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I was at the Grocery store yesterday, and was tickled pink to see the Kerrys on the Cover of Ladies' Home Journal! Somehow I've assimilated the NYC "when you get a paper from the box on the street, grab the 3rd one in the pack" habit. Well, gloriosky, when I took #3, lucky I looked, 'cuz there was a cover of the Bushies...oh horror! Then I did a quick look-see while I waited in the check-out line to see what covers were left -- hoo-ray!!! mostly Bush, that mean, in my most scientific mindset, John Kerry was more coveted in Freeland Payless -- it's my pre-exit poll study ...so expanding on my theory, I thought it would be brilliant of LHJ if they also did a cover poll and did a total, state, regional et al count to see which cover was favored, since they do take back the unsold magazines...! Methinks I'll write LHJ and ask that they consider this, and publish the results. I'll keep y'all posted on any correspondence I receive. And don't forget, swallow your pride, and purchase a Kerry cover at your local magazine shop! [disclaimer: I absolutely am not affiliated with LHJ or receive any financial gain from them ]
Peace, Vote! ..zoe PS informally, why don't you write me where you live and which you purchased so I can keep a loose tally myself? Unfortunately my Comments is turned off because I started to receive spam and porn links in my comments...so direct mail is best jlg@whidbey.net-- and make sure you put a subject of "re: blog entry" so I don't nuke it in error presuming it as SPAM. Thank you!
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Despite a wonderful range of speakers and brilliant spoken words at the Democratic National Convention I saw via CNN yesterday, Kennedy [our senior statesman], Dean [hard core -- I wish he took more time to speak] and our fan-effing-tastic Teresa Heinz Kerry [I was applauding and grinning at her from home as goofily as the faces in the audience was -- but she couldn't hear me], I'm really disheartened to have been hit the same day with Bushy's stooooo-pid hack job or a medicaire mess. This e "American Action Progress Fund" sums it up very dain-bramaged and cognizance-imapaired friendly way [please note: the bullets are not my words, but part of the email I received]: MEDICARE
Money for Nothing But The Drugs Aren't Free "Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - a longtime advocate for a meaningful prescriptiondrug benefit - is expected to address Medicare and health care issues in his speech to the Democratic National Convention tonight. His address is well timed: yesterday, the Bush administration released 1342 pages of proposed regulations for the final prescription drug benefit which takes effect in 2006. Despite their length, the regulations conveniently defer many important decisions until after a 60-day comment period. -->One thing that is clear: while the prescription drug benefit will be a boon to some large corporations, many American seniors may see their existing prescription coverage reduced or eliminated. Those who do enroll in the Medicare prescription drug program will be slapped with considerable costs when they can least afford it. (And will they continue to have catastrophic care?? LKW) REWARDING COMPANIES FOR REDUCING DRUG COVERAGE: Starting in 2006, the new law will enable large corporations to collect massive government subsidies even if they significantly rollback their retiree prescription drug benefit. The new regulations make corporations eligible for government subsidies of up to $940 per retiree as long as they provide drug coverage that mimics the Medicare drug law. The proposed rules give companies four different ways for companies to demonstrate they are doing so. -->But most companies already provide drug coverage which is superior to the new Medicare benefit. Thus, companies could collect the subsidy even as they roll back coverage - at a total cost to taxpayers of $89 billion over ten years!! MAJOR BUSH CONTRIBUTORS PROFIT HANDSOMELY: Some of the corporations that benefit most are major contributors to President Bush, who aggressively lobbied for the bill's passage. For example, General Motors - whose executives have donated more than $110,000 to Bush's presidential campaigns (versus $9,000 to John Kerry) - estimates that the new Medicare law will be worth $4.1 billion to the company. Similarly, Excel Energy - whose executives have donated more than $22,000 to Bush's presidential campaigns (versus $500 to John Kerry) - expect to save $64 million. ADMINISTRATION TELLS SENIORS TO STOP COMPLAINING: While the administration found plenty of cash for corporations, many seniors with high drug costs will be left in the lurch. After paying an average of $420 in premiums and a $250 deductible, seniors are still responsible for paying up to 25% of their drug costs up to $2,250 a year. But seniors with drug costs in excess of $2,250 a year, even though they will continue to pay premiums and have satisfied their deductible, will receive no assistance whatsoever for their next $2850 in prescription drug costs. This gap, known as "the donut," has many seniors justifiably concerned about their ability to pay their drug bills in the event of a serious illness. -->But Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson dismissed their concerns saying "Only a pessimist would look at a doughnut and complain about a hole." SOURCE: From today's American Action Progress Fund
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Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention it's such a hoot to see folks like our own Governor's face; Gary Locke, and Rob Reiner [Did I mention that last night I saw Moore in Carter's box ?!?] and a joy to see Maria Shreiver (and her Mom) in the box...add a special flavor to the convention. And, Kennedy said, "The only thing to fear, is 4 more years (of Bush in the White House)"... kewl! Pax! Vote! PS I hope I didn't miss THK's speech slated for tonight...! And to hear Ron Reagan talking about stem-cell research [it has become so much more dear and clear to me now that my Mom is suffering from Alzheimer's...] -- I love the blurring of some lines here and humankind and humanity winning over partisan lines...hmmm will Ron's Mom, and former first lady, be here supporting her son's speech? dare to dream?
05:40 PM - link - |
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And how I love Ms Teresa Heinz Kerry...!
[To see /hear it live, it plays so much more eloquent...the reporter, McNickle, like a starving terrier dog on a leg o' lamb, insisted that THK said "un-american ACTIVITIES"] below an article re: same:
"Teresa Heinz Kerry tells reporter to 'shove it'
PETER JACKSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON - Teresa Heinz Kerry urged her home-state delegates to the Democratic National Convention to restore a more civil tone to American politics, then minutes later told a newspaperman to "shove it." "We need to turn back some of the creeping, un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics," the wife of Sen. John Kerry told her fellow Pennsylvanians on Sunday night at a Massachusetts Statehouse reception." Read the article in full from the Toronto Star And I love, of course, Kerry's (rennaisance man extrodinaire) consistant support of his wife's ability to not only speak her mind, but also approves the message she sends! I haven't been this hot for a Democratic canditate since McGovern /Eagelton! Ah, to have my blood circulating yet again, pure joy and hope and excitement! Keep on keeping on! Peace.
Vote!
11:32 AM - link - |
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Heard today-- This administration is..."Bad for America and bad for the World" HRK [I just love Hillary!]
Pax.
11:09 AM - link - |
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I'm sure y'all are getting innundated with all things Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France, but here's a tidbit you may have not seen....
Lance Armstrong is in hot pursuit of a record sixth straight win in cycling's most grueling race: the 3-week, 20-stage, 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometer) Tour de France. What makes Lance's feat the more amazing is that, in 1996, he was diagnosed with cancer. He lost a testicle, underwent brain surgery, and suffered through chemotherapy so intense it burned his skin from the inside out. Then he made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport.
How does he do it? For one thing, Lance Armstrong has the heart of a champion--and the lungs, too. Lance's heart is one-third larger than average, and his resting heart rate is 32 beats per minute, compared to an average of 70 for a healthy man. Just as important, the amount of oxygen his body can consume at maximum effort--what exercise physiologists call his "V02 max"--is more than twice that of the average healthy man his age. VO2 max matters because your body's cells need oxygen to convert sugar into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the molecule that fuels cellular work. The harder your cells work, the more oxygen they need. At your VO2 max, your body just can't deliver any more oxygen to those needy cells. Push yourself beyond this point, and you'll soon collapse. Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong will still be going strong. 32 beats per second? Gadzooks!
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"Never Before Has Our Constitution Been Amended To Take Away Anyone's Rights"! Use the link to fire off an "email" on Moveon.org:
Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues, Congress is about to vote on amending the U.S. Constitution to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. Never before has our Constitution been amended to take away anyone's rights. Yet our Senators will vote on this amendment in the next 48 hours. It's urgent that we speak up now. This hateful divisiveness has no place in America. Please join me in saying so, and click here. Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are or who they love.
Thank you -- pax! PS if this is an issue that interests you, there are other ways you can help listed via the above link.
12:19 PM - link - |
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No Excuses people...Register to Vote!..and make sure other's are registered. In a related issue, this is from the folks at TrueMajority.org
The national "The Computer Ate My Vote" day of action is really taking off - in just the three days since we invited you to next Tuesday's big event, more than 20,000 TrueMajority members have added their names to the call for voter-verified paper ballots. Along with others who signed on earlier, and signatures from MoveOn, Democracy For America and VerifiedVoting.org, it adds up to a list of more than a quarter-million names. Come on down Tuesday, July 13th to join the crowd of Washington citizens who will deliver those petitions and call on your election officials to support voter-verified paper ballots. The rally and press conference is at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 13th,at Matthew Parsons Park, Everett. That's at the corner of Wall St. and Rockefeller Ave., across from the Snohomish County administration buildings. For more details and any last-minute changes, check out the webpage VerifiedVoting.org has put together. ..Pax
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Curiouser and curiouser... I just read the following from InfoBeat News [can you say ~18 minutes & Watergate? ;p~~~~~~~~~]:
No proof Bush completed military service
Friday, July 09 DENVER, Jul 09, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Payroll records that could help prove President Bush completed all his military service in the Texas Air National Guard have been accidently destroyed. The Pentagon says the payroll records of "numerous service members," including former First Lt. George W. Bush, were ruined in 1996 and 1997 by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service while trying to salvage deteriorating microfilm, the New York Times reported Friday. No paper copies could be found, it added in notices dated June 25. A Denver spokesman for the service said the destruction occurred as the office was trying to unspool 2,000-foot rolls of fragile microfilm. That spokesman also said he did not know how many records were lost or why the loss had not been announced before. The destroyed records cover three months in 1972 and 1973 when Bush's claims of service in Alabama have been repeatedly questioned.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International
10:53 AM - link - |
"walk this way..."
Igor [prnounced Eye-gore] from "Young Frankenstien" [pronounced Steen] --
there's more!
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We salute the Grammy nomination of the late great
Dave Van Ronk's final concert album: 
