Re Dr. Grossman, yes, we have had the tummy tuck and (ass)cheek implants. Now a simple brow lift from Europe. I appreciate the Europeans stance against inflation, but recession is the immediate target. Hey you can raise them in a year or two.

So, Tuesday Obama wins. That at least takes uncertainty out of the stock market. Then he backs off the capital gains tax, is seen as a reasonable president and he enjoys a honeymoon and things stabilize. Best case scenario.

I don't like explaining jokes but I'll do it anyway.
It has nothing to do with politics.

Would you rather go to the Grossman Burn Center or the Friedman Burn Center?

 Sorry, I thought this was the Politics thread.

Help a dullard out.

Again, nice action here today.

Oh, of course i should have gotten that one first thing. Right, it is mainly for Susan.

Of course you can go off on a tangent Bud. That is one of many reasons we all dig you.

coolsprings - I'll be fililng in my bubble for McCain. I like Obama's charisma and am thrilled that we will have a well-spoken president :-) , but I'm terribly concerned with his policies - especially when you combine that with a Democratic-run Congress. I'm more concerned about THAT SCENARIO rather than I am about Obama by himself. A Dem-govt is going to be a huge spending spree -- much worse than we saw the past 8 years. the only thing that might stop it is an econcomy that continues to move south. Hopefully there's enough proof that taxing small business and corporations is BAD for the economy and we won't see a huge tax hike anytime soon.

Teh good news is that it puts the GOP back where they seem to be best - or at least like they were in the 90s. Not sure if a Newt-type-GOP-er will appear but I hope so.

I do predict that after 2 years of Obama and a Democratic congress, we'll probably see the GOP take over one of the houses in 2010 -- much like during Clinton's second year.

Obama is no doubt a left-leaner but if he can govern from the center, then I do have hope.

Jordan .

Jordan .

I'm still holding out hope that McCain will win. If not, i have a dinner to buy for my parents.

Kelly

How Do You Live Your Dash?

Check out the Kids' blogs:
The CaleBlog and the Zoe Blog

Here's my current prediction - subject to change.

Yes, I made a stupid little Excel worksheet for Tuesday night too. This is the HTMl output. :-)

Obama - 315 | McCain 223 -- expect about 2-3% spread between them.

Jordan .

" Wow, if Idaho really goes blue, we could be looking at a 50 state sweep. "

Oh B, you have no idea. Idaho-and the University of Idaho was a commie indoctrination center. That's why Sara had to move to Alaska and I liberated my Idaho native wife and New Mexican born kid and moved back to ...ah...new york. ..... nevermind. no escaping the ubiquitous totalitarian menace.

B - oops! Mistake!!! there's absolutely NO way Obama will win Idaho. It's smack-dab between Hawaii and Illinois so I probably did it accidentally. here's the update.

Raymond hits on something that has been bothing me recently -- all the money rolling into Obama's campaign - $600 million PLUS. First, let me say, I have absolutely no problem with people donating as much as they want to any cause they like - partisan, bi-partisan, charity, etc. I think the entire $2000 maximum from McCain/Fiengold is a BAD idea. HOWEVER, 600 million?!?! How many FREE college educations does that make? How many homes could that build for people? How many homeless could be taken off the street? How many cops could be paid to be on the streets? How many computers can that buy for a poor school? That's a lot of money...again, no problems with people sending it to Obama's campaign.

So here's my question - if asked, would these same people be willing to freely donate to the US govt -- not through more taxes, but a "gift" let's say. A gift that could go toward govt using it to do whatever they need. And if not that - are the people so eager to get Obama elected also willing to donate to charities that might give scholarships to students? Are they willing to give to charities who build homes for the needy? Are they willing to donate to police officer charities? Are they willing to donate to schools?

600 million goes a long way. It can buy, I mean win, an election. It can also go to hundreds of charities, charities that do some of the same stuff govt does do, that if people would give, govt may not have to do it - thus freeing up that money for other things, and potentially lower taxes.

How many of those millions of people are willing to donate to charities AFTER Obama is elected, if Obama would ask them?

It's sad that Kelly and I have given more money to charities than Biden!! That suggests the guy doesn't even give to his own church. Back in September, USA today reported that he averaged $369/yr for the past 10 years! The average is over 2000/yr for the avg American.

It's funny the other day, Obama was talking about the "rich" in a campaign rally. I have heard that he calls himself one of the rich. But the other day tlaking to "middle-class" folks, he never admitted to being rich. In fact, he talked as if he didn't live in a $1 million home!

If pay taxes is our "patriotic" duty, then shouldn't giving and charity also be?

One last note of interest - the other day, Obama said that he feels a "righteous" wind at his back. I know Bush got grilled for saying that God wanted him to win the WH....is this Obama's way of saying the same?? And if so, does anyone care?

Jordan .

Is it possible that Biden has given money to charity, but not asked for a tax deduction for it?  I don't give a lot (don't make a lot either), but I don't keep track of all the contributions I make.  In my tax bracket it wouldn't make that much difference anyway, but it is possible that people could give money for reasons other than reducing their tax liability.

About the campaign finance- the dnc fundraising emails have been warning me that while Obama has outraised McCain, that when you combine Obama+DNC vs McCain+GOP, the GOP has more money.  Not sure how to verify this...  Regardless, I've given my $25 to Obama and $50 to No on Prop 8 (CA ballot measure), and that's all I can afford right now. 

Assuming the economy is ammenable to anyone giving charitable donations, I would expect this to carry over somewhat to future charitable donations.  If Obama holds on, everyone like me will have seen their donation actually work for something, and may have a more optimistic outlook for future giving.

I'm sure it's even better than the Joseph M Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA or why would DJ AM have endured a 40-hour bus trip to the Premiere Burn Facility in the Universe one week after the plane crash. 

Susan

PS  He has been released from the Grossman Burn Center as of October 17.

Goldstein was eventually transferred to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, where he was "in and out of consciousness" receiving treatment on his burns. On September 26, he took a 40-hour bus ride from Georgia to California, where he entered the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital to undergo further treatment, including receiving skin grafts on his arm and neck. 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

That's sort of what I was thinking. I mean, granted, when you make millions of dollars a year, you probably WILL be claiming those charitable donations to offset the higher tax rate...but for the most part, donating to charity should be something you do because you truly want to support a cause, not because you want kickbacks. I myself donate each year to a selection of charities I choose to support because I believe in what they're doing. I have never once claimed them on my taxes, and believe you me, it would make a huge difference in my bottom line. I don't ever want to reach a point where being charitable means I get something more out of it than a good feeling. So I'm not going to take someone's tax return at face value. It says nothing about the kind of person they are. Often times people will donate to charities and then claim them on their taxes simply so they can say "LOOK! I'M AN OK PERSON!" Charity should be a kindness thing, not a badge of honor.

And as far as berating Obama supporters for pouring millions of dollars into his campaign...the same could be said for the YES ON PROP 8 supporters here in California. They've received millions of dollars to air their advertisements on television and radio, and part of their platform is that they're doing this out of concern for the children. Well, our school systems are in dire straits...would these same people donate the same money to help their local public schools so that these poor poor children can receive a better educational experience? Hasn't happened yet. It's amazing how much money people will funnel into a political cause during an election year, yet they wouldn't even think to pry open their wallet otherwise.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Seriously, and IMO, the only time a country's need really matters is when election time comes up. It's only then that people feel like a candidate is actually going to do something for this country.

It's a shame that people can't take more pride in their country EVERYDAY then only having to do it every four-eight years.

Kelly

How Do You Live Your Dash?

Check out the Kids' blogs:
The CaleBlog and the Zoe Blog

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

First, I didn't mean to berate anyone for donating to Obama. I apologize if anyone felt that way. Feel free to donate your maximum to any politician. Last two elections, we donated to the GOP a little bit. Haven't sent them a penny this year!

I just find the money that was spent this year for the presidential election on both sides to be staggering - esp in a time where our economy has been heading south for about a year now. It's sad that we have to have a $1 billion election to get someone elected now, IMO. $1 billion to get someone elected president...sad...sad....sad....And biohazard, maybe this is a beginning of an increase in charitable given in the US with a focus on some of the items i mentioned.

According to FEC, Obama has made 640 million and McCain 335 million. There's a way to find out how much the DNC and RNC have received directly -- probably on the FEC website somewhere.

USA Today article a couple of years ago said that Americans gave almost $300 billion -- most of which went to religious institutions (which makes sense). So in the sceheme of things, I admit, $1 billion is a drop in the bucket for the total of all donations in America.

I don't know - something feels icky about the insane amount of money that was spent on this election. :-) I just hope we get our money's worth...something tells me we won't. do we ever??

And yes, maybe Biden didn't write down how much he gave to charities. You're both right. We really don't know....the only question i have then is why put any charity amount down if you don't put it all down? Unless he and his wife don't keep track of that sort of thing...

One thing is for sure - paying your taxes is patriotic! :-)

Jordan .

Jordan .

The cost is pretty staggering, I'll agree.  The infrastructure of field offices doesn't really bother me, and the travel for these folks to campaign isn't too bad- at least the candidates will occasionally answer questions from local radio or TV (or real people), so we don't have only Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric or Shawn Hannity interviews to base our decision on. 

I do wish there was a way to reign in the media costs though.  just don't see that happening in the current climate of negative campaigning.  For each ad your opponent puts out, you need to put out one that counters the negatives in the old ad, and a new one to either attack or god forbid say something about an issue.  Never mind diffusing all of the internet attacks and rumors...  I'm thankful to not live in a battleground state right now, although the state propositions we have are just about as bad.

It would be nice if individual contributions or campaign expenditures could be 'taxed' in some way to help pay for  the cost of local and state elections.  States would have more money for other programs or could return money to taxpayers.  Of course, there would be a problem of perception if one candidate was footing the bill for too large a share of the election...

We live in KS, but in the same metro area as MO which is a battleground state.

While house-cleaning (ugh), I thought of something after seeing your post that Obama's emails are saying that GOP have just as much. that might be true - i don't know - but when I turn on local TV, I almost only see Obama ads. I'm guessing but for every 3 or 4 Obama ad, we get 1 McCain ad. I know it ain't scientific, but that tells me that Obama has more money than McCain at this point in the game. Or at least, Obama is theo nly one fighting for MO.

So we do get the battleground stuff around here. Not as much this year- seems like the candidates are spending most of their time and money in CO and OH. Speaking of CO, when we were on our crusie in Sept, they had Denver stations, and all we saw in mid-Sept was Obama ads. I can't think of a single McCain ad.

again, none of it is scientific but it does feel like we see many more Obama ads than McCain. Oh, and we get more robo-calls for Obama than McCain, too. We're so tired of the phone ringing right now, that Kelly just picks it up and hangs up if we don't recognize the number. LOL!

Come Wed, the phone will stop....finally....

Jordan .