politiculous.com

“Westmoreland calls Obama ‘uppity’
By Mike Soraghan
Posted: 09/04/08 03:07 PM [ET]
Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term ‘uppity’ to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

‘Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity,’ Westmoreland said.

Asked to clarify that he used the word ‘uppity,’ Westmoreland said, ‘Uppity, yeah.’” more from TheHill.com…

(Via TheHill.com - Westmoreland calls Obama ‘uppity’.)

Another inconvenient truth | Economist.com

Another inconvenient truth

Aug 14th 2008 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition
Fiscal Armageddon, coming to a cinema near you

AP

AMERICA’S infamous debt clock, near New York’s Times Square, was switched off in 2000 after the national burden started to fall thanks to several years of Clinton-era budget restraint. However, it was reactivated two years later as the politically motivated urge to splurge once again took over. The debt has since swollen to $9.5 trillion, with the value of unfunded public promises (if you include entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare) nudging $53 trillion—or $175,000 for every American—and rising. On current trends, these will amount to some 240% of GDP by 2040, up from a just-about-manageable 65% today. ” >more…

(Via A film about debt | Another inconvenient truth | Economist.com.)

English Bible History: Timeline of how we got the English Bible: “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that in that same year, 1517, seven people were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church for the crime of teaching their children to say the Lord’s Prayer in English rather than Latin.”

(Via English Bible History: Timeline of how we got the English Bible.)

Can’t get much more definitive than that!Thanks Jedreport.com 

Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business - washingtonpost.com: “Large family farms, defined as those with revenue of more than $250,000, account for nearly 60 percent of all agricultural production but just 7 percent of all farms. They receive more than 54 percent of government subsidies. And their share of federal payments is growing — more than doubling over the past decade for the biggest farms.

“

(Via Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business - washingtonpost.com.)

I was just wondering what the dictionary definition of “cling” is:

• To hold together
• To adhere as if glued firmly
• To hold or hold on tightly or tenaciously
• To have a strong emotional attachment or dependence
• To remain or linger as if resisting complete dissipation or dispersal

Hmmmm… that’s not bad. Its good to be tenacious and have strong emotional attachments.

Where I grew up, “bitter” was always used to describe a women with some unjustified state of small minded meanness. Did Barack Obama actually mean to imply that all people in the small towns are ’small minded women’? The Fox channel and the other campaigns are kind of making me feel that way. Just what is the definition of bitter?

• Distasteful or distressing to the mind : galling
• Angry, hurt or resentful because of one’s bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment
• Being relentlessly determined : vehement
• Exhibiting intense animosity harshly reproachful
• Marked by cynicism* and rancor
• Expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret

Wow that’s a wide range of emotions. And no mention of gender anywhere. I’ll take three from def #2 and one from def #6, please.

Over the past 7 years of seeing people’s jobs outsourced while CEO pay quadrupled (or what ever the multiple is), I thought of not being bitter as a spiritual process. Now that I read the definitions I see that ‘bitter’ covers a much broader range of emotions that I thought. Maybe I am bitter.

Maybe having a president with a bigger vocabulary that I do isn’t such a bad idea. After all, having one with a smaller one sure has been sad and painful.

* PS: I think that its the pundits and politicians that try to get us to vote against our own interests and the interests of the nation that are the ones who are cynical.

Not to long ago Barack Obama was 25% behind Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania polls. In the end Clinton won by 10%. The last two days were the first and only time that I heard the media touting an Obama win. Seemed odd at the time. I don’t think that anyone without a PR agenda ever expected a win for his campaign.

Today Clinton said that she has already gotten more votes than any democrat in a presidential primary… I guess, since she’s not the front runner, that means that both candidates now have more votes than any democratic candidate in a presidential primary.

Recently the republican pundits have been dragging out the old  ‘democrats want to take your guns away from you’ wedge strategy.

I don’t think that’s true and here’s why;

During the last 7 years of the Bush regime, presidential cabinet members and staff seemed to have very little interest in laws, the constitution, the balance of powers, and/or any debate at any level on any topic.  After that, I’m almost sure that no one will ever look at the 2nd amendment and the presidency with complacency again. I think that the 2nd amendment is very safe.

I just hope that we can get the other amendments back.

K: Apparently the Obama campaign is serious about no lobbyists….

Daily Kos: State of the Nation: “Obama Didn’t Want My Money - Updated w/link to letter
by Borell

Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 10:12:52 AM PDT

I just had the strangest experience. A presidential candidate gave me back my donation, told me would not accept it because of what I do for a living, and it left me more committeed to the candidate and conviced that he is the person that must be the next president.

I went to the mailbox and found a letter from the Obama Campaign. Enclosed was a check for $100, the return of my contribution from earlier this month along with a letter explaining why it would not be accepted.

Borell’s diary :: ::
You see, I am a registered lobbyist for a non-profit organziation.  We are a non-partisan, non-political membership organziation, we do not have a political action committee and strictly observe a policy of non-particpation in any event that even remotely appears political.  I serve as their legislative rep, trying to ensure that expertise of our membership is heard by public officials on issu”

(Via Daily Kos: State of the Nation.)