Quote of the Day (from Saturday's Radio Address):One hundred days is not enough time to undue the terrible legacy of Saddam Hussein. There is difficult and dangerous work ahead that requires time and patience. Yet, all Americans can be proud of what our military and provisional authorities have achieved in Iraq.
Our country and the nations of the Middle East are now safer. We're keeping our word to the Iraqi people by helping them to make their country an example of democracy and prosperity throughout the region. This long-term undertaking is vital to peace in that region and to the security of the United States. Our coalition and the people of Iraq have made remarkable progress in a short time, and we will complete the great work we have begun.
~ ohioWfan ..... son Eric
~ mystery-ak ..... husband Mike in Iraq . prayers of celebration that Jonathan is now home!
~ Gogranny ..... grandson Jarrett, deployed
~ Inspectorette ..... son Eric
~ LBGA ..... son is deployed
~ Slip18 ..... nephew is aboard ship - active duty USN
~ anniegetyourgun ..... nephew Josh
~ Himyar ..... son Robert
~ homeschool mama .. nephew Michael is in the Navy
~ CyberAnt .. nephew Jody
~ milagro .. son is deployed in the Mid-East
~ Jewels1091 .. friend of daughter Ross (101st airborne), deployed to Mid-East
~ Jewels1091 .. friend of daughter Chris (Navy) heading for Mid-East
~ Jewels1091 .. cousin, Phil, serving in the US Navy
~ TruthNtegrity .. younger brother, John (Navy), has been deployed.
~ from hoosiermama
..Brad who has been deployed
.. Shanty & Josh (husband & wife just deployed separately)
.. Bill and Bill (both military academy grads)
..(when you teach, they're all your kids)
~ from Maigrey .. Sgt. C. Cole
~ notpoliticallycorewrecked husband soon to be deployed
~ Wneighbor .. son-in-law Thomas deployed
~ zlala .. brother is deploying to the Mid-East
~ tamikamaria .. cousin Annette (Navy) stationed on an aircraft carrier
. .. best friends brother is in the Army, sister is in the Navy
~ Radix .. son is deployed
~ Pippin .. niece in the Air Force . nephew in the Army stationed in the Far East
~ WomanofStandard .. a dear friend has three sons in the military
..Dustin (Army) - Mid-East .. Troy (Air Force) Italy .. Tyler (Army) just returned from Afghanistan and currently at Ft. Bragg, NC
~ baseballmom .. friends nephew, Thomas (Navy), just deployed
~ hoosier_RW_conspirator .. friends son Danny (Army), just deployed
~ kemathen7 .. boyfriend, John (AirForce)
~ GretchenEE .. son of dear friends, Silas (Army), deployed to Mid-East
~ Warriormom .. CIA agents whose plane crashed and may have been kidnapped in Colombia
~ Freeper Per-Ling .. active duty in the Navy .. has a wife and 2-year-old
~ brand new Freeper leenie312 .. son Nicholas is in the Marines
~ rintense . . friend's brother, Brian Z.
.. friend, Matt (who is a Freeper), deployed to the Mid-East
~ AF_Blue .. active-duty AF
~ TruthNtegrity .. lurker friend Pats nephew Ben (Marines) deployed
~ stand 4 something .. husband Mike AND son Scott, (both Air National Guard) deployed to the Mid-East
~ JulieRNR21 .. a friend's grandson, Wesley in the USAF
~ LKR59 .. 3 grandchildren .. Timmy (Army) in Kuwait, John (Army) in Afghanistan, and Karen (Army) in Saudi Arabia
~ TigerCap .. co-worker, Kevin, Marine Reservist deployed to Kuwait
~ bigeasy .. friends husband is deployed .. he asks for prayer for justice, wisdom, swift return home
~ brand new Freeper fc2tomschermuly (Navy), who just signed up today to thank us for supporting the military
~ EuroFrog .. husband, SSG Mike, deployed to Kuwait
.. SSG Kris, friend of SSG Mike in Kuwait
~ whoever .. son Adam, on a Navy ship in a hot zone hes a single father (a widower) with a 10 y/o daughter .. please lift her up also
~ annyokie .. son, Ian (Navy)
~ IncPen .. Sarah (who was IncPens maid of honor at her wedding), Air Force flight nurse, just landed in Kuwait
.. friends son Matt is in Kuwait
.. brother in law Paul is awaiting deployment
~ TruthNtegrity .. a Navy pilot, Lt. CMDR Andrew, on a carrier somewhere in the ME
.. cousin's son, Andy, is an Ensign, USN
.. .. Jaime Bravo, a CPL in the USMC
~ RoseofTexas .. the son of a friend, Leo, an MP in Kuwait
~ baseballmom .. brother's brother-in-law, Chris, USAF Blackhawk pilot, now operating in Iraq
~ notpoliticallycorewrecked .. nephew of a friend, B.C. (Marines), deployed to the Mid-East
~ goodnesswins .. neighbors husband, Bruce, flying C-17's from Germany to Iraq
~ azGOPgals friends friend, Jeremy who is in the 10th Mountain Division
~ Warriormom requests prayer for April, a young, single mom de-mining the waters in the gulf
~ Bosco .. cousin Michael is part of the Army Special Forces deployed in Iraq
~ FresnoArmyBrat .. a cousin
~ Jim Robinson .. two nephews
~ Marysecretary .. grand-nephew, Paul, who is in Iraq
~ tinacart .. best friend's son, Cody - 4th Infantry
~ DallasDeb .. niece in Army, posted to Kuwait, may be repairing comm equipment in Iraq
~ Texas Princess .. nephew Roland, (Air Force)
~ hoosiermama .. Callie, in Iraq; Dawn's brother ??? and George in a tank somewhere
.. one of our teachers Dan, working stateside to help "process" military and supplies
~ Maigrey .. a friend of the family, John, going to Qutar as a financial advisor to help with rebuilding of Iraqs economy
~ bigghurtt .. 5 years in the Army, soon-to-be Special Forces
~ M0sby .. husband Dan, a FReeper himself, serving in Kuwait
~ STARWISE .. friend Carols son-in-law Jeff in Iraq as an MP
~ the family of Staff Sgt. Steven Mitchell, who lost their home in a fire while he was serving in Iraq pray for their injuries received in the fire to heal, especially his 2-year-old daughter, Maddie, who was badly burned
~ JulieRNR21 ..... friend Betty's grandson, Matt, in US Army
~ the families who mourn for their fallen heroes
~ healing for the injured
~ Scott Speicher from Desert Storm
~ Severa .. husband (FR screen name Hostel), USN Submariner
.. brother Wes, somewhere in Iraq
.. husband's cousin David, US Army, Mosul, Iraq
~ McGavin999 .. friends Chris, Mike, Christopher and David, all in Iraq
~ Pan_Yan & Pan_Yans Wife .. friend, Mike, serving with the US Army in Baghdad
~ McLynnan .. Seth, closest friends son-in-law, deploying to Iraq
* ~ Praise and thanksgiving that the 3rd ID has returned home safely.
(Under 100?)
Thank you for taking the time to come to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in May, I was humbled by the support of so many Hoosiers for my Economic Jobs and Growth plan.
I understnad that the Coliseum filled more quickly than expected and that some supporters were not able to enter the building. I want you to know that I am grateful for your support and deeply touched by your effort to attend the events.
Laura joins me in wishing you all the best.
Sincerely,
George W Bush
Christmas shopping idea -- Give everyone the...
George W. Bush Action Figure!
In September, KB Toys will begin selling an action figure depicting President Bush when he landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
From the article announcing the product: The company recommends that only those 14 and older use the Bush doll, which it says is an "adult collectible item" and emphatically not a toy. It may, in fact, pose a choking hazard for the president's Democratic opponents.
For Democrats, especially '04 wannabes, a once promising recession appears increasingly mired in quagmire. Deepening quagmire. By almost every key measure, from rising personal income to falling weekly initial jobless claims, the recession is struggling badly.
Democrat campaign strategists had hoped the recession would be a 1-termer (at least) -- lasting all 4 years of Bush's tenure, then resigning from public service in January, 2005, as a new Democrat president gets sworn in. This is the rosey scenario, or cakewalk theory. The hope was that the recession would unseat Bush as it did his father back in '92. Hardline Democrats -- the Howard Dean wing of the party -- see this recession as recession-lite, and there is no way it can beat Bush by trying to be recession-lite, they argue. Dean proposes disarming the economy -- repeal of the Bush tax cuts across-the-board, turning recession-lite into real recession. Less hardline factions, led by Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, argue that, to increase the recession's appeal among more moderate swing voters and peel them away from Bush, recession-lite is the only way to go. He notes the recession that undid Bush's father was, for all intents and purposes, recession-lite, too.
Although the recession had remained remarkably popular with Democrats since taking office in January, 2001, there are growing signs of trouble. Among Democrats, the recession had once commanded towering 100% approval ratings in its handling of the economy, but no more. Recent polls show rising doubts on the recession's credibility as an almost daily barrage of bullish news on the economy, from Wall Street to Main Street, takes its toll. Everyday, it seems, the recession gets pummeled by gloomy news of an accelerating economy. Some Democrats wonder if the recession had exaggerated evidence of its existence, or of the imminent threat it posed on the Bush administration. The slide in confidence in the recession and rising disapproval of its performance among Democrats likely will only grow worse, if recent economic signs are any harbinger.
Among the slew of worrisome signals fueling growing doubts over the recession's credibility: The latest government report on second quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) shows a better-than-expected 2.4% annual growth rate, despite the war in Iraq and terror jitters, with analysts expecting 4%-5% growth for the second half; not only is consumer spending sizzling, business investment -- whose anemic performance had been a big drag on the economy since the dot-com collapse -- is gaining momentum as well; the surge in business spending is, like the stock market rally, a leading indicator -- it presages future hiring, pushing the key unemployment rate down; the housing boom is still booming, despite the recent jump in interest rates (prompted by an accelerating economy); the service sector soared in July, the Institute for Supply Management's key index rocketing to 65.1 percent, up from an already bullish 60.6 in June. The sizzling July figure was the sizzle-ing-est since the survey began exactly 6 years ago, and presages 6% GDP growth for the 3rd quarter; factory orders in June jumped 1.7% -- better than expected, propelled by soaring durable goods orders, the index's 3rd increase these past 4 months; productivity jumped a 5.7 percent annualized rate for the 2nd quarter, while initial jobless claims dropped below the benchmark 400k/week for the first time in 6 months for the week ending August 2.
Amid the recession's increasingly sluggish performance, the growing frustration has driven Democrats to ask, 'who lost the recession?' Or was the recession distracted by coverage of Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson and the California recall election? Did the recession mislead us into thinking this would all be a cakewalk? Did the recession willfully exaggerate its capabilities? If the tax cuts undermined the recession's momentum, why not repeal 'em all?!
These are just some of the questions Democrats are increasingly asking themselves these days.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents...
"JohnHuang2"PS -- won't be here tonight, but see y'all Wednesday. Have a great day :-)
Our president needs to spend some time during one of his days finding out just what the hell this is all about and stopping it dead in its tracks!!!
This is insanity running wild!