trublue

Voted today at a local elementary school in Gwinnett County, GA....was in line around 10:30 a.m. for about l.5 hrs. (Took a book to read, the Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick, about how America began. I had purchased it over a year ago and thought this would be a great time to start it.) Another relative voted earlier this morning was in line at 6:45 a.m. took about 2 hrs. at the same place. Another relative voted in a different location and was in line at 4:30 a.m....was the third person in line, so no delays for him (once the polls opened at 7 a.m.). Another relative voted at another location and was in line for 2 hrs. A lady standing couple ppl behind me said her husband did early voting this week and waited in line 7.5 hrs. WHEW!!! There was a young guy behind me.....said he was a libertarian....but his convo gave some indications he was voting for McCain. He was a character....but you could tell he was sharp. Also, at another polling place that was at a local church located on a main hwy.....at a very busy intersection a few hundred feet before you get to the church was a group of high school kids (4/5 males) and they were all holding up McCain signs waving and encouraging ppl to vote for their candidate. Gwinnett is a county of over 750,000 and has heavy Republican leanings. In my neighborhood there are over 200 homes and I've only seen 2 Obama signs.....the rest are McCain for the homes with signage.

Story line from Knox News: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/nov/03/sources-fulmer-agrees-step-down-vols-coach/

This is for all the McCain supporters that will cast their votes tomorrow: McCAIN CAMPAIGN MEMO: READING THE EXIT POLLS BILL McINTURFF, INTERNAL POLLSTER Mon Nov 03 2008 16:53:14 ET As we have seen in previous election cycles, the exit poll results do leak early and that ends up influencing the coverage of the race before even the first state polls close at 6:00 PM Eastern. However, we want to remind the campaign that the media’s own post-election study of the exit polls in 2004 showed that the exit polls overstate the Democratic candidate’s support. Therefore, we would discourage a rush to judgment based on the exit polls and wait until there has been a representative sampling of actual tabulated results from a variety of counties and precincts in a state. Here are the key points to keep in mind when the exit poll data starts being leaked: 1. Historically, exit polls have tended to overstate the Democratic vote. 2. The exit polls are likely to overstate the Obama vote because Obama voters are more likely to participate in the exit poll. 3. The exit polls have tended to skew most Democratic in years where there is high turnout and high vote interest like in 1992 and 2004. 4. It is not just the national exit poll that skews Democratic, but each of the state exit polls also suffers from the same Democratic leanings. 5. The results of the exit polls are also influenced by the demographics of the voters who conduct the exit polls. After the 2004 election, the National Election Pool completed a study investigating why the exit polls that year showed John Kerry over performing 5.5 net points better than the actual results showed him to have done. Their conclusion was that the primary reason the exit polls was that Kerry voters and Democrats were more likely to participate in the exit polls. “Our investigation of the differences between the exit poll estimates and the actual vote count point to one primary reason: in a number of precincts a higher than average Within Precinct Error most likely due to Kerry voters participating in the exit polls at a higher rate than Bush voters. There has been partisan overstatements in previous elections, more often overstating the Democrat, but occasionally overstating the Republican. We believe that this will hold true this year. The recent Fox News survey showed that 46% of Obama voters said they were very likely to participate in the exit polls, while just 35% of McCain supporters are. In fact, even the 2004 exit poll report noted that higher turnout nationally and higher levels of voter interest in both 1992 and 2004 correlated with greater Within Precinct Error. The overstating of the Democratic vote did not only occur in the national exit polls, but also occurred in the state exit polls. The 2004 exit poll report cited that the Kerry vote was overstated by more than one standard error in 26 states, while the Bush vote was overstated in just four states. So we should also expect the individual state exit polls on Tuesday to be more Democratic as well. So given that turnout is expected to be even higher than 2004 and that Democrats are more likely to participate in the exit polls, this means we should expect greater fluctuation and variation in the exit polls from the actual election results. The 2004 exit poll report also showed that the greatest error in the exit poll came in precincts where the interviewer was younger. The completion rates were lower and the refusal rates and Within Precinct Error was higher when the interviewers were under the age of 35.[6] Complicating this is that nearly half the interviewers were under the age of 35, including 35% who were 18-24 and another 15% were 25-34. Conclusions Based on the previous exit poll results, we should expect once again that Tuesday’s exit poll data could overstate the Obama vote and under represent the McCain vote. It is important that the campaign make sure the media realizes this, so that when the exit polls do leak, people do not overreact to the early exit poll data. Rather than looking at the exit polls, we should wait until we start seeing actual election results from key precincts and counties to gauge who won the election.

Rocks, I want to say you are a very well spoken young man (most of the time...ha-ha) however, the above example IMO is the "super rich". To me that's the Waltons (Walmart), Bill Gates (who did not get it handed down), the Rockefellers and others that had something "special" to offer as this country was starting to really develop. In Obama's plan, rich was initially 250,000.....then it dropped to 200,000 , Biden said 150,000 and just yest. Bill Richardson said 120,000. Biden said it was "patriotic" to pay MORE taxes, Obama just said in the past few days....it's "selfishness" if you do not want to basically share the wealth....meaning more taxes. If the country is in financial stress now.....which we all agree....and both sides are to blame.....with ALL of this bailout (supported by both sides) coming from the govt. that gets its money from the taxpayers.....TAXES currently CANNOT go up anymore. If 40% of the ppl do not pay taxes....... and 10% in the upper tax bracket already pay over 70% of the total taxes collected.....where do you think this will leave the "middle class"......we will be paying more taxes I fear. I admit I'm not an economist, a CPA or a mathematician.....but if it "sounds to good to be true" .....well, we all know the rest of that adage. Just take your medicine....it doesn't really taste bad and you'll feel much better....for some reason, I'm having a hard time swallowing that medicine. I could be all wrong about this but my heart, my gut feeling says I'm not....but, everyone has to make up their own mind and thank the Lord we have the freedom today to vote however, we believe.

Blues fans may not be wearing bracelets....but many of us are carrying that inscription in our hearts for T.J.

I meant no disrespect to your mom....that was just an analogy I was using to say ppl shouldn't keep harping on the past. I disagree w/you about Richlands running up the score and that's all I'll say about the matter. Have a good day sir. BTW, we do agree on a couple of things... Mance being a very good coach and McCain.

Goodness ....do you still harbor resentment when you think about those "swats" your mamma gave you when you were young????? NO....I would bet not. Hours DO turn into days, days turns into months, months into years.....life moves on...and it has for the Tazewell and Richlands' programs. Do you remember during pre-season when everyone did not really believe you would be a very good program this year????? What coach said.....again, I repeat what coach said.....Tazewell would win the district. M-A-N-C-E!!!!! Many ppl said he was just giving you guys lip service....but he saw something in the program and the players that others didn't. Mance is a VERY good coach along with all of his staff ....and they're NOT a "mean-spirited" group (oops, I let the election jargon flow over) out to humilate anyone. However these regional playoffs finish (of course, I'm pulling for Richlands) I want a Tazewell County team to be regional champs.

McCain/Palin

......peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everybody......forget the chicken in every pot.

I will have to admit the following video did bother me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPqLyRdtTcM I'm sure ppl will have their own opinion of why he chose not to do it. Does that mean he hates/dislikes/or is just indifferent to the national anthem???? I couldn't answer that.... only he knows....but all the other ppl (dems, I believe) felt the desire to show their respect.

You took us away from the national events of the past few weeks and took us all back to times we like to remember . Many of us couldn't phrase it as well as you....but, it invokes many of our own memories of yester-years. Thanks Lance.

nm

For what it's worth....reading the AJC a few wks. ago.....(they have vents for sports and everyday life comments).....this is what a venter wrote : "I am a veteran that served three tours in Viet Nam........my biggest FEAR was not being killed but being taken as a POW." That resonated with me.....a soldier that had served in Viet Nam not one time but three times....someone that knew exactly what went on in those POW camps and would rather be killed than endure the horrific treatment at the hands of the Viet Cong. Would any of us have said NO to being released if given the chance of freedom and escape from such brutality????? I will confess right now.....I would have jumped at the chance of release if I had been in McCain's place. I was not "warm and fuzzy" about McCain as the republican presidental candidate....but to know that he CHOSE to NOT accept their offer told me more about this man's character than anything his mother, family, friends, employees or whomever could SAY to get me to vote for this man. Would you give up 5 1/2 yrs. of your life....being tortured daily....and if not physical torture everyday....there was daily mental torture....thoughts, fears and sheer terror flowing in your veins from being in such a situation and never knowing when they would come in the door to get you. This was/is "real stuff" not made up for a fictional movie or book .......not from McCain's own mouth....but from POWS there that endured much of the same. I'm not posting this to change anyone's mind....but McCain didn't just talk the talk....he "walked what he talked." You can thank him and all the other veterans that have defended your freedom to vote for whomever you choose.

"not just a pretty face".......apparently many folks in that area think the same thing.

If......again, IF.....Mr. O is elected President....how can he put his hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States.....since HE doesn't believe that it was written for the good of ALL U.S. citizens????? He says in his own voice and states it firmly in this radio interview......"it is a constitution of "negative liberties"..... stating what the states can't do to you...what the fed. govt. can't do to you.....it DOESN'T say (all in his words) what the fed. govt. MUST do on your behalf" .

JamesLCcLB34.....I'm assuming the following might be you: James Lanning led Carroll County in tackles with 13 ........ (as noted in BDT article) Good job young man.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: The article is from CBS ........ I'm surprised with all of Joe's experience and expertise (the reason Mr. O chose him as his as his VP) that he's "shying" away from the media. October 22, 2008 Biden's Traveling Press Corps Finds Little Opportunity To Ask Him Questions (CBS)From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro: (COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) - It might be surprising to some to learn that Sarah Palin is now talking to her national press corps more often than Joe Biden. While the once silent Palin has taken questions from reporters that travel with her three times in the last week, Biden has not offered the same type of access to reporters who cover his every move on the campaign trail in almost two months. As for comments that Biden made last weekend in Seattle about Obama facing an "international, generated crisis" in his first six months, Biden has said nothing more on the matter. Republicans jumped at the chance to attack Biden for his words, saying it showed Barack Obama had yet to be tested with a major crisis, and the McCain campaign in particular vowed to make “a big deal” out of the remarks, which made their way to the top of the conservative leaning Drudge Report for most of Monday and, among others, have been dissected by columnist Bill Kristol and leading conservative voices. Biden spokesperson David Wade said on Tuesday that Biden had no plans to revisit those statements. Obama, when asked today about Biden’s statement, called them “rhetorical flourishes.” The handful of reporters from Biden’s national press corps who have followed him incessantly for two months have not had the opportunity to ask questions regarding the "crisis" matter - even to allow Biden to clarify his remarks - because he has not taken questions or held a press availability with his press corps since Sept. 7. Last month in Akron, Biden chided McCain and Palin for not holding such availabilities with the press. “I got asked a question by the press this morning, er, yesterday,” Biden told the crowd last month. “I've done a lot of press, I've done, I don't know, I was told I did 68, 70 press conferences, and the person says, ‘What do you think about Sarah Palin?’ I said, ‘When she does three, I'll let you know, I don't know, I don't have any idea, I don't know, I don't know.’ You know, I mean, look, and it's not, look guys, it's not just Sarah Palin, when's the last time John, when's the last time John's had a press conference? I'm serious." Biden was factually incorrect – he had conducted at the time over 80 interviews, not press conferences, ranging from local newspapers to network morning shows, with an appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press" and a dozen interviews with major networks and newspapers. And to belatedly answer Biden’s question, it has been 55 days since he held a press conference. He has held two since being named Obama’s running mate. Biden has also not taken questions from voters in a town hall style setting since Sept. 10 in Nashua, New Hampshire, when he told a supporter that Hillary Clinton might have been a better pick for vice president. Since then, Biden has only held “community gatherings” and “rallies” where he makes a speech and chats briefly with supporters on the ropeline under the blare of music, no questions asked. Even there, Biden says very little after a digital recorder caught him making statements on clean coal that did not coincide with Obama’s energy policies. He told Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” that it was the reason he stays mum when greeting voters, hoping to avoid making comments that might be publicized and used against Obama. "Look, I've made many a gaffe in my life, and I suspect I'll make a whole lot more," he told Leno. "But you do worry. You know, I was on a rope…you go down what they call a rope line. You make a speech; there's four, five, six thousand people, and they line up and you shake hands. And everybody has, not everybody, a lot of people have cameras, and they have these little video phones…so I learned to just go, ‘Mm, mm, mm, mm.’ Walk down the line. I don't say anything anymore." On the day of the final debate, reporters had to interrupt Biden as he waited for a hamburger during a photo-op at a diner in Ohio to ask questions. Asked dozens of times when Biden would take formally questions from the national reporters who have been following him, Wade said Biden instead favors one-on-one interviews and would hold a press availability “when we have some news to make.”

Partial article......Gwinnett has a population of 750,000 and FINALLY something is being done. Illegals comprise much of the crime...... 9/30/2008 12:01:00 AM Gwinnett Daily Post Crackdown reaps statistical dividends By Josh Green Staff Writer After hours at the Gwinnett County Police Department's Central Precinct is a lot like a football locker room. There is the pep talk, the review of pertinent information, the stoking of courage. And most importantly, there's the motivated team of bruisers hell-bent on pulverizing an opponent. The team, in this case, is the recently beefed-up gang task force, a roughly 30-member unit that's grown from five officers in 1998 to among the department's largest special units. The opponent, of course, is the 90 or so gangs the task force tracks, seven days a week, as they operate in Gwinnett. The team's objective is not to merely query the gangs, cite them or shoo them away. They are out to "crush" them. The task force, relaunched in March at no extra cost to taxpayers, is comprised of go-getters from other divisions, the proactive officers who wrote solid reports and aren't bashful about working nights and weekends. Roughly half have SWAT team experience. None shy from the vampire shift. Their presence has so far paid off. "When you throw a 30-man unit at something," said task force member Sgt. D. Cavender, "you're going to get results." Since March, the unit has made more than 750 arrests of area gang members - roughly 25 per week - and written 1,700 citations. They've seized dozens of weapons, including high-powered AK-47s, large quantities of marijuana, cocaine and caches of bulletproof vests lifted from police vehicles. They tallied 185 arrests in July alone, or six per day. That's roughly 16 percent of the known gangster population in Gwinnett - 1,100 residents - arrested in a single month. (Similar statistics weren't tracked as closely before the reformation of the task force, which makes an accurate comparison between 2008 and recent years impossible, leaders say). Several high-profile busts have resulted. Among the unit's more successful initiatives was a multi-agency, countywide sweep in June called "Operation Community Shield" that netted 35 gang members, each of them illegal immigrants who were arrested and deported. Or, you might say, crushed. The task force also assumes high-level crime cases linked to gangs - the drive-bys and stabbings, for instance - that were pushed off exclusively to homicide detectives before. That buys time on both ends. "Unlike the uniform patrol, we have the time to investigate," Cavender said. "We don't have the next call waiting for us. It's what we decide to do." Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, called the task force the most formidable opponent to local gangs she's seen in 23 years with her agency. "We truly believe the work (they're) doing is making a big difference," said Wiggins, the county's prominent authority on graffiti. Night missions The bread and butter of the task force's success is a knowledgeable concentration of force. Each evening around 6, task force members - mostly fit, voraciously motivated and relatively young men - congregate in a corporate-looking boardroom in a precinct near Gwinnett Place Mall. Here they hunker down for an all-night run on the streets. They sit at long green tables. They take roll call. All police reports from previous days marked as gang-related are distributed like poker cards among the officers. They formulate a game plan, what the nightly mission will be, mapping out their own movements, analyzing trends. After a briefing, the squads are dispersed, these iron boots meant for crushing. "It's going back to the old style of police work," said Lt. J.T. Strickland, a task force leader. "It could be graffiti, burglary, a drive-by shooting. We want to be a show of force."

I'm trying to figure this out in my "ittsy bitsy" brain how this can be....Mr. O loved by the world and "Joe the bumbler" says the following: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/biden-to-suppor.html Biden to Supporters: "Gird Your Loins", For the Next President "It's Like Cleaning Augean Stables" Share October 20, 2008 7:35 AM ABC News' Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on Sunday guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power and he will need supporters to stand by him as he makes tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions. "Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." "I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate," Biden said to Emerald City supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. "And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right." Not only will the next administration have to deal with foreign affairs issues, Biden warned, but also with the current economic crisis. "Gird your loins," Biden told the crowd. "We're gonna win with your help, God willing, we're gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It's like cleaning the Augean stables, man. This is more than just, this is more than – think about it, literally, think about it – this is more than just a capital crisis, this is more than just markets. This is a systemic problem we have with this economy." The Delaware lawmaker managed to rake in an estimated $1 million total from his two money hauls at the downtown Sheraton, the same hotel where four years ago Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., clinched the Democratic nomination. Despite warning about the difficulties the next administration will face, Biden said the Democratic ticket is equipped to meet the challenges head on. "I've forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I'm not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it," the Senate Foreign Relations chairman said of Obama. "This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?' We're gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I'm asking you now, I'm asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point because you're going to have to reinforce us." "There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision'," Biden continued. "Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made, which I believe you will when they're made, they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound." Biden emphasized that the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border is of particular concern, with Osama bin Laden "alive and well" and Pakistan "bristling with nuclear weapons." "You literally can see what these kids are up against, our kids in that region," Biden said in recalling when his helicopter was forced down due to a snowstorm there. "The place is crawling with al Qaeda. And it's real." "We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes," he cautioned. "It's so much more important than that. It's so much more complicated than that. And Barack gets it." After speaking for just over a quarter of an hour, Biden noticed the media presence in the back of the small ballroom. "I probably shouldn't have said all this because it dawned on me that the press is here," he joked. "All kidding aside, these guys have left us in a God-awful place," he then said of the Bush regime, promptly wrapping up his remarks. "We have the ability to straighten it out. It's gonna take a little bit of time, so I ask you to stay with us. Stay with us."

I couldn't believe it when I saw it.....but then again.....can we say subtle indoctrination. Do you know what's in your kids public school books??? http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1225887,racine-obama-textbook101608.article

Listened couple days ago to a local sports talk program (ATL)....and one of the guys said he was up covering Clemson in pre-season and some of the "coaching assistants" were complaining that the "academia" heads at Clemson were wanting a program w/more "Duke like" players. The sports talk folks said the Vanderbilt coach would fit that mold b/c of the "standards" at Vandy with Johnson being able to turn it into a winning program. Their one concern was his age .....59, I believe; but, felt him being a Clemson grad would play in his favor. The sports folks were also giving demoted QB Harper down the road for his comments about "him" deserving what he got( many felt he was meaning Bowden). (Harper is a local kid from the ATL area, in fact coached in HS by Richlands grad, Sid Maxwell.) Harper's Dad even got in some words that didn't endear him to these sports guys. Harper, the QB, later said he was talking about the asst. coach that was named as the coach for the rest of the year....hmmmmm I'd call that "damage control" .

Here to set the record straight.....Richlands, that conniving community, just scheduled the 2 game series with Blfd. b/c we wanted to get familiar w/playing on "turf" and Mitchell Stadium is one of the premier sites around. Yeah, we also play Graham ....but being the greedy bunch we are....one game every other year at Mitchell on turf wasn't enough. Honaker, our closest neighbor, has turf and we sure ain't gonna jettison 'em Tigers now....you know how greed consumes one. I just don't see why ppl don't get that we, Richlanders, are the berries.....blue ones at that. I believe that we even got our monicker, Tornado, from one of Blfd.'s own......Stubby Currence. We love Blfd, we want to be just like Blfd.......we even have Blue on our field turf.....we greedy conniving ppl just can't help it. Yes, above is much silliness.......is it funny ....probably not; .....but if the series does end....which I think many in Richlands would like to see continue....we (Richlanders) do RESPECT the community of Blfd and their football team. However, this plays out....we wish the Beavers the best this year toward the playoffs and in coming years whether we're rivals on the field or not. Most of the Blfd. fans and the Beavers football program is something the Richlands community knows has made us a better football program. One other thing, I don't walk on water.....but my hope is in ONE that did. Good luck Beavers.....hopefully, the rivalry will continue and if it doesn't ....it doesn't affect the great respect we have for you and your program.

I'm not going to get in a back and forth post w/you.....here's my last one on this thread. It's always seems to be the case that "someone" in the stands knows EXACTLY what the coaches should have called/implemented for a winning result. If they had ONLY done this .....or if they had ONLY done that; I think you do know that crystal ball reading is not real, reading tea leaves is not real, and being close only counts in horseshoes. I think the one thing we can agree on without baseless assumptions is ....we're both Richlands supporters. Have a good day sir.

1. Agreed....officiating was a non-issue. 2. Congrats to the Beavers. A very good team that has "jelled" at the right time w/a history/tradition of pride in their football program. I would not be surprised to see Blfd. go deep into the playoffs, if they continue to play as they did last night. 3. BillyB, since you obviously had the game winning play calling strategy last night (indicative of your posts on this thread)....I would be down at the RHS coaches' office Monday morning letting them know how they SHOULD have called it. Mance and staff seems like they've done a "fairly" decent coaching job these past few years. (Blfd. has speed......speed can negate many and much. Example, Blfd scores in seconds after RHS scores. Any Richlands fan that thought Blfd wasn't going to be ready to play last night.....had to much sugar in their breakfast cereal and overloaded their thought process.) 4. Richlands lost last night.......but don't doubt for one minute that the Richlands coaching staff won't take that game and analyze, digest and break down what the team did wrong and be prepared for the next game. That's what a good coaching staff does. Blfd.'s coaching staff didn't hang it up after going 0-3....they kept adjusting, coaching to their players strengths and building confidence.....that's exactly what Richlands did after their poor start at the beginning of the season. Richlands will now focus on the 2 district games to play and take nothing and no team for granted. 5. Good luck Beavers in your quest to the playoffs.

Well......(shades of R. Reagan) that sweet wonderful group, Acorn, is trying to help ya'll out. They're making sure everyone is getting registered to vote.....and being so helpful;....they're gitting all them good folks that have "never exercised their right" to vote by registering them numerous times. Heard them Dallas Cowboys were all registered to vote in Vegas and 'em OH buckeyes are getting help too....along w/other states that have "failed" to get these good ppl registered. Isn't it wonderful we have such an organization that is watching out for the American ppl.....and if you can't/won't make the effort ....they'll do it for ya. Change is "acoming"......