PastaJoe

You had a nice post until you politicized it. Remember, he's the one that took our main focus away from Afganistan and towards Iraq. It wasn't the MSM or left who did it.

Earlier this year Obama was slammed by the Republicans when he said the U.S. military should attack in Pakistan if they had actionable intelligence, even without Pakistan's approval. Now, like Iraq timelines, Bush is again following Obama's suggestion. WWSD?

Ron Paul.

Just as long as my tests are negative.

Urine rare form, this subject hasn't de-turd you from a steady stream of comments.

And we weren't spending $10 billion a month on an unnecessary occupation, plus the cost of replacing all the military equipment.

How's 6th grade working out for you? Inference, like the McCain ad inferring that Obama voted for comprehensive sex education for kindergardeners instead of the reality of teaching them about reporting pedophiles and the difference between good touch/bad touch?

Yeah, the first 6 years when Bush and the Republican controlled Congress instituted some of the largest growth in gov't spending in our history without paying for it.

WASHINGTON - Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties engaged in illicit sex with employees of energy companies they were dealing with and received numerous gifts from them, federal investigators said Wednesday. The alleged transgressions involve 13 Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with — and accepting golf and ski trips and dinners from — oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general. The investigations reveal a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" by a small group of individuals "wholly lacking in acceptance of or adherence to government ethical standards," wrote Inspector General Earl E. Devaney. The reports describe a fraternity house atmosphere inside the Denver Minerals Management Service office responsible for marketing the oil and gas that energy companies barter to the government instead of making cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands. The government received $4.3 billion in such Royalty-in-Kind payments last year. The oil is then resold to energy companies or put in the nation's emergency stockpile. Between 2002 and 2006, nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the Denver office received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies, the investigators found. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26644351/

I've been coaching youth hockey for 10 years and my son plays. The registration fee for 1 player at the midget travel level this year is $700. That basically pays for the ice time. Jerseys, any new equipment, required raffle sales, tournaments, and gas to get to games which could be as far as Ottawa or Boston are all extra. House level which usually stays within 100 miles costs about $500. There are elite level youth teams, like the Syracuse Stars, which cost up to $5000 to play, and they travel as far as Chicago.

And they'll accuse you of not believing in miracles, that God decided it was time for it to change.

In her case she was getting reimbursed to drive to her normal place of work, not a client. And why should family be paid for on a working trip? If anything, they would be a distraction from the work the person is supposed to be doing.

Cap is more of a libertarian than a conservative, he takes the Constitution seriously and not just the parts that fit an agenda, so he could come across as opposing uber-nationalism in the U.S., since that is what led to Hitler's rise to power.

I've never heard of getting a per diem for going home from work, especially when it's less than 50 miles. I drive 30 miles each way every day and would never expect such a perk. If you don't want to pay for the drive, move closer to the work. Hell, they even provide a residence for her in the capital if she moved there. And if you want to take your family on your business trip, that should be on your tab, not the taxpayers. The only exception should be the President and Vice President.

In Iowa last October, McCain drew comparisons between Hillary Clinton's current health care plan and the one she championed in 1993: "I think they put some lipstick on the pig, but it's still a pig." He used roughly the same line in May, after effectively claiming the Republican nomination. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10...tick/index.html Other politicians have also used the phrase in recent years, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Rep. John Mica of Florida and Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, among others. Torie Clarke, a former McCain adviser, even wrote a book called, "Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game." McCain ally Mike Huckabee took Obama's side on the issue, saying he didn't think it was a swipe at Palin. "It's an old expression, and I'm going to have to cut Obama some slack on that one. I do not think he was referring to Sarah Palin; he didn't reference her. If you take the two sound bites together, it may sound like it," he said on Fox's "Hannity and Colmes." "But I've been a guy at the podium many times, and you say something that's maybe a part of an old joke and then somebody ties it in. So, I'm going to have to cut him slack."

I almost blew it for myself by playing the Colts D instead of Buffalo, but I went 3-0 this week thanks to the late Adrian Peterson TD last night that gave me a 5 point win in one league, 100-95.

Actually Marvel had a mini-series that had a black character as Captain America. In the 2003 limited series Truth: Red, White & Black, black soldiers act as test subjects for the WWII Super Soldier program of 1942. Most of the subjects die, or become deformed with the exception of one, Isaiah Bradley. Isaiah substitutes for Captain America on an assignment, discovering Jewish concentration camp detainees subjected to experiments. But it would ruin the story to not have white Steve Rogers as CA. This is the next chapter after Iron Man in ultimately bringing together the Avengers. You can't change the main characters from who they are. I imagine someone like Keifer Sutherland or Russell Crowe as Cap.

Obama/Biden need to keep reminding people about the economy, housing, the opportunity cost of Iraq, and the conservative social agenda. McCain/Palin want to change the debate away from policy to the Rove tactic of who would you rather have as a neighbor. More shine taken off Mother Inferior's fiscal conservative reformer claims: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business. The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews

Spreading it over two days means that he won't be able to push too hard on the first day, or else they'll cut off the rest of the interview. Plus it allows her handlers to review what she does wrong to correct for the next day. Her press advisors were recently replaced by some from the White House because they thought her staff wasn't qualified to spin with the national media. If they were confident in her they would make her available to a press conference instead of making one reporter follow her in her safe zone.

Let's face it, Obama joining that church had more to do with making connections with the community, possibly for political reasons, than with the radical views of Rev Wright. But it appears that Palin really believes the radical views of her church, and has yet to say otherwise. We already have a president who thinks he's on a mission from God, we don't need another administration with that belief.

What's the issue? Obama properly disassociated himself from Rev Wright and the church. Are we responsible for what O.J. did because we attended Bills games, even if we've disassociated ourselves from him?

That was more on an indictment of Rev Wright. Fortunately Obama didn't support Wright's controversial social views and disassociated himself from that church. It remains to be seen if Palin will do the same or embrace her church's social views.

Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. "You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years. Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called "pray away the gay" movement. Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion (opposing exceptions for rape and incest), and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples. http://news.aol.com/elections/article/pali...5540x1200532686 Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says on the video, "Pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for -- that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan." Her campaign says she doesn't mix her faith with government business. But Palin did ask her audience to pray for a $30 billion natural gas pipeline she is on a mission to build in Alaska. In the video Palin says, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas pipeline built. So pray for that ... I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God." Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it." The McCain campaign says Brickner's comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin's spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel. Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin's former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn't get into heaven. He told them, "I question your salvation." http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/08...stor/index.html

I think this is a generational election where the youth are more energized than in previous years, and there is a greater probability they will turn out, along with increased minority participation. The Democrats have a large registration program going.

The variable in this election is the increased number of people registering to vote for the first time (younger, minorities) which largely favors Obama it they vote. I wonder whether the polls take them into consideration, especially since many younger people just have cell phones and not land lines. And Obama's campaign has learned from the Republicans and built up a large grassroots campaign base, which was significant in winning the primaries.