❧❧❧ Whatever you can do or dream, you can BEGIN IT. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe ❧❧❧
❧❧❧ You were born whole, not broken. Sandra Hammel ❧❧❧
My favorite time of the year is May when everything blooms. In my yard it starts with the crocus and just keeps blooming one thing after another. A glorious time of the year. But then, the autumn is also very beautiful....and if you can stand some humidity and heat, the summer is the time for many cultural events. Yes, on Aquidneck Island we have most of our cultural events in the summer. And winter....well, if it weren't for the shoveling, I wouldn't mind it.
This video includes such old movies that they were silent. The years were around 1956 - 1957. The house is where I was born....not in a hospital. The woods across the street from our house - the street where we are pulling the sled is no longer there. Huntington College (now called University) got the land from my dad and made it into a lake. That red sled was painted red by my father and has my name painted on the center slat. I have it in my family room by the Christmas tree. We walked a mile to school, a mile to and from the John Tipton School for lunch and back home again. My dad went to the same elementary school and had the same first grade teacher that I did. It has since been torn down.
I don't expect to get many viewers for this video upload. But it was fun just because I enjoy making videos.
It was a break from the video that is taking a month to make for Darfur.
Have a great Christmas if you celebrate it and, if not, I hope you are healthy and happy. If not, I wish you a better year ahead.
Please, support artists who don't ban use on Youtube.
Cyndi Lauper's True Colors is sung on this video by Eva Cassidy
Lyrics
You with the sad eyes don't be discouraged oh I realize it's hard to take courage in a world full of people you can lose sight of it all and the darkness inside you can make you fell so small
But I see your true colors shining through I see your true colors and that's why I love you so don't be afraid to let them show your true colors true colors are beautiful like a rainbow
Show me a smile then don't be unhappy, can't remember when I last saw you laughing if this world makes you crazy and you've taken all you can bear you call me up because you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true colors shining through I see your true colors and that's why I love you so don't be afraid to let them show your true colors true colors are beautiful like a rainbow.
........................................................... ........................................................... Just couldn't resist.
So, since I stayed up, until the sun was irresistible beauty on snow- I have photos here of the nor'easter snow blizzard from 7:30 a.m. and again at 8:00 a.m. of this Monday morning of December 21, 2009 - Winter Solstice.
Winter officially begins on this shortest day of the year - December 21, except on some years when it is on December 22. Solstice means the sun stands still. The winter solstice is the day when the midday sun is at its lowest point above the horizon. Winter Solstice officially begins at 12:47 pm EST (1747 GMT) when at that exact moment, the earth’s axial tilt puts it the fartherest from the sun.
Today, the shortest day of the year, is followed by the longest night of the year, meaning that it will be getting darker earlier tonight and getting lighter later than normal tomorrow morning.
........................................................... My son - fourth year of five year engineering degree in Boston Christmas break December 19, 2009
Where will you be November 4th? I don't understand anyone who will not vote this year. I don't understand how stupid some people are. Some people don't want to know the truth. They just want to make up the truth and call it truth. Truth doesn't lie.
Barack Obama has run a superb campaign. Superior to anyone else. George W Bush had his Rove brain to be his axis of evil architect. Barack has used a different style. But no one can say that Barack Obama has no new ideas, is sloppy on details or the long view, hasn't shown true grit and fortitude, can't stand up to his own party (consider the stand he took on when he ran against the Clinton team) ~ this is a fantastic use of "community" organizing only on a national scale. His new ideas are shown in his various policies and his broad view of how to take this country forward into the 21st century although we are down and not quite out - but the new ideas of how to run a Presidential campaign are overflowing and they have worked quite well.
I am hoping and praying that this is all in God's plan. I question God's plan when I have to continually learn of the horrendous treatment of human beings by other human beings here and in other countries, of the lies we have been putting up with in this land of faux democratic government, tapping our phone lines, reading our emails, and torturing all in "the name" of what's best for the USA, helping corporate USA at the expense of the middle class and the poor, trashing habeas corpus... If God has a plan, then we need to help God implement the optimum plan. Otherwise, we get the same pool of Republicans to fill positions that have been filling those positions for the Bush years. With an unimaginable national debt, jobs lost on the rise with no end foreseeable, crumbling roads and bridges, many school buildings not fit to be open, health care causing people to file bankruptcy, foster children languishing in a system that is broken and under-funded, it is time to consider we have left this administration to go unchecked, unheeded and blindly trusted beyond a reasonable amount of time and chances to redeem themselves.
Time to wake up or die sleeping at the metaphorical wheel.
On the Sept. 10th edition of The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, a new American citizen preparing to vote in his first US election asks, "Are we so lost we have to be sold our own democratic right!?" Uploaded by CBS
IS THIS THE QUALITY EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP AND JUDGMENT THE COUNTRY WANTS TO FOLLOW?
Leaders- who generate an atmosphere where crowd members join you in showing contempt for your opponent and yell out "Kill him!" and answering Who is the real Barack Obama?" with "Terrorist!" - are showing who they really are.
What a way to lead the country.
Character assassination could turn into assassination.
"Cut the grass." A seemingly innocuous message to most people. But when the message came over Kenyan airwaves, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights became concerned.
The independent rights organization had been monitoring local radio for hate speech in the run-up to the election on Dec. 27, 2007. And when callers to one Kalenjin-language station said the people of the milk needed to cut the grass, the agency was paying attention. Instead of a simple note about trimming the landscape, the obscure message was calling for the forceful removal of the ethnic Kikuyu from traditional Kalenjin homelands in the Rift Valley.
With the memory of Rwanda's genocide still vivid, the message served as an eerie reminder of the role media might take in inciting violence. In Rwanda's case, radio broadcasts marked the beginning of an ethnic cleansing campaign that saw over 800,000 Tutsis dead in 100 days.
Could the hate-filled messages sent across Kenyan airwaves have provoked something similar? Reports coming out of the country in the aftermath to post-election violence that left 1,200 dead and over 350,000 displaced suggest that it did, although on a much smaller scale. Locals there speak of text messages sent via mobile phone, stirring people to kill their neighbors. In the violence, the messages noted, the perpetrators would not be caught and persecuted.
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A blogging friend AngryAfrican wrote today about racism that is in us without our permission or desire. I have written about racism many times. Sometimes personal stories. Sometimes because we have a Presidential candidate - who appears to be all black, though he had a white mother and a black father. The main point from AngryAfrican was that it is possible to have racist behavior or a thought of racism, even though we don't consider that we are in any way a racist. And furthermore, that covert racism is the more insidious. I couldn't agree more. To be frank, I consider myself to be open-minded and don't want to have any racism as a part of myself. But have I ever caught myself with an awareness or reason to think in a given moment that I was racist? Yes.
I hate it. I don't want it. And I admit it to myself when it happens. It is rare. And could I not have had some of this ignorance passed on from the white environment, community and the under-enlightened parenting that I lived "under"? But this I know also about myself... Once I get to know someone, skin color has nothing to do with what I think of the person. What is needed is more interaction with cultures other than our own and education of the spirit which can get us past our conditioned social ills.
I request to broaden the discussion. And specifically to include the Native American Indian societal and institutionalized racism. And let's lose the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" requirement of gays in the military. For goodness' sake, they are over in Iraq putting their bodies in death's way and we can't stomach letting the gay service people live their lives in truth. What are we, if not bigots?
If we have cancer, we think of removing it.If we have a sickness, we make a move to be healed of the illness and feel better.If we spew hatred cloaked in the claimed right of freedom of speech, it still affects not only those who it is directed toward, but it affects the one who owns the words.In the movie “Amazing Grace” the minister says to William Wilberforce’s question “In what way are you trying to make the world better”, with “When you make the world better in one way, it becomes better in all ways.”What is thrown out into the universe affects the world as a whole.We make the world what it is.We color the world with our words, behavior and silence.If we hurt someone else, we can’t help but hurt ourselves.It may not be visible hurt or even apparent to the receiver as well as the giver, but we live with who we are.And you can’t say crap and not have it be part of your life.
'The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.'
Marcus Aurelius
The claim that “political correctness” is encouraged by firing Imus and the-like, misses the point. Claiming pretentious “political correctness” results when “We the People” speak out and say this kind of speech is anything but freeing dismisses Right for what sounds right. We must address wrongs, injustices and expose indecent behavior.This sick language and behavior that doesn’t have the light shone on it will simply find roots and continue to grow like weeds.This kind of language strangles the truth from all of us regardless of who the language is directed toward. It keeps us all down and from being free. Also, the point isn’t that having “freedom of speech” gives us the right to be condescending and dehumanizing to another of the human race.Not being denigrated is a civil rights issue.We have the inalienable right to be treated with decency.And I so agree with the mindset that says this is not a black woman’s issue, or even just a woman’s issue.This behavior and “talk” belittles all humankind, regardless of race or gender.
We have put up with this kind of behavior and language for too long.Let us look at ourselves and face who and what we are.We have a country built on racism. And it started even before the first African black slaves were shipped here as human cargo. The nation was built on land lived on by other societies before Europeans arrived on its shores.Even in the Declaration of Independence, the description of the Native North Americans, dubbed by the immigrants as “Indians” because they thought they were in India, comes from a place of ignorance, pomposity and illustrates dehumanizing language.The Declaration of Independence states “the inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an indistinguished Destruction of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions” indelibly imposes this unjustifiable description on the Native Americans, who were forced to fight to protect their established ways of life AND their land.
Genocide of the Indians was authorized by those that came to this land as immigrants. Do you suppose the Indians wished they had united and built a fence to keep out immigrants? Injustice is a one-word sum total of the treatment of the Indians by the government.
...When I was considering moving to Indian Country in New Mexico, my partner was black and I asked the real estate agent if there was racism in the area and his answer was “No.Except for the Indians.”I found this to be true as I was in a shop one day that I thought sold Indians' art work.The white man behind the counter, brazenly and ignorantly told me the people ruining the sale of the goods in his store were the Indians.I was confounded.Here I was in his store because I wanted to buy Indian-made jewelry and pots and he said if Indian jewelry and pots were made by the Indians it was no good.He told me his things were made by white people.
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"Racism is ungodly; it is a lack of brotherly love towards others of a different race or culture." from No Prejudice At The Cross If this is true, then all Muslims are not terrorists. And all people with the name Hussein are not terrorists. And those who infer things based on people's fears and biases are agents of destruction to our humanity.
In There's No Racism Anymore a mother is concerned that her son thinks that there is no racism anymore even though his teacher treats him differently simply based on his race. This is what she writes:
My generation has to bear some of the blame for the situation we are in. We black GenXers, born roughly 1965 to 1975, are the heirs of the civil rights movement. We thought our parents and grandparents risked their lives and reputations, faced hoses and dogs, shouldered indignities and limitations, so we wouldn’t have to. And for the most part, we don’t have to. We are free to go to prestigious law schools that our parents would never have been allowed into. We can frequent restaurants that would have forbidden service to our grandparents. We can freely exercise our right to vote; hell, some folks are talking about NOT voting in the November election. You know you are free when you can toss away a privilege your ancestors would have died for, that some in fact did die for.
But that’s the point isn’t it. One of my dad’s favorite admonishments to my siblings and I is: “That’s the problem with you all. You think you’re already free.” Now, my dad is not trying to limit my sister, brother and I. He and my mom raised us to believe that we could achieve anything we wanted to. What he is trying to remind us is that while we are enjoying the considerable fruits of his labor, and the labor of others who were involved in civil rights, we shouldn’t falsely believe the battle is won and be lulled into complacency.
And my generation has been far too complacent.
We have failed to take the reins of the civil rights movement, leaving it in the hands of men like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and organizations like the NAACP that have failed to adequately address new challenges faced by the black community. We have allowed the old voices to be the only voices heard.
We have failed to fight for our history to be accepted as American history, so that slavery and egregious racism and their continued affect on black Americans is not forgotten.
We have failed to speak up about overt and covert racism and its impact on the lives of African Americans, and we have too often let both “isms” be seen as anomalies in a largely-colorblind world. End of borrowed text.
I believe the KKK overt racism, even though being anonymous with the "armor" of a white colored sheet is much more easily dealt with than the covert behaviors...or statements made when the speaker thinks she or he is in the company of racist comrades. Statements made by Sarah Palin inferring Senator Obama has friends who are terrorists is irresponsible. The Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said:
“On Nov. 4, let’s leave Barack Hussein Obama wondering what happened,” the law enforcement officer said.
Many of the thousands of people in attendance roared their approval at Sheriff Scott’s dig at the Senator Obama.
After Sheriff Scott left the podium, local radio host Mandy Connell took the stage next. She too drew a loud ovation when she said Obama “hangs around with terrorists.”
And yet there are people peppered all over the internet claiming this is innocence personified. Claiming it means nothing. And yet, calling John (Sydney) McCain (the Third) erratic is comparable to these implications using words delivered with demeaning tones and mimicking body language. And the crowd reaction shows the divisiveness that is being stoked and homegrown. What an undermining way "to reach across the aisle" and bring the country together in the time of such vulnerability. If this is the proud USA behavior that we want to teach our children, then I am in the wrong country. I highly doubt the use of the word "erratic" has inspired audience members to shout out "Kill him!" and "Terrorrist!" - highly charged words.
Tonight I heard McCain representatives compare the word "erratic" to the words used by McCain's people. Why say a man's middle name making it louder, with * derisive tone? Because an emotional link is being inferred to Sadam Hussein. Why is Sarah Palin using the phrase "hangs around with terrorists" when it is obvious that Barack Obama does not hang around with terrorists. This is a game. The crap being thrown may come back in your face. (* Derisive means showing contempt or ridicule - I believe this is precisely what is going on from McCain's campaign.) Sarah Palin and John McCain's odious stump comments about Barack Obama are the warm-up act for audience members who then feel it acceptable to freely yell out "Kill him!! and "Terrorist!". The land of the free is sliding into shackles choking our social morality. McCain and Palin are setting the tone with their leadership and the morally numb are following them.
If someone does kill Barack Obama - I will remember you, Senator McCain and Governor Palin. We all do our part to create the social environment we live in.
Weymouth New Testament Everything, therefore, be it what it may, that you would have men do to you, do you also the same to them; for in this the Law and the Prophets are summed up.
World English Bible Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
Your Boyfriend Reads The Daily Worker? What Is He? A Communist?
McCain's brother, Joe, "made an apparent joke" 10/4 that DC's Dem-leaning suburbs of Alexandria and Arlington, VA, are "Communist country."
Speaking at an event in Loudoun Co., VA, J. McCain said: "I've lived here for at least 10 years and before that about every third duty I was in either Arlington or Alexandria, up in communist country." J. McCain "then apologized, but he drew laughter from the GOP faithful at the event."
McCain spokesperson Gail Gitcho: "This was Joe McCain's unsuccessful attempt at humor. ... John McCain and Sarah Palin are committed to winning the support of voters in Northern Virginia and understand the region's importance to victory statewide" (Craig, "Virginia Politics," WashingtonPost.com, 10/4).
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12, New International Version
"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12, New American Standard Bible
MAVERICKS WITHOUT A JUST OR HOLY CAUSE ~ YOU BETCHA
These are nonnegotiable tenets of faith that all Assemblies of God churches adhere to. This list is derived from the official Statement of Fundamental Truths.
WE BELIEVE...The Scriptures are Inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind.
WE BELIEVE...There is only One True God revealed in three persons...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).
WE BELIEVE...In the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God's son Jesus was both human and divine.
WE BELIEVE...though originally good, Man Willingly Fell to Sin ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.
WE BELIEVE...Every Person Can Have Restored Fellowship with God Through Salvation (accepting Christ's offer of forgiveness for sin). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE...and practice two ordinances (1) Water Baptism by Immersion after repenting of one's sins and receiving Christ's gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation.
WE BELIEVE...the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Special Experience Following Salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in New Testament times. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE... The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is Speaking in Tongues, as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.
WE BELIEVE...Sanctification Initially Occurs at Salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.
WE BELIEVE...The Church has a Mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe 'the Church' is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God's offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
WE BELIEVE...A Divinely Called and Scripturally Ordained Leadership Ministry Serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, and to build up or edify the body of believers the Church.
WE BELIEVE...Divine Healing of the Sick is a Privilege for Christians Today and is provided for in Christ's atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE...in The Blessed Hope. When Jesus Raptures His Church Prior to His Return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE...in The Millennial Reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. At that time many in the nation of Israel will recognize and accept Him as the Messiah, the Savior who died for them and all mankind.
WE BELIEVE...A Final Judgment Will Take Place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.
WE BELIEVE...and look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. 'And so shall we forever be with the Lord!'
Question: Where do you see yourself going? Staying on in Alaska. Washington?
Palin: You know, I don't know. I knew early on that the smartest thing for me to do was to work hard, do the best that I can, make wise decisions based on good information in front of me. And then put my life, get myself on a path that could be dedicated to God and ask Him what I should next. That will be the position I will be in as long as I'm on earth — that is, seeking the right path that God would have laid out for me.
Question: What's your religion?
Palin: Christian.
Question: Any particular...?
Palin: No. Bible-believing Christian.
Question: What church do you attend?
Palin: A non-denominational Bible church. I was baptized Catholic as a newborn and then my family started going to non-denominational churches throughout our life.
This is what Sarah Palin said about the purpose of her life, which is taken from above: "...And then put my life, get myself on a path that could be dedicated to God and ask Him what I should next. That will be the position I will be in as long as I'm on earth — that is, seeking the right path that God would have laid out for me." Sarah Palin
I was raised in a fundamentalist church and what bothers me is that the way Sarah Palin behaves in her campaigning doesn't fit how God would want anyone to behave. Today when she was putting down Barack Obama, a crowd member yelled out to "Kill him!" (When John McCain was doing the same in New Mexico today, a crowd member yelled out "Terrorist!") McCain and Palin are inciting hatred. No fundamental Christian could justify this behavior.
Here are some summaries of what is going on in this country....
Dodgy Debate
PBS' Ifill, on Palin ignoring some of her questions during the VP debate: "She blew me off, I think, is the technical term. ... The understanding was that we were going to have a debate. ... There are two people on the stage. And their jobs ... are to debate each other. The moderator's job is to control their debate. ... She decided she was going to give a stump speech to the American people, there's very little a moderator can do other than say, 'No, no, no, listen, I asked a question. Please, please answer.' ... 99 percent, I would say, was all about her. Ninety-nine percent of the analyses afterwards were about her. It was if Joe Biden wasn't part of this deal. And if she wasn't challenged on the things she said that were not completely correct, or she wasn't challenged on changing the subject and then answering the questions by her competitor, I had another job to do at the table."
More Ifill: "What I discovered this week, in an uncomfortable way, is that when they throw everything in the mix to change the subject, you can get in the way. I got in the way of it this week. ... It was also interesting to realize that if changing the subject from the stakes of the vice presidential debate meant talking about the moderator instead of talking about the candidate, they would do that" ("Meet the Press," NBC, 10/5).
Meanwhile, Up North
Seven Palin aides "have reversed course" and have "agreed to testify" in the AK Legislature's abuse of power investigation. However, there "is no indication that Palin or her husband will now agree to testify in the legislative inquiry" (Apuzzo, AP, 10/5). AK AG Talis Colberg (R) "said the decision comes in light of Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski's ruling last week rejecting an attempt to kill the subpoenas" (Loy, Anchorage Daily News, 10/6).
Meanwhle, the AK Supreme Court "accepted an emergency appeal" late on 10/3 from six AK lawmakers "who seek to halt" the investigation into Palin's alleged abuse-of-power. The court will hear oral arguments 10/8. The Legislative investigator's report is due 10/10, but that could be blocked by the court (Volz, AP, 10/4).
Meanwhile, T. Palin "is planning to speak" to the investigation being conducted by the Alaska State Personnel Board, "but no date has been set" (Volz, AP, 10/5).
Also, GOP activist Andree McLeod "filed" a lawsuit 10/1 that "seeks to force" Palin to "produce copies of official correspondence she sent and received on private e-mail accounts" (Mosk, "The Trail," WashingtonPost.com, 10/4).
Can You Write Off Folksy Phrases And Well-Timed Winks?
On the afternoon of 10/3, the McCain camp released Palin's '06 and '07 tax returns after "pressure" from the Obama camp following its release of "10 years" of Biden family returns. The returns "are the first glimpse into [Palin's] personal finances."
The documents say the Palins have assets "over" $1M, "consisting largely of an ample retirement portfolio, real estate" and T. Palin's "commercial fishing business." In '06, the family reported income of $127,869, "which consisted mainly" of T. Palin's income from BP "and an income of less than" $5K for Palin from the state of AK prior to her election" as gov. Palin and her husband paid "less than" a 10% tax rate on their '06 income, writing a check to the gov't for $11,944.
In '07, the family's $166,080 taxable income came "largely" from Palin's gov. salary. "The couple paid $24,738 on this income," a rate of "around" 15%. S. Palin "kept her tax rate low" by "putting all of her investments in tax-differed accounts."
Palin did not include the $17K in per diem payments she received as income on the '07 return. The "tax treatment of the payments has drawn considerable interest from tax lawyers, who have written on this subject in various blogs, challenging the campaign's interpretation of tax law."
The couple "reported charitable deductions" of 2.5K in '07 and $4,250 in '06. The "only charity identified" was the Salvation Army, which "received a small amount of goods" from the Palins. The McCain camp "declined to identify" the other charities.
The largest chunk of the $1M in assets comes from the couple's Wasilla house, which "has been value for tax purposes" at $550K. The "remaining estate" consists of "a fishing leasehold on the Nushagak river" and "partial interest in two other parcels of land" (Wayne, New York Times, 10/4).
•McCain "paid more for household help," $270K, in '07 than Palins made in income.
While on the Wasilla city council, Palin "sided with local saloon keepers and cast the deciding vote against a measure to reset pub cloing times to 2:30 a.m. weekdays and 3 a.m. weekends. At the time, bars could stay open until 5 a.m. (Zajac/Secter, Chicago Tribune, 10/5).
Medicare-A-Lot, We Care A Lot
According to a top aide, McCain "would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid" -- a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3T over 10 years to the gov't programs.
McCain "has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan 'budget neutral,' as he has promised." McCain's camp "hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate."
In the months since McCain introduced his health plan, statements made by his camp "have implied that the new tax credits he is proposing to help Americans buy health insurance would be paid for with other tax increases." But McCain senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said 10/5 that the camp has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare spending for the fiscal year that ended 9/30 is estimated at $457.5B.
Holtz-Eakin "said the Medicare and Medicaid changes would improve the programs and eliminate fraud, but he didn't detail where the cuts would come from." Holtz-Eakin: "It's about giving them the benefit package that has been promised to them by law at lower cost" (Meckler, Wall Street Journal, 10/6).
Meanwhile, Boston Globe's Wangsness reports, "while there are benefits" to McCain's health care approach -- "especially for some people without insurance, or for those who want to carry their policies from job to job -- there is another effect that has not been much noticed: The switchover, specialists say, would provide fewer benefits to people who live in areas where health costs are more expensive, such as the Northeast, than for people in other regions of the country where healthcare costs are lower" (10/5).
Newsweek's Quinn writes, "conservatives love health plans that throw more of the costs on you. When it's hard to pay the bills, you see the doctor less. Through the 'magic of the marketplace,' that's supposed to slow the rate of increase in medical costs. Friends, there's zero evidence that that works. In the long run, tax credits will raise your costs without changing the game. And we still won't have helped most of the uninsured" (10/13 issue).
Not Since Rutherford B. Hayes Has....
The Charleston Gazette, WV's largest newspaper, endorsed Obama for president 10/6, noting: "Obama is one of those rare leaders who appear in America perhaps once per generation - a deep thinker who inspires people almost in the tradition of Winston Churchill. Obama's mind probes farther than those around him, and he has eloquence to convey his insights to everyone. He stirs Americans to strive for a better society" (10/6).
The San Jose Mercury News also endorsed Obama on 10/4, explaining: "Barack Obama will be such a president. He speaks to Americans' yearning for renewal. He has the ability to restore America's confidence and guide this country toward a more stable and secure future. Not since John F. Kennedy has a presidential candidate so moved a young generation." More: "The differences between Obama and McCain are stark. Only Obama has the temperament, intelligence and ideas to set America right. We enthusiastically urge his election Nov. 4" (10/4).
Hillary Clinton working for Obama and Biden
USA Today's Schouten reports HRC has raised more than $8M for Obama "since July and plans to barnstorm the country for even more cash." Clinton: "I am using every tool that I have to help Democrats win." This weekend alone, she held fundraising events in TX and CA that brought in another $1.5M for Obama and congressional candidates. And later this month, Clinton will "headline Obama fundraisers in Chicago, Philadelphia and Little Rock" (10/5).
Filling in for Biden at a Human Rights Camp dinner, HRC called McCain "not a maverick but a 'mimic' of President Bush." She "spoke by satellite...to a few thousand people who attended the national gay rights group event." Instead of speaking her own mind she told the crowd: "I want to share with you the eloquent remarks that Joe had prepared." She "sought to tie McCain to Bush" and noted that he "doesn't support extending job discrimination and hate-laws to cover sexual orientation." McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds: "Senator Clinton would be more believable if she'd mimic her own statements that Barack Obama is too inexperienced and lacks the key readiness to lead" (Sanner, AP, 10/4).
The Type Of Guy He Will Be
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and brother Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) "praised" Obama 10/5 and "talked about everything from foreign policy and the economy to Sarah Palin's claim that Obama 'pals around with terrorists.'" S. Levin "dismissed" Palin's comment about Obama's association with Ayers mentioning "it's never been a deep relationship" and that Obama was eight when the "Weather Underground claimed credit for several bombings." C. Levin "called Obama thoughtful and nuanced." He believes "Obama can 'restore the respect of the world for the United States of America" and that McCain is "more of the same" (Bucks, Bucks County Courier Times , 10/ 6).
PETTY PRETTY PALIN written by and credit to Sandra Hammel
Pick A Peck of Palin
Petty Pretty Pistol-Packin’ Palin Peddles Everything But Positive Peppered PayDIRT for Palooka John McFeign Pick a Part of Palin That Proves She’s Pleasin’ Jesus
And sneezes when she squeezes lies from her freezers
PALIN'S PALS AND MAKIN' MUD PIES WITH THE KITCHEN SINK... ...................................................................
................................................................... Special Comment by Keith Olbermann October 6, 2008 ~ Palin's Pals Addie Polk - 90 years old shoots herself because she had fallen back in her mortgage payments and was going to be foreclosed upon.
MORTGAGE finance company Fannie Mae is forgiving the mortgage debt of a 90-year-old woman who shot herself in the chest as sheriff's deputies tried to evict her.
Addie Polk's plight was publicised by Democratic law-maker Dennis Kucinich as Congress debated its $934 billion financial bailout last Friday.
Fannie Mae announced later that day it would dismiss its foreclosure action, forgive Ms Polk's mortgage and allow her to return to the home where she has lived since 1970.
Deputies were due to escort Ms Polk from her home when gunshots were heard inside.
Her neighbour climbed through her window and found her in bed bleeding.
She is expected to recover from chest wounds.
End of text
From what I have read, Ms. Polk shot herself twice.
I address John McCain’s dealings with the felonious financier Charlie Keating in this section of Rolling Stone’s cover story.
But there’s quite a bit more about their relationship that comes from McCain himself, in his memoir Worth the Fighting For.
His account is replete with details of unrepentant entanglements and top-dollar favors that would make Jack Abramoff blush.
They were much more than “social friends” as McCain’s lawyer said on a conference call today.
Charlie Keating, his family and associates raised over $100,000 for my first campaign, and for each of the two that followed. That was a hell of a lot of money in those days…. Supporters like Charlie were not easy to come by for a first-time candidate, and I made damn sure that he knew how much I appreciated his support.
More important, I became friends with Charlie, his family, and many of the top executives and employees of his company. [pp. 59]
And…
He was as close to the archetype of the high-flying eighties chief executive as anyone I had encountered, and he was a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
On several occasions, he invited Cindy and me to his beautiful vacation retreat at Cat Cay in the Bahamas, flying us there, with our infant daughter, Meghan, and her nanny, on his private jet….
He entertained us lavishly, as was his style. We would all crowd on his yacht, off for a day of swimming and snorkeling, and then return for another extravagant party with the best wine, food, and entertainment available…
I would be lying if I were to deny… just how eagerly I awaited invitations to Charlie Keating’s Shangri-la. [pp. 60]
Countdown to the second presidential debate: 1 day Countdown to the third presidential debate: 9 days Countdown to Election Day 2008: 29 days Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 106 days
I think there should be a required test that you not only have to pass with a B or above, but the completed test should be made public - online - before you can accept the nomination for President or Vice-President.
And I think we should get to submit questions for the test.
We have a tight race between an intelligent and articulate candidate - Barack Obama and one, John McCain, who has spoken with so many mistakes - mixing up countries that don't exist anymore, associating the wrong Presidents with the appropriate countries, confusing Shiites and Sunnis when talking about Al Qaeda in Iraq and lying repeatedly about Barack Obama - then selecting a running mate he met...once, before he offered the job. Thank goodness, Russia is next to Alaska otherwise we wouldn't be able to have any confidence in Sarah Palin's international knowledge. She did get her passport, but that doesn't comfort me.
Many times, John McCain has stammered and looked like a deer caught in headlights when asked a question. This alone makes me question his intelligence.
.................................................. Maps of the world Uploaded by POPobscura ..................................................
.................................................. Uploaded by probablytubing ..................................................
.................................................. Uploaded January 26, 2007 by bravenewfilms .................................................. .................................................. Uploaded June 04, 2008 by Veracifier ..................................................
.................................................. New Hampshire Primary night Uploaded January 09, 2008 by BarackObamadotcom
.................................................. John McCain and Mortgages Uploaded by bravenewfilms
If I have to listen to John McCain and Sarah Palin for the next four years I will have to consider how I can cope. It will be a problem. Any country looking for good USA expatriates?
................................................... ................................................... John McCain interviewed This includes the question about Spain and Spain's President Zapatero Uploaded by tpmtv I CAN'T STAND IT - McCAIN CAN'T GET STRAIGHT WHAT THE QUESTION IS
Repeatedly John McCain says stupid things, contradicts himself, lies, makes stuff up, and chose Sarah Palin as the first person in line if he dies to run the country
JOHN McCAIN IS NOT FIT TO BE PRESIDENT
but that doesn't mean the USA won't elect him as President
We are on shaky ground, here.
I have tried to restrain myself about John McCain. But McCain scares me. And the fact that so many USA citizens feel McCain is the one to lead the USA causes me to be very worried.
I know I'm not qualified to lead this country. And I am smarter than John McCain or Sarah Palin. The fact that these two think they are qualified to be President scares the living daylights out of me.
................................................... John McCain didn't know who the President of Spain was or that Spain is a democracy that USA is friendly with. Here is a report on John McCain and Spain
Politics has always been lousy with blather and chicanery. But there are rules and traditions too. In the early weeks of the general-election campaign, a consensus has grown in the political community"a consensus that ranges from practitioners like Karl Rove to commentators like, well, me"that John McCain has allowed his campaign to slip the normal bounds of political propriety. The situation has gotten so intense that we in the media have slipped our normal rules as well. Usually when a candidate tells something less than the truth, we mince words. We use euphemisms like mendacity and inaccuracy ... or, as the Associated Press put it, "McCain's claims skirt facts." But increasing numbers of otherwise sober observers, even such august institutions as the New York Times editorial board, are calling John McCain a liar. You might well ask, What has McCain done to deserve this? What unwritten rules did he break? Are his transgressions of degree or of kind?
Almost every politician stretches the truth. We journalists try to point out the exaggerations and criticize them, then let the voters decide. When McCain says, for example, that Barack Obama favors a government-run health-care system, he's not telling the truth"Obama wants a market-based system subsidized by the government"but McCain's untruth illuminates a general policy direction, which is sketchy but sort of within the bounds. (Obama's plan would increase government regulation of the drug and insurance industries.) Obama has done this sort of thing too. In July, he accused McCain of supporting the foreign buyout of an American company that could lead to the loss of about 8,000 jobs in Wilmington, Ohio. McCain did support the deal, but the job loss comes many years later and was not anticipated at the time. That, however, is where the moral equivalency between these two campaigns ends.
McCain's lies have ranged from the annoying to the sleazy, and the problem is in both degree and kind. His campaign has been a ceaseless assault on his opponent's character and policies, featuring a consistent"and witting"disdain for the truth. Even after 38 million Americans heard Obama say in his speech at the Democratic National Convention that he was open to offshore oil-drilling and building new nuclear-power plants, McCain flatly said in his acceptance speech that Obama opposed both. Normal political practice would be for McCain to say, "Obama says he's 'open to' offshore drilling, but he's always opposed it. How can we believe him?" This persistence in repeating demonstrably false charges is something new in presidential politics.
Worse than the lies have been the smears. McCain ran a television ad claiming that Obama favored "comprehensive" sex education for kindergartners. (Obama favored a bill that would have warned kindergartners about sexual predators and improper touching.) The accusation that Obama was referring to Sarah Palin when he said McCain's effort to remarket his economic policies was putting "lipstick on a pig" was another clearly misleading attack"an obnoxious attempt to divert attention from Palin's lack of fitness for the job and the recklessness with which McCain chose her. McCain's assault on the "�lite media" for spreading rumors about Palin's personal life"actually, the culprits were a few bloggers and the tabloid press"was more of the same. And that gets us close to the real problem here. The McCain camp has decided that its candidate can't win honorably, on the issues, so it has resorted to transparent and phony diversions.
This new strategy emerged during the first week of Obama's overseas trip in late July. McCain had been intending to contrast his alleged foreign policy expertise and toughness with Obama's inexperience and alleged weakness. McCain wanted to "win" the Iraq war and face down the Iranians. But those issues became moot when the Iraqis said they favored Obama's withdrawal plan and the Bush Administration started talking to the Iranians. At that point, McCain committed his original sin"out of pique, I believe"questioning Obama's patriotism, saying the Democrat would rather lose a war than lose an election. Ever since, McCain's campaign has been a series of snide and demeaning ads accompanied by the daily gush of untruths that have now been widely documented and exposed. The strategy is an obvious attempt to camouflage the current unpopularity of his Republican brand, the insubstantiality of his vice-presidential choice, and his agreement on most issues"especially economic matters"with an exceedingly unpopular President.
The good news is that the vile times may be ending. The coming debates will decide this race, and it isn't easy to tell lies when your opponent is standing right next to you. The Wall Street collapse demands a more sober campaign as well. But these dreadful weeks should not be forgotten. John McCain has raised serious questions about whether he has the character to lead the nation. He has defaced his beloved military code of honor. He has run a dirty campaign.
I love my life. I love where I live. And I am passionate about my passions. I love to dance. Necessary to live: music, piano, singing, writing, acting, painting.
I have been fighting for and supporting the arts all my adult life. Since 2004, I have been working with other activists to end the Darfur genocide.
I have traveled to Europe many times since my early twenties. Places I have been: many USA states including Hawaii, Montreal, Canada, Barbados, France, Spain, Luxembourg, England, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Germany - and have wonderful memories.
My last trip was in May - June 2013 to Spain.
I would like to travel to Europe and Kyoto, Japan.
I love the southwest where I have visited Hopi, Navajo, Zia and San Idlefonso potters.
Life is exciting and I intend to live it full-out to the end.
B.S. and M.M., both in music
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Khartoum, Sudan Stop Genocide Time
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Spain Time
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Melbourne Time
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RAFA NADAL -BRING BACK LONG PANTS - SLEEVELESS TOPS
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Darfur - The Abandoned Genocide - a video by Sandra Hammel
Want to help? Call 1~800~GENOCIDE
"May I Suggest" by Susan Werner
Satchita - Playing for Change
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Genocide is not only a word,
it is crying of the whole human race.
There is nothing redeeming about being silent
when speaking up is the humane thing to do.
The honor and integrity of the human race is at stake.
