Doug, we all saw truth in much of Wright's words. America has turned into war machine with a lot of blood on our Constitution. America has also fallen into a giant force who has overlooked right from wrong on most of our legislation and moral values.

Rev. Wright tried to open the racism in America and end up leading "his" people as MLK did so many years ago. He found his patsy and tried to take him down. He may have succeeded; we will never know until the primaries are over.

Your RANT this morning represents what the majority of us know to be true. Thank you for it.

I cannot explain Miley Cyrus as I never heard of her before this week. I'm sure that she is now the model for American teenagers to take off their clothes and made money. Parents are throwing their own kids under the bus when they allow this kind of model mentor to invade their homes.

With this kind of culture growing in America, it is absolutely necessary to keep abortions legal.

Isn't child pornography illegal in this country?

A little eye-opener on Iraqi casualty figures. The death toll tallies deaths on the battlefield, therefore deaths that occur later in hospitals aren't tallied as deaths, but in the overall casualty figures. Some have estimated the real death toll to be between 8,000 and 12,000 American servicemen and women lost in Iraq.

Doug,
I was not happy with the words Rev. Wright spoke in his grandstanding speeches. I, too, was wrong. His words made me very uncomfortable. Senator Obama did what he felt he had to. Enough of it all now. It is time to dig in and get back to the REAL issues facing this country.

And, shame on Miley Cyrus' parents for letting her pose like this. It is totally inappropriate, and poor judgement on the part of the magazine, too. ...almost as bad as the sick perverts in the latest Texas cult.

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.
Mark Twain

Another truly popcorn moment, sir. Thank you for a most excellent Rant. The names and the faces change, but the rank stupidity is eternal.

When I was much much younger, I remember my mother telling me how disgusted she was, during the latter part of World War Two, over the popular obsession with Frank Sinatra's first child and over the marriage of actress Betty Grable to band leader Harry James - at a time when my dad, her brother, several cousins and friends were serving overseas.

I may not completely agree with your assessment of Rev. Wright; he speaks some uncomfortable truths to the powers that be. Perhaps if more ministers had been less interested in being "patriotic Americans" and in being followers of the Word, we might not be in some of the mess we are in right now.

Before the current brouhaha, what were we ensorcelled by? Has the FLDS child-brides and child-mothers drama yet played out its bit? Britney Spears on the downward, out-of-control spiral of a young woman uninterested in her children and unable to handle wealth, fame and ceaseless public attention? Or was it Paris Hilton, she of the missing underwear and with a taste for drones in male companionship? What of Anna Nicole Smith, gold-digger extraordinary? What of our obsession with the Pouting Princess, the late Diana?

It doesn't change. We are always looking for the bread-and-circuses spectacle du jour that will allow us a moment's diversion from the really serious problems of life. As soon as this one recedes into the background noise of our lives, yet another one will appear to divert us yet again.

Most sincerely,

T. J. Flapsaddle

Barack Obama's comments yesterday about the Rev were spot on! There is nothing that I have seen in the character of Obama or his campaign that even remotely resembles the angry-chip-on-his-shoulder Rev who believes his fellow blacks have been nothing short than a victim of whitey and the government their entire lives!

I hope from this point on Barack chooses not to opine any further on the Rev or his beliefs and stays focused on the mission at hand.

An off-topic question for our host.

You mentioned yesterday that you did portrait photography. Do you still use silver-emulsion/wet chemical/darkroom technology, or are you all digital? Just curious.

Most sincerely,

T. J. Flapsaddle

Slick move, Doug. Nice redirect. Back away from your support as soon as Obama does while steering the conversation in another direction.

After beating this dead horse to dust in emulation of the reviled mainstream, now all of a sudden you have an epiphany.

Griff. It is a combination of a good mind and compassionate heart. Doug is the first one to show he was wrong.

Can we all get along? Is that too much to ask for?

Obama for President '08

Passions are running high. The Hillary camps and the
Obama camps hate each other. One can't imagine voting for the other. I can't stand the sound of Obama's voice. I would venture to say most (especially my friend Sandy Price) feels the same way about Hillary.
Obama was bound to disappoint. He was treated as the next Messiah. No human being can live up to that. The Hillary people are a little more pragmatic. Yup, she has warts. We pretty much know all the dirt. We know she is corrupt, but she has a record. Her husband didn't do a bad job as president. She is the devil we know.
Obama just doesn't have much of a record. He makes great speeches. It's sort of the dreamy crowd vs the realists.
And dang it, I am beyone angry for being told if I vote for Hillary, I am a racist. Therefore, if Obama gets the nomination, the Hillary supporters are completely alienated.
Sad, but true.

You hit it on the nail Sherry. But there's one thing we all can say is that we care! We love America and we know what is the right thing to do. My emotions are on "Danger" but this happens every two years when the Congress get thrown out or reelected. My kids understand this two-year mania that is me. Every 4 years they know better than to even call prior to November.

You're no racist and neither am I. I want something new even if it is unknown in the white house.

I have to share something with you. The GOP is now splitting into another realm of politics. The religious right now wants the Constitution Party to run because they are focussing on the prohibitions. So we will have one hell of a November coming up. If we lived closer I would make a bet with you for dinner whether Obama or Hillary gets the gold ring.

"a 15-year-old TV tart who posed semi-nude in a photo that looks like she just screwed the entire high school football team"

Funny, I don't see a "TV tart" in that photo. I see an innocent girl who has just discovered how it feels to be violated by people she thought she should trust. If you bothered to read anything about her situation, you would understand the controversy. It isn't about some salacious publicity scheme to use almost-kiddy-porn to advance her career or make money by her parents. Her parents were on the set for hours and then had to leave her under the supervision of her publicist and agent. They were the responsible adults who failed to protect Ms. Cyrus when the famous photographer and Vanity Fair crew urged them to go along with the "art photos". Her parents never would have allowed it, and the photographer knew that!

This girl is a victim of unprincipled adults who have damaged her career for their own pleasure and gain. As far as I am concerned, they are not much better than the pimps who sell children to pedophiles. Including her photo and referring to her as a tart in an otherwise unrelated story was a cheap shot. Pick on somebody your own size, Doug!

"Wright is a fool, a buffoon and a caricature -- a Bible-thumping shyster who uses God to promote hate."

Doug -- I thought our country put someone just like this in the WH in 2000 and again in 2004.