Goodbye Nick Reynolds

Where are all the flowers going? 

Only One of the Trio is left. 

a passing thought on the debate

Any good teacher can distinguish between the student who understands the lesson and the one who has simply memorized the answers.  

Thursday Morning Smile-Maker (63)

Oktoberfest Handful 

more bull dispensed with

We have been getting a steady diet of right-wing baloney in one form or another, but one of the most persistent bits of carrion has been the trope that Obama is "unpatriotic" or "does not love his country" because he doesn't wear a flag pin, and that John McCain loves his country because he does.

Well, children, here are two recent pictures of these men, and you see what you see. Say goodbye to that big fat lie!

Remember, you can click on the pictures to make them larger.
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Add to your day -- a little youthful whimsy

A simple, comfortable, sweet folk tune from the 60's. CLICK

a free smile

CUTE: What your icons do at night.

CLICK

"...an Invigorating Moment for Democracy..."

A different take on Congress' defeat of the "bailout" or "financial rescue" yesterday.

Willima Greider, a social reform writer CLICK

A Light Through The Leaves

"We are now in the golden age of thieves. And where I come from we put thieves in jail, we don't bail them out."
- U.S. Representative Pete Visclosky, Indiana

Friends Report, September 30, 2008

Most everyone we know around these parts was opposed to the so-called "bailout" of the Wall Street banks and financial institutions. Most people seem to think that the idea of throwing more money at bankers or money managers to solve their problems will do nothing for the rest of us since the typical banker is a trained thief. So, those who are Republicans and those who are Democrats amongst us common folk, seem to agree on this, that they don't want any more debt run up in their name by the Bush government for the sake of the fat cats.

A group of teachers gathered over coffee and the trend of the conversation was not really Wall Street, but school administrators. Hard to find positive things to say about administrators these days, either.

The weather has been fantastic and people are getting out and about a lot. As beautiful a September as people can remember.
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LINDA -= is of the opinion that the weather has been created in honor of her quitting her job. Now when she is not working, the world has been sunny/warm.

SANDY - sent pictures of a donkey ride. I guess this is how we'll get around in the next few years?

MARGARET - says that she wishes her Senators were as good as this one: Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

SCOT and TRASE - report that their dog Riley has suffered a ruptured disk in his neck, that the surgery has been done, and that Riley today stood for the first time since the surgery. Everyone loves that dog!

IRISH MIKE recalls going into the grocery store to buy a ready-made roasted chicken for the family dinner, then looking all over the store for an egg plant. Unable to find an egg plant, he left, disappointed. Later, at the gas station, lost in thought while the pump clinked, he suddenly remembered that he had not gotten a chicken either. No one knows what comes first- the chicken or the egg, but evidently chickens and eggplants come or go together.

SKUZZA - is doing some house redecorating, or getting the old man to do it!
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What some people are reading or talking about

ALICE - is pushing this cause: "The Wheels of Justice Tour which will beat the Delta College Lecture
Theatre, University Center MI, 11:00-2:00pm. on Oct. 9. The tour is an On the Road Nationwide Effort for Nonviolent Education and Action Against War and For Universal Human Rights and Justice.

DIG S - How the Bush Projected Budget Surpluses TUrned into Huge Deficits: CLICK
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Some of the humor sent in to us:

DASHMANN - Palin's spiritual adviser or "pastor" was a witch doctor in Kenya. Yes, true! Really went after witches, chased them out of town. . Then he laid hands on Sarah and prayed that she be protected against witches (among other things). Yes, true! Says Dashmann: She asked the witch doctor to tell he what to say, and he said: "Ooh, eee, ooh, ah ah, Ting tang! Walla walla bing bang."
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from BILL FROM WNNCO:

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from GIGI:
Here's a sermon one Mom will never forget.

'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward
heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are
but dust...' He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient
daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in
her shrill little four year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'
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from JERRY:

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WARNING:
If you get an e-mail with "Nude Photos of Sarah Palin" in the subject line, do not open it. It might contain a virus.

If you get an e-mail with "Nude Photos of Hillary Clinton", do not open it. It might contain nude photos of Hillary Clinton.

Republican Humor (60)

One of the claims about Obama is that he wants to ban guns. Of course, that's what Republicans have said about every opponent since about 1960. Anyway, here is the latest
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At a recent rural elementary school assembly, Obama asked the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands, once every few seconds, holding the audience in total silence.

Then he said into the microphone, “Children, every time I clap my hands together a child in America dies from gun violence.”

Then, one valiant little boy, pierced the quiet and said, ''Well, dumb ass, stop clapping!”

Congratulations

MARSHA for the victory by South Carolina

SPARTY and IRISH MIKE, et al., for the victory by Michigan State

DASHMANN for the victory by Western Michigan

SCOT and TRASE, et. al., for the victory by Michigan

guillotine time (part 2)

Recommended: Popular anger puts fat cat CEOs on the run
CLICK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE

Excerpt:

Martin Sullivan, the chief executive of AIG, who left the insurance giant before it was rescued this month by the federal government, received 14 million dollars, a survey in USA Today said. He also quit with a severance package worth 47 million dollars.

Even punishment for those at the center of the chaos comes with a gold lining.

When the government took over collapsed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ousted bosses Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron were not allowed 12.59 million dollars worth in severance payments.

Yet they still got out the door with 9.43 million dollars in retirement benefits.

What These Awful People Have Given Us. 

See more of Matson's work here: CLICK

Sunday silly Sites

"Jalopnik": The ugliest cars this year: click

or:
THE TELEGRAPH (Britain) -- 20 ugliest cars of all time. click

Get your Obama is the anti-Christ coffee mug. (It's ungodly expensive for a cup.) click

Wacko-of-the-Week, September 27, 2008

FOR THIS WEEK, we're giving a joint award to the collectivity of politicians, MEDVEDEV, PUTIN, CONDI, and BUSH for their concerted efforts to avoid responsible government and to plunge the world back into a Cold War.

As Edmond Burke so famously said, "Great empires and little minds go ill together."





Headline:
In Response to Bush Plan for Missiles in Poland, Medvedev Plans New Russian Missile Shield

Goodbye Paul Newman

absolutely Nobody's Fool 

Letter from Australia - Part 2

The end of the letter from IRENE in Australia
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Funny that [Secretary of the Treasury] Paulson has shares in Goldman Sachs that were worth $700 million.This man absolutely cannot be given the unchecked powers that are in the bailout plan legislation before Congress.

Also this may not be news to you, but I stumbled across this website today at work ... I saw the name Bork (which rang alarm bells) - but it wasn't Robert Bork but someone named Ellen Bork. I think it supports your assertion that the current financial crisis can be blamed on Reagan - in that it's Reagan who set these wheels in motion that gave these nutters in the Bush Administration legitimacy. Check out the statement of principles (dated June 1997) and have a look at the signatories at: CLICK

There are other interesting documents - like a January 1998 letter to then President Bill Clinton calling for military action to remove Saddam Hussein. Who would have thought that these people would be running the show three years later..

Here's what I thought was a good article that was in the Sydney paper today: CLICK

Comment from BILL FROM WNNCO

[The other side of it?]

"One personal comment on the Wall Street problem. The simple fact is that they should let these organizations fail, let private money come in to purchase them, and then the whole game will reset but at a corrected level. They have to keep the gov out of this and throw the bums, at the top, out."

comment from Sparty

" ... sounds fascist to me. This is from Section 8 of the proposed bail-out legislation":

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Thursday Morning Smile-Maker (62)

Wrestling's deadliest maneuver: The Nose Lock