First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mohandas Gandhi

...it *is* a new day..

Enjoyed these cheery, non-political tid-bits.

That must have been like baseball size hail!

I'm glad you're both okay, but am sorry you're still sick.

I've always liked Bill Press, too. He used to be on the gasbag teevee shows once in a while and I always appreciated his measured, logic-based opinions. I don't watch anymore, but I have read he's never on anymore.

Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.

... has a radio show based in D. C. - comes on early AM - 5-8 AM here in central time. He's not officially connnected with Air America, but comes on the Air America XM 167, as do some other independent hosts, (such as Ed Schultz, and Mike Malloy). I really like him; as I said he did not fall into the anti-Hillary rut with all the rest, and has tried to be "fair & balanced" - praises and sometimes criticizes them both. I really do not know which Democrat he supports. He's written a book "Train Wreck, the End of the Conservative Revolution." I'm reading it now - pretty good.

We got Mother's house sealed up, but her AC & electricity are still off! She refused to leave and come home with me, but will tomorrow if AC still not on. She's an independent thinker who supports Hillary!!!!!

Glad you're both safe and soon will be "sound."

never my strong suit when I see my country going down the tubes. I have been less than polite to republican shills, and damn if I'm going to treat political hanky-panky meisters any differently just because they have a "D" next to their name.

I'm more about snark-o-licious. But seeing as the elite class of dems seem to be sorely lacking in the humor department, it's best I just talk amongst myselves. ;-/

endorsements herself; see my list purloined from Wiki at:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/15515

Of course this is totally ignored by the media; what she needs to do is have a few of the better-known ones re-announce their support. (A la Obama)

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

none of this is illegal. All is does is speak to Obama's questionable associates and lack of judgment. Of which he has a plentiful supply. But also unfortunately, nobody, no one seems to care. We're a country with NO moral compass.

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

"But for all Clinton's political blemishes, the darker stain that has been exposed is the hatred of women that is accepted as a part of our culture."
-snip-

I expected this of the repugs and general population but, foolish me, I really didn't expect it from the dems. Who wants to bet the supposed "regressives" nominate a woman first?

It may very well be McCain in the White House (if it's BO for the Dems).

even RED state Alaska is trending Dem:

excerpt

Thu May 15, 2008

In 2004, George W. Bush beat John Kerry 61-36 in Alaska. Now, the latest R2K poll for Daily Kos shows that McCain leads Obama only 49-42 in the 49th state.

So Obama is actually competitive for the state's three electoral votes, trailing only by seven.

Get over it. It's so old by now. - Justice Antonin Scalia

"In McCain's World, Everyone Gets a Pony"  Thu May 15, 2008

Wow! If you don't love the guys at FactCheck.org as much as I do, you really need to make sure you are still alive. FactCheck's bottom line up front:

McCain's argument is that:

  1. The McCain economic plan will cut $100 billion of the discretionary budget.
  2. Past and present earmarks account for $100 billion of the discretionary budget.
  3. Therefore, the McCain economic plan will cut past and present earmarks.

The argument is seductive. But consider another argument that has exactly the same logical structure:

  1. Clouds are white and fluffy.
  2. Sheep are white and fluffy.
  3. Therefore, clouds are sheep.

And:

In McCain's world, everyone gets a pony

<!-- polls come after this -->

• Matt from Iraq's diary :: ::

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania has the website (just in case you didn't already know), FactCheck.org, and they are a non-partisan agency that sticks to "Just the Facts" of the BS our politicians present. They just released two new analysis of John McCain's budget proposals (Part I, and Part II) and this just solidifies why I appreciate what they do even more (read them because they are worth the time).
I sent an email on the 8th of May to

asking a series of questions on both McCain and Obama's proposals. I am not claiming that they responded with these analysis specifically because of my email, but I couldn't be happier with the results. Here are two of the questions I asked in that email:

On taxes, McCain has called for the Bush Tax Cuts to be permanent, while Obama has proposed a tax structure similar to when Bill Clinton was in office. How have those two approaches worked in generating tax revenue, and what income levels have seen the largest benefits vs. who has been hurt the most? Who is currently affected by the Alternative Minimum Tax, and who would benefit by eliminating it and by how much like McCain is proposing? How many people will actually be affected if we eliminate taxes for seniors like Obama proposes, and how much lost revenue will that create?

And

On earmark spending, Obama has proposed a pay-as-you-go approach to new government projects first having a source of funding prior to execution. McCain has proposed to veto any bill with any earmarks. Please explain how many earmarks have actually been signed into law in the past, where has that money has gone, and maybe what do economists say will be the effect if every single dollar of government spending must go through the full process as McCain is therefore proposing. Also, what is the history behind a pay-as-you-go approach to government spending and how effective has it been?

While I am really looking forward to hearing what they say about Obama's plans, they seem to have nailed the questions I had about McCain's plans completely. (I really believe emailing the agencies like FactCheck AND some of the MSM works).

I have really been concerned about fiscal responsibility, budget proposals and (especially) taxes for a few reasons.

1. One of the GOPs most successful platforms is that they claim to be the party of low taxes. The WIDELY held view is that "Democrats will raise my taxes", and the Republicans will cut them. The average person that buys into this view doesn't understand who exactly is benefiting from the tax cuts and we need to expose it thoroughly.

1. We all know that McCain's fiscal plan is a disaster, but now we have the proof and facts readaly accessible to back it up. This election is going to come down to two large issues: The economy and Iraq. At the absolute base of McCain's plan for the economy is tax cuts, eliminating pork spending, and a lot of "bullshit" (J. Biden on Bush, 15 May 2008).

1. The past seven years have left the next President with a "Quagmire" (D. Cheney on Iraq, 1993) with respect to the budget, unlike when Clinton left office. Mandatory spending is uncontrollable, discretionary spending is larger than it's ever been, and our grandchildren's futures are going to depend greatly on how the next President handles it.

1. Every major proposal McCain tosses around on the Straight Talk Express is completely destroyed by these two articles.  I don't want it to get lost because Bush threw himself into the thick of the campaign from Jerusalem.

1. I am a finance officer and money is what I do! If nothing else, bookmark these articles (Part I, and Part II) for future use when the topic hits front and center. 

Get over it. It's so old by now. - Justice Antonin Scalia

she is switching from whatever SUV that carries her huge dogs around to something SVU like but hybrid but wasn't listening close and she swears it is great on mileage whatever it is ; 

Get over it. It's so old by now. - Justice Antonin Scalia

We have a new Honda CRV and it's a great car for the money. We were considering getting another one, since it does so great in the snow, but with gas going up to $4.00 per gallon soon, the Toyota Prius has our attention. I also read that as a front wheel drive, it does well in slippery conditions, as well. Low maintenance, the battery charges itself as you drive; there's no plug in like some that will be coming out late this year. The CRV gets in the low 20's we have Mazda 3 hatchback with all the goodies, but sucks as a winter car. It gets in the mid 20's in town and mid 30's on the highway. Zippy, too.

You've got a great list, and can't go wrong with any of them, but none of them is a mileage buster, except for the Honda Fit, which is pretty small; get the one that gives you the best deal. (I did all the research.)

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

I'm interested in your research about smaller more efficient cars, because the same thoughts have been running around in my brain. I have driven a Prius once, did OK, but did not try on highway or hills. It's MUCH more zippy than my minivan, though. I have friends who have them and love them. The battery is recharged all the time by the car's engine. There comes a time when the battery wears out and has to be replaced, and is expensive. I want a hybrid car which also has fold down seats and cargo area, which as far as I know, the Prius is the only one which meets that criteria.

It's a 2007 and my second Forester; the first was a 2001. Hubby drives a 2003 Subaru Baja. I doubt I can tell you anything about it you don't already know, but here's what I know. It has a very good safety rating, and the ALL-wheel drive is said to be vastly superior to front-wheel or four-wheel drive. We've had to do very little maintenance on any of them. But we were at the dealer yesterday getting a boot replaced on the Baja and the new Forester looks a little bigger than the older ones, so it MAY not get the same milage. I've been told Subaru will be coming out with a hybrid, but not for several more years -- last I heard, they were negotiating with Toyota for some shared R&D.

Can't say I've heard anything bad about the Toyota or Honda, but I've very happy to stay with the Sube.

Forester is great I was surprised at how comfortable the drivers seat really is; and then there is all that other good stuff too; 

Get over it. It's so old by now. - Justice Antonin Scalia

there you have it. Forester, Honda CRV, Toyota Prius. (Anybody for the Toyota Rav4 which may be the best of the bunch?)

Of those, I'd say the CRV has the best driving position, since you are up a little bit. Forester, somewhat, Toyota Prius, just like a regular car. Drove OK for me, but was a little bit like driving a golf cart.

Anybody voting for a Cadillac Esplanade?

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

Toyota has made some great 4 wheel drive vehicles maintence is good on Toyota as far as I know;

I had a nightmare 4 wheel drive that needed maintence all the time under warranty and the warranty repairs were always shoddy;

that period of my life I learned to get tough - - have you noticed :-)

look at the saftey rating too; you probably remember when SVU type models first available they were wildly popular but then discovered that many of them had rollover problems;

I knew someone who was killed in an SUV rollover accident the driver only slightly over steered nothing much and it flipped; it was a gift from parent to child for graduation present - they didn't look at the safety rating or they never would have gotten the Susuki sidekick;

some of Ford's SUV at that time think it was Exploer had bad rollover and another one that had lots of head room not Toyota but Japanese model was the worst of the rollovers;

Cadillac's are nice ;-) - what is the miles per gallon these days!

Get over it. It's so old by now. - Justice Antonin Scalia

these "crossover" vehicles have essentially eliminated the rollover problem. None is as high as a regular SUV and therefore inherently more stable. Plus, most of them have automatic whatevers to compensate for our poor driving in emergency situations. I know the CRV has a 4-star rating and the Forester, as well. Don't know about the others. Tega will have to do some googling.

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

way back in the Jurrasic period chose car for safety reasons over what was then new to the market the Subaru with low low saftey rating but nice price - now the Subarus have top saftey ratings;

but now I am tired of cars their maintence and every other darn thing; we have trains in CA that are great and the routes cover the cities where I go prefer trains now;

Hold on there sweety we'll get to you in a second. - Obama before he apologized -

have a 4-star crash rating?

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

they crunch like a bread box;

Hold on there sweety we'll get to you in a second. - Obama before he apologized

Right now they are not plug-in cars. The electric motor runs the vehicle at low speeds, downhill, coasting, etc...the gas engine comes on at higher speeds. The battery is recharged by braking and also when the energy coming from the gas engine is more than enough needed to move the car. It is a remarkable thing to watch (there is a display in the car that shows you what is doing what).

I ama currently bringing my son home from college with all his belongings in the car; it holds a lot with the backseats folded down.

"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau

I hate to bother you with details but aren't you supposed to be watching the road and not that nifty display in the center of the dash? :)

Barry
Are you safer today than you were seven years ago?^©

Just cover it with your leftover duct tape.

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

The display generates a lot of heat.

"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau

Now, don't drive in too much snow (even though we get a decent amount in northeastern PA). Anybody know how the Corolla does in the winter weather?

I was up past 6:00 AM reading information on cars. I'm more undecided now than when I 1st started.

I do my best not to drive in snow, but at times I must. My Father-In-Law is battling cancer and I may have to drive him at times in the upcoming winter.

Others can drive in the snow. I'd rather shovel it.

An excellent Northeast snow vehicle is the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. My sister bought one and loves it. It is billed as the least expensive AWD in America. Mileage 22/30mpg. While not hybrid mileage it is not bad for someone who really does a lot of bad weather driving.

We've owned a Suzuki XL-7 since 2005 and have had 0 trouble or maintenece issues with it.

http://www.suzukiauto.com/sx4_crossover/

In general, any small front-wheel drive car  (like a Corolla)should have snow tires during the winter months in areas where it snows heavily. It improves traction considerably over regular or all-season radial tires. 

Central Mass (or anyone else)- we'll make sure that whatever car we buy will get snowtires on it by Oct 31st. Have you heard any problems with the Fit, Yaris, Corolla, Civic, Matrix, Imprezza, or Mazda 5 (I forget the exact name) in snow even with snowtires on it?

Thanks for the link too CentralMass!

The hybrid battery issue is over hyped. BTW, I work with somone who drives a Honda Insight with almost 200k mile and he has had no problem w/the battery. 

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-batteries-none-the-worse-for-wear-cga.htm

Now to the battery issue.

Toyota's Prius has been around for the last six years and is the U.S.' most-popular hybrid.While Toyota's Prius wasn't the first hybrid to be sold in the U.S. (that honor goes to the low-volume two-seat Honda Insight), it was certainly the first to sell in reasonable numbers. Introduced in the U.S. for the 2001 model year, it was redesigned for 2004, offering more room, more power, and even better fuel-economy figures.

Helped by rising fuel costs, sales of the second-generation Prius took off. Toyota built about 52,000 of the first-generation cars, and so far has added more than 214,000 of the latest version. That means there have been well over a quarter-million Prius Hybrids sold in the U.S., making it by far the country's most popular hybrid.

And Toyota claims that not one has required a battery replacement due to malfunction or "wearing out." The only replacement batteries sold--at the retail price of $3000--have been for cars that were involved in accidents. Toyota further claims that the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery packs used in all Prius models are expected to last the life of the car with very little to no degradation in power capability.

The Prius has two batteries, the electric and
one all the non-hybrid cars have. They work
together.

I have a 2003 Prius and don't use it very often.
I have had to replace the non-electric battery
more than once, only because of disuse. The
computers in modern cars drain the battery
quickly when in disuse.

I purchased a "trickle charger" which connects
to the battery and is plugged into an ordinary
outlet. Now there is NO problem.

I hope they don't find us. Hide.

We have a hard enough time swatting off the 2 dozen or so that periodically show up to "influence public discourse" here as it is. Can't imagine that will be too successful.

Color me 'unswayable'.

Hear that 400 paid astroturfers?

UN- friggin- swayable.

Don't waste yer time. Pass Go. Us Hillbilly elitists can barely read anyways so we kint even make out what yall are sayin with yer fancy aristokratic 2 dollar words and frantic latte rhythms. Psst-- try Daily Kos! They could use some swayin over thar ohboy. Nobody will ever suspect yew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can't buy my vote, vote
Can't buy my vote-- No!

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright
I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright
'Cause I don't care too much for money, money can't buy my vote

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy my vote

Can't buy my vote, everybody tells me so
Can't buy my vote, no no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy my vote

Whooo!

(guitar solo)

anything? They'll post their nebulous arguments and expect us to docilely agree. When there's a single refutation, they'll start SHOUTING. Impolite don't git it in the South.

Good luck to them. I'm not suspectible to mass hypnosis and learned to spot con men at an early age.

Don't act like Democrats. Why should they even think we would join with them. They have been trying to squash the votes made by the people of MI and FL for months. That's very unDemocratic and unAmerican. Also, they have pulled the Racecard on Hillary. They falsely accused her of using the RAcecard while in fact that's what they were exactly doing.

Obama and team have successfully divided the Democratic Party and have caused some racial tensions. Talk about being, "Dishonest and Divisive!" He's pointing the finger at McCain now. We know who is being dishonest and divisive - yes, we're pointing at Obama and Company. His accusations are dishonest & divisive and acutally have become "Old."

If you listen to the press and all their talk about the "math" for Hillary and Obama, you may be surprised to learn that there is a meeting of the Rules Committee of the DNC on May 31 in Washington to decide how to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations and whether to count the votes of those two states. That changes the "Math" entirely. The decision to punish Michigan and Florida was always subject to the review of the Rules Committee and the Credentials Committee for the Democratic Coconvention. Despite what you have heard in the Media, disenfranchising these two states was never a fait accompli. When the candidates signed an agreement they promised not to campaign in those two states. It had nothing to do with counting or not counting the votes.

It is unthinkable not to count the votes of the millions who marched to the polls in good faith in those two primaries. This is a democracy after all and Florida is a critical swing state for the Democrats in November. It would be very easy for angry disenfranchised Democrats to protest by pulling the lever for the Hero and Media Darling, John McCain. That is a looming and real possibility which will bring Bush Redux for four more years.

There is a grassroots campaign afoot, begun in Florida, which is swelling to a crescendo nationwide. On May 31 there will be a huge rally in Washington DC to urge the Rules Committee to support Civil Rights by counting the votes--all the votes.

To learn more go to
http://www.floridademandsrepresentation.org/

You can sign up for the rally, download and send a petition to the Rules Committee or donate. Whatever you do it will make a difference. It's just a little thing to do today and could have far reaching consequences for our democracy. If our numbers are large, certainly we shall prevail.

Please forward this web site to a hundred or so of your closest friends, whichever candidate they support. Obama, should he be the Democratic candidate, has a lot to lose with an angry electorate in Florida and elsewhere.

Thank you,

Joan Jarowski

<-------------------------

Over there! Joan put it up- go visit!

<-------------------------

Anyone in the DC area....please try to go!!!

We need coverage.

We are the news.

to be given a second look if they favor O! The shenanigans in IN, Lake Co. were quite troubling and you can bet your bottom dollar if the results had favored Hillary, it would be investigated to hell and back. The mayor claimed 15,000 absentee ballots in a county where it's typically little more than 1,000. Machines switching to O! when Hillary pressed. The caucus thuggery, as well, is to be ignored.

Lucky for the short term for O! supporters -- big bummer for us all if he's the nom. It'll be no more free passes for O!, and the video Nick Kelly linked upthread is just the tip of the iceberg on what they'll be hitting him with.

This is probably the biggest, most blatant setup for selecting a nominee I've ever seen. The Repubs will have the weakest, most easily smeared candidate imaginable, which is the only way they could make the race appear to be close enough to get McCain in there, one way or another.

Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.

From "Who's Counting" (my favorite source for election glitch data! :-)

North Carolina-- Kerry “lost” 22,000 votes, and a Touch Screen programming error erased 4439 votes that simply never got counted; another County, over 11,000 more votes for President than voters; Diebold tabulators ate 12,000 votes; and nine counties had vote counts electronically doubled in error.

http://www.whoscounting.net/Glitches,%20Hitches,%20Anomalies%20and%20Irregularities.htm

----------------------------

From Dr. David Dill in 2004:

North Carolina "has the worst election problem in the country right now" according to Dr. David Dill of Stanford University. Election Officials bamboozled by slick claims of voting machine salesmen, salesmen failed to warn of flaws and limitations that caused disaster on November 2.

http://www.ballotintegrity.org/DCForumID44/4.html

But... unfortunately- today's "new" election integrity activists look only for problems in states won by Clinton... it's a 'new kind of politics' you see.

BO's favor in black or upscale districts. Out in the hinterlands, the Repubs will be messin' 'round with the machines.

investigate-anything-that-walks-and-talks-like-a-repub, needs to do his homework on the investigations of Obama and his connections with Farrahkan, Ayers, mid east billionaires, etc. etc. etc. etc. Are these people really that clueless - it's like we're all living in parallel universes. No wonder this country is headed for the toilet.

I guess it's called jumping on the bandwagon, nevermind that the wheels are falling off.

We're electing the President of the United States, not some g.d. prom king.

The World Needs Wes