Soxy

I put down one of the independent parties, but I actually will be voting for Kerry (so, I guess you can just mentally put one more vote for him there). I feel a lot better about voting for him, and hopefully one day we'll actually have a 3rd or 4th party (maybe a centrist party to get rid of all the polarizing going on--that would be nice).

Just me and my little sister she'll be 20 in December (2.5 years younger to the day)

Although sometimes I question candidates' (not just presidential) MENTAL health.

Yeah, school is going well. It's a lot more work than I was anticipating. 16 credit hours of class, two research projects running and teaching a few lab sections. Blech. But the people are pretty nice. Been here for over 2 months now. Crazy. Thanks for asking Tex. I hope you are doing well also. As per the question, yeah, for me it's usually the stance of people on issues and also how willing they are to engage in a real discussion with their opponents without degrading to childishness. Needless to say I am less than thrilled with the presidential choices.

I would say usually the candidates influence my decision. Sorry, snarky comment.

I've been doing this for ages--and hummers are the only reason the finger comes out. :fyou :finger hummer :finger :fyou

Ross has been my favorite all year--at the beginning of the season he was my avatar and every game I went to I wore a I heart Ross Gload shirt. Glad to see the kid living up to his potential. Ross Gload

Just for the record, Gollum is a mickey take on a mythical creature in ancient Hebrew lore. They are meant to be mindless creatures that simply take orders--they are neither evil nor good--but become that way by whatever controlls them. So, while the above little antedote is interesting the true ideology behind the Gollum, I thnk better fits with politics. Although, I do wonder if it it is the general people that are the gollum or our politicians.... Shrinks back into self-imposed exhile.

Happy birthday to a total favorite poster of mine.

I was wondering why I can't view soxtalk in Mozilla anymore--does anyone else have that problem? Just wondering.. Thanks

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi...ll=chi-news-hed Sharp rise in poverty reported Women, children hit especially hard By William Neikirk, Tribune senior correspondent. Tribune national correspondents Frank James in Minnesota and Rick Pearson in New Mexico contributed to this report Published August 27, 2004 WASHINGTON -- The Census Bureau said Thursday that the ranks of the poor and medically uninsured rose substantially in 2003, providing two pieces of sobering news for President Bush just before the Republican National Convention. Last year, the report said, 1.3million more Americans were living in poverty than a year earlier as the ranks of the poor swelled to nearly 35.9 million, or 12.5 percent of the population. The number of people without health insurance rose 1.4 million to 45 million, or 15.6 percent of the population, chiefly because of an uncertain job market. At the same time, the bureau added, the number of insured Americans actually increased by 1 million to a record 243.3 million, a figure the GOP trumpeted. It was the third straight year that the number of both the poor and the uninsured had gone up, largely the result of an economy that sank into a recession and performed below par during most of the 2001-03 period. The poverty and health insurance figures, along with a third census number showing income stagnated in 2003, gave Democrats new data to bolster their claims that the economy under Bush has hurt poor and working-class Americans. Such figures have lifted the plight of poor Americans higher on the nation's political agenda, with Republicans and Democrats pushing separate agendas for relief. In general, the GOP is relying on tax cuts and tax incentives while Democrats are calling for more spending on federal programs. Poverty hit children and women particularly hard. According to the report, 12.9 million children, or 17.6 percent of the under-18 population, were living in poverty. That was an increase of about 800,000 from 2002, representing the largest rise in child poverty in a decade. Poverty also increased sharply among adult women, reaching a 12.4 percent rate. Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, said in a statement that while Bush "tries to convince America's families that we're turning the corner, slogans and empty rhetoric can't hide the real story. Under George Bush's watch, America's families were falling further behind." In a town hall meeting in Anoka, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, Kerry ticked off numerous statistics from the census report and indicated that voters will hear more of them in the future. "The census figures are facts," he said. "They don't have a political label on them. ... And they tell a story when you add them all up." Bush team cites '04 progress Bush administration officials said the figures failed to take into account economic progress in 2004. They also blamed Democrats for blocking proposals that would increase the number of insured by cutting the costs of health insurance for business. "The big failure is not what is happening in the administration," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. "Individuals in the Senate have failed to adopt the president's health-care plan." House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) called on Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards, to push for Senate passage of a GOP plan to control medical liability costs, as well as a proposal to allow small companies to buy insurance for their employees through private health associations. Campaigning in New Mexico, Bush made no mention of the census figures. He said his administration had overcome the obstacles of a recession, terrorist attacks and corporate scandals. He credited the American workforce, the country's entrepreneurial spirit and his "well-timed tax cuts." Democrats cited rising numbers of the poor and uninsured over the past three years. On top of that, Kerry and other Democrats frequently point to a recent Congressional Budget Office study showing that the Bush tax cuts in effect forced the middle class to pay a higher percentage of the total tax burden. That study, disputed for its methodology, indicated that the wealthiest taxpayers have seen their tax burden fall from 64.4 percent to 63.5 percent of total taxes paid since 2001, while middle-class taxpayers have seen their tax burden rise from 18.7 to 19.5 percent of total taxes paid. During the 1990s economic boom, poverty became less of a political issue as Congress adopted welfare reform and more jobs were available for the poor. But poverty has increased as the economy has underperformed, with evidence growing that women and children are being hurt the most. "Over the last three years, more and more women have fallen into poverty, with the loss of jobs, decrease in wages and increase in the number of uninsured helping to push many women into an uncertain and potentially devastating financial situation," said Christina Smith FitzPatrick, senior policy analyst for the National Women's Law Center in Washington. Day-to-day struggle Lori Cesaire, 32, of Springfield, Ohio, said she and her husband struggle to make ends meet on a take-home pay she estimated at about $13,000 a year. With that money, she said, they must feed, clothe and house their three children, ages 14, 10 and 4. The poverty rate for a family of five is gross pay of a little over $22,000. Cesaire said she is a day-care teacher and that her husband is a security guard and often works 65 hours a week. They see their income eaten up by bills, transportation, food and clothing. "You have to be creative" in making ends meet, she said, and often she staggers paying her bills so she is no more than one month behind in any single bill. Cesaire said she uses various charitable organizations to get everything from food to furniture but often has to withhold buying shoes for one child because another needs them more. She said she works even though she has a disability. "It's harder on me," she said. "It would be so easy for me to stay at home." The working poor often are forced to work harder, she said, while "those who don't do anything get all the assistance." Census income figures showed that real median earnings of men who worked full-time was unchanged at $40,668, while the real median earnings for women declined by 0.6 percent to $30,724. It was the first time since 1999 that men had gained ground against women in that category. Some Democrats claimed the administration purposely released the numbers for poverty, income and uninsured people at the same time and a long way from Election Day, but census officials denied politics was involved.

This reminds me of in the Vietnam (I think) war the Buddhist monks who would burn themselves alive as protest...

I'm going to a lunch sponsored by the Psych Graduate Student Organization. My money is on us having pizza....

Okay, just want to say a few things: One "white middle class" parents take an interest in their kids. Yes, they do. But they also have more disposable income and time to spend with their kids. It's hard to be a model parents when you're making 5.15 an hour at a crap job and probably working lots of hours. Being middle class (a class that is rapidly disappearing, imo) is a great privilage in what we can afford, both monetarily and timewise. As for the idea that everyone just wants a hand-out, I would disagree. One of my oh so wonderful summer job experiences was working at the Unemployment Office in Aurora. I would say that 95% of the people there WERE looking for work and genuinely trying. The other 5%, well, not so much, but I can say that the 5% were definite a good racial mix--they are lazy people in EVERY race. And I think so much of this goes back to education. We are willing to put teachers into urban and super poor rural schools that have NO formal education training--I am not demeaning Teach for America, etc. but if you have teachers taht have NO DAMN CLUE what they're doing how are you going to reach kids that have no education background and foundation? Yes, I blame some of that on the parents and some on the previous educators. But it's pathetic. To misquote Ginsberg, I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked. To sum up, I am lucky. I was born into a relatively affluent, educated family who worked hard to send me to a good college (and could AFFORD it). Although I think I'm rather clever I don't think that I would be here if it weren't for my privilaged upbringing...And if I was raised in a poorer area with crap schools and stuff--I bet I WOULD have a bad attitude too if I came to Suburbia and saw all the resources denied to myself and my peers.

:sleep Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Something like the EU--so that older and wealthier countries can bar (or make v. difficult) the entering of new poorer, less "cultured," and of different religious background....

Why pay 8 bucks to sit in the dark with some girl? You can do that for free in your car, dorm room, library corner, etc, and you won't have to have your brain rot by association of Mr. Nighty-Night's movies...

Who would wear that shirt? I know a few women that have had abortions--and none of them would feel safe wearing that shirt. Seriously, as far as my experience goes you might as well wear a shirt that says, "Spit on me and call me names." I'm pro-choice but, like Apu, very against abortion as a means of birth control. Gah, that is a total gaffe and stupid idea by Planned Parenthood. I think a similar thing was done in France (or was it here too) right before Roe vs. Wade when famous and non-famous women signed their name acknowledging they had an abortion. But I just don't see how these things protect the privacy or safety of these women (or men--I guess they could wear them too).

I went to my first unprogrammed Quaker meeting today--it was a really good experience--very centering. It was nice to sit and take an hour and just sit in communion with the Divine. Definitely cool. I think if I were to pick my second favorite it would have been a Jewish Shabbat I went to a couple of times--it was nice and lots of reflection and it felt really intimate with the people I was with. I've also enjoyed Hindu and Buddhist worships. I was just wondering if anyone wanted to share some traditions or experiences they've had that really hit home...

I read that senior year in HS--good book but VERY different from the movie. I guess the author refused to see the movie because they took out some of the undercurrents and subversiveness of the books. But an EXCELLENT read. Really interesting comment on society and all that jazz.

Yeah, I've got hope. I figure at worst they can only let me down as hard as last year. Anyway, they're addictive, I just can't walk away from them. They're like crack to me.

Keep us updated... He'll be in my thoughts and prayers--hopefully the miracles of modern medicine will also help him pull through.

Um, I don't think they play on 8/2 (mercifully).

Hell frozen over.

Oh crap! Two other--Dennis Kucinish (the same weekend as Jimmy Carter). And Frank "Angela's Ashes" McCourt. That was cool--I just sort of stuttered and faltered and stuff with meeting him.