Okay. And that IS exactly what happened with Enron, yes?

I don't know of any who are saying nothing should be done at all, but it looks to me like plenty of economists are not fans of the bailout as proposed and think an alternative plan would work better. Really, the only argument I've seen FOR this particular plan is that it's already there, so it's faster to go with this one than to come up with an alternative and try to get support for it (this seems to be Krugman's take on it: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/bailout-questions-answered/). But now, maybe not so much.

I had no luck whatsoever with a fall garden last year, so I'm turning my attention inward. Is there much that I can grow in a sunny window? herbs? I heard turnips will grow anywhere. Anything else?

Boma (the buffet) is a regular, one credit meal. Jiko is 2 credits (haven't eaten there, though I hear good things. If we can ever get there without the kids....)

From the non partisan Tax Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411750 It's certainly true that either candidate will face serious budget challenges in light of the bailout (and how much Bush has run up the deficit), and both of them floundered in the debate in trying to answer how they would do that. Both of them say they'll pay for their plans by eliminating wasteful spending. But the article you linked to is not saying that Obama would run up the deficit more than McCain; it's saying that he is not as committed to a balanced budget as most congressional Democrats are.

That article is contrasting Obama to more fiscally conservative Democrats in congress and to Bush, though--not to John McCain. From your link: That's the only thing in the article that I can see that references McCain's plan, and it seems to suggest that his would raise the deficit more than Obama's.

Interesting article, Oak Knoll Mom. I keep saying I'm ready for my ration card now. I'd just as soon skip the regional shortages and short term panic and move right on to that.

We filled up yesterday and "only" had to wait in line 15 minutes or so. The AJC is saying today that things should ease up by Columbus Day. Two weeks away. argh. As I understand it, the emissions restrictions have been eased, but the governor waited longer to ask the EPA to do this than the governors of neighboring states. I find his behavior on this whole thing just sort of bizarre. He keeps insisting there's actually not a gas shortage at all--that the whole problem is people topping off their tanks. I get that the panic is PART of the problem, but it certainly doesn't explain it all. And three years ago he caught a lot of flak for actually canceling school for 2 days as a precautionary measure to save gas ahead of a post-Katrina hurricane. Yet this time he's doing virtually nothing.

Where are you getting your statistics? According to this: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html US census records show that, while the overall life expectancy for a white male born in 1850 (the earliest year available) was 38.3, a man who had reached 50 could expect to live another 21.6 years. That figure in 2004 was 29.1 years. That's still a substantial difference, but not nearly as large a difference as the overall life expectancy--38.3 compared to 75.7. A 30 year old white male could expect to live to 64, not 40. It's no more ageist to say that old people are more likely to die than young people than it is sexist to say that women have a greater chance of developing breast cancer than men do. It is undeniably true, and the fact that sometimes men DO get breast cancer doesn't mean the statistics are wrong.

According the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_14.pdf a 72 year old white American man has a 16.1 chance of dying in the next 4 years. This does not, of course, take into account McCain's current good health. Nor does it take into account the fact that he has a history of cancer, a family history of heart disease, and was a 2 pack a day smoker for decades. If McCain is elected, there is a 1 in 6 chance that Palin will be called on to take over the presidency before his term is finished. As I've said before, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but I don't think there's anything unfair about acknowledging that it is much more likely for a 72 year old to die in office or develop a serious health problem than it is for someone considerably younger.

He allowed a select group of reporters to view some of his health records for 3 hours in May. They were not permitted to make copies. He has been called on to make all of his health records public and has refused to do so. Now, of course, this is his right, but it is also the right of people to consider whether he is doing this because he has something to hide. If I were otherwise inclined to vote for a candidate of McCain's age and health, his age would not stop me, but I would be concerned about it. If I were on the fence, it might well be one thing I would look at to help me make up my mind.

We've found 'Ohana to be hit or miss, but you should definitely try it since you're staying at the Polynesian. We've eaten at Kona there, too, and it was good but nothing too exciting. We all LOVE Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (for dinner, not breakfast). It is actually my DH's favorite restaurant period, not just at Disney World. The food is nothing special at Liberty Tree Tavern, but we've had great character interactions both times we've gone, and the kids love it. If you have trouble getting what you want when you call, you can keep trying until your trip, since cancellations are very common. have fun!

I'm glad I bumped :) Thanks so much everyone--exactly what I needed to hear!

just bumping this in case someone missed it the first time around and can help me out, since I need to make a decision and order something soon! TIA!

:iagree: Everything she said!

We like Peggy Kaye's Games for Math. Pattern blocks and the cards or books to go with them are fun.

Off the top of my head, there's the Lugar-Obama Non-proliferation Act and the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act. I believe he mentioned the second one in the debate last night. It's a database to put a record of all government spending online.

Given your concerns about Obama being away from the Senate so much while running for president, I'm sure you'll be very interested to hear that John McCain is actually the single most absent Senator of the 110th congress. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/vote-missers/ Tim Johnson, who spent several months recovering from a brain hemorrhage, comes in a distant second. And, yes, the next five are all people who ran for president in the primaries.

How did she "take on" Ted Stevens? She was a director of his 527 group as late as 2003. She's occasionally criticized him publicly, but he endorsed her for governor and cut an ad for her. They gave a joint press conference over the summer on energy. She did endorse his opponent in the primary, but, as late as this week she has refused to say whether or not she'll vote for him. The guy's on trial for corruption right now; I really don't think the fact that Palin has expressed some reservations about him while maintaining a working relationship with him is a revolutionary act.

We have it on both of us. We actually have a whole life insurance policy on DH that his grandfather bought for him when he was 3. And then we have a policy on both of us through his job (we have to buy for him in order for them to let us get it on me). I think the way it breaks down is we have tons of coverage on DH and probably not enough on me.

I've got to say, it was refreshing to see two smart, informed people debating actual policy differences (mostly) instead of going for cheap shots and dumbing things down into one liners. This debate was how I had hoped this whole campaign would go with these two guys in it.

I would definitely still be your friend :). In fact, I've always considered the ability to pee anywhere in emergencies to one of the primary benefits of having all boys.

Does the cat not use a litter box? When we go out of town, my brother comes to take care of the cats, and we just have him come every other day. Of course, we have two cats, so they have each other for company. Maybe one cat would get too lonely that way? Birds I have no idea. Well, I do have chickens, and they're fine with someone coming every other day, too.

Well, as I said before, given that McCain found the time to give interviews on three different networks tonight, I can't see any reason why he'll have trouble making it to the debate, too.

Just to return for a moment to the topic, I'm sure McCain's going to show up at the debate tomorrow. He is finding the time to do interviews on three networks tonight, so it's clear his schedule is freer and congress is managing without him better than he initially thought. Which is great, because I have big plans to order pizza and watch the debate tomorrow. I think I'm going to make a cake. That's how big of a dork I am. I thought, "I should make a special cake for the debate!"