Hello friends,

Since Sara Palin is going to be hosting a $25,000 per plate coffee/breakfast at Centennial Airport in Englewood on Saturday, Oct. 4th, we’re going to show what we think of her AND support our hard-working candidate, Obama, at the same time! Read below for basics of the event.

Denver Post article on Palin’s fundraiser.

Fill your car with friends and signs and arrive in Boulder by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4th. Park somewhere near 28th St. in Boulder. We’ll walk on 28th St., on the sidewalks up to Colorado (by the University) and down to Pearl (by Target), from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. to make our point.

Parking will be on your own in any parking lot on or near 28th. There are lots of businesses with parking lots in and around our walking zone. We don’t want to overload any business and get complaints, so park thoughtfully. If you’re going to the CU game, come early! You can rally first, then tailgate, then enjoy the game!

Signs – bring Obama signs or make your own poster & attach it to a yard stick. Keep message brief & write BIG!

Pass this email on to like-minded friends anywhere in Colorado. We hope to surpass the Anchorage women against Palin rally, which had 1500 people! If you are a member of a democratic group, women’s group, church group, or other forward-thinking group, urge them to show up and bring their friends.

We are contacting the press to make sure our nation knows that Colorado is packed with Obama supporters, and Barack knows we appreciate what he’s doing for us. See you Saturday morning on the route!

Colorado Women against Palin website

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Posted by admin as Discuss!, Politics at 8:19 PM MDT No Comments 

By Sheila Samples

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men~~George Orwell

So here we sit, our heads jerking back and forth so rapidly most of us are suffering severe whiplash. Will the US attack Iran? Will Israel attack Iran? Or will the two war-mongering bullies join forces and “bomb, bomb, bomb” that belligerent twit-nation into subservience?

It’s a great game. A deadly game. The momentum to attack Iran has been building for so long that we’re conditioned to watching it like some grotesque international tennis competition. It’s the Peter Principle Playoffs, with neoconsters and ziomonsters out on the court milling around, working at their highest “levels of incompetence,” feverishly plotting Iran’s destruction. Foul lines mean nothing to them. There are no rules, no officials, no scores, no accountability.

Bolton’s Law

Immediately before Bush invaded Iraq, the criminally insane John Bolton, then Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, made a personal trip to Israel to assure Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that as soon as we destroyed Iraq, we’d “deal with threats” from Syria, Iran and North Korea. However, it’s obvious Iran has always been at the top of the list.

Since 2003, both US and Israeli governments, the corporate media, especially Fox News, and the US Congress have been unrelenting in their campaign to convince the world that Iran is an immediate nuclear threat, although Iran insists it is seeking nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In August 2003, the UK Guardian’s Simon Tisdall wrote, “They call it a trap. But we call it Bolton’s first law of international power politics; keep the other guy guessing; wear him down. When he gives a little, demand a whole lot more. Then zap him anyway.”

Bolton’s Law: Make wild accusations. Escalate terror and confusion. Kill. Repeat.

It’s no laughing matter, but the sight of this tousle-headed, “got milk?” maniac running in circles, warning of—demanding—a nuclear holocaust is good for a grin, albeit a grim one. Even as he was being forced onto the United Nations over national and international objections, Bolton was hot on Iran’s trail. He insisted that Iran is the most dangerous critter out there—harboring terrorists, arming terrorists, training terrorists—sending bombs, IEDs, weapons to Iraq to kill Americans. If it weren’t for Iran, there would have been no 9-11 attack because Iran provided safe haven for the box-cutting killers headed our way. Bolton warned if Iran managed to produce a single nuclear weapon, Israel, the United States—the world—was toast. He promised that Iran will come after us. “That’s the threat,” Bolton barked, “that’s the reality whether you like it or not. And it will be just like Sept. 11, only with nuclear weapons this time.”

Bolton keeps showing up for work even though his paycheck is now signed by the second most powerful Israeli Lobby, the American Enterprise Institute . He’s determined that Iran is going down and, if he can’t goad the US into action, he will whip Israel into a frenzy. Like the Batman’s Joker, Bolton leaps from the pages of the Wall Street Journal in catastrophic convulsions on a regular basis. On July 15, Bolton insisted “we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway,” Bolton reasoned, “…so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible. At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel’s path, and facilitate its efforts where we can.”

Who’s On First?

Bolton is surrounded by fellow psychopaths like Norman Podhoretz who insists our only choice is to bomb Iran before Iran gets the bomb and bombs us. Podhoretz is a key figure in the Playoffs with his constant drumbeat that Iran is the “leading sponsor of terrorism in the world,” and once it achieves nuclear technology, we’re all gonna die!

And National Review’s Larry Kudlow, who swooned ecstatically when Israel cluster-bombed Lebanon two years ago. Israel was “doing the Lord’s work,” defending freedom against the “Iranian cat’s-paw” of terrorism. Kudlow says Israel must not stop, but furiously attack “all the terrorist sanctuaries, training camps, weapons caches, and missile systems it can find.” Scary Larry enthusiastically supports at least half of Bolton’s Law—the last half.

Others joining Bolton for whom the destruction of Iran is a political game include Bill Kristol, virtuous “bookie” Bill Bennett, Joe Lieberman, and Daniel Pipes, whose harsh and raucous predictions center around whether Bush will attack Iran before or after the upcoming election. If McCain wins, most say that Bush will pass the nuclear baton to him while sprinting to the finish line to pardon his fellow war criminals. However, if McCain should lose, they agree that Bush will get his war on and leave the mess for Obama to clean up.

Those who continue to beat the drums of war trust that we will believe what they say without considering the obvious. Just last week, to coincide with President Ahmadi-Nejad’s visit to the UN, former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former CIA director James Woolsey, former Clinton Middle East coordinator Dennis Ross, and former UN representative for management and reform Mark Wallace wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal regurgitating rigid neoconservative talking points.

Channeling Cheney, they wrote that we shouldn’t believe Iran when it says it “needs nuclear energy and is enriching nuclear materials for strictly peaceful purposes.” Hey, Iran has “vast supplies of inexpensive oil and natural gas,” so there’s no “legitimate economic reason for Iran to pursue nuclear energy.”

Then, unable to resist an unsubstantiated “Bushism” or two, these heavy hitters warned that “Iran is a deadly and irresponsible world actor,” and should it get the bomb, Iran would “sponsor terror, threaten our allies, and support the most deadly elements of the Iraqi insurgency.”

Finally, they whipped out Bolton’s Law with the wild—and discredited—accusation that “President Ahmadinejad specifically calls for Israel to be ‘wiped from the map,’ while seeking the weapons to do so.”

The constant discordant barrage of accusations and demands is so outrageous we attempt to shrug it off as mostly ideological clatter-babble, yet we sit paralyzed with fear. We are unable to recognize the real danger that looms just beyond the shadows.

But we know he’s there. When Dick Cheney emerges, we are bewitched by the horror he evokes as he piles lie upon bloody lie about Iran’s nuclear activities—in spite of international findings and US intelligence lack of evidence. He accuses Iran of smuggling weapons of mass destruction into Iraq to kill Americans. Iran is training insurgents, is joined at the hip with Al-Qaeda, is the world’s most dangerous sponsor of terrorism, and if it can get its hands on just one nuclear weapon, it will immediately lob it in Israel’s direction.

In 2005, Cheney instructed the Pentagon to draw up a plan for a nuclear attack on Iran should another 9-11-type terrorist attack on the U.S. occur, even if Iran had nothing to do with it. To provoke a war, Cheney suggested dressing up Navy Seals as Iranians, putting them on fake Iranian speedboats, and shooting at them. Murdering Americans in cold blood, exterminating 60-70 million innocent Iranians and contaminating millions more throughout the region is a small price for Cheney to pay. Iran must face the consequences for having the audacity to possess two-thirds of the world’s oil.

Bad, Bad Ahmadi-Nejad

Since being elected in June 2005 as Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad has rhetorically stepped in it and tracked it all over the Persian rug. Scarcely in office four months, he gave a speech in which he quoted the Ayatollah Khomeini who had said years earlier—”This regime occupying Jerusalem (een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods) must [vanish from] from the page of time (bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad).” That comment was transcribed as Ahmadi-Nejad threatening to wipe Israel off the map, and despite repeated efforts to get the correct translation out, the world’s media went into a shrieking frenzy that has yet to abate.

Ahmadi-Nejad has made numerous public and private diplomatic overtures to the United States in the last three years, and all have been rejected—with insults, sneers, and threats. It is critical to the outcome of the Playoffs that spectators see Ahmadi-Nejad as a criminally insane killer who is a threat to the entire world. He is sort of cocky, and his arrogance at insisting that Iran has the same rights and privileges under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as the other members, that Iran has the right to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes, and that George Bush is not Iran’s “Decider” is driving guys like Bolton over the edge.

Which—when you think about it—is not necessarily a bad thing…

So, who is this guy? Few know that Ahmadi-Nejad is an Engineer with a Ph.D on transportation engineering, a university professor, a working member on the Iran Civil Engineering Society, and the Islamic Association of Students in the Science and Technology University, as well as others. He is an accomplished journalist and former managing director of the Hamshahri newspaper. He was the mayor of Tehran before running for president. Even fewer know that, in reality, he wields no power other than that allotted to him by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. He’s deeply religious, stubborn and reckless. He’s unpredictable and, at times, dangerous. Ohmigod —Ahmadi-Nejad is “Bush with Brains!”

Should We Fear Iran?

Iran’s nuclear ambitions for other than peaceful purposes are as elusive as Iraq’s WMD, which defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said were “in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.” Yet we are in danger of being swept up in the propaganda catapulted by the Bush administration and the corporate media once again. Perhaps we should take a deep breath and apply a bit of logic here, pay close attention to the obvious. If Iran is truly a threat to the entire world, then we should be afraid. However, demanding that Iran either prove a negative or face extermination of millions of its citizens does not, and should not, pass the terror smell test.

It is obvious that, in this unstable era, we should be aware of, and even fear, those countries bristling with nukes. For starters, the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other nation. Then there’s Russia, China, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, North Korea and…shhhhh…Israel. Currently, Pakistan is in turmoil and threatening to shoot down US planes that fly across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and kill civilians, Russia refuses to back off from its Georgia stance no matter how vigorously Condi Rice wags her finger in its face, China has abruptly cut off financial deals with the US because of the plummeting dollar, and North Korea is restarting its Yongbyon nuclear reactor because Bush broke his promise to remove it from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terror.

Yet, amidst all this fury and instability, we are obsessed with destroying Iran—a nation that, in modern history, has never attacked another country —and which has repeatedly maintained it seeks nuclear power primarily for generating electricity for its growing population. In 2005, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a Fatwa that “the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that Iran shall never acquire these weapons.”

What is obvious to anyone familiar with the timeline of Iran’s nuclear program from the 1950s is that Iran has never sought nuclear energy for anything other than peaceful purposes. In 1957, the Shah opened the American Atoms for Peace in Tehran, and signed an agreement with the US for cooperation in research on peaceful uses of nuclear technology. And, in 1968, Iran signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on the first day it opened for signature. In the late 70’s, the US supplied Iran with two nuclear power reactors and enriched uranium fuel, and granted Iran the “most favored nation” status so it would not be discriminated against when seeking permission to reprocess US-origin fuel.

To restate the obvious—if we are to fear Iran, it is not because, as Bush said in June—”They refuse to abandon their desires to develop the know-how which could lead to a nuclear weapon“—it is because Iran threatens to defend itself if attacked. It is because other nations, such as Russia, refuse to stand idly by as Iran is “wiped off the map.”

We need to get our minds around who is the aggressor here. Because if we continue to passively watch the evil unfold; if Dick Cheney wins the behind-the-scenes, off-court power struggle, the Peter Principle Playoffs will be over and the entire Middle East will explode in nuclear flames.

Sheila Samples http://sheilastuff.blogspot.com/ is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites. Contact her at rsamples@wichitaonline.net

Posted by admin as Uncategorized at 8:30 PM MDT No Comments 

Are you tired of those sissy ‘friendship’ poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship. You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card— Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad—I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. When you are blue—I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile—I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you’re scared—we will high tail it out of here.
5. When you are worried—I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!
6. When you are confused—I will use little words.
7. When you are sick—Stay away from me until you are well again. I don’t want whatever you have.
8. When you fall—I’ll pick you up and dust you off—After I laugh my butt off!!
9. This is my oath…I pledge it to the end. ‘Why?‘ you may ask—because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to 10 of your closest friends, then get depressed because you can only think of 4 .

Posted by admin as Humor, Musings at 8:01 PM MDT No Comments 

The roundest knight at king Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery

A dog gave birth to puppies near the road. She was cited for littering

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, ‘You stay here, I’ll go on a head.’

A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

It’s not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn’t have the balls to do it.

The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes.

When the cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

Don’t join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!

Posted by admin as Humor, Musings at 8:15 PM MDT No Comments 

I completely and wholeheartedly agree with collective bargaining for our Police and Fire employees - these people have made their workplace ‘harms way’ to make our homes and our city safe. We cannot deny them the basic right to have a voice in their compensation. The following is reproduced from the website http://www.longmontpolice.com/

Support Public Safety
Ballot Issue 2-A

VOTE YES

Longmont Professional Firefighters Association
&
Longmont Fraternal Order of Police

Fair to Public Safety Employees!
Fair to Administration!
Fair to the Citizens!
A Positive Choice for Longmont!

Vote YES on November 4th!

Since 2003 the firefighters and police officers serving Longmont, through their representative organizations, have been fighting to gain a formal system that will give them a level playing field and an equal voice in their working conditions.  In 2004 our two organizations gained enough petition signatures to have that right placed on a ballot issue to amend the City Charter.  We did so then because the City Administration would not entertain any discussion or proposal on this subject, and that was our only option to the ballot.  We conducted a very professional and honest campaign.  However at the end of the day we narrowly lost that election.

We are again pursuing our goal of gaining these rights in this year’s election.  The firefighters and police officers are simply asking for the same right all citizens of this country enjoy.  That is the right to have our professional organizations formally recognized by our employer, and to be able to sit across from our employer in an atmosphere of mutual respect and enter into cooperative agreements on our working conditions.   Unlike 2004, this time we worked together with City Staff, City Council, and both chiefs, to bring a fair measure to the community that is a product developed by all involved parties affected by its passage.  This time your elected representatives were satisfied with this effort, and referred the matter to the ballot.

Public safety officers in large numbers, both in Colorado and across this country, have gained or seek to gain this right.  This system of fairness is in place in numerous jurisdictions across the country, including ten police departments and thirteen fire departments in Colorado.  For those entities it is a normal and accepted way of doing business.  History has demonstrated that the system works quite well, and that both sides benefit from it.  However, this right can only be obtained by a vote of the citizens amending the City Charter.

If a City expects to reduce the burden on its taxpayers by asking its firefighters and law enforcement officers for greater efficiency and effectiveness, then it must involve them in the discussions that affect their working conditions.  In doing so, it helps build a relationship of trust and partnership between public safety employees, management, and the citizens we serve.

As dedicated emergency workers we put our lives and well-being on the line for the citizens of the community daily without reservation.  That is our job and we accept it proudly.  As firefighters and police officers we constantly fight for better working conditions in our professions.  Not just better, but safer working conditions as well as providing a high level of service to the community.   We provide essential services needed by the community.  As such we feel it is essential that we have a voice, and the right to weigh in on decisions concerning our safety as well as the safety of the citizens we serve.   That is why this amendment is needed, and why we believe the citizens of Longmont will support it.

On July 29th four of seven members of the Longmont City Council voiced agreement and support and voted to refer a Charter Amendment to the November Ballot that will grant us the rights we have fought so hard and so long to gain.  This amendment to the City Charter is not solely a product of our two employee groups. The City of Longmont hired an expert on this subject to advise and work with City Staff, and to represent the interests of the citizens in this matter.  His name is Martin Semple. He is a highly recommended and very experienced labor attorney, whose entire career has been devoted to assisting cities on matters such as this. Much of this amendment in front of the voters as “Issue 2-A” is the end result of Mr. Semple’s analysis and expert advice. Experience and advice that the taxpayers paid for and will benefit from.

After City Council’s initial action your firefighters and police officers worked side by side with the city staff (including both chiefs) for two weeks and worked on problem areas that City Administration had with our original proposal.  City management under Mr. Semple’s guidance negotiated with the firefighter and police employee representatives to modify the language of the original amendment.  Through negotiations with management we re-wrote much of the original language and reached common ground on areas of concern.  The end result was an amendment that both sides can work under. The measure in front of the voters is the by-product of that effort, and is a document that both sides believe is fair to the community.

On August 26^th City Council agreed, and by a 6 to 1 vote adopted the compromise amendment language negotiated by City Staff and our organizations.  Only one council person, Gabe Santos, disagreed with the new language negotiated by the City and voted not to accept those recommended changes.  That same evening the amended measure was referred to this November’s ballot by a subsequent 4 to 3 Council vote.   This is a vastly different proposal from the 2004 ballot issue.  The amendment that was voted to the ballot by Council on August 26^th is one that both the City Staff and these two employee organizations feel best matches the interest of the community.  This amendment is a product of management working together with the employees to develop language that will best serve the needs of the community and its public safety needs. This proposal in front of the voters:

• Will give the right to firefighters and police officers to bargain collectively and enter into agreements on working conditions.
• Will not take effect until 2010 giving both sides time to work out the details and prepare for their new relationship.
• Will require both sides to bargain in good faith and mandates that the welfare and financial situation of the city govern any impasse on terms.
• Will prohibit any strikes, slowdowns or work stoppages over issues of impasse.
• Will not require any employee to join the designated firefighter or police employee organization that represents them.
• Will protect traditional management rights, and retains management’s flexibility in directing the workforce.
• Will not raise taxes and is based totally on the City’s budget allocation for wages and benefits for any given year of an agreement.
• Will allow the citizens of Longmont, and not a 3^rd party arbitrator to ultimately decide any issues of impasse in negotiations should any occur.

This amendment provides an equal playing field and legitimate representative voice on many areas of working conditions. It provides us official recognition and a voice through a public safety organization of the employees’ choosing. Contrary to the spin that has been circulated by the uninformed, or those who would seek to mislead and put forth misinformation, your firefighters and police have been represented by their employee organizations for over 25 years. The problem is the City will not officially recognize that professional representation without this amendment. We have no formal voice without this amendment.

As public safety employees it is our very nature to protect our citizens and serve our community faithfully. We are on the front line daily in that service. When police officers put on the badge and the gun, or firefighters their bunker gear and answer the alarm, there is no guarantee we will go home at the end of our watch. That is the nature of our job, and we accept that proudly. But that is also why we believe that we should have a formal voice on decisions that affect our working conditions. That is why we have brought this amendment to the citizens of Longmont.

The denial of that voice has been the source of many serious problems over the years.  It is important that firefighters and police officers be heard. We are the ones who daily are directly involved in service delivery and the safety of this community.  We are the first responders.  We have the daily working experience and knowledge in what community security entails.  Our jobs involve the public safety and citizen welfare on a daily basis, which the employees’ safety and lives are constantly exposed to danger, we believe it is paramount that a system of representation be in place to give us a voice. For us and for public safety employees in many parts of this state and country, that system is collective bargaining. Obtaining such a system has been the foremost goal of both firefighters and police officers in Longmont for over 4 years.

It is our honor to serve Longmont. We also take great pride in the city we protect and the privilege we have been given to do so. That is why we work in our chosen professions. We realize our issue on this year’s ballot is a controversial matter for some people. Many have not taken the time to read the proposed amendment and have developed inaccurate and pre-conceived notions about this matter. Unfortunately that has been, and will always be, the case whenever this issue is raised anywhere.

There is a small group of powerful people that have influenced Longmont politics for years that is raising money to see this amendment defeated.  You will soon be seeing their advertising distorting fact, and using contrived scare tactics in the community to promote their position.  It fits their political agenda and purpose. This is the same group that fought so hard in 2004 against your firefighters & police officers. They are at it again.  They have power and influence.  But as much as we would like to avoid it; that’s politics. However, it has been our experience that Longmont is compromised of people that can put aside politics and one-sided spin, and approach an issue like this with a fair perspective.

Want to help your City’s Firefighters and Police Officers?

Donations to this campaign are greatly appreciated.
Please make checks payable to “Public Safety Employees in Support of 2A”.
Contributions are not tax deductible. Please mail contributions to:

Public Safety Employees in Support of 2-A
Matt Cage, Treasurer
2211 Meadow Vale Rd.
Longmont, CO 80504

Do You Have Questions? Submit them to: 2AQuestions@Live.com

Download or read the entire proposed Charter Amendment here.

Posted by admin as Discuss!, Life, etc., News, Politics at 9:43 PM MDT No Comments 

by Mary Pitt

(on behalf of all the poor and near-poor who “litter our streets”)

So Wall Street is in a panic! So the trillion-dollar corporations are in danger of going broke! So the big-time investors are in danger of losing their silk shirts! So what?

We have been told for years that we must not be cry-babies who go bawling to the government for handouts to help us through the bad times; we must bear up under the load of “personal responsibily”; when our jobs disappear into the “global economy” we must “re-train”, mechanical engineers need to become truck drivers, automobile designers to learn to put roofs on house, and secretaries and bookkeepers should go to school to “re-train” for jobs as motel maids!

We are not moved by the plight of the moguls leaving broken corporations equipped with only their golden parachutes. We have been the victims of their business practices for a very long time and now that their unethicalk practice has turned inward on them, the only message that we have for them is that they need to accept “personal responsibilty” for their own plight. They victimized us by slick, fast-talking salesmen convincing us that we could really afford to buy that new car or the fine home. Where were they when the repo men came and drove away in our car? Where were they when our belongings were put into the street while we searched desperatly for a homeless shelter? So now they’re in danger of losing everything? So let them!

In this wonderful country where we are told that the reason three-quarters of the world hate us “because we’re free” and we have the right to make our own choices, why are we denying the mega-corporations the right to fail? We are told that if these mega-banks go bankrupt there will be no available credit. So what? Our credit has been ruined long ago and nobody is borrowing except our government.

These are the same people who were given large tax cuts in order to “encourage them to develop jobs”. They did, in China, Indonesia, and any number of other nations where cheap labor can be found! For over seven years, out lives have become more and more constricted by the necessity of worling multiple low-paying jobs in order to feed our families and buy the poor-quality Chinese-made clothing from Wal-Mart and pay the rent on our sub-standard housing.

But we pray! Oh, yes, and our constant prayer is that our families stay healthy because one illness of any of them can mean bankruptcy court, if we haven’t already been there. Insurance is totally out of reach for the working family and there is no real hope in the offing. Senator McCain wants to give us a tax credit of $5,000 per year per family. He has no idea that the ampunt will not touch the cost of insurance for a family and how do we pay it for a year before we get the tax credit with our income tax refund? Senator Obama wants ro require us to carry insurance but will offer some “assistance”, leaving us to to pay the balance of the premiums. With what? The food we need to feed our children and try to keep them healthy?

But those mega-banks are important! Everybody is a stock-holder through their 401-K or in some other fashion. Wrong again! You don’t get a 401-K when you are doing non-union manual labor. If you are lucky enough to have a “good” job in some sort of factory, there may be a 401-K plan but the average laborer has no idea where that money goes but are happy to have a “kitty” from which they can borrow when things get tight. In any event, it is not a “big deal” in their financial picture but just another deduction from their paycheck like the ever-present income tax.

There is not one candidate in the major parties who has any real empathy for the “lower-class” of American worker or those retirees who have to live on their Social Security stipend. When their zillionaire buddies screw up their businesses and are in danger of going broke, there is all sorts of sympathy and we are told that we should pay still more taxes to bail them out. Why should we?

They do not care about us, not even in their professions of their own piety and faith. Christian concern for the less fortunate is simply not a factor in their privileged lives. We are the poor fools who clean their crud and carry their fiscal obligations on our frail shoulders while they live the life of Reilly. We are allowed to go through the motions of democracy periodically, purportedly to choose our leadership, but it seems the choices are really made before we even have a chance to vote and, we strongly suspect that choice is made before we have a chance to express our preference.

The wealthy all tell us that capitalism and the free market are essential to our national well-being. If that be so, it is time that they learned that, when they victimize the less fortunate by granting and trading loans for money that they know, up front, that the debtors can never repay, and when those business practices come back and kick then in their fat hind quarters, they have no right to turn to those same victimized people to bail out their sorry behinds and put them back on their feet.

The author is a very “with-it” old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and common sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for “societal perfection”.

Posted by admin as Discuss!, Guest Bloggers, Politics at 9:04 PM MDT No Comments 

John McCain In A ‘Nutshell’– Philanderer, War Pimp, Bush Policy Clone, and Neocon Liar…
(Without his shell, McCain is simply a nut that needs to be cracked, picked apart and exposed)

By Vincent L. Guarisco

Back in April 2007, I wrote a zinger about the foolish maverick John McCain after he returned from his triumphant walkabout on the brutal streets of Baghdad. Johnny Boy headed straight for the public airways, where he smirkingly gushed that the streets of Iraq are now ’safe.’ The foolish war pimp tried to sell the lie that everything was cozy and secure, even as he strutted around wearing his bulletproof vest, surrounded by a heavily armed military entourage buzzing in air and on the ground all around him. Indeed, according to McCain, Baghdad was safe then, and it’s even safer today.

Gee, pass the prozac! I guess we’re supposed to forget about the scores of GIs and civilians who have since met their brutal end in the very place McCain pranced around.  Funny how ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, FOX and the rest of the sorry corporate media failed to do follow-up stories, to show those same streets marred with puddles of blood laced with intestinal tracks, brain matter — clogged with body parts and various limbs scattered about on those same safe streets. When McCain made his announcement, more than 3,200 of his fellow servicemen and women had been slaughtered in Iraq, millions of Iraqis had been displaced, forced to flee the country or killed outright.  Today, 4,147 Americans have been killed and we’ll never know how many Iraqis, because we don’t do body counts.

Moving right along…

I am a long-time resident and ardent voter in McCain’s conservative home state of Arizona.  I have lived near the banks of the Colorado River for the better part of 40 years. I’m a proud progressive liberal minority living among many hard-line Republicans in my local area, although I gladly admit the times are changing. The economic hardship under Bush’s leadership is quickly changing the political landscape, moving my locals away from their once cherished right-wing stewardship. Thank God for small miracles…

For me, the McCain saga began years ago.  As a young boy, I still remember hearing stories about John McCain’s legacy as a hero. He first caught my attention when his plane got shot down during the Vietnam war and he was captured by the Viet Cong and imprisoned as a POW in the jungles of Hanoi back in 1967. At the time, being a young faithful lad, I prayed daily, not only for McCain, but for the safe return of all our POWs.  Our teachers and parents, unlike those of today, were diligent in keeping us updated on what was happening over there during the war.

In 1969, I was ten years old.  I was an impressionable school kid who was encouraged by my parents and teachers to write many letters to soldiers and POWs captured in Vietnam. I did this with great reverence; I was proud to show my support.  Looking back on it now, it seems like a million years ago.  When I first entered the political fray I was very naive — just beginning to learn about the worldly tribulations of war and, with puberty factored in, I was also learning the value of family morals, love and commitment.  Heck, I had just barely held the hand of my first girl friend and soon afterwards received my very first kiss. Ah yes, It was an exciting, innocent time mixed with love, war, hard knocks and many pleasurable moments. And I will never deny I was an excited impressionable boy who deeply admired my war hero, John McCain!  He was an inspiration that guided my hand for many letters written to him personally, and to other GIs as well.

To be fair, I agree with those who maintain that McCain deserves our highest respect for his devoted service to our country, including what he went through during his captivity as a POW.  Sadly, however, my respect for him abruptly ended when the mud wore off the bottom of his combat boots soon after he returned in 1973.   He soon shattered that youthful admiration, which was replaced with a real lesson in ‘betrayal’ when I realized what he had done to his first wife, Carol Shepp, after he returned from Vietnam.  Having knowledgeable parents is indeed educational, but not always pleasant to say the least. I was completely thrown back to learn that John had several extra-marital affairs and was often unfaithful to his loyal wife who had stood by his side through thick and thin. For me, it was a shameful, dark lesson that ultimately shadowed my view of him as I watched him heartlessly divorce her in order to further his shameful political aspirations.

As an emerging student of current events and history, my admiration for him was always a duel package. I sincerely admired Carol as much as him. I took great pride and interest in her too. To me, she was one of the most admired women of her day — a sacrosanct patriot who deserved to be seated in the front row of Fourth of July parades next to Gold Star Mothers.  She was a heroine, widely admired and loved by all of us for her unwavering devotion to her husband who was held as POW.

Carol was a rare, lonely soul who had the strength to carry on and to faithfully await her husband’s return. And she did this at a time when many other wives and girlfriends were writing ‘Dear John’ letters to those still fighting in battle while learning they had no one to come home to. She was my revered role model from Philadelphia.  I dreamed of meeting that special someone who might be just like her — a precious angel.  Unfortunately, Carol was thrown through the windshield of her car in a terrible accident that changed her life forever, rendering her permanently scarred and hobbling on crutches.  As a result, Carol was a not-so-pleasant sight for her young unsympathetic husband who wanted to be seen on Capital Hill with a bathing beauty while stumping the halls for a new political career.

John McCain totally destroyed my respect for him with the uncaring, selfish, cold-hearted betrayal in how he dumped her. Indeed, I will never forget nor forgive him for the cruel way he showed his true colors. He quickly threw Carol aside and replaced her with Cindy Hensley, his new rich sugar mama, with whom he was having an affair. Hensley is a spoiled home wrecker, worth approximately 100 million, bred from the loins of a staunch Republican father who conveniently helped elevate Johnny boy within the DC realm.  I’m not into Freud, but it’s easy to wonder who came so ruthlessly after McCain — Cindy…or her father?

And this self-righteous, self-serving animal wants my vote?  Well, it will have to be a Hell’s-Kitchen-burning-white-hot-winter November day in Bullhead City, Arizona before I would even consider putting a checkmark next to his pathetic name in the 2008 Presidential Election. Catch my meaning?  Good.

As a final note, after Carol suffered her horrible car accident in 1969, she unselfishly refused to allow her POW husband to be notified of her serious injuries for fear it would not be good for him while he was being held captive.  You know, out here in the Arizona desert we have an old saying — if you put an expensive skirt on a fast moving rattlesnake, political horn-dogs like John McCain will chase it all the way to the Potomac River for a kiss, a hug and especially a vote…

I could go on about the many neocon atrocities McCain has performed throughout his career as a Senator and war pimp for the Bush administration.  It’s an endless track record — most of which is public record, easily found for those willing to take the time.  So, for all you undecided skeptics, by all means, review his voting record for it is unbridled proof of how he constantly sold us out to K-street lobbyists.   His record speaks for itself, the facts and figures are all there which prove he’s not on the side of working-class America.  In fact, by his own admission, he does not even know how many homes he owns.  And keep in mind, McCain believes Americans are not ‘rich’ unless they earn $5 million or more.  Well, I hate to burst his multi-mansion bubble but, take a quick pop-quiz and ask a few average citizens who are now struggling to make ends meet — how tough it is to hold onto their ‘one’ home that many are just one paycheck away from losing.   Yeah, I’d say McCain is more than a little out of touch with our bottom-feeding needs to say the least.  

Or ask a dozen or so jobless Americans who have already lost everything, including their homes.  No confusion there folks.  In fact, after living in their cars for awhile or, worse yet, after sleeping on concrete sidewalks, most of them would probably consider any cheap apartment to be the equivalent of one of McCain’s many mansions.  And, bear in mind that McCain’s veteran ‘brothers in arms’ are at the top of the list of homeless.  Brother John, can you spare a dime?

McCain has ‘arrived.’  He’s a real Bush kinda guy — a marriage profiteering elitist who seems content to suffer from mansion-memory-loss and wants to be our next President.  He is a pompous philanderer who dumped his crippled wife for a new pampered rich one whose daddy got him where he is today.  Amazing.

Bottom line, many of you may have some reservations in supporting Barack Obama or Joseph Biden but, compared to Baghdad (neocon) Johnny, they are fricking saints.  But at least no one can deny, they are both loyal and totally committed to those they love.  Is it really that hard to believe they may actually share some of that proven compassion with us in their new leadership?  Well, if not, consider the alternative choice. Yes, consider the harsh implications of placing another known war hawk into the Oval office for four more grueling years. An old stale nut who says he wants to keep us in ’safe’ Iraq for another hundred years. A musical maniac who loves to sing: ‘Bomb, bomb, bomb…bomb Iran.’  And, oh yes — while you’re at it, tell ‘Johnny Rich’ how many mansions and condos he really owns. But most importantly, and this is crucial, let’s remove this nut from his media protected shell, for all the world to see.

Thanks.  God speed to the polls.

Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City AZ., a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. Reprint permission is given as long as article content is not altered or changed and credit is given to the author. The 21st century, once so full of shining promise, now threatens to force countless millions of us at home and abroad into a dark abyss of languishing poverty and silent servitude; a lowly prodigy of painful struggle and suffering that could stream for generations to come. I’m wishing for a miracle, before it is too late, the masses will figure it out and will stand as one and roar. So, pass the word — it’s past time to take back what is ours — the American Dream where the pursuit of happiness, the ability to live in a free and peaceful nation is a reality. We bought it, and we paid for it. It’s time to take it back. For replies, send comments to: vincespainting1@hotmail.com

Posted by admin as Discuss!, Guest Bloggers, Politics at 7:24 PM MDT No Comments 

by Mary Pitt

This comment may seem to come from far left field but, when you stop to consider it, the perfect sense of it will become apparent. First, Senator John McCain was all set to prove his “bipartisanship” by naming his colleague and good buddy, Senator Joe Lieberman, as his running mate. His Republican advisors vetoed that idea and told him he needed to choose someone to to bring around the religious right who had, to that time, been lukewarm about the prospect of voting for the secular McCain and would not be impressed by the addition of a Jew and a Democrat.

Now, McCain was not overly impressed by Governor Mike Huckaby and the other possibilities might have expected to be asked to actually do something in the McCain administration if they won. I am a contemporary of John McCain, (actually a few years older), and I am familiar with his history throughout his adult life. He is a man who, while being happy to appear to be agreeable to a bipartisan approach to getting what he wants, is also willing to “go it alone” despite any opposition and has actually been quite successful at it. In fact, anybody who was anticipated a “partnership” adminstration in the manner of Bush/Cheney or even Clinton/Gore is to be greatly surprised.. In the macho world of the military, there is only one “Top Dog”.

When interviewed prior to being named for the slot, Governor Palin questioned what the duties of a vice-President might be. Well she might. The Constitutional duties of the holder of that seat are to, “preside over the Senate and inquire about the President’s health daily”, she is likely to find that this is precisely the extent of her duties under a President McCain. If McCain wants someone to do the job of Dick Cheney in a new administration, he will name someone like Joe Lieberman to a new post which he has the authority to create after the changes in “Executive Privilege” as interpreted by George W. Bush, and the veep will fade into the background as they so often have. I wouldn’t go so far as to accuse the good Senator of being a male chauvinist but he has not been known for expressions of his “female sensitivities”.

Goevernor Palin should realize that she is trying to play in the Big Leagues now and being named as the vice-Presidential candidate is not winning Miss America. She is as much “a decorator accent” as Britney’s dog. It doesn’t matter what she thinks nor what she says beyond attracting the religious nuts to vote for the “big guy” and the best she can hope for as the result of her efforts will be a good paycheck, a fine temporary home in the Naval Observatory, and a lifetime pension. All of which will be good for now but, twenty yeas from now, she will be approached in the street with the question, “Didn’t you used to be somebody?”

The author is a very “with-it” old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and common sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for “societal perfection”.

Posted by admin as Uncategorized at 4:55 PM MDT No Comments 

Son of a friend of mine. Incredible talent. I’d be endlessly proud him - sure she is. Just wanted to give the story a little exposure and link-love. This is great - good vid too.

Posted by admin as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 8:53 PM MDT No Comments 

From Wired: Sept. 12, 1958: Kilby Chips In, Integrates Circuit

Integrated circuits have been around for fifty years. Look at the changes they’ve wrought.

Wait till nanotech hits.

Posted by admin as Discuss!, Life, etc., Tech at 8:10 PM MDT No Comments