We can only hope and pray for the world that the upward spiral of prices due to energy costs is not exacerbated by the effects of climate change. The type of unrest and concerns about government stability all over the world is exactly what those who study climate change have been warning about. Scarcity of basic resources leads to people rising up and demanding basic needs, as described in Haiti, Senegal and other places.

While most Americans are not even remotely as bad off as the people suffering in Haiti and numerous other places, we may get there soon. It is really disheartening that Americans are not also marching in the street. Republicans have made it their job to ensure that those at the top skim more and more of the cream, leaving the rest behind. (The top 1% hold 20% of the wealth.) The Republican party is driven by the needs of the wealthiest among us, and also by the religious right's concept of poverty. The Christian right has a curiously non-Christian view of the poor as deserving of their poverty and suffering. Worldly goods are a blessing from God. I was raised Catholic and therefore am not a Christian according to their worldview, but even my CCD going ass knows that's not a view Jesus would have supported.

All who are struggling have a duty to stand up, not only for themselves, but for a sustainable world for us all to live in. This is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people (although even that is hanging on by a thread). I would suggest a tea party, but who wants to waste all of that good tea?

I lambast Republicans because it's their policies that have driven us to this unconscionable divide between haves and have nots. Democrats are simply a different part of the problem, although at least they're willing to fund social programs that provide at least some type of safety net for the poorest among us.

Bottom line: we all need to grow the f*ck up and reject consuming as our number 1 shared trait. Those days are over. We need a new model, and Effie Perine is right on point in saying it's time to form and strengthen the social bonds we'll need to make that transition. Hopefully it's not too late and a transition to something more meaningful and sustainable is still possible.

That's MAKEUP. My eye looked similar when I had a mascara mishap this morning.

She didn't have the balls for this racist stunt or she wouldn't have folded like a house of cards a day later. She sure as hell doesn't have the balls to beat herself/scratch herself or let someone else do it.

People like this make me incredibly sad.

That seems to be the theme of McCain's desperate last-ditch strategy.

I have family members and friends who are voting for McCain. They tend to be people who would directly be affected by Obama's tax plan and don't want to pay more. I'm not happy that they don't see beyond that singular issue, but at least they have real, legitimate reasons for choosing McCain.

They stand in direct contrast to those who have written letters raising the ridiculous claims of socialism, in spite of the fact that, on top of the bailout McCain proposes a socialist $300 billion plan to redistribute each taxpayers "wealth" to bail out irresponsible or ignorant homeowners. I also have enjoyed reading that racism is dead. My African-American friends (by and large successful professionals) who still get called the N word in Chicago will be glad to hear that. The rhetoric on display in these letters has also devolved into the patently false (that Obama has not produced a birth certificate) to the absolutely ridiculous (Obama is using hypnosis to control our minds).

Bottom line: I disagree with those who choose to vote McCain, but I can respect and support that choice if it is based on a rational thought process. However, I cannot respect or support those who are basing their decision on fear, demonstrably false information, irrationality, and/or alleged mind control (!?!?!).

McCain has realized that his only hope is to appeal to the weakest members of his party: the ignorant, the fearful, and the irrational. That says a lot about what kind of president he would be. It's quite frankly unbearably sad.

Blago was revealed as Public Official A in February of 2008 during the Rezko trial, so any person on the street could have told you this was coming since then. Well, any person except Blago, who clearly didn't think the feds would continue to investigate him. Knowing the feds had his eyes on him he goes and does all this???

He's clearly arrogant to the point of insanity or just plain dumb.