Tenaj's Blog

WASHINGTON (CNN)-- In the waning days of the election season, as both parties campaignfervently for their candidates, one man has been notably absent --President George W. Bush.

Reporters began asking questions immediately after the White Houseschedule last week noted Bush had no public events Friday throughMonday, and would spend most of his time at Camp David.

"Thepresident is pretty focused on the activities that we have here,especially getting this economy back in order," White House PressSecretary Dana Perino said Wednesday.

"We canceled a lot of our fundraisers, and he's going to focus on being with Mrs. Bush and others this weekend at Camp David."

But Perino couldn't list any fundraisers that had been canceled recently.

Friday, Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto offered a more detailed explanation.

"The truth is we're also trying to stay out of the public limelightduring this period of the election season," said Fratto. "There are twoindividuals out there running to be president of the United States, and we don't want to complicate that for them."

Political experts acknowledge the reality that a lame-duck presidentwith record low approval ratings -- 28 percent according to the latestCNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll -- is a political liability forRepublican presidential candidate John McCain.

"These are allpoliticians who are running for office. They all read the polls. Theyall have their finger wetted and up to see where the breeze isblowing," said Stephen Hess, a veteran staffer of the Eisenhower andNixon administrations and an adviser to Presidents Ford and Carter."You can be sure that if George W. Bush was more popular, he'd be outthere."

The numbers tell the story.

   Of the 46 fundraisers President Bush attended this year, only four were open to cameras -- and those were events raising money for the Republican Party.

The last time Bush appeared at a public fundraiser stumping for an individual candidate was August 27, 2007.

And the four fundraisers the president attended for Republican nominee John McCain have all been closed to the news media.

It's a stark contrast to the farewell campaign tour of the lasttwo-term GOP president, Ronald Reagan, who left office with one of thehighest approval ratings ever at the end of a presidency -- 64 percent.

Reagan embarked on a marathon coast-to-coast campaign swing for GeorgeH.W. Bush, the current president's father, during the final weekend ofcampaign '88.

"We went to battleground states, not safeRepublican states. We went to Illinois. We went to Ohio. We went toMissouri. We went to Pennsylvania," said Ken Duberstein, who wasReagan's chief of staff.

A young George W. Bush attended theNovember 5 Reagan campaign rally in Mesquite, Texas, the Saturdaybefore Americans went to the polls that year.

"It was a celebration," recalls Duberstein. "It wasn't simply a victory lap. It was almost a thank-you tour."

Duberstein, who is planning to vote for Barack Obama, said it must bedifficult for the current President Bush to have seen that and knowhe'll never get one of his own.

"Yes, there might be some sadness today or tomorrow because he islike a good political thoroughbred. He wants to be out there running,"Duberstein observed. "But sometimes you have to stay in the stable."

Bush is expected to remain out of sight until after the election. Heand first lady Laura Bush have already voted by absentee ballot.They'll spend Tuesday evening at the White House with friends watchingthe results come in, said Perino.

Published - Nov 01 2008 03:29PM EST | AP

A suburban Detroit woman has decided to scare up the vote amongneighborhood children by just offering treats to John McCain supporters.

ShirleyNagel of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., handed out candy Friday only tothose who shared her support for the Republican presidential candidateand his running mate Sarah Palin. Others were turned away empty-handed.

TVstation WJBK says a sign outside Nagel's house warned: "No handouts forObama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters."

Nagel calls Democrat Barack Obama "scary." When asked about childrenwho were turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: "Oh well.Everybody has a choice."

Fax and phone messages left at numbers for Nagel were not returned.

___

Information from: WJBK-TV, http://www.fox2detroit.com

Published - Nov 01 2008 10:20PM EST | AP

By LIZ SIDOTI - Associated Press Writer

Counting down to Election Day, Barack Obama appears within reach ofbecoming the nation's first black president as the epic campaign drawsto a close against a backdrop of economic crisis and lingering war.John McCain, the battle-scarred warrior, holds out hope for aTruman-beats-Dewey-style upset.

Whoever wins, the country's 44thpresident will immediately confront some of the most difficult economicchallenges since the Great Depression.

In that effort, he'llalmost surely be working with a stronger Democratic majority inCongress, as well as among governors and state legislatures nationwide.GOP incumbents at every level are endangered just eight years afterPresident Bush's election ignited talk of lasting Republican Partydominance.

It's been an extraordinary campaign of shattered records, ceilings and assumptions. Indeed, a race for the ages.

Democrat Obama has exuded confidence in the campaign's final days, reaching for a triumph of landslide proportions.

"The die is being cast as we speak," says campaign manager David Plouffe.

Undeterred,Republican McCain vows to fight on, bidding for an upset reminiscent ofDemocrat Harry S. Truman's stunning defeat of Thomas E. Dewey in 1948.

Lookingback only to early this year, campaign manager Rick Davis says, "We arewitnessing perhaps, I believe, one of the greatest comebacks since JohnMcCain won the primary."

The odds for Republicans in 2008 havebeen long from the start: Voters often thwart the party that's been inpower for two terms. And this year, larger factors are working againstthe GOP: the war in Iraq, now in its sixth year, and the crisis on WallStreet and in the larger economy. Voters deeply distrust government andcrave a new direction.

Republicans are girding for widespread losses.

"It's a fairly toxic atmosphere out there," said Nevada Sen. JohnEnsign, chairman of the Senate GOP's campaign effort. Added his Housecounterpart, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole: "We haven't caught very manybreaks."

Democrats are looking ahead to expanded power.

"Thingsare looking very good," said Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the headof the House Democrats' campaign committee. New York Sen. ChuckSchumer, chairman of the Senate Democrats' effort, predicted: "We'regoing to pick up a large number of seats, and that's going to makeDemocrats very happy."

The Democrats are reaching for a 60-vote Senate majority that wouldallow the party to overcome Republican filibusters, and could pick uptwo dozen or more House seats. Democrats also hope to pad their slimmajority of governorships and increase their ranks in what already istheir strongest majority in state legislatures in more than a decade.

Theimplications are far-reaching: Governors and state legislators electedTuesday to four-year terms will help preside over the redrawing oflegislative and congressional districts following the 2010 Census. Theparty in charge can redraw districts in its favor.

Atop theticket, Obama leads in national and key battleground state polling,though the race appears to be tightening as it plays out primarily instates that Bush won twice. Among the unknowns: the choices of one inseven likely voters who are undecided or could still change theirminds; the impact of Obama's efforts to register and woo new voters,particularly blacks and young people; the effect of Obama's race onvoters just four decades after the tumult of the Civil Rights movement.

"Rightnow, it's very clearly Obama's to lose, and I think his chances ofdoing so are pretty minimal," said Republican Dick Armey, the formerHouse majority leader from Texas. He said the possibility of a McCaincomeback is "getting down to slim-to-none."

An Obama victorywould amount to a wholesale rejection of the status quo: voters takinga chance on a relative newcomer to the national stage, a 47-year-oldfirst-term senator from Chicago, rather than stick with a seasonedveteran of the party in power. With strengthened Democratic majoritiesin Congress, he'd have to deal with the party's left flank whilegoverning a country that's more conservative than liberal.

The Republican Party essentially would be in tatters, searching for both a leader and an identity.

AnObama loss _ or McCain comeback _ would be a crushing disappointmentfor Democrats in a year tailor-made for the party. It would suggestMcCain's experience trumped Obama's clarion call for change, and raisetroubling questions about white Americans' willingness to vote for ablack man.

Blacks, in particular, might be furious and deeply suspicious of an almost sure thing that slipped away.

___

THE PRESIDENCY:

Tuesday's election caps a nearly two-year campaign unprecedented in many ways, merely unusual in others.

"Thecandidates are more interesting. The media is bigger. The technology isbetter. Participation has increased dramatically," said Bob Kerrey, aformer Democratic senator from Nebraska who once aspired to thepresidency himself. "This is the first global campaign that the UnitedStates has had. People will always remember this as an extremelyimportant election."

From the start, the race was different: It was the first since 1928 in which neither a president nor a vice president competed.

TheDemocratic primary was excruciatingly long, with historic andimprobable characters: Obama, a black upstart Illinois senator, againsta former first lady turned New York senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

McCain,at 72 once the GOP's most vocal scold, early on was the favorite forthe Republican nomination. His campaign all but imploded, then he cameback to overcome multiple opponents and win the party's nomination. Hechose the first woman for the national GOP ticket, Alaska Gov. SarahPalin.

Racism, sexism and ageism all colored the campaign, to varying degrees.

Interestappeared exceptionally high across the globe, particularly in Obama.More than 200,000 people turned out to attend an Obama speech in Berlinwhen he made a trip abroad to bolster his foreign policy credentials.His U.S. crowds also were gargantuan; 75,000 in Portland, Ore., beforehe was the nominee, more than 100,000 in Denver just a week before thegeneral election.

An estimated 42.4 million people tuned in to watch Obama and McCain accept their parties' nominations.

Morevoters cast ballots before Election Day than ever before. As ofSaturday night, there were some 27 million absentee and early votes in30 states. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in pre-Election Day votingin key states.

Fundraising and spending were off the charts, too.

McCain and Obama amassed $1 billion combined over the course of their candidacies.

Obamareversed a previous pledge to stay in the public financing system forthe general election if his opponent did. Thus, he became the first toreject taxpayer money, raising $641 million from a breathtaking 3.2million donors. That dealt what's almost certain to be a fatal blow tothe post-Watergate-era system for presidential campaigns. McCain, forhis part, collected more than $250 million in contributions, andaccepted $84 million in public funds.

Obama took the next stepafter Howard Dean's embrace of the Internet in 2004, creating aremarkable cyber-networking tool that brought in legions of new voters.

Heexpanded the Electoral College playing field by pouring advertising andmanpower into Republican bastions like Indiana and North Carolina.

Beyondany previous year, the Internet amplified the feeding frenzy nature ofthe media and gave campaigns new tools, including YouTube videos,partisan and nonpartisan blogs, and social networking sites likeFacebook.

Both campaigns also got burned and, as a result,curtailed the candidates' non-scripted interactions with reporters.Authenticity and spontaneity were sacrificed.

___

THE SENATE:

No matter how the presidential race plays out,Democrats are poised for gains in the 100-seat Senate. They currentlyhave the barest of majorities _ 51 seats under their control, includingtwo occupied by independents. Several pickups are likely, even ifDemocrats fall short of getting the magic 60 needed to stop filibusters.

Democratsare overwhelmingly favored to pick up GOP-held seats in Virginia, NewMexico and Colorado, where Republicans are retiring. And manyRepublican incumbents running for re-election are in difficult races,including Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted this past week on sevencorruption counts.

No Democratic seats appear in jeopardy.

THE HOUSE:

Democrats, with a 235-199 majority and one vacancy,are expected to add at least 20 seats. They hope Obama's coattails givethem a 35-seat gain or more. It would be the first time in more than 50years that a party saw large waves of victories that boosted theircongressional margins in back-to-back elections. All 435 seats are upfor election.

Many Republican incumbents are endangered, and openGOP seats are at risk in Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia,and two each in New Mexico and New York.

Democratic Rep. TimMahoney of Florida, under investigation after admitting to adulterousaffairs, is in trouble, and Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha is in afight after calling voters in his Pennsylvania district "racist."

GOVERNORS:

Chief executives in 11 states are on the ballot. Democrats hope to boost their 28-22 majority.

The GOP's best chances for gains are in Washington and North Carolina.

Washington's Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and GOP challenger DinoRossi are in a repeat battle of 2004, when Gregoire won by 133 votesafter two recounts and a lawsuit. In North Carolina, Republican PatMcCrory, the Charlotte mayor, is in a dead heat with Democratic Lt.Gov. Beverly Perdue to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.

Democratsexpect to gain a seat in Missouri, where Attorney General Jay Nixonleads GOP Rep. Kenny Hulshof. Republican Gov. Matt Blunt is leavingoffice.

STATE LEGISLATURES:

Voters also will choose 5,824 lawmakers across 44 states.

Withtheir strongest majority in more than a decade, Democrats hold nearly55 percent of all legislative seats and control the legislatures in 23states; Republicans dominate in 14 states. Twelve states are split, andNebraska is nonpartisan.

The election could determine the controlof legislatures in several states. The biggest prize may be New York,where Democrats are two seats from taking the Senate majority. Theyalready control the House and the governorship.

Pennsylvania Republicans need a one-seat gain to take back the House,while Indiana Republicans need two. In Nevada, Democrats are one seataway from a Senate majority.

____

BALLOT MEASURES:

Some 153 initiatives are on the ballots in 36 states.

Voters will weigh constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriage in California, Florida and Arizona.

Anamendment in South Dakota would ban abortion except in cases of rape,incest and a serious health threat to the mother; another in Coloradowould define human life as beginning at fertilization.

Initiativesin Colorado and Nebraska would ban race- and gender-based affirmativeaction. Washington voters will decide whether to offer terminally illpeople the option of physician-assisted suicide.

A North Dakotainitiative would cut the state income tax rate by 50 percent forindividuals and 15 percent for corporations. A measure in Massachusettswould repeal the income tax altogether.

___

AssociatedPress writers Jim Kuhnhenn, Tom Raum and Julie Hirschfeld Davis inWashington, David Crary and Robert Tanner in New York, and AndrewWelsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

With just days to go before the election, gossip, hearsay, innuendoand smears are flying through the Internet as gadflies and rumormongershope to sway voters before they head to the polls.

"It's a lot ofmud being slung, it's understandable, but I think it's still kind ofsad," said Nick DiFonzo, a psychologist and rumor expert at RochesterInstitute of Technology in upstate New York.

Candidates and theircampaigns are circulating negative bits of information in mainstreamvenues, raising questions about their opponents in speeches anddropping sour hints in their advertisements. But only on the Internetcan entirely false rumors persist, stories told without back up,persistently bouncing from one blog to another.

Some have been out there for years, despite repeated rebuttals fromthe campaigns. Others surfaced only this past week. And they range fromthe truly silly (Weekly World News Web site: "OCTOBER SURPRISE: ALIENENDORSES MCCAIN!") to the multitude of bloggers who report results eventhough votes have yet to be counted: ("Has John McCain Won Florida?"asked the Red State Web site Thursday.)

Most voters say they havealready made their decisions about who they want to have as their nextpresident. So the Internet rumors are targeted at the shrinking pool ofundecided voters who are still waiting, wondering and potentially stillgathering information.

"The online rumors can affect theirlast-minute decisions," said UC Santa Cruz psychology professor AnthonyPratkanis, who researches propaganda and social influence.

Here's a chance to vet the Net:

___

TheRumor: The Huffington Post Web site, among others, has reported thatJohn McCain used an obscene word to describe his wife Cindy during his1992 Senate campaign.

The Facts: This is unsubstantiated. Authorand blogger Cliff Schecter initiated this rumor this spring online andthen in a book called "The Real McCain." He wrote that three reporterstold him that in response to some teasing, McCain told his wife: "Atleast I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop," with an expletive.Schecter has not provided any evidence this happened, and he hasn'tidentified the three reporters who he says spoke to him on condition ofanonymity.

The Rumor: Barack Obama isn't a citizen, suggested bloggers at theFree Republic Web site. Or if he is, he's hiding his birth certificatefor some mysterious reason. Or if he's shared his birth certificate,it's a fake because he's lying about who his real father is. Newiterations on this theme pop up almost everyday at various Web sites.

TheFacts: Obama plainly is a citizen because he was born in the U.S. Inresponse to the allegations, Obama's campaign in June posted theIllinois senator's birth certificate on his campaign Web site, http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate.The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original documentand said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuinedocument. On Friday, officials in Hawaii said they had personallyverified that the health department holds Obama's original birthcertificate. Judges in Washington state, Ohio and Pennsylvania havedismissed lawsuits challenging his citizenship.

The Rumor: Daily Kos Web site, among others, has said Republicanvice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's son Trig, born in April, wasactually born to her 17-year-old daughter Bristol.

The Facts:Unsubstantiated. After McCain tapped Palin as his running mate,bloggers accused Palin of faking a pregnancy to cover up for herdaughter's accidental pregnancy. As proof, bloggers said Palin hadn'tappeared pregnant before Trig was born, and that she said she traveledfrom Texas to Alaska while she was in labor. In an effort to rebut therumors, the campaign announced that Bristol was, in fact, pregnant.After all, how could Trig be Bristol's baby if she was pregnant onlymonths later? The announcement slowed the rumors, but didn't stop theongoing questions about Trig's parentage. Even this past week, bloggerswere demanding Sarah Palin's medical records to prove she gave birth toTrig.

The Alaska lawmaker directing an abuse-of-power investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin promised Friday the probe will be finished before the election, despite refusals by key witnesses to testify, including the governor's husband.

After waiting 35 minutes for Todd Palin and two state administrative employees to appear under subpoena before the state Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Hollis French condemned their refusal to testify and the attorney general's broken promise that seven other witnesses would testify who were not subpoenaed.

French said the retired prosecutor hired by the Alaska Legislature to investigate Palin, Stephen Branchflower, will conclude his investigation by Oct. 10. Still, that report will not include testimony from the Republican vice presidential nominee, her husband or most of the top aides Branchflower hoped to interview.

Sarah Palin's allies hoped the investigation would be delayed past the election to spare her any troublesome revelations _ or at least the distraction _ before voters have made their choice. Palin's reputation as clean-government advocate who takes on entrenched interests is central to her appeal as Republican John McCain's running mate, and possibly at risk in the probe.

Palin initially promised to cooperate in the investigation, telling the Legislature to "hold me accountable." Lawmakers were investigating accusations she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. She now opposes the investigation.

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister declined to comment Friday. The McCain campaign said there are concerns about the effect of political influence on the Legislature's inquiry and Palin will provide any information needed to a separate investigation by the Alaska State Personnel Board.

The committee subpoenaed six people to appear Friday to testify or meet for private interviews with Branchflower. French said three of those six had complied. Todd Palin, special assistant Ivy Frye and Randy Ruaro, who is the governor's deputy chief of staff, did not.

Todd Palin's attorney sent French a letter Thursday listing Palin's objections to the Legislature's investigation of his wife. Among them, the attorney said, were jurisdiction questions, separation of power issues and an inconvenient travel schedule.

Subpoenas were approved on seven other government employees, but not served because the state attorney general's office had agreed to cooperate, French said. But Attorney General Talis Colberg earlier this week reversed himself, saying the governor declined to participate and that Palin administration employees would not appear.

French said subpoenas will be issued for those seven people, ordering them to testify on Sept. 26.

Witnesses who refuse to testify can be found in contempt under Alaska law. But the full Legislature must be in session, which won't happen until January. That means witnesses can stonewall without penalty beyond the Nov. 4 election, lawmakers said.

One of them, Sen. Gene Therriault, opposed the subpoenas. He said Friday the investigation was intended to uncover whether the governor was justified in firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, and he believes she was.

Palin fired Monegan in July. It later emerged that Palin, her husband and several high-level staffers had contacted Monegan about state trooper Mike Wooten. Palin maintains she fired Monegan over budget disagreements.

Wooten had gone through a nasty divorce from Palin's sister before Palin became governor. Monegan has said no one from the administration ever told him directly to fire Wooten, but he said their repeated contacts made it clear they wanted Wooten gone.

Troopergate probe running into new resistance

Alaska's investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power, a potentially damaging distraction for John McCain's presidential campaign, ran into intensified resistance Tuesday from state Republican lawmakers who want to end it or delay it past the election.

Alaska's House speaker, a Republican who supported the "Troopergate" investigation two months ago, openly questioned its impartiality and raised the possibility of delaying the findings.

The surprise maneuver by Rep. John Harris reflected deepening resolve by Republicans to spare Palin embarrassment or worse in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

And it marked a further fraying of a bipartisan consensus, formed by a unanimous panel before Palin became McCain's running mate, that her firing of the state's public safety commissioner justified the ethical investigation.

In a letter, Harris wrote that what "started as a bipartisan and impartial effort is becoming overshadowed by public comments from individuals at both ends of the political spectrum," and he urged lawmakers to meet quickly to decide on a course.

"What I may be in favor of is having the report delayed, but only if it becomes a blatant partisan issue," he told The Associated Press, while indicating he already believes it has become politically tainted.

Democratic state Sen. Kim Elton, chairman of the Legislative Council, the 14-member panel that authorized the probe, had no immediate comment on Harris' request. Under an unusual power-sharing agreement, the council is made up of 10 Republicans and 4 Democrats.

At issue is whether Palin abused her power by pressing the commissioner to remove her former brother-in-law as an Alaska state trooper, then firing the commissioner when he didn't.

Also Tuesday, five Republican state lawmakers filed a lawsuit against an investigation they called "unlawful, biased, partial and partisan." None serves on the bipartisan Legislative Council that unanimously approved the inquiry. They it pushed past the election or top Democrats removed from the probe.

Making clear the dispute has ramifications beyond Alaska, Liberty Legal Institute, a Texas-based legal advocacy group, was working on the lawsuit. The institute has taken on a variety of cases in defense of conservative Christian positions.

Anchorage attorney Kevin G. Clarkson said he and the Texas group were donating their work on the lawsuit. "We just want to take the politics out of it and bring fairness back into it."

Elton called the lawsuit "a distraction."

"I'm comfortable with the notion that the court will review the substance of the suit and find the Council acted properly and that the decisions made during the course of the investigation so far are appropriate and well within the mandate of the Council," Elton said. "The silver lining in this action initiated by the five lawmakers is that some of that debate now has been kicked to the judicial branch which, unlike the Legislature and the governor's office, is more insulated from the red-hot passion of presidential politics," he said.

Palin fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan in July.

Weeks later, it emerged that Palin, her husband, Todd, and several high-level staffers had contacted Monegan about state trooper Mike Wooten, who had gone through a nasty divorce from Palin's sister before Palin became governor. While Monegan says no one from the administration ever told him directly to fire Wooten, he says their repeated contacts made it clear they wanted Wooten gone.

Palin maintains that she fired Monegan over budget disagreements, not because he wouldn't dismiss her ex-brother-in-law. She has sought through her lawyer to have the matter investigated in a more favorable forum, the state personnel board.

Last week, the state Senate Judiciary Committee voted to issue subpoenas for Todd Palin as well as nearly a dozen others and to gain phone records of a top aide to the governor. The subpoenas seek to force their cooperation in the investigation.

It pays to shop around for homeowners insurance.  I was almost had.  I received a consent to rate letter from my insurance company which is a new law now.  General Statute No. 58-36-30 (b)  They have to tell you when their rates change and it doesn't automately renew and require a signature.  It stated that the premium was in EXCESS of standard rates as may be applicabe to my state and that similiar coverages may be available to me either through the FAIR Plan or Beach Plan.  Which I know nothing about.

So I went "grunt" at the letter and thought my God I know nothing about homeowners insurance and had decided to just pay and sign it.  Then I decided to do research and keyed in "homeowners insurance guide" in Google and it gave me the questions to ask my agent and other key information and that's what I did.  

Then I remembered my car insurance people I really like and I called them and they were able to give me more coverage, less premium (had to up my deductible) and coverage that was not covered with my formal - like storm drain backups and they eliminated stuff I didn't need like having other structures like gazebos and trampolines that lowered the rate.  Now my mortgage won't go up because of homeowners insurance and that's a good thing because I just had my PMI to drop off.  The insurance rate going up would have put me right back where I was.

I'm glad I didn't let all the jargon scare me.  I was about to cave but I'm glad I did the research.  Now if I can do something about property taxes.

A Republican lawmaker wants the Democrat overseeing an investigationinto Gov. Sarah Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissionerremoved because he seems intent on damaging her vice presidentialcandidacy.

Democratic state Sen. Hollis French "appears to besteering the direction of the investigation, its conclusion and itstiming in a manner that will have maximum partisan political impact onthe national and state elections," state Rep. John Coghill said in aletter dated Friday.

Coghill, from North Pole, is on the AlaskaLegislature's Legislative Council, the body that appointed French tooversee the investigation. The letter was sent to the council chairman,Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, whom Coghill asks to convene a meeting todiscuss whether French should be replaced.

Coghill said the council instructed French, an Anchorage Democrat, to keep politics out of the investigation.

"He just failed that, in my view," Coghill told The Associated Press Saturday.

Elton did not immediately return a message left at his office.

InJuly, the council approved $100,000 for an investigation into whetherPalin abused her power by firing Public Safety Commissioner WaltMonegan. Monegan has said he felt pressure form Palin family and staffto dismiss a trooper, Mike Wooten, who went through a messy divorcewith her sister before Palin's election as governor.

Coghillwrote in the letter that French was quoted in media reports that theresults of the probe were going to be an "October surprise" that is"likely to be damaging to the administration." The comments leadCoghill to believe the investigation is lacking in fairness, neutralityand due process, he wrote.

Coghill said he was not approached bythe McCain-Palin campaign to draft the letter, but that he called thecampaign to "apprise" them of the letter.

"I'm on my own in this one," he said.

French said he said some things he probably shouldn't have, butnoted that he is not in charge of gathering the facts and writing thereport. Prosecutor Stephen Branchflower was hired to conduct theinvestigation and the integrity of the probe remains intact, he said.

"Thereason we hired Steve Branchflower was to avoid this entire discussion.Sooner or later everybody gets accused of partisanship no matter whatyou're doing," French told the AP.

A recent decision to notsubpoena the governor in the probe was evidence that the investigationwas not politicized, French said.

On Friday, French said the Legislature will subpoena seven otherwitnesses and that the investigation on a fast track now that Palin isRepublican John McCain's running mate.

The investigationpreviously was expected to end on Oct. 31, five days before the Nov. 4election. The new target date for Branchflower to complete the reportis Oct. 10.

Wooten divorced Palin's sister and served a five daysuspension after the Palins filed a complaint against him forthreatening Palin's father. The Palins also accused Wooten of using aTaser on his stepson, drinking in his patrol car and illegally shootinga moose.

Monegan was fired by Palin in July. She has stronglydenied that Monegan's dismissal had anything to do with her formerbrother-in-law and has said she welcomes the investigation.

Coghill's efforts were initially reported by Newsweek.

I'm getting better in Dominoes now that I've learned the rules and know a few of the instant plays for scoring.  I've learned that all money (scoring) is not good money and have a strategy now.  I had a very good player teach me and play me over and over and gave no mercy.   And then when I won which was far inbetween they declared they let me win.  I even had to forfeit a few scores cause I counted too slow but that's the best teacher. 

I went bogus a few too many times too so I've learned to not to forget about the Spinner.  I still have a lot to learn that comes with just playing (been playing only 2 weeks) but I love the game.  Can't believe I didn't want to learn at first and thought it was boring.

Now I want to play a game of four or with 9 bones cut throat.  Well, maybe not.  All of my friends are Bid Whist and Spades players, which I can talk all the crap because I am expert; especially Spades it's a chump game (a dumbed down version of Whist and only play when there aren't enough Whist players) It's going to be hard to get someone to play dominoes though.

Now I need to have $1 on a number straight again.  It's been 3 weeks but I've had a lesser straight and two small combos since.  I think I'll concentrate on that a minute.  Now that is good money.

Watch this video of a cop that stopped a couple who were speeding to the vet with a chocking dying dog

Some people really do love their dogs too much.  More than people.

Do you think these cops were being insensitive?

I'm learning to play Dominoes from http://www.pogo.com.   I practice against the computer mostly until someone else joins.  I'm still learning the basics and strategies  It's neat the way the playable tiles highlight for you, the placement is outlined on the bone yard and the end tiles are totaled for you or I would have been lost. (I had to quit looking at end total displayed and learn to figure the ends myself)  It helps me learn because sometimes I won and wondered why.  I'm hoping to get good enough to play with my friends.

Published - Aug 13 2008 05:46PM EDT | AP

 

A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters and opened fire Wednesday, fatally shooting the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase.

Police said they don't know the motive for the 51-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released.

They said Chairman Bill Gwatney, 49, died four hours later at University Hospital in Little Rock after the midday shooting near the state Capitol.

Witnesses said the gunman entered the party offices shortly beforenoon and said he wanted to see Gwatney about volunteering. Partyofficials said the man forced his way into Gwatney's office and firedthree shots, then fled in a blue truck.

"He said he wasinterested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie," said17-year-old party volunteer Sam Higginbotham. He said the man thenpushed past employees to reach the chairman's office, where he firedthree times.

Gwatney, a former state senator and a Hillary RodhamClinton superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention this monthin Denver, had served 10 years as a state senator.

Clinton andher husband, former President Bill Clinton, issued a statement callingthe 49-year-old Gwatney "not only a strong chairman of Arkansas'Democratic Party, but he is also a cherished friend and confidante."

Afterthe midday shooting, the suspect was chased into Grant County, south ofthe capital, and apprehended after being shot. Police fired at the manbut it wasn't known whether he also suffered self-inflicted injuries.

Momentsbefore the Democratic headquarters shooting, a man with a gunthreatened the building manager of the Arkansas State BaptistConvention headquarters seven blocks east. It wasn't known if theincidents were related.

Dan Jordan, the denomination's businessmanager, said the building manager asked the man what was wrong andthat he said "I lost my job."

The state Capitol was locked down for about an hour until police gotword the shooter had been captured, said Arkansas State Capitol policeSgt. Charlie Brice.

Karen Ray, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, sent her workers home early "out of an abundance of caution."

"Ourhearts go out to everyone at the Democratic headquarters. What atragedy," Ray said. "This is just a very upsetting, troubling and scarything for our staff as well."

An impromptu vigil at University Hospital drew Gov. Mike Beebe and a number of state legislators who had worked with Gwatney.

HouseMajority Leader Steve Harrelson was at the state Capitol for a newsconference on crime and that he didn't know of anyone who would want toharm Gwatney.

"You never think of something like this happening here in Arkansas," Harrelson said.

SarahLee, a sales clerk at a flower shop across street from the partyheadquarters, said that around noon Gwatney's secretary ran into theshop and asked someone to call 911.

Lee said the secretary toldher the man had come into the party's office and asked to speak withGwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn't allow him to meet withGwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.

FBI spokesman Steve Frazier said his agency was assisting in the investigation but could not offer any details.

LastNovember, a distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walkedinto a Clinton campaign office in New Hampshire and demanded to speakto the candidate about access to mental health care. A hostage dramadragged on for nearly six hours until he peacefully surrendered.

The confrontation brought Clinton's campaign to a standstill just fiveweeks before the New Hampshire primary. Security for her was increasedas a precaution. She said she did not know the suspect.

I read this on a fortune cookie the other day.

You will will success in whatever you adopt.

3 10 19 22 37 41

By MARK JEWELL - AP Business Writer
Published - Aug 03 2008 06:52PM EDT | AP

The rich are sharing your financial pain _ and contributing to it.

Itmay have taken longer and it may not be as acute, but there are earlyhints that the economic slump is crimping the lifestyles of the wealthy.

Theyare investing more conservatively, spending less on luxury goods andare being more thrifty with their credit cards. Many are asking theirpersonal shoppers and private-jet travel providers to seek the bestdeals rather than over-the-top extravagances.

That news may produce a shrug from many people who have lost theirjobs or homes in this economy. The problem is that when the wealthy getstingy, it trickles down to the rest of us.

"It's a sluggisheconomy, and its difficulties are felt all over," said Joseph DiRenzo,a married 38-year-old father of three who left a hedge fund two yearsago to enter commercial real estate.

DiRenzo says he's feelingthe hit in many places, especially in the value of his house on LongIsland's upscale Gold Coast in Muttontown, N.Y.

He owns the kindof place you'd expect a former hedge-fund manager would call home: sixbedrooms, seven full baths, hand-crafted Italian doors throughout,high-tech security and sound systems, and 9,000 square feet of livingspace on 2.4 acres.

It can be had for $7 million _ a good deal,he says, when you consider his next-door neighbor's comparable homesold for $9 million last fall. He has cut the price twice in the 12months it's been on the market.

DiRenzo is looking for a smaller,cheaper home. He also may buy a hybrid to supplement the two MercedesBenzes in his heated four-car garage. And, he's driving less these days.

The DiRenzos aren't unlike many American families cutting back to weather a downturn. They're just richer.

To be sure, the poor and middle-class are being hurt more, but uppercrust thriftiness could reverberate across the rest of the economy.

The10 percent of households with the highest incomes account for nearly aquarter of all spending, according to data compiled by research firmMoody's Economy.com from a 2006 federal survey.

"That doessuggest those folks are important for the spending outlook, and theoverall economic outlook," said Scott Hoyt, Moody's director ofconsumer economics.

Other government data show households in the top one-fifth of theU.S. population ranked by income earn about half of all total personalincome before taxes _ an imbalance that gives the wealthy immenseeconomic clout, said Sara Johnson, an economist at the research firmGlobal Insight.

"Consumer spending makes up 70 percent of grossdomestic product, and when one group accounts for a very substantialshare of consumer spending, they also account for a large share of theeconomic activity that creates jobs," Johnson said.

On Friday,the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had jumped tothe highest in four years. The housing slump, tighter credit, high fuelprices and a lack of confidence is causing employers to cut expansionplans, or even let employees go.

It doesn't help when your customer base is pinching its pennies, either.

"Alot of our clients stop by a deli on the way to the airport, ratherthan have a catered meal on the plane" costing $50 per boxed lunch,said Justin Sullivan. Sullivan is the founder of Regent Jet, anAndover, Mass.-based broker that buys blocks of aircraft time to trimcosts for high-end clientele whose multi-leg itineraries can sometimesexceed $100,000.

Trevor Gilman, a professional pilot, says hischarter service out of western Massachusetts' Berkshires Mountains hasflown about half as many miles so far this year compared with the sametime last year. Consequently, the service hasn't replaced a handful ofemployees who recently found other work or retired.

"We're down to a total of two crews for three airplanes," Gilman said.

Unity Marketing, a Stevens, Pa.-based firm whose clients includeretailers in the more than $322 billion U.S. luxury goods market, saidits latest poll of affluent people nationwide found a 20 percentdecline in spending on luxury goods in this year's second quarter, andthe lowest luxury consumer confidence level in the nearly five yearsthe survey has been conducted.

Just over half of the 1,024respondents earning an average income of $204,800 predicted they wouldspend less on luxury in the coming 12 months than they did a year ago.

Luxuryspending fell 4 percent last year, and this year's decline is expectedto be steeper, particularly for luxury handbags and clothing that don'thold value, Unity Marketing President Pam Danziger said.

"We face a very different environment for luxury indulgence in 2008as compared to 2007," said Danziger, who predicts "a very difficultmarketplace for luxury goods over the next five years."

For mostAmericans, the choice has been whether to give up small indulgences,such as eating out or going to the movies, to help defray the risingcost of food and fuel.

For the wealthy, the choices have been different.

"Peopleare examining, 'Do you keep the yacht, do you go to the classic carauction, do you take the private jet?'" said Joseph Montgomery,managing director of investments at Wachovia Securities. "Those soundlike nice problems to have, but at the same time, they are issues."

Althoughthe rich may be suffering somewhat, most have a far bigger financialcushion to ride out hard times than folks living paycheck to paycheck.

DiRenzo said that despite two price cuts to his home totaling $200,000, he doesn't plan any more.

"The high-end buyers out there are maybe more selective now, but I'm willing to wait out the storm," he said.

That hasn't been an option for many Americans who have been swept up the maelstrom of foreclosures.

I love the dancing at wedding receptions.  It use to be that everybody did the electric slide which I still enjoy and then the Cha Cha Slide, Now it's the "Mississippi Stomp"  The thing I like about group dancing is that the song tells you what to do. Click here:

Now You Can Dance at Wedding Receptions