Our sin in numbers New Census numbers: 37.3 million living in poverty; 45.7 million uninsured.

And so it starts

Denver's CBS affiliate reports that "at least four people are under arrest in connection with a possible plot to kill Barack Obama" and one of the suspects reportedly told authorities that they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle … sighted at 750 yards."

Hillary Knocks It Out of The Park: “No Way. No How, No McCain.” "It's fitting that John McCain and George Bush will be meeting in the Twin Cities next week, because it's getting pretty hard to tell them apart." -- Hillary

Is it the chill in the morning air, the hint of autumn coming, that gets me thinking and writing this way?  Blame it on the season.

Excellent question "Does a bellicose Vietnam veteran who rushed to hitch his star to the self-immolating overreaches of Ahmad Chalabi, Pervez Musharraf and Mikheil Saakashvili have the judgment to keep America safe?"

Wanker of the Day  Shorter Halperin: If you're a Democrat, you really just better take it. Because the more you fight back, the worse it's gonna be for you.

Feist helps McCain count his homes

A common man of the people

An interesting tidbit from the end of a piece in the Politico on McCain's 8 homes. (They've decided it's eight.) From 2006 to 2007, the McCain's budget for household staff went up roughly 50% from $184,000 to $273,000 ...

A few weeks ago, #3 Daughter, age 7, was coloring a 4th of July picture. The design was a group of "puzzle" pieces, each with a letter inside it. The task was to identify the color that corresponded with the letter and then color in the piece. #3 Daughter looked at the required colors and decided they were not to her liking.  She picked up another crayon and asked rhetorically: "I can color them any color I want, right? It is a free country."

As she made the remark, her mother was making final preparations for the neighborhood Independence Day parade (which she’s organized yet again), and it all got me wondering. What does a dad say about his country at this particular moment in history, when it our freedom is being flushed down the toilet and our national character is being twisted by those who manipulate our fears for their own ends?

Explaining to the kids the nation’s birthday is simple enough, but helping them understand the holiday’s meaning for their lives is trickier. It’s about patriotism, of course, but talk to five people about how to define that word and you’ll get five different answers – none of which will match the one in your head.

Proof that there is a God:  Rachel Maddow gets her own TV show!

Wanker of the Day: Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher for arguing that lesbian adoptions will inevitably lead to the legalization of adoptions by pedophiles.

Majority of middle class supports progressive policies.

I couldn't have said it better

The first one is gone. #1 Son, now 20, is out there on his own, facing the great big world. It’s not exactly time for the empty nest syndrom, because I still have five more at home and it’ll be at least another 11 years before the youngest can leave, but it’s still a moment that releases a flood of strange emotions.  (Yes, there are political and religious implications in it all, but I'll leave them as undercurrents for your to find on your own.)

Truth is high, but higher still is living it.

-- Guru Nanak

I love these words of Guru Nanak, the 15th century founder of Sikhism.

(Do I need to write anything more?)

Spiritual-religious advice for this week and all time: Go and live the truth!

All right, I could write a little more. . .

I could write how ideals without corresponding action are meaningless.

I could give poignant examples from the Bible and history when innocent people suffered because of the lack of action of people who knew better.

I could quote from Jewish and Christian sources parallels to Guru Nanak's words.

But, what is the point?

The point is ACTION, not words.

So, please, please, GO AND LIVE YOUR VALUES.

Truth is high, but higher still is living it.

-- Guru Nanak

With love,

Rabbi Brian

The Monetary-Industrial Complex

So there you have it. When a Republican is president, the Fed eases interest rates in election years by much more than the objective economic circumstances dictate. Conversely, when a Democrat is president, the Fed tightens interest rates in election years by much more than the objective economic circumstances dictate. And for a while, anyway, the economy responds. And so do voters.

Nice little racket, eh?

Top CEOs Give 10 Times More To McCain Than Obama; McCain Promises Huge Tax Breaks For Them In Return

Troops Abroad Donated 6:1 To Obama  Seems Ol' McSame's message just isn't hitting home.

Unfit For Publication: Obama Camp Debunks Lies In Right Wing Smear Book

Larry King: Media Matters Confronts and Destroys Obama-Smearer Jerome Corsi

McCain's foreign policy

This man is simply too dangerous and unstable to be president. People need to wake up and get a look of the preview he's giving us of a McCain presidency.

Russia & Georgia, US & Hamas, Cheney & Musharraf A good, quick, smart read.

Not a fair trade  For what my home state, Wisconsin, has spent on the occupation of Iraq, we could have built more than 2.7 million homes with renewable electricity for one year.

Rabbi Brian's schedule prevents him from posting here, and I -- for one -- dearly miss his wisdom.  So, with his permission, I'm posting this week's message from the Rabbi.  See below.