Burnt Orange Report

It's Starting to Look a Lot like...

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Of all the Merry Christmas greetings from every political listserv I signed up for this year starting to fill my inbox, the following picture has got to be the best one so far. I think the essance of "Merry" has been captured...

Just Look

And now that it is Christmas Eve, and I'm fairly certain that all of the Burnt Orange Report writers are doing something for the next couple of days, I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask all the rest of them to suspend posting until the 26th. Guys (and Gal!), take a break and be with your families or friends. And for our readers, know that you won't be missing anything as you make a nice face while eating your aunt's dry fruitcake for the next two days.

And if it doesn't end up snowing down here in Texas, here are some pictures of where I am right now (Fredericksburg) when it snowed in 2003. Oh, and it still took half a yard to make this snowman.

And for those of you wishing for a little seasonal humor, here is a repost of something I wrote 4 years ago in the middle of the Bush-Gore post election mess...

Twas the Night of the Election...

Twas the night of the election, and all through the states,
The results were dead even, and high were the stakes;
The campaigns were constructed by experts with care,
In hopes that the presidency would soon be theirs;

Gore and Bush were nestled, all snug in their beds,
While visions of white houses danced through their heads;
With Hilary in the Senate, and Bill in his last lap,
My family and I, settled in for a nap,--

When from on the radio, there rose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter;
Away to the living room, I flew like a flash,
Tuned the TV to FOX, and on the sofa I crashed;

The screen flickered to life, it was going so slow,
Something had happened, and I wanted to know;
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
It’s too close to call, no president-elect, oh dear;

The campaigns were awakened, phone calls were made,
I knew in a moment, it was going to take days;
More rapid than eagles the lawyers they came,
Charges and contests, suing counties by name;

“Now Broward! now, Brevard! now, Alachu and Clay!
On Palm Beach! on, Duval! on, Volusia and Dade!
In front of the judges, in front of the mall,
Protest and contest and recount them all;”

As lawyers will do, when a violation they spy,
Gather their papers, and to the courtroom they fly;
So up to the high courts, the arguments they flew,
With a box full of depositions,--and affidavits, too.

And then one evening, I heard on the news,
That candidate Gore was going to lose;
But early next morning, it was turned all around,
A court ruling for Gore was just handed down;

The ballots were looked at, in a certain few counties,
But challenges and confusion stopped much of the recounting;
Punch cards ballots with hanging chads on the back,
And overseas votes, postage marks they did lack;

Butterfly ballot designs, and dimples, how merry!
Fuel for the talk shows, the comics, and Dave Barry;
In a poll a month later, a lack of confidence did show,
And in the certified total, late results were a ‘no’;

The candidates waited and gritted their teeth,
While deadlines were circling, like a holiday wreath;
Some of the things said were actually quite silly,
None of the remarks, made sense, no, not really;

Then all of a sudden, the Supreme Court was involved,
It seemed there was hope, this election would be resolved;
A hearing was scheduled and the judges nodded their heads,
But the decision given caused Wall Street to dread;

They spoke a few words, the lawyers went straight to their work,
And filed their briefs, and all Bush gave was the ‘smirk’;
In an appeal where the Florida totals were opposed,
The state supremes said ‘yes’, and Gore’s chances then rose;

The undervotes were counted, and then they were halted,
And back to the Supreme Court, the case was again vaulted;
But I heard one exclaim, with the end not in sight:
“It seems we are back to where it was election night!”