Everyone's making this election seem as if the big deal was that a black man was elected. Conservative media is going for it, sort of saying "I guess America was ready - how could we stem that tide?". Bullshit. It's not that Obama is black ("bi-racial" is probably more accurate) but that he's NOT GEORGE BUSH. In fact, he's what a President should be. He's learned. He's a former professor of constitutional law. Can you imagine George Bush teaching a class on constitutional law? No, I did...

These guys can't wait to get licensed. I'm surprised we haven't heard a peep from them yet - maybe they're doing an AmEx and are secretly preparing their request. I can't imagine they aren't going to try to buy a bank or become a holding company or something. Betcha anything we hear from them soon. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you... (Image) (Image) Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Bank of Wal*Mart God help us all.

I've been taking some time off from DU to deal with an illness, so I've written very little lately. I hope that when I'm done with treatment that I'll be healthy. Certainly, I'll have a greater respect for the value of health. As is so often the case, you don't know what something is worth until you lose it. What has encouraged me most about the Obama win is not so much the win within the country (although make no mistake - I am thoroughly happy about that) but the reaction of the world. Al...

 
This is NOT good. My ex-employer's customers cannot pay my ex-employer. My ex-employer cannot pay me the last few paychecks. I cannot pay my mortgage/car/insurance/credit, whatever. If I have money, I spend money on things that make someone else rich. That's trickle UP. Money at the top? Why should it trickle down? This is trickle-down poverty, pure and simple. The only good thing to come out of this is that the credit card collection people are VERY nice. They WANT to help. They're sca...

White House Appearance ‘A Painful Reminder,’ Experts Say President George W. Bush used a Rose Garden appearance today to reassure investors that he was at the helm of the U.S. economy, causing stock markets to plummet around the world. “You don’t have to worry about this economy, because I am in charge of it,” said Mr. Bush, touching off what some observers were calling a global financial panic. Mr. Bush began his remarks about the economy at 10:30 A.M. eastern time, and by 10:31 markets arou...

Make no mistake - I have a degree in computer science, am one in a handful in the world that understands a particular technology, have written books, articles, and have lectured. But I can't understand my frickin' TIVO, and yesterday I just got a BlackBerry. I want to throw it away and just get a plain old phone. I don't think I'm stupid, I think I'm just tired of having to go up a learning curve for every new device I buy. I want to just buy something and use the frickin' thing. Is that to...

There is a LOT of turnout and a LOT of excitement. Much more than usual. The weather helps a lot too (67 degrees in January). More than I remember there are political signs everywhere. Most all are for dems. I wish I thought to bring a camera but I didn't expect it to be quite that level of activity. Day and night we get calls from all the campaigns (dem campaigns) and pollsters, to the point where the novelty wears off and it gets annoying. Pollsters are calling even late at night and a...

I live in Southern NH. I cannot wait for Tuesday. Because maybe then all this shit will be over. The phone is constantly ringing with people from the Edwards or Obama campaigns (Clinton, thankfully, has not been bothering us). It is always ringing with people from this survey or that survey. All I say now is, "Sorry, we're all surveyed out". People coming to the door and dropping off campaign literature, and invariably, every phone call or visit ends with "And have you decided who you're ...

I just got a phone call from some company "raising funds" for my state's police department, then tells me the call is being recorded for some purpose, then tells me they will send stickers in support of my police and all the good work my police do (which they do) and I should display my sticker in support, and would a $25 or $35 dollar donation be better for me? I fell for this years ago - apparently it was a firm in Florida that yes, technically donates to whatever - firefighter, police, or sp...

I like Barack, he's a little inexperienced, but he's inspired and inspirational, and I like that. I think he would do fine. I like Edwards, I'm a little concerned about how he stood down after the last questionable election, but that might have been John Kerry's call. Nevertheless, from a strategic point of view, he's chosen to pursue public election financing, and I think that's a mistake. It's very noble, yes, but that limits him to $38 million whereas the other side will be free to spend ...

Isn't that he co-opted police cars for private use for mistresses Isn't that he used apartments, etc. Isn't this, that or the other thing... But how you conduct your personal life can be most telling. Sure, you can make bad marriage choices, perhaps even more than one. But you DON'T let your spouses. learn about the end of their marriage from watching a press conference. That's either just vindictive, or wanting to conduct your personal life in the spotlight, And you DON'T take phone calls ...

I've only been to countries where they drive on the right, or to Kathmandu, Nepal where they drive wherever the hell they can find room - even the sidewalk. Somehow this question struck me and I've been wondering about it ever since... In the U.S., we drive on the right. Generally stores with two doors (supermarkets, malls, whatever) have the entrance on the right. When we get on an escalator, typically the up escalator is on the right. When we walk down a corridor with people streaming in...

I didn't feel like hassling with posting screenshots somewhere, but on the NRCC.ORG ((Link)) page they encourage you to join the NRCC MySpace page ((Link)). So I took a look... NRCC has.... 105 friends! Hell, the Charles Manson Fan Club (Link) has 5610 friends! That's 50 times more! On edit: I added the link to their MySpace page and now see their home page is pushing FaceBook. :eyes:

I've never had a duck for Thanksgiving, but my wife and I split family visiting this year (usually it's one or the other but this time we split), and she left last night, but today, driving to my family was in dense fog, sleet and freezing rain, and as much as we needed to be together (first time in 15 years with everyone there) I had to scrap it and turn around. It would be a three hour trip in good weather, and I just couldn't see making it up and back, and we couldn't stay over because I hav...

This is kinda stimulated by something else I replied to, but I have an uncle who's a batallion commander (or something) in Colorado. He works professionally and gets paid for it. I also grew up (and live) in New England where we often have volunteers. Sometimes we're tempted to make some fun of them because they get into the whole firefighter thing with the trucks and the radios and the lights, but I'll also tell you that when the shit hits the fan, these guys will be at your door in minutes....

This was the topic of a Talk Of The Nation show on NPR today that I only caught the last few minutes of. So, to continue it here, what do you see as the role of relgion in politics? My personal take: I don't subscribe to a formal religion, but I know many do, and for them, they're most comfortable having someone of their own faith running the country, because it implies (true or not) that that person shares a common set of beliefs with them. I think if a politician makes a point of their rel...

Too bad we don't have an "administration day" because I have some choice words. I myself was too young for Vietnam, too old for Gulf War I (or even II, for that matter), but my dad was an officer in WWII, I have other friends and family serving, and supposedly my great-grandfather fired the first shot on the American side in WWI (but I have no way of verifying this). Regardless, my dad would have been appalled by this: (Image) I'm not condoning anything Lindh might have done, but I remember ...

Ultimately, I suspect Hillary has the momentum to go to the top, and none of the others do, but I have to say that I have changed from originally dismissing Kucinich as a sideline candidate to being really impressed that he has the cojones to do or say what no one else will. I understand that one of the benefits of being a second-tier candidate is that you can say what you really want to say, understanding that you wouldn't get elected anyway, and so we need those, but all down the line Dennis...

I think he has a really bad taste in his mouth and doesn't want to go there again. i don't blame him. But I think if you put him in charge of the EPA, he would totally shine.

Real or potential: - Inability to get along with my wife by compromise or acceptance - Substance abuse (me or her) - Physical abuse - Incompatible extended families - My dogs don't get along with her cats - Loss of affection or trust - Adultery (leading to said lack of trust) - Not making time for each other, diverging, growing apart. It's late on a Friday, so that's all that strikes me at the moment, but you get the idea. Hey, I just saw on the news how Terrance and Philip down the street ar...

If you have Netflix, you can watch it for free online (go to their Watch Now section). Or you should be able to rent it or buy it somewhere. I'm watching it online. It's about how we got into this whole Iraq mess; I'm only halfway through - I originally thought I knew most of this stuff and it was just laid out in a pretty damning fashion, but I'm coming across more and more material that's new. For instance, when the looting started, you remember how the museums with all the Mesopotamia tre...

Give me strength.

I wanna say "so, how's that working out for you?". I read the article on truckers with prohibitively high fuel prices. I read about kids dying in Iraq. I read about how people can't find jobs, or the incredible debt we've built up. Forget the deficit - the deficit is the yearly amount. What counts is the "other D word" - the debt. I read about kids not getting medical SCHIP funding, while Bush is asking for another $60 frickin' billion and how we're going to be in Iraq for another 10 to 15 ye...

They must. Because as a representative, she's not speaking for me. Impeachment is off the table? Not my fucking table. I'll clear it off for you. We'll move this stupid bill and these less-important things, and poof! Table's clear! Room for impeachment! Lay it on me, babe! Whaddayamean, you don't serve impeachment? It's only for blowjobs? I thought it was for high crimes and misdemeanors. Well, hey - if the whole country is being blown, does THAT count? I want a new friggin' waitre...

We The People are getting pissed. Pissed, I tell you! It's not just Iraq. In fact, although a total muck-up, Iraq is just a symptom of the greater wrong here. When I grew up, I thought America was great (I still do). I believed a lot of the crap shoved down my throat about the evil Russkies and rah-rah-God-and-Country, and I know there has always been shady, nasty stuff going on at some level, with cover-ups, from when we irradiated residents of Utah with nuclear bomb fallout (seriously, re...

Another dangerous Chinese toy recalled... (Image) (Saw it on )

By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 17, 12:54 AM ET WASHINGTON - Constitution Day is here and many teenagers know little about commemorating the document's signing. A study being released Monday by a foundation that focuses on journalism and the First Amendment found that 51 percent of high school students questioned had not heard of the day when they are required by law to learn about the Constitution. The occasion is usually observed on or around Sept. 17, the day the docum...

Maybe if enough people post we can forward the page to him, but get well, Keith - there are so few people out there willing to try to enlighten the idiots (not to mention speaking truth to power). It's politically risky nowadays and only a few have the nerve (or cojones). Best wishes.

I like to watch Extreme Home Makeover - generally they have very needy families that they help. There are some criticisms about the show - the work is quick (well, it is - a week) and not always great, but generally it's far more than the family had. But have there been any episodes of helping people in New Orleans? That seems like a primary place - they could easily spend a year there. Or is it just too dangerous and not enough local help to pull it off? I'd like to think they could cobble...

We're still trying to understand it ourselves. With any luck, this will all be over soon. Best, Your mates from across the pond.