It's incredibly exciting being a Chicagoan for what (I hope -- I'm not counting on anything yet) will be the victory party for fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama. I'm actually a little afraid of being downtown tonight, but I would have gone if I hadn't planned my party before Barack planned his!

My mother lives about a block away in a high-rise building from which she'll be able to see the crowd. I told her to stay inside, please. It's hard to notice a 4'11" grandmother type when you're out of your mind with excitement and celebration.

I refuse to think of what would happen downtown if the polls are wildly wrong and/or our vote has been stolen from us.

Silkstone's response was right on. Cary's response to the question was beautiful, eloquent and little help to this frustrated person.

To what Silkstone wrote I'd add that the writer should make sure that they submit to publications which offer better odds for getting published. Pick up a copy of Writer's Market and start looking for the areas about which you're most passionate in either fiction or non-fiction or both. Make sure you're not aiming too high at first.

And consider other ways to get your writing recognized. I'm with a dynamite performing group for which I write parody material. So in addition to beating my head against a wall trying to place freelance articles, I get to see my work onstage and hear an audience's response to my creation.

"Clinton needed New Hampshire to keep herself in the race..." Whaaat?? You're saying that without a win here, after all the campaigning and media coverage and the entire rest of the country to go, the lady's toast? What logic-defying equation generated that absurd statement, after the very first primary? The same logic that is required to keep political junkies hopped up on the horse race, their heads popping back and forth between the opponents in the tennis match. C'mon, now... Keep it real, Salon.

Boo-hoo... his poor family! His life in public service! His dedication and intelligence!

Telling the truth in a court of law is a foundation stone of our democracy.

Lie in court, go to jail.

As a Christian, I forgive Falwell for the hatred and divisiveness he spread far and wide. But I also believe in justice, and articles like this are part of that justice. Good job.

Just spend a half hour playing with Pandora.com, and you'll hear why this new technologically-driven way of delivering music has to be supported and allowed to thrive. I've heard hundreds of artists whose names I would have never seen if it weren't for Pandora, and yes, I've gone and found their albums and *paid* to get their music. Support internet-delivered music as much as you can -- it's an amazing way to get great new music out to the world and into our lives. I'm going to the Pandora site right now to give them a donation -- looks like they're going to need all the help they can get.

I thought this was a good article that laid out a lot of interesting comparisons, but do be careful:

"Though statistics are unavailable, it is likely that Hezbollah has already rebuilt more homes in southern Lebanon than Bush has a year after Katrina in the Lower 9th Ward."

This kind of unsupported and overblown analogy smacks of the kind of heavy-handed and unattributed tactics the other guys employ. But our side really has to take the moral high ground when possible. Fortunately, that's not usually not too difficult.

This article if very much in line with Anne's writing in her last couple of books. I found the real, human lessons and experiences shared in them very interesting and rewarding and useful, and I feel the same way about this article. Feel like using this as an opportunity to yell about how dumb religion is? Then this is just not for you. Get lost, and may God bless you. (She will anyway.)