rm | to put this as simply as possible

Because of a variety of things, I use all sorts of calculated rhetorical devices nearly constantly in my communications. As I've pointed out before, it is more effective to say "my mother never loved me" than "sometimes, I thought my mother never loved me." Also, I took Latin from a young age, and it taught similar things, and alliteration besides; it is perhaps the most singularly important thing I learned before the age of twenty.

The lead story on the local news tonight was that the government is trying to find a legal way to postpone the national elections in November. That they were trying to find a way to do this only if necessary, in the event of a terrorist attack, was a garbled footnote to the story, and while you and I can argue whether that's tactical journalism or not (and in most cases, that's something I'm going to be a lot more informed about than you are), this is significant, this is unprecedented, and this is frightening.

I am afraid, and this is not a rhetorical device.

Shortly after 9/11 I wrote a piece about Before, During and After, that was so heavy handed its appalled my artistic sensabilities ever since. But I'll tell you something, whatever happens on election day this year? That's when After begins. These last four insane years have been either a prelude or an intermission. Hopefully, as voters, we'll get to decide which.