There's something about the human psyche that craves being horrified, that seeks out gore and mayhem. People watch auto racing largely to wait for the crashes. We actively seek out movies filled with terror and blood. We all slow down at auto accidents to gawk. Everyone comes out to witness a big fire. And so on.

I don't understand what causes it. Maybe it's a bit of schadenfreude, a German term for "delight in the misfortune of others." Maybe, by glimpsing the mortality of others, we remind ourselves of our own continued vitality. Maybe it's the adrenaline rush that comes with the realization that while horrible things and death can happen to any one of us at any time, this time it happened to someone else. It's one of the things I like least about humanity.

But I'm not immune to it. I freely admit I've done many of the things I've mentioned above. And, tonight, I'm going to revel in that again.

I'm going to watch the election news. Occasionally, I'll flip over to Fox to see how things really stand. But for the most part, I'm going to watch C-BS and Dan Rather. I desperately need to see that superannuated, fraudulent crank desperately attempt to assert his own credibility and relevance. And if things go as I'm hoping, I want to see him eat the biggest piece of crow ever served on national television.

No, it's not the decent thing to do. The decent thing would be to channel Atticus Finch and the rabid dog and take C-BS out quickly, with a single metaphorical shot and put them out of their misery -- not out of malice or fear, but in simple recognition of the necessity of the deed. But I'm not Atticus Finch. I want to see the bastards squirm and writhe and flail about in the tarpit that has claimed so many other dinosaurs before they sink into the oblivion they so richly deserve.

J.