Right As Usual

Anyone besides me old enough to remember the phrase that Rep, Shirley Chisholm used when she ran for the Vice-Presidency? Unbought & Unbossed Well, that DOESN'T describe Sen. Clinton, who traded a pay-off of her unpaid campaign debt - over $20 million - for her smiling and twinkly support of Sen. Barack Obama. [why do I feel the need to use both names? Surely no one could mistake him for some OTHER Obama. But I still do it - madness.] The report below says PART of her debt - bet she gets it all.

This is priceless! Barack is asking for even more money - because John McCain (and the Shadowy group behind him) are so loaded. Here's the text copy of the video appeal from David Plouffe . I checked - the RNC, in fact, has more money than the DNC. It appears that Barack burnt through much of the money he raised so far ( via The Moderate Voice . Based on the numbers so far, the Republican Party appears poised to act as the financial equalizer in the fall campaign. The RNC disclosed that it ended May with $53.5 million in the bank, compared to $3.9 million for the Democratic National Committee, which is headed by Howard Dean. McCain, an Arizona senator, had $31.6 million as of May 31, compared with $33.3 million for Obama, Federal Election Commission records show. The RNC had $53.5 million to just under $4 million for the Democrats. The party committees act as shadow campaigns, concentrating their efforts on backing the presidential candidates. Don't get over-confident - the ...

I've been hearing about declines in China's foreign exports - particularly in the area of finished products. Clothing is growing, but at a slower pace. Toys, not unexpectedly, are down. Tea is up - well, that mirrors my experience. This year, my husband and I discovered Teavana, a high-end loose tea shop. VERY pricy, but the tea is also VERY good. I'll be checking out some online tea sources this month - if they're comparable, but less money, I'll post about that.

I found this reference to a meeting of world leaders conferencing about the Mideast. Condi looks tired - I would imagine she feels under pressure to achieve some milestone that marks her place in history.

I found this little gem on Ann Althouse's blog . I come from a long line of people who endured tough times; my paternal grandmother was widowed young, with 7 kids to support. THAT was tough - today's single moms have a cakewalk, by comparison. That's true of many difficult situations, today. If you think you've got it tough, imagine living even 50 years ago in the same circumstances. Then get down on your knees, and thank God you're living in modern times.

I found this post on Megan McArdle , and thought it was a CLASSIC: It would be nice if I were right about absolutely everything--so right that anyone who disagrees with me must be doing so from vicious ulterior motives. But I have friends across the political spectrum, and frankly, I haven't noticed any clustering of personal virtue. Not among the liberals, nor the conservatives, nor even the libertarians so dear to my own heart. Life is complicated; we're all groping in the dark. Don't fail to read the entire thing - including comments. The comments are precious!

I'm sitting here in SC, in summer (average temperature for the month of June is in the mid-90s). About 2-10 times a day, a power surge kicks in. Or as my husband says, FLAME ON! So, why is the Human Torch a young male, instead of a middle-aged woman?

After a long absence, I'm back to posting the weekly videos. This week's video.

I did rouse myself from my lazy stupor to find an interesting story about a private school in Lawrence, MA. In that city, only 4 out of 10 students graduate on time. One aspect of this school leaps out - it's single-sex (girls). I'd love to see more schools adopt the separation of genders during upper elementary and middle school years. They need the concentration on studies during those years to develop as scholars, not "playas".

The Obama campaign is playing hardball with Joh McCain. They are suggesting that age is making him not capable of the job. The AP quotes the McCain campaign's response: McCain's campaign admits that some may be concerned about his age, and for that reason, his choice of a VP is critical. But, that's true of EVERY presidential candidate - no matter how young (remember JFK?), presidents may not survive their term. I just checked on iGoogle - how come the same people that think John McCain is too old at 71 have no problem with Ralph Nader - age 74? I tested out both men with the Death Clock John McCain - height 5' 7" - weight 160 - non-smoker Predicted date of death - Monday, August 22, 2033 - in an optimistic mode Barack Obama - height 6' 1/2" - weight - smoker (yeah, I know he has said he's quit, but I know that he's also been caught recently) Predicted date of death - Wednesday, October 31, 2040 - also in an optimistic mode The difference isn...

I've been goofing off earnestly searching for time- money- and life-saving tips, and found this post: Just as a little background, Celebrity Fit Factor is a show where 8 overweight celebrities sign up for an 8-week challenge to lose weight and get in shape. They go through all kinds of physical challenges, split into two teams. Well, one of the worst competitors in Season 6 was Dustin, who really couldn’t complete any of the challenges because of various reasons — injuries, out of breath, just didn’t have it in him. One week, he didn’t even show up. Another week, he was calling his lawyer because the boot camp drill sargeant was calling him names. And the whole time, Dustin went on and on about how he was being picked on, how nobody was backing him up, how everybody was against him. I kept wanting to yell at the TV: “Wake up Dustin — you’re responsible for your situation! Nobody likes you because of your actions and attitude!” I started thinking of this in the context of the SSM ...

Instead of madly dashing around, trying to come up with good posts in a timely fashion, I've decided to de-stress myself this summer, by using the Draft Blogger function . It looks a little different at the sign-on screen, but otherwise functions just like Blogger. The major difference is that you can use it to test out the Post Later function. As I will be traveling for a week or so at a time, and I can't vouch for the existence or quality of Internet connections at each stop, I'll be using the pre-post setup, to ensure that my posts are reasonably spaced out, no matter when written. Think of it as the Lazy Blogger's Summer Pace.

I'm using Draft Blogger to test out whether it works for setting up future posts. If you can read this before 2:00 pm, Eastern time, it didn't work - let me know if that's the case.

I ran across this article about CA's legalization of "medical marijuana" laws. I put the quotes in there, because it's a B^!!$#&@ way to get public approval of the issue - FEW of the users and growers have medical conditions.

This morning, the Internet went out. When the serviceman came, he informed us that the cable had fried, and that we needed to get an electrician here to make some repairs. That took a few hours to get someone in - fortunately, they had some open time. That bill will be about $1200. Yeah. Because of the repairs, the phone, security system, Internet, and A/C were out most of the day. With temperatures in the 90's, this was not the best day we've had. Fortunately, everything is back in operation now.

I'm watching Bill O'Reilly, and he tags Laura Bush as a "Patriot" for her kind defense of Michelle Obama's remarks. I can't agree. Laura doesn't qualify as a patriot for her remarks; to me, the word Patriot implies an action that is protective of our country. What she is, is a tremendously kind and gracious woman. It was an example of courtesy and class that Michelle Obama would do well to emulate. But that's not likely.

I ran across this article about CA's legalization of "medical marijuana" laws. I put the quotes in there, because it's a B^!!$#&@ way to get public approval of the issue - FEW of the users and growers have medical conditions. Drew Carey is one of the vocal supporters - hey, Drew, been getting the munchies too often lately? You're beginning to look like Shamu - AFTER she OD'd on pot. This is one of my favorite soapboxes. The legalization crowd is a mixture of overgrown Deadheads, Libertarians, commercial pot growers, sophomores (both HS and college), and naives. The arguments, to them, sound so straightforward - just legalize the growing and use of small amounts for medical conditions, and the drug problem is solved. Simple, heh? Not as simple as those who buy this nonsense. Folks, there is no easy solution to the drug problem. Legalization just allows the "first-rung" user to escape the consequences of their decision to break the law. The m...

I found this at the Physics Geek . Click on it ONLY if you love puns.

I'm out of school for the summer, and, right now, on vacation. I'll post when I feel like it. There's a lot of buzz on the Internet about Michelle Obama, and a picture showing her posing with Minister Farrakhan. Meh. It looks like many pictures of a group of people. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are BFF. Many public figures have similar pictures with notorious people.