Cheeseburger_in_paradise

With the makeup and all? With the big ears and darkened complexion?Obama Impersonation Some people are saying so. Bridges has been doing Bush for years.

This Christmas, don't ask to borrow money from Santa's elves. They're always a little short. Have a great holiday!

LBJ comes to mind. Although he really also got part of Kennedy's term. He never stopped running.

True. And Matthews never said he felt a tingle go up his leg. The word he used was "thrill." Still, it warms my heart to see how nervous the left is about Palin. It's fun to watch.

Palin never actually said she could see Russia from her house. That would be Tina Fey on SNL.

A watchdog group apparently. The report measures the violations of press freedom in the world, taking into account murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats as well as censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment. Being in ongoing conflicts like Iraq seems to hurt the US ranking, as journalists die and get hurt over there. That factors in somehow. Subjective I'm sure, like the various rankings of best US cities to live for retirees or something.

Not even that high up.

Yeah, that would make a difference in how the world looks at us. Right. I will probably look deeper at it though. I just thought I'd throw it out here, since so many of you are so much smarter than anybody else in the whole world. I'm not trying to insinuate anything. I suspect our fourth Estate is suppressing some information. I understand self censorship is acceptable in the journalistic world. I'm just wondering, how is this happening. We are not a dictatorship.

I get paid when they print what I write. If they don't publish it, I tend not to get paid. They print pretty much everything I turn in, because I can always find something, and I'm careful. There is stuff I've had to walk away from. Stimulus money being spent to clear out mangroves, that some locally don't agree with is environmentally desirable or aesthetically pleasing and good for property values. No coverage. A hotel cheating employees, falsifying tax documents. No touchy. Local town Mayor owns construction company that's doing a lot of the work around a new mall. I'm actually pretty OK with that one. A good guy that has a company that does good work. But again, I wasn't really thinking about my own situation. 36th out of 173. Luxenberg is freer than us?

My question was really about the US being ranked 36th freest press in the world, by Reporters without Borders. Counties like Belgium and Iceland score in top five, year in year out.

It's a small paper trying to survive, by keeping advertisers and politicians friendly. No threat of violence.

A Facebook friend who is my former professor, and once chair or the journalism department from where I have my degree have a difference of opinion on this one. I don't think the US press is free at all. As a part-time reporter, covering two city councils, I can tell you for sure that there are some stories I am encouraged to ignore. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-freest-press-1433513.html http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/1B21BCC6-EDBC-4214-A23D-A0DF41C66037/ http://www.newstatesman.com/200102190008

MSNBC suspending Kieth Olbermann, to prove it is not politically biased, is like Norman Bates not swatting a fly, to prove he's not Psycho. Suspended...not fired BTW.

Glenn Beck gloat.

Continues to rebound? What planet are you living on? Government has yet to demonstrate that they "get it."

I did good man. Lots of variety. About 15 little candy bars-love those things. A few people got pissed when they realized how old I was.

lol

I have an idea.

Yep. What's amazing is that they think somehow they can say he didn't win it. What a joke. He won it. That won't change. It's not like he's no longer Miss America and can't finish out his year. He will always have been the winner that year, even if they try to make him an asterisk.

After the 2000th time, I almost went for it. Part of my reasoning for this exercise is, I think we squander opertunity. My grandfather came here with nothing, irsih heritage, born in England. Eventually he owned the largest business machine business in Cleveland. Mexicans come here with nothing, and make a go of it. Can it be done, today?

A few OK ideas here. Someone I know is in this situation. He knows he'll have to keep working. I thought about the hostel idea because I've stayed in a few and have been very impressed. Mostly Europeans, South or Central Americans, or Austrailians. Travelers I've talked to say America needs more of them. As long as the dollar stays weak against their currencies, they will continue to visit and vacation here. It's a good value for them right now. It could be a growth industry as well. Ones that are popping up are showing better profitability than traditional hotels. I'll throw some of these ideas at him. I have a feeling some of the money will go towards beer and hookers. Buy an RV and start cooking. Many have done this and succeeded.

What if you suddenly came into 15 thousand dollars. But you are in your 50's amnd have lost everything to divorce, or health, etc. Retirment plans, IRA's, everything gone. This is money to start over, but you have to make it count. This is not fun money, or an extra windfall to stick into a savings bank. This may be your last chance to make something out of the rest of your life. What would you do? Would you buy gold? Would you move to Coasta Rica? Would you start a hostel, or a tree cutting business? Would you start a business at all. What would you do if this might be your last chance to not live completely off social security when you get old.

Just curious. Are you aware that Krauthammer (Odo) is a paraplegic? It's always a hoot to make fun of how those people look, isn't it. The man New York Times columnist David Brooks says is the most important conservative columnist,” is a very talented guy. Also wondering if you know that he worked for both Carter and Mondale.