I believe firmly in the cold machinations of the universe. I believe in causality, in immutable laws, and in determinism. But I also believe that we must find meaning in all of this, even though that meaning does not intrinsically exist. Though our own lives may be naught but the scripted behavior of complex automata, we must create patterns and significance where can lest an unfeeling interpretation of man's significance reduce us to what we, in all probability, actually are: irrelevant. Instead, because we believe ourselves to be thinking, feeling, loving--and yes, often hating--creatures, we should find in our own lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the world we inhabit, significance, meaning, and relevance, we should find hope for tomorrow. It is only in so doing that we can ever truly find contentment, and if, as I posit, our lives are ultimately irrelevant, contentment and unity are the only goals worth striving for.

I am 100% certain that, regardless of the popular vote, regardless of any inconsistencies, irregularities, disputes, etc., GWB will be the President who is inaugurated again in January. My rational faculties tell me that surely he will lose the vote. After all, he lost the popular vote in 2000, and since then, support among those who voted for him has dropped while the ranks who oppose him have swelled. Sure, tensions are higher, emotions more strained in this election: each side is more vehemently opposed to the other. But when it comes to the actual voters, there are more people this year who will go out to the polls in opposition to Bush than those who support him. I know that Gallup polls and the like indicate that the opponents are pretty close to each other, even with Bush in the lead, but I think on Tuesday, we'll see that there's a fairly sizeable gap, in favor of Kerry. And yet, despite this, my intuition and instincts scream that there is no way that Dubya will surrender the White House. Likewise, however, though he will be President in May, 2005, I don't think that he will be President in May, 2007. I can't explain where these thoughts come from: they're very inexplicable. Here's to hoping that, however he maintains his Presidency, and however he ends up losing it, if indeed he does so, that it is not through any kind of violence.