chuck kottke

YAY!! I got to the level of Bananas on Pacman! (level 10) :P I just had to tell somebody that.. it's a major achievement for me.:laugh3: Bananas! Woohoo!! Yes!! Pardon me, ahem, where were we here. oh, hi Maria & Marley! Greetings, hope the summer is fun for you in Portugal. What's cooking there?

So, since the US's foreign policy is twisted by those few wealthy elites who seem to prefer aggression over diplomacy, heavy on the armaments, light on helping real people build their livelihoods and neighborhoods, isn't it high time we change the process, and get a government responsive to our will, and to build bridges of peace with our fellow citizens all over the world? I'm only asking - it's our future, what we decide is where we are headed; we are the people in We The People.

:operator::escaping: Oh, ok - I thought this was some sort of secret code!:laugh3: Hm, that's interesting - glad there is some way to make it work, I kinda figured as much.;) Ah, I see - so Lebanon has a variation of Arabic which is different enough to be somewhat distinct - I learned something today!! Many Thanks.

This document was signed by Fredrick August Muhlenberg says here.. funny, I don't recall him in the history books?! Apparently he was a speaker in a house, something like that. :P

Congratulation to you all for winning the flavor of the month! Now, collect your butter apple brick French vanilla ice cream c/o Ian, and enjoy! :)

What language is this? It looks so poetic! :escaping3:

I can't answer that, but I just felt like saying We're Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Coldplay Band, We hope you enjoy the show! :cool: (actually though, since time is infinite, the possibilities are infinite, the permutations and comparisons infinite, and therefore only deep thought could possibly have the answer, but we'll need a time machine to get there (fortunately we're already parked on the computer). :P

If we want things like real health care reform, so our nation gets healthier, it's affordable, and nobody gets left behind, it's high time we reform the system - campaign finance reform is an essential prerequisite to getting health care reform. Just ask Wendel Potter what he thinks about the poorly regulated health care industry, and for-profit HMO's: Whistle Where You Work: Wendell Potter | Free Speech TV And for the Center for Public Integrity: Center for Public Integrity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia And if you think our media needs to get to doing it's job, investing in investigative journalism: Muck Rack

I think you said it perfectly, Maria;) keep enjoying the moments, and the movements. :flutterby::sunny:

So to recap: Keep em' honest at the start. Keep em' honest while in office. Keep em' honest when they leave. What we want are statesmen who represent us equitably, and who keep the field of play level.

Gweetings! Welcome Simone, glad you could chime in here! :pleased: And Happy Birthday!! :hat:

Welcome ShiroiKarasu Yes, Japan is fascinating to me as well!! You're amazing to make the language leap to Japanese, since it is so different from Italian / Latin languages. Congratulations on that feat!!:cool:

Welcome Maria:). :hug:Hugs to you. Glad you could join, and anytime is a great time to start being a fan of Coldplay!:)

One amendment proposed would end the issues surrounding legislative favoritism and the revolving door by allowing elected officials to get exceptional pay and benefits, but not income from investments outside of government securities, and barring elected officials from future lobbying and consulting positions. Sort of a society of legislators, where all who become legislators are then no longer dependent on special interest influences to maintain financial independence and financial vitality. They get great pay and benefits for life, but then must steer clear of all positions that may compromise their impartiality while in office or when they are out of office, as is the case today. I think it would be difficult to pass unless those already in office don't feel threatened by it, so to make it active for all incoming freshman senators and representatives and new presidents would make it palatable to current members of congress and the president, and to allow for a deferment of their existing investments or a transfer of those investments into government securities. In addition, they would then be principal stakeholders in the nation as a whole, and thus more interested in keeping the country's economy strong, and by extension the world's economies, as we are all inter-dependent. So then the influence of high-risk and unethical investment practices endangering the economy would be thwarted rather than ignored by elected officials, since the pressure of influence from those unethical investment types would be negated. Congress and the president would work for us, not for those few with the money to slush around and control our representative government.

Green Cars make for a Greener world ! As important to the fuel consumption is the material construction, can we make interiors that are healthy for us, healthy for the planet, and healthy for the workers up and down the supply chain?

:jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester::jester: I just wanted to see what this looks like!

> Hm, sounds familiar. apathy, TV ads, results - that could be us. or is us. > Quite amazing!! A green candidate makes it, YAY!! ? Did the Green candidate offer more maple trees, as a sweetener for the future?:P Fat cats, they happen when there's too much pork in government, how true! :laugh3: What's the cure, so as to restore Canadian pride and progressive politics?

Hm, that's quite a coincidence! I had one of those Hallmark cards with the built-in music players, with "Ring of Fire" in it.. really quite amusing! Written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore, truly a magnificent song. "Lost Highway" - wish I could help you there, but I'm sure someone here can help.;)

How true, gotta plant some apple trees in that big apple! (I'll bet, with all the rooftop gardens, prolly the case already!) What's in a Yorkshire Pudding, BTW? Hm, thinking about Colby Cheese, and the town of Colby! :smug2:

You got me there - Coldplay and Hank Williams in the same sentence - that's a surprise! (but not too surprising though). Glad you joined, keep Dallas Cool. :cool:

Gweetings! Welcome Stevie! Glad you can speak Spanglish, the new language combining both English and Spanish! :laugh3::P No more confusion, and hola is now helloa! Si See!

> Yes, Canada was our hopeful refuge, kind of a giant wilderness preserve for us endangered progressives when the skies grow dark and storm clouds build over the plains here.:laugh3: Hm, sad to see Canada taken over by conservatives, but not the type of conservatives like they used to make. Yes, the health care - well, Obamacare is like a giveaway to the industries causing the problems, since they bought the government they wanted. Hardly reform, more like caving in to corporate interests.. I'm pushing for the ultimate fix on it all, a couple of Constitutional Amendments, which if things get worse will gain more traction with the general public, maybe the thing we have to do to restore our democracy here. How did it happen? Apathy by voters? Megamegacorps taking over in Canada? Too much back bacon and maple syrup?

Welcome Eddy ! Glad you enjoyed the show!:sunny::drummer::guitarist::hat:

Hm, sad to see Canada turn into Harper sour dough. Don't do that - where will we escape to? :escaping2: AAIIIEEE!! Un-corporatize North America, it's our only hope.

Welcome PenandPencil to this cool coldplay forum! :P That must be nice to be from a tiny village in Ireland, that sounds so cozy an environment to be in! Good to see you here, and chime in from time to time! ;)