Whoopi, this is a great topic. It says a lot about the way those of us who read this column think. My family, on my mother’s side. came to the U.S. in the early teens of the 1900’s seeking asylum from the Russian overthrow of the Czar in 1918. They were somewhat wealthy Russians (they were theater singers and dancers) who turned into poor lower east side immigrants here in the U.S. with their names shortened and changed and who thought it was a good idea to assimilate by casting aside their Judaism for Christianity. It was better to them in their hearts to live this way than under Communism. Personally, (two generations later) I grew up in the low-end of the middle class with a Mom who knew how to make the system work for her daughter who aspired to get a higher education. She lived through the Great Depression as a child and saw, first hand, the effects of FDR’s New Deal. Though I remember government welfare through the Foodstamp program, MediCal, etc. my Mother never let me feel that we were “less than” anyone else. She always made sure that we lived near the best schools (even if we were in the “fringe apartments”) and let me know that I could be whatever I wanted because the government was there to help us. And in the 70’s and 80’s, that’s exactly what the government did. I was able to obtain an education at UC Berkeley due to winning Cal Grants A and B and through scholarships. That time is changing for our youth. There is no money left for education as we find in many state budgets. There is certainly not a dime left in the federal budget for education. The priorities of the past 8 years are war budget and now fixing the economic cesspool that bubbles under us. It will be a “depression” for many because job losses will continue and we are only at the brink of the worst, I feel. Something NEITHER candidate could admit to tonight because frankly, they are supposed to be the bringers of good will, pacification, and optimism. I feel that the big change in the global markets this week made a mockery of our $700 billion bail out. But…and I mean this most sincerely, BUT… will it affect ME today, tomorrow, next week. No. I don’t have money to lose on Wall Street. I don’t have a pension that will go down tomorrow due to whatever the financial officer has done with playing with my 401K at my company. I am not hit immediately by all of this. But I will be over time. The upbringing with Mom when we were poor has more than prepared me for this. I knew how to struggle economically before I learned to tie my shoe. CIrcular history coming around again. High five to you, Whoopi, and your awesome posts on WOWOWOW.

Here’s a wink and a Palin smile for you, O. N.

Thank you Rita. I was just about to post that when I saw yours. It seems that these right wing nuts (Palin and her fans) just don’t hear anything. THey are barking so loud and foaming at the mouth that they can’t hear anything. I’ll bet they play a mean pinball! (ref: the rock opera “Tommy”)

OMG, it would be beneficial to all if you simply went back under the rock you crawled out from. Those of us here are interested in meaningful debate which you know zero about. I have a great book for you to read http://www.amazon.com/American-Fascists-Christian-Right-America/dp/07432… but make sure to take a flashlight as I’m sure it’s pretty dark under that rock and you’ll want to get every word.

Candis, excellent! I couldn’t have written it any better. Thank you for that.

Oh Mugsy! Thanks! I needed to read that. Excellent!

Sandbee, I learned my lesson too. I was told by a certain Lynn Marie that I was a pain in the ass and should move to China because I spoke out in favor of education. These people are not worth directing our comments to. Thank you for trying though! I’m with you!

Name calling? Lynn, what will you do when McCain doesn’t win? That’s what I would like to know. The American people have become very aware of him and what he lacks in character. He used to be a man of substance. “used to be” is the operative here. He has proven himself to be someone who cares not about the American people. Country first is a joke for his campaign and you know it. You are simply too closed-minded to see that. When you awaken on Nov. 5 and you see that we have real change in the White House, I wonder what tune you’ll be singing then. Glad you have a Master’s Lynn. Why don’t you use it and stop putting down people with education or someone like me who espouses the ideas of an educated person governing this great land. You’re the one who threw crap at me, remember? I’ve been posting comments about the campaign and what I see as a huge and scary black hole in the mind of someone running for Vice President of this country. For some reason, you decide to stomp in to this very cordial debating between women like a bull in a china shop and tell people that they are asses and to move to china. A woman with an education saying this, no less. You can write what you wish in answer to this. I won’t be reading any more of your posts so don’t waste your time on the keyboard with me.

Standing ovation, Belinda! Excellent!

Lynn, did I just read that you wrote that I sound like a real pain in the a……? Were you referring to me? Well, I educate people in a community college where they only pay $20 per unit to get an education, Lynn Marie. I train them to do a job that is considered vocational work. I’ve been an audio engineer for 22 years and teach people how to find work that they love rather than sit at a white collar boring day job. But I value education that is fair and available to everyone and it doesn’t have to come from a college. It comes from reading lots of books, papers, magazines, online editorials, etc. (something a woman who aspires to be the next V.P. can’t even name one) It comes from having an open mind and speaking with people who may be different from you…open to new ideas and thoughts. That’s what happens in a lot of colleges, Lynn Marie. Though it’s clear that you haven’t been to one. It comes from not sitting on the couch and acting like a joe six-pack on the sidelines of life watching the world walk by through your television set and not forming a thought of your own but just regurgitating what the talking heads say on Fox News. Do YOU a favor and move to China? By your tone you won’t be finding me working any favors for you, my dear. I wouldn’t ask you to leave the country you call home. But I might ask you to step back under a rock you call your mind and leave spaces like this for people with open minds who enjoy a healthy debate without being “joe six-pack mindedly” mean.

Hi Star, I wouldn’t have referenced “Chance the Gardener” had I not seen the movie. How else would I have known the character? Unlike Republicans, I speak from a place of knowing or I say nothing at all if I don’t know something. The multi-award winning “Being There” has been hailed in the top 1000 movies of all time by several critics reviews. I simply loved Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine in it. It’s too bad you were bored. Here is a quick plot outline from IMDB.com for those who haven’t seen it: “Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity.” sound like a familiar candidate running for V.P.? And you’re right, Star, Chance was not a Governor but he became advisor to the President. ;-) (wink, wink)

Thanks, Margo. McCain has backed her at every level so I doubt he’ll put a lid on her. I do believe it works in the Dems favor though. The more she speaks, the more she riles the party to win and it’s getting to every level of Democrat to get out and work the vote. She’s an embarrassment to America.

Marjorie, I definitely hear you. I mean, let’s face it: We can look at a lot of things that politicians have done in their careers and a LOT of them have some issues they would love to bury. Though I do have a distaste for Gov. Palin, I have to admit that I have NOT been a big fan of the Dems for the past several years and even switched to an independent at one point when they gave Bush-Cheney all of the war authority. Talk about laying down! I’m not one of the dyed-in-the-wool Dems, but I am someone who feels that we have a desperate need to change the way things have been for the past eight years. I really don’t see McCain taking us down a road of change. He’s been too connected to the big money people who got the economy into this horrible state (Keating Five, et al) and he’s still connected to those people. I will also say that I agree that Senator Dodd and Frank were WAY too asleep on the job while the financial industry slipped into an abyss. If one of them were running on the Dem ticket, I’d have a VERY hard time even voting at all! I do believe in the sincerity of Obama to do what is right and get us back on track. It’s going to take more than a decade and more than just one administration change, I feel, but he’ll start us in the right direction with the policies that he has put forth in his bid for the presidency. I will trust his choice of cabinet too. Thanks for the great conversation, M!

The French Minister of Finance…why can’t we have a Treasury Secretary that looks like that. WOOF!

The Wall Street Journal posts something a little different: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122065537792905483.html?mod=special_page… but, I know….it’s one of those leftist media outlets, right?