Down 21.5 pounds!

My husband and I have been changing our eating habits to a healthier way of eating. And counting calories! eating less and moving more is the only real way to lose weight. He has lost 21 pounds and I've lost 21.5. Of course, I thought I'd blown it over Christmas and yes, the day after I was up two pounds. But this morning I checked again...hoping beyond all hope it was just a temporary gain...and lo and behold! I was right back down where I was before Christmas. Whew!! I didn't blow it! We've been doing this since September and while the weight is coming off slowly it is coming off and that's what matters. We are enjoying the new way of eating and both have more energy as a plus, so we will stick with this and no more going back to the old way of eating too much of the good stuff! We still have our snacks but they are in moderation. Anyway, wishing everyone a happy new year and hopefully a healthy one!

Christmas is a cold cookie

The Christmas package, from my sister Victoria, arrived today. We've been getting packages for the past couple weeks and the gifts have been very nice. And we sent out our share of packages. We've sent and received cards and still I didn't feel like Christmas. The spirit was missing. When Vic's package arrived we opened it and inside, with the gifts, was a tin of homemade cookies. We each ate one while opening the other gifts and later, while doing dishes, for the first time since the season began I found myself singing christmas carols and feeling maybe...just maybe...a bit like it really was christmas. I contemplated what made Vic's package bring the spirit of Christmas with it and then I realized what it was....

When we were kids my mom always baked a lot over the christmas holiday and stored the cookies, pies, etc in the 'cold room.' This was a room off the kitchen that for some reason didn't get heat, so in the winter it was like an ice box! Thus, we dubbed it the cold room. Of course, we always snuck in and stole cookies and those cold cookies were the best ever!

Even here in SC it gets cold this time of year, so when we opened the cookies and ate that first one they were cold. And that triggered that magical feeling of christmas that we got, long ago, as we 'stole' and ate those cold cookies over the christmas holiday.

Merry Christmas to all and may you all find that cold cookie that makes Christmas special for you.

How to open resealable bags!

I don't know if any of you have had my experience with these resealable bags and the frustration of actually getting them to work, but if you have I came up with a method that works!

First grip where it says tear here. Pull. When it doesn't tear try the other side of the tear here strip. When that doesn't work get a pair of scissors and cut right on the tear here line.

Try to pull the sides apart to get to the cheese, sausage, whatever. When it's still tightly sealed and you've stopped swearing cut a little lower. Closer to the little resealable strip.

When it still won't open and cussing has ceased cut below the resealable strip and remove the product.

Go to your kitchen drawer and remove a ziplock baggie. Place product in baggie and zip closed.

Or if you want to avoid all the frustration and swearing skip the the last two steps!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas?

Alll the gifts are bought, wrapped and the pkgs. mailed off. The last of my Christmas cards were mailed yesterday. And still I don't feel like Christmas this year. We exchanged St. Nicholas day gifts with our friend Anne, who also teaches math at Morris. We gave her a special coffee found only at Brick Street Coffee house that she loves, but never has time to get over and buy. And of course some dark chocolates to go along with the really strong coffee. She gave us a crate of oranges and pears. Both Keith and myself are working hard at taking off some extra pounds. As of this morning I'm down 19 pounds. He weighs at the heart center so we won't know until tuesday or the next tuesday how much more he's down but it was 16 pounds at the end of October. I was down 15 and since he had to move his belt to the last loop yesterday I know he's down much more.

Even the stores here haven't really gone all out for Christmas this year. With the economy in a slump and sales way down I guess they can't afford the extras either. The shelves are set up with Christmas gifts but no extra store trimmings and very little Christmas music. What is playing is the slow sad stuff that makes you feel more like crying than celebrating. Those houses who have decorated only add to the down side. Seeing Santa in his red suit and reindeer with a sleigh sitting on brown grass just doesn't make it. Very few houses have put up lights this year.

So for all the presents mailed and exchanged, the cards mailed and those received, I am not beginning to feel a lot like Chrstmas. I know Christmas is supposed to be in your heart not in your surroundings, but growing up in the cold north and associating Christmas with cold, snow, and stores decorated to the hilt and joyful Christmas music playing on every corner and people smiling and saying Merry Christmas as they pass....well, you get none of that here in the south and it really really doesn't feel like anything special here.

The good part is after Monday my husbands Christmas vacation starts so at least we'll get to sleep in for a couple weeks

What happened to Saturday?

I know we had it. I got up, did some online stuff, fed us and the cats, did the dishes, paid some bills, watched some football and suddenly the day was over! I'm going to make Sunday last just a bit longer!

December already!!!!!!!

Where did the year go? How do we slow down time so I have time for all the things I need to do. Well, one way is I'll be spending less time on the computer and more time doing those things I want and need to do. This week it'll be getting Christmas presents wrapped, packaged and shipped off so my family will have their gifts for Christmas.

Also, Keith changed doctors so that means more trips getting tests, etc. as this doctor wants to do his own diagnosis and not rely on the other doctors inputs and tests. Yep, when you are consistently kept waiting three, four hours or more for a doctors appt. you showed up on time for it's time to find a new doctor. And the audacity of it all is the doctor we left had the nerve to send a letter saying Keith had missed appts! Ah no, we were there, the doctor missed the appts. After sitting for three hours or more we would leave and reschedule. It's not our fault the doctor over extended himself and was taking on more than he could handle. The new doctor ad assured us that doesn't happen in his office. The first visit was great. We were in quickly and the doctor was very efficient in getting a good history and actually listened. We didn't feel we were getting the bums rush because he was in a hurry to get something else done. The last doctor, after making us wait all those hours, would only spend 3 minutes tops with us and always seemed ready to run out the door. So, this is going to be a better match.

And next week is finals week which means a switch in schedule for Keith and me making runs to the printers to get copies of tests and stuff made for him.

So, it's going to be a busy couple weeks so don't worry if you don't see me online for a few days here and there.

Happy Holidays!

Please rate my newest poem

Rate this Poem @ GotPoetry.com

I'm trying to get folks to come in and read and rate some of my poetry at this site. This is my most recent and am hoping to get some reads and ratings on it. thank you for taking the time.

A positive outcome of the Barack Obama election

Yes, I found something positive about the election of Barack Obama.

Every year the Friends of the Library hold an annual sale to raise funds for library projects. One of the more obvious things I noticed is that, in spite of the population being almost split 50% white and 50% black here in Sumter, there were rarely any black people at the book sale.

One of the problems with the education here is that black people consider learning to be a white person’s responsibility. If a black student shows any initiative to learn they are mocked by their fellow black students and told they are trying to act white.

This year that has all changed. Every day there are more and more black faces in the crowd and often there are as many black people as white. I attribute this to the election of Barack Obama. His election has given them the freedom to learn, the desire to learn, the knowledge that knowledge is power and to get any place in life they have to read and learn and get educated. We always have a great African American section and since some of are fiction those books sell. But this year the black people are buying the books on the history of black America and this excites me. It excites me to talk with them and recommend books and in the exchange they also learn that being white doesn’t mean being a racist. We have talked, laughed, and they will thank me – sometimes with a tone of surprise in their voices – but always we come away with a new respect for each other. One woman looked in surprise, as she was going through the books on the African American table, and I asked if she had read a couple books and told her I had loved them. The look on her face told it all. She realized in that moment that white people were just as interested in learning about the black experience.

So, even though I still have issues with Barack Obama as president and still don’t have a lot of confidence he can pull it off without disaster, I will give him credit that he has given hope to the black community that they can rise above themselves, but that in doing so they must take responsibility, get an education, and not blame others for their lot in life. He has shown you can be whatever you want if you study hard, learn, and take responsibility for your own life.

Also, on another note it gives me great pleasure to see he is considering Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. That could be the smartest move he will make as president.

Smart Cat!!

Our cat, Bug, has a lot of issues with congestion. It doesn't take much to set him off and when he gets sick he comes and lays by my pillow to let me know. At his worst he keeps me awake snorting and snuffling and wheezing in my ear. He does this because he knows it's is I who will get his medicine and give it to him to help relieve the congestion. Also, when he is really bad, as he was tuesday night, I'll pet him and groom him to give him comfort until he falls asleep. This, of course, takes away from my sleep! Well, last night he was having a good night. He still slept by my pillow, but with no obvious snorts and snuffles and wheezes. The medications are finally working. But, he really enjoyed the middle of the night grooming sessions, so last night when I rolled over he got in my face and started pushing on my hand. I told him to go back to sleep, so what does he do? He looks right at me and starts trying to snort and snuffle so I'll feel sorry for him and pet and groom him! He did this twice during the night and when he realized it wasn't going to work sighed and went back to sleep. He is just too smart! What a faker!

Friends of the Library Book Sale

Well, for those who thought I fell off the face of the earth I am still here. Still kicking! Just had an extremely busy week. On a sad note my friend Cyndi's brother died suddenly and she had to return home to WI, so I've been making a trip twice a day to feed and love her cats for her.

And the Friends of the Library book sale also started this week and prior to the opening I was spending a good part of my days helping set up the books. Unpacking boxes and setting the books on the appropriate tables and even sorting some boxes that hadn't been sorted prior to bringing them to the Sumter Mall for the sale. It was hard work but fun at the same time. My father always said never volunteer but this was too much fun to not volunteer my time.

The sale was held Fri, Sat, and Sun and will reopen again this coming weekend. So for anyone interested the sale will open Friday the 14th from 4 PM - 8:30 PM and I'll be there between 6:30 and 8:30 PM to hand out bags and help you anyway I can.
Then it will open saturday the 15th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday the 16th from 1:30 to 5 p.m. and remember that's bag o'books day! You get all the books you can get into a bag for $4 and if you're a good packer you can get a really good deal. Believe me I know! I'm an expert at it and I'll be there to fill as many bags as I can!

I worked the floor yesterday handing out bags and talking with people about books and had a lot of fun. There was one young girl, maybe 14 or so, who had a bag so full it was about to burst so I asked if she would like a second bag. She smiled and giggled and said, 'no thank you, I'm only allowed to fill one bag." She had the biggest smile when I said and you're doing a darn good job filling it.

Then there was a young teen age boy who when I asked if he needed a bag said, "yes, thank you, ma'm." I said, "ouch! am I that old?" He laughed and after we got his books in the bag he said, "thank you." very deliberately and smiled making a point of leaving off the ma'm.

I talked to one woman who had never read Tom Sawyer! Never read Louisa Mae Alcott! Never read Jane Eyre! Her friend couldn't believe it either so they headed for the classics section.

By the end, after being on my feet for almost 3 hours, I was trying to get kids in strollers to get out and let me get in and ride.

So, stop by, buy some books, visit for awhile, and remember it's all for a good cause. Support your library and enrich your mind!

It's finally over - my voting experience and other stuff

Well, America is still a democracy and in a democracy majority rules and the majority chose the zero (no experience, clueless) person over a real American hero. But, we must accept their decision and remind them to be careful what they ask for they just might get it. And the future Resident Obama might want to remember it was democracy that got him there, not socialism.

Yesterday I stood in line for 2 1/2 hours to cast my vote. My hip hurt! My knees hurt! I had the intelligence to take my can along with me and I leaned on it most of the time to relieve the pressure and the pain. But, this was a historic election regardless of which way it went. We would either elect the oldest president ever and the first female VP, or we would elect the first no experience necessary mullato to the post. But it was my experience in line that was most impressive and most personal for me.

Two young black women were talking and I got in the conversation with them. I have never been one to be shy about jumping in and giving my opinion. We had a great conversation and it came out my husband taught at Morris College. One of the young women said, "get out of here! what's his name?" I told her Dr. Johnson. She said, "OMG! he's my teacher!" And she went on to rave about him. She is an older student and specifically requested his classes because she had asked other math majors, which of the teachers were the best, and his name kept coming up. She told me the reason his classes are so big is because everyone wants to get his classes. She related a story of how just a couple days before he had spent a couple hours with her helping her figure out how she could stay in class and still pass, while dealing with some personal issues. I won't go into those but it was those issues that got me into the conversation that led to this one. This young woman couldn't say enough good things about how wonderful he is as a teacher. How much he cares about his students and how they feel they can go to him about anything and know he will try to help. She did relate a funny story I hadn't heard yet and he had to laugh and say yes, it was true when I asked him. My husband loves halloween and is a big fan of the Halloween movies, so he gave 3 extra credit points to anyone who came to class and had the halloweeen movie theme on their cell phone. And that's another reason they like him. He brings fun into the classroom, but also takes the time to really teach. So, I wanted to pass that along here and say how proud that made me feel. I've always known he was a good teacher and the students liked him, but that was the first time I had heard a lot more than Hey Mrs. Johnson, I just stopped by to see my favorite teacher when will he be back?, when I'm sitting in his office.

And here's an upsetting voting happening. One of the other teachers, at the college, has a brother in Philadelphia, PA. He told her when he went to vote a large group of black Panthers were blocking the way for white voters and wouldn't let them in to vote. He is old and there was no one there to help the white voters get past them, so he didn't vote. The funny thing is he was going to vote for Obama! Interesting how they were so racist that because they were voting for Obama because he's part black, they presumed the whites were just as racist as them. Interesting.

So, now we move forward and resident elect Obama will be sworn in this coming January. I hope I'm wrong about him, but my gut tells me I'm not. We can only wait and see.

I have always been proud of my country and one election does not make me any less proud or any more proud. It is still my America. Still my country! and I will do whatever I can to save her and keep our freedoms and keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Another Obamanation!

While visiting PA Obama made promises to reopen the coal mines that had closed, he would rebuild the coal industry and create jobs for the coal miners in PA! Yes sir! He was going to help the coal industry get back in business because coal was a natural resource already here and it would make us less dependent on foreign oil! But, earlier this year in CA he promised them he would close down the coal industry by bankrupting them! Just listen here!



and here's The gift that keeps on giving, Joe Biden, telling a citizen no coal plants in America!



So, PA, OH, and VA I hope you had the news turned on this morning, because that had to come as big shock to you. This is why it's important to have connections throughout the states and across racial lines so you know what each candidate is telling people in other states. My sister, in PA, told me what he had said and she said she knew he was lying then, but sadly there were those who believed him. Hopefully now they will realize he speaks with forked tongue.

Do we need clean coal You betcha! Is bankrupting the coal industry the way to do it? I don't think so!

John McCain on SNL

What a hoot! This guy is not only smart, but funny! You have to see this clip.

Is There Blog Life After the Election?

I have to admit this has been the most fun I've had blogging in a long time. How super of the dems to give us this totally unqualified, clueless (I didn't know my reverand was a racist, I didn't know my friends were terrorists and the latest and the best! I didn't know my aunt was here illegally and should be dealt with according to the law) and naive candidate to run against a totally qualified, yet not blameless, republican candidate who has served his country since he was 17 and sincerely wants to get America back for the people and away from big government. Yet, it may be we get this "other one" for president and believe me it will choke our military to have to call him commander in chief! OMG! what an insult to our great men and women in uniform if that should actually happen. But I truly don't think it will. If early voting in Florida is any indication (on the news yesterday they gave some figures from exit polling and it's 49% McCain and 45% Obama). So far it's been black and elderly voters - the youth vote has not made it's voice heard. Also, the pundits are reminding us the polls that show Obama so far ahead are polls of all Americans (not just register and likely voters). They explained there are three types of polls - the all Americans gives Obama a huge margin. The registered voters cuts it down quite a bit, but the likely voters gives him only a 2 point lead. So, it's not over yet. Obama may have written his inaugural speech, picked his cabinet and measured for new drapes, but I think he better sit back and take stock so there won't be too much of a shock when McCain wins on tuesday night.

But after tuesday - oh my! what will we fill our blogs with when we have not candidates to build up or put down? What will we write about when all the hoopla dies down and America gets back to being America. With McCain/Palin in office that is what will happen.

And did you see the crowd at the McCain rally in Ohio yesterday? I've seen blogs that say he's lucky to get 1,000 people or 10,000 people and I wondered where they got their numbers because I've seen some of his rallies and Palin's rallies and they are packed! There must have been over 200,000 to 300,000 people at this one. And most wearing Joe tshirts and caps! It was exciting to watch and hear him speak. He's become a hero to the average 'joe' with his backing Joe the Plumber while the Obama camp was laughing at him and trying to disgrace him for daring to ask a real question of Obama and catching him off guard with his spread the wealth remark.

Have you noticed that when anyone dares show him for his true self they are smeared and humiliated? Now that's the kind of leader we need! One who can't take criticism without having to get a payback. One who only wants people who totally agree with him or they will be kicked off his plane. Did you all hear about that one? Three reporters were kicked off the Obama campaign jet because their papers printed editorials in favor of McCain or pointed out a flaw in Obama.

Anyway, It's John McCain all the way! He has already proven to be a real American who cares more about his country than his own well being. He has an economic plan that will get us back on our feet and not push us further into a recession. He has a tax plan that will benefit everyone, not just the ones he feels should benefit. He will not take your hard earned dollars and 'spread the wealth' to those who don't work as hard and just want hand outs. He will not tax us into the poor house while spending money on pork barrel projects. He will not take us out of Iraq hanging our heads in defeat, but will lead us to victory! He will lead us to victory in Afghanistan as well. He is a president for all the people! He is what America needs right now. Obama said if he doesn't win this one he'll go back to the senate and run again in four years. That sounds very good to me!

So don't forget tuesday to get out and vote and cast your vote for the president for America! Vote McCain/Palin and save our great country!

Is there blog life after the election? I guess we'll find out!

My Smart Ass Husband and other things

To explain this post I must first digress. My husband and I were both born and raised in Erie, PA. In 1898 Eckerd's Drugs opened it's first store there. When Keith moved south he was surprised to find Eckerd's because he thought it was just an Erie, PA business. Well, about a year ago Rite-Aide bought out Eckerd's, but during this time my husband has had physical issues that prevented him from being able to walk around that much. Well, the other day we had to stop there and I asked did he want to go in and he decided he would try it. When we walked in he had no idea where the items we needed were so he just stopped in the middle of the store. Two managers were at the photo counter and one asked, "Can I help you find something?" And my husband, straight faced and quick witted responded, "yes, I'm looking for Eckerd's". Well, the guys had a sense of humor and got the joke and said, "this is it, but it's not Eckerd's anymore." Which led into a conversation between he and my husband about the beginning's of Eckerd's in our home town...so I went off to get our items. I think I should have left him in the car!

The Friends of the Library book sale is starting on the 7th of November. I have the times on my flyer and I'll post them when I get my flyer at the computer. I've been spending parts of my mornings sorting and stacking books on tables. Yesterday I did religion and today sports. I can tell you if anyone is looking for any of the Soup for the soul books we got them! OMG! I said if I saw one more of those books I would scream! So today while sorting the unsorted paper backs into categories I found two more! NO, I didn't scream but I did laugh!

There are a lot of hunting, fishing, golf, football and baseball books on the sports table.

And of course I have to throw a little bit of political stuff in here. This morning on the news the pundits were talking about that tape that the LA Times is refusing to release because it will look very very bad for Obama and show what he really is and the media isn't allowed to do that. But they did predict that the tape would be released on November 5th and a lot of other stuff that is now being hidden from the public about Obama. And the public is going to be angry and want to know why they weren't given this information before November 4th. And they also said the media will start releasing all the stuff McCain has done for the country and the public is going to want to know why they built up Obama and tried to destroy this man who is a true hero just to get Obama in the white house. Should be interesting. So the press knows they are hiding dirty little secrets about Obama and suppressing all the great things McCain has done. It was good to hear them finally admit it even if it won't change how they are reporting the news. When McCain wins, and he will, the press will start telling the truth.

So, that's it for the catch up posts for anyone interested in what we've been doing with our lives lately.

And Obama sinks lower and lower....

Barack Obama and another terrorist connection:
This was on the news this morning so I had to check it out to make sure, but sure enough the L.A. Times is refusing to release a video tape showing Obama at a function with another known terrorist, who is now a college professor (makes me wonder why we let these people teach our children and what are they teaching them?), Rashid Kahlidi. Here is paragraph from the article I found and then a link to the entire article, which holds a link to the original L.A. Times article.

In the article -- based on the videotape obtained by the Times -- Wallsten said Obama addressed an audience during a 2003 farewell dinner for Khalidi, who was Obama's colleague at the University of Chicago, before his departure for Columbia University in New York. Obama said his many talks with Khalidi and his wife Mona stood as "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases."
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/28/la-times-refuses-release-tape-obama-praising-controversial-activist/

Ayers/Obama connection. Farakan/Obama connection and now Khalidi/Obama connection. Oh, and they all live in the same neighborhood. Hmmmm...makes on wonder doesn't it?

Barack Obama's campaign accepting illegal donations:
Also, on the news this morning was back up for my statements he was fraudulently accepting donations and many from terrorist countries. A man, I wish I could remember his name, did research by having people in his office call and make donations to both campaigns. On the McCain campaign they were only allowed to make one donation on a credit card and it had to be verified that the card was in the name and address of the person making the donation. On the Obama site they were able to make multiple donations on the same card using fake names and addresses and it was never verified. As long as the donation is under $150 they don't have to show the list of donors, and this is how Obama is fraudulently getting all those millions that he claims each month in donations. And that brings up another point. He and John McCain made an agreement to accept only public funding for their presidential campaigns and I heard Obama say yes, he would do that and not take private donations. So, McCain did as he said he would and lo and behold! Obama said, well, ha ha I lied. I'm accepting private donations.
http://lesliecarbone.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-campaign-accepting-illegal.html

Sarah Palin hung in effigy and no criminal charges have been brought against the ones who did it.In California a couple of young men hung Sarah Palin in effigy and refuse to take it down. It is hung from their house and they're calling it art. The town officials are trying to find a law to get them to remove it. Now had this been Barack Obama they hung in effigy can you imagine the outcry and the press it would get and you know what? It would be called a hate crime and they'd have to take it down. A double standard once again!
http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/15303

Obama's civil rights attorney's get criminal attorneys banned from this election process. I can't find a link to this one yet but will keep looking. I heard this on CNN and Fox yesterday that Barack Obama's civil rights lawyers have gotten criminal lawyers banned from the voting sites this year. It was pointed out the criminal lawyers (attorneys) are there to watch for and stop fraudulent voting. Hmmmm...why would the Obama camp want to keep them away? Makes one wonder.

A judge in Ohio has ruled homeless people can use a park bench as an address and vote! This is not a joke! Which means they could list their address and fake name under many benches in many precincts and vote as many times as they can. http://www.redcounty.com/sarasota/2008/10/judge-rules-ohio-homeless-vote/

Free Jimmy Buffet concert tickets to those signing up at early voting tables for Obama. Jimmy Buffett plans a free concert Sunday in Tampa to urge people to vote for Democrat Barack Obama for president. The "Last Chance for Change'' rally and concert is happening two days before the election at the outdoor Ford Amphitheater.

People can get two free tickets by visiting any of the early voting information tables the Obama campaign has set up in the Tampa Bay area. Show time is 3 p.m.

Gee, and I thought buying and paying for votes was illegal! Can you imagine if the McCain camp tried to get away with something like this! OMG! all hell would break loose in the press. But of course we have different standards for Obama than the rest of the candidates.
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/33462294.html

Obama again changes who will be taxed! When Barack Obama first atarted campaigning his tax planned called for taxing the rich and not the middle class (so he said) and people believed him. Then suddenly it was people making $250,000 or more and NOW it's $150,000 or more. So, I ask where will it end and who does he really plan on taxing. Let's face it folks. All of us! and tax heavily to pay for all the programs he has promised to get votes. There are a lot of angry people out there over this one!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2117834/posts

So there you have it. Obama exposed. I can't believe I once held a high opinion of this man and kept hoping for a Clinton/Obama ticket. I can't believe I once even wanted him in the VP chair of the white house. I have listened, I have learned, and as most of you know I changed my mind awhile back, vasillated between the two candidates for awhile, and then had to go with my concious and my love for my country and back McCain. These recent transgressions only fortify my belief that I have made the right choice for Ameria.

Barack Obama and The Emperors New Clothes

When I was a child my mother used to read fairy tales to us and one of those was called The Emperors New Clothes. The synopsis of that story is this:

An emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new "clothes". During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, "But he has nothing on!" The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.

In this election year we are reliving this fairy tale in the form of a candidate named Barack Obama. So, here is my modern day fairytale.
In the land of the United States of America they were holding a very important presidential election. There are two parties called the Democrats and the Republicans. The democrats decided to back a young, junior senator with no experience and some not so good ideas, to be their candidate. The public was told that only the most intelligent people would understand his message and only the ignorant would not vote for him. Not wanting to appear ignorant a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon.

Every time someone showed proof this man was a racist, a terrorist, a sexist, and just not qualified they were hushed up for fear someone might hear and believe them. When it was pointed out he spent 20 years in a church, where the pastor preached hatred of white people, those who noticed and cried foul were called racists. When it was pointed out he either snubbed, dissed or called female reporters hon or sweetie it was brushed aside and hushed up. After all, the truly intelligent people, who would have blasted the republican candidate for this type of action, were willing to overlook this in their candidate.

During his time as senator he wrote no important bills and voted present on some very important issues rather than take a side. So, his lack of experience was covered up and of course, only the truly intelligent people could see into the future and know his lack of experience would mean nothing – well, after all, that is what he had to offer – nothing.

During his time as a lawyer he represented some not very nice men, one of whom actually bombed a building in this country and many years later said he wished he had done more. He didn’t regret the lives lost. This junior senator helped this bad man get funding and even bought a house next door so they could be neighbors. Somehow, the junior senator got the house at less than half the value, but if anyone mentions this they are called a racist, a fear monger, etc. After all, the most intelligent people could see this meant nothing and it didn’t matter if he associated with terrorists. That didn’t ‘necessarily’ make him one.

So, now this inexperienced man is running against the republican candidate, who is a true hero, has served his country, and has been tested. This man is also not perfect, but he has a heart that loves this country and he has never been associated with any of the bad people like the other candidate.
Even the liberal left wing media keeps telling everyone that the educated people are voting for Barack Obama and not wanting to appear undeducated they will not let any of the negative press about him get to the public. If it does they squelch it as quickly as they can and find any small problem with John McCain or Sarah Palin, the republican VP candiate, to talk about so they can turn the attention away from the bad man the democrats are running and the media is shoving down our throats.

Many people are afraid to say they aren’t voting for him because if they say they are voting for McCain there are called a racist and stupid. So they pretend they are for this Obama man knowing a secret they hold deep in their hearts. Once in that election booth where no one can scream at them and call them names and try to intimidate them they can pull that lever for John McCain and say – Barack Obama is nothing at all.

Confused the cat!

A break from the election to share a funny cat story. We have one room of the house that is separated from the rest of the house by a door. This was a car port turned into a room so we are able to shut the cats upstairs (a whole three steps) when we are leaving and then are able to come and go without the cats running outside. So, the other day Bug is sleeping in one of the cat carriers I have down here and rather than wake him I carried him up, in the carrier and deposited it in the space between the living room and my reading area. Later we were in the living room when Bug finally woke up and walked out of the carrier. The look on his face was priceless. He actually looked around like did I wake up in the right place or am I still sleeping? He turned around and went back into the carrier! A few minutes later he came back out and was fine, but the look of total confusion on his face when he first exited the carrier was so funny! I guess I didn't realize how deeply he had been sleeping that he wasn't even aware I had moved him and the carrier.

The Best of the Worst - what a choice!

These days I find myself wishing that politicians would have to take an oath similar to the doctors hippocratic oath. The second portion of this oath is to do no harm. It seems politicians take a similar oath but it is more like the hypocritic oath. Say one thing and do another, lie and not care how much harm it does others as long as it gets them elected.

So, for the first time in my voting history I find myself faced with a dilemna. I am scared for my country. Both parties, for some strange reason, have given us the worst possible candidate they could. Is this some sort of moral test for voters? So, what do we have to choose from. A democrat who lies with every word out of his mouth and a republican who has to spend more time defending his record with the current administration than getting his own message out. Obama has run the most negative ads and then accuses the republican campaign of running a negative campaign. Obama's policies scare the living shit out of me! If I wanted to live in a socialist republic I would be living in the Soviet Union. I like our country as a democracy and democracy works. Unfortunately, just like the Soviet Union, we also have our corrupt in the govt. and it is they who have ruined things for us. So now we are asked to choose between the lesser of two evils.

It is, in my honest and most humble opinion, John McCain who will do less harm. Notice, I didn't say do no harm, but less harm. Under a McCain administration we will have our problems, but they will be 1/10the the problems and set backs we will have under an Obama administration. I fear for my country. I fear for democracy. So, I am asking people to open their ears and their minds and listen to what each candidate is saying. John McCain, for all his problems, loves this country and truly wants to turn things around and make good changes while saving our democratic society. Obama wants to turn things around and make changes while destroying our democratic society and turning the good old US of A into a socialist republic. Use your vote wisely. Save our country. Save democracy. Vote McCain and then do everything you can to preserve the United States of America as the United States and not the Socialist States of America. Good night and good luck.

How to get your car insurance for almost nothing!

How to get your auto insurance for almost nothing!
With the economy in a slump I decided to try to find ways we can all save money. I kept seeing ads, for car insurance companies promising to lower your rates by a certain percentages, so came up with this to save money on car insurance.

Say you pay $500 a year for auto insurance. Well, online there is a place called cheap insurance that will save you 70% off your insurance rates. So that saves you $350 and brings your annual payments to $150.00. Once you get that policy go to Geico who promises to save 15% in 15 minutes. That saves $22.50 and brings your insurance to $128.50 per year. Progressive promises to save you up to 40% on your current auto policy! WOW! this is getting good. So once you get your Geico policy go to Progressive and that saves you another $50.60 off your policy. Your annual rate is now $77.90. So, we've come from $500.00 a month to $77.90! But wait! There's more! State Farm says they can save you 30% on your current rate. That would take another $23.37 off your auto policy rate and make your yearly payment $54.53! If you opt for a $1000.00 deductible that saves another 40% of $21.82 with brings the premium to $32.71 per year!

Grade curving Obama style

My husband is a college professor and while he was grading tests this week decided he would grade the Obama way. He would take a percentage from the grade of those who got A's and B's and add it to the grades of those who got D's and F's. That way they could share the wealth and everyone would get C's. After all what makes the students, who studied and worked hard and showed up for office hours for extra help, think they deserve a better grade than those who just coasted through to get that C or even those who did nothing and if having problems didn't bother to come to his many office hours for help? Why should the harder working industrious students get better grades and thus a better paying job when they graduate? So, Obama style grade curving is the only way to make sure every student gets the same and no one gets a better grade (i.e. makes more money) than the other.

Military Strongly supporting McCain as president

The Good News and the Bad News Trial-Heat Election Model Predicts 52.7 McCain Victory »

The Army Times Poll on Presidential Elections: Bye-bye Bama
Posted on October 18, 2008



Army Times Poll on Presidential Race
Source: http://www.militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/081003_ep_2pp.pdf
(this shows the pie breakdowns - a visual).

Hat tip to Mike Thayer

Interesting Poll from our guys and gals serving… I’m glad to know our men and women in uniform know what’s right.
In case you missed this week’s issue of the Army Times here are the results of the Army Times’ poll of Military personnel re: the election (in percent):

*********McCain---Obama

Overall----68 --------23

Army-------68 --------23

Navy-------69 --------24

Air Force--67 --------24

Marines ---75 --------18

Retirees---72 --------20

White Non-Hispanic
-------------76 --------17

Hispanic---63 -------27

Black/African-American
-------------12 --------79

Enlisted---67 --------24

Officers---70 --------22

Follow this link to read the entire article and following comments from both sides.

HUH? What did you say Joe?

Hmmmmmmm....Joe Biden guaranteed us that if Obama is elected we will have a world crisis within the first 6 months, and also that Obama might not make the right decisions so we should stand by him anyway. Okay? Is he saying Obama isn't ready the world knows it so they will strike while we are down? I'm sorry, but this is not what I want in a president. I don't want one the world feels needs tested but one who has been tested. He is telling us we will have an international crisis if Obama is elected. Is he telling us it's not a good idea to elect an inexperienced candidate as president. Here is a link to the audio clip and below is the speech as I could find it on the net.

October 20th, 2008 10:36 AM Eastern
Biden: If Elected, The World Will Test Obama With A Crisis
by Aaron Bruns
SEATTLE, WA — Joe Biden says he’s certain that if Barack Obama is elected president, there will be an international crisis to test his strength within the first 6 months of his presidency.

“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.” he told a fundraising crowd in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday. “Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”

“He’s gonna have to make some really tough - I don’t know what the decision’s gonna be, but I promise you it will occur. As a student of history and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it’s gonna happen.”

The Delaware Senator made similar remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser the day before. “We’re going to face a major international challenge. Because they’re going to want to test him, just like they did young John Kennedy. They’re going to want to test him. And they’re going to find out this guy’s got steel in his spine,” Biden said. He told the crowd to continue to stand by Obama and know they made the right choice even when the going gets tough.

The Democratic VP nominee has talked about the difficult environment the next president, no matter who he is, will step into — calling it the toughest since the Great Depression — but never before suggested that Obama in particular would be tested because of who he is.

The RNC and the McCain campaign both jumped on the remarks - with the McCain campaign claiming Biden guaranteed an international crisis in the event of an Obama election. South Carolina Senator and top McCain adviser Lindsey Graham already used the remark against the Obama campaign while introducing the Arizona Senator this morning.

In response, Biden spokesman David Wade says “Sen. Biden was making it clear that history has shown Presidents face challenges starting on day one, and with our nation fighting two wars and 21st century threats abroad, we know that we need steady leadership in tumultuous times, not the erratic lurching and stubborn ideology of John McCain.”

and another

At a fund-raiser Sunday night in Seattle, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden predicted that if Obama is elected, "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy," who authorized the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba three months after his inauguration in 1961, then faced the Cuban missile crisis the following year.

"Watch, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," Biden continued, according to press accounts. "As a student of history and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it's going to happen. . . . And he's going to need help."

In similar remarks at another event the same night, Biden quickly added that those who test Obama will quickly find out he has "a spine of steel."

Some food for thought here folks. Be sure to chew thoroughly.

All of PA isn't crazy!

I was getting worried about my home state. Yes, I know, PA is a democratic state but after the insults hurled at PA by it's candidate I wondered why they were still so gung ho to elect him. So I went searching and found this. It's good to know others are more concerned about the country and the well being of it's people than electing Obama simply because he's...well... uh.... democrat.

October 7, 2008
Democratic group backing McCain opens office in Scranton
Topics: Political News and commentaries

Lynn Forester de Rothschild began supporting McCain back in September, but this is the first time I've heard that Jamie Brazil is serving as National Director of Citizens for McCain/McCain Palin. And now the group is opening an office in Scranton PA with the help of Lady Rothschild:

SCRANTON - A major supporter of Hillary Clinton and member of the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee, on Monday said the Democratic Party has nominated "the worst candidate" while Republicans have nominated the best.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild helped open the Democrats for McCain headquarters on Main Avenue in West Scranton. About 30 supporters turned out to welcome de Rothschild and speak out for the Republican ticket.

"What it came down to was that I decided I love my country more than my party, de Rothschild said, explaining her support of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. I'm really worried. I do not want (Obama) in the White House."

De Rothschild, 54, said she sees Northeast Pennsylvania - specifically Luzerne and Lackawanna counties - as the key to winning Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes. And, she said, whoever wins Pennsylvania will likely become the next president.

"Barack Obama has never had the mandate of Democrats," she said. "And Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi ignored the 18 million people that voted for Hillary Clinton. They can't be surprised at the 5 million to 7 million Clinton supporters who are now supporting McCain."

One organization - "PUMA, which stands for Party Unity My Ass " - has more than 5 million members across the country, she said. Jamie Brazil, a longtime friend of the Clintons and the Rodham family, is serving as national director of Citizens for McCain. Brazil accompanied de Rothschild on her Scranton visit. (emphasis mine)

Way to go NBC!!!

So, it's the Cleveland Browns vs the Washington Redskins. It's the last two minutes of the game and the score is 11 Browns - 14 Redskins. The Browns have the ball and need a field goal to tie and take the game into overtime or a touchdown to win. The teams are lined up, the snap is made, the quarterback has the ball and NBC in their infinite wisdom posts a lottery ticker across the top of the screen. Not just one of those little ones they run across the bottom, which by the way, was going with scores from other games, but a HUGE green ticker that covered the top of the screen, part of the field and some of the players! I'm like WTF!!!! Thank goodness the game was on another channel and Keith new this and changed to that channel, which did not have a stupid ticker over part of the field!!! The Browns didn't make their field goal and lost, but what was NBC thinking? With two minutes to go and a game that close you don't cover up the field with a stupid lottery ticker!!!!! Some of us actually watch the game! Okay...deep breath! sigh...

Doug Stephan - unbelievable!

AT 6 a.m. Good Day with Doug Stephan is on the radio on station 1240 AM. Since there's been a lot of talk about white's, who aren't for Obama being racist, his show broadcast the actual interview with black New Yorkers. During the interviews the interviewer asked what they thought of certain policies of Obama and used policies of McCains. They asked if they were okay with his pro life stance and they said, oh yes! that was why they were voting for him. They asked other questions using McCain's policy such as and you agree with him that we should stay in Iraq until the war ends and not have a time line for withdrawal. Again they said yes, that was another reason why they were voting for Obama. The clincher though was when they were asked if they agreed with Obama's choice of Palin as his running mate and they all agreed Palin was a great choice for Obama. HUH???

Okay, yes, I do know a lot of white people who are voting for McCain, but we discuss issues and we at least know what McCain's are versus Obama's and who each has as their running mate.

I will make no further comment... I will let the interview answers speak for themselves as to who is voting the issues and who is voting race. Not that there aren't whites who won't vote for Obama because he is bi-racial (half black and half white), but it swings both way folks! And those interviews speak volumes!

Now that was a debate!

Finally a real debate worth staying up to watch! And regardless of what the polls are saying John McCain won this one hands down. While he came on as strong and assertive, (oh yes the dems call it whining and attacking), Obama was just as boring and rhetorical as the other two debates (oh yes, the dems call it controlled.) The most powerful line of the night was when John McCain had had enough of Obama making it sound as if it were Bush on that podium instead of him and he turned to Obama and said, "I am not George Bush. If you wanted to run against Bush you should have run four years ago." Slam! Dunk!

Obama kept pushing the negative ad bit, but I had just watched the news that morning where it was pointed out that if you go to fact check you will find Obama ran way more negative ads than McCain. Something like 150 to 8. This is from fact check regarding the debate remarks about negative ads.

It was almost true, for one recent week. Obama was referring to a report by the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin that concluded that “nearly 100 percent of the McCain campaign’s advertisements were negative” during the week of Sept. 28 through Oct. 4. During the same week, 34 percent of the Obama campaign’s ads were negative. The Obama campaign was found to have outspent the McCain campaign in nearly all of the competitive states, in some cases by a margin of more than 3-to-1.

McCain’s ads, however, have not been deemed 100 percent negative in other weeks. In fact, in the week after the Republican National Convention, 77 percent of Obama’s ads were negative, according to the advertising project, while 56 percent of McCain’s were negative. So, when the Obama camp is touting that McCain is running the most negative campaign ever, they better check their facts first.

I was glad to see the topic of Ayers brought up and that Obama did not explain it clearly yet. And according to fact check he also lied about his connection with Acorn.

Yes, there were also some misstatements on the McCain side and one was about the real winner last night Joe the Plummer! What a guy! McCain said he was facing higher taxes under Obama's tax plan, but he won't be unless his business makes more than $250,000 a year. Joe the plummers reply was that McCain had it right and what he heard from Obama was that after years of working his ass off to be able to afford this business he was going to be taxed out of it and his hard earned income would be distributed amongst those who don't work hard to like him. And yes, that's exactly what he said. In Zephyrbird's opinion small businesses should be encouraged to grow, be enabled to hire more people, and keep the economy flowing.

Many of my small business owner friends here are ready to cut back on Nov. 5 if Obama is elected because they have studied his tax plan and they are going to get hurt badly! Instead of hiring new employees they will be laying off and in some cases closing up. They see no hope under the Obama tax plan. We already distribute the wealth from the working class to the non working class through welfare, food stamps, etc. Now he wants to socialize everything and it isnt' right, it isn't fair. Do more, as John McCain says, to keep businesses in the states rather than make it impossible for them to make a living here. Taxing people even more when the economy is sinking is just plain dumb! Let's just tax us out of jobs so we all have to go on welfare!

Anyway...I digress from the debate...so while Joe the Plummer was the hot topic and we love ya Joe! John McCain was the clear winner! Keep fighting John! We're fighting behind you!

Do I wish John McCain had said more about why Sarah Palin could step in as president? You bet I do! There was so much more he could have said and for the life of me I don't know why he let that chance slip by. Speaking of Sarah Palin...

...if you don't know about the tshirts at the Obama rally that John McCain was talking about here's the scoop. Tshirts are being worn, at the Obama rallies, that say Sarah Palin is a CUNT. McCain stated he found those tshirts offensive and asked Obama to repudiate the use of them and Obama did not.

How to lie with statistics or how to skew the polls

A couple weeks back I received and email from the dialoguepolitics group regarding a PBS run Sarah Palin poll. They were asking all the democrats to go in and vote no that she is not qualified. For some reason they felt this would make it true. They did manage to bring her yes leads to a tie of 49% yes and 49% no, but did not manage to make it an overwhelming majority did not find her qualified.

At that point I was going to do a blog on why polls don't work, but thought if I did I would get comments that it was just sour grapes, etc, since I am a McCain/Palin supporter. My husband teaches statistics and while I can't explain it as well as he can it comes down to how you ask the question, of whom you ask the question, and sometimes where you ask the question. You can form a question in such a way that you can manipulate the answer. Like - have you stopped beating your wife? So,in the meantime....

...the AFA countered by running a poll on whether Barack Obama is qualified. The poll at this point stands at 12,848 yes votes, 263,336 no votes and 2,521 not sure votes. And so now we get this email from dialoguepolitics stating the following.

The problem with both polls is that they allow the same person with the same or different emails to vote more than once (I voted twice on each just to find out, and it seemed as though I could have continued), so neither has any real validity, other than as a propaganda tool.

When I went to the AFA poll, 93,000+ had voted that Obama was not qualified, and some 4,000+ felt that he was (I forget the not sure vote).

Plus, and this applies to both polls, what, exactly does "qualified" mean. My guess is that people on both sides are voting whether they want the candidate in question, qualifications or lack thereof aside."

So I want to thank them for making my point about polls. They aren't reliable, they aren't true, and they can be skewed by who is doing the polling. Please keep this in mind with future polls and don't be so quick to believe it just because someone at a polling place says it's true. Thanks dialoguepolitics for making this point for me. I agree the polls are rarely if ever accurate due to the many ways of skewing the responses.

On Football and Chess

You're probably asking yourself what does football have in common with chess? Well, at this point nothing. But! I, Zephyrbird, have decided that it would be better for the football players and the game to use a chess move. It came to mind yesterday when my Tampa Bay Bucs were slaughtering the Carolina Panthers. Go Bucs!! In the last quarter it was 27 - 3 with only a few minutes to go. This meant the Panthers would have to score three touch downs and three two point conversions in those few minutes to just tie the game. It just wasn't going to happen.

So here comes the chess move. In chess when you look at the board and you realize there is no way to win you lay your king down and resign. So, my thought is, when a team is in the position the Panthers were in yesterday why not just go lay their quarterback down in the field and resign the game? That makes sense to me! ZephyrBird speaks!

Birds of a feather

I am very proud of John McCain for stepping up and taking the high road in the Obama terrorist connection and trying to still the mob of violence that is breaking out at the rallies. He made some positive statements one of which we don't have to be afraid if Obama is elected. On this I disagree.

As much as the democrats want to hush up and try to make us believe there is no connection between Obama and terrorists such as William Ayers there is a connection and a big one. He and Obama were friends until it became clear Obama was going to run for government office and needed to clean up his slate, so another "friend" he put on the back burner for the sake of moving up in the governement. Obama and Ayers served on two non profit boards together in the 1990's and Ayers funded Obama's campaign. Yes, Obama states by the time he met him he was a 'respected' education reformer and he hasn't spoken with him since 2005. Well, I have past friends I haven't communicated with in years either, but the associations were there and I would have hard time denying them. Apparently Obama doesn't.

As much as the democrats want to cover up the Obama/Rezko connection there is one and a big one. Here is a quote from ABC news online.

In sharp contrast to his tough talk about ethics reform in government, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., approached a well-known Illinois political fixer under active federal investigation, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, for "advice" as he sought to find a way to buy a house shortly after being elected to the United States Senate.

The parcel included an adjacent lot which Obama told the Chicago Tribune he could not afford because "it was already a stretch to buy the house."

On the same day Obama closed on his house, Rezko's wife bought the adjacent empty lot, meeting the condition of the seller who wanted to sell both properties at the same time.

Rezko had been widely reported to be under investigation by the U.S. attorney and the FBI at the time Obama contacted him and has since been indicted on corruption charges by a federal grand jury in a case that prosecutors say involves bribes, kickbacks and "efforts to illegally obtain millions of dollars."


This week, a federal judge in Chicago ordered the Rezko trial to begin Feb. 25.

Obama maintains his relationship with Rezko was "above board and legal" but has admitted bad judgment, calling his decision to involve Rezko "a bone-headed mistake." (this is my favorite line. Do we really want a president who uses such horrible judgement in picking his friends and associates or was it really bad judgement and this is just a convenient out. he wanted something, rezko had what he needed, he got what he needed, and now whoops! it was bad judgement.)


Rezko's behind-the-scenes connection in the Obama house deal became public as Rezko revealed personal financial details as he sought to post bail.

While Rezko's wife paid the full asking price for the land, Obama paid $300,000 under the asking price for the house. The house sold for $1,650,000 and the price Rezko's wife paid for the land was $625,000.

Tony Rezko refuses to talk about his connection with Obama which could mean one of two things. One there really is none or two there is much to tell but he wants his guy in the white house.

So ZephryBird speaks out again with what some will call a negative Obama post and tell me to post only positive things about my candidate etc etc etc. Well, the truth is out there folks. Take this post as you will but please consider what you are doing. I am only posting what is public knowledge but knowledge a lot seem to want to turn a blind eye to in their zealousness to get Obama elected.

I have remained silent long enough trying to placate those who will censor me, but I can no longer keep silent. While I don't agree with the mob mentality of the crowds at the McCain/Palin rallies I do understand where the anger is coming from and it's rightous anger and about time we got angry. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!

McCain Supporters, do we really need to stoop to this?

Just because I am for McCain does not mean I want to receive a lot of propoganda about Obama. The truth is one thing, but I have to admit I went oh come on! when I got this following clip in my email today. It made me go in search of the real clip so will post both. The title was Obama Oops! admits he's a muslim. Please listen to the entire clip as what happened is obvious. They were discussing the use of him being associated with the muslim faith and the term muslim was used a few times, so when he said, yes, it's true John McCain did not use my muslim faith... it was a slip of the tongue. Please! anyone who hasn't done that please stand up. Like I may be talking about my ex husband Ralph and then call my current husband Keith by Ralph's name. OMG!!! I guess that means I wish he was Ralph... well, I just wanted to let everyone know this McCain supporter does not need lies about Obama to make me not vote for him. Anyway, this is a good example of how people from both sides are using sound bites to argue their side.

Clip number one: the sound bite.

The entire interview - please be fair and go here.

LOL...here we go again!

Well, I was wrong in telling McCain there would be new issues thrown at him last night, so maybe the cards were wrong in predicting a change of address for Obama, too. From the part I watched, last night, it was not a town hall forum! It was Tom Brokaw doing what Tom Brokaw does...make it as boring as possible. He was supposed to have had thousands of questions from which to choose, so why did he choose to ask the same tired old questions that have been asked and answered and asked and lied about and asked and distorted already! We taped it because we have to get up early so only watched part, but I'm even wondering if it's worth our time to watch the rest of it. Same old same old. Or as some say, different day same shit, or in the case of these two same old bullshit. Nothing new was said, nothing new learned, and I have a feeling most of the people watching fell asleep in their easy chair or couch.

Now onto the polls. Yesterday Obama was 8 points ahead and the media was already crowning him president. In todays daily poll summary McCain has closed the gap royally! Obama is now at 48% and McCain at 45%. So, what happened? They are saying it is simply a correction after a time when Obama had a considerable gain in a short time. They are implying that McCain is not gaining support, nor Obama losing support which I find interesting, because when Obama goes ahead it's all about momentum and how the tide is turning his way with the voters and everyone is turning towards him for leadership, blah, blah, blah. But when McCain makes a push in the polls it's just a correction and not a show of the tide turning towards him. You gotta love the press!!! They are now saying Obama will win because his supporters will turn out to vote and the McCain supporters will stay home. Hmmmmm.... first they predict the winner before the fat lady sings and now they're trying to discourage McCain voters from getting out there. So, I encourage all of you to show them how wrong they are! Get out and vote! We may be old but dang nabbit we still have a lot of spark left in us!

Tarot Readings for Tuesday nights debate

Since tomorrow evening is the second presidential debate I decided to have some fun and pick up an old hobby/craft of mine and do a tarot reading for each. From the reading I will give each advice on what they need to do tomorrow night. This is just for fun so I don’t want anyone get their undies in a knot. This is just for giggles and grins.

First McCain: I use the five card spread because it’s the easiest next to a quick one card read. I’ll also condense so you don’t have a huge missive to read.

The center card is the present – the first card turned is good news for McCain – the six of wands is the lord of victory and stands for success and great public acclaim.

The second card to the left of the center card represents past influences – we drew the six of swords here but it came up reversed and in this position it means there were unexpected developments and a need for continuing strength and effort in overcoming these developments.

The third card to the right of the center card represents the future and here we draw the nine of cups which represents and assured future and physical well being. It also represents overcoming difficulty.

The fourth card below the center card is the card of the reason behind the reading and will shed light on the number two draw. The card drawn was again drawn reversed and this one is The Sun and shows troubled partnerships and marriages. Broken engagements and contracts. Relationship difficulties and misjudgments.’

The fifth card is above the center card and shows the potential within the situation – and I don’t think a more perfect card for John McCain could have been drawn. The last card is the King of Cups which represents a person who commands respect, not love. A man of business or law who is a skilled negotiator. A person who has arrived at a position of power by use of brains, not brawn.

Okay, now onto Obama and then my take on the readings.

The center card is The Page of Wands but is drawn reversed. In this position it shows a man of honest qualities that may turn to petulance. He believes he is trustworthy while being unfaithful. A person unable to keep a confidence and who betrays trust. This card can also indicate a change of address.

The second card – the three of swords – again reversed – spiritual and mental confusion. Loss of discord. Treachery.

The third card – The Knight of Pentacles – upright – this represents an impassive and indifferent person who doesn’t always appreciate the feelings of others. He is a very traditional person, clever in monetary affairs, hardworking, and patient.

The fourth card – Interesting draw – this one is The Lovers – which represents harmony and union, choices made with intuition not intellect. There is a test involved regarding commitments. Abstract thought and a possible struggle between two paths.

The fifth and last card – The last card drawn, the Seven of Wands, is drawn reversed which represents a lack of decisiveness that causes a challenge to be lost. Indecision and retreat. Opportunities lost through hesitation. Success against a powerful competitor may be achieved through sustained effort.

Okay, now my advice to each, of what they need to do tomorrow night, based on these readings. First John McCain: Don’t go into this expecting pat questions with pat answers. Be prepared to have some new issues thrown at you to which you will need honest, concise, and intelligent answers. This won’t be a cake walk. Be prepared for questions about past business dealings and relationships that may not seem so up and up. You need to explain and be clear and honest. Some obstacles are going to be set tonight so don’t appear nonchalant and uncaring. Speak directly to your opponent when speaking about him and don’t just spout off rhetoric and numbers. Be human and show the caring side of John McCain. Show the John McCain who cares and not the one who just wants to get a one upmanship on Obama. This isn’t a pissing contest. It’s a presidential debate. Your future card shows an assured future and good physical well being as well as victory. You will have a happy ending to your venture.

Now to Obama – There are also obviously some things in your past that still need looked at and explained. You need to overcome the feeling you give of being cold and uncaring and just out for the win. Again this isn’t a pissing contest so my advice to you is to stop lecturing and finger pointing (literally!) and get real again. Show compassion instead of just trying to find fault with your competition. When asked an unexpected question don’t hem and hah and hesitate but go right into an answer and whatever it is be confident without coming off as pompous. And you will get some unexpected questions either tomorrow night or in the near future. Your cards show a change of address so take that as you will.

Both candidates have issues that need resolved and both need to learn to behave a bit more humanly and a little less like two guys slugging it out in a bar – my dick’s bigger than yours syndrome. Both need to show a more human side – McCain by looking at his opponent and Obama by not lecturing with his finger shaking at the audience as if they were badly behaved school children. Each has a good future and a good outcome to this regardless of how it ends.

Well, as I said this is all for grins and giggles so I hope you all had some fun with it. Good luck to both candidates tomorrow night and I hope they both watched the VP debate and learned something from how their running mates conducted themselves.

Little Boxes

I know I said I was going to post more about the VP debate this weekend, but I guess I'm feeling nostalgic for the 1960's and when I came across this link I decided to take you all on a trip back with me.

VP Debate

I'll post more over the weekend, but wanted to post something now while I'm still smiling over the VP debate. After the boring fiasco of the first Presidential debate I wasn't sure what to expect last night. From the media talk I expected a Biden who tripped over his own tongue and couldn't get his words straight and a Palin who would do nothing but stare into the camera. Well, good for both of them proving the media wrong. Okay, so at one point he got a chuckle out of me when he couldn't say Obama and took two or three tries to get it right. And yes, she cracked me up by saying Obiden. He did stumble over his words a bit, but not to the extent I thought he would. And Palin surprised and amazed me with her poise and skill. So, I say they were both winners last night. He scored more points on dry numbers and facts, but she scored big on connecting with real people on real issues. He showed his expertise and longevity in the govt. by knowing a lot of facts and yes, misrepresenting some very skillfully. But when it came down to the nitty gritty he couldn't best her and that spoke volumes for her ability to think on her feet. At first he had a look of a big brother thinking isn't she cute, but as I watched and she wasn't the scared deer in the headlights he had been lead to believe she was you could see the respect growing in his eyes as he looked and listened. In the end I got the feeling they genuinely liked each other and respected each other and that raised them both up in my opinion. I'd like to see more of these two feisty people than more of the same old same old from McCain and Obama. More on particular points over the weekend.

ZephyrBird Speaks out on John McCain....

...and why I have chosen to back him. I have recently posted some responses from news medias on the internet as a build up to my own comments. In a recent discussion with my sister, Victoria, via a scabble game of course, she asked why I had chosen McCain and I gave her a list of reasons. She said my reasons made sense, not that she agreed with my choice, but suggested I now start to post my reasons here. So here they go. I will not post it all here in this one missive as it would be too much to read at once and I for one hate to those looooonnnng missives and tend to either skip them or scan then. BTW, if you are for Obama and would rather read about him click on Victoria's name and check out her blog.

So here are some issues that are important to me.

It's the economy stupid! John McCain has had more experience working with the government and has not tolerance for pork barrel spending. He is stronger in his determination to remove this and veto all excess spending and bring the economy back under control. Also, I feel he is most sincere and determined to not raise our taxes and I have no problem with giving tax breaks to corporations to keep them in America or to encourage them to bring their business back to America and give jobs to American's who will then have more money to spend thus making the economy even stronger. Yes, he made jokes in the past about not knowing much about the economy, but in all seriousness I feel more comfortable that he would be the one to turn things around for us again.

Off shore drilling - I know a lot of environmentalists are against this, but hey, we can't have it both ways. Yes, we need to develop other energy sources, but in the meantime John McCain is more realistic realizing we have to drill at home. We can't say we don't want to be so dependent on foreign oil but don't drill in my backyard. Nuclear power is a clean source of energy and McCain has the plan to deal with this that also includes taking care of the environment and yes, we can have both. Remember, he has been a leader in the global warming issues and has had gone against Bush's stance that there is no such thing. He is one of the true biparitisan candidates on a lot of issues and that makes me feel comfortable. He won't be a blind follower of party policy but will do what is best for America, not what is best for the republican party.

I am a strong believer that our borders must be secured and John McCain has spoken strongly about the failure of our govt. to get those borders secured. I have nothing against immigration! Don't get me wrong. Those who come to our country legally, learn our laws, our language, work legally, open businesses, buy homes, cars, pay taxes, etc have the same rights as anyone born here. But the illegals are ruining our economy by taking jobs that YES Anerican's would do, but the illegals work for a lot less as they take the money or send the money back to Mexico where the American dollar is worth much more than it is here. They collect welfare, get free medical care by walking into an emergency room for any illness because you can't be turned away. Many of our ER's have been closed because they couldn't afford the cost of caring for these nonpaying patients.

Okay...that's enough for now... more to follow. Agree or disagree that is your right. But this is my time to make my statements and my stance on why I have chosen to back one candidate over the other.

Who really won the first debate?

Per the post I have below McCain won, and there are others who agree. There are some who say Obama won, but I tend to agree with this post by CNN... No one won!

Pundits: No clear-cut winner

CNN’s Anderson Cooper, shortly after the first presidential debate said, “there was not a sense the world had changed.”

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That’s a pretty high bar to set for a debate. But at the same time, with this week’s headlines of impending financial collapse and a suspended presidential campaign—not to mention doubts that the debate would actually take place — perhaps only a world-changing showdown could have lived up to the hype.

For hours beforehand, pundits tried to get inside John McCain’s head. There were questions about his “temperament,” his “risk-taking”, and — as the Obama campaign might say — his “erratic” ways.

But when the “two prizefighters,” as NBC’s David Gregory called them, exited the stage, the attention shifted away from the chaotic past 48 hours and toward the previous 90 minutes.

Fox’s Brit Hume called it a “spirited debate,” but like other commentators, agreed that there was no standout moment that will be replayed on an endless loop.

“There was not in this debate, it didn’t seem to this observer anyway, one of the moment — that will be the sound bite of the night, that you know when you hear it — oh boy, that’s going to be the one on the morning programs, that’s going to be the one everybody’s talking about,” Hume said.

Moderator Jim Lehrer didn't grandstand like other high-profile journalists during the primaries, and engaged the candidates, courteously pushing them to provide more specifics on what they would actually do in office. There weren't any 'gotcha' questions to trip anyone up, or cause a major gaffe.

As expected, both campaigns claimed victory, and spin room surrogates appeared on screen to make their candidates’ case. Joe Biden appeared on all three cable networks, while Sarah Palin didn’t — leading CNN's Wolf Blitzer to bring up her absence several times.

Of course, some partisans were quick to offer conclusive opinions. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann said that there was no doubt Obama won, while Fox’s Bill Kristol contended McCain won. No surprises there.

“There will be a deal this weekend, and he will be vindicated," Kristol said.

But for the most part, there was no knockout punch to easily give the victory to either Obama or McCain.

“I would have a hard time saying one person won this one,” said CNN’s David Gergen.

So without picking a clear-cut winner, many pundits analyzed the back and forth on stage, and who scored points here and there.

CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin spoke about Obama's frequent practice of saying that “McCain is right,” with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews dubbing it an “amen chorus.”

As for McCain's approach to his Democratic competitor, Matthews said that McCain “not once, in an hour and a half, did he look at his opponent.” Later, Matthews referred to McCain several times as "troll-like," and asked his guests and Ole Miss students outside about that description.

Some pundits questioned whether Obama appeared tough enough, or missed opportunities on the economy — especially with the perception in the media that McCain was against the ropes going into the debate.

“John McCain could have lost this race tonight,” said CNN Republican strategist Alex Castellanos. “I’d say a tie is a good thing for the guy who was behind.”

Why McCain Won the Debate

Why McCain Won the Debate

Saturday, September 27, 2008 2:44 PM

By: Christopher Ruddy Article Font Size

There is little question that John McCain “won” the first debate last night. Perhaps he lost on points (arguments) and style (how could he beat Mr. Smooth?), but McCain “won” over the audience, the only victory that counts.

Here’s what I saw and heard:

1. Any question that McCain is too old to run for office has been put to rest. He was sharp, on point and looked good, good enough, that is.

2. If the debate was held before the elite faculties of Harvard and Columbia, schools Obama attended, he would have won hands down. But this debate was held before the American public.

3. Obama was too smooth, too smart. Remember the “W. Factor.” Bush lost all the debates with John Kerry on style and substance. But Bush came across as more likeable. Ditto McCain.

4. Obama has a subtle, condescending speaking style. His hand gestures of constant pointing fingers, frequently raising his fingers to eye level, jabbing constantly, make’s one feel he’s lecturing us. Yes, Kennedy jabbed, but occasionally.

5. After, the debate I heard on a radio call in person say they listened to the debate on radio. Obama sounded like a professor. Bingo. Americans don’t elect professors president.

6. The debate opened on the economy. McCain should have scored much bigger points. He didn’t. He claimed Obama wanted to raise taxes. He should have rattled off specifics of Obama’s tax plan, including: removing the FICA tax cap, doubling the capital gains tax, increasing dividend taxes, letting the Bush tax cuts expire giving everyone an automatic tax increase, raising gasoline taxes, etc.

7. Obama also made some serious tactical mistakes. Twice in the debate he repeated the allegations of others, first saying he was “liberal” and later saying he was “naive.” Repeating labels is a no no.

8. McCain came across as authentic. This elusive quality is difficult to manufacture, and a key reason Obama can’t compete on this score. McCain smartly pointed out how Obama became a born again earmark and pork fighter – after he started running for president.

9. Obama came across as slick trying to making himself sound more moderate than his record demonstrates. He says he doesn’t really want to spend $800 billion on new programs; he really isn’t the most liberal member of the Senate; he doesn’t really want to meet with dictators like Ahmadinejad; and so on.

10. McCain demonstrated he doesn’t simply talk a good talk, but has walked the walk. He has been a long time enemy of earmarks. And he has been a fighter who has crossed the partisan divide time and again. Obama simply has no such record.

11. McCain’s strength was foreign policy. It showed. Obama did seem “naïve.” McCain won the “don’t meet with rogue leaders without preconditions” argument. Obama’s answers sounded like he was flip-flopping on his original statement.

12. On Iran, again one of the most contentious issues, McCain won because his comments grasped the gravity of the crisis.

13. Where McCain lost was on the Iraq war and the surge. Yes, McCain has been right on the surge and Obama has been wrong. But McCain came across as heavily invested in the idea of the war (creating a democracy in Iraq) and unwilling to flexibly respond to reality. Make no mistake about it: this is an unpopular war that is costing us a trillion dollars so far. On CNN I watched the audience meter as McCain talked about the war and its “success.” The meter showed Independent voters clearly tracking in “negative” territory, clearly in line with Democrats.

In sum, McCain had the most to lose from this debate. Obama is known as the great public speaker. McCain did more than hold his own. And most importantly he demonstrated several things that will resonate with voters.

First, he is ready on day one to be ready Commander in Chief.

Second, he can be trusted. His word is good.

Third, he is one of us.

© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Breaking News!!! and other news items

1. McCain will be at tonights debate!!! Yea!!!

2. The latest poll - McCain pulls ahead!

Zogby: McCain Takes the Lead
Thursday, September 25, 2008 3:07 PM
By: David Alliot Article Font Size

The very latest poll numbers from John Zogby put John McCain squarely ahead of Barack Obama at 46 percent to 44 percent, respectively.

McCain moved from three percentage points behind Obama to two points ahead of the democratic candidate in less than a week. One possible reason for the boost — McCain’s decision to forego politics as usual to focus on the current financial meltdown. The polling was conducted after McCain’s announcement that he would suspend his campaign.

Independent voters played a key role in the latest figures: McCain now leads with independents by nine points, 43 percent to 34 percent.

The survey was conducted on Sept. 23-25, 2008, with 4,752 likely voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved. Link to article.

3. Bill Clinton Has High Praise For McCain
By: Jim Meyers Article Font Size

Bill Clinton opened his Global Initiative’s annual meeting in New York on Thursday with high praise for Republican presidential nominee John McCain as well as his rival Barack Obama.

Introducing McCain at the gathering, Clinton pointed out that his wife Hillary and McCain took a congressional delegation on a climate change fact-finding mission to Alaska.

“I want to say one thing in particular about John McCain in bringing him out here,” Clinton said.

“When most people in his party were thinking that global warming was overstated … he decided to look into it.

“He and the junior senator from New York, with whom I have a passing acquaintance, took two astonishing trips.”

Clinton directed a comment to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who was in attendance, saying that one trip was to “your state, to Point Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost community in the United States, where the Eskimos told them they thought their way of life was coming to an end because of changes in the climate.”

Clinton stressed that McCain’s work on global warming was not to score political points. “He just wanted to know and they dragged along some very skeptical Republican senators who now are prepared to vote for some kind of bipartisan legislation, which will put America in a position to be a part of what is coming up by 2010, which is figuring out where we go next in the struggle against climate change.

“John McCain wants to know and I am profoundly grateful to him [for] coming here today.”

McCain took the podium next and the two got a laugh when Clinton accidentally took McCain’s speech when he picked up his own, Fox News reported. McCain quipped, “What kind of a host is that?”

McCain returned the former President’s praise and said: “This man’s drive and determination and compassion for those in need are still a force for good in the world, and I am proud to call him a friend.”

Barack Obama also addressed the Clinton Global Initiative via satellite from Florida. Before he spoke, Clinton praised him for rearranging his schedule to be able to speak to the gathering.

(And this shows why Obama should have picked Hilary for his running mate. The first time he has to make a decision that will affect the nation did he go to his running mate? NO! he went to Hilary and Bill Clinton to tellhimw hat to think and what to say).

Clinton disclosed that Obama contacted both him and his wife for advice on the current crisis. “He said this: ‘Just tell me what you think [we] ought to do and do not waste any breath talking about what is - or is not - politically salable. Let’s figure out what the right thing to do is and then we’ll figure out how to sell it.’” Link to article.

© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Ah!! wonderful weather day!

Today is one of those days that makes you happy to be alive. Oh, not because anything wonderful has happened. In fact if not for the perfect weather this would be one of those perfectly miserable days we have here in good old swampland usa. But today the air is cool, there's just enough breeze to keep it moving and give the air the feeling we get back north when autumn is being ushered in. Normally we don't get days like this here this early in the season, but I think the recent hurricanes have changed things a bit for us weather wise here. And I am enjoying it! The leaves have changed in some areas already! not that we get anything close to the specatacular display mother natures gives up north, but it's enough to remind us that yes, fall is here, and all the good things that come with it. Halloween! Thanksgiving! and being able to take walks without fear of dying from heat exhaustion. Ah..yes, it's a wonderful day to be alive!