It is class warfare…the question is…who is winning?

European stock markets are now down another 5+% today. The Nissei was down 9.7% when it closed. Russia shutdown its stock exchange again today and it will remain closed indefinitely. Iceland and the UK have nationalized some banks. On the European Continent, the number of banks being nationalized has jumped as well. The run on banks has begun in earnest…

Russia has extended an offer of a $5 billion loan to Iceland to help prop up Iceland’s banks–a delegation from Iceland will be arriving in Moscow soon to finish negotiating the exchange. Draw your own conclusions.

Here’s the BBC report on Iceland and the Russian loan…

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp…..ussia_bank

not me

my 5 was in reply to your 1

need sleep and/or coffee

In the early 80s they gave a class war, and only the rich showed up. They won by forfeit.

A few days ago, I posted a link to this Dkos diary by Devilstower. It shows one of the ways that the elite have been able to get the middle class to consistently vote against it own economic interest. It concludes:

Broad ownership of deferred compensation plans has greatly changed how we view the stock market and made us more willing to take action that benefits the market. It’s likely that not only the $700 billion bailout, but much of the deregulation that made that bailout necessary, would not have been possible without the change in attitude created through deferred compensation plans. We were willing to let them get away with being weasels, because we thought we would gather part of the benefit from their activities.

This is, of course, an illusion. This impression that stocks are now in the hands of average Americans is a thin veneer over the situation as it has always existed. The median amount of money Americans hold in retirement accounts is around $35,000 – hardly a stock market bonanza — and even this number fails to capture the real situation. For Americans below the 60th percentile on income, the amount held in retirement accounts is around $15,000. For the top 10%, the number is $182,000. Similar numbers apply to direct stock ownership. Around 85% of all stock is owned by those families in the top 10% income bracket. The top 1% owns over half.

What Reagan said in 1975 is still true – a very small number of Americans own the means of production, while the rest work for them. The difference now is that we think we are among the owners, which has been a tremendous benefit to that handful of “real capitalists.”

They turned the pension system into a weapon that worked to their benefit, both at the bank and in the polling booth. Which is why they’re so anxious to do the same for Social Security.

morning wigwam. great diary, thanks for the link. and not just the middle class either… the have-less than middle class too. i think chris hedges makes a good argument that it’s been in effect a pincer move – while the republicans have been lying to us about what our interests are, the democrats have stopped being the party of the working class and now represent a faction (although in some cases a slightly different faction than the republicans) of the capitalist class (thank you bill clinton and the dlc). so in effect, we now have the party of the insane republicans, called the Republican Party, and the sane republicans, called the Democratic Party. i wonder if it would have been so easy to get us to ignore our economic interests if there was a real party that represented us?

well, as we’re now finding out the hard way, it’s in almost everyone economic interest not to have the crazies in charge. even if the Democrats are happy to fuck us over, as clinton was, i can’t see bill clinton being as amazingly incompetent as bushco.

From Watertiger last week.
Jump
(might as well)

George Bush’s base
(same as the past 7.75 years)

When the “leadership” preaches unfettered markets and greater and greater financial wealth is considered “success” why should it be a surprise when greed becomes the driving force. For eons it seems America has been preaching “individualism” rather than community and, of course, the result is a country that is driven by the big “fuck you”. It will take generations for America to put community first. Before we take care of our elderly, sick and needy, there will have to be a rude awakening to the fact that rugged individualism does not a country make.

I have a wealthy (software) neighbour that is buying up homes that have been foreclosed I asked him the other day if he felt bad about the people forced to the streets. “No”, was his reply, “they should not have gotten the loans in the firs place” I asked him whether it would not be better for all in the neighbourhood if he would instead use his millions to help those in need, by donating a few dollars to help people avoid foreclosure. He went on to say that getting a good deal on a house from a bank is “The American way” and the problem is that he is right, it is the American way to fuck those less fortunate.

We’re really re-doing the best of the 80s this am I see. Was just thinking about how this,

Take a strong umbrella to the financial district today, it may be raining brokers.

gives a whole new shade to the Weather Girls’ big one.

Good morning, pups. It’s MoDo and Friedman today. MoDo tells us about “Mud Pies For ‘That One’.” She says John McCain has long been torn between wanting to succeed and serving a higher cause. Right now, the drive to succeed is trumping any loftier aspirations. I wonder if McCain is now having second thoughts about booting her off the plane… Mr. Friedman discusses “Palin’s Kind of Patriotism,” and says that Sarah Palin defended the surge in Iraq and the $700 billion rescue plan. Yet, she said that Americans who pay taxes to support such endeavors should not be considered patriotic.

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee and tea are ready, and I’ve got apple walnut muffins that just came out of the oven. It’s a good morning — not only did Obama stomp McSlime into dust, but we got rain last night, and may get more today. 104 days to go… Have a good one today.

Good Morning, I do not understand the times here at the lake. But I guess you’ve been up for a while to be so well informed and serving such a lovely breakfast. Be there in a minute. Thanks.

Iirc, wasn’t modo completely free of *any* snide ref to dems today? Kicking her off the plane would appear to have been a reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllllly bad move. *g*

If there’s any rain left over, please send it up our way.

Pacific time on their server, is that what you mean?

I feel like an a by-stander who can’t keep his eyes off the carnage of a terrible traffic accident. This economic meltdown is like that. Unfortunately, I’m not a by-stander. In a year I will be living off what’s left of my personal financial record.

i want a different American way.

good morning pups

mini-drive by—-i am incensed at 6 in the morning, not good. not good for the target of my ire anyway.

time warner cable added the ‘big ten’ channel, bumped the travel channel to cspan2 and bumped cspan2 to the digital package……..that means that i can’t tape it and watch another channel which i can do without the box, now have to watch it on the ‘box’, what really burns me is that people now have to pay 8 extra bucks a month to watch it on a digital box…..

i thought that the deal the cable companies made in the 80’s was that the senate and the house were required to be shown???????

told the customer service guy (one of three) that i guess i’ll be watching a show about puerto rico today instead of caring what is going on in our government during the ‘bailout’—a month before elections.

will be doing phone calls and letters to congress and fcc today, any extra complaintants i would appreciate you calling, too. i remember hearing people complain about it, too, comquest did it too? was it comquest?

here’s the number.they open at 8.
fcc 1-888-225-5322.

(crazy busy here, miss the lake)

Amazing how the Reagan revolution has corrupted American morals. Even Herbert Hoover (or especially Herbert Hoover) would not have said or done what your neighbour is doing and saying. This crisis will get a lot worse before it gets better, and if that greed holds up, we will be eating our own.

I really wanted the Aztec Camera version but couldn’t find it on youtube

I put this up earlier in the morning but wanted more people to see it…and cnn just showed a clip of palin at the restaurant -

Fluff piece from the wapo on palin after her last appearance today yesterday in Greenville, NC:

http://voices.washingtonpost.c…..nc_pi.html

[snip]
The campaign hadn’t scheduled a debating watching party for her, but that plan quickly changed. After Palin spoke at a rally here, her campaign entourage of aides and reporters drove to a local pizzeria called Boli’s on the Boulevard. Palin went casual, appearing in blue jeans and a purple windbreaker she had been given after her speech at the East Carolina University a few minutes earlier.

[snip]

As the debate started, the governor sat with Charlotte mayor Patrick McCrory, and the state’s Republican senators, Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, along with Burr’s wife, as several televisions in the bar showed the Fox News telecast of the debate.

[snip]

[my bold]

Yeah, riiiiiiiight! An “unscheduled debate watching party” and she *just happens* to meet up with some of NC’s biggest thugs. Just exactly how stupid is the so-called reporter who filed this tripe?

monday i was watching the dow, which i almost never do (can go for months without looking), and said something similar – that it felt perverse, like watching in fascination as a neighbor’s house burned down.

have purposefully not looked at my 401k.

If there’s any rain left over, please send it up our way.

I would if I could – it’s going to be a chilly wet walk to the train this AM here in Chicago
Unless you are in MI, I fear you won’t see it tho.

Probably….thanks

oh, and it’s finally raining, but not hard enough..we’ve had and inch maybe in the last couple months.everything is crunchy. affected fall colors, but still pretty.

In a neighborhood near mine, someone has put up a roughly hewn and lettered lawn sign saying, “We need a New Deal”.

yeah, i’m sure libby was free debate night, had a clear schedule, a month before elections, of course she was!!!

where was bob? out lobbying?

As far as class war, I think the problem goes back to Reagan, but the forfeit came when Americans began to have the perception that the Democrats no longer represented them either.

So with neither party fighting for “our side” in the class war, too many Americans gave up and just voted on a couple of wedge issues (like abortion) that they felt they may have some impact on.

Obama keeps dipping his toe into the pool of populist rhetoric and it seems to be helping, but we need to make sure he plunges all-the-way in.

Maybe they were not expecting Palin.
I get the impression that the majority of the Republican party is trying their damnedest to pretend this Presidential campaign is not happening.

i felt that way watching mccain last night, had to turn the channel….then back, then turn it…was excruciating…….taped it. am gonna watch what i missed here in a minute.

Obama keeps dipping his toe into the pool of populist rhetoric and it seems to be helping, but we need to make sure he plunges all-the-way in.

if he doesn’t he’s going to leave the populist field free for the newt gingriches and other rightwing crazies to exploit.

OK, I’m now officially freaked. My public radio station (24/7 classical music) just announced they have suspended their fall fundraising drive, which was in progress. Sounded to me like it was going ok, but who knows.

Said they cannot ignore what is going on in the world and our community and how many listeners rely on the station for comfort and solace in difficult times. So they are reverting to their usual programming.

sure as hell ain’t me. i really don’t know why the righties are so fond of this mantra. when they use it,. most people i think figure “Well, if there is class warfare, the Republicans ar te enemy.”

Fed, ECB, Central Banks Lower Rates in Coordinated Reduction

in my view, if/when Obama’s elected he’s fucked.

Supposedly, this president was still 2 points more popular then the worst in history, I don’t suppose he will enjoy those two points after today

whoever does those polls should be doing it right now

Amazing how the Reagan revolution has corrupted American morals

Although the era has been named “The Reagan Revolution” poor old ronnie was only being told what to do by the fascist cabal of which Cheney was a major player along with Rummy and the sprouting neo-cons and the rest of the Nixon crew. Money was/is their mantra and they did/do not give a sweet shit who or what they have to destroy to get what they want, money and power. Unless the neos are rooted out and dealt with this time around, unlike the way that they were let off the hook in the Nixon era, they will be still be in power and we will continue to be enslaved by them. Although thanks to fancy Nancy dealing with them seems to be off the table. Grrrrrr

Awwwww, CNN is reporting this morning the republicans are feeling demoralized after last night’s debate. Bah hahahahahahaha! Demoralized!!! Oh wow, neocons, I guess when you blamed the liberals all these years for what YOUR PARTY did, I guess you didn’t expect the liberals to be the rational ones in a time of crisis! It’s your crisis now and we ain’t throwin’ ya a life preserver!

Guess the neocons have to be nice to us from now on. Bah hahahahahahaha! Assholes.

Attaturk, great picture for this post. Represents what is going on, doesn’t it? The world will be forced to eat our own boots thanks to George Bush’s failed economic policies and his greedy assholes on Wall Street.

there has been a class warfare since reagan, bush hasn’t done much except speed the process

I hate to say it but speeding the process might have been just what our country needed to get us back on track

if obama studies history, he’ll understand what he has to do, create a new deal

if he bows to his corporate sponsors, (the more likely scenario, he has proven that’s where his loyaly’s lye) then the class war is not reversed, simply slowed

the reagan tax increases must be rescinded, we must go back to the tax structure before reagan raised taxes and in doing we must shift the burden back off the middle class and back on to those that have gained the most through our system

that’s called rent where I come from, it’s called “paying your own bills”, it’s called “paying back the investments made by those before you”

it’s NOT called “raising taxes” it’s called paying your bills

So far he is only looking at the pool from a looooong way away.

Wow! Sunny, that *does* sound weird…..but very nice the way the station phrased it. Do you reckon it might be they think many people just don’t have the spare change to make a donation? OTOH, how can public radio run without $$$ from listeners/supporters?

Although the era has been named “The Reagan Revolution” poor old ronnie was only being told what to do by the fascist cabal of which Cheney was a major player along with Rummy and the sprouting neo-cons and the rest of the Nixon crew

reagan didn’t become senile till his second term, I still blame reagan for beginning the process, facilitated by cheney and rumsfeld.

bush sr was the real president in reagans second term but I blame reagan the first term for everything that began

As are we all, only in our cases, there ain’t no “if” about it. :-(

Wow! Sunny, that *does* sound weird…..but very nice the way the station phrased it. Do you reckon it might be they think many people just don’t have the spare change to make a donation? OTOH, how can public radio run without $$$ from listeners/supporters?

I suspect they had an investment fund, they won’t be investing or producing concerts, they might also have acquired an investment angel that had something to do with it

if McCain win’s the election……….. i honestly can’t finish that sentence. words fail me. help?

Well it’s another day and undoubtedly another Rethug sleazefest or two. This afternoon and evening it is more canvassing. Just hope the wind dies down.

Too funny. Given her current campaign straits, must have been a tough choice for Liddy. Betcha she’s already regretting it.

As are we all, only in our cases, there ain’t no “if” about it. :-(

STILL a big if, they still control the machines in swing states, they have already removed hundreds of thousands from the voting roll

and they still have an october surprise they might pull out of the hat

do not beleive this adminsitration cares if there are riots, they might even welcome them, they are too brazen, to power hungry

I have said for quite a while I did not believe they would be amassing all this power for a black man, I still believe they have something up their sleeve

I actually thought they would declare this financial crisis the “catastrophe” they were looking for

less then a month to go

is there another debate?

if McCain win’s the election……….. i honestly can’t finish that sentence. words fail me. help?

I felt exactly the same with kerry

kerry didn’t lose, yet bush is our president

hang on to hats

Heard part of replay of the debate on radio this am. McCain sounds even worse, to me, when not seeing him. He sounded weak….maybe the volume was low ;), but his tone is weird.

Last night, Barack did say he will reverse the policies of the last 8 years. Even if he reversed the 4 big ones, our nation would improve greatly!

I trust Barack Obama. I do not trust anyone with an “R” or a “U” (’unaffiliated’ who always votes republican) after their name.

MOrning!
Here’s what’s up on Washington Journal
Looking forward to the Nell Minnow segment

7:30-8:30 JONATHAN CAPEHART
R/T Washington Post
Editorial Board Member http://www.washingtonpost.com
DEBORAH SIMMONS
Washington Times
Editorial Page Editor http://www.washtimes.com
Topic: Our guests will discuss previous night’s debate and analyze its impact on the general presidential election.

8:30-9:00 NELL MINOW
The Corporate Library
Founder http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com
Topic: Discuss issues related to the Financial Market Law relating to executive compensation. The bill calls for Wall Street firms assisted by the government to limit the amount of compensation their top executives receive. Ms. Minow testified on Monday in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Lehman Brothers. Segment is part of a series looking at the Financial Services Law this week.

9:00-9:30 Newspaper Articles/Phones

9:30-10:00 VINCENT REINHART
Former Monetary Affairs Director
Federal Reserve Board, 2001-07 http://www.aei.org
Topic: As European leaders attempt to fashion a bailout agreement for their markets, the U.S. Federal Reserve Tuesday announced it will buy short-term commercial debt, in an effort to unfreeze the credit market. Our guest discusses the latest developments in the U.S. and European financial markets.

obama is now inoculated from fuckdom

if this crash happened after he was elected, even if it happened before he took office, then he would have been fucked, they would have blamed the lack of confidence on barak

but it happened before, barak is inoculated, which is not a good thing, that’s the reason I wanted the bill that passed to be authored by the obama administration, I want him to own the bill so his reputation rides on success or failure

I don’t want any excuses, he CAN pull us out and I am counting on it

Good morning Elliott!

There’s that “investment” word again tho’, perris. It really does strike home to me how virtually *everything* that touches our lives involves “investments” and, following that train of thought, absolutely nothing will be left unaffected by negative activities in the market.

Last night, Barack did say he will reverse the policies of the last 8 years. Even if he reversed the 4 big ones, our nation would improve greatly!

the last 8 years will only slow the burn, he really has to reverse the reagan tax increases

and that’s the way he has to put it too

“I am going to reclaim the assets that were stolen, I will not be raising taxes I will be lowering them, I will lower them back to the levels before reagan raised your taxes”

the wing nuts will go nutz but our country will be reclaimed

I have been noticing the growing number of 70 and 80 year old’s back in the work place. My five year old noticed a cashier who was the age of his grandmother. When it was our turn in line, he looked into her eyes and said, “Hi! So how are you today?”

She replied, “Fine! Thank you for asking. How are you?”

“I’m having a good day,” he said. “I hope you have a good day and a great week. I’ll be thinking about you!”

“My week just got better because you cared,” she said. “You are a nice young man to show so much care.”

“Thank you. You are nice too and you have a very nice smile.”

It was clear, he had just made a difficult situation (having to go back to work to make ends meet) better just by talking to her and caring.

When we got in the car he said to me, “Mommy she is lonely and scared. It must be hard to have to work when she is a grandma. Who helps her? I hope she is okay?”

Even little kids “get it” when it comes to older citizens and the need to have a society that cares and gives back…

if obama studies history, he’ll understand what he has to do, create a new deal

I agree. 1000% sometimes he makes it sound like he intends on creating all these jobs through devbeloping alternative energy sources. when you say we need a new deal a 21st century new deal could m ean different stuff, i guess, one element of it, i think that should be the same or very similar to the old new deal is rebuilding infrastructure, much of which was built in the new deal. but in any event it’s gotta be a big undertaking. do i know this because of my expertise in ecinomics. please. i know less about that than mccain, i think. but i was a history major-(which really doesn’t mean shit, i gueess. palin was a joueranlism major and is afraid of the press) and more importantly – to me – learned from my dad who knew first hand how the new deal helped.

that’s an area he’s have to lead and inspire like he’s sometimes done and get people behind him because congress won’t go for it. it’s crazy. everybody keeps saying this is the worst situation simnce the Depression but after helping out Wall Street scumabags, Congress won’t take the steps to directly help out the people who need help.

Morning Kay
so is it over, I wanted McCain to get angry last night.

Did you see him shake hands with Obama at the end, I missed that.

right now this country has to re invest in her future, infrastructure, roads, bridges, inspections, clean up the coal mines, inspect the cranes and bridges, clean the beaches water and air

that will create jobs

we have to create new industry as well, the alternative fuel industry is just what the doctor ordered

cooling the planet is another industry that will save our economy

these investments do NOT cost money they save money, they create industry, they grow the national product

I hope the first thing Barack Obama does as president is release 70 million barrels of oil from our strategic reserve or just nationalize the oil companies in America. Hey, if the right wingers can be bailed out on Wall Street in a socialistic way, then why not the oil companies? Bah hahahahaha! I would love to see the look on the faces of the wingers if Barack made a move like this.

to ths swimming pool, see all later

The handshake NOT SEEN AROUND THE WORLD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0iIOqPGak

Yep, ole Johnny can’t shake hands with ‘that one’. Spit.

oil IS nationalized, that oil is NOT the refiners, they only lease the right to sell it

we have to create the right deal, they CANNOT put our stuff on the open market for us to have to bid against other countries

that’s OUR stuff not theirs, they are entitled to a percentage profit over cost, NOT a market profit, THAT’S OUR STUFF NOT THEIRS

Johnny made the trollop shake hands with the black guy instead. Have I mentioned today how much I despise the republic Party? If not, *pushing Volumes 239-968*. Have a good read. LOL

Can someone tell me what in the world was McC doing with his hands while Obama was talking last night– what were those hand signals and were they to his wife or was Brokaw motioning him to sit down? The camera seemed “embarrassed to have caught any of it with how fast it panned away from the open shot of Obama with McC in the background doing hand signals of some sort.

A number of pups mentioned his voice quality last night….think I’ll go out to the car to see if the debate is playing on any channel to get a feel for what you’re talking about.

Thanks for clarifying this, Perris. I honestly don’t know a lot about it, but it seems to make sense we have to control & regulate the oil industry in a way the cocksuckers bloodsuckers can’t continue what they’re doing.

wow,
McCain is small small man.

here’s what I don’t understand about that entire clip

mccain looks like he’s trying to get obama’s attention TOO shake hands, then he pushes off and obama shakes mccains wife’s hand.. without skipping a beat

it looks to me like mccain actually might have said something along, “my wife would like to say hi barak”

I would like to hear mccain’s story on that, it just doesn’t play right in my head

did you tape it?

we need clips of this

in my view, if/when Obama’s elected he’s fucked.

what is your take on this?

mine is that if he doesn’t build a mandate for major changes now, he won’t be able to do what is needed later. and then in my nightmares that will open the way for a rightwing populist who scapegoats immigrant, liberals etc as the cause of all the hardship. which would mean we’re fucked too.

I’ll try and find it. I watched the debate broadcast on PBS and I did not tape it. Hopefully they will have it up on the Newshour website.

My son said it looked like McC was walking around while Obama was talking and that Brokaw was motioning for him to sit down.

next deabte is pretty soon. 15th i think. i think barack has shown he won’t fuck up. i hope. and that’ll probably be enough. but i agree 1000% (i’m doin’ that alot this morning)i look at the elctoral map and the bottom line is the same — barack has to win a big state taht bush took or a couple smaller ones and all of those are pretty close. a poll came out yesterday in FL and Barckwas 2% ahead. now, that’s good news. in the polls by the same outfit he was down 48-36 in Feb. mccain has stayed between 46-48 since then and barck gained 12 points. but, based on yesterday’s polls it’s soft. still has high (mid 40’s) unfavorables and in swing counties isn ‘t doing nearly as well as i hoped. they’re aggressively knocking new people – i.e. democrats – off the rolls. they’ll be agressively – overly aggressively- proofing people on election day. and, well, this is Florida. ’nuff said. I’ve run on about te Sunshiney State but it’s prolly same in Ohio. If he loses FL & Ohio, it’s not gonna be easy. i’d rather be in his shoes than mccain’s but still……

He is and he proved it last night.

Perris, not sure what Johnny’s intention was last night when he wouldn’t shake Barack’s hand. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was pandering to the right wing domestic terrorists (KKK and the GOP) by acting as if he wanted to shake Barack’s hand only to shun him. It could be a secret signal to the American Taliban (KKK and the GOP)! LOL

Okay, I honestly don’t know. I’m just guessing at this point. ;-)

I don’t want any excuses, he CAN pull us out and I am counting on it

i’m not counting on obama. the people he’s chosen to advise him are the same people who helped create this mess.

i AM counting on us to make/help him do the right thing.

John McCain last night was the typical old man at the nursing home who wanders the corridors all night long looking for his puppy, “Ginger”, from his youth in 1923.

your five year old is amazing. the world would be such a different place with more like him.

interesting. i think he’ll make some kind of bold move the first few days. not quite as bold as seizing te oil companies though. not that it’s a bad idea. hey, if mccain can propse having the gov’t buy up a zillion dollars of bad loans, why not?

*smooches* to you for raising a child with such inner beauty and to him for having so much empathy!

that’s so sweet!

I hope he does something so amazing all the right wingers in America will hurt themselves. LOL Hey, as far as I’m concerned….they deserve it. The deserve to be ‘thrown up against the wall’ by Americans.

Early Morning Swim: Obama Smacks McCain Around Again

Mine hasn’t suspended the marathon but the numbers are waaaaaay down. They were trying for $510K but I haven’t heard a total in a couple days. This is the last day and they’re resigned to the fact that we’re nowhere near the goal. Worst fund raising drive for the station in the 25 years I’ve been listening.

reagan didn’t become senile till his second term, I still blame reagan for beginning the process, facilitated by cheney and rumsfeld.

I agree but he was still doing his master’s bidding…. unless one was to give him credit for a brain.

mornin’ selise. try not to get in any fights today, ok? promise? who am i kiddin’? *g (is that waht ya put? *g?)

anyway, my take is he is inheriting a huge, huge mess. not profound huh?won’t have a mandate, i don’t think. even with a veto-proof Dem Congress i don’t think he can get through the legislation he wants or is needed. that’s why he hasn’t answered when he’s been asked at 2 debates what he’ll cut. he’ll piss off progressive types and the republicans are not going to do a good godamned thing to help him. not one. you may wind up with a president who can’t get through a veto-proof congress of his own party, gets tagged as an ineffectual loser and only gives us bullshit compromises. he’s gone out on a limb with the cahneg and hope stuff and even more is with the bringing people together when some of those people hate his guts.

good obersavtion and great story.

Mornin’, Elliott.

selise and waccamaw,

Thank you for your kind statements.

The klynns try to raise thoughtful kids but I have to say, this little guy has a spirit that beamed the day he was born (a special story of survival). His name means “Generous spirit” and it is the family name of a teacher who anonymously sent my Dad through college. My Dad learned of his anonymous college scholarship supporter just days before our little guy was born. After 7 weeks in the hospital of trying to save him (and we did), a name that meant generous spirit just seemed to fit because so many people unselfishly helped us through it all and his being with us is the gift of everyone’s generosity.

It will take a society of “generous spirit” to “save” our country.

Sounds like you’re raising a leader for that society. :-)

Dunno. It’s WDAV, 30 y/o station, affiliated with Davidson College.

Appears they’ve spent a lot of money in the last few years and signal now covers a very wide area – Charlotte centric.

They have a brand new general manager, been there a couple of weeks, max. No idea what kind of endowment type money they have. Charlotte is certainly a regional banking/finance center.

(they stream at WDAV.org.)

perfect illustration for these times Attaturk

That’s a great station……hear it when visiting a cousin in Gastonia.

grins = *g*

and we’re going to need a lot of them (the grins that is).

i don’t like fighting, but arguing is another story (i know, you’re shocked! *g*). i don’t envy obama at all. like you said – huge, huge mess and no mandate to do the kind of things i think need to be done. wish i could see him working for that kind of a mandate. he’s been pissing off people who want to be able to support him (like me) and as you say, he’s been reaching out to people who want to hate him.

well, he has his job and we have ours.

thanks for your take.

wow. thank you for sharing that story. you’ve made my day.