A lot of U.S citizens are now talking about leaving the country. Canada, Europe and New Zealand are popular scenarios. Moving abroad might be an individual solution. But the social solution is to stay and put up a fight.

The most right-wing U.S. government in our lifetimes will soon have its executive and legislative branches under reactionary control, with major ripple effects on the judiciary. All the fixings for a dystopian future will be on the table.

In a realistic light, the outlook is awfully grim. No wonder a huge number of people in the United States are struggling with mixtures of grief, anger, frustration, fear.

If Donald Trump and major forces backing him get their way, the conditions described by Frederick Douglass -- still all too prevalent now -- will worsen in the years ahead: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

In the Nov. 6 New York Times Frank Bruni wrote: “we’re coming out of this election with four parties: the Paul Ryan Republicans, the Freedom Caucus, the establishment Democrats and the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders brigade, which is raring to use the muscle that Sanders flexed during the primaries for legislation more progressive…” The op ed columnist has a point, but one that needs to be expanded upon.

According to Green Party election observer Tekla Lewin, at Columbus precinct 13-A,B,C, the Godman Guild, six out of 17 voting machines have been taken offline because they are running out of the paper tape that is the only paper trail for any electronic voting. The Presiding Judge called the Franklin County Board of Elections and said he was told “It’s happening everywhere” and that they “don’t have enough technicians.” It started around 4:30pm and the machines are still offline as of 5:15pm.

At the Indianola Presbyterian Church polling site, the Green Party observer reports that there are 24 machines there and they all ran out of paper tape and were taken offline and the paper is being replaced one by one. Two other iVotronic machines have broken down and the two technicians there don't seem to be able to fix them. Voters reported that the screens froze on the touchscreen. About a hundred people are waiting to vote. 

Report any further voting problems to these number: 614-374-2380 and 614-253-2571.

Some of the most misguided questions ever conceived by the human brain take the form of "But how do you use nonviolence against . . . ?"

For example, fill in the blank with ISIS. How do you use nonviolence against ISIS?

Now you're supposed to picture yourself with a knife at your throat trying to resist it nonviolently. Then you're supposed to burst into a fit of laughter.

But how would you resist that knife violently? A superhuman feat of martial arts seems at least as unlikely to work as speaking.