Comin up wrote on Aug 31, 2008 4:23 AM:After a series of thrilling speeches in Denver, can anyone honestly say they are going to attend to the Republican Convention? Why? To see Bush speak, slated to occur while Monday Night Football starts it season? To hear what the scriptwriters came up with for Sarah Palin to say so that she appears "strong enough"? To watch the stage fill with enough paid African-American "extras" and few Latinos to prove how diverse is the GOP's appeal? To hear speech after speech about how trickle-down economic principles are so wonderful? Or about how, after 8 years of trying to make the federal government a completely incompetent outfit, the federal government is a completely incompetent outfit? Or perhaps to be reminded over and over how frightened I should be of terrorists and homosexuals? Um, no thanks. The Democratic Convention is phony too, but at least they try to appeal to things that are admirable or inspiring or that are not all-out lies. Me: I'm ready for some football!

To M Liles wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:02 AM:To deny a fetus any rights boggles my mind. We agree that a major issue is the availability of birth control. No contest. That aside, WHO gets to decide what is who? Maybe you are smarter than I am, but once something begins, who has the authority to decide when WHO becomes WHAT?

question for juious wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:13 AM:Speaking of karma, as you misunderstand the meaning of the word, what's your opinion of Reagan's Alzheimer's, Thatcher's dementia, McCain's bouts of cancer, Cheney's heart attacks, and the disappearance of Colin Powell? Just curious.

Gustav and Katrina wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:17 AM:Poor Republicans. Just as they are about to begin their fiesta, hurricane Gustav might be gearing up to slam into New Orleans. Makes you wonder how the GOP will handle this living reminder of Katrina. The last thing Republicans want America to be thinking about as they meet is Katrina, I'd guess. Will they attend to Gustav to show they've learned? They can't risk ignoring yet another Big Easy disaster, can they? If there's no damage to life, will the GOP speakers praise the Mayor for his early evacuation? No, he's a Democrat. Stay tuned, folks, this should be good.

In perspective wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:19 AM:I usually don’t make a habit of defending Republicans but this thing about McCain and how many houses he own is ridiculous. As far as I can determine, these “extra” houses are investment rental properties, not primary or secondary residences.
It would be like asking me how many bank CD’s I own at any one time. I’d have to look it up and get back to you. Which was McCain’s answer as well.

Some things to look forward to wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:24 AM:In a few weeks, we'll all be treated to the campaign debates. Obama vs McCain. Biden vs Palin. I assume that each will include important, critical questions about how the US should handle Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, etc. If the questions are tough, we can all agree, it'll be the Democrats in each debate that shine, the Republicans that will appear, accurately, to be clueless or confused. Of course, this being America, Obama/Biden's knowledge of the world will be seen as reasons not to vote for them. Too smart-alecky. We want people like us, people who don't know too much but who have the instincts of character, who have simple spunk and faith. Every time McCain blunders and Palin admits she just doesn't know, the GOP will get a bump. Clinton at least, for all his brains, knew enough to try to sound dumb, and he won twice. Ahhh, makes you proud, don't it?

Instant Karma wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:29 AM:You want to talk about karma? Just look what’s happened to the people of the United States since the election (and I use that term loosely) of GWB in 2000.
9/11, Iraq, Katrina, gas prices, economic meltdown. Now that’s Devine payback of Biblical proportion, Junious.

Fewest strokes wins in any language wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:39 AM:What the LPGA really needs to do is require the foreign players to teach the Americans how to play golf.

Tyranny of the minority wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:59 AM:Kind of ironic really that Jeff Schwilk considers a measure that got 62% of the vote as being soundly defeated. Now he knows what it’s like to be in a minority class and still get your way at the displeasure of the majority. And he heralds it as some sort of victory for the people, most of which don’t see it that way. Too funny!

How soon they forget wrote on Aug 31, 2008 6:21 AM:Dilettante, eh? I suppose our current ex cheerleader, ex prep school frat boy, ex alcoholic, ex failed businessman, who kept the skies of Texas safe from the Vietnamese Air Force (when he could actually find the time) is a model statesman of whom we can all be proud.
I’ll bet you voted for that one, twice, didn’t you, Fred?

Live within your means wrote on Aug 31, 2008 6:46 AM:The Bush Administration didn’t destroy the middle class, Mr. Eichstaedt.
When we hear folks saying, “I bought a house I can’t afford, and I owe $15,000 on my credit cards and I need help!” Whose fault is that?
When the banks lent money and extended credit to people who couldn’t pay it back, whose fault is that?
It appears to be my fault. If the Democrats are in charge my taxes will bail out the overextended people. If the Republicans are in charge my taxes will bail out the overextended businesses.
Americans are free to make bad decisions. If one does not have to pay for mistakes, one does not learn from them.

Chuck wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:06 AM:>>>Let's leave Iraq, but bill them first>>> That will never fly with liberals. Just as they wont drill, preferring to sends $800 billion of our dollars to the oil criminals, they'd never allow Iraq to repay us in oil. They do best in the polls when America is bankrupt so they can offer you the max amount of freebees

DOBSONS HURRICANE wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:13 AM:Does everyone remember when the [in]famous preacher-man James Dobson exhorted his sheep (and I do mean "sheep") to pray for rain against the outdoor speech by Barack Obama?
Obama was fine, thank you very much, praise the Lord!
But speaking of weather, looks like God's Republicans are going to have their convention in [Larry Craig's favorite community] of the Twin Cities [can't tell twins GWB and McSame apart] competing against a reminder of the single biggest debacle of the Bush/McCain administration [OK, second to Iraq, oh, and the economy, and the corruption thing, and the housing crisis, and the price of gas, and the lack of health care] - a hurricane in New Orleans!
God is a liberal! And he does have a (wry) sense of humor!
Thank you Jesus! Praise the Lord!

The bottom line wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:14 AM:The Constitution of the United States is not a no-fault insurance policy.

What dya know wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:20 AM:I just saw that President Bush will likely "have to miss" his speaking engagement at the Republican convention. He is expecting to "have to attend to" Gustav, don't ya know. The entire Republican party breathes a sigh of relief. Now they can just refer to him distantly as the guy who is on the ball caring for those hurricane victims. LOL Unfortunately, the Monday Night Football production team is furious: Bush's speech had meant big numbers for them. With Bush absent, a few people might actually watch the convention.

Chuck wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:23 AM:>>> the people still soundly defeated this massive tax increase for the third straight time in three years>>> Yes, you brave people defeated it, and you'll continue to listen to your friends who have advanced cancer say: "Yes, I'm going to Loma Linda to get treated" and then when you get cancer you'll have to say "I have to go to Loma Linda to get treated" and you'll pay the massive rate at Loma Linda and your family will pay the $225/night hotel bill for visiting you. How amny hotel stays will it take to cover the increase in property taxes?

Chuck wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:30 AM:>>>John McCain was asked about owning seven houses.>>> Big deal, many people own their home and a few rentals. In fact, you ought to be glad real estate investors are scarfing up properties left behind by liberals who ran to the hills when became upside down on their properties. I have to laugh at the pathetic bureaucrats who are now calling for lawsuits against mortgage lenders, when it was the buyers, obsessed with greed, lied on their applications, closed the loan with money an investor lent them, and then ran to the hills when values dropped--- As is becoming all too common now in America, it's always someone else's fault isnt it. And just to prove my point, how many people who are way upside down on their mortgage will take the government bail-out program to stay in their homes. The answer is NONE.

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:41 AM:ah junius, how 'bout the kharma that's come to the gop:
jack abramoff, larry graig, ted haggard, tom delay, bob ney. duke cunningham, bob livingstone, mark foley, congressman janklow, ted stevens, don young, sarah palin (investigation ongoing), the bush justice dept,
your selective memory makes attacking your letters fun! ted kennedy (40 yrs ago) and oj (not identified with the party-what are you talking about?)
i could go on with the republican list, by the way, these are just the big swindlers/hypocrite/closet gays of the gop

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:47 AM:hey arlan brown
bill the iraqis? how 'bout we bill the contractors who took 70% of the money without doing any of the work?
thanks for admitting we invaded for oil
now do your homework on offshore drilling-you've been fooled by the gop
blaming the dems for iraq and high gas prices demonstrates a lack of information and understanding about the world. after all, bush claimed he could 'talk' the middle east countries into producing more oil...
where's the accountability, republicans? as obama said, when will you 'own' your own actions?

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:49 AM:to george bolton
The taxpayers are being bled white by the corrupt U.N. and globalism.

huh? the un can't tax us citizens and 'globalism' is the name corporations have given as the excuse for their war on the middle class-it's multinational corporations that are the enemy-all the rest are bogeyman meant to distract us

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:55 AM:Don't turn the country over to a dilettante

fred shuster of vista gets the 'most inane letter award'
okay, so he doesn't like obama, fair enough-his reasons appear to be that he is a freshman? and worked in the hood and...
those two chile peppers act as if they were cool pops?
"Disingenuous" jumps to mind only because I have heard both Obama and Clinton when they were naturally hot and a bit bothersome before the primary election'

what does this even mean? i've yet to read a letter explaining why mccain would make a better prez than obama-instead we get vague smears from people who can't even write down the republican talking points correctly

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:57 AM:Dear Margaret McCown Liles-bravo!
you got it exactly right!

The way to reduce abortions is to increase the availability of birth control. Outlawing abortions is not the way. The more stringent the rules against abortion, the higher the abortion rate throughout the world. Of course, male chauvinist pro-lifers like McCain (who dumped his first wife for a younger, much-richer model �“�“ and made fun of Janet Reno and Chelsea Clinton because of their looks) aren't so much interested in saving fetuses as they are in punishing women.

Paul wrote on Aug 31, 2008 8:01 AM:continue our march toward a return to government of the people, by the people and for the people!

hey jeff schwilk, i'm not one of your people! and remember that when you take a position like the minutemen do, it's likely to taint your opinion on other subjects-i'm now in favor of the hospital bond, thanks to you! way to persude!

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 8:09 AM:From yesterday -
Well, "Bill" at 9:09PM on the 30th,
it is my considered opinion that McGWB will be as fine a leader as GWB.
Now we must remember that while GWB was leader our National Debt TRIPLED.
And we must remember that while GWB was leader -
our economy has gone down the toilet,
he has involved us in the quagmire of Iraq,
gasoline has tripled in price,
FEMA showed how efficient and responsive they are,
GWB has alienated most, if not all, of our allies,
GWB fought for amnesty of illegal aliens and lost,
GWB has dragged his feet on securing our borders,
(what good is all this Homeland Security BULL if our borders are as porous as a sieve),
he has violated the U.S. Constitution, the Constitutional Rights of American Citizens, the Geneva Conventions and International Law.
AND those ARE his good points.
Gimme more.....when pigs fly!
Regards, Alf.

Chuck wrote on Aug 31, 2008 8:15 AM:Can you just imagine the hate spew toward Bush that will come from Nagin if the hurricane misses New Orleans to the west. No doubt he'll want to shake down Bush to pay for the evacuation of New Orleans and he'll call a press conference to inform the world that Bush cant read a hurricane map.

And the normal people will just reminisce Katrina, when Washingtom told Nagin 36 hours in advance that a disaster was headed his way, and he told Bush to shove it because he's in charge of New Orleans. Nagin managed to sink 1600 busses that could have been used for evacuation had he acted as Washington told him

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 8:25 AM:The letter from Arlan Brown reminds me that,
not that long ago the warmongers and some not-so-warmongers were justifying our continued occupation of Iraq because "we broke it and we must fix it".
What happened to that BS excuse??
The REAL intelligence showed that Saddam had NO WMDs, no delivery systems and not only had NO connection to 9/11 but that Saddam was openly hostile to the perpetrators of 9/11, Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Mrs. Alf had a wonderful suggestion with which I agree, let GWB, his cronies, the neoCONs, Blackwater, certain oil companies (also his cronies) and all who have made a
PROFIT
from this invasion and occupation of Iraq
PAY FOR IT.
Sometimes Mrs. Alf is truly inspired.
If I wreck YOUR house and then say
"Hey, you have some money, YOU fix the damage that I did",
what would YOU say to me?
I don't believe that YOUR response would be printable here, would it?
Regards, Alf.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 9:23 AM:Yesterday, I noticed a comment by a poster, I did not know much about it, so before commenting, did some research. Now...
"Ms M" {Aug 30} @2:42 PM, I'm ready to respond to your post regarding these alleged anarchist protesters, Food not Bombs, who were raided on Friday night and Saturday.
The internet is a wonderful thing, a very useful tool to do some research on sbjects, people, and events.
Anyways...
"Ms M" said: "What's up with the cons raiding homes of protestor's. What happened to free speech?"
Now I think when most people think of protestors they often think of people marching, holding signs, maybe chanting, sometimes shouting, but always done legally, staying within boundaries, on sidewalks, and basically getting their voices heard, while not causing trouble.
This does NOT describe the "The RNC Welcoming Committee", which is a self-described "anarchist/anti-authoritarian organizing body preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota." That comes from their own website, and they are: self-described anarchists. Under "What we want (the goals)" they post this: "We need folks with an alternative vision to come to the Twin Cities and turn their dreams into reality. Start something new, be creative..." and they post that they encourage free-lancing, apart from other known & posted NORNC activities.
Of the arrested, we have one who is the child of an anarchist, and a member of both United for Peace & Justice, and American Friends Service Committee. How the RNC welcoming committee and these other two groups figuire in together, I'll never know.

Greenergy wrote on Aug 31, 2008 9:34 AM:Joseph Eichstaedt's letter hits a home run, but I did catch one spelling error.
In the case of the current administration, the correct term is not "oligarchy" but "OILigarchy."

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:00 AM:Missspellled

Letter writer Joseph Eichstaedt point in absolutely correct … but he missspellled one word, central to failure of the Bush-McCain policy. The word is correctly spelled as OILigarchy</B.

For the record wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:02 AM:Football starts on Thursday when McCain speaks, not Monday when Bush speaks.

he is kidding right wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:04 AM:Please tell me Arlan Brown is joking with his little tasteless letter about the Iraqi people paying us for invading and destroying their country. The American taxpayer is already paying all the American arms dealers and weapons makers who make money off of war. Our children and grandchildren will also be paying for this for decades. As for taking their oil, our for-profit oil companies will get their oil, not the American or Iraqi people.

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:06 AM:Wrong word

Letter writer George Bolton’s last sentence is very worthy of concerning: “ It is always American money and troops in the van rescuing areas in which we have no intrinsic interest. The taxpayers are being bled white by the corrupt U.N. and globalism.”

One minor correction, however. The correct term is Hegemony, not globalism.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:12 AM:You know...
sometimes the absolute lunacy is just too funny a thing, to not notice. LOL

Take a look at Joseph Eichstaedt's letter today.

He claims the Bush oligarchy is destroying the middle-class. What oligarchy? We have a divided government since 2006. And not to get side-tracked here, but... I keep hearing this mindless mantra of "the last 8 years." Not 8, 6 years.. dem's have controlled congress since 2006. so when they say 8, ask em if they are part of the oligarchy.

And then he really get's nutty.
"..economy..based on spending?..
Who really profits.. the wealthy merchants?

I could go on, but .. really?? What's the point? For a Lib, it's never about evidence, it's about how they feel about the evidence.
Example, he says: "The Bush administration has all but destroyed the middle class."
Not true, the middle-class has actually slightly expanded under Bush, and the numbers show most of the movement has been upward, from middle-class to upper middle.

And again, he claims: "Tax relief for the wealthy..."
What he really wanted to say is, only "the Rich", but that's not accurate, and they know that's not accurate. Bush cut taxes all the way down, including the previous lowest bracket on the lowest incomes, Clinton had it at 15%, Bush lowered it to 10%.
You want to talk about who loves poor people more, Bush does.

He then says: "We need fair trade, not free trade."
I hear this a lot from liberals. They are absolutely fixated on the past. When only Daddy worked, Mommy stayed home, Unions flourished, and taxes were skyhigh. You knw, the good ole days.
In virtually every liberal statement, they are attempting to recreate a time that will never exist again.
This is not progressive, folks. This is Status Quo thinking. And they have the nerve to talk about conservatives living in the past.
This is why I say, they need to be held accountable for their failing legacy programs, Social Security, MediCare.
We will never go back to those days, because the world has changed. Liberals fail to see this.

And then he complains about a 6% home loan? Or a 3% return on his money?
Or an inflation rate?
Joe, in all sincerity. You've gone off the deep end, friend. Home loans are at historical lows, yet he thinks he's being oppressed? Hey Joe, you want to go back to the Carter misery index?
And regarding rates of return... I need to have a sit down with him, and show him some of my investments. 3% my eye.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:20 AM:You know another thing I am just struck by? This insistance that John McCain know how many houses he owns.
It is an attempt to make a comparison about McCain and his knowledge of everyday, regular, hourly, one home owning, grocery buying, driving to work, and cutting their own lawn, Americans.

I don't know about you, but I don't want a President who cuts his own lawn. I need him to focus on bigger things, like nuclear bombs in Iran, which may wipe out my lawn. You see what I'm saying?

I can't have my President out shopping for groceries, choosing between skim milk or 2%, I need him focused on the things that matter. Like Russian aggression on a fellow democratic country.

Apparently, Mary Sias thinks John or barack needs to help her write a shopping list?

Learn wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:21 AM:Learn the truth about Mccain's pick for VP. She is so pro-fetus/anti-child. She returned to work only 3 days after having her baby...and especially a special needs child. Wow! She voted to cancel the bridge to nowhere after it was defeated in Congress...Wow! She doesn't believe climate change is man-made. Wow! There is so much dirt on her, she could fill in a glacier or two up in Alaska. Thanks McCain for pushing me stronger to vote for Obama/Biden and bring back America. By the way, are you better off now than you were 8 years ago or 4 years ago? NO. Thanks to the Bush/McCain politics. More job layoffs coming, housing slump and rising fuel bills. Wake up Americans, and vote for a change because we don't need another 4 more years of this hell.

Going Going Gone wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:23 AM:Now the NY Times reports that, indeed, Bush and Cheney will miss the Republican Convention. How many times in history has the sitting President and the sitting VP missed the convention of their party? So with their absence, no one will notice that McCain, who voted Bush's wishes more than 90% of the time, has anything to do with Bush policies, right? You never lose betting against Americans' intelligence.

Food wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:23 AM:Funny how an article made it in this paper about a church having to put together a food bank, yet Bush says the economy is great and other republicans say to quit whining. Oh wait those are the republicans that own so many houses they can't remember how many and are rich (5 million plus in the bank). The republicans are so far removed from reality.

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:30 AM:Thank you for asking, "To M Liles" at 5:02AM.
The decision rests solely with the PERSON whose body the fetus occupies, given the constraints of the CURRENT LAW.
Our history as a nation and as a people has been one of continued PROGRESS.
To re-ban abortion is absolute REGRESS.
I still wonder how many of the sanctimonious, pontificating "pro-lifers" would ABUSE their teenage daughter by FORCING her to carry a fetus to term?
Make no mistake about it, FORCING a teenager to carry a fetus to term against her will is, in fact, CHILD ABUSE!
Regards, Alf.

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:38 AM:O’ Lordy! John McCain’s got so many houses, nobody knows what door do knock at. But Mary Sias’s letter brought back an old childhood memory. We had this kid back in the eight grade who wore leg braces, result of polio. That was the most spoiled brat kid I ever knew. His mama spoiled that kid so bad he did whatever he wanted. He slammed his books down, kicked the chairs around him, interrupted the teacher incessantly to go to the bathroom or just to walk around, and was disrespectful of the teacher. Now Ms. Price was a good teacher. We all respected her and obeyed her.

Finally Ms. Price had enough of that little maverick Mike. One day, after a particularly disruptive outburst, Ms Price walked over with her ruler and gave Mike a whack upside the head and gave him a preaching to. We knew Ms. Price was right on this. There was dead silence except for the little maverick’s fake wailing. You would have thought she had hit him with a billy club.

But that was the little maverick’s modus operandi - If he was corrected or reproached he always made himself the victim, and made his critics look like unsympathetic attackers.

Well, Mike’s parents made a big stink. The principal called us kids in and asked one question: Did Ms. Price hit Mike? We all said yes... but ... but ...

There were no buts about it. Ms. Price was fired. That was over sixty years ago, but I will never forget that little maverick. And Mama don’t have much respect for maverick McCain, who always falls back on his POW stint as cover for his wrongdoing and his maverick mistakes. If McCain can’t grow up, we need a mature man running this country. We got tens of thousands of veterans who suffered and were tortured during war. And they certainly deserve more respect than the GOP showed toward triple amputee Senator Max Cleland. At least McCain has all four of his limbs and doesn’t yet have to use a wheelchair.

The malady effects of polio are a terrible lifetime burden. So are the effects of being a tortured POW. But the way Mama sees it, life if full of adversity. I have seen lots of it. That is just the way the mop flops, honey. Get over it. You, too, John McCain.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:40 AM:I think Fred Schuster is onto something here, let's explore this further, shall we?
Foreign Relations experience:
P: Governor of state that borders two foreign countries (Canada and Russia)

O: Chaired Senate subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session.

Military Affairs experience:
P: Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard.

O: None

And personally...
I think it says volumes about this question of experience, when the Democrats are comparing their #1, to our #2 on the tickets.

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:43 AM:It really is too bad that there isn't a "[-]" on the letters themselves.
That way I could filter out anything by Schwilk.
His diatribes, hate and antics have caused him much ill repute.
Regards, Alf.

Yokozuna to Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:46 AM:Do you only agree with Mrs. Alf to start earning your next six month token? :)

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 10:56 AM:McCain’s moment of MIS-conception is a better title for the excellent letter today by Margaret McGowen Liles. Thank you, Margaret. Love you well grounded, common sense writing.

To accord holy status to a mass of unviable fetal matter is like primitives who offered up goat entrails on their altars to their gods. So many religious people believe God honors our stinking offerings.

Life ain’t sacred until it is viable. And when the fetus becomes viable, it is sacred, and we should not be bombing pregnant women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jesus said "whatever you do unto the least of these, my bretheren, you do it unto me."

Whatever you feelings for fetuses, absolute respect must be accorded to babies when they come into this world. And that included providing them with nourishing food, shelter, clothing, and HEALTH CARE. But most of, we must provide them with love. There is a gay couple in my church, and they provide ALL of these things to their little baby girl. That is sure a lot better than the government does. This Bush-McCain bunch don't respect babies and children.

Reader R wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:03 AM:AP news By LARA JAKES JORDAN, 8-31-08

QUOTE: It's unusual for the spouse of a presidential candidate to go on a Sunday talk show, but Cindy McCain used her 10 minutes to defend her husband from charges of elitism.

She also signaled she'd want to focus on humanitarian crises as first lady, talking about her meetings in Georgia last week with refugees of the recent Russian invasion.

Georgia "is a wonderful, young democracy," [Mrs.] McCain said. "We can't let it go. We can't let a country come back in and take it back down to a Soviet-style government. This is democracy, and that's what we're all about."

She added: "The United States is the best at what we do. We're the ones that give the most and give the earliest, every time something happens. And I'd like to continue that, and also encourage others to get involved. You don't have to cross an ocean to be of help." ENDQUOTE

Sounds like Mrs. McCain is suggesting we fight for Georgia, allow those from Georgia to enter USA, etc.

We need to take care of our own US American challenges, concerns, and business (finances, education, health, maintaining the Constitution, etc.) first, before we help a foreign country.

Am certain we have some level of 'humanitarian crises' in the USA. We need to be involved in improving the USA.

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:10 AM:Karma is coming, for sure. And his name is Guatav. I only know about three people named Gustav -- Gustav Flaubert, Gustav Eiffel, the engineer architect of the Eiffel, and a Confederate general from my hometown in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. That was Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. Ain’t got no respect for him.

But I bet the whole world got respect for Hurricane Gustave. He is the bad karma for the Bush failure to respond three years ago. MAMA believes and see the bad karma of Katrina coming back.

Sunday Morning News Shows wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:12 AM:One thing appears certain – the advantage Biden has on foreign affairs, he loses to Palin on energy. In an interview Palin remarked that Biden had been wrong in voting against the Trans-Alaskan pipeline 30 years ago – the pipeline that has brought 15 BILLION gallons of fuel to the lower 48 – and he is wrong on that subject today.

No one is a perfect match – I think Palin’s pro-life and creationism positions are stupid, but may (like Reagan’s) be more philosophical than political – but at least the inexperience on the Republican ticket is at the bottom end of the ticket, not the top!

Style points to Palin – when she took over as Governor, she ended the use of the Governor’s plane, and fired the Governor’s chefs.

There are many positive points – and negative points – to be made for and against all four candidates. All but Kool-Aid drinkers on both sides will have lots to consider before election day.

My vote is still against Obama, because as Brian Williams quoted an observer of the Obama speech said, in essence: The guy is a spell-binder, but he is going to give us everything!

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have,” – Gerald Ford

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:16 AM:Missspellled

Letter writer Joseph Eichstaedt point in absolutely correct … but he missspellled one word, central to failure of the Bush-McCain policy. The word is correctly spelled as OILigarchy</B.
10:02am

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:18 AM:Simply amazing....

You know.. between the comments of "Gustav and Katrina" @5:17 AM,
"Instant Karma" @5:29 AM,
and "DOBSONS HURRICANE" @7:13 AM...

I think we are getting a glimpse into the soul of the liberal wing of the democrat party. You know the one's I'm talking about, right?
They are the one's who say "they care", "I feel your pain", "We're looking out for the little guy", and all that other malarkey.
Do you know, How I know it's malarkey?
Cause, these are the same people who said: "Good news in Iraq, would be bad news for Democrats."
Always.. ALWAYS politics first.
Look at Barack Obama's hardest choice in life: Coming out against the Iraq War, a political choice.
About being "in touch" with these little people, he said about high gas prices: I just wished they wouldn't have risen so quickly. So high gas prices on blue collar working class people aren't the problem, the gas price just rose up too quickly?

I'm telling ya folks, these people are so depraved, they are secretly joyous about this event, this hurricane.. for political reasons. Some have voiced as much today, their glee over how Republicans are being squeezed between a potential disaster and their convention. For me, personally. I think a scaled down convention would be the right thing to do, and focus on those who need to be helped to evade this thing.
But it is just astonishing, the callousness shown by these so-called loving, open-minded, tolerant, and collectively motivated people. I hope that each and everyone of you are finding out right now what you, as an individual can do to help. Are you?
Or are you just more of the same?
I see that Ray "Schoolbus" Nagin has learned, and thank God Louisiana now has a take charge Republican Govenor who does not wait on Washington to act.
I'm guessing he learned that from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who also didn't wait on help. Come to think of it, did California wait for Washington, when the fires were raging?
I don't think we did?

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:18 AM:Wrong word

Letter writer George Bolton’s last sentence is very worthy of concerning: “ It is always American money and troops in the van rescuing areas in which we have no intrinsic interest. The taxpayers are being bled white by the corrupt U.N. and globalism.”

One minor correction, however. The correct term is Hegemony, not globalism.
Submitted 10:07am / Resubmitted 11:18am

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:25 AM:O’ Lordy! John McCain’s got so many houses, nobody knows what door do knock at. But Mary Sias’s letter brought back an old childhood memory. We had this kid back in the eight grade who wore leg braces, result of polio. That was the most spoiled brat kid I ever knew. His mama spoiled that kid so bad he did whatever he wanted. He slammed his books down, kicked the chairs around him, interrupted the teacher incessantly to go to the bathroom or just to walk around, and was disrespectful of the teacher. Now Ms. Price was a good teacher. We all respected her and obeyed her.

Finally Ms. Price had enough of that little maverick Mike. One day, after a particularly disruptive outburst, Ms Price walked over with her ruler and gave Mike a whack upside the head and gave him a preaching to. We knew Ms. Price was right on this. There was dead silence except for the little maverick’s fake wailing. You would have thought she had hit him with a billy club.

But that was the little maverick’s modus operandi - If he was corrected or reproached he always made himself the victim, and made his critics look like unsympathetic attackers.

Well, Mike’s parents made a big stink. The principal called us kids in and asked one question: Did Ms. Price hit Mike? We all said yes … but … but …

There were no buts about it. Ms. Price was fired. That was over sixty years ago, but I will never forget that little maverick. And Mama don’t have much respect for maverick McCain, who always falls back on his POW stint as cover for his wrongdoing and his maverick mistakes. If McCain can’t grow up, we need a mature man running this country. We got tens of thousands of veterans who suffered and were tortured during war. And they certainly deserve more respect than the GOP showed toward triple amputee Senator Max Cleland. At least McCain has all four of his limbs and doesn’t yet have to use a wheelchair.

The malady effects of polio are a terrible lifetime burden. So are the effects of being a tortured POW. But the way Mama sees it, life if full of adversity. I have seen lots of it. That is just the way the mop flops, honey. Get over it. You too, John McCain.

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:38 AM:Well, "Yokozuna to Alf" at 10:46AM,
nope.
I only agree with her when she is inspired and/or right.
At one year, assuming I make it, I'll get a medallion and I will wear my naked lady tie (tastefully drawn, of course). (Tokens are for under 1 year.)
Regards, Alf.

snerd wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:38 AM:As the parent of a handicapped child I can't believe Ms. Pallin would have a special needs child and then leave him just to be in politics. If ever a child needed a mother at home it is a special needs child. The work and love involved is overwhelming. This seems to me to be one more example of the religious right and their idea of family values, which is to worry more about the fetus and less about the children once they are born. She should have resigned as governor and stayed at home where her special needs child needs her way more than her career.

Focal Point wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:39 AM:Candidates: Registered citizens of the Democratic and the Republican parties have made up their minds. The undecided independents are not being fooled by all this hype of personality and who is on the tickets. It is going to be issues. the economy. the war and health coverage. The media is listeningt to the pundits and the campaign propaganda and feeding to the public. I am turning off the tv and going to the beach.

Gotta Wonder wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:41 AM:In perspective[-] wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:19 AM: 'Keep your mind on the money and the money on your mind." Snoop Dog knows reality. John McCain does not.

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:43 AM:On our border ??

Ron makes the claim that Sarah Palin has foreign relations experience because Alaska borders Russia (10:40 AM).

Hmm-m-m-m-m-m. If Alaska borders Russia, then so does Hawaii, I suppose. What’s a little bit of water.

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:52 AM:Bad Perspective

As far as "In perspective" could figure out in his blog 5:19 AM, McCain’s seven plus residences are "investment rental properties."

NOT SO. You did not do your research. You merely made a rash assumption. The public records are available online. Check again. Also, check McCain income tax statements: he declared no rental income from his houses.

to Debbie Shidler wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:55 AM:Debbie you indicate that you would not allow 3 generations in the house, nor 2 generations and a friend.

Does that also mean no nannies, no cooks, no visitors can live in the house.

Or are visitors allowed only during daytime, i.e. cannot sleep over.

Many cultures still honor the old and care for them at the younger generations' home.

Many younger families are able to have 'young' grandparents to watch their child(ren) while they are at work
and these 'young grandparents' live / eat / sleep there.

How about 2 very old people not wishing to leave home and have a live-in.

Live-ins come in many shapes.

We have water police, yard police, and now house police.

Thought Republicans want less government interference with our personal lives.

Ms M wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:01 PM:This morning, on ABC in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Cindy McCain ......
When asked about Palin's national security experience, Cindy McCain could not come up with anything beyond the fact that, after all, her state is right next to Russia. "You know, the experience that she comes from is, what she has done in government -- and remember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia." ....WOW - I'M SPEECHLESS! What a profound statement from a possible future first lady about a possible vp of the USA. DUH!

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:05 PM:“Just send the Iraqis a bill” wrote Arlan Brown.

Reminds me of a story about my scrappy little cousin, Diddy. He was tough but little. One day he met up with this big bully, who wanted his lunch money. This bully tried to shake down. He knew my cousin had lunch money, cause he saw him eating in the lunch room every day. Long time ago. He grabbed Diddy around the neck, but Diddy bloodied his nose and broke his tooth. The bully got Diddy’s lunch money, but he paid a price for it -- and he still has a broken tooth the last time I saw him some time back. He never bothered Diddy again.

So Arlan Brown raises the question: If the Bully sends him a bill, should Diddy pay?

Not so sure wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:07 PM:Of course the yahoos have had a couple of days to invent spins to make Sarah appear wildly ready to lead. Raoul says she has military experience from signing the budget on the Alaska Guard. Ron has her in deep tete-a-tetes with her neighbors, Canada and Russia. Pretty comical. We can hear what raoul and Ron would say if Sarah were a Democrat. Nevertheless, the crude facts remain: Obama has been on the national stage, voicing public and sometimes risky opinions. And his opinions have tended to be correct. He called the Iraq invasion perfectly. McCain botched it royally. He called the Iraq pullout perfectly. McCain is clueless, still refusing to surrender to the North Vietnamese. Obama promises too much? Hey, it's the season. McCain has promised to beef up military spending, increase health spending, and balance the budget. Everyone promises everything, didn't you notice? Or do you believe McCain? LOL

Who decides wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:08 PM:QUOTE: To M Liles[-] wrote on Aug 31, 2008 5:02 AM:To deny a fetus any rights boggles my mind. We agree that a major issue is the availability of birth control. No contest. That aside, WHO gets to decide what is who? ... ENDQUOTE

Medicine - most of the Professional Doctors - have accurate medical truth.

Politicians are not medical experts. Their expertise (if any) is somewhere else.

Using a bible, will not give accurate medical truth.

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:16 PM:Heaven sent excuse!

McCain having Bush and Cheney show up at his convention presented a real big problem. Kind of like having your jailbird ex-husband show up at your wedding.

Well, Gusav just dis-invited Bush and Cheney. What a blessing!
Now McCain can claim he no longer a McBush.

Question for Ron and Cindy McCain wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:20 PM:Which US state is closest to Ireland? Spain? Venezuela? Is Arnie ready to deal with our foreign policy matters with China, California being just a boat ride from Beijing. How comically desperate can these folks get? Look, Obama is relatively inexperienced. That's obvious. But the democratic voters have confidence in him and chose him. Palin is also inexperienced. She'd obviously never have been picked by Republican voters. As a liberal, I have not screamed "inexperienced" at Palin. What I've screamed is, "Republicans cannot claim inexperience is a liability any longer" I stand by that. McCain's judgment comes through again: in that one appointment he mocked most of his own criticisms of Obama.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:25 PM:I knew this would happen, sooner or later....
"Learn" @10:21 AM does exactly as I suspected, QUOTE: "Learn the truth about Mccain's pick for VP. She is so pro-fetus/anti-child. She returned to work only 3 days after having her baby...and especially a special needs child." END Quote

So, here we have a working Mother, a Govenor, who went back to work shortly after her child was born. So what?
Now, here's the action line folks:
means.. she's a bad mother.

Now, any other women, well.. to general, Any other LIBERAL woman would have been given a pass. Afterall, she's doing it all, the proto-typical feminist as preached by the nags.

This woman comes along without the "blessing" of the nags, and she's a bad mother.
I'm telling ya folks, it's ALL about the politics of this, and nothing whatsoever about who she is, how hard she has worked, or how well she care's for her family. IT"S ALL ABOUT THE POLITICS with Liberals.

Look at Clarence Thomas, second balcj judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Historic, right?
WRONG, he did not get the "blessing" of the race traffickers.
And please note... Obama had his own "problems" with this same crowd, questioning his blackness, his slave blood, but deciding later that he was "done for the struggle", and Michele's blood would do.
Just predictable nonsense from Liberals,
Who.. are always liberals first, everything else, second.
And it shows.

hardtack wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:29 PM:“Live within your means” nails it @ 6:46. The middle class destroyed itself with a lot of help from both Parties. What used to be a vast small-investor class became no more than a consumer class when the IRS started punishing interest income and capital gains; and federal deficit spending started sucking the value out of our currency.

I hear a lot of political rhetoric pandering to the middle class vote – and they will probably get it, like they have for the past 60 years. And, for precisely that reason, I don’t expect to see any good come to the working middle class from the present election cycle, no matter who occupies the White House next year.

TFB wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:36 PM:Second try at submitting this

The post from "To M Liles" at 5:02 a.m. asks the questions, regarding control of who or what occupies the most private part of a woman's anatomy, "WHO gets to decide?"
How about the woman who actually owns the body.
The one who is an ACTUAL, not POTENTIAL human person.
Once the uterine contents has achieved measurable EEG brain waves (the standard for human life), which occurs late in the second trimester, as well as biological autonomy (not inside someone else's body), it is entitled to full human rights.
But not a moment before.

SOLON wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:39 PM:Palin is oil drilling expert

Sarah Palin know more about oil drilling than Barack Obama and Joe Biden put together. She has been governor of the most oil-drillingest state in the nation for over 16 months. The Alaska National Wildlife Preserve has so much oil, that when it goes on the world market about ten years from now, it will sate China and the rest of the world for at least six weeks -- that is, if we can get it all extracted in six weeks. This will help drive the price of oil back down to under $500 bbl, and gas to $12.00 a gallon.

We need a charming frontier woman like her to provide direction on our energy future, and to free us of our Middle Eastern oil addition. Oh, by the way, Alaska is also home of the sperm whale. We must utilize every possible source to satisfy our future energy needs. She is a woman with answers to future energy solutions.

Oh Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:41 PM:You won't give it up, will you? You insist that we should play by race or gender rather than issues. Liberals should be pro-Clarence Thomas and Sarah Palin just because they are Black/Women. Because if liberals disagree with these people, they are all about politics. Well, as has been said, and said, and said: D'oy. Ron: liberal and conservative, beliefs about various issues, are nothing BUT politics. Race and gender are NOT politics. You know this, because you are only too happy to be about the issues and the philosophy, but you take this bizarre stance that liberals should not be permitted to vote issues, that it's somehow hypocritical of them to criticize a Black person or a woman for his/her beliefs. Please, Ron, defend this nonsense of yours. Oh, never mind.

Sayonara wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:47 PM:There was a time on this Blog when information was shared and positions were taken from data.

Today, it s a trading of catty comments from the Tuesday Morning Girls Luncheon group, and the Dead=End Boy’s Night Out Never Give an Inch Group.

I’m sorry, nothing in this world is either all good, or all bad and most of life is determined on the margins – but you would not know that here.

This is Feet-in-Concreteville.

Perhaps after November, sanity will return and so will I.

One answer wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:49 PM:Sarah Palin doesn't have the answers to our energy problems, she has one answer: more land giveaways to big oil. Why isn't she talking about the oil giants drilling the land they have already? Because this is a golden moment for corporate welfare, and she wants to join Bush and McCain in their big giveaway to Exxon the welfare queen. What does she know about renewables? Haven't heard much. You?

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:55 PM:It must have been a premature birth. Seven months after Sarah Palin took her wedding vows, she gave birth to the first of her five children. I do believe Sarah is a good mother -- in fact a great loving mother. We lots just like her in my church. And anyone of them would make a better president than George W. Bush.

But that premature birth reminds me of the old joke back in Lousiana, when Ella Mae announced she was getting married, and one of her girl friends exclaimed excitedly: “Getting married!! I didn’t know she was even pregnant!”

God bless the mothers, and God bless the children, even if conceived out of wedlock. Loving care is what matters. A good loving mother would make a heck of better leader for our nation and Bush or Cheney. They would properly tend to our nation’s future.

Alf wrote on Aug 31, 2008 12:56 PM:The comment by "to Debbie Shidler" at 11:55AM reminded me of the time that I spent building our house.
We lived with three (3) generations in one house until my mother-in-law died.
After another 2.5 years, our house passed its final inspection and we moved into the house that "The One Man Crew" aka Alf aka (my real first name) Ken built.
I had many a heated debate with my mother-in-law,
many a game of anagrams,
many a camping trip and
many hours seeing her unedited footage from her field trips that were often better than anything National Geographic EVER did.
Would I do it over again?
In a heartbeat.
Although I would like to skip the last 2 years of her physical decline, even that tought me much about love, living and the process of dying.
Fortunately, with our several acres, parking was not ever an issue.
Regards, Alf.

FOREIGN POLICY wrote on Aug 31, 2008 1:12 PM:Wow! I am so excited to hear about the extensive foreign policy experience Sarah Palin got from all those high-level diplomatic exchanges with Russia and Canada.
I can't wait for all my silly liberal friends, who think they are so smart, to eat their words when I show them the lengthy list of specific foreign policy decisions, military achievements, and, especially, complex international treaties that Palin single-handedly negotiated.
Myself, I'm not too good with research, so I'm hoping Ron and Raoul can assist in helping me compile this extensive list.
Thank you in advance.

Ron wrote on Aug 31, 2008 1:15 PM:You know? I'm actually glad you asked that question... "Who decides" @12:08 PM, and, please... Let me, as I always do, help you out with that thought, ok?

Now, the two safest answers could have been; McCain; at conception, and Obama: at birth. But Barack did not say this, he got all muddled down into the mire of, what is, the abortion culture.
{oh, Yes! It's a culture, within our culture. More like a sub-culture, really} But I.. digress...
Anyways....

I'v