Wow.

I promised myself I wasn't going to post anything else about COD, but this is unreal. You can watch the whole thing (you should) or you can go to 2:48 and 6:50 where the meat is. This is, I believe, their third debate held this morning at Widener Law School in Wilmington.

So, maybe I won't have to make phone calls for Coons after all...

The Tea Party's Almost Over (Bring Liquor!).

Don't miss tonight's debate between U. S. Senate candidates Christine O'Donnell and Chris Coons. If you can't watch tonight, then you'll want to remember to watch Bill Maher on Friday and/or SNL on Saturday for the highlights.

It's on at 7:30 EST on your local PBS station... brought to you by the letter D (for Dumb Dangerous Disastrous Delaware).

Not Delawhere but Delawhy?

Only Stephen Colbert could get Mike Castle to say "I cockblocked Delaware."

(Select watch with normal commercial breaks and you will watch ad-free.)

Bill Clinton is Still Awesome.

And I dare you to say otherwise.

Some Gorgeous Gossip (and Early Alaskan Fireworks)...

You've heard that Sarah Palin resigned. Have you heard this?

EXCLUSIVE: PALIN RESIGNATION 'DAMAGE CONTROL' FOR COMING 'ICEBERG SCANDAL' ... MORE: EMBEZZLEMENT INDICTMENTS COMING?

FURTHER UPDATE from The Brad Blog: Okay, I've now been able to get independent information from multiple sources that all of this precedes what are said to be possible federal indictments against Palin, concerning an embezzlement scandal related to the building of Palin's house and the Wasilla Sports Complex, built during her tenure as Mayor. Both structures, it is said, feature the "same windows, same wood, same products." Federal investigators have been looking into this for some time, and indictments could be imminent, according to the Alaska sources.

Palin's Wasilla Lake House

True? Or just gossip? Only time will tell...

Pipe Dreams.

From today's L.A. Times:

"An assemblyman from San Francisco announced legislation Monday to ... make California the first state in the nation to tax and regulate recreational marijuana in the same manner as alcohol.

"Buoyed by the widely held belief that cannabis is California's biggest cash crop, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano contends it is time to reap some state revenue from that harvest while putting a damper on drug use by teens, cutting police costs and even helping Mother Nature.

"Ammiano's measure, AB 390, would essentially replicate the regulatory structure used for beer, wine and hard liquor, with taxed sales barred to anyone under 21.

"He said it would actually boost public safety, keeping law enforcement focused on more serious crimes while keeping marijuana away from teenagers who can readily purchase black-market pot from peers."

An economist in Hawaii has published a paper (here) estimating $33 million in cost savings and tax benefits to that state alone.

"...California's pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year," the Times article continues.

If it's already a $14-billion industry in California alone, who are we kidding to not legalize it and reap the tax rewards from it?

As part of his economic stimulus package, FDR ended Prohibition when he took office in 1933, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and millions in revenue for the federal government at that time.

The Huffington Post did an article on the legalization of pot during the Michael Phelps flap. Go here to read it. From the article, the following points:

• It's estimated by a team of 500 economists, including Nobel laureate Milton Friedman (click here for link to the Forbes article) who advised Nixon and Reagan, that taxing marijuana like alcohol and cigarettes could bring in $6.2 billion annually.
• Job creation: farming, packaging, distribution, and of course, marketing--it's going to be a crowded playing field.
• The Netherlands, where small amounts of marijuana are sold in coffee shops, have a lower rate of drug use of every kind than the U.S.
  

From the Forbes article, "If the laws change, large beneficiaries might include large agricultural groups like Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra Foods as potential growers or distributors and liquor businesses like Constellation Brands and Allied Domecq, which understand the distribution of intoxicants." Talk to me, Wall Street.

So, what do you think? Is this a pie-in-the-sky notion (Wait! There's pie in the sky? Awesome!) or is it an idea with true economic merit whose time has come?

Nation, I Am So Proud of You.

Barack the Vote!

Oh, yeah, baby. Today's the day. I'm off to VOTE and to call Colorado and Virginia to "get out the vote" (you can help, too - go online to BarackObama.com)!! See you in Chicago at the victory celebration!! HOPE! HOPE! Hoping for an historic day!

Love,
H.G.

*UPDATE* - The First Votes Are In: Dixville Notch Votes Obama in Landslide Victory Over McCain

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. -- Democrat Barack Obama defeated John McCain 15-6. Independent Ralph Nader was also on the ballot, but received no votes.

The first voter, following tradition established in 1948, was picked ahead of the midnight voting and the rest of the town’s 19 registered voters followed suit in Tuesday’s first minutes.

Town Clerk Rick Erwin says the northern New Hampshire town is proud of its tradition, but says the most important thing is that the turnout represents 100 percent vote.

President Bush won the vote in Dixville Notch in 2004 on the way to his re-election.

*BIGGER & BETTER UPDATE*: CNN Projects Obama to win OHIO & PENNSYLVANIA.

Also, Al Franken is leading the Senate race in Minnesota.

Does Your Politics Define You?

I just saw the Oliver Stone movie, "W," and at the point where George and Laura Bush were first introduced and discussing things, it was clear that they did not see eye to eye on politics. Laura quickly said, "People are not defined by their politics," which I found interesting. So did W, as it left open what he thought was a closed door.

My first (late) husband was a Republican (at least when we met and for years thereafter) and my husband now is a Republican (currently registered as a Republican, a fiscal conservative supporting Obama). Mary Matalin is a rabid Republican strategist and her husband, James Carville, is an equally fervent Democratic strategist.

How can this be? I cannot speak to my parents about politics, yet my husband and I discuss politics even though we do not agree on all issues. We agree on major issues, I guess. And now, after years of being wrong and finally coming over from the dark side (hee hee) he has said he is registering Democrat first chance he gets. That the Republican party he belonged to no longer exists.

So, how is it that we are so passionate about our politics, yet Republicans fall in love with and marry Democrats everyday? And vice versa. Do people just pick their battles and politics isn't one? Is there always an "avoider" of confrontation in the relationship that doesn't let politics get in the way? What do you think?

Do our politics define us?

Food for Thought.

Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin - what if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three-month-old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain had graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Background:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

I found this on Anna Empiric's blog, Relish Small Pleasures; she found it on The Engaged Observer.

How To Help Obama Win.

If you live in a swing state such as Pennsylvania or Michigan, the campaign needs your help! Even if you do not live in a battleground state*, your state may be paired with a sister state for more efficient campaigning (for instance, Delaware is pretty much a shoe-in for Obama because of Biden, so we are paired with PA, which is not. And our phone calls go to PA; canvassing, etc., is done in PA).

If you're wondering what you can do, go to www.barackobama.com, find your state and possibly your neighborhood and get involved!

You can make phone calls, canvas neighborhoods, buy bumper stickers and yard signs, bring supplies to the local headquarters, enter data, write a letter to the editor of a newspaper near you...there's something for everyone to do. While I have gone to the local HQ to make phone calls, you can just download a list from the website and make calls from the comfort of your home. Just go to mybarackobama.com, sign up and get going.

Whatever you do, it is not the time to sit around waiting for change, it's time to make change happen.

There are only 15 days left to register to vote. If you are not or you know someone is not registered, you or they can register online! It's easy and fast. You can even vote absentee online.

*Battleground states are: Nevada, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire.

Let's not take one more election sitting down. Just take one or two hours one night a week or every night (weekend days and nights) to help get our country back to a place where we will be respected and once again a thoughtful contributor to the international community.

If you don't have time to spend actively campaigning, consider donating to a necessary cause. You can donate on the website (when I provide a link, my personal info comes up).

Oldies but Goodies.

From our friends at the Unemployed Philosophers Guild:

Impeachmints: Need I say more?

Disappearing Civil Rights mug. When you add hot water, the Bill of Rights starts to disappear. It might be funnier if it wasn't so true. Not dishwasher safe.

Axis of Evil III: Starring Condi, Uncle Dick, Shrub and Rummy.

And now for some completely unrelated, nonpartisan amusement.

"The Three-Martini Playdate" is not for humorless parents of Harvard-bound toddlers. Although if you know one, you may want to slip a copy in her mailbox. From the Chicago Sun-Times: "Harried mothers who have given over their lives to their adorable little angels, beware: This book is the equivalent of a cocktail in the face." Filled with bon mots such as, "Three years old is not too young to learn the fundamentals of decent vacuuming." Charming. Makes you long for the good old days when kids were kids and knew how to fetch mommy a decent cocktail.

The Sunday Funnies.

Leftover from Saturday Night (Live). In case you missed it.

Starring two of the smartest, funniest women on TV.

Watch it here.

There are 72?

Buy it from Amazon.

Are you kidding me?

Cheney slams Russia for war against Georgia

By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 4, 10:56 AM ET

TBILISI, Georgia - Demonstrating Washington's support for war-ravaged Georgia, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney condemned Russia for what he called an "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to redraw this U.S. ally's borders by force. For the complete story, click here.

Can you believe a country would illegimately and unilaterally invade a nation to usurp its oil supply? I've rarely heard of such behavior and I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

I long for the days when Cheney was only shooting his friends in the face. Want to play? Click here to see what it's like to be a card-carrying member of the NRA.

Traitor Joe.

If you're a Republican, do you even want him?