HELL NO!!!!!!!

You took the words right out of my mouth! HELL NO!

Amen! Oh, HELL NO!

You got that right, dem4usa ... HELL NO!!!!!!!!

You betcha.

As my dear old daddy used to say, "Not just no, but HELL NO!"

I can only top that with a Double Billy-By-God NO!

I don't trust any Repugnicon to run the government, and certainly not this shyster.

Not only no but HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a conservative libertarian. NO!! Rick Perry will lead us to war faster than obama!!1

The MSM is pushing Perry because hes a crook. Hes almost as much of a con as Al gore and his MANBEARPIG carbon credits scam. Who profits from that the american people??? Both sides leaders are corrupt.

Dems leave your party and Republicans back ron paul a real canidate for peace and america not corperate america.... !!!! thanks obama and GE for investing in china wonder if our tax dollars went to those jet engine tech the commies will get.

No.

Rick Perry is a psychopath who is tricking his followers into believing that he is a believer in God. And that he loves this country. He loves it so much he did not want Texas to be a part of it. What most people do not know is that Satan also believes that God exists but the Devil acts in contradiction to God. Just because you believe that God is there does not make you a worshiper of God and a follower of Jesus. The death penalty is not a Godly mandate. During the Old Testament God gave the decree not man. God has the right to judge and execute but we have to be balance. God did not put Cain to death for killing his brother. God allowed some judging by man because as the Bible states they were “hard neck and hard headed people”. So to me he is a murderer.

Jesus spoke about the poor with goodness in mind, yet Mr. Perry the trickster, speaks of the poor with bad assumptions.

I wonder if the people of Texas knew that there have been cases of someone found guilty, have been put to death and then someone has come forward to claim the murder as his own. It had happen several times in Texas. It is better not to kill a guilty than to kill an innocent person.

What kind of Christians are these people? Not the same kind that I am. They are wrong, wrong, wrong. Who was that God they was talking to at the "big prayer meeting"?

HELL NO !!!!! (6)

HELL NO!

Hell No, No, No...not in this life. He is nothing but a con man.

any one who is not in the white house now

I dont believe the polls either. I dont think even the Republicans really trust this guy. They have to be able to see through this guy. He is as evil as the devil . This guy will put a nail in the countries coffin. he stands for everything we are trying to prevent.

Hell No, Hell No, Hell No, What a scary idea? cow patty II, haven't we had enough of stupid Texas Cowboy's......Sorry, I apologize to all the other Texas Cowboys.

No!

Not in my life time or in the 1 2 come.

Please, just the thought of this man running the Country makes my Stomach turn.

Next question.

Hell to the no... Perry looks like a really dishonest used car salesman, the kind that would sell you a car that is beyond repair. Just like the snake oil he's selling now him and Phil Gramm.

Thats RIGHT missbtw , The STUFF They are SPOUTING ---- Was NEVER in my Bible Study Class ! It seems its NOW Christian to NOT HELP the POOR / SICK / NEEDY ! I guess THEIR GOD , ONLY CARES ABOUT the RICHY RICH ! And besides , HE will try to have the USA , LEAVE THE USA !!! The cafepress com/RHYPOCRITS will say one thing to get YOUR VOTE , and then DO EVERYTHING AGAINST YOU ! REMEMBER the RHYPOCRITs SAID " PUT ME IN OFFICE , and I WILL GET YOU JOBS ! " Then got in OFFICE and VOTED 68 JOBS BILLS DOWN !! So How are those JOBS DOING !! They say " DOMA " as GINGRICH Cheated on his WIFE ! As another RHYPOCRIT tried to have SEX WITH an 18YR OLD BOY , as HE ALSO VOTED for DOMA !! Vote People , It MATTERS !!!

I'll give you the Will Smith "aww hell no!!!!!!!!"

Wish Ed had a button for that!

@Matt P

If only all of our future wars can be like the ones Obama lead us into... no boots on the ground, no American lives lost and only $1 billion, instead of the $2 trillion + cost of the Iraq debacle.

Al Gore has more concern for the planet in his little finger than the collective Repugnicon party (TEA bagger crazies and all) have in their tiny pea-sized brains. He would have been another brilliant President, if the corrupt and GOP biased Supreme Court injustices hadn't stolen the election of 2000 from him. So instead we got the Imbecile from Texas, and have been paying the price ever since.

Ron Paul is adorable and seems to be a nice old man, but has very unrealistic libertarian views. Libertarianism doesn't work and Ayn Rand accepted her Social Security and Medicare like everyone else.

And no more cowboy boots in the oval office.

One HELL NO present and accounted for!

Wow another really intelligent poll question. Ed you crack me up. Let me see I'll predict the result - about 95%-5%. lol You complete Moron.

SHRUB 2.0? @!$%# NO. Why would anyone sane trust the worthless ass-hole?

@Louis David

Remember though.... we are talking about life long Republican constituents, the most gullible, brain washed and ill-informed crowd ever to vote in elections. I have a friend who was born and raised a Republican who had never watched a debate or paid attention to the issues, and just mindlessly voted for the Repug on the ballot each time she voted.

That is until I opened her eyes to the issues after Bush was re-elected in 2004, and she didn't like what she heard. She has been paying more attention since then and told me back in 2008 that she was planning to vote for Obama.

DAVE.... just can't stand it that so many people are onto the RepugniCON, and you can't win any arguments in here. So go back to Fox... where the ignorant and gullible will believe all the crap you are spewing.

What a silly question. Of course he's trustworthy and responsible. Heck, he has been elected governor of Texas three times. He's also very qualified, especially when compared to the current odummy-in-chief.

Gov. Perry was an Air Force pilot. So, at minimum, his IQ is in the 120 range. POTUS odummy won't release transcripts of grades and SAT/LSAT scores. odummy took soft, easy courses as his under-graduate major and in law school.

Let's face it, any dummy with an IQ of 90 can earn a degree in most any humanities/social science major; you know, those majors other than the physical/hard sciences, math, engineering, finance, etc. And with affirmative action, these not-exactly-the-cream-of-the-crop can earn such degrees from ivy league schools.

In these majors, the grades earned are far in excess of what would've been predicted based upon SAT/ACT scores and are much higher than the grades received by these students in the harder courses, such as math, physical sciences, etc.

hey chef... you must be one of those ignorant Repugnicons that voted for the last Moron from Texas. That imbecile was a pilot also, so it must not require many brains at all to pilot a plane. Since he barely graduated with a C average or less.

By the way, Obama doesn't just have some little degree in humanities or social science. He has a law degree from Harvard, and was President of the Harvard Law Review. That requires a lot of smarts, outstanding grades and leadership skills.

Obama graduated from Harvard Law School with the honor of Magna Cum Laude. "Magna Cum Laude" is graduating with great praise; an honor added to a diploma or degree for work considered greatly above average."

But on the off chance he wins what are you going to do then?

Admit that I was wrong, GA girl.

Surely you jest. 8-D

Thank you I would appreciate that, and will you also tell your side to help in governing for all the people rather then obstruct? This is if he wins of course.

chef..... your ignorant remarks just prove your level of bigotry as well as lack of education. Calling President Obama... "odummy" doesn't take away from his brilliance, but it certainly reveals your lack of it as your insinuations about affirmative action reveal your bigotry.

It also shows your lack of understanding about affirmative action. The only thing affirmative action does is help a disadvantaged person get into a college or university. It does not then earn grades for that person sufficient to be rewarded "Magna Cum Laude", nor does it help that person become the President of the Harvard Law Review. Those were all things that Obama accomplished on his own through hard work and his own abilities.

It is clear to me and most likely most who will read your remarks that in comparison to President Barack Obama, you are a PEA BRAINED BIGOTED IMBECILE.

Heh, heh, heh, Mr. Scully. With your naive attitude, I'm sure that I can sell to you few CDO investments. It's people with your analytical ability that allow Wall Street to make a killing off of suckers. Yeah, sure, profs don't grade on a subjective basis.

Sheesh, I'll bet that you're still trying to sell those deeds to various Manahattan bridges that you bought over the years.

Bloody Hell...NO!

Hell to the No. This man is a slippery serpent looking to take advantage of the people if he gets into office.

We are better off with Obama than any of these contenders, but Ron Paul has a good head on his shoulders and is a little like me.

Less government, less problems. Bigger government, bigger spending, bigger problems.

Hey did anybody ever notice peabrain doesn't wear his FLAG PIN!

hey chef... I'm not a MR for one thing, and I'm definitely not ignorant or gullible as you most definitely are. I'm in the process of completing a 2nd masters degree.... but what is your academic achievement? I am also not stupid enough to deal with the shysters on Wall Street either.

Frankly I think you know about as much about high finance as you know about education, since you don't appear to have much of it. But then... I don't know many schools that let people in wearing pointy hats, and white sheets.

@Arieus

Less government, less problems? Are you sure?

What about less government, then big hurricane, big floods, big damage,..... and bigger problems because less government isn't equipped to help.

Unfortunately Ron Paul thinks he's still living in the 1950s and a fantasy world made up by Ayn Rand... not in the real world.

Righty

He might not be Hitler, but he sure runs a Close 2nd.

Perry runs a close second to Satan himself.

Hitler or Perry? Get me a passport! Perry or Khathafy. I would choose Mommar.

Same difference.

Perry is a @!$%#ing IDIOT. He mangled Texas

That's right... for once I'll agree with you righty. Because Hitler's philosophy are much closer to the GOP philosophies and the opposite of Democratic ones.

Ethelouise got it CORRECT TWICE ALREADY (i refuse 2 use the word "right" as my part in libs taking back the language frum the repo party)...

...Rick-the-PRICK-Perry has the physical appearance of a used car salesman who happens to have migrated frum hell-- no disrespect to used car salesmen... OR SATAN.

AND, no disrespect Huff Post contributor Jim Moore, BUT U actually described Perry as being both handsome and a good speaker / communicator ?!!... WTF ??

Jim Moore, R U KIDDING ?? do U only read the transcripts of Perry's soundbites [ I know U haven't looked at his college transcript where I believe he earned a D for PUBLIC SPEAKING ? ] or do U bother 2 look at his facial expressions and overall body language when he speaks 2 reporters, like that poolside advisory 2 a reporter 2 go ask Obama ?

I'm sorry, it's NOT ONLY the dumb-ass things he says, but the WAY he says them that's all 2 telling, 4 Christ sake. Perry's delivery is 2 damn similar 2 that of his TX predecessor, G.W.

It would B soo funny, if it weren't soo damn SCARY.

U can tell by the way he sometimes does that trademark Reagan / G.W. Bush pause when he's answering a question, that he's searching his 24Kb brain...and coming up EMPTY... and that vacancy shows up in his shifty, dark eyes and/or his tentative shoulder shrug.

Trust me, U don't need 2 C his pathetic Texas college transcript showing Cs and Ds 2 figure out he don't got enuff going on upstairs.

ONE OTHER THING that bothers me about Perry is that he brazenly told gay and lesbian listeners 2 NPR that they could / should MOVE 2 California !!

Since when did he swear an oath 2 B governor of only SOME TX citizens ??

What happens if he weasels his way into the White House ??... does he plan 2 tell the gay and lesbian TAX PAYING voters / military vets / citizens he chased away 2 California, 2 go 2 Canada... OR FRANCE ??

ALL AMERICANS need 2 tell Rick-the-PRICK Perry where HE should go...

...and it ain't FRANCE or CANADA !!

This is so typical of the radical left. Comparing a 3-term sitting governor with excellent credentials with the murderer of six million Jews and a terrorist responsible for the death of hundreds.

Are you people completely brain washed? I don't care who you vote for, but that kind of absolute crap is nothing but hateful. Where's Valerie on this one? No reports to the moderator? Is this the "toned-down" rhetoric we can expect from our enlightened left?

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Please cite "excellent credentials" with sources. TX voters' credibility went down the tubes when the chose Bush over that wonderful woman governor, who did more for TX than they realized, until bush got in. BTW, please don't cite any unemployment data. TX leads the country in minimum wage or less jobs. That's some trick. And too, over 700 jobs are govt. jobs, given to his crony funders. You want bread lines? Massive depression as with Hoover? Get perry. If you want a return to a quality of life, vote Democratic in all elections.

what's the matter sarge - upset that people have such strong opinions about a worthless piece of @!$%# named "perry"? Remember - he's a "39%" guv'nuh - 61% voted for "someone ELSE for guv'nuh and he managed to come out on top. So with FAR less than the 1/2 for even a SIMPLE MAJORITY, he apparently thinks he has a MANDATE ROFLMFAO... mandate... and this piece of @!$%# tinks he can handle the job of POTUS (just like the PREVIOUS TEXAS IDIOT...)

Thankful Mom: with Mommar we could just let Condoleeza tell him what to do. Perry and Hitler are totally insane.

Mom maybe you are right Condoleeza is insane too.

dsculley:

You're 100% wrong; the nazis were leftists. The acronym nazi stands for "The German Socialist Workers Party." Here, google this for more info, so that in the future, you'll post upon the basis of facts and not your subjective conjecture.

is nazism left or right wing

You'll receive 10.7M hits in seven tenths of a second.

Ok, Louis, I get the picture...It is funny isn't it....I wonder what Rice is thinking right now...plotting to make it go away, I'm sure.

@peersen

You are absolutely right... er, CORRECT about the vacant look that Repugs have when they don't have a "ready made talking point" to fall back on. There are no real ideas floating around in their miniscule brains... except the only one they know... lower taxes on the rich and regulations on corporation.

They have no idea what the right answers are without their GOP talking points, which is why they so often say the wrong things, contradict what they said previously or the old fall back... "Go ask Obama." or "Go research it yourself." or "Go buy my book."

Sarge

Perry has excellent credentials as a governor, only in his own mind... and apparently yours. But the facts of his record tells the truth, as well as a lot of Texans who have been posting in here about what a lousy JOB Perry has done. The people of Texas are suffering under his governship and the rest of the country doesn't need the same.

@Louis David

Great idea... we should use Condie as bait and lure him out of his lair. She seems to have some strange control over the guy.

@Jeff

I'm sorry to inform you, but you are the one who is wrong. Regardless of what the Nazi party was called, it was a far right political movement though it pretended to be 'all inclusive'. I guess a lot of Jews, gypsies, and mentally handicapped might attest to how inclusive the Nazi's really were, if they were still alive to tell us.

Today the term Socialism might be identified with the left political philosophy, but in 1930s Germany... the term did not mean what it presently does in the US or among conservatives.

National Socialism; alternatively spelled Naziism; historically also Hitlerism, was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany. It is a unique variety of facism that incorporates biological racism and antisemitism.

Nazism was founded out of the current of the far-right and racist German nationalist movement and the violent anti communist paramilitary culture that fought against the uprisings of communist revolutionaries in post-World War I Germany.

The ideology was created by Anton Drexler as a means to draw workers away from communism and into nationalism. Nazism presented itself as politically syncretic, incorporating policies, tactics and philosophies from right- and left-wing ideologies, though a majority of scholars identify it as a far right form of politics.

I might also add that my previous statement was referring to the philosophies of the Nazi party in comparison to the GOP. They share some similar ideas and prejudices regarding certain minority groups such as the negro/black race, homosexuals, and anyone they considered unfit due to what they consider "degenerate" and "asocial" groups. Both the Nazis and the GOP seem to discriminate against some of the same groups.

On the other hand, The Democratic party is an inclusive party with membership of all races, religions, cultures, etc. We don't designate certain groups like homosexuals or Muslims less worthy of the same rights and freedoms that all Americans enjoy. The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

You might want to do some research into the Nazi party yourself and learn to which side or philosophy they really leaned... which was too the right.

Mr. dsully, the more that you stir, the muddier becomes the water. Yes, google it to see the meaning of this idiom. You sure as heck didn't read anything from the links given to you by Mr. Jeff.

Would a neo-nazi vote for Obama? There's your answer. Case closed.

Jeff1080659

I've had it with the right wing mime that Hitler was a leftist because he used the word "socialism" in the National Socialist party. (Nazi.) Do you think that everyone who says they are a Christian is one? Do you think that everyone who says they are a doctor is one? Do you think that everyone who says they are a patriot is one? Then I have a bridge to sell you in Pittsburgh. Hitler used the word socialism because the socialists were a popular party in Germany. He used the word to WIN, not out of any care for the people. Moreover, he rose to power by waging war against the left and and intelligentsia. (Sound familiar?) This is why some posters here are likening Perry to Hitler -- not because Perry is a mass murderer, but because us uses double speak to amass power. By the way, Hitler shared Perry's disdain of gays.

Feliz

Socialism is the ascendency of the state over the individual. It does not necessarily denote benevolence. Under Hitler which is more powerful the state or the individual?

Feliz

Your too funny. Socialists and Communists have a few things in common. The pray off the ignorance of the masses, murder those with opposing views, as well as teachers, union leaders, politicians, etc... They replace one class of ruling elite with another. Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Lenin, Stalin, Kim Jong Il, Castro .... One other thing they have in common, where others have failed before them, they and only they have the answers and they will succeed where others have failed, that is until they too fail. The Socialist in the United States are just like all those that proceeded them. They will use the ignorant masses to achieve power, then they will turn on them, the Unions, Teachers, Political figures, and dissidents will be removed from the equation. The New Ruling Class will seize all power, wealth, and authority. Individual freedom will be abolished as will our rule of law. The right to own property will be strictly controlled by the Ruling Class. The Middle Class will be completely destroyed leaving only the poor and the wealthy (The Ruling Class). And those of you that support the movement will be wondering what went wrong. This has happened over and over again, always ending in the same way, yet the supporters continue to believe. You may have been happy to see the UAW take 55% ownership of Chrysler, while the stockholders and rightful owners had their property seized by the government, but I doubt you will feel the same when your home and private property are seized by the government. If you think I am in error, do a little reading on past Socialist and Communist Governments.

DS

Suggesting current conservatives in the United States have any degree of commonality with NASI's is ridiculous. The NASI's murdered millions of Jews, gypsies, mentally handicapped as well as dissidents, anyone with an opposing view. You suggest all conservatives are racists and bigots, and as such capable of the atrocities of the NASI's. You see all ten thousand Tea Party members at an event as racists because a few have signs that may be considered as racists, yet you do not form the same conclusion when far left whack jobs display their signs at a Liberal event.

There is a significant difference between a racist and a conservative demanding tax reform, an end to wealth redistribution and an end social programs. This country was founded on individual freedoms and responsibility. Believing that an individual is responsible and accountable for their own circumstance does not qualify an individual as a racist. On the other hand believing everyone with an opposing view is a racist speaks volumes about an individual.

There is no doubt that the Nazi party were fascists, so if they say that the Nazis were on the left that would make fascism a left wing idea, but then what happens to the dictionary?

From the online dictionary:

"fas·cist
[fash-ist] Show IPA
noun
1. a person who believes in or sympathizes with fascism.
2. (often initial capital letter) a member of a fascist movement or party.
3. a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views."

scully, fooled another one!

dscully, read this post from another Newsviner posted under another story:

"Is nazism left or right? Hey, Ms. Coulter isn't onto anything new. This
debate has raged since, well, the founding of the Nazi Party. Read books written
by German and Soviet soldiers who fought one another and they all have in common
one comment - they marvel at the similarities of their societies, once they
occupied each other's countries.

Some of you show ignorance of history. Germany and the USSR entered into a
pact precisely to invade and partition Poland. Britain attempted to get soldiers
and supplies into Finland via Norway to fight on the side of the Finns after the
USSR's invasion of Finland. This was foiled by the Germans, allies at the time
of the USSR."

Hitler chanced upon the Nazi Party, because he was sent to investigate it by
an organization of former WWI German soldiers, the latter of which Hitler was a
member. But, he grew to agree with its philosophy. In Mein Kampf,
Hitler rails against all businesses (not just banks) as much as he rails against
the Jewish people.

Cunha Alvarenga in the Brazilian monthly Catolicismo (November 1952)
summarizes nazism thusly:

."

Here's more, Newsviners:

"Never Blame the Left (Were the Nazis Left or Right?)
National Review
Via ^ | Dec., 1995 | George Watson

Anyway, for you Newsviners willing to research this issue, here's the google
link for the research (Query: "Is nazism left or right."):

#q=is+nazism+left+or+right&hl=en&prmd=ivnsfd&ei=46JMTue7A4rj0QG8gMmKBw&start=10&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=ee045cc55d691584&biw=883&bih=421

It includes many articles/columns that contend contrary to Ms. Coulter's
position (4.643M results in less than one second.)

The bottom line is that statism and collectivism depend upon extreme force of
state power. Whether such statism or collectivism is labeled nazism, communism,
socialism, islamist, etc., matters not. They all deny the unfettered right of an
individual to be safe in body and property.

Free markets begetting free people has been the norm since the dawn of
civilization."

can'twaituntil2012, you wrote that, "Liberals also don't grasp how the political spectrum works from a European vs. American perspective when talking about the left vs. the right. The European Political Spectrum: ALL governments are big - so the left referred to Communism while the right referred to Fascism. The American Political Spectrum: We have limited government (Republicans) vs. big (European style) government (Democrats). In America, the left equates to big government, which includes socialism, communism and fascism, while the right is limited/small government - the extreme right is not facism; its anarchy or "no" government. Again, this talks to the lack of education among Liberals and their heavy reliance on lies, rhetoric and misinformation to support their fragile realities that have no basis in facts, which is to support Obama/Biden no matter how bad a job they do in the White House."

That's a good synopsis and explanation. May I plagiarize it from time-to-time?

@chef, Jeff, 2ez4u2c2 and Can't wait

You all need to go back to school or at least crack open a real history book and read about the Nazis. You obviously slept through WW2 during your high school history class. Better yet, watch a documentary on the history channel and listen to what they say about the political leanings of the Nazi party. They won't be calling them lefties... they most definitely had leanings to the right.

Posting a bunch of idiotic propaganda from your right wing nut leaders from Fox will do no good. Because they have fed you lies and you are too stupid or uneducated to know it. Of course, it's not surprising since it seems to be a common trait for those of the conservative right to not have a very good grasp of history..... not even the history of our own country.

It's too bad that you don't understand German history, but it's really sad that you nor many of your leaders don't even know your own country's history. But MORONS do seem to run rampant in your party. It's the great dumbing down of the GOP and has been in progress for the past 40 or 50 years.

@thoughtful conserv

You're a smart guy, and you seem to have a better understanding of some things than most conservs in here... especially history. Will you break the bad news to this bunch, that Nazi's were actually a right-wing party.

Maybe they will accept the truth from one of their own.

@2ez4u2c2

If you go back and read my previous post #2.19, I didn't say that the GOP or TEA baggers commonly kill Jews or gypsies or mentally handicapped, though I'm fairly sure those groups aren't on their list of favorite people like they weren't favorites of the Nazis.

But the more current groups that the GOP and TEA baggers seem to have problems with are Blacks, Muslims, Gays and Hispanics. We just aren't seeing the GOP and TEA baggers showing these particular groups much love at all. Coincidentally, the Nazis also weren't fond of these groups either.

So what was that... that your right-wing GOP/TEA party and the right-wing Nazis don't have anything in common? Just check out a real history book, instead of something with a rightwing propaganda crap.

I also didn't say that believing in individual freedoms and responsibility makes someone a racist. I said that many having "right-wing" beliefs as the Nazis did and the GOP/TEA party do seem to also have a good deal of racist and bigoted views also.

By the way, our country WAS founded on the principals of individual freedom and that is guaranteed in the Constitution (as also the Declaration of Independence) but this item about "individual responsibility" is an invention of your's and your GOP's crazed minds. That is NOT FOUND in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence. So go pon your GOP tripe off on the gullible at Fox.

It is kind of a funny deal Skully. If right means that it did not favor social programs to benefit the population in a benevolent way then it was right. If left means that it was against the individual and favored the state over the person then it was left. conventional wisdom however holds the extreme left to be a communist dictatorship(Stalin, Pol Pot) while the extreme right ends up as a fascist dictatorship (Hitler, Mussolini). The funny thing if you live in either one you would not find much difference as in both you must bow to the state and risk being put in prison or killed if you do not follow the direction the state dictator.. I doubt if Stalin or Hitler had much of a different effect on the population. Hitler was diametrically opposed to communism that is why he attacked Russia and he believed we and England would be on his side. National socialism actually meant nationalism rather than socialism in the manner we understand socialism.

DS

Individual responsibility is implied, it goes hand in hand with Individual Freedoms. A good argument against my logic would be to simply point out the areas of the Constitution that addresses the Governments responsibility to provide and care for the individual citizens daily needs.

Can't Wait obviously it is you who is blind to history by insinuating that Europe knows nothing but "Big" government. In a continent that has seen everything from Greek and Roman republics, dictatorships, monarchies, and anarchy, people know more than "Big" government. Your nonsense about a European model and an American model of left and right do not hold value here. Right and left are as concrete as black and white no matter what your right wing spin doctors proclaim. Hitler blaming minorites, communists and unions for his countries problems is as extreme right wing as you can get. Then having them killed is off the chart crazy. Read some real history books instead of Beck's chalkboard. You'll be better informed that way.

tom how do you respond to my statement that i am a classical liberal. am i right or left?

How about reading a modern day dictionary or encyclopedia? Its obvious you don't. That truth hurts doesn't it.

By your logic the political spectrum is different in Europe because they had "big" governments in the 20th century, I didn't know the U.S.'s government was so much smaller than any of theirs. The fact is the U.S.'s government was as large as any of theirs in the 20th century so your lame right wing talking points about a European political spectrum makes absolutely no sense. I see you have no argument about Hitler blaming the failures of his country on minorities, leftists, and trade unions. Who does that sound like the left or the right? You see actions speak louder than words, whatever your right wing propaganda machine tells you to think. If you read Mein Kampf you could change the title to the English "My Struggle" and put any American teabaggers name on it and it sounds just like them whining about how minorities, trade unions, and anybody else they perceive as an enemy caused their miserable failures at life. Then you throw out another lame argument that you are for limited government so that can't be fascist. You guys are only for limited government if it applies to regulations on corporations, when it comes to social governing, not so much. If you happen to be Muslim, or gay or anything else that your party doesn't like, here comes your "limited" government telling you,"You can't build a mosque here or you can't get married". But if you're a corporation go ahead do what you want as long as we get a cut we don't care if you sell defective products that kill people or pollute the environment. In fact, we'll get our 5 conservatives on the SCOTUS to define you as "people" so you can make unlimited donations to our cause. "Corporatists" are what you really are. Mussolini said the real name of fascism should be corporatism, which is everything the current Republican party is. I can accept that their is a bad side to extreme left like communism but it seems you have chosen to put a spin on the right's bad side instead of coming to grips with it. That is why we need to find middle ground to make things work.

Who said I was a fan of Obama? Some of his actions I do not agree with either but that isn't going to get me to vote for some right wing extremist(corporatist) you guys are peddling. These guys are so out there it almost makes me wish Reagan could come back from the dead and run. So at least if he won somebody that's not a complete crackpot would be in there.

Still no argument about Hitler's blaming minorities, trade unions, or leftists for his country's failures being similar to the current right wings arguments in this country, I see. DEFLECT,DEFLECT,DEFLECT.

Tom

I don't know Conservatives across the board blame minorities for any thing nor do they blame Unions. There are however many concerns with Illegal Aliens and specifically Public Sector Unions. The greatest concern of Conservatives is the ever growing size of the Federal Government and the increasing taxes required to feed it.

The Right are real patriots all right, They call the unemployed in this country as a bunch of lazy people collecting a unemployment check, and then hold the peoples unemployment checks hostage along with all federal employees pay hostage too so they can force their crooked agenda. They have made alot of enemies not to mention all the retired on SSI Medicare & Medicaid it will be a landslide and I believe that they will do everything to force this country into default before 2012.

Nobody better than President Obama and I don't care what bad anyone has to say about that!

OBAMA 2012

Agree!

I'm down with that... Obama/Biden 2012!

I agree. I can't seem to find secret meetings of President Obama with the Koch brothers or DeVos family in his closet....

Me Four! Never ever ever ever ever Perry!! Did I already say NEVER!?

I going 2 do everything I can 2 make sure President Obama have a 2nd term. McConnell!!!

If we absolutely have to have a Republican President please let it be Ron Paul or Jon Huntsmen.

Get with the program Louis........Obama/Biden is the only logical choice and ever vacant seat in congress fill with a Democrat! Not the Gop, and the t potty, but the New Democratic Party.

@Thankful Mom, Phyllis and Ethelouise

Hey you gals.... after 2 long years of being unemployed, I think I have a job lined up. Just have to wait for the school board to approve me, then get cleared by FBI, TB tested, etc. All that rigamarole.

Scully, good luck with the job I sincerely hope it works for you.

Yeah good luck i wish you the best. As smart as you have shown yourself to be here I'm sure you will be in the front of the line.

Agree! I look forward to your posts. They're calming, to the point, factual. Thank you and good fortune.

Thankful Mom: I am with the system. I am just saying if we have to have a Republican let it be one of those two. Obama has one more chance with me to do for the Middle class or he will not get my vote. Sorry but thats the way I feel. Right now Obama is a logical choice but we cant keep giving in to the Tea Party tactics. I feel Paul or Huntsmen will be more bi-partisan than the others who are hell bent on destroying the middle class and less fortunate. Even Ed is skeptical about the President.

Do I trust Perry to run the Government?

I wouldn’t trust him to walk my dog.

No, I wouldn't either that would be animal crulity....Good Luck Scully!

Hey, Scully, way to go.....best of luck!!!

@chris, thoughtfulconservative, earthgirl, MRJCN and Thankful Mom

Thanks for your good wishes and I appreciate them. I'm looking forward to embarking on this new opportunity to contribute my skills and abilities positively to the lives of the children I work with.

@Louis David

It's easy to get frustrated with the underhanded tactics of both the GOP and the TEA party, but we have to keep the faith that they will be made to pay for their favoring the rich over the middle class, etc. They have certainly shown their true colors over the past couple of years and especially the past 8 months with the TEA baggers.

That won't happen if we start deciding that Obama is just up against too much and there is no use in voting for him again. I'm telling you now that kind of attitude is a losing one. It was that attitude that resulted in Ronnie Reagan in the WH, whose policies began the downturn for the middle class in this country, as well as the GOP's conviction regarding reducing taxes for the rich and redistributing the country's wealth upward instead of downward.

dscully, congrats on your new job and good luck. Way to keep fighting to stay in the work force.

chef,

Thank you for your good wishes, though no thanks to the GOP's cutting of education funding and reluctance to extend unemployment benefits, it's been difficult to find a new job or keep my head above water while I was looking for one. I have President Obama to thank for both.

Please do not insult snakes...they do not deserve to be equated with Rick Perry. After all, they are noble enough creatures to be depicted on the Caduceus, the ancient medical symbol and are considered healers in different indigenous cultures. Maybe you can replace "snake" with "pond scum"!

He is a snake oil salesman......Please, I do not want to hear another word about this fool.....Please talk about someone with a brain for a change....I was hoping we'd talk about the nerve of trick dicky, not slick rick.

How dare cheney try to pass his book off on the American public, and deny, deny, deny. Arest the man for his war crimes along with bush and then we will talk about the destruction the two have done to this country.....anybody who would vote for another republican for the next 20 years is just as mean and destructive as they were.

All anyone has to do is learn what are considered war crimes and they would, as I do, agree with you. There are more than those two.

Yep... He's pond scum!

I'll settle for those two right now!

Including Rummy Rumfilled would be nice, though.

@Thankful Mom

Cheney's work of fiction will be a great companion volume to Bush's and Rummey's rewrites of History for the gullible and deluded. Talk about an axis of evil... they should all be in prison.

Axis of evil they proved to be and you are right they should be in prison.

Thankful Mom and DScully, I expect the fake news chris to attack us for these posts, be on guard. He doesn't understand what war crimes are. I gave up on him.

Please explain what crimes were commited?

they are conservatives.

War crimes? Did you know that bush, cheney and kissinger will be picked up if they travel to Europe, under orders from The Hague? Deduce that horrific crimes have been committed by them. Look it up. They should add Rumsfeld. And we should have Gonzalez, Wolfowitz and that USAG that draped the Statue of Justice (name escapes me). And a few others.

Being a conservative, liberal, independent or someone sitting on the side line does not make one a criminal. I wish all of you well and good days ahead.

I knew that about bush and cheney, but not kissinger. I did read something in the 9/11 book abut kissinger being involved but I didn't know exactly why? Interesting! I wonder if Chris 2 will want to know those facts enough to look it up for himself?

Chris......the use of any kind of TORTURE IS A CRIME WHEN YOU ARE AT WAR WITH ANOTHER COUNTRY..... It is not only a crime in AMERICA, it is a crime any where in the world!

bush and cheney may have called it enhanced investigation, but WATER BOARDING IS A WAR CRIME.

Thank you, Thankful Mom. He would know if he would only do a search on the internet for war crimes.

@chris

The War Crimes Act

The War Crimes Act of 1996, as amended, makes it a criminal offense to commit certain violations of the law of war when such offenses are committed by or against U.S. nationals or Armed Service members. Among other things, the act prohibits certain violations of Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which sets out minimum standards for the treatment of detainees in armed conflicts “not of an international character (e.g., civil wars, rebellions, and other conflicts between State and non-State actors). Common Article 3 prohibits protected persons from being subjected to violence, outrages upon personal dignity, torture, and cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment. In the 2006 case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court rejected the Bush Administration’s long-standing position that Common Article 3 was inapplicable to the present armed conflict with Al Qaeda. As a result, questions have arisen regarding the scope of the War Crimes Act as it relates to violations of Common Article 3 and the possibility that U.S. military and intelligence personnel may be prosecuted for the pre-Hamdantreatment of Al Qaeda detainees.

As amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA, P.L. 109-366), the War Crimes Act now criminalizes only specified Common Article 3 violations labeled as “grave breaches.” Previously, any violation of Common Article 3 constituted a criminal offense. Both the MCA and the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA, P.L. 109-148, Title X) also afford U.S. personnel who engaged in the authorized interrogation of suspected terrorists with a statutory defense in any subsequent prosecution under the War Crimes Act or other criminal laws. These statutory protections, along with a number of other available defenses, appear to make it unlikely that U.S. personnel could be convicted under the War Crimes Act for any authorized conduct which was undertaken with the reasonable (though mistaken) belief that such conduct was legal.

In the 110th Congress, legislative proposals were introduced to modify the scope of the War Crimes Act, and it is possible that new legislative proposals will be introduced in the 111th Congress. This report discusses current issues related to the War Crimes Act and Common Article 3.

I might add that regardless of whether President Obama chose to "look forward instead of backward" in not encouraging the prosecution of the previous administration for the "torture" which they like to refer to as "enhanced interrogation techniques". Those techniques are still considered "torture" under the Geneva Convention as they also were by John McCain who should know considering his personal experience with it.

In the eyes of the rest of the world, the Bush administration are guilty of war crimes (doesn't that make you proud?), particularly certain members who advocated and approved such practices as water boarding... ie. GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Rummesfeld, etc. It is quite possible that if any of these individuals leave the safety of the US borders, they would be arrested under international law by one or more of the countries in Europe, etc.

I will address the all at once instead of individually.

1. International law means nothing. We are a sovereign nation and have not signed on to the international court. I say, "screw Europe."

2. Torture is subjective and according to the US Military Code of Conduct, waterboarding was an acceptable form of interrogation. It was also used while traing US Navy Seals. It was not considered torture until Obama changed the law. Therefore no laws were violated while Bush was in office.

3. Geneva Convention laws do not apply while prisioners are held by the CIA. (They administered the waterboarding.)

4. Obama is not in violation of any laws either. To say that he could not bomb Pakistan because civilians will be killed is as frivolous as saying you cannot drive because you had two beers last week.

If the Geneva Conference is international law, and they think gw committed a crime, he cancelled his trip to Switzerland because of it, and he hasn't been out of the country since.....is gw afraid of that law? True our Supreme court, that is heavy on reps, won't convict him. Our court is suppose to up hole the laws of this country etc, but they are swayed by their political beliefs.

Drones, like other high tech tools do not have laws controlling their use thus far. Thank you Chris for being a level head on this one.....but I still think gw, and especially tricky dicky allowed this kind of action.....in my opinion....the Seal has to go though a lot of violent training so they can do their job, and keep their secrets....they may be subjected to this kind of torture if they were captured. They need to know how to survive it. Arm forces training is tough and often violent. No one disputes that.

The Geneva Convention is not the same as international law. It is a treaty signed by several countries that agree to the same rules of war. The treaty is very narrowly focused on uniformed military's of a specific country. For that reason I disagree with the US Supreme Courts decision in applying it to members of al Qaeda. Anyway, the conservatives on the court sided with the decision so they do not deserve your criticism on this one.

International law works the same way. It is a series of treaties that are signed by specific nations. They do no trump national law and thus we are not signer's of the International Court. The fact that other countries want to arrest Bush is political and nothing else.

The Supreme Court does not funtion to convict anyone of anything. There soul purpose is to decide constitutional issues. However, like I said Bush has not broken any laws. If he had it would have been Obama's responsibility to end the war in Iraq. In essence, if Bush is a war criminal, so to is Obama.

I made a pledge to no longer do any name calling. I apologize to anyone that was offended. I enjoy debate more than the back and forth insults. Although, I do think insults are fun wether I am throwing or receiving them.

Good call Chris, hope you like up to it.

Am I right or wrong, after WW2 was not the U.S.A. a major, if not the major, contributor to the 1949 Geneva Convention of which international law was developed?

I believe even nations that have not signed on to it or exempted themselves from it can still be held accountable by the Hague for infractions thereof.

The Geneva Convention and International Law are two seperate things. Both are very different. The Geneva Convention is like a board game. It applies a certain set of rules but not everyone always plays by those rules. Kind of like winning money when you land on free parking. (Monopoly)

International law is a set of laws created by the UN in order to make sure every country respects the sovereignty of everyone else. Thoughs laws do not trump national laws. In other words, England does not have the death penalty, we do.

The International Court is only pliable to the signitory countries. If say, Germany arrested George Bush for international crimes, that would be seen as an act of war. If Germany arrested George Bush for violating their criminal laws, say drunk driving they would have every right to arrest him.

Jules

Are you really that ignorant? A war crime is when an act of torture is knowingly and purposely ordered to be perpetrated on a prisoner being held. Using drone strikes to kill terrorists hiding in remote areas is not a war crime... it's part of war. If the terrorists have innocent civilians hiding with them, they are the ones guilty of putting those innocents in danger. Obama hasn't knowingly killed any civilians and certainly wouldn't purposely do so either.

But while we are talking about a President taking responsibility for sending innocent people to the deaths. There will be a time when GW Bush and Cheney will be answering for sending 1000s of American soldiers to their deaths in Iraq to die for a bunch of LIES told about Weapons of Mass Destruction that didn't really exist.

Scully, it is time you start being honest. You are making accusations that you cannot back up. It is real simple, if the war in Iraq were illegal then not only would George Bush be guilty of war crimes but so would Barak Obama. Be careful what you wish for.

So far ALL of the Republican candidates running for office this time are complete jokes. I mean come on. Michele Bachmann is a stupid bigot with some real intelligence issues, Rick Perry is just completely insane, and Mitt Romney is just kind of sad. There are A LOT more of them but these are the morons most seen on television. I say screw both the democratic party and the republican party this year. Vote R. Lee Wrights

I am not sure Mr. Wrights can win on the drug issue alone.

Hey Tyler English...complete jokes? If the elections were held right now 90% of the Republican candidates would defeat Obama. Who is the joke?

R Lee Wrights is running on the Libertarian ticket .

You are correct but Wrights is running on the single issue of legalizing drugs.

@Tyler

The Repugnicons candidates are jokes, but no except you has even heard of R. Lee Wrights... so who is the bigger joke?

Ok Scuylly without looking it up but on your knowledge alone what do you think of Lyndon LaRouche as a candidate. What are his policies? He has run as a Democrat 4 times so he is not somebody i made up.

You got a point there NancyMW.Let him win the REICHPUBLICAN ticket so than OBAMA would win the ELECTION,HANDS DOWN.

I hope President Obama Wins by a Triple LandSlide!

No, No not even if Obama could beat him in a fair election........ That's the rub. What if Obama won but the supreme court declared Perry the winner? Remember how Bush got into office. I don't trust the Repubs at all. Don't let Perry anywhere near being on the ballot.

This is America Sheryl. Perry has a right to be on the ballot. Perhaps if you want to live in a dictatorship move to Iran.

chris-2142986........

The Repubs are just ignorant enough to put him on the ballot. Though, I know several seniors who are no longer Republicans.... LOL You people showed to much of what you are about this time around.

Yep! Same here nothing makes senior madder then messing with their SS or medicaid and they was to dismantle both and send you to the church. Pretty Ricky may be their nominee but he will NOT win the general. His book FED UP ensures this!

We have a parade of comedy every day in the republican race. Would you like to bet on a horse?

write this down folks. Here is the republican ticket John huntsman and ..........suspense is killing you right???????? Herman Cain VP. They will be taking bets soon on this in the London sports book. Palin will enter prior to Oct 31 but will not win. Criswell Predicts ( anybody but me know Criswell?)_

Huntsman will not win the primary. Obama will not win the General. Green Bay will not win the Super Bowl. (Again)

chris you are on how about a dollar to a dog turd as a bet?

@chris

yeah... this is America... so why do Repugnicons think it's okay to buy elections, suppress some citizens their right to vote, tamper with voting machines and it all else fails.... appeal to the Supreme Court to have them place the GOP candidate in office? Those are definitely NOT how America is supposed to work.

@conservative

Huntsman is the only one who is close to sane or sincere.... but is missing the charisma to compete against Obama. Someone else who has sparked my interest is Buddy Roamer.... for his views on financial reforms to the electoral process. We have to get all of the corporate money out of the elections.

Scully, everything you listed is merely accusations. No one has been convicted of any of the claims you lodged. In this country we are afforded due process.

Both sides do things that seem unethical and would be an attempt to suppress and/or obtain votes illegally. For instance, Acorn handed out cigerette's to homeless people in the 2000 election to get votes for Al Gore. In the 2004 election tires were slashed I could go on and on but you get the point. Both sides do reprehensible things and I would never support ant of it.

Complaining about the Supreme Courts decision to stop the Florida recount is sour grapes. Presidentual elections are national issues and that is why they got involved. The Florida Supreme court was negligent on many fronts. First, they allowed only four counties to recount their votes instead of a complete state recount. Second, they allowed the counties to decide how to recount the votes instead of making it uniform. Third, when enough votes were not coming in they allowed dimples to be counted. Initially they were not allowed. incredibly it was the Florida Supreme Court overruling themselves. Fourth, they created artificial deadlines and when they were not met they changed those deadlines. Finally, they granted Attorney General Bob Butterworth special election powers that they did not have the authority to do.

The Florida Supreme Court changed election laws after the election took place. They were also controlled by Democrats and no one complained they were placing Gore in the White House. Bob Butterworth was Gore's Florida Chairman and no one complained about him getting involved. No one accused him of acting inappropriately.

The most egregious example of voter suppression was when the media declared Al Gore the winner before the polls were closed in the "Panhandle" of Florida.

Several media outlets used the Freedom of Information Act to go in and count the votes and not one claimed Gore won.

If you wanted to learn more about the election there is a good book written by Jake Tapper called, "Down & Dirty: The Plot To Steal The Presidency."

Chris, I suggest you read a few:Supreme Injustice,How the hight court hijacked election 2000 by Alan M. Dershowitz........Gaming the Vote, why elections aren't fair and what we can do about it, by William Pounstone.........It Can Happen Here, Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush, by Joe Conason.......The Family, the secret Fundamentalism At the Heart of American Power, by Jeff Sharlet....Americn Fascists, the Christian Right and the war on America, by Chris Hedges............Why We're Liberals, A political handboof for Post-Bush America, by Eric Alterman......I have them in my home library if you want to check them out!

Add this one to the list: Boy-Genius, by Lou Dubose, Jan Reid, and Carl M. Cannon or SHRUB, by Lou Dubose and Molly Ivins.

Actually I read Supreme Injustice and like I said, The US Supreme Court did the right thing by stepping in. Alan Dershowitz does what a good lawyer does. He spins a story to make it seem like there was something fishy going on. However, anyone that is honest about the book will make two conclusions: The is no smoking gun that indicts the US Supreme court of doing anything wrong and Alan Dershowitz is politically biased.

I would never read anything by Chris Hedges, as he is a far left zealot.

I read Why We're Liberals and in it Eric Alterman fantisizes about 23 million Rush fans disappearing from the face of the world. He sounds like a Nazi to me.

Same thing MRJCN, I would not waste my time reading any of those far left extremists. Expecially, Molly Ivins. Thank God she will never be able to spead her hatred again.

".....it already is abundantly apparent in mid-2006 that the US government went to war in Iraq with scant solid international support and on the basis of incorrect information - about weapons of mass destruction and a supposed nexus between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda's terrorism - and then occupied the country negligently. Thousands of U.S. troops and an untold number of Iraqis have died. Hundreds of billions of dollars have spent, many of them squandered. Democracy may yet come to Iraq and the region, but so to may civil war or a regional conflagration, which in turn could lead to spiraling oil prices and a global economic shock." @Thomas Ricks

So where are we?

The justification for war is irrelevant. The UN had Resolution 1441 that gave Hussain a final chance to comply with inspectors. He failed to do so and we went in. Whether you agree with the war or disagree, there were no war crimes commited.

What about waterboarding?

What about the " Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment"?

Waterboarding was made illegal by the Obama Administration after the fact. It was not an war crime.

Waterboarding is torture. Torture is a war crime.

Ok, what about the " Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment"?

Charctine, just because you say something does not mean it is true. "Preliminary Bush Torture Indictment;" an indictment means nothing. He has not been charged. It is only an allegation. It has no credibility, not even within the UN.

Is that Dumb and Dumber then? Which reminds me of my song about the 2.

My song about Bush and Perry (sung to Cousins tune, theme of Patty Duke show)

Perry apparently is the carbon copy of Bush. That's it. Like Christy, they think he is decisive because of the 'tough talk' its just blanket stupidity.

Besides Vincente Fox called Bush a 'windshield cowboy' because he was to scared to get on a horse. Bush was a fake all along, and so is Perry...

Now, that's scary.

Perry's GOD is money and bigger Corporations.

If he mixes his church and state, he would say a prayer 2 satan every morning from the White House lawn.

Bob, I didn't think anyone could be dumber than Bush - I might have been wrong.

In this case Robert, I'm sorry it is hard to tell, it doesn't make any difference you right, both are dumb and your wrong cause they are both dumb! And those who are really dumb are the republicans, who put one in office and would even consider doing it again. How dumb can they be?

D Scully That was awesome,I think you have a career in song writing. Lmao

Thankful Mom, I think the dumb have already proven how dumb they can be.

Dumb is dumb!

Thanks Beeba *takes a bow*

Not only is he scary. He is corrupt. The worst thing that could happen to America is Rick Perry

Didn't we already have perry as president? OOP!, that was Bush.

I thought Texas was too hot and dry to support all those shrubs.

Interestingly, though, Bush is no fan of Perry's and vice versa. But I hear you -- it's the mannerisms and the drawl, and that stubborn egotistical personality, for starters

That's because Perry was born in Texas Bush was not he was born in New Haven Conn. That's right Bush is a 'transplanted' Texan. The real source of the animosity between the two.

I lived in Dallas for 15 years but that does not make me a Texan...

My brother lives in Texas and has for almost 2 decades, but I don't think he considers himself a Texan. I'll have to ask him.

Well, I have lived in Texas for 22 years and do consider myself a Texan. Born and raised in California and spent 25 years as active duty military and spouse before coming to Texas. But if I ever win the Texas State lottery I will probably move to Washington State.

I absolutely cannot stand Rick Perry.

Trust Rick Perry? Not only No, but Hell NO!!!

Perry cannot balance a checkbook much less a state budget...

I have an idea to help the ranchers in Texas, but I know Perry won't support it. It would create a few jobs, too.

Unless you can show how it would personally help Rick Perry, you're probably right--but circulate the idea anyway!

No, U can't trust him. He might shoot U in the back.

Perry has a bad habit of taking credit for accomplishments that he did not have any part in. Last night I saw a clip of him being interviewed and he was saying that he was an education Governor. She had a follow up question which was "Can you assure teachers that there will not be drastic cuts in education and that their jobs are safe?" He said he would not cut funding to education and teacher's jobs were safe. What a liar. As far as being a jobs candidate because he has gotten more jobs in his state. Well, not exactly the truth, Texas has the highest minimum wage jobs than any of the other 49 states. All the jobs that "he" created were government jobs, not jobs for the middle class. The unemployment rate in Texas is well over 8%. Seems like Mr. Perry likes to exaggerate his accomplishments. Not to mention, he is no longer a popular Governor in Texas. Many Texans have been interviewed on CNN and other shows who say they are not sure that he will carry his own state. I'm pretty sure he will have no problem carrying Texas, he has a lot of big campaign backers with deep pockets who will spend tons of money trying to get him elected.

@Miranda and Valerie

After 2 long years of being unemployed, I finally have a job lined up. Just have to wait for the school board to approve me, then get cleared by FBI, TB tested, and all that jazz.

I can't wait for the first person to come knocking on my door asking for my support for Rick Perry for President - they will have the door slammed in their face quicker than any Jehovah's Witness (actually I don't slam the door on them - I just politely tell them I am happy with my faith).

Scully, I am so happy for you. Two years is a very long and frustrating time to be out of work. Will you be starting when the school resumes? School here in Minnesota starts the day after Labor Day. My grandchildren now live in North Carolina and they started school today. Please say a prayer for the people along the Eastern Seaboard. Our daughter does not live on the coast, but they are still expecting a horrific storm. She says that if the storm takes a Westerly track, they could have real problems. For once, I'll be glad when the weekend is over and I know they are safe. Our daughter was up here on Tuesday, she had to bring her daughter's best friend back home. The kids are too young to fly alone and since there are no direct flights from here to where they live, someone has to fly with the children. My son in law travels a lot so he has frequent flyer miles to burn. I hated to see her go home yesterday, but hopefully we will see them around Christmas time. This has not been a good week for the people in NC, our daughter was frantic when she heard that an earthquake had actually hit where she lived. It took her a while to get through to her husband and kids, but they were all ok, said the house shook but not for long. Now the poor girl goes home to a hurricane. She seems to have a little black cloud following her around. When the 35W bridge collapsed in Minnesota, our daughter had just crossed it 15 minutes before it collapsed. It was several hours before we could get through to find out if she was one of the lucky ones to make it across. My mother had just passed away a couple of months before it happened and our daughter said she knew her Grammy was holding up the bridge until she knew her granddaughter was safely across. It seems disasters follow her. So, again I ask for prayers for my babies in North Carolina this weekend and I also have a "sister", we are cousins but we have been as close as sisters and we have always called each other sisters, and an uncle living on Long Island in NY. So, after it hits NC, it will make it's way up to Long Island and I will start worrying all over again.

Julianne, I know how you feel. We live in a secured apartment complex, so they can't pound on my door, but I did get a mailing from Michele Bachmann asking for her support, there was a number to call if you wanted to volunteer. So, I called and told them not to waste the postage and that if she was running for dog catcher, I would not vote for her. A year ago, we moved out of our townhouse that we bought back in 1972, in the past two years it has lost 1/3 of its value. Since it is paid for, we are just going to keep it. Plus, my grandchildren want to come back and go to college at the University of Minnesota, that's where their Mom went to college. So, they can stay in our townhouse and not have to worry about having to get a very expensive dorm room. I told the people at Ms. Bachmann's office that she needs to give me back the money we lost when the housing bubble burst due to all the Wall Street deregulation that the Republicans and Bush brought about. I don't think they will be calling me again anytime soon.

Keep them busy, for a while before you slam the door egg them on, then slam them with your views, then slam the door.

@ Val, let them waste postage and tell them you want the info on the most glossy, expensive paper that money can buy! And when they provide self-addressed, pre-paid envelopes for you to return your "donation", send that envelope back, too, with a note that says you wouldn't vote for her for dog catcher!

@ Scully, Congrats!!! Keep us posted!

Some times I just lay down the phone and then later come back and hang up!

As a former telemarketer here is what you do. Tell them that you really want to hear what they have to say but need to switch phones tel them you are putting them on hold. Then do it and bail. ( sorry telemarketers)

@Valerie

Thanks for your good wishes. It has been somewhat frustrating being out of work, especially with the job market as it is and all the school districts having to cut back... which is how I got laid off in the first place. Fortunately my recent move brought me back to an area where there is a drastic shortage of people with my skills and training. So the moved worked out to my benefit. The school district is on a year round schedule, so their school year began in July... so I'm coming into the school year late and not until next month after I'm approved and fingerprinted and cleared by FBI, etc.

Wow... it sounds like your daughter has had some close calls, with missing the bridge collapse. I once came out of a roll over car accident with out a scratch.... but haven't been in any natural disasters. As for the earthquake... I'm from California so we are used those here and to be honest, I've always found them sort of fun.... like a roller coaster ride. Of course there again, I've never had a building fall down around me as a result. That would be a bit more scary.

But I hope your daughter and family come through the storms untouched and hopefully your sister/cousin and uncle has evacuated Long Island. I thought I heard they were having people evacuate.

Thanks Miranda... and I surely will.