Paul Luvera Journal

I’ve been following the bizarre behavior of South Carolina’s governor Mark Sanford who disappeared for five days and then suddenly reappeared. Republican Sanford is chairman of the Republican Governors Association and considered a leading Republican presidential candidate, or at least he was until this fiasco. This is the man who rejected millions in federal stimulus money for education and has been outspoken in trying to demonstrate his conservative Republican values. First, his staff put out the story that he was…

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 Last Thursday Lita and I attended a private dinner in Seattle with some twenty other  people and Governor Christine Gregoire.  Among the sujects Governor Gregoire discussed was our proposed budget. We have a two billion dollar short fall in our state, economic decline and increased costs to contend with. The Governor pointed out that the problem is complicated by the fact a large part of the budget leaves little room for cut back such as education, pensions etc. The economy…

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Our government was unique at the time it was created. Think about the forms of government in the world. Some of the better known in history include a monarchy where there is a government of one ordained to lead. Oligarchy means a government by the few elite and is justified by the argument that only the few are fit to govern. Aristocracy means government by the best because the rest are not as qualified to run the country. Plutocracy means government by the wealthy…

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In 1993 Absolutely Nobody died. That is, David Powers died in Oakland, California. You see in 1991 Powers legally changed his name to "Absolutely Nobody" and then ran for Lieutenant Governor of Washington State. His central theme was that the position was unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money. The one time manager of a Winchell’s doughnut shop was working for a U-Rent when he ran for the office. Powers said that  "My friends and I got to talking last…

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This is purely a political posting so if you are a Republican, you can skip this entire message. I get E-mails with some clever political things in them. Two are worth looking at. The first deals with the ridiculous attempt by John McCain to distance himself from George Bush now that Bush's policies have turned out to be as disaster. When he thought showing agreement with Bush policies would get him votes, he bragged about supporting Bush more than 90% …

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I have been wrong about who "won" the presidential debate each time it has occurred. So, with that in mind, here’s my take on Thursday’s debate. First, moderator Bob Schieffer was so significantly better then any previous moderator of these debates that he should be given the job permanently. For the first time searching questions were asked and the candidates better required to answer them. He was the first moderator who seemed to me to be in full control. My…

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I have not been the Lone Ranger in making known the disdain for the self righteous who, all too often, turn out to be total hypocrites. The list of examples is a very long one and unfortunately touches both sides of the political fence as well as a variety of religions. On the religious side we have good old Jimmy Swaggart the anti Catholic, anti Jew televangelist who took in more then $150 million each year. He decided to attack…

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My take regarding the debate, from the viewpoint of a supporter of Obama and Biden, was that both candidates surprised me regarding how well they did as to demeanor and overall impression. Biden did an excellent job. He was poised and not verbose, nor argumentative nor overbearing as some had feared. He had great demeanor and presence. Palin was no less impressive with her self confident, poise and articulate responses. I’m not talking about the content or accuracy nor even the responsiveness of her answers. I’m talking about…

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What do Barrack Obama and Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga have in common? Mayorga is a boxer whose bravado in the ring used to involve allowing his opponent to take a free punch at his head – that’s what they have in common. I watched the so called debate while Obama invited McCain to take a free swing at Obama's chin and then drop his gloves instead of hitting back. My clear impression is that Obama is not an effective debater. He is too…

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