It made me think that people will turn out to vote if they can feel that their vote has an actual bearing on the quality of their lives.

That is something I haven't felt in quite awhile - despite the exhortations of some people posting here whose opinions I respect, but cannot feel at this juncture.

Example: Obama v/s McCain. What could be clearer?
And yet, the fact that Obama actually campaigned for Joe Lieberman against Lamont in 2006 - a time when the entire country was revolted by the war in Iraq - turned my stomach to such a degree that I could not feel anything positive about him - no matter how fkd up McCain appeared to be.

I suspect others may feel as put off as I - and that would have something to do with the dismal turnouts here in the US.

Another positive note in the Scottish vote: they have enfranchised voters from the age of 16.

This summer's Supreme Court ruling on Hobby Lobby is having a cascading effect of unintended consequences, this time potentially impacting a radical religious sect facing allegations of breaking child labor laws.

A federal judge in Utah ruled last week that a member of a Mormon offshoot known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) was exempted from testifying in a federal child labor investigation, claiming that sharing information on the inter-workings of the church violated his religious vows.

A spokesman for the government in Guinea said on Thursday that eight bodies were found two days after a group of health workers and journalists went missing in the country.

The journalists and officials came under attack near the southern city of Nzerekore, close to the Liberian border. One journalist was able to escape and later told reporters that she could hear villagers looking for her.

The Associated Press said that the group "was doing disinfection and education on prevention methods" when it went missing.

Doctors and researchers trying to contain the Ebola outbreak, which is deadlier than all previous outbreaks combined, have run up against a population deeply suspicious of medical personnel. Last month, riots broke out in the same Guinean city over rumors that health care workers were infecting people with the virus.

But, this is only part of the ISIS, Syrian, Iraq strategy: we have assisted in the re-organization of the Iraqi government with a new leader. Hopefully this will not be a re-arrangement of the deck chairs on this Titanic.   In large measure, the same people will be seated across from one another at their meetings, so it could reasonably be described as a challenge.

Our coalition is in action with a French airstrike and our strong Arab allies, UAE and Saudi Arabia are doing their fair share--of talking.  In fairness, the Saudis will be training those Syrian moderates.  I do hope that the Senior Administration officials have looked at a map so they know where to send these moderates for their anti-ISIS training.

If not, this will give us all a chance to pitch in this new war effort,  young and old.   It will make us feel better than just sitting back watching Fox news and committing our young military with or without their boots. And, how expensive can a spinning globe be?  

 I refer, of course, to the assurances of an unnamed "Senior Administration Official"  who was briefing  selected media prior to the president's address (Sept 10, 2014) who explained : "ISIL has been I think a galvanizing threat around the Sunni partners in the region.  They view it as an existential threat to them.  Saudi Arabia has an extensive border with Syria.(sic).  The Jordanians....."  Of course, the other Senior Officials present and none of the media on the phone noted the geography problem, but the media did thank "the guys" for the briefing.  Link (toward the end).

When the video of Ray Rice punching his now-wife Janay in the face in a casino elevator was leaked on Sept. 8, the spike in call volume to the National Domestic Violence Hotline was so intense -- up as much as 84 percent in the first few days -- the hotline was overwhelmed. Nearly half of the daily calls went unanswered.
...
The notorious video involving Ravens running back Rice, this week's arrest of another NFL player Jonathan Dwyer for "head-butting" his wife -- along with Meredith Vieira's stunning revelation of a past abusive relationship, and the popularity of Twitter hashtags #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft are all encouraging advocates who hope the ongoing publicity may save women who are still in abusive relationships.

"Callers were saying they saw the [Rice] video and didn't want that to happen to them," Ray-Jones said. "Women said 'I'm worried he will kill me next time. I need help.'" On Friday, the hotline said the NFL will provide financial and promotional support to the organization over the next five years, which will help hire more advocates to answer calls, chats and texts from domestic violence victims.LINK

Basically, Devon Still's daughter was diagnosed with cancer, his head was not in the game, they cut him, but met with him to let him know they would keep him on the practice squad, which ensured he kept his insurance and did not have to travel.

He's since been moved to active roster, but the Bengles organization went above and beyond to ensure his daughter gets the treatment she needs.  Going as far as donating all the money from his jersey sales to related charities.

Just a touching story about a team that realizes a person has bigger priorities in life than football and how that team dealt with it a compassionate way.

The streets are flooding, people getting stranded, schools cancelled, with more and more rain predicted, and yet there are people who will wait in line, even in the pouring rain for a day, to get their phone a day or two before everyone else.  Insanity.

Dyess is a town in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 515 according to the 2000 census. Dyess was founded in 1934. Johnny Cash's biography "Man in Black" describes Dyess as a planned community built as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program, with streets laid out in a wheel pattern. According to Dyess history, the town, which is actually a colony, was originally built as an Agricultural Cooperative Project. It was named after W.R. Dyess, who was the first Works Progress Administrator in the state of Arkansas. The main purpose of the town's administration was to give poor families a chance to start over with land that they could work toward owning.

Planning to go after legislators?

"Intercepted intelligence allegedly showing that Islamic State supporters may be planning to attack Australian lawmakers prompted a security alert Friday at the country's parliament."

"The incident came a day after police raids aimed at thwarting a separate alleged plot to behead members of the public. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australian Federal Police--the equivalent of the FBI in the U.S.--would move into the hilltop Parliament House building in the nation's capital, Canberra, after security agencies intercepted intelligence pointing to possible attacks against the government and prime minister."

Wall St. Journal.

"An apparent plot to publicly behead a random civilian on the streets of Sydney in support of ISIS sparked counter-terrorism raids backed by nearly 1,000 Australian police, officials said Thursday."

I don't know whether you see words that aren't there, or just change them so you can make the response you want, but I have to say that it's beyond annoying the way you keep doing it.