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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

Hold on, I hear somebody coming...

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Oct 30 2008, 9:26 AM ET Comment

I wrote this:

Are we going to spend the next days trying to concoct exotic scenarios in which the dastardly Republicans steal this one?

All-Star commenter Deborah responds:

Why not? It could be like a fanfic contest, with links to the craziest diatribes by actual Republicans. (Andrew linked to one at RedState earlier today--McCain-Palin blowout, bitches! The press is evil and in the can and the polls are wrong because tightening in the national polls by a fraction means blowouts in all swing states because state polls don't matter. Also, McCain won the poll after Labor Day.) And we could try our hand at 24-esque, or Mission Impossible-esque, or Chuck-esque, scenarios.

For example, this week Chuck had to get a creepy nerd herder Jeff (who once sported a mullet, and won Slim Jims) to play Atari's Missile Command and retrieve secret missile codes from the fabled burn screen; this could easily be adapted to hacking voting machines.

Game on. Let us delve into the high-minds of kvetching liberals everywhere. How will we blow this one fellow lefties?

Is the Voting Rights Act actually a cursed scroll that mandates a century of Republican rule? Will the Arch-Lich, Lee Atwater, rise from the tomb and cast a spell to seal Obama's doom? Is Michael Goldfarb actually Tiamat, in human form? Is Nate Silver the Terminator sent back in time by futuristic Diebold machines? Is Barack Obama Arthas? Is Dick Cheney Ner'Zhul? Oh...my... God...I just remembered. They're cousins!!! Nooooo!!!11ONEELEVEN!!1

Remember that thing your great uncle told you about white people, while his white wife was cooking dinner? Was it really true???? They are a tricky bunch...Will there be bar-codes on our necks? Will it be the Illumanati? The Trilateral commission? Will the 2k virus finally strike?? Are those Sentinels flying overhead?? Are the storm-troopers massing at the gate??? Why are you still reading this?!?!!!! What's that sound outside...Gaaaaahhhhhh!!!!



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