Biden Is A Good Choice

...because he shore up the Obama candidacy where it is weak. He has great credentials and has been around for a long time. Plus, he's not afraid to respond forcibly to political attacks, something Obama doesn't do. Lastly, he's just plain preferable to the other possible names, especially anti-gay bigot Sam Nunn.

The VP debate may be more fun to watch than any of the three presidential contests.

Jim

What About Me

where my head is today, even after all these years...

Jim

Woodstock 39 Years Ago This Month

I was working my way through college in the summer of '69. A friend and I planned to drive up to Woodstock in my jalopy, a 1950 Plymouth sedan. I wasn't sure the car would make it, but we never found out because he decided not to go at the last minute and so I went in to work instead (I was working the graveyard shift at an ice house - a cool place to work in the hot summertime.)Well, I've regretted not going to Woodstock ever since, although if given a second chance I would rather have been at Monterey two years earlier. I had long hair in those days, I only did grass and hash, never the hard stuff, but I loved the music and I loved the feeling of the late 60s. Debussy called Wagner's music "a beautiful sunset that has been mistaken for a sunrise." Likewise, the late 60s was, we thought, a lovely sunrise of beauty, optimism, and love...the "dawning of the age of aquarius," that ultimately turned out to be a sunset.

I originally posted this to a thread on a new forum that I recently joined at valvereplacement.com, a site for people who have heart valve disease, like me. I first found out that I had a problem with my aortic valve four years ago. It's the kind of thing that can get progressively worse, and mine is following that path. I will probably need open heart surgery and a valve replacement sometime in the future but I don't know when. The forum is great because there are a lot of knowledgeable people who post there. Questions and discussions are encouraged. Members are very supportive of each other, which helps.

Jim

PHOTO: One of the delicate delights in the garden, the Heavenly Blue morning glory

To Have and To Hold: Faith Leaders for the Freedom to Marry1

Rachel Maddow (Thank God)

At long last, some recognition in the media of a truly brilliant woman, journalist and intellectual, Rachel Maddow. Follow the link as she has landed her own MSNBC show.

What can I say about her that hasn't been said before? She is brilliant, intuitive and has a foresight in politics I have not heard from ANYONE else in the media. She backs her up statements with facts and she is incredibly well spoken. I may buy a tivo just to record her show.

Do I worship her? No. Do I enjoy her show and does her message resonate with me? Absolutely.

Hopefully, the rest of America will feel the same way I do, especially after years of listening to the blathering of Hannity ala Limbaugh for the last couple of years. They actually were quoting Limbaugh last night on ABC (Disney) News!

Turn off Fox News now, there's no reason to keep or leave your minds in the gutter. If nothing else, think of the children!

Marc

New Zogby Poll: McCain Leads Obama

In a new poll just released, McCain is now leading Obama 46 to 41 percent. It looks like all that moving to the right that Obama has done in recent weeks has hurt him rather then helped him.

Jim

The Candidates And The Evangelical Preacher

I'm not thrilled that the first presidential debate had McCain and Obama going before a Christian Right preacher. However, I'm even less thrilled that Obama could defend his pro-choice position before this audience, while throwing gay marriage under the bus once again. Yes, he says he favors "civil unions," but he has to know by now that the jury is in on them (New Jersey, for example) and they don't work. This is because civil unions are a second class imitation of full marriage. Companies don't recognize couples in unions like they would have to if they were married. Again, Obama knows this. Why doesn't he have the courage to admit it and at lease say that marriage should be left up to the states if he can't bring himself to do the right thing and support gay marriage or marriage equality outright?

Jim

The End Of The American Empire?

“This might be the beginning of the end of the American empire,” Economist Nouriel Roubini quoted in an article in the New York Times magazine. Roubini predicted the bust of the housing bubble and the recent failure of a major financial house, which turned out to be Bear-Sterns. He now thinks that our entire financial system is in jeopardy and will have to be bailed out at a cost of trillions. He believes we are in a recession that will be the worst since the great depression. Is he right? We'll know soon.

PHOTO: Nikko in the kitchen

FDR Grandson Slams McCain On Social Security

What a powerful ad!

Borgnine Is Old and Funny, But...

I have read where he has made homophobic remarks in the past. Now, I don't care what he does in the privacy of his bedroom at any age, so why should he be concerned with what I do?

Jim