The elections are over. The Democrats have control of the House and Senate. What are they going to do that will be an improvement over what the Republicans did on any issue? Plenty, according to them. They'll institute great sweeping programs to solve all the problems of the world. So why didn't they do it earlier when they had control of the government?

At least the frequent hate ads are reduced to the usual liberal media "news" stories attacking the Bush administration. Rumsfeld is gone, eliminating one major target to their smug glee. Bush is making conciliatory overtures to Pelosi and company.

Curiously enough, the terrorists seem to think this is a good time to issue even more threats of violence. They are rejoicing as much as the Democrats. Could it be that they are hoping that this will indeed be another repeat of Vietnam where military victories by America were swept away by Democratic cut-and-run diplomacy? There were indications that they were hoping for just that before the elections, ramping up the violence to push the American voters towards Democratic anti-war candidates.

The terrorists are wiser about world politics than the liberals. Those who actually live with the problems usually are. The liberals stay in their ivory towers high above the fray, spinning their theories about life no matter how their solutions undermine the workable foundations that centuries of experience with the actual human condition have built at great expense.

The central problem we face now is if they will so undermine those foundations that the rest of us will fall with their ivory towers if America falls.

So far, they've managed to damage America's image abroad, characterized by the Vietnam War. That led to many countries questioning America's ability and willingness to lead the world into freedom and democracy. The shining vision of the United Nations being a body governing a world flooded with justice and prosperity is now a sordid view of greedy politicians squabbling over resources and desperate millions trapped in the hands of tyrants who have little to fear from UN dictates. America is supposed to submit to their leadership and not interfere when a tyrant actually poses a threat to world peace, even with weapons of mass destruction.

They've managed to damage the American family, so divorce, single-parenting, and juvenile delinquency are widespread. They've managed to damage parenthood, so abortion, child abuse, and deadbeat or negligent parents are a sad fact of life for too many children. That and their changes in the public schools led to an undermining of generally held ethical principles that is woven through both private and public institutions. And then the liberals have the nerve to blame those corrupt Christians, Republicans, and capitalists for it all!

But didn't the liberals support civil rights? They brought equality for minorities, women, and various religious and ethnic groups. So did the Republicans, even before the Democrats did as a ploy to gain minority votes. Interestingly, the Christians were in the forefront of the civil rights movements, despite the popular liberal sentiments that the Christians are holding it all back with their fearful legalistic restrictions.

We have two things that may yet hold back disaster -- a President that stands on Christian principles and an electorate that voted out unresponsive, even corrupt, Republicans. The Republicans had ample warning that their supporters were not happy with their turn towards liberal politics. They were voted in to turn the government towards more conservative values, not to join in the political deal making on a slide towards the left. Voting them out was not the wisest move given that it gave control back to the Democrats, but the people have spoken and now we'll have to live with two years of it.

At least President Bush and his supporters made some progress in getting conservative judges on the benches to stem judicial activism. Now the question is if the voters will keep up the pressure to block the flood of legislation and judicial rulings planned to fulfill the liberal agenda to further undermine solid, practical, proven foundations for this country.

The weather has turned colder with wintry night frosts brushing the area. So far the tomatoes are still alive but sulking. One pink rose is sporting a spray of new buds starting to open, but most of the garden is settling in for winter under the fallen leaves carpeting the ground. It is raking and mulching season again.

I finished the sweater that was stalled with a decorative panel and started on another one. Mom's gift is about half done. I still need to get more sewing done for myself, but even the Easy To-Do's blazing sunset of undone tasks isn't encouragement enough. I'm more swamped than ever helping Mom with her medications after her cataract surgery, but at least she is on the mend.