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If it weren't so hippocritical she could probably get away with it. But, this is typical Republican Welfare and I don't buy it for one minute that if she were ever to be elected all the clothes would go for a charity auction.
She defined herself as 'folksy. One of the little people. Then she turned right around and dresses like she owns the dress shop. Who was that actress? She went to the Academy Awards wearing a white t-shirt from The Gap. Sorry, it was a black t-shirt. Sharon Stone (click here).There is something to be said about 'Being Brave' and Sharon Stone was exactly that. She took the opportunity to be 'in the spot light' with a simple t-shirt from The Gap and who knew? Sharon could get away with anything and look great.
The Republicans are playing 'the glamour' card and they are trying to 'display' Palin as a women in control. In control of her family, her career and her money. When in fact the money isn't her money. It belongs to those "Joe the Plumber" folks and Hockey Moms that send the RNC $100 or $25 on campaign stops. It's outrageous. It simply is exactly that.
If the clothing were paid for by her it would even be a different discussion, but, it is paid for by contributions from people that donate to their campaign. I don't care if Republicans think its great she looks like the ultimate Republican Barbie Doll, it is a matter of principle. But, alas, if Republicans had principle we won't be looking to spending billions upon billions on illegal wars and bank bailouts.
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...They included a whopping $75,062 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, one for $49,425 from Saks Fifth Avenue, $4,902 at Atelier, a stylish men's store, and even a $92 romper and matching hat with ears for baby Trig at Pacifier, a Minneapolis baby store....
Tina Fay get ready. This SNL should be one to die for !
"Plumbers for Obama" (click here) - T-shirt $30.00 and change. Doesn't go to any campaign. Its just for the fun of having a T-shirt that support "Plumbers for Obama."
At the Web page "YesWeCarve.com," users can submit photos of their political pumpkin carvings or upload stencils so others can create their own campaign advertising for their door step (Photo from YesWeCarve.com).
Ex-Bush Aide McClellan Praises Stone's `W' as `Fairly Straight' (click here) By Alison Fitzgerald Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan praised director Oliver Stone for trying to ``play it fairly straight'' in his new film about President George W. Bush, `W.' ``Even if he misses the mark sometimes, he deserves credit for the glimpses of inner truth he provides, which can only be instructive, especially as we prepare to elect a new president,'' McClellan said in a posting on the Web site ``The Daily Beast.'' ``Stone tries to play it fairly straight.'' McClellan was a public face and voice of the White House, first as deputy press secretary then as chief spokesman, for the first six years of Bush's presidency. This year he published a memoir in which he said the president used a ``political propaganda campaign'' to justify going to war in Iraq. McClellan, 40, said Stone's film gives an exaggerated portrait of Bush as simple-minded and ``merrily oblivious.'' He said Bush is a man of ``deep personal faith who may have felt a calling to enter politics, but he never came across to me as presuming to know God's will.'' Overall the film is ``good, not bad,'' McClellan concludes. To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Fitzgerald in Washington at Afitzgerald2bloomberg.net; Last Updated: October 17, 2008 12:46 EDT
8,691.25 +172.04 +2.02% About 8500. Any losses in the markets globally haven't gone over 4% except for one in South America. Even with Japan dumping cash into their markets yesterday.
Maybe, the fluctuations have slowed a bit.
Let's see....yep. The currencies haven't settle down yet. I think they will. The USA Dollar is over valuated right now.
CURRENCIES Dollar gives back gains as Dow recovers (click here) By Lisa Twaronite, William L. Watts & Nick Godt, MarketWatch Last update: 5:02 p.m. EDT Oct. 23, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar slipped against major rivals Thursday, as foreign exchange markets took their cue from volatile equities trading and rising risk appetite as U.S. blue chips managed to end a whipsaw session higher....
Halliburton Brings Strong Quarterly Revenues, Remains Optimistic About Oil and Gas Industry, an Industrial Info News Alert Posted 22 October 2008 @ 07:15 am EST SUGAR LAND, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 10/22/08 -- Researched by Industrial Info Resources(Sugar Land, Texas) -- On Monday, October 20, Halliburton Company(NYSE:HAL) (Houston, Texas) reported its earnings for the third quarter of2008. The company brought in consolidated quarterly revenue of $4.9billion, up 24% from the third quarter of 2007. Halliburton's net incomeof $687 million, however, represented a decrease from the $727 million ofrevenues earned in 3Q07, a quarter in which Halliburton took advantage ofpreviously unrealized tax credits. Additionally, in a new releaseregarding the earnings, Halliburton stated, "The hurricanes in the Gulf ofMexico negatively impacted third quarter revenue by approximately $74million." Industrial Info is currently monitoring more than $1 billion ofHalliburton's projects in the U.S., as well as other internationalprojects.
In recent weeks: -- More than 20 million video disc copies of a film called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" were included as advertising supplements in newspapers across the country, many in battleground states where Obama is in a close fight with Republican candidate John McCain. The film, distributed by a private group unaffiliated with the McCain campaign, features suicide bombers, children being trained with guns, and a Christian church said to have been defiled by Muslims. -- A city council candidate in Irvine, California, who is a Muslim convert, said he got a telephone call saying "I want to cut your head off just like all the other Muslims deserve," the Los Angeles Times reported. -- A mosque in a suburb of Chicago, Obama's home city, was vandalized four times in less than two months, with anti-Islamic messages left on its outer walls, and windows and doors broken...
Credit crisis sends wool price tumbling Wednesday, 22/10/2008 A wool trading company says the wool market experienced a significant drop in prices overnight, because of the global financial crisis. BWK Elders trading manager John Roberts says overnight prices dropped by 62 Australian cents, one of the biggest falls this year. He says his company didn't buy any wool overnight, because markets like China are experiencing credit problems and didn't make any orders. "This has been on the cards for a while, currency has been assisting to some extent, but I think with a very large offering this week, that's certainly released the pressure valve a bit and things started to really tumble."
Carl Leubsdorf: McCain blew it by steering off course 01:38 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 In endorsing Barack Obama, Colin Powell said he was disappointed and troubled by John McCain's "narrow" campaign approach and the promise of a further "rightward shift" in a McCain administration. In particular, he cited the choice of Sarah Palin as vice president and the likelihood Mr. McCain would name at least two more conservative Supreme Court nominees. Mr. Powell not only gave an insight into his own beliefs but illustrated how Mr. McCain has undercut his own candidacy. If he loses, as polls indicate is likely, the principal reason will be the advantage Democrats have enjoyed as a result of this year's poor political climate for Republicans. But a contributing factor has been Mr. McCain's decision to emulate the Bush approach in the two previous elections, with strongly conservative positions and rhetoric.
Learn the truth about Obama's experience Published Wed, Oct 22, 2008 12:00 AM I'm tired of hearing about Barack Obama's lack of experience. In the U.S. Senate, he's served on the Foreign Relations; Homeland Security; Veterans Affairs; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees. He served eight years in the Illinois state Senate. He graduated top of his class at Harvard Law School and was president of the Harvard Law Review. He earned a degree in political science, specializing in international relations. He worked in Chicago as a community organizer. He helped initiate an effective job training program, college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization. In three years, the Developing Communities Project grew from a staff of one and budget of $70,000, to a staff of 13 and budget of $400,000. He was a civil rights attorney for nine years and a lecturer/professor on Constitutional law at the University of Chicago for 12 years. In the U.S. Senate he's sponsored 570 pieces of legislation; in the state Senate it was 823. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure allowing Americans to go online to view how every dime of their tax dollar is spent. He's also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform, rooting out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress. He traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world. Become educated, voters. Please don't buy into untruths and hype without checking the facts. Helaine Kinsey Lady's Island
October 22, 2008 Citizen Arrest of Karl Rove Fails Code Pink protester Janine Boneparth tried to place former Bush administration aide Karl Rove under citizen arrest at the Mortgage Bankers Association in San Francisco yesterday. As Boneparth tried to arrest him for treason while speaking on stage, Rove "elbowed the woman away as she was escorted off the stage." A total of five Code Pink activists were removed from the building, but no one was charged.
Pardon Me?: The Constitutional Case Against Presidential Self-Pardons
Brian C. Kalt August 1, 1974. As Richard Nixon's presidency rapidly neared its end, his aides outlined his options. One possibility discussed was for Nixon to pardon himself and then resign. His lawyers prepared a short memorandum concluding that a self-pardon would be legal.1 Nevertheless, Nixon decided against a self- pardon, resigned, and left his fate in the hands of President Gerald Ford.2 Christmas Eve 1992. President George Bush had lost his bid for reelection and would be in office for only one more month. Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh had persisted in his pursuit of Iran-Contra suspects. Bush decided to pardon several of them, leaving himself as the most prominent prosecutable figure.3 Several commentators speculated that Bush might pardon himself for his role in the scandal, and many assumed that such an act would be valid.4 One stated, "[F]or a president to pardon himself would, admittedly, be an act of unprecedented chutzpah, but the Constitution does not forbid it, containing nothing that circumscribes the power ...."5 Others disagreed, including Walsh and his staff.6 As one commentator wrote: "We have not recognized… Kalt, Brian C.. “Pardon Me?: The Constitutional Case against Presidential Self-Pardons,” The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 106, No. 3 (Dec., 1996), pp. 779-809
Veteran reporter Judith Miller joins Fox News Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:57pm EDT By Paul J. Gough NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in jail for contempt of court during the Valerie Plame affair, has joined the Fox News Channel as a contributor, the network said Monday. Miller will be an analyst at Fox News on security and international affairs and write for FoxNews.com. Before joining Fox News Channel, Miller was a New York Times reporter for 25 years. She was jailed in 2005 when she declined to reveal the name of a confidential source to a federal grand jury investigating Plame's unmasking as a CIA operative. Miller won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting about terrorism and has written about that topic and many others. She also is an adjunct at the Manhattan Institute. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
By JUSTIN ROOD October 14, 2008 President Bush sidetracked a congressional probe by wrongly invoking executive privilege, according to a draft bipartisan congressional report released today. The outing of former CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame, left, was the focus of a congressional probe. According to a draft bipartisan congressional report released Tuesday, President Bush sidetracked the investigation by wrongly withholding documents relating to Vice President Dick Cheney's role in the affair. (AP Photos) This June, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee served a subpoena to the Justice Department for reports of interviews between FBI agents and Bush and Cheney. The interviews had been conducted for former Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's probe into the outing of former CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame, which concluded last year. The House panel was conducting its own inquiry into the matter. The White House objected to the committee's subpoenas, and the panel dropped its efforts to obtain the Bush transcript, the draft report said. But the committee said it reiterated its request for the Cheney report, even threatening a contempt citation for Attorney General Michael Mukasey if the document was not produced.
Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:02pm EDT HOUSTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has evidence that Albert "Jack" Stanley, former head of Halliburton Co's (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) KBR Inc (KBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unit and others may have possibly engaged in bid-rigging on foreign construction contracts, Halliburton said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. "In September 2008, the DOJ informed Halliburton and KBR that Mr. Stanley admitted to bid-rigging, claimed that others knew about it, and stated that the DOJ feels it has a viable wire fraud case based on bid-rigging," Halliburton said in quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Stanley, a former KBR chief executive officer, pleaded guilty in September to charges involving a scheme to pay $180 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials to win work on the $6 billion Bonny Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant....
...``Cheney's brief, all in all, encompassed most of the core concerns of any president,'' Gellman writes. ``Angler'' reads like a series of detailed case studies, and Cheney emerges as a savvy, sometimes vengeful master of the Washington game -- a man who used his influence to redefine the U.S. presidency, giving it powers that most constitutional experts denied it had. Wiretaps Without Warrants An early test came with a directive Addington drafted after the Sept. 11 attacks. The document asserted the president's authority to sanction warrantless wiretaps on U.S. citizens. Three years later, this program led to a showdown, grippingly described by Gellman, at the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. It ended after a resignation threat by FBI Director Robert Mueller and several top Justice Department officials prompted a startled Bush to reverse his decision by giving the attorney general the right to certify wiretap requests. Unlike other reporters, Gellman doesn't argue that Cheney usurped the presidency outright. He tells of times when, as he puts it, Bush grabbed back the steering wheel....
...The addition of ABS might help slow the soaring death rate of bikers in Florida that spiked after Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law in 2000 that repealed the state’s mandatory helmet law.
Florida exempted adult motorcyclist and moped riders from wearing helmets providing they have medical coverage of $10,000. This resulted in an estimated 48 percent increase in motorcycle rider deaths the following year, and a jump of more than 81 percent in the three years after the repeal took effect according to NHTSA. In Florida from 2006 to 2007, more than 16 percent of all traffic fatalities were motorcyclists. 521 lost their lives, as well as 29 passengers of motorcycles, according to the Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles....
A = Popular Vote B = Electoral College In reality A = B
The way to predict that is to find the fractional differences between the two and apply it to raw polling results. Anyone applying those principles should be able to predict the outcome of the Presidential vote in November.
No, I am not going to do it for anyone. Do it yourselves. You can if you try.
HINT :: Historical Data and allow for population/voter registration changes. It isn't easy to get your mind around.
There has to be something in their calculations that factor in the 'fractional' differences between popular and electoral college vote. I'm fairly sure that is what Zogby and AP are picking up. I don't believe they are outliers. That '1%' margin reported by AP today in favor of Obama is the 'electoral college' factor in their calculations. I don't believe that is reflective of the popular vote.
Somehow the component AP and Zogby use in relation to the 'reality' of the electoral vote which does not necessarily reflect the outcome of the popular vote is 'weighted' stronger than other 'popular' factors in their calculations. And they are correct in weighting it that way IF one wants to be the most correct in the outcome of a Presidential election. If they both did calculations without that 'weighting' factor (raw scores of popular vote polling) they would have trends in the popular vote like anyone else.
That is my take on it anyway.
Oct 23, 5:45 AM EDT By ALAN ZIBEL AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of homeowners ensnared in the foreclosure crisis grew by more than 70 percent in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2007, according to data released Thursday. Nationwide, nearly 766,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from July through September, up 71 percent from a year earlier, said foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. By the end of the year, RealtyTrac expects more than a million bank-owned properties to have piled up on the market, representing around a third of all properties for sale in the U.S....
I suggest Governor Crist get his act together. Folks are complaining of issues there. I wouldn't doubt there are going to be adverse circumstances to living in the Keys, actually.
There is a problem in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean. I noted the other day the plight of Belize. This is a serious set of circumstances. There has been chronic turbulence over those waters and at those latitudes. Government needs to pay attention. Belize is drenched and people have died there. Evidently, the Florida Keys are experiencing some of the same kind of issues.
The mess in these areas needs relief. The flooding is a symptom of chronic conditions in the Tropics and Subtropics. Just because the Keys belong to the USA doesn't mean that they are exempt from chronic Tropical conditions that disaffect lives. I just think we have to be vigilant and that sometimes gets away from authority when it isn't a state of emergency.
That turbulence in the Caribbean right now may very well culminate into being something soon.
Six Dead as Tropical Storm Fay Lingers in Florida (click title to entry - thank you) Updated 12:30 AM CDT, Thu, Oct 23, 2008 MIAMI, Florida, August 22, 2008 (ENS) - Floridians wish Fay would just go away, but the stubborn tropical storm that never became a hurricane is still hanging around and making life miserable across the northwestern part of the state....
Haiti storm damage estimated at $1 billion (click here) Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:59pm EDT By Joseph Guyler Delva PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The storms that have battered Haiti since August caused nearly $1 billion of damage, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday. "That's a lot for a country of 8 million people and there's been a terrible loss of lives," Zoellick told journalists as he concluded a three-day visit to Haiti. "The devastation is widespread and it makes your eye pop." The loss is enormous in a poor country whose gross domestic product was estimated at about $11.4 billion last year. Zoellick urged donors to give more money to help Haiti and compared the scale of the devastation by saying, "Imagine Hurricane Katrina had affected almost the whole country (the United States) and a much poorer country." Four tropical storms and hurricanes deluged Haiti in August and September, bringing floods that killed more than 800 people....
October 21, 2008 Key West, Florida Photographer states :: storm water around my apartment
