If Republicans lose Wisconsin, Priebus loses his job.

Christy was dumping $1 million in governors races during the last week. 

I was just listening to Ernst and thinking, woman, veteran, maybe it will be a good thing. Then she said something that completely contradicts each other, ISIS and $16 trillion debt. She's another Bush, "Damn the torpedoes, full steam a head, the kids can pay for the war we had to save the country." Another Bush.

Get ready for all the hostile legislation no one ever thought the USA was capable of, abortion, gay rights, educational priorities and achievement, alternative energies, environmental law, war AGAIN, finance reform, health care, voting rights, changing the tax structure to giveaways for Wall Street and the wealthy, burdening the little guy and basically erasing decency from the American landscape. 

The Democrats did all they could do to protect the country and our democracy, but, money trumps every concerted effort. I am grateful for the victories we held and the Governorship of Gerry Brown. He is amazing. He has a real handle on what is occurring in that state and if we were to lose California agriculture to drought and warming, the country would in far worse condition. 

The Democrats were correct to take the first two years of the Obama presidency and make all the changes we needed in this country. The Democrats ended the slide of the Great Recession and launched a magnificent health care initiative. The Republicans tried to tell the Dems they were moving to quickly and they should not attempt to carry out all the achievements they did. No regrets. It has been six years of movement in the direction the country needed. Waiting and pretending it was okay to allow people to be without health care or financial reform was as much their game plan as the continued 'political war' they embarked on with the Tea Party. 

Good night.

Something is wrong with the polling in Virginia or the Democrats couldn't or didn't bother to get out the vote.

Richmond is in the 7th District of Virginia. Eric Cantor lost his re-election bid because the election polls were all skewed while his job approval rating tanked. There is something about Virginia the political pollsters have very wrong. 

Regardless, a Democratic candidate running for the Senate seat should not have expected it to be an easy run considering the Governorship was Democratic. 

There have been several states turned on their head politically because for several reasons, abortion and guns top the list. Any state, any district where these issues are lining up in the red column should be considered 'at risk' states. The evangelicals and right wing hardliners don't take losing well. They aren't good sportsmen and women. They are very sore losers and they seek retaliation. 

The former governor of Virginia was pretending to be a devout Christian. He even when to live with his favorite holy man as a defense to his illegal wrong doings. Evangelicals don't take that sort of thing well. Even Bob McDonnell is not taking this well.

September 18, 2014
Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (click here) on Thursday asked a federal judge to acquit him of the public corruption charges of which he stands convicted or at least grant him a new trial — arguing that the guilty verdicts stemmed from “insufficient evidence” and “numerous legal errors during the proceedings.”...

So, the moral of the story is, where Republicans are corrupt and sore losers besides, BEWARE. Heck, beware even if Republicans are within the government. The Dems missed this one and shouldn't have.

Mitch McConnell now knows what it is like to run against a strong Democratic candidate that didn't have to invest her own millions into her campaign. I am quite proud of Alison. She ran a clean race and has her reputation intact today.

When the Republican Party came after Majority Leader Reid is was shameful and ruthless. Now the Minority Leader knows what if feels like, but, the Dems did it so much better.

It is incredible to believe a man would invest $1 million or more into his own Senate race. The income from the job just doesn't justify it. Power. Mr. McConnell is about power, people beware.

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Now that the North Carolina polls have closed, it is noteworthy that Kay Hagan has run a spot on campaign. North Carolina under McCrory and Tillis and Pope has cut to the bone the support for education. The Republican legislature and governor raised the salaries for newly hired first year teachers because they have to compete nationally for them, but, have not raised salaries for other teachers. Mind you, the teachers purchase their own school supplies and this year some teachers didn't have school books.

In Guilford County where the total cuts over these few years has totaled $46 million there was a referendum to increase millage on property tax. Ready for this? A quarter of a penny. That means a property/home worth $100,000 will have to pay another $250.00 per year in property taxes. There are dearly few homes in Guilford County under $135,000. This millage tax if passed will bring $14 million into the Guilford County school system, but, does nothing for any university. 

The Kochs have not been around to fight this millage increase as they were in Ohio for the zoo. 

Senator Hagan ran an admirable race. It was nothing but truth and continued ads to clarify lies made about her by the Tillis camp.

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Minority Leader Pelosi carried her share of the US House with only a few seats lost. Congratulations. Great job.

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Tom Wolfe has won the Governorship back. He did it by running on education. Corbett was a horror. He was not only a horror when it came to education, it paid his cronies favors by destroying air and water quality due to fracking wells. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the Democrats ran incredibly wonderful races, every one of them, against all odds they should have never been contenders in the first place. Amazing. Can we cook or can we cook?

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There is no great secret why I prefer Democratic values because they purposely reach for the little guy and disenfranchised Americans to bring the promise of the USA to them.

Republicans simply don't care. I suppose there are good guys among them, but, they have never been elected to the federal government. The good guys in the Republican Party in Washington, DC don't exist.

How do I know that? 2008 and the global economic collapse. A Republican president provided a huge bailout for them. The American people expected Wall Street to find their balance and come back to NORMAL practice. That didn't happen.

The Bush White House never set any terms on the bailout and with that the banks left on holiday for the next five years and until we had a new Chairwoman at the Fed. If Chairwoman Yellen hadn't come along there would be yet another QE IV, V, VI...

The Republican administration turned their backs on the people of this country and basically said, sink or swim.

The roll of the USA government is not to bailout any private business, but, to provide for the people of the USA. That $700 billion bailout should have gone to the people of the USA in small business loans and we would have had our economy back in no time and a far less national debt. The country is in a mess with a national debt directly because of Republicans no matter how they try to deflect it onto the President.

The first legislation passed by the Obama White House was to replace the LOST ECONOMY of the collapse. There was no getting 'back to normal' because the face of the country had changed so drastically and loans were nowhere to be found. So, the Recovery Act began the slow road back from having the Republicans pull the USA into hell with them.

Any election I vote in I consider OTHERS before I cast my ballot. I consider the soldiers, the poor, the disenfranchised and those brave enough to make a death defying trip across the USA southern desert to attempt to improve his or her quality of life. Undocumented workers do not take jobs from people in the USA. Americans is lucky to have them quite frankly.

When I look to all MY MORAL ISSUES before voting there is only one party that ever passes snuff. I haven't voted for a Republican since the second term of Ronald Reagan and I have watched the USA exploited and treated as a game board for the wealthy, greedy and powerful. I raised my family. I should be greedy along with everyone else and enjoying life with little or no worries about others. I did my time as a wife and parent. It is time for me to have my life to myself and think of no one else. 

I couldn't do that if I tried. It isn't in my DNA. I think life is fine just the way it is and I don't need a warm tropical breeze in the middle of winter to make me happy. The Democratic Party with all or any faults makes me happy. My involvement in fighting for a better life for those I care about makes me the happiest.

I don't ask much in life anymore. Just a movie once a week or so and any documentary I can get my hands on, along with a film festival that brings me life from around the globe and understanding of people I will never meet, BUT, people my government will come in direct contact with. 

Republicans? There is no one that can hold a candle to my morals and that is disappointing, but, I can live with the idea a one party system being just fine until we get tired of the boredom.

MSNBC is now endorsing candidates? Isn't that putting your thumb on the scale? I can't do a thing about such statements about candidates.

Ronan Farrow hasn't realized what a single name stated as preferred can mean. I almost wouldn't care, but, I happen to believe the Democrats have the right priorities. I work hard everyday in seeking to bring some truth to the circumstances the USA faces. I don't appreciate it. 

If a news anchor wants to endorse a specific candidate that means the other candidate gets equal time, unfortunately Mark Pryor isn't available for an immediate fix. Go vote, Farrow, I really don't care who you want in office and it looks like you have bad taste in government anyway.

USA Today and the New York Times have taken the last minute political hack under their wing today.

Not a political junkie? 50 election facts to help. (click here)

I think this is great. No American should be on the outside looking in.

A Guide to What to Watch for on Election Night (click here)

I'll put my own two cents in. This is the Republicans' Waterloo. They lost the 2008 elections sending quakes and fissures throughout the political world.

Then the Supreme Court gave the Republicans carte blanche in raising funding to win all and every election. The Democrats and Independents rose to the occasion and have held off complete devastation of the other parties.

In 2012, Karl Rove the most favored political warrior, did not win one political race. Not one. With millions and quite possibly billions of dollars behind him he didn't claim one victory.

Immediately after President Obama was elected and the Senate and House fell to Democratic majority and leadership the Tea Party came out of every crack and crevasse like cockroaches. "Out with the old, in with the new!" was their battle cry after defaming the famous Boston Tea Party with an enactment that was more a threat to democracy than political prophesy. I mean that happened over 200 years ago, one would think there were more creative ideas in the GOP; but, true to form they have no ideas.

The subsequent elections mostly excoriated the Old Guard from the Republicans with exceptions such as John McCain who sends vast amounts of money and munitions to supposedly 'freedom rebels' only to turn out to be al Qaeda turned IS. 

Today, November 4, 2014 is election day in the USA. The every two year march to the polls to attempt course correction by the American people, at least the ones believing in a course correction. I have so wanted the American people to be more and more interested in their politics and none too soon with Republicans seeking to undermine "The Vote," the very instrument of our democracy. It looks like this two year ritual will now have a good turnout to even rival that of Presidential elections. At least in my heart I hope so.

But, since the Dems and Independents have rallied to save the country from a GOP DICTATE, the Republicans have already lost their predictions and a take over so great they could not be daunted in DC. 

The Republican Party today is very different than the Republican Party previous to 2008. It is a good thing. The current GOP has yet to capture the changes in direction by the electorate to bring them REAL change and the quality of life they are demanding. Americans have a birth right and political backers such as the Koch Brothers haven't got a clue or respect for that reality. I hope the Republicans take whatever wins they have today and realize they are lucky to have them for a trend guaranteed by history more than ability. 

I hope every political backer that provided incredibly obscene amounts of funds can look back and realize they really did lose their political shirts in order to achieve a thwarted victory and diminished power. 

The money for politics should be coming from the people and not corporations set to steal the American Dream into a Wall Street commodity and cast the Middle Class into poverty in their own folly for greater profits. The story is the Middle Class is the answer to any country's economy and if the USA fails to rebuild theirs China will have the growth no other country can match. The American Dream will lie in wreckage as proof of Republican corruption and cronyism.

The Republican Party today abandoned any principled politics to attempt to ride the wave of the Tea Party extremists. They are now attempting to rebuild the past. They don't get it. The past is the past and the future is out of their reach in any meaningful way. Where federal authority might exist with the Republicans, local economies are now the power house to the USA economy and they can't out fund them, out think them or destroy them. The local economies that stand strong are self-regulating and vigilant. The democracy we love can't be undone and the people can and do take control away from wealth merchants.

Is a two mile race proven to be too much for some horses and how are eliminated from the race?

Fourth coming: Trainer Ed Dunlop (centre) with Red Cadeaux after finishing second in Tuesday's Cup. Photo: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

In the stables (click here) soon after the running of the Melbourne Cup, sheets enveloped Admire Rakti's stall after the favourite had tragically and sensationally died.

Only two stalls down, connections of Protectionist were surrounding their horse and basking in the glory of winning the $6.2 million race.

For more than a century and a half, the Melbourne Cup story has captivated the nation.

As it stands, the story for this installment is about the iron horse which came second and the Japanese favourite which collapsed and died in his race-day stall after the event....

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's longest and most rewarded Thoroughbred horse race. It is stated to be the longest horse race in the world and for some the most coveted. Today, there are two contenders dead, one by an accident in a broken leg and the other from sheer exhaustion.


November 4, 2014
By Patricia Bartley, Adam Pengilly and Ronny Lerner

Smart stayer Araldo (click here for video of the collapse of Rakti) was returning to the mounting yard when a young boy waved a white flag in the horse's face. He leapt forward, jumping the steel rail, shattering a hind pastern bone in the process. 

Araldo's trainer Mike Moroney said veterinary surgeons tried desperately to save his horse's life. About 8pm, it was reported that Araldo had died. 

Araldo's trainer, MIke Moroney, described the death as a tragic accident....

Why is this notable? The Melbourne Cup has high standards for participation and has a unique 'weight' system to attempt to make the race a level playing field. This is some of the best race horses in Australia. This horse's collapse, by prescription of the race authority in qualifying, should never have happened. I have to wonder what the temperature of the air was as well.

It is possible for race horses to have a heart attack. Admire Ratki was considered a favorite to win. There is something very wrong here.

The Melbourne Cup authorities need to also put barriers between onlookers and the horses for the safety of both.

I hesitate to say anything about the possibility of Rakti being drugged as this is a high level race with plenty of monitoring. The horse really needs to be evaluated. The USA has had their share of problems with Thoroughbred horses and has in recent years taken action against any enhanced performance by using lasix and but. If Rakti was injected or fed any enhancements to performance it is time for Australia to review their requirements for racing in that country.