Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Welcome back,Craig.

Glad to hear your exposure to news during your vacation was accidental.

Welcome back Craig...
Nice to have you back. We were worried sick, seen as you didn´t move in that hammock for several days. We were this close to calling rescue 911...:))

Glad ya back.....

The winner takes it all: ABBA (one of their best songs)

I don’t wanna talk
About the things we’ve gone through
Though it’s hurting me
Now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It’s simple and it’s plain
Why should I complain.

But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all

I don’t wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You’ve come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all......

Winner Take Nothing

---E. Hemingway.......(book of short stories)

"To the victor go the spoils"

--Andy Jackson

Hi Jason! I saw a funny thing called the Top Ten Reasons you Know You've Been on Vacation in Amsterdam....If I can find it I'll post....

Craigster, Welcome back.... ja have fun?

Winnner take it all.... But I do not think BHO would run after HRC.......

Craig.....

ya..... but..... where did you go?

it's great to have you back!

We missed you Craigmeister!

Morning everyone.

Wow. Now, I want to see that movie even more, "Mama Mia."

Maybe the winner takes it all, but what will he do with it, that's the question.

"Everybody loves a winner!" - Various posters at Trail Mix

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" - Steven Wright

"You may already be a wiener"

--postcard from national lampoon for magazine renewal.

corey......I used that stephen wright quote once......and then my wife said....."You'd probably put it in your truck....."

It's a small world.....but I'd hate to have to paint it.

---Stephen Wright

Jason,

Thanks for the lyrics to the ABBA song.

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"

Very true, Corey -- however, I've finally found something I absolutely lust for. My kids always gripe that when my birthday comes around I never can think of anything I want....well, I've found something. Fish & Flush. (This could be one of the finest things I've ever found in my quest for the Ultimate White Trash collection.)

http://www.fishnflush.com/index.html

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world..."

Craig...that was what this blog was like with you away. We were all slouching towards Bethlehem. Welcome back.

OMG..... Patsi....

I want one of those too.....

Sorry...WB Yeats on that last quote.

Dont slouch.

--my mother

Eat your Yeats, son
--my father

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it

-- Omar Khayyam

Craig,

By unanimous decision----so very glad you are back.

"Don't be a maroon."

--Bugs Bunny

Craig, Welcome Home! I hope Tom Cruise didn’t spoil your vacation this year & that you managed to stay intact & in working order.

To paraphrase Yogi Berra: The other candidate could make trouble for me if he wins.

Loved Colbert last night. MSNBC propaganda Pez dispenser.

To paraphrase Pink Floyd: How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your Yeats?

Sturge...I bet Omar Khayyam never heard of "delete browsing history" or "delete cookies" either.

You better get busy if you want your pay.

--Prince

John Mayer on the media:

"You may have my image, but you will never have my sound." - John Mayer

Benny in the Desert
In the great desert lived a band of nomads. Their leader, Benny, had risen to his rank due to his magnificent beard. His people believed a man's strength and courage came from his beard, and thus the man with the biggest beard was their chief.

After leading the band for many years, Benny began to fell uncomfortable wearing the beard, in this hot and dusty land. He wanted to shave it off, so he called his council together to get their advice.

When he said he wanted to shave, the councilmen were shocked. One said, "Do you not remember the ancient legend, Sire. The leader who removes his beard is cursed and made into a piece of earthenware."

Benny had heard this legend, but being a modern man, he scoffed at the tale.

Being headstrong, he went ahead and cut and scraped away his once magnificent beard. As the final whisker was cut off, a huge dust storm came up. It lasted only a few seconds, and when it cleared, there was a man-sized clay vessel where only moments before had stood their leader.

Moral: "A Benny shaved is a Benny urned."

Keep your powder dry.... Madonna - or is is that BHO for all of his media shots?

Patsi... NIce gift, but if mostly men in the house no good as the seat must stay up!

Obama is going for Wienner Schnitzel

Ich Bin ein Berliner.....

John Mayer sounds like an elitist.

Discussion on MoJo re: BO not being able to admit when he is wrong...another similarity between the shining one & W.

"2008 What if's?"

Plot your own scenarios for Electoral College results

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/demographic_map/

ich bin ein.................

http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/37535AE9-31F2-4537-8C87-C82987FC24C1/

Blue.
BHO will discover that if he admits he is wrong to show his manhood... This to will come in a typical BHO show style.
Just wait.

Yes, I am big and man enough to admit I am wrong! unlike others

BO is going to eat veal??? How un-PC, especially for an elitist. I'll bet John Mayer doesn't eat Weiner Schnitzel.

Since we're talking quotes, I'll add this partial one, when Willy Loman said all you need to succeed in America is "a smile and a shoeshine." I first read Death of a Salesman as a high school junior, and in spite of AND because of his very human failings, my heart broke for Willy. I was the child of farmers, whose only enemy as the weather. It opened my eyes to another world.

The reason I'm thinking of it is that lately I've seen several "progressives" referring to some of the electorate as "The Willy Loman Demographic." These are those, so they say, who will not vote for Obama.

There's a long literary conversation that could be had here, especially about the fact that Willy Loman is one of the great tragic figures in American letters.

It seems a great oversimplification.

God, sturge -- my ex loves pun jokes more than anything in the world....he'll go NUTS with Benny!

dont you just love driving your ex nuts?

lol

i think i first read that in the saturday evening post about 3 lives ago......ie, fifties..........

triple pun.........old pig farmer died and left his hog farm to his 3 sons.....They named the farm "Focus" because that's where the sun's rays meet...........

Maybe BHO will eat common mans Schnitzel made with Schwein

Funniest Puns and Jokes (Pun of the Day)
Funny puns - as voted by visitors to this site. 1. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
2. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
3. I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
duncan - Victoria, BC
4. There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re-hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'.
Dave H - Hayward CA
5. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
6. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
7. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said 'No change yet'.
8. There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils.
9. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

http://www.punoftheday.com/cgi-bin/disppuns.pl?ord=F&cat=0&sub=0&page=1

Patsi,

I'd love to have a long literary conversation about Willy Loman. I read a lot
of plays and Arthur Miller is one of my favorite playwrights.

I'm just wondering, Isn't it a way some progressives marginalize "some of the electorate" by calling them the "Willy Loman Demographic," sort of like the way all "those working class" voters were during the primary? I felt sorry for Willy Loman, too. He was a tragic hero.

"dont you just love driving your ex nuts?"

Ha...yes....but, we are both still mourning the Death of Ducker, King of Puns...an old army buddy we both loved. So I'll send the ex that pun in Ducker's memory...

Ducker and my ex were linguists, and Ducker could make up puns that combined English, German and Russian. He was the King.

Glad to see Craig and ABBA are back!

I loved Muriel's Wedding...and the ABBA theme.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110598/

Craig,

I loved hearing your take on things, from the 'vacationers point of view'. Especially your take on Obama and McCain without sound (or the preference for none, in Obama's case).

I saw Mama Mia last weekend too. I loved it. I even think I'll go see it again.

Glad you're back.

"Isn't it a way some progressives marginalize "some of the electorate"

Yes....and Marcia, don't you agree that in this case, it shows the lack of a grasp of this play and character. It's such a shallow way to say "loser."

Because if Willy is a loser, then so are we all.

why thanks for all the kind welcome-backs. sorry about the repetitive hammock photo, but that's just how lazy i was on this break. sat in the backyard in orlando doing just about nothing for a solid week.

well i did get out to see Mama Mia -- such a great movie, for the first time since Jeremiah Johnson I want to own the DVD

Is anyone watching the CNN special series "Black in America?" It's quite
good. I learned some surprising stats from the show tonight:

--Almost 50% of Black women are unmarried and many are raising children
alone
--The most common cause of death for black men between 18 and 30 is
homicide
--AIDS is growing now fastest in the black community and some black
community leaders say it's an epidemic among blacks
--Many successful black women say they cannot find suitable black
male partners.

Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt you, Craig.

I 'hear' you Craig and I guess this election year is a visual experience. Turning off the sound on politics -- what a great idea! And, we all thought this would be such a great election year.

Off to work....have a great day!

What a scene it Could (and maybe Should) have been in Germany IF Hillary was the one meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel for all women.

That could have been a Moma Mia momment

Embarrassed to say I had to look up Willy Loman. Saw the movie, read the book, but all so long ago.

'Salesman' Willy Loman: A Towering Little Man

Willy Loman seems an odd little character to call out such searing emotions. He isn't struggling to survive war, bigotry, or poverty — just the ordinariness of middle-class life. He doesn't want to defeat evil or save the world, just pay off his house and provide for his family. He wants his sons to love him, and he wants to deserve the love of his wife, whom he feels he has failed.

An Ordinary Man in an Extraordinary Tragedy
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18607090

"If Willy Loman is a loser, than so are we."
posted by Patsi

Exactly. Well put, Patsi.

"sat in the backyard in orlando doing just about nothing for a solid week."

Sounds perfect, Craig....by the way, did you know that (several years prior to Delta Dawn) Tanya Tucker played a bit role in Jeremiah Johnson? She and her family lived in Utah at the time, and she was one of the little kids Johnson finds hiding in the root cellar...or whatever that hiding place was...

Tanya says her dad was so excited at being on a movie set that he ran around taking home movies all the time, until asked to stop. As she told me, "Daddy just embarrassed the dog out of me!"

So good to have you back Craig. Really missed your great comments. I must say however I learned a lot from your regular bloggers while you were away. They all make me feel woefully inadequate! I plan to see Mama Mia this Friday and am really looking forward to it especially now that you have given it a "thumbs Up"

Chloe, I'm so glad you looked up Willy Loman and found that line, "a towering little man." That's perfect.

Chloe,

I appreciate your quote and link about Willy Loman.

Marcia,
So glad to see you here today.
I left abruptly yesterday and missed some of your posts until I came back later - but eventually caught up.

Chloe,

I'm always happy to see you here, too!

I m thriled to see all of you. There is hope for demmocarcy.

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

---George Bernard Shaw

Voter Unease With Obama Lingers Despite His Lead

Sen. Obama is in the odd position of having unusually passionate backing from his supporters -- his voters are three times as likely to say they are excited about their choice as are Sen. McCain's -- while he has failed so far to win over some other Democratic-leaning voters who could be expected to be on his side. A higher share of voters say they want a Democrat in general to sit in the White House than say that they want Sen. Obama specifically.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121684823498078481.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news

So my daughter and granddaughter are in the car this morning, on their way from Cinci to DC to visit my son for the weekend. Tracy had been telling little Maria that they were going to visit "Uncle Adam."

Then yesterday Tracy overheard Maria telling one of her little pals that she was going to visit "Uncle Madam."

My son sent his sister an email that said, "Tell my niece I don't care how cute she is or how much she begs, I am not turning into a crossdressing puppet for her."

Craig.....
if you throw a good book into your vacation scenario...... to me..... that's heaven!

Willy Loman...... haven't thought about him in a looooong time.....
I should look for a used copy of the book and reread it.......

and yes..... turning the sound off of politics is a great idea..... turning the picture off even better......

"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."

Hate to think that's true Sturge.

It makes it sound as though we have much more control than we actually do.

Seems like our real weakness is our inability to organize.

Patsi,
You passed that sense of humor that you learned from your parents on down to your children. How great.

I told my husband last night your story of crashing into your uncles truck and we both laughed at your fathers response.

What a great childhood you must have had.

Lots of peopl are better if you cant see them. Or hea them.

Official Complaint Filed: Obama Lied on Bar Application

"The complaint by “Anonymous” alleges that Barack Obama committed criminal acts and was untruthful about them on his Bar application in that he:

1. Used illegal drugs, then concealed his drug use by lying about it;

2. Failed to report unpaid criminal citations, including parking violations where the fines totaled more than $200.00 or remained unpaid.

The requested action is disbarment."

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/official-complaint-filed-obama-lied-on-bar-application/#more-920

Patsi,

One more thought on the "Death of a Salesman" theme.

Why is it, do you think, some progressives seem to have such a
difficult time understanding the Willy Lomans of the country?

Matilda,
Are you talking about Politicians?

Good morning all
Here's a piece on Obama's visit to Berlin..Oh man all this media love is just to much..and the plane....
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,567362,00.html

another miller opus

Joe Keller - Joe Keller was exonerated after being charged with shipping damaged airplane cylinder heads out of his factory during WWII, inadvertently causing the deaths of 21 pilots. For three and a half years he has placed the blame on his partner and former neighbour, Steven Deever. When the truth comes out, Joe justifies his actions by claiming that he did it for his family. At the end of the play he kills himself in a sad attempt to rid his family of the problems he has caused them and perhaps also to stop Kate from hating him.

craig, thank the glue that holds us together you're back. oh the horror here when you were gone. virtual brains splattered against virtual walls, egos shattered. old friends lost and new enemies found.... unseen homeless bodies sprawled on corvette hoods, lies and unheard truths spewed across continents... spinning out of control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70awZ0Sx0hY

oops......"All My Sons"

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/coleman-goes-after-frankens-juicy-porn-in-tv-ad-2008-07-23.html

Norm Coleman is really on the attack against Franken now....all the comedy coming back to haunt him. Reminds me of how the Repubs buried my friend Dottie Lamm in her run for office in Colorado. (She was the former Colorado First Lady, married to Dick Lamm) She'd had a newspaper column, wrote mostly about women's issues. They pulled quotes that made her sound like a complete radical. She said later that she should have known it would happen.

patsi......were you still in denver when Nancy Dick ran against Mr. Armstrong? the headlines were hilarious.....

Welcome back, Craig!

come to think of it, craig, you are the glue that holds us together.

Oh Craig Welcome Back
Really missed you!!! Well you had some hot steamy weather in your back yard,Im over in New Smyrna Beach and well im looking for a cool breeze.Ha Ha not this time of year..Glad your home.

Good morning to you too, Tony. Been wanting to thank you for the shout out when I was gone.

Dreams from Obama
"Running for the Democrat nomination, Obama posed as the reliable progressive... He would get out of Iraq, cut a deal with Iran, bomb Pakistan, trash America's free trade agreements, deliver socialist medicine, cool global warming, and "heal" everything that ails you...

Running now against a Republican, and with the progressive vote safely in the bag, he will stay the course in Iraq, confront Iran, show diplomacy in Pakistan, defend free trade, spend cautiously, ignore global warming, and "heal" everything that ails you..."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/dreams_from_obama.html

"Why is it, do you think, some progressives seem to have such a
difficult time understanding the Willy Lomans of the country?"

I'm not sure, Marcia, except that there appears to be a great isolation from the working class. And very little empathy.

Craig,
Welcome back.....times flies when you're on vacation, doesn't it? Sometimes the vacation ends up feeling like it was all a dream.

Armstrong vs. Dick

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_v36/ai_3521563

Why is it, do you think, some progressives seem to have such a difficult time understanding the Willy Lomans of the country?

Marcia, I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I couldn't help but think that Hillary understood the 'Will Lomans'. Not at first, but some where along the road of the campaign, she seemed to change. To really tune it. Maybe the pain of all of those who turned on her helped her see things differently. Or maybe just being out along side so many of the people did. She seemed to come out of this election a better person.

Gotta go.

Is anyone watching the CNN special series "Black in America?" It's quite
good. I learned some surprising stats from the show tonight:

--Almost 50% of Black women are unmarried and many are raising children
alone
--The most common cause of death for black men between 18 and 30 is
homicide
--AIDS is growing now fastest in the black community and some black
community leaders say it's an epidemic among blacks
--Many successful black women say they cannot find suitable black
male partners.

Posted by: prof marcia | July 24, 2008 8:27 AM

NO!
I have boycotted CNN since last April/ early May. And I am happy to say that I have kicked the habit for good. No more CNN

Hello Chloe
Missed you when you were gone!!! I understood completely.Please never go again, you like Patsi,Jamie and so many others keep it real for me and all the info you all provide.I am like a sponge just soaking it all up......

Chloe,
Obama is not misrepresenting anything. He is all about Änderung.... Change.

Just Wait ! He can change his mind but he is NEVER WRONG

Jason... CNN - are they still on the air

Jason
Me Too!! No CNN and most important no MSNBC since last April.I get all my info online and the local library and i am fine with it.Oh I love ABBA and Madonna and much appreciate all the info you post on them.

Sturge -- re: Nancy Dick....no, I was gone by then. I met her from time to time because of my friendship with the Lamms...but never felt any kind of a connection with her. She seemed very different from the Lamms...

And I can't imagine what the headlines were like! Ha!

This was on the Black in American special:
1 in 10 people in Washington DC has been diagnosed with HIV.

I'd say that is epidemic.

Chloe and tonyb,

I really have boycotted CNN, even their internet site I don´t visit, except CNNSI.com/tennis...
We don´t get MSNBC here in Holland so that is good.
I get FOX via pay per view, but have to say, eventhough their covergae was rather fair, I do not really feel happy lokking at Fox...

Yup Tony, ABBA was and is great...."Chiquitita" is my all time ABBA favourite, as well as "Super Trooper" and "The winner takes it all..."
Madonna is amazing. On september 2nd she is here in Holland, so I will have a peak at the sticky and sweet concert of her.

fixed or repaired daily -Ford Posts $8.7 Billion Loss on Write-Downs

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/business/25ford.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

" [ Ford announced it ] would overhaul its North American plants to focus on small cars."

~~brilliant decision ~~

I just read that Bob Novak was only given a $50 ticket for hitting that pedestrian and trying to flee the scene. Un-freaking-believable.

Oh Jason
Can't wait to here about the sticky and sweet concert.Hard Candy incredible!! Wonder how she will sing 4 min. without JT? Is Kylie Monogue big in Holland? Loved her last CD Kylie X....

Yup, the CD is very nice. "The devil wouldn´t recognize you" and "She´s not me" are my favourites. I have forn row tickets, it cost me €120....Dayumn..

Kylie was not as big here this year..The latest single "Wow" is very nice.

A couple of years ago, when I still worked on a framing crew, a man stopped by the job site. He ask for a person by name, it wasn't anyone one on our crew. He said "well he told me it was on this street and just look for an old ford truck." I just laughed and pointed up the street. There were at least 5 old ford trucks in sight and also a number of new ones.

The F series Pickup has been a money maker for ford but with the collapse of the housing market pickups aren't moving.

Jack

While I was shocked there was gambling going on in here, I can't believe you all missed:

"Know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em" - Kenny Rogers

Welcome back Craig we really missed you. You are absolutely right both about the nervous laugh of McCain and the droning (this isn't a speech) Obama speaking voice.

Looking at that plane reinforces my favorite quote about the Obama trip so far, "He's acting as if he's already on the coins."

Jason
Oh all my favs,"She's not me" especially for the lyrics.I saw Kylie in 2007on her"White Diamonds Tour" in Melbourne,Australia she was great and also her hometown.Dayumn is right!!!Oh but having seen Madonna its a great time.The last Madonna concert for me was" Drowned World Tour" in Detriot.It was fab and being she's from Michigan the crowds were wild and crazy for Madge........

"Why is it, do you think, some progressives seem to have such a difficult time understanding the Willy Lomans of the country?"

The progressives intellectual base is now out of academia. There whole life is geared toward not having to work with their hands. They view that as a superior life style. Gone are many of the labor activist that worked up through the ranks.
I used to see the attitude in the community organising folks that were paid to organise and had a college degree in the subject. They often viewed themselves superior to the people that had been organising in the neighborhood for years.

Jack

Okiedokie tony....Nice man. Well "she´s not me" - because of the beat and the Donna Summer whistling after the brdige
I think Kylie came too fast with a CD after her breast cancer struggle. She should have perfected the CD more...
Madonna is poised to break her own record of best grossing female tour ever with this tour. Damn, the woman is pushing 50 and still selling more than a million concert tickets.

Although I do have to say that the current single ("Give it to me" which is no 1 currently in Holland) is in my eyes a bad 2nd single choice. Don´t like it....

Damn..we have to stop, this is a politcal talk forum, not madonna .com :)) LMPO.......

Jack

You got there with the answer before me. For a lot of the ivory tower types, People in general are all noble ideals and frothy goals. Persons in particular have a bad habit of not fitting that idealistic mold. Then to top it off they aren't properly grateful and obedient when shown the way to the light.

"Then to top it off they aren't properly grateful and obedient when shown the way to the light."

Spot on.

Another vote for the CNN special Black In America. Part Two is on tonight. I have a few quibbles about some of the contributors they have chosen, but over all it is quite balanced and brings up several issues you almost never see covered.

WELCOME HOME, CRAIG! HUZZAH!

I'm glad you returned safely.

"Eat it. People in China are starving."

- Mom on the topic,

"Canned Cream of Asparagus Soup"

"Ich bin der Kaiser und ich will Knudeln !"

Address of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Ferdinand on the occasion of his coronation in 1836.

I am the Emperor and I want dumplings!

Welcome back.
Your shallow thoughts are due to vacation as opposed to the rest of us....

Turning off the sound is a great way to watch most television and especially pols.....supplying my own dialogue priceless

Here's a great, twisted tale of twin brothers who probably killed their mother and have a bunch of yard art. Guess which thing bothers the neighbors the most...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25813893#25813893

x-rep

Thanks again for the collard cooking tips worked out great. Good things we are getting lots of them!

Jamie....
a quick heads up...... I know you have an interest in over population.....

Paul Ehrlich is going to be on Diane Rehm's second hour (in a few minutes, actually)..... you can google and listen online live if you don't get her on your local NPR station.....

For people listening to the news with the sound on
NBC/WSJ Poll: Obama keeps lead over McCain
Voters see Democrat as riskier pick, but rival has negatives of his own
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25816799/

Conclusions: Obama's race to lose
and there is no Karl Rove in McCain's campaign

"We're doing a bang up job in Afghanistan! "

Yep

and you and Obama want to keep pouring more men into it with no change in strategy.

Jack

Thanks RR

It was an interesting point that in terms of consumption, the US is the most overpopulated country in the world and that immigrants to this country quickly pick up our habits of over consumption.

Today, Congress held the first hearings about "Don't Ask Don't Tell" since the program was implemented early in the Clinton Administration, thanks to the obstructionism of then-Senator and Armed Forces Committee Chairman (and thwarted SecDef) Georgia's Sam Nunn (D-Obama's Veep?) who (as the man who gave us Dick Cheney as SecDef), along with Joint Chiefs Chair Colin Powell, made Clinton's 1992 campaign promise to allow gays to serve openly in the military impossible to fulfill....via Firedoglake

Hey Craig
Tu nous manquais!

Any word on the state of Hillary's campaign debt?

What do you make of the information on Open Secrets?

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00000019&cycle=2008

What do you think of the Fowler/Germond email to Hillary's donors?

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/top_democratic_official_sends.php

With the same plan that is in place?
I've heard no new plan from your man.

At least McCain is proposing new strategies for Afghanistan.
Is it the problem of your man being clueless on foreign policy?

Jack

(that both men and women are now sent to combat zones)

I understand it in ways you never will.
When it hits close to home you get a real understanding.

Jack

Clueless if that is what you really believe

Your man wants more assests following the same plan

McCain wants to introduce new successful strategies to the Afghan war.

There is the difference as I see it.

I tend to agree with the folks that say we have no real strategic interest in Afghanistan and what interest we had we have taken care of. Time to withdraw and concentrate on regions where we have strategic interest.

Jack

I find it interesting that the Obama bots can chant "No more war! Yes, more war! in the same sentence.
Talk about a disconnect.

"No more war! Yes, more war!"
"Two legs good, four legs bad!"
"No more war! Yes, more war!"
"Two legs good, four legs bad!"
"No more war! Yes, more war!"
"Two legs good, four legs bad!"

Baa Baa Baa

Jack

Jamie....
that was a very interesting hour..... Anne and Paul Ehrlich have never shied away from controversial subjects..... and IMO.... politicians would never address what they write about unless we are in dire straits.....

even though the Ehrlichs may have been off on their timeline on some of their predictions in "The Population Bomb"..... I think many of them will come to pass sooner or later.....

I honestly believe that this planet will not tolerate human beings adding millions and millions of souls onto her every year infinitely....

Jack,

While I always appreciate an Animal Farm reference, I am confused that you would use that to deride Obama supporters when the point being made, Kill Al Qaeda in Afghanistan to eviscerate the fucks who perpetrated 9/11 was the goal of everyone I knew in the aftermath of the attacks.

If a bear walked into your house and slaughtered your family as they slept, would you seek out the bear and kill it or would you instead slaughter the herd of cattle next door to where the bear lived?

Now that was weird. I looked over at my silent (MSNBC makes more sense that way) TV and on the crawl at the bottom of the screen:

Tululah does the hula from Hawaii

Does anyone know what that was about?

It's only a July poll.

But these states are being volatile.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072401330.html?hpid=topnews

McCain Makes Significant Gains in Four Key Battleground States
Majority of Voters in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin Favor Keeping Troops in Iraq, According to Quinnipiac-washingtonpost.com-Wall Street Journal Survey

Bear,

Those days immediately following 9/11 were a moment in time. We could have marshalled the world's forces to go after Bin Laden in Afghanistan and might have succeeded.

We didn't do that. Instead using the uber patriotism and fear generated by that horrible event, George and company led us into the misadventure in Iraq of the past several years.

Now the question is does it serve our interest NOW to expend bodies and treasure toward the goal of finding one man and his cohorts in Afghanistan? What are the current conditions in that country? Who would be our allies. What goals would best serve both us and the Middle East?

Barging full force into Afghanistan now because we should have done that in the first place, just isn't logical or necessarily in our best interest.

pogo wrote: "Maybe BHO will eat common mans Schnitzel made with Schwein"

But he just paid a visit to the Wailing Wall in Israel. If he eats a pork cutlet instead of being un-PC and eating veal, couldn't that be considered flip-flopping? And is anybody looking into the dietary habits of McCain? No, of course not. He can't get any coverage.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080724/ts_csm/amedia

Dog's Eye,

I am 8 hours north of the rain, but since it's over 100 already, I am not dry...I sweat my ass off in the time it takes to get from the car to the office...

Whisky,

You do realize that the 30 year civil war was far more manageable than the 1000 year clusterfuck we unleashed instead in Iraq?

I find it ironic that McCain claims that Obama doesn't understand the history of the region when he fully supported the President's plan for the war in Iraq, without any regards to the history of the inherent hatred between the different Iraqi populations. Remember in the first 2004 debate when Kerry chastised Bush about the plans by saying he read his father's book?

McCain is trying to take credit for the surge when he fully supported the president's plan to try the war on the cheap. If they didn't ignore Shinseki's? advice from the start and used enough troops to begin with, a surge would not have been necessary.

This war in Iraq was fought for personal gains on the part of this administration. If we spent half of that money here in the US, our economic climate would be far different and we'd have a modernized electrical grid, roads that weren't crumbling and possibly a better health care system.

BO's supporter's ABBA themesong: "I DO, I DO, I DO"

My grandma & I used to listen to the same 3 songs before bed every night & that was one of them. The others were "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and "Hey Jude" (or as she called, "Hey, You.") No Arrowsmith before bed.

McCain's ABBA song: "Waterloo," or so it seems.

Today's boycott Beijing moment: Beijing boycotts Iraq.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5guAoWR4d13iPmyA1Ic8qeJR2S58wD9249TUG9

Drug Use Disclosed on Security Clearance Application?

" ... a group ... has filed a complaint with the Illinois Bar Association alleging that Barack Obama committed crimes and failed to report them on his Bar application.

Even more importantly, what about his application for a U.S. State Dept. Security Clearance?

... disclosure of drug use and other criminal activities is also required by the U.S. Government in an application for a State Department-issued Security Clearance."

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/drug-use-disclosure-on-security-clearance-application/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-fbn-lions-campbell,0,638546.story

"But military policy was reinterpreted in recent weeks. The Army on Wednesday officially informed Campbell, a second lieutenant, and the Lions that he would be required to serve at least two years on active duty before he could apply to be released."

Jamie,

I agree that it may be too little, too late but when it comes to the people that killed my friend, I would certainly condone some biblical vengeance be dropped upon their heads.

Blue,

It's to McCain's benefit he isn't getting maximum news coverage because he would be more quickly exposed as a humorless, bitter oaf who clearly is blinded by his own ambition and power lust.

He can't go a day without misremembering things or creating lies about his opponent that would make Karl Rove have "W is drinking again" flashbacks.

GORDO,

What are the odds that George W. Bush disclosed his rampant drug use when he applied for his security clearance?

As far as I know, he has never publicly admitted that he used Cocaine at Yale or Prep school, but former classmates have admitted that they did drugs...with him.

"It shouldn't be an either/or Jack. Which is the situation Bush-Cheney has left us with."

True, and that is why any policy should first and foremost prioritise our interests.
Our most important interest in the region is the freeflow of oil from the region.(btw, that is why the invasion of Iraq is so stupid, but that is in the past

"We have interests throughout the region; Pakistan is already a tough enough situation without volatility on steroids next door."

We do, but not all interests are equal.

My ranking of our interests

1. Free flow of oil.
2. nuclear arms proliferation
3. a balance of power amoung all the Nation/state players
4 a reduction in the power of nonstate actors. 3 and 4can be reversed or taken together.

Some where down around 150 or so are Love understanding and democracy IMO

Jack

"You do realize that the 30 year civil war was far more manageable than the 1000 year clusterfuck we unleashed instead in Iraq?"

It is?
How?

Jack

Back to work lunch is over.

Jack

Dog
One other point
Packistan and Afghanistan have become the same problem. IMO

Jack

Uh, Bear, get a sense of humor. I was pointing out the riduculousness of it all; the minutia that gets reported on BO vs McCain probably needed to rob a liquor store to get some press.

Jamie

Talulu does the Hula, was a name given to a child. She wanted it change. New Zealand Judge took custody of child in order to change it.

http://news.yahoo.com/i/964/0;_ylt=AiZWgADWKmq4jovw5Z8pMTMDW7oF

Why is BO's support erroding?

"The poll of likely Minnesota voters conducted by Quinnipiac University has Obama up 46 to 44. It's within the survey's margin of sampling error, meaning the race is considered about even. Last month, the same pollsters put Obama 17-percentage points ahead of McCain."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-24-Minnesota-McCain_N.htm

ps - A thousand pardons for the sentence structure in the last post.

Poll: 'Sharp reversal' for Obama with Latino voters

"Obama's approval rating with registered Latino voters, the nationwide Pew Hispanic Center poll found, is at 66 percent versus 23 percent favoring McCain."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/24/poll-sharp-reversal-for-obama-with-latino-voters/

I've been hearing the same (increase) among the American Indian communities.

GORDO,

These are brown skins not brown shirts. LOL

"Again, like the Bar Application, I understand that the State Department takes these investigations quite seriously and requires full and honest disclosure, and urges applicants to err on the side of disclosure.

Did Obama complete high-level professional applications truthfully, and fully disclose all potentially relevant information about his past?

Would Obama qualify for a Top Secret security clearance today if he were an average applicant, given his background?"

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/drug-use-disclosure-on-security-clearance-application/

(GWB did it, so it's acceptable. Is that the standard we want?)

Oh snap. You'll get a kick out of this Gordo: I will say the title is somewhat misleading.

HItler Triumph of the Will English Translation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHTMangHP7Q&feature=related

LYING COWARD ALERT!

Craig I got to tell you... after a painful relationship breakup, I listened to "The Winner Takes it All" and it was like a knife was cutting me up inside. You can't help but feel the emotion of that song when you're going through a similar ordeal... I still love the song though. So brilliantly written and sung. Looking forward to Mamma Mia. I have just seen Hancock (brilliant) and soon The Dark Knight and also Prince Caspian.

Glad to see you back Craig. We're all behaving just as bad as ever :-)

Berlin says crowd around 40 thousand
80% of Germans said they prefer Obama over McCain

Thanks Julie

It was a very strange "out of the corner of your eye" sighting. Of course it instantly reminded me of that old comedy song by Bill Dana.

I'm going to Maui tomorrow
To marry Tamara Malone.
Nothing would be finer
Than to be in Lahaina
To make Tamara my own.

I'll smile on the isle of the valleys
And live a life of delight.
I'm going to Maui
To marry Tamara tomorrow
Unless I get lucky tonight

At least one American doesn't give a damn who Germans believe should be our president.

It's going to be soooooooooo pleasant to say, President Barack Obama in January 2009.

Why is BO's support erroding?

"The poll of likely Minnesota voters conducted by Quinnipiac University has Obama up 46 to 44. It's within the survey's margin of sampling error, meaning the race is considered about even. Last month, the same pollsters put Obama 17-percentage points ahead of McCain."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-24-Minnesota-McCain_N.htm

ps - A thousand pardons for the sentence structure in the last post.

Posted by: blueINdallas | July 24, 2008 1:19 PM

Well if his support is eroding, I say again CHOOSE HILLARY AS YOUR VP candidate! This will REALLY be a UNITY team !

I know some Obama and Clinton supporters disagree with me, but I just feel that it's right and it will honor Hillary's work and experience as well as her supporters. Together they will trounce the Repugs.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/shallow-thoughts-from-vacation.html#comment-119638

Yes, Jamie. Some idiot parents named their child that, and some kind judge ruled that the name be changed. The child's new name hasn't been released in order to preserve privacy. If anyone else already answered this, sorry for duplicating. I'm in a jurry...gotta' run to take the kid to work....

But before I go...welcome back, Craig! Hope your vacation was splendiferous! I saw "Mamma Mia!" while you were on vacation, too...and I LOVED it! Smiled and laughed all the way through. How much better can it get?

Oh, poo...I'm not in a 'jurry'...I'm in a HURRY!

Patsi

Unfortunately, at the time of 9/11, we didn't have a thoughtful man with a long view of history in office. I knew we were in trouble when the twin tower adorned China souvenirs went on sale and the flags sprouted up like spring flowers on every yard.

It was easier to go into gung ho, bomb 'em to oblivion, mode rather than take the time to prepare and take action that would be effective over the long term to eliminate the terrorists.

A populace so thirsty for change may drink from a poisoned well in their haste.

Oh if anyone wants to be terrified of the current economic status of the US, listen to the pod cast of the Thom Hartman show.

His contention is that a finger is being held in the dike long enough to get Obama into office and then letting it crash so that he will be blamed for the destruction.

updated 1 hour, 53 minutes ago
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Iraq banned from Summer OlympicsStory Highlights
NEW: Iraqi sprinter has been "crying for about two hours now," coach says

International Olympic Committee accuses Iraqi government of interference in sports

Seven Iraqi athletes were to compete in Beijing, China

Iraqi government suspended nation's Olympic Committee in May

Next Article in World »

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from competing in the upcoming Summer Olympics because of what it says is the government's political interference in sports.

CNN received a copy of the letter, which was sent to Jassim Mohammed Jaffer, Iraqi minister of youth and sports, and Ali Mohsen Ismail, acting secretary general of the Iraqi general secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/24/iraq.olympics/?iref=hpmostpop

"The seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the Games' start in August are disappointed by the decision, officials said. They include an archer, a weightlifter, a judoka, two rowers and two sprinters, one of whom is Dana Hussain. She became distraught when she heard the news, her coach, Yousif Abdul Rahman, said.

Hussain has been "crying for about two hours now," Abdul Rahman said. "She hasn't stopped. It's like finding out that a close relative has died."

The coach called the decision unfair and said he blames "everyone" -- the Iraqi government and the Iraqi and International Olympic committees."

jamie to jack: For a lot of the ivory tower types, People in general are all noble ideals and frothy goals. Persons in particular have a bad habit of not fitting that idealistic mold.

or how bout: "i love mankind, it's people i hate"

Everybody Loves a Winner !!!

To Corey and the Trail Mixsters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K214f9ApP8c

Personally I prefer:

Everbody LOVES a LOVER !!! and it's time to take a SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjxOfk92I6I

and we come full circle back to the winner takes it all... to the victor go the spoils.... our badly spoiled economy, spoiled ecology, spoiled education, soiled ethics....

"how many want to work together -- and make some sacrifices -- to get this train back on track."

I asked this before, and will ask again. What all have you been doing to make the society better, what sacrifices have you made and plan to make once your guy is in office? Be specific, use examples.

dog,

That wasn't the point. What Hartman was saying is that a major economic crash (recession/depression combined with hyper inflation) is on the horizon and the Republicans are just trying to hold things long enough to turn the mess over to the Democrats.

Two items. One they know Obama is about to become president and two everything that happens can be blamed on him and the Democrats who have been in control of Congress for two years.

McCain is the loser they are running so as not to tarnish anyone else who can run later.

Ok, most people know I am a BIG Doris Day fan. I have recently watched all 5 seasons of her TV show... And when I was a kid, I LOVED Hawaii Five-O ... I think this video is so funny!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpzcBmNmwQ

Patsi

In asnwer to your question, not all that much other than three times a week at the Senior Center helping to serve meals, leading a book club and teaching internet use and genealogy plus playing Pinochle because I like the game and those people are fiends...

Blue,

Perhaps this heat has given you the vapors because my point was meant to augment yours...

Jack,

In Afghanistan, a good leader could have marshaled the sympathy of the world community to bombs the Taliban back from the stone age to the mezazoic age. There was an appetite for that fight. Our allies really had no economic interests in there to protect.

Iraq was a difficult proposition for the most skilled of leadership. There were sectarian hatred that were augmented over the fear of who got the oil. There was the growing undercurrent of revenge for what Saddam was doing to the Shias...

I have always enjoyed the following Chinese Proverb:

"If you chase two rabbits, you catch none."

I think our government has proven that statement true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2DYcHysNsQ

Alicia
Here's an excellent article on the threats to public access. Santa Rosa has one of the best public access programs in the country. The previous owners (Post Newsweek) used to e very proud of it. Comcast has done everything they can to destroy it,
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/10.26.05/access-0543.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6n-nVaa9NU

patsi asks: what sacrifices have you made and plan to make once your guy is in office? Be specific, use examples.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvS8IOV1XqQ

All of your suggestions are mandates on other people's behavior, Dog. Take care of your own business, help out family and friends when they need it, and then no one will need forced hand-outs.

Good looking dancers. Any that are still alive are now in their 80s. Hurry up. Time flies. :-)

Patsi

Hot out there but the fence is up.

I'm going to work with a neigbor or two on getting rid of graffitte in the neighborhood.

Rehab a house to my energy standards.

Jack

That's part of the problem, Dog. When things get bad, it's sometimes hard to look out for others when you are busy looking out for yourself. A few years ago, several good friends of mine got laid off at work. I felt badly for them and I wished that they weren't put into a position where they needed to find another job. I was also very conscious of the fact that I still had a job. We have always supported many charitable organizations at work. Every year, we had sponsored at least 30 different religious-based charities. We had dinners that we paid money for to raise money for charities as well as things like cake auctions. We had some cake auctions where we bid upwards of $200-$300 on a single cake. Those days have ended. Right now, the only real fundraising we do at work is to help fellow employees and their families who are in crisis situations.

older, but better version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb6PHCVOU7s&feature=related

eliminating the negative?
now that would be a big sacrifice for some of us

"If you chase two rabbits, you catch none."

I think our government has proven that statement true."

Bear
True, I can't disagree with anything you said. But (and you knew there was a but;-0) That was then and this is now. What do we do going forward?

Jack

Also, Dog, do you realize that many people who eat fast food are lower-income and do so because fast-food is usually a relatively inexpensive option? Therefore, taxing such goods just takes more money from people who can't afford it.

I grow a garden, as do my neighbors, and we all share our bounty with each other. If we didn't it, would just rot on the vine anyway.

News Prediction: McCain will fall out before the convention and it will be a new ball game with the GOP.

From inside a previously posted link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072401330.html?hpid=topnews

"In Minnesota, just one in five voters called themselves very or somewhat satisfied with "the way things are going in the nation today" while a whopping 77 percent pronounced themselves dissatisfied. The outlook was even worse in the other three states, with dissatisfied voters at 78 percent in Colorado, 81 percent in Wisconsin, and 84 percent in Michigan. "

When a poll has these dissatisfaction with the economy numbers yet the Poll head line is

"McCain Makes Significant Gains in Key Battleground States "
And we are talking about the same states. It can't be a good sign for Obama. Obama should be blowing McCain out of the water with those numbers yet he is losing ground.

Jack

look for a youngish conservative guy on a big white horse to ride in and save the day.............

Like this Sturge?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKTMKnTGsE

"Senior Center helping to serve meals, leading a book club and teaching internet use and genealogy plus playing Pinochle because I like the game and those people are fiends..."

Okay. Then I assume volunteerism is how you see "the people" rising up and getting in charge of change. Is the center to which you refer one where a family member resides?

"GOPers may have a field day with at least one oft-used-line from Obama’s speech today, which he amended slightly for his Berlin audience:

“America, this is our moment. This is our time” – Obama, speaking in MN the night he officially won the Dem nomination (6/3).

“People of Berlin -- people of the world -- this is our moment. This is our time” – Obama, in his first formal speech of his foreign tour (7/24).

What ad guru won’t be tempted to play the clips back-to-back, only one to a widely ecstatic cheering crowd of Europeans? Insert announcer with an appropriately unnerving, deep voice, asking: “Which is it, Obama? Who’s moment? Who’s time?”

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/gopers_wait_a_lifetime_for_a_m.php

"Iraq was a difficult proposition for the most skilled of leadership. There were sectarian hatred that were augmented over the fear of who got the oil. "

Bear, I think Afghanistan is an even more complicated country because to the tribalism, surely one of humankind's biggest obstacles to progress.

Anyone else feel that part of the health-care crisis is due to greedy doctors and dentists who just have to drive Porshes and Mercedes to the country club 4 days a week while nurses do most of the heavy-lifting for a quarter of the pay during 70 hour work-weeks?

"many people who eat fast food are lower-income and do so because fast-food is usually a relatively inexpensive "

Champ, On the CNN Black in America special last night, one woman with diabetes brought up the issue that she could get junk food that was bad for her immediately, but she would have to ride a bus for an hour to get a tomato.

Sometimes the easiest things to correct aren't the most obvious.

What's 'progress', Patsi? Everyone in the world living the same consumption-based life of waste and excess to which many of us in America have grown accustomed?

Never said I was a Libertarian; you did.

"All of your suggestions are mandates on other people's behavior, Dog. "

I disagree, champ. I think dog hit on some very good points.

The only thing I really wonder about is health care. The real problem involves the criminal activities of insurance companies and big pharma. Somebody is going to have to go after those bastards or any healthcare solution will fail.

I know as far as healthcare goes, I pay more now than I did in the past and the coverage isn't as good as it was. You are right about fast food, Champ. Most people or families I know don't eat at McDonald's because they love the food, they eat there because it is somewhat cheap. The people we helped at work were for specific reasons this year. One man at work died suddenly after an operation, he was only 35. We raised over $3,000 for his wife and 2 children. The other fundraiser was held to raise money for my friend who died from breast cancer. We are having another fundraising dinner to help support another woman at work who is battling breast cancer now.

Champ. health care costs have far less to do with doctor's income than with insurance companies and the drug industry.

We'll have to agree to disagree regarding dog's statement's Patsi, but you're onto something in your 3-sentence paragraph.

Patsi, Jack,

Perhaps my attitude is being forged by my resurgent interest in early Metallica, but to answer your question about what to do in Iraq/Afghanistan...I would use this album as my beacon...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_%27Em_All

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLBpLz5ELPI

Support better grocery choices

http://www.odyssey.org/toolkit/4_Case%20Studies/1_Case%20Study_Food%20Access%20Projects%20in%20Oakland.htm

Yeah, Patsi, but doctors and pharmaceutical companies charge such exorbitant rates because they know insurance will cover them. Collusion. If everybody paid out-of-pocket, those fees would drop like rock.

I will say that when we were helping the various charities at work I enjoyed hearing some of the people from these charities speak at our annual Christmas dinner. They were making a difference in the lives of people. Much more rewarding than building car parts.

There are plenty of ideas in place and programs already working to provide healthier food choices
they need the support of the rest of us.

Detroit pioneered the idea of Mobile Grocery Stores.
In Oakland, the mobile units are now tied to community gardens as well.

There is plenty going on...just get on board. If people are given good choices, they will make the right ones for themselves.

Even food at the fanciest restaurants is remarkably unhealthy, Dog. The reason it usually tastes so good is because it's loaded with butter, salt, and other such flavor-enhancers. Such restaurants usually fail to provide nutritional information concerning their dishes. If you want to know you are eating healthily, you need to cook for yourself.

Shared sacrifice? To what end? Stop shoveling food into your mouth. Simple as that.

Well, at least we agree on something.

We were discussing the son of a friend of mine at work the other night. He is working part-time for the postal service to help earn money to pay for medical school. He is also looking into becoming a EMT. It would be something he would do for the next 2 years. He makes almost $20 an hour as a postal worker. He would make $15 an hour as a EMT. EMT's save lives, postal workers deliver mail. How wrong is that?

Sturge's prediction of a lone man riding in to save the day may be what the US needs. We know the economy is going to the dogs, we owe more money to China than is probably more than all amassed printed put together. Now they are advocating raising the debt ceiling once again. We have already been informed that we are going to be a third world country.
History has shown that you cannot put taxation on the backs of the people all the time, it has to have some sharing with the business world. Like not outsourcing everything and paying US taxes, not evading them. Our infrstructure is shot to hell. What is really going to become of our country? A country that used to be the world's leader, face it , is going down the drain.
Can anyone honestly think that a person with inexperience in business, inexperience in politics going to be able to step up and solve all this?

champ,

You wrote a mouthful. Restaurants also load us w/sugar, especially the places that assert they serve East Asian cuisine.

A night out @ a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant necessitates a big jolt of insulin for an increasingly large number of people.

Milk solids make me sick, and the food most resaurants is infested with cheese. You may think you are getting an what is detailed or shown in the menu, but it arrives covered with rotted milk. Ghastly.

"Maybe if we paid for more doctors' medical education and they devoted a day or two each week to community clinics and nonprofit-provided health care in lieu of paying back their student loans?"

Agreed.

Craig:

Add "Dances With Wolves" to your list of DVDs; its message carries, even on a small screen. (Also, "Dinner At Eight," "Bringing Up Baby" and "The Apartment" are worthy for your DVD collection.)

As for Senator Obama's slippage, it could have something to do with his intent -- as announced recently by a surrogate -- that, if elected, he would not pursue an investigation of the current administration.

The nation is fed up with the mismanagement of Mr. Bush and company, and the Constitution demands that miscreants must be held accountable. If Senator Obama fails to understand this, then he is not worthy of any office, let alone that of the presidency.

America will never regain its footing or its credibility unless the disastrous policies of Mr. Bush are reversed and Mr. Bush himself is subject to punishment for intentionally breaking the law.

"Sturge's prediction of a lone man riding in to save the day may be what the US needs."

Like a messiah? I thought hat was what Obama is supposed to be. That line of logic leads to men like Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, Castro, Chavez, et. al.

Ok, done preaching for now.

Just comparing the debt load of most people in the 1970s to that now is enought to give you the vapors. The exhorbitant amount of interest alone is holding up a house of cards.

Now I confess to having hermit tendencies, but why in the world would anyone want to be where another 100,000 people were going to be?

Julie,

You asked a valid question, "Can anyone honestly think that a person with inexperience in business, inexperience in politics going to be able to step up and solve all this?"

To which I would answer this way...

This administration is filled with people who were considerred experts in both areas and they failed. Hell, W has a Harvard MBA and was supposed to be a CEO president. His personal history is littered with failures and bailouts from family friends. So far as I can see, Obama does not have a history of failures. I know some Texas businessmen, Republicans no less, who are making their employees study the Obama campaign because they are impressed at how well it's been run.

If you look back to WWII, our Airborne units were seeing their first action of the war and they performed extremely well in the face of their first combat. Yes many fail in extreme cases but just because you never were in a fight doesn't mean you can't win one.

For Dog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SkdyRcK9KM

The best news I have heard yet:

The George W. Bush Sewage Plant

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2008/07/23/simon.bush.sewer.plant.cnn

Go San Francisco !!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3503157

OMG! This is great. We need Gladys from Austin on this blog....watch Ellen almost fall off the chair.

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/ellen-gladys-hardy-p1.php?emf=1

I used to be an EMT for free. Volunteered with my local Emergency Service District. I agree, Corey, that $15 per hour isn't much for such a high-need service. But there are many, many people who do it on a volunteer basis in small fire districts all across this country. And who serve as firefighters as well as EMT's. (I've never had more bruises on my body than I did after a day of being trained to use the 'jaws of life'!)

Dog

I HATE that commercial. It tears me up every single time. I can't stand to watch it. Just the thought of people who would do that sort of thing to an animal makes me think the death penalty isn't such a bad idea.

Obama to germans " Walls between old allies cannot stand". does anyone want to bet the Mexican president will be on the tube in a day or two advocating the fence (wall) between US and Mexico should not exist.. Obama just said so.

Political buzz on Pawlenty at fever pitch in veepstakes

The word is that John McCain is nearing a decision on his running mate, and the governor gained ground.

By PATRICIA LOPEZ, Star Tribune
Last update: July 23, 2008 - 11:43 PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty returned as the vice presidential flavor of the week on Wednesday, as national pundits worked themselves into a frenzy over whether Minnesota's governor will be John McCain's running mate.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/25835769.html?location_refer=Most%20Viewed:President

Oh and on a personal note, I used to be a paperboy for the Minneapolis Star which was then the afternoon paper. The Minneapolis Tribune was the morning paper and as I recall they did a joint edition for Sunday mornings. Of course the paper is one now. The worst memory of being a paperboy was being mauled by a dog when I was making my deliveries. 32 stitches in my arm and 11 in the back of my leg... 3 hours in surgery.

And still I love the paper! :-)

OMG - Obama now is promising he is going to "remake the WORLD>"

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12028.html

After finally reading about Godwin's law, I can't help but think that only Jerry Seinfeld has been able to successfully make any kind of Nazi reference...

Man I'd love some mulagatani

I think the headline for that story is a bit incendiary. He vowed to bring people together which is a laudable goal. He is running on a mantle of significant change. "Remake the World" is slanted negatively to suggest he has ultimate power to control everyone's decision making process and destiny. Interesting article; bad headline.

McCain makes me think of cheese. Ummmmm cheese.

Did anyone have any thoughts on the proposed George W. Bush Sewage Plant?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/shallow-thoughts-from-vacation.html#comment-119770

julie young,

Didn't Robert Frost recite at the Kennedy inaugural,

"Good fences make good neighbors"

?

It's funny,

earlier today, Chuck Todd was lamenting that the bar is set so low for what is considered a successful event. I wonder why we cringe when any politician announces any kind of lofty goal. Who with the power to do so wouldn't attempt to remake the world?

Have we devolved to the point of the N@#$@ that Chris Rock spoke of in "Bring the Pain"? Are we now "low expectation having mofo's?"

Since we were discussing "Winner Takes It All" this morning....here is a contest of the same name:

http://fox17.trb.com/community/contests/wxmi-mamamia-event,0,7263407.htmlstory

Euro Tom,

The Star Trib is a pale shadow of what it was 20 years ago. It's chief rival, the St Paul Pioneer Press is so bad, it is an insult to guests' bottoms to keep it in the outhouse. I wouldn't even let my pet bird's poop on it.

Those 2 papers took a bunch of pulitzers '87 - '89.

Mr. Democrat,

Keep that up and you'll have to be split open, and your heart replumbed. Cheese kills in the home, and in the the restaurant ! Cheese kills at any speed !
Cheese Kills ! ! !
[imagine happy cheese-face emoticon here]

"Who with the power to do so wouldn't attempt to remake the world?"

And can the Milky Way be far behind?

Gotta go feed Sweetie.

Be careful what you swallow, friends.

EuroTom,

It is an insult to sewage.

ET

The GWB Sewage Treatment Plant has been under discussion for several months. The only thing that makes it at all new now is that they were able to get enough signatures to place it on the ballot in San Francisco in November

Someone did point out a few days ago that a Sewage Treatment Plant actually cleans up the mess and that they probably should have made it the local garbage dump or something else equally appropriate.

Just finished weaving my stuff for the fair..... I'm exhausted and my right elbow is dead..... but I get to do what I love.... and that makes it worth it....

great conversations today.....

ETom.... I posted that story about the SF sewage plant yesterday..... I heard it on that horror of a station called CNN......

Some more of that "safe" oil

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/24/mississippi.spill/

off topic...

There is an ABBA documentary on the Biography channel tonight at 9:00pm. 8~)

"Cheese Kills ! ! !"

Milk isn't much better. There isn't a lot of logic about sucking on a cow teat much after the age of two.

The Dairy industry has sold the American public a bill of goods.

RR,

I guess the weather (tornado?) went east of you ?

Don't remember that kind of bad weather in my few summers in those parts.

Godwin's Law discourages the use of Nazi analogies because it reduces the impact of relevant comparisons. I think we're getting real damn close.

You got a group of maybe 20-30 regular participants here, most of whom are philosophically pretty close in ideology, and yet there is damn little on which all can agree. With all the diversity within this world, do you think global utopia is a viable and equitable strategy of governance? Get real.

Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Rez....

yeah.... I guess it was a tornado....it was northeast of here..... on the southeastern side of Lake Winnipesaukee....

I've lived here for 30 yrs and have never seen as much rain as we've had this summer...... it poured buckets here today.....

of course the up side is that the water table is plenty high and we don't have to worry about wells going dry...... :0)

ETom...

In the past couple days, you've referenced "an ex- of mine" and also "a breakup."

Please tell us it's not your Italian sweetie...and something from long ago.

Patsi,
Thanks for the Ellen clip - that was rich.

EuroTom,

It is an insult to sewage.

Posted by: xrepublican | July 24, 2008 5:29 PM

Dammit xrepublican... I was just going to say the EXACT same thing! Well I guess I was late coz you all knew about this already.

LL, nope Mauro and I are going strong... he is back on 1 August. We've been apart 2 months and I am glad we will be back together. I can handle 1 month, but two is VERY difficult :-)

xoxoxxoxo

That's great ET! I was worried.

x, I still love the StarTribune when I am in the cities. As much as I LOVE the Minnesota State Fair... Oh how I wish I could afford to go again ... maybe next year.

This one always puts things in perspective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVshkVF0SY

when i said the white horse guy rides in and saves the day......i didnt mean for the country......i only meant to the gopers.....he'd only be saving the gop from having to run with a vapid old fly-boy......

and I'd still wish him as a gop to lose with an audible thump.

you know......the one bush and rove said was mentally damaged from his captivity.........remember when they were all down in SC in 2000?

T'was not so long ago, for those with long memories, nor very far away for those with long legs.......

(jrrt)

Craig needs to get back on MSNBC to save them from themselves. Today's "Race To The White HOuse" panel was saying truly stupid things. It was almost as if they were desperate to say anything as long as it sounded a bit provocative or exciting. Even Rachel sounded as if she had dropped some IQ points by the wayside.

If you remember the reason they sing the universe song, it's so that that can harvest the guy's kidneys to give them to a stranger. Appropriate indeed.

"It was almost as if they were desperate to say anything as long as it sounded a bit provocative or exciting. "

No kidding.

And Matthews was just an idiot, acting shocked that so many Germans understood English. Who knew? It was like when he admitted that he never knew any blacks. God a'mighty.

Sorry Sturge, did not mean to misinterpret your post.

Julie

Enjoy this summer weather with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OhpGvnOMO0

Stern on XM/Sirius Merger: 'I Will Never Vote For a Democrat Again'

“...‘That’s it!’” Stern said. ...I’ve voted Republican and I’ve voted Democrat. I have vowed I will never vote for a Democrat again. ..I don’t care if God becomes a Democrat.’ ...‘I backed Hillary Clinton, I backed Al Gore, I backed John Kerry. I am done with them.’”..."Stern..called Democrats on the FCC “communists” and referred to their tactics as “gangsterism.”

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080724152511.aspx

There was a time when Craig was being bashed by some commentators here for his topic threads that seemed to be either anti-Obama or gave people the impression that he was in the tank for Clinton or maybe on her payroll, if I recall correctly.

The point is that I do usually enjoy Road to the White House. Today was just particularly loaded with blather. I no longer watch Olbermann for exactly the reasons you mention.

Then there is the point that anytime Craig is on, he improves whichever show is airing.

Champ - my brother-in-law is a doc. He works probably 60+ hours a week, doesn't play golf, drives a 10 + year old car. In over 30 years, he has taken something like 5 sick days, and I suspect they were caused by something at the hospital. Talk about sick building syndrome......

I wouldn't and couldn't have worked like this. He makes good money, but it becomes mist when compared to Wolf Blitzer, Tim Russert, Tweety, KO and the like. They are the ones who are taking the meaning out of a dollar - to them $1 is five minute's work, if that much. CEO' s of insurance companies make much more than docs, and they are granted huge loans with very little interest and THEY DON'T HAVE EXPENSIVE DEGREES in many cases. So, no, I don't see wher the blame can be placed on them. You might be surprised at how many docs are getting out of the business because they are losing money. Whe they are charged $100 to have a test run and they are paid $75, it doesn't add up.

KGC - I turned my tv on this morning to find the channels totally re-worked with no notice. My sister's has been that way for a month or so, so I Iwasn't surprised and luckily had the new schedule. Now I have to get used to the new numbers.

Patsi - I loved that Ellen clip. thanks.

Harborwoman - I checked at Oliver's yesterday. They carry quinoa as the 'bead' in white and red. They have several quinoa pasta styles. They also have rice pasta and jerusalem artichoke & amaranth pasta. Blew my mind.

I just saw a pix of the crowd in Berlin, and have to say the first thing that came into my mind was it was chilling - not against Obama - to see so many Germans in such a confined space. I feel that I can say that because I share a name with one of you-know-who's top advisors. My grandfather looked like his twin.
I hate screaming mobs. (BTW, I checked and that is an acceptable use of 'mob.')

What demographic is Obama trying to reach? German independents? LOL!

I thought Craig had asked us to complain on the MSNBC blog, there used to a link that someone would post here....No?

There is an MSNBC place and I use it regularly. It was a passing remark about the content of one show.... Talk about blog police.

I do believe Craig mentioned four letter words not being preferred as well. Go jump on your leader.

Jamie,
What leader?

So much for the good dialogue we had earlier today, eh? This place seems to change when it gets later in the day.

Look for the nearest use of f***

okay, and what will that show me? today , or what day should I check?

I say one thing about what Craig used to request, and I get treated like a problem...that is just juvenile...

" But bashing MSNBC "

Could you give us a list of approved topics? I'd like to know what's banned and what's acceptable.

If you appreciate the forum Craig provides here (I do), I would suggest avoiding biting the hand that feeds him here, out of respect if nothing else. There are innumerable (or difficult to numerate at least) venues on the internet to voice those concerns.

Sounds like your bro-in-law is one of the good guys, boop; at least from what you've related.

C'mon Patsi, I know you can appreciate this:

Don't shit where you eat.

"Renee go fuck yourself. "

UhOh, Renee, looks like you have cloven hooves in your future.....

Hey boop
The Santa Rosa cable system is being upgraded :)
Of course out here in the sticks..we are stuck with cable --no dsl out here
.
I was in SR today --looking for masarepa so I can attempt to make arepas. --shopped at Lola's....my friend was looking for Mexican cokes --sugar no corn syrup! Driving back the sky looked creepy again after being clear this AM. - Smokey- gak I can't imagine what the fall is going to be like when it's really fire season.

"I hate screaming mobs."

I do too, Bethy.

RR

Are all soba noodles made from yams? Learn something new here everyday :)

champ....
I and others have thanked Craig a million times for this blog..... and I respect him very much.....

we have always bashed the media here..... and that includes the network that Craig appears on..... although I myself no longer watch it unless Craig is on....

you should have been here for the Imus debacle..... Craig has appeared on his show numerous times..... but when Imus made his "nappy headed hos" statement and got kicked off his show..... this place was a virtual war zone..... people were dragging Imus through the coals while Craig was defending him.....

KGC....
I'm not sure all soba is made from yams....... I know the stuff I buy is though.....

OK, whatever.

My house has been sold, and my virtual days are numbered. My work here is done. This is an attempt to bow out gracefully. Adieu, Adieu...

Champ -- This is an old conversation. Craig never asked us to steer clear of MSNBC gripes. He did give us links where our complaints could be posted. BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE HEARD. Not because he feared that MSNBC spies were trolling here for criticisms with which to hang him.

Champ
congratulations on selling your dwelling -- Are you free to go anywhere?

I recommend Nelson British Columbia
Alternatively the next best place is Western Sonoma County.

I worked next to this cute college girl last night. She said she was studying pre-med. I thought she might be pretty smart until she asked if Dwight Eisenhower's last name began with a "I".

RR

I'll have to look for the ones made with yam..
soba noodles are a favorite of mine but I've mostly seen the buckwheat ones.

" I thought she might be pretty smart until she asked if Dwight Eisenhower's last name began with a "I"."

Ha! Corey -- what in the world made the conversation turn to Ike?

hee hee

http://sendkarlrovetojail.com/

KGC......

yeah..... I forgot about the buckwheat...... I've tried them a long time ago..... but my favorite is made from wild yam..... I don't know if that's the same as cultivated yams....

dog..... glad you had a good time watching Obama's speech today.....

Lord, Lord:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday announced joint appointments to a landmark ethics review board that for the first time will allow private citizens to review allegations against members.

Still, four out of six members of the board for the newly created Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) will be former members of Congress, including former CIA Director Porter Goss (R-Fla.), who will serve as co-chairman.

The sight of Karl Rove behind bars would cheer up anyone.

Jeezus Patsi....

that review board sounds like the foxes guarding the hen house.....

but at least it looks like both parties can say it was a bi-partisan decision..... lol...

Patsi

What odds would you give on the "civilians" being people with whom somebody in Congress committed the crimes?

Next time you see Craig on tv, it will be on FOX. And I'm looking forward to it.

Porter Goss.
Ethics.

What's wrong with this picture?

Ha!
Dueling Python
eh, Jamie?

Well Im a lumber Jack, And thats OK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xToPCaNxaow

Jack

Behave or I'll drag out the Penis song. :-)

Well, I thought the Porter Goss story was bad. But this is just plain criminal:

MTV's set to remake cult tuner 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' which has grossed $140 million domestically since its 1975 release.

MTV is doing the time warp on a remake of 1975 cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Lou Adler, exec producer of the original film, is partnering with BermanBraun and Fox Television Studios on the new rendition.

The two-hour remake will use the original screenplay by Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien but may also include music not featured in the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSqR-RLjyHM

"I will blow my nose at you"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7zbWNznbs

Jack,
Notice that you have not commented on your Mom lately. How is she fairing?

Julie

Ya learn something new everyday.

As I'm typing this my wife is behind me doing the Time Warp.
LOL
I guess she is a fan. I ask her how many times she had seen the movie, she sid "a few"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdu7xoHU9DA

Jack

Julie

She is doing well. We had a family reunion at lake Jacomo in BlueSprings. She was able to attend. I was very suprised. Back In April she went back in the hospital to have a pace maker installed. We also had a family meeting about what kind of treatment options she had left, which was none. They were talking about things like keeping her comfortable. It didn't sound good. So I was very suprised when she said she was coming to the reunion. It was a 2 hr trip for her and she stayed for 2 hr so she has gained a lot of strength.
We just hope she can stay out of the hospital for 90 days so medicare will start picking up her hospital bill again.

Jack
Jack

Patsi

There is no way they can find anyone better than Tim Curry. It just isn't going to happen.

Jamie

The question is why bother. I suspect the answer is more money.
What ever, I can't see it even coming close to equaling the original.

Jack

How Dyoo Do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcpvx2EVCpU

$140 million of midnight screenings.

LOL
What a movie
Jack

Puhleeze, puhleeze don't let them think Jim Carrey could pull it off....

Welcome Back, Mr. Kotter, er, uh, Crawford; Thanks ever so for the video, I love ABBA, even when they're sad, they're happy, kinda like the fifties and sixties, the music just makes you feel good - even if it is in mono, some of it. And the cast is without peer.
I'm glad you had a good rest, my hiatus was not so neat, I painted my house, and put in a new fence and tried to keep as busy as possible so I didn't have to listen to the children's hour on the election coverage every day.
I believe I heard that Obama picked up somewhere in the vicinity of 52 million last month???? There are people who can't buy groceries, can't buy gas to get to work, are losing there homes and this 52 million goes exactly where???? Wherever, it makes me sick to think that that's what is going on in this country. We need hundreds of millions to get elected to do what, help the people who die from lack of food and shelter.

This is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!.

Rita

With all the talk of Mama Mia and now Rocky Horror ... how about a cross of the two with
Priscilla Queen of the Desert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo2Nu3PjaXU

USA population: 304,687,057

http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

It's getting crowded out there

World Population

http://math.berkeley.edu/~galen/popclk.html

I believe the rate is slowing down Isn't it? Another reason to promote womens education.

Jack

yep

Educated women have fewer children.

" Womens education" in the context that you wrote it , what does that mean?

maybe insurance should cover birth control, instead on viagra...how many 70 year old fathers do we need? ~~~~

Population Control and relationship of female education

http://www.aag.org/Education/center/cgge-aag%20site/Population/lesson3_page2.html

"A large body of research over the years has linked education for women and girls with lower birth rates. Indeed, recent data from many less developed countries have shown that women with at least a secondary-level education eventually give birth to one-third to one-half as many children as women with no formal education. In some of these countries, the fertility of these better-educated women approaches replacement level (2.1 children per woman). A woman in Honduras with no education has, on average 4.9 children, but a Honduran woman with secondary or higher education has 2.2 children. An Ethiopian woman with no education has 6.1 children on average, but an Ethiopian woman with secondary or higher education has 2.0 children. Better-educated women generally are able to exercise more control over their reproductive lives, including delaying marriage and childbearing."

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/623WorldPop.aspx

A good primer on world population growth

Jack

Why not address the USA? it it education here or access to birth control?

too bad birth control can't be retroactive

“Obama to germans " Walls between old allies cannot stand". does anyone want to bet the Mexican president will be on the tube in a day or two advocating the fence (wall) between US and Mexico should not exist.. Obama just said so.”

Hey, Babe, that was Bush’s thing. Don’t blame Obama. There’s another day and a new tomorrow for all!!

So...you are…Julie Young. Get acquainted with the...group here (of which I am not a member….but only occasionally...only an instigator…which seems to be really needed considering the alpha female who wants to be in control here???).

Julie, you seem to come on here with a strong opinions. Been here before; or, since I don’t come by that often, due to the conversation BTW, you are just…trolling???…as has been attributed to me.

“McCain makes me think of cheese. Ummmmm cheese.“

Pretty binding and unyielding, IMO. We don't want that since that's what we have had for the last seven plus years.

"A dramatic decline in fertility rates during the 20th century coincided with decreased child mortality, access to family planning, economic development, increases in girls' and women's education, and urbanization. Other factors—including stiffer competition for jobs, housing shortages, and government efforts to lower birth rates—also encouraged fertility decline."

The most dramatic declines from the years 1950 to 2007
are in Asia and Latin America 5.9% down to 2.4% and 2.5% respectively.
Middle east / North Africa went from 6.9% to 3.0%

We are at 2.0 and Europe is 1.5

"Which woman are you willing to educate, I know you're not willing to pay to help educate the women of Afghanistan, and Jamie I assume female undocumented aliens would be excluded. "

Deliberately obtuse.

I have to say that if we can't speak our minds without fear of Craig's losing employment, where does free speech come from?

Add to that the fact that they practically blacklisted him after he told Tucker - or Dan - that they had been very impartial in their coverage. Craig used to be on much more often than he is, I think. I found this blog by googling where the heck is Craig Crawford. I wonder if that is the site Craig suggested for complaining to msnbc

I emailed all their shows and execs many many many times, and they really don't care. They had a good thing going and they blew it, as far as I'm concerned.

WELCOME BACK, CRAIG, by the way. You were most definitely missed. I love the shallow thoughts and wish you would do more of them. They're more observational than reporting, and I love people's observations.

I'm trying to not talk so much, so will say bye for now.

Instead of looking for the argument, why not address the topic.....seriously will you people ever stop being angry and bitter...I have no idea what has driven you to this place...but it is a major downer!

Karolena,

I have no strong opinion on the fence between US and Mexico, there are good points both for and against. Not blaming Obama for a single thing. I merely made a statement that now that he had voiced an apparent similiar opinion, there might be a statement from the Mexican president regarding the fence.
Do not post very often as do not want any part of any argumentation going on.. Yes, I have been around for a couple of months..
julie

“Educated women have fewer children.“

Well, I’d say there are some who think they are educated and in control of the future. I’ve read that fundamentalist Christians are having more children than anyone in history, and they are doing so that they may take over the political realm of our democracy.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/17/INGEJL45D11.DTL

http://anepigone.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-religious-demographics-from-pew.html

Look to the future for…what? Who knows? I’m a Christian but no fundamentalist for sure. They are most likely Repugs.

U B
I don't get your last post ??? You people???

UB
It would be mildly interesting to know who you are calling "you people"

Jack

Obama-Lenin Gaffe

http://andrightlyso.com/2008/07/24/obama-lenin-gaffe/

".....seriously will you people ever stop being angry and bitter...I have no idea what has driven you to this place...but it is a major downer!"

To whom is this addressed?

Tony

I don't know , are you bitter?
I'm just mildly amused most days.

Jack

Jack
Hey no i'm not bitter at all.I have got to much to be happy about!! A great list of clients and a newly built house with a pool over looking a real Florida lake with alligators i should add.Hey im happy and i don't even take meds.Ha

Obama's Posters: Message in the Image

"There is something unsettling and very familiar in the Obama poster campaign ... this image appropriates the graphic style of totalitarian Soviet propaganda. It recalls the idealzed portraits and personality cult of the "Beloved Leader" such as Stalin and Lenin. The leader, face illuminated by a "holy" light, looks off to the horizon and sees the truth that is not available to his mere mortal followers, who must look up to his image.

The one-word message offers a simple (simple-minded) promise of a utopian existence."

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/04/obamas_posters_message_in_the.html

Julie,

I, like you, don’t come here much (for many obvious reasons…just someone who has opinions), but I don’t believe there should be a fence. Yes, we need to control who comes over the borders, but we also need the workers who come over those borders. I don’t blame anyone anywhere for wanting to support their families, and we have companies on this side of the fence who want to employ those workers. It is just how do we control who comes here to work? No terrorists! Actually, I like what Bill Maher says “Just build a giant WallMart and have the Mexicans come in the back door and the customers go out the front door” (or, something like that).

Obama will (or has) address this question, if he had not done so already. I actually don’t know what he has said in this regard, but I will most definitely look to see. He will definitely be a better president, IMO, than the old man now running who has a very bad temper and forgets much, in spite of his brave service to this country. As General Wesley Clark said, I don’t believe being a prisoner of war makes you a commander in chief (or, something like that).

“anonymous”, I’m in my happy place. I will go to another happy place tomorrow. Can't you have a debate about anything? I’m not angry or bitter; I’m just trying to make a point. What’s wrong with that? At least I put a name out there, unlike you.

I think some on this site don’t even know what a happy place is unless it’s just their same ole posts with their same ole people saying the same old thing. No debate there. Huh?

I’m outta here. Now go to it!

"You forgot I have two serious chronic illnesses, so your rational as usual makes no sense. "

You are such a maroon. Of course I remembered. Why do you think I mentioned it? You pay $500-plus a month and get how much back from the system?

Jamie

You might find this interesting. I scanned it and it looks like a lot of usefull information. There appears to be ideas as to how a small group can help.

Resources on education for girls and Women
http://globalcrisis.info/womened.html#A

Jack

Tony

then it can't be us she was talking about. Some other "you people".

I didn't realise florida had a major problem with illegals.

Around here most illegals are young and healthy so they don't cost much to the system. There is the ocassional work related accident but that could be stopped just by the state going after the employer for the bill.

Jack

Night all

Jack

It's good to hear pro immigration positions and aside from posting them here, you should send letters to Senator McCaskill and Congressman Tancredo and let them know how much you disapprove of their stands.

"no idea what the total billing costs are to my insurance company. "

I'm sure from what you have detailed, they are monumental, affecting all premiums. So don't be throwing accusations at people like me who have no insurance but pay every damn dime themselves. You say you are paying for me? I say I am paying for you.

Priced out isn't the question, idiot. Pre-existing condition is the question.

Barack Skipped Visiting Wounded Troops in Germany

“Wounded American soldier Ryan Newberry gives a big hug to Eddie, a black lab from the American Red Cross Pet Visitation program. Newberry is recovering at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and said he really enjoyed the visit.”

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/07/24/barack-skipped-visiting-wounded-troops-in-germany/

"I know my own mother who fought a cancer battle for 4 years and had Blue Cross had a $55000 lein slapped on her house all because the hospital and Blue Cross had a falling out.My Mom after 62 years of paying her bills had to file for Medical Bankrupcy "

That is criminal, Tony. Absolutely a criminal act.

unbelievable

Great day for Obama...tomorrow should be good as well.... : )

Have a good one!

Ciao!

UB, your comment, "unbelievable" is why people have no idea what you are talking about. Quote a post you are responding to, or something.

Patsi...don't worry about it....just skip my posts.

I am out for the night - see ya!

Patsi
Yes it was Criminal and that was the advice given after months of are attorneys fighting Blue Cross and the local hospital.Yea my Mom had to go before a judge and explain and even the judge said before the court how shameful for a country to treat its citizens in such a way!! I then switched her to a hospital 80 miles round trip from home that would take Blue Cross and could give her the weekly doses of Chemo.Oh ya the kicker after my mom died the hospital said she owed $38000 in medical bills and Blue Cross was rejecting the bill because they said they weren't coded properly.If you have a serious continuing medical condition in this country your in deep trouble and for the uninsured its even worse.....

How "chirstian" of you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7uJGn9UK0E

Or maybe
http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=6084642675

UB -- very strange....does this mean you intend to say things for which you will not be held accountable?

Well, I'm glad your mom is okay....for a minute I thought something was way wrong....

"the normal health issues of a woman of 77"

Well, good. As much as I think you can be a prick, it freaked me when I thought the mom you had praised and shown us pics of, was in trouble.

The Ancient Chinese Libertarian Tradition

The first libertarian intellectual was Lao-tzu, the founder of Taoism...

Lao-tzu developed a radical libertarian creed. For Lao-tzu the individual and his happiness was the key unit and goal of society. If social institutions hampered the individual's flowering and his happiness, then those institutions should be reduced or abolished altogether. To the individualist Lao-tzu, government, with its "laws and regulations more numerous than the hairs of an ox," was a vicious oppressor of the individual, and "more to be feared than fierce tigers."

http://mises.org/story/1967

Gotta get to bed. I leave with this, when rock was good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4PXMCCTMwM

Goodnight Patsi see you in the morning!!

Does Meryl Streep sing?

LMAO @ fish&flush. Oh Gawd!

Welcome back, Craig. The place isn't the same without ya.

tt

Glad you're back, Craig. I've been coasting regarding politics as I am deeply engrossed in Le Tour de France. It's on for hours and hours every day on Versus. I am mesmerized watching the cyclists blast down the Alps at 90 kph. The French and Italian towns and villes are so beautiful, the sunflower fields, the mountain backdrops while the race goes on in the valleys. It all ends Sunday on the Champs Elysees.

It's nice to see Obama promise to "tear down walls" that separate us from our European friends...or would-be friends.
Chris Matthews set that western Congresswoman straight when she insisted there were no walls . The French have been demonized and ridiculed ever since Bush took office , because they wanted no part of Bush' Iraq folly. It will be nice if Obama can tame the hatred they have for the US.

I'd rather buy a march 1948 commemorative.......Im funny dat way.........

I mean, it's not like I would actually buy it.....they'd have to give it to me as a kind of bonus............

don't think obamalama world tour show
is going over to well in the U.S.
1st term senator acting like he's already the
president

we have more problems than tearing down
what's left of the berlin wall

it could be verse..........

nobody tore down the berlin wall......it fell of it's own accord........oh....and from neglect......

neglect will turn a John Deere into a worthless chunk of arn........

neglect can turn a hearse into an artificial reef..........salt water need not apply............................

New poll has Obama and McCain in tight race. . . (From CQ Politics)

Obama 41
McCain 40

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/polltracker/2008/07/new-fox-poll-has-obama-and-mcc.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/obama-goes-global.html#comment-120037

Chloe hi, I got one of those plastic envelopes in an Amazon.com order. I have an old cell phone but I wasn't sure if one from Europe would be of interest. I think it's a great gesture too!

Tom