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THESE guys I would vote for!!!!




JOHN WAYNE for President!!!!!




ZORRO for Vice-President!!!!!!!

I'm all for gettin these guys no matter where they are, that's part of the reason we couldn't win in Vietnam....we couldn't chase em across the border....but it's still gonna get us in a world of uhm uhm if we ain't careful. Pakistan isn't the kind of country just to sit still for it. The pakistanis in that part of the country DO have sympathy for the Taliban and killin civilians is just gonna solidify it. We're walkin thru a minefield here.....

By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
4 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A missile strike by a suspected U.S. drone killed at least six people in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, two Pakistani intelligence officials said Wednesday.

American forces recently ramped up cross-border operations against Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Pakistan's wild border zone, a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden.

The attacks have drawn stiff protests from Islamabad, an uneasy ally in Washington's seven-year war on terror, particularly since a highly unusual Sept. 3 raid by U.S. ground troops in the South Waziristan region.

The two intelligence officials said the missiles struck the home of a local Taliban commander before midnight Tuesday near Mir Ali, a town in the North Waziristan region.

The officials, citing reports from their field agents, said six people were killed. Both officials asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. They said a U.S. drone aircraft — not Pakistani forces — fired the missiles. They did not identify any of the victims.

Pakistani leaders insist only their forces are allowed to carry out operations inside Pakistan, and its troops recently fired warning shots at U.S. helicopters flying over the ill-marked frontier.

American officials have expressed frustration at Pakistan's failure to kill or capture militant leaders whom they accuse of sending fighters and arms into Afghanistan, where foreign troop casualties are escalating.

In Spain, a radio station reported that a document marked confidential and bearing the official seal of Spain's Defense Ministry charges that Pakistan's spy service was helping arm Taliban insurgents in 2005 for assassination plots against the Afghan government.

The report, which was obtained by Cadena Ser radio and posted on the station's Web site on Wednesday, also says Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, or ISI, helped the Taliban procure explosives to use in attacks against vehicles.

It alleges that Pakistan may have provided training and intelligence to the Taliban in camps set up on Pakistani soil.

There have long been suspicions that members of Pakistan's shadowy spy agency have aided the Taliban, a charge that Pakistan has vehemently denied. In the 1990s, however, the ISI's agents helped build up the Taliban.

Pakistan's chief army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the report was "baseless, unfounded and part of a malicious, well-orchestrated propaganda campaign to malign the ISI."

Spain's Defense Ministry and the Spanish prime minister's office said it had no comment. Cadena Ser did not say how it obtained the report.

Meanwhile, a physician for the Taliban and a spokesman for the group denied reports that the movement's top leader in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, had fallen ill and died.

"I spoke to him today at 9 a.m. on the telephone and he told me that he is surprised over rumors about his death," physician Eisa Khan told The Associated Press. Khan said Mehsud had an unspecified kidney problem but gave no more details.

Mehsud's spokesman, Maulvi Umar, was cited on Geo television station as saying he was healthy.

Officials have accused Mehsud of being behind a wave of suicide attacks washing over Pakistan since the middle of last year, including the slaying of opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto in December.

___

Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Ishtiaq Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.

What the heck is up with McCain and Palin? Every time I see em on anything McCain is sittin there jumpin in to answer questions people ask her like she's a two year old he's afraid is gonna say somthin to embarrass him! NOT a real confidence builder.........she's gonna have to handle the big dogs or stay under the porch if you ask me. How are we supposed to know if she can if they keep runnin interferance? Let her stick her foot down her throat like Biden a couple times and get it out of the way......geez.

What's he gonna do? Stand behind the curtain with cue-cards at the debate? Stand next to her just in case she opens her mouth? What the hell?

America the cheap (for some)
With the euro strong and the dollar weak, pricey designer clothes look downright cheap to foreign tourists. No wonder the US has become the world's bargain basement.
By Ernest Beck, MSN Money

On a recent afternoon, international shoppers make their way through the sprawling outlet mall at Woodbury Common, a popular shopping destination two hours north of New York City. They meander among the faux New England-style buildings, home to more than 200 brand-name retail stores, eyeing with delight bargains ranging from $100 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes to $200 Tag Heuer Swiss watches.

Some lug empty suitcases they plan to fill up for their flights home, and others are repeat visitors on special shopping tours. Almost all seem to have heard from friends back home that America's shopping bargains can't be beat.

"I heard from a friend that . . . this is a great place to come," says one young Brazilian man, showing off a watch he got for $70. At home, he says, it would have cost several times more.


Similar scenes of shopping madness are playing out in many downtowns and malls across the United States as Europeans and other foreign visitors take advantage of a lopsided exchange rate to indulge in long-distance retail therapy. In 2003, the U.S. dollar equaled 91 euro cents; it's now worth 68 euro cents, a 25% drop.


Even with the dollar making a stab at a comeback, it's hard to remember the days when it enjoyed parity against the euro.

Clutching fistfuls of euros, British pounds, Swiss francs and Canadian loonies, foreigners are streaming through America's top retail destinations in pursuit of bargains as if Neiman Marcus were a 99-cent store.


"It seems like all of America is one big discount shopping mall, and basically, that is what it is" for foreign shoppers, says Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C., industry group. "Without a doubt, foreigners are using the weak dollar to buy a lot of luxury."


Retailers aren't complaining. Given the U.S. economy's doldrums, having busloads of Europeans arrive at your door on a shopping spree is a "win-win situation in terms of bringing added dollars to the stores and at the same time offering tourists good value," says Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman for Taubman Centers, a shopping mall operator in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

At Taubman's Great Lakes Crossing mall in Auburn Hills, Mich., not far from the Canadian border, retailers say between 30% and 50% of all business is generated by international tourism.

Many of the shoppers are Canadians, who are lured by special promotions such as back-to-school discounts. Another large chunk of business comes from Germans who are in Detroit on auto-industry business.

In the past, when the U.S. dollar ruled the world, it was Americans who crossed into Canada for shopping on the cheap. So America's slide into the bargain basement has some watchers concerned: Will the image of America's retail sector, with its scores of premier stores, top brands and cutting-edge merchandising, be diminished by its new outlet-mall appeal?

Unlikely, argues Candace Corlett, a principal of WSL Strategic Retail, a consulting company in New York. "Europeans are seeing the U.S. marketplace the way we used to see Rome and London a long time ago, when we thought these cities were cheap," Corlett says.

She recalls a time when Americans chartered planes to shop at Harrods department store in London. If anything, she says, the influx of big foreign spenders "familiarizes people with the breadth of shopping opportunities in the U.S."

Moreover, European shoppers are generally gravitating toward luxury brands and high-priced items that are out of reach at home, not $8 dresses from Steve & Barry's.

"They grab five iPods at a time and scoop up cashmere sweaters," Corlett says. "The weak dollar gives them an entree to stores they could not have afforded before. The impression is: 'I can't believe I'm shopping at Bergdorf's.'"


Not all U.S. retailers are reaping the benefits, as tourists are shopping mainly in major gateway cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as well as in cities near the Canadian border. Still, retailers are mining the possibilities of attracting foreign tourists and promoting their stores, and the country, as a premier shopping destination.

Macy's, for instance, is offering a "savings pack," with 11% discounts and package deals with American Airlines to bring tourists from Manchester, England, to Boston. (The store's top foreign tourists are from Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom.) The flagship New York City Bloomingdale's store features an international visitors center with décor reminiscent of a "world-class club," complete with multilingual receptionists who can arrange package delivery to hotels.

At Woodbury Common, audio greetings in six languages and international sizing charts are available. The mall's owner, developer and operator, Chelsea Property Group, also organizes shop-and-stay packages at local bed-and-breakfasts and arranges for shuttles to take shoppers to the mall.

In May, company spokeswoman Michele Rothstein recalls, a Spanish tour group chartered 28 buses to
take 1,500 tourists on a day trip from New York City to Woodbury. For visitors to the U.S., "shopping has been greatly elevated because that's what sells," Rothstein says.

Overall, a record 56.7 million foreign visitors arrived in the U.S. in 2007, up 11% from the previous year. And they spent a record $122 billion on travel- and tourism-related goods and services, a 13% increase over the previous year, according to the Commerce Department.

Shopping was certainly part of their authentic American experience, if not the focus of their travels. And that's just fine with U.S. retailers, particularly at a time when high gas prices and consumer belt-tightening might be keeping American shoppers at home.

There's only one downside to the rush by foreign visitors to buy America, says Krugman, of the retail federation: "It's a constant reminder to us of how weak the dollar is."

Produced by Elizabeth Daza

Published Aug. 29, 2008

Y ou know, there are all kinds of scare tactics used in political contests. We will let you keep the freedoms the other guys want to take away from you. We will let you keep the stuff the other guys want to take away.

The fact of the matter is they can't take ANYTHING away from you that you don't LET them take. You don't work for them, they work for YOU!

I know that is a very simplified way of puttin it but it is TRUE. All anybody has to do is stand up and say NO, yeah the first few will probly get some grief, a LOT of grief....but so did the first guy who told England to screw off.

People have got the idea that they have no power to change anything, the fact is the PEOPLE are the only ones who DO have the power to change things.

THEY can't GIVE you freedom, all THEY can do is take it away. They can't take it away unless you LET em.

The problem is that when people DO stand up and say wait just a friggin minute, most people think they are just bein a pain in the butt and some kind of crackpot. Most people nowadays don't have the cajones it takes to buck the system, they like things comfortable. They worry about makin waves for their families and that's a legitimate concern, but so is teachin them there are some things that are worth the sacrifice you have to make to have them. You don't HAVE to settle for what THEY will LET you have...................

Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.  ~Charles Krauthammer

We really DON'T have to vote for one or the other just cause they will do the least harm. Yeah, these other guys have a snowballs chance in hell of winnin but sooner or later you gotta take a stand. I'm takin a stand. They BOTH suck.
I'm not votin for either one of em, the change we need ain't in the republican party and it ain't in the democratic party because the parties are both rotten with power hungry, greedy people in charge.
A career politician is NOT in it to change anything, change don't pay the big bucks. All that's runnin anywhere is career politicians, what does that say?



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas called on voters to back a third-party candidate for president Wednesday, rejecting his party's nominee and offering equally harsh words for the Democratic candidate.


Rep. Ron Paul attacks the two-party system Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington.

Paul, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination this year, told supporters at the National Press Club in Washington that he is not endorsing GOP nominee Sen. John McCain or Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

Instead, Paul will give his seal of approval to four candidates: Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr, independent candidate Ralph Nader and Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.

Paul said he's supporting the third-party candidates because the two major parties and media had "colluded" to avoid discussing issues and falsely presenting the difference between McCain and Obama as real.

"I've come to the conclusion, after having spent many years in politics, is that our presidential elections turn out to be more of a charade than anything else, and I think that is true today. It is a charade," he said.

Paul offered an open endorsement to the four candidates because each signed onto a policy statement that calls for "balancing budgets, bring troops home, personal liberties and investigating the Federal Reserve," an aide to the congressman said.

Paul said a strong showing by the third-party candidates would express the public's frustration with the current system.

"I have no doubt that the majority is on our side," Paul added, citing public opinion polls. "We represent the majority of the American people."

Paul said that he had received a call from the McCain campaign Tuesday asking for his endorsement. Paul's response: "I don't like the idea of getting 2 to 3 million people [Paul supporters] angry at me."

McCain's aides argued that the Texas Republican should endorse McCain because he would do a "little less harm" than Obama, Paul said, but "we just don't need to do that anymore."

"If you ever get to the point where you believe the two parties are essentially the same, if the majority is outside of the establishment, it's not very democratic. The process is not working," Paul said.

Paul attacked Obama, saying, "He's not for change," and the congressman argued that his efforts would help the Republican Party.

"If the Republican side realized what I'm trying to do, they should be funding me," Paul said.

Paul failed in his bid for the Republican nomination, but he found a large, diverse audience for his anti-war and anti-tax messages.

The Texas congressman's campaign was fueled by an on-line, grass-roots fundraising operation. Throughout the campaign, Paul supporters called on others to join the "Ron Paul Revolution."

Give ol Hank and George 700 billion dollars to play with, don't make em answer for what they do with it. They won't screw ya, Honest!
I'll just be over here tryin to pull my families 10,000 dollar share out of my ass Oh, and by the way Hank, next time I get my butt in a sling I'll expect you to return the favor... K?
Oh and I want my husband to be able to keep a sweet severance package since he's the actin CEO! Maybe throw in a bonus just because.....

Found this quote while lookin for somthin else and it hooked my attention........................



Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last.
Ronald Reagan

THIS is why we can never allow fundamental Islam to get a foot hold here. These people are so friggin far back in the dark ages it makes me want to puke. They use religion as their justification, religion and "tradition". God! Stuff like this makes me so mad I could spit ten penny nails through a cement wall.......................................


Posted: Friday, September 12, 2008 8:37 AM
Filed Under: Islamabad, Pakistan
By NBC News' Shahid Qazi and Carol Grisanti

BABAKOT, Pakistan – In a tangle of bushes and trees outside a remote village in southwest Pakistan, six close male relatives of three teenage girls dug a 4-foot wide by 6-foot deep ditch, on a sweltering night in mid-July, and allegedly buried the girls alive.

The girls' crime: they dared to defy the will of their fathers and the customs of their tribe and choose their own husbands. The mother of one of the girls and the aunt of another were shot and killed while begging for the girls' lives, according to local media reports.


The incident has touched off widespread condemnation from human rights groups, but also a sturdy defense from local officials. "This action was carried out according to tribal traditions," said Israrullah Zehri, a senator representing Balochistan in the upper house of Pakistan's parliament in the capital Islamabad. "These are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them," he said. 

We visited the scene and interviewed locals to try and learn more about this gruesome crime.

Daring to defy tradition
Saarang Mastoi is the local journalist who broke the story. He told us that on July 14, Fatima, Fauzia and Jannat Bibi, aged 16 to 18, got into a taxi in Babakot, a small village of farmers and sheepherders in Pakistan's Balochistan province, and drove about one hour to the village of Usta Mohammed to meet their boyfriends. The girls were chatting in the back of the taxi about their plans to meet the boys at the local restaurant and then go to a civil court to marry them.

The taxi driver dropped the girls off and then drove straight back to Babakot to inform their families about the secret plans he had overheard in the back of his taxi, according to Mastoi.

The girls' decision to elope came after their male relatives and tribal elders had refused them permission to marry the boys of their choice because they were from another tribe.

The families of the girls belong to the wealthy feudal Umrani tribe in Balochistan. The uncle of one of the girls is a minister in the Balochistan provincial government and a deputy leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), according to an investigation into the incident by Human Rights Watch. 

Traditional justice
Almost immediately after the taxi driver's return, a posse of male relatives, including fathers, uncles and brothers, set out from Babakot for the village of Usta Mohammed to bring the girls home. The men arrived in land cruiser jeeps bearing Balochistan government license plates – one belonging to the district mayor, according to Human Rights Watch.

The girls were kicked, punched and then pushed into the vehicles at gunpoint, Mastoi, the journalist, said. Once back at home in Babakot, the girls were beaten again and interrogated by their fathers and uncles for almost one hour before their "verdict" was announced.

They would be killed – buried alive.

The girls were dragged into vehicles and taken to the end of a back road in Babakot accompanied by two female relatives, according to media reports. The men dug ditches and ordered the girls to be thrown in. When the female relatives saw the ditches, they tried to intervene and begged for the girls' lives, according to local media reports.

There was "pandemonium at the site," according to the findings of the Asian Human Rights Commission, and a tribal elder gave orders to shoot the two older women. They died immediately and were thrown into the wide ditch. The three girls, who were wounded in the gunfire but still alive, were then thrown in and covered with sand and mud.

In Pakistan's rural areas, male tribal councils decide the fate of women who bring dishonor to their family. In 2004, President Pervez Musharraf outlawed the practice, known as "honor killings" – violations of the law carry the death penalty. But the law is impossible to enforce because this centuries old custom for dealing with women is protected by powerful feudal landlords and tribal elders.

Mastoi, the local reporter, told NBC News that "powerful people" from the Umrani tribe had threatened him and warned him of consequences if he continued to report the story. He said that everyone in the village knew what happened and shortly after the murders, a couple of shepherds in the area had taken him to see the actual burial site. "Now everyone is too afraid to talk," he said.

'It's a man's world'
Only about 7,000 people live in Babakot, a run down and dusty place about 200 miles south of the provincial capital, Quetta. Donkey carts carrying women, children and poor farmers give way on the road to the shiny 4X4 Land Cruisers of the wealthy landowners and tribal chiefs.

Ali Baksh, a frail shepherd with a thin scruffy white beard, has been tending his sheep in the neighboring district of Naseerabad since he was seven years old.  When asked what he thought about the murders in Babakot, he stared blankly for a few seconds and then he said, "I am proud of our Balouch traditions and it was the right punishment for those girls who defied the will of their fathers."

Public outcry by human rights groups and lawmakers has forced the federal government in Islamabad to open an investigation into what happened in Babakot six weeks ago. 

But the Asian Human Rights Commission believes a full accounting of the events may be impossible: "The Balochistan police have removed three of the five bodies and started destroying any evidence that might prove useful to an eventual investigation."

Back in Babakot, the reaction of an elderly woman to questions about the story seemed to confirm the human rights groups' fears. When asked about the story, she refused to give her name, sighed and waved off any hope for justice in this case. "It's a man's world and these things will never stop," she said.

One of our good friends, Eddie Spalt from San Antonio , fishes at the Wildman Lodge on the Alaskan Peninsula . The lodge is owned by Butch and Kathy Wildman. The Wildmans spend their winters in Texas and their summers in Alaska .

Kathy's father and former husband served in the Alaskan legislature for around 30 years so Butch and Kathy know Alaska politics.

Eddie asked Butch what the Wildmans think of Gov. Sarah Palin. Butch's unedited email is attached below.

Please read it and forward it to your friends. This is what the citizens of Alaska think of Sarah Palin!

Thanks, Gene Powell

-----Original Message----- From: Wildman Lake & Cinder River Lodges [mailto:fish@wildmanlodge.com] Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 12:19 AM

Hi Eddie: Fishing is good here at Wildman and I rarely have time for politics, but many of our friends are asking us "Who is Sarah Palin?" Of course, as Alaskans, Kathy and I are extremely proud of her. We just want to let you know that Sarah "Barracuda" Palin is a straight shooting, hard charging, get it done gal. She knows when to listen, how to analyze the facts and how to make a decision, then implement the plan. She doesn't do a poll before jumping in with both feet like too many of the Washington types.

She has little legislative experience because she has always held the EXECUTIVE position; in private life, as mayor of Anchorage 's largest bedroom community or more recently as Governor of our State. She is a smart, attractive home grown Alaska girl with excellent moral and family values.

She can see what needs to be done and does not hesitate to get it done.

One of our State's major problems is that its Capital is in Juneau, 500 miles from the nearest road and 800 air miles from the population base which is Anchorage, Wasilla and Fairbanks. Our legislature and most of the State government is in Juneau and they ALL behave like a bunch of freshmen in a college town. It has been this way since Statehood in 1959. When Sarah moved to Juneau , so did accountability and responsibility When the oil revenue started flown and a barrel of North Slope Crude hit $23.
00, these people began spending money like drunken sailors.

You can only imagine what was happenings when oil hit $100.00 a barrel, about the time Sarah took command. My wife Kathy has first-hand experience with this fiasco, as her father and also her ex-husband were Alaska Legislators who served in Juneau as Senators, Senate President, or members of the State House for a combined period spanning nearly three decades.

About the time Sarah took the HELM as Governor of Alaska, about half of the State legislature was in the pocket of big oil companies or contractors doing big projects for Native Corporations around Alaska, all funded by State oil revenue.

Alaska government was nothing but a good old boys club riding the perpetual wave of prosperity. This filtered down from the legislature, through the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Labor and even spilled in to the Public Safety who are supposed to "preserve and protect".

When Sarah walked into the Governor's Mansion, she promptly dismissed the State Trooper detachment assigned to Governor and had her and her husband's gun case brought in from Wasilla. Then, she got rid of the former Governor's STATE Jet and told legislators that there were no more free rides, they would have to fly Alaska Airlines, just like her and her family if they wanted to travel. Next came the nut cutting (the Barracuda part) the heads that rolled were too numerous to name, but when Sarah finished cleaning house, a number of our legislators ended up in jail for on corruption charges, or tendered their resignations along with numerous department heads and those who have been riding the gravy train for way too long, AND THEN SHE HAD LUNCH. By the end of the day, Sarah Palin had saved the people of Alaska millions and has not yet slowed down.

She has truly brought CHANGE to Juneau . I personally know several persons in the private sector in Alaska , that hold her in high esteem. She surrounds herself with smart people, many from my hometown of Anchorage , she listens to them but makes her own decisions. Sarah Palin is a no B.S.

politician. It is refreshing that there is such a thing anymore. You want to talk about CHANGE? You should see a before and after picture of the State government in Alaska
.
That's CHANGE! Sarah will bring a number of things to the election. I am sure she will appeal many voters who my otherwise could have gone the other direction on election day. The conservative block will not be for Barack. We have their vote. We need what Sarah will bring, first to the election and second, what she will bring to Washington D.C. McCain has been advised well, Let's just hope the American people can get the straight scoop on her in the weeks ahead.

This is just the opinion of one Alaska Bush Pilot and Guide, who pays attention to national politics, watches the news and is deathly afraid of the direction our nation is headed. I guarantee that if Sarah gets a chance to dig her spurs into the flanks of the liberal Washington types, they will know that she is in the saddle.

Butch King Pilot/Guide Butch & Kathy King Proprietors Wildman Lake Lodge http://www. wildmanlodge. com

ever since I saw your pictures I've been workin on plans for the one I want and wanted to know if it's better to use one of those rubber liners or if there is somthin that will seal the cracks if I just use rocks out of the field?

Just out of curiosity has anybody been watchin it and what do you think?

Was thinkin this mornin about all the hard feelins politics can cause and got to wonderin how many candidates had won the popular vote but lost the election, so I went on a hunt  It HAS happened and will happen again, maybe this time maybe next time who knows, gives you a different perspective on the whole thing don't it?

Then I got to thinkin about the new electronic voting machines and all the reports about how easy it is for them to get hacked. No paper trail to prove otherwise if they do. So a little somthin else to think about......

Also interestin to find out that hillary and sarah are not all that groundbreakin...a woman ran for president in 1872....so some of those cracks in the ceilin they are always braggin about have been there for a while lol. 

Anyway thought this stuff was interesting......................



Did You Know?– The 2000 election was not the first time a candidate won the popular vote but lost the election. It has happened four times in our nation's history:
– In 1824 Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but got less then 50% of the electoral votes. John Quincy Adams became the next president when he was picked by the House of Representatives.
– In 1876 Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but lost the election when Rutherford B. Hayes got 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184.
– In 1888 Grover Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the election when Benjamin Harrison got 233 electoral votes to Cleveland's 168.
– In 2000 Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George Bush. In the most highly contested election in modern history, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount of ballots, giving Bush the state's 25 electoral votes for a total of 271 to Gore's 255.
– Grover Cleveland was elected president (1884) then lost his re-election campaign (1888) and came back again to win the presidency for a second time. (1892)
– George W. Bush is the nation's 43rd president but in reality there have only been 42 presidents. Grover Cleveland is counted twice as our 22nd and 24th president because he was elected for two nonconsecutive terms.
– Only 12 U.S. Presidents have been elected to office for two terms and served those two terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to office four terms prior to the Twenty-second Amendment.
– Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution has only three requirements for a president. (1) Must be at least 35 years old, (2) have lived in the United States at least 14 years, and (3) be a natural-born citizen.
– John Kennedy is the youngest elected U.S. President at 43.
Ronald Reagan is the oldest elected U.S. President at 73. (second term)
– The only President and Vice President to never be elected to the office was Gerald Ford. He became vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned and became president when Nixon resigned.
– The tallest U.S. President was Abraham Lincoln at 6'4"
The shortest U.S. President was James Madison at 5'4"
– Percent wise – the 1992 election was the biggest turnout since 1972 with 61.3 percent off the voter age population heading to the polls.
– James Buchanan is the only bachelor to be elected president.
Eight presidents have died in office.– William Harrison (pneumonia)
– Zachary Taylor (gastroenteritis)
– Abraham Lincoln (assassin)
– James Garfield (assassin)
– William McKinley (assassin)
– Warren Harding (heart attack)
– Franklin D. Roosevelt (cerebral hemorrhage)
– John F. Kennedy (assassin)
– Ronald Reagan is the only divorced man to be elected president.
– James Monroe received every electoral vote but one in the 1820 election. A New Hampshire delegate wanted George Washington to be the only president elected unanimously.
– The U.S. Marine band has played at every presidential inauguration since 1801.
– President John Tyler is believed to be the first to use "Hail to the Chief" as the official Presidential honors.
– President Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe but took his stepfather's last name when his mother remarried. He formally changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton when he was 15.
– Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for President in 1872.
– Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress in 1916.
– John Mercer Langston became the first elected black politician in the United States in 1855 when he was elected Town Clerk in Brownhelm, Ohio.
– Twelve of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence were thirty-five years or younger.
– Martin Van Buren was the first natural-born American to become president in 1837. Each of the seven previous presidents were born as British subjects.
– Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution states; Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
– "I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I really think they oughta change the ticket to be MRS. McCain and Sarah Palin. :PThe same way I admired Barbara Bush when I didn't care much for her husband or her son for that matter, I like Cindy McCain. Ain't no great shakes about ther husband tho. Sarah Palin seems like an upfront kinda woman, think she might be a little too cocky to keep from bitin off more than she can chew occasionally but that doesn't make her a bad gal lol. Anyway, If y'all would petition the republicans to replace Mr. McCain with Mrs. McCain I might be persuaded to vote for em 

I want to hear how this country is goin to keep honoring all these aid promises they make. Who are they goin to borrow it from? Even Isreal doesn't want to take help from us in US dollars anymore! Give me a friggin break! Borrow some more from China? Yeah there's an idea  . If sombody doesn't get a grip and get it right this country is gonna go tits up. There are so many countries who take our money and thumb their noses at our backs that it makes me sick. Politicians are to blame. ALL politicians. We are in such a bind over what we owe or have to sell or buy that we are losin all the respect we used to have. Like Russia said, " We'll leave when we are damn good and ready, what are you gonna do about it anyway?"  That lack of respect sticks in my craw.

Our grandchildren and great grandchildren are gonna pay the price for all this you know. The people who are diggin this hole for us are NOT thinkin about how what they do is gonna affect the next seven generations that's for sure.

Same goes for the ones who pooh pooh global warming and pollution. They figure well we have two or three hundred years before it gets bad, I'll be dead it's not gonna bother me. Well, guess what unless you are not goin to have any children and are an orphan it's gonna affect some decendant of yours buddy.

These people can't or won't see past the ends of their noses. makes me sick. And why can't we hold Israel to accepting US dollars? If they are gonna take money from us it should OUR currency. I don't care that the euro is worth more than dollars, it SHOULDN'T be. If we had our **** together it WOULDN't be.
I don't give a **** who gets elected if they start being fiscally responsible and start listenin to people who tell them we got to change our way of operatin or the earth is gonna die on us.






The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) projected in February the country would have a $410 billion deficit at the end of fiscal 2008, but that will likely be a larger figure when it releases revised numbers later this month.
The national debt, which refers to the cumulative amount the government has borrowed and not repaid, is almost $9.5 trillion, the highest level in U.S. history, according to the Treasury Department.





TBILISI, Georgia - A U.S. Navy ship loaded with humanitarian aid steamed through the Dardanelles on its way to Georgia on Wednesday, as the Bush administration prepared to roll out a $1 billion economic aid package for the ex-Soviet republic.


Secretary of State Rice has acknowledged a communique from Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Levni which requests that all foreign aid payments and loans from the United States be made in Euros rather than in Dollars. Foreign Minister Levni cited the rapidly declining dollar and it's disfavor as a world currency as reasons for the request.

"In the spirit of Yom Kippur, the United States will not hold Israel to any agreements obligating them to accept Dollars as payment for their foreign aid. We will translate our obligations into Euros or whatever currency that best fits Israel's needs" Secretary Rice said in the Friday, Sept 21 announcement.

HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM IN TEXAS

1. Go to a secondhand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots...

2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazine...

3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines...

4 Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bud
Big'un, Duke, Slim, & I went for more ammo and beer...

Back in an hour...
Don't mess with the pit bulls - they
attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up
bad...
I don't think Killer took part, but it was hard
to tell from all the blood...
Anyway, I locked all four
of 'em in the house. Better wait outside...


Cooter

Tue Aug 26, 2:53 PM ET



MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means.


Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders "will of course create additional tensions."

"We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way," Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Russian officials have already warned of a military response to the U.S. plans, but the statement by the Russian leader was likely to further aggravate already tense relations with the West. The comments come after Medvedev recognized two Georgian regions as independent nations, prompting criticism from the U.S. and Europe.


Russia mulls poultry, pork import quota cuts By CATRINA STEWART, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago



MOSCOW - Russia could cut poultry and pork import quotas by hundreds of thousands of tons, the country's agriculture minister said Wednesday. The move could hit American producers hard and comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the war in ex-Soviet Georgia.


"It is time to change the quota regime and reduce imports, which have unfortunately built up in recent years," Alexei Gordeyev told reporters, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

He said domestic producers could make up the shortfall if imports were reduced.

Any substantial cuts would likely have a significant impact on U.S. poultry producers, for whom Russia is the biggest market. Russians sometimes refer to U.S. poultry imports as "Bush's legs," a reference to the frozen chicken shipped to Russia amid economic troubles following the 1991 Soviet collapse, when the current U.S. president's father was in office.

An analyst said Russia's timing was no coincidence.

"It has been on the agenda for some time," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib bank in Moscow. "But the fact that it has been mentioned now is almost certainly linked with the rhetoric that we've had from Georgia, and from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. ... It has just been accelerated as a result of current events."

Y'know I figure this is gonna cause somewhat of an uproar but I think Michelle Obama gave a pretty good speech last night. I was just gonna post some of the quotes that really got me but decided to post the whole thing.



"As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother Craig.

I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.

At six-foot-six, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too — literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me — he was watching over me.

And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when — with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change — we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.

But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.

I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.

I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future — and all our children's future — is my stake in this election.

And I come here as a daughter — raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.

My dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier, and worked a little harder.

He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives — and mine — that the American dream endures.

And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work — they wanted to contribute. They believed — like you and I believe — that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.

Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?

It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms — people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had — refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.

It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:

People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.

The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.

The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.

People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.

People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.

All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

That is why I love this country.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

It's a belief Barack shares — a belief at the heart of his life's work.

It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe — working block by block to help people lift up their families.

It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.

It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care — including mental health care.

That's why he's running — to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has — by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party — if any — you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.

It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.

And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.

Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.

And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.

And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country — where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House — we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future — out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment — let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America"