And dwelled among us...

Luke 2) In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."
16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.


And so it goes.

Whew ...

At this point, I thank God I no longer live in Illinois.

Finally. I got a break.

Now, a show of hands, how many Illinoisans are really surprised at Blago's fall? Thought so.

Although the blatant way he went about trying to sell the Senate seat is really over the top, even for Illinois politics.

Illinois political corruption is usually a bit more, uh, discrete.

Florida politics is none too clean, mind you.

But it sure ain't Illinois.

And so it goes.

Done and done

Been getting a kick out of all the protesters against the leasing of Alligator Alley to some foreign investors.

Not that I don't oppose the leasing,. It's a bad idea for Florida and Florida's taxpayers. Really really bad idea. Stupid.

It should never have been considered.

But what's amusing me is the protesters seem to believe that anyone in Tallahassee is listening.

The hearings are simply pro forma.

The leasing was a done deal long before it was made public. And long long before they started having hearings.

It's gonna happen. Perhaps it's already happened. They just haven't announced it yet.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least. (or leased?)

That's the way GOP politicians work.

Didn't you know that?

And so it goes.

They're everywhere, they're everywhere

Season is here! The snowbirds have arrived.

Life is suddenly less comfortable, less convenient and more crowded. More crowded by self-absorbed well-to-do retirees here to use our sunshine and look upon us locals as their personal servants.

Whee!

Sure I like their money. And I recognize this area wouldn't be nearly as prosperous and beautiful without them. And I like their money, did I mention that?

But damn.

A few hints, snowbirdies:

--It isn't all about you.

--I would still exist down here without your money. Not, perhaps as prosperously, but I'd be here. And just maybe prices would be a bit lower so I could survive just as well. You have to know that the reason prices here are so high is YOU. Gas is around $1.65 in Missouri. It's still over $2.00 here. Why? Because YOU'RE willing to pay that price. Maybe a few Maserati, Buggati, Mercedes, Bentley and Ferrari dealerships wouldn't exist if you weren't here, but those car salesmen won't let me near those cars anyway.

--It isn't all about you.

--I know you're gonna drive slowly in your big fancy car. OK, I get it, you're either lost or, being retired, you don't really have to be anywhere any time soon. OK, drive slow. Just do it in the right lane. Leave the left lane open for those of us who have to get to work (so we can serve you...)

--It isn't all about you.

--It is not necessary to brake at green lights. Yeah, I know, they MIGHT turn red. But right now, they're not. You can go right through, OK? I really don't need to get THAT close to your bumper to read your AAA sticker.

--It isn't all about you.

--Likewise, it isn't necessary to come to a complete stop before making a right turn.

--It isn't all about you.

--Turn signals can be turned off. Try it, you might like it. (I'd like to convince you that it'd save gas, but that doesn't matter to Caddy drivers, does it?)

--It isn't all about you.

--I know you like to go to movies. I know you also (many of you) are a bit hard of hearing. But that doesn't mean that you have to explain every damned scene to Mildred sitting next to you at the top of your lungs.

--It isn't all about you.

--At the grocery store, I know some of you aren't as speedy as you once were. Fine, I'm patient. But when you spend 5 minutes studying the ingredients in a can of olives (olives, juice) while completely blocking the entire aisle, you're becoming the ugly snowbird.

--It isn't all about you.

--That stop sight in front of the grocery story means you, too. You like it when others stop when the grocery boy wheels the groceries out for you. Stop for me, too. I'm not as quick as I was either.

--It isn't all about you.

--When you're in a restaurant, believe the menu. When you order your 5 p.m. early-bird senior citizen dinner, don't then insist they change the vegetables, change the potatoes, cook the entree a different way, and can I get that in a half-portion? What's the point in going out for dinner if you order exactly the same thing every time, no matter what the menu says?

And finally,

--Did I mention, it's not all about you.

Thanks for your patience. (And patience is something I have to relearn every Season.)

And so it goes.

Jes' a Few Good 'ol BoysTalkin'

Think the election of Barack Obama pretty much ended overt racism in the United States?

How naive you are. Seems there are more threats against Obama since the election than have been investigated against any other president elect. And these arent just simple Kill Him! threats. Race is all over the threats.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

Kinda makes you proud to be an Amuhrrikun, don't it, Billy-Bob?
And that's not all, nor is it the end of the racist blather.

• In Denver, a group of men with guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Obama and sparked fears of an assassination plot during the Democratic National Convention in August.

• Just before the election, two skinheads in Tennessee were charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assassinate Obama while wearing white top hats and tuxedos.

In both cases, authorities determined the men were not capable of carrying out their plots.

In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."

The election of Obama may have started something in America, but it sure hasn't ended all the problems.

Has it, Bubba?

And so it goes.

Dressed in rags and hand-me-downs

Oh, poor Sarah. Whatever will she wear? And how will she decide?

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party after it spent $150,000-plus on a wardrobe for the vice presidential nominee, according to Palin's father.

Palin and John McCain's campaign faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the nominee. Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.

Here's a hint, Sarah: If the label says Saks or Nieman Marcus, it isn't yours. If it says Wasilla Costco or WalMart, you can keep it. OK?

But apparently, it's harder than that

"She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out," Heath [Palin's father] said. "That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for."

Let me get this straight, Mr. Heath. Your daughter LOST HER UNDERWEAR? May I suggest, then, looking on eBay? Craigslist?

And this is the lady who was almost one defibrillated heartbeat away from the button.

And so it goes.

Landslide

Huzzah!
Huzzah!
Huzzah!

And so it goes.

Do it. Now!

Go vote, dammit.
NOW!

And so it goes.

Just so you know

Sarah Palin pals around with convicted felons. (Sen. Ted Stevens).

And so it goes.

His name is mud

And so it goes.

Too late

After reading all the idiocy on the Naples Daily News web site from bloggers outraged at the NDN's endorsement of Barack Obama, I had a thought:
I think I'll create a political party for all the racists and morons to join.

Then I realized: I'm describing the current Republican Party.

And so it goes.

Hey, big spender...

To get off the subject (the election) for a moment, could someone explain:

In my neighborhood, there are two gas stations exactly a block apart.

The Shell station has gas at $3.19.9 per gallon. One block away, 7-11 is selling gas for $2.94.9 per gallon.

The way I figure it, that's a difference of 25 cents a gallon. With a 20-gallon tank that's $5.00.

Yet whenever I drive past, the Shell station seems to be doing great business.

Do people really like throwing their money away? Do they have so much that it doesn't matter?

Please explain.

And so it goes.

Because I can

And so it goes.

You had to ask?

Turns out that John McSame's Joe the Plumber isn't exactly what McBush presented him as. But since when has truth been a part of McSame's campaign anyway?

HOLLAND, Ohio — Joe the Plumber said Thursday he doesn't have a license and doesn't need one. Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, the nickname Republican John McCain bestowed on him during Wednesday's presidential debate, said he works for a small plumbing company that does residential work. Because he works for someone else, he doesn't need a license, he said.

But the county Wurzelbacher and his employer live in, Lucas County, requires plumbers to have licenses. Neither Wurzelbacher nor his employer are licensed there, said Cheryl Schimming of Lucas County Building Regulations, which handles plumber licenses in parts of the county outside Toledo.

Wurzelbacher, who voted in the Republican primary and indicated he backed McCain, was cited by the GOP presidential candidate as an example of someone who wants to buy a plumbing business but would be hurt by Democrat Barack Obama's tax plans. Wurzelbacher said he was surprised that his name was mentioned so many other times.

"That bothered me. I wished that they had talked more about issues that are important to Americans," he told reporters gathered outside his home.

Wurzelbacher, 34, said he doesn't have a good plan put together on how he would buy Newell Plumbing and Heating in nearby Toledo.

He said the business consists of owner Al Newell and him. Wurzelbacher said he's worked there for six years and that the two have talked about his taking it over at some point.

"There's a lot I've got to learn," he said.

Isn't that typical of the doddering, drooling, confused, angry old man?

And so it goes.

Any questions?

And so it goes.

The sarah we all know and ...

And you thought she was just a political gimmick.

NOTE: It appears Youtube is having something of a meltdown. At times it may take up to 10 minutes for the video to load. Sorry.




And so it goes.

Terrorized

Curious.

Barack Obama and William Ayers served on the same Annenberg Challenge [education] Project in Chicago in 1995. Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground 40 years ago but now is a respected professor at UIC.

The GOP says the connection between Obama, Ayers and the Annenberg Foundation makes Obama some kind of a terrorist.

One of the largest contributors to the McCain campaign is Mrs. Annenberg.

What does that make McCain?

A hypocrite?

And so it goes.

Just a pair of mavericks

In case anyone has forgotten...





And so it goes.

Fun at the ol' town hall

Last night's presidential debate was just tons of fun. It was particularly entertaining to see an old man pretty much melt down in front of a national TV audience.

Poor John McSame had nothing new to say, had nothing he could pin on Barack Obama and had nothing that could rescue his campaign from further spiraling down the commode.

The most fun we had watching was to see how many times McBush said 'My Friends' during the debate. We got into double figures, although admittedly we didn't start counting until he was well into his My Friends routine. Apparently, some of his handlers had told him he wasn't coming across as friendly enough. So, My Friends, he had to go out and be friendly.

Didn't work.

He still came across an a crochetedy, grumpy old man who deserves the presidency because, By God, I'm a Hero. (For being shot down and surviving in a Viet Cong prison camp by giving classified information to the enemy.) He acted like he hasn't had a crap in a week.

He looked uncomfortable, unhappy and just plain old. Not in the least presidential.

Meanwile, Obama was calm, thoughtful and, frankly, presidential. (Check out the photo below. It just about tells it all.)

Folks who watched gave the debate overwhelmingly to Obama. They used words like home run, slam dunk.

Every poll I have been able to dig up gave the debate by a wide margin to Obama:

A national poll of debate watchers suggests that Sen. Barack Obama won the second presidential debate.

Fifty-four percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey conducted after the debate ended said that Obama did the best job in the debate, with 30 percent saying Sen. John McCain performed better.

According to the poll, 64 percent had a favorable opinion of Obama after the debate, up four points from before the event. Fifty-one percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of McCain after the debate unchanged from before its start.

That's 54 percent to 30 percent. Even the shills over at Fox News (you know, the Bush Broadcasting Corp.) were conceeding that McSame didn't do anything to help himself.

McSame's goal was to show himself as a leader, the man ready to come in and take the reins of power. Anyone who watched knows he failed miserably.

A majority said Obama seemed to be the stronger leader during the debate, 54 percent to 43 percent, and by a more than two to one margin -- 65 percent to 28 percent -- viewers thought Obama was more likable during the debate.

Frankly, it looked to me like McSame was channeling H. Ross Perot. It was not pretty.

In fact, if McSame had a chance before the debate, now, his campaign is pretty much dead in the water.

"McCain's advantage on leadership shrunk from 19 points in September to just five points this weekend," Holland said. "If Obama can use this debate to convince Americans that he is a stronger leader than McCain, he may be difficult to defeat."

A majority of debate watchers polled thought Obama was more intelligent, by a 57 percent to 25 percent margin over McCain. Debate watchers also thought Obama more clearly expressed his views by a two to one margin, 60 percent to 30 percent.

Sad, ain't it.

heh heh heh.

And so it goes.

Just sayin'

To all those blind GOPpers still orgasming over the moose-slaying Weatherchick:
Not making a complete ass of yourself is not the same as winning a debate.
And fortunately for America, voters are beginning to understand that

Two quick polls indicated that Biden fared better in the debate. A CBS News/Knowledge Networks Poll found that 46 percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate thought Biden won, with 21 percent siding with Palin. A CNN poll found respondents judging Biden the winner by a margin of 51 percent to 39 percent.

To be fair, the Weatherchick did provide a few highlights

Palin tried to portray the Democrats as obsessed with the failures of President Bush even as she acknowledged his Republican administration was responsible for "huge blunders" in the war and elsewhere.

Uh, Sarah, you're still running on the Repugnicant ticket, 'member?
It became apparent early that Weatherchick's strategy was that no matter what the question, she was gonna repeat the lines the McSame handlers had forced her to memorize, whether or not they were relevant.

Palin also sidestepped certain questions, pivoting at times to talking points and generalities.

Asked by moderator Gwen Ifill if she would support legislation allowing debt-strapped mortgage holders to file for bankruptcy to get out from under that debt, Palin said yes but avoided details, quickly steering the focus back to a more general discussion of the "toxic mess" in the financial industry.

And asked how she as vice president would help reduce partisanship in Washington, she said, "Let's commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again."

Wonder if she believes any of those hand-fed sound bites she spouted?

Wonder is she understands them?

And so it goes.

Why Johnny can't run

I don't claim to be a financial wizard. In truth, I really don't understand our country's financial meltdown. Except that I understand it is serious. Very serious.

So I was surprised when House Repugnicants shot down their Pres-idiot's bailout plan Monday. Despite his impassioned plea to pass the plan.

Was it a good plan? Don't know. Was it a bad plan? Don't know.

Nevertheless, at least two people were seriously injured in the fallout from the vote.

Unless he had any doubts before, the White House W-imbecile is officially and irrevocably irrelevant. Beyond a lame duck. Wheelchair bound.

And the Repugnicants' new standard bearer, John McSame, is limping badly.

McSame had hitched his wagon to the bailout star. It was, he was proud to state, a plan he'd brokered personally. He was gonna save the union. He put his campaign on hold (yeah, right) to wade in and save the country.

Right, John.

One problem. His own party abandoned him.

And now where's John at?

Republican John McCain has maneuvered himself into a political dead end and has five weeks to find his way out.

Last Wednesday, McCain suspended his presidential campaign to insert himself into a $700 billion effort to rescue America's crumbling financial structure. In so doing, he tied himself far more tightly to the bill than did his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.

Then, as the bailout plan appeared ready for passage Monday in the House, McCain bragged that he was an action-oriented Teddy Roosevelt Republican who did not sit on the sidelines at a moment of crisis.

The implication: that he played a critical role in building bipartisan support for the unprecedented bailout.

"I went to Washington last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made on Wall Street and in Washington," McCain said at a campaign rally in the swing state of Ohio.

Problem was, John, your fellow Repugnicants weren't buying. Set yourself up as a maverick, even against your own party, and now you're hard-pressed to find a constituency, huh? Now who do you blame? Who else?

Initially, McCain went silent, choosing instead to send his chief economic adviser out with a statement that blamed Obama, claiming that the first-term Illinois senator had put his political ambitions ahead of the good of the country.

"This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country," McCain senior policy adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin said.

It wasn't long, however, before McCain told reporters in Iowa: "Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem."

Even YOU couldn't buy that, could you, Johnny?

So where does that leave McSame?

If the congressional impasse leads to a credit crisis, "it's not going to be good for McCain," veteran Republican consultant John Feehery said.

Toooo bad.

You went into the campaign admitting you didn't know much about the economy. Sure proved that, didn't you?

All you know is how to play dirty.

Let's see you sling enough mud to get out of this one, Johnny.

And so it goes.

Winnah!

I thought it was close, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and drive-in movies.

So, the winner of Friday night's debate was: Barack Obama!

A national poll of people who watched the first presidential debate suggests that Barack Obama came out on top, but there was overwhelming agreement that both Obama and John McCain would be able to handle the job of president if elected.
Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Obama did the better job in Friday night's debate, while 38 percent said John McCain did better.

Going in, I kinda figured if it was a draw, then you had to go with Obama. Since McCain obviously has more foreign policy exprience, if Obama held his own, then he won. He more than held his own.

McCain apparently failed to get the "game changer" he needed to reverse his deficit in the polls, Silverleib said.

Both candidates appeared to exceed expectations. McCain did better than expected in the minds of 60 percent, while 57 percent said Obama did a better job in the debate than they expected. Twenty percent said both candidates did worse than expected.

Personally, I thought the debate was duller than watching paint dry, but maybe that's just me.

Anyway. I'm glad it's over

And I'm glad Obama won.

And so it goes.

Suspended?

Or throwing in the towel?

Looks to me like, given rapidly sliding poll numbers...

Plus a fear of facing Obama in a debate.

Add in a fear of sending the Weatherchick out on her own.

John McSame is just kinda giving up.

First time he's done the right thing all campaign.

And so it goes.

Change ... his Depends

It's heartening to see that voters aren't as dumb as we sometimes think (despite those women rushing out to buy $500 Sara 'Weatherchick' Palin-style glasses). How shallow. But so is she.

Seems most voters have figured John McSame out after all:

Despite an intense effort to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, Senator John McCain is seen by voters as far less likely to bring change to Washington than Senator Barack Obama. He is widely viewed as a “typical Republican” who would continue or expand President Bush’s policies, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The voters even have seemed to cool to the weather chick's temporary popularity:

Polls taken after the Republican convention suggested that Mr. McCain had enjoyed a surge of support — particularly among white women after his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate — but the latest poll indicates “the Palin effect” was, at least so far, a limited burst of interest.

All in all, it's pretty heartening:

Among other groups, Mr. Obama had a slight edge among independents, and a 16-percentage-point lead among voters ages 18 to 44. Mr. McCain was leading by 17 points among white men and by the same margin among voters 65 and over. Before the convention, voters 65 and older were closely divided. In the latest poll, middle-age voters, 45 to 64, were almost evenly divided between the two.

The Weatherchick isn't giving the GOP the boost it fantasized about.

This poll found evidence of concern about Ms. Palin’s qualifications to be president, particularly compared with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, Mr. Obama’s running mate. More than 6 in 10 said they would be concerned if Mr. McCain could not finish his term and Ms. Palin had to take over. In contrast, two-thirds of voters surveyed said Mr. Biden would be qualified to take over for Mr. Obama, a figure that cut across party lines. And 75 percent said they thought Mr. McCain had picked Ms. Palin more to help him win the election than because he thought that she was well qualified to be president. ...

Of course, the GOP will claim that the poll is skewed because it says NYT on it. That's the way the GOP works; can't contradict the message, blame the messenger.

To put it another way: 'As a Republican, I only believe those news reports which affirm my already formed predjudices.'

And so it goes.

I didn't write it ... but I like it

I'm a little confused.

Let me see if I have this straight... (I hope I'm not offending anyone)

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, you're a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

But if you name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that
registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor,
spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive (and according to the actuarial tables, you have a greater than 30% chance of succeeding the president during your first term).

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your un-wed teen daughter
ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community,
then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now! Whew!!! Boy...I was worried there for a minute.

And so it goes.

Lotsa bull here

And so it goes.

If he could remember...

And so it goes

No there there

Sooner or later, I pray voters are gonna take a realistic look at Sarah Palin and realize:

She's just a female version of Dan Quayle.

If she didn't have a vagina, she'd still be back in Alaska pocketing all her oil company kickbacks.

And so it goes.

Almost too easy

Inflamed

Gotta say, McSame's Thursday night performance about as inspiring as a hemorrhoid.
But the GOP faithful would have spent the entire speech cheering if all he had done was stand up there and fart. Which wasn't far from the truth.

(It was funny of course, that the FOX TV folks just wet all over themselves declaring what an inspiring speech it was. All of the other talking heads were using words like insipid and confusing and unmemorable.)

At least there was a pro football game on at the same time to turn to.

And so it goes.

We're all stupid, right?

The biggest weapon the Repugnicants have used against Barack Obama is that he isn't experienced enough to be president. After a term in the U.S. Senate and 3 terms in the illinois Senate.

So John McSame picks the brand new fresh out of the box governor of Alaska. She has NO experience in national politics. None. Nada. Two years ago she was an small-town Alaska city council person.

Experience? Guess that doesn't matter if you're a Repugnicant.

What's that say about the Repugnicants and McSame? That they believe the electorate is stupid enough to believe she's qualified when Barak isn't? (Well, the electorate WAS stupid enough to elect the current W-imbecile. Twice. So I guess they figure...)

All her job is during the campaign is to try and pick up a few women's votes. Cynical? Certainly. A gamble. Definitely.

Wonder if she knows where Washington DC is?

Finally, I'd have to say the Repugnicants have given up with their only objection to Obama: That he's not qualified/experienced enough. Now all the have left is all the one they've been afraid to say out loud all along ... HE'S BLACK.

And so it goes.

Looking in

Didn't realize how frustrating it would turn out being a D in a R conclave. Especially being a D when 64 percent (or more) of the voters are R.

To put it in perspective, yesterday was election day in SWFlorida. Of course I voted.

Not one single person I voted for was elected. Not one of the races was close.

Rs won. Incumbents won. Nothing changes. Around here, nothing ever changes. Change is a bad thing if you're as old as most of the voters around here. So: No change, thankyouverymuch.

Which means:
-- The Collier County School Board will remain in the hands of the corrupt cadre, threatening accreditation of every school in the district. The foxes are still running the hen house. The education of every student in Collier County is in jeopardy. But it appears that's OK with Collier County voters.

-- A Collier County Deputy will be the new sheriff. And that means four more years of corruption. Four more years of harassment, of profiling, of good-ol-boy networking and damned little actual policing. But it appears that's OK with Collier County voters.

-- Incumbents won on the Collier County Board. Which means four more years of kowtowing to developers and realtors and ignoring the people. But it appears that's OK with Collier County voters.

Frustrating. Discouraging.

And so it goes.

Conventional wisdom

I'm doing my best to avoid paying much attention to the Democratic Convention. I'll probably do the same for the republicants.
I can't help but wonder just exactly what purpose a convention serves in 2008.

Back when I was a YoungGuy, the conventions actually has a purpose. The candidate was actually nominated at the convention. Oftimes I recall it was a close race, a fight. The favorite coming in didn't always win. Sometimes there was a surprise.

I recall it was the convention that selected the vice-presidential candidate. Although his say had some sway, it was not the presidential candidate who picked his VP. (Maybe it was but we just didn't know/realize it)

There was always a long, drawn-out and sometimes bitter debate on the party platform.

No more.

Who do you suppose is gonna be the Presidential candidate?
Who's gonna be the VP candidate?

The party platform? It's whatever the candidate says it is. (In actuality, it's what the candidate's handlers say it is. We can just hope the candidate reads it).

So, is the purpose to rally support for the candidate? It probably will among those political junkies at the convention. The rest of us? We pretty much ignore it.

But you know who is NOT ignoring it? The opposition party. They're scanning every word, every gesture, every nuance.

To find whatever they can to twist into a negative talking point. Into political mud. Something to use to get snarky, mean and underhanded.

So, I ask again, who is this convention for?

And why are the Democrats mining the political mud for the republicants?

Let them find their own dirt. They're good at it.

And so it goes.

Fay

Never seen a hurricane before.

Never much thought I wanted to.

That's about to change in the next 12 hours or so.

Can't say I'm much looking forward to it.

Except in kind of a perverse curiosity type of way.

We're hunkered down and waiting.

And so it goes.

Runnin' on stupid

How about a candidate who can't get anything right?

The Repugnicants' favorite septuagenarian John McSame, it now turns out, has stolen a song from Jackson Browne that he hoped to use to diss Obama. Who's dissin who?

Guess McSame figured no one would notice a little copyrite infringement as long as it was for his little slimy cause.

Guess again:

Jackson Browne doesn't want John McCain running on anything fueled by his lyrics. The singer-songwriter sued McCain and the Ohio and national Republican committees in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, accusing them of using his song "Running on Empty" without his permission.

The lawsuit claims the song's use was an infringement of his copyright and will lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. The suit says Browne is a lifelong liberal who is as well-known for his music as for being "an advocate for social and environmental justice."

The advertisement mocks Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's contention that if U.S. drivers got regular tuneups and drove on properly inflated tires, they could save the same amount of oil that would be gained by offshore drilling. According to the suit, "Running on Empty" plays in the background of the ad criticizing the remarks.

The campaign's lie in response?

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers disavowed the ad, saying it wasn't a product of the Republican presidential candidate's campaign.

And if you believe that, then let's continue:

The suit notes that other musicians, including ABBA and John Cougar Mellencamp, have asked McCain to stop using their work.

Theft is theft, McSame. Even you are required to obey the law. As shocking as that may sound.

Or, to put it another way, no law is safe in the hands of the McSame campaign. Think it would be any different if we allowed his slimy footprints in the Oval Office?

The current occupant seems to think laws don't apply to him. Why would McSame think any different.

And so it goes.

Ha!

And so it goes.

Race is run

The Repugnuicants have figured out a way to play the race card in the presidential race without appearing to play the race card.

They accuse Barack Obama of playing the race card.

“Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck,’’ Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.’’

It's a sneaky strategy, but it likely isn't gonna work, because it's a bit obvious on whose side the truth lies.

Mr. Davis was alluding to comments that Mr. Obama made Wednesday in Missouri when he reacted to the increasingly negative tone, and negative ads that have been coming his way from the McCain campaign in recent days.

“So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me,’’ Mr. Obama said Wednesday in Springfield, Mo., in remarks that he echoed throughout the day. “You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other Presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky. That’s essentially the argument they’re making.’’

It's the typical Repubnicant smear tactic. Just another way of swiftboating when the truth isn't in your favor.

Mr. Obama has made similar statements about the lines of attack against him before, and was even more direct last month when he said: “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’’

The McCain campaign’s decision to make the charge now that Mr. Obama was playing the “race card” comes as it has adopted a far more aggressive, negative posture towards Mr. Obama in recent days, trying to tar him as arrogant, out of touch and unprepared for the presidency with a series of statements by Mr. McCain and a series of negative ads – some of which have been condemned as misleading.

Playing dirty's nothing new. Repugnicants have been doing it for years. Decades.

But then again, when your candidate is John McSame, promising four (8?) more years of the same corrupt Republican administration that has placed this country in the quagmire it's in, what choice do they have?

Sometimes the shortest path is through the mud.

And so it goes.

Rather be right...

And so it goes.

We-We

Hey, conservatives.
If WE decide to allow drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, will WE actually get any of that oil?

Hint: WE are already drilling and pumping oil out of Alaska by the thousands of barrels a day. Are WE benefiting? No, the oil is being sold to Japan.

If WE decide to allow offshore drilling in the Gulf, will WE actually get any of that oil? Even after the 10 years it'll take to actually get any of that oil?

Hint: WE are already drilling and pumping thousands of barrels a day from the Gulf. Are WE benefiting? No, the oil's going to Europe and China.

You see the problem with all this Repugnicant logic is the WE.

You see, when they say WE, they actually means the oil conglomerates. You know, those companies controlled by those same rich Repugnicants.

What will happen to that new drilling? Will WE get it? Of course not. It will be sold on the world market. At world market prices. It will go to the highest bidder. You know, China, Japan, Europe. Who is the WE that is going to buy out oil back for us? The government?

There is no caveat that oil drilled in the U.S. will stay in the U.S. The government doesn't drill. It doesn't refine. It doesn't sell. It simply allows oil companies to make money from our resources. Once they get it our of the ground, they can do with it whatever they want.

And in the end WE end up getting little or nothing in return.

Thanks for nothing. But WE decline.

And so it goes.

Aha!

The GOP finally begins to make sense.

And so it goes.

Drill this

Rarely does one come upon such pure, eloquent common sense in a relatively few paragraphs.
The Naples Daily News really came through this morning:

President Bush is following through on trying to lift bans on additional potential offshore sites for oil and natural gas.

In an election year, with $4-plus gasoline and a Republican president pushing a Democratic Congress to let each seaboard state decide for itself, politics is involved.

So is the potential for windfall profit — before the first drop of new oil is produced, thus driving up prices of whatever is produced even further.

That is why there is more sizzle than steak — or more slick than solution — to the president’s plan.

Democrats rightfully point out there is a substantial inventory of potential oil and gas exploration sites going unused.

Further, it is important to separate a sustainable long-term energy strategy from today’s panic mode. The United States cannot drill its way out of trouble. Oil is not the future. A combination of energy, including solar and biofuels as keenly advanced by Florida, is more in sync environmentally and economically.

It is vital for Florida to have its beaches and marine life intact long after the panic subsides. That is more important than profiteering and politics today.

Almost impossible to add anything.

Way to go, NDN.

Just hope all those blind Republican puppets around here actually read it. Any chance?

Naw.

Most just puppet the Shrub's (& John McSame's) talking points.

Please, don't mess my mind up with facts. Oh, the horror!

And so it goes.

One less bigot

I know I SHOULD be more compassionate and sympathetic. But I'm not.

Jesse Helms died yesterday.

He was the worst kind of ignorant, intolerant racist southern politician.

"He'll be remembered, in part, for the strong racist streak that articulated his politics and almost all of his political campaigns — they were racialized in the most negative ways," said Kerry Haynie, a political science professor at Duke University, who noted that unlike George Wallace and Strom Thurmond, Helms never repented for such tactics.

Helms, however, was an equal opportunity closed-minded intolerant SOB.

In 1993, when then-President Clinton sought confirmation for an openly homosexual assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Helms registered his disgust. "I'm not going to put a lesbian in a position like that," he said in a newspaper interview at the time. "If you want to call me a bigot, fine."

Charming fellow.

For someone like him to have died on July 4, the date of the Declaration of Independence, is really sad.

Nevertheless, there's one less racist in the world today.

See, you can find good in everything if you look.

And so it goes.

My point

And so it goes.

Sure, George

FYI:
They've been pumping oil out of Alaska for years. Why hasn't it helped the price of gas in the U.S.? They're selling it to Japan.

There are U.S. oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico pumping out crude. Why hasn't it helped the price of gas in the U.S.? They're selling it to China.

Just thought you should know.

And so it goes.

Truth hurts

And so it goes.

Just move on, nothing new to see here

You'd think by now the GOP would realize that we can see when they're playing politics rather than 'trying to help.'

The latest political boondoggle is president W-imbecile parroting John McSame's call to open up drilling for oil along the U.S. coastlines.

Sounds kinda good until you think. Which th GOP definitely does NOT want you to do.

President Bush is renewing his call to open U.S. coastal waters to oil and gas development, arguing that it's high time to battle high prices with increased domestic production.

Sounds logical until you consider:

Even if the oil conglomerates decide to actually drill along our coastlines, which they probably won't do because it's way too expensive and that development would cut into their windfall profits, it would take at least 5 years (more likely 10) before that oil reaches the market. Exactly how is that gonna help out today's $4-heading-up-to$6 price of gasoline?

It won't of course. They don't want you to know that. They just want you to think they're doing something. Mostly the something would be polluting our beaches. Destroying the Gulf's ecosystem. Destroying the gulf coast's economic base (tourism). And solving exactly doodley-squat.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, energy secretary during the Clinton administration, called it "another bad idea."

"It's going to take 10 years to fully get that oil out of the ocean. It's a fragile ecosystem," he said on CBS's "The Early Show."

"You know this president, all he wants to do is drill, drill, drill. There is very little on conservation, on fuel efficiency for vehicles. Just last week the Congress failed to pass a solar tax credit — give more incentives to renewable energy, solar and wind. A one track mind — drill drill drill — that's not going to work," Richardson said.

That drilling, by the way, is just drilling into your wallet. It will solve nothing. And there's no guarantee the oil will ever reach domestic (i.e. U.S.) markets. It will be sold on the world market. For the highest price. To the highest bidder. If it goes to China, that's OK with the oil barons. Europe? That's OK, too. The U.S.? Don't make me laugh; that will NOT be the highest bidder.

Finally, the GOP would like you to believe the blocking of drilling was all a Democratic plot. However,

Congress imposed the drilling moratorium in 1981 and has extended it each year since, by prohibiting the Interior Department from spending money on offshore oil or gas leases in virtually all coastal waters outside the western Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off Alaska.

President George H.W. Bush issued a parallel executive drilling ban in 1990, which was extended by President Clinton and then by the current president until 2012.

Even the W-imbecile's daddy said it's wrong.

But it's politics. Not the economy, stupid.

And so it goes.

Portside time

And so it goes.

I'll give you 49 billion reasons why

Can the GOP get any more transparent? It's pretty well known that the GOP is the party of big business, but here's proof beyound a shadow:

Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.

The Democratic energy package would have imposed a tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and given the federal government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill's supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge.

Funny, though, the GOP can't offer any other form of relief for the gas-paying public.

But Republicans argued the Democratic proposal focusing on new oil industry taxes is not the answer to the country's energy problems.

OK, so what is the answer?

The GOP is surprisingly silent on that one.

Maybe because taxing windfall profits means taxing the true base of the GOP?
Want more transparency?

Separately, Democrats also failed to get Republican support for a proposal to extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. The tax breaks have either expired or are scheduled to end this year.

Could it be any plainer?
The GOP wants higher gas prices. It fought for it for the last seven years. And the rich guys are not about to give it back.

And so it goes.

Equal time Friday

And so it goes.

Easy pickins

Yeah, I know an Obama-Hillary ticket would be formidable.

But do we really need formidable to beat John McBush?

Actually I think all we need is consciousness. A pulse. A few waves on the old brain-o-meter.

If he keeps it up, McBush will beat himself by August. The more he tries to distance himself from the W-imbecile, the more he looks like Bush III. Oh, He'll take Bush's money, and Bush's advice, and his policies and use some of Bush's advisors, but hey, he's his own man, isn't he?

Riiiiiiiiiight.

(To repeat myself, am I the only one who thinks he's looking more and more like an Oompa Loompa?)

And so it goes.

Obamarama

Yeah!

OBAMA '08!

About time.

Now, if we can just convince Hillary to take her campaign of mean nasty spitefulness and go home ....

At least we now have a real alternative to Bush's third term; someone other than John McBush, the man on both sides of every issue. When he's not falling asleep. (Anyone else notice that he looks frighteningly like an Oompah Loompah?)

Maybe, just maybe we can turn this country around. Maybe we can build something we again can be proud of. Maybe we can loosen corporate America's unholy stranglehold on our government. Make it 'one nation of the people, by the people and for the people.'

Let us pray.

And so it goes.

Schmoolz

'Bout time she noticed there are rules:

(I know it's not Friday, but with two primaries today, it may be too late by then. I hope).

And so it goes.

Some fun

Get drilled ... and make it count

Get drilled:
Whenever I hear a conservative complaining about the high cost of gasoline (yeah, those Rolls do get pretty bad mileage, I hear) the next thing I hear is that the government should start drilling in ANWR and the Gulf. That, we hear, will solve all our problems.

Bull.

First, the government does not drill. Private industry drills.

Second, private industry is under no obligation to solve our gas price dilemma. They created it. They profit from it. They like it. Like it $49 billion profit per quarter. That's a lot of like.


Should we allow drilling in those areas, there is no guarantee that any of the crude pumped out will ever reach your pump. The oil conglomerates, just like the Arab sheiks, will sell the oil on the free market. The world market. And odds are, it will end up going to China, or Europe or somewhere other than Southwest Florida. It will not lower the price of gas here by a penny. You can take that penny to the bank.

You really think all that oil would go into domestic production for domestic sales? Naive, aren't you?

Because drilling in ANWR and the Gulf is not about lowering the price of gas. It's about raising he profits of the oil conglomerates.

You know, Bush's best buddies. Bush, if you remember, has been in the 'oil bidness' for a long time. And a lot of that time, he's been in bidness with his best buddies, the Saudi oil sheiks.

You really think it has anything to do with helping the American people? Other than those people who happen to be in the 'bidness?'

Not a chance.

Now: Make it count.

A while back I expressed concern that my Florida primary vote (Democratic primary) wasn't gonna count.

Now, I'm even more concerned that it will.

To whit: The Democratic Party said that if we in Florida held our primary in January, they wouldn't count our votes or seat our delegates.

Pissed me off.

They also put down rules: Democratic candidates could not campaign in states holding 'illegal' primaries. That'd be us, folks.

All the candidates but one followed those rules. They did not campaign in Florida before the primary. All but one.

Now, one candidate is fighting mightily to have the Florida votes counted after all.

Funny. The one candidate who broke the rules, Hillary, is also the candidate fighting to have the votes counted. How generous of her, to try and get our votes counted. Our delegates seated.

Funny thing, since she was the only Democrat who campaigned here, she won the primary. Now she wants/needs 'her' votes.

OK, Democrats. Before, I said count my vote.

Now, DON'T count it.

Unless we all play fair, it isn't a fair primary for all.

Sorry, Hillary. If you can't play by the rules in January, you shouldn't be allowed to change the rules in May.

(As an aside, never in my too-long life have I seen a nastier Democratic campaign that that being run by Hillary. Anyone who's that nasty, mean, spiteful, underhanded and unprincipled ...).

And so it goes.

The real Naples

Now that the hysteria seems finally to have died down, it's my turn.

Scores of horrified people assaulted the Naples Daily News with hysteria-filled letters after the publication of a photo and short story about female impersonators at a club in Naples.

I did not know there was such a club, and probably wouldn't have attended a show if there was. And I probably won't.

Not my kind of entertainment.

But to you hysterical folks: WAKE UP!

This is a part of the world in which you live. If you think you can drive through your big iron gated community bars and return to the blissful 1950s in which everything was wholesome, healthy, happy, straight and remarkably white, you are simply wrong.

This isn't the 1950s, folks (and for that matter, female impersonators existed then, too. So did blacks, poor people and even -gasp- homosexuals!). For some reason, you and the media found it easier and more convenient to ignore anything that wasn't Pat Boone back then. It was still there. It just was ignored.

It is a newspaper's job to reflect the community in which it exists. Reflect, not reinterpret. Not influence. Not ignore.


Spanky's is out there. In YOUR community. Female impersonators are out there. In YOUR community. As are gays, minorities, poor people, and (shock!!) Democrats and liberals.

Deal with it.

There is no place you can go that you can get away from that. Not even in your big ol' protected millionaires-only gated community.

Who knows what goes on behind the closed doors right across from your $4M home? How do YOU know dear Bob down the street doesn't put on a push-up and pumps once the doors are closed and blinds drawn? Do you REALLY know that Bill and Ed are just playing canasta every Friday evening when they visit? What do Madge and Betty and Mildred REALLY do out by their pool every afternoon?

The world is everywhere, folks. You can't avoid reality. You can't close your eyes real real tight and pretend everything's exactly what Saturday Evening Post depicted in 1955.

There's no chance you can close your eyes real tight, click your heels together three times and chant "there's no place like 1956; there's no place like 1956."

Real is real.

And as to the photograph itself, you can see more skin on any beach around here. Heck, you can see more skin walking down Fifth. Except THAT skin is sagging. A lot. The photograph wasn't pornographic. You KNOW that. It just depicticed a Naples you chose to believe doesn't exist.

Because if it doesn't exist, life for you is your own version of happier. But your own version of happier is a fallacy. A lie.

Sorry. Any 2-year-old knows that the world doesn't disappear whenever you close your eyes. Don't see a lot of 70-year-olds playing peek-a-boo, do you? ("If we just close our eyes, Marge, it'll all go away...")

Deal with it. Get over it. Live with it. It's 2008.

And so it goes.

Friday funnies

Equal time:




And so it goes.

Thanks, Ronnie

And airline deregulation was a good idea exactly why?

Yeah, because of deregulation, not are the airlines incredibly healthy financially, they're treating their passengers with great respect, too.

A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.

And the pilot's justification?

...the pilot, who was not named in the lawsuit, told him that "he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command that (Mutlu) should be grateful for being on board,"...

Ronnie (or more accurately his handlers since Ronnie never had a clue what was going on) have made America such a nicer place in which to live.

Thanks again.

And so it goes.

Better read

It's been my experience that the best way to get to know a community is to read the letters to the editor.

Given that, there are a lot of concerned folks in Southwest Florida. And that concerns me. Because there's not a lot really to be concerned about in Southwest Florida.

Fr'instance,

If your biggest concern is you don't like the look of men (and women?) who shave their head, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is the peeling paint on a few stoplight poles, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is loud bar music in downtown after 10:30 p.m. (and before midnight) on a weekend, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is a few cigarette butts in the sand on the beach, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is that the new white paint on the street outside your $12 million home is too garish and is hurting the serene nature of your neighborhood, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is landscaping in the medians around Southwest Florida, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If your biggest concern is how low teenagers are wearing their jeans and how much underwear they're showing, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If you're concerned about an increase in traffic around your $2 million condo during season, you have nothing to be concerned about.

If any thing like the above concerns you, I really think you should be concerned --- concerned that you no longer have a life.

That concerns me.

And so it goes.

The best policy

The fix is in. Always has been. Need an expert? There's one who for a price who will say just about anything you want him to say.

Our Deceiver in Chief is an expert at that. Don't believe me? The next time you see one of those military analysts talking about strategy and munitions and war and how great things are going, think about this.

Turns out there are no lengths this corrupt administration won't go to lie to the American public. Want a dose of 'truth'? Just buy it.

Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

Ah, truth bought and paid for by our corrupt administration. (And, of course, paid for with YOUR tax dollars). There's more, of course.

Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

Raise your hand of any of this really surprises you. Didn't think so.

Truth for sale to the highest bidder.

This administration (which John McCain would be happy to continue) has no reference point for truth. And no interest in finding it.

It's an embarrassment to the American people.

And so it goes.

Oh, the pain ...

You know, it's kinda hard to be curmudgeonly when this is the view out your front door ...



And this is less than a half mile away...



Oh, I suffer so ...

And so it goes.