5 November 2004 @ 9:58PM >> This post previously reported a 5% difference between President Bush and John Kerry in the popular vote totals. That was when 91% of the voting precincts were in.

Now, Yahoo has updated its totals to reflect 99% of the precincts, and the margin has returned to 51% versus 48%.

Meanwhile, New Mexico and Iowa have finally been called for Bush; the ending electoral vote count is 286 to 252.

5 November 2004 @ 7:37PM >> This is the eventual result of weakness in the face of a relentless enemy:

Two leading Dutch politicians known for their critical views of Islam have been taken to safe houses by police after death threats were made against them following the murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Van Gogh, the great-great grandnephew of Vincent van Gogh, was shot and stabbed in a “ritual killing” in broad daylight in an Amsterdam street on Tuesday, with his throat slit with a butchers knife, and a five-page letter stabbed to his chest with another knife.

It was the second murder of a public figure critical of Islam in the Netherlands, two-years after the anti-immigration populist Pym Fortuyn was shot by a left-wing activist.

We have a choice: we can continue our own assault against radical Islam, or we can bow down before the public opinion of certain European nations. If we ever choose the latter, our weakness will be seized upon as an opportunity by those who wish to exploit it.

America chose wisely in this election. Let’s hope we continue to do so in the future.