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Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

The Dems are getting nervous. The polls are tightening, knuckles are whitening, and the prospects are frightening! Witness this HUffPo THREAD by Sherman Yellen, "My Coming November Crackup." In spite of some polls giving Obama a sizeable lead, this old HUffie fears Rovian Republican chicanery come Election Day. Hee! Hee! So before we get to his thread, let's reinforce Sherman's fears with a song. Click and sing along! CRY (If you see polls)By Johnnie Ray-of-Sunshine Tune: "Cry" (If your sweetheart) Original If you see polls that turn out to be too high It's just Diebold, you'll feel better if...

Sen. John McCain's growing popularity among women is fueling speculation that he will selecta female running mate, ripening talk about conservative favorite Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, and former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina, one of his top economic advisers. Political pundits, election strategists and even some Democrats say putting a dynamic woman on the Republican ballot would tip independents, especially the "security moms" who helped President Bush win re-election in 2004. "If McCain picked a woman, it would certainly get the attention and perhaps votes of some Democrats and a number of independents who supported Hillary Clinton," said...

The consumer price index jumped 0.8% in November, the Labor Department said Friday, up sharply from October's 0.3% rise and the biggest increase since September 2005. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.3%, it biggest rise since January. Consumer prices were up 4.3% from a year ago, matching the highest rate since September 2005. The core CPI was up 2.3% compared to the same month a year ago, up from 2.2% in October. That's the first increase in annual core inflation since January

THE BATTLE OF THE WASHITA (November 27, 1868, Indian territory - modern-day Oklahoma) Gregory F. Michno, ENCYCLOPEDIA of Indian Wars 1850-1890, pages 226-227 "On November 12, 1868 , 11 companies of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George A. Custer, 3 companies of the 3rd Infantry, 1 of the 5th Infantry, 1 of the 38th Infantry, and about 450 wagons set out from Fort Dodgefor Indian territory to seek out hostile Indians. Across a snow-covered landscape Custer followed Indian trails to a 50-lodge Cheyenne village on the banks of the Washita River. Early on the frigid morning of 27 November,...

Friday, November 16, 2007 According to predictions, the famous Leonid meteor shower will peak this weekend. The best viewing is predicted to be during the wee hours before dawn on Sunday, when you might see as many as 10 to 15 meteors per hour. But meteor showers are notorious for defying predictions, so don’t discount Saturday and Monday mornings. And don’t be too surprised if the Leonids surpass or fall shy of the predictions. Even though the first quarter moon will light the evening sky, moonlight shouldn’t bother this year’s Leonid meteor display. As a general rule, the fast-flying Leonid...

Follow link. Seems appropriate given today's date. Enjoy.

Source: Loyola University Health System Date: September 30, 2007 Does Your Mood Take A Nosedive Each November? Science Daily — If you notice that your mood, energy level and motivation take a nosedive each November only to return to normal in April, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), according to Loyola University Health System doctors. “This condition, characterized by depression, exhaustion and lack of interest in people and regular activities, interferes with a person’s outlook on life and ability to function properly,” said Dr. Angelos Halaris, chair of Loyola’s department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences. But people should not...

WASHINGTON — For months September has been cast as a pivotal time for determining the course of the war in Iraq, yet a top general now says a solid judgment on the U.S. troop buildup there may not come until November. Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno told reporters after a Senate hearing Thursday that he would need beyond September to tell if improvements in Iraq represent long-term trends. "In order to do a good assessment I need at least until November," said Odierno, a deputy to Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq. Petraeus and other officials testified before...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new homes rose 3.5% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.047 million, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Sales are now down 15.3% in the past year, the government's data showed. Sales in October were revised higher, to a sales pace of 1.013 million from 1.004 million that had been estimated previously. See the full government report. The median sales price of a new home rose by 3.2%, reaching $251,700.

Environment Canada says such low temperatures unusual for this time of year. The arctic deep freeze trapping Calgary is on track to break a 110-year-old weather record today, but the bitter cold is expected to ease in the coming days. With a forecast low of -31C today, Calgary could break the -27C record set on this day in 1896. But factoring in the wind chill, it will feel even colder to people who have to brave the elements, said Environment Canada meteorologist Ross Macdonald. It's even been too frosty to ski, with Canada Olympic Park shutting the hill yesterday in...

Media reality says that the Democrats are going to win — either a colossal win or at least a narrow win — in the House and Senate races November 7. Maybe. But I am sticking to my view, expressed last June 15, that the Republicans will actually gain seats this fall, both in the House and in the Senate. Well, maybe only in the Senate, while holding the House. Put another way, I am expecting a delicious “November Surprise.” I know, I know. Unrealistic. All my friends who are numbers crunchers and “realistic” think that the Republicans are toast. Some...

On C-Span now Chris Van Hollen(D) Congressional Campaing cmte (Laugh out loud Barf Alert)

San Francisco propositions put on by the Marxist who want more money, and more power. Vote No for all of them. http://www.sfsupervisor.com/docs/sf%20measures.htm

This summer I gave two speeches that defined the unique challenges that confront the United States as we conduct a new world war. I gave those speeches-one in Washington at the National Press Club, and one here in Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Press Club-because I believe that now more than ever we need to study the past, learn from events, and take proactive measures to protect our freedoms at home and provide a safer world in which to exercise those freedoms. I am here again today talking about this issue because Islamic Fascism continues to rear its ugly head. And...

Democrats, the Media, and many Republicans are questioning whether Christian Conservatives will turn out in any numbers to effect the upcoming elections. After the Mark Foley scandal beginning earlier this month to increased violence in Iraq, many polls have given the Left a huge win in perhaps both houses of Congress. The real question is if Democrats, after suffering so many setbacks in recent years, will turn out in to support their ailing Party. I began pondering this question as far back as the 2004 Presidential Election, after George Bush trounced Senator John Kerry in an unexpected win. Such was...

The same Democratic leaders who have long hoped to regain control of Congress by blasting a Republican "culture of corruption" are in danger of losing their shot at the Senate because of accusations of corruption against Sen. Robert Menendez. What was expected to be an easy win for Democrats has become one of the nation's most hotly contested Senate races. Mr. Menendez, New Jersey Democrat, has been plagued by news reports that he's under federal investigation for a long-standing rental deal with a nonprofit group that received millions in federal funding while he was a House member. His Republican opponent,...

LIKE OTHER DEEP-THINKING people, I'm full of principled, idealistic, high-minded indignation at the GOP. What a stampede of sleaze. Jack Abramoff is the world's best lobbyist--for the Federal Penitentiary System. Bob Ney was deep in the ethical rough at St. Andrew's. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's favorite weap ons system turned out to be the political suicide bomb. Tom DeLay may or may not have broken campaign finance laws, but he did his best to look like he was breaking them. He might as well have tied quail feathers to the GOP majority in Congress and sent it hunting with Dick Cheney....

Democrats hope enthusiasm trumps Republican efficiency in the battle for control of Congress. Otherwise, they concede, they will have problems on Nov. 7 as a party still struggling to catch up with Republicans' ability to get voters to go to the polls. "Makes me green with envy," said Ellen Malcolm, the president of EMILY's List, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate to knock Republicans from power. "If the Republicans are less enthused, the independents are breaking our way, and the Democratic base...

CALIFORNIA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will go to New York on Monday to discuss his landmark law on global warming with fellow Republicans as pressure builds on US President George W. Bush to take a tougher stance on greenhouse gases. Mr Schwarzenegger will meet separately with Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "to discuss the implementation of California's landmark market-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction system," his office said overnight. Last month, Mr Schwarzenegger signed the Democratic-sponsored Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which mandates caps on emissions to reduce greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020. The governor,...

WASHINGTON - The North Korean nuke test wasn't the dramatic change-the-subject development Republicans have been praying for, but it offers the embattled GOP some hope in the 29 days before the election, political experts said yesterday. Political pros say the test will be a temporary diversion from the Mark Foley cybersex scandal down the closing stretch of congressional campaigns and could play to the GOP's biggest strength: national security. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), for instance, quickly accused Democrats of standing in the way of a missile-defense program: "It is now clear that such a position would weaken America's...

GOP Will Win in November Philip V. Brennan Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 "Run for the hills, the dam has burst!" was the alarm shouted by the horde of panicked people racing to get out of town ahead of the floodwaters in the famous James Thurber story that ended with someone halting the exodus by asking, "What dam?" At the moment, we're hearing a similar cry about the coming November 7 congressional elections. This time, according to the media, the barbarian Democratic hordes and a few nervous Nellies in the GOP, it is the Republican dam bursting, ready to wash any...

Democrats and liberal judges say terrorists have the same rights as you. Democrats will impeach President Bush for spying on terrorists. Democrats will cancel the Patriot Act, terrorists surveillance and missile defense programs. Stop obstruction and the filibuster. Vote for a Republican majority! If you're not an extremist, you're not a democrat. Take the red pill (R). Take the blue pill (D). VOTE!

DEMOCRATIC candidates have a big edge on Republicans one month before elections to decide control of Congress, a flurry of new polls said today, with ratings for President George W Bush and Congress dropping after the Capitol Hill sex scandal. A USA Today/Gallup poll gave Democrats a 23-point edge on Republicans in the battle for Congress, while a CNN poll gave Democrats a 21-point lead. An ABC News/Washington Post poll found Democrats held a 54-41 per cent lead in the congressional horse race among registered and likely voters, which ABC said was the biggest Democratic lead this close to election...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats are hoping Hispanic voters will help them win control of Congress in midterm elections next month, and are promising help for immigrants in return. Turnout is historically low for this swelling segment of the US electorate, but the community showed its political potential with massive demonstrations on immigration reform earlier this year -- and the Republican-controlled Congress has delivered little joy on their top issue. "The key is getting Hispanic voters out to vote," Democratic Party president Howard Dean said ahead of November 7 elections in which all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and...

Suffering the malevolence of what is being Left, has become something of a rite in the passing of citizens of what is Right to champions of Reason; idiocy being a bump in the road to real human progress. But, suffering the obstinance of one's own fools on the Right is virtually insufferable given the political disasters their short-sided, myopic, irresponsible, indignation stands to unleash. Does anyone remember, Perot? It only takes 10% stupidity to yield 8 years of deterioration. Now is not the time to test a unified theory, of righteous abandon. Too much is at stake, to risk an...

After what they have seen and heard over the past few weeks -- events including the news of a Republican congressman's improper correspondence with a teenage page and the recent release of journalist Bob Woodward's unfavorable portrayal of the Bush administration's handling of Iraq – respondents to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, say they have a less favorable impression of the Republicans maintaining control of Congress. What's more, a strong plurality believes the Iraq war is hurting the country's ability to win the war on terrorism, a significant shift from a month...

Is Ted Kennedy going to hold the entire city of Fallujah accountable for violating the Geneva Conventions when they killed four non-military American contractors, burnt and beat their bodies and hung them from a bridge? How are democrats going prosecute the masked terrorists when they beheaded Nick Berg, Paul Johnson and others? Will the democrats voting Geneva Convention and Habeas Corpus rights to terrorists stipulate that when video taping a beheading, terrorists not wear masks, clearly identify themselves and where they can be reached? How would we process Osama Bin Laden if we caught him alive? Would we treat...

WASHINGTON -- Say this much for Bill Clinton. He doesn't walk quietly. Wherever the former president goes, he can still command a large public megaphone. And, as with all things Clinton, that can be both good and bad, depending upon the view. His white-hot, finger-wagging interview on "Fox News Sunday"--filled with accusations about conservative bias and Bush administration blunders--has thrust Clinton into the midterm election campaign just as the Republicans appeared to be erasing some healthy Democratic advantages. For some Democrats, that's just what they would like to see: debate on a big stage between Clinton and his successor, President...

I have never registered or voted Dimo nor have I ever made any sort of contribution to a Dimo cause...unless you consider serving in Vietnam as such... Notwithstanding, here is the DCCC.org spam as of minutes ago...Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Dear John, There are less than 10 weeks left, an electorate demanding change and Democratic candidates on the march -- and Democrats are poised for significant gains in the House. And we have you and tens of thousands of other DCCC supporters to thank. It is because of your generous financial and grassroots support that Democrats are in the best...

McClintock Reviews the November Ballot Propositions General Election - November 7, 2006 Prop. 1A Transportation Funding Protection:  YES!  For years, the Legislature has raided our highway taxes for general fund spending.  Though it’s more window dressing than relief, this measure makes it marginally harder to do so. Prop. 1B Transportation Bond:  NO!  Although some of this money is for long overdue road construction, most goes for equipment, maintenance and social programs that will be obsolete decades before our children have finished paying off the debt.  Californians pay the third highest tax per gallon of gasoline in the country –...

Just over one month ago, the Crystal Ball argued that a larger wave than currently existed at the time would have to build in order for Republicans to lose their congressional majorities. At the time, the race-by-race rather than national dynamic of competitive races pointed more towards a "micro-wave" than a "macro-wave" for out-of-power Democrats. But now, with a quarter of time elapsed between that pulse-reading and the election, surer signs are emerging that something more substantial than a "micro-wave" is heating up this summer. Historical trends and big picture indicators--generic congressional ballot tests and approval ratings of President Bush's...

Daily I am asked my opinion as to whether the Democrats are going to take over the Congress this autumn. I put the question to a dozen or so colleagues at a luncheon last week in the Capitol. Most of those who were counted believed that the GOP would hang on to both houses but by the narrowest of margins. That would resemble Congress after the 2000 election, when Speaker J. Dennis Hastert hung on to his job by a five-vote margin and the Senate was in Republican hands only by virtue of Vice President Richard G. Cheney's having broken...

The fight for control of the House is getting more ink than the battle for control of the Senate, but several recent shifts in individual Senate races merit attention. All year, talk about the Democrats' chances of taking the Senate has focused on the five most endangered Republican incumbents. They are, roughly in order of vulnerability, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Conrad Burns of Montana, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Jim Talent of Missouri. The discussions then turn to the second tier of vulnerable Republicans, speculating whether Democrats can perhaps pick up a sixth seat (the...

California voters will get a second chance to rule on whether parents should be notified when their daughters seek abortions. They'll also decide whether tobacco taxes should be raised to pay for a variety of anti-smoking and health care programs. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said Tuesday that both initiatives had attracted enough voter signatures to make the November ballot. They join eight other proposals that previously made the ballot, although a bill moving through the Legislature would move one of those measures, a $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond, to the November 2008 ballot. The abortion measure would require parents...

Conservative columnists have a case of congressional crankiness. Take Peggy Noonan at the Wall Street Journal, for example. She wrote last week that Republicans on the Hill are so far off track it might take losing in November to unlearn the lessons of power. Media critic Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post found her mood so foreboding he suggested only Prozac might lift conservatives' gathering gloom. Frustration among conservatives is both palpable and understandable. Many believe -- accurately, I might add -- their pens played a role in promoting the emergence of the Republican majority in Congress. ---snip--- Frustrated conservatives...

That is a question being debated by Mark Tapscott and Jim Geraghty. And lest you think this is an academic debate, think again -- there are indeed many conservatives who, like Tapscott, think that a minor drubbing at the polls this November is just what the Dr. ordered to remedy the GOP's current big spending ailment. Tapscott argues that a GOP loss of the House would set conservatives up nicely to retake the House and keep (or some may say retake) the Presidency. There would be lots of talk about insanities like impeachment, congressional investigations, repealing the Bush tax cuts...

What's behind the president's, and the Congressional Republicans', poll drop? All the bad news that's been noted, from Iraq and Katrina to high spending and immigration. What's behind the bad decisions made in those areas? Detachment from the ground. Power is distancing. When you've been in Congress for a while, or the White House for a while, you both forget too many things and learn too many things. You forget why they sent you. You forget it's not that you're charming and wonderful. You forget it's not you. You become immersed in a Washington conversation, a political conversation, that is,...

Counting on victory in November, Democrats outline plansHomeland security, a boost to the minimum wage and White House investigations top legislative agenda By Jonathan Weisman WASHINGTON POST Posted on Sun, May. 07, 2006 WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage, roll back parts of the Republican prescription drug law, implement homeland security measures and reinstate lapsed budget deficit controls. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said last week that a Democratic House...

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman met with Republican members of Congress this week to impress upon them just how bad the opinion polls are looking for them, and warning that they face a possible catastrophe in November. This warning contributed to GOP determination to pass a tax reconciliation bill that will extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts beyond their current expiration dates at the end of the decade. On Tuesday, Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) were supposed to meet with President Bush in the Oval office to discuss the tax...

Who would you like to advance?    4 Tom Coburn 58   47.5%    1 J.C. Watts 64   52.5% Who would you like to advance?    10 John Roberts 56   45.9%    3 Rick Santorum 66   54.1% Who would you like to advance?    5 Rudy Guiliani 33   27.7%    16 Mike Pence 86   72.3% Who would you like to advance?    2 Condi Rice 44   36.7%    6 Mitt Romney 76   63.3% Who would you like to advance?    4 Elizabeth Dole 43   35.5%    1 Newt Gingrich 78  ...

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a crowd of about 3,000 people at Oklahoma State University that he won't contemplate a 2008 presidential bid until after November's elections. Giuliani, who gained international attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said it's important for the nation's security that Republicans retain control in Congress. "I want to make sure that I can do everything that I can to help my party hold onto the House and the Senate because I think it's very, very important to continue the effort that we're making against terrorism, to have the commitment that...

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2006 – Coalition forces rescued three hostages held by terrorists in Iraq since November in an early morning raid today, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said. "Based on intelligence that we recovered over the last 36 hours, an operation was planned and conducted, and those three hostages were rescued," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said during a briefing from Baghdad. "I'm happy to report all three are in good condition." The hostages, Christian peace activists, have undergone medical screening and are anxious to be reunited with their families, Lynch said. A fourth hostage, and the only American...

It seems as though the only people still talking about the looming deadline to get a infrastructure bond proposal on the June 6 ballot... are interest groups and, yours truly, the news media. The leadership of both houses and Governor Schwarzenegger met for around 90 minutes this morning, with an agenda that was officially about emergency preparedness. But the real issue remains the status of any deal on a major public works proposal, in light of the governor's $222 billion Strategic Growth Plan and individual plans from the Democratic leaders of both the Senate and Assembly. It's hard to see...

Massachusetts Republicans, November presents the opportunity you've been waiting for all your lives. After Lard Ass's appalling behaviour at this week's Alito hearings, he is finally nationally (internationally?) exposed as the fat, drunken, left-wing oaf he is. He is seen by all the world as a bloody disgrace! Surely, millions of Massachusetts voters must be wondering what the hell they have representing them in Washington. Given LA Kennedy's advanced age and clearly failing mental capacity, this will be the last chance to kick him to the curb. It will also be the best chance. Get your act together and run...

Here’s some news for Democrats licking their chops at the prospect of President George W. Bush’s current problems leading to big gains in November’s off-year elections: The only thing you’re going to get this year is chapped chops. With Bush coming off a terrible year of mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq, various Republican financial scandals, a Supreme Court nominee fiasco and plunging polls, one would think the Democrats are nicely positioned for a good shot at winning back either the House or Senate, if not both. But one would be wrong. What is going to save the Republicans this year,...

This November we honor the extraordinary contributions of our nation’s military families as part of National Military Family Appreciation Month. Throughout our history, the steadfast support of military families has always been a source of inspiration. You have faced the special challenges of long deployments, family separations and frequent relocations with great courage and resolve. In doing so, your selfless dedication has directly contributed to the mission readiness of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Merchant Marines. My heartfelt thanks to the families who sacrifice so much—you are patriots in a quiet, strong way and you make all...

It has been unusually warm here in Western Kentucky. I took this photograph tonight in my backyard. Paducah has been above normal almost daily since the beginning of the month.

Coloradans have no commonsense. Within one year we reelected a financially incompetent, liberal Ken Salazar, then raised our own taxes and legalized marijuana. What is wrong with my neighbors? Well, they want to smoke pot and pay more taxes. One problem explains the other. Drug abuse is a large cause of liberal thinking. This is proven historically as we look at the ‘60s and ‘70s. Drug abuse and modern liberalism are synonymous. Person becomes rebel. Rebel smokes pot. Pot affects mind, causing liberal thinking. Liberals raise taxes. Its simple! Fortunately state and federal law will ensure that nothing in Denver...