Luckyforward

Hee Hee Hee Hee Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Oh the mentality here . . . You don't know me, have never talked with me, and have no idea of who I am, but because I listen to NPR, I am already pre-judged as a "LIBERAL."

Hee hee

A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.

GOP donors critical of Palin's pricey threads By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 10/22/08 6:34 PM EDT Text Size: Sarah Palin waits to speak to the crowd in Green, Ohio, on Wednesday. Photo: AP The Republican National Committee’s $150,000 investment in Sarah Palin’s wardrobe has prompted some teeth gnashing among the party’s big donors about its political sensibility and a feisty debate among campaign finance specialists about its legality. “As a Republican Eagle and a maxed-out contributor to McCain’s general campaign, I’d like my money back – he can still have my vote,” complained one irate donor on Tuesday. “I’m not one who says a candidate shouldn’t wear fine clothes,” he added. “I’d just like to think they were successful enough in the private sector to have afforded their wardrobe with their own money, not the party’s or the campaign’s, which is really our money as contributors.” Another big donor was sympathetic to the effort, but critical of the execution. The Alaska governor was tapped by Arizona Sen. John McCain to become his vice presidential running mate just days before the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, the donor noted. Given the short notice and the Palins’ relatively modest means, “she could probably not go into her closet at home in Alaska to come up with a wardrobe appropriate for her status as a vice presidential candidate," he said. “Having said that, $150K is big money,” he added. “It kind of makes it worth running. Even if you lose, you’ve got a whole new closet.” Other donors, in other e-mails and interviews, said the costs were worth the investment. Palin has proven to be a major draw at campaign rallies, and her strong performances and appearance provides a polished and professional image on television, one donor noted. In addition, he suggested, the bad press only means the GOP base will unite even further behind the McCain-Palin ticket. As Republican donors absorbed the news, the consensus among several prominent Washington-based attorneys was that the purchases were legal, albeit in a fuzzy area of the law. Campaign finance laws prohibit candidates from spending donor cash to their authorized personal campaign committee on costs “that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign,” including clothing, vacations and gym memberships. But the law does not prohibit such expenditures by party committees, and Congress has killed legislation to expand the personal use ban to those and other types of political committees. The fuzzy part in the Palin case is that the RNC used money from an account designated for “coordinated,” or shared, expenditures with the McCain-Palin candidate account. The Federal Election Commission, which interprets federal campaign finance laws, has never been asked to address this issue. And legal experts say the key question is: From which side of the joint account was the money drawn? Noting that the expenses were reported by the RNC and not the McCain-Obama campaign, Ken Gross, a law partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who advises corporations on campaign finance laws, concluded: “The bottom line is that this is party committee money. These are not campaign funds.” Wiley Rein lawyer Jan Baran, an adviser to several Republican candidates and committees, agreed with Gross, but added that the Palins may still be forced to comply with tax laws. “The receipt of goods and services by the taxpayer usually constitutes reportable ‘income’,” Baran said. Consequently, Palin may have to declare the value of the fashion gifts as income and pay taxes on it. “She might be able to offset some of the taxes by donating the items to charity after the campaign, Baran said, “although she will only be able to deduct the fair market value at that time.” The campaign said Monday that Palin intends to donate the clothes to charity after the election.

So all of you are for THIS? GO FOR IT THEN! RNC shells out $150K for Palin fashion By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 10/22/08 5:47 PM EDT Updated: 10/22/08 5:47 PM EDT Text Size: Sarah Palin, in a red leather jacket, waves as she steps on stage before a crowd at a baseball field in Grand Junction, Colo., on Monday. Photo: AP 1 of 5 The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August. According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74. The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September. The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August. The cash expenditures immediately raised questions among campaign finance experts about their legality under the Federal Election Commission's long-standing advisory opinions on using campaign cash to purchase items for personal use. Politico asked the McCain campaign for comment on Monday, explicitly noting the $150,000 in expenses for department store shopping and makeup consultation that were incurred immediately after Palin’s announcement. Pre-September reports do not include similar costs. Slideshow Palin Fashion Spokeswoman Maria Comella declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures, including whether it was necessary to spend that much and whether it amounted to one early investment in Palin or if shopping for the vice presidential nominee was ongoing. “The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent," she said. But hours after the story was posted on Politico's website and legal issues were raised, the campaign issued a new statement. "With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign." The business of primping and dressing on the campaign trail has become fraught with political risk in recent years as voters increasingly see an elite Washington out of touch with their values and lifestyles. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore took heat for changing his clothing hues. And in 2006, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was ribbed for two hair styling sessions that cost about $3,000. Then, there was Democrat John Edwards’ $400 hair cuts in 2007 and Republican McCain’s $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes this year. A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending. But all the spending by other candidates pales in comparison to the GOP outlay for the Alaska governor whose expensive, designer outfits have been the topic of fashion pages and magazines. See Also As clock ticks, hope dims for McCain savior Democrats' gloom deepens California gives most to Obama camp What hasn’t been apparent is where the clothes came from – her closet back in Wasilla or from the campaign coffers in Washington. The answer can be found inside the RNC’s September monthly financial disclosure report under “itemized coordinated expenditures.†It’s a report that typically records expenses for direct mail, telephone calls and advertising. Those expenses do show up, but the report also has a new category of spending: “campaign accessories.†September payments were also made to Barney’s New York ($789.72) and Bloomingdale’s New York ($5,102.71). Macy’s in Minneapolis, another store fortunate enough to be situated in the Twin Cities that hosted last summer’s Republican National Convention, received three separate payments totaling $9,447.71. The entries also show two purchases at Pacifier, a top-notch baby store, suggesting $196 was spent to accommodate the littlest Palin to join the campaign trail. An additional $4,902.45 was spent in early September at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men.

Hee hee . . .

Why did the chicken cross the road? BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change! JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road. SARAH PALIN: You know the difference between that chicken and a hockey Mom? Lipstick! HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves t o cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me. GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just to want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here. DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun? COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road. BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken? AL GORE: I invented the chicken. JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not fo r it now, and will remain against it. AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens. DR.PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his cur rent problems before adding new problems. OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his m istakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road. NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks. PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American. MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information. DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told. ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone. JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side. ' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will beco me gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that. GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough. BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listen ing to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road. ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road. JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads tog ether, in peace. BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integr! al part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never craÃ. #@&&^(C%...........reboot. ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken? COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Voted today in 10 minutes

I will vote tomorrow

When a friend of mine returned from his honeymoon - with his new missus - everything in his house that could hold water - sinks, toilets, tubs - had grape Jell-O in them . . . set up as hard as concrete!!

Take time for yourself, get better, and know the thoughts of a lot of good people are with you!

You are going to my home town! You'll have a blast!

Vandy - TN game will be good this year; maybe good enough for TN to get a new coach!

+1 Good call here . . . if the company policy says you cannot carry and you do and it's seen . . .

+1 I totally agree; shot there weekend before last; it was GREAT!

I have had a great experience here finding some hard to find mags: http://jocoemprise.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=JCE

I really like all the changes. Much, much easier on the eyes. Thank you, Tungsten!

I have bought three vehicles from them; no problems. If you buy there, do NOT use them for service, do NOT buy extended warrenty (from anyone) and do NOT finance there. To make sure you are not paying too much - which CarMax can charge - on really popular cars, do a thorough Kelly Blue Book or Consumer Report search on the worth of the vehicle you are interested in to know the real value.

The issue is not this season alone. Coach Fulmer desires less than total adherence to team rules; if you cannot have discipline off the field, you will not have it on the field. Phil cannot win the big games; while FL, AL, and GA have increased in strength and depth, TN continues to decline. As a person, Phil Fulmer is a good man. As a coach, I have lost confidence in his ability to get the job done. My suggestion is for TN to give Phil a nice desk doing something quiet in the athletic department, and hire the coach of my alma mater, East Carolina.

I am so sorry . . . he needs lots of medicine to feel better. May I suggest Dr. Smirnoff?

I am in shock and speechless . . . May his family know a sense of peace in a time of great turmoil. The epitaph that I offer to him: Marswolf always brought a smile to my face.

At age 53, I'm right there with you!

Helluva guy . . . hope I'm in as good a shape at his age

Oh . . . damn . . . I thought it was a "thangie"