A few weeks back Senator McCain was the epitome of a grouchy old man.  These last few days, before the election, he has taken on a new, lighter version of that image.  He seems to be having - FUN!!!

“No one is suggesting that Mr. McCain is ecstatic that he is behind in the polls or that the cognoscenti, as he puts it, “have written us off.””

“But in the frantic last days of his nearly two-year second quest for the presidency, Mr. McCain has liberated himself from the irritable, edgy candidate of a month ago. He has, by all appearances, decided he will get to Tuesday by having a good time.”
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How are you doing with your family’s budget?  Could you support an increase in the US budget by increasing the Pentagon’s annual base budget beyond $500 billion?  No, I would guess not.

“After years of unfettered growth in military budgets, Defense Department planners, top commanders and weapons manufacturers now say they are almost certain that the financial meltdown will have a serious impact on future Pentagon spending.”
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The song says, “Hang on Sloopy!  Sloopy hang on!”  That’s the Treasury Department’s response to GM.  The giant car manufacturer had requested up to $10 billion to help finance the automaker’s possible merger with Chrysler.  That got a cold shoulder while the Fed’s wait to see who wins tomorrow’s election.

“The Democratic candidate, Senator Barack Obama, has said in recent days that he supports increasing aid to the troubled auto companies, while Senator John McCain has not said whether he would support aid beyond the $25 billion.”

“Treasury officials were said to be reluctant to broaden the $700 billion financial rescue program to include industrial companies or to play a part in a G.M.-Chrysler merger that could cost tens of thousands of jobs.”
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When an illegal alien is arested should his/her employer face charges?  In Postville, Iowa, about 400 immigrant workers were arrested in a raid in May.  Nothing happened to their employer until Thursday.

“With the arrest of the former chief executive, Sholom Rubashkin, federal authorities extended their criminal prosecution to the highest level of management at Agriprocessors Inc., the nation’s biggest kosher meatpacking company.”

“Mr. Rubashkin and his father, both Lubavitch Hasidic Jews, built Agriprocessors into a kosher giant. Kosher consumers faced meat shortages since the raid, and the scandal fueled a debate about kosher ethics.”
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Can a school in a poverty ridden neighborhood transform from one of the worst schools into one of its best?  That’s what happened in South Carolina, or did it?  Now investigators are digging into the case to see if the higher than normal number of erasures on standardized tests indicates fraud.  The improvement seemed almost too good to be true.

“MiShawna Moore has been a hero in the worn neighborhoods behind this city’s venerable mansions, a school principal who fed her underprivileged students, clothed them, found presents for them at Christmas and sometimes roused neglectful parents out of bed in the nearby housing projects.”

“Ms. Moore, who has denied any wrongdoing, has taken a job out of state, leaving behind hurt feelings and wounded pride in a city of race and class divisions as old as the time-mellowed neighborhoods in this Old South shrine. The public schools here are 98 percent African-American, and nearly 20 percent of the city’s population was below the poverty level in the 2000 census.”
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History of Halloween in the United States and Canada

Halloween did not become a holiday in the United States until the 19th century, where lingering Puritan tradition restricted the observance of many holidays.

American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries do not include Halloween in their lists of holidays.^[29] The transatlantic migration of nearly two million Irish following the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) finally brought the holiday to the United States. Scottish emigration, primarily to Canada before 1870 and to the United States thereafter, brought the Scottish version of the holiday to each country.

 The main event for children of modern Halloween in the United States and Canada is trick-or-treating, in which children disguise themselves in costumes and go door-to-door in their neighborhoods, ringing each doorbell and yelling “trick or treat!” to solicit a gift of candy or similar items.

Scottish-American and Irish-American societies held dinners and balls that celebrated their heritages, with perhaps a recitation of Robert Burns‘ poem “Halloween” or a telling of Irish legends, much as Columbus Day celebrations were more about Italian-American heritage than Columbus per se. Home parties centred on children’s activities, such as apple bobbing, and various divination games often concerning future romance. Not surprisingly, pranks and mischief were common as well.At the turn of the 20th century, Halloween had turned into a night of vandalism, with destruction of property and cruelty to animals and people.^[31] Around 1912, the Boy Scouts, Boys Clubs and other neighborhood organizations came together to encourage a safe celebration that would end the destruction that had become so common on this night.^[32] School posters during this time called for a “Sane Halloween.” Children began to go door to door, receiving treats, rather than playing tricks on their neighbors. This helped to reduce the mischief, and by the 1930s, “beggar’s nights” had become very popular. Trick-or-treating became widespread by the end of the 1930s.

Traditions

The commercialization of Halloween in the United States did not start until the 20th century, beginning perhaps with Halloween postcards (featuring hundreds of designs) which were most popular between 1905 and 1915.^[33] Dennison Manufacturing Company, which published its first Hallowe’en catalog in 1909, and the Beistle Company were pioneers in commercially made Halloween decorations, particularly die-cut paper items.^[34][35] German manufacturers specialised in Halloween figurines that were exported to the United States in the period between the two world wars.There is little primary documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in the United States or elsewhere, before 1900.^[36] Mass-produced Halloween costumes did not appear in stores until the 1930s, and trick-or-treating did not become a fixture of the holiday until the 1950s.In the 1990s, many manufacturers began producing a larger variety of Halloween yard decorations; before this a majority of decorations were homemade. Some of the most popular yard decorations are jack-o’-lanterns, scarecrows, witches, orange string lights, inflatable decorations (such as spiders, pumpkins, mummies and vampires), and animatronic window and door decorations. Other popular decorations are foam tombstones and gargoyles.Halloween is now the United States’ second most popular holiday (after Christmas) for decorating; the sale of candy and costumes are also extremely common during the holiday, which is marketed to children and adults alike. According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular Halloween costume themes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire, cat and clown.^[37] Each year, popular costumes are dictated by various current events and pop culture icons.On many college campuses, Halloween is a major celebration, with the Friday and Saturday nearest October 31 hosting many costume parties.The National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80 percent of American adults planned to give out candy to trick-or-treaters,^[38] and that 93 percent of children planned to go trick-or-treating.^[39]Madison, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hosts one of the more infamous annual Halloween celebrations. Due to the large influx of out-of-towners crowding the State Street area, riots have broken out in recent years, resulting in the use mounted police and tear gas to disperse the crowds.^[40]Anoka, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed “Halloween Capital of the World”, celebrates the holiday with a large civic parade and several other city-wide events. Salem, Massachusetts, also has laid claim to the “Halloween Capital” title, while trying to dissociate itself from its history of persecuting witchcraft. At the same time, however, the city does see a great deal of tourism surrounding the Salem witch trials, especially around Halloween. In the 1990s, the city added an official “Haunted Happenings” celebration to the October tourist season.. Nearby Keene, New Hampshire, hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest each October which previously held the record for having the greatest number of lit jack-o’-lanterns at once. (Boston, Massachusetts holds the record as of October 2006). In Atlanta, Georgia, the Little Five Points neighborhood hosts the Little Five Points Halloween Parade on the weekend before October 31st each year.Rutland, Vermont has hosted the annual Rutland Halloween Parade since 1960. Tom Fagan, a local comic book fan, is credited with having a hand in the parade’s early development and superhero theme. In the early 1970s, the Rutland Halloween Parade achieved a degree of fame when it was used as the setting of a number of superhero comic books, including Batman #237, Justice League of America #103, Amazing Adventures #16 and The Mighty Thor #207.Ubu Apocalypse, a presentation of over-sized papier-mâché masks at the Village Halloween Parade in New York City.New York City hosts the United States’ largest Halloween celebration, known as The Village Halloween Parade. Started by Greenwich Village mask maker Ralph Lee in 1973, the evening parade now attracts over two million spectators and participants, as well as roughly four million television viewers annually. It is the largest participatory parade in the country if not the world, encouraging spectators to march in the parade as well.Barbara Ehrenreich, in her book on collective joy mentions this as an example of how Halloween is transitioning from a children’s holiday to an adult holiday and compares it to Mardi Gras.In many towns and cities, trick-or-treaters are welcomed by lit porch lights and jack-o’-lanterns. In some large and/or crime ridden areas, however, trick-or-treating is discouraged, or refocused to staged trick-or-treating events within nearby shopping malls, in order to prevent potential acts of violence against trick-or-treaters. Even where crime is not an issue, many American towns have designated specific hours for trick-or-treating, e.g., 5-7 pm or 5-8 pm, to discourage late-night trick-or-treating.Those living in the country may hold Halloween parties, often with bonfires, with the celebrants passing between them. The parties usually involve traditional games (like snipe hunting, bobbing for apples, or searching for candy in a similar manner to Easter egg hunting), haunted hayrides (often accompanied by scary stories, and costumed people hiding in the dark to jump out and scare the riders), and treats (usually a bag of candy and/or homemade treats). Scary movies may also be viewed. Normally, the children are picked up by their parents at predetermined times. However, it is not uncommon for such parties to include sleepovers.Trick-or-treating may often end by early evening, but the nightlife thrives in many urban areas. Halloween costume parties provide an opportunity for adults to gather and socialize. Urban bars are frequented by people wearing Halloween masks and risqué costumes. Many bars and restaurants hold costume contests to attract customers to their establishments. Haunted houses are also popular in some areas.

In Western Canada, fireworks displays and a civic bonfire are part of the festivities.

Early voting is going on in 32 of our 50 United States.  No, not here in NY.  Experts expect about 35% of registered voters in those states to vote early.  That’s up from about 20%.”“I thought I might as well do this,” said Rhonda Woolcox, 83, who came to a community center here on Monday to cast her presidential vote for Senator John McCain of Arizona. “I wasn’t about to change my mind.””

“Others seemed to view early voting as a leap of faith.”

““I was afraid that if I voted early our votes wouldn’t be counted,” said Glynetter Prather, 44, who nonetheless cast her ballot in Florida for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. “I mean, there’s enough time to lose these ballots. And I hate to say that, but that’s Florida’s signature.””
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The suicide rate of our armed forces is going up dramatically.  The Army is facing this issue head on and will work closely with the National Institute of Mental Health in an ambitious five-year project to identify the causes and risk factors of suicide.

“The Army will make thousands of soldiers available to researchers for interviews and will provide access to its many databases, including those with medical, personnel, criminal and deployment histories. Researchers will draw from a cross section of the Army and will include soldiers who have just joined the service or are training for war and those who have returned from war.”

“Rather than wait until the study is completed, the National Institute of Mental Health will provide the Army with new information as researchers find it in the hopes of preventing soldier suicides.”
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Are your children in college?  Will they be in the next couple of years?  Prepare for higher tuition than you ever imagined. 

“Tuition costs rose slightly faster than the Consumer Price Index last year, and students received record amounts of financial aid, according to the annual reports on college pricing and student aid released Wednesday by the College Board.”

“But while financial aid is growing, average student borrowing is still going up, as well.”

“Moreover, many education experts said that the report’s findings of relatively stable college affordability, based on data gathered before the current economic downturn, might already be outdated. With the troubles in the stock market, they said, both public and private colleges may soon be in serious financial straits, forcing large increases in tuition.”
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Separate and unequal as usual.  Studies show that women pay significantly more than men of the same age for individual health insurance policies.  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.

“Some insurance executives expressed surprise at the size and prevalence of the disparities, which can make a woman’s insurance cost hundreds of dollars a year more than a man’s. Women’s advocacy groups have raised concerns about the differences, and members of Congress have begun to question the justification for them.”
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