Presidential Election 2008 round table debate Question 3

What a week. Two candidates are dropping out; Edwards, Guiliani and we're probably going to expect a few more next week.

I'm from the Netherlands originally. And in Holland, voting for your party AND the one who you would want to see as Prime Minister is so much more straightforward. One voter, one vote. Nothing convaluted like here in the US. Not to mention the waste of millions of dollars on campaigns that won't even be successful. Never mind the skewed media attention when a candidate has a lot of money and can buy all the air time he/she wants.

Here is my question:

On C-span, a devout Ron Paul supporter said that even if Ron Paul would not win the Republican nomination, that he'd still vote for him come election time. Would you still vote for your candidate of choice even if he/she was not nominated? If so, why?

(I'm still leading up to another questioning direction but I think I'll have to save it after Super Tuesday)

Answer #2 of the Presidential Election 2008 debate

I finally have succumbed to 'something' and I hope to go to bed early with this sore throat. I've taken 30 grams of Vitamin C (yes sirree, GRAMS!) yesterday and today I think I've even surpassed the 30 mark but since I've haven't been sick for a while, it's a tough little bugger. I shouldn't complain. It's only day 2. So hopefully everyone will have his answer here before I hit the sack.

Ok, this was Question #2:

Do you believe that this country needs someone to heal the wounds of the last 8 yrs ? Would you, if you believed any candidate to be able to do that, that that would be the most important activity for the next President to pursue?

Here are the answers:

Betmo:
No- we don't need a candidate to reach across the table- because they are only reaching out the politician across the aisle- and it doesn't mean a thing. The wounds that the next president has to heal are the ones in our foreign policy. We have to make an effort to repair that damage- and our image- to the rest of the world. It is up to congress to clean up the mess that they made under bushco- they are responsible for debating and making the laws- the next president needs to have the integrity to veto stupidity- not set it as a domestic agenda. We have to prioritize and the feelings of 30% of america should not matter at this point. They made a stupid decision to continue to support bushco- now the rest of america and the world need to clean up the mess. They just need to suck it up.

Robbie

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards will likely be elected our next President, but there is no way any of them can heal the wounds inflicted by the Bush administration and their supporters during the past eight years. it's an old wound that's been there since before I was born, and now that the scab is removed, we're seeing Americans pitted against each other based on their political ideology, race, sexual orientation, faith, and gender like never before.

I know people close to me who won't vote for Obama because of his race, or for Hillary because she's a woman. Do you expect these ordinary Americans to put their differences aside if their presidential candidate is defeated in November? I don't. In fact, I expect these individuals to do what they've done since President Bill Clinton's first term in office: harbor ill feelings against the government and get their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage as they spew their hate and bigotry on our public airwaves.

The best we can hope for is that the next President will fix the economy by curtailing corporations and their lobbying and business practices. Jobs continue to move overseas. Products are not adequately tested for public safety before they hit the market. Employee's wages and benefits are trimmed every year while CEOs continue to earn record bonuses. The next President will need Congress's cooperation, but as long as our elected representatives continue to be influenced by corporate lobbyists' money then nothing will change in the next four years.

Rogel:

Ingrid question is problematic to answer. What are those wounds the next President need to heal, and did they only the cause of the last 8 years? Does the devision of Blue and Red states is the results of the Bush administration or is it a deeper division? Did the first Clintons era was harmless? Since this is a wide open question, and Ingrid demand a short answer, I will try to provide a more general answer.

Many Presidential candidates are running under the flag of calming the divisions, fixing Washington and build an administration that will work harmoniously with both parties. Not surprisingly they will all fail. They fail because non-partisan politic is bad politic, it doesn’t bring voters to the polls and it leaves very little power for the politician. If there are no choices to choose from why is it important which politician we elect?

The only advantage, and its main disadvantage, of government is it monopoly on the legal means of coercion. It is an advantage because when the government operate within its proper roll, the use of power (or the threaten of it) is justified and doesn’t cause resistance. When the police arrest a criminal, when the army protect the border and many justified activities are all within the general consensus and are widely acceptable. However, when the government increase its involvement into other areas - when its decides what is proper to watch on TV, what sexual preference is allowed, what food is permitted, and many many more issues that are better left to the individual to decide - its highlights the differences that are better remain in the private sphere.

The only way to calm the divisions is to remove the coercion power of the government. Some issues will be handle by social expectations, and many other will remain for the individual. The answer isn’t in more government, and surely not in the federal government. No magician in Washington DC can pass laws that will make everyone happy, nor should they. The only magic require is to remove regulations and give people back their right to decide for themselves.

Thanks guys, great answers. I know my question was vague and (kinda)presumptious as if you'd know what the wounds were. Btw..I have a question 3 in mind and I think you'd be surprised to know what that is. Anyhow..anyone want to agree or disagree with anyone? (civily of course)

Presidential Election 2008 round table debate Question #2

Ok.. question number 2.

I read an endorsement of Obama today, just browsing around, I'm not necessarily a proponent of him, I'm not having any opinions for this debate..my husband was browsing realclearpolitics, a site that has a lot of headlines that take you to other articles. Well, he happened to get to this one. (and he's the fiscally conservative remember?)

At any rate, it got me thinking. The article on Obama argued that this country needs someone who can unify the people. Left, center, right, and do away with the nasty partisan ship we've been experiencing. Now don't jump up and down 'cause I think that the Dems have been part of that as well.

My question for this weekend is;
Do you believe that this country needs someone to heal the wounds of the last 8 yrs ? Would you, if you believed any candidate to be able to do that, that that would be the most important activity for the next President to pursue?

And please peeps!! I got a comment (thank you Zee) that it was a wee bit long so pls pretty please..10 to 15 lines. Write and then edit...

Election 08 Debate: Realistic Changes, possible or not?

On Wednesday, I posted my first question to the debaters/advocates:

What would your candidate or party of choice be able to realistically change once in office.

Dennis Kucinich campaign volunteers Annie Jacobs and her dog Annie, left, and Mary Lee Gorman picket outside NBC studios in Burbank, Calif., protesting NBC-Universal's plan to exclude Kucinich from debates taking place on MSNBC in Las Vegas Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008. A lower court order that Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich be included in a MSNBC candidate debate Tuesday was tossed out a few hours before the debate by the Nevada Supreme Court.(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Betmo (Dem)
considering that we only can go up from here- any of the democratic contenders would be a significant change from the status quo. My thought is- the democratic president could immediately reinstate the constitution that they will have sworn to uphold (although kucinich is the only one who clearly states that he will). They could immediately close- not just guantanamo but- all of the secret prisons america is paying for around the world. The three front runners contend that they will begin to withdraw the troops from iraq within their first year- and they would have voter support from that- but perhaps not corporate support. Ideally, they would just declare 'mission accomplished' and start the transports a rollin'. Realistically, they could start pulling out small percentages of the troops by year's end. Diplomacy and working to repair the damage done by the neo cons- the democratic president will have olive branches thrown at them. Domestically, good grief what a mess! I have no idea what they could do with the mess we are in because corporate america and lobbying is still such a big player. The president has to work with congress- who actually passes the budgets and makes the laws- and well, even with a democratic congress- there will still be obstructionists from both sides in there.

Robbie (Indep)

As an Independent, this is a hypothetical question. As of today, the best candidate to bring change to America hasn't declared his candidacy. He is standing on the sidelines and putting out feelers whether or not he can win the election. He's worried he's too short to be President of the United States, and if he were elected, he would be the first president in modern history to take the oath without a First Lady at his side. Regardless of these perceived shortcomings, Michael Bloomberg offers the best chance to bring change to this country. He appeals to both parties because he's a social liberal but has the financial sense to keep things in balance. He's also pro-business, but he's in favor of helping businesses as long as they do things for the common good, something that has been sorely lacking in America for the past seven years. With Bloomberg in charge, I expect buzzwords like "compromise" and "accountability" to be in vogue in Washington. He has a track record of working with Republicans and Democrats to get things done, and since he took office six years ago he proved he's a better mayor than his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani. I expect him to have the same success if he's elected president. What I really like about Bloomberg is that, unlike politicians in both major parties, he's not afraid to put his reputation on the line and take risks. For example, one of his campaign pledges when he was re-elected as mayor was to reduce poverty in New York City. He's abandoning the method that's been used for over forty years to measure who is poor in favor of a modern approach that takes into account several more factors. He also took an unpopular stance with gun owners and spearheaded the fight against illegal guns. These risky moves made Bloomberg unpopular with certain single-issue constituents, but you can't deny the fact he's changed New York City for the better. During his time in office, Bloomberg took a $3 billion deficit and turned it into a $6 billion surplus. He also earned an award for the nation's most improved urban school district, and a lot of his success is due to his business acumen. In a political world where Republicans and Democrats prefer name calling ("tax and spend" and "tax cuts for the rich") to results, Bloomberg managed to improve the quality of life through smart budgeting. Yes, he spent more money than any mayor in the past thirty years but he spent it wisely on things that would help everybody. With the improvements in public schools, the park system, and lower crime rates, can anyone say New York was better off before he became mayor? We need to convince Mayor Bloomberg to throw his hat in the ring and run for president. Forget historic firsts. Bloomberg is the politician America needs to clean the mess the Bush administration will leave behind when their Reign of Error ends next January. He can improve our quality of life, balance the budget, and restore diplomatic relations with those we have alienated. Working Americans, especially those who exercise their right to vote, deserve a real opportunity for change. Of all the candidates in both parties who peddle "change" as this week's buzzword, Michael Bloomberg is the only one who has produced measured results.

Rogel (Libert)

Ingrid decided to “cut to the chase” and start this debate with a simple concrete question - in practical terms what would your candidate is going to actually do when, or if, elected. This is a worthwhile challenge - to start the discussion not from the big ideas and the vision but from the last and the most crucial step - what are the next president is actually going to do. What are the most important things, the essence of his, or her, carrier that after all the compromises and defeats are those that make the hardship of political carrier worthy for these candidates. For Ron Paul supporter this is an easy task, since Ron Paul is very clear about his agenda, goals and practice. And unlike all other candidates he is very consistent, and doesn’t modify his ideology based on focus groups and survey.

Ron Paul promise to do much less, and the sooner the better. In a world where every candidate explains how He, or She, will do more for us. In a society that increase its dependency on the government for every decision, including covering our mouth when we are sneezing, Ron Paul is the only candidate who is offering a different approach. An approach that suggest that the strength of our society is based on our individual freedom, not on central planning, and that our self interest is best served when not coerced by the government. Ron Paul, in his somewhat peculiar way, is the only one reminding us that freedom, which all praise and some are busy spreading around the world, is freedom from government - any government.

Without, I assume, any doubt Ron Paul is unique in his resistance to the War in Iraq. Unlike the other candidates President Paul will end the American military presence in Iraq. He will not reduce the forces, nor will he keep military advisers - He will simply bring them home. It is important to make this distinction, because it is much larger and much more comprehensive than the war in Iraq alone. President Paul will bring American troops back home not only from Iraq but also from Korea, Japan, Europe and many other locations around the world. It is because one of the cornerstones of his agenda is that being empire, or superpower, is not in our best interests. We can develop this practicality and philosophical and historical base of Ron Paul’s non-interventionism but the bottom line is clear - the US will seize from being and imperial empire. In addition it is also important to note what President Paul will not do - He will not attack Iran, nor any other country that doesn’t attack the US.

The war in Iraq is not the only war that President Paul is going to end. Another war that we are fighting for decades is going to end - with our civil liberties as a casualty and our jails full, not proportionally with poor and African-Americans. A war we should have never declared will be finally ended - the war on drugs. Together with ending the war on drugs Paul administration will repeal other laws that harmed our civil liberties such as the Patriot Act and The Military Commission Act, that suspended the Habeas Corpus.

The budget freed by ending our imperial aspirations, and from ending wars such the war on drugs will than be used to ease phasing out the social entitlement such as the bankrupting social security. We can, and probably will, debate about the harm of government wealth distribution and the evil of the welfare state. This is going to be an important debate. However it is important to understand that Ron Paul plan is to phase these programs over long period of time. It is unfair to eliminate Social Security for those who paid for decades and have no other options now - and therefore they should not be effected by a decision to hand pension and retirement decision back to the individuals. Therefore the money that used to fund wars will be used to support social security for the transition period.

Try to envision a government that doesn’t try to run the world, nor doesn’t it trying to run the economy and above all doesn’t trying to run your life.Liberty and Freedom were the American promise, it is time we start fulfill it.

Best of Craigslist-Mighty Rex Star Wars Guide to the Candidates

Ok, I was literally waiting for the floor to dry so I ended up 'wasting' my time doodling in the computer...link here, click there and you know what it is like, somehow you never know how you end up someplace. Well, today I found myself, subconsciously no doubt (ahem), drawn to 'the best of craigslist'. Again! (yes, they update that thing so it's worth your while)

I gotta link to this 'cause it's too long to just cut and paste. Ladies and gents, here's a snippet:

Mighty Rex Star Wars Guide to The Candidates

Darth McCain
I had to get this one out of the way right from the top, because I know some of you were thinking "Hey, Vader being a powerful black man..." but NO! You need to drop those stereotypes, mister! Obama isn't remotely like Vader, and besides, as we learned in Episode VI, Vader was a cracker! Heavily scarred by traumatic experiences, torture, manipulation, the 2000 Republican primaries... he has the reputation of a "maverick"... remember the arbitrary slaughter of Imperial officers? the offer to Luke to join him?

This guy (or gal!!) fooled around with the pics that I cannot copy and paste (or save and repost), so check out all your candidates. Do not check your humour at the door either...
click on title...

Presidential Election 2008 round table debate Question #1

Ok peeps, this will be short and sweet.
My question to you is:

What would your candidate or party of choice be able to realistically change once in office.

Please post your answer Friday evening, after 8 pm Central time. I don't know the time differences but I figured that for those on the West Coast (Robbie) that that would be more helpful. Of course, that could be done any time after 8 pm.

Explanation of question.
Yes, it seems so straightforward. But seriously, there is the list of 'got to change', to 'want to change', but stop to think for a minute and be honest about what your candidate could realistically affect? (sp?) This is more difficult for the Independents and libertarians, because you need to work together with other politicians who will mostly belong to either the Republican or Democrat party. That said, it could draw out the 'dissenters' of those parties as well. 'Nuf' said!

Thanks Betmo and Robbie!

This weekend passed with some quality family time and some quality "search-Ingrid's-crashed-hard-drive" time by my guilty looking computer geekie husband!
So my thanks to Betmo and Robbie for their start in the Presidential Election 2008 debate here on the round table. You gotta start somewhere and Rogel got some flack for his open letter to Ron Paul and wondered if he was still welcome to join this debate. Of course I said hell ya but I bet him being a family man, he got waylaid like me.
I will still add a through and through Ron Paul supporter though and I did promise those who answered my call for RP advocates to think it through this weekend. To which I say give me a day or so.. today I am watching over my 4 1/2 yr old who woke up 'urping' this morning and has been doing so during the course of the day. I finally convinced her to eat ice chips regularly and she's been doing better (KNOCK ON WOOD!)..
My husband has been eyeing this harddrive to buy in order to hopefully retrieve ALL the data that is on there. Apparently this is the way it works; there is this 'disk' thing (or something, I don't speak geek) in any harddrive and what you want to (try to) do is to switch that disk for the one in your broken down harddrive..put it in the computer and as fast as you can download all the info you can find 'cause it might not stay on there.
My husband gave me this goofy look yesterday because he SHOULD have known better to back up my info, but like a lot of computer geeks (or 'wizards' as some like to call themselves), he didn't think it could happen to us.
Lesson learned here people!
Now go and back up all that crap you have 'cause you sure don't want to lose any of it, especially if you're an info hogger like myself.
Ok..time to make some more crushed ice.
And Betmo and Robbie, I will post my question to you (and Rogel too of course) on Wednesday.

elections 2008

i started my blog almost 2 years ago to check out some of the new fangled technology and it took on a life of its own- hence the name- life's journey. i come down squarely on the left but i don't really think of myself as a democrat- more of a progressive. splitting hairs, i know. i used to consider myself middle-of-the-road in terms of my viewpoints and stances but as i have gotten older, i have redefined my priorities and taken a hard look at issues i feel are important. i believe in reinstating the constitution and taking a look at 21st century security needs without stripping civil liberties; i believe in basic health care for everyone, equal educational opportunities for all american children, and that in a country as wealthy as we are- no one should go without basic necessities. i feel that a blend of capitalism and commonsense socialism works best. free markets with a conscience if you will. i don't believe that a few wealthy folks in this country and on this planet should determine the fate of millions of their fellow human beings and i don't believe in classcism. we are all human beings underneath- skin color, gender, or how much you have in your bank account- shouldn't determine how we treat one another. we have started a new century and this is a pivotal moment in this planet's history because we have to make changes on a global scale- and change is difficult under the best of circumstances.

which brings me to the 2008 presidential election here in america. i come down squarely for dennis kucinich. i have followed the platforms of all of the democratic candidates from the start. each candidate has a website that is easy to find with google. i have also peeked at their voting records as the big 3- and dennis k- and the folks who have dropped out already- have them. interesting, no? congresspeople instead of the usual crop of governors. with a few exceptions, of course. that is how i based my decision to vote for dennis k. i don't watch the staged photo ops that pass for debates in this country at this time. i search out the answers i am looking for through the voting records and the public stances on issues. i am sorry to see many states moving the primaries up earlier- but i have a feeling that there are money issues behind that. i live in new york so we vote february 5th. there is much to watch this election season- and not just the candidates. folks are on the alert for fraud and manipulations in iowa and new hampshire. not many folks know that wyoming also had one. with the emotions running high already- it is going to be interesting to watch. i guess i am wondering how voting can remain honest with the election system we have in place. folks talk about how everytime we vote- our government changes peacefully and without the turmoil and civil strife in many other countries around the world. i would ask the questions- is it really the government we want elected? or is it the government we are told we want?

other resources:

electionline.org

just $6- campaign finance reform

project vote smart- candidates' voting records

Weekend Presidential Election 2008 Viewpoints Debate

For the weekend, I give the floor to Betmo and Rob (Robster, has a private blog), a Democrat and an Independent. A Ron Paul advocate is 'in the works' for participation. A Republican more along the party's lines has not been found.

/Robster is a registered non-partisan voter in Southern California. He's an interesting mix --liberal on social issues and conservative on crime and punishment and financial issues./

*The New Hampshire Primary Democratic Primary Post Mortem*

/In the grand scheme of things, I don't think last tuesday's close victory in New Hampshire will give Hillary Clinton the momentum her campaign needs as the candidates head to Nevada for next week's primary election. She's still behind Barack Obama in most polls, so she will need to do something dramatic within the next two to three weeks to close the gap between them. Obama lost tuesday, but he still has the momentum to remain the Democratic front runner. As he continues to make strong showings in the early primaries, more people will get behind him. Time is on his side. Even though he didn't spend nearly as much money as his opponents in New Hampshire, tuesday's distant third place finish was a disappointment for John Edwards. His populist message didn't resonate with voters in New Hampshire, so Nevada's primary next Tuesday and South Carolina's primary the following week become critical battle grounds. If Edwards has another lackluster performance, especially in his home state, then Democratic voters will question whether or not he's a viable presidential candidate heading into Super Tuesday./

Thanks for the responses!! tonights' the kick off debate!

Thank you 'Anonymous' (Jim probably??), Blake, Itmick (hello fellow Canuck! yes, did read all of the comment) and Joshua David for responding to my request for Ron Paul advocates. I have been having a time with computer issues so pardon my non-response so far. I have been able to check out some of your sites, but haven't gotten to the point of making a decision yet. That is not necessarily a comment on who you are or what I think of you though. The mundane things in life have kept me off-line for the most part so I don't want to jump into a decision yet.
I'm kind of a compartmentalized person; when I need to 'think', I need to NOT have distractions and this weekend I'll be able to claim 'space' to my family so I can sit and think and write.
I appreciate the fact that you are all very opinionated and I do hope that you will stick around to further an interesting (hopefully!) debate. No matter how passionate anyone gets, I do expect this exchange to be respectful and by the way, if any trolls show up and spew out their nasty green gooey stuff, whether you post on my behalf or you want to participate in the discussion in earnest, my policy is to ignore stupidity. You're all blogger-savvy so I suspect you can smell a troll a mile away. So please, let's help with this pest-control (if it does show up, it might not) and keep it under wraps. Trying to enlighten or trying to put the kabash on them seems to make them bigger and nastier. Pests are better left chewing on things until they're full and just blow up. (talk about nasty gooey stuff, it's quite fun actually)

As this is my first guest blogging experiment, I decided to just let it 'flow'. Our format might change, it's up to the participating guest bloggers but I think that anyone participating in the discussions/comments will have a great effect on that. So do please stay with us a bit. I would love all viewpoints to be presented, but finding a Republican representative is a bit more challenging for me. I suppose I could go to one of the candidate's online sites and get one of their groupies to participate, but I'd rather have someone who's not involved in their big Party Machine Apparatchnik.

Alrightie guys, duty calls. Tonight is when it is going to start. I am not concerned about it. I am focussed on being able to retrieve all my info from my computer and cross my fingers 'this' one won't poop out on me either!

Ingrid

Who Would the World Elect for President of the United States..

Hmm.. I'm still looking for a Ron Paul contributor and it shouldn't be difficult. The online world is hot for Ron and already there are allegations of voters fraud of last night's primaries in New Hampshire, especially in regards to Obama and Ron Paul.(Hat Tip Truthseeds.org)

That is also btw where I found this site and lo behold, look at who 'the world' wants. Of course, it's a sample of people who have internet access and no, the site automatically translates your IP to mean which country you're from, so no voting fraud here.

Now when you look at the number of votes that each candidate got, you gotta think that, all these people are NOT being influenced by American media and MUST be (mostly) voting based on issues. I mean, how much exposure would Ron Paul get overseas?

sorry to say I'm not on my own computer so I cannot copy the picture layout with the votes. Follow the title link instead.

Free Fouad!

I used to visit Ahmed's blog Saudi Jeans and as it is with some blogs, you get out of the habit of doing so. Luckily, I was still on the list of contacts and received word about Fouad:

Bloggers around the world have called for a day of silence on Sunday 6 January to call for the release of Fouad al-Farhan, who the Washington Post called Saudi Arabia’s most popular blogger. He was detained indefinitely on 10 December for “”for violating rules not related to state security”, according to a Saudi spokesman. Bloggers around the world, in Egypt, Singapore, and the US have called for his release. And the story has gained international attention in the mainstream media as well.Sami Ben Gharbia of Global Voices spoke with Fouad’s wife who said:


Fouad’s arrest was directly linked to his blogging activities. He may remain in custody for a one-month investigation period. After that his family will be allowed to visit him and be informed about his case and the possible charges that might be brought against him. Fouad is apparently being held, without charge or trial, at the Ministry of Interior’s security service (al-Mabahith al-’Amma) headquarter in Jeddah. He has been arrested at his office in Jeddah and had been led to his home where police confiscated his laptop computer.

Check out the Free Fouad website.(need to scroll down a bit for the posts)

New Year, New Goals

(nabbed this picture from Engage East Midlands, sorry guys)






I have been very absent these past months, and when the kids go back to school next week, I'll be back 'in running'. This being the 2008 Presidential election year I want to try to round up a few bloggers for a weekend discussion/sound-off. I have already eyed a few and even started writing them an email when, family distraction arose and someone turned off the computer.
Anyway, I have spotted a Ron Paul supporter amongst the blogs I frequent (when I do check out blogs), and I know who would be a definite gung ho Democrat supporter AND an Independent one as well. If anyone does happen to know of a willing, and intelligent, (no reactionary)well-thought out Republican, all the power to that and let me know.
My intended format would be; first, have the invitees state their reasoning for their preferred political persuasion. Then, each week, I'd ask them a question and they'd have all week to think about an answer that would be posted on the weekend. I am hoping on an interesting (AND civilized) discussion. I know that there is an existing blog that has all the various groupings side by side but, aside from forgetting the name of that blog, I would like to just gather a group of people to discuss something in a more personal realm.
Anyhow, I have one more exam to finish for this week (did the other one and passed), so I'll let the cat out of the bag in case some of them would be visiting to see where the heck I've been!
I'm calling out for;

Betmo! Life's Journey is a great blog and even though she's already a contributor to other interesting sites, I'm hoping for a wee contribution on her part. She speaks her mind AND is very passionate about being against religion. Not too many people feel comfortable with that position, whether it's voicing it or hearing it from others, so I appreciate her candidness.

Cyberotter. Donkephant was one of the blogs that joined up with Bloggers Against Torture and even though many blogs joined up, a little circle of bloggers ended up writing on the BAT site during the awareness month and we got to know each other throughout that process. I believe that CO is a veteran and he even did a bike ride through some states to do fundraising for veterans (looked all over his site but couldn't find the references post, CO, help!). Anyhow, he recently officially endorsed Ron Paul so I thought, PERFECT! The more differences the better. So..shout out to CO..please join this little group. Here in Austin TX I have seen Ron Paul signs and bumperstickers for AGES even before you'd see any Rep or Dem bumperstickers so his supporters are pretty loyal and vocal.

Robster!! Robbie previously from Independent Opinions (no longer accessible), obviously an Independent, now he can be found at Wiccan Warrior (can't access it if you're not a LiveJournal user and then it's for friends only). Unfortunately it's at LiveJournal and even though I signed up so that I could comment on Robster's site, it never did get processed! ANYhoo.. speaking of vocal and fiery, that would be Robbie. That also explains the reason why he does not allow anonymous comments since he must do something to irk either democrats or republicans. That said, he's really a decent guy..you know how it is in troll land, there's plenty of them roaming around. If this election 2008 roundtable does get off the ground, I expect a few of them to snort around here too. Par for the course I guess.

So we got our Independent, our Libertarian I guess, or Libertarian leaning, and we got our Democrat. Don't feel insulted or slighted if I didn't mention 'you', but if YOU would like to join the frey (sp?), please let me know. As an Independent myself, I believe that even within the Democrat and Republican ranks, people vary in their stances and endorsements.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the official invite out. Now, it's dinner time and getting things ready for the last exam that I will do tonight.
Happy New Year guys. This girl's back in town!! (woohoo!)