John McCain being funny, really
Some great zingers from McCain in this speech at an NYC charity event with Barack Obama, and he says nice things about Barack at the end of his routine, as well.
Stories from
Buckley: Modern conservativism has lost its way
Christopher Buckley, the son of William F. Buckley, the icon of conservative intellectuals for more than 50 years and founder of National Review, had the gall to endorse Barack Obama.
This led to a deluge of angry e-mail to NO, where the endorsement did not even appear, and for C. Buckley to resign his position there.
In a follow up post for The Daily Beast, he writes:
While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of “conservative” government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
The Republicans and conservatives parted ways many moons ago, it's just that far too many conservatives have been loath to recognize it. Kudos to Buckley for standing on principle. McCain is certainly no conservative, and that is an important fact to recognize.
Obama supporter portray's McCain in KKK robe chasing Obama
This is pretty wild -- a New York woman wanted to send a message about racial characterizations of Barack Obama, so she made a Halloween display that has McCain in KKK sheets chasing the Democratic candidate.
Havens is quick to point out he is a liberal and a big supporter of Obama, and that the scene is meant to provoke thought about the way he believes Obama has been unfairly treated by the McCain campaign.
"I figured it would be equally offensive to everyone. It's just for shock value," Havens said. "McCain has been rabble-rousing, calling Obama a terrorist and a Muslim. The McCain campaign has gotten so ugly. That's what the message is. I can see how people could take this the wrong way. I'm not advocating anything. It's sarcasm."
It's really too bad that in 2008 race is an issue at all.
YMCA gets grant from regional foundation
The YMCA of Genesee County is receiving a $7,500 grant from the Women's Foundation of Genesee Valley, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
The grant is part of $67,000 the foundation is handing out. It will support the YMCA's "Power Up! Project."
Michael Hall wonders what his father would think of today's world
Michael K. Hall, a Batavia resident, reminisces about his dad in the Buffalo News this morning.
My father was interested in politics but he did not have a formal party affiliation. He was more interested in the quality of the man running for president than whether he was a Democrat or Republican. I wonder what he would think of the extreme polarization within our country concerning politics and the two major parties.
I have a general idea of how he would feel about the war in Iraq. He was not a supporter of the Vietnam War, and when my brother Stuart and I were there it must have been hard on him. I think that the year I spent in Iraq would have been hard on him as well. I believe that he would be appalled at the notion one could be labeled unpatriotic if you had a different viewpoint or opinion than the one that was put out by the government supporting the war. He was also a student of history and would wonder why our country does not seem to learn from our past history in this area. He would have little sympathy for terrorists or terrorism as a means of political change. The concept of suicide bombers would boggle his mind.
Emphasis added, because that "year I spent in Iraq" is the kind of thing that could use more explanation in context. Hall is a retired superintendent of schools, so what was he doing in Iraq? I'm curious.
Eager gets nod as Muckdogs pitcher of the year
Scout.com has named Thomas Eager the Batavia Muckdogs pitcher of the year.
Unfortunately, you must be a paying subscriber to read the entire article.
Eager, from Merced, Calif., went 6-3 with a 1.76 ERA for the Muckdogs (Stats). He started 9 games and threw 56 innings, striking out 40 batters.
Into the Sunshine
Nothing newsworthy or political about this -- just a little entertainment. The artist is Julia Nunes, a Fairport teen who has become a YouTube sensation.
