An important finding from a recent study of prejudice was that mutual trust between members of different races can catch on just as quickly, and spread just as fast, as suspicion.  WOW.  Whould’a thunk it?  Well, I say, it’s about time.

“This was supposed to be the election when hidden racism would rear its head. There was much talk of a “Bradley effect,” in which white voters would say one thing to pollsters and do another in the privacy of the booth; of a backlash in which the working-class whites whom Senator Barack Obama had labeled “bitter” would take their bitterness out on him.
moe…

Obama is a gun snatcher.  That’s what some are saying and they are rushing to purchase guns now before the Obama administration puts strict constraints on gun purchases. 

““He’s a gun-snatcher,” said Jim Pruett, owner of Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo in northwest Houston, which was packed with shoppers on Thursday.”

““He wants to take our guns from us and create a socialist society policed by his own police force,” added Mr. Pruett, a former radio personality, of President-elect Barack Obama.”
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In a sign of toll the economy has taken on our health care system, more and more hospitals are reporting seeing fewer patients with the ability to pay their bills and more people showing up at emergency rooms unable to pay their bills.

“Some patients with insurance seem to be deferring treatments like knee replacements, hernia repairs and weight-loss surgeries — the kind of procedures that are among the most lucrative to hospitals. Just as consumers are hesitant to make any sort of big financial decision right now, some patients may feel too financially insecure to take time off work or spend what could be thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses for elective treatments.”
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Every one of us knows someone with cancer.  Somehow scientists just haven’t been able to find out what causes this terrible disease, until now.  Some scientists have decoded all the genes of a person with cancer and found a set of mutations that might have caused the disease or aided its progression.

“Using cells donated by a woman in her 50s who died of leukemia, the scientists sequenced all the DNA from her cancer cells and compared it to the DNA from her own normal, healthy skin cells. Then they zeroed in on 10 mutations that occurred only in the cancer cells, apparently spurring abnormal growth, preventing the cells from suppressing that growth and enabling them to fight off chemotherapy.”

“The findings will not help patients immediately, but researchers say they could lead to new therapies and would almost certainly help doctors make better choices among existing treatments, based on a more detailed genetic picture of each patient’s cancer. Though the research involved leukemia, the same techniques can also be used to study other cancers.”
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There’s no rest for the weary.  Following his historic win on Tuesday night Barack Obama was at work on Wednesday to build his administration and make good on his ambitious promises to point the United States in a different direction.

“A day after becoming the first African-American to capture the presidency, Mr. Obama announced a transition team and prepared to name an ally as his White House chief of staff in his first steps toward assuming power. President Bush vowed to work closely with Mr. Obama to ensure a smooth transition in the first handover since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”

“Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the fourth-ranking House Democrat and a close friend of Mr. Obama’s from Chicago, has been offered the job of chief of staff, and although he was said to be concerned about the effects on his family and giving up his influential role on Capitol Hill, many Democrats said they expected him to accept it. Mr. Obama named John D. Podesta, the former Clinton White House chief of staff, to lead his transition team along with Valerie Jarrett, a longtime adviser, and Pete Rouse, his Senate chief of staff.”
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Those who adhere to a strict kosher diet will find it difficult to purchase meat products now that Agriprocessors Inc. has filed for bankruptcy.  The scramble is on to supply the demand for kosher meat products.

“The filing late Tuesday signaled the demise of a company that has been operated by a single family: the owner, Aaron Rubashkin, and his son Sholom, who built the company into the country’s dominant supplier of kosher meat.”

“Although demand for Agriprocessors’ products declined after the raid, supermarkets and butcher shops nationwide supplying Jews who observe strict dietary laws reported shortages of kosher meat this week, after the plant stopped slaughtering cattle a week ago. Agriprocessors sells meat under the Rubashkin’s, Aaron’s Best and Shor Harbor labels, among others.”
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In California, Arizona and Florida there was great sadness on Tuesday night.  No, not because Obama won.  Each of those states had a proposition on the ballot that would allow for same-sex marriages.  The voters said, “No” in all three states.

“The across-the-board sweep, coupled with passage of a measure in Arkansas intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children, was a stunning victory for religious conservatives, who had little else to celebrate on an Election Day that saw Senator John McCain lose and other ballot measures, like efforts to restrict abortion in South Dakota, California and Colorado, rejected.”
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Christmas is coming and almost every retailer is bracing for a dismal retail season.  Not Wal-Mart.  They are bracing for the biggest embrace the public is giving this year. 

“Sales at department stores and specialty retailers are in free fall. They are cutting staff, discounting merchandise and closing stores to survive. But even as the financial turmoil strangled discretionary spending at many stores, it sent struggling consumers into the arms of Wal-Mart — and left it, the world’s largest retailer, poised for a blockbuster Christmas.”
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Since Tuesday night the world has been saturated with the philosophy of Barack Obama the new President elect of the United States of America.  His is a philosophy of self realization, that you can achieve any goal you strive for with hard work.

The ritualistic approach of organizations which been in place in our area for years, retain the same leaders producing the same unsatisfactory results year after year.  Their leaders should be pushed out and the reins taken over by people who have the desire to make real changes.  A prime example is our Amherst Democratic Committee.  The same old leaders consistently produce the same poor results.  Slates filled with unsuccessful candidates have been their hallmark for 20 years. 

It’s time for a change!

Republicans are frantically trying to save whatever seats they can in Congress as Democrats are poised to unseat many.  How about Senator Al Franken from Minnesota?  How does that sound?  It could happen.

“Outspent and under siege in a hostile political climate, Congressional Republicans scrambled this weekend to save embattled incumbents in an effort to hold down expected Democratic gains in the House and Senate on Tuesday.”

“Sensing an extraordinary opportunity to expand their numbers in both the House and Senate, Democrats were spending freely on television advertising across the campaign map. Senate Democrats were active in nine states where Republicans are running for re-election; House Democrats, meanwhile, bought advertising in 63 districts, twice the number of districts where Republicans bought advertisements and helped candidates.”
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