Fallen Heroes - 05/28/08 09:06 AM
I find, much to my surprise, that there is news in the world ourside of the Active Rain drama which has been center stage this week. 
There seems to be a certain drumbeat to the increasing articles suggesting that Senator McCain's age should be a factor in the Presidential race.  (if anybody is offended by the use of the word "race"  in the last sentence - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...OK? ) It would be totally appropriate for Senator McCain to have a campaign staffer to take care of these stories - I would suggest his Mother - who at … (4 comments)

Lest we Forget 2 - 05/23/08 08:15 PM
What a great idea - Thanks to Cheryl Johnson of Los Angeles for the suggestion to hear the words of the Gettysburg Address rather than reading. 
Actor Jeff Daniels does the narration.

My source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4bM9geY0do
… (2 comments)

The Politician's Oil Crisis - 05/23/08 07:29 PM
Newt Gingrich speaks in the featured video, below, on the true causes of the rise in gas prices and what has to happen to fix the problem.  (video is 5 min 45 sec)
His program for change is titled. " Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"
If you would like to add a widget to your website or AR page which you see to the right of this post, you can add the following html code to your AR settings:  This is not a link - it is html code. 
<a href="http://www.americansolutions.com/actioncenter/petitions/?Guid=54ec6e43-75a8-445b-aa7b-346a1e096659"><img src="http://www.americansolutions.com/directupload/widget/drillnow.gif"></a>
 
Additional information is available from AmericanSolutions.com  (that … (10 comments)

Lest We Forget - 05/23/08 06:48 PM
Those who know me will recall that I post the Gettysburg Address written and delivered by President Lincoln every year on Memorial Day and other days when I feel it is appropriate.  Mr Lincoln's words have always been special to me - in the same class with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. So think back to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1863, during the American Civil War and think of the speech that has become more important than the battlefield it commemorated.
 
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty … (12 comments)

Speaking in Mitigation for the Defense - 05/23/08 04:44 PM
Many of you have read and commented on the recent events of Bill Burress being voted off the island by Active Rain Management. 
Since the stated goal is professionalism I would like to look at the cost/benefit analysis for this incident. 
I have had the opportunity to debate the relative merits of the offending comment and the solution adopted by AR management.  I would like to point out that I agree with the community guidelines and recognize the necessity to provide a medium which is friendly to all members and public guests.  Many people have had the opportunity to comment on … (35 comments)

A Wake up Call 2 - An open letter to Jonathan Washburn - 05/22/08 10:25 PM
Over the past few weeks I have watched the staff of Active Rain try to deal with a difficult and complicated issue and in the process I have seen some cherished ideas of free expression and association become more dim as conflicting interests tried to work out the tension that existed between them. 
I have communicated with Active Rain staff by phone and email and within these pages in posts and comments.  Some of my thoughts were contained in the following linked post:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/506296/A-Wake-Up-Call       (5/11/08)
So with the recent history, I was distressed to learn yesterday that Bill Burress had been … (83 comments)

The Republican Soultion - 05/21/08 10:26 AM
I am featuring a Terry Paulson article below which calls for a 2008 version of the Contract with America as a solution to the malaise that engulfs the Republicans this year.  While Terry's article is long on motivation, he needs to understand the mechanics of the Contract with America movement from 1994 and why the effort achieved some of the goals that were set and not others.  The policy initiatives were drawn from The Heritage Foundation and from Reagan State of the Union speeches.  The work on the Contract involved a number of congressmen and others but I credit much of … (1 comments)

This is My Candidate ? - 05/21/08 12:35 AM
For several years global warming has been the crisis du jour for the environmnentalists, liberal law makers and the media.  We have endured academy awards and Nobel Peace Prizes for AlGore and endless hype from the press. 
For whatever reason, the Republicans have recently started to preach the party line (the Democrat party line) – now at the very moment growing groups of top scientists have declared global warming to be a hoax. 
The administration has sold out oil drilling in ANWR in favor of polar bears at the very time that we look for riots at the gas pumps over high … (5 comments)

New Firefox version Available for Download - 05/19/08 08:54 AM
For those who use Firefox as their browser, the next version has advanced a step closer to final. After several months in beta testing, Firefox 3 is now available as release candidate 1.
A release candidate in the software world is a version that has completed beta testing and is in what is expected to be final form. In effect, the product is now ready for testing by the general public. If there are no major problems, the final version is expected to be released in June.
For those who use Firefox now, some of your add-in features may not work … (9 comments)

Quo Vadis - a Question for Republicans - 05/18/08 02:16 PM
Tom Davis is a Republican member of Congress representing the 11th district of Virginia (located in Northern Virginia).  He is serving his seventh term and has announced he is not running for re-election.
Representative Davis has written a 20 page memo to the Republican leadership which is receiving wide distribution and attention lately.
Tom is well qualified to critique the Republican position for the fall elections since he has been a very active party member during his tenure in Congress, to include chairing the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) for four years ending in 2002.  The NRCC is responsible for electing … (3 comments)

Gingrich on US Security and Strategic Interests - 05/18/08 07:59 AM
Newt Gingrich delivered a major foreign policy speech recently (May 15, 2008) which echoed some of his familiar themes but expanded some specific ideas which are useful.
Gingrich feels that we are in the most dangerous period in our national history since the decade immediately preceding the Civil War.  The failure of our governmental and cultural institutions to properly address those problems led directly to the Civil War of the 1860's.
It could be said that we faced another set of challenging times in the depression of the last century and the drift into World War II.  But the American economic … (3 comments)

Why we do not Negotiate - 05/18/08 07:33 AM
Senator Obama decided (I hesitate to use the word elected) to insert himself into the comments of President Bush before the Israeli Knesset at the 60 year anniversary of the Partition of Palestine by the United Nations in 1948 and the creation of the State of Israel.
I have already expressed my opinion in these pages that Senator Obama and other Democrats were wrong in their characterization of the President's remarks.  The President's discussion of appeasement was not aimed at Obama and it was not the President's intent to insert himself into the 2008 election while on a foreign trip.
However, … (13 comments)

The World of Change - 05/16/08 12:02 PM
When I see a major corporation change its brand or well known logo, I fasten my seat belt. Frequently it may just be the ego of a new Chairman of the Board, but it may be an indication that the company is in a transition phase and may be facing difficulties.
Shortly after CitiCorp jetisoned the very well known logo of the umbrella (acquired with the acquisition of Travelers Insurance and maintained when the insurance division was sold) they have become caught up in the sub-prime/real estate foreclosure fiasco of recent times and are restructuring their operations.
In 2004, GE stopped … (1 comments)

What did he Say ? - 05/15/08 10:28 PM
I am not sure I understand the uproar over the Bush speech in Israel at the 60th year anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.
President Bush included remarks in his speech, “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along… As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort … (12 comments)

The Cost of Responding to Global Warming - 05/15/08 09:11 AM
As I have written about global warming in these pages I have been concerned about several critical features of the claim of a crisis related to global warming.  First, the premise of the existence of the problem of global warming and further that the problems is man-made is suspect.  In my view and in the opinion of an increasing number of scientists in the related fields of study, the very existence of the global warming crisis is not proven, is based upon bad science and reliance on flawed computer models rather than global observations over time. 
My second concern is that … (6 comments)

Maybe US Taxpayers could be listed as Threatened Species - 05/15/08 07:35 AM
I joined Bill Burress yesterday in condemning the Bush Interior Department for their action on the polar bear.  I still do today.  However, I note a distinction that I did not see yesterday.  It was correctly reported in Bill's article, but I missed it.
The polar bear has been designated as a "Threatened Species" but has not yet achieved the lofty distinction of being an "Endangered Species".  How silly of me - I had forgotten that we are dealing with the US government bureaucracy here.
Interior Secretary Kemthorne says, according to the Amanda Carpenter article I include below, that he has proposed … (4 comments)

Take a Bareak - The Empire strikes Barack - 05/11/08 06:12 AM
I am unable to determine at this point whether some folks have entirely too much time on their hands or whether this is the way history will actually record this year’s political activity. But the video clip below is cleverly conceived. The clip comes from you-tube.com and contains as much credit information (from Humanitainment) as I have.
Enjoy

My source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8lvc-azCXY
… (5 comments)

Outside the Two Party System ? - 05/08/08 09:52 PM
Months ago I described "Electile Dysfunction" as the result of not being able to get excited about any of the candidates.  I just don't know where to get a red, white and blue tablet to relieve the symptoms.
The text below came to me from an email, attributing the quote to Lee Iacocca, former Chairman of Chrysler Corporation, in his new book.  I believe the quote is accurate - but I can say that the words resonate with me in our current situation.  (besides, I remember Chairman Iacocca in a walk on guest appearance on "Miami Vice" - very cool).  I have … (26 comments)

The Unity Ticket Folks are Back - 05/07/08 03:31 PM
The talk of a unity ticket for the Democrats is back in play.  The dream ticket discussion is on. 
An article in the newsletter Wall Street Journal Political Diary carried this image from column author John Fund:
Anything is possible but one Democratic superdelegate I spoke with is highly skeptical that Mr. Obama could be talked into sharing the ticket with his current rival. ‘We have seen the Clinton machine in action and it is not pretty... if Hillary were the Vice-President you would have Bill rattling around the West Wing and Obama would need a food taster for four years.  No Way'".
Kind … (4 comments)

A Sports Analogy for our Times - 05/05/08 11:06 PM
The campaign season has certainly had something to offer for everybody in the rich catalog of unusual events.  But I note that Hillary has sought to use some sports analogies to prove that she is one of the guys.
Perhaps she would do better to skip over these in future weeks.
First she likened herself to Rocky Balboa (from the original Rocky with Sylvester Stallone) hoping to gain some favor from the locals in Pennsylvania with the familiar analogy expressed in Philadelphia.  Perhaps nobody told her that in the end of the movie, Rocky loses his bout to Apollo Creed, a … (14 comments)

Photoshop for Landscapes - 05/04/08 08:33 AM
AR member Irina Fernandez of Tacoma, Washington, posted a good example of Photoshop Elements for color correction and enhancement.  You will find Irina’s post < here >
She takes a lovely floral landscape and demonstrates the use of a number of the Photoshop tools to correct and improve the image.  And don't forget the step to align horizontal or vertical lines.
I mention the post because it appeared in the photography groups but did not make our software site. Check it out. < link >
Thanks, Irina
… (2 comments)

Take a Break - Movie Review - 05/02/08 06:37 PM
The Tom Hanks picture “Charlie Wilson’s War” has been recently released to DVD and I am finally catching up with those of you who have a life and can go to the movie theater occasionally.
The 2007 film stars Tom Hanks, Phillip Semour Hoffman and Julia Roberts and is directed by Mike Nichols.  Script is wonderfully written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of the West Wing. Tom Hanks is the producer. The film is based on the book of the same title by George Crile.
So all of the pieces are in place for a marvelous political and topical film.  The finished product … (5 comments)

The Truth that will set you Free - 05/02/08 01:57 PM
You have heard a lot about the Chicago Pastor Jeremiah Wright lately. One of the things you have heard is that the US government invented the AIDS virus as part of a plan of genocide directed against people of color. When challenged on this rather sensational assertion at the National Press Club, Pastor Wright responded that after what the government did to Black men at Tuskegee, he would believe that they were capable of doing about anything.
In commenting on the many problems created by Wright's amazing sermon in the church of the National Press Club - and that is certainly … (15 comments)

The Vast Left-wing Conspiracy brings Hillary to Fox - 05/02/08 10:29 AM
I am a little surprised at the lack of comment about the interview of Senator Clinton by Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.  Mrs Clinton is trolling for votes in Indiana and North Carolina and is having to move to the right to farm the available pool of voters.  It is noted that in normal times, the Democrat runs to the left for the primaries and comes back to the right (or at least center) for the general election.  These are not normal times. 
Bill O’Reilly took his crew to Indiana to spend an hour with Senator Clinton in what is, I believe, … (2 comments)

A Source for Middle East Information - 05/02/08 08:44 AM
Just as a point of interest, I receive a newsletter from Daniel Pipes of DanielPipes.org.
Daniel writes on Middle East topics to include politics and religion with knowledge and experience.  He has a PhD from Harvard (in History, if you must know), and an impressive list of publishing credits and teaching positions. 
He seems to me to be way ahead of the curve in his thinking and reporting.
If you have an interest in the happenings of the Middle East, radical Islam, and the greatest threats to civilization as we know it, I recommend you add Daniel Pipes to your regular … (3 comments)

More from the Wonderful World of Politics - 05/02/08 03:26 AM
The life and times of Jeremiah Wright has damaged the candidacy of Senator Obama in surprising ways.  The nature of the allegations and the evidence presented are ideally suited for the techno world of blogs and You-Tube.  And if the endless looping of the offending statements on television wasn't enough, the video clips which inundated the internet assured that these video memories were as well known as the video of Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Black community in America has produced civil rights leaders of historic proportions.  I have written in awe of the character and accomplishments of Dr King … (21 comments)

 
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Ted Baker - MidFloridaMediation.com

Winter Haven, FL

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Ted Baker Carmody and Associates LLC

Blog title: Sound and Fury is from Shakespeare's Macbeth. The quote: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing."

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