I liked him in 2000, and I think many can agree that the world would be a much different place under McCain for the past eight years.

But Sarah Palin scares me. I mean, she actually makes me cringe with real fear. This is not funny “Blair Witch” fear, but “Arachnaphobia” fear; “The Shining” fear. I can feel her coming at me with an ax saying “Hereeeeeee’s Alaska!”

People criticized Matt Damon for his remarks about Palin.

But listen to what he’s saying. I’m not saying I agree with him 100 percent, but he makes a valid point.

I’m a registered independant, and not a partisan member of any party or paid subscriber of any ideology.

What in the world was John McCain thinking when he picked a seeming obscure governor or the most obscure state in the country? With a record of corruption? Who can’t name an American newspaper? Who thinks the media exists to play “gotcha games” and trick people?

I don’t care that she’s a woman. I don’t care about that at all.

What I saw on Saturday Night Live last night, and indeed what we’ve all seen for the last eight years is a real man, a good man who all Americans can respect if not always agree with. We are missing that in this country. Really, we’ve been missing that for more than 50 years.

When did it become unpatriotic to disagree? When did it become foolish to respect your enemies? When did it become stupid to like a president you can disagree with? My God did Edward R. Murrow accomplish nothing?

What did I see on SNL last night? I saw a man who can take a joke. I saw a man who can play along and laugh while still looking you in the eye.

I saw a candidate who actually took part in a SNL skit, as opposed to his running mate a few weeks ago who basically just stood there and twirlled her hair.

We can’t overlook the running mate situation any longer. John McCain is going to lose on Tuesday in large part because of Sarah Palin. John Kerry lost in 2004 in large part because John Edwards couldn’t carry either Carolina. If he picked Dick Gephardt, he would have carred Ohio and won. Al Gore lost because Joe Lieberman couldn’t bring in a single state that the Democrats weren’t already going to win. One of George H. W. Bush’s downfalls was his unpopular a vice president.

America needs a strong leader, a maverick, and a man (or woman) with balls. We need a real energy plan that will ween us off foreign oil and create countless thousands of good, quality jobs in the wind, solar and other environmentally friendly, domestic sources.

We don’t need “drill baby drill.” You’re wrong on that too, Senator McCain.

But mainly, we don’t need a vice president who actually scares us more than Dick Cheney.

Oh, and Ben Affleck is da bomb.

I had been using Tidy Cats, and she said that I need to be using a natural cat litter and that the one I was using would give them cancer and give me cancer and that it’s bad for the environment.

My response: “yeah, and it doesn’t clump well either.”

It’s amazing how far we’ve come…

Reuters reports the 28 year-old Hackney, East London resident hid a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon hoping — for some reason — that she would pop the balloon as he proposed.

But leaving the store, the wind picked up, and the balloon, the ring, and Leanne’s affections (for now) were blown away.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Hajji told The Sun newspaper. “I felt like such a plonker. It cost a fortune and I knew my girlfriend would kill me.”

Hajji chased the balloon for two hours before giving up. After telling Leanne the story, she got pissed and demanded a new ring.

Look, I’m no watchdog. I’m not screaming for CIA reform or complete transparency or whatnot, but the simple fact is that water boarding is a form of torture. It’s internationally recognized as a form of torture. It has killed people in the past.

And our president not only sanctions it, he defends it and calls it necessary and safe and legal.

This is where we’re at now.

The award citation partially read: Al Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted,”

Gore was traveling with his wife and released a statement saying: “We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.”

The question remains. Will Al Gore run for president again?

There is overwhelming support for lowering the numbers of troops in Iraq, but only 20 percent of responders to a recent Newsweek poll favor a complete withdrawal.

Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling the war in Iraq. Public approval of the president’s handling of Iraq has remained below the 30 percent mark since January, when he announced his plans to increase the number of troops deployed there. (The public’s approval of Bush’s overall handling of the war has been below the 50 percent mark since February of 2004).

64 percent of Americans surveyed deem the recent troop surge to be a failure while only 22 percent say it’s been a success.

In the mean time, the President’s approval rating remains below 30 percent, but rose 3 points from an earlier poll a few weeks ago.

American’s remain cautious that an immediate and complete withdrawal from Iraq will leave the country in chaos and disarray. A phased, eventual withdrawal was what the vast majority of survey respondents favored.

The poll also found that in spite of people’s desire to leave Iraq, less than 30 percent of Americans “are somewhat or very confident that the Iraqi government is equipped to control sectarian violence and provide security to its citizens once troops pull out,” the survey found.

President Bush continues to call the war in Iraq a battle with al Qaeda, saying troop withdrawal would force “mass killings on a horrific scale.”

40 percent of the Newsweek poll blamed the President for the problems in Iraq with 33 percent blaming the Iraqi government.

And he’s absolutely right in this case.

What are the alternatives? What are the competing ideas? Where are the opposition suggestions? Democrats won in November, and now it’s time for them to earn their keep. Exactly what should we do about Iraq? What is the plan?

Stop screaming that the president’s plan sucks and tell me something.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down, sources tell CNN.

No doubt pressured by yesterday’s dramatic swing in the balance of power, sources have told CNN that embattled Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, will resign. Fox News also confirmed the report but said Rumsfeld gave no prior indication or reason for his departure. The Fox article said Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, met with the Secretary today and was given no indication of his intentions.

Rumsfeld has been the target of many anti-war critics who attributed many of the perceived problems with the war in Iraq to his leadership. Boston.com referred to him as “one of the architects of the increasingly unpopular Iraq war.”

MSNBC reported Robert Gates, former CIA director, will take Rumsfeld’s place upon his departure.

Rumsfeld’s image problems have been going on for some time now, and he has not been able to portray himself in the light desired by the veteran Republican. He was an easy target for Democrats and anti-war candidates. When the bullseye was painted on his head, everything from Abu Ghraib to his usage of a mechanical means to sign over 1,000 condolence letters to families of killed soldiers, contributed to his downfall.

President Bush had previously said Rumsfeld would serve out his term regardless of what happened on election day.

It may not have been completely his choice, but it was Rumsfeld’s time to go.

Cancer, asthma, burns, rashes, permanent injury, previously unknown illnesses and a lack of proper compensation and basic acknowledgment came after the horror of watching their brothers in arms die, swallowed up by two massive buildings in an unprecedented collapse; a building failure by fire that has never been seen in modern or pre-modern engineering.

It was the worst disaster in the history of firefighting, and after the immediate suffering, the funerals, 21-gun salutes and taps, comes the slow painful torture of knowing the people your friends died saving and that you are now dying for aren’t behind you. It’s disturbing.

Police officers, firemen, soldiers, transit workers and construction workers didn’t ask if the concrete dust was toxic or the fumes, vapors and pulverized particles would make them sick. They didn’t ask for proof that that might get sick by doing their duty, the know that they will get sick from doing their duty. And in the weeks and months after September 11, 2001, they didn’t hesitate at the thought that the river of dust in New York might not be all too healthy.

They were to busy being called heroes by opportunistic politicians.

Well they don’t consider themselves heroes, and they don’t need to be called heroes to do what they do. They perform a brave, self-destructive job that 99 percent of people simply can’t physically or emotionally handle. They get shot at, breathe in smoke, climb onto roofs of burning buildings and they die, regularly, in a horrible and noble order of men and women.

They deserve to be taken care of. They do not deserve funding withheld, and they should not have to prove that their concrete-powder-related respiratory illnesses were directly caused by their work at Ground Zero. A report from WNBC Nov. 2 shows a nun, who spent several days at Ground Zero comforting victims and blessing the deceased, died of lung disease and requested a autopsy be performed on her after her death to prove that the respiratory illness that would go on to take her life and many others was connected to September 11 debris.

She shouldn’t have to had to prove anything. Common sense dictates that when you’re surrounded by toxic particles for days, you may get sick. Now many of the rescuers are being denied compensation and health care reimbursement as a result.

We’re going to have a new government in January. Let’s hope some lessons have been learned.