increased the Democratic presidential votes by nearly 40 percent in 2004 over 2000. If that can be done in a Republican stronghold of the state, think what can be done in other areas.