http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/state_of_ohio_ex_rel_myles_v_brunner/ Politics makes for strange bedfellows indeed...for those who type ACLU with disdain they are standing up for your vote as well...despite what you may have heard forom talk radio.

http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/state_of_ohio_ex_rel_myles_v_brunner/ ayup folks those darn pesky rabblerousers are actually ...defending the rights of Mccain voters in this case. Now are they Ok due to fighting for the right of Mccain supporters to have their votes count????

http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm The ACLU actually has nothing to do with the law as it was written . You might find it interesting to consider the alternative dangers of having national id cards-very 1984 imho...

http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm The voting act 2002 that is allegedly being violated by the same parties who purport to be investigating "fraud". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27093919/ the article regarding the illegality of purging voting rolls absent the protections of the 2002 law. It may be of no moment to some but it would seem that many on the boards really care about the letter of the law and I thought this article might be of interest to those who want both sides of the story.

I am nonplussed. Frankly I wish to be completely ignored as a home educator -especially by politicians.All of them.

Lest anyone think I did not read the article attached I have read it. It stands to reason that guilt by association is not a particularly enlightened approach if one wants to find the truth...at least the article I posted was fom the AP and not some neoconservative think tank posing as a news organization.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/10/mccain_link_to_private_group_i.php

http://www.newsweek.com/id/159439?tid=relatedcl

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162789 I found this article particularly interesting in light of Senator McCain's repeated references to the financial mess as being caused entirely by Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac. To be certain there are more than any single factorsat play but it always seems as if the poor are the scapegoats when there is an opportunity for blame. Tiresome indeed.

http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/all/family_guide this mentions heroes such as Chavez and Dorothy Day-not all Catholic people interpret life issues so narrowly.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/can_people_be_sued_for_false_political.html a fairly reliable source here regarding libel, slander and defamation in the political realm...like I said much ado about nothing just a way to agitate the base.

http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/PressReleases/90c928f6-38c7-4dc3-86c6-15149dbb8e07.htm mccain has the same committee just a different name...All they are doing is saying that IF there is a libel or slander case it will be prosecuted like any other libel or slander case . In essence, they will do their job as law enforcement. You might want to ponder why they are distorting the statements from law enforcement regarding their intent to do their jobs regardless of whether the lie is about a politician or not. It is much ado about nothing quite frankly . http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro.htm A much broader concern is voter intimidation in that state which has a history of those tactics . I strongly urge any one who really cares about being informed to read the attached docs from the US Department of Justice to understand why this issue is paramount. I must also state that unequivocally I do not think for a minute that elected officials who are in law enforcement should have made any comment regarding libel and slander law as it applies to both candidates and actually they need to brush up on the law...once you are a "public" figure there are almost zero protections in this regard it is nearly impossible to win a case thus, those who purport to be speaking out against libelous or slanderous language are really being ridiculous because the real issue is enforcing rights for all citizens as put forth in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

...Nothing needed to add just another voice to clearly state that HLSDA has nothing to do with my reason for hsing nor do they speak for me ever in any way shape , fashion or form.

http://www.amazon.com/State-Confusion-Political-Manipulation-American/dp/0312373066 This is a great book written by an attorney and former Pres of APA on this very issue-he calls it gaslighting as per the film where reality is so distorted that the human mind seeks certainty and the conflict due to cognitive dissonance is unpleasant so folks follow blindly questioning little in order to think that they have certainty and knowledge regarding reality. It is a great read and I think you would find it interesting. Many of his theses have been given brilliant clarity of late...http://www.amazon.com/State-Confusion-Political-Manipulation-American/dp/0312373066

For relaxation I am finally reading Outlander by Diane Gabaldon(sp?) it is a blend of fantasy and historical fiction set in Scotland. For dd edification we are reading John Locke and Adam Smith-rather timely with all the recent snafus regarding Freddie Mac and AIG...I am also returning to a favourite author of mine, Mo Hayder who writes the most creepy and disturbing mystery novels that I have had the pleasure of reading. The Devil of Nanking will keep you awake at night for weeks. I just love her writing. Throw in Dracula by Stoker and David Sedaris' When You are Engulfed in Flames-an essay collection and that ladies is all she read...I have recently discovered the miniature Almond Snicker bars are quite tasty when frozen you chew and chew drooling chocolate while mashing the little nuggets with your molars. Dh lokked at me the other night and remarked that I looked like my mothers dog devouring those little bars and sucking the chocolate remains off my fingers so as to keep my book tidy. I thought it sexy -NOT . I am beginning to look like a 43 year old woman who sits in bed and eats mini snickers every night...perimenopause has not been kind to my hips. If you like a creepy intelligent read Mo Hayder is your writer if you have not yet discovered her. Do not under any circumstances buy a bag of the almond snickers and freeze them just in case... You have been warned it is not pretty and you might loosen a filling.

Dead Kennedys, Bauhaus, the Cramps, Jesus and Mary Chain, and of course David Byrne and David Bowie- oh be still my beating heart. I used to buy my records and clothes at a shop called Drastic Plastic...my mom was very accepting of the dog collar and combat boots that I felt were so anti establishment...I should have known this could lead to further deviancy even such madness as homeschooling rather than practicing law...riding a bus for two days to get to DC for a protest as my senior college trip.Ah, the memories if I can be as cool when dd announces she wants violet hair or some other affectation I must remember all that I did and just hope that she refrains from slam dancing at weddings. That went over swimmingly in our small Iowa community yes indeedy.

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/ridiculous_things.htm Agreat list and fantastic website that kept my sanity and encouraged me to see giftedness as just one more part of what makes dd who she is-it does not define her sum total at all. It is exhausting but exhilirating as well. However, I feel much better now that we do not do any activites etc that are governed by age/grade. It is a waste of time and bores dd so we do other things that involve a range of ages-8 to 80 far better fir fitting in -we join based on interest rather than age mates. That is particularly unpleasant for both of us.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/525008.html

Scarves for my mother, dd's godparents , my husband and my brother in law. A cross stitch for my mother from a UK magazine that has the yummiest patterns . I am also crocheting an afghan for her with a quick hook and Lion Brand homespun yarn. I take breaks for bathing and eating but other than that am keeping insanely busy with election and crafts I have no time for my usual hobby of writing.

Aunt Twinkle(Lucy) was a wonderful librarian and had a fine sense regarding books. She gave me Little House in the Big Woods and a poetry book, All the Silver Pennies in first grade and it was off to the races for this kid.As a youngster, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Margerite Henry, Astrid Lindgren, Frank Baum and CSLewis with a bit of L.M. Alcott were the authors I spent most of my time with.My grandfather , Twinkle's brother also made his contribution to my tastes by intrducing me to the great adventure authors, Jack London, the Tom Swift books, Captain Horatio Hornblower and The Arabian Nights. He was a gem and felt that for most children it was best to put ideas before them and let them work the details out for themselves...in defense of his methodology despite spending most of my summers on his farm unsupervised I never needed a tetanus booster-it all worked out well. As a teenager-Agatha Christie for fun and James Fenimore Cooper, Eugene O Neill, Theodore Dreiser , Isaac Asimov and Chaim Potok , Isaac Bashevis Singer and many others. Those mentioned were my favorites. My parents both read constantly and we hildren only read things that were considered valuable to our development...of course since mother is the offspring of two agnostics both from a long line of Episocopalian priests prior to her parents- it made for an interesting battle regarding what was acceptable. My parents took us to the library daily during the summer and weekly during the school year as well as monthly trips to the bookshop in downtown Omaha , Ne. named for its proprietor Mr. Kieser. I do the same for our dd and feel that this is the greatest gift from my family, a deep abiding love and respect for the written word. To no one's surprise my mother is still reading constantly and being a rabble rouser in the best sense of the word. Aunt Twinkle and my Grandpa have both passed on but I think of them both nearly every day because of the joy they shared with me that I am now trying to share with my child in turn.

http://pewforum.org/newassets/misc/politics_and_the_pulpit_2008.pdf This is one of my favorite commentaries on the relationship between 501 3 c status and religious organizations . It is a concise and accurate statement on what is and is not acceptable from the pulpitetc if one wishes to retain the favored status under the tax code. You raise an interesting issue .

I guess the Twelve Apostles, the Church...

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/07/b122948.html http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1638182-3,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26610314/ Not fired at all-they will be featured commentators instead of doing "straight" reporting so they can editorialize without journalistic ethics standards-unlike those who purport to be fair and balanced yet editorialize every news story because they are owned by Rupert Murdoch .I am grateful now the proverbial gag can come off and we will hear what they really think.

3 years of pt and cortisone injections and what helped me was Elavil-neurogenic off label use only 2 mg and it changed my life. I am also an attorney so I knew that time was on my side with regard to healing(we never settle too early as medically it is near impossible to tell what will happen with regard to healing etc ) . You have a neuro this is a good thing lighten up on that traction can you go to a hands on pt that does myofascial release???It is lovely. Also be sure that you are sleeping on a thin pillow with a small towel rolled up beneath your neck for support-I mean- thin -pillow. I live with my disorder as they wanted to do a diskectomy to determine which disc could be causing the problem I refusedas it is not an objective test and still not dispositive regarding what disc requires surgical repair. If none of the nerve roots are compromised/pinched on the MRI -bulging without thecal sac leakage is not unusual. Try the Elavil talk to your neuro/ortho regarding this. It is far safer than the cortisone injections one slip and they can puncture a lungand they hurt like the devil as well. Oh and they make you ANGRY and Crazy ask how I know they gave me 4 160 mg injections of medrol-I could have wrestled a bear...I am sorry you are suffering and wish I could make it go away-it is a burden indeed. Keep us posted. Rest and know time is your best ally in this situation.Drink tons of water after therapy to get rid of lactic acid from the muscle burn.