HAVE MERCY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

(i originally posted in 2004 on livejournal. much of which remains true today)



dear shoppers



the holiday time of the year has come upon us again. black friday is just around the corner and the most gleeful exchange of gifts is only a few short weeks away. most major retail venues have hoisted the cheery holiday swag, pumped the requisite holiday tunes into their sound systems, and have begun the traditional bombardment of holiday sales.



as you head off into the wonderful world of mass holiday merchandising to seek out those oh-so-perfect gifts that express all the feelings that you've kept pent up throughout the year, please remember this one thing: the customer service sales associate standing before you hates having to work during the holiday season just as much as you hate particpating in the rabid shopping frenzy.



so please:

* do not knock ALL of the clothes or toys off aisle tables- its not a game of see how long it takes for the associate to REDO the damn table. yes, you can navigate AROUND the tables without leaving a path of unholy destruction in your wake



* do not wander around shopping 30- 90 minutes AFTER closing time--- if you havent found what you're looking for by closing- THEN YOU WILL NOT FIND IT. get out! go home! let us poor associates go!!!! we want to go home too!!! because believe it or not, we are not allowed to leave the store until after the last shopper leaves. SO GO HOME



* do not leave your foul 300 ounce big swigs laden with saliva, lipstick, food stains, and children grime on counters, on clothing tables, in changing rooms or on floors--- and please don't expect us to put them in our trash bins--- we do not want your disgusting germs anywhere near us. go find a trash recepticle out in the mall that is far far far away from us.



* DO NOT PEE in dressing rooms (yes, it happens- but we prefer you pee in the restrooms-- you sick dirty bastards)



* do not VOMIT in dressing rooms (go home if you are that ill)



* give up on the GIFT RECEIPTS-- that only wastes register tape, wastes time-- and dammit- whatever happened to the old days when gift giving was about saying "Thank you" and lumping what you got rather than being about "Oh, it doesn't matter- If he/she doesn't like it then they can return it." ---this sort of mentality is what contributes to our throw-away society, it tells gift recipients that you really don't care if they like what you are getting them, and it also says that you really don't care to spend enough time with a person to determine what they like or dont like. and for you hard-to-shop for idiots--- stop being so damn picky, show your appreciation and love by accepting the gift and appreciating that someone made the effort at all--- remember for every gift you turn your nose at because it isn't perfect, there is someone out there in this world not getting any gift at all nor is spending any time with any loved one--- you should be grateful not picky or petty or obnoxious. Tell your kids/nephews/neices/cousins/etc. to SUCK IT UP... Christmas isnt about getting the perfect gift- its about being together. So wear the damn kitten sweater and get the hell out! OR GIVE GIFT FRIKKIN CARDS bastards



* and, yes- KEEP ALL OF YOUR DAMN RECEIPTS. if you aren't organized enough to keep the receipts of the things you purchase, then perhaps you should consider alternative gift giving ideas- like crafting homemade gifts such as ashtrays constructed of gum wrappers, paper mache and rubber cement. the more handmade it looks the more it looks like you care.



* and don't come back in March trying to return your damn christmas presents!



* and don't come back after you've worn your christmas presents looking to return them for cash refunds.





On a serious note:



INSIST that the associate taking your check or credit card is checking your identification. Even if your debit/credit card has your photo on the card. The more you make it clear to associates that you want them to verify i.d. the more associates will be forced to learn to do so.



For those of you who get insulted by being asked for your i.d.- get over it. I will ask for your i.d. I always ask for your i.d. I don't care that you've shopped my store for 20 years, have had the store's credit card for 10 years, or just used your card/check in another department 5 minutes ago, and say, "no one's ever asked for my i.d. before." I don't care. Have it ready- and make certain that it matches the name on your card/check, and make certain that it is current and NOT expired.



And anyone working in any industry that involves the exchange of payment for goods or services- Subway, McDonalds, Walmart, Target, JCPenney, Sears, Hallmark Cards--- doesn't matter where you work. You should ALWAYS check id, and never be afraid to refuse expired i.d. or question i.d. that looks fake or notify your managers when you suspect fraud.



thank you for taking the time to read this public service announcement. as always, shop safely, shop happily, and shop early.



That's it, I'm done. Putting the soap box away for now.

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Have Mercy This Holiday Season Part 2

First, I blame Wal-Mart. They are responsible and they will undoubtedly have a big lawsuit resulting from this that will not bring their former temporary employee back to life.



Second, there was a new report out today by the police reviewing the case. After watching the tape, they think that the employee, working as a security guard, was trying to help/save a pregnant woman, whom I believe also went to the hospital after the trampling. He was not only a victim, but a hero.



Third, if you are multiple months pregnant and you go to wal-mart at 4am on black friday, you have your priorities mixed up. I see this as a sign of the times and many things that are wrong with all of us these days.



Fourth, Wal-mart hyped this event and has hyped it for a number of years. Just like that Whitesnake or Great White concert where hundreds of people were burned to death, Wal-mart is responsible. It happened on their property, was incited by their advertising, and happened due to their lack of planning from hiring additional security, taking proper measures to insure that the doors did not fall off the hinges, even making something like a 'roped off' line into the store. Wal-Mart will deserve what it gets during this one.



Fifth, the people suffering from affluenza that actually bought something from that Wal-Mart that day, have blood on their hands. They may not have laid a hand or foot on the guard that died, but cumulatively they were each part of the problem.



Sixth, all people that went shopping on black friday are suffering from a disease. I call it affluenza, some people call it consumerism. This is not the time to spend money ridiculously on spending sprees focused in the month of december. If you want to do your family some good for the holidays, don't go buy them some mass produced crap and call it a christmas present.



Seventh, I'm not trying to say that I am above any of this. I didn't shop on black friday, but like almost all of you reading this (you bought a computer didn't you?) we are all addicts. The first step is to recognize the problem, the nature and form of the addiction. Then you have to do something about it.



Eighth, so do something about it already. Share this with someone, share it with everyone, help the people around you wake up and realize that all of this wasted time spent shopping is not helping our economy but hurting it. Its not helping our families, its harming them.



In the meantimes, happy holidays, and I hope you live to see the new year. You might just stand a better chance if you avoid big sales!



http://something-about-harry.com/

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Have Mercy This Holiday Season Part 2

I posted previously a rant/plea that I had originally concocted several years ago when I was a mere department store sales associate trying to survive the holiday season. With the new top story being the trampling death of a Walmart employee on Black Friday morning, at a suburban mall in NY State (20 miles east of Manhattan).



Its sad to think that I will have to amend the list of pleas to include: "Please don't trample the employees to death."



I mean seriously people- was it worth it? Jdimytai Damour was a real person trying to do his job- did this man have family? Is there now a child who will be spending Christmas without his father? A grandmother missing a grandson? And for what end? So you could get a dvd player for 25 bucks?



"Other workers were knocked to the ground as they tried to rescue Damour, and customers simply stepped over him and kept shopping even as the store announced it was closing because of the death, police and witnesses said." - What must the announcement over the PA system have sounded like?



"WalMart will be closing in 10 minutes because you selfish people trampled an employee to death. We will reopen after his carcass has been removed from the premises- for you that wish to continue shopping despite this horrific event, please note that paper towels on aisle 25 are on sale for 600 rolls for 25 cents."



I guess it was only a matter of time before someone got killed because of some kind of shopping catastrophe on Black Friday. Each year there seems to be one story thats even worse than those that came from the year before. Frankly, I think its plain awful that people behave in this manner.



I don't just blame the shoppers who buy into this annual mania, but also the stores who build and feed the frenzy. Each year opening an earlier than they opened the year before, encouraging long lines to camp-out for HOURS prior to opening. Having the "REALLY GOOD" discounts only during the first hour or two then dropping all the sale discounts back to normal levels for the rest of the day. Here's an idea- open your NORMAL frikkin hours, have Normal to REALLY GOOD discounts ALL DAY long- get more customers in the store ALL DAY long- perhaps sell MORE and make MORE MONEY withOUT getting anyone killed?



OK. Done with this rant for now.



Final note: To the family and friends of Jdimytai Damour, and the other people who were injured either trying to save him or just trying to survive the crush in general- my heart goes out to you all.



Url to article (one of many):

http://www.startribune.com/…01214.html



Url to my previous post:

http://www.utterli.com/…ODA0MDU3OA

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Man Is Pregnant for Second Time-New Normal?

What do you think of this story presented by Barbara Walters on 20/20 about a man that is not only pregnant, but pregnant for the second time?



He successfully gave birth to a little girl last spring after being in labor for 40 hours. He did NOT have a caesarian, it was a natural child birth.



Now he is pregnant again.



Link to story

http://abcnews.go.com/…alth/story



These last few days since the election I have seen many many people showing their strong support for gay rights. Prop 8 in California has proven to be a lightning rod in that it ultimately and decisively showed Americans as bigots just at the moment in time when we were crooning over our ability to show our selves as not being racists by electing Barack Obama. Its hard to rejoice over a victory at the hands of a defeat.



Yet this story about a pregnant man pushes the envelope and the bounds of our societies perceptions, taboos, gender roles and much more.



Are we headed to a society where anyone man or woman can become pregnant, carry a baby to term and deliver a baby successfully?



Are we heading to a society where anyone can marry anyone else and in any number or combination?



Do we really need to maintain societal norms of 1 man for 1 woman no matter what?



We've seen divorce enter societal acceptance, witnessed trans racial marriages, witnessed trans ethnic marriages, witnessed arranged marriages, witnessed poligamy and bigamy and monogamy is this particular story all that different? Or is it just another step in our journey?

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CNN Projects too

Congrats Barack

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Campaigning at the Polling Place

They were much closer than I would have like to have seen. No one there representing the presidential candidates though and there was a police officer to keep order.

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Early Voters DC

This is another angle of the voters lining up to get into the church next door to my office.



This was taken at 8:30 this morning.

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In line at my polling place

They say it's about an hour and a half wait from where I am in line. Not bad. Plus the weather is really nice today - great to be outside!

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I voted

jasontucker's Mobile post sent by brettbum using Utterli.  Replies.  mp3

Voters on Election Day

It's Election Day in York County, and voters are telling us what they think.

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Voter preparation

So first I woke up about 7:12 am after crashing at 1:12 am last night. I donned my hacker safe t-shirt and my charlie brown sweater as symbols of what I hope to avoid today.



As I write this, I am emptying my flash cards from my cameras. Then I'm going to run by the gas station and by several coke zeros before heading to the polls.



I'm packing 2 digital cameras, a cam corder, my aircard, laptop, voice recorder and xshot photostick.



I'm brushing my teeth while I type and I still need to shave, but then I'll be ready to go. The kids are staying home with their grandfather (long time non voter in protest). My wife voted a couple days ago after waiting in early voting lines for a couple hours. I'm betting lines will be short after early morning workers clear out of the way.



I have no idea who I will vote for. I am unlikely to vote for John McCain. I'm leaning towards voting for Bob Barr to continue supporting Libertarians and 3rd parties, or possibly Barack Obama, who still even on the day of the election reminds me of George W Bush in the way he panders to his base.



I've ruled out John McCain because he just does not seem to be the leader I thought he was in the 90's. So, who knows. :)



Guess its a crap shoot for me this year. I'd like to see the country to come together and I'd like to see the energy policy that Obama promises, but given his background in politics, I seriously doubt that he will do it.....



We'll see, and I'll let you know.

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We're Off to Oust the Wizard

I got this one from my brother. I had a very cute reply for him, but I'm not going to share it with this group. I'm tired of debate.



Source unknown

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Ron Howard, The Fonz, & Andy G on Obama

Over the last couple of weeks several conversations have popped up here talking about Fonzie Jumping the Shark and Happy Days and various events (usually around the crappy plot twists on Heroes).



Well tonight I was reading the associated press and heard about this video that Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and Andy Griffith made to inspire people to get out and vote for Obama.



I'm not sure that the video would sway me one way or another, but it does make me nostalgic for happier days...

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Sarah Palin and First Dude Todd Palin on Saturday Night Live

Last night not one but two Palins showed up to have fun and mock their public personas on Saturday Night Live.  It was a riot of a show with a little funny in it for people of any political stripe (assuming they find the antics of Democrats and Republicans and their complete failings funny).  If you haven’t already caught this show, the best clips are below (normally the show is a real dog, but the Mark Wahlberg clip and the Suzie Orman skits were pretty funny as well)

Another Market Crash

Well we just saw the market drop 750 points at the end of the day again. Mostly due to the wake up call that 1 retail sales for September sucked(technical term for sales Uber crappy Keynsian economic depression), the Federal Reserve saw a slow down in all 12 regions, and surprise surprise people are realizing that the bailout will not fix the credit market any time soon.



Oh and people are paying the government when they loan the government money in tbills.

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John Cleese on Sarah Palin ‘Monty Python Couldn’t Have Written This’

John Cleese stated that ‘Monty Python couldn’t have written this’ referring to the story of John McCain choosing Sarah Palin.  Well, John Cleese is wrong.  It would appear that Monty Python did write this!

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"No Banker Left Behind Act"

Here is a copy of an email that I received from my good friends at VoteToImpeach.org . . .



You have to love their spin on this headling. :)



Call the Senate Today

Stop Bush's "No Banker Left Behind Act"



Having suffered a stunning defeat of their "Grand Theft Bailout" Bill on Monday, the Bush Administration, the banks and Wall Street are now coming back for their second try. They are used to directing the affairs of the country regardless of the will of the people. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote tonight, Wednesday evening, in favor of a nearly identical version. This is intended to force the House of Representatives to do the same when they return tomorrow, Thursday.



You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 800-473-6711 or 202-224-3121 to ask to be transferred to the offices of the Senators from your state.



Bush's "No Banker Left Behind Act" was defeated because of overwhelming public opposition. But now the politicians have come up with an easy answer. In an unprecedented step, Congress is virtually shutting down its incoming constituent email. They are installing the digital version of riot police, protecting the politicians from an enraged population that demands to be heard. Congress has acknowledged that it is receiving millions of emails from the people of the United States, all opposing this theft of $700 billion to be handed to the richest bankers. People who try to send emails are likely to receive error messages and their emails will not go through during "peak hours." Congress claims that this is a response to the overwhelming emails to keep their server from crashing; however, their server did not crash during the time they were receiving the most emails and they quietly instituted this program late Tuesday afternoon.



The U.S. Senate - this country's version of the House of Lords - is returning to do the work of the White House in league with the biggest bankers. Known as "millionaires club" because of the elite status of its members, the U.S. senate is playing the same role that the King's House of Lords played in earlier times in British history, a political barrier created to protect the aristocracy from the wrath of the people.



VoteNoBailout.org is urging all of its members and supporters to call Congress, to email them at "off peak" hours, and to come directly to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning at 10 am so our voices can be heard at the People's Demonstration/Speakout. Congress can run but they can't hide from the wrath of the people. We won't let them.



Thursday's demonstration will take place at 10 am on the South side of the Capitol at Independence Ave. and New Jersey Avenues SE. For more information, see below or go to VoteNoBailout.org.



You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 800-473-6711 or 202-224-3121 to ask to be transferred to the offices of the Senators from your state.









Demonstration at

the Capitol Building



Thursday, October 2

10:00 am

Independence and New Jersey Ave. SE

South Side of the Capitol

Washington, D.C.



Initiated by VoteNoBailout.org, supported by the ANSWER Coalition and ImpeachBush





These guys do some good work and I'm republishing this on several of my own sites including:

http://nomoreincumbents.org/blog/

http://gridlock-on-rye.blogspot.com/

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Bob Barr on the Bailout

http://www.youtube.com/watch for the video page.

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Treasury Secretary Paulson – The Wrong Man to Save Us

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Today I'm watching the news, and I've been paying attention to just how much a success Congress may have as it attempts to pass this new bailout package.  This time, the bailout is going to be reviewed and and possibly approved by the Senate after the House failed to approve it just a couple of days ago.  I personally have very little confidence in Secretary of Treasury, Paulson and his material handling ability to manage this financial crisis, and especially to manage $700 billion of taxpayers money.  So from that perspective, I'm not terribly impressed with the bailout nor with Congress if they continue to attempt to work from a framework provided to them by Sec. of Treasury Paulson, he is the wrong person for the job and I think he needs to be replaced.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Treasury's bailout proposal
• Bush vows to try again for rescue
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• Text of Paulson Plan
• A Massive Failure of Leadership

 

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Why I'm Against the Bailout

Last week, my mom sent me an email that started with the sentence: "Would we be better or worse off if there was no bailout of these banks?"



I was going to just answer her question right there, but then I realized my answer would make for a great blog post. So, here you go, Mom! Sorry it took so long, but I got a little distracted with the news lately. :)



By the screencap above, you might think we'd be better off if the bailout went through. The Dow dropped more than 500 points by closing today in reaction to the bailout bill not passing the House.



If the bailout did go through, we'd see banking begin to return to normal--loans could be given again, loads of people would still have jobs, and both the USG and Wall Street would save tremendous face (after all, it was the two bodies in concert who is responsible for this mess).



Of course, those are just the good things that would happen. There would be bad things, too, that our leaders aren't really going into.



Most importantly, in my mind, if the government really decides to spend $700 billion (about the price we've paid in Iraq so far), the negative impact could be pretty far reaching--especially on one part of our economy that no one likes to *really* talk about.



We have a problem in our culture--no one really likes to talk about the "i" word.



No, not impeachment.



Well, they don't like to talk about that either, but Americans seem even more loathe to use the other "i" word, inflation.



I'm kind of a broken record when it comes to inflation. I explained my view of it in a recent blog post here: http://thepete.com/…ed-economy



Suffice it to say, when $700 billion gets injected into our economy, it will be a lot of new money floating around. When you increase the supply of money, the existing money drops in value (as dictated by the law of "Supply and Demand"). When the bailout goes through, it'll send the dollar's value plummeting.



That's what can really make for a weak economy, BTW. A weak dollar.



So, in the end, sure, a bailout is going to keep our lives more or less like they are now. We'll be able to borrow again and bankers will keep their jobs and life will be grand until the real meaning of "trickle-down economics" is learned--when the lost-value of the dollar trickles down from the rich (who will use the new money first) to the poor (who will only see the benefits of that new money once the value of their own money drops--it's a little abstract, my apologies).



Another thing any bailout will fail to do is guarantee this won't happen again. We are all familiar with the Great Depression and the stock market crash that preceded it. Was there a bailout then? I don't know.



Regardless, we, as a country, survived the Great Depression and I'm sure America will survive this, whether we have the bailout or not.



So, why does it matter? It matters because the bailout lets people get away with breaking the rules. Hell, the bailout itself is breaking the rules of the free market.



I'm no free-marketeer, but the way I look at it, if you're going to bother to make rules, you should bother to follow them. If you don't want to bother to follow them, then change them and follow the new ones.



Breaking your own rules just makes you look unprofessional.



I'll post more about rule breaking tomorrow...



...assuming I don't get distracted by the news again. :\



Tomorrow's post on the rules will also involve socialism vs. capitalism, conservatives vs. liberals, and probably even McCain vs. Obama, if I can get really creative.



So:



Bailout = good in the short term (status quo, status quoed)



Bailout = bad in the long term (inflates inflation, weakens our overall economy and our individual power to buy stuff, doesn't prevent another economic explosion, also lets bad guys get away with it)



Well, Mom? I hope that answers your question.



Either way, we're in for a world of hurt. Luckily, most of us are broke, so we won't feel it as much as the rich folks panicking right now (though we may have trouble buying things that are about to get more expensive).



For all the folks on Utterli who got notified about this post, I hope you don't mind! I hardly ever notify everyone I've friended about posts, so hopefully you'll forgive me if you're not interested in this post.



Also, I'd love to hear what anyone reading this thinks. I really want to learn more about our money and how it works. I'm really nervous that it's really as simple and truly as messed up as it looks.

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CNN Calls Bush a High Functioning Moron

Paul Begala on Anderson Cooper 360 just called President Bush a high functioning moron on CNN. No one refuted him.



You can bet that the phones are ringing off the hook at McDonalds as high functioning morons across the nation attempt to call CNN to complain about that insult!

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John McCain Self Destructed By David Letterman

Pay Off All of our Credit Cards

In February the total US Credit Card debt was $790 billion.



http://www.voanews.com/…6-voa1.cfm



If Congress just rounded up to $800 billion, they could pay off everyone's credit card debt tomorrow.



I think that would go a long way towards making it possible for people to keep up with their mortgages, and stimulating the economy.

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Right Wing Newspaper Zeroes in on Obama

I realize that this article is from a Right Wing paper, but I think they actually capture one of Obama's flaws.



What do you think?



see San Francisco Chrnoicle Article 'Saint Obama comes down to earth' - http://www.sfgate.com/…rticle.cgi



" On campaign-finance reform, FISA, NAFTA, abortion, capital punishment, guns, Iran, Iraq, the surge and drilling offshore, Obama has fudged on his earlier positions in the normal way of savvy pragmatists - but not in a manner befitting angelic idealists.



The new Obama probably will recover his temporary setback in the polls. But right now his problem is that disappointed independent voters are catching on that this saintly savior is all too human."

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Executive Crayon Tax Plans from Obama/McCain

As I hop over to Obama's web site to review his 'tax plan' I am struck by the lack of a tax plan. :)



http://www.barackobama.com/…s/economy/



He has a number of bullet points about things that he will give to people in the form of cash back rebates, new deductions or tax credits or investments in special projects, but I do not see an actual tax plan.



As a poor schmuck, and accountant with a Master's in Taxation, I see Obama's page of giveaways, as a bit of a grab bag, that gives a little of this and a little of that to a lot of people.



Consider that Bush was loudly pounced upon by Democrats for spending about $150 billion to stimulate the economy with tax rebates not so long ago. It would appear that Obama wants to do basically the same thing.



That's nice of him to want to give away some of the Government's money, but I've got a news flash for Obama.



We have a $9 trillion debt, and that was the price BEFORE the fed spent close to a trillion dollars last week bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.



Obama can give away all the cash or dollars he likes, but the truth is that if the government keeps giving away money that it doesn't have and printing more, well that money isn't going to be worth the dead trees its printed on.



Now, I'm not saying John McCain's plan is any better or worse (his focuses on a small handful of tax decreases as opposed to cash back give aways.



http://www.johnmccain.com/…/taxes.htm





I do also realize that neither of these candidates is the sharpest knife in the rack when it comes to the economy. Neither of them have hardly any experience working with economic matters. I think this lack of economic wisdom is reflected in both Obama and McCain's website (despite the conventional wisdom that they will hire 'smart' people to consult with, which doesn't seem to have happened).



Obama's tax plan page is basically a pandering central page. If you can't find a promise on that page that appeals to you, then you just aren't scrolling far enough.



McCain's tax plan page reflects McCain's own simplistic un-understanding of the economy. It doesn't pander to everyone under the sun, but does throw out 3 or 4 standards in tax cut dogma. He's not really pandering, he's not really simplifying the tax code either, just making small modifications.



Neither candidate seems to really be helping Americans or the economy with their 'plans'. If these plans weren't printed up on fancy internet websites, I'd swear they were written with white board marker (executive crayons) and thrown up haphazardly just to put 'something' on each respective website.

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Surprise! Bush is Bringing Osama to Dinner

There have been a ton of things the news of the last couple of days, and so it could be very possible that many people of miss the story that's taking place in Afghanistan and Pakistan.



George W. Bush has changed the rules of engagement for the military, enabling them to fire upon targets across the border in Pakistan from Afghanistan without having to be first provoked or attacked. Several cross-border incursions, and missile attacks have been taking place since this change in the rules of engagement.



Why the sudden ramp up in attacks?



It sure isn't because we are getting along with Pakistan better these days. Pakistan just elected a new president, who ran on a platform espousing the notion that the United States should not cross the Pakistan border. The president of Pakistan has been very blunt in stating that the US should not attack anyone on on its own soil. They feel that they are cooperating enough with us and there should not be a need for the United States troops do this. Typically, the Pakistani government has not wanted to inflame instability in its own country by upsetting its people with US foreign troops on the ground.



So why are we risking the stability of one of our allies, and potentially upsetting that Ally at the same time?



All politics are local, and in our US local politics we are running into a presidential election. George W. Bush needs John McCain to win, if there is any hope that George's own place in history might be salvaged from ruin. The primary thing that George Bush could do to potentially save his own image, and possibly secured John McCain's place in the White House, would be to produce Osama bin Laden before the election.



As we consider that potential, and witness the change in the rules of engagement, and the increase in attacks on US soldiers on people across the border in Pakistan, have a strong suspicion that the US is finally making a strong attempt to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Maybe they've been waiting for the perfect moment, maybe they've been waiting for political reasons, maybe they just got some information that could even be false hoping to ensnare Bush in a trap knowing Bush's own motives that I stated above.



I'm not sure what the answer to this is but we could be witnessing the October surprise unfolding right now in September.

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You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig

Look let's face it. Obama is an idiot.

There I said it, its out in the open. He's not an elitist savant, he's a freakin' moron.

Michelle needs to take him home tonight and smack him upside his stupid head a couple times.


Why is he stupid?

1. He didn't pick Hillary. Anyone could see a mile away that McCain was considering a female VP all year long.

2. He didn't pick Hillary. Hello, Obama, is there anyone in there. Hey you moron, if you made it past point 1 above, change your mind and pick Hillary. Otherwise you are going to lose!

3. He didn't pick Hillary. Hey, OK, look Obama you are driving straight into a train wreck. Let me mention a few names to you and see if you see in commonality between them and yourself (hint Republicans do, you all have the same weakness) Carter(80), Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, & Kerry (hint hint hint They let Republicans tear them apart with stupid shit and they would never defend themselves. Stupid or not Americans want leaders that will go to the mattresses to defend them (the people) against stupid shit. Shit rolls down hill and Americans don't like to be at the bottom of the hill. If you can't show them that you can build a retaining wall to block an avalanche of turds, they won't vote for you.

4. OK, let's face the facts. Palin made a joke that is now famous during the convention. she said 'you know what the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is? . . . . . Lipstick' So anytime anyone mentions lipstick in reference to politics, it is now a reference back to Palin. Palin told the world, I am a woman, I wear lipstick, deal with it or I will take a hockey stick and beat you across the head with it. When Obama paints the picture of putting lipstick on a pig (very old political reference that just got twisted like a pigs tail), everyone in the country that heard Palin's hockey mom joke, makes the inside joke reference to Sarah Palin. Obama stuck his stupid foot in his mouth, if he's not smart enough to realize that and more importantly DEAL with it, he is going to lose this race and go down in history as one of the dumbest candidates ever, first to NOT pick Hillary (hindsight is 20/20 that's Obama's problem not historians problem) and second for not jumping up and performing damage control to surgically remove his stupid foot from his stupid mouth. THEN he needs to grab himself by the ear, and yell in that big ol' ear, "Hey Barry! You are saying some stupid shit and walking into some easily avoided Republican snares. Get your shit together and play like you remember how to win."



Glad I'm still undecided btw. :) Obama might as well have volunteers passing out promotional items on street corners like those guys in Las Vegas that hand out adult trading cards, for all the good its going to do him, if he continues to run his campaign like a fool.

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Movement to Get Congress to Start Working on Immigration Problems Again

It is true that we have many problems to confront in the United States today.  That said, you can bet that when Congress sees a lot of balls thrown into the air that need some juggling, Congress will run away first and go on vacation.  Well, immigration issues still confront the United States and we need reform now to encourage legal immigration and stop or discourage illegal immigration. Most people think of immigration issues and think about protecting American jobs in business, but they don't always consider some of the other problems involved with illegal immigration that harm both citizens of the US and illegal immigrants and their children.

 

Illegal Immigration has Many Dangers and Causes many problems

Population growth

Population growth which exceeds the carrying capacity of an area or environment results in overpopulation.[21] Spikes in human population can cause problems such as pollution, water crisis[22][23] and poverty.[24][25] World population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 6.6 billion today. In Mexico alone, population has grown from 13.6 million in 1900 to 107 million in 2007.[26]

In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the world's population was growing at the rate of 1.14% (or about 75 million people) per year. According to data from the CIA's 2005–2006 World Factbooks, the world human population currently increases by 203,800 every day.[27] The United States Census Bureau issued a revised forecast for world population that increased its projection for the year 2050 to above 9.4 billion people, up from 9.1 billion people. We are adding a billion more every 12 years. Almost all growth will take place in the less developed regions.[28]

Dangers

As with any illicit activity, illegal immigrants expose themselves to dangers while engaged in illegal entry to another country. Aside from the possibility that they may be intercepted and deported, some considerably more dangerous outcomes have been known to result from their activity. As an example, illegal immigrants may been trafficked for exploitation.

Slavery

After the end of the legal international slave trade by the European nations and the United States in the early 19th century, the illegal importation of slaves has continued, albeit at much reduced levels. Although not as common as in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, some women are undoubtedly smuggled into the United States and Canada.[29]

People been kidnapped or tricked into slavery to work as laborers, for example in factories. Those trafficked in this manner often face additional barriers to escaping slavery, since their status as illegal immigrants makes it difficult for them to gain access to help or services. For example Burmese women trafficked into Thailand and forced to work in factories or as prostitutes may not speak the language and may be vulnerable to abuse by police due to their illegal immigrant status.[30] In the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrant workers are sold into slavery on Dominican Sugar plantations, including children.[31][32]

Prostitution

The so-called "white slave trade" referred to the smuggling of women, almost always under duress or fraud, for the purpose of forced prostitution. Now more generically called "sexual slavery" it continues to be a problem, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East,[33][34][35] though there has been an increase in the number of cases in the U.S.[6] Some Haitian children have allegedly been forced to work as prostitutes in the Dominican sexual tourism industry.[36] Currently the Dominican sex trade ranks third in the world, only behind Thailand and the Philippines.[37]

Rape

The possibility of being raped has become a problem for some women illegally entering another country. “After the coyotes get the women across the [U.S.-Mexico] border, safely on U.S. soil, they gang rape them to show they have total control over them. They hang their panties in the trees as signs of the conquest. . . If the women are young and pretty, they are kept in houses of prostitution where they have to have their families buy them out or work their way out. Of course, none will testify to this because the coyotes know where they are from and can seek revenge on their families in Mexico."[citation needed]

Death

Allegations have been made that thousands of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe have died since 1986.

In order to arrive to the sea, the dangerous passage of the Sahara is necessary. People have crossed it on trucks and off-road vehicles along the tracks between Sudan, Chad, Niger and Mali one one side and Libya and Algeria on the other. On this passage at least 1,069 people have died since 1996. The Libyan, Algerian and Morocan Governments have been accused of abandoning hundreds of migrants in open desert border areas.

Abuse has been reported of migrants in Libya. There are not any official data, but in 2006 Human Rights Watch and AFVIC accused Tripoli of arbitrary arrests, beatings and tortures in the migrant detention centers,[citation needed] In September 2000 in Zawiyah, in northwest Libya, at least 560 foreigners were killed in racist attacks.[citation needed]

247 stowaways in trucks were found dead in Albania, France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary.

There are still minefields along the Evros river between the Greece-Turkey border.[citation needed]

Additionally, 51 people drowned crossing rivers delimiting the frontier between Croatia and Bosnia; Turkey and Greece; Slovakia and Austria; and Slovenia and Italy.[citation needed] Forty-one people froze to death travelling over the icy mountains at the border between Turkey, Greece and Slovakia;[citation needed] 20 people died under the trains in the Channel tunnel trying to reach England;[citation needed] 33 people were shot dead by Spanish and Moroccan police or injured along the border fence of Ceuta and Melilla Spanish enclaves in Morocco;[citation needed] 11 people burnt when a deportation center in the Netherlands caught fire;[citation needed] and eight men were found dead hidden in the undercarriages of planes.[citation needed]

Death by exposure is also known to occur in the deserts of Southwestern United States during the hot summer season.

~Wikpedia: Illegal Immigrations

The United States is not alone in experiencing this problem, but that does not mean we have to suffer a problem either due to inaction.

This is just to important of an issue for our Congressional leaders to ignore. They need to know how important this issue is for you, your family and our country. Act Now! Click to send a fax to your Congress man or woman and get them to act as well.

This is not a time for our leaders in the capital of Washington DC to do nothing on Immigration!

Biden's Freudian Slips Increasingly Deployed - Leutenant Governor Palin is a Governor

Joe Biden, whom I like quite a bit just not the full ticket, would have us believe that he is the master of the well place freudian slip.  He constantly seems to mis-speak in a way that degrades his opponent.

Here's what Biden said the other night after Governor Palin (not Lieutenant Governor Palin) gave an amazing speech.

"I heard a very, by the way I mean this sincerely, a very strong and a very good political speech from a lieutenant governor of Alaska who I think is going to be very formidable, very formidable not only in the campaign but in the debate," Biden said Thursday at an economic discussion at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia.

ABC News Blog

Here's Biden answering more questions about his responses to Governor Palin. He was full of praise as the day started, but he is slowly trying to find traction and stride against a very tough opponent."

Now Joe Biden definitely has a way of framing himself as an innocent when ever he screws up in a televised comment, such as the one last year where he made some inappropriate references to Barack Obama being a 'clean' candidate, intending to say fresh or something like that. 

That mistake sure didn't help him during the primaries, may have even cost him the primaries, but ultimately didn't send him away from politics to a life of selling picture frames.  No, he recovered and even managed through his charm and intelligence to get selected for the VP slot on the Obama ticket.  But how many times can he let his freudian cat out of the bag, before the accident starts to seem too much like a ploy.

Thompson and Lieberman and Some Bush 41

Having watched almost all of the footage from both conventions thus far, I have to say that other than Sen. Obama's acceptance speech, I was especially moved from the George H.W. Bush montage this evening. I really enjoyed the look on the 41st presidents face when they showed images of him as a young man in west Texas. 

I also enjoyed Fred Thompson's speech about Sen. McCain, it was interesting to learn what happened to that crazy old codger in Vietnam. I have to admit that it is fascinating to hear what Sen. McCain went through in that pit of hell and how he became the man he is today. I have more respect for him today than I ever had, but I don't trust him with a red-button, or Gov. Palin for that mater. 

And then Joe Lieberman took the microphone...

If there is still anyone out there who thinks of Joe Lieberman as a Democrat or Independent, has probably got some sort of wool over the eyes issues. Honestly, it felt like "I want to be Secretary of Something cronyism" to me. 

Overall, I think that the speeches were effective for the moment. The GOP has a product that is difficult to sell right now, so they are trying to change up their merchandising. I like their idea about focusing on a heroic candidate and uniting behind specific social issues. This will be the strong point for the GOP, this should help to solidify their base.

 When the Republicans give you a lemon, you make lemonade.  

Republicans & Democrats Have Both Failed Us

Republicans and Democrats both continue to fail New Orleans and the country.

I just watched Senator Dodd (d) field a question on cnn. He was asked if the federal government was ready for Hurricane Gustav.

His answer, I don't know and I hope so.

Democrats are complete morons and failures for not holding the President accountable for Katrina and impeaching George W Bush.

Congress should know up or down whether or not the Government response to Gustav is prepared and ready and they don't.

Democrats wonder why their Congressional approval rating is hovering around 19% (a few points lower than George W Bush's). Its because, Congress is the levee of the American people against a bad President. Our levee in Congress failed us several times over before Katrina ever hit. Katrina did hit, and we voted to shore up the Congressional levee, and the new Congressional levee led by Nancy "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi failed us even more, is failing us right now, right this minute, and any lives lost in Gustav is more the fault of Democrats in Congress than it is President Bush.

WE AMERICANS KNEW IN 2006, THAT 'W' WAS AN INCOMPETENT MORON. WE AMERICANS TOOK ACTION TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT IN 2006, AND THE CHAMPIONS WE CHOSE IN 2006 NOT ONLY FAILED US, BUT CHOSE NOT TO FIGHT FOR US AT ALL.

As a side note, any photo op that McCain/Palin engage in (kind of silly to trash them for something that they haven't done yet) is not really the problem.

The problem is that we have 3 of 4 of the candidates for President and Vice President that have failed to act to remove George W Bush from office.

Obama could have exercised some good judgment and fought to impeach George W Bush. Obama failed to do that and failed the American people.

Biden could have exercised some good judgment and fought to impeach George W Bush. Biden failed to do that and failed the American people.

McCain could have exercised some good judgment and fought to impeach George W Bush. McCain failed to do that and failed the American people.

So as I see it, all three have blood on their hands, and if more lives are lost due to Gustav, their fault is only going to be greater.

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These guys are all quick to seize a political advantage whether its throwing a verbal jab at each other, or finding a better make up application technique or even a acne treatment to keep their kids and spouses looking good for the camera, but they never seemed to have the fortitude to take action where and when it mattered.

Comparing Days in Office Obama v. Palin

I'm not saying that Palin has more or less experience than Obama, as far as being President/VP goes, I think they are both lacking in experience.

That said here are the details of the length of their political experience in an actual office requiring an election so everyone can draw their own conclusions.

*Caveat Palin has 365 days of experience serving as an appointee of the Governor of Alaska responsible for $1.3 trillion in oil, no election required, similar to a cabinet position at a state level.

**Caveat Obama is running for President, Palin is running for Vice President, Obviously if Obama is compared to McCain (also running for President) this time comparison of experience would not be remotely close.

*** Caveat Obama has spent 575 of his 1336 days as a Senator campaigning around the country for the office of President. He served 761 days as Senator before starting his campaign for President compared to Palin's 634 days served as Governor before running for Vice President.

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Now, all this comparison of days served has some meaning, but is definitely not the only fact that will drive voters to the polls. I only point it out here to try and remove a little of the exaggeration that is being bandied about by the press and talking heads and people that have more gold watches than common sense.

McCain Plucks $7 Million in Contributions by Picking Palin

Early signs are that people, possibly conservatives, really like McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.  His campaign added $7 million to the campaign savings accounts shortly after the choice was announced publicly.

Sen. John McCain has taken in $7 million in contributions since announcing Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, a top campaign aide said today.

The money bounce may owe to Palin's appeal with conservative donors, many of whom said privately they had planned on sitting out the campaign this year. The money comes in just under the wire -- after McCain accepts the GOP nomination Thursday, he will accept public funds and no longer be permitted to raise private money for the campaign.

That will not, however, stop McCain and Palin from raising money for the Republican National Committee. In coming weeks, McCain will host four megafundraising events in major cities aimed at bolstering the accounts of the party. Palin, meanwhile, will be sent out to headline more than a dozen fundraising events for the RNC.

Shortly before Palin's announcement, one senior RNC official said McCain's pick "better like doing fundraising."

Like almost everything else she does, hosting these events will be something of a new experience for Palin. When running for governor of Alaska in 2006, Palin raised a total of just $468,400.

Source: Washington Post

So at best, Palin can help bring in contributions for the RNC, while McCain plays it safe or desperate depending on your perspective taking public funds, while Barack Obama marches towards a billion dollar campaign.

The McCain/Palin ticket and 'limited government'

It doesn't take eyeglasses to see that this image has been photoshopped, but it does none-the-less make a valid point. Anyone that seriously considers John McCain has to consider the potential of Governor Sarah Palin to jump in and take over the United States Executive Branch at a moments notice.

I found the below comment earlier today, and it likely reflects some of the perspective and tone that John McCain will have to face in the future. The question though will be one of can Democrats or Obama supporters get away with making vagina jokes about a Vice Presidential candidate without eventually upsetting women across the country and even women within their own base, still reeling from the over looking of their own female candidate.

What does Log Cabin Republican support of this ticket say about support by gay conservative men for the individual rights of women? Sarah Palin does not believe in reproductive freedom, and doesn't believe in equal pay for equal work (like their man McCain). This is troubling. Does limited government only extend to those without vaginas? Image via Jesus' General. http://tinyurl.com/6dgewd

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Who Runs Barter Town?

Two words, Sarah Palin. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea who this woman was, now after one day, I feel as though I've spent a lifetime with her. Rumor has it, John McCain may have even known less than I did about Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. According to MSNBC, Sen. McCain had only ever met with her once back in the early primary season. I have to wonder if he even knew back then that she would be his running mate.

The real question on most people's mind is what will this mean on the campaign trail. It would appear that Gov. Palin's limited experience and exposure may inhibit the McCain campaign from attacking Sen. Obama's perceived lack of the aforementioned. 

My big question is how is Gov. Palin going to fare in a debate with Sen. Biden? I think she'll be able to hold her own, but going up against a seasoned veteran like Biden could be interesting. As for Obama and McCain, I suspect that could go either way depending on the setting and moderator. 

Finally my top 3 facts I didn't know about Gov. Sarah Palin until today:

1. Sarah Palin was in a photo shoot for Vogue Magazine
2. Sarah Palin is a hardcore outdoorswoman (apparently according to spellcheck she can't be).
3. Sarah Palin has spent even less time in government than Barack Obama.

Barack Obama Kissed Mrs. Biden on the Lips!

I found this amusing image and post at Utterz. I don't truly think much of this incident, but having watched it myself, it was rather unexpected, obvious and funny. Mrs. Biden seemed rather surprised to and it sure wasn't for having seen some acne up close and personal on Barack, but from the heavy smack on the lips he landed with her.

And if that wasn't enough, he then invited all these lovely young ladies on stage and proceeded to kiss them! Man, I wanna be president now!!!

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Is Election Rule Karma Going to Eat Obama Alive?

For any of you that have viewed Obama's political history, you might find some irony in the tale of Barack Obama's tactics at winning his first election to State Senate in Illinois.

He did not win the election by going head to head in the primaries with fellow Democrats. Instead he relied on election rules to have his Democratic challengers thrown off the ballot, which is what the former Attorney General of Pennsylvania is now trying to do to Obama before he can become the DNC nominee officially.

By kicking other Democrats out of the race, so that he could proceed unimpeded in Chicago, he may have negatively charged his karma. This lawsuit could possibly be a universal reach around come back to grab Obama and jerk him out of the race, or it might even be simple political revenge of friends damaged by Obama's tactics even.

_________

Quote from CNN article http://www.cnn.com/…index.html

" In his first race for office, seeking a state Senate seat on Chicago's gritty South Side in 1996, Obama effectively used election rules to eliminate his Democratic competition.

As a community organizer, he had helped register thousands of voters. But when it came time to run for office, he employed Chicago rules to invalidate the voting petition signatures of three of his challengers.

Obama's past battles

See how Barack Obama has used election rules to his advantage during his political career on AC 360.

Tonight, 10 p.m ET

see full schedule »

The move denied each of them, including incumbent Alice Palmer, a longtime Chicago activist, a place on the ballot. It cleared the way for Obama to run unopposed on the Democratic ticket in a heavily Democrat district.

"That was Chicago politics," said John Kass, a veteran Chicago Tribune columnist. "Knock out your opposition, challenge their petitions, destroy your enemy, right? It is how Barack Obama destroyed his enemies back in 1996 that conflicts with his message today. He may have gotten his start registering thousands of voters. But in that first race, he made sure voters had just one choice."

_____________

For the detailed account of this story, read the Sun Times article

http://www.chicagotribune.com/…3097.story

It's one thing to win the popular vote, and quite another to win on a technicality sending your opponents in your own party back to work selling office supplies or clerking somewhere.

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Biden's Obama's Guy - Will Voter's Respond to the Cheney Play Again?

Barack Obama has stolen yet another play out of the George W Bush play book, proving that Democrats are even more like Republicans than anyone would really like. Last night at 3 AM, the Obama campaign announced that Joseph Biden, the Sen. from Delaware, would become the vice presidential candidate of the Obama ticket.

Just like George Bush in 1999, Barack Obama realized that people still think he's inexperienced, and frankly he is very inexperienced. In fact he's probably more inexperienced than George W. Bush was in 1999. George W. Bush at least had the experience to run the state of Texas, and to run several businesses into the ground. Back then George W. Bush decided that he needed someone with successful experience to balance out his own ticket and chose Dick Cheney to be his CEO of the White House.

Well Barack Obama, who shares far more similarities to George W. Bush than any candidate that has run for president this year, realize that voters saw his inexperience as well and chose his own CEO for the White House and Sen. Joseph Biden. Joe Biden failed to make it very far in the Democratic primary earlier in the year when he was unable to raise more than a few million dollars. He is widely recognized as having significant amounts of experience in foreign policy. Plus Biden brings to the ticket a couple things that Barack Obama and his campaign are lacking in the form of a blue-collar Irish background.

So here's the real question which you will not see on CNN, not even in closed captioning. This is the question that people should be asking about the new Obama Biden ticket. Do we need another inexperienced chairman running the White House within over experienced CEO possibly stealing the show. We've seen just how corrupt policy can be when a CEO is not answerable to Congress. Do we want another weak leader in the top office run by his subordinate.

The Fiasco that is US - Russian Relations

Some few years ago, President Bush hired one of the leading experts in the world on Russian affairs to be his Secretary of State (she was rebounding after a troubled job running a war in the middle east).  At the same time, he took a trip and spent some time with a former KGB officer turned President of Russia, where George Bush was able to look his counter part in the eye and delve deep into his soul and find a man he could understand.

He thought he had found a man that he could trust, but instead he apparently didn't realize that he had found a man that would invade a country under false pretenses, justify the invasion with propaganda and then drive up the price of oil as a result of the turmoil generated from the invasion. 

In fact, President Bush did see into the soul of Vladimir Putin, he did see a man that he could relate to, and in fact he found a man just like himself.  The only thing is that he never had a good read on himself either.  Its no wonder that George W Bush did so poorly in banking.  I guess we can only be thankful that he did not go into futures trading and eventually become the head of the Federal Reserve, possibly the one other position besides President of the United States where he could actually do even more damage through incompetence.

In True Soprano's Fashion, Russian Foreign Minister says "Forget about it!"

It looks like Cold War 2 is now underway in the caucuses, and you can bet unlike a leering Putin, the United States isn't taking it sitting down. After the Russian Foreign Minister announced that Georgia could forget about retaining its two breakaway provinces, as the French-brokered-cease-fire would insist, the United States has dispatched secretary of doom Condoleeza Rice to Tblisi the Georgian capital.

So far, not even Russia seems to know what they are doing so far into Georgian territory. In fact, the Russian forces have occupied nearly 1/3rd of the nation, and despite Prime Minister Putin's claim of a withdrawal, the Russian forces are within reach of the provincial city of Kutaisi (just outside Tbilisi). The French-brokered-cease-fire insisted on Russia's withdrawal to August 1st lines, which would place South Ossetia and Abkhazia back within Georgia's border. At this time, it doesn't appear that Russia is going to let go of the gains made in the last few days. 

In addition to appearing as a reunification of former Soviet states, this land grab has netted Russia a strategic hold on 3 of the major sweet crude pipelines flowing from the Caspian. Wit the aforementioned pipelines closed down, it is unclear as to whether or not this battle will effect global markets.

The United States relief effort began on Tuesday as C-130's delivered pallets of food and water as well as medical supplies and applications for entry into NATO. While all this has been going on, Poland has agreed to house an American missile defense battery on their soil, further chilling relations with the Russian government.