OFFL

Will you give it up if I offer you the Senate seat for Illinois?
 

i am not even sure what it is
 

but i will give you three bucks for ti.
 

Hey Brenz,
It seems like you are almost the only participant on this site- which means that you have the most spare time?? Did you know that Matt Tonello's house and contents in Springville suffered a major fire? There is a can for donations at the 3 Star with his 4 kids pictures. Do you know anything about it? Mom
 

do not think that my being on is a lack of work.
 

it is dedication
 

but i didnt hear about htat.
 

i talk to some of his fam and they have been quiet in the past week or so
 

Not sure who Matt Tonello is, but how old are his children? Maybe we have some things that we can donate.
 

i think they range from like 3 to 10.
 

he sang for me and elis first band. he was the kid who was one of 13.
 

1 of 13

wow, that's crazy
 

yeah, and he had 2 by the time he was 21.
 

including one that was older than his youngest sister.
 

I've never been one for conspiracy theories (except that whole theory of evolution thing. It has conspiracy written all over it) but during the current Bush presidency, I've been swayed that the idea that Bush has created an atmosphere that drove up oil prices to benefit his supporters is very real.

Durig the 8 years of the Clinton Administration the average price of a barrel of oil was $17.34. During the 8 years of the Bush Administration, the average cost has been 42.23, with a high of $143 and now the price is falling as he is gearing up to leave office.

Perhaps something this obvious is not a consiracy.
 

although, I'm not sure that the next administration will not create some type of price floor so as to keep the cost artificially high to encourage his green revolution. he did promise to reduce the rise in ocean levels, a pretty large promise, even for a politician from Chicago.
 

monthly crude oil costs
 

everything i s aconspiracy!!!
 

but the oil one is the worst because it is not even hidden. it is not a conspiracy if we all know it and watch it happen. that guy is raking in the dough off oil profits.
 

It's a parachute conspiracy.
 

dude, you had better be careful. You'll end up as an old cynic well before your time. (I may be speaking from expierence)
 

not even Barry the anointed one can lift the veil of cynicism.

Although, if you ask me, it is not a veil of cynicism that needs to be lifted, but rather it is the mass of followers that have been blinded by the bs and hype.

Its all a matter of perspective
 

the zen masters would contend that the whole physical world is a veil over one's spiritual world and one must learn to block out the distractions in order to find inner harmony and peace.

I would cuncur, even if I have not followed the path
 

in the zen way, none of this would matter.

This is also the teaching of Jesus, who may be one of the greatest zen masters. you have to admit that some of his parables act as great koans
 

or maybe the zen masters are just followers of Jesus' teachings

either way, obsession with the physical world and its pleasures and problems are distractions from achieving true peace
 

Remember to get your lineup in for this weekend by tomorrow.
 

in Taoism, they refer to Jesus as the greatest taoist.
 

So what would be the best way to jump start the economy? retrofitting old government buildings? New bridge and road construction? (which has been going on in this country anyway), rebate checks?

or how about something a bit different... with gas prices down from their summer highs, people have some extra money to spend or save.

How about giving people some more extra money to spend or save, but not all at once in a onetime check.

Extend food stamp benefits to the majority of Americans (or at least to a combined taxable income level of say $100,000). This would benefit Americans in multiple ways.

First it would increase the amount spent on foodstuffs. Primarily, this would be a benefit to American farmers and also Latin American Farmers and agribusiness, so it is a politcal winner. Secondly, it frees up income to spend on other things, but not in one lump sum that is easily put away and not spent, but rather on everyday items, just a bit more cash in your pocket that you are willing to spend. With luck it would be spent on goods and services produced locally and not on large ticket electronics manufactured in China.

Could someone pass this on to the office of the president elect?

Thanks