Colin Powell Endorses Obama

This is Colin Powell's very thoughtful endorsement of Barack Obama. Speaks for itself.




I just reposted this because even though it was Colin Powell when I first posted it it somehow switched to being a Keith Olberman clip. I have no idea how or why that happened, but just in case it happens again, you can find the clip here for sure.

I just discovered this wonderful clip as well... Some very wise comments on the nature of the campaign, including a rebuke to the Congresswoman from Minnesota who actually suggested that liberals are un-American and that her colleagues in Congress should be investigated. Mr. Powell doesn't say this, but I'll add my thought that hate speech - particularly in times when people are frightened and looking for ways to dissipate their fear - is toxic and powerful - and it's what's really unAmerican in my book.

Saturday Wordzzle Challenge: Week 35

This is week 35 of the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. I have had an AWFUL time this week. AWFUL. No more words from Melli... (just kidding... keep em coming... and thank you very much for coming up with this week's challenge.) Once again there is a mysterious black line that I can't get rid of. At least it feel in a sort of convenient place, I guess. Ok... on to my tragically convoluted and forced entries. Looking forward to seeing how everyone else did.

The words for this week's ten word challenge were: blinking, cellulite, crescent, ship-shape, homonym, suffering, packer, wind chime, scissors, necklace And for the Mini Challenge: static, floppy hat, penguin, cinnamon, alphabetical,

Here's my ten-word offering for this week:

What a pain it is to see that broken pane in my otherwise ship-shape house,” Sarah chanted. “I do love homonyms.” She wondered if she could call having the electric company “sell you light” a homonym for cellulite. That was as far as Raven could get with the words. Yet again she was suffering from a sense of profound defeat as the words taunted her with an unwillingness to put themselves into sentences in her head. Nibbling on a yummy crescent roll as she waited for inspiration, she was beginning to worry that some synapses in her brain had gone packing. Typing that sentence she wondered if packing was close enough to packer to count. She wasn’t sure, so the computer’s cursor continued its relentless blinking, taunting her with her inability to move forward. Outside her window a wind chime seemed to be mocking her and she was tempted to pull out her scissors and silence it for good. Is that all of them, she wondered? Damn. Still have to use necklace. Whose idea was this stupid game, anyway?

And here's my mini challenge:

Aaron Anderson thought that sometimes it paid to have alphabetical order put you at the front of the list. Mostly, he preferred going last, but in this case… His girlfriend, Cinnamon, wanted that goofy penguin in the floppy hat that the radio station was giving away. “I’ll name him Static,” she had cooed lovingly, and he knew in that moment that his future happiness was tied to securing that penguin at any cost.

And the mega challenge:

Cinnamon the beautiful orange cat with the crescent shaped white mark on her forehead, sat blinking with contented pride in her recent decorating efforts, oblivious to the fact that her thick fur was standing on end with static electricity. Her human’s once ship-shape bedroom was no longer suffering from its formerly boring and tidy state. Cinnamon hoped that Person would be pleased with the improvements that she and her brother Packer had made to the rather staid décor. Packer, who had exhausted himself in his efforts to bring down the floppy hat Person wore to do her gardening, was curled up on top of it with his favorite penguin toy gripped in his paws. Around the room an assortment of books and papers lay in various states of shredding by the teeth and scissor-like claws of the two ambitious felines. The once alphabetical book shelf sat empty except for a small volume on How to Get Rid of Cellulite and the Big Book of Homonyms. Cinnamon’s favorite touch was the all the wonderful little pearl balls that she had finally freed up from that silly necklace. They were so much fun to play with that she could not understand why her otherwise creative human had kept them so foolishly tied up together. The familiar sound of the wind chime alarm system that person had hung over the door announced her return home. As sometimes happens with great artists when the throws of creativity pass, Cinnamon was suddenly not quite so sure of how warmly her efforts would be received.

This week's vanity wordzzle used the words: Smiley face, keys, stuffed parrot, fringe, molecular engineer, tribe, mist, undertow, forgotten

Wearing a black shirt with a big yellow smiley faces on it, a tricorn hat, a black eye patch, and carrying a large stuffed parrot on his right shoulder, John Jones always made quite a sensation when he visited the youngsters at the children’s’ cancer ward of St Mary’s Hospital. “Aye, matey,” he would bark in his best Long John Silver pirate voice, “I be Smiley Jack Jones, scourge of the seven seas. Who be ye?” And then Smiley Jack would regale the children with wonderful stories of his adventures on the fringes of the known world, trudging through steaming hot jungles or climbing into the mysterious mists of remote mountains to find exotic tribes of forgotten peoples and live among them. He would describe strange customs and sometimes even demonstrate special healing dances and rituals. Or he would tell the story about how once, on a tiny island in the Pacific, he had been caught in a strong undertow only to be rescued by the native, who having saved him, had, by tribal law, to adopt him as their own. Then he would take out his bag of test tubes and needles and explain to them how he was empowered to make them blood brothers as well. And even those children who were usually frightened of needles came eagerly forward to give their blood. Then at the end of the session, Smiley Jack would pronounce the world of initiation and there would be hugs and smiles all around. Only the next morning, bag full of samples, would Smiley Jack become again John Jones, molecular engineer and cancer researcher and go back to work hoping that somewhere in these children’s blood he would find the keys that would save them.

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

Many thanks to Chatty, Melli, and my young neighbor Shannon for next week’s words. I stuck in a couple myself.

Next Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: build-a-bear workshop, man bites dog, opulent, disparaging, lipstick stain, preponderance, smoky quartz, clothes pin, meticulous, falling leaves

Mini Challenge: moisturizing, pickles, seat belt, flip-flop, Chicago

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week.

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!

Debate and Political Ramblings

Warning: This is really jumbled and disjointed and full of typos. I have such a lot to say and I'm pretty peeved and I just had to get some of this out. I'm sorry it's such a mess.


Twice last night I tried to write something about the last of the three Presidential debates. I guess I want to write not about the difference in issues between the two men but rather the difference in temperament, character and fundamental substance... from my perspective. I know there are others who see this differently and will vote differently than I have already done.

I am exteremely liberal, far more so than Mr. Obama, so my difference on issues with the McCain/Palin ticket is strong, but far more than issues, perhaps ultimately more important - is the difference in character between the candidates on the two tickets. Again, some will see this differently. That is their right and choice.

First, although neither campaign has been completely free of nastiness - the McCain/Palin campaign has been the ugliest I've seen in my 40 years as an eligible voter. It has been packed with lies - about themselves (and I just said "no thanks..." I was "completely exonerated" in troopergate,") or about Mr. Obama (pals around with terrorists, plans to raise your taxes, voted to teach sex to kindergarteners... the list goes on and on...).

It was fascinating last night to watch Mr. McCain last night - the man whose ads and campaign have been spewing around words like terrorist and liar and "who is this man" who "doesn't feel about our country the way we do" - try to make himself the victim. It was fascinating to watch him blame the ugly tone of his campaign on the fact that Obama refused to have a series of town all debates with him. Given how poorly he fared in the one they did have, you would think he'd be grateful. But there was something pathetic in watching him sit there and try to justify a campaign of smears and lies because he didn't get his way on something else. What does one have to do with the other? He sounded like a petulant three year old to me, not a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. I get to cheat because you wouldn't play by my rules.

On the issue of judgment. We can start by looking at Mr. McCain's choice of a barely vetted, inexperienced, running mate. Although anyone can die in office for any number of reasons, Mr. McCain is the oldest ever candidate for president and has a history of aggressive melanoma cancers. His choice of a running mate is perhaps more significant that that of others. And he chose a woman who thinks living in a state that borders Russia and Canada gives her foreign policy experience. He chose a woman whose, maverick brand apparently includes violating the ethics laws of her state during a short 18 months in office, a woman who (while she questions other's business association with hippie radicals who have become college professors) is married to a man who is or was for a period of time a member of a group called the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) which advocates secession from the Union. Besides expressing open hatred of the US, this group has been known to promote violence and at one time aligned itself with Iraq in order for it's leader - who was later murded by another member - to gain access to the UN. Besides just palling around with her husband, Mrs. Palin, attended a few meetings herself. Oops. Shall we question her patriotism? Her loyalty to her country? Her judgment? I'd point out that Mrs. Palin isn't 8. She and her husband were involved with these people in their adulthood and quite recently.

I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. Mrs. Palin's relationship to the truth seems quite shaky to me. We can start with the "I just said thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere." Well, not really. First she lobbied for the money and the bridge and abandonned the BRIDGE project when Congress said she couldn't use the money on such a wasteful thing, but she did take the money. So she lied about both the bridge and taking the money. The there was her response to the results of the Troopergate investigation. She blithely announced to reporters that she has been cleared of all wrongdoing. Well, no, not really. The investigators decided that while the firing of Mr. Monegan was technically not illegal, but that she had "unlawfully abused her power" in violation of state law. There are other ethical issues, including use of public funds, which are still under investigation. But enough about Mrs. Palin, whose foreign policy experience equals mine since we both live in states that border foreign countries. Maybe I should run.

But let's look at some of Mr. McCain's own affiliations. Recently it came out that one of his lobbyist campaign managers did public relations work for Saddam Hussein. Using his campaign's litmus test for patriotism and judgment, is he qualified? Then there's his friendship with and appearances on the radio talk show of one G. Gordon Liddy, the Watergate burgler who had laid plans break into offices, commit murder and possibly fire bomb a building... and who currently advises is listeners to shoot Federal Marshalls in the head. Here's some information on this connection. And another article by Carl Bernstein. Unlike Mr. Obama, who has renounced the crimes Ayers committed when he (Obama) was 8. Read the two articles I posted. Mr. McCain seems comfortable with his terrorist friend who is actively inciting others to violence right now today. But I rant.

Let's look at the question of ACORN - a 38-year old organization which has worked tirelessly to register and enfranchise the poor - but which according to Mr. McCain, is "destroying the fabric of democracy." ACORN pays the poor to register people and sometimes their volunteers get over enthusiastic and cheat so they will get more money. ACORN monitors this as well as they can, turning in anyone they catch cheating and flagging fake or suspicious forms. They are required by law to submit any registrations turned in, whether they are bogus or not. Fake registrations are a headache but they are not a threat to democracy unless someone tries to vote. It would be illogical and self-defeating for ACORN to submit hundreds of very obviously fraudulent forms. They have been in operation for 38 years. They are not stupid. Where is Mr. McCain's concern about the Diebold machines and the efforts of members of his party to disenfranchise voters using a variety of dirty tricks. Unused fake registratios don't threaten the vote. Preventing qualified voters from casting their ballots and rigging voting machines does. That's where the threat to democracy lies. Mr. McCain isn't concerned about that because it works in his favor. I don't for a minute believe that he actually thinks ACORN is a threat either... or that he thinks Barack Obama has secret terrorist leanings. But he wants to be elected so badly that he's willing to slander his opponent and feed the fears of his most ignorant followers. But I rant yet again. I'm really trying not to but it isn't easy. Dishonesty and slander piss me off big time. But let's move on.

The Maverick Brand - Well, there was a time when Mr. McCain was something of a maverick, although something of a one-note maverick. After his involvement in the Keating Five scandal he got a bit of religion on certain campaign spending issues. It got him a reputation for being a maverick which he is clearly very proud of. It seems to be pretty much the only issue on which he is a maverick, though. He stood by Bush on 90 or more percent of budget votes and with rare exceptions on most issues regarding the invasion of Iraq and the execution of the war in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Not so much a maverick there. The man who allegedly hates lobbyists has a campaign which is largely run by them. He made friends with a man who slandered him 8 years ago in their competition for the presidency and has hired onto his own team the same men he excoriated then. I don't know if I'd call that being a maverick. Nor do I think that bucking the crowd just because is necessarily a virtue. Then there's the question of what is it your maverick-ness stands for. Are you fighting for what's right or for the wrong thing? In Mr. McCain's case, I'd say much of the time - except on his one issue - he has fought for the wrong side. And I've read that he and his lobbyist advisors have found every loophole they can in the ethics laws he is so proud of. Uh... is that mavericky of him? Or is it a betrayal of his own pet cause.

Ok... now let's talk about taxes. Another lie mantra from the McCain camp. "Obama is going to raise your taxes." Well, he's going to raise McCain's taxes but not the taxes of the bulk of the population. Mr. McCain knows this but keeps repeating his lie over and over. Mr. McCain is a trickle-down guy. Trickle down is a bit like Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat cake." Leaves the poor starving and the rich well fed. But I said I wasn't going to talk about issues and this is already really long and I've said my piece on taxes way back when here.

There was something really odd that I haven't heard mentioned much in last night's debate. It's a petty thing, yet seems significant also. Mr. McCain twice mentioned Mrs. Palin's autistic child and what a gift this makes her to parents. But Mrs. Palin's son isn't autistic - or if he is, he's too young to have been diagnosed. He has Down Syndrome. She does have a nephew with autism. Perhaps that's what he was referring to. Her record - and McCain's - on their compassion for the parents of such children, well...

Then there was Mr. McCain's distortion - of Obama's record on abortion. Obama corrected that. As for military spending, did Mrs. McCain get the same "cold chill down her spine" when her husband also voted against the same bill in a different form? Or was it ok when her husband did it?

Ach, I'm ranting again. There's more and more, but I think I've rattled on for too long as it is.

But, presumably you may see a pattern here and it's not a nice one. It's a comfort with not just exaggerating - I don't like that either and Democrats are as guilty as anyone of doing it - but of flat out lies and - worse... way worse... of slander and hate mongering lies. We have had 8 years of lies and fear mongering. Eight years. As a result of that we are an unhappy, divided nation, disliked across the world, involved in two wars, one of which we were deceived into. As a result, we have had our justice system perverted, we have spied on our own citizens, we have thrown the Constitution in the dumper, our government has allowed and condoned torture, we are trillions of dollars in debt and hanging over a financial abyss. Lies and fears have not served us well. Mr. McCain may think he isn't Bush, but he has voted with him and supported his wrong-headed policies. He opposed him on torture briefly but then backed off on that. Sadder still, he has given over whatever ethics he might once have propelled himself by and put himself into the hands of Bush's "handlers."

It has been fascinating over the course of this campaign to listen as McCain makes accusations about Obama which are actually direct statements about what he and his own campaign have been doing. It is as though he is projecting is own sins onto his opponent. Watching him twitch and blink and grimace with seeming anger and barely concealed disdain during the debates, I can't help but wonder who it is he is really angry with. Whether it is Mr. Obama or himself, he seems ill equipped in the areas of judgment, honesty and temperament to hold such high office in such dangerous and uncertain times.

Took me a long time to get even this much written down. I'm not going to proofread.

Ruby Tuesday: Fall Foliage in Red

Maryt/The Teach over at Work of the Poet hosts a meme called Ruby Tuesday which features all things red.

Well this being the most beautiful autumn I can ever remember, I am kind of overdoing it with pictures of fall foliage (scroll down for several other posts besides this one!). I'm afraid these aren't that good and some are probably kind of repetitive, but.... Believe it or not there are about a gazillion more pictures here at my Picasa page.

HAPPY RUBY TUESDAY!

Other fall foliage posts:
#1
#2
#3
#4

Foliage, Foliage and More Foliage - Yellow Tones

Since Ruby Tuesday is coming, I thought I'd post foliage in two color categories. There's still red in these but they are some of the shots that favor the brown, green and yellow range. I know some of them are repetitive but I only have one small yard and there are certain views that look so pretty to me that I take them over and over... and apparently post them over and over too. Sorry. For the foliage starved, you can look at all the gazillions of pictures, good, bad and ugly, that I have taken at my Picasa page































Other fall foliage posts:
#1
#2
#3
#4

The Theft of the 2008 Election

This is a BBC investigation of fraud at American polling places. Citizens of either party should be concerned about this. Greg Palast has been trying to raise American consciousness about this issue for a long time against the indifference and deafening silence of America's media. Each segment runs a little over 7 minutes. Worth watching no matter what party you favor.





I had just posted the Palast videos when Jay Simser over at Bailey's Buddy send me this one via email. I can't resist sharing it. It's very partisan, but if you leave the tag-line off the end there's some truth in it for how both parties advertise and how absurd the standards we PRETEND to hold our politicians to really is.

An Obama Answer to the Question of Who He Is

Please scroll down for the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge...

The Obama campaign has offered this video in response to the question of who he is. It's about 15 minutes long.

More Fall Foliage - Installment 3

(PLease scroll down for the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge.)

Well, I have gazillions of pictures of foliage. What I lack in quality, I make up for in quantity. Even with their imperfections, I think those of you in foliage free zones can see what an extra-ordinarily beautiful season this is. The economy may be a mess, the political speech may be ugly, but Mother Nature is giving her all to heal the heart and eye. I don't think I have ever seen so much lavish color in all my 61 years. At any rate, I am taking joy and comfort in the beauty and sharing it as best I can. I wish you could see the real thing, the sun coming through the leaves of the 10th picture down is like rubies in the sun. I've tried over and over to capture it and can't get the real beauty. But I'll keep trying. Meanwhile I hope these give you pleasure.
































Other fall foliage posts:
#1
#2