Aaaaaccckkkk!!!!

The Most Merciful And Splendid Barack Hussein Obama has acquired an 18,000 vote lead as of 11:38 pm. I've had quite enough of this.

Aaaarrrrggghhhhh!!!!!

At 11 it's down to a 743 vote McCain lead in NC. This could get ugly. Unfortunately, I'm not thinking Obama will be needing North Carolina's Electoral votes.

Whooo Hooo!!!

As of 10:33 McCain has a 1,102 vote lead over Obama in North Carolina. No matter what happens nationally, I'd feel a lot better if the good guys could pull out my state. Florida looks closer and closer the more precincts report as well. i wonder if it's wishful thinking or if the state was called too soon. Again.

Local Results

It looks like a good day for the Republicans locally, if not nationally or state-wide. Though McCain/Palin did well in my admittedly lily-white and fairly affluent precinct, and in Brunswick County at large, he's having a tougher time in the rest of the sate. It's too close to call as of now (10:15 pm), but Obama has a small lead at this point.

The GOP did well at the county level. It looks like the two remaining Democrats on the County Commission will lose their seats to Republicans. The Board of Education will remain with a 4-1 Republican majority. Robert Robinson, our long-serving Register of Deeds will finally lose his job to a political newcomer, Brenda Clemons.

It's a mixed bag on the state level. Brunswick County's NC House District 17 will return Oak Island's own Bonner Stiller. Brunswick and Pender Counties turned out fairly strong for R.C. Soles' Republican challenger, Betty Fennell, but it remains to be seen if she can overcome the Columbus County vote for Soles. Pat McCrory did well in Southeastern NC, but at this time he trails Democrat Bev Purdue state-wide by 100,000 votes with few counties left to report.

Sadly, Senator Dole will be replaced by Kay Hagan and Mike McIntyre will return to the House of Representatives.

Election Day Report

It looks as though early and often voting has had the desired effect. Polls in Brunswick County have been very calm today. The turnout at my precinct on Oak Island has been steady, but never was there a line. As of 4 pm about 350 people had cast ballots in Oak Island 3 today.

There might be an after work rush, but since there was no before work or lunch time rush, I'd be surprised. With more than half of Brunswick County's registered voters casting ballots before Election Day, there aren't very many folks left to vote.

Let's hope the count goes as smooth as the voting has. I'll update results as I find them, but you can track Brunswick County results here. Choose the "Reports" tab for a precinct-by-precinct breakdown.

Democrats Target Your 401k

Think a falling stock market is the biggest threat to your IRA or 401k, think again. This isn't an April Fool's joke, it's a real proposal with a real chance of passage under a Democrat controlled House and Senate. This piece ought to send chills down your spine, but the whole article is even scarier.

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.

Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.

The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

Don't Sweat The Exit Polls

A memo from the McCain campaign explains the historical Democrat tilt of the exit polls. More Dems are likely to participate and the pollsters tend to be more liberal-leaning as well.

It might be a long night. Don't get flustered by a media that's been in the tank for Obama for months.

Joe Biden Calls His Sister A "Girl-Boy"

Or something like that. In Joe's latest "rhetorical flourish," our favorite Delaware Senator tries to explain how his sister and Sen. Claire McCaskill got to be so tough. Or soft. Or something.

Good Lord, I'll miss this guy.

Doomsday Scenario?

Bob Krumm has his election prediction on his blog. It's very well reasoned and a bit scary. The upshot is he's got Obama winning the popular vote by a few percent and McCain winning the Electors by a hair. Things would get ugly.

At this point, though, predictions are worth even less than the polls.

A Gaze Into The Crystal Ball

This piece in the New York Post offers a prediction of America's place in the world as the Obama administration closes out it's first term. Here's a little taste:

Looking back on the four years of his first administration, President Obama can be proud: He made the US welcome among the family of nations again; he reduced our reliance on military force; and he gave us peace by reaching sensible accommodations with our enemies.

The lies told about him in the 2008 election were exposed as sheer bigotry. Far from being "soft on radical Islam," President Obama was the first world leader to welcome Jewish refugees after Iran's nuclear destruction of Israel's major cities (his only caveat - a fair one - was the refusal to accept Zionist military officers and their families, in light of Israel's excessive retaliation).

The scariest part is that I truly beleive he'll do much more damage to the US at home than abroad. Not that any of this is far-fetched.