green

As for Palin, her husband was a member of a party which desires independence for Alaska. Ain't he a traitor?

As has been pointed out, William Ayres was a radical when he was a young man and Obama was only 8 years old. He is now a professor at a respected American university, the University of Chicago. Does this mean that those who sit on the hiring board of this university are also traitors to your country? Or does this mean that William Ayres has in some fashion redeemed himself over the years? I am inclined to think that the second guess is more likely. Also, I see nothing particularly wrong in Obama's association with this man or his rather unusual pastor. Your own Jesus Christ associated with quite an array of folk who could not be considered to fall into the mainstream of society at the time that He was alive. It is utterly idiotic (and grasping at straws) to consider Barack Obama a traitor merely through association.

Sadly, there has been a tradition of assassinations and assassination attempts of public and controversial figures in your country. There is also a vivid tradition of racism in certain parts of the States. There are many folks who are foolish enough to believe that the colour of Obama's skin and the fact that his middle name is Hussein are defining factors of his "wrongness" as a presidential candidate. The colour of his skin and his middle name are not accomplishments but simply part of what the man came equipped with at birth. What any individual should be judged on is his own accomplishments and Obama's, and those of his wife, are impressive. Nevertheless, there are nutbars who are present at the McCain/Palin rallies who yell out truly odious idiocies about Obama; they call this man a "traitor." This level of hatred, one which would deny the basic facts of Obama's life, does not bode well, in my opinion. In my opinion, Obama is being held to a different, and higher standard than that applied to Palin and McCain. This difference arises from racism, I think. It is unlikely that these crazies will go away once Obama becomes President. He will need to have excellent security in place.

Yep, I can be annoying. lol

I personally don't like tats. I grow bored easily and like to make changes with my appearance. A tat is forever and when you are 65 you may feel quite differently about a skull and crossbones on your hip. Your husband might be a purist and prefer the idea of unmarked human skin. And besides, these days it seems that everyone has tats. Personally speaking, I like to be different.

By the way, Watcher, you are right: you sure cannot spell. But you sure do launch some very interesting threads. Thank you, sez Green.

I think that assassination attempts might be likely. Palin and McCain are stirring up the crazies in their campaign by implying that Obama has terrorist/Islam ties or that he is in some way unAmerican. It is disgusting.

A good idea.... Kill off the babies of the poor. That way taxes can be lowered!

Good advice, Tap. I inherited a whack of cash which allowed me to retire early but I have not once phoned my money handlers in order to find out what the current bad news is. I can't change what is happening and that is why I am avoiding knowing more about my personal situation. It is a good thing, I guess, that my mate is 9 years younger than me; there is quite a few years of working life left in the kid! And that is my new retirement plan. lol

These folks who are so concerned about the rights of foetuses and yet resent paying taxes that will support and improve the school and other social systems which protect and assist children to flourish make me giggle.

Congratulations to you Froggi. I know that you have been waiting for this moment. And congratulations to SnT as well.

If money were no object my mate and I would continue to live in the heart of downtown Toronto. We both really like urban life. We would buy a larger house, though. We both like to shop and this one is getting kind of crammed. We both love travel and we have long wished to see Greenland, and the Canadian Arctic, including Baffin Island, but such cruises are much more expensive than those going to the more usual destinations. If we had more bucks we would definitely visit Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, the Norwegian Fjords, and we would travel across Russia and Mongolia. We would also travel extensively throughout South America, including Patagonia. Ahhh, that sure would be wonderful..... And we would donate more money to help animals, etc.

I gather Obama wants to raise taxes by a measely 3% for those who make over a quarter of a million per annum. This is hardly giving A students F grades.

So, 50% of your population is on some form of welfare? Wow!

This is not an accurate representation of what Obama wishes to do. He does not wish to reduce the after tax income of the wealthy to that of the lower middle class. He does, however, recognize that a family who is pulling down a quarter of a million per annum is considerably more able to participate in the tax burden than a family who is pulling down $40- or 50,000 per annum. Up here in socialized Canuckistan we are considerably more heavily taxed and yet we still do have wealthy folk and a thriving middle class. In fact, the statistics for 2005 indicated that Canadians are wealthier than Americans. The net worth of the median Canadian family is 30% richer than the median American family. (A complete breakdown of facts and figures, including those to do with our universal health system, can be found in Maclean's magazine, July 7 '08.)

It strikes me that every country needs the income which comes from taxes in order that the country might function in an orderly fashion. Basic infrastructure (such as roads) need to be maintained; children need to be educated; society needs law and order and the personnel in place to enforce this protection in order that the weaker or the law-abiding or the individual investor, take your pick, might continue to survive. All of this requires money and this traditionally comes in the form of taxes. And then, of course, there is this war in Iraq to pay for; I am under the impression that it has cost the United States more than a trillion dollars so far. Indeed, America has a huge foreign debt and its biggest lender is China. And this was the situation before the debacle on Wall Street. Taxes are a necessary evil. Why not place a greater burden on those who can most afford to pay, those families who are the nation's highest earners?

I agree with Mac. By reading the links we can judge whether the post has credibility or not.

I am sorry to hear that you have been going through bad times. High school has been a hellish experience for many of us. It seems that if you are the least bit different from the herd you will be tormented by bullies. My own high school days were lousy but I sure do enjoy my life as an adult! I trust that you will be getting the help you need and that you will soon be feeling better.

Every child should be a wanted child. It is much less likely to be an abused child if it is wanted.

It is pretty much impossible even now to find a doctor who will tie a woman's tubes unless she is older and/or has already had children. Women who do want a sex life and who don't want children must practice responsible birth control and yet can only hope that this does not fail them. In cases when this does fail it is good to know that these women have the option of terminating their pregnancies should they so wish. I am now 59 and have never regretted terminating my pregnancy when I was 31.

I had an abortion and I don't regret it. I had one because I have never ever wanted to have children and my birth control method failed. I was 31 years old at the time. I was relieved that I was able to have a timely and legal abortion. Had this not been an option, I would have had to go the illegal route. Not all sexually active women want children, you know, yet that doesn't make us any less desireous of our sexual rights than those folks who do.

I like your fantasies, Tapshoes.

Yah, I prefer cats. They are the lazy individual's pets. Little or no training required. You don't have to wash them. You don't have to pick up their poop when it is - ugh! - hot and fresh. They are quiet most of the time. And their fur is very soft. I have one sitting on my lap right now.

I agree, too.

They both looked like idiots to me. Obama's health is better, though.