Bottom line: I'm totally tired of the eternal "black-people-are-always-victims-and-white-people-are-always-the-cause." "Victimhood", as an excuse for failure, is rife within most of the black community. Blaming one's failures on white people may make that failure palatable, but, it does nothing to alleviate future failure(s).

There is much bullsh*t when it comes to much of the black community, to wit:

1) The NAACP is just fine; an NAAWP (National Association For The Advancement Of White people) is "racist". Bullsh*t!

2) The Congressional Black Caucus is great; a Congressional White Caucus is "racist". Bullsh*t!

3) There are "traditionally black colleges" that are perfectly fine; "traditional white colleges" are "racist" and must be desegregated...stat! Bullsh*t!

4) There is a Miss Black America pageant...perfectly OK for blacks; the Miss America pageant not only has many black contestants, but, many have won the title. Imagine the howls if the pageant was the Miss White America pageant. Bullsh*t!

5) Black History Month is a particularly egregious waste of time, imho. February was chosen, some suggest, because it is the shortest month. Imagine the howls of protest at the idea of a White History Month...or months. European history is denigrated and dismissed. What bullsh*t!

6) The term "African-American" tells me that being African comes before being American; as a Caucasian, I don't call myself a Euro-American. I'm simply an American. Again, more bullsh*t!

I'm only saying what many are thinking; you can bet, though, that many who aren't black are thinking the same thing. Blaming others for your own shortcomings may make you feel better, but, solve nothing.

Working hard to achieve goals, while playing by the rules and within the system, are the true keys to success. Always being portrayed as a "victim" is not the way to success.

The city of Paris has been in existence, in one form or another, for about 2,000 years. France has had even more years to mature to the complex and sophisticated country it is today. To be sure, the French are a conflicted people when it comes to class, race and heritage, but, they do know quality when they see it; they also know idiocy when they see that, as well.

Barack Obama represents America's future...hope, honor, dignity and morality; George W. Bush, unfortunately, shows only his crudeness, rudeness, lunacy and venality to the world. No wonder the French like Barack better than George...who wouldn't?

Finding the path back to the world stage with America as a moral leader will take time. Hopefully, with Barack Obama, that time will come soon; certainly, with John McCain, the misery of a third Bush administration would be the result.

Joe Lieberman has turned out to be the most egregious and odious creature possible. His pro-McCain bloviations, his unctious and sanctimonious bleatings about Democrats combined with his nasty demeanor overall make him one of the most...if not the most...despised creatures in the US Senate.

I'd bet that the good people of Connecticut have second, third and even fourth thoughts about the wisdom of electing him over Ned Lamont. I even considered moving to Connecticut just long enough to register to help vote him out.

What a bastard...

Walter, you're not the only one who is "bored" with the selections for President this year; because of the "choices", I've come down with a terminal case of ennui.

Actually, I don't "like" either candidate that much: McCain is too old, out-of-touch, panders to the far-right non-stop, is bereft of new ideas and seems just plain mean. Obama, otoh, is too young, inexperienced in the world, seems to meander all over the path of principled positions and seems just plain arrogant.

Their respective choices of VP candidates might make some difference...some, anyway. But, I don't have any real enthusiasm for either candidate.

I'm relieved that most voting booths can be operated by a single hand because my other hand will be holding my nose as I vote.

Hillary should NOT be Barack's VP. That way, when he crashes and burns like the Hindenburg this November, she will be insulated from the loss. (Oh, wait: the Obamanuts will excoriate her because she "didn't do enough" to ensure his victory.)

Although I will vote for him, I don't expect him to win. That will clear the way for Hillary in '12.

Sounds reasonable to me...

I did not support Barack Obama in the primaries; I found him to be too inexperienced, basically uninspiring and incredibly shallow. My opinion has not changed.

I've been a Democrat for the twenty years that I've been able to vote, voting for Dukakis, Clinton, Gore and Kerry. The vote for Dukakis was an unenthusiastic one, but, on balance, I preferred his politics to George H. W. Bush's. The other Democratic votes were enthusiastically-made.

I will, most likely, vote for Barack Obama over John McCain; I will do so, however, with no real enthusiasm. Other Democrats and Independents apparently share my hesitance and reluctance to support whole-heartedly Barack's candidacy because of his shifts on positions including public financing, FISA, the Iraq war funding and many others.

There's just this nagging doubt about Barack's readiness to be an effective and engaged President from Day One that makes me, and others, pause.

As a 15-year-old, I, along with my buds, used to drink PBR surreptitiously after school; it was affordable, palatable and easily available. We were all PBR enthusiasts and never drank Budweiser at all. My beer tastes have "matured" to include most varieties of Sam Adams plus Heineken Dark and Grolsch; I rarely drink PBR.

PBR, however, still has a special place in my heart as my "first beer"; I'm happy to see that it has achieved a certain level of coolness and has a cachet about it.