Reply #6: i think the whole purpose of pearlstein's article is to use the word,

[nashville_brook]

"picayune." adj : (informal terms) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "Mickey Mouse regulations"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

from the article:
But the charges producing the greatest heat online often turn out to have the most innocent explanations. The recount isn't amounting to much, either. Last week the Franklin County Board of Elections did discover one extra vote for Kerry—offset by the extra vote they found for Bush. The irregularities volunteers have pointed to in the recount process itself are often picayune.

just another way of saying protecting our vote and our democracy is killing the troops.

yeah, bush hit the Trifecta. bastards. i never cease to be amazed at the lengths to which the alternative media (Villiage Voice, Nashville Scene) goes to blitz the right flank of the BIG stories of the day! come on guys! grab the brass ring you bunch of freaking cowards!