"Serious Clown monarch in a minor chord"

hey we Americans let you run things without comment and you'll set up another reich

oh well I'll be damned, they did it again

420   

basically Colin powell gave the same reason, "who he is " and he'll be a "transformational figure"

keep it civil !

"if a parabolic arch with an angle of 45 degrees has a base 1400m long, what's the height of the arch?"

Steep a wedge of fresh lemon for five minutes with tea and add honey, that does wonders.

I'm proud BW keeps a positive outlook, ebing certain he'll keep his business open atall.

I'll be glad when obama wins and we're all told to forget his stupid tax proposals, I hate being told to assume they're serious.  Either Pelosi is Speaker or Boehner is Speaker come January, either way his phony plan is DOA.

should have a 007 character who can only be killed in daylight by the whole world ganging up on him

if Mafia or SK try to kill him, they die instead!

First off, -I- reject McCain and that part of it sorta made sense since Powell is a liberal.

But his ENDORSEMENT of Obama was bizarre and I think clearly racial

"On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period.  And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor.  I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.  I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower.  Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines.  He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values."

huh?  McCain wants everybody's vote, he went to the NAACP, he went to LaRaza...what's less inclusive about McOfay?

"And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.  I think he is a transformational figure.  He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."

BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS....dotdotdot 

"MR. BROKAW:  I can already anticipate some of the reaction to this.  Let's begin with the charge that John McCain has continued to make against Barack Obama.  You sit there, as a man who served in Vietnam, you commanded a battalion of 101st, you were chairman of the Joint Chiefs, you were a national security adviser and secretary of state.  There is nothing in Barack Obama's history that nearly paralyze any--parallels any of the experiences that you've had.  And while he has performed impressively in the context of the campaign, there's a vast difference between sitting in the Oval Office and making tough decisions and doing well in a campaign.

GEN. POWELL:  And he knows that.  And I have watched him over the last two years as he has educated himself, as he has become very familiar with these issues.  He speaks authoritatively.  He speaks with great insight into the challenges we're facing of a military and political and economic nature.  And he is surrounding himself, I'm confident, with people who'll be able to give him the expertise that he, at the moment, does not have.  And so I have watched an individual who has intellectual vigor and who dives deeply into issues and approaches issues with a very, very steady hand.  And so I'm confident that he will be ready to take on these challenges on January 21st.

MR. BROKAW:  And you are fully aware that there will be some--how many, no one can say for sure--but there will be some who will say this is an African-American, distinguished American, supporting another African-American because of race.

GEN. POWELL:  If I had only had that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, 10 months ago.  I really have been going back and forth between somebody I have the highest respect and regard for, John McCain, and somebody I was getting to know, Barack Obama.  And it was only in the last couple of months that I settled on this.  And I can't deny that it will be a historic event for an African-American to become president.  And should that happen, all Americans should be proud--not just African-Americans, but all Americans--that we have reached this point in our national history where such a thing could happen.  It will also not only electrify our country, I think it'll electrify the world."

Uh huh. 
What are you arguing about again, Gladiator?

"But I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue, basically, the policies that we have been following in recent years.  I think we need a transformational figure.  I need--think we need a president who is a generational change.  And that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama.  Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266223/

Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life...

"did you hear about Warren Buffet's challenge?  He said he'd give any millionaire a few million dollars if they could prove that they pay more taxes than their secretaries.

....So far, nobody has won the money."

Warren Buffett is getting some feedback from his billionaire club colleagues to his million-dollar tax challenge, and it's not all that positive.

In an interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw that aired last week, Buffett took his "I'm not paying enough in taxes, and neither are my fellow billionaires" campaign to a new level, highlighting his contention that he pays a lower tax rate than all of his office employees.

UPDATE: BUFFETT TO TESTIFY ON ESTATE TAXES TO CONGRESS NEXT WEEK

He told Brokaw: "I'll bet a million dollars against any member of the Forbes 400 who challenges me that the average (federal tax rate including income and payroll taxes) for the Forbes 400 will be less than the average of their receptionists."  (You can see and read the whole conversation in the aptly-named WBW Post Warren Buffett and NBC's Tom Brokaw: The Complete Interview.)

In its new issue just out, Forbes quotes an email message it received from Buffett (#2 with $52 billion):

"So far only three close friends, all 400 members, have made the calculation for me.  They all came up with results similar to mine but have no interest in being identified."

Forbes says it "couldn't pin down many other Forbes 400 members to a real million-dollar wager" but did get some quotes from the likes of Mark Cuban (#161 with $2.6 billion), George Kaiser (#26 with $11 billion) and John Catsimatidis (Tied at #220 with $2.1 billion).

Several argued that Buffett isn't taking estate taxes into account.  Casino owner Phillip Ruffin (Tied at #220 with $2.1 billion) told Forbes, "He is forgetting about the 55% estate tax at death that goes along with making the money.  Maybe he is getting senile?"  While not interested in the million-dollar challenge, Ruffin did say he'd play Buffett in poker.

And B. Thomas Glissando (Tied at #239 with $2 billion) brought out the often-heard argument that while the very rich may pay lower tax rates, they're carrying most of the burden when taxes are measured in dollars:

"There are some facts I'd like to remind Mr. Buffet of. The top 1% of earners in this country pay 30% of the income taxes, and the top 5% pay 50% of the income taxes. Other than that, I don't think he's crazy."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21708265/

some points

1.  Buffet was aiming at people with a net worth of billions, not people earning a million dollars a year.
2.  People with a net worth of billions do not get lots of cash.  They tend to get paid with shares of ownership in other companies.  The companies do things like issue Mr. Moneybags a corporate credit card.
3.  The point of the income tax, supposedly, is to tax incomes, not erode a guy's life assets on the grounds he's too far ahead.  St. Francis took off his own rich robes and went around ass naked because he felt ashamed at being rich.  Warren Buffet won't feel good until he's in a roomful of bareass billionaires with armed guards preventing them from getting a new wardrobe-- for taht is what the tax code is, armed force.
4.  If anybody took $3,000,000 in cash from Warren buffet on a wager, tehy'd have to notify the federal govt of the transfer, then pay out 35% federal tax, and report the $3 million income several years running on their tax return.  What the states do, I dunno, probably another 10%.

Ooohhh sorry I'm watching it now...

The African is my hero!

Um China WANTS a stable 1.2 billion people