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POPSMore Economic Woes in US The economic news continues to worsen as 4,000 jobs were lost last month and gains reported in June and July were revised downward. The housing crunch and worsening jobs news leads analysts to begin to use the R word. Is a full blown recession around the corner? What will the FED do on Sep 18? What remains perfectly clear is that now is the time to make sure your credit history is as positive as it can be. As the credit markets tighten and money becomes harder to borrow a high quality FICO score is essential to a secure financial future and the ability to weather the current financial storm.
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POPSTight Credit Hurts only Housing says FED The Federal Reserve Board maintains that the current status of the US credit crunch is only impacting the housing market. Others argue (see earlier post) that the impact is only on the more affluent home buyer at the moment. In other news, however, Countrywide, a major player in the sub-prime mortgage market just announced that it is laying off some 900 people all related to their mortgage business. The writing is on the wall. The credit crunch is here and denial won't make it better.
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POPSMortgage Market Tightens Now more than ever it is important to have a strong credit history. As the credit markets continue to tighten banks and other lenders are more skittish about lending money to people with even moderately damaged credit scores. As this clip from the Chicago Tribune points out, a primary reason for home sales falling through it that the buyers could not secure the appropriate loan.
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POPSTHE NEXT CREDIT CRUNCH?
I'd say get ready...but its already here. The crunch has arrived and it is clear that more and more people, especially those in the middle class are going to be squeezed by the tightening credit market. As the credit market collapses we can expect to see more families unable to meet their monthly obligations. As credit implodes, interest rates on credit transactions will rise sharply leaving many people without the means to make payments. As the market tightens, it will become more important than ever to protect your credit rating. Now is the time to address issues surrounding planning and prioritizing debt. Waiting until it is too late, until your FICO score has already turned South, is unwise. We suggest two important steps for meeting this potential crisis. First, if you don't have one, make a family budget. If you already do budget then revisit that budget now to make sure you have a handle on just how you are spending your money. Secondly, prioritize your debts.
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POPSNews From The Financial Markets The FED cut the discount rate in an effort to rescue the falling stock market. This is good news for people with excellent credit scores but makes borrowing for those Americans with damaged credit more difficult. Many experts predict that over the next few months, there will be a great credit crunch. Watch for credit to be far more difficult to obtain and for subprime borrowers to be squeezed out of the marketplace. There is no better time than the present to think about restoring damaged credit.
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POPSThe Supremes Strike Again I used to live in a country in which a handful of men and women, the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, had the courage to stand up in order to protect the interests of those for whom the promise of America was being undermined by public policy. In Brown v Board of Education the court held that public policy that separated young people on the basis of the color of their skin could no longer stand in the United States. Legal segregation based on Plessy v Ferguson, the decision that created the "separate but equal" standard, was no longer acceptable in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Effectively, the court is returning to Plessy. Reuters reports, "Roberts said in writing for the court majority that racial balancing was not permitted. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," he said." Roberts' logic is flawed. By eliminating policy designed to attain racial diversity from the mix, the cou
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POPS2,300 schools face 'No Child' overhaul Once again No Child Left Behind rears its ugly head. In the land of the free and the home of the brave 2300 schools are deemed failing. No doubt the vast majority of these schools serve urban or rural poor, people of color, or otherwise undeserved communities. The crisis in American schools is not real, it is, as David Berliner pointed out, one that is politically manufactured, politically motivated. The same people that underfund urban schools rant about how urban schools are failing. The same people that rant about school failures are also behind the movement to privatize education in the United States urging vouchers to pay for religious education and the like. John Dewey argued that the wealthy in a democracy have the absolute responsibility to provide for the poor the same level of education they provide for their own children. Dewey was speaking about school funding and the gap between funding in wealthy and poor communities.
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POPSMuseum group sued by fellow creationists Hoo Haa! So there must be more than one creation mythology because even the creationists can't agree. Fighting over whose myth outranks the other's even when the myths are based on the same text is, no doubt, fodder for Jay Leno. I just have to laugh. If only they would try a bit of rationality rather than delusional self-interest maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better, more tolerant place.
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POPSFBI finds abuse in getting terrorism, spy records When I was growing up in the 1950's we were forced to watch propaganda films telling us all about the evils of the Soviet Union, especially the danger from the Secret Police . We were briefed on the potential abuse in such a system, one which went so far as to encourage children to spy on their parents, workers on their bosses and colleagues, and friend on friend. Awards, we were told, were given to those who reported to the secret police crimes real or imagined. I wonder just what the difference might be if the FBI takes upon itself the role of secret police. Of course, there is a great difference here. The FBI investigated itself and slapped its own hand. What would an external investigation, one that is independent of the Justice Department under the questionable leadership of Alberto Gonzales, might find? Sad fact is that I am not surprised by any of this. Just another potential scandal for George II's administration.
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POPSRichard Rorty, 1931-2007 Richard Rorty's contribution to American Pragmatism was important and profound. I am deeply saddened by the news of his death, Rorty had a significant influence on my own thinking, especially his distinction between normal and abnormal discourse. It will be a long time coming before another philosopher of Rorty's stature and influence appears on the American landscape.
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POPSDemocrats Debate Redux FactCheck.org found no whoppers but the Democrats were not without their own version of spin. The entire article can be read by clicking on the clipped from www,factcheck.org above. While I support one of the Democrats, it is important that they be called on their own spin. Sometimes spin arises from confusion. Did Sen. Barack Obama confuse people and cars when discussing auto insurance in California? Obama: And, in fact, if you look at auto insurance, in California, there's mandatory auto insurance – 25 percent of the folks don't have it. The reason is because they can't afford it.
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POPSNew Post-Disaster Protocol from the Bush White House Kind of makes one wonder. In the face of a massive, apocalyptic disaster, why it is so important to put a face on national unity? If the disaster is so great that new a HQ must be formed within 12 hours--apparently somewhere away from the White House--then I wonder who might be left to really care about the face of America in the world or "bringing to justice" any perpetrators of attacks. The new policy focuses on a worst-case scenario in which a terrorist nuclear bomb explodes without warning and wipes out much of the nation's top leadership. Older plans were instead premised on a Cold War-era long-range missile attack, presuming it would be detected in enough time to evacuate the president and other top government officials. I suppose those in power need to feel like they are doing something but this sounds like something scripted out of a Hollywood disaster film. What is it they say--Life imitates art?
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POPSIrreducible Complexity: One More Bogus ID Argument The argument from irreducible complexity suggests that the removal of a single part from a system destroys the system's function, ergo evolution is ruled out, ergo the system must have been designed by some external force. This is the argument put subtracting something there. Sometimes the functions are changed so that they do something other than what they did prior to mutation. Such evolutionary development of irreducibly complex systems have been described in the scientific literature in great detail.
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POPSSpin Removal for the Fair Tax Bill (HR 25) FactCheck.org does it again. In their analysis of the Fair Tax proposal they pay close attention to the numbers and the spin placed on those numbers by Huckabee, Tancredo and Hunter. Some of what they have to say is reprinted below:
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POPSUS Chamber of Commerce Ad Misleading Stand up if you would buy an ointment that would cure cancer, arthritis, warts, athletes foot, headaches, bad breath, and hair loss for the mere sum of $22.95 for a ten day supply! I'll bet not many folks are standing as they read this. When advertising claims are unbelievable, are designed to scare, or cite facts without citing the appropriate authority one ought to be wary of the claim made. When the advertiser deliberately misleads its intended audience relying on the likelihood that the "facts" of the message will not be checked, rather they will be believed uncritically, that advertiser is no better than a snake oil salesman and ought to be run out of town, tarred and feathered, and otherwise subjected to ridicule and derision. FactCheck.org exposes this kind of monkey business. I applaud those efforts.
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POPSGOP Debates Redux Not that the Democrats are any better, but FactCheck.org happened to address claims made by the Republican hopefuls during their last debate. I think Lincoln got it right when he remarked that "You can fool some of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Perhaps we should start holding those that seek political office to a higher standard. Tell the truth. Don't lie. Don't cherry pick your facts. Don't spin. All you do when you do these things is create cynicism, distrust and eventually anger.
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POPSSupremes Place Profits before People The Supremes led by Justice Alito writing for the majority found in favor of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber company on a narrow interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 disallowing years of gender discrimination in which the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company underpaid one Lilly Ledbetter on average around $6000 per year less than her male counterparts doing the same work. The fascist majority on the court (fascism being defined as the seamless merging of government and corporate interests) ignore the human consequences of their actions as they support the corporate ethics that seem to say screw the workers just line my pockets with silver and gold.
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POPSAnother Gonzales Horror Story Clipped from Atlantic Online, this story references Alberto Gonzales' sinister involvement in the March 2004 warrantless eavesdropping program even after the program was declared unlawful by then AG John Ashcroft, himself no constitutional bargain. The whole article is worth the time to read as it outlines the hubris of the Bush administration as they flaunt the law and the constitution for their own gain.
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POPSEvolution vs. Creationism: Listen to the Scientists The clip below is part of a series of clips available at http://evolutionvscreationsim.info. What is at stake here is not evolution or creationism, quite the contrary, what is truly at stake in the United States is a reliance on rationalism vs a reliance on revelation. But, then we must ask just whose revelation trumps all others? Rationalism, thoughtful analysis of observable data or revelation, interpretation of the mythical explanations for just about everything based solely on what someone said was revealed to him or her a long time ago (unless you follow Scientology as revealed to L. Ron Hubbard just a few decades ago).
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POPSCarter: Bush 'worst in history' Coming from the lips of Jimmy Carter this is a real mouthful. My personal respect for Carter has never been high and it went into the toilet after he published his latest anti-semitic diatribe, Palestine: Peace not Apartheid . But, that being said, Carter's conclusions here may be partially right. He comes down hard on George II for his policy of pre-emptive war in the case of Iraq. The disastrous results in Iraq after causing the collapse of the Saddam government were predicted during his father's Gulf War in the early 90's. George I stopped short of going straight to Baghdad when he clearly could have done so so as not to destabilize the country. George I's son just wasn't that smart. Carter's view of the Middle East, however, is generally tainted by his latent, though certainly not vocal until recently, anti-semitic Baptist foundations. Baptists tolerate Jews so long as they need Jews to gather again in Israel to hasten the second coming of the Messiah.
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POPSTop Republican Predicts Gonzales' Resignation Wolfowitz resigns, can Gonzales be far behind? While the White House continues to stand solidly behind Bush's friend, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the storm swells that surround the AG continue to deepen. Since the White House position of backing Gonzales in the face of the fully developed scandal surrounding the procedures that led to the firing of eight federal prosecutors is politically untenable, the White House resorts to ad homenim attacks on Senator Charles Schumer (D. NY), I think the attorney general is not affected by it. I think the media seems to be focused on it, which I think for some of the members who are instigating these kinds of questions, like Senator Schumer, (this) is exactly what they want, Ad homenim attacks generally are used when there is little of substance one can argue. Substance is replaced by an all out attack on an individual or individuals.
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POPSBush on Intelligent Design I thought I would blog about the oxymoron of intelligent design for a while. What better place to start than with the remarks of President Bush on the subject. While Bush made these remarks in August of 2005, I am certain his position has not changed one iota--mostly because he has demonstrated a stubborn streak many times over when it comes to changing his mind. Mr. Bush argues that one must teach both sides of the controversy between evolution and intelligent design. So what could be wrong with that? First, there is no controversy . Declaring something a controversy does not make it so. Simply declaring that a controversy exists (over fill in the blank) creates a straw man that allows the proponents of intelligent design to have talking points rather than to address the issues advanced by the FACT of evolution. The straw man argument is one of the deadly fallacies in logical argumentation.
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POPSPelosi Speaks On Impasse With White House I have written about this before but it bears repeating. Bush is high on accountability when it comes to the weakest, most helpless, least powerful members of our society--school children--but refuses to accept measures of accountability for his own actions. It is important to put this into perspective. My personal metaphor for Bush's actions is that of playground bully . Push around those who cannot or will not fight back and then refuse to accept responsibility when one actually does by claiming that the other guy started the whole thing. Bush, in refusing to compromise, thumbs his nose at the American PEOPLE. Ours is not a government of the president or of the Congress. Lincoln reminded us that ours is a government "of the PEOPLE , by the PEOPLE , and for the PEOPLE ." Let's not allow Bush to thumb his nose at the PEOPLE for much longer. Stand with the Speaker and bring our men and women home.
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POPSObama's "16 Votes" Campaign Okay, so I support Barak Obama. That being said, my bias out in the open, I believe he is the only viable candidate that makes sense on ending the Iraq War. With a White House out of control, refusing compromise with the loyal opposition on matters of the war, and with the death toll of American soldiers ever rising, a voice of reason is needed. Obama's tack is to garner enough votes to override any presidential veto since compromise on a bill is not likely. The power shift in Congress came as a result of the American voter's disenchantment with the war. The time has come to put an end to this mismanaged fiasco. But this White House looks and acts more and more like the Nixon White House in its efforts to "end" the war by waging even more war. Enough is enough. Support Obama's "16 vote" campaign and help us get out of Iraq.
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POPSAnother Nut with a Gun Idaho and guns seem not to mix well. I don't think my next vacation will be planned for Idaho. Need I say more?
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POPSAlberto Gonzales: Bush's Yes Man! No wonder Bush stands so steadfastly behind his AG. The guy just can't say no to his boss. This intertwining of the political with the running of the Justice Department has gone on in other administrations, both Republican and Democrat. But I think it's being carried to a fine art by this president. They leave no stone unturned to politicize where they think the law will permit it. And they push the line very far. The Bush administration, under the political influence of Karl Rove (the man who understands ethical behavior much in the same way that Chuck Colson, special counsel to Richard Nixon during the Watergate years, did; If you must run over your grandmother to get what you want, then go ahead and leave her for dead) will stoop to any depths to get what it wants.
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POPSBush Faces a Tough Choice after Wolfowitz Resignation With the reputation of the United States at stake, President Bush readies himself to pick a successor to Paul Wolfowitz. Traditionally, the US has chosen the President of the World Bank while Europeans have chosen the head of the International Monetary Fund. Now, given the scandal at the World Bank, Europeans are suggesting that this practice cease and that Wolfowitz' successor be chosen on merit and not nationality (a code for crony of Mr. Bush). Given the falling reputation of the United States across Europe due in part to the mishandled war in Iraq and the bungling choices made at the World Bank, perhaps the White House should listen for a change. Consultation is not, however, the strong suit of the Bush White House as an administration that has grown used to having its own way on just about everything until recently.
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POPSDeath Penalth Denied for Juan Luna In Illinois it takes 12 jurors to unanimously recommend the death penalty in order for that sentence to be imposed. One juror chose to spare the life of Juan Luna, convicted of multiple murder at a Brown's Chicken store in the Chicagoland area. While we may never know the motives of the holdout, unless she decided to come forward, I want to applaud her conscious choice in withholding her vote to put this convicted killer to death. Luna proclaims his innocence. He was convicted on circumstantial physical evidence. If there is one chance in 10,000 that the conviction is in error and Luna's claims are, in fact, true then it is clear that life in prison is the proper course of punishment.
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POPSReaction to Wolfowitz's resignation It is also clear from the comments of Tony Fratto and Henry Paulson that the Bush White House continues to exist in a state of denial. While it has been the traditional role of the President of the United States to appoint the President of the World Bank, there is a strong movement to reexamine that practice or, at the very least, curtail the cronyism practiced by this White House. Perhaps the time has come for a fair and transparent process for the selection of the next president of the World Bank. Perhaps the rest of the world will not be governed by the hubris of the Bush White House. We in the United States must only suffer 613 more days of this administration. Good Riddance. Now Bush only has to deal with the scandals at Justice and the Department of Education, and, oh yes, the potential indictment of his closest adviser, Karl Rove.
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POPSPascal's Wager: A Skeptics Response I am posting a short video I made that addresses Pascal's Wager that simply states that even if the odds for the existence of God or gods is overwhelming, there is the slight chance that one is wrong. If it turns out that God(s) exist then the non-believer risks eternal damnation while the believer is eternally rewarded. If it turns out that there really is no God or God(s) then it makes no difference to the believer or non-believer--nothing is lost in the bargain. So Pascal concludes that on the off chance that there might, in fact, be a God(s) it makes sense to believe. As this video points out, there are substantial flaws in Pascal's reasoning. Which God(s) does one choose to believe in? Wouldn't picking the wrong one be tantamount to not picking at all? Isn't Pascal's belief merely a belief of convenience and not of conviction; wouldn't an omnipotent, omniscient God(s) see right through the rouse and leave the pretender in the same position as if he didn't choose at all?
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POPSBush Department of Education Scandal Deepens Alleged conflict of interest charges now swarm around the DoED's sponsorship and use of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). DIBELS serves as the flagship assessment instrument for the billion dollar a year Reading First program administered by the DoED. In addition to significant charges of not properly screening consultants, many of whom had financial ties to DIBLES, the DoED appears to have promoted the use of DIBELS over any other early literacy indicator. Furthermore, DIBELS does not appear to be a good indicator of whether or not children understand what they read. DIBELS also tends to be biased in favor of children that come from literacy-rich environments according to Samuel J. Meisels, president of the Erickson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development.
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POPSPale Blue Dot Clipped from YouTube, this video is a powerful reminder that asking the skeptical questions is the first and only requirement of being human. Without skeptical inquiry we would still be napping flint weapons, living in caves, and wandering about the plains in search of food. Asking skeptical questions, however, is not a remedy for ambition, hubris, or evil. It is not a remedy for those who believe without evidence. It is not a remedy for stupidity. Skepticism is, however, the springboard to human progress and greatness.
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POPSWolfowitz violated rules Wolfowitz "did not accept the bank's policy on conflict of interest and tried to bypass rules that he believed did not apply to him." Paul Wolfowitz engaged in nepotism when he assured that his girlfriend, Shaha Riza was promoted and saw to it that she received a hefty pay increase, one far exceeding the standards set by the World Bank. And what does Wolfowitz (with the aid and comfort of George W. Bush) do? He thumbs his nose at the World Bank. Wolfowitz called the findings "unbalanced and flawed" and argued that the panel had omitted statements and documents that support his position. The fact that the United States official position is to continue to offer Wolfowitz continuing support is another sign that the Bush White House is simply out of touch with the realities of the US position vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Bush and Wolfowitz seem to believe that they can play at being the playground bully doing whatever they please.
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POPSMichael Behe and Data Manipulation Another example of misusing data to fit a theist view of the world. By rejecting scientific evidence and more, Michael Behe is able to convince only the uninitiated, the believer. He is not able to make inroads on well trained biologists or other scientists. The lesson is, it seems to me, is that before one accepts anything at face value one has the obligation to address the appropriate available evidence and then asks the skeptical questions that make that evidence stand up to those questions. It is not good enough to believe in something because you believe in something. That tautology will only run you around in circles causing only severe dizziness.
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POPSThe American Taliban Strike Again Who would have thought that a cup of coffee could be so offensive. When the following appeared on a Starbucks' cup I laughed a bit and moved on with my life: You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose. Focusing on yourself will never reveal your purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. -- Dr. Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life." I don't believe in a creator god, a sky fairy, the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny. I find people that do to be mostly uninformed, not because they are stupid but because they simply haven't examined the evidence. But I am not offended by those who do unless they use that belief to justify blowing themselves up or telling me what to believe,
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POPSConfessions of a Wal-Mart Hit Man If one wants to understand just how the modern corporation exploits its workers just watch this clip from YouTube. A 17 year executive from Wal-Mart confesses his complicity in the Wal-Mart policy to exploit their workforce by some pretty underhanded policies and actions. I am going to let the video speak for itself.
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POPSIn Alabama Libertarians Are Terrorists So I guess the ALDHS would classify Thomas Jefferson as a terrorist! Such rhetoric must stem from the complete lack of understanding of limited constitutional government. In any case, such labeling and name calling has no place in the American democracy.
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POPSYou Gotta Love the Bush Family Values Should anyone be surprised that Jeb Bush, the President's brother and the former President's son (oh gosh, I should leave him out of this mix) decided to go to work for a firm that is deeply involved in ethics abuse? Frankly, but quite unfortunately, I am not. While it must be difficult to turn away $37,000 per day as a salary, one must wonder what Jeb Bush must do to earn that kind of money. I hope it is to clean up the company Tenet Healthcare but somehow I doubt it. I am constantly reminded by the antics of the Bush family that one should never tie one's shoes in a watermelon patch. It gives the impression that one is about to steal watermelons, even if the intent is to simply tie one's shoes. Appearances is everything in this world. We live and die by appearances. So Jeb, stop bending over to tie your shoes--You are in the middle of the watermelon patch.
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POPSBush Administration Withheld E-Mails about Karl Rove More trouble for the Bush White House it seems. Apparently there is no absence of arrogance at the White House, lessons learned from the Nixon White House no doubt. As the scandals grow around this administration, Bush grows more determined to wallow in the disaster of Iraq, support his buddies Gonzales and Wolfowitz as they fall down the slippery slope, and even threatens to veto the hate crime bill that will soon come his way. How ironic. Bush's actions are the actions of a president in deep trouble willing to risk the welfare of the nation to shore up his position.
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