Maizie, I certainly don’t know the terrain of DC or the schools involved, I primarily was commenting on the fact that the Quaker school I went to and the Quakers I know happen to be very practical minded people and certainly not prone to “putting on airs” they in general seem much more concerned with the community around them locally and the world at large. I didn’t mean to infer that the school was for liberal elites just the fact that if Nixons daughters attended it would be more difficult to paint the school with such a broad brush like some people like to do.

none taken, we are used to the wizard of oz references, just thought I would give you a little grief all in good fun. Seriously though there is the one about the man behind the curtain, follow the yellow brick road, there’s no place like home, click your heels 3 times ahhh the appeal of a ruby red slipper. That is a classic they just don’t make em like that anymore Auntie Em, give Toto a hug for us. Wonder if Sarah Palin repeated the there’s no place like home mantra while down here in the lower 48, you would think there might have been moments. some of us might have envisioned her as a different character then Dorothy or Glenda the Good, I will leave that to others interpretation, because the munchkins and I are off to see the Wizard.

Since I am days late to this discussion have been out of town, I have a couple of points. I loved Murphy Brown and I love Boston Legal will be said to see it go. I think Sarah Palin is the right kind of date for Denny Crain, they would so love each other and Shirley Schmidt and Alan Shore would just die, that would be a great show maybe Tina Fey could come on to play Sarah. Next point the know nothing party certainly looks familiar to the repubs today you are right Carmel. Second point is to Choctaw Gal, sorry i can’t remember how you post but to your point that Sarah Palin is trustworthy, I do not think I can buy into that, she reminds me of the most popular gal ringleader type in high school that is ruthless and would calculatingly do many things to consolidate her power over her nearest rival including spreading malicious gossip or untruths. That is how I see her.

Jazzie, hey give us Kansans a break we have enough crack pots of our own, but our Gov. isn’t one of them, we have a really good , 2 term female dem Governor Kathleen Sebelius and I can not imagine her doing an interview like that in front of the turkeys being butchered, she has more common sense then that. We do have a once a year hunt that is a tradition that all Gov’s participate in but most of us couldn’t tell you if it was for pheasant, quail, duck or deer. We do have our share of hunters in Kansas though. I do agree though what is normal in Alaska may not seem that way for many of us in the lower 48.

I went to a private Quaker college for two years and it was a really great experience, It makes sense to me that they would attract a diverse group of students with their philosophy, they seem to be very open, practical minded, education oriented and non judgmental. I am sure that is a good type of environment. Considering the fact the Nixon girls went there it is hard to say it is a bastion of liberal elites just because Chelsea also attended.

Thank you Murnah, If we weren’t so busy with the three we have and if our schedules weren’t so crazy and financially things were a little stronger for us we would think about helping more kids perhaps when ours have grown a little older and are in college we might think of taking another.

Walter, You are great, if only we could institute these rules and have Europe follow suit I also feel like we also require that the Arab men must learn their place on the food chain and walk two steps behind their women or be forced to walk around in speedos. One of my personal favorites is the dying in jihad thing and the virgins, I had a few very mean nuns in grade school who I am sure were virgins and my hope for the jihadists is that they will be met by Sister Agatha and all the nuns through the ages and countrys who made childrens lifes unbearable. Now that is a fun thought and one the jihadists so richly deserve.

Ro, Thank you for the kind post and you are right things can change. It is unfortunate but true that many in our society have forgotten what is truly important some at the bottom and others at the top. I am not saying that we are a country where people do not help because I look at towns like Greensburg Kansas out in my backyard and have watched through the last year that town try to rebuild with help from many however I think sometimes there seem to be so many needs it is overwhelming to people. Our lives run so fast anymore it is hard to fit in the time to help others and that is a shame. We need the people who are retired to volunteer at the schools to help kids learn to read and write or just to spend time with kids because many of them are fending for themselves, say hello on the street and take an interest in our neighbors, we need to relearn how to just plain give a damn and practice random acts of kindness, offer to help others. Money is necessary yes but trying to be a good neighbor, good friend, citizen or family member those are also necessary all these types of programs need good people who are willing to give of themselves. so if you are able bodied offer to shovel a seniors drive with snow this winter, offer to look after a single moms kids for a couple of hours so she can find a moment to catch her breath, deliver gifts to less fortunate kids for the holidays or become a foster parent there are so many ways we can make our country a better place. I believe if we all prayed for the good Lord to give us an opportunity each day to help someone even if only with a kind word and encouragement or just listening and holding someone elses hand this would be a better place to live for all young and old. I know If many would follow Christs example of coming into this world to serve others this would be better, I have hope and believe we could have better days ahead if attitudes would change and hearts could change and I hope we are able to witness this in action for the next 4-8 years because we need to have someone like our new President show that every American is important not just the ones who make 70 million a year or work for Exxon.

Greetings to all, My family and I just attended National Adoption Day today, we adopted a family members child who is 15. She and her 5 year old sister were adopted. The girls maternal grandmother who is my Aunt is taking the 5 year old. There home became torn apart the last 3 years due to meth use and them the parents lost everything and kept using, eventually they lost their house and they were unable to straighten out enough to keep their kids. I feel bad for their parents but they continue to make bad choices. We knew going in that there was a possibility that we could go from foster care to adoption and that was okay with us. We are blessed to have our new daughter and she is a teenager we also have a 15 year old son and an 11 year old, parenting teenagers is hard and not for the faint of heart. I am not justifying or vilifying what these parents did because I do not know the circumstances. I heard the man that had several children was a widower with many children and another woman had desperately tried to get medical help for her child’s mental health needs, I don’t know how you rectify these issues but it seems some of these families had needed help and weren’t finding it. Some of it may be financial, some of it may be negligence, some of it may be parents at their wits end and not knowing where to find help or resources. I haven’t heard if any of these children’s parents were addicts or abusive or just didn’t give a damn but if they were not what does that say about us as a country or society if people can;t find help. i would also children be taken somewhere safe instead of things we all hear on the news about children being found murdered starved beaten neglected or abused those are far worse or children who just run away or disappear never to be seen or heard from again perhaps because they are prostituted out by pimps. Last point to those of you who talk about who would want to adopt a teenager, let me just tell you they told us today in our state of Kansas alone there are 850 children waiting to be adopted and lots more in foster care and I think about 150,000 kids nationwide needing homes, I bet we have 850 families in my state that are Pro life and picket while I got a better job for them it is called parenthood and adoption, they need to put their money where there mouth is and help to change a child’s life a flesh and blood child not just a fetus. These children need love regardless of their age and the ones that are older they feel unwanted they know people want younger kids and it is so sad. It is an honor and a privilege to adopt our daughter and this experience has changed our life’s and our opinion of the problem so before you judge these young people maybe you might try giving some of your time to the agencies that are involved remember Jesus said whatever you do for the least of these you do for me. As far as the parents go all you can do for them is to pray. The people who work for Youthville in my state who is the agency that works with SRS has some great people who go out of their way, not all of them great but many of them and most of them are overworked and underpaid and take in emergency kids as well and they do not get enough thanks and many burn out because of what they see.

thanks countrywoman

DeBurca, Thank you for posting that. My husband and I experienced that moment at home with our 3 kids 2 of them 15 and one who is 11, they knew as did we that we were watching history in the making, I found it to be a teachable moment to talk about what this election represented to our children. It was a very moving experience for people of all ages, those of us old enough to remember the past and the children today who might decide to make different choices for their future based upon the present history that played out the evening of Nov. 4. Past, Present and Future, many people who made sacrifices and hard choices many of them decades ago made that night possible. If you could not look at what happened in Grant Park with unjaded eyes and see a better tomorrow you are myopic. We have some hard days ahead for many Americans of all colors, parties or religion, now is the time we need to pull together not become more divided. America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good, with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.” That’s the spirit.

So my views are naive? Naive because I called talk radio host narcissists or perhaps because I said John Lennon was for peace and wouldn’t have backed the war in Iraq? Because those seem like pretty realistic views to me. As for Russia I would say that The Beatles music has been played Back In The USSR for quite some time. I am sure the Beatles have been bootlegged into Iran and Syria at some point. I believe many Iranians were educated right here in the states or Europe. Hmmm, I also think that many of the Iranian public are computer literate. That said however those comments pertain to their people not their government. As for North Korea, it would not surprise me that they wouldn’t know the Beatles since I believe the first joint Symphony performance occurred fairly recently with the New York Symphony I believe. If it wasn’t the New York Symphony someone please correct me because I heard the story several months ago and that it was the first of its kind in N. Korea. Just because one did not back the war in Iraq does not make one naive to the threat of the militant Islamic belief system. It just means some people believe that there was a better way forward then the path that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld chose for this country. We still have not captured Bin Laden, Afghanistan is a mess. Many warned this would become like Vietnam, looking back was that a naive position, I think not. As a christian I prefer to look back to Genesis where God lays out to Abraham the fact that Isaac and Ishmael will always be warring with each other and Ishmael would also war against himself, did we as arrogant naive Americans think we could change that. that is naive. As far as deceitful, I live in the midwest and I never heard that term used by anyone let alone the media and certainly not by millions of Americans. I think comparing Obama to the Pope very odd, was that meant as an insult to the person or to the institution they represent. I am not a Catholic and do not always agree with them but I find that a curious remark or perhaps I am just to naive to understand your meaning. It took me a long time to make up my mind I was for Hillary and it seems to me you are accusing many of us of just blindly following Barack Obama, to some of us he may not have been our first choice, most of us reevaluated and then chose a candidate who we felt most comfortable with for some that was McCain/Palin for others it was Obama. Strawberry Fields Forever

Ky, you are right. Perhaps they need to be thinking about how to help the people who are losing their jobs and homes like the people in Ohio that will be impacted in a major way since DHL is closing. I am sure there are plenty of children already walking down the streets in our country or sitting at school desks who are battling having enough to eat. Seems like they are getting the cart before the horse when they are more worried about the unborn then they are about the infants and children already here that need love and care. Why not talk about the need for good quality foster care or adopting the needy children.

Once I read listening to talk radio I could surmise you would have a negative opinion because negativity is a good descriptive word for the dribble talk radio most commonly opines. Unless they are talking about themselves, most of those guys have a healthy dose of narcissism. As far as quoting John Lennon if he was alive and eligible to vote I am sure we can all IMAGINE who he would be voting for. John Lennon was an advocate for peace because he IMAGINED a different world. I IMAGINE he would not have backed the war in Iraq and I IMAGINE he would not have agreed with the torture that our government was involved in. I also IMAGINE he would not like your post or your disrespectful undertone referring to our future POTUS as the Black Messiah. yes many people are optimistic after the last 8 years it feels good to feel that way. Most reasonable people understand that we are a country and world with many problems and I IMAGINE that most of us are smart enough to know one person does not change the world but I also would like to IMAGINE that sometimes one person is inspiring enough to change the outcome of our destination as we continue to travel down that LONG AND WINDING ROAD to hopefully a better tomorrow then the YESTERDAY that was Nov. 3rd and the past. LET IT BE

I quit watching Mclaughlin quite a long time ago, after reading this article I can see I haven’t been missing much. Dribble and that’s about it.