With the long, long, long-winded Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) stepping down as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, due to poor health, the position had to be filled.  And it has, by a much younger Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). 

Senator Inouye is all of 84 years young.  It's been told that he has a much different style than Senator Byrd...a quiet style.

"Rather than give big speeches on the Senate floor or in committee hearings like his predecessor, the senior Hawaiian senator will strike a lot more deals in the backrooms.

The first Japanese-American elected to Congress is, at 84, only slightly younger than Byrd and a decorated war hero who lost an arm in World War II.

Many insiders regard him as a team player, often doing what the Democratic leadership wants but not shying away from telling his superiors to do what he thinks is right.

Byrd, who has been a chairman with a strong personality, has been seen as more independent, always fighting to uphold the institutional and constitutional prerogatives of Congress.

Inouye, on the other hand, likes the politics of the upper chamber, working the members and making phone calls to persuade lawmakers from the cloakroom rather than the floor, according to a source familiar with both Inouye and Byrd. "

Continue article HERE

Filibusters won't know what hit 'em....

"Rudy Giuliani told CNN Sunday the failure of his presidential bid this year didn’t mark the end of his political career — and that his future could include another White House run.

The former New York City mayor said that the economic environment this year may have presented too big an obstacle for any Republican presidential hopeful to overcome."

2010 holds open the option of a run for Governor of New York...will he run?

Read the story from CNN HERE

I came across a good read in Christian Science Monitor that you just have to see…but before I take you there I have to give my pick. 

You see, the writer, Jeffrey Schaffer, is right on.  He’s telling Joe Biden, well, I’ll let you read it yourself…

Joe Biden, can you hear me? This is your moment, pal. Animal-wise, I mean.

While pundits and the public are swept up in speculation about what kind of dog the Obama family should bring into the White House, you now have a golden opportunity to make your own pet selection away from the media glare.It’s a chance to showcase your famous freewheeling approach. The right choice can crystallize your presence in the administration as being distinct from the boss and fascinating to the American people.

Show us something different, Joe. Let Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, have the dog experience. You need to establish your own persona as a pet owner and you can do it by taking ownership of a young...

Okay, Okay…before I take you to complete his fine article…and it’s genius, don’t you think?

I have to put in my pick.

I say a young owl…doesn’t matter what type..snow owl, screech owl, barn owl…

Their heads turn all around…they can watch your back.  They are perceived as wise…always pictured with a graduation cap on their heads.  They are thought to be inquisitive…who, who, who?  An owl would make you, Joe Biden always look wise next to President Obama.

Now on to the article…

Joe Biden, Time For You To Choose A Pet

Is the supposed McCain Campaign Advisor, Martin Eisenstadt, of the Eisenstadt Group, the "Anonymous" person who leaked trash about Sarah Palin during her brief campaign with John McCain? 

He says he's "the source for the Sarah Palin Africa leak...and proud of it."

That's what he says on his very own blog.

Is it truth or fiction?

Read what he has to say on



Martin Eisenstadt's Blog

With well over 200 comments on the topic there, also.



Personally, I think it's a bunch of crap.



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

 11/13/08 - Update

Bingo!  Like I said above...a bunch of CRAP! 

MSNBC retracts false Palin story; others duped

I have trouble sleeping…it's my problem and I've had it for a while.  I stay up late.  When I finally am trying to fall asleep things run through my mind. 

Last night, after hearing about what President-elect Obama has in store so far for America....of course I was thinking.  And I have to say, it was the first time since 9-11 that I was afraid.  I can truly say that.  It was the first time in my adult life since 9-11 that I have been afraid for our country.  And I am counting since my teen years as being an adult...not since President Nixon, President Ford, all the way up the line. 

During the election I was mainly afraid for our country regarding terrorist threats if Barack Obama would be elected.  Now I just feel uneasy in general about our country.  I don't feel inspired or feel hope.  And no, I didn't feel that on election day.  Or the following day.  I felt it yesterday. 

Left or Right, I am a citizen of the United States, and I want to support my President and never do what was done to George Bush.  Disagreeing with your president's policies is one thing, but I think you have to remember you are an American and show that to other countries.

I hope the feeling I have goes away, and I hope I am wrong.

I hope Barack Obama proves me wrong.


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

Obama Meets With Bush

Well, I guess I really don't call it "change," because If I recall, I think our GWB was talking about implementing yet another stimulus package before he left office.

But, I guess it's going all be better now since BHO (President-elect Barack H. Obama)  wants to put one in place "immediately after taking office."  Well, President Bush really wouldn't have had time to do that anyway, so maybe advice is being passed along.

Either way...I'd like a little more "change" in my pocket.

And while President-elect Obama said a "major issue" for him is deciding what dog to choose for his daughters (I love his daughters...maybe they can each have a dog...they look like daddy's girls and I don't think he's going to have a whole lot of time for them anymore  : (  my major issue is a bit more than that.

I'm a little concerned about all of the foreign issues popping up.  He's really being bombarded with them.  As Biden said during one of the interviews, "Every president is tested."  Well President Obama is going to be tested right off the bat...quite differently than President Bush was with 9-11, thankfully. But he's going to be tested.  I do not envy him.

 "President-elect Barack Obama vowed to push an economic stimulus package through Congress ``immediately after'' taking office in January if lawmakers and the Bush administration can't agree on one before then.

``This morning we woke up to more sobering news about the state of our economy,'' Obama said in Chicago today at his first news conference since winning the Nov. 4 presidential election.

A government report that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent in October, the highest level since 1994, is ``an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime,'' Obama said. "

Read the article HERE

 

November 6, 1860: Lincoln becomes first Republican U.S. President

"Abraham Lincoln was elected to the U.S. presidency today. By defeating Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln became the first Republican president.

On November 7, 1860, the Dawsons Fort Wayne Daily Times reported election results along with the headline, "Republicans be Glad!" The paper continued: "But let wisdom and urbanity be the governing principle in your gladness. The victory is ours. Now let us merit it; and by wisdom and patriotism continue that policy, for without both, the change will not be to the people a reform, but a barren result."

“Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin are elected President and Vice President of the United States. We need add nothing to the world of meaning conveyed in these words,” reported The Berkshire County Eagle on November 8, 1860. “In that glorious fact are foreshadowed equal rights to every section and every class of freemen in the Union. The rights and interests of free labor are not to be sacrificed to an oligarchy of slaveholders; States are not to be excluded from the Union for establishing a free constitution; commerce, manufacturing, art, commercial intercourse, and internal improvements are no longer to be governed by sectional prejudice. Majorities are to rule, and the interests of many are not to be sacrificed to the prejudices of the few. At last the people rule.” 






    Click for larger image



Election Day 1860 Was One of Long Suspense
The Ada Evening News, November 6, 1960

Read about it HERE

But, I'm not sure...so it's worth repeating, in my opinion.

You see, this is why some citizens voted for Barack Obama today.

The morning after the election, if your candidate isn't the winner?

Will you survive?

Well of course you will, right?

If your candidate is not elected, it won't be the end of the world, will it?

Some are indicating that it will.

That we will be nothing but divided.

"On Wednesday, roughly half of Americans will awaken to find that the horse they backed disappointed them. That presumes we even have an immediate result; don't forget 2000, when America had to wait more than a month.

Yet there is, in the national conversation, surprisingly little talk about not accepting the winner if things don't go your way. Sure, some Democrats joke about moving to Canada, but gauging the severity of responses on the day after is a gauzy exercise in tarot-card reading that even television's loudest mouths rarely discuss.

While the spectrum of possible morning-after reactions runs from water-cooler grousing to partisan lawyering to violence, the depth of sentiment this year - more impassioned, many say, than even the last two elections - could make for a bumpy ride, particularly if the results are close."

 Read about it  HERE

 

Oh, I'm sure there will be many other "freebies."  Anything to get your vote.

Just vote!

Hey, Greg...wake up!

Before you post, I just wanted to let everyone know something I saw that was interesting.



Well, it's moose hunt'n time in northern Vermont.  It's done by lottery.  But there aren't any moose down in the center of town 20 miles from the border of Canada...at least there weren't yesterday.  While walking in town (without my camera : (    I spotted a guy dressed in olive clothes just walking along with his shot gun slung across his back.  My sister said that's allowed down town, or anywhere else in  town for that matter.  She said you'll find guns in cars, unattended with ammunition next to them and the windows open, too.

I asked her if there was a gun shop down town.  She said no gun shop was there...it's just allowed.  Then she went through a list of archaic rules still on the books than some people still abide by.

These are basically people who will vote for Obama Tuesday...but this is also a 'gimme" state.  High unemployment, many on welfare.

Last I saw of the man, he was in his car picking through bullets.

Interesting.

President George W. Bush entered the White House after one of the closest elections in U.S. history. His Presidency began with the worst terrorist attack ever on US. soil. 

Although you wouldn’t know it.  We really haven’t heard about them as they’ve been overshadowed by the many young Obama supporters.  But they are there.  And, it’s nothing new for conservatives to be in the minority on college campuses, even in non election years, anyway.

"Tanya [Renicker] has been smitten with politics ever since her first real lesson in American history, in sixth grade. She can’t explain why, but the story of how the United States was founded, how the Constitution was written, fascinated her. That evolved into a passion for politics, since “it all comes together there.”

“Back then,” she recalls, “all my friends’ families were liberals except one, my friend Kinsey, and me. We used to say, ‘We love George Bush’ when we really didn’t know that much about politics yet. My interest has just grown since then.”

Tanya and her younger sister were raised on a family farm, the same one where their mother grew up, in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio. The family grows Christmas trees on some of their 300 acres. Her father is a sheet metal worker, a union man. Her mother stayed home and raised the girls. Conversation at the dinner table occasionally touched on politics. Tanya would go to the polls with her mother when she voted, but most of her life revolved around dance, theater, cheerleading, and the everyday activities of school and church. “I definitely don’t fit the Republican stereotype – I was really artsy in high school,” she says.

* * *

The events of 9/11 in 2001 galvanized Tanya, transforming an interest in politics into a genuine, daily concern.

“I was in my fourth-period reading literature class when I found out,” she says. “At that moment I didn’t really realize what had happened. We had a football game that night and they canceled it, and I thought, ‘I don’t understand why they did that.’ ”

At home later that day, the full implication of the attack hit her. “That made me that much more interested in politics and national defense and all of the other countries in the world that aren’t like America,” she says."


from the Christian Science Monitor Continued HERE

Well, this is scary.  With the polls off and on indicating that Obama has the lead in the election race, people are starting to panic regarding anti-gun regulations.  And they should.  So they are heading out in droves to purchase guns.

Besides that, it’s a common trend that when the economy is in trouble, people tend to by weapons.

"More than three dozen interviews with gun dealers and buyers in Virginia and Maryland and with experts nationwide indicated that the increase in gun sales appears to be driven predominantly by concerns about the presidential election and the economy.

Most buyers who emphasized the economy said they thought the worsening situation could lead to an increase in crime and jeopardize their safety. A few said they were buying guns as an investment.

"Look at the political situation and the financial situation," said Fred Russell, owner of Russell's Gun Emporium in Hagerstown, Md. "It's common sense. People are scared."



Read the complete article HERE

AP photo

WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. What do you think?

West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.

"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said.

Article continued HERE


 

NObama.  Bye.  (I will get through the next few days...sigh)

AP photo

It’s all in the family this week for Barack Obama.  While he’s visiting his ill grandmother in Hawaii, and with his weekly radio address due, he decided to deputize his wife, Michelle, and let her make a “pitch” or as I call it a song and dance, in her last ditch attempt to get Obama supporters to go out door-to-door and take someone to the polls who might not go out otherwise.

"So visit your neighbors," she urges. "Listen to their concerns. Tell them what’s at stake. Then take them with you to vote....If you do, we will win this election. We’ll put Barack Obama in the White House. And we will change this country and fulfill the hopes of all those like my father, who work so hard to give their children a better future and guarantee that the American Dream endures."

Read the article from the Boston Globe HERE




Michelle Obama's Life In Pictures