Kentucky Wildcat Football Homecoming A Thriller

I have just finished watching the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 21-20. I am incredibly happy and ashamed at the same time.

Incredibly happy because Kentucky had some firsts tonight. First SEC game we've won this season. First time our coach Rick Brooks has beaten Arkansas' coach Bobby Petrino. First touchdown reception for Randall Cobb. Then make it two in the same game. What a shot in the arm this guy was. And way to shake it off and keep your head in the game, Hartline. And our defense? Outstanding, especially at the last when they held Arkansas who had plenty of time to make another touchdown or at least a field goal. How much time? Over 2 minutes, which everyone who watches football knows, is enough time to make or break a game. Especially with a good team like Arkansas. And especially when Kentucky has a nasty un-lucky streak when it comes to close games. They usually end up in heartbreakers. But not this time.

So now the question remains, why am I ashamed? I'll tell you why. I don't like to be clumped in with a lot of other supposedly faithful Kentucky Wildcat fans. Fans who are fans as long as the team is doing well. When this happens, they proudly hold out their Kentucky shirts to show the name or wave their Wildcat flags in the air and scream at the top of their lungs.

But what happens when the going is tough? When Kentucky is behind 17-7 in the 4th quarter. When it looks like Kentucky has lost their Homecoming game? These supposed "True Blue" fans not only boo their own team but walk out of the stadium, leaving half of the seats empty. You read right. While Kentucky was making their comeback and winning the game, half the crowd wad driving home or was already there. As the announcer said, "Shame on you."

I grew up here in Kentucky. I love this state and am proud to be a Kentuckian. Most of the time, I love the people in this state but when it comes to sports.....not so much. Lots of fans will argue, saying that the Kentucky Wildcats football team has never been as good as the basketball team. That even though, over the past few years they have showed promise, Kentucky's football team will never reign supreme over basketball in the SEC. They say we're a basketball state, not a football state. They act like it's okay to boo the football team because of this reason. After all, they're only the football team right?

Wrong. Number one, the Kentucky Wildcat football team has gotten to the point where they deserve to be treated with respect, especially from their own fans. The football team has always played with a lot of heart and many times could have won games but there always seemed to be a black cloud hanging over their heads. If something could go wrong, it would. Still, that is no reason to be booed by their own supposed fans....and for those who do, I use the term fan loosely.

Number two. These same fans who use this argument completely forget that when the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team is having problems, they boo them as well. It doesn't matter that Kentucky Basketball has won more SEC titles than anyone else or that they have tons of banners, both SEC and NCAA, hanging up in Rupp Arena. Let them have a few bad years and they get booed as well.

To sum it up, I am ashamed of the Kentucky Wildcat fans who only stand behind the teams when they are winning. Who boo the players while forgetting that these are just young men, barely into adulthood, who are trying their best to win and feeling down enough without having their fans turn against them. Players who look up into the stands to see that half the crowd has given up on them and gone home early. Well, Kentucky football players you got the last laugh tonight didn't you?

My husband and I sat in front of the television cheering them on the whole time. We delighted in watching them win while laughing at the fools that booed and went home. They don't know what they missed. It was a heck of a comeback and I want to say, "Congrats, Cats! Way to play tough and not give up!"

To the fans who left I say, "You may give up on the players but they don't give up on themselves." And by the way, get a dictionary and look up the word "fan". Not the one that talks about an object which blows out cold air....hey, wait. Maybe that does describe you because if booing your own team isn't cold, I don't know what is.

Casey Anthony Indicted By Grand Jury

Yesterday Casey Anthony's luck seemed to run out. The mother of missing 3 year old tot, Caylee Marie Anthony was indicated by a Grand Jury on 7 different counts. The counts were first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators about the disappearance of Caylee. Casey is being held without bond, so this time she will definitely have to stay in jail.

If Casey Anthony is convicted of manslaughter she could be facing the death penalty or life in prison. It is my understanding from watching Nancy Grace that if Casey Anthony is given the death penalty and it is carried out, she would be the first woman in Florida history to be put to death.

It only took the Grand Jury 30 minutes after listening to the facts of the case, despite not having a body, to indict Casey Anthony. I can only guess that the prosecution made a pretty good case without having to have the body. As everyone knows, what goes on in a Grand Jury trial is kept secret from the public, although yesterday speakers outside the courthouse were turned on and filtered into the media trucks parked outside. However, they were warned that they could face charges of criminal contempt if they repeated anything they had heard. I wonder. will that stop them?

What got me the most was the fact that Casey Anthony cried yesterday when the indictment came down. Now, I'm sure most of us would cry if they were facing life in prison or death. What gets me about this situation is that through this whole thing, Casey has never once broke down in tears in front of the public. Not when her child was supposedly kidnapped. Not all the months she was "searching" for her daughter in between spending stolen money at various places such as Target and Winn-Dixie. Not when it's been 4 months since she's seen little Caylee. Instead, she was out partying with her friends, buying beer and living off her friends money.

I'm sorry if I sound heartless, no, really I'm not. Casey Anthony, Susan Smith or any of the other mothers who have killed their children (supposing Casey has killed Caylee and it seems that's what has happened more and more every day) with premeditation should be killed or at the very least spend their entire lives behind bars without parole.

There is no worse crime than hurting or killing an innocent child or an elderly person. People who cannot defend themselves. It is cowardly, mean and beyond comprehension for most people, including myself. Children are meant to be coddled and loved. Elderly people are meant to be treated with respect. What has this world come to when you see more and more mothers killing their children, throwing their newborns into trash containers or rolling them into a river in a car?

As a mother who thought she could never have children and was finally blessed after 10 years of marriage with three children, I do not understand why these parents believe that killing their child is the only option of getting rid of them. There are so many couples out in the world who would love to have a child. Who hope and pray to God every day for one. Who would love to raise these children who are getting killed. From watching this case on Nancy Grace night after night, I know for a fact that Cindy and George Anthony would gladly have raised little Caylee if Casey no longer wanted to. They should have been given that chance.

Casey, you can cry those crocodile tears all you want. I do not feel sorry for you in the least. It is little Caylee who I pray for and hope that is still, miraculously still alive somewhere.

High Blood Sugar and Ketoacidosis Is Scary

As you may have noticed if you actually read my dribble religiously, you will have noticed that I didn't post any blogs for a few days. That was due to the fact that my oldest daughter was in the hospital fighting a bout of ketoacidosis, one of the scariest things a parent has to face.

For any of you who are not diabetic or do not have any knowledge of what ketoacidosis is and what happens to a diabetics body when they have it, I wrote an article about this subject on AC. You can find it here.

I have 3 children ages 22, 19 and 18. My two oldest children, a boy and a girl have had type 1 diabetes since they were 8 years old. My husband has type 2 diabetes and had to have his toe taken off last year due to neuropathy. Thankfully, myself and our youngest daughter don't have diabetes....yet. Keeping my fingers crossed we never do because it's stressful enough having three diabetics living in the same house.

Yes, it's true that when diabetics blood sugar is running high they are very emotional. They yell, they pout, they cry. Sometimes there's fists going through walls....I kid you not. We've been lucky that all three of them haven't felt that way at the same time. But I digress.

Ketoacidosis is a very scary and dangerous condition. Something we can't seem to get across to our daughter, even though she's been very sick both times she's been in the hospital with this. I really don't know what to do to get her to understand how crucial it is for her to take care of her blood sugar. Even though her ketoacidosis was due to a combination of her blood sugar running high and a respiratory tract infection, she chose to concentrate on the "infection" word.

I have fought with her about taking her insulin which only makes her more stubborn. I have tried to sit back and hope that she would take the insulin if I didn't bother her. Sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have prayed about this constantly and am grateful that the Good Lord has been watching out for her but still I worry.

I'm hoping that the doctor's lecture will get through to her. In the meantime, thank you for letting me rant and hopefully I will not miss posting something every day.

Thanks for reading.

Second Presidential Debate A Yawner, But Obama Clear Winner

My husband and I watched the last debate and were not impressed. And we weren't alone. A lot of professional politicos also declared the debate, "A yawner." Despite this fact, I think that Obama came out the clear winner, at least in our household.

I have been an Obama supporter since he beat out Clinton. Yes, Hilary Clinton would have been my first choice for President of The United States by a narrow margin. When Barack Obama won, I stuck with the Democratic party because I felt John McCain was a clone of Bush. I had hoped that Obama would choose Hilary Clinton as his running mate, but sadly that didn't happen. My husband, on the other hand, thought he was going to vote for McCain. But after watching the debate and listening to their ideas for America, my husband said he would vote for Obama.

But getting back to the debate. Yes, both candidates brought up some interesting ideas for helping America get out of the economic distress we are in, not to mention the war and health care plans. What I noticed the most was that while Senator Obama tried to answer each question as thoroughly as possible, Senator McCain, when asked a question, would fire something off about Obama, say very few words about what he planned to do about whatever was mentioned, and just kept repeating the same phrases over and over. "My friends" which I believe I read totaled a number of 30 times. And "We are Americans. I have faith that we can get through this." Problem was, he really didn't enlighten either my husband or myself as to how Americans were going to get through the issues that have plaguing us for 8 years.

Then, Senator Obama started defending himself, making the debate more of a "he did this" or "he did that" instead of discussing America.

Many people have taken offense to the fact that during the debate John McCain pointed at Barack Obama and referred to him as, "that one". Not Senator Obama. That One. And while I wondered at first why there was such a big uproar over 2 simple words, I understand it now. In a public forum such as a debate, calling Obama "that one" instead of using his name was very disrepectful to McCain's opponent.

No matter whether you thought it was disrespectful or nothing big, the truth of the matter is, lots of people are cashing in on those two words. For example, Zazzle found here has several "That One" t-shirts. They sell for around $24.00. Zazzle isn't the only one cashing in on McCain's faux paux. There are lots of internet sites selling these t-shirts.

Yet again, another McCain strategy has seemed to backfire. Not only did the remark make undecided voters wonder whether to vote for him, Obama supporters to have something to wear against him but it also made money for others besides himself. Maybe McCain should demand a percentage of the profits. At least that way, he would have gotten something out of it.

McCain And Palin Changing Tacts When First Ideas Draw Criticism

This week has been a very big disappointment to me as a voter and a citizen of the United States of America.

It started last Sunday, a week ago, when Sarah Palin addressed a group of McCain/Palin supporters and brought up, yet again, the ties between Barack Obama and William Ayers. Ayers, of course, was the leader of the Weather Underground which protested the Vietnam War by bombing several buildings including the Pentagon, The House Of Representatives and several police stations. And while this is a terrible thing to do, in my opinion, what Palin failed to remind voters was the fact that Obama was 8 years old when this happened.

How old exactly was John McCain when he was one of the senators who were basically bought by Charles Keating, a real estate tycoon who ran the Lincoln S&L. The same S&L that shut down costing taxpayers billions of dollars? Not only was McCain one of the senators, he was the one the ethics committee dubbed as "closest to Keating." He was at least 30 something years old. McCain was given a slap on the wrist for his dealings with Keating when in reality, the man should have been ousted from office along with the other 4 senators.

How old was Sarah Palin when she used her position in public office to get rid of her ex-brother-in-law? Sarah has been found guilty of using her position in office for personal reasons. And while a lot of Palin supporters will point out that "Troopergate" was started in order to defame the Republican nominee for President that's not true. In fact, "Troopergate" was started before John McCain chose Palin to be his running mate.

McCain and Palin spent the better part of this week defaming Barack Obama by saying that he was "hanging out with terrorist". They stood by and watched as their supporters, so caught up in the mud-slinging yelled, "Terrorist!" "Muslim" and "Take his head off!" (in reference to Senator Obama). They knew they were inciting voters by bringing up one of their biggest fears. Terrorism.

But by doing so, McCain and Palin were putting a huge target on Obama's back. We all know that this kind of mob mentality can get ugly. It only takes one crazy person deciding to "do something about Obama" to prompt what could be an attack on Obama's life. A man whose only crime is trying to become President. A man with a wife. A father to two beautiful little girls. But did they care? No. That is, until McCain and Palin realized that their tactic wasn't winning over the undecided votes. If anything, their attacks were turning people off and making them decide to vote for Obama. They didn't stop their attacks until the press brought this into the spotlight.

Now, all of a sudden, McCain is trying to stop the rampage he and his running partner have helped to cause. Friday night, McCain was booed by supporters for saying, "Senator Obama is a decent, honest man and no one should be scared to have him as President of the United States." And while I feel this course of action is a little bit late, Senator Obama thanked John McCain for sticking up for him. A very classy thing to do, I might add, since this whole McCain campaign has been one attempt after another to not address the issues but instead, to smear Obama's reputation. Still, I guess McCain deserves a pat on the back for trying, however, then again, how do we know McCain is defending Obama's honor because he's truly sorry he incited the voters so much or because he realizes his attack campaign on Obama is making him look bad to the undecided voters? Or maybe, McCain and Palin are afraid that Obama will start bringing up the Keating Five and Troopergate, smearing their reputations much worse than they could smear Obama's.

Yes, Senator Obama fought back and put up a 13 minute video called KeatingEconomics.com that has been airing on the internet but this was only after several (and I do mean several) attacks on his reputation. No matter how cool and calm Obama may be, a person can only take so much before their backs are pushed against the wall and they have to come out swinging. Unless you are John Kerry who tried to ignore George Bush's tactics in 2004. A choice that I believe ended up costing him a chance to be President of the United States.

Whatever the reasons for McCain and Palin stopping their attacks on Obama's personal life, I am glad it's over (hopefully). I believe that rational and smart Americans want to hear what the candidates plan to do on every issue instead of all the mud-slinging, so that they can make a wise and educated vote on election day.

Peter Cook's Interview With Barbara Walters Makes Him Look Like More Of An Idiot Than We Already Thought He Was

I'm hoping that a lot of people have heard of Peter Cook, the estranged husband of model, Christie Brinkley. Their divorce over the summer has become one of the nastiest divorces between celebrities in a long time and that's saying something.

Christie decided to divorce Peter when it came out that he was spending over 3 grand a month for porno tapes and was having an affair with an 18 year old girl. Cook then ended up paying the 18 years old girl $300,000.00 to stay quiet about said affair.

And as if all that weren't bad enough, Cook went on 20/20 with Barbara Walters to plead his case. A case that has as many lame excuses as a sieve has holes. His reasoning for having the affair with an 18 year old girl when he was married to one of the most beautiful women in the world? "I was searching for a connection that was missing in my marriage." Please. Couldn't Peter have thought of anything a little more original that that?

Cook even goes so far as to try to blame Christie for his affair. He says that he wasn't given enough attention in the marriage. That he should have been thanked for all the things he did for Christie and the family. That's your duty as a husband, nimrod! To be there for your wife and kids. Cook knew that Brinkley was a huge celebrity and that he would be in the shadows but he married her anyway. Now, he's whining about being Mrs. Brinkley. Give me a break! There are plenty of men out there that would love to switch places with Cook and would not complain.

Cooper Lawrence, a psychiatrist who was on Showbiz Tonight, offered an explanation for Cook's reaction, stating that a lot of prominent men who marry prominent men feel they need more attention the longer the marriage goes on. However, she also started her comment with, "Either he's (Peter Cook) dumber than we thought he was or he thinks we're dumb."

Personally, I'm not falling for the sob story. The man had everything he could want. A beautiful model/wife, wonderful kids and tons of money yet he threw that all away because his ego is the size of California. Nope, I don't feel sorry for Peter Cook. He feels sorry enough for himself for everybody.

You can see the interview on Friday night's 20/20.

Paris Hilton Does Another Ad For Her Fake Presidential Campaign

So McCain starts all of this stuff by placing Paris Hilton (along with Britney Spears) in a 'celebrity' ad against Obama. Adam McKay and Chris Henchy, co-founders of FunnyorDie.com came up with the idea for a rebuttal, approached Paris with it and soon the fake commercial was on the internet and had garnered over 5,000 hits in just days. The hits seem to rise which I guess is the reason that they went back to the well and tried this again.

This fake presidency campaign ad centers around Paris talking strategy with her favorite fake President, Presenident Bartlett from the Office, played by Martin Sheen. They discuss how hard it is to be a fake President and discuss things like FOPO. "What is FOPO?" Martin Sheen asks. "Foreign Policy silly." Paris responds. "I should have known that BF." Martin responds. They continue to discuss the economy as well before Charlie Sheen drops by. When he finds out that his dad is giving fake Presidential advice to fake running candidate, Paris he offers to find plenty of fake votes.

While the first Paris Hilton for President was funny and well worth watching since everyone wanted to see how she would respond to being dragged into the election. However, this joke is now getting old and stale. Even the appearances of Martin Sheen and the cameo by his son, Charlie could not help this web video. It was mildly entertaining and pretty much all around boring.

I think the first one was so popular that everyone at FunnyOrDie.com thought it would be nice to do another one and Paris was probably very eager to do this as well. However, I believe they dipped into the subject one time too many. They could have stuck with the one web video and had a hit instead of flopping with this new one. It was not in the least bit funny, except for the fact that their ideas of how to handle foreign policy and the economy are oddly enough, the best ideas I've heard during this Presidential election. This being said, the future isn't looking too great for American citizens everywhere, now is it?

This clip premiered today at FunnyOrDie.com. Take a trip over there and see what you think about this video. I give it a 3 out of 10 at best.

Casey Anthony To Face Grand Jury: Murder or Manslaughter?

Jessica D'Onofrio of WKMG, a local television station in Orlando, Florida, broke the news story that Casey Anthony, mother of missing Caylee Marie Anthony will be brought before the Grand Jury next Tuesday. D'Onofrio said that Anthony's case will be the last one for this Grand Jury before they are dissolved and another group of people are seated.

D'Onofrio told Nancy Grace said the Florida State's Attorney's Office is set to seek homicide charges against Casey three months after the tot went missing. Since they do not need a body to charge Casey Anthony with the murder of her daughter, Caylee, the state feels it has enough evidence to prove that Casey did indeed murder her daughter.

There are hair samples which match Caylee's and air samples taken from the trunk of the abandoned car. Also, the cadavir dogs were alerted when scenting the trunk, proving that there had been a human body or remains in the back of the car. There were also high chloroform levels found in the trunk and after finding Casey Anthony's search about chloroform on her computer, investigators are positive that Casey definitely had something to do with the disappearance of her daughter, 3 year old Caylee Marie Anthony. D'Onofrio also said that the Florida detectives had been working very hard on this case and she suspected they had more evidence than this that they were holding back until the Grand Jury meeting. She said she would not be surprised to hear of lots more things coming to light.

No subpoenas had been given out as of yesterday, but George and Cindy Anthony were told to clear their calendar for Tuesday. It is also believed that Amy Heizel, Casey Anthony's supposed best friend and the one Casey stole from along with Anthony Lazzaro, Casey's boyfriend at the time will also be called as will several detectives and lab techs.

I have been following this case since it first began, hoping and praying that they would find little Caylee Marie healthy and hidden somewhere but I have begun to lose hope. All the evidence is pointing to the fact that Casey Anthony, whether she got mad at her mother and killed Caylee out of spite or whatever, did indeed kill her little girl. And what makes it worse, the murder seems to have been pre-meditated. Searches on the web for chloroform, poems talking about how God gives things that can be taken away, her mental demeanor during questioning and especially on the tapes just days after Caylee supposedly went missing, shopping up a storm and appearing to be enjoying spending her friend's money with not an item for Caylee in sight, is very disgusting.

How could a mother get rid of her daughter either by giving her away or killing her just because she's jealous of her mother's relationship to her child? How could a mother just go through her everyday life, partying, stealing and shopping while allegedly not knowing where her 3 year old daughter is? How could a woman be so hard hearted as to not tell police where her daughter's remains are, so that there can be a proper burial?

I believe that detectives and officials have gone with the Grand Jury thing not only to try to get an indictment but to use the Grand Jury as an investigative tool. I also believe they think if Casey Anthony is faced with the realization that she could spend the rest of her life in jail or worse, she will finally quit spewing out all the lies she has been telling since the day she was brought in and tell the truth. Hopefully, lead them to Caylee Marie Anthony's body, but I'm not holding my breath.

This is one tough girl. She doesn't mind partying and living the high life while her daughter is "missing". She shows no ounce whatsoever of remorse or worry for Caylee. She doesn't mind stealing her "best friends" checkbook and writing checks all over town until her friend is broke. This woman is a selfish user and most likely a murderer. I hope I am wrong and that Caylee is safe with someone else but I fear the worse.

It's the night before the next Presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. The debate will be held in Bowling Green, Kentucky, my state and on the border to Ohio, a key state in this election.

Most of the political analyzers are saying that if Barack Obama wins any of the "swing states", Ohio being one of them, then he will more than likely become President of the United States. So what are the undecided voters in Ohio looking for from either candidate? How each candidate proposes to handle fixing the economy. A huge task for either candidate to be sure.

Not let me tell you what the people in not only Ohio, but the United States do not want to listen to anymore. McCain and Palin doing Obama bashing all weekend long while barely focusing on the matters that are important to the voters.

Sunday, Sarah Palin began the attacks against Obama, saying that Obama "associates with terrorists." John McCain followed suit today, according to ABC news saying, "You deserve to know who you're putting into office. For a man whose written two autobiographies, Obama is not an open book." McCain went on to call his opponent dishonest, untrustworthy and many other names. ABC's George Stephanopaulos believes that the mud-slinging will continue on through the debate tomorrow night. All I have to say to that is....McCain, you're an idiot!

When is McCain and Company going to realize that all that mud they are slinging ends up coming back and hitting them in their own faces. When McCain's campaign put out the ad that Obama was more interested in being a celebrity than being the President of the United States, showing Obama waving to the crowds in between clips of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton did that make Obama's popularity plummet? No! All it managed to do was make a fool out of McCain. I mean, how embarrassing is it when Paris Hilton of all people, makes a better and more popular campaign video than McCain? Not only that, but McCain was proven to be a hypocrite. He appeared on as many shows as Obama did and even went on the "Rachel Ray" show to promote his special barbecue ribs. Not that I don't like Rachel because I do, but what the heck does barbecue ribs have to do with the problems the country is having today?

Not learning from that fiasco, McCain tried again with another ad saying, "He made time to go to the gym, but canceled the visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." Several news people who were with Obama when this ad was made were appalled that McCain told such a blatant lie.

Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC reporter and a supporter of McCain who had made the trip with Obama denounced the ad. "There was never any intention of taking cameras to the hospital." Mitchell related the decision was made not to go see the soldiers at the hospital because Obama felt if he made that his last stop, McCain would lash out, seeing it as a publicity stunt. McCain lashed out all right, just the opposite direction. However, McCain made a big mistake when he approved the message.

Not only Mitchell but Keith Olberman as well, poked holes in the ad. Not only were the words lies, but the pictures as well. Mitchell and Olberman both said the pictures that were used in the viscious ad of Obama shooting basketball in a "gym" were actually taken in Kuwait, where Obama had stopped to visit soldiers. Andrea should definitely know.....she was with him on the trip. If I read her right, McCain lost at least one supporter by showing just how far he would go to win the Presidency.

And strike three. During a speech in which Obama had never mentioned Sarah Palin, he used the same words McCain had used in one of his speeches.....putting lipstick on a pig. What happened? McCain's campaign blew the words out of propertion, saying that Obama had used the term to describe Palin. WTF?

Now McCain is back to talking about Obama's "friend" William Ayers, a leader and member of the Weather Underground. This group bombed several buildings including the State Senate, the Capital and several police stations during the 60's and 70's while protesting the Vietnam War. And while I don't support fighting violence with violence or condone what this group did, Obama was 8 years old at the time. When McCain was friends with Charles Keating, a man who caused the biggest controlled fraud case in history, he was at least in his 40's.

Yes, that's right. Obama has decided he is tired of all the time spent on having to defend himself, not to mention all the time McCain is using doing the mud-slinging. Obama wants to get back to the basics of this election. So Obama and his campaign have come up with a web video of their own on youtube.com here, detailing McCain's involvement in "The Keating Five".

Who are the "Keating Five"? They are John McCain and 4 other senators who used their political influence to help Charles Keating, a real estate mogul who was trying to avoid regulations of a Savings and Loan he owned during the S& L crisis of the 80's. When Keating's savings and loan empire collapsed, taxpayers were left with a 3.4 million dollar bailout.

The Senate Ethic Committee investigated McCain and the 4 other senators and according to the chairman at the time, Senator Howard Heflin, "many of your fellow citizens believe that you were bought by Charles Keating, that you were bribed, that you sold your office, that you traded your honor and your good names for contributions and other benefits." How much of a contribution did McCain get? At least $120,000.00. And how much money did Ayers contribute to Obama's senatorial campaign? $200.00.

"Of the five senators before you, Senator McCain had the closest personal relationship with Charles Keating." How close were Ayers and Obama? They met at a meet and greet during Obama's campaign for re-election for senator of Illinois. They served on the Woods Fund for three years and Obama shared the stage with Ayers at two academic conferences. Big difference here. As the old saying goes, "People who live in glass houses should not cast stones."

McCain and Palin are slitting their own throats, so to speak, by starting this stuff again right before a debate in a key state like Ohio. When people are reminded of the Keating scandal in a state that is mostly worried about putting their trust and faith in a man who can get this country out of the troubled economy it is in now, they won't want to put that trust and faith in McCain. Once a puppet for money, always a puppet for money.

Yes, I predict if mud-slinging begins in the debate tonight, McCain is going to lose not only Ohio but the Presidential election as well. And while that will be a-okay with me, McCain supporters better hope and pray the man uses his brains and sticks to the issues instead of the past.

Dancing With The Stars: Misty Mae Traener Out Of Competition

Dancing With The Stars revealed tonight that Misty Mae Traener and her partner Maxim Cherkovsky were out of the competition due to an injury Misty suffered Friday night while practicing.

Misty and Max were working on their jive routine when Misty heard a loud pop. Misty said it felt like a bat had hit the back of her knee and that she thought she had hit the judge's desk. Realizing that she wasn't even close to the desk, Misty sat on the floor and was joined by Karina Smirnoff and Rocko who were also practicing. Misty said she asked them if she had hit her leg on the steps but they informed her she was at least 5 feet away from it as well. Misty said those words, along with the pain and the expression on Max's face told her that her injury was bad.

Misty was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where doctors told her she had a ruptured Achille's tendon. Misty is scheduled for surgery tomorrow but spent tonight sitting on the sidelines and cheering her new friends on.

Misty seemed to be in good spirits although it was clear she was very disappointed. And with good reason. Misty had every chance of winning the prize. Misty and Max had scored very high every week and were one of the front runners. Misty's goal? To get better, come back to "Dancing With The Stars" and perform the jive with Max just for fun.

Here's wishing Misty a speedy recovery.

Did anyone hear about the 90 year old woman in Ohio who was so afraid of losing her home that she tried to take her own life? It's true.

Apparently this woman had been served papers at least 30 times but had never answered the door. However, the mortgage company knew she was receiving the notices because they would be gone the next day. After months of trying to serve her, they finally decided to foreclose. When they arrived at her house, a neighbor heard a noise, climbed inside her window and found her lying on the bed with a long barrel revolver lying next to her. She was taken to the hospital where she is in critical condition.

After the attempted suicide, the Fannie Mae people decided to sign the house over to the woman. While it's a nice gesture, I'm sure, to me it seems a late one. A 90 year old woman, even in the best of health for that age, doesn't stand much of a chance of survival from a gunshot wound. Hopefully, this woman will prove me wrong, but if not, she will die without ever knowing that she can keep her home. And isn't it sad that she was so desperate and yet there was no help for her anywhere? Well, until she shot herself that is.

Is attempted suicide what it takes to make people sit up and realize how bad the economy has become, how afraid thousands of people are about losing their home and how desperate they may be to stop foreclosure from happening? I hope and pray that whether it's McCain or Obama who takes the office in 2009, that they can manage to erase the economic deficit Bush has managed to get this country into and that we will once again be a strong, economic nation. However, it won't be an easy thing for either of them to do. It will take some time. I just hope that most Americans can continue to survive until then.

Dancing With The Stars Season 7

I have been watching this show since it's premiere and have really enjoyed it, but lately I find myself getting more and more disillusioned.

The show has turned into more of a popularity contest over the years than a "who dances the best" contest. Voters are calling in votes for the star or personality that they like the most instead of how well they have danced. Or at least that's the only reason I can see why Jerry Springer stayed on so long in Season 4 or why Cloris Leachman is still hanging around this season.

Sure, I think Cloris is funny. Who wouldn't love her trying to bribe the judges and telling them that they are mean (which they can be)? Or throwing her assets around in front of Len Goodman's face until he blushes? Very entertaining, but it's not what the show is about.

I'm sure a lot of Cloris' votes come from older people as well who admire her spunk. After all, the woman is 82 years old. I can't move like that now and I'm only 48. But while I enjoy her antics and love her spunk, I can't compel myself to vote for her. She is not a better dancer than Kim Khardashian (almost but not quite) or Ted McGinley, both who have been voted off in the past 2 weeks. Cloris should have gone home the first week and instead, she is still around for week 4 while better dancers have been sent home.

Come on people! Vote for the best dancers! Sure, there are times I want to vote for my favorite celebrity just because I want to keep them around but I end up feeling guilty and voting for someone else who is better. Why? Because that's what the show is supposed to be about. Voting for the best dancer. Not your favorite celebrity or your favorite professional dancer.

I was upset in Season 4 I believe it was when Mario Lopez was beaten by Emmitt Smith. Even though Emmitt was very entertaining and likable, he was not the better dancer of the two. Mario's popularity went down when rumors started circulating on the internet that he had taken professional dance lessons and had an advantage. So what if he had? You don't think boy banders Joey McIntyre, Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey or Lance Bass have an advantage, having danced choreographed dances on stage during their concerts? And what about Joey Lawrence? They showed a clip of him tap dancing at a very young age on the Johnny Carson show. Kristi Yamaguchi, being a skater, must have taken some type of ballet or something. But I digress.

After Mario's loss, I swore I would never watch the show again. Then I thought, "Well, Emmitt was entertaining and he did have some good moves so I'll try to forget and go on. But Cloris Leachman? As my husband said, you have to put a mirror under her nose to see if she's still breathing, much less moving. I love Cloris as an actress, I admire her for her spunk, but a dancer she isn't. If this continues, Dancing With The Stars is going to lose a viewer.

Now I know that me not viewing is really going to get the show cancelled. A show that garners more votes than a Presidential Election. Still, I believe if all of us out there who really want the best dancers to win, who truly vote for the ones that dance best even though we have other personal favorites decide to stop watching, the ratings may fall quite a bit.

Iman Morales and Lt. Michael Pigot

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the police seem to be using tasers more often than they used to? I'm not talking about during a very volatile situation in which it's life or death. I understand that police officers have to look out for themselves as well as the suspect and that they also have to make split second decisions. I understand that. What I don't understand is using tasers when they are not needed or too soon, as was this case. If the officers had waited until the inflatable cushion arrived, everything might have gone differently. Instead, not only is a civilian dead but an officer as well. The civilian because the police did not wait and the officer because he was so overwhelmed with guilt he felt it necessary to put a 9 mm Glock to his head and blow his brains out. Two tragedies that could have been avoided if only.....sigh. So very, very sad.

My heart goes out to not only these two men who lost their lives but the families they left behind.