"I don't like the way she shows off that child as some sort of anti-abortion trophy, not because I don't respect a woman's choice to keep her pregnancy just as much as I respect a woman's choice to abort, but because these kids are people and not political flags for waving."

Thank you for expressing the above (and for what else you had to say, previous post). I have had more waves of nausea than I care to count over the waving of the baby. I do not say that mean-spiritedly toward this child. I do have major problems with this child used as a political prop. At a recent rally, he was so bundled-up in a snowsuit that he looked like Ralphie's younger brother in "A Christmas Story" (and no, there wasn't a blizzard afoot, most people had on light sweaters and jackets...but before I get attacked, yes, I understand special-needs babies are more vulnerable, protect from cold, so don't needle me about that). My husband said: "You can't even tell there's a baby in there. Are you sure that's not just stuffed?" He wasn't being mean, either. Tonight I saw Piper holding Trig [camera close-up] and the crowd was raving! Again, this child is precious. And that's exactly why--well, one of the reasons why--this shameless sham charade called Palin is galling.

I can't work up to feeling sorry for McCain. Not as a candidate. As a person, a fellow human being, yes. As the next POTUS, no.

We voters out here, of whatever political persuasion, can do our armchair or couchdent diagnoses of McCain's physical and/or mental state to our heart's content, or rev it up to heartburn where we're the ones popping Pepcid or Ativan or chugging JackD. But if any reasonable number of reasonable voters reach any level of suspicion or alarm about one (or either) of the two candidates who will become president (with due respect to third-party voters, it's not going to be this year), attention must be paid. Willy Loman does come to my mind these days. Respect? Fine. Promotion to highest position in the land? Debatable. Highly debatable.

At the beginning of this long, volatile election cycle, my husband and I decided (separately, then discussed) that on the Republican side, McCain was the one we could "live with" if need be. Not so anymore, for either of us. To all those out there who have expressed that McCain did it to himself, I wholeheartedly agree. His campaign got ugly, scarily ugly, and he let that happen. He also chose Palin, the attack-dog with a bitter bite, to get base with the base. 'Nuff said for insult to intelligent, capable women--and to intelligent, capable men, for that matter. Hillary substitute? I think not.

He fared poorly on MTP today, although I haven't watched Fox coverage yet--might that sway me? (HA!) Brokaw? Tried with presenting the dismal polls, but was countered by that Zogby trend! Brokaw let Mac do his stump. I could have recited it by rote. IMO, the Vietnam "tribute" was over the top and not appropriate, as others (Dave...et al) have noted.

Ok, about 8 days now. Ohmmmmmmmmm.

I believe in free speech. Let R2 say or deflect whatever he wants. And I can choose not to respond, or to go elsewhere. Thou shalt not provoke the shunning of posters.

"So I think we should be talking a lot more about Hagee's position that Catholicism is the great whore and Parsley's view that the United States was founded to crusade against Muslims. Particularly how they square those views with mainstream Christian teachings."

On the above, I agree, in theory. But with R2? Really? There comes a point of no return, and banging head to wall umpteen times, and that quite accurate definition of insanity looms. I don't even like typing this, given the actual cancer history in my family and among my friends and their families, but some cancers don't shrivel up upon contact.

I get your point. But I guess I just don't believe this is a case of ignoring what we don't like or "resonate" to. Even tolerance has its boundaries (or should).

Yay on that hummus! Spare ribs...you're ambitious! I got doodley-squat for dinner around here. You're shaming me! I don't even have a mortar-n-pestle (sp?). Little sturdy bowl, end of hammer...won't that do? If not, I can't go to Little Neck to get it, but heaven knows there are C&Bs galore in my neck of the woods.

Can't help it if I got that football thing going, seems almost genetic for my family, but guess what? I like ice dancing, too! But around my house, you'd likely get more ear-screaming during presidential debates or ANY Palin rally or rare interview.

Now I have to figure out how to describe my mean guacamole recipe to Uncle Fester. It's so much a matter of a little of this, a little of that. Well, I guess I'll give the gist and go with my niece's notion...it's all better when made with love. (Corny, but kinda true.)

(BTW, my dad, raised-in-Texas, never liked the Cowboys, but we had a 90th b-day party for my grandma, his mom, and you never could see so much silver&blue. In her later years, she'd be the one to say: "I can't hear, I can't see, but I can talk and eat!" If anyone called her during a Cowboys game, she wouldn't answer the phone. Meanwhile, her TV was at full volume--functioning more as radio coverage. But she wasn't poking anybody! That's rude ;)

"Poor old James Joyce wasn't too hot on precision in grammar when he wrote "Ulysses" and it's a shame that your type wasn't around to tick him off for the liberties he took with language."

Thanks for reading my post so thoroughly--not. I gave my case for applauding liberties with language, especially so when one knows the uses and abuses of language. James Joyce? Fine by me.

Funny you picked me to insult.