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Michigan advocate for women and children gets 2008 Sunshine Peace Award
Cathy Church, an Upper Peninsula advocate for protecting women and children from domestic violence, recently received the 2008 Sunshine Peace Award.
As an assistant prosecutor, Church put many abusers in jail.
The northern Michigan attorney has a long history of ongoing public service.
A longtime prosecutor of domestic abusers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Cathy Church (center) receives Peace Award from Doris Buffett (right) on August 9, 2008 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The Sunshine Lady Foundation was established in 1996 through the vision and determination of Doris Buffett, the sister of financier and philanthropist, Warren Buffett.
Church was honored as one of twenty extraordinary individuals who have worked in the domestic violence field and made a positive difference in the lives of battered women and their children.
Candidates for the prestigious award are selected from across the nation for excellence in developing resources and facilitating the social change necessary to end violence against women and children. Cathy Church, an Upper Peninsula advocate for protecting women and children from domestic violence, recently received the 2008 Sunshin... more -
My candidate, myself
Sept. 22, 2008 | "Let's make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times" -- George W. Bush, 2008
Last week, I jokingly asked a health club acquaintance whether he would change his mind about his choice for president if presented with sufficient facts that contradicted his present beliefs. He responded with utter confidence. "Absolutely not," he said. "No new facts will change my mind because I know that these facts are correct."
I was floored. In his brief rebuttal, he blindly demonstrated overconfidence in his own ideas and the inability to consider how new facts might alter a presently cherished opinion. Worse, he seemed unaware of how irrational his response might appear to others. It's clear, I thought, that carefully constructed arguments and presentation of irrefutable evidence will not change this man's mind.
In the current presidential election, a major percentage of voters are already committed to "their candidate"; new arguments and evidence fall on deaf ears. And yet, if we, as a country, truly want change, we must be open-minded, flexible and willing to revise our opinions when new evidence warrants it. Most important, we must be able to recognize and acknowledge when we are wrong.
Unfortunately, cognitive science offers some fairly sobering observations about our ability to judge ourselves and others.
Perhaps the single academic study most germane to the present election is the 1999 psychology paper by David Dunning and Justin Kruger, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments." The two Cornell psychologists began with the following assumptions.
# Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.
# Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.
# Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.
---more at link--- Sept. 22, 2008 | "Let's make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times" -- George W. Bush, 2008 ... more -
Factchecking Palin By Hilzoy
I thought Palin's speech was quite good: well-written, well delivered. And, as I said earlier, I think she's a genuinely engaging person, and comes across very well. There were just a couple of problems. One, which I have seen people notice, but which I suspect won't be a big deal for a lot of voters, is that it had very little substance. The other, which the commenters I saw on TV for some reason neglected to mention, was that she told a lot of lies. A few that stood out for me, or that I spotted in my quick run-through of some blogs: I thought Palin's speech was quite good: well-written, well delivered. And, as I said earlier, I think she's a genuinely eng... more
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Free Obama/Biden stickers!
The Obama camp is giving away FREE Obama/Biden 2008 Stickers- even the shipping is free.
For a $3 donation you get 5 stickers, and for $20 you get 50.
Check it out and get yours, Obama fans!
Edit: If you get ONE sticker, it is totally free. You only have to pay if you want more than one. The Obama camp is giving away FREE Obama/Biden 2008 Stickers- even the shipping is free. ... more -
Who is Joe Biden?
Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate- but who is Joe Biden? Where is he from, what is he about, what are his policies?
Here's some info you may or may not know about Joe Biden:
*Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
*In 1987, Joe Biden ran as a Democratic presidential candidate.
*Biden took office on January 3, 1973, at age 30, becoming the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in United States history.
*As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Biden wrote the laws that created the nation's "Drug Czar," who oversees and coordinates national drug control policy.
Policies at a glance:
*Joe Biden does not believe in public funding for abortion, and accepts the Catholic Church's view that life begins at conception, but is Pro-Choice.
*Supports troop withdrawal from Iraq.
*Voted YES on spending international development funds on drug control.
*Rated 95% by the LCV, indicating pro-environment votes.
What do you think of Joe Biden- good choice? Do you have other information you'd like to share to help the Current community understand this candidate? Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate- but who is Joe Biden? Where is he from, what is he about, what are his policies... more -
Tyrone Biggums in the Flesh!
Obama's Lost Half-Brother
ROME (telegraph.co.uk) -- The Italian edition of Vanity Fair said that it had found George Hussein Onyango Obama living in a hut in a ramshackle town of Huruma on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Mr Obama, 26, the youngest of the presidential candidate's half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.
"No-one knows who I am," he told the magazine, before claiming: "I live here on less than a dollar a month."
According to Italy's Vanity Fair his two metre by three metre shack is decorated with football posters of the Italian football giants AC Milan and Inter, as well as a calendar showing exotic beaches of the world.
Vanity Fair also noted that he had a front page newspaper picture of his famous brother - born of the same father as him, Barack Hussein Obama, but to a different mother, named only as Jael.
He told the magazine: "I live like a recluse, no-one knows I exist."
Embarrassed by his penury, he said that he does not does not mention his famous half-brother in conversation.
"If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed," he said.
For ten years George Obama lived rough. However he now hopes to try to sort his life out by starting a course at a local technical college.
He has only met his famous older brother twice - once when he was just five and the last time in 2006 when Senator Obama was on a tour of East Africa and visited Nairobi. Obama's Lost Half-Brother ... more -
2008 Presidential Candidate Spending Analyses
That's an argument for Paul if I've ever seen one.
Presidential contenders have been busy portraying their political differences from others inside and outside of their parties, but when it comes to fiscal policy, ideological labels don't necessarily apply. That's just one finding of a comprehensive study from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), which provides cost estimates -- based on hard data -- for more than 450 of the major candidates’ proposals that would affect the federal budget.
"Our analyses hopefully will help taxpayers distinguish political posturing from concrete proposals -- many of which would significantly change the size and make-up of the federal budget," NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady said. "As the public-policy debate on the campaign trail nears its 'Super Tuesday' peak next week, we're providing Americans with the chance to systematically examine how future budget plans may affect their own future finances."
NTUF assumed the most conservative cost estimates of federal outlays based on a variety of sources, including the candidates' own projections; summaries from the Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service, and the White House Office of Management and Budget; and results from equivalent legislation from NTUF's BillTally cost accounting system. Among the general findings of the eight reports, analyzing six Republicans and two Democrats:
* The eight candidates proposed a combined total of 189 items that would increase federal spending, 24 items that would decrease it, and 238 items whose budgetary impacts are unknown -- in addition to dozens of sub-items further detailing program components. The four respective frontrunners in the two parties (John McCain, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama), proposed overall fiscal policy agendas whose net effect would raise annual federal outlays between $6.9 billion and $287.0 billion.
* The top-tier GOP candidates often portrayed as "conservative" (Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee) actually called for significantly larger spending hikes ($19.5 billion and $54.2 billion, respectively), than the so-called "moderate conservative" (John McCain, $6.9 billion).
* Among Democrats, Barack Obama, often described as ideologically more "moderate" than Hillary Clinton, actually has the larger agenda of the two ($287.0 billion vs. $218.2 billion).
* Defense-related spending items received the highest proposed spending increases among Republican candidates. Huckabee and Romney, for example, offered $67.2 billion and $40.6 billion, respectively. Among Democrats, Clinton's biggest boost goes toward health care ($113.6 billion) and Obama's for economy, transportation, and infrastructure ($105.0 billion).
* Two of the eight candidates proposed sufficient spending cuts that more than offset their new spending plans: Rudy Giuliani (-$1.4 billion) and Ron Paul (-$150.1 billion).
NTUF is the nonpartisan research arm of the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union, a citizen group founded in 1969. Note: Due to time constraints, NTUF staff were unable to complete a report for Democratic candidate John Edwards. For the full reports, graphs of the data, and audio analysis from NTUF staff, visit www.ntu.org. That's an argument for Paul if I've ever seen one. ... more -
Al Gore the Environmental Apostle
Like an apostle regarding the environment, Al Gore has preached his sermons and relayed his stories to the hearts and minds of the greatest nation and the world. Of course, saying America is the greatest nation is figuratively speaking. Only great people would want to change to become even greater. I am referring to the great people that support Al Gore in his mission to make the world's people aware of self created atrocities. I am an American but I am not as proud as I once was. America has created a shameful face these past eight years and I know I need not go into detail; but now it is getting harder to say it is the "greatest". While we bask in our sovereign nation, the whole world suffers from what we reap, and consequently we suffer as well; economically and health. We must remember we are only 200 years old; therefore we are still children in this vast world of nations. In much the same way, we act like children. We do things that affect others, yet we cannot understand the consequences because we have yet to learn anything about what overall outcome may be. Our CO2 pollution makes up 45% of the world's CO2 pollution. For those who disagree that CO2 is the basis upon which global warming is being caused, I say lets drastically decrease our percentage created and see what the affects are. We cannot continue to do things and expect no reactions. We as a world power should lead others. Instead, we are slow to react to many things and are following instead. This is not because the people don't want to change. The people of a nation only know what the people in power let them know....whether the power is media, politicians, or other. I truly believe that with Al Gore in office as President of the United States of America, our nation will once again rise and become its former glorious self. It takes a person of integrity and perseverance to get us there. That is why I plea with Al Gore to take his position at the podium of our nation and the world stage. I have signed the "draftgore" petition and done things to promote him but ultimately it is up to him to come forth. He has said he has fallen out of love with politics, but that is not true. If that were the case, he would not be going around the world like a diplomat teaching other world leaders how to stop this crisis we are in and preserve what has been given to them; nature. He loves politics dearly because he cares about people. He knows many changes need to be made in many places regarding politics. We all know it will take time but I am sure that if he were to run for president, he will be given a full eight years to do his best as his people are here watching and following his creative and outstanding leadership. I know he still has it in him and I have do doubts that he will be a perfect leader. He does not avoid issues....in fact he encourages them. He does not back down like Clinton, he hits the issues hard and puts passion in what he says. He cannot be out of politics because he things like a politician, moves like a politician, and speaks like a politician (one with the right morals). It is his life whether he tries to ignore or deny it. It is who Al Gore is. Now he has become a humanitarian and I believe the world loves him for that. I just wish, hope, and pray he will listen to his heart. Only he knows what happened to his heart, but we all can see it has gotten bigger and stronger Like an apostle regarding the environment, Al Gore has preached his sermons and relayed his stories to the hearts and minds of the gre... more
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Al Gore vs. H. Clinton. This poll puts Gore in second place.
This poll puts Gore in second place, only points behind Clinton, and Gore is not even running "yet". <-- we all have hopes, dreams, and admirations; if Al Gore runs, many of mine would be satisfied...therefore, I say "yet". (the CBS poll link is at the top left of the page)
>>>>> I imagine that Al Gore could go to the top of the polls because Clinton does not stand solid on issues, is a mirror of John Kerry at times by changing sides on what she says during the debates, and is a lobbyist. At least she does admit to being a lobbyist though she does not admit to any illegal lobbying. For those reasons she is not trusful. It seems apparent that she hides her true intentions by not fully answering or changing the direction of questions. She is only going to the votes and not for the issues, in fear of any damage that may be done to her campaign so no person in their right mind should support any candidate like that.
>>>>>Furthermore, I totally support Gore because he stands by his beliefs and expresses them openly. People may say he's crazy or weird or anything else, but he has a passion and that is what everyone needs. There was a time when candidates actually stood for something which was more than themselves. I am saying that Gore is on a mission for the world, not just his nation or his benefits. When he made the documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth", he did not say..."I am doing this so I can win the Nobel Peace Prize." He did it because he saw an opportunity to give humanity information about the place it lives so that we can know what is happening and what our potential affects are.
>>>>>>For the skeptics:
For those of you who may not believe the statistics on "An Inconvenient Truth", think past the validity of what was presented to you and the rest of the world. Even if we are only going through an Earth/Time cycle, the fact is that we, humanity, needs to clean up our environment. We need to be responsible for things and not just cast pollution to the side until it becomes an issue. Why not start now and make our health and the potential health of our children much better. The news reports today speak of how China's pollution is causing many health problems. The number of problems have risen 40% since 2001 (when it's industry really began to take off). America already has so many "common" health problems which are rarely seen in many/most other countries. We are undoubtedly affecting our environment, not to say that is the only culprit. At the same time the changes could also be a cycle, but the cycle does not need our help. All we are doing is compounding its affects. We need to begin finding solutions to igsisting environmental problems now. Because change happens over a long period of time, we should act now so the changes will take affect before they become worse. For these reasons I support Al Gore and fully hope he will run in the 2008 elections and ultimately become president. This poll puts Gore in second place, only points behind Clinton, and Gore is not even running "yet". <-- we all have hope... more -
El Presidente Math
Street artists in Colombia strike back at government propoganda with their own dose of political graffiti.
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