I’m certainly no Hillary fan but I hope she’s ok.

Just as I was typing this, Drudge posted this link on his site to the story itself.

And it looks like the voter turnout was 72%.

It was predicted that as many as 250 attacks would occur in Iraq on election day. So far, 9 homicide bombings happened, with at least 31 dead. Tragic, yes, but not on the scale we were hearing and thinking would happen.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

Here is a photo of Iraqis waiting to enter a polling station in Basra. Another, of the Iraqi people waiting to enter a polling station in Baghdad. Here’s a photo of an elderly man being carried to a polling place in Northern Iraq. Iraqi women wait to vote here.

Folks, these photos are overwhelming to me. I’m a little emotional at the moment because I know there has been so much going on there, an escalation in attacks in attempts by the insurgency to shake the will of the coalition and the average everyday Iraqi who just wants to live a normal life. What the Iraqi people did today in Iraq was something they haven’t been able to do for decades and that’s to vote for who THEY want to preside over their country. American lives and lives of our coalition members, as well as Iraqi lives have been lost to bring this type of freedom to Iraq. So next time someone who is against this war tries to tell you that our men and women over there are dying for no reason, please remember this day when the Iraqis tasted democracy and make sure to correct them when they make such a faulty assertion.

The Iraqi people are celebrating and we should be celebrating, too, because, as Mohammed and Omar have said over at Iraq the Model:

The people have won. (Wink: Instapundit, who has a small roundup of what other bloggers are saying and some photos of the election as well ).

More: Carpe Bonum glances around at MSM coverage of the Iraq elections.

Captain Ed takes a look at how the NYTimes has finally gotten one right with regards to the elections in Iraq.

Dean doesn’t mince words when it comes to his thoughts on the elections.

Friends of Democracy: Iraqi Voters Defy Terrorists (Wink: Wizbang)

Powerline remembers Fern Holland, who was a promoter of women’s empowerment in Iraq.

Kevin McCullough posts more pictures of this historic day. Wink: Uptown Girl and Right Voices

The Kerry Tone strikes again: One more reason why it’s good that John Kerry didn’t get elected president:

“It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can’t vote and doesn’t vote,” Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

Can you imagine amongst the positive news we’ve had about voter turnout and low violence in Iraq today a president of the US, who is the commander in chief over 150,000 troops trying to help secure the polling places, saying something like that?

Even more: HEH! (Wink: The Corner)

Chrenkoff live blogs the MSM coverage.

This is a must read.

Can’t add much more to it outside of an “amen.”

Hi all,

Just a reminder that I have the comments on moderation here for the time being. Still having spam issues I promise to be on top of approving any comments that come through here to my email. I’m usually pretty quick about it. I may turn moderation on and off in the next few days, depending on the spam level so there may be some times when you post a comment and it goes through straight away.

Sorry for the inconvienience.

(I posted this at my personal blog today but also wanted to re-post here for those who don’t visit coZmic blonde. I know it’s not political but things here don’t always have to be political

Women: What would your initial thoughts be if you received something like this in your email:

You’ve got to actually HAVE some character for it to be assinated. You stand for absolutely nothing, so stay on your back where you belong. Don’t try and call me out on the board and I won’t ever email you again. I’d say “nice knowing you,” but that imply that you had some sort of personality, so I’ll stick with “goodbye.”

Men: I received the above in my email today - the person who emailed it actually attempted to backtrack later and say he didn’t meant to “insult my gender” even though he did admit that his intent was to insult me. Have you ever heard of an instance of this being said where it wasn’t intended as a derogatory sexual slur?

Can you believe this guy? Does he think I was born last night or something? I assure you all I did nothing to provoke this outburst.

They are ready and excited.

Prepare for more blathering from Byrd and Co.

Nine hours have been set aside Tuesday for debate, divided equally between Democrats and Republicans. On Wednesday, a brief series of statements is expected — and then the vote to put her in charge of U.S. diplomacy.

“We are talking about the safety and security of this country, so I very much and very quickly want to move with Secretary Rice,” Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said. He said he was disappointed by the delay and was confident the Senate would confirm her on Wednesday.

President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq in March 2003 and postwar violence that is taking a rising toll of U.S. casualties are the main causes of the slowdown. Rice was supposed to be confirmed last week, but Democratic critics insisted on an opportunity to air their views on the Senate floor.

Two Democratic opponents of the war, Sens. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia and Barbara Boxer of California, have booked an hour each to speak, with eight other Democrats due to weigh in with briefer speeches.

Tune in to CSPAN tomorrow - if you can stand it.

Iraqi forces accused of torturing detainees

Do you agree with the criticism that the inaugural celebrations this year were too much considering the events that have taken place the last couple of years? I think it’s overblown and little more than sour grapes.

Happy Friday! I know present you with an article that is sure to make you chuckle:

As Republican faithful toasted the second term of President Bush last night, about 100 liberals gathered in a Washington, D.C., hotel to commiserate on what felt like their bleakest hour.

It was the anti-gala gala, an inaugural party hosted by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), a group founded in 1947 that calls itself “America’s oldest liberal lobbying organization.”

As the ’60s cover band took a breather, the crowd turned to hear a give-’em-hell speech by the group’s president, Seattle Rep. Jim McDermott.

And the nine-term Democrat did not disappoint.

Introduced as the “star of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ ” the anti-Bush film by director Michael Moore, McDermott took the microphone and tried to cheer up the crowd, which looked as if it were trying to boogie at a wake.

“This is the beginning of the last term of President Bush,” he began. “It’s all downhill from here.”

After calling for a moment of silence for the troops in Iraq, McDermott sought to claim the moral high ground by contrasting the ADA’s humble soiree to the ritzy balls taking place across the city.

“I know there is a Republican Party, but I think they’ve become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Inauguration Party,” he said. “The elephant stands for the size of the check you’ve got to write.”

There were lots of differences between liberals and Republicans last night, he continued.

“Republican donors rode in stretch limos. Democrats are riding in big stretch Metro buses and subways.”

What else can you do but laugh at something like that?