Bulb

CFLs or Compact fluorescent lights, you know the "curly bulbs" that are all the rage.  Legislation was passed that phases out all incandescent lighting by 2012.  The problem?  You can't just throw them away in some states and I'm sure other states will be passing laws that prohibit public disposal.  If so you will need to schedule a Non-Hazardous Waste pickup and a EPA Bill of Lading Manifest will need to be completed before the pickup.  Another option is transporting the waste to a local recycling center.  Also, did you know if one breaks you are supposed to evacuate the entire room for 15 minutes and close off any ventilation.  Wait that's not all... if you live in an apartment building you are supposed to call maintenance to turn off the air conditioning if you break one of those bulbs.  I would like to listen in on that phone call.  The EPA has dedicated a page to those wonderful new squiggly bulbs and thermometers; as a bonus they also list things you should never do when cleaning up a broken lightbulb.

I'm going to copy and paste from the EPA site their instructions for how to clean up and dispose of a CFL. I'm also posting the information on what never to do.  The link to the EPA webpage with the full information is at the bottom of the page and in the link above.  This is information that every American should be required to know.  If you have children or pets I wouldn't put one in any lamp that could accidently get knocked over.

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal below.

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum (? see below what not to do) the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup. (Unless you live in a state that prohibits public disposal)
  
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Now for the instructions on WHAT NOT TO DO.

What Never to Do with a Mercury Spill

• Never use a vacuum (? see what to do) cleaner to clean up mercury.  The vacuum will put mercury into the air and increase exposure.

• Never use a broom to clean up mercury. It will break the mercury into smaller droplets and spread them.

• Never pour mercury down a drain. It may lodge in the plumbing and cause future problems during plumbing repairs. If discharged, it can cause pollution of the septic tank or sewage treatment plant.

• Never wash clothing or other items that have come in direct contact with mercury in a washing machine, because mercury may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage. Clothing that has come into direct contact with mercury should be discarded. By "direct contact," we mean that mercury was (or has been) spilled directly on the clothing. For example:
  • if you broke a mercury thermometer and some of elemental mercury beads came in contact with your clothing, or
  • if you broke a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) so that broken glass and other material from the bulb, including mercury-containing powder, came into contact with your clothing.

  You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, like the clothing you happened to be wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.

• Never walk around if your shoes might be contaminated with mercury. Contaminated clothing can also spread mercury around.

Here's the Link the full page on the EPA site:  Mercury spills, disposal and site cleanup.

Got all that? now go get green and think how lucky we are that Corporate America lobbyist are so environmentally friendly.

Now don't you feel better about what a great job the people in charge are doing about finding things to help us "folks" be green.  I hate the word folks, when used by politicians, we are people. (I also hate the word troops they are soldiers, a soldier dies not a troop... but that's another post for another day...

By 2012 everyone will be using these lighs.  One broken bulb or one burnt out bulb being disposed of improperly is no big deal but remember by 2012 all incandescent lignting is going to be phased out.  Millions of Americans will be disposing of these bulbs minus any kind of regulated control.  Think about it.

We have to find a better way.  Yea... this is receiving my "I'm Just Saying" tag.

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When Americans are canceling vacations because gasoline is over $4.00 per gallon, Democrats plan to adjourn work for a month-long vacation the first of August WITHOUT holding a vote to drill for American oil.
I know you’ll agree with me that there should be no recess without voting on legislation that can help lower gas prices.

No wonder the new Gallup Poll today that shows Congress’s approval rating has slipped to an all-time low of 14%. It’s not hard to figure out why.

The Democrat Majority in Congress is putting their extremist ideology, their hatred of the President, and the interests of the extreme left wing whack job enviro-nazis, ahead of common-sense solutions to make the United States a producer of petroleum rather than a purchaser, bring down the price of gas and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources in unstable regimes who would like nothing better than to see us (Western Civilization) vanish from the face of the planet without a trace.

While I'm not one to deliberately poke a hornets' nest, (trust me, been there done that, literally) this situation is fixable with enough prodding.

The NRCC has a petition and is asking us to do the following:

1. Send a strong message to Pelosi and the Democrat majority to vote now. Sign the online petition demanding Congress take immediate action to lower gas prices before taking their vacation. You can sign the petition by clicking on the following link --
   http://www.nrcc.org/actioncenter/default.asp?ID=288
   

2. Help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your email list!
   

I hope you join our efforts to force the Democrat leadership to vote and lower gas prices today!

The NRCC is going to ask you for a donation. You can give or not, I don't care. I help individual candidates, not organizations, at this particular point in the process. Just letting ya'll know I'm not shilling for the NRCC,

I'm shilling for America.

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Bush Says Drill, Drill, Drill — and Oil Drops $9 

In a dramatic move Monday President Bush removed the executive-branch moratorium on offshore drilling. Tuesday, at a news conference, Bush repeated his new position, and slammed the Democratic Congress for not removing the congressional moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere. Crude-oil futures for August delivery plunged $9.26, or 6.3 percent, almost immediately as Bush was speaking, bringing the barrel price down to $136.

Now isn’t this interesting?

Democrats keep saying that it will take 10 years or longer to produce oil from the offshore areas. And they say that oil prices won’t decline for at least that long. And they, along with Obama and McCain, bash so-called oil speculators. And today we had a real-world example as to why they are wrong. All of them. Reid, Pelosi, Obama, McCain — all of them.

Traders took a look at a feisty and aggressive George Bush and started selling the market well before a single new drop of oil has been lifted. What does this tell us? Well, if Congress moves to seal the deal, oil prices will probably keep on falling. That’s the way traders work. They discount the future. Psychology and expectations can turn on a dime.

The congressional ban on offshore drilling expires September 30, so that becomes a key date. A new report from Wall Street research house Sanford C. Bernstein says that California actually could start producing new oil within one year if the moratorium were lifted. The California oil is under shallow water and already has been explored. Drilling platforms have been in place since before the moratorium. They’re talking about 10 billion barrels worth off the coast of California.

There’s also a “gang of 10” in the Senate, five Republicans and five Democrats, that is trying to work a compromise deal on lifting the moratorium. So it’s possible a lot of action on this front could occur much sooner than people seem to think.

So I repeat: Drill, drill, drill. Deregulate, decontrol, and unleash the American energy industry.

Those hated traders will then keep selling oil as the laws of supply and demand and free markets keep working.

Bravo for Bush. Bravo for the traders.

Maybe the do-nothing Congress will continue to be do-nothing and do nothing about the expiration.

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Mr. Bush and the republican propaganda machine have gone out there into the defiant dictatorship realm again lifted an executive order banning offshore drilling.  While it will still take a vote of congress to change the policy, it’s just another example of how the Bush Administration and everyone that is associated with it thinks they’re above the law.  If you think a ‘No’ vote from Congress will stop them, I have a lovely reserve in Alaska I’d like to sell you.  (”Subpoenas?  Ha, those are for mortals.  Comment on the record and under oath?  Never!  Release documentation with proof about what we’re telling you?  Absolutely not!  We have national security to think about!”)  Since that doesn’t seem to cause enough outrage in the American public to take action and standup for ourselves, I’m not sure anything will.  I think a different approach needs to be taken to get “Middle America” to act.   If we’re going to get thru and make them understand how important it is that we throw all our preconceived notions about energy out the door and adopt a whole new way of thinking, we’ll need to speak in a language they’ll appreciate…”Tough Talk.”  So, I’ve taken the liberty of altering some popular action movie quotes to make alternative energy seem tougher and more attractive to “Middle America”;  ”If you’re going to drill, drill…but don’t talk.”, “You call that and energy policy?  That’s not an energy policy. (Pull out clean, renewable energy solution) This is an energy policy.”, or we can just go to the old stand by, “Yippie Kayay Mother#*&^@%.”    I know that last one wasn’t altered, but it just seems to be so effective, and who’s more relatable and American than Officer John McLane?  Seriously though, opening up more offshore drilling isn’t going to lower the price at the pump, not now, not ever.  It’s not going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil because all the oil drilled in the world goes into a massive distribution center where it’s traded at market values.  It won’t go straight from the drill in Alaska to your corner gas station.  What it will do, is put more of the general public’s money, our money, into the oil companies bank accounts and give the republicans talking points in an election year saying how the Democrats refuse to act.  (The Democrats don’t refuse to act, they just don’t follow thru, no refusal needed)  What they’re not telling you while they “ask” for the ability to open up more drilling, is that the oil companies aren’t even using all the resources they currently have at their disposal.  If they were so worried about supply and lowering the price at the pump, they would have opened up production on all of those inactive facilities first…then talked about more drilling.  If they were so worried about American energy independence, they would be talking about research and development into sources of renewable energy other than oil (ethanol is not the answer).  If they were so worried about the environment…oh wait, they aren’t…but if they were, they’d be talking about clean energy solutions.  They’re not doing any of that.  Why?  Because they’d have to spend some of that precious money they’re stock piling and taking away from us.  They’re greedy, they’re stuffing their mouths and lining their pockets with your money while you’re struggling to figure out how to pay for groceries and pay at the pump.  They’re trying to trick you into thinking they want to help you by saying we need more drilling.  If they do that, they’re just going to take more of your money (and your land) so they can use it as toilet paper.  The public needs to demand a change, and they need to make the Bush administration, the republicans, and the Democrats understand that they’re supposed to act in our best interests, not the oil companies.  If we’re going to get “Middle America” on our side, we should adopt “Tough Talk” about energy.  If that doesn’t work, we could always get “Middle America” to demand an energy change by asking our gay friends to drive away in SUV’s with “Just Married” written on the back towing cans of oil after they get hitched…that will probably get them off their butts.

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LYING OBAMA

Man I have to tell you that Barack Hussein Obama is as awesome a Democrat as any other.

How can you say this you may ask?

BHO has teamed up with Newsweek to revise his Church attendance history so that the GOP will look like liars when they say BHO was mentored, associated with and socialized with black supremacist racists like Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan.

Yep, that is a typical awesomely lying Democrat.

JRH 7/14/08

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Puma

I hope some one on the McCain Campaign is smart enough to take advantage of the Barack Hussein Obama guilt by association, flawed experience and the hatorade of the Hillary Democrats. If the GOP puts the right formula together the Black Supremacist loving Left Wing Obama will lose easily.

With Democrats like Party Unity My Ass (PUMA) and Just Say No Deal working against Obama, certainly the GOP can put a winning formula together to keep the fringe Left out of the White House.

PUMA and Just Say No Deal have raised millions to aid in paying off Hillary’s campaign debt. I am guessing they believe that will Hillary off the hook in supporting Obama.

Go Democratic Party Civil War.

JRH 7/13/08

PUMA Dems

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“Be patient, this gets amazing” (www.thedailyshow.com).  Recently The Daily Show ran a segment with that name about how the Bush administration avoided implementing EPA recommendations on global warming by refusing to open the email.  This week Dubya et al managed to top that.

It seems there have been many disagreements between the White House and the EPA.  The EPA wanted to deal with global warming but Dubya did not (what does he do most days?  I don’t think he spends his time working or reading.)

In April 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has a duty to regulate greenhouse gasses ‘if they pose a threat to people’s health.”  Part of that email that the White House refused to open was a finding that the greenhouse gases do just that.  http://news.cnet.com/Supreme-Court-rules-EPA-can-regulate-greenhouse-gases/2100-11746_3-6172658.html?hhTest=1    When the White House finally got around to reading the EPA’s revised proposal, it was too expensive.  The EPA tried again and issued a report on the damaging effects of global warming but stopped short of implementing its own recommendations because Dubya thought they cost too much.  Rather than do anything, Dubya has decided the government needs more information and has started a ‘comment period’ that will continue for the rest of his presidency.  I thought Republicans liked responsibility.  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-greenhouse12-2008jul12,0,2024839.story

There are lots of theories about why this administration has done so much to do so little.  I think it is just because it is an issue they don’t care about.  If you look at the White House web site, global warming doesn’t even rate as one of the issues they care about.  Search for the subject and there are few times Dubya has talked about it.

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• In 2004 41.4% of Georgia voters voted for Obama John Kerry. Those voters will go Obama.

• Most of the newly registered will vote Obama. The state Democrats are working hard to register new voters and get them to the polls.
  

• Most independents will vote Obama.

• At least 5% of the GOP will vote for Georgian (Libertarian Party Candidate) Bob Barr or stay home.

• Then there are the Obamacans...Republicans for Obama.
  

It’ll be close. We have our right wingnuts here who want you to believe it can't happen. Who are they trying to fool? Themselves maybe.

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Add it to the list.

White House in climate change "cover up"-Sen Boxer
Tue Jul 8, 2008 2:36pm EDT
By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - A leading U.S. Senate Democrat accused the Bush administration on Tuesday of a "cover-up" aimed at stopping the Environmental Protection Agency from tackling greenhouse emissions.

"This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the office of the vice president," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

At issue is a preliminary finding by the EPA last December that "greenhouse gases may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare," according to Jason Burnett, the agency's former associate deputy administrator who appeared at a news conference with Boxer.

Such a finding would be an early step toward government regulation aimed at protecting public health.

Burnett, who resigned on June 9, told Boxer's committee the White House tried pressuring him to retract an e-mail om which he detailed the finding. Burnett said he refused.

Boxer said that unless EPA documents were released, it was likely that within the next two weeks her committee would try to subpoena the material. She did not know whether Republicans on the panel would block the effort...

Full Story Here

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BHO Poison for USA

I don’t know who D.R. Tucker is but I sure enjoy how he breaks down the Barack Hussein Obama campaign for President.

JRH 7/6/08

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There Bush and those Republicans go again. Go after seniors on fixed incomes. Smart move guys. Say goodbye soon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, accused Republicans of putting seniors and military families at risk by siding with President Bush against a measure to prevent Medicare cuts.

Durbin, D-Ill., used a Saturday national radio address to call on Republicans to back the bill to stave off a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

It passed the House overwhelmingly last week in defiance of Bush's threat to veto it, but it fell just one vote short of the 60 it needed to advance in the Senate, with most Republicans voting "no."

"It's time for the Republican senators who are filibustering this measure to put our seniors and our military families ahead of private insurance companies and let the Senate pass this bill as soon as possible," Durbin said.

Bush and Senate Republicans don't like the bill because it includes offsetting cuts to insurance companies that use Medicare money to offer private health care coverage to about 20 percent of seniors. [AP]

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Maybe it is because of the Bataan death march quality of the 2008 Democratic primary process (seriously, over a year of it?  WTF?) that lulled our press into just expecting political news to fall into their laps but now they have gone back to their really lazy ways.  Yes, the national press corps are lazy.  Their job is both 'glamorous' and crappy at the same time.  Political reporters are herded around from campaign event to campaign event where they cover the same speech until they can repeat it themselves.  Back in Washington, DC (and elsewhere) pundits, spoiled from the primary, need to drum up controversy to attract viewers and make themselves feel relevant. 

When Senator Obama said he was going to bring the troops home as soon as he got in and put the timetable out there I think most people with a brain understood that the specifics of the timetable were never written in stone.  Any president is going to have some leeway in terms of how to end a war.  Remember the two most dangerous points of any armed conflict are getting in and getting out.  The big deal about Obama's position is his commitment to getting out or Iraq. To harp on the date we get misses the point.

Our media are there to keep our government honest and should call a candidate, or elected official, out when they go back on a promise but this is not that.  Our press today prefers the horserace to substance and recent coverage just proves that point.

Thank god for the Daily Show and Jon Stewart.

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So what do we do now?  Without clear reason, gas prices have risen to an intolerable level.  In these times, you see what individuals and cluture as a whole are made of.  Our culture, as I heard one pundit on the radio proclaim is "soft".  We are soft because we are doing nothing at all while the powers that be victimize us as they grow richer and more powerful.  The world tallest skyscraper?  Not the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower.  It's a new building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Besides steel and glass, this construction was built with money, oil money.  More precisely, OUR oil money.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  It IS  bad thing when the greed of these barons makes it difficult for us to lead our normal lives.  People are sympathetic to the free market and its ups and downs.  America is great because business can be free to compete and profit by the laws of a free market economy.  However, there are some flies in the Vaseline here.  Prices for oil have increased at a rate that is unnatural.  Further, we are being blocked out of drilling in our own plentiful oil fields by OUR OWN PEOPLE!  Liberals are dead set against drilling offshore and in places like ANWR (ann-warr) where we have enough oil to power approximately 80 million cars for almost 100 years.  Wouldn't this be a wonderful cushion?  A vast amount of time to discover and develop alternative energy sources without having to cower to the Middle East.  The US could be much more energy independent and have control of the price at the pump in our own country.  At least, if a disaster like this were to recur we would, as Americans, have the power to vote out the offenders and replace them with new leaders.  There would be accountability here at home.  As it is now, we would have to write a letter to some tough guy in the Middle East pleading our case.  This may not be as effective as the awesome American electorate and democracy.

I know that this is a touchy issue.  However, the answers seem to be right there for us.  In fact, I truly believe that the Middle East, nay the WORLD, is looking at us and scratching their heads.  The impact of self-destructive liberalism has befuddled them as well.  We should be more energy independent.  ANWR looks like the surface of the Moon.  Let’s drill here and make our lives better and less dependent on the extremists.  Drilling is a dirty business.  But isn’t it worse to be so affected by greedy warmongers?  I hope that we can begin a true discourse on this topic and organize a group that would make the Founding Fathers proud.  They wouldn’t approve of this.  I don’t approve of this.  Liberals DO approve of this.  So please, let’s do our best to empower our government to educate the liberals about the consequences of the “over my dead body” approach to preservation in ANWR.  Really there’s not that much there that HAS to be preserved.

So, let’s talk about this.  Let’s organize and make our voices heard…

-NE

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I've seen this book before, but it just came up again and its still just as unbelievable.  I mean, I'm a liberal guy but these books are ridiculous.  They basically paint the Democratic party as the saviors of the human race without any kind of opposing view.  And even if it had an opposing viewpoint, its targeted toward children.  Children don't know why (as an example in the book) funding the fire department is important or what the trade offs are if you don't.  These books are pure, brain washing, shameful propaganda.  I'm reminded of the poor kids I used to see in college who came with the fanatical preacher who would talk in front of the student union.  They would walk around with signs that said "Jesus hates fags".  When you'd talk to them they'd give scripted, robotic answers back about what the Lord says.  These books are full of scripted thought and are no different.

Why Mommy and Daddy Are Democrats

http://littledemocrats.net/index.html

"Whether they be young in spirit, or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great."-John F. Kennedy

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Watching Barak Obama's climb from nameless state senator to Democratic frontrunner has been an interesting one.
Watching his gradual slide from the liberal end of the spectrum to something more moderate, though, has been thoroughly entertaining.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how someone who runs as the candidate of hope can possibly expect to run successfully through November when he appears to be nothing more than a maneuvering politician as it comes time to face the general voting population in America - a population that remains historically more conservative than all the hope in the world could change.

My good friend Greg over at the Office of the Independent Blogger linked to a piece from the Wall Street Journal focusing on the growing similarities between Obama's campaign posturing and Bush's own posturing.  Granted, these similarities are slight, but they should be troubling to the true-believers out there who might've been holding out for this guy to remain true to his roots.

Of course, the other side of the coin is John McCain's absolute inability to sell himself as anything but an angry old man.

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Cindy McCain

I received a photo collage of Cindy McCain from a friend describing the character and activism of the GOP nominee’s wife. The email is one of those “send it to your friends” emails which I do not usually participate in; however this is so awesome Americans indeed need to know.

I am not going to post the photos, for they are not as important as the information about the (hopefully) next First Lady of the USA.

Read this and compare it to Michelle Obama. It is a comparison of an American patriot (Cindy) and a person who is ashamed of America (Michelle).

JRH 7/2/08

***************************

Cindy McCain

Bet you would have never guessed this one!  No matter your politics.  The media will never tell of this, so pass it on. 

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Cindy McCain, John's Wife.  All I ever saw was this attractive woman standing beside John.  I was surprised how talented and involved with world problems she is.  This is a summary of the article.

She graduated from Southern Cal and was a special-needs teacher.

After her Dad died she became involved with his beer distributing firm and is now the chairwoman.  Sales have doubled since she has taken over from her father.

They have a marriage prenuptial agreement, her assets remain separate. She is involved around the world clearing land mines - travels to these countries on a detonation team and serves on their board.

They have a 19 year old serving in Iraq, another son in the Naval Academy, a daughter recently graduated from Columbia Univ., an adopted daughter in High School, and a son who is the finance guy at the beer firm.

Raised kids in Phoenix, AZ rather than Washington D.C. (better atmosphere):  He commuted.

In 1991, Mrs. McCain came across a girl in an orphanage in Bangladesh.  Mother Teresa implored Mrs. McCain to take the baby with severe cleft palate.  She did so without first telling her husband. The couple adopted the girl who has had a dozen operations to repair her cleft palate and other medical problems.

They have a Family Foundation for children's causes.

She's active with 'Halo Trust' - to clear land mines, provide water and food in war ravaged and developing countries.

She will join an overseas mission of 'Operation Smile', a charity for corrective surgery on children's faces.

She has had two back surgeries and became addicted to pain killers. She talks openly about it which she says is part of the recovery process.

I'm surprised the media is so quiet about her attributes. She sounds more capable than Hillary or Obama. We would really get two for the price of one: A person with business and international experience. John did work for the firm for awhile when he left the Navy. She, however, has the real business experience. Very interesting.

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SCOTUS - Above any office

As long as Congress allows no checks or balances to the ever growing power of America’s Judicial System (not just the Supreme Court), elected Executive Branch Presidents may shape the rule of law and social rights of years to come.

Notably the Federal Bench has been dominated by Left Wing ignore the Constitution and the will of the people to make up their own extra-Constitutional Rule of Law that is less based on the Constitution and more on a Secular Humanist utopian vision.

This is so evident that eight years of Bush appointees have not been stalled or forced to back down by Democratic Party gridlock on confirmation. The Democrats KNOW that if Conservative Appointees equal or overtake the Left Wing Activist Judges Constitutional Intent will be more the measuring stick than the decision by fiat of Left Wing Judges.

So you Americans that are neither fringe Leftists or fringe Rightists (like I tend to lean toward) had best consider the judicial system in your vote for America.

If you vote for Obama you are definitely voting for change; however I assure you it is not the kind of change that derails politics as usual as Obama implies. A vote for Obama will be a Vote for fringe Leftist Utopianism that will lead America on a path to socialism and multi-cultural diversity (meaning the enfranchisement of illegal aliens and the incorporation of foreign cultural laws –Sharia Law – into our culture).

A vote for McCain will be more of a Center-Right future. I know McCain will not appoint fringe Leftist Judges; however I suspect he will appoint centrist-Right Judges. There is no mystery how a Leftist activist Judge will create by fiat new extra-Constitutional Law. McCain’s Appointees may vote Left or Right but it will be more principled. Sadly a McCain Appointee will probably keep the status quo; however at least a McCain Appointee will not actively create new laws (at least not without a good deal of precedent).

Thomas Sowell has some excellent thoughts on how Judges shape the future based on who is elected.

JRH

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Most of the headlines are focusing on President Bush signing the new war funding bill and the cost of the war.  Rightly so, that is where the focus should be.  However, the President did make some compromises by signing the bill.

The package approved by Congress includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for troops and veterans. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, $2.7 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest, and tens of billions of dollars for food aid, anti-drug enforcement, Louisiana levee repairs and many other items.

The war is going to be funded... no matter what.  That is an undeniable truth.  President Bush knows that.  So give credit where credit is due.  The President did compromise and we got unemployment extended, flood relief, food aid, etc.

I still think we are funding the wrong war. (I do believe we are in a war but it's not conventional)  I would prefer the larger sum went towards fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and for social program that will help the communities in the Middle-East.  You know... help the people like you and me that just want to live life.

Stir Your World 2007

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Michelle and Barack Obama are both people of courage.  They have earned my respect and my vote.

Michelle Obama says Barack Obama will fight for gay equality
By Samantha Gross – 1 day ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Barack Obama will fight for equal rights for gays just as he fought to help working-class families overcome poverty, the Democratic presidential hopeful's wife told a gay Democratic group Thursday.

Recalling his past work as a community organizer to help struggling families, Michelle Obama said he would take the same approach as president.

"Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws," she said at a Manhattan fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council.

Michelle Obama also drew a connection between the struggles for gay rights and civil rights.

"We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union," she said at the event, held days before the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots between gays and New York police, and the city's annual gay pride parade.

"The world as it is should be, one that rejects discrimination of all kinds," she said.

Touting her husband's record pushing for workplace discrimination legislation as an Illinois state senator and his support of civil unions, Obama noted her husband also had brought a call for equality to conservative groups, telling churchgoers they need to combat homophobia in the black community.

The Illinois senator opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and says states should make their own decisions on the matter. He has said he's interested in ensuring that same-sex couples in civil unions get federal benefits.

His Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, also opposes a federal constitutional amendment but worked to ban gay marriage in his home state. McCain supports the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, while Obama has called it "counterproductive."

Michelle Obama's speech brought a standing ovation from the crowd of about 200 donors, who raised about $1.3 million, organizers said.

Earlier Thursday, she spoke in Manchester, N.H., and credited Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband's rival for the Democratic nomination, with bringing the concerns of working families to the forefront of the presidential campaign.

She heard from New Hampshire women juggling such work and family concerns as child care and caring for aging parents. She explained her husband's plans to expand sick time and paid family leave, help parents afford child care and make sure women get equal pay for equal work.

"We are closer to this America than ever before, and that's because of an extraordinary woman who's not in this room but she's traveling with my husband tomorrow, and that woman is Hillary Clinton," Michelle Obama said to sustained applause.

"I know that the folks here in New Hampshire know this better than anyone because you got to know the candidates up close and personal, but because of Hillary Clinton's work the issues of importance to women and working families are front and center."

Clinton and Barack Obama are to make their first public joint appearance Friday in Unity, N.H.

Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Manchester, N.H., contributed to this report.

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Obama-Clinton

 
"She rocks"
Senator Barack Obama speaking about Senator Hillary Clinton
June 27, 2008