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Author: TriSec    Date: 11/04/2014 11:28:08

Good Morning.

Today is our 4,776th day in Afghanistan, and our 138th day back in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,349
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,127
There have been 2 deaths in our return to Iraq.

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$ 1, 577, 884, 600, 000 .00



We all know the most important thing we can do today is vote. But we've also got veteran's issues today. I've got a theme today...and these aren't the only stories along the same vein. We'll stay on the home front - let's check in with the Guard and see how they're doing. It isn't good.


Tami Mielke's decision to end her life raises serious questions about South Dakota's care of its emotionally wounded warriors.

A gunshot June 24 at Mielke's rural Sioux Falls acreage silenced the demons that came back from Iraq with the 50-year-old former Air National Guardsman. But it hasn't quieted concerns about the way the Guard helped and supported her after she returned — or any other members who struggle with their war experiences.

And there have been others.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, 12 South Dakota Army National Guardsmen and one airman have died by suicide, including three who took their lives this year. None of those include Tami Mielke, who was retired by the time she ended her life.

Though just six of those 13 guardsmen had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, "Suicides are a problem in the Guard nationally, and we're a cross section of that," said Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, head of the South Dakota National Guard. "We acknowledge that it's a problem here."

So what are they doing about it, and is it working? In a country where Army Guard and Reserve suicides last year outnumbered active-duty soldier suicides 152 to 151, such questions are not easily answered.

Mielke rose through the ranks of the state's Air National Guard over 28 years. She was considered a potential candidate to become the organization's first female general.

But the horrors of Iraq from her 2010 deployment troubled her the rest of her days. She did become South Dakota's first female Air Guard group commander. But her erratic and, at times, unprofessional behavior — caused by PTSD, friends and family say — cost her that command.

After her suicide, Gov. Dennis Daugaard instructed Reisch to assess the unit climate at the 114th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls, specifically the treatment of members with deployment-related behavioral health diagnoses, and how those diagnoses are affecting member's careers.

The adjutant general said he heard accusations that the climate and leadership at the base "was poor." He sent a base chaplain and a noncommissioned officer into the ranks to check it out. "None of that was substantiated," Reisch said.

He also noted that the regular Air Force sent 50 to 60 inspectors to Sioux Falls in June to interview about 100 base members at random, asking them in one-on-one conversations about such things as unit climate and morale.

What he heard afterward was positive, Reisch said. But the adjutant general couldn't answer how many of the 100 interviewed had actually been been to Iraq or Afghanistan. "I am confident that many airmen who have been deployed would have been among that number," he said.

He didn't know the specific questions asked of them, either.

Mielke's husband, Steve, said Air Force inspectors did their assessment before his wife's death, and before the suicide of an Air Guard member later this summer. Retired after a long career in the Air Guard himself, he believes he understands how reticent airmen can be to share their true thoughts.

"They're afraid for their jobs," he said. "They're not going to talk to the chaplain or the command chief ... on the record about how things really are."


As if to hammer the point home, the following story came out just a few days after the one above. As we continue to wind down in Afghanistan, the dynamic is changing. Oh sure, our soldiers are still in harm's way, but more casualties have come at their own hand this past year then by the enemy.


War was the leading cause of death in the military nearly every year between 2004 and 2011 until suicides became the top means of dying for troops in 2012 and 2013, according to a bar chart published this week in a monthly Pentagon medical statistical analysis journal.

For those last two years, suicide outranked war, cancer, heart disease, homicide, transportation accidents and other causes as the leading killer, accounting for about three in 10 military deaths each of those two years.

Transportation accidents, by a small margin, was the leading cause of military deaths in 2008, slightly more than combat.

The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan accounted for anywhere from one out of three deaths in the military — in 2005 and 2010 — to more than 46 percent of deaths in 2007, during the height of the Iraq surge, according to the chart.

More than 6,800 troops have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11 and more than 3,000 additional service members have taken their lives in that same time, according to Pentagon data.


But the military knows about this, right? The advocacy groups certainly do - if you keep up with Paul Rieckhoff and IAVA, you know this has been their headline issue for years now. But what about the families? There's very little support available out there, which has led to at least one survivors' network, and probably more that we haven't heard about. But you might want to put your coffee down for the backstory.


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Sitting and sobbing outside the hotel room where her Marine husband had just hanged himself, Kim Ruocco said she was horrified to find that nearly everyone who responded to the scene somehow managed to make her feel worse.

First she asked the hotel manager where her husband was staying, and he wordlessly backed into another room, shutting the door to avoid her. A trauma specialist told her to lie to her children about what had happened.

And then there was the priest.

Addressing the newly widowed woman, just steps away from her Catholic husband’s body, he said, “You know what Catholics believe about suicide? It’s a sin.”

“I said, ‘Are you telling me that I should tell my kids that their dad is not only dead, but that he’s also in hell?’” she recalled. “And he just looked at me.”

That experience in 2005 started Ruocco on what has become a full-time mission to help fellow survivors cope, heal and thrive. That often starts with an annual seminar for and by those who have lost troops and veterans to suicide.

Her journey culminated in the creation of the National Military Suicide Survivor Seminar, which recently convened in St. Petersburg, Fla. The program is organized by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit group that provides assistance to loved ones of fallen troops. This year’s event drew roughly 650 survivors from around the country, all of whom lost a servicemember to suicide.

Amid the devastating personal stories at the seminar – Ruocco’s is sadly representative -- perhaps the most striking element of the gathering was the laughter, which filled the palm-lined veranda of the beachside resort where it was held. Old friends met and caught up, and seminar veterans welcomed newbies with smiles and warm embraces. Many wore buttons that read “I’m a hugger.”

There are, of course, plenty of tears at the three-day get-together, and especially in private grief sessions where participants share their sadness and deepest fears. Emotions are raw, and often bubble to the surface, with survivors sometimes breaking down even as they check in. Organizers spend several days training hotel staff on what to expect and how to be sensitive to survivors struggling with their emotions in public. But equally, there are waterslides and s’mores and music and art. Child survivors splash in the gulf while their parents learn to write songs or create collages. At heart, the seminar is meant to be a celebration – of the lives of loved ones lost and survivors – and that is a good thing, said Frank Campbell, a social worker and nationally recognized suicide expert, who spoke at the conference.

“If all you do is come together to grieve, that’s a funeral service,” he said.


But surely we have turned the corner - Iraq is "just" an air war with no troops on the ground (wink, wink) and Afghanistan is slowly winding down, right? Take a look at that calendar again; we've been at war in Iraq in one form or another since 1991. A veteran of that first Gulf War may have waved goodbye to their children as they headed back to the same place.


Last week, the Pentagon announced the death of the first American serviceman in the war against ISIS. Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Neal was killed in what was described as a “non-combat incident” in Iraq, making him the first American to die in “Operation Inherent Resolve” – America’s latest military excursion into that country.

Cpl. Neal was only 19 years old. He would have only been eight at the outset of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and merely six on 9/11 – a child at the time of both these events. The fact that he ended up losing his life in Iraq is on one hand tragic, and on the other completely absurd.

The tragedy here is that a young man with a long future ahead of him ended up dying in a distant country before even reaching the age of twenty. The absurdity is that men such as him are still losing their lives as a result of still-inexplicable decisions made over a decade ago. The Iraq War never ended, but now it’s being fought by men who were just children when it started. Walter Lippman once said, “I don’t think old men ought to promote wars for young men to fight.” In our time, old men have been promoting wars that kids would ultimately end up fighting.

This is not just the case on the American side. Most of the Iraqis who have joined up with the utopian nihilists of Islamic State are themselves young men whose upbringing occurred against the backdrop of the American occupation of their country. They grew up watching their fathers and brothers being rounded up and detained by foreign soldiers, and bore witness as their once-stable country violently went to pieces around them. As shocking as the actions of IS have been, it’s not hard to imagine why so many people who grew up in such brutal circumstances might find a movement such as this attractive.

And again, behind their inglorious martyrdoms, are the machinations of former-Baath Party officials who once organized young Iraqis to die for the cause Arab Nationalism and who now do the same for religious extremism. The cause may be different, but in many ways the results are the same.

In this context it is stunning to remember the statements of those who assured us over a decade ago that the war in Iraq would take “weeks rather than months” to bring to its completion. The more cautious and conservative among them gave us an absolute maximum estimate of “five months” before we could go back to normalcy, and start watching America-friendly democracies begin to bloom across the Middle East. If this prediction had been in any way honest or correct, Cpl. Sean Neal may have been sitting in a college classroom today rather than lying in a flag-draped coffin on a military flight back home. Alas, it wasn’t.

One thing is certain however: Neal won’t be the last. Current and former American military officials are already preparing the public for a new conflict in Iraq – with scarcely suppressed and genuinely creepy elation – that they say will be “generational” and will take decades to bring to its completion. If recent history is any guide, their prediction of decades-long conflict means we should actually be preparing ourselves for a war which is going to last perhaps for a century. That’s not derisive rhetoric; history actually seems to be pointing in just that direction.


I'm a morning voter; I'll be among the first 10 people to cast a ballot in Waltham today (Ward 6, Precinct 2). How about you?
 

107 comments (Latest Comment: 11/05/2014 04:33:35 by Raine)
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Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 11:53:22
good Morning. Crappy night's sleep. I am awake and looking forward to voting!

Comment by BobR on 11/04/2014 12:40:10
we'll be voting around 10:00, when the lines have abated

Comment by Mondobubba on 11/04/2014 13:51:17
Voted last Mondee. If it wasn't for the voter suppressing legislature and Governor, I would have voted the previous week.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 14:02:21
Morning

Already voted and *sigh* back to work.

Comment by TriSec on 11/04/2014 14:27:00
Morning! Voter#1 here, Ward 6, Precinct 2 (Waltham)

And...for the 3rd time in my life, I have voted FOR a Republican. Oh, not that one. It was our local rep in General court. It's like this: The Dem is up for re-election, but this is the candidate that made disparaging remarks against a veteran 2 years ago in a bitter primary. (Against someone I worked really hard to get elected) I am personally friendly with the Repub, and she's always done OK by me.

So. All politics is local, right?

Comment by Scoopster on 11/04/2014 15:13:59
Mornin' all..

Voting after work here.

Comment by velveeta jones on 11/04/2014 15:14:02
I canNOT watch this tonight...... too depressed. Repubs are going to win. And on WHAT exactly? Denying rights, rolling back advances, favoring big corps? *sigh*

Comment by Scoopster on 11/04/2014 15:17:47
Quote by velveeta jones:
I canNOT watch this tonight...... too depressed. Repubs are going to win. And on WHAT exactly? Denying rights, rolling back advances, favoring big corps? *sigh*

Another failed impeachment jaunt, no doubt. And I'm sure they'll ALL be back from their 265-day vacations to vote on that bullshit.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 15:24:51
Quote by velveeta jones:
I canNOT watch this tonight...... too depressed. Repubs are going to win. And on WHAT exactly? Denying rights, rolling back advances, favoring big corps? *sigh*




I'm having a hard time too.


Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 15:45:51
WE voted, at 10 am this morning were on the other side off over 1000 people at our Polling place! This is really good news!

Comment by TriSec on 11/04/2014 15:51:22
My poll worker friend remarked that there were more of us waiting for the polls to open today than all the voters back on primary day...I also witnessed a rather large pile of absentee ballots that were to be opened and counted...

Comment by Will in Chicago on 11/04/2014 16:20:09
Good morning, bloggers!!! TriSec, thanks for a great blog. Suicide is a major issue for our troops and their families.

I will vote later today, after I sub a half-day. I subbed yesterday and had an insane amount of errands after work.

My friends, it is fine to despair for a moment. However, we cannot stay there. Regardless of tonight's outcomes, there is a lot of work to do. I think that we need stronger leadership for the Democrats in recruiting candidates and stronger candidates. We also need to make sure that Democrats state what they stand for to the voters. Republican-lite is a failed approach.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/04/2014 16:35:23
I swear.. someday I'm gonna sneeze and throw out my back.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 17:08:50
Here how all these people stood in lines and waited to vote is great, but my voting place was near empty and took at most 10 minutes to get in and vote

Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 17:15:10
Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 17:16:10
Quote by wickedpam:
Here how all these people stood in lines and waited to vote is great, but my voting place was near empty and took at most 10 minutes to get in and vote
Really?

you have a pretty hot race your way. That surprised me.


Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 17:30:19
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Here how all these people stood in lines and waited to vote is great, but my voting place was near empty and took at most 10 minutes to get in and vote
Really?

you have a pretty hot race your way. That surprised me.



not me - mid years its always pretty empty in my polling place.

Comment by TriSec on 11/04/2014 17:51:34
Isn't it convenient that the Georgia website that tells people where to vote crashes on election day?

Comment by livingonli on 11/04/2014 18:01:49
Good day, folks. Will be voting before I head off to work and I also will be getting my flu shot when I go to work today and I have a late night so I will have to see if I can stream the Democracy Now! overage of the election. One exception is I will be voting for Hawkins the Green Party candidate for Governor because I can't hold my nose and support the conservodem Andrew Cuomo and I did vote for Zephyr Teachout in the primary.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 18:22:51
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:27:04
Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:27:44
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Whoops! We couldn't find that page.
How about these instead?
Can you try the link again?

Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:28:24
Quote by livingonli:
Good day, folks. Will be voting before I head off to work and I also will be getting my flu shot when I go to work today and I have a late night so I will have to see if I can stream the Democracy Now! overage of the election. One exception is I will be voting for Hawkins the Green Party candidate for Governor because I can't hold my nose and support the conservodem Andrew Cuomo and I did vote for Zephyr Teachout in the primary.
He's really turned into quite a stinker.


Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:30:36
Quote by TriSec:
Isn't it convenient that the Georgia website that tells people where to vote crashes on election day?
Just a coincidence….

Some users reported they could get the site’s splash page to load, but when they entered their information, they were told that no match could be found in their county for their information.

(snip) Republican Sec. of State Brian Kemp’s office maintains the website. Kemp stated earlier this year that the job of Republicans is to block the Democratic Party’s efforts to organize and mobilize black and Latino voters into a viable voting bloc.

“Democrats are working hard, and all these stories about them, you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines,” Kemp told supporters in July, “if they can do that, they can win these elections in November.”


Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:32:45
Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:35:42
Comment by livingonli on 11/04/2014 18:43:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Raine:
Seriously MSNBC??
SERIOUSLY MSNBC? Again?

Who the hell is managing the twitter account?

Comment by BobR on 11/04/2014 18:50:00
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Link not working - does it require a login? Is it private?


Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 18:52:50
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Link not working - does it require a login? Is it private?



hmmm - its pinterest - wait let me switch one thing - try it again.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 18:53:27
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Whoops! We couldn't find that page.
How about these instead?
Can you try the link again?


I unlocked the board - try it again


Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 18:54:24
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Whoops! We couldn't find that page.
How about these instead?
Can you try the link again?


I unlocked the board - try it again
That's beautiful!


Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 18:55:57
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
If you want to see what I designed for this years holiday card check it out here

Whoops! We couldn't find that page.
How about these instead?
Can you try the link again?


I unlocked the board - try it again
That's beautiful!


Not bad for being self taught



Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 19:07:22
Quote by Raine:
Excellent picture!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1nK9FcCEAAZ0O4.jpg

better shot!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1nmfaBCUAAHjxR.jpg


Comment by wickedpam on 11/04/2014 19:13:35
That's awesome!

Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 19:21:16
NSFW but funny as hell.





Comment by Mondobubba on 11/04/2014 19:29:24
Quote by Raine:
NSFW but funny as hell.







http://media.giphy.com/media/TTgdzuTxZneTgyVIPw4/giphy.gif


Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 19:38:25
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
NSFW but funny as hell.







http://media.giphy.com/media/TTgdzuTxZneTgyVIPw4/giphy.gif



Comment by Mondobubba on 11/04/2014 19:42:51
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Raine:
Excellent picture!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1nK9FcCEAAZ0O4.jpg

better shot!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1nmfaBCUAAHjxR.jpg





Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 21:25:39
Even Election Day isn't immune from same-sex marriage rulings. A federal judge just struck down Kansas's ban on same-sex marriages: http://www.vox.com/2014/10/6/6110151/where-is-gay-marriage-legal-state-equality-status-courts. Marriages can begin on November 11 at the latest.
Woot!




Comment by Raine on 11/04/2014 21:40:07
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1oC32hIIAMKYOR.jpg
And while there's no party listed for the county commissioner candidates, interested voters may want to know the pirate candidate considers himself a "Christian communist."
Source

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 00:31:11
Home at last.. voted without any issues. They did check my ID, but I was able to point to my name in the register as I handed it over.

Just the waiting remains.. soon!

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 00:41:08
Quote by Scoopster:
Home at last.. voted without any issues. They did check my ID, but I was able to point to my name in the register as I handed it over.

Just the waiting remains.. soon!
Fingers crossed!



Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 00:56:40
Tweety 5 minutes ago on Ed Gillespie: I love the underdogs.

Five minutes later on another race? (regarding another Republican) I love the incumbents. I am already dizzy.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:13:03
How in the hell? C-Span already has something about McConnell having won.

My local news is already saying Jeanne Shaheen has a 'healthy lead' in New Hampshire.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:18:28
Tom Wolff is the next governor of Pennsylvania - buhbye Corbett!

And yeah, the polls were WAY off in Kentucky. Grimes got walloped.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 01:35:40
Quote by Scoopster:
Tom Wolff is the next governor of Pennsylvania - buhbye Corbett!

And yeah, the polls were WAY off in Kentucky. Grimes got walloped.


I really don't get KY - how does someone who's so hated in his state get re-elected. They can't tell me he didn't gerrymander a win.


Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:43:59
Despite the touch screen machines flipping votes to Tillis, it looks like Kay Hagan is cruising to a good win in North Carolina.

Maine, Mass and CT governors races are all too close to call.

Comment by BobR on 11/05/2014 01:45:27
Quote by Scoopster:
Tom Wolff is the next governor of Pennsylvania - buhbye Corbett!

And yeah, the polls were WAY off in Kentucky. Grimes got walloped.

It may get closer once all the votes are counted, but I assume that mathematically, she can't get enough votes to win.

Still - several of these projections are base on exit polling, which is irritating

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 01:45:31
Fuck you Mitch. Just fuck you.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 01:46:18
Quote by Scoopster:
How in the hell? C-Span already has something about McConnell having won.

My local news is already saying Jeanne Shaheen has a 'healthy lead' in New Hampshire.

Scoop, they called it less then a minute after 7 pm.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:47:07
Arkansas Senate has been called now. Pryor is out.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:49:49
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
How in the hell? C-Span already has something about McConnell having won.

My local news is already saying Jeanne Shaheen has a 'healthy lead' in New Hampshire.

Scoop, they called it less then a minute after 7 pm.

Well if it counts I'm hearing Grimes was less than gracious in her speech. I don't know if we should take that as a non-concession or not tho.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 01:51:31
Looks like DC is becoaming a very good place to buy a home and garden....

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:55:41
NH has been called for Shaheen.

In other news, Scott Brown's truck was seen heading towards Bangor.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 01:58:41
Good news, I suppose? The poll lines in Georgia still long and still voting!

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 01:59:27
So how does it seem to be boiling down tonight - don't want to be depressed so I've been avoiding the news.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 02:01:56
Kansas is looking VERY good for the Dems and the indy Senate candidate so far.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:02:33
Quote by wickedpam:
So how does it seem to be boiling down tonight - don't want to be depressed so I've been avoiding the news.
Senate eEpubs are up by two at this point.

We lost Joe Manchin,The GOP got Arkansas.


Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:05:44
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
So how does it seem to be boiling down tonight - don't want to be depressed so I've been avoiding the news.
Senate eEpubs are up by two at this point.

We lost Joe Manchin,The GOP got Arkansas.



ugh - turtle boy is going to the be leader of the senate isn't he. I'm just so sick about it. 2 years of impeachment trials, 2 years of taking away everything we worked for - it so fucking depressing

Comment by Mondobubba on 11/05/2014 02:11:39
Damn Carter Jr. got his ass kicked in Georgia.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:14:17
Right now, if we are lucky, we will have a Joe Biden Senate.

I have general disgust.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:14:35
Quote by Mondobubba:
Damn Carter Jr. got his ass kicked in Georgia.
was it called?


Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 02:14:58
Howdy, folks!

Back from my committee meeting. I see Scott the Carpetbagger is folding like the house of cards that he is. I haven't seen anything about the corner office here yet.



Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 02:15:09
Why are people freaking out about Virginia? Fairfax & Dc Metro haven't even come in yet.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:15:19
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
So how does it seem to be boiling down tonight - don't want to be depressed so I've been avoiding the news.
Senate eEpubs are up by two at this point.

We lost Joe Manchin,The GOP got Arkansas.



ugh - turtle boy is going to the be leader of the senate isn't he. I'm just so sick about it. 2 years of impeachment trials, 2 years of taking away everything we worked for - it so fucking depressing
I seriously take heart in that 2016 they are all going to be shitting themselves with no candidate and a do nothing fucking congress.




Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:16:39
Quote by Scoopster:
Why are people freaking out about Virginia? Fairfax & Dc Metro haven't even come in yet.
All of Nova except FAirfax is in. It's like the last election.

I heard that the city of Richmond isn't in yet. Been reading that it generally goes Dem -- not sure if I believe that.

Fairfax will determine this one.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:17:24
BTW, his victory party is at the Chrystal City doubletree hotel. IF I were;t so Tired, I might crash that party.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:20:22
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
So how does it seem to be boiling down tonight - don't want to be depressed so I've been avoiding the news.
Senate eEpubs are up by two at this point.

We lost Joe Manchin,The GOP got Arkansas.



ugh - turtle boy is going to the be leader of the senate isn't he. I'm just so sick about it. 2 years of impeachment trials, 2 years of taking away everything we worked for - it so fucking depressing
I seriously take heart in that 2016 they are all going to be shitting themselves with no candidate and a do nothing fucking congress.




I wish I were that optimistic right now. Just so tired, it should not be this hard to have good people in important positions


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:20:24

Brian W. Schoeneman

The good news - our precinct results are coming in significantly faster than the last few years. The bad news - our map app is overwhelmed by traffic and isn't keeping up.
Keep checking the old spreadsheet for our results here:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/electi…/webreports/resu1114.pdf
Via FB. Brian is the head of the board of election in FFX Cty.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:20:57
Quote by Raine:
BTW, his victory party is at the Chrystal City doubletree hotel. IF I were;t so Tired, I might crash that party.



Top floor?

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:21:45
Quote by Raine:

Brian W. Schoeneman

The good news - our precinct results are coming in significantly faster than the last few years. The bad news - our map app is overwhelmed by traffic and isn't keeping up.
Keep checking the old spreadsheet for our results here:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/electi…/webreports/resu1114.pdf
Via FB. Brian is the head of the board of election in FFX Cty.



anyone hear about 10th district?

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:23:34
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:

Brian W. Schoeneman

The good news - our precinct results are coming in significantly faster than the last few years. The bad news - our map app is overwhelmed by traffic and isn't keeping up.
Keep checking the old spreadsheet for our results here:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/electi…/webreports/resu1114.pdf
Via FB. Brian is the head of the board of election in FFX Cty.



anyone hear about 10th district?


never mind - just saw - fucking Comstock


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:23:43
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
BTW, his victory party is at the Chrystal City doubletree hotel. IF I were;t so Tired, I might crash that party.



Top floor?
I think so!

BTW: here is the news on the 10th.


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:24:51
Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 02:28:03
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
BTW, his victory party is at the Chrystal City doubletree hotel. IF I were;t so Tired, I might crash that party.



Top floor?
I think so!

BTW: here is the news on the 10th.


I hate my district


Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 02:31:24
Grunt. From WCVB:

Baker, Charlie GOP 275,942 50%
Coakley, Martha Dem 252,838 46%

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 02:34:46
Meanwhile here in Vo Dilun.. 82% reporting (wtf?)

Gina Raimondo [D-Wall Street] 98,101 39%
Allan Fung [GOP] 94,151 37%
Bob Healey [Moderate/Cool Moose] 55,734 22%
Other 3,097 ~1%

Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 02:35:09
Nothing in on my friend Tom Stanley's race yet...

And it looks like Big Business won - Question 2, an expanded bottle bill, is getting trounced.



Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:36:32
Quote by TriSec:
Grunt. From WCVB:

Baker, Charlie GOP 275,942 50%
Coakley, Martha Dem 252,838 46%
Called or still waiting for finals?


Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 02:37:17
FUCK.. Are you kidding Florida you're re-electing Skeletor?

Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 02:47:47
Quote by Raine:
Called or still waiting for finals?


Not yet - that's only about 25% reporting. I don't know how it breaks down, but I did hear turnout in Springfield was "huge", which should help Ms. Coakley.



Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:50:43
Quote by TriSec:
Quote by Raine:
Called or still waiting for finals?


Not yet - that's only about 25% reporting. I don't know how it breaks down, but I did hear turnout in Springfield was "huge", which should help Ms. Coakley.

Excellent news.


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:52:00
UPDATE 9:33 pm: All kinds of problems with the Virginia State Board of Elections and VPAP tonight. Really need reform and an infusion of resources there, as this is just pathetic and embarrassing. If you believe VPAP, it's now Gillespie leading by under 19,000 votes with 91.40% counted. Still a decent # from Fairfax County to report. @notlarrysabato tweets, "From what I can see Warner is up about 8,000 but almost all of NoVA is now in." Also, "Recount looking more and more likely." For all of us who will never forget Webb vs. Allen election night in 2006, are you feeling a bit of deja vu??!?
Source

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 02:54:58
BYE BYE BUDDY!

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 02:56:34


Wendy seems to have lost to Abbot in Texas.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 03:00:55
As much as I love Debbie Wassermann Shultz, I am really disappointed in her leadership at the helm of the DCCC.

As for the senate:

Warner and Gilespie are less than 3 tenths apart right now.

SO can officially say that Senator Michael Bennet is doing a shot job as well as the head of the DSCC.



Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 03:22:01
Blue Va updates:

UPDATE 10:01 pm: @greggiroux tweets, "237/238 in Fairfax County, Warner up there 48,000 votes." @HotlineJosh tweets, "With Fairfax County #s in (via @greggiroux), Gillespie would still hold about a ~2K lead. This one's as close as they come." VPAP now says it's Gillespie by 424 votes with 95.54% counted. Craaaazy!

UPDATE 9:57 pm: Ugh, this sucks. @Taniel tweets, "#COSen has been called for Cory Gardner by some networks. Senator Udall ousted. The biggest win yet for Republicans tonight." Also, the Lousiana Senate race is going to a recount.

UPDATE 9:48 pm: Other than Fairfax County, need to look at Prince William County and Portsmouth City for potentially making the difference in the Warner-Gillespie race.


Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 03:31:15
Hey, can one of you guys go to my association website and tell me what you see?

http://gardencrest.wiggio.com

Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 03:32:20
With 68% in now:

Coakley, Martha Dem 672,424 48%
Baker, Charlie GOP 659,117 47%

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 03:32:46
Quote by TriSec:
Hey, can one of you guys go to my association website and tell me what you see?

http://gardencrest.wiggio.com
That link takes me to this link: https://wiggio.com/?custom_domain_maillistname=gardencrest#tpl=home_0

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 03:33:30
WTOP os now reporting that Warner has a small lead. FFX county is preparing for a recount.

Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 03:38:18
HMm....how about this?

GTA Test Site

Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 03:39:13
Here's my friend Tom Stanley:

Name Party Votes Vote %
Stanley, Thomas (i) Dem 9,264 72%
Antia, Sharon Ind 3,685 28%


Comment by BobR on 11/05/2014 03:41:57
Watching MSNBC - Tweety is really annoying the way he keeps interrupting the other folks when they're trying to make a point. This is why I don't watch his show anymore.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 03:50:31
Looking like Walker AND Snyder are both gonna win in Wisconsin and Michigan.

I just don't understand it.

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2014 03:58:18
I really just don't understand the stupid or the willingness to re-elect people who go out of their way to hurt you....I just don't get it.....

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 04:03:29
Brian W. Schoeneman
WE ARE DONE IN FAIRFAX. 10th CD ABs - 3427 Gillespie, 3747 Warner.


Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2014 04:06:44
It's swung back the other way - now Baker is up again.



Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2014 04:08:09


I'm goin' to bed.

Comment by velveeta jones on 11/05/2014 04:22:30
Checking in..... how bad is it?


Comment by velveeta jones on 11/05/2014 04:25:23
Just saw....

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 04:28:16
I am disgusted.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 04:28:48
Quote by Raine:
I am disgusted.
and believe me, for ME to day that, that is something.




Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 04:32:06
Quote by Scoopster:
Looking like Walker AND Snyder are both gonna win in Wisconsin and Michigan.

I just don't understand it.
The DNC sucks.

That is really what it it is. She has to go as the head of the party. I love her as a politician and for her views, but she failed us.

To lose Pat Quinn is NOT acceptable.


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2014 04:33:35
Pot passed in DC!