Jim Hightower writes a column for Creators Syndicate once a week. Here is a link to the latest column. http://www.creators.com/opinion/jim-hightower/giving-thanks-to-america-s-good-food-movement.html 

Also, check out Creators Syndicate at http://www.creators.com.

-Lee

Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little better than the one we inhabit today.
-President-elect Barack Obama

Hi everyone...I just started a new group, The Next Four Years. Now that Barack Obama is our new president on Jan. 20, 2009, I feel it is important that we continue the discussion on the issues and how you feel they should be addressed. I invite you to join this group and let the discussion begin!

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. -Alexander Graham Bell

Here is a pic of my campaign bag...My Campaign Bag

The debate last night went well. I especially liked the look of frustration + on McCain's face while Barack remained calm and composed as John McCain went after him. The other thing I want to post is from yesterday's New York Times...excerpts from "Poll Says McCain Hurts His Bid by Using Attacks.

 "The McCain campaign's recent angry tone and sharply personal attacks on Senator Barack Obama appear to have backfired and tarnished Senator John McCain mor than their intended target, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll has found.

After several weeks in which the McCain campaign unleashed a series of strong political attacks on Mr. Obama, trying to tie him to a former 1960's radical, among other things, the poll found that more voters see Mr. McCain as waging a negative campaign than Mr. Obama. Six in 10 voters surveyed said that Mr. McCain had spent moare time attacking Mr. Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Mr. Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking.

Over all, the poll found that if the election were held today, 53% of those determined to be probable voters said they would vote for Mr. Obama and 39% said they would vote for Mr. McCain.

 ......

Voters who said their opinions of Mr. Obama had changed recently were twice as likely to say they had grown nore favorable as to say they had worsened. And voters who said that their views of Mr. McCain had changed were three times more likely to say that they had worsened than to say they had improved.

The top reasons cited by those who said they thought less of Mr. McCain were his recent attacks and his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate....With the election unfolding against the backdrop of an extraordinary economic crisis, a lack of confidence in government, and two wars, the survey described a very inhospitiable environment for any Republican to run for office. More than 8 in 10 Americans do not trust the government to do what is right, the highest ever recorded in a Times/CBS News poll. And Mr. McCain is trying to keep the White House in Republican hands at a time when President Bush's job approval rating is at 24%, hovering near its historic low.

 ...

After several weeks in which the McCain campaign sought to tie Mr. Obama to William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground terrorism group, 64% of voters said that they had either read or heard something about the subject. But a marority said they were not bothered by Mr. Obama's background or past associations. Serveral people said in follow-up interviews that they felt that Mr. McCain's attacks on Mr. Obama were too rooted in the past, or too unconnected to the nation's major problems.

What bothers me is that McCain initially talked about running a campaign on issues and I want to hear him talk about the issues," said Flavio Lorenzoni, a 59-year-old independent from Manalapan, N.J. "But we're being contantly bombarded with attacks that aren't relevant to making a decision about what direction McCain would take the country. McCain hasn't addressed the real issues. He's only touched on them very narrowly. This is a time when we need to address issues much more clearly than they ever have been in the past."

 ...

...roughly 7 in 10 voters said Mr. Obama had the right kind of temperament and personality to be president; just over half said the same of Mr. McCain.

Mr. Obama's supporters continued to be more enthusiastic about him than Mr. McCain's supporters, the poll found, and more of those surveyed said they had confidence in Mr. Obama than in Mr. McCain to make the right decisions about the economy and health care. And while mor than 6 in 10 said Mr. Obama understood the needs and problems of people like them, more than half sanid Mr. McCain did not.

Motivation is very important, and thus my simple religion is love, respect for others, honesty: teachings that cover not only religion but also the fields of politics, economics, business, science, law, medicine-everywhere. With proper motivation these can help humanity…

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama