KISSHANK's Blog

With one million home foreclosures this past year and millions more likely to come, along with seven straight months of rising unemployment, John McCain seemed out of touch when he stated this week that "the fundamentals of our economy our strong."

McCain owns seven homes valued at about $2 million each,McCain's inability to recall the number of homes he owns is a strong signal that his personal wealth and privilege is so great that not only is he unsure about how wealthy he is, there is also a serious disconnect between him and working Americans.

In another context, the McCain campaign is displaying further confusion about its views on the economy. Despite claiming that "the fundamentals of the economy are sound," McCain has admitted that he understands little about economic issues.

Further, in a recent McCain campaign ad televised during the broadcast of the Olympics, the voice over says that McCain believes Americans are not better off than they were four years ago. But in a Republican primary debate earlier this year, McCain insisted that we're better off now than we were eight years ago.

So one thing is clear: McCain is confused about the economy. Working families can't afford to let another four years go by where the president is confused about basic economic issues and compensates for that confusion by prioritizing the agenda of the privileged and wealthy

And this is the man you want as President..He flip flops worse than anyone I have seen.He knows little about the economy... He is a adulterer... And he has agreed with George W Bush on over 95% of the time. We cannot let this man get to the WhiteHouse!!! No way!!!!

John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He has admitted in the books he has written about his life that he ran around with several different women while still married to his first wife. And don't forget that he left her for a younger, richer woman - multi-millionaire Cindy Hensley who is now Cindy McCain - after she had been severely hurt in a car accident.

Some of McCain’s acquaintances are less forgiving, however. They portray the politician as a self-centred womaniser who effectively abandoned his crippled wife to ‘play the field’. They accuse him of finally settling on Cindy, a former rodeo beauty queen, for financial reasons.

In 1979 – while still married to Carol – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage.

Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.

‘When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.

Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.

‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’

But Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics.

McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,’ he said.

‘After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.’

So you all can see what kind of man you are trying to elect into office..A man that has NO conscience whatsoever!!!! A man that has shown in the past that when times are hard he will bail !!! Look at his first wife.. Not only that he is a major womanizer!!! He has had numerous affairs not only on his first wife but also his current wife..So if you want someone like Joh McCain .... then oh my god ..you will be putting a monster in the Whitehouse

Voted NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025, Jun 16, 2005 regarding bill S.Amdt. 784 to H.R. 6

Voted NO on Bush Administration Energy Policy, Energy Policy Act of 2003; Bill HR 6It would support the use of alternative energy and call for utilities to increase their dependence on renewable fuels.

Voted YES on defunding renewable and solar energy, 1999 Bill S. 1186 

So this is the man that you republicans are lying your hopes and dreams? This man could care less about the price of gas or the price of electricity.

So think very hard before you elect a man that is for the BIG oil companies..Oh wait a minute ..Isnt George W Bush for the same big oil companies..Hmmmm same ol thing...different nut

Fellow Republicans,

When deciding which candidate is best to now lead our nation, we ask that you consider supporting Senator Barack Obama. The U.S. faces serious challenges that are not being addressed by our political leaders. Elected officials of both sides have found it easier to appease their parties’ fringes to win elections, and media companies choose to shock, amuse and divide us. In the meantime, the problems we face as a nation grow as they are passed on to future generations.

We need a leader who can lay the foundations of another American Century—someone who can get past our partisan and ideological divisions, as we strengthen our standing in the world and tackle the challenges we face at home. We need a leader who understands our differences, but who also knows the importance of finding common ground. While we continue to debate and address many issues on which we all have strong opinions—abortion, gay rights, the relationship between church and state, to name a few—we need a leader who can command the support needed to break our government’s paralysis and meet the growing challenges we face as a nation.

Senator Obama is the one candidate who can unite the American majority that wants to move forward and improve the long-term economic well-being and independence of our nation.

 Issues A Unified America Can and Must Address:

National Debt
The federal debt matters. We cannot saddle future taxpayers with having to service the debt we create with our irresponsible fiscal policies. Cutting the deficit will additionally decrease interest rates and increase private investment.

Trade Deficit
Every year, the difference between what the United States imports from other countries and what it exports grows, and is likely to reach $1 trillion a year by 2010. The U.S.’s trade imbalance with China alone grew from just $10 billion annually in 1990 to well over $200 billion a year by 2006. Despite this increasing and extreme deficit, recent American administrations have been unable or unwilling to force China to revalue its currency and take other measures to strengthen our exports overseas.

Energy Independence
As the world’s energy needs grow, it is critical that the United States be able to provide for its own energy requirements. By doing so we can deflate the power of dictators who are propped up by high oil prices, more effectively insulate ourselves from the world’s most volatile regions, and stimulate economic growth at home. Even without tapping into Alaska’s oil reserves or drilling offshore, we can dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil—we have not even begun to realize the possibilities of Iowa corn, South Dakota wind or Montana coal. Even a growing number of environmentalists support increased nuclear power production.

Global Warming
Even those who still believe that global warming is a natural occurrence should agree that rising sea levels and other geological changes will be expensive to adapt to and probably impossible to undo. If we are able to reverse this dangerous trend, we must. No other nation has the economic and political power to take the lead on this issue.

Social Security
If current trends continue, total Social Security income will begin to fall short of total outgo in 2019. In the words of Alan Greenspan, the U.S. will face "abrupt and painful" choices if our leaders do not move quickly to trim the Social Security and Medicare benefits the baby boom generation has been promised. The Social Security system needs to be reformed to bring it into the 21st century and beyond with the new financial knowledge and tools available to Americans. We need a reliable, sustainable retirement plan that combines mandatory retirement savings with flexibility, choice, and security

Healthcare Reform
Our healthcare system is reaching a crisis. Rising healthcare costs are crippling business and putting millions of Americans, especially children and the elderly, at great risk. American families risk having a lifetime of savings wiped out from a single hospitalization or illness. Drug companies are reaping record profits as they promote new uses of old drugs. Small hospitals and doctors are closing their doors as malpractice insurance costs increase. We must reform healthcare to make it accessible and affordable for all Americans, while maintaining the competitiveness and innovation that has made our system the envy of the world.

Included in a general reform of our healthcare system must come an overhaul of our Medicare/Medicaid system. With these programs facing insolvency within the next decade, we must re-engineer a system that is fiscally self-sustaining and does not pass today’s health problems onto future generations.

Tax Reform
Our tax code is inefficient and full of loopholes. A simplified code could aid economic growth and provide for a fairer tax system, especially for small businesses and the working poor.

Immigration Reform
Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants enter our country each year and will continue to enter unless much more is done. Thousands of employers hire these illegal workers, often times to the detriment of American workers, and often times exploit the illegal immigrants themselves. Despite extensive talk by both Republicans and Democrats to solve this and many other problems we face, nothing has been done.

 

Ok I found this on the web..They call themselves Republicans for Obama.. Go ahead google it... It tells about how republicans are tired of the same old Republican garbage and want change... I applaud these people finally some republicans that can think for themselves and arent lemmings.

GOP MEMBERS NOT PUBLICLY

BACKING OR ENDORSING

MCCAIN

Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.)

Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.)

Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.)

Rep. John Doolittle (Calif.)

Rep. Randy Forbes (Va.)

Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (Md.)

Rep. Virgil Goode (Va.)

Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.)

Rep. Tim Murphy (Pa.)

Rep. Ron Paul (Texas)

Rep. John Peterson (Pa.)

Rep. Ted Poe (Texas)

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (Kan.)

Rep. Dave Weldon (Fla.)

Rep. Frank Wolf (Va.)

GOP MEMBERS

WHO WOULD NOT COMMENT

Sen. Larry Craig (Idaho)

Rep. Rob Bishop (Utah)**

Rep. Terry Everett (Ala.)

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (N.J.)

Rep. Elton Gallegly (Calif.)

Rep. David Hobson (Ohio)

Rep. Timothy Johnson (Ill.)

Rep. Doug Lamborn (Colo.)

Rep. Buck McKeon (Calif.)

Rep. John Mica (Fla.)

Rep. Gary Miller (Calif.)**

Rep. Jerry Moran (Kan.)

Rep. Sue Myrick (N.C.)

Rep. Mark Souder (Ind.)

Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.)

Rep. Don Young (Alaska)

Ok so we see all these Republicans that are bailing on McCain... what does this say to the rest of us in the US? Should we even trust McCain? If his own party wont support him why should we?

 A leading Republican moderate with a foreign policy background endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday as the Democrat sought to show his appeal to members of both political parties.

Former Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa was among Republicans the Obama campaign said were crossing party lines to support Obama. The Illinois senator's campaign said he was also being backed by the Republican mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, Jim Whitaker. The campaign did not release the names of other GOP supporters or the size of the group.

"I'm convinced that the national interest demands a new approach to our interaction with the world," Leach, a foreign service officer before being elected to Congress, said in a conference call with reporters.

Leach predicted that many Republicans and independents would be attracted by Obama's campaign but said his decision to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time wasn't easy.

"Part of it is political parties are a distant analog to families and you really hate to step outside a family environment," Leach told The Associated Press in an interview.

Wendy Riemann, a spokeswoman for Republican candidate John McCain, responded that it was ironic that Leach, who supported campaign finance reform, would back Obama, who has opted out of public financing.."

Leach, 65, was elected to Congress in 1976 and served 30 years before losing a re-election bid in 2006. As a moderate, he was often at odds with the conservative GOP leadership.

"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally," said Leach, who has long been an opponent of the war in Iraq.

"We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that," he said. "He recognizes that a long-term occupation of Iraq is not only expensive, it's extremely dangerous to the American interests."

Leach said he was attracted to Obama's call for a dialogue with nations such as Iran that have long been seen as U.S. adversaries.

"He also recognizes that it's preferable to speak with potential adversaries rather than simply shun them," Leach said.

Leach's decision could cause ripples with the group Common Cause, where he serves on the board and which has a policy against political endorsements. Leach said he wasn't aware of any concerns by the nonpartisan group, which supports accountability in government.

Many Republicans argue that McCain has an edge when the debate turns to foreign policy because of his long experience in dealing with such issues and his record as a career military officer and prisoner of war.

"There's a distinction between trumpeting issues and realistically looking at effectiveness," Leach said. "I have never known a time period where the American brand has been in less repair."

He said most voters instinctively want the U.S. to work with allies, rejecting the go-it-alone approach that has marked the Bush administration.

"If you ask Americans of any political persuasion — conservative, liberal or moderate — whether they'd rather see us lead the world with allies or alone, most people instinctively say we're better off with allies," Leach said. "The public does understand that something is not right about our policies today

Ok..Now the republicans are starting to bail on MCcain...oh boy this is going to be a bloodbath...Obama is going to win this handily..if many more republicans start to bail on MCcain..

What would you call a man who divorced his ailing wife with three kids to run off with a trophy wife worth 800 million dollars? A pig, a scumbag, something worse…? I know one thing, I would never call him President.

Whatever honor John McCain retained from his war experience was lost long ago when the so called “Maverick” of political expediency became the typical lying politician that he is today. Like Stevens in Alaska this old grey dog of Washington politics a so dirty that he can’t see the truth without a poll or a political advisor telling which way the political wind is blowing.

Say one thing, do another … seems to be the real John McCain is finally showing himself for the dirty lying politician that he is. We have just suffered through eight years of double talking, truth is fiction and fiction is truth propaganda under George Bush, who like his father has brought this country to its knees in the name of Republican ideals. We don’t need another phony flag wrapped salesman pushing his used car of political sleaze into the white house.

As John McCain again and again fumbles through his notes to answer simple questions and has a bullet point bs response for anything that doesn’t fit his talking points one has to wonder what the hell he thinks he is doing running for president. He is clearly lying to the American people with his poll tested issues and focus group derived language yet the media will publish this political marketing EDIT as news without verifying or questioning its validity.  

Early in the campaign season it seemed like sport to be the first to compliment the other candidates qualification to hold the office of president. At this stage in the political season let me say for record “John McCain Is Not Qualified To Be President”.

Never has been and never will be.

 

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1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3
   
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

BIDEN is OBAMA VP Pick Aug 23, 2008 | 01:08 AM PST Category: Political Report This Post HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHA HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAH

 

So why wont you let anyone reply to this stupid post? Are you smoking something? I will tell you the republicans have been harping on experience..well biden fits that bill..in spades..all of his connections in washington will be invaluable..and did you see how perfectly biden literally married John MCcain to George W Bush..and how he said that to vote for MCcain is too vote for 4 more years of the failed Bush administrationn..yeah..if i was a republican i would be seriously be worried come november..we are going to clobber these useless republicans...

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama introduced Sen. Joe Biden to the nation as his running mate on Saturday, telling supporters he is "a leader who is ready to step in and be president."

"For months, I've searched for a leader to finish this journey alongside me and join me in making Washington work for the American people. I searched for a leader who understood the rising costs confronting working people and will always put their dreams first," Obama said.

"Today, I've come back to Springfield to tell you I've found that leader," he said.

The rally is the pair's first joint appearance since Obama announced that Biden, the senior U.S. senator from Delaware, would be his running mate on his Web site and in a text message to supporters early Saturday morning.

Thousands of cheering supporters gathered Saturday for the rally in Springfield, Illinois, where Obama announced his candidacy last year. It will be their only public appearance together before next week's Democratic convention in Denver.

As he took to the podium at Saturday's rally, Biden invoked the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, who was from Illinois.

"President Lincoln once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place and then stand firm," said Biden, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania.Today in Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place, and I'm proud to stand firm with the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama."

All I can say is WOW!!! Did anyone notice how easily Joe Biden literally married John MCcain to George W Bush..oh my GOD!!! Im watching all the media outlets and they are all saying...that if Joe Biden continues like he did today...We WILL have a democrat in the White House in Nov. because like Joe Biden said and Im quoting " To elect John McCain tooffice is to elect 4 more years of the Bush administration...".

Well I know how most of you feel about Democrats never mind HRC.But I have to ask with almost 20 million Hillary supportersout there and it sure looks like obama isnt picking Hillary..Do you think that Hillary supporters will rally around Obama...or is it going to be all out warin the Democratic party? I for one am very angry  that Hillary for one isnt the nominee..But I thought if Obama wouldat least nominate her to be his VP that I would support Obama..But now... I like almost 20 million of other Hillary suppporters feel left out and cheated. And I for one will either stay at home or when I go to vote I will write in HRC for the president just to prove a point to the Democrats.. I have been a loyal Democrat for over 30 yrs..But this is the straw that breaks the camels back. I say to all HILLARY supporters!!! DONT VOTE FOR OBAMA!!! SHOW THE DEMOCRATS that we cant be just swept under the carpet.

AP) The number of homeowners stung by the dramatic decline in the U.S. housing market jumped last month as foreclosure filings grew by more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year ago, according to data released Thursday.

Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. More than 77,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in July, the company said.

Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia and Michigan had the highest foreclosure rates. Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but eight states.

The combination of weak housing sales, falling home values, tighter mortgage lending criteria and a slowing U.S. economy has left financially strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can't find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can't refinance into an affordable loan.

As foreclosures soar, banks and mortgage investors are also facing a pileup of foreclosed properties on their books and are cutting prices dramatically.

RealtyTrac noted that it had more than 750,000 foreclosed homes in its database of properties for sale, equal to about 17 percent of the 4.5 million U.S. homes that were up for sale in June.

To speed up the disposition of the 54,000 foreclosed properties it owns, Fannie Mae is opening offices in California and Florida and is considering selling those properties in bulk to investors. "I do not think this is a time to be holding onto (foreclosed properties) hoping for a better day," CEO Daniel Mudd said last week.

It remains to be seen how much the government's intervention will stem the housing crisis. President Bush last month signed sweeping housing legislation that aims to prevent foreclosures by allowing homeowners to swap their mortgages for more affordable loans, but only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan.

The bill is projected to help about 400,000 households.

The number of foreclosures "could start to stabilize as early as the first quarter of next year if the government program gains any traction," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing. "That's really the unknowable right now."

Even with government help, nearly 2.8 million U.S. households will either face foreclosure, turn over their homes to their lender or sell the properties for less than their mortgage's value by the end of next year, predicts Moody's Economy.com.

In the RealtyTrac report, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida was the metro area with the highest rate of foreclosure, followed by three California cities: Merced, Stockton, and Modesto. Las Vegas ranked fifth.

So this is where George W Bush has led us... I guess the largest amount of homeowners were supposedly under the George W Bush administration... After all these foreclosures I guess it wont be true..Just like alot of other things that George W Bush supposedly did for our countyry..Nothing but a pack of lies

Gas pumps have become notorious for inducing stress -- on drivers and their wallets.

But if you believe you have it bad pumping gas at $4 a gallon, try hopping the big pond. In London, "Nightline's" Nick Watt has been pumping gas that costs the equivalent of $10 a gallon. So there's not much sympathy there for the gripes of Americans.

Londoners have felt pressure at the pump for years, thanks to a 58 percent tax on gas. But they can give us Yanks a lesson or two about how to cut costs.

Rule No. 1

Drive a ridiculously small car. While Americans were joy riding in muscle cars, Europeans crammed themselves into minis.

Americans love their sport utility vehicles, but the Smart car gets close to 50 miles to the gallon. Just forget about having more than one passenger.

Rule No. 2

Frugal Europeans drive like elderly ladies.

Slow down and you'll save money. It makes sense and even Scottish highway signs tout the benefits of easing off the gas pedal. Driving at 70 mph uses nearly 40 percent more fuel than driving at 50 mph.

"I think it's all a bit old hat, driving 200-mile-an-hour Ferraris," journalist Mike Rutherford said. "Where would you be able to do that? It's illegal. Those days are gone."

In Spain, they're about to lower the speed limit to save on gas. And make sure you're in the right gear: High revs mean high consumption. And don't change lanes too much. Doing so actually makes you drive longer distances.

Rule No. 3

Roundabouts? Good. Speed bumps? Bad.

The less you use your brake, the less fuel you use. The Swedes have found a car will burn 28 percent less fuel in a roundabout than stopping at a traffic light and accelerating again.

And contrary to National Lampoon's Clark Griswold, roundabouts are not as complicated as one might think. Look kids -- Big Ben!

And what about speed bumps? Well, they can double fuel consumption with all that speeding up and slowing down.

 

Rule No. 4

A clean and well-maintained car is less thirsty.

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama was right when he made inflated tires a campaign issue. Proper tire maintenance will burn less fuel. And a couple of more tips for the Illinois' senator: Empty the trunk and take off the roof rack when its not being used. And keep your dog's head inside the car.

Keep the air-conditioning turned off as well. It costs you a mile from every gallon. Sweating is cheaper, though that might be easier said than done if you are driving in Laredo, Texas.

"You kind of can't win with the air-conditioning thing because if you don't have the air-conditioning on you might want to open your windows slightly, and if you open your window to get a bit of fresh air flowing through, that affects the aerodynamics of the car," Rutherford said.

Even turning off the radio will help. Listening to tunes or talk radio burns a small amount of fuel.

 

Rule No. 5

Think like a tight-fisted European. Think about alternative fuels.

Watt recently bought a diesel car. It's noisy and it doesn't make you feel young and virile. But it saves him 4 cents per mile. And that makes him feel good inside.

About 50 percent of all the new cars sold in Britain today are diesel-powered. And purchasing a biodiesel make on the Internet can turn vegetable oil into fuel.

But that's not all. In Sweden, Johan Linell converted his car and tractor to run on wood.

 

Rule No. 6

Don't get lost.

Obvious, maybe, but if you're lost, you'll drive many unnecessary miles. Don't listen to a hunch. Listen to your satellite navigation or even your spouse.

 

Rule No. 7

Don't drive so much. Them Europeans love bicycles and trains.

This could be a tough one in the United States, where the open road is part of American culture and geography. Just take a look at films dedicated to road trips: "Vanishing Point," "Thelma & Louise," "Little Miss Sunshine." Even Borat took to the road chasing the American dream.

For Brits, however, their roads just aren't that long or mythical. They don't go out for breakfast. They've never had drive-in movie theaters. For them, relishing a cramped train ride is a touchstone of what it means to be British.

 SO is this where we are heading? Is the day of the Camaro and the Dodge Charger going to be just a memory..Or will we all be driving the smart car and the mini cooper?

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Adventures by Disney is adding eight new destinations to its list of family tours, including Alaska, the Galapagos Islands and South Africa.

Other new trips include Italy and Switzerland (Stresa, Zermatt and Lake Lucerne); Boston, Newport, R.I., and New York City; Sorrento and Florence in Central Italy; Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco; and Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The South Africa trip includes Capetown and a safari at the Kapama Game Reserve.

The new itineraries will be available beginning in the spring of 2009.

Also new next year will be a more luxurious version of the standard itinerary on the South Africa and Yosemite trips. These Disney Signature Trips will offer upgraded accommodations, amenities and special events.

The company will also be offering some of the same trips as last year, with itineraries that include Western Europe, the Czech Republic and Austria, Costa Rica, Peru, China and Australia

I just received a email from Disney about these trips and it will set you back about 4400 dollars for 7 days... And that doesnt include airfare.. I wonder if Disney will be able to make this work. I dont know about you but for me and the wife that would set us back over 8800 dollars not including airfare and spending money..

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, tells The Times of London and that all U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq within three years under terms of a draft agreement between the two countries.

Zebari tells the newspaper that the withdrawal will take place "provided that the violence remains low."

The foreign minister also says that U.S. soldiers will pull out of cities across Iraq next summer.

Under the agreement, he says, the U.S. military would be barred from unilaterally mounting attacks inside Iraq from next year.

“Our negotiators and the Americans have almost brought it (the accord)to a close," the Times quotes the foreign minister as saying. "It is not a closed deal but it is very close.” He insists that the key compromises have all been agreed upon, the newspaper reports.

Final approval by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi leaders could happen this month, the Times says.

Yeah right..I will believe it when I see it..if John MCCain gets into office he will try to finish what George Bush senior started and George W Bush continued... As MCCain put it some months ago.,..we will be in Iraq for 100 years... and with the war mongering republicans I truly believe this... THere are kids yet to be born that will be dying in Iraq for many years to come..