'Cause schadenfreude is bad for you, even worse than refined sugar.

The difference between the fear you felt in 2004 and the fear the Republicans feel in 2008 is this: your fear was justified. Way justified. Bush really was a monster and he really did do his very best to destroy the country. Obama, despite the hysteria from the right, is not a Moslem, not a Zionist, not a socialist. He seems to be a decent man. Already I've found some issues on which he and I disagree, but even in those instances, the words that come out of Obama's mouth differ from the words that came out of Bush's mouth, because Obama's words make SENSE. They are in a recognizable human language and they fit together and there's evidence of a thought process that produced them.

How cool is that?

Imagine the torment that's about to be inflicted on the Republicans: they will endure the horror of watching, helpless, as none of their worst fears come to fruition. Hallelujah!

How much CO2 can you save by staying out of everyone else's business, I wonder?

Incidentally, for someone trying to simplify, you sure are a ninny about food. Jerusalem artichokes: steam. Eat. Very simple, doesn't involve not-from-where-you-live-anyway ginger. Better yet throw them away, since they make some people sick. Or you could try not being such a poser and just eating whatever it is you actually eat instead of making a special menu for a single day.

No, it really is to say that you can't buy new shoes or a new sofa in the store. How do you think I know this? I know because I asked why everything in the store was stuff no one would bother picking up if it were left at the curb, and if there was a certain day you had to be there when new stuff came in or something, and the lady who worked there explained that she sells vintage clothing online, and since she works there she conveniently sets prices and has access to all the stuff before anyone else does so she buys all the good stuff. Another lady who works there runs a vintage toy shop and buys all the decent toys before they are ever put out for the customer. If you were interested in a Barbie that looks like it was chewed by a plague victim, they have a few of those that she doesn't buy. She also explained that there are several ebay professionals who hit all the thrift stores in the Metro area every day at the crack of dawn and get whatever might be left over.

Has nothing to do with "being associated with the poor," it has to do with Goodwill not vetting its employees and having an inappropriate policy for employee purchase, plus the explosion of people making a living on ebay. Does make it kind of hard on the actual poor, though. Sorry to screw with your illusion that giving things to Goodwill means giving them to the poor. It's not true.

I don't know about you, but our local Goodwill cherry-picks the decent stuff and sells it online. Only the crappy stuff ends up available at the thrift store. Even the stuff that gets sold online has been cherry-picked - by the employees - who buy any vintage goodies for themselves and then sell them at a profit.

I know that Nikes in particular get cherry picked because there was an article about them shipping donated Nikes to Japan.