Watch CNBC if you're worried

If you have any interest in what's happening with the recent stock market collapse and its domino effect on markets around the world, watch CNBC.

The U.S. collapse is affecting markets all over the world. Banks all over Europe are failing and needing to be bailed out...the most recent action of stabilization I'm seeing is from the Belgian government.

Why this is happening at the depth it is in Europe, I don't really understand why...I don't claim to be an economist or understand this stuff.

It should give you an accurate pulse on that theory that "when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold."

...but sit back for a minute and ask yourself: "Why is this happening? What are we witnessing? Where is this headed?"

If you're worried about what's going on right now, talk to your financial adviser...and if that adviser is your common sense, then follow that adviser.

Pay off all your debts...that means student loans and credit cards...then it's commodities and bonds, baby.

I'll see you when I'm on the rooftop of my place sitting on a pile of cash with a shotgun in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other.

Friendly reminder to GOP: No earpieces in the debates, please.

Remember! McCain's health is still in question.

What's McCain's next stunt?

If your brain hasn't already popped a blood vessel from the theatrics of this week, here's another something for you to ponder over...from a website begging the question about what McCain's next stunt will be!

What will it be???

1. Returns to Vietnam and jails himself.
2. Offers the post of "vice vice president" to Warren Buffett.
3. Challenges Obama to suspend campaign so they both can go and personally drill for oil offshore.
4. Learns to use computer.
5. Does bombing run over Taliban-controlled tribal areas of Pakistan.
6. Offers to forgo salary, sell one house.
7. Sex-change operation.
8. Suspends campaign until Nov. 4, offers to start being president right now.
9. Sells Alaska to Russia for $700 billion.
10. Pledges to serve only one term. OK, half a term.

Do you have an idea for McCain's next campaign stunt? Send it to us at NextMcCainStunt@gmail.com, and we will publish the best ideas. E-mails may be quoted by name unless you indicate otherwise.

Gotta go...time for the first Presidential debate! S

Obama shoots hoops--McCain takes a nap!??

So I was amused to read an article about debate preparations under way for Friday night. Senator Obama will spend the day working out and shooting hoops while Senator McCain will spend the day preparing and taking a nap.

Now is it just me or is that a pretty striking contrast in age and energy levels???? I think Senator McGrumpy will need more than a nap not to get testy.

GObama!
The Luna Girl

Biden's book is an inspiring read for ANYONE on the political spectrum

This is probably a book that gets overlooked by all the Obama reads floating around out there, but it's definitely worth checking out.

It's Promises to Keep by Joe Biden, the Vice-Presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket. It came out when he announced he was running for President last year, his second attempt for the highest office in the land.

He soon dropped out after a few debates in the primaries...however little did he know that he would soon be joining Barack Obama on the Dem ticket for the White House! Fate works in mysterious ways.

He's an impressive man, but also a bit of an average Joe (aren't I punny?)...he's a regular fella like you and me. Got in fistfights as a kid...played football and baseball...drinks a beer. Calls it the way he sees it. I don't know of a political figure out there that represents the average American more than Joe Biden.

Here's an excerpt from his book:

To me this is the first principle of life, the foundational principle, and a lesson you can't learn at the feet of any wise man: Get up! The art of living is simply getting up after you've been knocked down. It's a lesson taught by example and learned in the doing. I got that lesson every day while growing up in a nondescript split-level house in the suburbs of Wilmington, Delaware. My dad, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr., was a man of few words. What I learned from him, I learned from watching. He'd been knocked down hard as a young man, lost something he knew he could never bet back. But he never stopped trying. He was the first one up in our house every monring, clean-shaven, elegantly dressed, putting on the coffee, getting ready to go to the car dealership, to a job he never really liked. My brother Jim said most mornings he could hear our dad singing in the kitchen. My dad had grace. He never, ever gave up, and he never complained. "The world doesn't oew you a living, Joey," he used to say, but without rancor. He had no time for self-pity. He didn't judge a man by how many times he got knocked down but by how fast he got up.

Get up! That was his phrase, and it has echoed through my life. The world dropped you on your head? My dad would say, Get Up! You're lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Get up! You got knocked on your ass on the football field? Get up! Bad grade? Get up! The girl's parents won't let her go out with a Catholic boy? Get up!

It wasn't just the small things but the big ones --- when the only voice I could hear was my own. After the surgery, Senator, you might lose the ability to speak? Get up! The newspapars are calling you a plagiarist, Biden? Get up! Your wife and daughter -- I'm sorry, Joe, there was nothing we could do to save them? Get up! Flunked a class at law school? Get up! Kids make fun of you because you stutter, Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-Biden? Get up!

In addition to going into detail about his personal life and heartbreaking tragedy, the book has many fascinating accounts of his behind the scenes dealings with many prominent world leaders and politicians.

You might also say he criticized the Bush Administration...only a little though, I promise.

As you can see from the excerpt, it's an inspiring read and forces you to contemplate the character of who we want to elect to the White House (including the Veep) this fall. S

The calming mechanism we need

Maybe it's just me, but there's something very reassuring about this interview in which Obama gets the giggles from a fly buzzing around him (the fly wins). It happened in the face of a turbulent week in our economy and financial market implosion.



It echoes the demeanor of a guy who's going to calm us and reassure us through tough times, not stress us out. He laughed about it and put the reporter at ease...

...unlike McCain, who probably would have lost his cool and blamed Obama for the flies. S

"ENOUGH!!!" still echoes loud and clear from Obama's acceptance speech

Barack Obama's acceptance speech in August at the Democratic National Convention still resonates, and is worth revisiting...repeatedly.

I find myself continuing to come back to it. I don't know what else to say other than it keeps me balanced and walking straight through all the mudslinging...it's a great mechanism to help Obama supporters stay on target.

It's such an awesome, inspiring speech...the best moment being, in my opinion, at about the 7:00 mark when he's shouts: "Enough!" That still sends chills up my spine.

If you're short on time, AT LEAST watch the first 10 minutes of the speech.

...and what about that cool stage design? I can't get enough of the Dr. Seuss imagery from that podium...cool stuff!

Here's the full transcript of Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC, in front of nearly 90,000 spectators and a World audience...or you can press play on the video to watch...or read along. S



Barack Obama's speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, as prepared for delivery Thursday night at Invesco Field at Mile High stadium in Denver:

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation.

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest — a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night

To the love of my life, our next first lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia — I love you so much, and I’m so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story — of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart — that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That’s why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women — students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments — a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for 20 years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land —

ENOUGH!!!

This moment — this election — is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On Nov. 4, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Sen. McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives — on health care and education and the economy — Sen. McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made “great progress” under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisers — the man who wrote his economic plan — was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a “mental recession,” and that we’ve become, and I quote, “a nation of whiners.”

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud autoworkers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don’t believe that Sen. McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know. Why else would he define middle class as someone making under $5 million a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than 100 million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.

For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy — give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps — even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.

Well, it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was president — when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job — an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great — a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton’s Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States.

What is that promise?

It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It’s a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves — protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.

That’s the promise of America — the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.

That’s the promise we need to keep. That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president.

Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95 percent of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years, and John McCain has been there for 26 of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Sen. McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy — wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans.

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American: If you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime — by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less — because we cannot meet 21st century challenges with a 20th century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that’s the essence of America’s promise.

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next commander in chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.

For while Sen. McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just “muddle through” in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell — but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we’re wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep America safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don’t protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can’t truly stand up for Georgia when you’ve strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice — but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans — have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As commander in chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America — they have served the United States of America.

So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose — our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This, too, is part of America’s promise — the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And you know what — it’s worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn’t work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it’s best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don’t fit the typical pedigree, and I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you.

For 18 long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said "enough" to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us — that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it — because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I’ve seen it. Because I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I’ve seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

And I’ve seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they’d pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I’ve seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit — that American promise — that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours — a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead — people of every creed and color, from every walk of life — is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise — that American promise — and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Provided by politico.com

Drow - ning In - de - ci - sion

I've really been enjoying, and frightened at the same time, by McSame's most recent confusion with the economy...among many of the other subject matter he's had confusion with in the past.

Let's see what his most recent comments have been:

1. "The 'fundamentals' of the economy are strong..." When he said fundamentals, he was referring to people...the first person in the history of the English language to do so.
2. Then, yesterday morning, he once again said "The economy is strong."
3. He then came back in the afternoon and said "The economy is vulnerable."
   

Huh??? So how exactly can something be BOTH strong AND vulnerable?

It makes the economy sound "like a muscleman who refuses to wear a condom," as was stated by a fella on Comedy Central last night.

Before this man has a debate with Obama next week, he needs to finish the other debate he's in right now...with himself...because right now he's losing that debate.

I don't think he really knows where he's standing on ANY of the issues...let alone which country for which he's running for President. We all know it's not Spain...but does he?

Engine room, another cocktail please. S

Set your DVRs for Oprah already!

So the first thing I see on the television this morning ON THE VERY SAME DAY where Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch fall into oblivion AND The Dow is falling over 500 points---- is the following headline on MSNBC: "GOP calls for boycott of Oprah as she is shunning Palin".

To quote my favorite old cranky guy, Colonel Harry Potter from MASH: "Horsehockey!" While it is true that Oprah endorsed Barack Obama way back when---she long ago issued a statement that she would not have ANY of the candidates on the ticket on her show as it would be a conflict of interest.

Now I know this is a small battle, and a petty one at that....but one I am willing to fight and you can too! I have set my DVR to a "series" recording on Oprah so that Oprah's ratings will not go down or even go up.

I have awakened the rage within.

Set your DVRs today! Thank you very much. Luna Girl

Obama campaign launches new site, exposes McCain's lobbyist ties

The Obama campaign has lauched a refreshed offensive strategy intended to expose the McCain campaign and keep him on the ropes.

McLOBBYI$T exposes all the ties McCain and Palin have to lobbyists in Washington.

This is part of a multi-pronged attack Barack Obama & Co. have unleashed through many forms of media; television, radio, and the Internet.

Oh, hey John, you can look it up on "The Google." S

HOPE will prevail over this sad day

What constitutes a Statesman?

"The times are too serious," says Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for President, as he described the tasks that lay before the American public in his acceptance speech in Denver.

Indeed. These times call for someone who can eclipse standard party politics. Someone who can progress our society. Someone who can lead our nation into the future.

The times call for a Statesman to lead us.

...but what exactly constitutes as a statesman?

By definition, a statesman typically involves a person who has served with a long career in politics...we're all familiar with the term Elder Statesman.

However, what can be said about an elder statesman before they're...um, elder? Is there something to be said about witnessing the development of a statesman in the making?

The following might shed some light on the matter, and you can decide for yourself.

• Aristotle -- "What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions."
• Harry S. Truman -- "A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years."
• Henry Kissinger -- "The statesman's duty is to bridge the gap between experience and vision."
• London's Evening News, July 21, 1960 -- "There will be need for a new word. Presumably, we shall have to call her a Stateswoman. This is the suffragette's dream come true." (On Sirimavo Bandaranaike's election to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the first such woman leader in the world, though other women heads of state and government and other women political leaders had been referred to as "statesmen".)
• Milton Friedman -- "One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship."
• Otto von Bismarck -- “I consider even a victorious war as an evil, from which statesmanship must endeavor to spare nations.”
• Winston Churchill -- "A politician thinks about the next elections - the stateman thinks about the next generations."

We can probably all agree that these trying times call for someone with exceptional leadership abilities. Will a bona-fide statesman emerge as our new President? The next few months will give us an idea of who, and what, will emerge.

So, again, the title of this post begs the question...and again, we all draw our own conclusions. S

The pants aren't just on fire, the whole wardrobe's up in flames!

He he he he he he.......is that a Dr. Evil laugh I'm hearing?

The McCain-Palin ticket is attempting, in the most apathetic and stupid way possible, to hijack the "change agent" argument in the upcoming election.

Uhhh, I think Obama's been talking about that over the last 20 months...that is until the SPIRIT OF A REAL MAVERICK overtook John McCain's soul...you have to see it to believe it! It's part of the talent of Slowpoke Comics.

It's interesting...between the hesitancy to interview and the lies, even Bill O'Reilly at FOX News has questioned the legitimacy of Palin. He says --- and remember this is coming from the most conservative and right wing of talk shows --- that she's not fit for the Veep role if she won't come on his show.

My guess is that the more she talks, the more she'll expose her inexperience. S

Will the next Tim Russert please stand up!

With less than two months left until the election, it's beginning to take shape on how badly we need good reporting to hold politicians seeking office accountable.

That fact hit home as I was watching Meet the Press this morning as Tom Brokaw interviewed the Dem. Veep hopeful Joe Biden.

Brokaw is standing in for Russert this political season as, sadly, he passed away earlier this year right after the primaries.

His absence leaves a horrific gap --- on many levels --- in the journalist community...just when he's desperately needed.

Russert was the one guy in the news media with the reputation and ability to gracefully hold an interviewee's feet to the fire and expose them if they don't know their stuff.

A classic example was his interview with white supremacist David Duke in 1991, when he was running for governor...when Russert asked Duke who the top 3 employers in the State of Louisiana were, he couldn't respond because he didn't know. It's universally agreed that this exposure outed Duke and was the main driver in him losing the election.

Now it seems like another David Duke type has emerged with Sarah Palin. Who will step to the plate and hold her feet to the fire?

First she has to agree to do interviews...REAL interviews. Not some People magazine photo shoot or laid back chat with the candy store owner down the street. In order for Palin to be taken for real, she needs to appear on Meet the Press...but will the interview be as effective as if Russert was conducting it?

This is now the question: will Brokaw conduct an interview with effective, pointed questions? That is, assuming the interview happens at all...if not, someone else is going to have to step in.

The journalist community needs to channel the spirit of Tim Russert, or we could be facing some dire consequences. S

McCain gets BarackRoll'd

"What does the Vice President do all day???"

These are the words of Governor Sarah Palin in the few weeks preceding her actual nomination to that very same position. Have you seen the video on YouTube???

WHOA!! Step back.... these are some very scary words from what I think is a very scary lady. SO she doesn't know what the vice president DOES all day??? What that means is that she will JUST make it up as she goes along! The is terrifying and Cheney-esque. Pause for a moment and think about that. What do we know about this woman??? She favors loyalty to an extreme, fires people for disagreeing with her, wants to ban books, wants to teach Creationism in schools, wants to force girls and women to carry babies to term even if they were victims of rape and incest. I am sure there are other things that will pop up that will make voters question her qualifications.

I am monumentally pissed off at John McCain, who I could live with as President, I could live with the idea---at least until he chose her. For me, he made this election a must-win for Obama.

GObama!!!

Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East?

One more vid here I couldn't resist...sorta like one of those Saturday afternoon serials. Well, not really. S

Bush & McCain go at it...live on video!

This is one of the better Bush/McCain voice-overs I've run into. Just be warned...you might pop a few brain cells taking this all in. S

Donate to Planned Parenthood Alaska in Gov. Palin's name!

So here's the link: Planned Parenthood - Alaska. When you go there look for the donation link at the top-middle part of the page.

I just thought it might be time for Americans to take action and help promote the agenda of Planned Parenthood where it's needed the most.

My instincts have tapped me on the shoulder and suggested that Alaska might be one of those places...but maybe that's just me...no, no, it was an oracle from one of my nightmares...or maybe it was from my television spitting extremist fire at me three nights ago.

Hey, and while you're at it, donate in the name of the Honorable Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin...you can even share your thoughts with her at this site Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (email contact at the bottom of page) to let her know what you did in her honor! S

Obama appearing on FOX's "The O'Reilly Factor"

Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is appearing on "O'Reilly's FEAR Factor," as I like to refer to it, which is airing in it's entirety early next week.

It looks like a bit of a fiery interview. You can catch a segment of it here: Barack Obama On "The O'Reilly Factor"

This is my crackpot observation of the segment, as I don't watch this show very much: O'Reilly is anticipating an Obama Presidency. I'm obviously skewed on this subject, but I'm judging this by O'Reilly's reactions and what seems like a more toned down treatment in the interview (at least compared to his treatment of some of his other guests).

Maybe it's just out of respect, but there's something interesting going on there.

Is it me, or does it look like someone we know's trying to keep his debating skills sharp to prepare for the next two months?

Looking for this photo online? You won't find it...I used the new "snipping" feature on Windows Vista, which allows you to capture whatever's on your computer screen (pause the vids first).

I might actually use that more often in the future...it's a pretty handy tool. S

Hey Dubya, is THIS LEFT angry enough for ya? Choke on your own words!

Originally posted this last week at RANT FROM BOULDER & BELLEVUE during the Republican National Convention

I must admit that Poopy Prez hasn't been on my radar as of late, in case any of you have been following along.

I think many of us, with our attention focused on the days leading up to this fall's election, are simply trying to put him and what I call the "Train Wreck Presidency" in the back of our minds and ride out the mess until the exterminator (Father Time, a.k.a. 1/20/2009) arrives to rid us of the cockroaches inhabiting the White House.

So tonight, I thought I'd behave like a "real" Independent and pay some attention to the GNC for amusement purposes, if nothing else. BTW, I'm in NO sense of the word a Lieberman Indy.

So very little was going on, and then W came on via satellite from the White House...and said the following: "If the Hanoi Hilton cannot break John McCain's resolve, you can bet he has the resolve to survive the ANGRY LEFT."

Caaaaaaan you rewind that and repeat please?

...the "Angry Left?"......huh? Say what? WTF is that all about?

What in the hell does that mean? Who or what exactly is this "angry left?" ...opposed to the "Happy Left?" (oh, I know soooo many of those). Is this "Angry Left" a driver who flipped off his motorcade in D.C. the other day as they ran a red light at an intersection? A North Vietnamese torturer? ...or would a confused and disgruntled man named Lieberman at the RNC tonight fall under that category?

If Bush is referring to what HE SEES as liberal voters (among many other voters from all walks of life) who don't agree with his atrocious policies over the last eight years --- and the folks who simply didn't agree with Iraq who W, Rove, Cheney, and many in the GOP cast as unpatriotic demons (along with those who originally supported the war and then changed their minds after they realized they'd been duked with a WMD disappearing act) --- if he's by some ghost of a chance referring to Independents like me who don't want to see the planet trashed, and are activists protesting his destructive policies (including THIS blog: SWEVA'S P-PATCH) --- if he's referring to those who don't believe in the U.S. employing torture methods stemming back to the Spanish Inquisition, and the existence of Guantanamo Bay itself --- if he's deeply reflecting how he sat on his hands while the assault weapons ban expired, literally killing more police officers ever since --- if he's musing on how the health care system is in the toilet and the many families with FULL COVERAGE it destroyed (mine included) who were nothing but fiscally conservative their whole lives just to bear an unimaginable financial burden of medical bills and silently struggle to avoid a helpless slide towards a life of poverty, working frightened into their golden years and a serious illness away from a doomsday scenario --- if he's referring to veterans on the street that the government has the responsibility (and refuses) to care for, soldiers coming home in body bags (including a HS classmate of mine), and peeps throwing his "Mission Accomplished" stunt back in his face --- if he's talking about those who oppose the Bush family's ties to Big SpOil, and how he doesn't hold big business accountable while companies like ENRON do anything but play by the rules of the road --- if he's talking about those crying for help (and yes, their lives too) in Katrina, who he kept screwing ten ways to Sunday MONTHS after the disaster through mismanagement and empty, broken promises --- if he might be referring to voiced opposition to his No Child Left Behind joke that holds guns at teachers heads without supporting them with funding --- if W is referring to those women who don't believe the government has any business in their womb --- if he's considering what he thinks all us peeps must be fabricating as corruption, mass deception, lies, ignorance, cronyism, arrogance, and nose-thumbing from the Oval Office --- and if W is comparing anyone who has left-leaning political views and disagrees with his policies, vocal or otherwise, to that of North Vietnamese torturers, like he did tonight in textbook demonizing Dubya fashion --- then yes..............I guess that I'd imagine that there might be an "Angry Left" out there somewhere that's a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT upset. So fuck you, George W. Bush...stick your abysmal failure of a Presidency in your lunch and CHOKE ON IT!

...but wait, he's already been choking on it! ...as you'll see here: George Bush chokes

Comments like that are textbook GOP and textbook W. I realize I'm not helping that much with my response in this post, but a comment like his tonight required a strong response...and he's the President, I'm not.

It's yet another compelling reason why the vision and mindset in the White House needs to change from that of a hypocritical, divisive, and moronic leadership to that which is uniting and forward-thinking to address the issues of tomorrow.

I hope for W's sake (and America's) that the evil demons haunting his sleep decide to lay off a little as the clock counts down to 1/20/2009.

Assuming I'm following his twisted rhetoric from tonight, the "Left" and it's "anger" will die to a large degree with W's unconscionable train wreck of a Presidency, assuming voters do the right thing this year and vote for Obama and a different direction for America.

But what do I know? I'm guessing I'm just part of this "Angry Left" scheme that Bush so elegantly described tonight...so do you wanna know how I really feel? S

Spreading the joy...oh boy!

Can you sense the joy?!?! Can you sense the enthusiasm?!?! Are you as elated as I am about politics in America?!?!

Then jump for joy!!! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I've spent over a year posting over at THE RANT FROM BOULDER & BELLEVUE, and thought it might be time to do my own thing with political blogging...I already have two other blogs of my own on environmental issues SWEVA'S P-PATCH (with a whole new look, check it out!), and music THE DIFFERENT STAGES MUSIC PROJECT. So you might say that I have something to say, and a bit of a full plate...that makes a total of four (4) blogs that I post to, three (3) of which I'm the captain of.

So what the heck, why not keep things interesting? We certainly know that our politics do, with the reality TV circus it's all become.

For starters, I want to thank Colorado Jyms for bringing me into the blogging universe. This wouldn't be happening without him.

Secondly, I'd like to thank Dubya for inspiring the title to this blog, with another one of his inspiring comments from his speech via satellite at the 2008 RNC in Minnesota --- as part of his ongoing quest to unite all Americans with differing views --- when he referred to this diabolical specter of the "angry left" trying to bring down the McCain campaign. More on that another time.

So I thought I'd try to reverse the karma-ish course of this alleged "angry left" out there by starting "the joyful left." The title of this blog doesn't necessarily mean we're on the left, on the right, joyful, angry, or otherwise.

...and it certainly doesn't mean we're bathing in sarcasm...God knows that's not the case, or we'd be struck down with dogmatic lighting bolts coming at us from the right...or was it the left?

Let's just say I'm left-handed, and I like to write with joy...so there you go. Politically, I'm actually an Independent in the process of detaching myself from the Democratic Party. I've also been a Republican, when I definitely didn't know any better.

So that's it. Feel free to comment and add your thoughts, agreeing or disagreeing. S