OK, my ass is kicked. I'm going to go fall down now. But first...

[WilliamPitt]

I want to thank all of you for your work. Someone posted a thread today asking if I was a 'leader' in this thing. I don't think so. This movement doesn't need a leader at the grass roots, which is where we are. You didn't need someone to stand up and tell you what to do. You stood up and did it, all of you, at once...and the odds are very very very very very good that we are going to get a Senator to do what should have been done in 2000.

Don't listen to the naysayers. DO NOT give in to despair or despondency. The fight is what matters. Even if we get hosed on the recounts, even if the election isn't overturned, even if every bad thing the doomcriers declaim about takes place, it is the fight that is important. You do honor to your country, and yourselves, and the idea of participatory democracy by doing what you are doing.

Or, in the lines I quoted recently...

As if it matters how a man falls.

When the fall is all that's left, it matters.

Stand. Be true. Come through.

It is an honor and a privilege to know you and work with you. Enjoy the weekend. We've got work to do on Monday.

[johnnie]

1. Have a good one Will

Take care and thanks for all the work you have done. Have fun.

[Goldeneye]

2. Thanks for the encouragement Will.

Have a nice Christmas. Make sure your rested up for Monday.

[Voltaire]

3. You are truly the man

Thanks for the shot in NYC! Its an honor to know you. D'accord, on Monday we fight again!

Merry Christmas to you!

[marlakay]

4. Totally agree with you about the fight

When my husband gave up and wanted me to give up I just wouldn't. I donated even more money for the WA recount and wrote my senator Boxer and others to stand up for Kerry and fight.

When we move up to WA I told Mike I am going to try my hardest to help keep the state Blue and always have a dem gov.

You are right, its not so much sometimes whether you win or lose but how you play the game!!

[brainshrub]

5. "The fight is what matters."

Tell that to Kerry and everything will be alright.

G'night Will.

[GregD]

6. Have a good holiday Will. Thanks.

[DancingBear]

7. The same to you, Mr. Pitt

Stay safe and enjoy the wonder that is Christmas.

I'll see you Monday - along with thousands of friends.

Letters to write, calls to make, people to educate - I think we know the drill.

And I think we're ready - as always.

Thanks for the help, my friend - more than I can ever say.

[Left Brain]

8. Your perseverance is an inspiration.

Thanks Will, for all you do.
Rest well.

[keepthemhonest]

9. speechless

ok not. Just keep bringing us together .You( edited loose with the letters tonight,as usual) are the glue then Will.

[Niche]

10. So Beautifully put Will.... I think we are tired but I think...

we're ready fight even harder. Hopefully that mattered fall is with grace and dignity! And that is something to STAND UP FOR! The fight itself... I DO BELIEVE.

P.S. The naysayers are not DUers because I KNOW THE REAL DU BELIEVES IN THE FIGHT!

[keepthemhonest]

11. speechless

OK not, but You are the glue Will.

[anamandujano]

12. Thanks for your "hot off the press" today.

Definitely feeling like I'm living history and screenshoting like crazy.

[mongo]

13. I hate to tell you this

but you ARE a leader. Your writings get posted all over the internet. You are a great voice for progressives. Thanks for all you have done.

[DELUSIONAL]

14. Washington just counted every vote -- and the democrat won!

Kerry must be watching the Governor race in Washington State. She insisted that every vote must be counted because of what happened in Florida. She gave the speech that Kerry should have given.

We should be able to use Gregoire's experience when we blast Senators with email and faxes -- Look what happened when Gregoire insisted that all votes be counted. You know it is a good feeling to know that my one vote was very important in Washington State -- seems like Ohio votes deserve the same respect.

http://www.komotv.com/

Gregoire Wins By 130 Votes

[donheld]

15. Happy Holiday Will

[blue neen]

16. We have to fight to keep that participatory democracy alive!

Thank you for all of your work, and thank you to all DU'ers who have worked so hard on this.

We'll be ready for Monday. :)

[m.standridge]

17. Thanks, Mr. Pitt-- you know, Nazis put gays in the ovens, and

didn't care much for democracy and vote-counting, either.

I'm late getting into the fight.
I really didn't get involved, until I saw that
1. The Democrats didn't win control or a tie in the Senate
2. Bush won the White House.

That set off alarm bells with me, because look:
1. No party has ever had control of ALL THREE BRANCHES of the Federal Gov't for more than 2 1/2 years.
Bush has now had that for four years.
2. Bush has unprecedented powers as President. Part of that was inherited, but part of it--Homeland Security and Patriot Act--was newly given to Bush.
3. Here's Bush, too: the first Electoral only President to ever be re-elected. (And that's stretching it a bit, at that, as you know, per Florida last time.)

It was when the Dems started losing the Senate races, as well as the White House race again, that my antenna went up.
We need to think about this. Most people aren't aware of these historical facts yet. All these "firsts"
And, on top of that. all these fishy things--including the computers.

IF WE DON'T WIN THE WHITE HOUSE--OUR ONLY RACE WE HAVE A HOPE OF STILL WINNING AT THIS POINT--WE MAY NEVER WIN AGAIN.
The GOP can cover up anything Bush does or has done. And the Court will back Bush and the GOP in any political question before it. And the GOP has a "sympathetic" mainstream media.

We're being called sore losers.
This ain't a ballgame.
This is about saving our democracy, our three branches, our two-party system. If it hadn't gotten down to this point, I wouldn't have gotten this involved.
But, given all of this, I'M CONCERNED.
Bush has USED some morally-concerned people on a "hot button" issue to throw dust into the air, making himself more popular in areas he was already carrying, adding to his Popular vote (he may very well have had a lead in the Popular vote).
Becuase, there's a peculiar blind spot that morally-oriented people don't always catch about the Far Right and the super-rich. It is this:
Hitler didn't just throw Jews in the ovens.
He threw homosexuals in the ovens, too.
I don't "condone" this or that or the other (EVERYONE seems to have to qualify everything they say or do lately with that phrase), but we need to face facts: the old Bush family ties with WW2 Nazism--as well as that of other Big Corp families--is old news, since the '80s.
Don't ever assume that there wouldn't be more of that, that eventual mistreatment of homosexuals as well as "inferior" racial groups--if we can't keep our three branches, two parties, and vote-counting.
If we'd followed our classic pattern--liberal Democrat gets beat, but Dems win control of Senate, etc.--it'd be different. But none of that is happening. And it is NOT happening in a context that is positively chilling. Our hope is there in Ohio now. It's our democracy that may be at stake--our "last best hope of mankind."

[liberalla]

33. Thank you for your post...

It's good to be reminded of certain things, and to change one's perspective from time to time. My antenna went up back in 2002 when the talk of war in Iraq began. I never felt he had a good case for WMD or terrorist ties, and I thought he was lying... Sadly, I was right. This is a good fight and we cannot stop.

[seito]

18. Will, thank you so much for your words of inspiration

It is an honor to be fighting alongside ALL of you.

God bless us every one.

[understandinglife]

19. Thank you for all you have done Will and in honor of your amazing...

....commitment, I have a special set of emails and faxes I'll be sending to various Senators and Congresspersons on Christmas Day.

I want them to realize that the only present that matters is the one each of us is attempting to give to future generations -- it is the gift of preserving and expanding our Constitution and ensuring that the current attack on our American franchise of democracy is defeated on 6 Jan 2005.

We must and we will prevail.

All the best to you and your family. And, just so you know I mean it; I'll maintain 'understandinglife' (as my login) because that is what my 'day job' has been dedicated to for almost thirty-five years, but, on this occasion let me sign my greetings to you as who I am.

Peace.
Bob

B Robert Franza MD (aka understandinglife)
Research Professor & Director
Cell Systems Initiative
University of Washington, Seattle

[KaryninMiami]

20. Thank you Will, for everything.. As always, you are an inspiration.

You never cease to amaze me (or any of us!). Enjoy your holiday and here's to the fight. We can do this and we must. Onwards and upwards!

Question the Election. Our democracy depends on it.

[Misskittycat]

21. Thanks, Will. eom

[burned]

22. I don't post much

but I've been reading for a long time.
Both you and Andy made me cry tonight.

[Garbo 2004]

23. Ah, from The Lion in Winter.. :-) Rest up Will & thnx for your work. n/t

[Vektor]

24. Thanks Will...

...you're doing a great job. Thanks for all the hard work you are putting into this, and THANK YOU for being one of the good guys.
Happy Holidays!
:yourock:

[bones_7672]

25. Yeah, all we will lose is time, energy, money and any chance to

be taken seriously. That's all.

[WilliamPitt]

26. Exhibit A

[Melissa G]

29. I love you Will !!!

One more excuse to say it before the holiday Break!
:loveya: !:loveya:!:loveya:!:loveya:!:loveya:!

I've never gotten to do floaty hearts before...

oxoxoxoxoxox Happy Holidays!

[Chili]

27. ohhhhhh, you quoted one of my favorite movies...

"The Lion in Winter"

And what a great line it is, too!

It matters!

THANK YOU for everything you've done! We're all in this together!

[KoKo]

28. Enjoy your weekend, too, Will....thanks for the "Breaking News." Peace!

:hi:

[JohnOneillsMemory]

30. Here's to the Winter Solstice, the days are still cold but getting longer.

And we've learned the lay of the land and where the wild things are.

Better days ahead. Thanks for all I've learned from you starting with your essay called 'Hell to Pay.'

These criminals will pay for their crimes soon.

[oregonjen]

35. Hell To Pay is what got me hooked on Will

[BlackVelvet04]

31. Thank you so much

for being an inspiration. You do us progressives proud! Rest well and have a Merry Christmas.

[tavalon]

32. Yes! Exactly!

This is how I got myself back up and into the fight in the week following Kerry's concession. And it's what I keep repeating - the fight is the important thing, regardless of the outcome.

[SmokingJacket]

34. Somehow you've managed to keep strong when so many of us

including myself, have drooped practically to the ground and given up.

Thanks for showing that it CAN be done.

Have a good long weekend.

:toast:

[liberalla]

36. That got me...

"As if it matters how a man falls.
When the fall is all that's left, it matters.

Stand. Be true. Come through."

Thank you for these words.

(and of course, thanks for everything else you've been doing too!)

[Generator]

37. Thanks for this-I was thinking much the same

There is a line in my new favorite U2 song-with Bono's gravely voice=

"There is no failure here, sweetheart, just when you quit."

Miracle drug.

[selmo7]

38. With the weather and all

eesh...what is it? dem skull and bones rituals?
(((sorry couldn't resist)))

Everyone's so proud of you Will and it's been a pleasure for me to witness your work, passion, and intelligence.

[Patsy Stone]

39. I still may write in your name for President in 2008 though!

You are right. It is our fight to fight and we're doing a damn good job. Thanks again for everything. Power to the People.

[Ladyhawk]

40. Thanks a bunch, Will Pitt. :) n/t

[fooj]

41. Thank you for reminding us that the fight for democracy

must move forward and that we must never give up! You are a true inspiration! Merry Christmas to a great American Patriot! PEACE!

[SueZhope]

42. But you are a leader.

Leaders come in all forms.
You have the gift of the written word and you share it.
Your words inspire many of us to continue to to move forward .

Will often a leader leads with out being asked.
For you it just comes naturally.

Thanks for helping us move to to the light of Truth!!!

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell

Cheers !
:toast:

[ralps]

43. Thanks for all your columns and work Will.

Rest up, and have a Merry Christmas.
:loveya:

[shiina]

44. Not a leader, a role model. Thanks.

[ChicanoPwr]

45. Have yourself a great Holiday weekend

Thanks for your kind words and for informing all of us today. In the imortal words of Cesar Chavez

Si, Se Puede! (Yes we can!)

[sportndandy]

46. The Fight IS what matters.

[Silver Gaia]

47. Thanks for the inspirational words, Will.

The best leaders are always the ones who shun the mantle of leadership and only accept it reluctantly when it is thrust upon them by the people. That would be you... ;)

Thanks as well to all of you here at DU. You amaze me with your passion, your dedication, and your willingness to roll up your sleeves and get to work. I am still fairly new here, but am honored to be among you all. It is a good place to be. (My hubby is here, too, and says to tell you he agrees, although he rarely ever posts.)

Happy Holidays to Everyone...

[me b zola]

48. Yes, Will, thank-you.

As my memory serves, please correct me if I am wrong, but Rev.King didn't ask to be a leader, either. He merely showed up, spoke up, and stood up. The people anointed him. That is how real social movements evolve.
Thank-you, also, for your words of encouragement. It matters not how long it takes to take back OUR democracy...so long as the drum steadily beats, WE will prevail. I sense that non of us are going anywhere until democracy has been restored.
THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU.

[corbett]

49. Hundreds If Not Thousands Are Right Behind You Come Monday

Happy holidays! Take a few well-earned breather days and regroup after Ohio digs out from its blizzard. It only gets fun from here. You're a true patriot!

[lonestarnot]

50. Mr. William Pitt... the more of your stuff I read, the better I'm liking

what you write. You are a real source of strength, don't burn out! Hang dude hang!

[autorank]

51. Thank you!!! On board for the duration. Marino is God!

[bleever]

52. Merry Christmas, Will!

First the Red Sox, now this turning of the tide against the creeping fascism of the BFEE. Led by a senator who is one of Boston's sons, no less (with a little help and prodding from a couple thousand tin-foil hatters).

;)

Looking forward to 2005 like never before. Let's make some history.

:thumbsup:

[evolvenow]

53. Never Give Up!! Every person standing up to end cruelty, to end torture,

to say "hell no" to war, and to devastating this beautiful planet, will be one less person willing to harm another living being.... together we will gather in strength, in numbers, and do the right thing.

It is our birthright to protect one another.

It is our evolution to live with respect for life.

Thank you deeply, Will, for your courage and intelligence. Your will is magnificent, and millions are grateful for your words and actions of truth and integrity.

Take extra good care of yourself.

We stand with you.

********************
NEVER GIVE UP

No matter what is going on
Never give up
Develop the heart
Too much energy in your country
Is spent developing the mind
Instead of the heart
Be compassionate
Not just to your friends
But to everyone
Be compassionate
Work for peace
In your heart and in the world
Work for peace
And I say again
Never give up
No matter what is going on around you
Never give up 

H.H. The XIV Dalai Lama
:grouphug:

[Rowdyboy]

54. With people like you on our side, its hard to see how we can lose!

Thanks, buddy.

[graywarrior]

55. Thanks Will. It's writing like yours that motivates me to bang out

letters to Senators and every other chucklehead who needs to get the clear picture. You rock, bigtime.

[BigBearJohn]

56. Hip Hip Hooray! Thanks Wil!

Just finished watching Hannity & Colmes. David Lytel was on with Colmes. Colmes asked him why he and our movement is trying to make all Democrats look bad (tin foil hats, etc). Saying we should "accept our defeat gracefully." Bullshit. Utter bullshit. To hell with that.

You know, one of the biggest problems in this world is the fact that far too many Democrats care about what Republicans think. The catch word is "politically correct." Why do you think Dean got as far as he did? Certainly not because he said and did what was "politically correct." He hit a nerve in the American public and a lot of people responded.

Why do you think Kerry did so well in the debates? It was because it was the first time he lost some of his stiffness and was not a robot. The United States revolting against England 200-some years ago was not the "politically correct" thing to do, but we would not be here today if a bunch of rebels didn't stand up and say "enough, already!" If being part of your group gets me accused of wearing a "tin foil hat" -- so be it. I will wear one proudly. The Republicans opinion of me and 75 cents might get me a cup of coffee. THANKS WIL. I'm with you 100%.

[Mojorabbit]

57. Thank you Will

for everything. You have made my day. I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with all your heart desires. Smooch.

[nashville_brook]

58. thankyou for the kinds words

see you on monday...

[ClassWarrior]

59. God bless, Will. Have the happiest holiday-of-your-choice this weekend.

We all have many blessings to count.

Looking forward to Monday... Here we go again!!

Never Never NEVER Give Up.

[joevoter]

60. Thank you for being true to yourself

and helping us to be true as well!

[flyarm]

61. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens

thank you WILL....for being a true patriot and a givng caring man!!!



Dissent

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead

[Nothing Without Hope]

62. I'm surprised you're still conscious. Here's an Irish proverb for you...

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.

I hope you have both this weekend, because the fight resumes soon.

I'll post some other quotes from my collection, the ones that seem especially relevant to our current political situation, as a new post in General Discussion shortly.

Thanks again for everything, looking forward to more.

[WilliamPitt]

63. .

[Vidar]

64. God bless you, Will. You are a real inspiration.

[Jimr]

65. Inspiration

I've posted this poem before, but it continues to provide me with inspiration.
I hope it does the same for you.


Words by Frank Scott (1899-1985)
Music by Leonard Cohen from his album "Dear Heather"

From bitter searching of the heart,
Quickened with passion and with pain
We rise to play a greater part.
This is the faith from which we start:
Men shall know commonwealth again
From bitter searching of the heart.
We loved the easy and the smart,
But now, with keener hand and brain,
We rise to play a greater part.
The lesser loyalties depart,
And neither race nor creed remain
From bitter searching of the heart.
Not steering by the venal chart
That tricked the mass for private gain,
We rise to play a greater part.
Reshaping narrow law and art
Whose symbols are the millions slain,
From bitter searching of the heart
We rise to play a greater part.

[WilliamPitt]

66. I get the sense this needs a kick tonight

[CoffeeCat]

67. Your words are inspiring, Will...

Thanks for your words.

What you say, is so true. It's the fight that counts, and the fact that we're not taking this lying down.

I've been seriously considering going to DC on the 6th and you've just clinched that for me. I'm booking my flight tonight, online.

No matter what happens--I need to know that I went to my capital and fought against what I believe is grave injustice.

On the 5th, I'm going to do some sight seeing--and I'll take a look at the Constitution. That'll pump me up--and probably make me cry because no one in the White House cares about it anymore.

On the 6th, I'll proudly stand firm against what these thugs have done--and in support of John Kerry, Conyers and other statesman who want nothing more than free and fair elections.

They sneered at women who wanted the right to vote, and African Americans who refused to sit at the back of the bus. Most struggles from oppression or for freedom were met with ridicule, chiding and resistance. Now, it's our turn.

It's too bad we have to go to DC, to beg for free and fair elections. However, that's what we face.

I'll be there.

[WilliamPitt]

68. I'll be there, too

:toast:

[Peace Patriot]

69. Yup, we are creating this beautiful thing...

...that the Greeks and the Iroquois and Thomas Jefferson got hold of, and thought too fine a thing not to pass along. Merry Christmas, William.

[juajen]

70. Well, as usual, I'm late answering your post, Will

Have a very Merry Christmas and here's hoping we all have a great New Year, and that John Kerry leads the way into that New Year. Thank you for all you do Will. You speak for so many of us and we appreciate you.