With the campaign over, Americans are expecting a bipartisan effort and results. I'll reach out to everyone who shares our goals. –George W. Bush, Nov 4, 2004

What to say. Election time is over and I guess we’ll get what we deserve. What bothers me most is that I saw a triumph of fear and distortion. In 11 states people felt they were in such danger if their neighbors could get married that they had to pass amendments to their constitutions to enshrine bigotry. In our national election we ignored virtually every important issue facing us, the environment, our economic policy, the budget deficit that is looming to crush our childrens’ (and our own, we aren’t really going to have to wait that long) futures, how we deal with the rest of the world, the erosion of our civil liberties, and we voted because "we are more likely to be attacked if he is elected president". And yes, that’s an actual quote from an actual neighbor of mine. Now, if W had been elected because people really understood and supported his policies that would be one thing, but the election wasn’t at all about that, it was a tribute to the dumbing down of America and how to use fear for political purposes. It’s been done many times before, and the result has never been pretty.

We’ll survive, but it will take a lot longer than four years to undue the damage that will be done to our environment and years to deal with fiscal problems, and perhaps forever to attempt to restore the affection and respect for America that was once so prevalent around the world. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m no ardent fan of John Kerry’s, and my politics are best described as liberal Republican, but I believe in the Republican party where it’s okay to speak your mind, where being true to your principles is more important than toeing the party line, where fiscal conservatism and small government don’t mean giant budget deficits and the largest growth of government since Lyndon Johnson. But most especially, the right to think for yourself. I hope you all remember to keep on doing that.

Gunboat with press: Four signed up so far. Reconfirm for me if you are interested in this.

Perestroika Diplomacy: Add an economic twist to the classic game. Centers generate revenue, armies and fleets must be maintained, and treasuries can be sacked! Rules are available on request.

Signed up: Art Schleinkofer, Phil Reynolds, Harold Reynolds, Karl Schmit, Graham Wilson

Standard Diplomacy: That’s it, the one and only original

Signed up: Fred Wiedermeyer, Hank Alme, Cary Nichols, Graham Wilson, Karl Muller, Matt Sundstrum

Just the results please: Don’t really know what to call this one as I just came up with it. Perhaps it’s been tried before. The twist for this variant is that each season only the ending unit positions are published, not the orders. You’ll know who went where, but not who helped whom, or want may have been tried unsuccessfully.

Signed up: Phil Reynolds, Doug Kent, Graham Wilson

A new game for 3-4 players. Manager your factory and build your products, but beware, increased production means more waste, and if you aren’t careful you’ll find that working in a sludge pit affects your productivity and the bottom line.

Game Opening: Jim Tretick, Graham Wilson. Need 2 more.

Railway Rivals: Anyone have a favorite map they’d like to try?

Outpost: Sign up for the next game to start when the current one finishes.

Snowball fighting: Current game is over. Anyone interested in another go? 3 signed up so far

Signed up: Tom Howell

Sopwith: Snoopy just started. I’ll start taking names now for the next game if anyone’s interested.

Reader’s Choice: I’m open to anything, just send me the rules and if I think I can run it, I’ll offer it.

Coming down to the wire now, the first riders will be crossing next turn. The Front Men look to be first over the line, but don’t look for them to be first in points.

BOOB to GM: Now Cutler MAY score, that blank spot on 93 hurt a lot.

BOOB to BARONE: 101's the spot, that's where you need to go....baby rolls a 9 or better for Cutler....

GM – BOOB: I wouldn’t count on that score, and 8’s all we can come up with.

BOOB to HANDICAPPERS: Babette, Rome, Babylon, and Rumsfeld have slots 2-5 locked up. Lots of maneuvering for places 6-8 that should determine the eventual winner. The key for me is to keep Babette more toward 5th place than second. Rome, play the big one NOW, and Babette, play LOW, go for those replacement cards..... but no, Tom Howell will score the third place 12 points I think, and then if Camilla or Dagmar can score he wraps it up and I'm a disappointed second. I don't think Rick or Eric catch me, do they? Should be pretty clear after this play.

GM to Boob: I’m going to agree with Zero Boy, I think you’re coming in 3^rd.

The Black bottomed girls play the race card(well, it IS a race isn't it?): "We refuse to be last. And the shame for any male cyclists we beat: to be beaten by black bottomed GIRLS!"

GM to BBGs: Sounds more like the Sex card than the Race card to me.

Mandelbaum -> Field: It's GO TIME!

MIKE to JIM and RICK: Nice to see four of your riders knocked out by the gap at 93. Only Greece or Babylon could have gone to 93, and Eric had no reason to do so, as their current path gets them home next turn and the following one. Granted, Singh and George were stuck, but Cutler and Jerry had the alternatives of being in the pack getting 13's or going to 100, getting 3's but pulling the pack containing Barone,

Elaine, and Kramer.

ZERO-BOY to BLUSTERING BOOB: Rumsfeld will finish fifth, crossing the same turn as the winner and beating three of your riders, at least two of whom will be out of the scoring. At least I can blame some of my zeroes on someone else's ill-considered orders in a foreseeable situation earlier. Both Eric and Tom already have you beat on final score, so what will you blame for the failure of your results to correspond to all the NOISE you've been making? Back it up or pack it up, boy!

HOMEGROWN EVIL: So our "gentleman" frontman lost the debates. Big deal! We still control the Diebold GEMS central vote-totalling systems so those states will report Bush wins even if every precinct's machine shows Kerry ahead. We still control the election commissions in other states so Bush will carry those states. We still own the Supreme Court so if our state decisions are questioned we can still cut off the challenges like last election. Don't sweat, we've got it covered. We probably won't even have to call a terrorist alert and cancel the election.

GM to World: Talked to Tom and he’s still alive and kicking out there on the North West. He’s learning to drive the excavator he’s rented and has a lot to do with it to get the sites ready before the winter, all of which means that he probably has the time to get an issue of off-the-shelf out, but doesn’t have the time to first fix the computer and then get it out. Don’t give up hope though, he’ll be back with us eventually.

:Black Bottomed Girls (Brendan Whyte) 5 points

Homegrown Evil (Mike Barno) 0 points

Thin Bottomed Girls (Tom Howell) 24 points

Manager: Edith

The Four Kingdoms of Daniel Chapter Seven (Eric Brosius) 8 points

The Front Men (Jim Burgess) 15 points

Manager: Ian Curtis

The Team About Nothing (Rick Desper) 26 points

Manager: Frank Costanza

The vultures gather. Germany disappears from the map, and Italy retains a home center only because the carrion eaters are squabbling over the remains. Italy continues its move to a new home in the west while the Balkan wars do what Balkan wars do best, achieve nothing.

Press: England to Germany - Sorry about this. Nothing personal. It is indeed a dirty business this thing called war. Tell the Kaiser that the King sends his regrets.

The following was really just too much to resist. Statistically of course it may not mean much as some states were close and others had wide margins, but it sure does make one think . . . or not!